Two tired looking figures were slowly dragging their feet forward, their clothes dirtied and smeared in a sticky yellow liquid. They moved forward with the exhausted focus of someone who wanted nothing more than a soft bed and endless hours of sleep. Above them, distant stars twinkled in the chilly air and small clouds of steam came out of the travelers’ mouths with each breath.

The path before them stretched onward into distant hills upon which moonlit grass wafted in the night winds. However, as the two companions walked forward, the road seemed to shift, and the way forward was less clear than it had been a few moments earlier. The distant surroundings became a blur and nothing was solid or firm as entire worlds blended together in fleeting images.

At one point or another, the world stabilized itself again, and the two travelers found themselves standing upon a dirt road leading towards a well-lit house. It appeared grand, yet it had no particular ornaments or style that boasted of the craftsmanship that built it. Instead it spoke only of the welcoming warmth guests were sure to find within, and the hospitality of the host.

When the building first came into view, the two travelers had stopped, and together they stared towards it longingly, their destination finally within reach.

One of the travelers, a man dressed in red robes and a crooked hat of the same color, turned to his companion and spoke in a weary voice. “How many times does this make?”

“Twelve, twelve times,” the woman next to him answered.

They were a stark contrast to one another. He was dressed in ragged robes, stained in so many places and tattered at the edges that if not for the clear, almost glowing eyes and the exquisite looking spear in his right hand, one might have mistaken him for a beggar.

She on the other hand was dressed in a fine blue silk coat, stretched around her shoulders and continuing down to her knees. The silk was clasped together at her waist with an expansive looking belt of black leather and with a golden buckle. Underneath the silk was a clean white shirt that almost glowed in the silvery light of the moon and stars, and the dark gray pants she wore ended at her feet in comfortable looking traveler's boots of dark leather.

The man took off his hat and brushed his dark and shaggy hair backwards before he ran the tattered sleeves of his left arm against his forehead, wiping off the sweat that had gathered there. The woman took out a handkerchief from inside her coat and did the same, although her hair, much like her clothes, stood in stark contrast to the man, shining white like newly fallen snow in the dark.

“Twelve,” the man repeated and took a deep breath, before releasing it in an irritated sigh.

“You promised me you would at least consider killing him once we hit ten,” the woman pointed out, and her lilac eyes stared into his amber ones pleadingly.

“We're not killing Leti,” the man said firmly.

“Karon, come on! How many more times do we have to go through this before you admit he's not going to change and we'd be doing the entire universe a favor by setting him on fire,” the woman said and pouted.

“He hasn't crossed over the line yet. Yeah he's done some bad stuff, but nothing that can't be forgiven and fixed,” Karon told her calmly.

“'Yet' being the keyword,” the woman muttered.

“Trix, is there a specific reason you're being so angry? If nothing else he keeps us from getting bored, and makes sure there's paid work in stopping him.”

Trixie blew out a mouthful of air sharply, and looked towards the ambiguous landscape around them before answering. “He ruined my clothes,” she whined softly.

The corners of Karon's mouth twitched upwards as he put his left arm around her and pulled her into an embrace. He kissed the top of her head and whispered, “Technically, you were the one that ruined them when you decided to blow up that--”

“I got caught up in the moment! And now I'm gonna have to spend days washing all this blood out,” she told him frustrated and tried to brush some of it off her coat, unsuccessfully.

“I think you'll just need to put them away and they will get taken care of. The perks of living where we live.”

“Still, that means I will have to spend days without clothes,” she insisted.

“Since when has that ever been a problem?” the man whispered into her ear.

The woman flashed a smile and turned her head up to kiss him. They held the kiss for quite some time, and when they eventually parted their faces lingered close to one another, feeling the warm breath of the other brush against their skin.

The runes on the spear in Karon's right hand started to glow with an orange light, and the look in the trickster's eyes grew distant for a moment, yet still flicked around like he was in a conversation. The look on Trixie's face was not a pleased one, and when Karon's eyes came back into focus she spoke irritatedly.

“What does it want now?”

“Just reminded me that I need sleep and that if I don't get inside soon I'll catch a cold,” Karon said and rolled his eyes.

The look Trixie gave the spear was one of utter distaste, and she smacked her lips thoughtfully.

“Why is it that it always has something to say whenever we get a moment to ourselves?” Trixie asked and narrowed her eyes at the spear.

“Promise always has something to say nowadays,” Karon answered with a shrug.

“I think it just wants you to itself.”

“Trix, it just wants to serve since it has no other purpose for existing. If Promise might be a little hostile towards you it's because it only cares about serving me through killing others. To it, if you're not me, then you're just a potential victim. And it goes doubly so for you since you've landed me in some near fatal situations a few times. I think Promise just thinks of you as... unnecessary.”

“Promise is a spirit of idiocy then,” Trixie growled.

“Stop worrying Trix. Promise just can't understand complex emotions or situations, it doesn't have the capacity for it,” he reassured her.

“Which just makes it creepier. But fine, if you want to keep it then keep it” she told him, but the suspicion in her eyes didn't falter as she kept them on the spear.

Karon threw up his left hand in the air like he was calling the heavens to witness his plight, then turned his head back towards the distant inn and nodded at it. “We should get going, I'm gonna fall asleep on my feet soon otherwise. And we still have to talk to our employer and cash in before heading to bed.”

Trixie was about to say something in return, when she stopped and yawned deeply. Afterward she blinked rapidly a few times, and then nodded silently in agreement.

They continued on the path leading to the inn. The closer they got, the clearer they could hear the familiar music of The Walker's Rest drifting out from inside. Soon enough they arrived at the door and opened it. Inside they were greeted with the low murmurs of voices, and the distant clinking of glasses as the guests ate, drank and discussed whatever business had brought them there.

A few heads turned when the two travelers more or less stumbled inside, stinking of sweat, blood and the hardships they had been through during the last few days. In the far end of the room stood a wide bar, behind which an old but strong looking man with a long white beard and hair stood. He didn't turn up his head from the glass he was busy wiping, but Karon felt his attention briefly settle on the newcomers, the power behind it akin to the distant rumbling of an earthquake.

There were many shadowy nooks and crannies to be found within the inn, and many doors one should be very careful with, least they stumble into a place they might never leave. However for every shadowy table, there was one that stood brightly lit by candles and other indeterminate sources of light.

