He smiled.

'Okay, three quarters crazy - I'll give you that but that's as far as I'm going to go!' he laughed.

'I can't remember... Oh, right! Hey, this isn't just my fault! It was a group effort!' he poked at her, indicating that they all played a part.

Lex contemplated puller her back down, but came to the conclusion that they should probably go back to the cave, dawn was going to break soon and Jacq was going to need darkness.

'Looks like we'll all be going vampire style tomorrow!' he commented, he didn't know about Loyal but he was planning on sleeping the day away.

'Well, shall we go then?' he asked with raised eyebrows.

After giving a loud whistle, Winter pulled up and Lex jumped on, taking a handful of mane and beckoning for the others to do the same.

Loyal shrugged, laughing lightly. "Overall, you're still crazy." He commented, poking his tongue out afterwards. He turned to Jacq and smiled gently. "Ah yeah, sorry about that too." He said, placing a hand on his head.

The Sorceror started to walk in the general direction of the...cave...before turning around at the two. "Come on you two lovebirds." He called out. "Anyday now would be nice." He grinned at the two.

"Vampire-style? Uh, no thanks, I had enough excitement to last a day or two." Loyal said, putting his hand up, showing that he had enough for now. When Looyal saw the horse, his smile disappeared. "Uh...I have my own transport, but thanks." He smiled, summoning up the wind around him, it pulled him into the air slowly and soon it seemed like he was flying.

"Meet you back there!" He yelled down from the sky, he wasn't sure if Lex would take it as a challange or not but overall, he was guessing that Lex would actually arrive at the cave before him, after all, he liked taking detours.

"Hey!" Jacqueline exclaimed, "what's wrong about vampire-style?"

She poked her tongue out at Loyal before laughing. Jacqueline hoisted herself up onto Winter behind Lex, and placed her arms comfortably around his waist.

"Do I detect a challenge Loyal?" she said, grinning. "First one back there gets first pick on where they sleep, how about that?"

She placed her chin on Lex shoulder.

"Does that sound alright with you Lex? Winter is your horse after all."

Lex cringed at the challenge. He didn't want to push Winter too hard.

'What do you say, my boy?' he asked, stroking the stallion's large ear.

I accept! he shouted, 'I am the fastest horse in world, no man, magic or no, can beat I!

'Little arrogant...' lex whispered to Jacqueline.

And with that the horse took off at breath-taking speed.

Pace yourself, Winter! the elf scolded.

"A challange eh?" He muttered to himself, staring up into the sky. "Perhaps..." He started looking down at where the dot of Jacey, Lex and Winter were. "But really I do not care where I sleep, in a cave, it is pretty much all the same."

Loyal laughed when he personally decided to accept the challange. Green light envaloped him and instantly his magic became stronger. He shot through the sky like a knife cutting through meat. "I accept!!" He yelled down at them, grinning.

Maybe, he won't take any detours after-all.

Lex laughed to himself.

'But does he know where the cave is, Jacq?' he asked, it was a rhetorical question, 'But I know where it is... and I know how it is.' he smiled.

Allow me to elucidate, Jacq. I have it hidden under a veil of magic and have a vigilance set.

'S***!' the elf exclaimed, 'He's fast! But... we've got the location!'

Loyal arrived at the place where the cave should've been, looking around in a confused he state he landed gracefully to the ground. "Well now...something's off." He stated, holding his hand out in front of him, a forest green light slowly coloured his hand.

He smiled before he figured out the cave is somewhere here, hidden by magic itself. "Technically that's cheating." He muttered before walking forwards, but something stopped him. Loyal felt different like something or someone was guarding that cave.

"Not only is the cave shielded but you made entry pretty much impossible." Loyal smiled, crossing his arms, the least he can do is destroy the barrier on the cave. With a simple swing of his arm the cave was back to being visible to the naked eye and then he found a comfy seat by the cave.

Loyal waited and watched out for the other two...that is if they will arrive at all. Time will tell, but maybe in a long time, after all he did speed through the sky like a bullet...perhaps he should've calmed the wind down just a little.

Aw well, might as well just wait for the key. Loyal thought to himself, looking back up for any signs of a horse.

Realising it was pointless to even try and reach the cave before Loyal, Lex slowed Winter down to an extended trot and took it gently up the treacherous mountain, where loose rocks and undercut cliffs plagued every step. Winter was steady, but he was only a horse, after all.

There were no owls hooting, or wolves howling. Instead it was unnaturally quiet, something he was used to, but didn't necessarily want right now.

Where are all the animals? he wondered curiously, and slowed the stallion to a walk as he sniffed the night air cautiously... nothing semed out of place, maybe it was the time of year.

It took them 10 minutes to reach the cave, and Lex laughed as he saw Loyal sitting quietly beside the entrance.

'I see you found it without trouble!' he chuckled, 'But yes - the vigilance could be a problem...'

Closing his eyes the elf let himself sink into the magical force that sealed the entrance. Opening up his mind's eyes he entered the tangle of threads that locked it up, strands of light wound around each other, like worms in a bucket. This would be a meticulous and lengthy process, but it needed to be done. Sending in a thread of energy from himself, he fished around with the other forces, moving strands, tying them, pushing them and winding them, until they all collapsed in on themselves, condensing into a small ball that exploding in a mass of colourful lights and energy.

Opening his eyes, Lex shook his head vigorously, trying to clear his mind.

'Woah, that was harder than I expected...' he looked curiously down at Loyal, 'How long was I gone for?'

Sliding of the horse, he held his arms up to Jacqueline.

'Come, let's go inside.'

Jacqueline laughed to herself as they raced. She kind of had the impression that Loyal would beat them to the cave. She quickly patted Winter in case he heard her think that. But even the fastest horse couldn't beat a gale force wind.

She slid off Winter's back and into Lex's arms, her feet touching the ground softly. As she did so, she too noticed the apparent lack of wildlife. Breathing in, she could smell an old scent. Then she understood.

"This was probably an old lion's den or something, although a very old one. The lion that lived here probably left over twenty years ago," she explained, breathing in once more to make sure.

She nodded in agreement.

"Let's do," she murmured and began walking into the cave.