The ship dropped through the darkness of space presumably towards the planet that was Lineak's destination.  He wasn't even sure wha the reasoning really was for this particular planet being his destination.  He had been told it was prime hunting.  What kind of hunting was up for debate apparently.  It didn't matter really he'd been told in very clear terms by the crew that he was leaving the ship as soon as possible.  This particular planet could be where they chose to maroon him or any other of a million or however many there were.  Turns out being involved in the death of the ship's captain and the crew's favorite captive didn't make the crew very friendly.  Funny how that worked out, at least they hadn't tried killing him.  Well most of them hadn't.  He may have had to deal with a trivial number of the crew before they decided his life wasn't worth theirs. 

He couldn't remember who had brought up hunting but he had ended up regaling those who would listen to stories of his exploits on his home world.  Not that there was anything really fascinating about the planet let along the wildlife he had hunted and trapped.  Still the space pirates on the vessel had encouraged him to regale them with stories and the copious amounts of alcohol they had given him hadn't helped keep his mouth closed.  It was strange how his stories had always seem to end in him getting into some kind of altercation with crew members though.

"You'll be leaving us in less than five minutes.  Get your shit together."

No need for that the small handful of belongings that he had were already on his person.  They were rarely more than an arms length away.  Not that he didn't trust this crew, but he didn't trust the crew.  Not with his weapons, with the strange tome in his possesion or with the odds scraps of paper he'd found on the last planet.  No, he figured he wouldn't trust anybody with those.  Not when he'd found out just how wanted the information seemed to be.  With only a few minutes left before leaving the ship he headed towards the loading bay.  By the time he got there it would be time to leave.  He figured the crew would be glad to be rid of him right away.  That was fine, he wasn't entirely unhappy to see them leave either.

The loading bay was empty and Lineak forced back a grin he was sure there were eyes upon him.  He didn't need his heightened senses to tell him that the crew was making sure that he left the ship.  The door dropped open giving him his first glimpse of this new planet.  Not much of a glimpse the night sky was cloudy with only the occasional star poking through to shine its light.  Odd to not have a moon or several providing light as well but he'd take it.  He was just taking in the details when the ship angled up towards the heavens.  Lineak was left to either fall out or run along the descended door and jump down intothe unknown.  The latter seemed a better alternative so a quick run and a leap tucking into a ball as he did so.  Thankfully the drop wasn't as far as he feared it would be.  Far enough that he'd be sore for a few hours but, his hands roamed his body, nothing broken as far as he could tell. 

He took a moment to study his surroundings he was on a high rocky plateau at night with the temperatures somewhat chilly.  The small light from above gave Lineak just enough that he could see the plateau was small with no visible increase in elevation inany direction.  Must be the top of some kind of hill was what he could surmise.  The distinct lack of vegetation was somewhat troubling to the hunter as there was no quick shelter to be made but he'd make do.  He walked what he assumed to be south to begin his descent down the hill.

His heart rate shot through the roof as he almost made the last mistake of his life! There was not a gentle descent from this side.  The plateau disappeared entirely.  Lineak stared down from the clif edge a slight tremble in his legs.  It looked like there wasa forest down below but way, way below.  His keen senses working in overdrive he tried to search down into the forest but it was in vain the distance was too great.  Still he thought people make fire and there's no fire and no smoke.  Wilderness? They did say there was great hunting here.

From the southern edge Lineak began working his way around the plateau only to become furious.  The crew of that ship were all going to die if he made it out of this.  He was perched on a plateau high above a forest that much was obvious.  Not so obvious at night was the serious state he was in.  The plateau didn't have any hills attached.  If his assumptions were correct he was essentially on a large ledge perched atop a rocky outcropping that he would have to find some way down without killing himself.  The descent was going to be more difficult because he couldn't see any signs of rock extending past the edge of the plateau.  The night brought with it the scent of something and Lineak cursed.  It was just what he needed in this situation.  He changed forms to werewolf form just as the first snowflake became visible.  With the werewolf's fur he hoped he'd make it through the night without freezing he wasn't going to try the descent in the dark escpecially with it snowing.

