New Alliances

The trudge through the extensive mountain tunnels was a long one, WhiteShadow and Yasmine passing the time by telling their respective life stories, Yasmine's a short one, and WhiteShadow's a somewhat stilted, self-depricating version of his exploits, however shameful they may be. WhiteShadow, however, was distracted. Yasmine had shown a complete swing in personality in the past few hours, causing him great confusion. Was it a trait of this race? Or was it simply that she had kept her real self hidden in the face of this strange intruder? Or maybe, just maybe... She had been shy about meeting this Motavian who had in a short time become their apparent saviour and then thrown away any mystique around him? WhiteShadow shook his head at such foolish vanity.
They emerged outside, at least by WhiteShadow's reckoning, two hours after they had left NeiFirst's chamber. The tunnel opened at the base of the mountains, their rocky slopes giving way to the harsh sands of the Motavia desert. To their west, WhiteShadow could see the menacing citadel of whatever was guiding those zombies. At the sight of it, Yasmine's perkiness faded to a sombre attitude. "That place... I sense great evil..." Yasmine's voice had dropped almost to a whisper.
"Hey, what's happening guys?" Cried a cheery voice. WhiteShadow nearly leapt out of his skin, whereas Yasmine remained unpreturbed, motionless and downcast. Turning, WhiteShadow looked straight into the grinning face of Zedd.
"Didn't you leave with the others, Zedd?" WhiteShadow asked, thinking back to the abuse Zedd had already dished out to him.
"Hey, calm down, Shadow." Zedd had also undergone an emotional swing. He was obviously covering his grief over the loss of NeiFirst with a false air of brash bravado. "No hard feelings, eh? No harm done." He patted WhiteShadow on the shoulder, but before his hand could come down for a second time, WhiteShadow brushed him off with a dark look.
"But hey, I just wanted to take care of my big sister here." Said Zedd, turning to Yasmine, who was still staring at the castle. His face also darkened. "Damn, that sun hurts my eyes." Rubbing them vigourously, Zedd blinked and beheld the ominous castle in the distance.
"Mother's tears..." He breathed, "What is that place?"
"Our destination," Said WhiteShadow gruffly, stalking off towards the castle. Yasmine soon followed. Turning, WhiteShadow saw Zedd, standing almost in awe at the cave opening. "You coming? Believe me, it'd be my pleasure to leave you behind."
Zedd, awoken from his trance, looked at WhiteShadow and gave a goofy grin. "Y'know what, Shadow? You need to relax, buddy. Ease that tension." Sighing, WhiteShadow turned his back on Zedd and continued his frustrated march. Yasmine jogged a little to catch up.
"Calm down, Shadow, he's just trying to be friendly." She said, soothingly.
"What, in between sacrifices he becomes a nice psychopath?" Asked WhiteShadow, sarcasm dripping off of every syllable.

After an hour of silent marching, they arrived at the gates of the citadel. Strewn around the porticullis were the empty clothes of the townspeople slain mere hours ago. WhiteShadow approached the mysterious garments warily, having no idea of what had happened, which only served to heighten his unease. Sniffing the clothes, he detected no scent of sweat or blood, tell-tale signs that a battle had recently been fought. He seriously doubted that Palmans had taken to running nude in the desert, despite his lack of knowledge concerning their behaviour.
Zedd had also picked up some of the discarded garments and was studying them quizically, his sister peering intenly over his shoulder. "See anything?" She asked. Her brother responded with a slow shake of his head.
WhiteShadow wandered over, his features contorted into a mystified mask. "What are you two talking about? They're just clothes, you can't see anything... The smell, on the other hand..."
Yasmine turned, WhiteShadow's confused countenance reflected back at him in her dark globes. "I don't know how to explain it really," She said, her voice quiet. "But, we can see in the dark, not because of some magic power, but Mother said... She called it 'evolution'... We can see heat. That's how we hunt the monsters in the caves below our home. Or should I say, former home..." Her eyes suddenly took on a sad tint, and she turned away from WhiteShadow's piercing gaze. "But these clothes, even out here in the desert, have no residual heat."
"What does that mean?" Asked WhiteShadow. "The scent on them is recent."
"Then that only means one thing," Said Yasmine, turning back to the Motavian, fear now etched in her features. "Whatever did this has no body heat whatsoever; and has drained them of all of theirs."
WhiteShadow felt a chill in the base of his spine, and told Yasmine and Zedd of the events in Aiedo, taking a moment to actually explain what a zombie was. Yasmine and Zedd stared at each other for a moment, terror written on their faces, before turning their fearful gazes on the castle before them. "I understand if you're frightened, " Said WhiteShadow, "I'm pretty scared myself. But this is the right thing to do, and with the hunters hurt for the moment, we're the only ones to do it."
Drawing his scimitars, WhiteShadow stalked towareds the large wooden doors. Turning back to his companions, he gave a smirk. "You with me?"
Yasmine had already risen to her feet, taking a short knife from her belt. The shine on it said to WhiteShadow's eyes that while it may be small, it was keen and deadly. Zedd soon followed, his bow in one hand, a bundle of arrows in the other.
With one swift movement, WhiteShadow kicked out at the heavy bolts on the doors, causing the heavy doors to swing inwards, moving silently on their hinges. The portal before them was filled with only darkness. No torches sputtered on the walls, no lights hung from the ceiling. Zedd and Yasmine strode forward, obviously comfortable in this, their element. WhiteShadow, however, faltered at the doorway, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the dark while the other two slowly began to fade into the inky blackness.
Muttering an oath to himself while shoving his scimitars back into his belt, WhiteShadow ripped a board from the door, bound the top with a strip of his own robe and used a foi technique to set it alight. The sudden burst of light from behind caused Zedd and Yasmine to turn in surprise. Seeing that it was only their ally, they visibly relaxed. Despite their limited ability to see in the dark, it was obvious that they were still on edge. Carrying the torch in his left hand, WhiteShadow unseathed a scimitar with the other. It gleamed in the torchlight. "Silver blade," Said WhiteShadow, by way of explanation. WhiteShadow walked between the two siblings, leading the way.
The torchlight showed black stone walls, with high arching roofs. After a short walk, they found themselves in a large antechamber. The room was huge, the arched ceilings disappearing up into the darkness. As they moved along, the torchlight was caught and refracted by a large chandelier hanging in the middle of the room. Opulence seemed to seep from every corner, but it was not the only feeling this room inspired. WhiteShadow could literally feel the fur on the back of his neck standing up, and although he could not detect any magic at play, or the NeiChildren note any presence in the room, he still felt that they were being watched, and closely at that.