Leonard turned when he heard footsteps, and beheld 'Joe' as the man drew closer.
"Is there something I can do for you?" he asked irritably, using a Kiwi accent.
He gripped the handle of his cane tightly, noting the red stains on the man's front that didn't really look much like pizza sauce...

A voice called out.
"I'd suggest you get it over with quickly," said Sy, coming up to the group. "It would be better for them not to become suspicious before you get a chance to meet them. You should be fine if you're with me; I have... a bit of a reputation around here for being kind. They should trust you if I do.
"And may I add that it is an honor to meet another Rainbowface," he said, addressing Mim with a sweeping bow. "I'm afraid I don't meet enough of you."

Deep in the very heart of the Great Valley, in a nearly impenetrable stand of ancient trees, a lithe form was slowly working its way through the foliage. It had taken Sy nearly two weeks to find it, and now he wasted no time getting inside.
Inside the grove, the trees blocked most light, but where the sun's rays broke through, they revealed ancient stones that rippled with weather-worn patterns. In other places, tiny brooks snaked their way across the moss-covered ground. There was a silence about the place; not of death or gloom, but of reverence, as if the world were listening to hear what it had to say.
Sy could feel the age held within the trees, the memories they carried, the millennia they had stood there, watching silently as things came and went. The life pulsed through them, and through him, just as it had for so many years.
In the center of the grove, he came to a group of mounds scattered over a small area. Upon closer inspection, they revealed themselves to be great boulders, covered in moss. He knelt by one and carefully scraped a patch of moss off of it. Beneath the moss was a symbol, carved into the rock; there were few capable of reading it, but to him, the name was all too familiar.
He left the grave of his brother Enns and examined the other boulders. Spectrum... Kyson... Phantom... Ghost... But where was she...?
He stopped at the last grave, his hands shaking as he scraped away the moss. The symbol shone in a ray of sunlight.
Salakla...
He could still see her sparkling emerald eyes. Hear her soft peals of laughter. Feel her cool breath caressing his cheek.
And he could still remember the night that she died, all those many years ago...
A glint of color caught his eye, and he knelt down to examine a small blue flower that stood beside the grave, its head bowed. Carefully coaxing it from the soil, he placed it in a depression in the rock, above the name, where the sun would nurture it. The light passing through it made his lover's name glow pale blue.
Sy left the grove, a single tear sliding from his missing right eye.

Virgil pulled back as a glob of venom hit his chest. Almost immediately it started to eat away at his flesh.
"The Skyclaws are well known, good sir, even among my lineage," said Sy as he stepped into view. "Or, at least, what was my lineage until they were slaughtered by yours."
An evil grin spread across his scarred face.
"I doubt you remember me; you were but a tiny hatchling and I was already older than your grandparents."
The Sinensis grabbed Dante to prevent him from charging at his brother.
"Don't fight," he muttered, "unless you wish to doom yourself to the Fires of Annak."
He adressed Virgil again.
"I sought help; a bit of water, maybe something to eat. And what was the response?"
He traced a finger along several ragged scars that stretched across his neck.
"I took home these for my troubles."
The evil grin had turned into a horrid scowl.
"So, do you wish to face the wrath of the Wanderer, or are you ready to surrender?"

"Calm down, calm down," replied Sy. "It's easy to cut your feet on these bloody rocks. I don't want anything else slowing me down."
However, it wasn't long before he too was across.

Aye, Aye!

"There's no time," said Sy, who was backing the group. "Just keep the wound off the lava rocks so you don't get anything jabbed into it and stuck there. I want to get out of this place as soon as possible."

The old Sinensis lowered himself into the cool stream, sighing contentedly as the water washed over him.
He was most definitely getting too old for this. Sy figured that he would settle down once he reached the Great Valley. Maybe start a family, relax.
"Good news, everyone," he said. "We should reach the monolith in no more than a day at the rate we're going. I suggest, however, that we savor this moment of relief, because we likely won't see another like it for some time."

Lol, Robot: "Red Wi-er, Blue Wi-er, eh, so much press-ure. Can't take it!"*pulls out gun and kills self.*
Policeman: "Man, he had been talking about it for a while, but I never thought he'd actually do it."

This is a book by Sterling Lanier that I think is quite possibly one of the greatest sci-fi/fantasy books ever written, along with its sequel, The Unforsaken Hiero.
If any of you have read these books, please share your feelings about them.