Soul Reaver gives a very slight shake of his head at Clutchfiend's suggestion. He does not approve of it at all.

I will not harm Stavarus. He may be fanatical, misguided and selfish, but I do not truly think he is evil. I will not allow any harm to befall him.

He looks over at Stavarus, and raises his eyebrows in surprise.

...and in fact, I can sense he has enacted some sort of potent Runic seal spell over himself. Unless I am gravely mistaken, it would make it extremely difficult to gain access to his mind. Maybe he was prepared for such an eventuality? Still, I am surprised he thought to mentally fortify himself so.

Meanwhile, Asaki takes the lens from Stavarus. As she holds the lens aloft and looks through it, she notices the red-tinged image inside it begin to swirl and become obscured by mist. It is slowly replaced by an image of an intricately wrought staff, shod with metal and covered in carvings. It seems to glimmer as a hand closes around it and a figure can be seen to disappear into what might be a Warp Gate. Asaki then sees the shifting clouds and paths of the Warp, and feels a strange feeling, as if she was moving. Suddenly, the image of the Warp disappears from the lens and is replaced by a beautiful panoramic view of some distant world. Before the image fades, Asaki feels the name "Shundahre" enter her mind.

In an instant, the lens is snatched from her hand by Stavarus. He seems a bit displeased, but at least he is not angry.

"That lens may not look like much, but it seems somehow able to track the Staff, once it has been near one of its past locations. It is far more valuable than it looks."

Stavarus then glances up at Tamrissa when she speaks to him.

"As far as I am concerned, we may leave immediately."

His tone becomes far more bitter though when he answers Gulver.

"For all I know, and from what I could tell, this Warp Lord is a Daemon, and Daemons seek simply to bring torment and agony. For all I know, the Warp Lord possess millions of other victims - I was not exactly in a position to judge.

Even if what Rhavin says is true, and I was not in Inferno, I still do not know if the Warp Lord sought to capture me in particular. He seemed simply to take pleasure in the tortures he inflicted upon me. Even if there is a reason, it does not matter - I will kill him regardless."

Stavarus then turns away from Gulver, indicating that the conversation is finished. As he does so, he receives a snowball straight in his face. He is livid with fury, and looks like to start a fight, but stands back the moment that Clutchfiend chides Kanshisha for his actions. He smirks to himself, arms crossed, as he watches, satisfied.

Kanshisha is let go, and Soul Reaver receives his message asking if they can leave.

I was about to take care of that very thing.

Soul Reaver walks up beside Stavarus, and speaks to him.

"Stavarus, I think it is time we left this place, lest our foes find the Staff before we do. You clearly knew where we had to go. Where are we heading?"

Stavarus nods, and even gives a small smile.

"You would be surprised, Rhavin. The lens showed that the Staff travelled to Shundahre. I have not been there since my return..."

Soul Reaver's expression can almost visibly be seen to fall. Strangely dully, he says,

"Our homeworld."

Stavarus notices his tone.

"Indeed. What is wrong with that?"

Soul Reaver shakes his head.

"Much has... changed in Shundahre since you were gone. But I think perhaps it is best if I showed it to you myself."

He turns to his companions to inform them.

"We will be travelling to Shundahre. Make certain you maintain your Warp Shields at all times."

Soul Reaver then speaks to Stavarus again.

"Ready?"

Stavarus gives a wicked, vengeful grin.

"Oh yes... that I am!"

Stavarus gestures with his hands, tearing open a Warp Gate and plunging into it. Soul Reaver shakes his head and follows after him...

Soul Reaver and Stavarus struggle through the churning Warp. Faint, disturbing sounds, much like the distant screams the dying, can be heard over the constant roaring and whooshing for the Warp Storms. Soul Reaver struggles through the storms, and re-emerges to the Mortal Plane on Shundahre.

Stavarus stands ahead of him, his Warp Shields still active. The Daemon-Hunter stands speechless, all colour drained from his face. He looks as if he had been dealt a mortal wound.

"What has..."

He cannot finish.

Before Stavarus and Soul Reaver stretches a bleak, radioactive grey wasteland. Dust and rocks is all that remains on the surface. A sub-zero wind whistles eerily through the thin atmosphere of the planet. A small, dying sun shines down onto the dead world with its final rays, illuminating the desolation with a wan white light.

As Stavarus continues to stare silently, Soul Reaver lowers his head, keeping his Warp Shields up to protect himself from the deadly atmosphere.

He was home.

Soul Reaver shakes his head sadly, a tear running down his cheek. Stavarus too seems to be at the verge of weeping.

"No... this is not the Dark Legion's handiwork."

Soul Reaver turns to Stavarus.

"Stavarus... many millenia have passed since your death. This is what our world has become in the meantime. It pains me as much as it does you."

Soul Reaver speaks sadly to Asaki again, letting Stavarus get to terms with the discovery his homeland is no more.

"What happened here? A war, many millenia after my Mortal Life. I was absent when it happened. There was pretty much nothing left after it was over. Again, I failed, and could not save it.

As you can see, everything I once had is ash and dust. Nothing remains of my past."

(ooc: Kanshsisha, just so you know in the future... the Warp is desolate. Creatures there cannot sustain physical form - they are ripped apart and obliterated. Even souls and astral beings will soom be torn to shreds by the Warp Storms. There are only a few spirit-like inhabitants of the Warp, but they have no physical body... though they could still be dangerous to people without Warp Shields to protect them.

As for this post... sorry, but I have no choice, lest Ragore be left behind. )

Ragore watches the companions begin to leave. Having overheard their conversations, it seems that their goals may be noble after all. Realising he needs to reveal himself now lest he be left behind, Ragore, still in wolf form, steps out near the campfire. His body suddenly twists and warps, gently shifting into his ordinary, humanoid form. He extends his hands, indicating he means no harm.

"Do not be alarmed... I do not have any hostile intent."

He cocks his head slightly as he looks at Tamrissa. Of all the people here, she seems to give off the strongest aura of life-energy.

"I have been watching you all for some time now. It seems you are on some sort of quest to rid the multiverse from this... Warp Lord? If he IS a Daemon, it would certainly be doing the Universe a favour.

I offer my services to you as a druid and a Warp Traveller... would you mind my joining you?"