From: Wil Turrin <wilt@webcomlink.com>

Day 7 - Early Evening
*K'Tarr*

I t had been a full day for the hunter. K'Tarr walked across the green field
of the Warren, his bow gripped loosely in his hands.

He drew in a quick deep breath and blew it out again, trying to focus his
fighting energy. He knew that great evil was afoot. The wind blew a little
foully, the smell that rode with it was that of death. He looked up to the
first stars that began to poke out of the azure skies. Something tweaked his
senses and he shot a piercing stare across the open ground. His eyes scanned
the edge of the area from behind the blue tattoos on his face. He relaxed
noticably when he realized it was the trainer, the one called Galen.

Still, there was mischief afoot. He knew that. Quietly, he walked off and
blended into the shadows of the Warren.

*Ka'Laren*

He stood with his back to the fire for several hours longer. The other
assassins and thugs had started to rethink the wisdom of joining up with the
psychotic tattooed man.

Finally, either from boredom or true anger, one of the hired men stood up.
"Well!?" He bellowed at their leader. "What now? Do we just sit here and
wait? I'm tired of this Ka'Laren! I want action, now, and if I can't have it
in the Warren, I will take it out of your painted skin!" To accentuate his
point, the mercenary pulled a particularly lethal looking fighting knife
from his belt.

Ka'Laren laughed. "You really think you stand a chance?"

The other man didn't reply; instead he lunged across the little fire.

Ka'Laren spun about, his left hand striking the man in the nose sending a
little geyser of blood down the man's face. His right hand locked around the
man's wrist and bent the limb back until there was a satisfying crunch. The
spiked handled knife fell to the ground from the assassin's limp hand.
Ka'Laren yanked the man up from where he had fallen to his knees. The lean
hunter slammed his fist across the jaw of the dazed man sending him
staggering back. Ka'Laren followed with a swift kick to the side of the
man's leg. The snap was convincing enough, but the angle that the man now
leaned on his leg was proof that the bone had shattered. A second kick
struck the man's hip and the third caught him square in the face. He flipped
backward and landed on the ground with a squishy thud.

Ka'Laren was upon him like a rabid dog. From nowhere, Ka'Laren produced the
man's spiked handled knife. "You know," He slipped his fingers around the
carefully crafted handle and admired the spikes. "This really is a beautiful
knife." The demented hunter began to pound the half conscious man below him
with the spikes on the knife.

The assassins and hired killers stood about, not knowing exactly what to do
as their leader beat the very life out of one of their compatriots. Finally,
Ka'Laren stood, dripping with gore.

"That was a delightful little diversion." He said coldly, a faint smile
tracing his tattooed lips. "It's time to go now. Sabian should have created
a little diversion by now."


Qualis was uneasy. He was always uneasy when Ka'Laren was about. And then
there was that something else. There was that human who was visiting the
warren and causing quite the commotion. It was the same one that K'Tarr had
seen talking with Makron's rider. Humans played too much on what Antwin
calls 'intrigue'. As far as he was concerned they should spend more time on
important things like sunning and hunting and breeding. They'd be generally
happier that way. He was sure of it.

Although, he was glad that K'Tarr had taken a liking to Donjanth's rider.
She made him happy. It wasn't very often that K'Tarr found people like that.

He yawned and stretched out his front claws. K'Tarr was out watching things,
the way he did. He would call to Qualis every little while to make sure
things were all right. When he called last, he asked Qualis to check with
Donjanth to see how her rider was doing. If she was all right. Qualis called
back to say everything was fine. He could hear the relief in his rider's
mind when he called back.

It was getting late, and Qualis was getting tired. Perhaps, his rider's evil
brother would not come tonight, perhaps he wouldn't come at all this time
and he could finally get some sleep·

<<Wraiths!>> Came the cry from the patrol dragons. Qualis jumped up from his
near sleep and shouted to K'Tarr. <<Brother! Wraiths! Let's go!!>>

But no reply came back. K'Tarr sent a flash of an image to him. A tunnel of
the warren, three assassins had managed to jam the door. Qualis sent a
message to Donjanth·


K'Tarr travelled through the shadows. So many people made their ways through
the narrow hallways of the warren. So many could have been the assassins
that Ka'Laren would inevitably send. If nothing else, his brother could be
counted on to send others to wear him down.

Then he saw them, two men and a woman. They made their way through the
crowds. The first one moved with skill, many didn't notice him as he passed.
The woman wasn't too noticable, but the third moved like a pregnant ox.

K'Tarr could have struck the three of them down where they stood. That was
not the way of the hunter. He would watch from the shadows, and follow them,
for now. He sent a call to Qualis.

<<Qualis. Have you seen anything?>>

<<No K'Tarr. All things are quiet, still. Why don't you come rest for a
while?>>

<<No. Ka'Laren is near. I can feel him.>>

<<Yes, yes whatever.>>

K'Tarr moved down the hallways, past friends, allies and strangers without a
single one noticing him. The three were moving closer to the gates.

<<Can you do me a favour, Qualis? Can you ask Donjanth to check on her
rider?>>

After a pause, Qualis returned <<She is fine, brother.>>

<<Thank-you.>>

K'Tarr thought of Kalena for a moment. Her smile, her hair. Then he forced
himself to focus. He could almost hear his father's words "Focus K'Tarr! If
you do not focus your prey will escape and you will fail. There are good
hunts and there are bad hunts, but there is no honour in losing one's prey!"

