He ran for hours, finally coming to a stop in a clearing. Laying Illisse down, she spoke a word to wake her. Knowing anger would accomplish nothing; she took the food and water he offered. As she chewed, she quietly checked herself over, healing the cuts and bruises. Questioning him, she got only silence in return. While he rested, she slowly picked up leaf after leaf; she gently held them between her palms as if enjoying the different textures. Leaving her scent on them. Waiting until the shaman closed his eyes, she quickly pulled a mithril chain from her neck, burying it in the leaves. If Val remembered the parchment, every extra bit she could leave would keep him not far behind.

Not waiting for Val to answer him, Oyrin quickly sent the others searching the camp for any sign of which direction he had come from and which way they had left. Hearing a shout from the far side of the camp, the dwarves came from every direction running toward the spot the shout had come from. They all came to an abrupt stop, falling silent. On the ground in front of them lay one of Illisse�s shoes, covered in blood. Making a quick motion for one of the dwarves to hide it, Oyrin was too late. Val sank to the ground gently picking her shoe up in his hands, a tear sliding down his face, briefly showing his fear before hardening into a look of cold determination. Gripping her shoe tightly in one hand, he rose from the ground, stalking to his tent where he tucked it into his pack. Shouldering it, and hers, he headed right back where the shoe was found, just about growling at Oyrin �Come with me or no, Oyrin, I am going after her now. I will not let some crazed shaman keep her away from me�.

Stalking off into the rising sun, Val turned to find he wasn�t alone, all but 2 were with him, the others staying to pack what they could and follow behind. For the first hour her trail was easy to follow, t he drops of blood glistening in the sun. The higher the sun rose, the harder it became to find them. Soon Val stopped altogether. Reaching into his shirt, he pulled out an ancient piece of parchment Illisse had given him when they had stayed in her home city. Turning it over, he looked back at the dwarves �Stay off the trail. Illisse told me this spell was very powerful, so I�m not sure what will happen.� Watching to make sure the dwarves were well back, he lifted the parchment carefully, almost as if it would bite. Speaking the words written on it. Several large black shapes began forming at his feet. When they were finished, he barely caught Oyrin's gasp �Hellhounds� she gave him hellhounds!� Walking slowly up to Val, he continued, �She controls the elements and these mage beasts. The elders were right in choosing her. She is already more powerful at her young age than Sharmyth ever dreamed to be.� Nodding towards the hounds, some half dozen, strong, night black and larger than dwarves �Send them out and pray to keep up� Chuckling just a bit Val stops him �No need to keep up, we ride�.

Smiling at the expression on the dwarfs face, he explains that they obey the one that summoned them. Riding two to a hound, Val riding alone, the huge beasts picked up her trail, quickly heading deeper into the forest, the sunlight fading into its depths, huge moss covered oaks grew thick, leaving wide leaf covered glades beneath their branches. Stopping briefly to grab a bite of lunch, one of the hounds begins snuffling around the base of one of the largest oaks Val had ever seen. Setting a hand on its shoulder to settle him down, Val kneels, shuffling his hands into the leaves. Slowly pulling free a thin, Mithril chain,(his gift to Illisse after the birth of Isil�s children, he�d known how badly she�d been hurt that day) he�d had each link engraved with a letter, writing out the song she had written for him. Slowly pulling it between his fingers, he gives a small smile; the chain was whole, not broken, as if it had been torn from her. She was leaving more trails for him to follow.