# Edited out 10/31/06



## RangerWickett (Mar 22, 2003)

This storyhour is defunct.


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## RangerWickett (Mar 22, 2003)

*Episode One: On the First Night of Winter*

The first night of winter came on the 20th of October, as lakes and rivers froze as far south as Kalterra.  It has been two weeks since the death of Emperor Coaltongue in the distant land of Sindaire, and this night, four people meet in secret to plan their flight from the Scourge of the Burning Sky.

All the magic-users in the Ragesian Empire know of the Scourge.  In a move to cement herself as the next emperor, Imperial Inquisitor Leska, in the crown city of Kequalak, decreed that all disloyal magic-users were to be tracked down and killed, to prevent future threats to the empire.  Now, as the Ragesian armies scramble to quell the rebellions that followed in the wake of the Emperor's death, those magic-users in the heartlands of the Ragesian Empire see a brief window during which they can possibly escape.  All that stops them is the question, where can they hide?  For the Ragesian Empire rules the world, and does so with a searing cruelty.

Hope comes from the south, in a meager town called Seaquen, built on the isthmus between the Otdar Gulf and the Cragna Ocean.  Word has filtered among magic-users that the Lyceum, a small magical academy, is calling all magic-users under its banner, in hopes of providing a safe haven against the scourge.  Around the world, thousands of desperate magic-users have fled their homes, hoping to find safety at this insignificant, overlooked academy.

*	*	*	*	*

“Inquisitors have already been dispatched from Kequalak,” the woman named Torrent starts, “and they’ll likely be here in less than a day.  I hope you have whatever you plan to bring.”

Torrent addresses a small group of four magic-users, seated uneasily around a tiny basement.  They’re in a family house in Destura, a small town outside the city of Kalterra.  Torrent, a courier and guide from the Lyceum, had hoped to escape the Ragesian Heartlands with as many magic-users as possible, but out of the tens of thousands of people in Kalterra and the lands around it, only four had been willing or able to track her down.  She starts a quick round of introductions.

Torrent is a Dorisian, originally from the east near the Crescent Islands, but raised and trained by a Caval water mage from Lyceum.  Only in her early twenties, she stands nearly six feet tall, with white hair to her shoulders, and bright blue eyes with a casual gleam to them.  Because of her naturally striking appearance, she wears a heavy gray traveling cloak, which usually hides the fact that she’s a spellcaster.  The headmaster of Lyceum sent Torrent as one of several agents into the Ragesian Heartlands, with the intention of finding mages and bringing them safely back to the academy.  With the aid of the Wayfarers Guild, she was able to teleport into Ragesia, but it will take at least a month to make it back to Lyceum by land.

Rivereye Badgerface claims to be a gnome, the common name for the Jipsin people.  He’s the only non-human in the group, though his claim of being a gnome may be a bit spurious, as evidenced by his dark blue skin and almost goblin-like appearance.  He was trained by a strange monk-sorcerer who served as an adviser to the late emperor, but he hods no illusions that the inquisitors will spare him.  He’s dressed to travel through frigid weather, and looks rather squat under so many layers of coats.  He carries with him a small, locked chest, and of course carries a small dagger, but aside from being blue, you wouldn’t think he’s a spellcaster to look at him.

Diogenes is from the Ragesian Heartlands, but unlike most of the humans in Ragesia, he managed to avoid most of the toil inflicted by the Orcish rulers.  Apprenticed to a powerful human wizard named Gabal, Diogenes lived far from the oppression and slavery that tormented everyone else under Ragesian rule.  Though somewhat weakly-built, Diogenes has an air of determination and presence, and Torrent actually believed him for a minute when he told her he was just a merchant, and not a student of perhaps the most powerful battlemage on the continent.  Like all students of the Gabal school of spelldueling, Diogenes has honed his skills at bluffing and proper form, but Diogenes left his mentor’s tutelage because of a difference of styles—Gabal is a pure-blooded evocationist, while Diogenes insisted on focusing on enchantments and illusions.  For the past year he has been living as well as a human can in Ragesia, using his magic and natural charm to earn an easy life, but now he’s willing to accept some help to get to safety.

Kathor is also from the Ragesian Heartlands, but apparently his is a military family that is loyal to the empire.  Though highly trained as a warrior by his father and older sister, Kathor left the family to become a mercenary because he was tired of killing rebelling innocents in the name of false imperial glory.  Unfortunately, the minor magical powers Kathor possesses manifested themselves just recently within plain sight of his fellow mercenaries.  Though most of his powers are cantrips at best, he was cast out of the unit.  He won’t say exactly what happened after that, but something spurred him to leave the Heartlands and head to Lyceum.

Torrent is about to let the fourth person introduce himself (his family are slavekeepers, and it’s their house in which the meeting is taking place), but a sudden beating upon one of the two doors to the basement startles the entire group.

“Wizards are wanted,” shouts a gruff, Orcish voice, “dead or alive!  You choose your way!”

There are two entrances—one, a stairway inside the basement that leads up to the house’s kitchen; and the second, a door that outside to an alley, which is where the banging is coming from.  Their host, before he even has a chance to mention his name, bolts for the stairs to the kitchen, shouting “Close the door!” as he nears the top.  Realizing they’ve been caught in a trap, Torrent tells them they can make a break for the stables her horses are at, and then flee the town.  As the banging at the door to the outside continues, everyone agrees to work together.

The door finally breaks, kicked in, and they see a pair of gruff Orcs, holding long knives.  Then, Rivereye tenses his mind, and strands of white-green webbing enwrap one of the orcs in a cocoon, trapping him.  Diogenes waves a gesture at the second Orc, and a simple sleep spell takes out both him and two of the Orcs out of line of sight.

Torrent conjures an axe of water, then charges for the door, swinging at an Orc who was lurking around the corner.  Kathor follows her out, having to use a shortsword because there’s no room in the alley to use his greatsword.  The unarmored and overconfident Orcish bounty hunters fall quickly, and Diogenes picks his way over sleeping and cocooned Orcs into the alley while Rivereye delivers killing blows with his dagger.

Already at one end of the alley a crowd of human and Orc townsfolk is gathering, so Torrent guides them down the other end of the alley.  As they come onto the street, they hear shouts from behind them, then heavy footsteps crunching the thin snow on the ground.  More Orcish mercenaries give chase, but Kathor pauses to fire a crossbow bolt that takes one down, then brandishes his greatsword to keep the other two at bay.  Then he sprints after the others, following Torrent to the town stables.

