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no they were telling the truth.....but you'll have to wait and see what happens ^_^
i'm glad Princess seduction wasn't too over the top >.< the other personalities i kind of came up with on the spot hopefully i can "flesh" them out in later chapters
as always thanks for the feedback and comments wolven!

Yeah, most of them except princess seem rather inocuous (have i spelt that right? ) in comparison. Perhaps because she has had the most prominent history with Cameron. Ie. the others have not surfaced as much. Mind, i still like princess nonetheless.
Still lookin' forward to the next update! (Cmon ass-kickin!)

well here's the next bit hope it doesn't dissapoint


Bloody politics.


Surkaust stood in the middle of the room wiping blood from his hands and smiling pleasantly. Kailah was sitting on the floor in shock with the two torn bodies of Kash and Kelm around her.
“What did you do?!” Cam gasped out covering his mouth, he felt sick.
“Whatever do you mean, Gantervez?” Surkaust asked spreading his hands out, “I merely took care of a Chaos threat.”
“Explain yourself, Surkaust.” Maltoris demanded after surveying the horror. He walked in from the corridor and stood next to Cameron.
Surkaust shrugged, “I came by to check on Malavander and found two Chaos. I killed them before they could do harm to her.”
“They weren’t a threat!” Cam yelled at him his fury rising, “They were harmless kids!”
“How was I to know?” Surkaust replied calmly, “All I saw were two Chaos uniforms. Malavander wasn’t in the room with them so I feared the worst.”
“You bastard!” Cam screamed his control finally snapping.
“Gantervez!” Maltoris called out to him and tried to grab his arm. Cameron ignored him as he drew his sword and lunged for Surkaust.
Surkaust’s eyes went black and Cam’s body locked up and he fell to the floor. It was almost impossible to breathe and Cam gasped for any ounce of air. It felt like his blood was trying to claw its way out of his skin.
“Surkaust, stop.” Maltoris ordered.
Surkaust blinked and his eyes turned back to silver as he looked up at Maltoris. Cam lay on the ground and gasped for breath. Maltoris glared at Surkaust and Cam could feel the pressure between the two of them but couldn’t move.
Surkaust chuckled, “Well, mistakes happen in war. I’ll take my leave now.”
He stepped over Cam and floated out the door. Maltoris watched him warily the entire time. Once Surkaust was gone he went and knelt next to Cam.
“Are you alright?” Maltoris asked him.
Cam nodded as he got to his hands and knees. He coughed hard and looked to Kai through his tears.
“Kai?!” Cam called out to her as he stood up and went to kneel at her side. She didn’t respond but just stared at the floor. Her lips moved murmuring something but Cam couldn’t make out what the words were.
“Kai!” Cam shook her shoulders and she slowly focused on his face.
“Cam?” Kai said confusion in her voice, “Why?”
Her eyes unfocused again and she stared at the floor. Cam scooped her into his arms and walked out of the room with Maltoris behind him. She gripped the front of his shirt but other than that she was lifeless.
“I’ll send some men to take care of this. Do you have another place to go?” Maltoris asked softly, “You are welcome to my quarters if needed.”
Cameron shook his head, “No, I’ll head to Captain Skiff’s home. I think it would be best.”
“Ah,” Maltoris nodded, “yes, last I heard it was still standing. I’m sorry this happened.”
“Is there anything we can do to him?” Cam asked anger filling his voice.
“You cannot.” Maltoris replied sternly, “But I certainly will.”
With that he walked off down the corridor. Cam glanced back at the door then turned and headed toward Skiff’s house.

