# Sayburr's Kalamar Storyhour



## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Jzashedra's Kalamar Storyhour*

The DM written story hour has been posted at 
http://pub49.ezboard.com/fkingdomsofkalamarfrm9.showMessage?topicID=1.topic
to support the official Kalamar boards

I have been asked to post the story hour here but I hate to post the same thing in more than one place... so, instead I will post Jza's session write ups and you can see the above link if you would like to read the DM's write ups. They are basicly the same, except with this one you get to see Jza's thoughts and feelings.

These are not my write ups but Jza's players, Hope you find them enjoyable.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*JZASHEDRA - Character Background*

For years, until she was 12, Alicia actually thought she was the youngest daughter 
of Gretta and Foebin Tessin. For the most part, they gave her no reason to think otherwise. Perhaps they disciplined her a little more harshly than their other 3 daughters, but then again, she was at least twice as mischievous as the other 3 girls put together.Marjorie, Mathilda, and Mayfair treated her just like a sister,too. Foebin made a decent living for his family as a trader near the Ahznomahn coast. He was a moderate landowner and had a few servants to help his wife care for the place. 

Then came the letter.

Marjorie, only 3 years older than Alicia, was stricken with a young man in the town close to their home. Alicia penned a note in Marjorie's handwriting and gave it to the young man, Aldus van Bergen, detailing all the things Marjorie had confided to Alicia that she would like to have Aldus do to her. She also included a time for Aldus to sneak into the Tessin household. Needless to say , more than one person suffered embarrassment and humiliation when the young man's presence in Marjorie's bedroom was discovered.

When Marjorie found out that Alicia had penned the note, she was furious. In order to hurt her in return , Marjorie let her know that at least she had a real family of her own. Not just some nice people who had agreed to care for a babe born to a servant girl, out of wedlock. Alicia was stunned. She asked Gretta if it was true, but the look on Gretta's face was all the answer she needed. What had been only mischief before accelerated to a new level. Always finding new tricks to pull on the 3 girls (mostly Marjorie), Alicia kept finding herself in trouble at home. She began slipping off from her studies, out into the woods, out to ride, wherever, and most especially into town. Always "finding" enough coins at home to keep the Magicians and jugglers and other entertainers glad to see her coming .Learning more and more from the street urchins and the shadier characters in town than from her studies, Alicia came up with a plan.

Shortly after her 15th birthday, she started making friends with the latest gypsy caravan to hit town. With her lithe, athletic build she talked them into taking her on to perform a gymnastics and tumbling show. One of the gypsies honed her talents and brought out more so that soon she was amazing the small crowds with her abilities to get out of locked boxes, manacles, and all manners of knots and contraptions. She convinces the gypsies to let her leave with them. They readily agreed but told her that she would have to buy her way into the act, of course. The plan blossomed further in her mind. Of course, kill 2 birds with one stone.

By this time, Aldus had since come into his birthright as a wealthy landowner's son and was attempting to court Marjorie again, despite the previous incident. Marjorie was playing hard to get and Alicia decided to use that to her advantage. Again imitating Marjorie's handwriting, Alicia left Aldus a note that "she" couldn't wait any longer to be with him. It further read, that "she" would sneak into his house in 3 nights time but for him not to come by between now and then, to keep her father's suspicions low. On that appointed night, Alicia snuck out of the Tessin home for the last time. 

She stole one of their horses and rode to Aldus'. She crept into his house and his bed under cover of darkness, never letting on that she was not Marjorie. She sated his every whim, determined to ruin him for Marjorie. Once he fell asleep, exhausted, she began to search the house. She found a "safe" place in a drawer with a false bottom and removed the two small sacks of coins and scroll tube. She opened the tube to find a map or a drawing with characters she couldn't understand and a small silver key inside. Quietly, she let herself out and rode to meet the gypsies. Trying to put her painful past behind her as much as trying to make it difficult for Aldus and the Tessins to track her down, she decided a new life needed a new name. Thus between the setting of the moon and the rising of the sun, Jzashedra was re-born out of legend and into this world again. 

Learning about being on her own already, she put her scroll tube in the bottom of her pack and tied the key up into and underneath her hair with a small strip of leather. The coins easily bought her way into the gypsy clan, so no one else had to know of her own swag for the night's work.

Jza joined the gypsies at just the right time. Their next stop, Zha-nehzmish at Grand Circus time. Here she learns of the University and it initiated into the thieves’ profession. One night while working a bazaar in the city after picking a few pockets she found herself bracketed by a couple of thugs. When she ducked away from them in an attempt to escape, she found out surrounded was a better word than bracketed. She was slapped and pushed into an alley and then sapped. When she awoke, she was in a darkened room where she was the only one not wearing a black and white mask and armband. She was told that since she was obviously a novice and not a veteran cutpurse trying to cheat the guild out of its due that they hadn’t cut her throat or at least dumped her raped and penniless and naked outside of town. Jza readily agreed that she was new to the life. Her captors proposed admission to their guild through initiation rite. How could she refuse? It would be a trial by fire of course. The tests: 1) In the bazaar tomorrow night she must pick 10 pockets without getting caught and have no more and no less than 57 coins (denomination doesn’t matter). Passing that: 2) she must be able to find the secret in at least 3 of 4 items presented to her. Passing that she must 3) free a guild member who is incarcerated in the city jail.

The following night the first test was going quite well. Jza was even managing to palm 2 coins per purse at the count site in case things got close later. This foresight probably saved her. The seventh purse was heavier than she had guessed and not even counting what she had palmed her count was 54. Over already! But only Jza knew this! Her mind raced. The probably knew she had been checking the tally sheet and thus knew she only had to bring 1 coin per theft for the remainder of the test. But what if they suspected she was holding extra out to make it appear she had the correct amount? What if they searched her? Then it struck her. Of course! Instead of stealing more, she would drop a few coins in the mark’s pocket each time and turn in only 1 coin each time, dropping all but 1 coin into the last mark’s pocket. She could make it work. And work it did. She was searched after the last turn in too, as she thought she would be. No honor (or trust) among thieves, after all. Some seemed impressed, some wanted her searched again, some seemed indifferent – more interested in their beer than the initiation. 

Other called for the search test. So, they went to an old warehouse on the docks. The first item was easy. It was a desk and it had a drawer with a false bottom much like Aldus’. She had more than ½ of the sand left in the glass when she found it. The second search the told her was to be of the office that the desk was in. This proved harder. It was much larger an area to search for starters and you really didn’t know exactly what you were searching for. The glass was nearly ¾ empty before it dawned on her where she was and started searching the floor to find the secret trap door that led to the sewers and the ocean. She thought the third test would be easier than the first when she saw them bringing in a large chest. Even with a smaller sandglass for less time. How many secret places could there be in a chest right? Then she saw the padlock on the front and one of the thugs, a dwarf, lifting a key on string off the chest only to drop it inside his pocket. Laughing as he dusted his hands off. “Bet you don’t find this one girlie” he said as he patted the chest and went to sit down. Tougher, but still no problem after all she still had her tools. She went to work on the lock. She didn’t know if she would have enough time to search the chest thoroughly now even as small as it was. Sweat started to roll down the center of her back. Two bent picks later some one tapped her on the shoulder and pointed to the empty glass. “Told you that you wouldn’t find that one girlie. Now you must find the last item’s secret. You may only have one failure.”

That chest was taken away and another brought and put in its place and the glass was turned to sand on top again. This one had no lock and she placed her hand on the lid immediately; ready to find its secret and find it fast to prove to herself and those watching that she was not a failure in spite of the last test. But something stayed her hand. Two chests in a row? And what could be simpler than searching chests? Was it her or was her pyramid growing warmer? Even with the sand running she decided to lover over the outside before proceeding; tapping here, tapping there, looking on the bottom. It seemed normal, if perhaps lightweight. It was fairly thin sounding poplar all over, except the back seemed heavier and probably oak. The top seemed thin poplar too. She stayed behind the chest and gave the top a very small amount of upward pressure. Even though it should have been enough to raise the top it didn’t. She decided to play out her hunch. She looked over at the dwarf who had told her she wouldn’t pass the third test and lifted the lid from behind. Even though she thought she was prepared for was to happen she still flinched as the short sword blade inside the chest was punched through the front of the chest by spring mechanism hooked to the lid. Now, more than a few were impressed. Several even came over to shake her hand and pat her on the back and welcome her into the guild. “But what about getting the man out of jail?” she asked. “A few bribes in the right place can arrange an escape far better than a rescue attempt and sword play with guards not on the pay roll girlie” says the dwarf. “And we paid most of that with what you made on your first test. Let me welcome you to the City Shadows as a member in good standing and let me introduce myself. 

You may call me Kestarek and what may I call you?” She tells him that she goes by Jza short for Jzashedra. The dwarf raises his voice above the dim of the room and says “The first two rounds are on me at the Knotted New if the lady is drinking with me.” Jza nods and a roar goes up and many head out to take advantage of the dwarf’s generosity. Later on, after finding out that the dwarf is apparently immune to alcohol, Kestarek offers to walk Jza home. In the dark, he pulls out a band of black and white material and tells her to pull up her sleeve. He ties it around her arm and pulls her sleeve back down. He then tells her it is not for show, not for just anyone to see and know about but will identify her to other guilds in other areas. He also tells her, “Don’t worry about the chest. I’ve seen several initiations here and not one has solved Gorian’s chest. The masks are custom jobs, but you’ll only need it if you plan to attend an initiation or other formal guild business. Well I have other business to attend to before the sun comes up so good luck and well met.” Before she leaves the city, Jza has an image of the armband tattooed on her upper arm. The Grand Circus comes to its end when the Carnival King, wearing his mask and colorful clothes proclaims the week-long festivities to be closed and disappears in a flash of light. 

Sitting in a bar on the outskirts of Zha-nehzmish, the capital of Ahznomahn, as she ponders the Carnival King’s exit a figure walks up to her table and asks in a quite voice if this seat is taken. She looks up to see a hooded man hidden inside a dark cloak. “Look”, she says, “the show is over and I am not for sale or for rent, so go away.” The last three words are punctuated by her placing a dagger on the table. “Calm down, young one,” he speaks as he reveals his face. The hood falls back to show a fine looking half-elven man. “I have a need to speak with you Alicia”. Her hand grips her rapier as she studies her opponent closer, all the calmness caused by the wine fades as her senses come alive. “Yes, Jzashedra, I know your real identity, but that is not why I have seek you out. Do you still have in your possession a key, a silver key?” “I have no idea what you are talking about,” she says. He sighs, “Look, I know you took a silver key from Aldus van Bergen and he offered me a lot of money if I would bring you back to him. But, I don’t give a **** about him or his money. I have a message to give to the key holder, do you have the key?” He asks has he held up an envelope. “Look, I am trying to relax, go away” He sighs again and holds out his hand; in an instant the key rips itself from her possession and into his hand. She springs to her feet and the rapier leaps out of her sheath. He looks at her smiling and says, “so, you do have a key and this message is for you, please sit down and listen.” 

“A noble in a foreign land handed keys out to people over 50 years ago and upon his death he bequeathed everything he owned to the people in possession of the key. You, have in your possession a key, which makes you an heir. You have one year from this date to arrive at the West Wood Barons, next to the Kalasali Woods in the country of Kalamar. If you are not there at the designated time I will retrieve your key like I just did and you will not receive any of your inheritance. Do you understand?” Dumbly she shakes her head yes with a million questions running through her head. But before she can ask, with a pop of dispersed air, the half-elf disappears.

After the half-elf’s disappearance, Jza stares in disbelief at the space where he was until her hands make contact with the key, the envelope and the money pouches left on the table. She quickly puts them all away, picks up the bottle with the remainder of her wine and goes to her room. Not until the door’s locked does she open the map, the envelope, and pouches. “Never count your profits at the bargaining table” her da… Foebin Tessin always told her. . The envelope contains a map from Zha-nehzmish to the West Wood Barons, 100 GPs, and the following letter:

It is with great sorrow that I must inform you of the passing of Baron Paytro NcMoren. You are invited to the reading of his will at the town of Weston. You will find directions and traveling money with this letter. If you are not on time your inheritance will be forfeit and be split among the others present. In addition to the note explaining about NeMoren there are a few small maps. She would easily recognize the one of Ahznomahn even without the Merchant’s speak letters labeling much of it. The others, she is glad, are labeled as well.

Though she has heard of Reanaaria Bay and Kalamar, heard much in fact, she knows she would not have recognized them just from their topography. In fact she only recognizes two other names – Whimdol and Elos Bay – out of the set of maps. Both are from Tessin’s background in trading. She wonders if the Watcher might have started out in a manner as simple as this, as she toys with his symbolic charm around her neck – the pyramid with an eye inside its apex. She decides to go to the University tomorrow before she and the gypsies move on to the mainland. 

