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Kane halted where he was, glancing once towards the campsite and then back to where the sounds had come from. Leaving Bolt behind he sped off into the forest without a sound.

With a flick of his left hand and a wave of the Force, the dirt clod shot off to the side, falling harmlessly to the ground.

Wrapping himself in the energy of the Force, he leapt high into the air, above the creature's steady stream of thrown dirt, and twisted, coming down right toward the beast's head, lightsaber humming as he positioned it to strike right down into the beast's skull.

The great beast moved with speed that no human could hope to acheive in a forest, unless perhaps they had some sort of precognition. Even then, he began moving much like an ape, using his fists to propell him in a faster run, sacrificing stealth for speed.

((>.> Yeah, so forgot the distances involved X.x))

The Dwarf was healing a bit, but the damage was fatal. He would die. He stroked his grey beard and said, "I don't know who you are, or what your name is. But 'cause you're the last one here, and the last person I'm going to see, I want you to make a promise to me."

Holding up a pendant from around his neck, he coughed again. In a gruff voice, he continued, "This is the 'Jewel of Nirrador'. It is an heirloom of my clan, and I am it's current keeper. It is passed on to each of our elders whenever the keeper dies. Because I am going to die, I want you to take this to my brother Daelen, who runs the ferry to Isle De Gambino in the closest village. Tell him I, Dorlen, have died and pass the Jewel of Nirrador to him."

He coughed, "Do you accept this? Do you swear to give the Jewel of Nirrador to Daelen, by your family's blood?" A dwarf's promise, one that had to be done if it was promised. The dwarf fell onto his back, still holding the pendant up and waiting for a response.


Back at the campsite, Bolt was waiting for whatever it was that made the noise to get closer. The distinct sound of breathing could now be heard from whatever it was. He whispered, "Kei, I'm pretty sure you can hear it. Let's let it get close, so we can see exactly what it is we're dealing with." He still kept his hand on his katana but continued smoking his pipe, the smoke giving an eerie feeling to the whole environment.

Kane slowed, he could smell blood in the air, but it was of a type that he did not recognize. He could almost taste the blood upon his tongue...see the blood splattered across everything in sight...feel the blood covering his hands. He slumped against a tree, smashing his head into it as hard as he could, "I'm not a monsssterr...I am a man...I follow orrderrsss dammit." He shook his head and continued on, unable to attain the same speed as before, but wanting to be stealthy anyhow.

Kneeling in the dirt, with his hand still clenching the pendant, he felt the dwarf's essence break from his mortal shell and become one with the Force.

He reached to his utility belt and opened an empty pouch, slipping the pendant inside and sealing the pouch again, then patting it gently. Standing up, he made a quick circuit of the camp, looking for a shovel or other digging utensil.

Finding none, he settled himself to taking the largest axe in the camp, and using it to dig out shallow graves for the three dwarves. He did not use the Force to aid him; such an act would be disrespectful to both the dwarves and the Force.

After at least twenty minutes, he had successfully dug three graves, and gently placed their bodies in them, once again refraining from using the Force. Once he had covered over the graves, he took up the three axes that each dwarf had used, and jammed their poles into the ground at the heads of the graves, each axe to the dwarf that had used it.

Finally, once all this was done, he stepped back, looking over the graves soberly. Three more dead, having died because he could not save them. For all his mastery of the Force, for all his skills with a lightsaber, countless were the numbers that he couldn't save. Jedi, Republic, Mandalorian, civilian. He sighed slowly.

May you find peace with the Force.

He turned away, smothering the fire with handfuls of dirt, and then walked back into the woods, stretching his senses out to find any other sentient life forms.

Killey had done a little exploring of his own, in the camp, gently browsing through the camp and searching the tents. There was nothing of major value to him, so he left everything where it was. Finishing his own search he returned to the group. He hadn't gone far away so he reached Bolt and Kei rather quickly. He had missed out yet again, but he was certain he would not miss out next time. Speaking to both Kei and Bolt, he questioned,

"What's wrong, where did Kane go?"