Morsha took one look out the window at Cam as he walked solemnly down the path and started issuing orders. Skiff met him at the door and held it open for Cam to get through. Skiff saw that they were both covered in blood but didn’t ask what happened after looking at Cam’s face.
Kailah was still staring at nothing and hadn’t said a single word the entire time. Morsha directed him to the spare bedroom carrying a bowl of water and a cloth. Cam placed Kailah gently on the edge of the bed still staring into space. He left at Morsha’s urging and she shut the door behind him.
Cam sat in one of the chairs and stared at the floor. Skiff handed him a drink and Cam took it but didn’t drink it.
“What happened?” Skiff asked after taking a sip from his own drink.
Cam rubbed his jaw and took a deep breath. Skiff listened in silence as Cam told him the events of the past hour. After he was finished Cam felt a renewed sickness in his stomach remembering the carnage. Morsha came out of the room carrying the bowl of blooded water and the wash rag.
“How is she?” Cam asked, “Was she hurt?”
“No, she’s in shock but appears unharmed.” Morsha replied setting the bowl down on the kitchen table, “What happened?”
“Surkaust happened.” Cam spat, “That despicable snake.”
Morsha was silent remembering her encounter with Surkaust. Shaking her head she went to the kitchen to fix something to eat.
Cam accepted a bowl of soup that Morsha dished up for him. He didn’t eat it; his stomach was still trying to crawl up his esophagus. He just stared at the contents and poked it with the spoon.
“Where’re you going?” Cam asked Skiff as he stood up buckling on his sword belt.
“Patrol.” Skiff answered then kissed his wife and headed out the door.
Cam looked to Morsha for an answer and she smiled softly at him.
“The city is still on alert and his squad is due to report in an hour. He’s off to round everyone up that’s still breathing.” Morsha replied as she wiped her hands on her apron.
“Where’s Don and Viska?” Cam asked looking around.
Morsha’s smile faded, “We haven’t heard from them.”
“I’m sure they’re fine,” Cam said quickly, “Last I saw of them they were at a Healer’s tent. Viska had gotten slightly hurt and was resting with Don watching after her.”
Morsha breathed a sigh of relief, “Well that’s good.”
Cam nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose, he head was pounding. He felt a cool hand on his forehead and opened his eyes to see Morsha checking his temperature.
“Wait here.” She said softly as she went back into the kitchen.
A few minutes later she came back with a cup of hot liquid. Cam looked at it skeptically as he picked it up.
“Don’t breath and drink it.” Morsha commanded in a motherly way.
Cam sighed and held his breath as he drank the nasty tasting medicine. It was cool enough to gulp down and Cam was thankful for that. He was sure he didn’t want to have to take it a sip at a time.
“Gah,” Cam complained after he had finished, “what is that?”
“You don’t want to know, but it’ll cure that cold by tomorrow.” Morsha said taking the empty cup from him, “Now out of those wet clothes and off to bed with you.”
Cam chuckled as he stood up and took off his wet shirt. Morsha handed him a dry one and he put it on. Cam plopped down on their couch and Morsha brought him a blanket. Cam thanked her and almost as soon as she walked off he was fast asleep.

An urgent banging on the front door woke Cameron from his dead sleep. Not quite knowing where he was he jumped off the couch and reached for his sword, which wasn’t there.
More urgent banging brought Morsha down the stairs followed closely by Kale. Cameron rubbed sleep out of his eyes as he glanced at the clock that claimed it was three in the morning.
“Yes?” Morsha asked as she opened the door.
“I’m tellin’-hic- you it aintsh that bad, mmk?” Skiff pushed past his wife with Don hanging on his shoulders and Viska behind them. Kale lit lamps and Cam focused on the small group as they set Don in a kitchen chair.
“What the hell happened?” Cam asked now awake after seeing Don’s bandaged stump of a right leg.
Don just giggled while Viska stared at the floor. Skiff sighed heavily as he sat down in a chair. Morsha brought him a cup of coffee and he thanked her for it.