After arriving at the University she asks to see one of their learned men. The man at the desk asks her in reference to what subject. She says “A man named Baron Paytro NeMoren and a town called Weston or a place called Kalasali Woods.” The man leaves the atrium for a short while and then returns and asks Jza to follow him. He leads her back through the hallways to a door with “A’skerba – History and Geography” lettered beautifully in calligraphy upon it. She knocks. “Enter” creaks a deep but disused voice. Jza goes in. A spindly old man, bald on top but the hair that is there hanging to the middle of his back, looks up from the tumult that is his desk to her. “Yes?” he inquires. “I have come looking to trade coin for knowledge of a person and two places not near here, “ she states. “Well, I can assure you I have not always been here in this room, young missy,” he says. “Ask your questions and I’ll tell you how much coin it will cost you.” “I want to know about a man named Baron Paytro NcMoren, and about Kalasali Woods and a town called Weston oh sagacious one, “ she replies. “I don’t think you can afford my research fees so I’ll tell you what I remember right now for a gold piece, lunch and keeping an old man company this afternoon.” She grasps his hand in hers and pats his knee, “If only others could be half as kind as you are, sir! What would you like for you meal so that I might run and fetch it before you change your mind for I know I have come out on the good end of the bargain.” She passes the afternoon with the old man, making him feel good by entertaining him with stories. The old man keeps his end of the bargain as well, relating to her what he knows of the Baron and of the Kalasali Woods and of Weston. He rolls out her map across a desk, pointing out a Weston neighbor – a town called Salireta. He points to Weston, explaining that what is marked on the map is probably the old limits of the city, since Weston is said to be home to only 70-80 people now. “What happened?” she asks, the Watcher asserting himself. It is said to be under a curse. Jza tells him she will be back in 10 months or so to see what else he has found out. 

The gypsies and Jza move on to the mainland and Ozhvinmish. The caravan first stops at Nenehi for two weeks. Then they move on to Svomnahni, probably the largest city in all of Svimohzia. In her two weeks here, Jza learns of the large thieves’ guild located there and how they and the pirates co-exist profitably. Traveling westward, they reach Anowhizh and finally Ashoshani, the capitol of Ozhvinmish, and home of King Shahn III. She learns of a vast tomb works, resting place for over 200 kings and royalty. The temptation was high. She could hear Risk almost demanding she try it but the six-dozen black and silver clad guards in real Plate armor and their cleric support made her decide discretion is the better part of valor. From Ashoshani, they travel nearly a month to the capitol of Meznamish, Monam-ahnozh. Monam-ahnozh is roughly the size of Ashoshani and is home to King Warven II and about 2000 dwarfs. It is also as far west as they will travel since the hobgoblin kingdom of Ul-karg lies west. 

From there, they turn southeast and go through the Tanezh Mountains to enter Zazhni. The first stop is to be Zhanohven. Here is Zazahni. There is no central government like the Parliament of Ahznomahn or King like in Meznahish or Ozhvinmish. A duke, each of who sets his own law, rules each section of land. From there, southwest to Zenshahn, next to the Nohven Jungle. Here she meets with the Dark Omen guild. A strange guild really. Their only enterprise is black marketeering. After their two weeks there, the gypsies travel the jungle border for two weeks until they get to Emosvom. By now her Fhokki has become quite polished from her continued practice with the big Lummox. After their stay here, the cross the Izhoven River by ferry since there are no bridges to get to Wimish some four days to the north. After that they continue north to Svomwhi for two weeks. Then they turn east and head back into Ozhvinmish to Zomo-wim. Then they head back through Ahznomahn back to Zha-nehzmish. 

Once in the city, Jza goes to the City Shadows and tells the guildmaster that she would like to see Gordian’s chest that night. “What for?,” he asks. I think I know its secret she tells him. She meets him at the same warehouse along with several other members who had heard she was going to try Gordians chest again. Jza walks right up to the chest, hands him the key which was still hanging by its cord and pulls prybar from under her coat. Struck dumb in surprise, he can say nothing before she is under the hasp and loud shrills of protest shriek throughout the warehouse. They stare in amazement as she uses the bar to pry the hasp, lock and all, completely off the chest. She hands it and the bar to him and starts to walk out . He says, “Aren’t you even going to look for the secret compartment after that?” She stops and turns to face them. “I don’t think I need to look in it to find it ,” she says.”Try the key in the lock.” He does as she asks and even though there are sounds as if the tumblers are opening the lock doesn’t yeild no matter how many times he turns the key. She smiles and turns to go again just to have him call to her again, asking who told her, and how did she know and such things like that. “Some problems just can’t be solved with just skill and finesse,” she says, “so that only leaves force.” That having been said, she turns and does leave this time, a smile on her face as she listens to the excited discussion her actions just sparked.

Now, after about ten months on the road, it is time to check in with the sage again and get ready to go to Kalamar. What had once represented rebellion and freedom now seems as restrictive as her schoolgirl classes. A little more drinking and debauchery and changing scenery perhaps, but still too orderly for her. Almost stifling in its routine. Shows at certain times, so many shows a day, blah, blah, blah. So Jzashedra slips off again. This time away from the gypsies instead of to them. She has learned much with them and from them, including the ways of the Watcher and those of Risk but it is time to move on. Time to travel and learn on her own. 

After visiting the sage, Jza books her passage on a galley sailing for Bet-Kalamar and returns to her room to prepare for the trip. Jza, though normally her rooms look like a whirlwind has struck them, is meticulous about anything concerning travel. So she organizes, picks up and packs everything tonight that she will take with her tomorrow. She will rise early, eat a breakfast of fresh meat, soft bread, and honey here at the inn before beginning her journey. 

After spending a week puking over the rail they finally sight land. Jza goes from the ship to an inn and books the night and stables her horse. It is, she thinks, the most restful night of her life. She even regains her appetite by the morning. She gets her horse and starts out for Salireta and Weston and the Kalasali Woods.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*NeMoren Vaults*

Jza arrived at the manor last night, was given the opportunity to sleep in a comfortable bed and then she gathered with some others in the small drawing room the next morning. Seated behind a desk in the room is a human who introduces himself as Kel Varnsen, the mayor of nearby Hollobrae. He is a rough looking gentleman with wild un-kept hair and a neatly trimmed beard. Standing behind the mayor is the half-elf who delivered the mysterious letters and who is introduced to you as Daresh. For the first time you get a very good look at this half-elf, who is not wearing traveling clothes like the last time you met. The fine black silk robes with silver trim highlights her fine of firm figure. She smiles and bows in greeting with a twinkle in her eye and a slight smile on her lips.

Sitting in chairs around the room are: A male Fhokki named Rakis, A female Dejy named Amber, a female Reanaarian named Laura, a male elf named Ars, and a bronze skinned female Svimohzia named Jzashedra.
After introductions are made and you've all been seated, Varnsen begins to speak:

"In my hands, I hold the last will and testament of Baron Paytro NeMoren, the former lord of this region, and resident of this manor. Baron NeMoren died five years ago at the ripe old age of 102. He left two documents in my care: The first was a letter addressed to myself, outlining the Baron's final request that I find five people, identified only by the silver key that they carry, and gather them in a room for the reading of his will; the second document, unopened until today, was the will itself.

I tell you, it has not been an easy task locating the members of this group. I tried on my own and even had a ranger friend of mine try but to no avail, finally Daresh came to my attention and she agreed to find you if you would agree to allow her to have a book that is in rumored to be in the vault of NeMoren. I told her that the will may not give the group access to the vault and she said that is was a risk she was willing to take. So, the only reason we are gathered her is because of Daresh's abilities so I feel like you should agree with her terms."

Everyone at the table agrees with Kel even though Jza doesn’t agree, she accepts what the rest of the people at the table say, for now.

"Good, the book is called the 'Spells of Gadrwyn Waeth' and without further delay..."

Mayor Varnsen unlocks a leather portfolio and withdraws a weathered
document. It looks to be very old. He breaks the seal on the papers; he opens it and begins reading aloud:
" 'The last Will and Testament of Paytro NeMoren, Baron of the West Wood region, heir to NeMoren Manor, and sole survivor of the respected NeMoren bloodline.
Gathered to hear my final words should be five fortunate people… 

As the Mayor begins reading the will Jza notices the big Northman looking a little lost. She leans over and asks him in Fhokki “Do you understand what he is saying?”. The giant warrior looks a little startled but then nods his head and seems to pay closer attention. Jza shrugs inwardly but then focuses her attention back to the Mayor as well, did someone mention something about money?

After the will is read, the Mayor says something about breaking down a wall and asks the witch , Daresh, if she would mind getting the hammers. The witch says she has business elsewhere and leaves in that disturbing manner that she seems to favor. Good riddance, I say. I just don’t trust that bitch. Next time I am at a guildhouse I’m going to see what anyone knows about her. We go with the Mayor down to the cellar and find the section of the wall that was mentioned—damned fine work, cleverly camouflaged. He tells us we can clear away the racks while he goes to get the sledges. Glad those two bruisers are along , this looks like sweaty work. While we are clearing the wall face everybody starts getting to know each other a little, or at least what they want the others to think they know about them. I don’t tell them much about me of course, let them wonder. I do give them my working name: if a woman wants her rep known she’s got to earn it under one name.

The Northman and the woodsman beat the wall down. A short passage leads to a massive iron door that has 5 keyholes. We each put our keys in and then turn them. The mechanism opens inside the door but the door is still closed . Ars ,the woodsman, pulls against it and is rewarded as the massive thing swings open. The draft from the air being sucked into the passage beyond the door pulls at our torches. A light source far into the passage shimmers faintly, but our light only reveals rooms on either side of this corridor. Ars returns to the wall to get an impromptu stop for the door .

We decide to look in the room on the left first . The bladesmen go to open the door. As the 2 other women watch them, I decide to watch our rear. The room has tapestries on all 4 walls and a pool surrounded by what look like metal trees. I feel drawn to look behind the tapestries as the others look upon them as if children at story time. Bah, I came here for treasure not history lessons. Behind the western tapestry I find an alcove with a statue and a plaque. The priestess, Amber, casts some spell or prayer and looks the room over . After a short time she tells us that the trees and the pool and the plaque are magical.
The pool has an inscription in Kalamarian around its lip that reads “All true life comes from 2 components-
light and water.” For some reason , the woodsman puts his torch out in the pool and then throws in a gold coin. Odd fellow, this one. I would have thought the Northman to be the superstitious one.

We move to the room on the right. It seemed like it might have been a bunkhouse at one time but was trashed now. The room held little of interest but 3 giant centipedes and a note that mentioned no treasure so we moved on. The next room was a burial chamber of sorts with an upper and lower level.. While the others were talking about maybe doing something sometime ,I made my way to the first of the tombs that had had it’s door torn open. I could hear the Fhokki, Rakis, follow me. As I peered into the room, a filthy undead creature stepped from its hiding place and struck me in the throat. Surprised and bloody , I slipped away from it into the room and left it to face the ax weilding giant behind me. That is when they seemed to come out of the stonework. We were facing a platoon of undead. Things looked pretty grim but then the bard,Laura, started singing a battle hymn and the priestess stepped in and cowed the horrors with a show of power from her diety’s symbol. Raggedly and choking on my own blood I shot one of the fleshy creatures and then jumped down into the pit to finish off 2 of the skeletal creatures to help the bladesmen finish off the foes. Our search of this area was fruitless as well. Some treasure vaults these were turning out to be. This hardly seems the reward NeMoren was making it out to be.

We went up and down some stairs to find the shimmering light and with it another massive door of iron.
I searched for opening mechanismsbut found none. None until I touched the globe of light that is. It increased it’s glow and the door rose. I took the globe with me since it shone brighter than my torch in its invigorated state. The other side smelled dank and wet compared to the dry dusty state of the side we had entered thru. We found a mud room to the east where the men dispatched a giant frog. We moved on to a passageway that seems to have been not of the original design. We maneuvered thru its tight twists and turns only to find more skeletons . The confines were working against us until the priestess stepped forward and de-animated them with the power from her holy symbol. We followed it until it came out in a cavern with a river running thru it and some humanoids around a fire on the other side of it. We decided to turn back from here and look thru the other part of the designed vaults first to find that bitch her book of all things . Here adventure stares us in the face and they want to play fetch for that witch instead. We backtracked and moved on to the north until the corridor was blocked by a pit. Once again they had to have a caucus even tho I told them I could surely leap it. After I had had enuf of their banter I just backed up and ran and jumped it while they watched. I think they may all be politicians secretly except for the bearded giant and the priestess. The woodsman must have been shamed into trying the jump after seeing me do it. He backed up, ran and jumped and then started screaming as soon as he realized he was going to fall short.
And fall short ,he did. The pit was only about 2 feet deep. Some enchantments must have been keeping it dark and stopping sound from escaping it. The reward for getting past this “danger” was a ransacked store room and a dead end of rubble.

