As the group continues searching for their fallen friend Tate, Hayden's mind begins to wander. With every corridor and room they enter, the lights on the walls ignite illuminating their way. She can't help but wonder that after so long could magic really still be present down here? Are the others not noticing or do they simply not care? Without Tate here I feel uncomfortable around these guys, I don't trust them. Grys seems kind enough, but he's always watching and something in his eyes tells me that he's a dangerous man. Crete on the other hand IS dangerous and on top of that he's rude, arrogant and doesn't care about anyone but himself, but it's Hades that's starting to worry me. Though he seems to be the most grounded and well rounded of the brothers, he's the one that is doing something to me, something I can't explain. The longer I'm around him the more I feel myself being drawn to him, I find him overly attractive and I shouldn't. I don't know how he's doing it, but I can't let anything happen, It's Tate I love, not Hades. "Do you guys find it odd that all the torches keep lighting on their own as we enter new areas?" Asks Hayden. Grys turns to face her. "I assumed it was Hades." He then looks to his brother. "It is you isn't it?" Hades grins. "Yes my brother, I wanted to see how long it would take for someone to say something. Admittedly it was a lot longer than I anticipated. He says with a wide grin. "Oh right, fire." Says Hayden. "I should have picked up on that, guess I have been to preoccupied worrying about Tate. Grys notices the glossiness of her eyes and understands the agony she is feeling inside. He gives her credit though, she's holding herself together remarkably well. Unfortunately the likeliness of Tate surviving a fall from that height is minimal. Should I say something, prepare her for what we are likely to find? "Hayden..." Says Grys quietly. Hayden quickly wipes the tears from her eyes before responding. "Yeah?" "It's about Tate...I just want you to prepare..." But before Grys can finish his sentence he is interrupted by Crete. "He's probably dead." Says Crete sternly. "He was hit by a wyvern and fell more than a couple hundred feet. People don't get up and walk away from something like that." Hayden's jaw drops open in disbelief, she can't believe what she's hearing. "I'm not saying this to hurt you." Continues Crete more calmly this time. "You just need to prepare yourself for what we're likely find." Tears quickly begin sliding down her cheeks as she pushes past Crete. "Your a jerk!" She tells him while shoving him with all her strength, but the big man doesn't budge. Crete begins to say something but is interrupted by Grys placing a palm on his chest stopping him from advancing. "Why did you do that?" Asks Grys. "It was unnecessary, I was handling it." Crete's eyes flare for just an instant. "She already doesn't like me." He replies. "No sense in giving her a reason to dislike you as well." The faintest of smiles appears on Grys. He moves his hand from Crete's chest up to his shoulder and begins patting it in a thankful manner. "There's hope for you yet." He says in a tone of respect. Crete sneers. From up ahead Hades calls back. "Guys, we have a problem." By the tone of his voice both Crete and Grys realize it must be something serious because Hades isn't the sort of guy that sweats much of anything. They both double their pace moving up beside their brother. They see the problem immediately, a rope bridge has fallen making this route no longer an option. "There has to be something we can do." Says Hayden. "We have to get across." "Hades places a hand a Hayden's shoulder. "Calm your self sweet pea, we will find Tate." It's then that the minions Bit and Titan begin jumping up and down, one after the other in a steady manner. They communicate through jesters and antics since they are unable to speak. Sure they can grunt and growl well enough, but they can't seem to grasp the complexity of vocalizing our language even though they seem to comprehend it perfectly. They are intelligent little creatures and more importantly they are my friends. "What are they doing?" Asks Crete and sounding completely irritated. Hayden turns to face him. "They are telling us we should jump across." I tell him. Okay, when I say they are intelligent I might have been exaggerating. Jumping across is impossible, it must be more than fifty feet. But it doesn't change the fact that they are my friends and mean the world to me. Grys moves to the edge for a closer look. "It's to far." He says. "And I don't see any other options, we're going to have to go back." "Tate's over there, I can feel it." Says Hades. "Going back will cost us time he doesn't have." "I agree." Says Hayden. "We have to find away across." No sooner does Hayden finish her comment and the lights in the room begin flickering wildly, they do this for several minutes. We all watch in confusion, even Hades seems surprised. Then without warning the lights go out leaving us in complete darkness. I don't think need to tell you how terrifying it is to be underground with absolutely no light, but it's the sort of thing that can cause a person to panic almost immediately. "We need lights." Says Crete, the frustration is clear by his tone. "Stop messing around, we don't have time for..." "Be quiet!" Interrupts Hades. "I'm concentrating." "Concentrating on what?" Demands Crete. "Just turn the damn lights on!" "BE