(Corridors) When did this get here?

[Mozess Mirari]

"Come on, Zach. Hurry up!" muttered Mozess in a stiff whisper as she climbed a set of stairs to the sixth floor. "I'm not going to get caught outside the common room after hours because of you, so either keep up or... I don't know, go take another shower. You still reek," she waved a hand in front of her nose to further her statment that he smelled bad. She held the recently un-invisible-inkified map under the light from her wand and tried to follow the directions on it that led to... somewhere on the seventh floor. She wasn't entirely sure, but the map showed a glowing green dot on the seventh floor, and two snakes [representing herself and zachary] on a pencil mark path to it. 'Is everything in this school enchanted? Just once I'd like a nice map, with plain NESW direstions on it so that I wouldn't end up feeling like some invisible ancient wizard were watching my every move-' at that moment she saw a portrait of Uric the Oddball eyeing here suspiciously, "Oh, shut up!" she whispered in a gruff tone at him.

[Zachary Daniels]

Zachary narrowed his eyes, his shoes tapping lightly against the stone floor as he rounded another corner. He was slightly out of breath, but it was to be expected with the amount of running he had done that night combined with the lack of sleep...

When he finally reached the staircase, he took the steps two at a time until he was right behind Mozess, a small scowl on his face. "I'm hurrying!" He cried, grabbing the tie of her robe to cause her to stumble and slow to a brief stop so he could reach her. Grimacing, he knocked into the banister as he walked alongside her.

"Still?" He was wearing a fresh change of robes, his hair still slightly damp from vigorously washing the eyeball remains away. He slowed down again, taking a pause to sniff at himself rather foolishly, before noticing Mozess hadn't stopped to wait for him.

"Mirari!" He rushed up the rest of the staircase in a frustrated way, getting his foot stuck twice in fake steps, before reaching the seventh floor corridor.

Panting, he gave Mozess a dark look before snatching away the map. "Don't tell me to shut up," he said obliviously, just about ready to throw a tantrum. Glancing at the map himself, he stared for a moment before pointing at a random exit.

"I think we go through that one," he said knowingly. It was that moment the eyeball rolled out from the folds of his robes, teetering at the edge of the staircase, before changing direction and choosing the exit across the one Zachary had boldly pointed to.

"Eugh!" He cried, immediately pulling off his robes. "No wonder I still smelled horrid!"

The eyeball disappeared into the exit, and Zachary stared forlornly at his robes, casting scourgify at every inch.

[Mozess Mirari]

She looked both directions, then stood on her tip toes to look over Zachs shoulder at the map. She made a face then walked to the middle of the hall, "It can't be this is... especially at this school. Nothing's ever this easy..."
She looked at the door where Zach pointed, then where the eyeball had rolled off to [trying to keep from chuckling at the same time. Don't need any nosy Gryffindors bugging them].

She walked over to Zach again, looking over the map once more.
"It says it's right here, right in front of us. We should be right on top of it!" She stomped her foot and crossed her arms, grimacing at the walls around them... then, slowly, a calmer look began to form on her features. "Not... not on top of it..." she couldn't help but smile slightly, "Beneath it."

She quickly made her way to the very next lowest landing and looked right above where Zach was standing. Sure enough, twelve feet above his head was a life-size portrait of Arsenius Jigger, "Well isn't that a coincidence?" she thought aloud, though her broad smile soon began to dim... "How are we supposed to get up there though?" She looked around for a hidden ladder, or a catapault, or brooms, or something, but from what she could tell the person who put... whatever it was up there, expected other people wanting to get to it to sprout wings and fly.

[Zachary Daniels]

Zachary frowned as he tilted back his neck, calculating roughly how high up the portrait was. "I suppose we could get our brooms," he said with a slightly put out expression, "But I'd have thought the map would give us some sort of clue if that's what we were meant to do--"

Deciding he needed a better look, even though the portrait was life-sized, Zachary climbed onto one of the window ledges, balancing uneasily on the edge. Squinting up at the portrait, he steadied a hand on the glass pane and stood on his toes.

Before his eyes widened comically and he toppled the the floor with a shaky yelp.