After some discussion, we considered the inscription around the pool and decided to try the light globe in the pool. The metal leaves seemed to sway under a breeze when we entered with the light. I put the globe in the depression in the pool and we all watched in amazement as the brackish water cleared and the pool filled up magically. I washed my near mortal wound with these waters and felt some relief from the pain and fatigue. We all took some of the waters to soothe our wounds and put the rest into the priestess’s emptied waterskin. We took about 4 hours searching the corridors for secret doors and the like. During this searching , Ars heard something behind one of the walls and put his ear on it to hear better. A massive burrowing monster collapsed the wall on him as it exited the stone right where he was standing. I sent a bolt deep into its chest for its trouble and the rest of our party responded with force as well to persuade it to retreat and find easier prey. We figured this to be enuf for one day and returned to the manor and locked the vault.

The second day, we returned to the underground river and the humanoid forms beyond it. The Fhokki and I crept across the shadowy cavern nearly silently. I moved into position behind the sentry. I stabbed as hard as I could . The blade slid in between his ribs and upward to deflate his lungs so that he couldn’t even warn his companions. I lowered him to the ground and motioned for the Northman to be ready. I moved next to a barrier to surprise the second of what I recognized now as hobgoblins. Since I couldn’t get behind him, when my opportunity came, I stepped out and ran my blade up under his chin into his skull and let him ease down against the wall as I pressed my advantage to strike down the third by the camp fire. By this time the big axman had rush in as well and slew the last of them as quietly as I had the others. We arranged the bodies using their own spears on them in case some one came to check on them and took the other weapons across the river. There were 2 ways out of this side of the cavern and one looked to be a guarded
Entrance , so we took the other, the one to the north. 

Northward we came across a scene straight out of a charnel house . Blood and guts and rotted remains were the main decorations here instead of tapestries and finery. The priestess said that if any of this water seeping thru this room was making its way into the local water supply , that might be the “curse” or “sickness” we had heard so much about. Pressing onward, we find 30 ‘ section of one corridor to be made of glass with a rushing river under it. We decide to come back to that later. We find a door with no handle or lock. There is a sign or plaque on it only. The others puzzle over this while I watch the corridor. We hear bone on stone and I look down the passageway to see skeletons advancing on us. “We have visitors,” I tell them. Rakis steps out into the corridor and I charge them. I get in only one blow tho because Amber de-animates them brandishing her holy symbol with pride. Rakis returns to help Laura with the puzzle and the door is opened magicaly. At last! Finally some treasure in these treasure vaults! We discover some diamond earrings, a ruby ring, and some other goodies in a jewelry box. As the others look over the rest of the room’s contents I discover a secret compartment in the bottom of the box and pocket the potion hidden there.

A few rooms later we hear noise behind a door. We burst in ! The stench is awful. Two decaying creatures with terrible claws that look good for rending flesh but bad for us advance on us. The bladesmen clash with them. Something is wrong with the Northman. He is still standing but no longer attacking . No longer moving in any way for that matter. I try to help them with my bolts but the priestess proves her value again by cowing these monsters and sends them running. Laura and Amber with him, I think the Fhokki will be safe enough so I decide to press our advantage and fire at the retreating undead and give chase. The woodsman must have had the same idea for he matches me step for step. We make them look like pincushions as they have retreated to a hallway with a locked door. I listen at the door and break out my tools to pick the lock when we hear Amber shouting for us to come back. Maybe he wasn’t as safe as I thought. Ars and I hustle back to them. She found a note! I could be on the other side of that door I curse just under my breath. After a time Rakis regains control of his limbs. We go to the door and move the ghouls out of the way.I pick it and we enter a study perhaps . There is a large circle burned into one wall and the floor as well as cloven hoofprints . We start to look around the room but an archway to the south seems to call to me. I rush thru it and the others must sense my urgency since they are right on my heels. We enter a room with four statues , one in each corner, and another charred looking circle on the floor.

One of the statues begins to speak . A terrible form begins to take shape in the circle. Lisette returns to the living but only to proclaim her hunger for it. A terrible battle follows. I am forced to drink the potion I found earlier and feeling its magical power coursing thru my body leap into the melee. We are barely able to come out with our lives. Behind her is a hallway with openings for our keys. At last, our rewards! We enter and begin to go thru our booty. I see a sarcophagus and want to add its contents to our pile so I go over and open it. Immediately I feel weak and my senses are befuddled. I close it and back away fearing poison gas of some sort. We all think it would be a good time to leave since I was not the only one affected by opening the sarcophagus and our battle wounds. We close the vault up and lock it back. On the way out though, the Note Amber found mentioned a glass prison and I want to get a better look at the floor that we saw earlier. 

I check out the floor for flaws and for traps and then test it with my own weight. I walk across to the other side and tell the others there are some short passages ahead. I ask if they want me to look ahead . Ars and Laura say they will come with me . I don’t think he trusts me. May be the only smart one of the bunch. Nah, probably just paranoid. As they cross, large cracks appear, threatening to drop them into the fast moving water but they leap to safety on my side just in time. We find a lab of some sort for our trouble.
I have Rakis and Amber set a grappling hook at the corner and tie the end of that knotted rope around my waist. I take a deep breath and jump as far as I can and start hand over handing it as I sink into the cold fast waters.Rakis and Amber help drag me onto the floor on the other side finally. As I lay gasping for air I can hear gasps and yells and manage to look up only to see Rakis, Amber and Laura staring at the waters surface where it goes under the wall. Not good, I think to myself since I don’t have the breath to say it, we locked the vault back and it takes all five keys. Laura learns from Ars’ mistake and fixes a better rig for herself. Definitely time to go now.

On our way out We hear Ars’ hoarse voice yelling. We ran toward it The Fhokki leaving us in his dust
As his powerful long strides ate up the distance. Ars ran past him and just as he did we saw what caused him to yell so frantically. Rakis runs face to face with the burrowing beast we faced yesterday. In spite of or perhaps because of the close passageway all we could do was fire our crossbows around him as the bard sang. Amber did happen to hit the axman but didn’t stop firing and managed to bring the beast down as we both filled it with bolts. Rakis went down under the beast’s onslaught. We drag him with us back to the manor. 

From DM’s Log to help make rest of story make sense:

The party came up from the vaults weak, bloodied, and in one case, comatose. The Mayor of Hollobrae looked and acted quite concerned. “What the hell happened to you all? Come, lets get you all to a healer. There is one in Hollobrae.” 

Hollobrae is two days ride to the north. The party decides to wait until Rakis is well enough to travel so they leave two days later. Upon arriving in Hollobrae, Kel says, “Thank the Raiser, it sure is good to be home!” He takes the party directly to the temple. The priest examines each of the cursed characters and says that he is sorry that he is not yet powerful enough to help but that he expects a bishop to arrive any day to check on the church and he may be.

So, the Mayor directs they to the Fiery Dragon Inn in the center of the town where they stay the night. The next day the mayor comes and asks them to his office where they meet Lord Llewiston a representative of the Emperor of Kalamar along with eight of the Kings Guards. Llewiston asks if they found anything interesting about Amelia for he is there to appoint another Baron of the area but before that can be done the whereabouts of Amelia’s body needs to be found. The party said they found nothing except for a note saying she was in a glass prison. “hmmmp” came the reply, “I am also here to collect two additional things, one is back taxes owed by the Heirs of the Westwood Barony and the five keys to the vault which is actually a part of the Manor and thus property of the Emperor. Please hand over the keys now.” The party angrily handed over the keys. [DM Note: Jza tells Llewiston that she lost her key.] “Thank you, anything you have already gotten out I consider yours for the keeping. Anything remaining I claim for the Emperor.” [DM Note: Later Llewiston finds out they didn’t get anything out of the vaults so he tells them they may go back in to claim their inherentance, but portions of it will be taken as taxes.]

A knock comes at the door. Kel goes and opens the door and finds a cleric there who informs him that the Bishop Anelstol arrived last night and would like to see the infected people. The party, the Mayor, and Llewiston go there and meet with the Bishop who says that yes, he can help them but they must do something for the church or the area first. “Ahem” coughs Llewiston, “may I speak with you a moment” and he and the Bishop disappear for a moment and return. “Since three cures must be given three quests must be made. First is to find out what happened to Amelia. Second is to find out what the curse of the Weston area is and find out what is stalking and kidnapping locals. Lastly a parishioner wants help locating her father. He has been missing for almost two months and everyone she has paid money to has run off with the money, so I ask you to go to a small town in the Reanaarian Bay Area called Haanex where he was last seen and try to find him. I will cure one person after each quest is completed but will cure the last person before you journey to Reanaarian bay. Time is wasting for I will not stay here long, let us travel to Weston and begin our adventures, we will begin our travels tomorrow. I must also ask you to take this mage with you, for she has requested something from us also and if she helps you with the three quests she may return here and receive what she asked for. If you do not what to take her do it as a favor from me.”

The mage is a female Reanaarian named Pandora


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Nemoren part 2: the Curse, the Girl, the Hobgoblins and the Blade*

I feel bad about lying to llewiston now that we know he is not out to rob us of our inheritance but how to tell him without damning myself? Ah, well; done is done: spilled milk and all that. I ride up to Amber to tell her how impressed I was with her in the vaults again. She seems a powerful if quiet ally. I ride to Rakis and tell him much the same thing . He seems reserved but nods and asks me how I came to speak Fhokki. We chit chat a while and before I know it I have told him from where I really came. Damn these befuddled senses! I ride over to Llewiston to try to keep an eye on the keys and to learn as much as pertinent about this scene as I can, unlike these others who seem so entranced with this drama. I desperately want to steal those keys from him, but think I will play this out a little further. 

When we get back to Weston, Llewiston decides to gather all the townspeople together to bring as much information to light as possible. The arrogant bookworm bitch (Pandora) is overjoyed with herself for figuring that there might have been a kidnapping, something any one other than a buffoon has known for some time now. It is noticed that the former Red Cloak is not here even tho Llewiston dispatched guards to tell him to be here. Most of the town loads up and heads toward his home. 

We see the smoke before we get there. When we arrive, the house has been burned to the ground and the bookworm bitch’s squab lands on her shoulder. Pandora then says something to Amber and they start around to the back of the house. She doesn’t just go around the house tho, she heads straight to a body lying prone 50-75 feet beyond the house. I smell witchcraft. I check the body for a pulse but find none . I see his hand covers a stone marker of some sort and cover it with my foot. I suggest that they go search the house and they nearly do but then decide to search the body better so I have to give up my discovery as if I had just found it. We upturned the marker to find a coffin buried underneath. There was no body but it was filled with Amelia’s personnel effects. Including some love letters between the Red Cloak and Amelia. Everyone seems stunned. Have these people never lived outside a glass jar where everything is perfect? The girl’s attendant reveals that they used to meet at an old cave rumored to be the den of a minotaur. Llewiston and his armed cadre form one group and our party makes the second as we decide to split up to search more area and head out to find this cave.

During our search we spot a female figure lying, weeping on the forest floor. We approach her. We find out that she is crying for her tree! Her tree! I begin to wonder if this curse upon the town isn’t one of madness. She asks us to help her tree. I say “Yeah right, after we find the minotaur’s cave we’ll help you and your tree. You just wait right here for us, ok?” and start to leave the crazy woman. Then she says that she can lead us to the minotaur’s cave if we will help her tree. Now she has everybody’s attention. We agree to help her tree. She leads us to an overgrown section of undergrowth and speaks, I guess you would call it. It sounds more like the wind blowing thru the trees but the plants actually move apart to reveal a cave entrance.

Inside here we kill a couple of mushrooms and a frog before coming to a large cavern with a strange light at the far side. We go over to get a better look. There are 2 jars floating about waist high with the glow coming from them across an 8 foot chasm. I start to take off my gear to get ready to make the jump. I am looking across for the best place to land when I realize that though I can easily make the running jump to get across to the lights there is no room to run and jump back to this side. In my weakened state the jump back would be iffy at best and with a 20 foot drop in between perhaps a little caution should be observed. Rakis says he can do it and backs up and runs at the chasm. He didn’t even drop his gear. Of course he is more powerful than I and faster despite his massive size but if the curse has affected him as it did me how will he make it? Oh no! he jumped well before he had to! He hits bottom with an ugly splat. I start to lower him my rope but then just yell for him to throw his up to the ledge on the other side. He does and starts to climb.