QUITE!" Says Hades more forceful his time. Now it's Grys who speaks. "Be patient brother, give Hades the moment he needs. Look at everything he has done, we have no idea of the strain that it all may have been causing him. Hayden lets out a high pitch little "Yelp" as something grabs her legs. "What is it? What's wrong?" Asks Grys. "Nothing." Chuckles Hayden. "The minions just startled me." Meanwhile Hades continues to focus. He has hinted to the others about the voices he hears within the flame. Something wanted his attention by flickering the wall lanterns before shutting them off, something succeeded, it has his full attention now. The more he concentrates the more the faint whispers become clear. "Who's there?" Whisper Hades. "It is us master." Replies the whisper, barely audible. "What do you want?" Asks Hades. "He's talking to himself." Says Crete. "It's not good when you start talking to yourself." "Give it a minute." Replies Grys. "I don't think he's talking to himself, I think he is communicating with someone." "Who?" Asks Crete. "I don't know." Replies Grys. "Let's give Hades the quiet he needs to figure it out though." "Master." Says the whisper in a voice only Hades can here. "What do you want?" Asks Hades for a second time. "To help our master." Says the voice. "Help me how?" Asks Hades. "The sword." Whispers the voice. "Sword? What sword?" Hades reaches back and pulls out one of his hilts that he can ignite into a flaming short sword. The whisper purrs. "Thank you master, in your caress I can communicate with you much more clearly." Says the voice. "Wait, your my sword?" Asks Hades is disbelief. "No my master ,the sword is merely the vessel which allows us to stay close to you." "Us?" Asks Hades. "Who are you?" "We are yours our master, always and forever!" Replies the voice. "I'm not understanding." Says Hades. "How can you help me?" The voice giggles. "We are here to serve you our master, our greatest desire is to please you, to fulfill your every fantasy." Says the voice. "Well if that's true, then can you help us get across this gap?" Asks Hades. "As I said our master, our only desire is to please you." Replies the voice. "However our power is limited while trapped in our realm. If you were to free us..." "Trapped? Realm? What aren't you telling me?" Asks Hades. "We have no secrets from you our master. It is because of you we still live, long ago you helped us and for that we are forever in your debt. However we are not free to enter the mortal realm without permission, and we sense your memories are gone. You have the power to call us forth our master, but it will take some time to relearn what you have forgotten." "So you can't help us then?" Asks Hades. "Our master, please understand our power is limited from this side." Replies the voice. "Okay, thanks for nothing then." Says Hades out of frustration. "Wait our master!" Shrieks the voice. "Do you value all your companions lives equally?" Asks the voice. This question takes Hades by surprise and leaves a bad taste in his mouth. "What does that mean?" He asks. "Sacrifice a companion and we can give you the power you need." Says the voice. "It doesn't matter which, even a little blue creature would suffice." "You better be joking!" Says Hades. The voice hesitates. "Our master has changed. Very well, then take the redhead, ravage her body senseless, make her squeal from sheer ecstasy or scream in violation and we will then draw what we need from that energy." She says. Hades considers this for a second longer than he should. Hayden is after all an extremely attractive young woman. She has curves in all the right places, her face is soft and pleasing and that curly red hair of hers is the kind of thing that keeps a man awake at night. So although the thought of being with Hayden does cross Hades mind, deep down its something he would never act upon. He's down here trying to help her find Tate, the man she loves. Though if Tate ends up being dead...NO, I can't think that way. "That's not going to happen either." Says Hades. "I may not have my memories, but I'm getting the impression your apart of my past I'm better off not remembering." "Our master...NO! We only wish to please you, we did not mean to offend. We only offered options that would have appealed to you long ago. Please do not forsake us." Pleads the voice. "Then give me another solution!" Demands Hades. Again the voice hesitates. "We will help you our master, but understand we will do so at a great cost to ourselves and will be unavailable to you for some time. Should you need us we will not be able to answer your summons." Hades considers this. How much that has happened has been them and how much has been me he wonders? "Will I still be able to ignite my swords and wall lanterns?" Asks Hades. "You are the rightful possessor of the blades, they are yours to command" says the voice. "As for the wall lanterns we are unsure. You have the power, but lack the skill necessary to command flame without our aid at this time. But then our master has always been a man of incomprehensible luck and fortune." "I need to know who I'm speaking with." Says Hades. "I am Kindle our master." "Well kindle I've considered my options and I'm sorry helping me will come at a cost you, but if everything you have told me is true then doing so will prove your loyalty and earn my gratitude. Please help us." Says Hades. Kindle replies with just three words. "As you wish."