Landing, quite luckily, on the material of his robes, Zachary crossed his legs and sat -- looking very cross -- on top of them. "Arsenius Jigger, how clever," He murmured to himself, before standing up and gazing at Mozess brilliantly.

"He's missing an eye, can you tell?" Pointing directly above him at Jigger's left eye socket, it was easy to see now that they were looking for it. Where one socket was filled with an eerily dark eyeball, the other was completely ... empty.

Turning back to the exit the eyeball had rolled off to, Zachary abandoned his robes and rounded the corner as well. "Moen had said that the eyeball's properties weren't particularly prominent, and most intermediate potions don't require them. It was curious that ours did, but I suspect leading us is the real use"

Looking gleeful, the Slytherin -- having experienced a rush of adrenaline -- looked around for the eyeball, noticing it had somehow crawled up the wall and was perched on a candle holder. Reaching for it, Zachary frowned and took it into his palm, before looking at his map.

Sure enough, the words Ostendo glittered in emerald ink, just beside the two serpent figures that represented he and Mozess. Breathing out in slight amazement, vaguely thinking that Jigger wasn't the nut everyone in history had pegged him as, Zachary pointed his wand at the candle holder and repeated the words:

"Ostendo!"

There was a pause, before a quiet rumble erupted around them. After a sudden crash that sounded like a dozen boulders rolling down the hall, the wall where the candle holder had lain, opened to reveal a huge, stone staircase.

Feeling suddenly a bit overwhelmed, Zachary moved back to Mozess' side and stared at their new discovery. "Er... How about you hold the map from now on?" He said with a raised brow, shoving it into her hands.

[Mozess Mirari]

"Well... someone ate his wheaties this morning," said Mozess in slight awe of Zachary's sudden stunt of brilliance. Thus far she'd done most of the problem solving and stuck him with the menial chores, where as now "Oh, great. So if someone comes looking for whoever made that huge racket I get in trouble? Talk about a cruel irony..." she muttered before lighting her wand and walking towards the stairs.

She stared cautiously at the entrance, half expecting poison darts to come flying at them like in those Indiana Jones muggle-movies, but nothing happened. She placed her foot on the first stone step, breathing deeply to try and keep her nerves down. It wasn't as if this were particularly scary, she'd heard people talk about hidden passage ways in the school all the time, this probably just led to some ancient classroom or something but... something felt strange about it. And... what was that smell? She looked over her shoulder at Zach, but the scent got dimmer when she turned away from the stairs. She looked at the passage again... something about the smell seemed familiar almost.

"Honeysuckle..." she murmured finally, walking quickly up the next few steps. Low and behold, as impossible as it was for it to be there, thin vines of sweetberry honeysuckle were climbing along the wall of the stone stairway. She stood still for a moment, giving herself a chance to process this new addition to their adventure 'Maybe this staircase leads to some sort of... greenhouse? A greenhouse on the top floor... well, past the top floor of the castle. Maybe for plants that grow better under direct sun or moonlight? An ancient astronomy/potions dome?' the more she tried to rationalize it, the less rational it seemed.

She bit her lower lip and forced herself to take another step forward, and another; slowly but steadily making her way up the stairs. 'Maybe these are fake? Maybe there's some sort of permanent potpurri charm on this hallway...' still unlikely, but there was one way to tell for sure. She reached out and plucked one of the small blue berries hanging off the vine. She squished it between her fingers and watched as the juice ran down her hand, "Not fake... that makes one thing we know for sure." She looked back at Zach and shrugged, then continued up the steps. What else was there to do really? Turn back? Where was the fun in that? Not that being out past midnight in some hidden tunnel with a guy that gets on your nerves was particularly fun per say, but it was definatly more fun than sleeping... well, sort of at least.

[Zachary Daniels]

"Honey--what?"

However, it was then that Mozess decided to step onto the staircase. She looked particularly dazed and Zach frowned, walking hesitantly toward her.

Only to realise the staircase, which seemed to be built like a drawbridge, was retreating back into the wall. With a yelp, Zachary ran toward it and jumped as high as he could, just catching the edge of the last step.

Scowling, he exhaustedly threw a leg over the edge and pulled himself up, just as the harsh sound of stone hitting stone signaled the passage had closed. "Must be some security measure," he said sulkily, sending Mozess' back a hard glare.