When he reaches the lip he is pulled up onto the ledge by something we cannot see! I fire my bolt hoping to hit whatever has him. He is not moving to protect himself. Not moving at all except as if drifting underwater. His skin is starting to blister. The creature then spans the chasm in one giant step and is upon us. His skin is starting to peel off. We must get him out; but how to do it without suffering the axman’s fate? My rope and grappling hook! Time to go barbarian fishing. I throw my hook high and far over the monstrosity, hoping to drag it back thru the beast hooking Rakis in the process. Our bookish bitch who when we met her admitted her ineptitude with weapons suddenly becomes an expert in them screaming , “Bludgeoning weapons! Bludgeoning weapons!” while doing nothing. My throw is true and I yell for the woodsman to help me pull Rakis free. Just as we start to pull the creature pulls as well – nearly sucking us in with Rakis but we let go first and only suffer some burns from its acidic goo. There is nothing left but hand to hand. “Bludgeoning weapons! Bludgeoning Weapons!” she still shouts. I will give her a bludgeoning weapon after this if she doesn’t shut up. I draw my short sword and wade into it. We all do even prissy britches helps some. Rakis is a mess when we kill it and it spills him back out. He looks like he has been boiled in oil. Amber helps him and me with our wounds somewhat. 

The priss and Amber study the jars more closely and declare that they are magical. We decide to keep them to ourselves and just as soon as that bitch agrees I know it is the wrong thing to do and begin to plot how to take one to the bishop and frame her for stealing the other. Amber and Rakis save her by telling Llewiston that we found them tho. He sends for the bishop. The bishop agrees that they are magical and opens the blue-green one right there! A minotaur appears from the fog inside, dazed and confused. We take advantage of this by most of us pummeling him with blows to kill him. The bishop obviously affected by the town’s madness curse then opens the second jar! But Amelia appears this time instead of another minotaur. The bishop helped us with our wounds further and removed Rakis’ curse. May be he is not so bad after all. I will stop thinking of his murder, at least. 

I convinced Llewiston to return our keys. The next day we go to make our third trip into the vaults. Llewiston asks if he needs to post someone at the door to keep it from locking behind us. I pipe up with my cursed senses “ But it doesn’t lock behind us.” Damn this curse. I guess that is one way to reveal my deception but from his look I am pretty sure I am damned in his eyes.

We returned without incident to the passage that led to the underground river and the hobgoblin sentry post beyond it. We decided to try for the element of surprise and dowsed our globe and tried to find the log in the dark. It wasn’t there. We decided to ready our bows and pull the light out and barrage the sentry post area , hoping to catch them of guard. Even priss seemed eager to help with the plan. She offered to help by holding the light. Each according to his ability … my fath—Tessin used to say. Just when we were about to set it into motion the stinking hobgoblins attacked us! Priss pulled out the light to reveal 4 hobgoblins along the edge of the river throwing javelins at us. Rakis was hit. The light dazzled half of the hobgoblins and our dimwitted helper too. I was glad I had moved away to avoid just such an event. We ,I, Amber, and Ars dispatched the 4 with our bows and Rakis even pulled the javelin from his own wound to throw it back to kill its owner. With the light shedding its light it was easy to see how we missed the log. It was not there. I decided to shed my gear but for my short sword and make the jump across the river. Rakis offered to hold a rope wrapped around my waist just in case I didn’t jump far enuf . How sweet even if unnecessary, I let him. I clear the river easily and untie the rope and let it fall. Rakis pulls it back to his side out of the river.
I figure the first place to look would be behind the wall. I move up quietly with my sword drawn just in case.

As I rounded the wall a wave of HG pours out of the passageway behind the wall. I immediately yell for help as I sink my blade into HG flesh! Within seconds Rakis is beside me in the gloom outside the globe’s shine ass deep in HG! I try to hold my ground to help Rakis as much as I can but at the same time lead them back into the light. The giant axman is in fine form today. He reminds me much of Magnus when he is like this. He is actually vibrating in his bloodlust. My survival instincts are on high as well, not only striking true but avoiding there blows at will- everything they do seems in slow motion or as if I know what they are going to try. It must be the hand of Risk or the Watcher touching me. With the aid of our companions on the other side of the river we manage to kill 16 HG and rout the rest into an unconditional retreat. The big man is really shaking now and looks in great need of a rest. We get the log and let our party members across. We search the HG chambers and follow the passage that leads out and mark a nearby tree.
We searched the rest of the vault and found little else of value so we set about clearing the room of all he carnage that we suspected to be the source of the curse. We carried our treasures to the door and started to exit but were drawn back to the pool room with the trees and Jaycin’s statue. We puzzled over it and priss said she might be able to figure it out after a good night’s rest, so we locked ourselves in and camped. 

The next morning she cast some sort of spell over the plaque and revealed!…. it was a trigger to open a door. Well you have got to be kidding me! Powerful magic that! A blind bard by the surname of Charles in my hometown could have told us that! Everyone is just standing around even tho the key is obvious. No one wants to be adventurer that bad evidently. Not even the giant ax man and I didn’t think he would shy away from anything. Here goes. I pull out my silver dagger and lay my finger on the lip of the pool. Risk, watch over me in this, my biggest gamble yet. A quick pressure down and it comes of easily. Oh dear Watcher! The pain ! the blood! I force myself to put it up to the plaque before I am sick. It opens and I go in. There inside is one lone item . A big bastard of a sword that I am not even sure I can carry much less wield. I drag it out and Amber stops my bleeding. I pick up my finger and say let’s go now. We liberate our inheritance and Llewiston liberates his taxes. The town and Amelia gave us a hero’s feast and a weeks room and board and a packhorse with 2 weeks worth of provisions. Perhaps there is some good left in this world. While we rest and recover I will ask Rakis to accompany me into the woods in search of the dryad. I wish to ask her if she will obscure the HG’s entrance to the vaults for us. Also I will ask Rakis and Amber if they will help me practice with my new sword; sparring and the like. I also will pack my finger in some salt to cure it out. Then I will lash it to the hand guard of Flamesinger. I will see if I can’t return some respect to the rogue’s profession or barring that –fear. 

Time to split up the items found in the vault:

The following was out of game, in character e-mailing:

Jza tells the other of the group: About the split, don't you think the inheritance should just be split among the 5 heirs? And the rest of the treasure after that? Anything incidental that we picked up sat Laura shouldn't get a part of, but by the same token Pandora was not a key holder. Perhaps the inheritance should be split between the original group and then every thing we found this sat split between the 2nd five.

Pandora: You are correct, Jza, I am not an heir. But I did not risk my life to just get a battle axe that we found in the Minotaur's cave. That's the only incidental treasure I can recall. I expect to be compensated for the spells I cast, the time I spent doing this, repayment for injuries incurred, and the overall risk of death that I took.

Jza: That is the risk we all took. We will all only increase our purses by the same amount as you and if I remember correctly you were here to repay a debt to the bishop as well as we were.

Pandora: how will you increase your purse by the same amount as me? There was no incidental treasure other than the axe Rakis has. Wasn’t everything else in the vault?

Jza: we will both profit little in coin but we will both relieve the debt we owe to the bishop. i did not ask for the contents of your purse to be divided when you got here. We had already been to the vault.

Pandora: "There are two items that I feel I can choose from. The first is the axe that was found in the minotaur's cave. Sorry Rakis but I may have to take it. No hard feelings. The second is the spell. Now, please, before you start hurling objections, please hear me out. According to the story as related to everyone, the spellbook was considered payment by Darish or whatever her name was for gathering you, the heirs, together to read the will. At this point the book was no longer part of the willed items. The book, when it was found, was given to Darish according to your agreement and summarily became her property. When we re-entered the vault (Pandora included), the book was found again with some pages torn out. I feel that at this point it became incidental treasure."

Ars: I don't mind if Pandora gets the spell book as long as she pays back the party for the value.

Jza: I cannot agree here---the book did not become Daresh's only to be rediscovered with the pages torn out later Daresh's payment was from the book which she took and left the rest of our book behind not bequeathed from her to charity or anyone else---we agreed to pay her from it, it just so happens that the payment was less than expected---it was still from the original trip into the vaults.

Rakis: Rakis listens to Jza and looks at Pandora, "Yes, you went on the quest to find Amelia and rid the town of the curse. But that was mainly to repay whatever debt you owed the church. We have invested much more time and effort claiming the inheritance and it is ours. I don't mind paying you for your services but I can't understand why you act as if you have a claim to the inheritance. Getting rid of the hobgoblins was part of your debt to the church. We will pay you for helping us carry out the inheritance but you have no claim to any of it. Why do expect compensation from us? The bishop told us to take you so that you could repay a debt. Again, I am willing to share some coins but do not demand anything." Rakis finishes, his eyes narrowing.

Pandora: I am not trying to take your inheritance. I understand that if I had one I would not want to give it up either. From my perspective I have risked my life for nothing. I haven't even incurred a debt from the church. If I had died during this adventure the church would have been out zero. I am now wondering if I should even adventure with this group again. Trust is not very high at this point.

Jza: if that is the way you feel --see ya, Jza says to pandora. The inheritance was ours and is ours. We secured it, we fought for it before you ever showed up. The book is part of the inheritance, it came from the vault. I feel that each should benefit from the treasure division equally based on monetary value, the common thread of treasure. This bull**** about “I could make the party stronger with these spells” (to which you have no claim to begin with) is just that-bull****. Doesn't a fighter with a magic sword make the party stronger but you all would count that as his share of the treasure wouldn't you? Let each pick according to the toss of the bones, those who have earned a toss anyway. If we were to adventure further I would have no qualms about the wench having her share, but she was not here for its winning so I see no reason to reward her with a cut from it. The bard isn't here today but I’m not trying to take her share because she won it with us--she is entitled. As to your helping us get the curse removed speak to the bishop about your recompense. He sent you along . Do you intend to pay us out of your pocket when we travel in search of this man gone missing? Do you think the church would have been out anything if any of us had died? No they would have been that much the better off, getting the job done, not having to pay anyone and not having to remove that persons enchantment. Once again I have no problem with an equal share for those who participate in any adventure but not for those who show up after and demand a share due to their incomparable contribution. And also once again think before you decide to start giving things to people -even ones deserving of a share - because they can use them or because they will make the party stronger. A share is a share. Keep it fair and equal and everyone will get along just fine and understand how things are. Start making gifts of things that don't wholly belong to you and eventually someone’s feelings will get hurt and they will feel cheated or wonder why they don't get these breaks or gifts when it comes to dividing the pot. Give to her from your share if you feel she deserves it but think before you are so free with moneys that are not all yours. The 3 fingered bitch has spoken her piece.
Pandora: obviously offended by Jza, and seething with barely controlled anger states, "three fingered bitch, did you cut one too may off. Would make getting that sword difficult then since you needed four. You decide amongst yourselves what you want to do. Then let me know. I know where you stand Jza, as most of your type will always do. Once again, I care not for your damn inheritance. I will continue to contribute to the best of my ability. What I find and what I do on my own will remain on my own, even if it will benefit the party as a whole. This is the feeling I am getting from all of you. So be it then. Outside of our adventures, ask nothing of me, I will ask nothing of you. Once the final task is completed, I will make my decision on whether or not to continue traveling with this group."

It was finally agreed the spellbook, since it was 8 volumes, would be split up among the group. Pandora received two sections of it.

One morning while everyone else is still sleeping off the partying of the previous night, Jza slips over to Rakis and awakens him. Together they travel back into the woods in search of the dryad. They locate her and then hide and mark the location to the entrance of the Hobgoblin’s lair so they can return to the vaults when it pleases them.

While they are gone, Pandora, Ars, and Amber wake up and find them gone. The quickly pack up and head towards Haanex, leaving without them.
"So they decided to leave without us....." Rakis mutters. "Like they can make it on their own." He turns to see Jza's reaction. Jza scoffs and nods wondering what they were thinking and says, “They might make it, they do have Amber with them.” Rakis looks to Jza, "I wonder if that wizard hexed them and made them leave?" "She might have, I just don't trust her. I had started to believe she had enchanted you back in Weston, the way you went along with everything she suggested." "I said what I felt was fair. My personal feelings aside. I feel she is greedy, like most of this group. Had she pushed me further she would not be here now." Rakis replies. "I am glad to hear you back to yourself, big man. As I said I was concerned for you --- the way you answered her ridiculous demands with such fire at first, but then you seemed to go along with what she said rather than what I remembered the situation to have been. I don't remember her having to dodge 1 single hobgoblin blow beside you but I never wavered at your side. And I don't remember her doing anything to end the curse except hauling some of that filth out of the water room. A peasant could have done that after we had removed the danger and Amber was the one to tell of the significance of the water source itself and the carrion therein. I don't remember her fighting the burrowing monster nor her helping to carry you out after you saved that -----woodsman , the second time we encountered it. I just think of her as taking advantage of our labors...

