The night was quiet and cold that surrounded three men, clad in armor and weapons, who sat around a dim fire in the middle of a wooded area. For three nights they had been traveling along the countryside in search of nothing but adventure and song. The armor the three men wore bolstered no apparent symbol belonging to any kingdom of the land, suggesting them to have no allegiance but to themselves, rogues of the world. Though the night was proving to be bitter, the three rogues had smiles upon their faces as they drank on fine ale and reminisced their recent exploits, laughing along with each other in merry excitement.<br/><br/>"We should have brought that barmaid, Matilda, with us," the oldest of the three warriors spoke with a bit of a laugh as he threw back another bottle of the dark brew that dripped down the sides of his mouth and onto his beard. His armor was much heavier than the others'. his gauntlets and helmet laying beside him, as did his sword.<br/><br/>"Between her and the ale, I think we made off better with the drink," the youngest continued the laughing spell as he gestured toward two large crates full of bottles that were laying between him and the oldest man. "To think we almost missed out on this grand score because Yarliff was so entranced by the lusty wench." He laughed even harder as he nudged the third member teasingly.<br/><br/>Almost completely drunk, Yarliff, the least armored member of the group, was struggling to keep himself awake, much less string together a coherent sentence but was still quite aware of the fun the young man was having at him, "Say what you like," he spoke with a heavy slur that might as well been gibberish, "But at least of the three of us I am the one who made it out with the broad," he declared proudly as he tipped back the bottle in his hands and throwing the empty contents into the fire, then motioning to the youngest man to throw him another. "Besides, we got the booze anyway, didn't we?"<br/><br/>"Barely," the oldest man said with a stern yet not angered voice, "We almost got caught because you decided to forsake your look out duties."<br/><br/>Yarliff shrugged his shoulders as he opened up the new bottle, "But we got away, with one more crate than we planned to take and I got to have a little extra fun as well, worked out for everyone," he said with a wink as he drank some more.<br/><br/>"He has a point, father," interjected the youngest, "if it were not for him 'distracting' the bar maiden, we might have only gotten the one crate, if that." The young man, barely out of his teen years, spoke for the drunk one.<br/><br/>The heavy armored rogue shook his head and raised his hand with index finger held erect, "One crate was the plan: Get in town, get some food, supplies, and ONE crate of ale. Just enough so that we won't be hindered on our journey. Now we got this extra crate with us that will slow us down and the town's guards on alert for two young men who could not flee fast enough because they had to carry two crates between them."<br/><br/>The young son knew that his father was correct in his reasoning and could speak no more on the behalf of Yarliff.<br/><br/>"But we were able to escape from the town and without taking any lives to add to whatever charges they would have against us. We are miles away from any soul that would have ties to that kingdom and surely they will not go to the trouble of issuing a manhunt for the sake of two crates of ale," Yarliff able to present his own reasoning through his drunken demeanor. "I would say we are safe."<br/><br/>"These are dark times, Yarliff. Every town we visit there is talk of impending dooms, wars, strife between kingdoms. We can not afford to be another burden for these people, they would just as quickly judge us enemies of their kingdom just for such offenses."<br/><br/>Yarliff shook his head, "That is some kind of paranoia you have there, old timer."<br/><br/>"It is true," the young man spoke up, "I have heard from various sources that strangers have been showing up to villages  and being put into prisons because they are mistaken for..." fear snapped ice cold through the young man's body as he struggled to continue, "...Dardanos' legion."<br/><br/>The drunken man could not contain his brutish laughter as the name was spoken by the young son. He quelled his laughter only slightly as he finished the bottle and leaned over to fetch yet another. "Dardanos? That old bogey man. Now I know you two are full of paranoia. "Dardanos was destroyed centuries ago along with his and the Argus' kingdom."<br/><br/>"That is not the point, Yarliff," the old man spoke, evident that irritation was beginning to grow in his tone, "The point is that the towns are on full alert for strangers as it is, so we should try to draw as little attention to ourselves as possible which means leaving the barmaid alone." He had grown tired of the talk and looked upon his son, "We should get some rest for the night so we can have full energy for traveling when the sun rises. I would like to see us out of these forests by the end of the day tomorrow if possible." He laid down on his back and closed his eyes.