At the stables, Torrent finds two human bounty hunters hobbling some of the stabled horses with sledges, and she incapacitates them with a spell that dehydrates them into unconsciousness.  Kathor kills them in anger for their mistreatment of mounts.  Thankfully, Kathor’s own warhorse is unharmed, and there are still enough horses for each of them, with one to spare.  They mount, and then they sprint for the bridge that leads south, out of the town.

But at the gate leading to the bridge, one final group of mercenaries wait holding ropes.  As Kathor leads the way, the mercenaries yank the ropes, pulling a spiked metal grate up from where it was hidden in the snow.  Kathor easily and instinctively has his horse jump the three-foot hurdle, but Torrent, following close behind, isn’t a skilled rider.  Her horse balks at the last moment, slamming sideways into the spikes of the grate, and Torrent falls off the side of the horse.  An Orc hiding in an alleyway swings out with a long club to dehorse Diogenes as he rides past, knocking him to the ground, and the Orcs who pulled up the grate grab their swords and charge toward Torrent.

Rivereye shoots a thin line of fire from his fingertips, distracting one of the Orcs from Torrent, and the other Orcs don’t reach her fast enough.  She blasts one with a spray of icy lances, and Kathor wheels his horse around and tramples the other Orc.  Diogenes is worst off, on his back with an Orc ready to crush his skull, but he manages to dodge the coup and gets off a charm spell.  Unfortunately the spell is wasted as Torrent kills the Orc with a blasting spray of slush and ice shards, but Diogenes at least is still safe.

Rivereye proves remarkably skilled at dodging the Orc’s powerful slashes, and the gnome runs over to Kathor’s side for defense.  The Orc, too eagerly chasing him, falls prey to Kathor’s greatsword.

With this last batch of bounty hunters dispatched, the group takes a moment to double-check each other’s health and gear.  Torrent’s first horse is seriously injured from the spikes that impaled it, but because someone is certain to pay to get the horse magically healed, Kathor says they should leave it and not put it down.  Diogenes rushes them, saying they shouldn’t waste time worrying about something they can’t help, and they quickly ride on before any of the local town guards come to stop them.

It’s already after dusk, so they can’t travel far without risking their horses more in the dark.  Rivereye, a trusting gnomish soul, convinces them to find an outlying farm where they can ask for hospitality, and they’ll be able to leave early the next morning.  As they look, Torrent quickly goes over her travel route plans.

First, she thanks them for helping to get all of them out of the trap earlier.  She tries to be friendly and congratulatory, but Diogenes critiques her for “bad form,” saying she should’ve been more careful finding a meeting place and keeping it secret.  Judging from Diogenes’ reference to proper form, Torrent guesses correctly that he’s a spellduelist.

She says she’ll need to wait until they stop to show them a proper map, but they basically have four possible paths they can take.  The direct path to the south is blocked by the Innenotdar Fire Forest, which has been aflame for over sixty years, ever since the Ragesians drove out its original Elvish inhabitants.  The flames, though normally deadly, are theoretically survivable with proper magical aid, and Torrent plans to risk it, since she has the proper components to make fire resistant balms for them all.  The other three routes rely on heavily-guarded and patrolled mountain passes.  If they leave early the next morning, they can easily reach the edge of the fire forest by nightfall, and have the balms ready to enter the forest by the morning of October 22nd.  

Everyone agrees that, though it’s risky to dare the fire forest, it’s better than worrying about hiding from the Inquisitors.

They find a suitable-looking farmhouse less than an hour later, and since they convince the family—humans—to let them stay in the barn for the evening.  The family takes a liking to the odd antics of Rivereye, however, and they let him stay in the main house where it’s warmer.  Over dinner, the gnome concocts a convincing story of them being merchants from the Lower Ragesian Empire, and to prove it he shows off some of the small gems he keeps in his locked chest.  A skilled gemcarver, before the night is over, Rivereye carves a small dull stone into a tiny top for the youngest son of the family.  The father of the house is wary of them, but either doesn’t realize or doesn’t care that they’re all magic-users, so the night passes peacefully.


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## RangerWickett (Mar 22, 2003)

And now, some metagaming.

I started off with three players, each with somewhere between three and ten years of gaming experience.  Diogenes, Rivereye, and Kathor are all PCs, with Torrent being an NPC.

I told everyone to either be a spellcaster or have something magical in their backstory, because my primary interest with this campaign when starting it up was to think of cool things to do with magic.  I didn't want a standard party make-up, with fighter, rogue, cleric, and wizard, so I made a few rules adjustments to make an all-mage party feasible.

First, never having been a fan of the arcane-divine magic division, all cleric spells are available as sorcerer/wizard spells.

Second, I'm using an altered version of the Star Wars vitality point system.  Characters have HP and WP.  HP are just like standard D&D hit points, except that they heal at a rate of 1/level/hour.  Thus, hit point "damage" actually represents minor scrapes, becoming off-balance, or getting winded in combat.  HPs are gained just like normal.

WP are wound points, which represent actual physical injuries, and whenever a character runs out of HP, further damage goes to his WP.  WP damage heals at a rate of 1 per day of rest.  Characters get WP equal to their Constitution, or 3/4 their Con if they're small size, and unlike HP, you never gain more WP as you level up.

When damaged, if you reach 0 hp and 0 wp, you pass out.  If you reach -10 wp, you make a Fort save (DC 10) each round, with a penalty equal to your current WP total.  If you fail, you die.  Healing magic heals hp normally, plus it heals 1 WP for each die of healing.

With this, I don't have to have PCs rest for weeks after each fight, just to get back to full hp.  So far, no one has taken any healing spells, though healing potions are very popular.

* * * * *

So, this is part one of the first run.  So far we've had 8 sessions, one per week, and I'll probably catch up and be up to date by the end of April.  I'll still write up synopses of the games for my own records, but I won't post them unless someone posts replies or comments.  I hope someone takes notice.


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## dave_o (Mar 23, 2003)

I'm way interested.

I'm planning an inquisition in my campaign world, soonish, so it'll be a rad idea source. 

Post! POST!


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## Ruined (Mar 24, 2003)

Hmm, how is it that Hong does it...?

SUBSCRIBE!

 .  Excellent beginning, RW. I'll be following the adventures.


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## Stahn Li (Mar 26, 2003)

Wow Diogenes sounds like a really cool character... I would like to hear more about him.

