"Congratulations, Maximilien, upon escalating your level of interference from mildly annoying to slightly vexing. I'm sorry for the indignity of your end; with more planning, I would have made it far more suitable to a wizard of your station."

With the hood over his head, all he could see was darkness. He knew the voice, but couldn't immediately place it. No matter; anyone who used his full name or his first name was either a family member or someone who didn't know him very well. Family he would have recognized. The remainder weren't what he considered friends.

He struggled against the tight bindings around his wrists and ankles. A clawlike hand wrapped around him and hurled him through the air. After what seemed a weightless eternity, he landed hard against a brick surface before sinking into something wet and foul. A sickening crunch indicated his shoulder was likely dislocated, possibly broken. The gag in his mouth muffled his cry of pain, and as he sank deeper into the sewage, he had to struggle to keep his head above the surface.

He heard receding footsteps, then only the sounds of dripping water echoing off the stone walls. Then something else: The grating scrape of bone against brick. Clucking, hissing noises, and something giggling in the utter blackness.

Several somethings.

I shall not fear the darkness. For now I walk in darkness, and I am to be feared.

Perhaps if I repeat it enough, even I will believe it.

-------------------

At first he only saw the stars, thousands of pinpoints in the black night sky. Small golden lights danced upward, but winked out before they climbed too high. For a moment, he thought he was back on the road to Urcaen, but then, slowly the sounds came: the distant chirping of crickets, then the crackling of a fire. The golden lights were sparks popping from the burning wood. Somewhere else, a horse snorted.

It took several moments for Cazzius to identify what he was seeing. He found himself floating on the edge of the circle of light cast by a campfire. Sitting beside the fire with her arms wrapped around her knees was an elf woman with long, braided hair.

"Took yer time, didn't ye?" she said without looking at him.

He tried to reply but found it difficult to think clearly. He held up a spectral hand and stared at it fuzzily. "???"

"Three days," the elf said. "I was gonna give ye one more. I have to admit, that woman gave even me a scare. I thought she'd dusted ye. Damn near shot 'er meself." Now she turned her face toward him. "How d'ye feel, Cazz?"

The sound of his name solidified his thoughts. He regarded the elf--Sunset, I know her--then he stared down at himself. His body looked faint, but seemed intact. He had the thought it shouldn't have been.

"Cazziuz!" Sunset's voice sharpened. "Ye listenin'?"

His attention snapped back to her, and this time he found his voice.

"...Lucky?" he said faintly.

Sunset burst into laughter. "There's never a dull moment with you." She shook her head, still chuckling. "Yer lady friend hit ye with 'er holy hand grenade and ye disappeared, and all I could do was wait and hope ye came back." Standing, she put a gloved hand on his shoulder and guided him toward a spot beside the fire. The sensation of her hand on his shoulder gave way to others: the smells of smoke and the mustiness of the swamp; the damp night air on his face. At last he gathered enough substance for him to settle onto the ground beside Sunset. Hesitantly, he reached out and put his hand on her knee, half afraid he wouldn't be able to touch... but he felt the warm leather of her boot beneath his fingers. He felt better.

Cazzius stared at the fire. "A good thing that she hadn't been serious about killing me." It had been close.

She chuckled again. "Ye didn't see her face, Cazz. It tore her up t' do that. I had a hunch you two had been more'n study buddies. I wonder if ye really know what ye do to women."

"What do you mean?"

"On second thought, better ye don't know."

A warm gust of air stirred the hair at the base of his neck. Cazzius twisted around, expecting to find Horse looking for a late night handout, and laughed when he found Warpath there instead. "Well, look here! Did you miss me?" He reached out and stroked the gelding's nose. Warpath allowed it for a moment before pulling away and ambling off.

"He did! It was boring without you around. Speaking of." Sunset stretched. "Whut say in the mornin' we make trail to Llael and visit the ol' family estate?"

For a moment, Cazzius couldn't hold back his look of horror. Then he shook his head. "No," he said flatly. "I see no benefit to tormenting relatives I can hardly remember. Besides, we've just met a friend--imagine what my family must be like."

The elf smiled. "Heh. Well, let's head in that direction anyway. Give th' hayburners a chance t' stretch their legs. I promise we won't go lookin' fer trouble."

"Somehow, I don't find that at all reassuring."

Sunset laughed again, then turned toward him and leaned in close. One hand caressed his face; the other slipped between his greatcoat and his back, drawing a tingling trail along his spine. Hesitantly at first, then with more enthusiasm, he returned and deepened the kiss, then tipped both of them back onto the blankets behind them.

"I've got wards set up tonight," she whispered in his ear. "So nothin' interrupts my way of sayin' welcome back."

He hummed in agreement, far more interested in the sensations her hands were creating.

That night, no memories came to plague Cazzius in his sleep.