<br/><br/>"Yes, father," the son agreed and readied himself for sleep as well.<br/><br/>Without caring about the words that the older man has spoken, Yarliff finished his beer and decided that drinking alone would be fine but figured it would be good to catch some sleep as well and with that he laid back and thought of his time spent with Matilda before passing out.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>"Uncle Yarliff, Uncle Yarliff!" The voice of the youngest man echoed off the surrounding trees as he shook the drunkard violently from his sleep.<br/><br/>Sitting up slowly, Yarliff looked annoyed at his nephew, "What is it, Stenly?"<br/><br/>"It's father, something is terribly wrong with him!," the young man explained as he gestured towards where the older man was one laying.<br/><br/>Yarliff looked over at to see his brother laying in the spot he had been when he fell asleep except he was completely stiff and his entire body has been turned black, as if he was burnt by a fire. "Elmer!" He shouted loudly as he shot up to his feet, the drunkenness showing to be of little hassle for him, and reached over to his brother who felt ice cold to the touch as if the corpse had been dead but he could see the eyes flickering and the lips shuddering. The eyes were black as coal though and just as lifeless as the rest of the body. "What happened," he demanded from the young man.<br/><br/>"I don't know. I just woke up and saw him like this. I called him and got no response." Stenly touched his father's forehead, feeling sharp coldness all over his skin, "Is he dead?"<br/><br/>The uncle shook his head although he was not too certain as to what state his brother now resided in, "I do not think so. No this is something else entirely." After thinking for a moment he looked back at the dwindling fire, "Grab some more kindling and firewood while I move him closer to the fire, we need to get him some warmth. He noticed the young man nod in agreement and take off towards the woods. Staying with Elmer, Yarliff grabbed him with both hands and tried to move him, finding the body to be nearly immovable, as if it was stuck to the ground. "What..."<br/><br/>He was unable to finish his inquiry as the screams of young Stenly came from behind him. Looking towards the direction of the screams, his eyes grew wide as he took in the view of his nephew being impaled on a lance, the handle placed within the ground, allowing gravity to torture the young victim as he slowly slid down the shaft that was penetrating his stomach.<br/><br/>"Stenly!" The uncle cried out as he leapt up from his brother and ran towards the dying nephew. Before he could reach the young man, his feet flew out from under him as his chin smacked against the hard ground, forcing his teeth to slam against each other and break apart. He looked at his feet to see what appeared to be black tendrils gripping tightly around his ankles, screaming loudly as they snapped both of his legs, bones protruding out of the flesh for both.. As he looked at his feet he could see beyond them the body of his brother begin to slowly levitate into the air before standing upright and being placed back on the ground on. "Elmer," cried out the brother as he watched his older sibling being ripped to shreds in front of him by some unseen force.<br/><br/>"Father!" A cry came from the young son before he succumbed to his wounds and lay lifeless upon the lance.<br/><br/>Yarliff watched in horror as his nephew fell limp on the weapon and began to cry quietly as tried to crawl over to him. Before he could make it to the lance, he heard a whisper come from the surrounding woods, sounding as if it was saying his name. He looked towards the direction it seemed to come from, a dark figure looming from the tree line. "Who are you," he yelled, feeling fear swell up inside of him.<br/><br/>The figure just stood there motionless as the wounded rogue was trying to reach for his weapon, a cross bow that was positioned next to the crates of ale. A short struggle took place before Yarliff was able to get a hold of it, an arrow readied within the weapon. He pointed the bow at the dark figure, vision beginning to fade as pain and blood loss began to take its toll on the warrior. A shot was able to be made as the arrow zipped through the air and stuck into the dark figures chest, Yarliff feeling relief that his foe would at least go down with him.<br/><br/>The relief was short lived, however, as the arrow fell from the dark figure's chest and shattered as it hit the ground, vanishing into the air as if it was never there. Yarliff saw the figure raise its left hand as he felt the eyes pierce through his own. In an instant everything faded to darkness.