Rivereye Badger Face sounds like he's a product of Min Maxing powergaming.

I bet Cathor is going to brood alot in this campaign.

Anyway Wickett why did you only post one session worth of material and then wait to see if there is any interest. You first adventure is good, but its still only a first adventure. You still have alot of character developement left to show off. You haven't even intruduced most of your key NPC's and your missing one PC. You should at least post until you get to Rantle's appearance.

Wickett you have to intice these people to read your thread. Post at least two more sessions, that should cover most of the main NPC's intro's and show off some of your cool ideas. Then see what the response is like. I'm sure more people will take notice that way.


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## RangerWickett (Mar 27, 2003)

*Pronunctiation Guide:*
Ragesian (Empire) – Reh-GEE-zhun
Kequalak (capital city of Ragesia) – KEH-kwuh-lack
Sindaire (location of Caliph Coaltongue’s death) – sin-DARE
Kathor (PC fighter/sorcerer) – KA-thor
The others should be fairly obvious:  Diogenes, Torrent, Rivereye Badgerface

*Episode One, Act Two*

The morning of October 21st, Kathor, Diogenes, Rivereye, and Torrent leave the small farmstead, paying the family a generous 5 Imperial silver for their hospitality and food.  The overly kind Rivereye obeys his gnomish heritage, and gives a generous gift of a semi-precious stone, carved in the shape of a top, to the youngest son in the family.  Diogenes is nervous at this, but he maintains his composure and thaks the family quickly, making sure they can leave by sunrise.

Once away from the farmstead, Diogenes relaxes and says his piece to Rivereye.  "You really shouldn't be leaving a trail that we came this way.  It's bad form.  We've got inquisitors coming after us."

Rivereye is hardly ashamed of his action, but because of the unseasonably gelid weather, they don't talk much for a few hours, simply heading south, hoping to reach the Innenotdar Fire Forest by sunset.  The nearest town to the fire forest is a small village called Cerri, which Torrent wants to bypass as much as possible.  However, since they did have to leave in a hurry the day before, they decide to send in Kathor to get some extra supplies, since he looks the least conspicuous of all of them.

When they’re about a mile from Cerri, though, their path takes them close to a fairly large, round stonebrick house.  Its strangely far from the rest of the town, too far away to be safe in case of an attack.  However, they’re not really suspicious, so they don’t change their course, just riding within 50 feet.  They recognize that scattered around the ground outside the house are a handful of carved wooden poles, totems designed in the fashion of primitive Orcish tribes that live in the mountains.  Unlike the Ragesian Orcs, who are civilized and well-organized, the mountain Orcs, or Herethim, are classically savage.  As they come to their closest point to the house, the front door opens and a slender woman walks out, her eyes fixing on the group immediately as if she expected to see them.

There’s a moment of awkwardness and silence as the group considers the woman.  She seems obviously non-hostile, but looks almost as if in a daze.  She’s around five feet tall, in her twenties, dark-haired and dressed in a multi-layered coat, and in her right hand she lightly holds a black quarterstaff that’s taller than her.  The group is about to shrug and move on when she points to the north, in the direction they came from.

“The ones who are chasing you are only three miles away,” she says, her voice carrying the tone of a decree, despite her youth.  “They’ll catch up with you, and you’re going to have to fight them.”

Kathor still owns a spyglass from his time as a scout, and he uses it to look back at their trail.  He can’t be sure at this range, but he does think he sees a fairly large group moving in the distance toward them.

“My father wants you to come inside,” the woman continues, and her posture seems to relax, like she had just exhaled a great breath.  Suddenly nervous, she waves for them to follow her.

Torrent looks at the rest of the group, to get their opinions, while Diogenes asks, “Who’s your father?”

The woman pauses for a moment, and they hear a loud coughing from inside the house.  “His name is Haddin Ja-laffa.”

When she doesn’t say anything else, Diogenes says impatiently, “And you are?”

“M-my name is Crystin Ja-nafeel.  Please, please, come in.”

Their names mark them as being native Kelaquois, the people who had been indigenous to Kequalak before the Ragesian Empire conquered it and claimed it for its seat of power.  Of anyone in this part of the empire, the Kelaquois are most likely to hate the Ragesians, so Rivereye and Torrent are willing to take a look.  Diogenes is as always guarded, and Kathor is just in a rush, so they quickly dismount and follow her in.

The house is nicely furnished, warm and comfortable, but there are a pair of small bags on the ground near the door, and on a table near the fireplace are stacks of dozens of spell scrolls.  Beside the fireplace, an old man sits in a tall-backed chair.  Haddin Ja-laffa holds a cup of warm broth, drinking it between dry coughs, and eventually he grimaces and puts the cup down, groaning.

“Forgive the *cough* strangeness of me just *heavy cough* inviting you *hacking cough* in.  My d-*cough* daughter has a sort of second sight, and when she told me she *hacking cough* that she saw you were coming, and that you *cough* were fleeing the Inquisitors, I thought I’d offer my help.”  He takes another drink of his broth, and though his coughing doesn’t stop, it lessens a bit.

Haddin explains that he’s lived in Cerri for his entire life, and that he put up with the Ragesians when they conquered the land, since they mostly stayed in the land to north after their failed attempt to control the Fire Forest.  And he’s not going to leave now, even if the Inquisitors plan to come and oust him.  He’s a powerful mage, and he can take whatever they send at him.  He asks the party to stay with him and help him fight the Inquisitors, to send a message.

Crystin shakes her head.  “Father, we have to leave as soon as possible.  Even if we do stop these, more will-” Haddin glares at her, and she stops mid-sentence.  Then after a pause, her tone of voice stiffens, as she says, “I’m sorry, I just worry about my father.  You don’t have to stay for long, just enough to help us out this time.”

Kathor frowns.  “You want your father to leave though, right?  The imperials will kill you when they get here.”

Haddin goes into a coughing fit, and Crystin quickly nods, her tone back to normal again.  “Yes, he needs to leave.  We both do.  My father’s just stubborn.”

Haddin starts to glare at her again, looking betrayed, but Kathor punches him in the face and knocks him out of his chair.  He falls to the floor in a daze, and Kathor says they need to hurry.  Diogenes smiles and congratulates him, and since Haddin was completely knocked out by the single punch, they don’t have to listen to him argue with them as they help Crystin quickly pack the rest of their family’s belongings.