When he'd finally recomposed himself, he also noticed the earthy vines adorning the passage's walls and leaned toward one, eying them suspiciously. Contrary to what Mozess may have believed, he hadn't eaten his wheaties that morning (whatever those may have been) and the constant running around that night had made him incredibly hungry.

"Not fake?" He said brightly, looking at them carefully before taking a plump blueberry between his thumb and forefinger. "They look loads better than what we get in the Great Hall--" he said, cutting himself off as he dropped the fruit into his mouth. Chewing thoughtfully, he decided he liked the taste and pulled a handful off the vine before returning to Mozess' side.

"Where do you think this leads?" He asked then, oblivious to her internal musings after he had finished chewing. "Hopefully not somewhere where we'll be needing that eyeball again--"

Zachary's voice trailed off as his footsteps died. He stood frozen in front of what seemed to be a stream infested with grindylows, their sharp teeth positioned in a taunting grin. Dropping his blueberries, Zachary stumbled back, about to pull out his wand when Mozess walked right passed him, easily making her way through the water.

"Mozess?" Zachary's stunned voice echoed in the passage-way, scaring at least two dozen birds from behind entangled, miniature trees that lined the Hall. "Where-- where did those come from?" He muttered, before realising Mozess was walking along the stone floor, looking completely unperturbed.

Scowling at her nonchalance toward the water demons and deciding he couldn't be outdone by her, he walked toward the stream and stepped inside with one foot.

The water reached well past his thigh, and immediately a Grindylow sped toward him, long fingers reaching out to grasp him.

Letting out a yelp, Zachary pulled his leg out of the stream at once, tripping over a thick root that had materialized behind him. It entwined with five others, just as large, before disappearing into the tangle of trees.

Afraid to breathe, Zachary watched with horror as what seemed to be Erkling swung from the celing -- which was no longer stone but a bed of weeds -- snickering madly. It jumped onto Mozess' shoulder, taunting Zachary in a sing-song voice.

And even still, the girl seemed oblivious. Still spread awkwardly on the floor, he pulled himself up and noticed with a relief that an expansive bridge was crawling over the surface of the lake. He ran across it at once, reaching Mozess and scowling immediately.

"How come nothing's going after you" He said bitterly as the high-pitch laughter of the Erkling echoed around them, still perched happily on the Slytherin's shoulder, though flashing sharp teeth to Zachary whenever he moved too close. "And get that thing off your shoulder!" He cried... perhaps less dignified than he would have liked.[/color]

[Mozess Mirari]

She looked over her shoulder as the horrid grinding sound echoed through the tunnel, "Everything has to be dramatic, doesn't it?... Oh, don't eat those. Who knows what's been...crawling on them," she shuddered and continued walking as his barrage of questions continued, "I wish I knew. I've been trying to think it through, but nothing plausible comes to mind other than some old Herbologists Office... maybe they left behind some galleons to make this trek worth our while though," she shrugged.

"Yeah Zach?" she asked when he called her name. She looked around the passage, "Where did what come from?" she asked obliviously. She heard his yelp a moment later and turned to see him flailing about on the floor. "What are you doing? You didn't tell me you have seizures. Do you have some medicine I should get you or something?" she asked, starting to find this a little weird.

Mozess finally turned around and looked at the passageway they'd just come through. All she saw was the stone walls and ceiling with the weird little honeysuckle plants all around.
"What are you talking about, Zach? How come what's not coming after me? the spiders on the walls? It's not like they're lunging at you particularly."
She noticed how persistant Zach was beeing and started to get worried, "What 'thing' on my shoulder? What's going on Daniels, you're starting to freak me out. Are you feeling okay?" she put a hand to his forehead as if checking for a fever. She quickly pulled her hand back, "You're burning up!" She knew that the hike up those stairs had been kind of strenuous, but this was ridiculous!