“Osh, Cam!” Don cried catching sight of him, “It’sh likes a party! Almost, member Vishhka, like the one we had in the tentsh with themsm, um, bloody folks. Whosit…”
Cam still staring at Don asked, “Translation please?”
“A Chaos Blood Pair attacked the Healer’s tent we were at.” Viska answered softly staring at Don’s missing leg, “Don lost his leg in the fight saving me.”
She shuddered as she hugged herself and Cam noticed new marks on her skin that weren’t there the last time he had seen her. Cam could tell by the look on Skiff’s face that he shouldn’t pry for now. Don was staring at the ceiling giggling.
“Why is he like this then?” Cam asked pointing at Don.
Don gasped and startled everyone, “Cammy! The Healer’s have this aweshum wine, man, it’sh like the best!”
“They, um,” Viska said pursing her lips, “They kinda needed him to relax while they worked on him.”
“Well,” Cam said slowly as Don drew circle-ish shapes on the table, “Where’s the rest of his leg. If it was Healers why didn’t they save all of it?”
Viska bit her lip and turned slightly green, “Well, that’s all we could find of it.”
Scenes of the horror in Cam’s apartment flashed across his mind and Cam understood what she meant. Cam swallowed hard and an unsettling silence hushed over the group.
“Well,” Skiff sighed standing back up, “I have to go back. Help me get this guy upstairs.”
Cam nodded and helped with Don. Between the two of them they managed to get him standing and headed for the stairs. Viska and Morsha followed after them.
Skiff and Cam got Don into Viska’s bed and Morsha sent Viska to get an extra blanket for herself who was going to sleep on the small couch in the room in case Don needed anything.
“Hey, Skiff!” Don said flapping his hand at Skiff as he pulled of his boot, “Did you know that-hic- you’re daughter ish likes, the pertiest girl?”
“Yes, Don, I know.” Skiff said patronizingly as he pulled off the other boot.
“I’ve always loveshed her!” Don said blearily looking at Skiff.
Cam stopped in the middle of detangling himself from Don and looked at Skiff. Skiff’s expression was impassive but frozen.
“Um, Don,” Cam intervened, “you already have a bunch of ladies, don’t you?”
Don shook his head heavily, “Ya’ but themses only fer the fun of it, it wash-watsit- mutual. But I’veses always only loved Vishka. Oh! But don’t tell Vishka! She’s deserves a better man n’ me.”
He pointed a finger at Cam and poked it in his chest, “Mark’em words. Better’n me gots it?!”
Cam and Skiff pushed Don gently down on the bed as he drunkenly monologue.
“That bastard hurt her.” Don said solemnly staring at the floor, “He washn’t good enough fer Vishka. So I killed him.”
Cameron followed Skiff as he headed for the door. Morsha and Viska had gone downstairs to get something else.
Skiff stopped when Don grabbed the back hem of his shirt, “Skiff, forgive me…”
Cam turned to see Don burying his face in the pillow with his arm stretched out holding onto Skiff. Cam looked back to Skiff and saw him clench his hands.
“I do, Don.” Skiff said softly his voice cracking from anger, “You did right, killing the bastard that hurt my little girl.”
“I wasn’t fast enough…” Cam heard Don mumble as his hand dropped from Skiff’s shirt. He saw in the light from the door, deep scars that crisscrossed all over Don’s arm. Cam followed Skiff out of the room and down the stairs.
Morsha smiled softly at them as she headed past with Viska behind her. They went to the living room and Skiff picked up his sword belt.
“I’m heading back out.” Skiff said heavily.
Cam nodded and put his hands on his hips. He followed Skiff to the door and stopped just in time to keep from running into him.
“Don’t tell anything of what you heard to Morsha.” Skiff said deadly serious, “Viska made me and Don promise.”
Cam took an involuntary step back from the intensity of Skiff’s gaze. He nodded slowly and Skiff left. Cam shut the door behind Skiff and breathed out the breath he had been holding.
Scratching the back of his head Cam went back to the couch. Sitting down heavily he rubbed his face. Looking at the clock there was only a few hours left till dawn. He yawned and decided to see what sleep he could catch.