Rivereye is more interested in the nifty stuff in the room than he is in packing, but when he sees Crystin having trouble fitting a few mementos, the blue-skinned gnome quickly moves to help her.  While he works, he smiles to her.  “No offense Crystin, but your father seems like a pain in the butt.  He seem a little controlling.  But he’ll thank us; we’re doing him a favor.”

Crystin sheepishly nods, turning away to double-check that she has her staff.

As they pack, Crystin explains that only she and her father live there.  Haddin’s brother, Mandragore, was a bastard half-Orc, and over forty years ago Haddin and Mandragore worked together to drive away marauding Herethim Orc clans, the same clans from which Mandragore’s father had come.  Mandragore died in a fight against the Empire when it first came into the area soon thereafter, and so Crystin never met him.  Haddin was already old when Crystin was born, and her mother died in delivery.  At the time, though, Haddin had been a local hero, and so Crystin had an easy time growing up.

Diogenes senses she’s not mentioning something important, but they’re in a rush, so he lets it go, instead wondering how Haddin had planned to fend off the Inquisitors, and glancing occasionally at the staff Crystin is holding, wondering if its magical.

Within a few minutes, all is ready, and Crystin gets onto a horse with Rivereye, who definitely is taking a liking to her.  Kathor puts the semi-conscious Haddin in front of him on his horse, and they leave quickly.  Kathor still has to go into town for supplies (doubly so now that they have more people), but he figures Haddin will help him find what he needs faster.  Crystin almost says something, then nervously closes her mouth, so Kathor rides toward Cerri with Haddin, while Torrent leads the rest of the group to a spot they can wait near the edge of the river that leads to the Fire Forest.


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## RangerWickett (Mar 27, 2003)

Stahn Li said:
			
		

> *Wow Diogenes sounds like a really cool character... I would like to hear more about him.
> 
> Rivereye Badger Face sounds like he's a product of Min Maxing powergaming.
> 
> I bet Cathor is going to brood alot in this campaign.*




Yes, Stahn Li here is Michael, who plays Diogenes, who really is a cool character.  I can't wait until we actually get to Lyceum, where he's among other wizards and can show off his dueling skills.

And don't worry Michael; I'll post more soon.  I just was really busy last week writing for-pay D&D stuff, with a deadline.  Now I'm more free.  See you tomorrow for our game, Michael.


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## RangerWickett (Apr 6, 2003)

*Episode One, Act Three*
While Torrent leads the group to the river, Kathor and Haddin ride to Cerri to get last-minute supplies.  Haddin is just now recovering from getting punched by Kathor ten minutes ago, and he tries to get the soldier to turn around, but Kathor ignores his complaints.  When they reach Cerri, Kathor tells Haddin what supplies they’ll need for the anti-fire balm Torrent plans to make, so that Haddin can get those while Kathor buys normal food and provisions.

Cerri is built along a bend in the same river Torrent is waiting at.  Its buildings are arrayed in ten wide rings; entrances lead in from the outer edge of the ring, but most public living goes on in the centers of the rings, protected from strong winds or wild Orc attackers.  Thankfully the stores they need are located in one of the rings at the edge of the town, so Kathor tethers his horse to a post, and he and Haddin go to shop.  As Kathor goes into his store, he sees a pair of gruff men who had watched his approach.  They nod at him casually as he enters the store, but they don’t look like they’re from this village.

The shopkeeper seems fairly friendly despite the dangerous times, and from his small talk Kathor gathers that there’s a group of mercenaries in town looking for bounties.  Within a few minutes, Kathor has everything he needs, and he leaves to put the supplies on his warhorse, when he notices the two men have left.  He spots them just as they enter the store he sent Haddin to, and they’re holding unsheathed blades.

Cursing, Kathor rushes after them, hearing a commotion from inside the store, mostly shouting.  He bursts into the building and sees Haddin on the floor, trying to struggle out of the grasp of one of the warriors.  The other warrior is talking with the hysterical shopkeeper, and Kathor can make out, “Yes, _he’s_ Haddin!  I don’t care what you do with him, just get him out of my store before he-”

At that point, Haddin tries to cast a spell, shaking a hand at the shopkeeper, but he goes into a coughing fit and bends over in pain.  The warrior holding him raises his sword to attack Haddin for casting a spell, but Kathor moves first, whipping his greatsword off his back and knocking the man flat with one swing.  It’s not fatal, but the man falls unconscious regardless.

The second mercenary wheels to face Kathor and attacks, nearly getting through Kathor’s defenses.  Kathor has a hard time fighting in the enclosed space of the small store, and worse, he sees that the shopkeeper is about to slip out the back to call for help.  But Haddin manages to force out a spell without coughing, and a brief chill pulses through the room.  The shopkeeper stops in mid-step, completely motionless.

The mercenary and Kathor lock blades, and the mercenary kicks Kathor in the belly, trying to wind him.  But Kathor is stronger than his foe, and he forces the man backward and off-balance.  Before he can recover his guard, Kathor swings his great blade in a wide arc, slashing his opponent in half at the waist.

Kathor grabs Haddin and asks what happened.  Haddin shakes off Kathor’s helping hand and just says they need to leave before his paralysis spell on the shopkeeper wears off.  He refuses to answer Kathor’s questions as to why the shopkeeper was afraid of him, so Kathor just has to grab the necessary supplies and get Haddin out.

They ride quickly to meet Torrent and the rest of the group.  While they were gone, Crystin had occasionally seemed to be looking off somewhere distant, and with some sort of foresight she tells them that the Inquisitor group they saw approaching has headed toward Cerri itself, and so they have at least a half hour before the Orcs turn in their direction.

Torrent uses magic to freeze a 10-ft. wide bridge of ice in the surface of the river, which they cross one horse at a time.  Haddin falls off Kathor’s horse and nearly falls into the deadly cold river, but Kathor manages to drag him back to safety, and they all manage to make it to the other side.  The river leads to the Innenotdar Fire Forest, which is about ten miles away, though they’re now on the opposite side of the river from the Inquisitors.  Torrent dismisses the ice flow so that none can follow them easily, and they ride toward the fire forest.

Two hours later, the edge of the forest is a blazing line that stretches beyond sight from east to west.  Its trees rise sixty feet or more into the air, and flames roar across every branch and leaf, though the trees don’t seem to actually be burning away.  No one knows how the forest has managed to remain burning for sixty years, but common legend says that the Innenotdar Elves set fire to their forest in spite when they were driven out by the Ragesians, and the fire has survived through a curse they laid.  Though they’re still a quarter mile from the edge of the forest, the air is at hot as a summer day, and the ground is actually clear of snow.