It was then that she saw the blue stains around his mouth... "The berries... Oh, Zach... why didn't I do more to stop you from eating those...- You must be hallucinating!" She paused for a moment, "No... no, that's not possible. Sweetberry Honeysuckle is one of the only edible Honeysuckle plants..." Her eyes grew wide and pale, fear washing over her, "Zach... Zach, what do you see?" she asked, a slight stutter stilting her voice. She'd heard about spells like this before, but she never thoguht she'd encounter one personally in a million years! That fact alone frightened her, the spell itself was a whole other type of fear. She wasn't exactly sure she wanted to see what was going on around her; not sure if she wanted to see what she'd walked through already, and positive that she didn't want to see what was coming next. But she knew that at some point she was goin to have to, and she'd rather hear the current news straight from Daniels as opposed to popping in a berry and having a heart attack.

She took a deep breath and looked around the room once more before letting Zach relate the events.
She bits her lips as she looked the far wall where there was supposedly a flock of birds roosting, and the floor where she walked straight through a pack of grindylows, and- "There's... and Erkling on my shoulder?" tears began to whell up in her eyes as she stared at the empty spot of air about her left arm. She shuddered and took a deep breath, "O-okay. This... will be okay," she tried to convince herself. "Daniels, if you would kindly get the horrid beast off of me, it seems the things I can see crawling all over the berries aren't nearly as horrible as the things I can't see without eating them. So-" she gestured to the empty air pleadingly.

[Zachary Daniels]

Zachary's steps faltered next to Mozess' and he immediately widened his eyes, knuckles turning white as he gripped his wand in a tight fist.

"You can't-- can't see anything?" He cried, his voice drowned out by the Erkling's growing snickers, laughter vibrating the leafs of a tall plant next to him. A constricting feeling surrounded his chest, and he gulped audibly, rearing back from it. "Why--why me?" He whined a bit pathetically, eyebrows furrowing.

Though, his head immediately snapped back up, gazing at Mozess with disbelief as she requested he rid her of the foul creature. "What?" His fingers felt numb where they clutched his wand, and a stray bird flew over his head, a keening cry leaving its beak as though foreshadowing Zachary's likely demise. "N--No, I can't!" He protested, walking a bit further back.

He would have been content with saving his own neck, running back to the staircase and blasting it open with every and any spell he knew, until he saw the distressed expression on his companion's face. It seemed too surreal, having Mozess looking helpless and blind to what was going around her when she was usually the level-headed and intelligent one.

"I--" Petrified, he glanced at the Erkling which barred it's teeth, claws sinking into the Mozess' robes.

"Oh, Hell," He murmured defeatedly, raising his wand at once and aiming it at one if its pointed ears.

"Frigus!"

A turbine of mixing shades of blue spiraled from Zachary's wand. Most of it had missed the elf-like creature completely, instead hitting one a hefty tree trunk, as he had been too intent on avoiding hitting Mozess.

The tree immediately froze up, looking like a perfect ice sculpture, each leaf detailed with vines carved into the cool solid.

Cursing, Zachary aimed his wand again. However, the spell paused on the tip of his tongue as he saw the Erkling's ear was now a smooth sheet of ice.

Noticing this, the creature swooped off Mozess' shoulder, one of the weedy vines from the ceiling falling. Swinging wildly on it, the Erkling tensed its posture to hit Zachary squarely in the chest with its feet.

It took only a few seconds for both his ears to freeze as well, and the ice crawled down its forehead, reaching the beasts eyelids.

Letting out a surprised yell as two miniature feet hit him in the lungs, causing him to fall to the floor hard and wind him, Zachary's fingers unclenched around his wand as it rolled down the mossy stone floor.

The Erkling was now a melting mound of ice, laying on his chest and soaking through his shirt.

"Mirari?" He wheezed, pulling himself off the floor as a strange silence took over the corridor. It was as if you couldn't see the true contents of the room until you ate one of the wild berries, and Zachary grimaced, clutching his side. Realising his wand was not in his grip any longer, he turned his head frantically, searching for it.

When he found it, he sucked in a sharp breath, before letting out an awed "Wow..."

The slender piece of wood seemed to be resting at the foot of what looked to be a wide clearing, tall grass taking the place of the stone floor.

He walked toward it dazedly, his blue stained fingers reaching out as a wayward note of music reached his ears, before an enchanting song flowed melodically throughout the passage-way.

Then, he stepped forward, his shoes making a sharp impression in the tall grass.