It was around one of the latter tables that the person Karon and Trixie sought sat, counting coins from a large leather pouch. He was humanoid, the only thing that stood out about him from a regular human was the green skin and golden eyes. His clothes were extravagant, and in Karon's opinion more than a little garish. When the man noticed the two travelers approaching him his face quickly made a change from cold and calculating to warm and trusting.

“My friends, have you returned to tell me of your success?” the man asked in an all too cheerful tone. His eyes went up and down the both of them, and it was obvious from their appearance that they had been through more than just a little trouble since he last saw them.

“The sorcerer has been chased off and won't bother your operations again,” Karon answered in a neutral tone.

“Are you certain?” the man asked, never once losing the trusting smile and cheerful voice.

“He won't be disturbing you again,” Karon confirmed.

The man looked a little perturbed that Karon didn't elaborate, and Karon noticed. So with a sigh he continued, “Trade secrets and all that. You have my word the job is done and that the sorcerer won't be coming back to steal more of your gems or bother your mines.”

The man seemed to consider that for a moment, and then rose from the chair with both his hands stretched out in celebration.

“Then I shall consider this money well spent. I will be sure to come back should I have further need of some ... outside assistance.”

“Happy to help,” Karon said in a tone contrary to his statement.

The man either didn't notice or didn't care, and he jovially reached into a bag placed on the floor next to his seat, and retrieved a small vial of red glass and placed it on the table.

“Your payment as promised. One vial of tears from a holy devi.”

Karon reached forward and grabbed the vial. It felt smooth against his sweat soaked palms, and when he reached into it with his senses a pleasant tingling came back to him.

“It's genuine,” he said.

“What a surprise. I was convinced he would try and screw us over.”

“The universe is full of surprises.”

“Why wouldn't it be?” the trader asked, his voice still as cheerful as ever.

“No reason, just checking,” Karon said and put the vial in a pocket inside his robe.

“Then our business is concluded,” the trader said and leaned down to pull something else out of the bag. When he came back up they were already gone.

To the left of the bar was a polished oak door that opened to a set of stairs, which Karon and Trixie climbed up to the second floor. There was a hallway that looked to stretch down endlessly at the top, and Karon and Trixie walked down it with the trickster holding out a golden key in front of him. After just a few steps, a door appeared in the wall to the right, not with a puff of smoke or something as dramatic, more like it had always been there but they only noticed it just then.

He put the key in the lock and turned, and with a loud click the door swung open by itself. The both of them stumbled inside gratefully, where they both took off their boots and threw them away with groans of pleasure.

The room itself was grand, on the verge of lavish. Rugs of black and oak brown covered most of the hardwood floor, and on the walls, weapons and paintings of extraordinary craftsmanship hung. In the middle of the room, a large two-sized bed stood with plenty of pillows and a wine red cover. On the other side of the bed stood a wooden desk with several book laying half opened upon it, and behind it was a grand window opening up to the shadowy landscape outside and the moon that shone unmoving next to the stars.

Karon placed his spear next to the door and was heading towards the bed with eyes already half closed in sleep's sweet embrace, when Trixie called after him, “Karon, we better wash off first.”

He stopped and swayed for a moment, before lifting his left arm and taking a careful sniff. He was too tired to jerk back, but he had to begrudgingly agree that it would be best to clean themselves up before retiring to bed.

He groaned as he reluctantly dragged himself towards another door that stood opposite the bed, and when he opened it, he walked into a bathroom. It was covered in beige tiles with frescoes of scenic vistas, and although there was a sink and everything else one might expect to find in there, the majority of the room was dominated by a round bath that sat in the center of the floor. It was large enough to contain at least six people, and was framed in not by tiles but by dark colored wood.

Karon started to undress and focus on staying awake when he heard Trixie come up from behind him, and she slipped two arms around his waist. “Tired?” she asked.

“You're not?” he asked back and tried not to sound too sleepy.

“I am, but I still wouldn't mind a distraction,” she answered.

“What do you--” Karon started, then felt her hands slip into his robe and gently drag it off his shoulders. “Oh, that kind of distraction,” he said, and some of his sleepiness abruptly vanished.

He turned around and started to undress Trixie like she was him, and gradually his mouth shaped itself into a grin as she looked up at him with big purple eyes, growing all the warmer the less clothes she wore.

When they were done and stood naked in the room, Karon leaned down and kissed her deeply, the flush of their heated skin made the air feel chilly, and the steam rising from the water called to them seductively.

“Not much one for rest are you?” Karon asked and took her into his arms, carrying her the last few steps and lowering her into the water before him.

She shuddered pleasantly when the warmth enveloped her, and she motioned him to join her with a curled finger. Karon slipped into the water, and couldn't suppress a shudder himself as the grime and dust of the last few days washed off him and replaced the ache in his muscles with soothing tranquility.

Trixie walked over to him slowly and pressed her body firmly against his. She reached up her right hand and placed it behind his head, and just before she brought his lips down to hers she whispered with a wicked smile, “Rest has to be earned.”

                              *****************************************

There was no sunlight to greet Karon when he opened his eyes. Instead, the only thing illuminating the dim room was the trickle of moonlight making its way through the draped window. His mouth shaped itself into a smile and he stretched himself languidly. Every fiber of his being felt saturated with a pleasant calm, leaving his mind free to wander without any pressure guiding him.

Next to him laid Trixie, her chest pushing in and out with every breath she took and a look of serenity on her face. Karon turned his body and watched her silently, admiring the curves the sheet over her only helped to emphasize.

He remained like that for a long time, and eventually Trixie's eyes fluttered open and she found herself staring straight into Karon's own.

“What?” she murmured and rubbed her eyes.

“Nothing, just waiting for your lazy ass to wake up,” he said and poked her in the ribs.

“You love my lazy ass,” she answered with a smile and poked him harder.

“Can't deny that,” Karon admitted and turned on his back.

“So what do you feel like doing today?” she asked and crawled over to put her head on his chest.

“Something relaxing and fun. This last job left a bad taste in my mouth,” he said and grimaced.

“I told you, we should just get rid of Leti once and--”

“No, it had nothing to do with him. It was the mining operation, and our employer. There was suffering etched into every inch of those mines, and the kind of slimy aura the owner had is something that only comes around if you spend your mornings sucking out baby's eyeballs or something.”