The night was what had to be the most miserable one Lineak had ever encountered.  If the rocky ground wasn't enough the snow added another level of misery.  To make it even worse a wind had picked up and pounded him throughout the night.  He had spent the night curled into a ball cursing the crew who had done this to him.  Not once had he been able to catch a bit of sleep and the thought gnawed at him as he thought of what lay ahead of him.

He'd taken his time surveying the drop from all sides of the plateau peering over the side on his belly.  The north side looked like it would offer the best chance of success as the plaueau was at its thinnest at that point.  Taking a deep breath to help settle his nerves he reached down with one hand digging his claws into dirt and rock.  A moment of hesitation and then he hurtled over the edge.  Fear, cold hard fear, hit him hard as his one clawed hand began sliding down the surface of the rock.  Instinctivly he reached with his other hand trying to slow his fall by gaining a handhold or by thrusting claws into the rock.  A primal scream burst forth as inches away from the bottom of the ledge his descent finally stopped.

His feet dangled in the air with nothing within kicking distance.  He was going to die of starvation or by the elements if he climbed back up.  If he fell he was a dead man because of the elevation.  What the hell he'd nothing to lose.  He began sawing his legs back and forward to build up momentum.  This leap was one of the scariest things Lineak had ever done.  As he fell forward he stared at the rock face hoping he'd make it.

The rock face grew close but Lineak grimmaced he wasn't going to make it, this was the end.  Of all of the creatures to turn into why a wolf why not a bird? He chuckled at the thought it had better be a long fall to his death he didn't want that to be his last thought.  He pictured his mom, dad and siblings all out doing morning chores and relished in the memory.  His reverie was caught short by the sudden impacting of his legs on a stone surface.

Unprepared for the landing Lineak found his legs buckling underneath him and scrambled to see what he had landed on.  It was a small narrow shelf of rock sticking out from the main pillar.   Just wide enough for his him to place his feet shoulder width apart and just long enough that it extended out the two feet he was away from the rock face.  Something so small and so insignificant had just saved his life, the thought was not lost on him. 

Breathing hard he tried to take in how much ground he had yet to cover to get down to the forest below.  He immedietly wished he hadn't he hadn't even made a dent in the distance to the ground.  Exhausted by the nights ordeal as well as the fatiguing morning he carefully manuvered himself into a sitting position with his back against the rocks with his feet splayed on either side of the ledge.  I'd kill for something to eat or drink.  The thought was the last one through his mind before sleep came crashing down upon him.

Lineak woke as he had gone to sleep, cold and tired.  The position he was in doing little to help with his descent.  He peered of the edge of the ledge he was on finding the rock face to have a small amunt of handholds but it would be precarious all of the way down.  The rocks were wet still from the snow and there were patches of ice among the rocks as well.  With a resolute sigh he pulled himself up and began inching his way down the rock face.

Muscles ached and his stomache rumbled.  Lineak had never been so fatigued in his life.  He had been litterally hanging on to the rocks for the last how ever many hours.  Numerous slips had left him wondering if he was going to die but not yet.  Not today he vowed, not like this.  The last slip had been halted by an even smaller ledge little more than a foothold really but just wide enough that he could rest both of his feet. 

Breathing heavily he looked down to his left and right looking for the safest path down.  Down and to the right he saw something that would require investigation.  It appeared there was a break in the rock, a large break.  Possibly even man made.  If it was a cave of some kind it might lead down and then out into the forest below.  The possibility of getting away from the elements was worth just about any risk at the moment.  With muscles straining Lineak moved slowly from one agonizing handhold to another eventually zooming in on the object of his desire. 

Lineak laughed in part amazement and part delight as he stared at the opening in front of him.  The opening in the rock was a large ornate window.  Or it hat been.  At one point there might have been glass in the window but that had long ago disappeared.  The amazing craftsmanship of the masons that built the rock window was still visible though even if rain and wind had worn most of the stones smooth.