Startling awake Cam shot off the couch. The room was pitch black and the house was silent. Slowly his eyes accustomed to the soft moonlight filtering into the room as he listened for what had woken him and he heard it again. He headed for the spare room Kailah was in.
“Kai?” Cam asked softly as he opened the door.
He walked softly to the edge of the bed and saw her curled into a ball. She wasn’t asleep, just staring at the wall. He put his hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him.
“Cam?” Kailah asked softly reaching her hand out to him.
“I’m here.” Cam replied holding her hand, “You ok?”
Kailah shook her head, “No. I keep seeing those boys.”
Cam nodded he didn’t have the words to comfort himself much less her right now. He knelt next to the bed still holding her hand.
“Cam?” Kailah asked him softly again.
“Yes, Kai?” Cam answered back gently.
“Would you hold me?” Kai asked, “At least till I fall asleep?”
Cam smiled softly at her in the moonlight. She scooted over in the bed so he could crawl in. As Cam wrapped his arms around her he noticed she was shivering. He hugged her closer trying to warm her. Slowly Kailah stopped shivering and her breathing evened out. Cam stroked her hair.
“Cam?” Kailah asked softly.
“Yeah?” Cam replied still stroking her hair.
“Is it my fault?” Her voice cracked.
Cam shifted back and tilted her chin to make her look at him. He looked into her eyes and saw the pain and sadness in the moonlight. He wanted so much to take that pain away.
“No” He replied firmly, “It’s not your fault, it’s no one’s fault but Surkaust.”
“But, if-“ She started but Cam shushed her by putting a finger to her lips.
“No, it’s not your fault.” Cam repeated.
Kailah nodded and leaned her head on his chest once again. Cam listened to the slowly slacking rain and Kailah’s breathing. Cam decided he would wait to tell Kai about Don’s leg, she didn’t need any other shocks right now.
“Cam?” Kailah breathed out softly. By her voice Cam could tell she was almost asleep.
“Yeah?” He whispered back.
“I love you.” She whispered.
Cam looked down and saw that Kailah was asleep. Her breathing was even and deep. Cam watched her sleep for a few moments and studied her. The more Cam studied this woman the more he realized he had come to love her.
She had not only repaired the hole in his heart left by Shalia’s death but had also filled every nook and cranny. She had taught him what it was like to laugh again. What it was like to hurt when someone else was hurting. She had taught him more than just how to survive but how to live again.
Cam kissed her gently on her forehead, “I love you too.”

Ugh! I really really hate Surkaust's guts, and I think Cameron does too.

I have to admit, i didn't quite read don's line properly the first time around and i thought he was saying that Viska likes the prettiest girl ever.



then i gained some sense and read it properly. I feel like a bit of an ejit now. I for one feel sympathy for Don now after losing his leg.

With regards to the 'I love you moment' at the end, i think everybody saw it coming, not that that is a bad thing in my opinion. Kailah's speech at the end seems almost childlike, which was presumably planned that way, it makes her vulnerability at that point much more enhanced if you will, showing her fear of surkaust which in many cases is quite understandable. I think this has been a crucial 'chapter' in 'the caster' and a very good one at that. Your writing style is most certainly improving, so whatever you do, don't give up, because I am sure loadsa people enjoy reading this as much if not more so than myself.

lol yeah, i was trying to go for the drunk slur,
I feel sorry for Don too, even though i was the one that chopped his leg off......*cough*

as for the I love you's well i was trying really hard not to be cheesy but at the same time develop there relationship more so i can move certain aspects of the story along muhahahahahahaha

as always thanks for the encouragement Wolven

HAPPY EASTER! Or Happy Resurrection Day (for those of you who know what that means )
here is a present for ya'll!!!