“I didn't like him either, but it's over now Karon. What about taking a trip to the bazaar? We could visit Bitz and sell the devi tears, and see if he has something new needed doing.”

“No, it's only been three weeks since last. Besides, we still have a few things left undone from him,” Karon told her with a slightly annoyed tone.

“You mean the answer hunting? Come on it's been years since we got that. There are people that have spent decades, maybe even centuries looking for those answers,” Trixie said and looked up at him with her eyebrows raised.

Karon sighed deeply and twisted his mouth in contemplation before he chose to answer. “Maybe.”

“We both know it's just your pride talking now,” she sang quietly.

Karon snorted and raised her head high enough to kiss her. She returned the kiss eagerly, and as it deepened Karon felt his heartbeat increase, and blood started to flow downwards swiftly. He pressed himself harder against Trixie, when the rumbling of his stomach interrupted him.

“No, no, wait. No… later Trix. Breakfast first,” he said while putting a hand to her chest and pressing her back gently.

She stared at him hard for a moment, then turned her face away and shrugged like it was nothing.

“Okay, let's get something to eat.”

Karon gave her an amused look and got out of bed. “Are you going to be cranky for the rest of the day now?”

“Well if I am it's your fault,” she answered before disappearing into the bathroom and closing the door behind her loudly.

Karon chuckled to himself and went over to the window. Outside, the moon shone like it always did, its perpetual place in the sky over The Walker's Rest ensuring there was always enough light not to get lost in the dark, and yet not enough to hide the stars.

It had taken Karon quite a while before figuring out the exact details involved with navigating the roads of The Walker's Rest, and how to access it from somewhere else. Eventually though, he had figured out that the secret was to be found in the pattern of stars, and with a little practice he had grown skilled enough that he could connect to it now whenever he wanted as long as he was walking upon a road and had a visible night sky above his head.

Though, it was not the sky outside that drew Karon's attention. Rather it was the vast forest of dark trees that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere while they slept. It wasn't something that should have surprised him; there were plenty of mysteries concerning The Walker's Rest he had yet to discover, and some he probably never would. Even so, the appearance of the forest was enough to light a spark of curiosity. However it wasn't enough to overshadow the feeling of emptiness residing in his stomach.

He heard the sound of the bathroom door open, and out came Trixie with a huge grin on her face and her clothes in her arms. She practically bounced over to him - something he greatly appreciated the sight of - and held out her treasured blue coat for him to see. It smelled of something sweet, and every sign of dirt or blood was gone, leaving only a clean deep blue coat of expensive tailoring.

“Huh, worked even faster than usual,” was all Karon said.

Trixie slowly lowered the coat to reveal her face glaring at Karon. “You could at least sound a little happier about it. I love this coat.”

“And I'm sure it loves you back. Can we go down and eat now?” Karon insisted.

Trixie threw back her head and sighed before going back into the bathroom, appearing a few moments later fully dressed. Karon allowed himself to forget his hunger for a moment to stare at her.

She wore the same outfit that she had adopted just days after first shifting her shape to match that of a human, even though some of her original characteristics seemed to have crossed over. The blue and white and gray of her clothes blended in well together with her natural body colors, especially since there was a very faint tone of blue present in her otherwise pale skin.

After the change, Trixie had fallen in love with clothes with a passion unmatched in anyone Karon had met since Rarity, and had proven she was more than happy to dish out pain to anyone that would threaten her precious wardrobe. Karon was thankful though that she had escaped the stereotype enough that she didn't care about shoes at all, and much like him favored function over style. In her case, that translated to leather boots with a steel tip.

“What?” Trixie asked after about a minute of Karon just staring at her had passed.

“Nothing, just considering the changes you've gone through,” he answered.

“Weren't you the one complaining about a lack of food?” she asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Whatever, let's get down and eat then if you're done ruining the moment,” Karon grumbled and headed into the bathroom to retrieve his clothes, accompanied by Trixie's amused chortle.

Downstairs, the inn was just as it always was, half-filled with customers and with strange yet familiar music playing in the background. Trixie walked over to their usual spot, one of the corner tables where they were hidden mostly from view and with a section of wall sticking out, making it hard for anyone to eavesdrop on them. Karon walked over to the bar instead, and the bearded old man standing behind it gave him a grunt of acknowledgment.

“A really big and preferably varied breakfast, haven't eaten anything but dried fruit and raw meat these last days,” the trickster asked and leaned on the counter.

The bartender didn't respond except nodding once, his gaze still fixed on something behind the counter Karon couldn't see. Usually that would have been the end of their interaction, but Karon hesitated before going on his way, and opened his mouth to speak once more. “What is going on with the forest outside?” he asked.

The old man didn't respond at first, instead he looked to be thinking something over carefully. After a while he made a barely noticeable sigh of sadness, then turned around and grabbed a green bottle with an unknown language scribbled on the label. He opened it and pulled out a big mug made out of wood that he filled. When he was done, he put the mug in front of Karon and said, “Give that to your lover.”

Karon blinked in confusion, but did as the old man said and pulled it closer. He didn't leave though, and stood there waiting for an answer. When none came he asked again, “What's with the forest outside? Something going on?”

“If you do not wish to get lost in places unknown, you should get a map. And if you do not wish to lose something of yours, don't let it fall out of your reach,” was all the bartender said, and there was a finality to his words that said Karon wouldn't like what happened if he didn't shut up.

He took the hint and grabbed the mug before turning his back on the bartender and walking over to their table, where he found Trixie greedily digging into a large plate of food. The entire table was laden with all manners of exotic as well as familiar dishes, and the mere sight of all of it was enough to make Karon's stomach cry out in joy.

He put down the mug in front of Trixie and took a seat before digging in himself, and soon all thoughts of the strange forest outside and the behavior of their host was lost in a flurry of meat, vegetables and fruits unknown.

Eventually, Trixie had sated herself enough to pay attention to the mug Karon had brought, and she carefully picked it and gave the contents a sniff before looking at him quizzically. “What's this?”

“No idea, the old man told me to give that to you after I asked him about the forest,” he answered.

“What forest?” she asked back.

“I noticed there's a forest outside the inn, must have appeared while we were sleeping. Kinda wondering how it got there and if it's worth checking out. Now I'm not so sure.”

