The fateful trio somehow managed to escape their prison of sorrow and begin anew on their journey. The tragedy they had witnessed fueled their sorrows, and their resolves to succeed. Faces grim, jaws set, and equipped with some meager supplies, the clothes on their backs and hope, they set out for their journey. But they were not entirely without their troubles.

"Are we there yet?" Kairo whined. He was not used to walking great distances, and the past few days had already worn him out. The luxurious life of the aristocracy was not known for its rearing of great adventurers. "Couldn't we just have gotten horses?" he whined again.

"If we had gotten horses, then you'd just be complaining about saddle sores, instead of blisters," retorted Xanthos. He continued irately, "Maybe if you had gotten out of that castle more, and gotten some actual exercise, you wouldn't be in as much pain as you are now. And besides, there weren't any horses left at the castle anyway!"

Xanthos realized his mistake too late, as Kairo began to cry, either from the mention of the recent catastrophe, or from the scolding he had just received. He then ran to a nearby tree and sat down to relieve his emotions. Though even Diarie was exasperated at "the whiner" as Kairo might have been termed, both she and Xanthos had to suffer through it.

She slowed down to wait for Kairo, but Xanthos continued his walk. Once he had rounded a bend, Diarie raced to catch up with him, and asked, "What are you doing? We have to wait for him."

Xanthos whispered, "I will wait, but I wanted to get out of sight first, so maybe Kairo will get over this fit. I think he's just trying to get attention. Now that he can't get the attention of his family and court, we're his only outlet. If we simply ignore his calls for attention, maybe we can break him of the habit."

Diarie thought about this for a while, then said, "But what if his calls for attention are intrinsic?"

"I don't know, but its worth a try. If I have to listen to his whining the whole way, the world isn't going to have a savior much longer," Xanthos replied.

While they had been having this argument, the crying had ceased, and only a slight whimper permeated the general noise of the forest. Xanthos took a moment to observe the surroundings before he would go back and try to get Kairo to join then once more. There were birds singing in the tree tops, and an occasional squirrel could be heard scurrying in the underbrush. The leaves rustled in the soft summer breeze. It appeared as though everything was perfect.

Then Xanthos saw something that made his blood run cold. A cold sweat broke out upon his forehead. From the corner of his eye, he saw one of the shadows move. He turned his head, to look at this unexpected motion, and he saw it again. It was nothing more than a dark figure maneuvering through the shadows, occasionally flitting through the light, but never staying there for more than an instant. Xanthos knew immediately what the figure was. He motioned for Diarie to get down, and out of sight. When she questioned his command, he said only, "Dark Elf."

Dark Elves are the chaotic counterparts of the common woodland masters. They usually live rather peacefully in their kingdom in the north, but there are many that are frequently hired as assassins, thieves, and bounty hunters. They are extremely well known for their speed, agility, dexterity, and stealth. Since they are infrequently seen during daylight, even in their own region, Xanthos knew something was amiss. He silently observed the shadow for a few moments, trying to make out some detail. All he could see was the basic shape of the creature. It was tall and thin, like most elves, but what made it hard to see was its skin tone. Dark Elves had a dull gray skin color, which made them adept at blending in with their surroundings. Then the dark elf turned to face Xanthos, and smiled maliciously. The combination of the elf's yellow eyes rising in stark contrast with the rest of its body, coupled with that evil grin, made Xanthos shudder involuntarily.

Then the Dark Elf continued its trek through the trees in the direction they had been coming from. Then Xanthos realized something. He had left Kairo alone, behind them, which was exactly where the elf was going. If his worst fears were true, then Kairo was in danger. Xanthos dashed from his hiding place, and back towards Kairo.

Kairo, completely oblivious to the impending doom, continued his fit of self-pity. He sat under a large tree, its leaves casting shadows on the ground. At the moment, he was watching the patters of the leaves. As the wind blew the limbs around, the patterns would change. Then Kairo noticed something unusual. One patch of shadow wasn't moving. He turned around to see what was causing this usual phenomenon. But he couldn't find anything, and turned back around. The Dark Elf was then standing in front of the boy, looking down on the young prince. Kairo could see Xanthos rushing down the path in his direction, but knew the knight would never reach him in time.