The three assassins moved quickly, but the burly one bumped into one of the
guardsmen as he rounded a corner. After a brief argument, the woman cut the
guardsman down. More guards came and a fight ensued briefly. Two of the
assassins lay dead, the third ran off. But K'Tarr noticed that their goal
was accomplished, the gates were jammed open.

A few of the guards were speaking in hushed tones, K'Tarr remained in the
shadows for a moment, then queitly stepped out. Without warning, the ground
exploded beneath the feet of the guards. Their bodies were thrown like rag
dolls against the walls. K'Tarr was knocked off his feet.


Qualis yelled to Donjanth.

<<Your rider! Send your rider here! K'Tarr needs help and I cannot get to
him! Help me please, Donjanth!!>>


K'Tarr's vision was blurred and he fought to keep from blacking out. His
ears rang and he pushed himself up to his feet groggily. Standing in the
ruined entrance to the warren was the silhouette of his brother.

"Well, Ka'Laren," He said shakily. "You certainly know how to make an
entrance."

"Cute, brother. I must say, I've always enjoyed the witty banter we've had.
It makes me almost not want to kill you."

"Ahh, that must be why you haven't been able to kill me yet, then." K'Tarr
slowly pulled his senses together, he let his breathing become focused and
rhythmic. He found his center.

"Yes, undoubtedly so. "Ka'Laren's emotionless inflection was mocking yet
polite. "But I think that I'll kill you now, brother. I'm truly tired of the
banter, it's lost a great deal of it's appeal."

Four assassins began to move in from the edges of the ruined entrance. The
wisps of smoke trailing over their shadowy forms. K'Tarr took two steps back
and assumed a fighting pose.

The first man wore chain mail and carried a long narrow sword. He swung it
in a high arc aimed at the hunter's neck. K'Tarr bobbed under the blade,
locking his hands around the forearm of his assailant. Another of the
assassin's leapt forward, a pair of hooked knives in his hands.

K'Tarr kicked out, catching the knife-wielder square in the face and he
twisted his grip on the swordman's arm around to block the attack of the
assassin carrying the scimitar. K'Tarr shoved the two men together so he
could clearly face the fourth attacker.

He barely avoided the small axes that came whizzing through the air at him.
He dodged as the topless man with the warpaint attacked again and again. The
man in the warpaint swung two axes in outward arcs, both slashing the front
of K'Tarr's leather vest. K'Tarr bent backwards limply, and then swung about
in an awkward looking movement of his chest and hips. His fists struck out
like battering rams, driving the hatchet-man back, his ribs snapping like
dried bark.

K'Tarr whipped out his two short swords in time to parry the next blows from
the scimitar and the long sword. He continued to fight the two assassins at
the same time, his silver swords throwing little sparks down after he
deflected each blow.

K'Tarr's blue eyes never lost their calm as he continued to fight. The
assassins blows began to grow more desperate and haggard. K'Tarr spun about
knocking the scimitar man's sword away, and the long-sword straight through
his midsection. The one assassin stared apologetically into the eyes of his
compatriot for a moment, the K'Tarr's silver sword cleft his head from his
neck in one clean chop.

K'Tarr spun to face his half-brother's charge. Ka'Laren drove his heavy
booted foot into K'Tarr's face, knocking him to the ground and sending his
twinned swords cascading to the tunnels edges. K'Tarr groaned as he rolled
about on his back. Ka'Laren kicked him in the ribs a few times for good
measure, then K'Tarr kicked the thinner man's feet out from under him.
Both men were up in an instant. They began to exchange blows;  a kick
Ka'Laren bruised up KJ'Tarr's left eye. It began to swell. A punch from
K'Tarr snapped back Ka'Laren's head knocking him back a few feet. A second
punch was blocked by Ka'Laren and returned with an elbow across the jaw.

After nearly being blown up, and then dispatching the four assassins, K'Tarr
was exhausted. His eye was nearly swollen shut and he was having trouble
seeing out of it. Ka'Laren had also managed to crack a few of his ribs, too.

"Just like always, brother. You could never take me in a fair fight." K'Tarr
spat some of the blood in his mouth out.

"I can take you anyday, K'Tarr and you know it."

"Oh, so that's why father made me the first then."

Ka'Laren's eyes went wide with anger behind his twisted black tattoos. He
stuck out over and over at K'Tarr. The hunter could barely get his hands up
to attempt to block the blows. Ka'Laren's fists smashed into him over and
over. The room was spinning, K'Tarr wasn't even sure where he was right now.

Ka'Laren leapt into the air smashing his foot into K'Tarr's head, laying him
out flat on the ground.

Ka'Laren pounced on his brother, grabbing him by his braided and bloodied
hair.

"Now you die brother!" He drew out the terrible looking battle knife he had
'obtained' earlier and lifted it high above his head.

[Tag Dianne]

[nrpg - Hope you don't mind Dianne but I'm leaving K'Tarr's butt in your
hands. Qualis tried to get in touch with Donjanth and Kalena, and hopefully
he can get in touch in time! You can save K'Tarr in whatever way you see
fit, just don't kill Ka'Laren!

I left the morning between K'Tarr and Kalena for you, also. K'Tarr is
definitely happy about the morning and has no reservations about what
happened the night before, if anything he feels a little guilty for letting
Kalena get that drunk.

Hi Les, I managed to post this myself so just ignore the other email I
sent!]

Submitted by WiL

For

K'Tarr Morrinn and Qualis
Ka'Laren

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