“What do you mean? If a forest has just popped out of nowhere we have to go investigate,” Trixie said in an eager voice.

“The old man acted a bit weird when I tried to question him about it. I think there might be something bad with it, and maybe he doesn't want to encourage us going in there.”

“Wouldn't he have said something if that was the case?” Trixie argued and pointed a finger towards the bar.

“How should I know? He does what he does and the rest of us just try and make what we can from the little hints he gives.”

“What about this?” Trixie asked and played with the mug in her hands.

“Again, I have no idea. But just the fact that he didn't seem pleased with the idea of us going into the forest is enough for me. We can find other things to do,” Karon said while looking over at the bar thoughtfully.

“Oh come on Karon. He's always cryptic and you don't know if he actually didn't like the idea of us snooping around outside.”

“No, it was just a feeling. That's enough for me in this case.”

“Pretty please can we go outside and explore this mysterious forest?” Trixie asked sweetly and batted her eyelashes at Karon.

The trickster knew what that really meant; she had set her mind on it and the sweet talk was just an excuse she provided for him to give in. Whether he liked it or not, Trixie was going outside to investigate.

Karon rubbed his eyes, and some of the tiredness from last night returned to weigh on his mind. “Well when you ask so sweetly, how can I refuse?” he asked sarcastically.

“You can't,” she answered him with a smile and leaned over the table to give him a quick kiss.

Karon finished his breakfast in silence, absently chewing the food while his mind went over the different possibilities of what the nature of the forest outside could be, and why it might be a bad idea to go inside it. He decided to stop counting once he reached thirty.

“Don't be a wimp, it could be fun.”

“Normally I would love to jump into a strange and foreboding forest, but if our host just hinted that it might not end well...”

“He never actually gave any such hints.”

“No but there was SOMETHING, and it had to do with the forest. That's enough to stay away.”

“Wouldn't be the first time we did something we knew was stupid.”

“Would be the first time we did something stupid where the stupidity was pointed out by--”

“Don't think his name! I get your point, but Trixie has decided we will go inside and check it out so let's just go with the flow and try and have some fun.”

On the other side of the table Trixie was leaning backwards in her seat, looking at Karon with a knowing gaze. “Still thinking over why we shouldn't go and look in the forest?” she asked in an amused voice.

“It's almost scary how well you've gotten to know me,” Karon said and shook his head.

“I could say the same. So are we going?”

“You're not giving me much choice are you? Don't answer that it was a rhetorical question. Yeah, we'll go, just drink that stuff the bartender gave you and we'll go get some supplies.”

Trixie picked up the mug and stared down into the liquid inside, before she shrugged and put it to her lips, taking a testing sip. She pulled the mug away and licked her lips thoughtfully, then her eyes shone up and she drank it all in one go.

“That good huh?” Karon asked with a crooked smile.

“It was awesome, I...ohh...” She stopped and her eyes grew wide.

“What's happening?” Karon asked and leaned over the table to grasp her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. “What. Is. Happening?” he repeated slowly.

“I can see … it all. This place, it's our home,” she said dreamily while her eyes looked everywhere except at Karon.

“It is,” Karon agreed, and after he'd said it Trixie's eyes snapped to him and meet his gaze.

“Our home, I belong with you ... I love you Karon,” she said as a joyful smile made its way onto her lips.

“And I love you,” the trickster responded hesitantly, his face saying he was wondering where the hell this was leading.

Trixie drew in a deep breath, and when she released it a change came over her, and she suddenly looked around groggily. Karon let go of her and settled back into his seat.

“That was weird,” she said and rubbed her eyes.

“What happened exactly?”

“I'm not sure, it was like ... for a moment everything was crystal clear and I could see this moment perfectly, this exact moment in our lives. I still feel it, that same clarity. I think ... I think that stuff I drank was to make sure I never forget this.”

“Forget this what?” Karon asked.

“This moment, this place, with you this very exact second. Being where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be, I think,” she said, and even though her voice was uncertain there was something behind it that said she wasn't wrong.

Karon thought about that, then turned around to look over towards the bar, and the bearded old man standing behind it cleaning a glass.

“What do you think that was all about?”

“Maybe he wanted to make sure Trixie wouldn't forget about this place … or us.”

“That certainly isn't foreboding. Maybe we should argue some more and see if she gets too tired to go exploring.”

“We're talking about Trixie. She'll be happy screaming at us for hours then drag us to the forest when WE get too tired to resist.”

“We're so whipped...”

“Yeah but the sex is so good. And what other woman could possibly find a guy hypnotizing a trapped necromancer to believe mutant snakes were slowly devouring him unless he confessed his crimes sexy?”

“You make everything so clear. Let's just try and keep our eyes opened, and be prepared for some mind magic in case there's something manipulating memories in that forest.”

“Agreed.”

Karon twisted his mouth in displeasure for a moment, then turned back to Trixie, who was still looking around herself curiously, settling back into her normal perception. Karon waited silently before she seemed to have returned completely, then simply said, “Let's go get our stuff then so we can go.”

Trixie grinned and got out of her seat excitedly. She hurried towards the stairs with Karon following behind at a more sedate speed. However when they got to the stairs, Trixie managed to get up only a few steps before she stumbled and fell down with a loud “Umph!”

She pushed herself up and turned around towards Karon with a murderous glare. “You saw nothing!”

“Don't tell me you're still struggling with coordinating as a human?” Karon said with suppressed laughter.

“It's weird okay! There's like no balance, and you've got little squid like things sticking out of your hooves! It's just … weird!” she half-shouted defensively.

“Well at least you've learned to use your fingers properly. It was getting old watching you try and grip things between two closed fists,” Karon said and walked up to her.

“It's just a little hard when I'm trying to go fast,” she muttered, and Karon couldn't suppress a smile when she stomped her foot in frustration.

“Well two months running around as a human has given results at least. And do I need to remind you that it was you that insisted in learning how to shapeshift? Or that it was you that decided to stick with being a human?”

“You were the one that started all of the shapeshifting,” Trixie pointed out.

“What kind of self respecting trickster can't shapeshift? Answer: none. Even though it takes me hours at least I can do it now,” he said with a shrug.

“Yeah well I'm sticking with my human form now, and if I hear more about my lack of balance I'm going to find a way to make you pay, mark my words,” she said in what she no doubt thought was an intimidating voice.