The outside had a small stone ledge that Lineak guessed at one point had held flowers or herbs of some kind.  Right inside the window were a few benches also made from stone.  Each large enough to hold two people easily. Colored rocks in geometric patterns adorned the area above and to the sides of the window.  Lineak plopped down on one of the benches and stared through the window.  The view of the forest below was breathtaking.

He supposed he could sit and stare out the window forever but his stomache wouldn't have any part of it.  He would have to find food and soon before the werewolf took over.  He turned to peer into the depths of whatever this place was and saw what he was expecting.  Stone walls and the occassional stone pillar from what he could see before the light from the window vanished.  Strangly there was also a large crystal on wheels and platform against one of the walls.  Not knowing if it was something worth investigating or not Lineak pushed the platform more into the light to study it.

The light entered through one side of the crystal and did some thing Lineak would have never thought possible. The light broke into multiple colors fanning them against one of the walls.  Strange and interesting this might be valuable indeed.  Hoping to find if there were any other properties within the crystal he began moving it in random directions.  A small clicking sound behind him was Lineak's first clue that he had found something.  He looked behind him just as a small portion of the wall sank back and to the left revealing a small torch and a small piece of flint. 

Whoever had lived in this place wasn't going to make it easy to investigate but this made things far, far easier than they had been.  Lineak took his knife out and cut a small piece of his shirt off before striking the flint over it.  The small sparks from the flint took hold of the strip of cloth and from there ignited the torch.  He'd have to hurry as he had no idea how long the torch would last or if there would be others he could find.

The light from the torch allowed Lineak to see he was in a hallway going in two seperate directions.  He assumed north and south.  Unsure of what would be best he headed in the northern direction.  Soon the hall opened into a large meeting hall.  There were two lengthy rows of stone tables with one stone table joining them together in a giant u shape.  Stone chairs were placed along one side of each of the tables so that the occupants could all see each other.  The stone chairs were all identical save for one.  One chair stood taller and held more decoration than the others.  Curious Lineak approached it cleaning away dust and cobwebs as he readied to sit in it.

When Lineak sat in the chair it was as if a whole new world opened up around him.  Gone were the dust and debris of this long forgotten place.  Empty tables and chairs were filled with men eating and drinking while women came to serve their every whim.  He looked to his right and saw a figure cloaked in black eating slowly while staring out over the other tables.  To his left a beautifull woman clothed in silks and wearing a tiara upon her head. 

"Now! The time is now!"

The words came from the man in black on his right.  Lineak turned to the man a questioning look in his eyes.  Confusion set in  when he became face to face with a dagger wielding skeleton in black rags.  He leapt from his chair avoiding the skeleton's attack but screamed in pain when he felt a blade enter from behind.  He turned to see a tiara clad skeletal figure pull a stilletto free from his body.  Unsure of what was real he reached back to feel the wound and felt flowing blood.

The smell of food had disapeared and once again the smell of dust was present.  Risking a glance over his shoulder he shuddered a small skeletal army was approaching from both of the other tables.  Weapons ranging from knives and daggers to battleaxes gripped by dead flesh came seeking his blood.  He quickly changed to werewolf form intent on disposing of the undead infront of him. 

He had faced a dragon able to create zombies and dealt with it.  Dealt with the zombies as well.  These, these were different.  No matter how many blows to the head they took they remained unfazed.  He pulled claws out of the female's skull so much for that idea.  He would have to make a run for it.  There was no way he was going to go toe to toe with an army of unkillable skeletons.  He reached for the torch only to have the flame disappear as booming laughter echoed through the hall.  Tired, hungry and now getting scared Lineak began a frantic search for a way out of the hell that he had entered.

Going back the way he had came didn't seem the wisest course but Lineak was entirely unsure what was the wisest course.  The large room was full of the undead and he didn't know where an exit was.  He ran along one wall keeping his left hand against the finshed stone so he could track his distance from it.  Along the way he was forced numerous times to brush skeletons aside or to kick them back.  Each time they reacted as if unaffected by the blows. 