[Mozess Mirari]

"I can see, butterbeer brain. Just... not quite the same thing you do right now," she shrugged pathetically. "Why you?" she stared at him aghast. "I'm the one with a damned Erkling on my shoulder, ready to eat my brain out... at least... well, I would assume that's what it's trying to do... seeing as I CAN'T SEE IT!" she tried to calm herself down, but this was all getting too weird for her. She wanted things to be more logical, she wanted to know what was happening, she wanted to be able to zap the erkling off by herself! Relying on Daniels was mortifying. She trusted him, sure... sorta. But stress didn't wear well on him... on either of them really, apparently.
As all these thoughts cascaded through her head she absently heard Zachary bellow a freezing spell. She held her breath, praying it hit the Erkling... or really, anything but her, especially the erkling.

It wasn't long after that that Zach went flying due to some unseeable force. "AAH!" she screamed and ducked dropping to the floor... which was really ridiculous since the room was still empty to her, but invisible enemies are twice as frightening as seen ones. After a moment she heard Zach again... She lifted her head slightly, "Oh, shut up!" she muttered before, shakily, walking over to a wall and picking off one of the berries. She contemplated it for a moment, then closed her eyes and put it in her mouth. The fruit gushed and she swallowed, still keeping her eyes tightly shut. There was no turning back now, even if she wanted to. At some point she'd have to look, have to see what spectors surrounded her.

'Wow...' she heard Zachary say in awe. She cringed, then slightly opened one eye. Was this really the same room?! Tropical plants, and gigantic trees, and little creatures scurrying about... she felt like she was going to be sick; then she heard it... a soft, sweet melody drifting through the branches, dancing across vine-covered walls of the would-be corridor. She saw Zach standing near a thick meadow and, not wanting to be stuck in this creepy place alone, quickly made her way over to his side. "What... is it?" she asked, searching for the source of the haunting tune. She'd never heard anything like it before, it was so... peaceful.

[Zachary Daniels]

Zachary, barely aware of her presence, shrugged. His eyelids drooped lazily and he continued to walk forward, the grass rustling behind him, signaling Mozess had joined him.

Then, his head suddenly cleared while, unbeknown to him, a snake slivered up his right ankle.

"You... You mean you can see it?" Relief flooded through him, and Zachary let out a long breath, looking passed Mozess' shoulder at the corridor. It was obvious that the meadow was more appealing than the passage-way, and he nudged Mozess a bit shakily. "Anything sounds peaceful compared to the snickers of that Erkling, over there." Zachary said with a visible shudder, making a face.

However, as much as Zachary disliked the corridor, he couldn't help but panic as strong vines began to link together to seal off the stone walls. Running toward it suddenly, he was almost there when he felt a force hold him back, causing him to stumble forward.

The last of the vines entwined, blocking off the corridor entirely.

Zachary stared at it for a moment, before looking at Mozess with a helpless stare. "How are we going to get back now?" He said softly, crawling to a kneeling position and frowning. "And what held me back?"

The snake made itself known, hissing loudly and twining around Zach's ankle. Its other end seemed to be tied against a lone tree, perhaps the biggest tree Zachary had ever laid eyes on-- including those in the Forbidden Forest.

The tall grass swayed at Zachary's knees, tickling him, as the flow of music started again. As though going through a mood swing, Zachary's eyes lost their clarity and he stood up, the snake unraveling and falling limply to the ground before slithering away.

Then he turned to Mozess, his gaze fearful. The map was still clutched between her fingers and he gently pried it from her hand.

It was completely blank.

With no where to go, Zachary exhaled loudly and walked steadily toward the tree.[/color]

[Panos]

Creeeak... critch-critch-critch... snap!
Oh! and ancient voice pondered to itself. It smiled an odd, almosts hungry smile as he slowly began to wake from his primordial resting place. He reached out for a vine hanging from a branch and used it to release himself from the old trees root system.