Karon snorted. “You'll possess full mastery over your new body soon enough. You found imaginative uses for it last night,” he whispered and put an arm around her neck before kissing the top of her head.

Trixie's right index finger shot out and poked Karon hard enough in the side for him to yelp and lose his balance. He stumbled down several steps before he managed to recover his balance, Trixie's chortle ringing out in the narrow stairway.

“Yeah, you’re setting the best example,” she said in between the giggles.

“Just get going you clumsy pyromaniac,” Karon said irritated and pushed her forward, getting an excellent view of her wagging hips as she continued upward with trickles of laughter accompanying her.

Back in their room, Trixie was throwing her belongings around all over the place, looking them over once with a critical eye before discarding them. Outside her personal area of disaster, Karon stood impatiently tapping his foot while wearing his crooked hat and a shoulder bag filled with food and water, courtesy of the extra-dimensional space offered by an enchantment on it.

It took her over an hour before Trixie had decided on what to bring on their little excursion, which besides her usual outfit, included an enchanted dagger with a silver hilt strapped to her belt, and a black cloak Karon had bought her at the bazaar. It would protect her from weather and temperature changes so long as the outside effects weren't too extreme.

“How do I look?” she asked and spun around.

“Like a kick ass, shape shifting magician that likes to blow stuff up,” Karon answered dryly.

“Awesome, just what I was going for. Ready to leave?” she asked happily, letting Karon's sarcasm go by unacknowledged.

“Yeah,” Karon said and turned around. He walked over to the door and opened it, and before he went through he reached out with his right hand towards Promise resting against the wall. However when he grabbed it he didn't feel the usual slumbering power of the spirit within the spear, instead the spirit was very much awake, but as soon as it sensed him picking it up it slipped into sleep immediately.

Karon quickly put the spear back and stared at it with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open in shock.

“Okay, that can't be good.”

“What the fuck... Promise is not supposed to do that.”

“What? Be fully conscious when it’s not with us, or actually try and hide that it is from us?”

“This is really, really bad. Promise is scary enough as is when it’s under our control. If it is changing to the point it might decide it wants to become independent...”

“Calm down, calm down. We don't know if that is what it is doing. We knew Promise would eventually start evolving with time and experience, that doesn't mean it has to change towards a super powerful psychotic killer spirit.”

“It already is.”

“Free willed super powerful psychotic killer spirit then.”

“So what do we do? We can't just leave it here, we might need it in the forest if things get bad.”

“What if in a moment of crisis it decides to take the opportunity and betray us?”

“Karon what are you doing?” Trixie asked and tapped his shoulder.

“Just … thinking,” he answered without taking his eyes off the spear.

Trixie followed his gaze and sighed in annoyance, “What is it saying now?”

“Nothing. But there's something going on with Promise,” he said to her slowly.

“What?” Trixie asked and perked up a little.

“Something's going on. I'm not sure Promise is the same as it used to be.”

“Does that mean I can finally melt the thing,” Trixie asked eagerly.

“No ... not unless it turns against us. Which we have no reason to suspect it will!” Karon said firmly, and his tone left no room for argument.

“So what do we do? Leave it here?”

“We might need it...” Karon responded in a hushed voice and reached out his right hand towards the spear.

He ran his fingers against the smooth metal surface, the intricate swirl of the unknown orange stone that shaped itself into runes. At the tip was the only thing that was left of Bator's Promise, the black diamond blade that seemed to suck the light around itself hungrily. Within the spear rested the spirit Karon had named Promise, the creation of a merging between the bloodthirsty spirit of Bator's Promise and the piece of Feather Touch's spirit she had gifted Karon with.

Promise had served Karon well ever since its creation, but he had been forced to remind himself that even though she was a part of its beginning, Promise was not Feather Touch. The unicorn was dead and her soul had long since passed on. The love and affection Karon had held for her was something he couldn't allow to carry over to Promise.

Promise was something else, it was an IT. A collection of very powerful energy kept together by the core essence of its two creators. The will to kill because of rage from Bator's Promise, and the will to sacrifice because of love from Feather Touch. The two instincts had found a harmony within Promise, but they were still just the remnants of what had spawned it; echoes.

All things grow, and it was inevitable that the spirit would eventually grow out of the shell that had been left of its predecessors, and become a truly individual being with its own free will.

When that happened, the will to sacrifice, the love that had been left from Feather Touch would belong in the past. But the rage, the will to kill... even though the remnants of Bator's Promise would be left behind just as well, Promise itself was still the spirit of a spear, a weapon. It was designed to kill and it had no other purpose.

“So the question is ...what happens when a being that can find no other purpose or meaning in existence besides killing becomes truly self-aware and has a mind of its own?”

Promise had been a bit on the scary side ever since its creation, but it had been held in check, and Karon had been able to accept and even come to think of it as a friend of sorts because it was completely loyal to him, bordering on obsessive. It wanted to serve more than anything, and it served by killing. And that had been made clear by the many times it had thought Karon was holding it back and that things would be much better if he just gave in and butchered his way out of trouble.

“So what if it decides it isn't enough, that it wants more killing?”

So many questions, so many things that could go wrong. Should he act before something bad could happen and destroy the spirit before it could truly grow into its own? Was it right of him to rip apart a being on its way to achieving true life because of what might happen?

“I hate moral dilemmas.”

Karon let his hand fall away from the spear, and the look he gave the spear was pained. Promise had been with him now for over five years; two back on Earth when Varsif continued his training, and three on the starlight path of The Walker's Rest, adventuring between worlds. There was a chance Promise would grow into something new, and turn on him.

But it hadn't, and even after all the possibilities had been looked at and all sides checked, one simple fact remained; he didn't want to kill Promise. It was a genderless, amoral, soulless spirit, and Karon had grown to view it as much of a companion as Trixie. The changes in the spirit had been noticeable over the year, but they had been small. Tiny changes in the spirit's reasoning, unfamiliar emotions making temporary appearances, but it had been no real game changer. Trying to hide from Karon that it was achieving self-awareness ... that was.

The trickster took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds, and when he let the air out he reached out with his right hand and grasped the spear. “Promise, we need to talk,” he sent into the spear.

“Dude, you sound like you're gonna break up with it.”

“Shut up, this is serious.”