Cloth that was different.  Lineak grabbed hold of it and yanked.  A shower of dust and rags came raining down on top of it but beyond the dust he could barely make out a set of stairs spiraling downwards.  Anywhere was better than the death sentence if he stayed where he was.  Not knowing what he was going to encounter he plunged ahead down the stairs.

The stairwell was a winding one that was hell in the inky darkness.  Thankfully for Lineak stone walls rose up on both sides of the stais meaning he could run down the stairs with both hands extended feelig the walls as he ran.  This blessing soon caused problems though as his right hand impacted with a wall torch painfully.  Unsure of the reasoning for a lone torch in the stairwell Lineak ran his hands along it looking for anything unusual, nothing.  It was ornate that he could tell from the feel of it.  But the design wasn't something he could make out in the dark.  Frustrated he pushed down on the torch. 

The booming laughter he had heard minutes before reverbrated through the stairewell.  Along with the booming laughter Lineak heard heavy footsteps ascending the stairs in his direction.  Mentally preparing himself for a fight he stared down towards where he assumed this latest theat would be appearing.  In the darkness he spotted what had to be flickering firelight dancing along the far wall before he saw what was causing it.  The being, Lineak didn't know what else to call it, stood about all tall as he was dressed in black plate mail armor.  The helm was open revealing a raging inferno of flame.  In one hand was grasped a large sword also bathed in flame.

The choice was not an obvious one in the least.  Forward to take on this monstrosity or back to his certain death.  With a defiant roar he changed to human form drawing both revolvers as he did so.  He doubted he could do much damage from this far away he'd have to close the distance.  Hopefully when he was closer he'd be able to see somewhere that was vulnerable where he could unleash a barrage of bullets.  If not, well he'd get cooked.

The flame enfulfed knight began running towards Lineak both figures intent on inflicting the most harm possible to the other.  Keeping an eye on the length of the longsword Lineak began firing his revolvers when he was twenty yards from the knight.  The open help didn't make for an easy target to hit at that distance, escpecially on the move against a moving target.  His first shots with both revolvers went high.  He lowered his point of aim and fired again this time with the distance halved.  Bullets pinged off the top portion of the helm, so close.

The knight slowed to a stop brandishing the longsword and swung it anticipating Lineak's movement.  Lineak ducked under the swing, stood up and put both barrells within feet of the burning helm.  Hope this works Lineak thought as he let loose with both guns. 

The knight recovered from his swing and went for a downward swing from the other side in attempt to remove Lineak's leg from the knee.  The swing was just begining when the bullets impacted.  The first bullet passed through the flames melting as it did so.  Wet metal sprayed against the back of the helm.  The second bullet entered the flame.  The moment it did so the flames died, the knight's movement halted and it crashed to the floor.  The once flaming sword fell from its dead hand.

Once again Lineak was entombed in darkness.

Lineak paused to think in the darkness as parts of his mind warred against each other.  The trapper warned him to exercise caution as this place seemed to be an enourmous trap of some kind with no telling what the outcome could possibly be.  The hunter in him told him to be proactive instead of reactive.  Throw caution to the wind.  You are a hunter, not the hunted.  Find your prey and kill it.  Forget running like away that is for cowards and herbivores, you're neither.  There was truth to all of it and Lineak found himself unable to come to terms with what to do.  In his tired state this whole place could be a figment of his imagination.  For all he knew at the moment he could still be asleep on the ledge outside.  What a vivid dream though.

Shaking his head didn't clear out the cobwebs like he'd hoped.  Onward and downward Lineak supposed.  Just like before he stretched out his arms and began moving down the stairs.  The sight of white light reflecting off the rounded stone wall ahead was enough to make Lineak increase his pace.  He rounded the stairs and encounted what appeared to be yet another hallway.  At the far end in one direction was a floating white orb giving off and incredible amount of light.  Lineak moved towards it surprised to see the orb floating away from him.  Intrigued he began following it.