Scars take time to heal.


Cam woke to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight streaming in the window. Something was also pressed against his back and holding him around the middle. He glanced over his shoulder and saw the sleeping form of Kailah snuggled up against his back.
Smiling he detangled himself from her arms and slipped out of the covers. Kailah still had her undergarments on but it was a chilly morning so Cam wrapped the covers more snuggly around her.
Shivering, Cam crept to the door and opened it as quietly as possible then shut it behind him. As he shut the door he checked once more to make sure she was still asleep.
Cam walked to the couch in the living room and grabbed his boots. He sat down and put his boots on then got up and headed to the kitchen. He could smell something tasty cooking. He rounded the corner to the kitchen and saw Morsha stirring a pot.
“Oh,” Cam said softly, “coffee.”
Morsha was slightly startled and turned around, “Oh, Cam. Good morning.”
“Morning.” Cam smiled softly at her as he got a cup of coffee, “Thank you for last night.”
“Oh,” Morsha dismissed it with a wave of her hand, “think nothing of it. When Kailah gets up I’ll run her a bath.”
“Need help with anything?” Cam asked her while he took a sip of coffee.
“Yes, Cam dear, if you could fetch some logs, that’d be most helpful.” Morsha said over her shoulder as Cam walked out of the kitchen.
He walked out the front door and blinked in the early morning light. The calmness was a stark contrast to the previous day. As he walked to the wood pile Cam could hear the sounds of construction off in the distance, he guessed people were rebuilding.
Cam looked around their yard and noted different things that needed tending to. He decided to check with Morsha if it would be alright to do them. With an armload of wood he walked back into the house.
As he walked into the kitchen he saw Kailah sitting at the table. She was wearing a dress Morsha had lent her. She smiled softly at him as he walked over to her.
“Morning,” Cam said hesitantly, “how are you feeling?”
He placed the logs in the holder and turned to face her. She was pale and her eyes were bloodshot with dark circles under them.
“I’m ok.” Kailah replied nodding, “I’ll live.”
Morsha placed some bowls on the table along with spoons and went back to the kitchen for the pot. Cam intercepted and lifted the heavy pot for her.
“Oh, thanks Cam, dear.” Morsha said as Cam brought the pot to the table.
She walked to the bottom of the stairs and took a deep breath, “Breakfast! Come and get it!”
Kailah laughed as she heard thumps from above her head from little feet hitting the floor. A few minutes later the children came down the stairs. Some of them were dressed completely while others only half way. The twins, one with a shirt and one without, caught sight of Kailah.
“Kai!” They squealed in unison and ran to her. Laughing she hugged them both and then the triplets who joined in after.
“Morning, darlin’.” Don said with a grin plastered across his face.
“What happened?!” Kailah asked looking at his missing leg.
Don shrugged, “Oh, you know, smarted off one too many times to Viska-ouch”
Viska whom he was leaning on slapped him in the back of the head. Don smiled sheepishly as he hopped over to the table and Viska set him down in a chair.
In the full light of morning Cam saw the extent of the damage the Blood Pair had done to Don. He turned and smiled at one of the triplets and Cam saw more scars under his shirt collar.
“Don, I’m so sorry.” Kailah said softly with sadness.
“Meh, it’s alright.” Don shrugged picking up one of the girls into in his lap, “It’s not your fault. I am probably going to have to sit out of the tournament this year though.” Cam rolled his eyes as Don grinned at him.
“Losing a leg hasn’t done anything to your sense of humor, that’s for sure.” Cam said shaking his head.
“Yeah, well,” Don replied grinning, “you can’t keep a good man down, even if he’s only got one leg to get back up with.”
Don’s happy-go-lucky laugh was contagious and eventually everyone was smiling. Breakfast ended and Morsha dished out chores to everyone, including Don, Kailah, and Cameron.
Don was in charge of shelling peas that were going to be cooked down by the girls and whatever else needed to be cooked as well. Cameron was sent outside with the rest of the boys to tend the garden and help repair the damage from the attack.
They weren’t even five feet from the door when Cam heard Don getting scolded by Viska. He laughed as he led the boys. Cam glanced up when he heard a meow and saw Fudgums sitting on the stone wall looking down at him.
“Hey buddy.” Cam said walking over and holding his arms up to the cat. The cat just stared at him condescendingly and licked a foot.
“Well fine, stay there.” Cam harrumphed and walked back to the garden to the sound of the boys’ laughter.
Fudgums sat on the wall the entire day and sunned himself while he watched the pesky humans labor in the garden and around the yard. Later on he hopped down from the wall and walked into the house.
As Cam was finishing the final touches on the wall he glanced up the street and saw Skiff walking towards the house. He waved and Cam waved back. The twins ran to meet their daddy and Skiff carried them back on his shoulders smiling.
“Welcome back.” Cam said around a mouthful of nails.
“All’s clear, now we can finally relax.” Skiff nodded.
“Head on in, I’ll finish this then be in there shortly.” Cam said patting Skiff on the shoulder. Skiff nodded as he walked through the gate Cam had repaired. The last nail hammered into place Cam walked up the path to the front door followed by Kale.
As the two of them entered the house Cam slowed his pace to let his eyes adjust from the transition from the sunlight to inside. Breathing in deeply Cam set his tools down on the floor next to the door. From the delicious smell Cam guessed the girls had been busy. Cam walked through the living room to the kitchen and rounded the corner to see Skiff kissing his wife hello. Skiff smiled at her tenderly and she smiled lovingly back with her arms wrapped around his neck.
Seeing the two of them Cam was sharply reminded of the exchange between himself and Kailah last night. He wondered if Kailah remember what she had said and if he should bring it up or not. Clearing his throat he decided to wait for now.
“Oh, hey Cameron dear.” Morsha said smiling at him as she dropped her arms from Skiff’s shoulders, “Lunch is almost ready. Could you two go get Don?”
