The Real Problem

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Ok, it's not the coffee, it's not my muse... it's me. I wrote myself into a corner (I do that a lot) and I'm having a hell of a time getting out. I have this big battle scene to write where my heroes are facing impossible odds. I have such a hard time writing battle scenes, I don't do hack and slash, and I don't want to come up with some hokey idea for them got get out of their jam. I complain about not being able to write but "I know it's my own damn fault".

While they walked up the tunnel the Snail had a feeling of wrongness, bad things were going to happen before they got out, before they even saw action. Arleen hadn't said anything to him so he didn't think it had anything to do with him. She hadn't said anything to the Old Man either but he did see her talking to Dancr not long after the lights came on. He shrugged it off, he was ready for trouble, and his mind turned back to his memories. One day the cell didn't open, he smelled no food and later visitors came. He didn't get up from his mat and waited for them to speak, "You're wondering what's going on. You're in school, the last. You're a special person with unique talents, someone like you needs proper training." Finally Draven spoke, "Weapons? Proper training for what?" "Killing of course," the visitor who spoke answered, "this is an assassin school." "Seems more like a prison, to me." Draven said and the visitor smiled a little, "Merely a precaution." "Against what?" "Our property's escape."

"There's danger up this tunnel, Dancr, it hangs over you and Isu more than any. Something's going to happen when the lights go out." Arleen couldn't say what would happen, she couldn't see into their darkness, she just knew it would be soon and in secret. Her talent was coming into focus, she was learning to direct her sight and understand the timing of the things she saw but it wasn't enough. As much as she hated to, she needed to see deeper, she needed to part the darkness.

The Snail stopped, the wrongness was behind him. As he was turning he heard Arleen, "Something's wrong with Jestr." The Snail rushed over to him, he was too late, Jestr hit the ground. The monk brought his medkit and checked him out, "It's a plasma burn and it's been eating into his leg this whole time." He got the plasma cleaned out so the wound wouldn't get worse but it was too deep to patch with synthskin. "We've got to get him to a med unit, there's not too much I can do." he told the crew. "We can't stay here." the Snail agreed and picked Jestr up. He settled his partner on his shoulder, "I've got him." he said and headed up the tunnel, it wasn't the first time. "How do you expect to stop me from escaping when I'm fighting?" Draven asked, he was sure they had an answer. "If you pass your final test we'll implant you with nanites. They'll not only give us all the tracking we'll need, they'll give us the means of destroying you if you do try to escape, or just make us unhappy."

Isu toyed with the hilt of the knife. She picked it up in the command center, one of the enemy's. A knife thrown in battle, no one would know the hand that delivered it. She had thought to do it in the darkness but when Jestr fell she realized the folly, she would be exposed. No one would see the throw that killed her M'Kael's tormentor.

Cougar had been watching Isu, as they walked she fingered a knife at her side, the weapon that could be his death.

She'd been watching Isu and Dancr in the light, waiting for the time of secret when Isu would make her move, she planned on stopping it. Perhaps fate sometimes couldn't be changed by the one destined, perhaps the hand of others had to be in it as fates interwined. Life was that way, few lived in isolation and even then there were connections that couldn't be severed. Perhaps Arleen's visions were to help her see the things her hands needed to take up.

Wilder, Fendence and Goren returned to the crew, "Lights out from here, we've got a mile to go. Two turnings and its a straight shot to a door." Wilder reported. Fedence said the tunnel and door was heavily guarded but the sentries weren't exposed like the command center. The ones not hidden by rock were behind shields, Goren explained that they were also psi-shielded, there were thirteen psionics behind the door and three in the tunnel. He couldn't delve ability so he didn't know what they were up against but it was clear to them that they'd found what was really the command center. "Figures," the Snail said, "it was too easy." They doused their lights and continued up the tunnel in the darkness, while they walked they discussed tactics, when they passed the first turning they'd go on in silence. Before the second turning the Snail set Jestr down and assigned a guard to him, "Jestr, wait here and stay quiet. Quigg will be with you if you need anything." he whispered to his partner, he'd be back for him if they survived.

Excerpt from Shadow Stalkers by S.E.Estes