Someone's here... he mused knowingly. Shall we make them feel welcome, pets? the forest shuddered slightly, as if it understood his very thoughts and was replying to them. Good... can't be too careful these days. Have to make sure they know what they're doing afterall. The laugh that followed sounded choppy, like an old billy-goat bleating. He walked over to a clear reflection pool beside an old, shrub covered building of somesort. He looked down and said 'Anthropos.' The water rippled and swayed before clearing, revealing the image of two young humans, about the same age, walking through the first chamber of his sanctuary. The boy was obviously startled, He's eaten the Ambrotose, the bleating laugh spilled forth once again, at the same moment an Erkling in the second chanber started laughing as well, to hide the sound.

I don't remember your having been in her before, he thought directly to the Erkling. I can still use you to see how these two work together though... her snickered as he placed a finger over the water, directly above the image of the Erkling. He moved it over onto the girl's shoulder and watched careful as the young man started having a panic attack of some sort.

Enough. The trees shuddered again. Let them come.
He walked over to his tree again, reached up and pulled a strange pan flute out of its branches. The openings where one blew in were smaller, and where most pan flutes end, these kept going and became spirals of reeds, ending in slender, bell-shaped opening. He returned to the lake as he began playing, watching the trees close the children's exit, as the snake kept the boy from leaving, as they came closer.

He smiled again and turned from the reflection pool, walking closer to them, but keep close behind his tree until he was ready. He crawled around in the shadows before letting one cloven hoof step out into the sunlight (or lack thereof), followed by another, both covered in coarse gray hair, with leaves and twigs scattered in it. He continued moving forward with the rhythym of his music, finally revealing himself to the young humans. The guardian of this ancient abode. The protector of ancient magic.
The faun.

He watched their expressions for a moment, then let his song end on a low mellow note. 'Sorry I had to take such extreme measures to keep you here, but I couldn't let myself let you get away so easily.' He bleated another laugh, the grass around him rustled with mirth as well. 'You see... I've been waiting for you. I need you to help me with something. Do you think you can help me?' the ears on either side of his head wiggled invitingly as he bent his head forward, getting a better look of the children and letting them get a better look at him; narrowed eyes, flat nose, vines growing all over him, and the horns growing out of his head. He smiled at them, not a particularly sinister smile, but definatly not one that made you feel comfortable or welcome at all, either. 'Well?'

[Mozess Mirari]

Mozess was beginning not to like the looks of this... not that she had particularly enjoyed them before, but now that there was no way out it was starting to become even less appealing. Her head whipped around as the sound of twigs snapping caught her ears. She saw some sort of large, angular form hiding in the trees shadows that Zach was now walking towards.

She ran over to him and grabbed his arm, pulling him back away from the tree. She'd let him do something stupid once already tonight and it had gotten them both in great heaps of trouble... even though it happened to actually be the right thing to do, that wasn't the point. Whatever that... thing was, something in it's music wasn't right. Like how the Erklings play music to lure children to their deaths... oh, she didn't like the looks of this at all.

"Stay back!" she warned as the beast came closer... and then it started talking. It's deep, low, calming yet frightening voice made her want to scream, but she'd already done that once already and she was about to wuss out in front of Daniels again. 'Waiting for us? Help it?'
"Hell no!" she said, drawing her wand and taking a step backwards. Whatever this thing was, it was giving her the creeps! She wanted out. She wanted to be back in the common room, blisfully unaware that this freak of unnaturality existed. 'Why, oh why did I think I wanted more adventure in my life?' she chided herself mentally.

"What in Merlin's name are you anyhow?!" her voice screeched slightly and she grimaced at the... thing, now believing that anything horrible happening from this point on was entirely and completly it's fault.

[Zachary Daniels]

Zachary's eyes widened as he was once again pulled back, and he scowled rounding on his companion. "Hey--"

The grass shivered around them once more, before seemingly creating a pathway as a figure loomed forward. Forgetting about Mozess' hold on his robes, he let his arm fall limply in her grip as he stared at the oncoming figure.

He wasn't particularly fond of dangerous creatures, or many creatures at all for that matter, and the first thought that swiveled through Zachary's mind was,

Centaur.

Stumbling back, knowing that the centaurs had it in for him, he glanced around for an escape. Finding none, he watched with a grimace as the silhouette rounded on them--

Not having been a centaur at all. And Zachary's eyes widened, heart beat quickening at a fervent pace as he decided he would have much preferred a centaur over the ghastly creature leering at them.