Cam nodded as he followed after Skiff out of the dining room. Skiff led the way out the back door and there they found Don sitting on a stool peeling potatoes. Cam guessed he had gotten hot cause Don was sitting there without a shirt on and sweating buckets.
“Don…” Cam whispered in awe as he saw the horrible scars all over Don’s upper body.
“Oh, hey guys.” Don smiled looking up at them, “Pretty ain’t they?”
He held out his arms like he was inspecting the scars for the first time. He put down the spud he had been peeling and the knife and looked back up at them, his ever present grin never wavering.
“Morsha says lunch is ready.” Skiff said walking to Don’s other side and putting an arm over his shoulder.
“Oh boy!” Don’s smiled widened as Cam got his other side and together the three of them went back inside the house. The children dodged around them as they got Don to the washroom to clean up a little.
Viska followed in behind them with a towel and offered it to Skiff. He thanked her and handed it to Don who used it to wipe off the sweat. Cameron noticed that Viska was staring at the scars with a deep sadness on her face. Glancing back at Don, Cam didn’t know if he had noticed or was ignoring her.
“Alright, I’m ready.” Don said smiling as he accepted his shirt from Skiff.
Don’s voice snapped Viska out of her thoughts and she moved out of the way as the three men came out of the room. She turned away to put the towel to air out and Cam thought he saw her wipe away some tears.
Cam’s attention was pulled back to the task of navigating the narrow hallway with Don hopping between himself and Skiff. Finally the three of them made it to the kitchen with Viska behind them, her face composed.
“What’s for lunch?” Cam asked as he sat down next to Kailah at the large rectangular table that took up a good portion of the dining room.
The girls put bowls of what looked to Cam like potato soup in front of everyone while Morsha put some veggies and fruits on the table along with bread loaves.
“Mama’s potato soup!” the twins cried in unison when bowls were placed in front of them.
“Hey! I helped.” Don cried indignantly as he pointed to a pea in Vish’s bowl, “See that there? I shelled that one.”
“Why is it mushed then?” Vish asked scrunching his eyebrows.
“Hence the reason he was moved to potato skinning duty.” Viska sighed as she took a bite of the soup. The rest of them laughed as Don shrugged his helplessness at shelling.
“How bad is the town, Skiff?” Cam asked before taking a bite of the soup.
Skiff sighed and Cam could see just how tired he was. He waited patiently for Skiff to collect his thoughts and figure how much he wanted the kids to know.
“Not as bad as I thought it was going to be.” Skiff answered finally, “The whole squad made it, though Jemeson is going to have to be on medical leave for a few months thanks to two broken legs and multiple broken ribs. He decided to go head to head with an earth Caster.”
Don laughed, “I would say ‘Idiot’ but I’m not exactly one to talk.”
“The Compound made it in one piece more or less, a couple shattered windows is all the damage it took. The market is demolished but I think the mayor wanted to remodel it anyways.” Skiff took a few bites before continuing, “The works is still going though I think a few of the furnaces had gone out so it’ll be a few days before they’re all going again.”
Cam nodded he figured with the heavy rain and the fighting no one was particularly worried about stoking a fire.
“There were forty Beasts total, and twelve Pairs.” Skiff finished as he tore off a piece of bread, “Seventy-five casualties total, thirty-three soldiers and forty-two civilians.”
Soft exclamations were heard around the table from those old enough to understand the meaning behind the words. Cam sighed; he wondered how many of those seventy-five he knew.
Either sensing the heavy atmosphere and looking for a change of topic or just being random, Vash tapped his dad on the arm, “We fixed the wall daddy.”
“Yeah, Uncle Cam let us use the hammer while he held the nails!” Vish added.
Cam grimaced as he held up his left hand that showed proof of them missing their marks. Skiff laughed and patted Vash on the head.
“Yeah I saw, ya’ll did a good job with the rest of the yard too.” Skiff said as he smiled at them.
“Thankfully, most of the fighting was on the other side of the city.” Cam said.
“Yeah, thankfully.” Kailah said softly.
The rest of the meal was filled with small talk and as it was finishing Morsha dished out even more chores for everyone to do. Skiff and Cameron were sent to do more maintenance around the yard. Don was put on corn shucking duty and was still berated for doing it wrong. The kids were sent to do different cleaning chores around the house and the older girls were starting supper.
It was a little after three in the afternoon when a messenger arrived from Maltoris letting Cameron know that their apartment had been taken care of. He also reported that Surkaust had left to return to his own district. Maltoris had sent a report to the Emperor’s Court explaining what Surkaust had done and a recommendation on the actions needed to be taken.
Cam thanked the man who saluted and headed back the way he had come.
“You know they’re not gonna touch him right?” Don asked Cam after he had finished telling them.
“Surely they’d punish him somehow.” Morsha said hopefully, though everyone knew it wasn’t going to happen. The kids were outside playing in the yard with the dog.
“All they’re going to do is a pay dock,” Skiff sighed folding his arms, “and all that is, is like a slap on the wrist.”
“Well, the court needs all the strong Casters it can get,” Cam scowled, “and he is a strong Caster.”
Kailah glared at the table and Cam was sure she was imagining some punishments that would be fit for Surkaust. Fudgums was curled up in her lap and purring softly. Skiff drummed his fingers on the table in thought catching everyone’s attention.
“So, because he thinks Kailah’s this Celestial Paradigm, that’s why he’s after her?” Skiff asked looking to Cam.
“I’m guessing, but I’ve never heard of anything like that.” Cam replied shrugging, “Do you know anything, Kai?”
Kailah shook her head slowly, “I don’t think so, but I know the dwarves have a legend having to do with the end of the world. I don’t know if it’s the paradigm or not though.”
“We could ask the silver smith, assuming he’s still alive.” Don suggested, “I need to go see him anyways about a prosthetic.”
“Do you know how expensive that is?” Cam asked raising his eyebrows.
Don nodded and shrugged, “Yeah, it’ll work out though.”
“How?” Kailah asked skeptically, they knew that look on Don’s face, he was plotting.
“You’ll see.” Don grinned mischievously, “Trust me.”



