He knew Zamza was just in Muse, hell, he had just given him the letter! It was only a short trip, so what the hell was taking so long. That ass Gorudo couldn't be checking everyone who goes in out of Muse now, could he? Really, just because he got the crap kicked out of him by some bad-ass and a kobold like a month ago, doesn't mean that he can wreck everyone's plans, does it?

Slade was pretty sure that Zamza had gotten into Muse before they had closed it down, so unless they decided to check everyone going out of Muse as well, Zamza should be in Greenhill by now, yet he wasn't. So the question still stood, where the hell was he? He had couple of people out checking on Zamza, but none of them had been able to find him as of yet. This discouraged Slade even more. Zamza, just may not want to fight. That could be it. Right? He had been checking on Zamza on and off for the last ten years, and Zamza had remained, as far as Slade knew, pretty much as far away from the public circle as he could get. So maybe that was it, maybe he had just grown tired of fighting after their last battle at Tenzen Pass.

He was irritated, no, he was past irritated, this was really starting to piss him off! He couldn't move, for he had picked this location particularly, and his men couldn't find Zamza. What the hell was the problem?

Slade went from his controlled pace to a trot, hoping it would calm him down. It wasn't working. 'A little run, that's it, that's what I'll do, I'll have myself a little run.'

He tore away from his campfire at an alarming rate. He ran through some of the secret passages and back, trying to mesmerize them all in case he needed them. They were hidden quite well, but he knew where each of them was at.

He jogged by moonlight, running off the tension his once-best friend had installed in him. He thought of their last battle with a smile on his face. He had multiple scars where Zamza and that little twerp Vandle had assaulted his body. He ran his fingers up and down the two scars on his face, both presents of Zamza. The first one ran diagonally from his left ear, all the way down to the bottom of his jaw. Compliments of that damn Tekkan. The second one was actually, a two-in-one. A jagged scar started on his chin and ran to his bottom lip before it stopped, and picked up again just under the nose. The tip of his nose was also gone, from the same dreadful hit as the chin scar, this time compliments of his Fire Dragon rune.

Slade began to push himself faster, imagining Zamza in front of him. He forced himself to go faster, reminding himself that Zamza would give him no breaks. Training had been Slade's life these past 10 years, he had studied under 3 more masters after Master Forge, each one helping him utilize new assests and helping him strengthen his weaknesses. He was a fighting machine now, he had lived, slept, and breathed it for all this time, while Zamza wasted away his skills travelling the world.

He smiled. He would get the best of the Great Zamza yet, and when he Zamza did finally reach Greenhill, he was going to be sorry he came. His smile turned into a laugh. He continued his crazed cackling all through the night, running without a destination or purpose, just whisking away through the trees, laughing his maniacal laugh.

[Greenhill]

The little boy was scared. His mommy and daddy had told him there was no such thing as monsters, but he could hear it. It was in the forests, but when he told his parents they said again that there were no such things as monsters. But he had seen it. He had seen it one day, and it had looked him right in the eyes with his own black, dark eyes. He told him mommy and daddy what had happened, but they didn't believe him. But he knew better. The dead man was here for something.