The party meet up with each other again a days ride from Haanex. Ars looks up and says, “About time you showed up.” Pandora asks where they have been while eyeing Jza suspiciously. Jza gives her the bird and reply "****ing --as if it is any of your business----mother" and then turns up her nose to both and rides over to Amber.

Pandora then rides over to Jza and says, “Jza, I know that we have not gotten off the best of starts, but I have information that you might consider invaluable. What if it I told you I know of a way to recover the finger that you lost, restoring you back to your original condition? Jza replies by asking, "and what would such information and/or service cost me?" "The cost is negotiable of course, knowing that you are a business woman of a sorts. A mutual agreement to end to the hostilities between us would of course be part of any deal that we reached. I will need time to consider,” says Pandora. Jza says, “consider with the others then for i am talking to my friend Amber” > "As far as I am concerned this is a private matter between the two of us. If you wish to discuss it with others that is your choice. But ultimately the deal will only be between us. Take as much time as you need to consider." Jza angrily spits, “You are such a conceited witch! Not everyone talking is talking about you. I was talking to her before you rode up and approached me with this so called private deal that is so private you have not named any terms and I won't even start on your presumption that I need your permission to talk to anyone else or it being my choice. Ride on whelp or taste steel before I regain control of my temper.”

FYI… Out of character e-mails were friendly.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Finding Arowain*

After returning to Weston, we find the rest of the party has left town without us. Rakis and I start out after them towards the town of Haanex in the northern part of the Reanaarian Bay area. We are going there to find a man called Arowain as the last part of our repayment to the bishop’s church for removing our curses. I will let the axman lead the way as he seems much more adept at trails and tracking than I. It seems to make him feel good to be in the lead, and I do want to make him feel good - especially since I will probably have him between me and harms way as much as I can. 

As we go past Hollobrea, we pick up Laura on the trail. It helps us that she is from the Reanaarian area. We twist and wind our way thru the Ka’Asa Mtns., which are filled with two sides waging war. We saw humans, dwarves, giants, and others fighting furiously. We continued northward thru Couni Heights and the Vrykar Mtns. When we came out of the mountains, we headed for Haanex to try to find a man named Veoden, an associate of Arowain’s. About a day out from Haanex, we spot Amber, Ars, and prissy britches.

Around noon the next day , we arrive in Haanex. Laura says that she knows the man and perhaps where to find him easily, a pub called Ki-Ren’s Rest. As we head to the pub, we notice flyers up all over the place. I ask Laura if she can read them because I cannot. She says it was posted by Veoden and that he is looking for adventurers for a mission that pays 100gp. All interested parties should go to his tower at sundown. We decide to try the pub first since we don’t know where his tower is and Laura says the man is a drunkard. When we get to the pub, Laura is welcomed profusely by the owner (she later tells us). She and he exchange some tales and after the polite reminiscing, she asks him where the tower is. He points it out from the doorway and we all depart. 

It looks ready to fall over. It is about 6 stories tall but there is no way I would attempt to go above the 1st. We knock gently and then yell for Veoden but he doesn’t answer. Most of us decide to go back to our rooms but Ars says he will stay to watch the tower: why is anyone’s guess. We come back at dusk and ask Ars if he saw anything. He says no. We go over and knock and Veoden answers the door. I look at Ars and wonder if he lied or if he is just incompetent or tired from the trip, but say nothing. I tell him we are there for the mission and he asks us in. As ratty as the outside looks, the inside is as nice-plush even. He asks if we want a drink (I am sure he has already had a few) and I accept. I wonder how wise we are to get help from a drunkard. Perhaps Laura exaggerated the extent of his dependancy, but he does seem to like the stuff pretty well.

He tells us about the mission. It seems that a star fell to the earth about a hundred years ago up in the mountains northwest of Haanex. He feels that this star contains a metal more suitable for magical purposes, called mithral. He tells us he will pay each of us 100gp each for each pound of mithral we bring him back. We ask him where to look for the fallen star but he tells us he does not know where it is. He does tell us that a man, Atuur Dairoo, found it some years ago but he died shortly after returning with some of the metal. He tells us that he is buried in the local cemetary. “Some believe he took his secret to the grave,” he tells us. I hope so, because I intend to look there, I think to myself. That taken care of, I ask him about Arowain. He says he was working with him on this project until 2 months ago when he disappeared between here and his home a few blocks down. We thank him and leave.

Outside, we decide to try Arowain’s house first. It reveals nothing except the fact that someone has already been here looking for something. The place is a wreck. We decide to go to the graveyard under the cover of darkness. I am sure graverobbers are not looked upon kindly. We get there and look and listen for guards. Finding none, we go over the wall surrounding it. Veoden told us Atuur’s family had a mausoleum in here and we spot it easily. We approach it cautiously. It is locked but the lock is useless with its age. Rakis gives me the light orb and tells me to hold it high and open the door for him and Ars. I am only too glad to oblige. I swing it open and they rush in ready to lay low any foes, but there are none—only bones scattered on the floor amongst the wreckage of the interior. Ars bends over to see if the bones have gnawed on as if by ghouls he says. It is then that the skeletons animate and strike out at him. Others form and attack Rakis too. The bladesmen hold their own against these abominations but are unable to vanquish them. Amber steps to the doorway and blasts them to dust as she presents her holy symbol to them. We can find nothing of value in here except a scroll (I use my new found ability to read magic to learn that it is for protection from evil) or even anything that shows that Atuur is even among these dead. 

We decide to search the headstones for his name. We find it quickly. Rakis goes to look for shovels when we can’t find any here. He comes back with pair and we start digging. We hit the coffin lid, which seems to be made of iron, after some time. We drag it up to the surface. It is bound by chains and locks as well as being iron. What the hell? I have never heard of such a practice. I try to pick the locks but they are of expert craftsmanship and I fail to open them. As Rakis tries to break them open using Amber’s warhammer, I go to the gate to see if anyone is coming to investigate the noise or light at this hour. After quite a while, Ars is the one to batter them open. Glad to see he has some use. His build is much more slight than the axman’s but somehow he has overpowered the locks when the axman couldn’t. I come back to help open the casket. It takes all of us to get it open. The stench is terrible as is the visage of the emaciated corpse. He has a bit of paper right there in his hand in plain sight. I reach to pick it up but Rakis beats me to it. Lucky for me, since when he did Atuur struck him with a gnarled claw-like hand and leaped out of the casket onto Rakis’s face and shoulders. Amber stepped up and tried to turn him to dust too, but only succeeded in making him flee. Rakis who’s pride was wounded more so than his body wouldn’t allow that and split Atuur in half as he tried to get away. We dumped the body and the casket back in the grave and covered it up as best we could.

We left the next afternoon. We headed to a place marked as “the Mounds”. When we got there the place was a mist filled valley with 3 huge mounds, not unlike rounded off anthills. We went down to investigate. The mist was about 4 feet deep and unnerved the horses a great deal, even to the point of throwing Amber and Rakis. I recovered her horses while the others helped Rakis out from under his mount. After this, we led the horses. We came to the first mound and I asked Amber to hold my horse’s reigns while I climbed to the top. Rakis said he would join me and prissy and Ars wanted to check the base for entrances. Amber and Laura held all the horses as the four of us set out to check our areas. Before we made it to the top, we heard one of the horse’s scream and so looked back to see the mist swirling about Laura and now only 5 horses with her. We charge down the slope to help them. Laura is stabbing into the mist and Amber is casting some sort of spell but the mist makes it impossible to see what is actually happening except that 3 more horses disappear as we make our way there. Amber leads the horses that she can out and Laura decides to do the same. I chant the protective rhyme the Watcher taught me in my dreams as I make my way to the place that the last horse, Pandora’s pack animal, went down. I swing Flamesinger with all my might and I am immediately drenched in blood, hot and coppery smelling. Watcher’s shield, protects me as whatever is here tries to claw and bite me giving me a chance to swing again and sever the creature’s insectoid head. I could have sworn I heard a wild cat’s screams mixed in with the creature’s clicking noises but see nothing else stirring in the mist. In a flash of brilliance, I realize this is Pandora’s animal. I decide to get even with that bitch right now by throwing her bags (with her precious books) out into the mist, but the Dm’s hand –I mean --, the horse’s weight won’t let me pull the bags free to do so, dammit!!! Ars wants to see what we were fighting, so he helps me pull the carcass over to the mound out of the mist. It is a monstrosity. It looks like a cross between a huge centipede and a huge grasshopper with a huge mantis-like head. The bard says she recognizes the creatures as ankhegs from descriptions she has heard in stories. She says they are burrowers like ants and usually ambush from just beneath the surface. Whatever! All I know is that we are 4 horses lighter than when we entered the valley. We leave the valley to make camp elsewhere right after we regroup since some of the riding animals were among those taken. 

We decide to go to the area that Atuur went to right before he died even tho I wanted to go to the area marked ogres here. The area is called “Dark Hills” and it earned its name. The whole area seemed to be under storm the whole time we approached it (and the whole time we there afterward) even tho the rest of the surrounding lands were under clear skies. We venture into the foreboding hills looking for this fallen star. After some searching we spot a large crater ahead. We tie the horses up and close on the site. From a short distance, we see that the crater has a small ramshackle cabin on the far edge and is home to a large boulder in the center and has 2 caves in one wall. There is smoke coming from the chimney of the cabin and nothing else moving so I ask the others if they want to stay here while I sneak over to snoop. They agree, covering me with their bows as I go.

I see that the door is chained and padlocked when I get close to the shack but the window is only locked with a block of wood barring the shutters from the outside. I sneak a peek thru a crack in the shutters and see Arowain shackled to the fireplace but working furiously away at some chore. I also see a blanket at the back of the room, probably partitioning this room from another. It could be a guard’s room or the mage that we heard watches over the star. I sneak around the back to try to see in there but have no luck except to find that the cabin definitely has more room than can be viewed from the shuttered window. I sneak back to tell the rest what I have found out and to decide what we want to do next. 

We decide that the bladesmen and I should sneak back to free Arowain in case there are guards there. Also, since they have seen movement in the cave closest to the cabin that Amber, Laura, and prissy should cover it with their bows from here since they aren’t trained for stealth. The woodsman lives up to his name and keeps up with us and doesn’t queer the approach. Once there they watch and I lift the bar on the shutters and slowly swing them open and go in. The old man looks up as I am trying to get to the partition and nearly gives me a heart attack when he starts asking me questions, loudly, even tho I am signaling for him to be quiet. I tell him we are here to help him and quickly close the distance to the blanket. Thank Watcher and Risk the room is only his sleeping area and no guards are present. I go to him to try to free him but the manacle has no lock to pick.
It is riveted closed into one piece. I go out the window to tell the men about it and tell them I will cover the cave from the lip of the crater with my crossbow while they free him. 

I do for a few seconds. Even with all of Magnus’ teachings telling me to hold the high ground and to draw the enemy out to slaughter them as they have to struggle against bow fire and the grade of the slope, I find myself sneaking quietly down the slope. I did love the big northman but I follow Risk, afterall. I am close to the near cave entrance when two hobgoblins (curse their ability to see in the dark!) guarding it notice me and attack. I am still clumsy with the new, heavier blade but when I do hit with it, the damage it wreaks on the foe is impressive. The first HG dies immediately, skewered on the flaming blade. The second, however holds me off as the guards from the other cave are closing. I can hear someone coming down the slope behind me and my prayers are answered as Rakis arrives just as the other HGs do. We kill 4 of the 5 but one retreats back into the cave complex. Rakis, Ars , Laura and I decide to follow that one to press our advantage but I holler back to Amber to watch the other cave to make sure they don’t come out that way and follow us in to cut of our exit. At the chance not to get into the action, prissy suddenly listens to me without argument.

We advance to what will become a bloodbath---ours and the HGs. Ars steps up to the front with Rakis while Laura and I bring up the rear. But at the first wave of them he seems slow to react so I use some of my exercises from my show with the gypsies to move past him to engage the HG attacking him. The lack of practice with this blade shows up in full force here. I would have come out of that roll with the blade buried deep in his guts if it had been my short sword. The weight of this one pulls me off balance so that I miss the mark and end up on the defensive and out of balance instead of standing over his body tho. Laura is chanting her battle song for us and shooting her crossbow and Ars steps forward into the fray but the axman outshines us all here today. He is really in his element. He gets that crazed look in his eyes again (I would hate to be the one staring into that face) and starts hacking things to bits. His ability to withstand damage as well as dish it out amazes me. The woodsman earns his pay today, too. I am barely able to stand after wave after wave of HGs assualt us, as is Rakis--- but the woodsman is stabbed and cut and slashed literally to ribbons. I advanced on thru the room and into the corridor beyond as they finished the last HGs to find 2 doors and the corridor continuing on. I take this time to drink my potion of healing. I return to them to tell them what I discovered and ask what they want to do now. They want me to go get prissy and Amber while they rest a minute. I do as they ask.