The spirit within the spear roused itself gradually, and a calm voice answered him.

“What do you wish to talk about master?”

“You...”

“Are you not happy with my service master?” came the reply, together with a flood of emotions Karon interpreted as stark terror.

“I'm happy with your service Promise. You've saved my life uncountable times and remained unwaveringly - almost scarily - loyal the entire time. I'm just wondering how long that time is going to last.”

“Master?”

“Promise, I know something is happening to you, what I want to know is ... are you still the same?”

“Master...” came the pained thought from the spirit.

“Promise, I need to know,” Karon insisted.

The energy that streamed off the spear was a maelstrom of confusion and doubt. If Promise had been physical Karon suspected it would have been wringing its hands awkwardly.

“Master, please...” the spirit pleaded.

It was enough to make Karon hesitate, that the nature of the spirit had evolved to the point of being able to refuse him was disturbing. But what was even more disturbing was not that it could, but that it actually would, plead.

“Promise, I need to know it's still you. I need to know you won't snap and turn against me.”

“I would NEVER betray you master!” the spirit screamed in pure disbelief.

“Promise would never betray me. Are you still Promise?”

“I don't know...” came the reply, barely above a whisper.

And then Karon felt what the spirit had been trying to hide: fear. Promise was afraid, terrified. It was going through changes it didn't understand, emotions and thoughts completely unfamiliar and of a kind it had never experienced before. The only thing it had ever known in the few years it had existed was the need to kill and the need to serve Karon, and now it was faced with a new form of existence far beyond that. It was becoming alive.

“Promise...” Karon said out loud.

“What's going on?” Trixie asked.

“Later,” Karon told her and shifted his mind back to the connection with the spear.

“Promise--”

“Am I still Promise!? I don't know master, I don't know! I'm thinking, and feeling and they're all screaming at me all the time! I can't kill them! I've tried and they won't go away! Please master... help me … make it go away.”

Karon felt his heart twist at the raw emotion that came rushing from the spear, and his eyes went right and left as he tried to think of what to do. The spirit had been honest, and appeared more like it was being tortured as it tried to cope with its new level of awareness, and not secretly plotting to murder him and go on a killing spree.

“Promise, we can get through this,” he offered weakly.

“I can't... I can't even assume my form anymore... It's all just wrong...”

“You can't assume your form?” Karon asked wide eyed.

“No,” it answered with a wave of despair.

Promise was a spirit, but the form it had assumed at its creation was a pure reflection of its being, a far more personal form of identity than what a body was to a physical being. If Promise could no longer shape the energy it consisted of into its regular form, it was because it was no longer a correct reflection of its nature. And if that was the case, Promise's inevitable change wasn't coming; it had already happened.

Karon put back the spear against the wall and backed away from it. His mind was swimming with the potential ways the situation could get even worse. One mistake, one wrong message, and Promise might make a complete U-turn in personality and nature.

“What do we do?” asked the sarcastic voice, for once sounding a lot less sarcastic.

“We definitely can't leave it now. It is in a critical stage at forming its new identity. If we leave it that might tip the balance to it deciding it doesn't need us, or that we don't care.”

“So what? We bring it and try and keep it cheerful? We're heading into a forest that has been alluded to as being very dangerous by one of the most powerful beings in our universe, remember?”

“We have to bring it with us regardless.”

“An unstable, highly powerful spirit that might or might not decide to break the self-imposed chains of servitude to us?”

“If the forest is as dangerous as has been hinted at, then maybe letting Promise protect us by killing stuff is the right call. Maybe it will help reinforce its sense of being, ground it in its love for killing and serving us.”

"That's messed up and completely logical. Damn it, okay just … try and keep it in a happy killing mood or something.”

“Karon would you mind telling me what is going on? Are we melting it or what?” Trixie asked and held out her arms wide.

“No, we're bringing Promise with us. It might be a little weird for a while, so we'll just have to see what happens,” Karon looked at her and said.

Trixie twisted her mouth, disappointed, and walked over to the spear leaning against the wall, she pointed at it and said in a threatening voice, “One wrong move and I'm turning you into scrap metal.”

The runes on the spear started to glow threateningly in return, but nothing further happened. Trixie gave the spear one last challenging look, then turned and opened the door, holding her head up high while she left the two of them behind.

“It is so nice we can all get along so well,” Karon announced dryly out into the empty air.

He sighed and shook his head, then grabbed the spear and tried to send along as much soothing energy as he could together with the telepathic message.

“Promise, Trixie and I are going out to investigate a potentially deadly dark forest. Would you like to come along and help?”

“I ... yes master, of course. I shall do all I can to serve you and kill anything that gets in your way!”

“That's what I like to hear. Let's go then, we have to find something for you to kill.”

The answer from the spear wasn't telepathic as much as an empathic flood of relief and hopeful joy. The look on Karon's face got stuck somewhere between worry and amusement, so he left the room and locked the door behind him, then headed downstairs to find Trixie.

She was standing impatiently at the exit, tapping her foot and pretending to look at a wristwatch that didn't exist. Karon chuckled to himself as he walked over to the door and held it open for her. He gave her a smile and said, “After you m'lady.”

“I am no lady, and you are no gentleman,” Trixie pointed out and passed through the doorway, the chill night air greeting her.

“Astute observation,” Karon told her and followed.

Outside, the stars burned brightly against the pitch black of space, the moon dwarfing their light and shedding enough light to let the two travelers see the dirt road and surrounding grass clearly. But where the grass clearing around the inn normally would stretch for miles until it ended in a constantly shifting landscape of ambiguous shadows, it now ended just a few meters later at a dark tree line.

The forest seemed to embody the very definition of foreboding. The trees were all dark, and not just from the low light conditions. Instead, Karon noticed as the two of them walked over towards the forest that the trees' bark was black and reflected some of the moonlight. When he reached the closest tree, he took a close look at it and saw that the 'bark' was more like a thick greasy substance covering the tree, almost like tar.

He stepped back and looked over at the other nearby trees, all of them looking just the same. None of the trees had any leaves, instead they stood naked with sharp and twisted branches reaching out towards the night sky. Overall, the impression Karon got from the forest was hungry, but that was just the looks of it. The spirit of the forest was different, and as Karon stood at its edge and reached out his senses into it, he was surprised by what he discovered.