dun dun dun! Don is up to something!!! muhahahahahaha
again hope you like it and comments are always welcome!!

Why do I get the feeling that Don has actually managed to do something useful in his former years? Perhaps this smith owes him something... maybe his life. Talk about interesting stuff. Conspiracies, ooooooooooh...

heh. It'll be interesting to see how the dwarves come into it. Also i would like to see how you envision them. Sorry, I've become addicted to Skyrim and i have long been a Lord of the Rings fan. sounds fun anyhow. Keep it up dreamer!

:P yeah they are styled after the LOTR dwarves
conspiracies are fun :P




Paradigm for a pair a’ dime.


“Always knew someone’d take a piece of ya’,” The smith drawled puffing on his pipe, “not the piece I’d have thought though.”
Don grinned back at the dwarf, “Awe c’mon Smitty, what’d I ever do?”
“Enough.” Smitty answered as he uncrossed his arms and walked back into his shop. Cam followed after Don who was leaning on Skiff as they followed after the dwarf.
Kailah had planned to accompany them the night before but that morning she had woken up with a stomach bug.
“So what’dya want, Don.” Smitty asked pulling his heavy leather apron off the peg he had hung it on when they had knocked on his door.
Cam glanced around the shop and was amazed at the creations he saw. Silver gleamed at him from every corner and crevice. A pair of silver hands rested on a cabinet like they were folded in someone’s lap. Walking along to a shelf he saw two round silver orbs as he looked at his reflection in them they swiveled and looked at him.
“Woah!” Cam startled back in surprise and bumped a cabinet behind him.
“Be careful will ya’!” Smitty growled at him over his shoulder
Cam shrugged apologetically and with a quick glance back at the eyes he moved to stand behind Skiff and Don.
“So, I’m assuming by your missing appendage,” Smitty drawled as he sat on a stool behind the large counter, “that you want a leg.”
Smitty fit the generic criteria of a dwarf to the “t”. His beard was bushy and long, the color of chocolaty brown starting to grey. His eyes were the color of midnight and seemed as deep as the mines he came from. He was the typical four foot four of his race but his presence seemed to make him taller.
“Yeah, preferably a right leg, seeing how that’s the one I’m missing.” Don said back grinning.
The smith puffed on his pipe and stared at Don in contempt over the rims of his half moon glasses. Picking up a tiny hammer and chisel he resumed the work their entrance had interrupted.
“You realize, Don, that what you’re asking is a major favor, right?” Smitty asked not looking up from the silver piece he was chiseling.
Don shrugged pursing his lips, “True, but I figure you owe me a few.”
His usual happy-go-lucky smile was replaced by no nonsense, deadly serious face. Cameron knew that Don had a serious side to him, but he saw it so infrequently it still surprised him when it came out. Cam watched Smitty chew on his lip as he thought about Don’s words.
“So which ‘favors’ are you cashing in, Mr. Mer’Don Fermelsh?” Smitty asked as he carefully set down the tools.
He folded his hands and leaned on the desk looking at Don. He smirked at the small grimace from Don at the use of his full name. Cam stifled a laugh at the use of Don’s full name. Shrugging it off Don regained his composure and pressed on.
“How about the Smeltz incident, the Formier fiasco,” Don replied smirking as he ticked off points on his fingers, “the Bashtula case, and half the bar tab.”
“The whole bar tab and we have a deal.” Smitty replied tersely. What was visible of his face had gone white as he shifted his gaze from Don to Skiff, who was a squad leader, and could arrest him, and back to Don.
Don thought for a bit, “Three quarters.”
“Deal.” Smitty growled and extended his hand.
“Deal, but only for one bar.” Don said shaking Smitty’s hand.
Smitty spat out something in the Dawrven tongue and Cam assumed it was a curse. Grunting as he got down, Smitty motioned for them to follow him through a door behind the desk.
“After you Mer’Don Fermelsh.” Cam said with a wide grin and a sweeping gesture.
“Oh stuff it Cam.” Don grumbled at him as he and Skiff passed.
As they walked around the edge of the counter to the door Cam got a strong whiff of metal. Judging from his surroundings, Cam guessed this is where Smitty did most of his work. There were metal appendages and artwork laying out on any available surface varying at all different stages from just started to nearly complete.
“Stand here.” Smitty ordered Don when they made it to the middle of the room.
Don did as he was told and waited leaning on Skiff for support. Smitty continued on to the back of the room and they could hear clanking sounds plus a few dwarven words.
Smitty returned with a belt of odd tools around his boxy middle and the oddest contraption on his head. Cam stifled a laugh when Smitty turned a bug-eyed gaze at him. The helmet was adorned with magnifying goggles and attached to the sides of these were tiny tools on the ends of folding metal rods.
“Just you stand there, Bagrak.” Smitty growled to Don and shooed Skiff out of the way.
Don reached up to the ceiling and held one of the long leather straps that hung from the rafters for balance. The three of them watched as Smitty took Don’s height and other measurements.
“Alright,” Smitty growled putting down the long ruler, “strip.”
Smitty waited for Don with poorly disguised impatience. Don seemed a little apprehensive of how to take his pants off without falling over. Skiff solved that for him by finding a stool for him and then supporting him while Don got his pants off.
“What did you get yourself into?” Smitty whistled in awe at the scars on Don’s legs.
“Oh, you know.” Don smirked, “Had a little disagreement with a Blood Chaos.”
“If this is what happens when you get in a disagreement with one of those creepy bastards,” Smitty said, “remind me not to piss one off.”
Don laughed as he stood there holding the leather strap, Cam noticed the laugh was slightly forced. Smitty squatted down to Don’s knee level and started taking measurements of his right stump.
“So I get why you’re here, Don.” Smitty said off handedly, “But why is he here?”
“Oh, yeah,” Don replied, “He had some stuff he wanted to ask you about a dwarven legend.”
Smitty turned his bug-eyed gaze to Cam, “Oh? Which one in particular are you curious about?”
“The Celestial Paradigm.” Cam answered.
Smitty paused in his work, but only for a moment, at the mention of the Paradigm. He didn’t answer them for a few minutes as he moved on to Don’s other leg to measure. Don glanced at Cam who waited for Smitty’s answer with almost controlled impatience.
Smitty sat back away from Don’s legs and pulled the goggles down to hang around his neck. Sighing he rubbed his eyes as he got up from his knees.
“That one seems to be a hot topic for you Hermeghks,” Smitty grumbled as he moved to a bench off to the left of the room, “you’re the fourth person to come ask me about it in the past couple of months.”
“Fourth?” Cam asked, “Who were the other three?”