I return with them and Amber helps them as much as she can and prissy is useless of course. We explore the little bit left of the caves only to find it empty except for a trapped door that burns me and Amber.

The threat of discovery quelled we return to the cabin to see if we can free the old man. While he is trying to convince us to let him finish his work, Daresh bursts the door open and wants to know what we are doing. We try to tell her but she acts crazed. Yelling that the coin is hers and going on like a mad woman even tho we tell her that she can have it. We tell her we only want the old man even if it is after he is done. She does that stunt she used to get my key to bring the coin to her but it is straight out of the forge, the stupid bitch! It burns her hand horribly and while I think she is distracted I pull Flamesinger and leap to behead her and put a stop to her nonsense. She shoots some black ray out of her hand toward me and as I try to dodge it the old man is suddenly between us and it strikes him. The beam blows his arm off at the shoulder and some sort of blackness swirls about his body. I continue my attack after dodging the ray but the bitch has pulled another one of her quick fades. 

Arowain warns us back from trying to help him saying it is too late to save him and that we would die too if we touch him. I back away quickly. He tells us that Daresh will become unbelievably powerful and evil now that she has the coin. He tells us that only another armed with a similar coin can stand against her. He asks us to find a man named Halaan to do this and to tell his daughter and his friend Veoden what happened to him here and then he dies. We rest long enuf to heal most of our wounds and the head back to town with what mithral we found, about ½ pound.

We tell Veoden as Arowain wished. He pays us the full price since we helped his old friend and brought him the news even tho we only had half the mithral. He says he doesn’t know anyone named Halaan but he thinks someone named Geolain in the large city of Zoa might be able to help us. 

We will travel to Zoa and hear what Geolain has to say. I need to go there anyway. It is a large city Veoden said and I am still shy 1 finger and Amber has told me that there are spells to regrow lost limbs so surely they can help me.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*From Haanex to Zoa*

Before we left Haanex, the guilt must have gotten to Prissy Britches because she left the books and 100 gold pieces and a note saying that she didn’t deserve the shares from the vaults after all. You never can tell what she is going to do. The note also said something about scouting for a day but being back in time to go to Zoa with us. We get passage booked to Zoa on a ship called The Forsaken. I can only admire the audacity of someone who names a ship, which will have to brave the dangers of the open seas, something like that. Especially when one considers the very superstitious natures of those who make their living from the sea. We take our gear to the ship and then sell our horses.

The sea travel is nothing new to me. I am glad to have taken my first trip alone since I remember how sick I was on it and none of the others seem to suffer like I did. I am glad not to appear weak in front of them. We travel quite well for three days but then our wind dies. The captain seems quite nervous, saying something is unnatural about it. I dismiss his unease as typical sailor superstition and go swimming in the afternoon. The next day still finds us with no wind and I swim again. It feels good to know that the men are watching me so I wear even less than yesterday. Rakis and I pass the rest of the afternoon practicing combat. I still feel so clumsy with Flamesinger; I just cannot emulate the powerful strokes of the mighty axman with a weapon. I must find a better way to employ this magnificent blade. After our second full day adrift, I wonder if the captain might be right about the wind. I decide to ask Laura and Amber. I feel better when they both assure me that they are familiar with weather lore and both feel this to be a normal if somewhat odd lack of wind. The third still day passes much as the first two but the crew is pretty edgy by now. I hope this breaks soon if for no other reason than to appease their anxiety.

“Be careful what you wish for,” my fath—Foebin Tessin always told me, “because you just might get it.” That night it broke alright. Rakis and I were speaking with the captain when we heard Laura shouting. We ran out to see what was the matter and found her and Amber fighting some hideous sea-lizard-man creature. Ars came up from below decks as we engaged it. The thing was incredibly agile, fighting us while balancing on the railing of the ship. We basically had it surrounded except for the seaward side and it might have escaped but our blows made it fall from the railing. When it fell, I stepped forward and drove Flamesinger thru the back of its head and into the deck. We had heard some yells and splashes while we killed this thing and a head count and the wet slimy pools on the decks revealed that the thing had not been alone nor had their hunt been unsuccessful. Thank Risk and Watcher the wind returned shortly after the sun came up.

We were making good time again under sail. About the fifth day after our encounter with the sea-lizard-men, the crow’s nest shouts sail ho. The captain watches the other ship quite closely. We know why soon. The other ship seems to be veering towards us. I immediately think pirates. My suspicions are soon confirmed as they run up their black flag. One good thing about sea battles is that there is plenty of time to prepare. Everyone is ready for them to try to board us. A little ways out ports open and oars come out and the pirate ship speeds up noticeably. Pandora says it looks like they are going to hit us rather than pull along side and board us. By the gods, I know she is right! I mutter the few words Risk told me in my dreams to guide my aim as I take the only action I can think of to keep them from cracking the Forsaken open. I have the wheelman in my sights at the greatest distance I think my crossbow can reach and let the bolt fly. The magic Risk gave me guides my bolt to the mark and the wheelman takes it in the throat and goes down in a heap like a bull at the spring feasts slaughter. The ship starts to wallow. One of the other pirates notices this and moves to take the wheel. He sealed his own fate. I mutter Risk’s words again and send the bolt on its way again. He goes down with the bolt thru his eye. The ship is turning with no one at the wheel but not enuf to miss us entirely. I say the words to the Watcher’s protection spell and pull Flamesinger. I am ready to take the fight to them and so after the ships collide I run and leap aboard their vessel. 

I land and start swinging the heavy flaming blade. Rakis leaps to the deck also and starts hacking with his fearsome ax. Four pirates fall to the deck to my right. I see no bolts in them so I think it must be Pandora. In just a few seconds we have eliminated nearly half of the pirates on deck. Just as I thought, by taking the fight to them and putting them on the defensive when they are used to being the aggressors has thrown them off. Most are trying to surrender. I tell them to throw their weapons down to surrender. All but one does so and that one yells something about fighting to the death. I will make an example of him. I rush over to him and deal him a tremendous slash but he doesn’t go down. Two bolts fly past my head but Risk is watching over me so one lands in the sea and the second hits this bastard. He is still up. Rakis comes to my aid and slashes at him with his ax. Ars closes on him too but this bastard is still on his feet and swinging after wounds that would have put me down twice over. He swings at me but Watcher’s barrier saves me. His swing and wounds carry him off balance so I step in close and run Flamesinger thru his guts and out his back. He can’t stand anymore. Rakis turns to face the remaining pirates and asks if any of the rest of them want to fight to the death. The one or two who had not dropped their blades do so then, quickly. 

As I approach them to ask if they have any swag on board already, one of them asks me, “What are your orders, Captain?” I am caught off guard momentarily and wonder if he is running some game on me. I decide to go with it and tell him I want to see the hold and any booty they have. We go below decks and see the slaves they have chained to the oars. They all start pleading for us to release them. I ignore them. We continue to what should be the cargo hold, which is empty. The pirate says that the men are all they have so far this trip. Someone, I think Ars, asked him where they secreted the treasure they had before and he says it is far to the south in a freeport in the Sea of the Dead. The rest of the group seems upset by the men chained to the oars. How odd, don’t they see the difference between victor and vanquished where they are from? Even the big man seems concerned. I listen to them but tell them it doesn’t bother me to leave them chained. I remind them we might need oarsmen ourselves on the rest of the trip to Zoa. It seems important to them and is of little value to me either way so they are freed soon thereafter. We tell them they will have their freedom after we reach Zoa if they will do what they are able to help us get the ship there. As it turns out, they are experienced sailors captured from other ships. We debate leaving the other captain and the Forsaken a few of the slaves and making the best time to Zoa but in the end decide that two ships pose a harder target in case we run into more pirates or other dangers. One of the slaves says that he was captain of his own ship before being captured. I promote him from slave to first mate and let the crew know of his new position. I tell him to get the ship and crew ready to head to Zoa and then report to me in my quarters once we are under way. I have him give me the crash course on captaining and quickly decide to let him handle the day to day chores of maintaining the ship and keeping my mouth closed as often as possible. “ Better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool than open it and remove all doubt,” I heard a many a time growing up. 

We travel a few more days when the lookout shouts sail ho again. Everyone gears up for more pirates. A view thru the spyglass quickly denies that. This is a ghost ship. The sight of her sails in tatters and the eerie air about it, even in the daylight, has me much more worried than pirates. I am glad Amber is with us. There is something that just seems evil about that ship. I tell the first mate to bring us along side her and prepare a boarding party. He advises against that since we don’t know what happened on board the other vessel. I pick four rowers and they and the six of us set out for the ghost ship in the two dinghies. 

As we approach, the figure we had assumed was dead and lashed to the wheel lifts his head and croaks out a desperate warning to us to get away while we can and collapses back to the wheel. That just makes me want to get on there that much more. We pull along side and Amber casts one of her spells and tells us there is evil on board that one of them is more powerful that she is. I speak Watcher’s protection into existence while we throw our grappling hooks up and climb their lines to get on the deck. The deck is littered with gore. Bodies and pieces of bodies and blood cover the wooden surface. “Attack!” is yelled from somewhere under the quarter deck and the bodies rise up to slay us.

We battle the corpses for just a short while before Amber displays her Holy Might which forces them to cower and retreat from us. Ars seems to be heading toward where the command to attack came from but pulls up before entering the gloom of the hallway just as some ghouls climb over the side of the ship to attack us. If I can just hold it off long enuf for Amber to wreak her havoc on these abominations… And of course she does! I must talk to her to find the secret behind this awesome power. Perhaps Risk or the Watcher will speak to me of it in a dream. 

With the undead gone, I turn to follow Ars down the hallway. As I close, he still is not advancing. When I get right on him I see that what made him pull up was not the ghoul attack on us but some sort of ghostly hand attacking him. Rakis runs up just ahead of me and the hand attacks him too. Ars steps to one side of the doorway and Rakis is on the other. Ars attacks the spectral hand as Rakis holds up the light orb to she into the darkness of the hallway. When he does that, I quickly check the doors to see if any are open to let a spellcaster see and attack us like this. Watcher guides my eye to the furthest door open a crack. I mutter Risk’s power words to guide my hand as I run down the hall and ram Flamesinger thru the door. I am rewarded to feel the blade slide easily thru the cheap, flimsy wood of the door only to slow as it hits the solid bone and meat of my target. I push the door open to find the priest on the floor in a small puddle of dark blood from the sword-sized hole in his head. I have little time to admire the magnificence of the death stroke before I am set upon by his minions, 3 more ghouls. A ghoul some how penetrates my defenses and I can feel a little death run thru my soul at its touch but I shake off the hopelessness of the inevitability of the grave and continue to fight. I have heard the others follow me down the hallway and know they cannot help me much with me in the doorway. I execute a cartwheel between two of the ghouls as I would have on the gypsy stage between Lola and Daphne in one of our close tumbling routines and Rakis barrels into the room. He swings mightily but misses in the close quarters. Then the ghouls are turned to dust before our eyes, as Amber unleashes her deity’s power upon them. 

The ship is a charnel house. We dump all the bodies and pieces overboard along with the priest’s unholy trappings then debate what to do with the ship. We finally decide to tow the ghost ship behind the pirate ship. The pirates and the other sailors except for the 1st mate are too scared to board the ghost ship so we must do the rigging ourselves with the 1st mate checking our work. The rest of the trip is rather uneventful but still busy with the task of towing. Lines always needing checked and rechecked, course being checked so that we have the best one in case something were too go wrong we wouldn’t get rammed and so on. There really is very little free time sailing the seas. Everything is so important. If you fall off your horse or it steps in a hole ,you might get a bump or a bruise or have to walk. Out here on the open seas, forget your responsibilities and you and your shipmates could end up drowned or fish food. There is no walking home out here. I have a new found respect for the harsh life they lead, and those men who live it.

Zoa!