The forest wasn't hungry, or had any ill-will he could detect at all. Instead the forest was saddened, like it was carrying a great burden it was not meant to have. And there was more, however Karon was unable to get a read on what that was besides the fact that it felt like there was more to the forest than the forest itself. Like the presence of ancient ghosts, or perhaps future ones.

There was only one other place Karon had ever encountered that felt like that, and that was the Everfree forest. But where the Everfree had been a place of ancient memories, an echo of an era long gone, the dark forest he now stood at the edge of wasn't like that. It was like it was stretched into too many directions at once, and carried within it more than just a memory of what it had once been.

The more Karon tried to penetrate the heart of the forest and find an answer, the more confused he got. Eventually he gave up and pulled back his senses, which caused a slight throbbing inside his head and his mouth to go dry.

“So? Detect anything oh great master of sensitive stuff?” Trixie asked sarcastically.

“Yeah, but nothing that says there might be a memory-confusing-or-possibly-devouring monster hiding inside.”

“Well that's good, so should we head inside and start exploring then?” she asked, and before Karon got a chance to answer, the former unicorn took a few steps forward and melted into the deep shadows of the forest.

Karon smacked his lips and waited a few heartbeats before he followed in after her. As soon as he passed into the dark fold of the forest he lost all sense of direction, leaving him disoriented as he stumbled forward using Promise as a blind stick to feel his way forward.

Gradually, shapes were starting to take form again as his eyes adjusted to the dark, and he was able to continue without risking walking into a tree. After a few minutes had passed, Karon heard the sound of giggling ahead of him, and he froze momentarily as a thousand horror movie scenarios played through his head.

He calmed down when he caught a bobbing head crowned with bright white hair, plainly visible against the black of the forest. Karon was about to call out to her when he thought better of it, and with a crooked smile he straightened his back then disappeared from view.

A few meters away, Trixie peeked out from behind a tree and frowned when she could no longer make out Karon's silhouette. She backed away slowly, her eyes perched, then felt her foot get caught it something and she yelped loudly as fell down on her ass.

Her face turned into a scowl, and it only deepened when she couldn't find any roots or whatever she had tripped on. She rubbed her back as she stood up, and her eyes scanned the surrounding forest with a suspicious glare.

She carefully took a few steps to her left, then remained completely still as all her senses - both physical and psychic- tried to pick up on anything around her. When nothing happened she took a few more steps, and halfway to the ground something caught her foot and threw it in the other direction, sending Trixie into the air flipping halfway over herself.

She crashed to the ground loudly, and she pushed herself up with a snarl. “That wasn't funny Karon!” she shouted and spun around trying to spot him.

“Yes it was,” a voice answered her from the dark.

“How about you come out here and we'll play some more games,” she offered in a dangerous tone.

“No. This is pretty entertaining.”

“Come out now Karon before I decide to set the forest on fire,” Trixie threatened and held up her left hand, flames flickering briefly between her fingers.

“Calm down Trix,” Karon said, and appeared just in front of her wearing a huge grin.

“If you're done playing maybe we can get one with actually exploring now?” she said and threw her hair nonchalantly.

“I don't know, you still seem to have some trouble with walking. Are you sure you wouldn't rather switch back to being unicorn?” Karon asked in a mocking voice.

Trixie shuddered at the suggestion. “No, I'm done with Equestria and everything that has anything to do with it. And stop smiling like that before I punch you,” she threatened, but Karon noticed the twitching at the corners of her mouth.

“Very well then,” he said and offered out his left arm for her to grab. “Shall we go and explore?”

“Thought you'd never ask,” she answered and placed her arms lightly over his, and together they set off deeper into the forest, the runes on Promise lighting up bright enough for them to see clearly the path ahead.

Trixie was looking around herself with great interest, the dark and foreboding atmosphere of the forest not bothering her in the slightest. Karon had no such luck. The further in they went, the more prominent the feeling of the forest grew in his mind, and it went from the distant sadness he had perceived at the edge to full blown heart wrenching sorrow as they got closer to the center.

Trixie wasn't sensitive enough to pick up on it the same way he did, and most likely felt nothing more than a slight melancholy, as if she had remembered a very old but sad memory.

What was worse was the fact that no matter how much focus Karon put into it, he couldn't detect the source of the sorrow the forest was going through. All the trees were wailing soundlessly in pain, and each of them did it as if they were the one who was carrying the source of it inside themselves. The result was an entire forest crying out with the only thing binding the individual trees together was the feeling that they were the source of the misery.

And so Karon and Trixie walked further inside, the former with a wary look in his eyes and the latter with open curiosity. As much as Karon hated to admit it, the mystery of the forest and what was causing all the suffering intrigued him, and even though it had been hinted at that going inside to investigate was a bad idea, he didn't think he could just turn around and leave now that he was there. The siren call of the unknown and unanswered was too strong.

“Promise, can you detect anything I'm missing?” Karon asked the spear.

“No master I'm … I'm...”

“Take it easy. Just explain what you can feel calmly.”

“I don't … I can feel … I think it's pain master. Why am I feeling pain? I'm not supposed to feel that, it hurts.”

“Just calm down Promise, you're just experiencing some new things. It will pass with time, just keep calm and focused.”

“Master it hurts. This place hurts and I can feel it and I hurt...”

“Shhh, keep calm. Rest Promise, I will wake you up if I need you.”

Karon could feel the rush of gratefulness from the spear, and the presence inside it lessened, like fire turning into embers. Leaving only enough of itself conscious to keep the spear glowing. The situation of it all was enough to almost make him laugh, instead he snorted loudly and moved to walk a little closer to Trixie.

“So do you think we will find anything in here? Because there's gotta be something in here right? Otherwise why warn us about this place?” she asked.

“I don't know. But yeah, there's something in here,” Karon said and looked behind them.

“What? Expecting something to sneak up behind us?” Trixie asked,  half-jokingly, half completely serious.

“Not really. It's just that I'm having trouble getting a read on this place, and there's a chance someone or something could be using all the confusing signals that the forest is screaming to hide beneath. Or behind. Or within.” he said.

Trixie stopped and did a complete turnaround herself, nothing but the same dark forest greeting her in every direction. “So in which direction would that be then?”