Smitty didn’t answer as he pulled out a silver leg from a trunk under the work bench. He measured it with his long ruler with a deep scowl on his face. Don let go of the leather strap and sat down on the stool Skiff had gotten for him. He began to put his pants back on.
“Did I tell you to get dressed, Bagrak?” Smitty scowled at Don when he came back to the group carrying some kind of leather harness.
“No?” Don answered pursing his lips.
“Then why are ya’?” Smitty growled as Don dropped his pants once again and stood back up for Smitty to continue.
“Who were the other three, Smitty?” Cam asked in a more demanding tone.
“The last one was some snooty elf woman,” The dwarf growled, “one of them city elves, not a Galic.”
“Was her name Xerkieda?” Cam asked in surprise.
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Smitty answered around a pencil he held in his teeth, “The one before that was Maltoris.”
Cam tapped his chin in thought while Smitty moved back to the table with the silver leg on it. Smitty began writing down calculations on a pad that sat next to the leg.
“Who was the other person?” Don asked switching arms to let the blood flow back into the other one.
“Some creepy guy,” Smitty answered over his shoulder, “Small guy in a red robe, with silver eyes.”
“Surkaust.” Skiff spat.
“That would explain why Maltoris was asking, if Surkaust was.” Don shrugged looking at Cam.
Cam nodded slowly, “So what did you tell them?”
Smitty sighed as he took his spectacles off and laid them on the table. Turning slowly around in the chair he leveled a stare at Cam that made him feel like he was being judged. Smitty pursed his lips then shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest.
“I’m assuming you don’t want the bedtime story version.” Smitty grinned, “Seems only reasonable, since the others didn’t either.”
“I’m guessing it’s not the happiest of tales?” Don asked sitting on the stool as Skiff stood next to him with his arms folded.
“You’d be right there.” Smitty replied pulling out his pipe, “According to legend, The Paradigm is suppose to bring an end to the war between Chaos and Order.”
“That doesn’t sound so bad.” Don said slowly.
“Oh, sure, if you take it at face value.” The dwarf said sarcastically as he nodded, “Unless, of course, the end of the war is due to both sides being wiped out.”
“What do you mean?” Skiff asked cautiously.
“You can put your pants back on Don, I’m done with the measurements.” Smitty changed topics, “This procedure isn’t going to be a walk in the park either.”
“I kind of figured it wouldn’t be.” Don answered without looking up from pulling his pants on.
“The first month it’s going to hurt like hell.” Smitty continued, “Assuming you make it through the procedure that is.”
“Oh, I will.” Don grinned at the silver smith.
“Going back to the legend, what do you mean wiping out both sides?” Cam asked.
Smitty leveled a gaze at Cam that had him wondering if he really wanted to know that answer. Puffing on his pipe, Smitty didn’t answer while Don got his pants buckled and sat back down on the stool.
After taking a long draw on his pipe Smitty shrugged, “The Paradigm is a wild card that shows up every so many centuries to millennia at a time. Whichever side finds it first can use its power to aid their side. But this doesn’t guarantee that it’ll help them, it might decide to not help either and take out both.”
“Does the legend say of how to find it?” Don asked.
Smitty nodded slowly, “The legend says that the Paradigm is marked with the symbol of the ancients, somewhere on their body.”
“Symbol of the ancients?” Skiff asked raising his eyebrows.
“Yeah this,” Smitty picked up his pad and drew on it, “something round about like it.”
Cam accepted the pad from Smitty and studied the symbol. To all the world to him it looked like the symbol for infinity but with two curved spikes on either end, one curving up the other curving down.
Passing the pad to Skiff Cam turned back to Smitty, “Does the legend say what gender the Paradigm is?”
Smitty shook his head, “No, could be male or female. Only human though, can’t be dwarf or elf.”
“Is that all there is to the legend?” Cam asked.
“All that I know of,” Smitty answered, “you could take a trip to Galmarghash and check with a lore master, doubt they’d be willing to talk to you though.”
Cam smirked, he was pretty sure any dwarf that lived in the dawrven capital wouldn’t be very receptive to the idea of a human prying into their lore.
“At any rate,” Smitty sighed as he stood up, “I’ll have the replacement leg ready in about a week, and once it’s ready we’ll attach it.”
Skiff helped Don to the door as they followed after the smith. Something caught Cam’s eye as the three of them were making their way out of the shop. Smitty went back behind the counter to the project they’re visit had interrupted without even a glance at them.
“Hey, Smitty?” Cam asked him bringing the sculpture with him, “How much is this?”
Smitty glanced up from his work to the sculpture of a caged butterfly then to his face calculating. Cam waited patiently while Smitty examined the piece.
“You like butterflies?” Skiff asked coming to stand next to him while Smitty did some calculations.
Cam laughed, “Nah, it’s for Kai, since she didn’t get to come. She told me about one of her memories as a child where she was in a field surrounded by butterflies.”
Smitty didn’t comment as he turned the sculpture over and looked at the original price he had marked it. The three of them waited for Smitty to finish.
“Three silver ought to do it.” Smitty finally said placing the piece on the desk between himself and them.
Cam fished out the three silver from his pocket and put them on the counter and scooped up the butterfly. Smitty picked up the silver pieces and put them away in a box under the counter.
“It’s very much Kailah.” Skiff commented as they rejoined Don at the door.
“Yeah, I think she’ll like it.” Cam said half to himself.
Smitty ignored the group as they made their way out the door and back up the street. Sitting alone in the quiet of his store Smitty sighed and rubbed his tired eyes.
Getting up from the desk he went into the back to start working on Don’s leg. A few hours later he finally sat back from his work and glanced through the doorway to the shop front to see the light from the setting sun glinting off the silver.
“I forgot to tell them about the other person that asked years ago.” Smitty mused to himself, “That woman with the long black hair.”


dun dun dun :P

Silly smitty. Trust a dwarf to be forgetful. By the way, how exited are you for the hobbit movie! Its coming out in December over here in Ireland (North). I actually can't wait for it once my AS levels are over. Now, 'Dark haired woman,' correct me if i am wrong but I'm guessing that was Kailah. i suddenly have a bad feeling about her now.

I could probably say a lot more if i had the time (with regards to don and his prosthetic leg) but i really don't have much time to spare. Keep this stuff up. I will try to read it when i can!

i'm sorry for the no updates, i promise i'm not dead just life kinda happened, hope to get back into the story soon >.<