<br/><br/><div><hr style="height:2px; width:100%; border:0; color: white;background:white;"/></div><br/><br/>Yarliff awoke with heavy breathing as pain shot throughout his body that was hanging from a cold chain that bound his hands together over his head. His feet were chained as well but separately, the cold steel creating more anguish against his wounds that have began to gain infection and rot away. Tears flowed from his eyes as he recollected on the night both his brother and nephew were slain in the forest weeks before. His cries echoed off the dark, cold air that grasped him like fabric. There was no sign of light around him, no hint of anything other than emptiness. Every so often he would hear faint whispers within the darkness that would seem to mock him, slowly driving the rogue to madness.<br/><br/>"Why are you doing this to me," Yarliff screamed out into the nothingness that clung around him, "I have told you everything I know. Why must you continue to keep me here, torturing me within this place? Just kill me and end this nightmare." The torture he mentioned referred to the weeks he had spent being beaten by figures in the dark he could not see as well as the replaying of the night his nephew and brother had been slaughtered within his own mind.<br/><br/>Silence hung within the darkness for what seemed like an eternity before a deep and malevolent voice broke through, "You are already dead, foolish Yarliff," the voice spoke calmly as if he knew the rogue, "Your life belonged to me the moment your group entered my domain."<br/><br/>Quivering with fear and pain, Yarliff shook his head, "We did not know we had crossed into your kingdom, else we would have surely ventured somewhere else. There was no intention for us to bring harm upon your lands, no reason to slay by family. You did not have.." he is interrupted as a sharp pain pierces his chest as if being struck with a dagger, but he knew it was not anything like that.<br/><br/>"I do not HAVE to do anything!" The voice shot back with anger at the questioning of the events that had taken place weeks earlier. "Bring harm upon MY lands? You think such things worry my mind?"<br/><br/>"No, that is not what I meant," Yarliff desperately wanted to clutch his chest as the pain intensified.<br/><br/>In a flash, the darkness that filled the area seemed to almost vanish, allowing the broken warrior to take a gander at his surroundings. He could see the gruesome scarring and bruises left on his naked body from the physical torture he had been receiving inside what he now saw as a large room filled with nothing but himself and the figure that stands before him, yet the figure was still wrapped in the darkness that had left the room. With a motion of its hand, the chains that had been holding the captive disappeared, dropping said captive to the ground.<br/><br/>Pain shot through his body as he hit the ground followed by relief at finally being freed from the chains. Yarliff looked up to the figure with a pleading gaze, "Are you releasing me?"<br/><br/>"Yes," the dark figure stood over the rogue in a menacing fashion, "You will be released from your prison and be returned to your natural state."<br/><br/>Yarliff felt the cryptic reasoning behind the words that were spoken from this demon that stood over him, knowing full well that this creature had no intent on releasing him, causing a change in emotion within him, "You monster," he spoke with a mix of anger and fear in his voice, "Your end will come. The kingdoms will come together and they will find a way to destroy you, Dardanos."<br/><br/>A dark laughter came out of the figure as a hand reached down and grasped Yarliff by the throat and yanked him into the air. "A rogue relying on the kingdoms to seek his revenge.."<br/><br/>"Not revenge," Yarliff struggled to speak as the hand gripped tightly around his neck, "Justice for you and your kind."<br/><br/>Done with his victim, Dardanos gazed into his eyes as darkness began to seep out of his own and pour onto Yarliff. In moments, the darkness crawled over the bowman's entire body, breaching it through gaping wounds and began sucking the very essence of life from it. All color had began to fade from the victim as the skin became charcoal black. The last to turn were the eyes which became balls of pure darkness that swallowed up any trace of the soul, turning this former rogue into a lifeless husk that was now completely subservient to its master.<br/><br/>Dardanos released his new minion and exited the room, making his way to his throne room where he sat and pondered on the information that Yarliff had revealed to him during his capture. He fingered the mirror that hung around his neck, "What are you up to?" He asked silently to himself.