A few hundred feet away they spot a single man and his horse, their small figures barely visible against the blazing glow of the fire forest.  Cautiously, they move closer to find out who he is.


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## RangerWickett (Apr 7, 2003)

*Episode Two: The Song of the Fire Forest*

The group is relieved to find out that the lone man is trying to head to Lyceum, like them, and that he’s not affiliated with the Ragesian Empire.  The man, named Rantle, had planned to skirt the northern edge of the fire forest, circling around the forest’s western edge in the low mountain foothills, but when Rivereye eagerly pipes up that they’re planning to use magic to head straight through the fire forest, Rantle asks to come along.  

Rantle is easily the strongest-looking member of the group, and across his horse’s saddle is strapped a greatsword and a bundled suit of light plate armor.  He looks to be a capable warrior, and he has the rugged appearance of a man who’s had to survive on his own in a country generally hostile to humans.  Still, Torrent needs to know why he’s heading to Lyceum, since he doesn’t seem to have any magical powers.

“My sister’s a sorcerer, and she ran off and headed south without me while I was out hunting for a few days.  She said she didn’t want to risk me getting hurt on her behalf, but I mean, she knew I was going to go after her to make sure she’s safe.”

“That was sweet of her,” Diogenes replies, a touch of sarcasm in his voice.  “Does she run off and need rescuing a lot?”

Rantle grins roguishly.  “Oh yeah.  You have no idea.”

Crystin breaks in, trancelike as usual.  “We’re going to find her before we reach Lyceum.”

Rantle looks at Crystin, blinking in confusion.

“Oh, don’t worry about her prophesying,” Rivereye says.  “You get used to it.”

Torrent agrees to let Rantle come along with them, and then she gets Rivereye and Diogenes to help her with making the alchemical balm that will protect them from the heat of the fire forest.  They spend a few hours making enough applications for each person and horse to have three days’ worth, which should be enough to cross the forest.

Haddin, displeased as usual that he’s been forced to come along with them, coughs out, “You do realize that no one’s ever made it through the fire forest alive before, right?”

Everyone tenses at that concern, except for Torrent, who just shrugs.  “Who better to be first than us, eh?  And would you rather try to outrun the Inquisitors who are after us?”

“Yes,” Haddin glares.

“Yeah, well, you’d have been dead by now if we hadn’t brought you along, so stop moaning.”

The group’s mutual dislike for Haddin gives them focus, and raises their spirits enough for them to look forward to the trek into the fire forest.  They wait out the evening, set watches, and get some rest, preparing to set out the next morning into the indomitable flames of the fire forest.


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## RangerWickett (Apr 7, 2003)

*Episode Two, Act Two*

The next morning, everyone strips off most of their clothes so they can apply the anti-fire balm across their entire bodies.  Kathor has a large amount of small scars across his body, more than you’d expect for someone who’s only 19.  Still, Rantle makes a few jokes about how skinny Kathor is, until Kathor takes a few practice swings with his greatsword, showing great skill and unexpected strength.

Rantle and Kathor get suited up in their armor, feeling perfectly comfortable despite the roaring inferno right nearby them, and they exchange a bit of their combat history.  Rantle occasionally worked as a mercenary to support himself and his sister, while Kathor was trained by his family and joined the Ragesian army when he was 10.  Rantle’s more of a footman, while Kathor’s specialty is mounted combat.

“You make a cute couple,” Diogenes comments, perfectly aware how weak he looks compared to either of them.

Kathor responds by frowning, then turning away to apply the balm to his horse.

“Oh don’t brood about it,” Diogenes says, realizing he’s gotten too used to bluffing to _not_ sound serious.

It’s only just barely after sunrise when they head into the fire forest.  Rantle rides in front as scout, with Diogenes and Torrent riding in the middle.  Rivereye and Crystin ride on the gnome’s pony, which he has named K-Pod, for Killer Pony Of Doom.  In the rear rides Kathor, who has volunteered to put up with Haddin, who thankfully mostly just coughs to himself.  The light ash in the air definitely doesn’t help.

Within the fire forest, they can all feel the intense magical powers in the land.  Trees glow with fire, though they burn only on the surface, and their leaves do not fall.  Even brush on the ground crackles fiercely, making travel somewhat circuitous, forcing them to stray away from the river.  Crystin keeps glancing over her shoulder, as if expecting the Inquisitors to come charging in right after them, and Rivereye can almost hear a powerful voice in the roar of the forest flames, warning them off.

After about an hour, they have to stop for a rest.  The heat has grown more intense than expected, and Torrent is seriously considering turning back and giving up on this course.  Rivereye, however, always the optimist, claims that nothing will stop them from making it through the forest if they keep trying.

Then, with a cry, Crystin cringes as if to ward off flames, and then she collapses.  Rivereye runs over to her and puts a hand to her forehead to check her temperature, and then he feels it too: a great will pressing upon him, the spirit of the forest made manifest within his mind.  It roars at him, and it takes all of the gnome’s will not to collapse under its force.  He feels a bit of his psionic energy being tapped, and the air around them thrums, a deep voice crashing upon them.

*I am Indomitability, and this forest is mine.  None shall pass.*


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## RangerWickett (Apr 8, 2003)

*Chapter Two, Part Two*

The quick-thinking Rivereye tries to negotiate with Indomitability, apparently thinking he’ll be able to change its opinion.  Crystin seems to waver back to near consciousness while Rivereye talks, as if whatever had stunned her was distracted, but even her father Haddin is more concerned with the mysterious force that threatens them.

Rivereye has an easy time communicating psionically with the spirit of the fire forest, and so he acts as medium between the party and it, managing to learn that because they have proved resistant to the forest’s flames, Indomitability has chosen to let the pursuing Inquisitors follow them without resistance.  He has reduced the flames in their path to almost nothing, so they’ve been able to close the distance quickly, and the Inquisitor group will arrive in a matter of minutes to destroy them, and then Indomitability will kill the Orcs too.

Torrent points out how nasty it would be if they were hit by a dispelling spell, since it would not only negate their current fire resistance, but would also ruin their future applications, leaving them defenseless.  Rivereye quickly tells Indomitability that, hey, if it’s that important, they can just leave the fire forest without having to have a fight.