"What-- what is that?" He cried, finding himself unable to move as weeds twined around his foot. Turning to Mozess, who seemed to be suffering the same panic as he (though less obviously) he leaned over as best he could. "Can you... move?" He whispered, when the creature finally reached them.

Asking for help was one thing, but securing one to the ground and acting as though they were able to refuse didn't exactly count as asking.

However, Mozess did refuse, brandishing her wand and Zachary realised with a plummeting feeling in his gut that his was still over by the weeds.

"What do you want?" He said suddenly. "If it's the treasure, take the map and leave us alone." He cried, his eyes wide as the creature leaned toward them.

[Panos]

'Oh, my. A twig. How frightening,' he tilted his head inspecting it. He then looked up momentarily, winking at the sky, then returned to the girl, 'Just be careful how you use that in here.' He walked around them and over to the weeds, plucking Zachary's wand from them and returning it to the boy, 'Be careful with that! There are things inside this chamber that would do horrible things with your little mortal-magic sticks!' he sighed and trotted over to the tree, still talking, 'Merlin. Now there was a human who showed promise... It was his sister who took the initiative to let me teach her though. What a mistake that was...' his ears drooped slightly as he remembered those days long past.

'Don't worry, young man. You're not alone in your turmoil. The girl is as stuck as you are.' he peered around the tree trunk at them and smiled, 'You two are standing in the very same spots that Merlin and Morgana stood in when I posed this question to them,' he bleated another laugh. He climbed up into the trees branches and looked down at the two children, 'Haven't you figured it out yet?' He wiggled a finger and the map flew up to him. He waved his hand over it and an image of himself, thoguh much younger, appeared on the empty page, 'I am the treasure.' He cackled and a flock of white birds burst forth from the tree on which he was standing.

He reached into a birds nest and palmed something gold and shiny, then he leapt down from the tree and stood in front of the children again. 'I am a Faun. That last one left in the world... at least as far as I know,' he bowed deeply and regally to them. 'I need your help to bring my kind back into existance. I've tried before with other young, promising students with the mark of ancient times on them, but they've always failed me somehow. But now you're here,' he smiled. 'That means the others are here too... well, other than the obvious one,' he waved his hand at the clear blue sky above in an absent way.

'I need you to find the others, and together you can help me bring back my people. Please, can I trust you?' he asked, a forlorned expression on his face.

[Mozess Mirari]

"You should be scared! I can... um... what?" a perplexed look crossed Mozess' face when she saw the thing not only not challenge her, but return Zachary's wand to him as well. 'Mortal magic sitcks?' shje thought curiously 'And there's something worse than you in here?' she pondered to herself, but she didn't dare say it out loud for fear that he might prove what horrible things were in here. She listened a bit apprehensively as the... "it" spoke of Merlin and Morgana. "Wait, wait... that would make you... thousands of years old! Nothing has that kind of a lifespan!"

As creepy and unnatural as all of this was, a part of Mozess was beginning to get curious. She looked down at her feet, "Merlin... that's brilliant... and Morgan le Fay, too?" she was talking more to herself than anyone else, but she was fascinated. She was ready to beat Zachary when he offered up the map as ransom, but when the strange creature began speaking again she was all the more amazed. "A faun?" Well that certainly explained a few things. She didn't no of a single witch or wizard still living who had the power to create such an in depth illusion as to cover up all of... this; this jungle or forest or whatever it was. It would definatly have taken some heavy duty magic to have put all this together...

A million questions were buzzing through her mind now; who else had been in here? Why were she and Zach here now? But the question she landed on asking was "Why do you need us to bring your kind back... I mean extinction is natural, it's not pleasant I'm sure but it's part of life," she shrugged. Then as he continued ranting more questions spilled out, "What 'other ones'? What 'obvious one'? What are you talking about?" Althoguh she still wasn't sure if she believed this Faun, she was completly entranced by the prospect of all the knowledge he was sure to have if his claims were indeed true.

When the question was posed to them once again, 'would they help him', her only answer was to look to Zach. She certainly wanted to now... but she wasn't sure if it was rational or not. They were talking to something that wasn't supposed to exist afterall. Could he trust them if they didn't particularly trust him?
"Zach?"