The first mate helps us with the harbormaster and all the docking procedures. We sell the lumber and salt that was in the hold of the ghost ship and then sell the two ships we captured. Like I said, I have tremendous respect for these men who brave the seas and asked that all the men, slaves and pirates alike get a cut from our sales and all the others agreed. Rakis seems ill at ease here in the city. I guess he is not used to so many people so close. Magnus said it took him a while to get accustomed to it. He follows me around thru-out much of the day. This is not a bad thing tho. He is pretty good company even if a little tightly wound sometimes. And I’m sure he scares away some of the company I don’t want. I need to go check in with the guild here in the city tho and I’m not sure they would appreciate him coming along. And, of course, I’ll need to go to the churches of Risk and Watcher. I’ ll ask him for a day or two to myself. I am sure he’ll understand.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*A Short Time in Zoa*

After selling the ships, I talk to some clerics at the Watcher’s and Risk’s churches to find out about getting my finger back and gaining this power over undead that Amber has, for myself. They tell me that for the price of the spell and some time in the service of Watcher and Risk they will restore my finger and that the time in service is what will give me that power. I won’t need Pandora’s scroll after all. Good, I say, because even though she is acting more like a party member than some one who is trying to rob us I don’t think I want to be indebted to her. Speaking of debt, I can kill two birds with one stone. I can stick her with the book she has been slobbering to get her hands on and get my debt to the other party members taken care of and have some spending money to go shopping with, if the three of them will agree to it. They do! I’m off to sell the other book. I ask Laura and Rakis to go with me to get their money.

They seem happy with cash in hand and go off to do their own shopping I presume. I go to the church and pay them for the spell and tell them to go ahead but they say I am not ready yet. They tell me that Watcher and Risk will know when I am ready for service and call me to them. This sounds reasonable to me since they have spoken to me in dreams before. Back to shopping. I spend the rest of our first day tracking down a potion of alter self and I see a silversmith and ask him make a talisman like Amber’s and one for me of my own design out of silver. My design incorporates the domains of Risk and Watcher, of course. Risk’s side has a twisted parody of the comedy mask with one side black and the other white. The black side has a white playing card, the ace of spades, and a white coin on it while the white side has black dice with white pips, eleven showing, and a black coin on it. Watcher’s side has a traveler with the arcane symbol for knowledge on his backpack walking a road that stretches into the horizon toward a setting eye in the place of the sun. I will check back to get them when they are finished.

I spend the day picking up 4 cure light potions and a riding horse and a pack horse. On my third day I pick up another alter self potion and a 5th cure light and a set of thieves tools better than I have ever seen and return to the silversmith to get the talisman’s I had ordered made. This is wonderous! With my knack for garnering extra coins and my skills for entertaining, I have never had to go without much: usually even having enuf for what most consider luxury items and services. But to be able to walk into a bazaar such as this and to feel that hardly anything, even magic, is beyond my purse, is truly wonderous! When we are eating dinner and recounting our adventures on the third evening, some feel it would be wise to go to see Geolain in the morning, in case he has to prepare something or something along those lines. I tell them to go ahead without me, in the morning. I still have quite a few coins to spend and have heard of a few more items that I would like to aquire in my search for the original ones. “You can bring me up to speed over dinner tomorrow,” I tell them. They go their way and I go mine the next morning. I spend all day tracking down a potion of fire breathing that I heard about in one of the shops at the market and still don’t find it but have a good lead for tomorrow morning. I did manage to find 3 doses of antitoxin tho and a steel dagger. I head back to the inn a little depressed at failure but a little excited at still being in the hunt.

We settle in for another dinner together and I ask how it went with Geolain. They remembered to ask about Halaan and Geolain told them to return in the morning for whatever information he could dig up. They are talking about their return trip in the morning but Rakis and I both decline this time. He has been fascinated with that lighthouse since he first saw it from the sea and I told him what it was. His curiosity is childlike but of the refreshing variety rather than the annoying kind. Listen to me, describing something as childlike when I have yet to see my 18th birthing celebration. Perhaps I never will see it since the only celebration I had on my 17th was drinking and loving with Magnus on the road with the gypsies. That celebration, while very fun was very different from the ones my fami… the Tessins used to have for me. I don’t think they would have approved.

The 5th morning comes and we go off on our little errands. I follow the trail of that potion all day and still don’t find it but do have the address of the person in whose hands it is supposed to be. I will find them in the morning and with a little luck from Risk and more than a few coins from my purse it will be mine. I can smell dinner already. This shopping can really work up a young woman’s appetite! I hurry back to the inn.

Strangely, even tho I am a little later than usual no one is here. I go ahead and have my dinner brought in and ask the help if they have seen any of my companions return today. No one has. Well, perhaps they are running late as I was. About half way thru dinner, Amber comes in saying that Geolain knew where to find Halaan but would only tell us if we did something for him, save some books or some nonsense. She seems in a hurry and tells me it must be done tonight and that Pandora has already gone to the lighthouse to get Rakis. We are to meet them on the way back. We pick up Rakis and Pandora and head back toward the slums to a bar that they left Ars to watch. The bar is supposed to have a tender who is somehow connected to the destruction of the books. We get to the bar but don’t see Ars and decide to go on in.

Pandora and Amber take a seat at a table and Rakis sits at a different table, good thinking big man, I think to myself. I keep walking up to the bar and ask for a beer. I look around and it jumps out at me how out of place Amber and especially Pandora look in here. I am glad I didn’t sit with them. The big northman could have on wedding finery and still look rough enuf to belong here, and I don’t think anyone would ask too many questions about his clothes then either. I ask the ‘keep if he knows directions to the place of Scorn worship around here. He keeps wiping the bar and says he doesn’t, he is sure there is one but that he doesn’t know where. Rakis comes up to me shortly and says out loud that he thinks he has figured out where those damn wizards are now and let’s go kill them now and destroy their stuff. I shush him and tell him that not everyone is one of our brethren or needs to know our business and pull him away to a table. We act like we are talking over a plan and soon a man seems to accidently bump our table. We both notice a hand gesture he makes covertly and take it to be a secret sign. We mimic the sign back and all of a sudden we have a new friend. I order a pitcher and we proceed to talk to this guy under the guise of being Sentinels new to the city on a mission. We talk him into taking us to the House of Scorn.

We follow this man, Kibik, to what seems an ordinary run down shack of a dump from the outside but is a fairly well kept place of Scorn worship on the inside. We make a little small talk about our fictitious mission and mention that we had heard about another burning and wondered if we might attend it before we went on with ours but no one was very talkative about it. Before long, someone bursts into the house and says that a group of wizards attacked some of their brethren a few blocks away. Everyone is up in arms in moments, shouting about killing the heathen defilers, and we are suddenly en route.

Our fears are realized when we see a beggar and Pandora and Amber in the street ahead of us, bloodied and bedraggled, and of course the shout of, “There they are!” Our group of Scorners runs towards the trio ahead and Rakis and I strike. We surprise each of the Scorners to our sides with our blows and all of a sudden the Scorners , who had an 8 to 3 advantage, now find it reduced to 6 to 5 and find themselves flanked as well. The battle seems to be going our way well enuf, until a massive half-orc charges into the fray from one side street and we start taking arrow fire from somewhere. The half-orc is a slashing mad man for a while but seems to run out of steam like Rakis does sometimes after a battle. He is short work for our group after that. The bow man steps from around the corner to hit me but reveals his position in the process. I take his arrow but charge him and strike him with my short sword to scare him off. I don’t feel well enuf to chase him down and so let him run. We hear the sounds of the Blue Coats, Zoa’s militia force, and decide to leave the scene ourselves. We grab Ars, unconscious from the brunt of the half-orc’s assault, from the street and after getting our bearings head toward Geolain’s. 

His servant lets us in and says we may rest a short while but reminds us that the books will be burned in the morning. He gives us 6 potions of healing to aid us but we all decide to give ours to Ars to bring him back to consciousness. I use some of my healing potions as well and tell the party that I will slip back to the House of Scorn to see what happens and will return in a few hours. 

I get back to the House to find it deserted looking. I watch it for a short while and decide to get a closer look. Seeing no one, I decide to go in and look for the books. I don’t find anything and slip out to overwatch again. Risk was watching over me again, because as soon as I had made it to my hiding place a large party of Blue Coats came marching down the street and straight to the House. It sounded like they were tearing the place apart but I didn’t try to get any closer. Soon, another party of them came along and I decided it was definitely time to leave. I head back to Geolain’s.

I find Rakis leading the party down the street. “I was worried about you,” he says. No wonder I’ve got a soft spot for him. I tell them what happened at the house and tell them I think the barkeeper is probably our best bet now. They say they were thinking the same thing so we head back to the bar. Once there, Ars says he has a place he can watch the back and heads that way. The rest of us are watching the front talking about what to do when we noticed the “patrons” being “encouraged” to leave. I ell the party I am going in and pull out a potion of alter self and drink it. I make myself look like Kibik right there in front of them, much to their amazement and tell them to watch the window for a bright torch like light to indicate trouble and head in. 

The Sentinels inside are amazed as well to see Kibik. Statements from: “I thought you were dead” to “You don’t even look hurt” will be a reminder to me the next time. I bluff my way thru their questions with excuses and the magic does the rest to convince them. “We” finish closing the bar down and head out the back to regroup. On the way thru the back alley, I notice Ars and mutter a prayer to Watcher that no one else does. We work our way thru the streets to a nondescript house. I hope the others have followed us successfully as I step thru the doorway. We go down to the basement to find some more Sentinels and the books. They ask a few questions and seem really without direction or anybody to provide leadership so I decide to step into that roll. I tell them that we should proceed with the burning to show “them” that “we” won’t be thwarted that easily. The rest seem uneasy and unsure but as with all sheep they can’t seem to help themselves from following. I said I would just go upstairs to make sure we weren’t followed and one of them offered to go with me to help lock down the house --- not as easy to signal the party but one less to kill later. We are locking the house down when I see Rakis “hiding”(he really is out of his element in here) and signal him to the house. I leave that window unlocked and sneak up on my fellow Sentinel. I pull out Flamesinger and send his misguided soul on to the other side. I go back to the window just as the party is getting there and tell them to come on thru that I have secured this floor and that the books and the rest of the sentinels are in the basement. They start to climb thru but then ask me to open the door instead, in order to make less noise.

I go in first and act like I am talking to the other sentinel behind me and thus take the first sentinel in the room by surprise sending him to the other side as well. From there on tho desperation takes hold of the others and the fight like demons, knowing they have no way out but over our bodies. One even tries to burn the books in here with all of us and themselves still in here, too! I put and end to that bit of mischief by smothering the flames with my cloak. After their ferocious defense is finally put down, we get the books and return to Geolain’s in the wee hours of the night. We climb the outer wall and sleep under the stars until his servant wakes us near dawn and takes us inside to rest and recover. Geolain gives us Halaan’s location and Amber heals most of our bad wounds and we sleep most of the 6th day away.

Rakis says he has to see someone about a weapon on the 8th day and I talk them into an extra day of shopping while they check on boat passage to this guy Halaan. My info on the fire breath potion was still good so I had it by lunch on day 7 and picked up silence, invisibility, and another alter self by the end of day 9. The others tell at dinner on day 9 that the boat won’t leave for a few days. That night, Risk and Watcher speak to me in my dreams. Return to the church, become anointed and be made whole they told me. On the morning of our 10th day in Zoa, the others said they had a few things to take care of for themselves and I told them I had to see a priest. Rakis seemed content to practice with his new weapon.

I went to the church and told them about my dreams and they agreed that I was ready. One of their high priests came in and touch where my finger had been and agony racked my body as I felt bone and flesh grow where there had been none. I vomited into the bucket that someone had left here, probably just for that purpose. The re-growth was worse than when I had cut it off but was well worth it. They gave me some instructions and some training on being a priestess and I tried to do the best I could but I could tell by the looks on their faces that I didn’t do to good. But I will serve them as best I can.

The others are still busy here in town so Rakis and I decide to get out into the open for a while. I tell him I already have 2 horses so we might as well go for a ride before I have to sell them back before the boat ride. He agrees readily. We ride for several hours enjoying the fresh air and each other’s company when we see some smoke drifting above a small wooded area ahead. At first Rakis doesn’t want to go, saying something about it being bad form to ride up on someone else’s camp but I convince him that this is what we came out here for, after all. 

We ride that way. When we get there, we see two huge humanoids at the fire with a big bag on the ground beside the fire moving around. I hear him say thru clenched teeth in Fhokki, “Ogres!” Now, I’ve never seen an ogre but they do look like the things Magnus described as ogres and if the big man says they are then they are. They just look dangerous to me no matter what you call them. One of the horses whinnies and gives us away. I mutter my defensive spell as we and they close. I use Watcher’s power words to guide my aim on the first swing and I draw blood from the amazed brute. He swings a club nearly as big as me so hard that Risk’s shield can’t deflect it and I feel my teeth rattle from the blow. I see Rakis suffer a similar blow.