Then Indomitability says something that gives them a bit to hope for.

*There are already too many here who oppose me.  I will tolerate no others to defy me.*

“No _others_?” Rivereye asks.  “What others?”

Indomitability’s voice burns with withheld anger as it replies.

*Though they could not conquer me, the ones from below trapped me here.  I have made sure they cannot escape, but nor will they release me.*

Rivereye looks around to the group.  “Hey guys, what do you say we do Indomitability here a favor and free him, so maybe he’ll let us pass?”

Diogenes looks around at the fire forest and the flames that have been trying to kill them for the past hour.  “How about _no_?”

Just then, Kathor spots a horse a few hundred feet away, picking its way through a pocket of trees that are not flaming much.  Atop it rides a Orcish scout, dressed in a Ragesian army uniform.  He tells the rest of the group that the Orcs will be on them in just a few seconds, and he’s definitely in favor of at least giving the fire forest the benefit of the doubt.  Torrent and Rantle agree, and that’s enough for Rivereye.  He tells Indomitability that if it aids them and tells them how to find it, they’ll do whatever they can to help free it.  Indomitability agrees, and the group quickly mounts up, riding to find a more defensible location.

In the distance, the Orc scouts spots them and blasts a horn.  Soon thereafter more horns blare, and within a minute a half-dozen Orcs on horseback are within viewing, chasing close behind.  However, they and their mounts both seem to be tiring quickly, since suddenly the fire forest is no longer being forgiving to them.  At the back of the group, though, rides a figure covered in heavy furs, wearing a polished bearskull mask that gleams in the firelight, and he spurs his forces on.  Everyone recognizes him as an Inquisitor.

The group comes upon a low cliff that they can put their backs to to prevent flanking, and they deposit Haddin there, since the old man can’t seem to control his coughing.  The rest of the group turns to meet the approaching Ragesians, visible in dark flashes as they pass between interposing trees.  All of them except for Kathor dismount, since they’re not trained in mounted combat.  Diogenes and Torrent quickly cast defensive spells on themselves, while Kathor and Rantle quietly divide up which of the Ragesians they’ll go after.

Stopping just over two hundred feet away (Diogenes recognizes this as a classic distance beyond which most spells are ineffective; good form), the Ragesians form a line of horsemen, ready to attack.  Behind them, the Inquisitor dismounts imposingly, then throws his hand forward as an order.  Shouting a battle cry, the Ragesian soldiers spur their horses, and charge.


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## RangerWickett (Apr 9, 2003)

*Chapter Two, Part Three*

Kathor’s mounted charge meets the line of Ragesians first, and he swings his mighty greatsword at the lead Ragesian.  His foe is a skilled rider, though, and swerves his horse around a tree for cover.  Kathor’s attack misses, but as his target and another break off from the charge to converge on him, he’s glad that at least he’s drawing opponents away the weaker mages.  Kathor and his two opponents drive their horses among tightly packed flaming trees, trying to gain the upper hand in defensive positioning while making quick attacks whenever an enemy exposes himself.  Because of the anti-fire balm on his horse, Kathor is able to edge closer to the flaming foliage, giving him an edge he needs while being pressed by two foes.

As the other four Ragesians bear down on the mages, they run into several obstacles.  Rivereye had managed to discreetly toss out a bagful of caltrops in a ring around them, so as the first rider closes, his horse jerks in pain and balks, stopping the charge.  Diogenes is unsure what kind of defense the Inquisitor might’ve given the soldiers, but he doubts that it would extend to the horses, so he targets a pair of horses with a sleep spell, causing them to collapse and drop their riders.  Finally, as one of the Orcs starts to dismount so he won’t have to ride through the caltrops, Rantle charges him and catches him off-guard, nearly killing him.

Torrent, hoping that the Inquisitor might not have his defenses up yet, fires off a long line of spraying ice and frigid water, an _arctic blast_, but it has barely taken shape before antimagic negates it, wasting Torrent’s spell.  Worse, moments later the Inquisitor follows up with a blanketing _dispel_ effect, and suddenly Diogenes and Torrent feel most of their defensive magic cancelled, including Torrent’s fire resistance.  No longer even marginally defended against the enemy warriors, Diogenes tries to cast _sleep_ on one of the soldiers, but the Inquisitor counterspells it.  Diogenes grimaces inwardly, but maintains his outward confidence.

Rivereye glances back to see why Crystin and Haddin aren’t helping, and though Crystin keeps glancing in their direction as if she wants to help, she seems unable or unwilling to leave her father, who is lying on the ground.  Perturbed, the gnome tries to capture the Inquisitor in an ectoplasmic cocoon, only to feel his psionic energies scrambled.  The cocoon begins to form around him instead, and in surprise he almost gets trapped in his own power, though he manages to jump away in time.

Kathor by this point is having serious trouble with his opponents.  A bad swing ends up lodging his greatsword in a tree trunk, and the blade begins to glow red hot.  While Kathor backs off and draws his back-up longsword, his opponents form a pincer around him, and he takes several hits that sting even through his armor.

Rantle realizes that the mages are having a hard time getting of their spells with the Inquisitor watching them, so he makes a tough choice and abandons them, charging toward the Inquisitor.  This leaves Diogenes, Torrent, and Rivereye stuck facing four Orcs, heavily armed and armored.  Undaunted, Torrent conjures her water axe and tries to fight off the soldiers to keep them away from Diogenes.  

Rivereye creates a cocoon of ectoplasm that encases one of the soldiers, who falls to the ground, and Diogenes ducks behind a tree to get out of the Inquisitor’s line of sight so he can cast an illusion spell.  Without line-of-sight, the Inquisitor cannot counterspell it, and suddenly a trio of snarling hellhounds burst from the nearby trees, landing and lunging toward the three Ragesian soldiers still standing.  Two of them panic and turn to flee, but Torrent is distracted by them too, and takes a cruel upward slash across the face that knocks her to the ground and nearly unconscious.  Diogenes makes a note to let his companions know that he can cast illusions so they won’t be distracted in the future.

Stuck between two opponents, Kathor manages to dehorse one when his own mount rears and kicks the Ragesian in the face with twin hooves, and for a moment he only has to fend off one opponent.  The two circle in a small clearly, their swords clashing, while only a few feet away, Rantle charges past toward the Inquisitor.