The damned voices in his head came back to him.  Repeating the same words over and over.  Trap.  Hunter.  Trap.  Hunter.  He felt like screaming out his frustration but instead pulled out his special revolver.  A single shot from it fired at the orb caused the orb to rotate in mid air.  As it roated the light changed color from a bright white to a purple bordering on black.  When it finished rotating Lineak could see whatever it was wasn't exactly an orb.  The dark purple surrounded black pits of what may have been eye sockets.  He couldn't spot a nose feature but the mouth and teeth were hard to miss.  Equally hard to miss was the speed at which it flew at him.  Not the slow meandering orb he had thought. 

Two bullets slammed into the orb with no effect.  Lineak threw the frevolver into the holster unsure of what the hell to do.  He grabbed the shotgun and pulled the trigger as the flying orb closed in.  That same booming laughter rang out as the orb disappeared midflight.  Plunged into darkness yet again Lineak turned the opposite direction, away from where the orb had been leading him.

The dark hallway gave way to light streaming in from a window very similar to the one Lineak had come into this place through.  Like that window there was a sitting area facing it.  The idea of sitting down and resting in this place was tempting and horrifying equally.  There was no telling what strange hell was going to be coming after him next.  He pondered the idea of trying his luck going down the rock face again and shuddered.  That was just as bad if not worse in his current state.  The way things were going he was going to have to take some time to nod off.  Before he did anything though he needed to restock his ammo.  Three shots left in ove revolver.  Damn if he hadn't emptied the other one.  How had he done that? One shot in the shotgun.  With weapons reloaded and light still visible from outside Lineak closed his eyes but not before praying for his safety while he slept.

The sleep that he slept was filled with dreams so vivid, so real, that after awaking he found it even more difficult to fathom what was real and what was not.  In the dreams he saw the king of this domain sitting in the great hall feasting with his men with his bride beside him.  He witnessed the king's right hand man call for an attack moments before being stabbed by his wife and then being rushed by his not so loyal men.  All of this he had witnessed before.  He'd lived through it before.  What was new to him was seeing the king not dead yet hurrying down a different staircase than the one Lineak had taken.  This one led to some sort of barracks where the king had siezed a horn blowing it loudly.  Between the sound of the horn and the king calling out to them loyal men of arms had rushed to his aid. 

The dream ended with the king's wounds being attended to by a young woman in one of the barracks leaving Lineak frustrated.  What had happened to the king? The kingdom? Why had he dreamed the dream that he had? It could be yet another part of the elaborate trap that he had triggered.  But, maybe, just maybe, there were other forces at work here.  If that was the case he might just stand a chance at getting the hell out alive.  He looked down at his bunbelts and cringed.  Down to just under two dozen rounds for the pistols not counting the strange ammo in his pocket.  Shotgun round were even worst off, he had nine remaining.  If the point of the dream was to offer him some help it was much needed.  Dreading what he was going to have to do he got up and moving, moving back up towards the great hall.

Thankfully the trek back wasn't as arduous as Lineak feared it would be.  Although he did stumble over the armored figure on the stairs.  He mentally went through the details of the dream in his mind trying to sort out his current position relative to the other stairwell.  He entered the great hall with great trepidation but met silence.  Not sure in the silence would last he hurridly moved to the other stairwell and began descending. 

Like the other stairwell this one had been hewn from the surrounding stone.  This left Lineak with the same option as before holding both arms out to the sides as the descended.  Unlike the circular staircase from earlier this staircase seemed pretty straght forward.  Something Lineak was appreciative of.  As he walked his sensitive touch could feel places in the walls where blades had struck.  Here in this stairwell was the stench of death, ancient death.  His right hand encounterd a void and he paused.  He was getting close.

The void was an open doorway leading to a hallway to the barracks.  He remembered it from his dream.  He walked through the doorway hands outstretched.  He tried searching room after room but it was nearly impossible in the dark.  The only positive being the rooms seemed to be laid out in identical fashion.l  In the fifth room that he entered his breath was taken away.

The ghostly figure of the king from his dream sat on the bed looking at him.

"I've waited centuries for your arrival.  You've come to help me and I can help you if you'll let me."