Karon shook his head amused, then turned his eyes towards the sky. The stars were visible, and though they provided no real light to speak of, their presence seemed to be enough to calm him down. He took a deep breath and stood a little less tensely than he had before.

“If you want I could try and enter the forest mind,” he offered.

“Can you handle it?” she asked him.

The look Karon gave her could loosely be translated into 'bitch what did you just ask me?', and he followed it with an affronted grunt. He laid down Promise on the ground, then kneeled next to it and closed his eyes. It took him about three seconds to connect to the forest since it made no attempt at resisting his intrusion. If anything, it was almost like it welcomed something beyond the endless cycle of misery it was trapped within.

It was far worse than Karon had suspected. The sorrow he had felt was merely the splashes of emotion that had escaped from the trees. At the heart it was magnified a thousandfold, and not just the sorrow, but pain, and lust, and hatred, and love and every other emotion humanly possible to experience. It was all there inside the heart of the trees, every tree. A fountain of impressions forced into a heart that wasn't meant to hold so much within it.

That was when Karon understood. The sorrow was the forest's, it was the pain from having to carry a burden that wasn't meant for it, and each tree was going through the same thing. It was beyond Karon's ability to comprehend, and he knew that if he did try for even a second to make sense of it all, his mind would have shattered in an instant. So he didn't. Instead, he isolated himself from it, and stood like a solitary rock in a storm of energy.

He realized there were more than just emotions that soaked into the trees. They were entire lives. Millions of lives, billions even. Snapshots of a moment, a thought, a feeling. All of it was swirling around inside the trees, unable to be expressed, and too much to endure.

But the trees couldn't die for some reason. They were as trapped as all the energy that was channeled through them. Karon carefully reached out and tried to trace not the energy, but the lines that bound it together, and he found it.

There was something within the forest that drew from the trees. Not in a great flood, but like small flashes that took just tiny … sips from it.

Karon noted the location to where the energy was drawn, and he broke the connection to the forest. It felt like coming up from boiling water to meet cold winter air, and Karon couldn't suppress a pained groan as he staggered up from his seated position.

Trixie went over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “So how was it?” she asked.

“I can't describe it, and you should be thankful for that,” he answered and shook his head.

“So did you find out anything useful?”

“Yeah, there's something we might find interesting maybe around a fifteen minute walk from here.”

“Is it dangerous?” Trixie asked, not worriedly but eagerly.

“Probably,” Karon told her and picked up Promise from the ground.

“So let's go,” Trixie said, and waved her arms around like she wanted him to pick a direction.

“That way,” he said and nodded to their left.

Karon took the lead with Promise lighting their way. It didn't take them long to reach their unknown destination, and the entire way there, Trixie was fidgeting with her dagger while an eager gleam had made its way to her eyes.

It was no question that they had reached their goal when the two of them came out into an open clearing, with a neatly trimmed patch of grass and a gravel road leading up towards a regal manor. Golden lights shone out of barred windows together with the muted sound of a violin playing.

“Okay, can someone say creepy?”

“I think it says so itself in this case.”

“Pretty,” Trixie said.

Karon turned his head to look at her skeptically, then shrugged and said, “Yeah, kinda.”

“Are we going inside?”

“Maybe we should try sneaking around first an--” before Karon could finish the sentence Trixie had sighed loudly and started to march towards the entrance.

The trickster threw up his hands in the air and followed. When they reached the entrance, they found a large double door made out of wood with two iron spikes sticking out in the center. They stopped in front of it and remained silent for a few seconds, then Karon turned to Trixie and asked, “And what now?”

Trixie raised her eyebrows at him, then very slowly reached out her right hand and knocked loudly on the door. It opened immediately, and on the other side stood a human looking figure, dressed in a black suit and white shirt with a black bow tie. Karon couldn't tell if he was human or not, since his head was completely covered in a silver mask with a neutral expression on it.

The man said nothing, and simply held out the door for them. Karon didn't like it, but just as he expected, the situation didn't deter Trixie, and she stepped inside with a thankful smile towards the masked man. Karon followed in after her, and as soon as he passed over the threshold he felt a magic of some kind settle over him.

Behind them, he heard the sound of the door closing, and he took a look around the impressive room. The interior of the building was made out of a polished dark wood, with carpets of black and gold covering the floors and paintings of creatures being tortured gracing the walls. There were two hallways leading to the left and right, and in front of them stood a rusted iron maiden.

“Okay yeah we're leaving,” Karon said abruptly and grabbed Trixie.

However when he turned around towards the exit, he found only a wall with a huge painting of a finely dressed group of people standing in an empty wasteland. And there was no sign of the silver masked man.

“Crap,” he said, and then turned around again when the sound of footsteps drifted down the hall to the left.

A woman came walking out of it. She was dressed in a fine black dress that looked to be made out of crow feathers, and showed off a generous amount of cleavage. Much like the man that had invited them in, the woman was wearing a mask, but a black one with a beak.    

“Guests? Oh my we haven't had guests for such a long time. Come inside little dears, and welcome to our home,” she spoke with an unnaturally sweet voice, and in it was the promise of such pleasure that Karon involuntarily shuddered with longing.

In the back of his mind a warning signal sounded, and he instinctively reached out with his senses towards the woman. However he immediately drew them back as soon as he came in contact with her aura, and a sick feeling started to grow inside his stomach.

“Trix we need to leave fast,” he whispered hoarsely.

“Karon?” she asked and her eyes went back and forth between him and the woman.

“Trix we need to REALLY leave,” he said again and held out a hand in front of her, pushing her with him as he slowly backed away from the woman.

“Karon what's going on!” Trixie hissed angrily.

Karon didn't take his eyes off them woman, and he could feel her smile behind the mask, and the hunger contained within it.

“Trix, she's a soul eater.”

The woman tilted her head, and a trickling laughter sounded through the air.

“Oh what a gifted little boy. This will be so much fun,” she said and took a few steps towards Karon and Trixie. She stopped when they backed away from her, and she sighed disappointedly, and then asked them in an amused voice.

“Do you like games?”

“Depends on the game,” Karon answered, and pointed Promise towards the woman, the spear glowing threateningly.

The mask hid the woman's face, but Karon knew she was looking at the spear with great interest. Eventually her head turned slightly, and her focus settled back on Karon.

“Let's play a game.”

Next Chapter: Dark Roots (Part 2) Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 17 Minutes