"Does the dog turn around when the lion barks? Of course he does not which means you should have left me to fight" said Jed drawing his sword from sheath.

“The spell can only last so long until we are sent back, until then your friend must recuperate, for if he is to last the night he needs you at his side” said Ned.

Fred let out a long sigh as he felt the rough rocky ground he sat upon. His hand moved over on a very large and smooth object the same material as a royal coin only towering above his head.

“We are at the center of Tenare where most of the crystals and their spirits live,” Fred murmured.

“Yes, a very correct guess, young soldiers it is a neutral place where neither good nor evil lurks for very long before being evicted back to our planet” said Ned as he could be heard flipping the pages of what must be some wizarding manual.

"Where do the fallen heroes and villain spirits reside then? You who is the biggest fool in all the lands" Asked Jed.

"That part of the spirit is filtered out on its way to Tenare's core, purifying it to a very childhood state of innocence" explained Ned.

"Shut they mouth one who remains passive without shinning his light in the dark. He has hidden under those magic robes of yours a lantern show it!" dammanded Jed.

"No I have nothing I am a man of pure science no superstition. This is a naturalized area with no technicolor my light will not shine here where the static of long lost souls running in sync with each other it will cancel any of our actions" explained Ned.

"I suppose you will one day learn to trust me as a wizard and heed my advice just enjoy this moment no matter how dark, there is an explanation see the crystal I used to teleport us here has taken all the light and infused it into your souls freeing them from prior ailments of your brains functioning. Now by order of the night lights I will knight you two palidans to serve on a quest for justice"

"You are the one who is infused with madness" yelled Jed

"Just let me take up my sword to finish this knighthood ceremony, my glass eye has night vision he he"

"That's enough!" Fred yelled.

"I'm afried the bad news is that your killing days are far behind you two now all you have the freewill to do is to preform acts of health and healing from this moment foward" annonced the wizard throwing his spent teleport crystal to the ground.

"clink!" It rang hollow inside.

"Nonsense I will defend myself and you two clowns when we are sent back to the dangerous land from this fantasy" said Jed.

"Let us enjoy the nature gentleman there is nothing more to argue!" boomed the wizard from communication crystal vocally boosting his chords.

"You are mad ha ha ha" laughed Fred.

"We will die warriors not laughing stock legends with our own fable riding in on a donkey as a tall tale to children on avoiding dangerous jestors who mess with magic and minds, c'mon up friend lest part ways from the fool" said Jed getting up from where he had sat.

"Hoo hoo" rang out as a full moon cast down from far above in the massive cavern covered in crystals sparkling.

"Who, who, who, hooo It's an owl Jed" gasped Fred.

Fred was up slowly stumbling before he spotted the owl perched above watching then he was still observing the bird. The creature rotated it's neck as Fred followed suit best he could below.

"C'mon Fred what has had been done to you your mind for it lays in ruins now"

"Look at the bird, look at his perch and eyes in the dark, us three are amigos weathering these hills, with the snow setting in the pine forest here dotted with shine of crystals we find ourselves luckiest among the grunts thrown away as trash"

A pack of cayotees yipped.

"Nothing reckless about a plan maticoulasly planned by the crown" said Jed in response.

"Times up gents" said the wizard.

"Poof"

They were back sitting on top of a tank the torches of the army had been relighted. Down the bend close by where the incline leveled, a mass swinging limbs and armored bodies fighting war in close quarters combat in front of a smaller mine entry, a little shaft. A soldiers arm was cut off in a hydrant of blood by a husky dwarf with braydied beard and muscles large.

"MOOORRRAAAKA" was being yelled by the dwarfs.

Metal creaked as a hatch opened and the top brass stuck his head out.

"You lot hidden on my tank, the rats who have been avoiding combat all night, get in there right now and fight!" Commanded the commander.

"Let's rock and roll I don't want to hear this jestoring wizard no more" screamed Jed.

"Yes attack the dwarfs kill kill kill" yell the commander from behind the charge.

"It is time to heal men you have been charged with healing crystal and overcharged at that. The cruel beauty of this power is that your swords heal it's damage with every infliction of injury and slash while causing debilitating pain nonlethal*" instructed the wizard.

"Time to fight our way into the shaft and find out what the empire really came down here for" yelled Ned again clutching a new crystal and on his steed again.

"Yes master" said Fred his face of stone as he drew his sword to aid the wizard to battle.

"Fred you must be careful we are still only mortal, you are following a mad man to certain destruction, a masters orders should only be followed if they from a clear head approved by the stamp of a royal class family member. A man who cares if he lives or dies, unlike most of those who serve him below" said Jed.

The soldiers were running in a pack with ten in charge holding torches and 49 with swords. They came to the last standing part of a collapsed stone wall. A dwarf ran out screaming Jed screamed with him cutting off an arm then slicing off a head that didn't grow back.

"Blasted this experiment has failed" sighed the wizard throwing a crystal sharukin to revive a corpse by stabbing it in the eye.

The group of three cut a path of blood driving back the dwarfs as they entered the mine. One soldier was rode down the elevator shaft as a dwarf tackled his back. Enemies where all around as one ran directly into a soldiers sword with reckless abandon cleaving himself in half screaming, as volleys of cannonballs smashed outside shacking the shaft with falling stones.

"They are crazy, they are fierce, this I did not anticipate" said Jed.

"MOOORRRAAAKA!" Yelled the dwarfs on que charging in from the rear.

A whistle above!

"Twack, twack, twack" the mass of arrows hit the mark on the enemies who had swarmed killing soldiers outside as more poured out from the floors below deeper in the mine.

A cannonball hit the ceiling and the door behind collapsed in a dust cloud blowing sand that ripped into the lungs. The wizard cloaked over a jestor costume rode on his donkey as a dwarf charged behind with brass knuckles. The beast kicked snapping neck with a loud crunch as another limped foward his legs and arms scaling and disfigured with mutated Ninth crystals. Fred cut off the leg which grew back healthy flesh as it reformed on the ground.

"These crystals have currupted them with overuse" cried wizard.

"No kidding" said Fred.

The remaining enemies hobbled in with groans and little fight in them as they lay cut down by the remaining soldiers. At the end 12 men stood alone with the only way to go down in the deserted mines. Ones arm was injured Fred cut his wound off and it slowly healed.