It was why he had changed directions after all but hearing the words from a spectre was strange.  Rather than second guess himself though he found himself kneeling before the figure.  The king stood up and put a hand on Lineak's shoulder before moving to merge with him. 

In an instant the barrack went from dark and dusty to a room bathed in torchlight with bloodied sheets and rags.  A young woman sat on the foot of the bed crying softly over a steaming cauldron.  She looked like the young woman from the dream but Lineak couldn't tell.

"We've got to stop him.  You've got to stop him.  Sound the horn."

Lineak approached the woman slowly taking her in.  She was clothed in a simple brown tunic with long brown hair flowing down her back onto the bed behind her.  While the tunic screamed peasant there was something regal about her.  He pushed the thought to the side before approaching and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Why are you weeping?"

The simple question didn't ge the reaction he was expecting.  The woman leapt from the bed turning to face him and ran into his arms.  She reached up to grab his head pulling it down to hers.  Lips touched lips and tongues intertwined.  The woman stepped back staring at him as he recovered from the unanticipated onslaugt.

"It worked.  Thank the gods it worked.  My liege we have on final attempt to strike back at the coward Earl of Malistare.  Should we fail...."

The look of confusion on Lineak's face brought a smile to the woman's face.

"He's in there with you, a part of you.  Here take these you'll need them."

The woman handed Lineak a ram horn and a sheathed dagger.

"Go! Summon the men and take back your kingdom."

His actions not entirely his own Lineak raised the horn to his lips and blew.  Not seeing or hearing anything he raised the horn to his lips once more.  The next tone was louder, stronger, richer it seemed to pierce the stone walls and beyond.  With it came the sound of boots, many boots, headed his way.

Without a backward glance Lineak left the room not quite surprised to see a small army of men waiting for him in a well lit coridor.  The men all appeared to be warriors, knights.  Clad in full plate mail and carrying sword and shield each looked more than ready to fullfill his duty.  Lineak looked at the coat of arms on the shields it looked like something straight out of a fairy tale or a horror story.  The coat of arms pictured a gargoyle part store who reached out from the coat of arms with a dagger in one hand.  Not sure of the meaning he din't even attempt to interpret it.

"Men our time has come.  You've been called on for one final mission.  We need to cleanse this place wash it in the blood of our enemies.  Only then can we all be at peace."

Once again the words were not his own.  But Lineak watched as a cheer rose from the assembled knights.  Apparently even with his visage they recognised the king in him.  Not knowing if it was going to be the right call or not he put forth a plan of attack.

"Men I want you all to begin working your way down slaying any and all foes you find.  Anyone friendly you send to the very uppermost rooms.  When we have secured te bottom of the fortress we will face the challenge of going back up room by room."

One of the knights chuckled at the plan.

"Sire we're close to the top.  Why don't we instead secure in and work our way down.  It will eliminate the need to climb back up all of the stairs."

Lineak agreed the plan sounded better than his had and with a nod from him most of the knights took off for stairwells leading to the uppermost rooms.  A small number of knights though remained at his side one of them voicing his opinion.

"Sire I belive we should go to the lowest floor and secure it before working our way up.  The fighting in the upper floors will either draw the enemy to it hoping to secure a final victory or will flee towards us.  Either option is good for us.  If they are fleeing they won't anticipate our attack.  If they join the fight upstairs they'll be slaughtered."

Once again the strategy seemed sound to Lineak so with a five knights at his side he began descending deeper into the depths of the mamoth stone structure.  Deeper and deeper staircase after never ending staircase the men descended. It was only when his legs threatened to turn into jelly that he asked the knights with him to pause with him to rest.  He stared in astonishment as every last knight sighed in relief.  Then again they were wearing armor something he flat out refused to do.

"How many more levels to go?"

"Twenty three more sire."

Two more floors down and feet scurrying up the stairs brought Lineak and the knights with him to a halt.  Weapons drawn they began to cautiously descend.  The knight in front of Lineak caught a crossbow bolt through the face the bolt passing though cleanly almost striking Lineak as it did so.  The man's body fell backwards partially blocking the other's descent.  Soon other bolts began flying towards the knights.