The Inquisitor, realizing his error in not keeping any bodyguards nearby, tries to cast _dominate_ on Rantle, but he shakes off the spell and swings at the bear-masked mage.  His blow knocks the Orc off his feet, but simultaneously a chilling blast of energy bursts from a magical shield on the Orc, striking Rantle.  It’s not enough to stop him, however, and he leaps upon the Orc with another heavy slash.  His blade doesn’t pierce the energy shield, but with Rantle atop him, the Inquisitor cannot manage to cast any spells.  Unfamiliar with the shield blocking his attacks, Rantle drops his sword and simply grapples the smaller Orc mage, pinning him in a chokehold while forcing himself to ignore the vicious cold that sears him.  The Orc manages to shout for help once, his voice deep and commanding despite his panicked situation, and the two Ragesians fleeing the illusory hellhounds turn to head for Rantle.

Knowing Torrent is about to be cut down by the remaining Ragesian, Diogenes casts a fan of flames from his hand, aiming high so as to not risk hitting the wounded water mage.  But the Ragesian manages to evade most of the flames, and he swings down for the killing blow against Torrent.  At the same time, though, Torrent casts forth a desperate spray of water upward at the tree branches just overhead.  The flames and water clash with a burst of steam and the crack of stressed wood, and a huge branch crashes down just as the Orc drives his blade into Torrent’s stomach.  The impact pins the two of them together under hissing and steaming debris, both unconscious, Torrent near dying.

“Help her!” Rivereye shouts to Diogenes as the gnome runs toward the other end of the battlefield where Kathor and Rantle are.  Along the way, he stops beside the cocooned soldier and psionically conjures a dagger.  Knowing the cocoon will only last a few moments, he delivers a coup de grace to the soldier, then turns his attention toward the endangered warriors.

Kathor’s still-mounted opponent deflects one of Kathor’s swings high, then drives in with a quick thrust at his exposed armpit.  The sword doesn’t impale, but it cuts a deep gouge, and Kathor starts to sag.  The Orc makes for a killing blow, but Kathor’s horse jumps away at the last second, pulling him out of range, then rearing up to send a hoof connecting with the Orc’s face.  The Orc falls off his horse, stunned, and Kathor commands his own horse to perform a special maneuver it has been trained for.  His horse rears up and clamps down with both hooves, crushing the dehorsed Orc.  

However, before it can kill off that foe, the other Orc manages to recover from his fall, and he drives his blade up under a plating on Kathor’s thigh.  Weakened from multiple injuries, Kathor summons his strength for one last blow.  He feels a surge of energy pass down his arm, and as he swings, his blow is guided by magic.  It strikes true, beheading the Ragesian soldier cleanly.

Nearby, Rantle struggles to move in the grapple, interposing the Inquisitor’s body between himself and the Ragesian soldiers.  The magical chill is taking its toll, but as he tightens his grip on the Inquisitor’s neck, he can feel the Orc’s body spasm, and the cold weakens.  He holds on tightly with one arm and pulls out a boot knife with his other hand, savagely driving it into the Inquisitor’s throat for the killing blow.  However, he is already surrounded by the soldiers, and they begin hacking down at him.  He tries to move to make sure his armor takes all of the damage, but as he reaches for his greatsword, one of the Orcs kicks it away.  

He tries to trip one of the Orcs to get an opening to roll away to safety, but the soldier dodges easily.  Before he knows it, Rantle has been pinned to the ground by one of the Orcs, who is trying to find an opening in the armor to slide his blade through.  Rantle struggles to fend him off, but the second Orc moves to fully pin him.  Then the air fills with strange white strands, lines of ectoplasm which entangle the Orc still standing.  With only one foe to contend with, Rantle manages to keep from getting disemboweled, but he can’t stand up.

Seeing Rantle in trouble, Kathor spurs his horse into a charge.  As he closes on the grappling pair, he passes the tree his greatsword is stuck in, and ignoring the heat, he grasps it and tugs it free with the force of the charge.  Its heat sears through his gauntlets, but he grits his teeth, lines up his mount, and slashes down as they ride by, tearing a great gouge in the Orc’s side and knocking him off Rantle.  Kathor has to drop his sword, but Rantle has enough of an opening that he is able to stand, retrieve his own greatsword, and kill the Orc.

From about a hundred feet away, Diogenes calls to see if they need any help while he pulls the burning branches off the dying Torrent.  But they have it under control, and as Rivereye delivers the coup de grace to the other cocooned Ragesian, Kathor drinks a much needed healing potion, and Rantle carefully loots the Inquisitor’s body.  Meanwhile, Crystin and Haddin finally approach, and Crystin forces her father to hand over a healing potion to heal the vicious wound in Torrent’s abdomen.  It keeps the water mage from dying, but she doesn’t regain consciousness.

Also, the Orc who nearly killed Torrent was only knocked out by the falling branches, not killed, and Diogenes quickly casts a charm spell on him while he’s unconscious, gathering the rest of the group around so they’ll be able to watch the interrogation.

While they wait for the Orc to come to, the group describes the loot they’ve garnered from the attackers.  All of the soldiers had a fair amount of Imperial gold coins, but the real valuables – their weapons and armor – are all too heavy to carry effectively.  Kathor gathers up a few swords and daggers to carry on his horse, but they leave the bodies in their armor for the forest’s flames to claim.  They also decide, to Kathor’s disappointment, that it won’t be possible to bring the seven Ragesian horses with them, simply for logistical reasons.  Disappointed to see horses die needlessly, Kathor tries to force the mounts to head toward the northern border of the woods, but most are too exhausted from the heat to budge.  

The main prizes, however, come from the Inquisitor.  He carried a pair of healing potions, and though they could use them to heal Torrent, they decide it’s safer to save their limited healing capacity for truly dire situations.  Even better, apparently the Inquisitor’s bear mask has some sort of magical power, but when Rivereye tries it on, all it does for him is change his voice to sound almost like a deep, growling bear.  Since they can’t figure out any practical use for it, they let the gnome keep his toy, which makes his head appear far too big for his body.

Best, at least in Diogenes’s mind, is the Inquisitor’s spellbook.  A quick perusal reveals numerous useful spells against fire, multiple dispelling effects, and the crown jewel for an enchanter like Diogenes, _dominate person_.  When Crystin notices the spell in the book, she starts to say something about her not liking that spell, but then she glance at her father and refuses to say anything more.