"Halo," the Dark Elf said in a noxious drawl, "I've come to take you to Lord Xeratul." Then, in the space of a blink of an eye, the Dark Elf drew a dagger from inside his cloak, and with an underhand swipe sliced Kairo once on the shoulder, before he re-sheathed the dagger.

Kairo stared at the Elf as his life energy was drawn from his body. The poisoned blade worked remarkably quickly, causing Kairo to pass out in the space of a few seconds. But before that happened, Kairo saw the world around him swirl and go out of focus. His last sight was of Xanthos, who was supposed to be there for him, and keep him safe. And then he was out.

Once asleep, the Dark Elf was easily able to heft Kairo over his shoulder, and escape back into the trees. Just as he leaped into the shadows, Xanthos swung his sword to disembowel the elf, only to find nothing. He knew he had failed. There was no way he would be able to track the Dark Elf through the forest. In a brief reminiscence of the insular state he had retreated to at the castle, he kneeled down on the spot, and hung his head with the gravity of his failure.

It was then that Diarie arrived on the scene. She had seen this detached, emotionless shell of a human being before, and didn't like it any more the second time around. She needed Xanthos to help her save Kairo. To do that, he had to at least be aware. She walked up and smacked him across the face. "Snap out of it!" she chided. "You may have lost Kairo for now, but you can go and find him. But that won't happen if you're standing here moping. You're just as bad as he is when you're like this. What will happen to him if you do nothing? How is that going to help us at all? Its not! So you had better straighten up and go find the Prince." Diarie seemed to be good at yelling at people. But Xanthos only looked at her blankly. He speech had fallen upon deaf ears.

"What can I do, all by myself, alone, against something I don't know," he complained. "If this guy can employ the Dark Elves to do his bidding, he must be extraordinarily powerful. I doubt I could have even beat the Dark Elf that was here just now."

"Then what were you rushing in for? If you couldn't have beaten him anyway, then why even come? Because you knew it was your duty to try! Sitting here isn't ameliorating the situation any," Diarie said. She wouldn't give up so easily.

Xanthos, seeming to realize her point, looked up at her, with a new glint in his eye. He stood, and corrected his posture according to his newfound motive. "You're right," Xanthos said confidently. But then the doubt crept back into his voice as he said, "But where do we go? Should we continue on, or should we try and follow the Prince?"

Diarie, not being one to shrink from the challenge of command, said, "We'll just keep going on to Elfdale. If Kairo can escape, that path will be the easiest for him to follow. And secondly, we don't even know where Kairo was going. We will have to recover the rest of the prophecy to find that out, which is what we were doing in the first place."

Xanthos nodded, and they began to walk down the path, confident, despite their ineptitude. They walked on in silence for a short way, with Xanthos' arm around Diarie, before he asked, "Hey Diarie, what does ameliorate mean?"

She laughed, for in that single word was the entire point of her argument. She replied, "To improve or get better."

Xanthos only nodded in understanding, then continued walking down the path. Diarie rested her head on his shoulder, and then they crested a hill, and were able to see off into the distance. The view was breath taking. The sun was nearing the horizon and turning the sky a luminescent orange. The few puffs of could drifted along, their undersides painted pink with the sun's rays. Off to the left, they could see the sparkle of Pearl Bay, scintillating in the sun's final rays. In the opposite direction, they could almost make out the peaks of a mountain range in the distance. They were mostly obscured by the distance and the fading light, however. And directly ahead of them lay the Elven city of Elfdale. This was only distinguishable by the green foliage that soared above the surrounding countryside. The immense trees had their own majesty about them, making the scene all the more beautiful.

Diarie looked up at Xanthos, and kissed him on the cheek. Then she said, "Why don't we stop here for the night, and watch the sun set. We won't arrive at Elfdale until tomorrow anyway, so why rush it?" Xanthos didn't need to be asked more than once, and immediately went about setting up camp.