Instead of retreating Lineak turned to wolf form for a moment running forward and snatching a bolt out of the air.  Holding it in his jaws he whipped his head around using the tip as a small blade tip slitting the throats of two crossbowmen in the process.  Not giving the remaining two crossbowmen the opportunity to react he changed to werewolf and shoved clawed fingers through their eyes.  The threat dealt with he turned to look back at the remaining knights in time to see the one who had recognized descending impailing the last of the other knights from behind with his sword.

The man sneared at Lineak who stared at him in disbelief.  Pushing the fallen knight's body to the side the man came at him with an unexpected fury.  Fighting on steps wasn't easy at least not for Lineak and a man armed with a sword fighting from a higher position didn't make things any easier.  The first time blade met flesh he howled out in pain.  The man had a silver sword who the hell made silver swords?  The small dagger he had been given would extend his reach but against somebody trained in the art of swordplay his meager attempt to attack with it would seal his doom.  Furious with himself and the situation he was in Lineak turned and ran down the stairs.

Hearing the man chasing him Lineak grinned.  Sometimes retreat was a feigned retreat.  He turned to human form leaping forward and twisting around in the air.  In midleap he pulled out his standard revolver and placed a single bullet between the eyes of the rushing knight.  The knight fell backwards dead as Lineak's body contacted the stone steps under him and he began a pinballish descent.

When the rolling finally stopped the werewolf painfully rose to his feet it would take a short amount of time to heal the various injuries he had just sustained a fact he was well aware, and thankful, of.  Unsure if he wanted to continue descending or going back up to help the other knights clear the structure from above he leaned against a wall momentarily.  Twenty two more flights of stairs maybe even more that that lay ahead if he continued his descent.  He shrugged his shoulders what the hell no pain no gain.  Limping slightly he continued making his way down the stairs.

Unbeknownst to him the enemy had begun to mobilize on the lower floors growing quickly in numbers.  The leader grinning madly at his forces as he ranted and raved about how it was their time, about how the time of the wolf was over.  The time of the crow was at hand.  Today the crow would pick the lifeless eyes from the dead body of the fallen wolf before feasting on its entrails.

Three floors lower and the limp had gone away was had most of the bruising and pain from falling down the stairs.  Lineak cursed when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, running up the stairs.  He pulled he shotgun to his shoulder waiting for the enemy to show themselves so he could blast them full of holes.  As the footsteps grew nearer he could discern they were individually not very heavy nor were they booted.  Curious he reshouldered the shotgun and once again be descending the stairs.

It was but a matter of moments before a trio of women came into Lineak's line of sight. The women were panting as they climbed the stairs. Out of breath the lead woman tried to gasp out some kind of a greeting.

"Uh...whooo...sire. There's....uh...whoo. There's....whoo. Rushing....whooo."

"Slow down all of you. Who is rushing where?"

Deep breaths all around and Lineak was finally able to piece together what the ladies were attempting to pass along. It seemed enemy soldiers had began assembling in the floors below and were on the verge of begining their assault. They were being led by the figure in black he had seen seated next to him. The being inside of him flared angrily and Lineak could feel the anger begin to build at the mention of his name, Chancelor Hiddai.

Memories not his own flooded through him of the two king and chancelor growing up together. The two were always competitive, but always friends. They bickered over food, over girls, over who should go outside to perform daily chores. He saw bloody fists and faces intersperced with raised mugs of ale. The two had been best of friends at one point. What had happened to cause a rift this large?

Further questioning of the women revealed the combatants gathering below to be anywhere from twenty to forty in number.  With multiple staircases to acend or descend it was doubtful he would have to face the entirety of the forces alone.  It did however mean that any he didn't meet, and defeat, would be free to attack the knights above.  They would also be free to link up with whatever forces were friendly to them in the above floors.

Lineak cursed his bad luck before dediding there was nothing he could do about it.  He was just going to head down killing as many of the enemy as he could.  What else was there for him to do? He thanked the women or their information and then hurried down the stairs past them.