The surviving Orc finally comes to while they’re getting ready to ride on, and Diogenes has mostly lost interest in interrogating the haplessly _charmed_ soldier.  They get out of him the expected information that this group was just a section of those Inquisitors sent to guard the southern border of the Ragesian Heartlands, but most of them are staying out of the forest.  Also, to their relief, the soldier is pretty certain that the Inquisitors weren’t after them _specifically_; they don’t know the group’s identity.

At this point, Diogenes wonders what to do with the prisoner, and he hits on an idea.

“Look here,” he says, producing some random dust from a pouch.  “Let me cast this spell on you, and it’ll protect you from fire.  I just need you to scout ahead a little ways, to make sure it’s safe for the rest of us, and then you can return to your unit, alright?”

“Oh, um, yes, of course,” the Ragesian soldier says, trusting Diogenes implicitly.  “What am I looking for?”

Diogenes shrugs, pointing at a distant area about two hundred feet away where the fires are particularly intense.  “Oh, just check out the thickest clumps of burning bushes and foliage, to see if there’s anything hiding in them.  Make sure to check _really closely_.”

The Orc nods eagerly, oblivious.  Diogenes helps him up, then sends him on his way.  Confident that the fire won’t hurt him, the Orc rushes off to scout, and a few moments later, they hear a brief scream from the bushes.  The Orc does not return.


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## dave_o (Apr 16, 2003)

Uberrad, man. I'm really loving this, and I love Fighter/Sorcerers. They remind me a lot of Raven, from The Black Company series.

Maybe a little more characterization/dialogue? I know it's tough, writing a story hour of my own, but I think it'd add a lot to discerning individuals.

Awesome spell effects, and I LOVE the fire forest idea.

MORE!


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## RangerWickett (Jan 16, 2004)

I'm going to update this some time.  Really, I am.  I'll post the first part of the next chapter, still under construction . . . for about a year now.

When we last left our heroes, they had bravely entered the Innenotdar Fire Forest, which has been aflame for sixty years.  Protected by alchemical balms to ward off the flame, they hoped to evade the pursuing Ragesian inquisitors, who wanted to capture and kill the party because it contains magic-users.  However, the sentient spirit of the forest which calls itself Indomitability tried to stop the party, allowing the inquisitors to enter the forest even without magical defenses against the great heat.  The inquisitors were nearly upon the group when Rivereye Badgerface, the group's psion, made an agreement with Indomitability to help it if it helped them defeat the inquisitors.  The mysterious forest spirit agreed, and its flames flared again against the pursuing Ragesians, allowing the heroes to easily dispatch them.  Now the party must find Indomitability, and 'free' it from its prison.  But what could possibly have imprisoned something called 'Indomitability?'

Cast of Characters:


Diogenes, human wizard, trained as an enchanter.  His mentor Gabal is a powerful Evoker, but Diogenes believes that enchantment and charm spells are more effective than simple damage.
Kathora Danava, human warrior, son of a general in the Ragesian army, forced to flee because of his minor magical abilities.
Rivereye Badgerface, known as "Filthmonkey" to some, a goblin psion who grew up among gnomes.  He trained with one of the advisors to the late Emperor Coaltongue, but with Coaltongue's death he had to flee, because Leska, the high inquisitor, disapproves of psions.
Rantle, a human warrior, has no magical ability, but is trying to catch up with his sister Katrina, who has already fled Ragesia and is heading toward the safety of Lyceum.
Haddin Ja-lafa, and Crystin Ja-nafeel, father and daughter, brought with the party from the town of Cerri.  Haddin wanted to fight against the Inquisitors, but they knocked him unconscious and dragged him along.  Crystin is prone to visions.
Torrent, a water mage who is guiding the group back to Lyceum.

Guided by a faint psychic sense that Rivereye is picking up, the group presses through the fire forest.  Kathor rides his own horse, and Torrent is lain across the back of Rivereye's pony K-POD, but the rest of the group walks.  It takes them most of the rest of the day before they find anything unusual, but when they do, it is not what they expected.

Through the crackling of burning wood comes the sound of a huge chorus singing in a language unfamiliar to most of them.  Only Rivereye knows enough to recognize it as the language of the fey, but he can only make out a few words from this distance.  The song is about a long journey from home, into foreign lands.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Rantle comments.

Diogenes looks at Rivereye.  "They'd better be evil fey or something.  What kind of stupid idea was it to agree to release the fire spirit.  'Evil fire monster.'  No, that doesn't sound dangerous."

Crystin draws in a sharp breath, and looks down at Rivereye.  "Your inability to measure danger will get you killed some day."

Crystin's father, Haddin, coughs and shakes his head.  "Whatever the hell they are, let's just go around them.  I've got - *cough, hacking wheeze* -  I've got nothing against fey."

They are the ones who imprison me, says the fire of the forest suddenly, roaring around them with anger.  Fulfill your promise to release me, or burn where you stand.

"Let's go save the fire beast," Rantle says quickly.

"Good idea," Rivereye laughs, nervously.  "Let's go."

They ride on ahead for a few minutes until they see a hill ahead of them.  The song is coming from the other side of the hill, now with its chorus accompanied by a single elderly male voice.

"Hey, interesting," Rivereye says.  "I think the one guy singing now is the person this story's about.  He says he's traveling away from home to collect the song of the world.  So, what do we do now?"

Haddin clears his throat wretchedly, spitting a mouthful of soot onto the ground.  "I say to hell with this 'Indomitability.'  It sounds like - *choke, cough* - . . . whatever it is, it's trouble.  Send the gnome to look.  At least if he gets killed we won't have lost anything."

Diogenes flips open his spellbook and starts looking for something, while Rantle offers his opinion.  "Haddin, you haven't done anything useful for the party, so you don't get a vote.  Anyway, we'll probably need the help of the thing to get out of here, so it can't hurt to take a look."

Haddin glowers back.  "Go take your muscles and badger someone else."

Diogenes straightens and points at his spellbook.  "Here it is.  Detect ."  He waves his hands in a spell, and suddenly Haddin glows with intense light.  "Haddin, look, your aura is overwhelming.  I . . . I cannot stand to look at it anymore."  And the spell ends, the light fading away.

Crystin turns her head mechanically toward Diogenes and says, "Leave my father alone.  He knows what is best for us."

Diogenes laughs.  "And what's up with your daughter?  Half the time she does exactly what you tell her, and the rest of the time she's spewing out tidbits of wisdom.  You've got her well-trained."

Rivereye shrugs and starts to go, but


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