Deep in the woods things are hiding,

When Loran, Ostrand, and Cai-Pel made it to Ostrand's house they all stopped outside for just a few minutes. Loran thought it looked like its owner, slightly rough and built to withstand punishment, it lacked decoration. Cai-Pel noticed that no component was found outside of the forest, from the logs to the clay to the hand made glass in the windows.

Ostrand was just annoyed at having to bring the fay woman with him and that he hadn't cleaned before he left. The house wasn't filthy, only disorganized like any normal bachelor pad.

Ostrand walked to the door and decided to risk insulting them both. "Please wait here while I take a minute to tidy up." The sound of his voice told them both it was meant as a question but could be taken as a command.

They simply nodded, no reason to be rude to one of the souls at this point. Ostrand opened the door and walked inside. They saw blinds open in the windows and heard things being shuffled around.

The clatter of hectic cleaning told them both what the house looked like before they were going to go in. Loran looked at Cai-Pel. "Are all men's homes like that?"

He shook his head, "Not all of them. Some are tidy and fastidiously organized. Of course, those are the ones to watch out for. You will never be able to make a home with them because they will not want their patterns messed with."

It was the most practical advice he had given her in a long time. "Thank you. I just wondered because it seems like a pattern. I have seen the male barracks."

Cai-Pel took a deep breath and surveyed the forest. "Don't worry about it young one. When the time is right you will find just what you need. In the meantime, you just keep being you."

She was about to say something else when the door creaked open. The crackling sound of a fresh log in the fire gave the place a nice woodsy aroma. She had expected the musk of badger to be overwhelming. This was half decent.

The house was really one large central room with a table and chairs, cabinets, kitchen, and a fireplace. On one wall at the far end of the house was a door, and it looked like it went back into a bedroom. Across the wall at the other far end of the house was a door that might have been a cellar or other storage room.

Ostrand motioned to the table and asked them to make themselves comfortable.

Cai-Pel pulled out a chair and sat just slightly over the actual seat. This wasn't unusual, he really didn't have a permanent body so it wasn't weird when he got distances wrong.

Loran pulled out a chair and seated herself. She hadn't expected him to pull out a seat and he hadn't planned on it. Manners were for those with too much time.

"I am making an herbal tea. I hope you like forest herbs." He growled over his shoulder.

"That's fine," Loran said while looking at the various things on shelves and stacked neatly against the wall.

"I didn't ask if it was fine, that's all I have. It's going to be fine. I said I hope you like forest herbs."

Cai-Pel spoke up before they could continue to snip at each other. "What can you tell us about that hole. Something very ancient lives there doesn't it?"

Ostrand sighed and looked over at them both. "Yes, and its job is to keep something older at bay."

Loran broke in, "Why does he have paperwork from the capital then?"

Ostrand had a deep sigh and looked at Cai-Pel. "Are you sure you want to be partnered with this one?"

Cai-Pel chuckled to himself. "She's not the quickest sometimes but she is amazingly fierce."

Ostrand nodded and turned his head back to the water pot. "It's so simple that even you should have considered it first. He works for them."

She crinkled her nose and thought for a minute. As a knight, she knew almost everyone who came and went from the towers. This was different, here was a person who could move amazingly fast and keep up with whatever was locked away behind those massive doors.

She shook her head, "I imagine I would have seen anyone fitting that description. I spend most of my day on the right hand of the knight commander."

"No, you wouldn't. If he doesn't want to be seen, you will never get near him. Just like an eagle or a falcon, he can be absolutely quiet when he wants to."

"You seem to be real cozy with him though," Loran spoke quietly hoping to no incite a response from him. Ostrand sighed and put the leaves into the pot to make the tea.

He brought the still boiling water over the table and waited to let the mixture brew up. He missed real tea leaves but this was as close as he could get this far out. He had placed 3 mugs on the table and slowly began to pour into each glass.

"We are neighbors but not friends. He is here to complete his task and I am here to live out the remainder of my days. I don't see him often except when he comes or goes. That's the deal we made when I moved in. He avoids me and I stay away from his little hidey-hole there in the clearing."

Cai-Pel blew on his mug and then looked at Ostrand. "And how long have you been here?"

Ostrand walked the pot back to the fireplace and put it just out of reach of the flames to keep it warm. "Longer than I can count. Look if you really want to meet him just wait in the hole. Or leave before he gets here. Either way, whatever you do, don't go into his home. I don't know what kind of pets he has down there but I know that according to the legend that is where the long-lost race of demons lives."

"They aren't lost. That IS where they live." Cai-Pel said with all the simple charm of a child. So matter of fact that it caught Ostrand off guard.

"Excuse me, you mean to tell me demons are real? And he keeps them as pets?" Loran looked at them both incredulously.

"Of course! Along with the giants of the frozen north." Cai-Pel took his first sip of the brew and smacked his lips. "You found forest ginger? Very nice." He nodded his head in approval.

Loran's voice broke in but went ignored, "He has giants in there also?"

"I knew that damn man was hiding something from me... but the whole damned demon race? Now we might have to do something about it. We can't let them survive..." Ostrand was rubbing his hands together. You could hear the click of his claws rubbing together while he thought.

"Wait, shouldn't we just wait for him to get home and ask for an explanation?" Loran said louder this time. She was surprised at how quickly this turned. The demon race was mostly a myth. To assume the horror stories were true was dangerous and foolhardy. She needed more information.

"We don't have to worry, he is coming here." Cai-Pel sipped on his drink and started to kick his legs back and forth on the chair like a child.

Ostrand almost dropped his cup. He turned to face his visitors. "Damn you both! You ruined my home. He is coming for retribution!" His rage was sown all over his face.

"Calm down. He was searching for us it seems. He hasn't even been home yet. Although I imagine we should tell him we went in before he finds out." Cai-Pel's tone of voice got serious for a moment before he returned to his normal child-like exuberance.

"What are we dealing with Cai-Pel?" Loran asked, thoroughly confused why they both seemed so concerned.

"When your parents told you stories about the old times what race did they all say was just a myth besides the demons?" Ostrand said trying to control his anger.

Loran rubbed her hands and took a sip of tea. Her mother had avoided telling her stories like that. Her father on the other hand was a historian and he always snuck in a bed story or two. "You can't mean the dragon races. That's all legends to scare kids."

"He's not a myth, no more than whatever is living in his cave. He is the last of his kind. The rest were killed eons ago before demi-humans even existed. They almost predate humans." Ostrand started.

Cai-Pel interrupted him, "Actually the human race was first, the dragons were the first created after the first human came. They just died out due to old age and the problem of procreation. This gentleman is older than everyone on the continent. Even that damned old walking pot of clay."

"Older than Ko'Loss?" She was stunned. "Older than the Oracle?"

Cai-Pel shook his head. "The Oracle has always existed, it was just given human form by the first human."

Ostrand stood up straight and took a deep breath. "You mean the first hero right?"

Cai-Pel nodded, "This being might well have met the first hero before he was the hero. Way back when he was a wanderer on a quiet empty world."

Loran was listening, intrigued by the idea. The fact that Cai-Pel knew so much was interesting. The fact that he was sharing so openly for once instead of playing games with her scared her and intrigued her. He never did this normally. It gave her the image that this was one of those situations where she needed to be prepared.

"Do we fight it?" She asked quietly.

Both of them screamed, "For the love of God no!" "Not in my damn house you pointy-eared idiot!"

If Loran could have shrunk into her chair she would have. The response was more than she expected.