Chapter 17

                                    

                                          
Darovel's POV
                          
"Darovel! Wake up!" Morwen's voice roused Darovel from the deep sleep he had fallen in. Holding back a groan he pushed himself into a sitting position, trying not to aggravate his injuries. 
"What is it?" he asked glancing behind her in Ramben's direction; the child was still sleeping. 
"I had a dream last night." Morwen whispered, her eyes darted towards the door and she shifted nervously where she sat.
"What kind of dream?" Darovel was slightly confused; why did she seem so fearful about a dream?
                          
"I was lying in here when a voice told me to stand up," Morwen began, "not knowing why I obeyed. Then I was told to leave the cell and again I did as I was told. The door did not hinder me and I found myself walking down the tunnel we were brought through before. I walked straight up to Oroth's throne but the voice told me to go behind it. When I did I found myself before a narrow tunnel; then the voice said that we would find our friend there."
                          
Morwen paused for a moment to catch her breath before finishing, "I woke up back here but I know what I saw, the tunnel behind Oroth's throne is where he is keeping Amarth! That's where we will find him."
                          
Darovel's heart leapt for joy and excitement coursed throughout his body. His elation subsided when doubt began to creep into his mind.
"Morwen, how do we know that your "dream" wasn't a trick from Oroth? What if he is trying to lead us into a trap?"
"We are already trapped!" Morwen raised her voice but thankfully, did not shout. Darovel was about to speak again but was immediately cut off.
"I can't bear it not knowing what is happening to Amarth. He is with that shadow being I know he is! You saw what it did to him, you saw the look in its eyes when it stared at him. If we know where he is but do nothing to get him out then we might as well be murdering him!"
                          
Darovel said nothing. Instead he studied Morwen in silence, in all his time knowing her he had never seen her this distressed. Her eyes were wild and her hands were shaking; whether from anger or fear he could not tell. Taking her trembling hands into his Darovel looked into her eyes.
"Listen to me Morwen; Oroth said that he had something planned for me today. If I can I will escape and head for the tunnel behind Oroth's throne. I will search for Amarth and will not come back until I have him. In the meantime you and Ramben must stay here, Oroth may come and continue what he has been doing with Ramben; let him do it and get it over with."
                          
Morwen opened her mouth to protest but Darovel was already talking again.
"Oroth cannot be near when Amarth and I return. We will try to find a way to free you both and while I am gone try searching this place for any weaknesses. This may be our only chance to escape Morwen, we must not lose it."
Darovel released her hands, giving Morwen time to think about his plan. The hardest part would be standing aside and letting Oroth do what he wished to Ramben, the child's screams still echoed in the back of his mind. Finally Morwen sighed and nodded her head, but she did not speak.
                          
Satisfied Darovel encouraged her to get more rest. Just as the two went to lay back down the familiar pounding of footsteps was heard outside. Darovel sat up and Morwen followed; unnoticed by them Ramben had opened his eyes and was staring blankly at the door. Two of the towering guards entered the cell, Oroth was behind them.
                          
No words were exchanged between the prisoners and the one who imprisoned them. The guards marched over to Darovel and hauled him to his feet, their cold hands digging into his sore arms. He was forced roughly out of the cell; the guards clearly enjoying themselves. He managed to cast one last look at Morwen before he was led out of sight. Though he did not wish to dwell on the thought, he couldn't help but wonder if that would be the last time he ever saw her.
                          
/\\//\\/
                          
Oroth's POV
                          
Furious: that's what Oroth was. Daeris' news from the night before had left him shaken and enraged. How could Faervel have possibly entered Daeris' lair? Either he was growing more powerful or Daeris was growing weak. Oroth stopped in his tracks, eyes blazing. Of course she was growing weak! He'd been using too much of her Darkness as of late. Amarth should have been able to provide her with enough power to regain her former strength; but that cursed Faervel had forbidden her from touching him!
                          
Of course Daeris could still take him if he willingly allowed it; in fact Oroth knew that at this very moment Daeris was continually prodding Amarth to let his guard down, and let her in. That hadn't happened yet but he had a feeling that the Elf would break soon. No one could withstand Daeris' will for long, especially one who had been Scarred before.
                          
Oroth's thoughts soon turned from Amarth towards Ramben as he continued down the hall. The young one's mind was filled with many interesting memories; he'd been able to see the ones Ramben had already regained before arriving here and both had caught his interest. The first one of him captured by men and being branded a murderer and being trained to throw knives with deadly accuracy. The memory of his being scolded did not interest Oroth much, but the one he'd seen yesterday was by far the most interesting. 
                          
Through means of torture Ramben had been turned into a living, breathing weapon. Those that had control over him only had to set him loose and he killed whatever was in sight. Oroth had begun piecing these memories together; trying to figure out Ramben's past. He'd thought he had been close to finding the truth when this latest memory appeared. It did not make sense with what Oroth had seen before; it simply didn't add up.
                          
Oroth's brows knitted together as he thought about the strange memory. It had to fit in somewhere with the other memories he had seen so far, he just needed to figure out where. Noticing that his destination was near Oroth pushed Ramben to the back of his mind; he'd deal with him later. For now he had some business to attend to.
                          
He entered the room where Darovel had been brought. His shadows held him in place by his arms, taking pleasure in causing him discomfort in whatever way they could. Darovel stared evenly at Oroth, undaunted by his presence. Oroth glanced at the stone bed where Darovel was to be laid on; however due to the recent events concerning Faervel his plans for him would have to wait.
                          
"Today is your lucky day boy," Oroth offered him a cruel grin, "some matters have come up that I must attend to immediately. This will have to wait until another time."
If Darovel was relieved he made no sign of it. The shadows however were clearly disappointed. 
"However, since you are already out of your cell, perhaps my shadows would enjoy having some more fun with their new plaything?" 
                          
The shadows' perked up immediately at Oroth's words; whereas Darovel's face paled. Oroth's grin grew into cruel smile as he turned to address the shadows.
"Do whatever you like with him, but do not kill him. I still want to try my little experiment on him."
The shadows eagerly dragged Darovel from the room, laughing at his futile attempts to escape. Oroth did not care for the games they were about to play with the man, his thoughts were now turned to the one being who could destroy everything he had worked for.

                          
Faervel...
                          
/\\//\\/
                          
A/N How are you guys enjoying the story so far? Yes I am purposefully prolonging their stay in Oroth's lair.
Why?
I dunno.
                          
However I wanted to take this time to let those of you who did not know already that I have recently published a book called: Untold Tales from the Edge of a Knife
In this book I will be showing you guys never before seen chapters, deleted scenes, and gap fillers that never made it into the published books. It will cover the entire trilogy, the prequel, and even Amarth's books. So if you're interested in seeing more from this series feel free to give it a look!

                          
Alright I'm Out