Not long after leaving the women behind Lineak came into contact with another group of enemies.  He recognized immedietly what they were doing and made quick work of killing them.  Unarmed they didn't appear to pose a threat of any kind, appearances were deceiving.  The thee men were inscribing runes into the walls down the stairwell.  Lineak groaned as he saw just how much work they had been able to accomplish before he had stopped them.  There was no telling just what the runes would do.

"I can read them.  Perhaps I can even disarm them.  You'll have to trust me."

Seeing no other option Lineak turned his body over to the spirit inside of him.

The process of ridding the stairs of the runes seemed to take forever.  Thankfully the entire stairwell wasn't full of them.  They seemed to have been written in spots where they wished to set ambushes.  As the king went through his chants and motions Lineak began trying to think.  If the king could read runes perhaps he would be able to read the ones that lined the barels of his weapons. 

The thought had no more than passed through his mind when he received a response.

"I can try.  Show me these weapons and the runes they possess."

Lineak unshouldered his shotgun, made sure a round wasn't in the chamber, and then looked down the barrel.  Sure enough pale blue light was emiting from it.  Lineak was not expecting a gasp but he heard one nontheless.

"Blaze Song!"

"What are you talking about?"

"Your weapon is old and powerul enough to have a name.  It's name is Blaze Song.  At one time there were four such weapons made.  Fire, water, earth, and wind...."

Lineak pulled out the revolver he had aquired from Fang's corpse and looked into the barel as well.  This time he anticipated a reaction of some sort, he was'nt mistaken.

"Ahh excellent! This is also one of the four weapons.  This is Freezing Wind."

Lineak reached into his pocket for the four rouns of ammunition that had symbols on them.  He took them out and studied them for a brief moment willing the king to fill him in on what they were.

"So it's true.  Notice each of those is different, yet similar.  Each of those four is tied to a different element.  The runes must work with the runes inside the weapon to create new and unique powers.  I would have killed to have such a weapon when I was alive.  Be carefull who you reveal it to."

Blaze Song and Freezing Wind didn't have quite the ring as a few other mythic weapons but Lineak didn't own any other mythic weapons.  Finding out their names was almost enough finding out that different ammo might make them behave differently that was something he was going to have to look in to.  For now though he was going to have to refocus his attention on surviving the battle ahead.

((ooc links to Blaze Song and Freezin Wind in my Bio))

Down more stairs were they ever going to end? Lineak was truly getting exhausted his body screamed for rest. 

"Not yet.  There's no guarantee of our safety here.  Keep going ahead."

Frustrated and angry Lineak kept moving.  His rough breathing and heart bearing in his ears masked the sound of three men who were just as surprised as he when they collided into one another.  Soon though Lineak was faced with pike, battleaxe and sword.  The close quarters meant pike and battleaxe wouldn't have the advantage they would normally.  Still in human form Lineak decided to have a moment of "fun". 

A quick spin to his right and an elbow thrown broke the swordsman's nose.  Following through with the spin and then a quick uppercut with the opposite hand and he crumpled.  The other two men tried to drop back down the stairs to gain a reach advantage with their weapons but Lineak kept on them.  He grabbed the man with the battleaxe by the back of the neck and brought him in close.  He could smell body odor and fear comingling with a grin he dropped to one knee throwing the man in a fireman's throw.  Man and axe bounced down stair after stair.  The man with the pike dropped his pike and turned running down the stairs.

"Kill him you fool he'll give our position away."

Lineak wanted to allow the man to live but the king was right.  He turned to wolf and quickly leapt onto the man.  From there it was effortless to remove his throat from the rest of his body.  The blood in his mouth reminded him of how hungry he was and he began to feast.

"You fool you need your sleep more than you need blood.  There will be plenty of blood later.  But only your own if you don't get some rest."

That was a fair assumption Lineak decieded.  He tore himself away from the corpse but not before grabbing another chunk of the dead man's flesh.  The king directed him down a hallway into a room.  The room looked remarkably spartan.  Only a single small bed and a small night table in the entire room. The king laughed inside his head telling him to move the table to the right.