I say the power words again and strike home again. Somehow the beast still stands! He swings again but Risk’s shield deflects the blow this time. I mutter my last incantation and bury the big flaming blade in the creature’s heart. Rakis is still fighting his so I try to flank the beast and am rewarded for my efforts by drawing a swing from the long armed humanoid. I dance out harm’s way. We have the beast flanked now and between the two of us finish it off. We go on to fire after relieving the carcasses of their swag. We open the bag to find a dwarf inside. The dwarf thanks us profusely but looks around wildly. We ask him how long he had been in there and he says he is not sure but he thinks at least an hour maybe two. I ask him what he is doing out by himself and he says he wasn’t by himself, “Where are the others?” he nearly screams. The long and short of it is he and his family, 4 others, were traveling by wagon when they were ambushed by these two and 4 more like them and will we please help them? We tell him we will see, that these two were nearly a match for us and now we are both hurt but we will go see what can be done.

Rakis tracks the beasties trail back to the ambush site. No sign of family here but I tell the dwarf to take heart, no bodies or fires either. Rakis follows the trail of the other 4 up into some hilly country until we see a cave up ahead. We tie the horses up back here so they won’t give us away again. Rakis says that he smells smoke even tho none is evident by sight. We decide to sneak around behind the cave to see if there is a rear entrance or perhaps a natural chimney. We find neither, so we agree to head in. We let the dwarf lead since he can see in the dark and that way our light won’t give us away. The cave is very deep! We go about 500 feet before we find their lair. The smell of meat cooking has the dwarf terribly upset. We find them lounging in the den, one turning a dwarf on a spit over a fire and three wiggley bags hanging from the wall. We plan our attack. Rakis and I will pump arrows into one while we have them unaware, backing up as we can to keep them from closing on us. Once they do close if the dwarf gets hurt he is to drink a potion of invisibility that I give him and hunker down to let us draw the ogres away while he frees his family. I drink my potion of fire breath and we start sending arrows into one of them and backing up. He turns to see what is shooting him and charges us. The others still seem unaware of us. I shoot him again as he approaches and Rakis hits him to bring him down. The others have found us now and charge us, one to Rakis and one to the dwarf and me. I shoot as they come and when it gets close I breathe fire on it above the dwarf. It hits the dwarf and he takes a swing back at it and then drinks my potion to disappear. I shoot and breathe fire again and it hits me hard. I shoot it again ready to breathe again but it goes down in flames and pin-cushioned, so I drink a potion of healing . Rakis has dispatched his too. The last one charges us and we stand ready. Rakis moves up to meet it and hits it hard. I send an arrow into it and breathe my last fire on it directly into its face setting its head on fire and putting the beast down. We loot the cavern and out of gratitude the dwarf gives us a large gem. Time to head back to the city, I think. We spend this night out in the country and make it to Zoa early the following morning.


----------



## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Earning Passage to Find Halaan*

On our way to the inn, we see some Kalamarian lawmen heading up the same street we are. They go right to the same inn at which we have been staying. The big northman and I decide to hang back a little to see what develops. They walk up and deploy in a military fashion. A small squad goes in with weapons drawn while two flank the door. I notice there are quite a few more dwarves about today and they seem to be pacing the Kalamarians. This is serious. Some one is about to get ambushed and, unless I miss my guess, then the ambushers are going to get a dose of their own medicine. I just hope it doesn’t involve one of our own. I can’t leave it up to hope tho. I ask the big man what tactic he wants to use and of course he wants to go barging right on in. I think I’ll see how well trained these men are and tell him I will go to the side of the inn and try to warn our group thru their windows. We tie our horses up a little apart time and space wise. I see him get to the door and get a hand in his chest as I slip around the side of the building. Oh well, he is on his own; I will need all my attention focused in this alley because if these guys are well trained their should be another squad covering the possible avenues of escape. I am so glad I listened to Magnus and didn’t take his intellect for granted because of his massive frame as so many people did( and usually to their great sorrow).

There they are. Well trained but evidently not well disciplined or they would be hidden. I will just pretend to be on my way thru. Maybe the back entrance is uncovered. Perhaps this far from home the simply don’t have enuf men to do the job right. I really hope this doesn’t concern us. More short, stocky figures heading my way. More dwarves! Find some cover girl!
The dwarves make short work of the lawmen and head for the front of the inn wanting still more blood. They nearly bowl over Rakis as he comes around the corner. He tells me that Ars has been arrested by these men and there is a near riot in the front of the inn and that the blue-cloaks have arrived. The blue-cloaks take Ars and the Kalamarians to the nearest jail. We follow at a discreet distance to see what will happen, making plans to ambush the lawmen to get Ars back outside of town or perhaps making sure that the dwarves know of the time and direction of the lawmen’s departure. Amber grabs the bull by the horns and says that they already know that she and Ars are friends and that she will go in to see him. Better her than me. No jail time for me, thanks anyway.

Some three hours later they both come out separate from any law that I can see. Ars tells some story to Rakis about his father being killed by a friend but for some reason he is being sought for the crime and now the crimes of killing his mother and grandmother too. The main thing I take away from it is that Ars is exiled from Zoa. After not finding our enslaved captain, I tell them I will go to the harbormaster to see if we can chart a ship to take us south to Halaan. The harbormaster tells me to check with him tomorrow as I slide him some gold. I take this opportunity to hit the markets again. A certain item caught my eye while potion hunting and I mean to have it if possible. 

I go to the harbormaster the next day and he says he may have found some one looking for a crew to head south. I thank him and follow his directions to the slip where the ship is moored. The ship is captained by a wench calling herself Balama. We agree to go with her as muscle on a treasure hunt of hers in exchange for a split of the treasure except for a certain gem and passage. We will leave after I pick up my bead and glove. She even allows Ars to bunk on the ship until we leave. Pandora decides she will stay in Zoa for some reason. Just as well I say. While we are stocking the ship, I can’t help but think that I know the cabin boy from somewhere.

After a couple of days, it bothers me so much that I come right out and ask him face to face if we know each other. He says he doesn’t know me but I can’t help thinking that I know him.
About four days into our journey, a sea serpent attacks the ship. It cannot stand up to the focused attention of our group. After about three more days, I notice we cannot see the shore any more. I bring this to the group’s attention. Ars and Rakis check the sky and say that we are heading away from shore is why. We confront Balama with this oversight in her navigation. She says that her destination is a little more than the day she led me to believe it was beyond ours. We are not happy about this, but then again we are at sea with no sight of land She goes on to explain that she seeks a magical gem called the Rain Tiger. She believes it to be in a temple known as Rana Mor where the Rangka kings are buried. The Rangka Empire was a civilization rumored to be full of riches and magic and culture whose demise is as mysterious as its location. 

We sail around the tip of the continent, out of the Sea of the Dead, into the Kalamarian Sea. We anchor just off the coast directly in front of the mouth of the river we are supposed to take into the jungle. We: our group, Balamra, the cabin boy, and the half-orc first mate, Hurm, take the sloop and head into the river. We stop at a delta town called Coral Bay for a short taste of civilization before starting our trek. 

Just after we enter the jungle proper, we spot a hut on stilts in the middle of the river with a figure jumping up and down waving and shouting frantically. After a short discussion, we decide to stop to see what all the fuss is about. The man, as it turns out to be, is a loon. We garner what information we can from him but it will be hard to cull much of anything useful from his ramblings. The rest of the day is relatively quiet. Fighting the current makes for slow going, but the jungle swallows the banks immediately at the river’s edge. It would probably be easier to forge your way thru a druid’s thicket than to walk the banks. It is a veritable green wall. The second day is just as quiet as most of the first until we run into what the loon was babbling about as the last native tribe upriver. The green wall seems to suddenly spit dozens of arrows. We cannot see one single target to even return fire upon! I dive for the cover of the ship’s retaining wall and weigh my chances over going over the side of the sloop away from the arrow fire and getting a handhold. We are sitting ducks! Amber stands calmly under the deadly rain and displays the power of her Mother as she calls up a thick fog from the river to blanket us. Either its blinding effect or the display of such magical power discourages the natives from following us beyond the fog’s duration. 

We only travel a few more hours after our escape. The canopy that covers the river brings darkness early and makes nights on the river like being in a cave without a torch. We set the guard schedule that puts Amber, Hurm, and me on first watch. Amber takes the fore deck and I take the aft while Hurm takes the main. The half-orc says that he can see well enuf but I don’t believe him. I have heard that some of the demi-human races have improved vision, and Ars certainly bears that out, but this is like being inside a closed barrel. Amber and I have decided to depend on our hearing and wits. We string my silk rope between us with a few signals of tugs to communicate without giving our positions away. A short while into our watch the sloop lists hard to starboard and we hear Hurm cry out in anger and terrible pain. I speak the words of light Watcher taught me and the rail shines like a torch. I had no idea that this world was so full of monstrosities! Everywhere we go there are strange corruptions of nature to balk us. I leap to the deck and draw Flamesinger to battle a version larger than a horse of a shellfish that Gretta used to put hundreds of into a kettle to fill it that is trying to cut Hurm in half with its huge pincers. Amber and I keep it from finishing the half-orc until Ars and Rakis can get on deck. It grabs Ars like it did Hurm and its claws bite deep into his belly, going thru his leather armor he seems so proud of like one of Foebin’s fire-warmed hunting knives thru some of Gretta’s sweet butter. I offer another silent thanks to Risk for his protective aura. We wound it grievously and it seems to decide to cut its losses and take Ars with it back into the river rather than press the battle. Rakis grabs Ars to keep him on the ship but I know the power in the creature’s claws and know it will be happy with half an Ars as well. I use Watcher’s power to guide my blow to sever the creature’s claw before it can do the same to the lower half of Ars from the top half. Amber helps the wounded with the spells she has left. 

The rain starts in the middle of that same night. It rains like a cow pissing on a flat rock for what we can only guess is two days solid. At least it keeps the bugs to a minimum.

The morning after the rain stops we travel to where the river shallows and widens out into a marsh. Despite the soundings the cabin boy is taking we run aground on what must be a sand bar recently hidden by the deluge. Ars, Rakis, Hurm, and I decide that we may be able to muscle the sloop of the sand bar and we jump over the side after looking for gators. Amber flatly refuses to join us in our endeavor. We four put our backs into it and do manage to move it some. Rakis says he could use a rest before finishing the job. This takes me by surprise. I know he can see it in my face when I turn to look at him. But that is nothing to the surprise I get when I see that he is very pale. I tell every one that I think we should all take a rest before finishing and try to hurry and help Rakis to return to the ship. Looking back to see if the rest are coming, I see Ars going up his tie off rope and see that the half-orc doesn’t look much better than Rakis. This makes me urge them faster.
When we get on deck, we find the reason for their paleness and their weakness. Gigantic leeches have attached themselves to the big men. We use our blades to remove them but both are weak from blood loss. Regardless, we are still stuck. Amber says that she thinks she can use her Mother’s power to help us push the boat the rest of the way free. Hurm and Rakis don’t think this is a good idea in their weakened state and Ars doesn’t look too keen on the idea either. But I know we must. How else will we get free? If we wait, the current might even push us back onto the bar, costing us what ground we have already gained. I think I can shame them into action. I tell Amber to ready her spell, that I will jump back in and push. I hope the thought of those slimy, bloodsuckers didn’t put a noticeable quaver in my voice and I turn and walk toward the edge of the sloop. As I do, I mutter a quiet prayer to Risk to grant me good fortune enuf not to get one of the parasites on me and over the side I go. It works! In just a short while I hear their voices and then hear them hitting the water. We position ourselves again and begin pushing. It is harder and slower this time with the big men weakened but when Amber’s current gets behind us that is enuf to free the sloop. We climb back up and everyone is checking frantically for the leeches. The woodsman is the unlucky one this time. I kiss Risk’s side of my holy symbol and thank him again. All three of the men bitten break out in red splotches and are very weakened and shake nearly constantly for two days. After that time, all their symptoms disappear. 

Near the end of our sailing day that the men recover, we see a temple just beyond a small, carved stone landing on the bank. It is really the first break in the growth since we have been heading up river. That alone intrigues me. I ask Balama to stop next to the landing. She assures me that the temple we seek is still about 30 miles upstream. I tell her I don’t care, I want to see this one first. The others seem to be ready to out vote me until Rakis says he will go too. Balama stops, saying it is nearly time to anchor anyway, but even tho she is captain I feel that she needs us more than she lets on. The others seem downheartened about this trip. Almost like they have been thru too much trouble already. Almost like they feel that the trip is bad karma. Don’t they know that experiences come in at least two varieties: good and bad. The bad ones, as long as they don’t kill you, become your servants, tools if you will, to make you stronger. Not to mention, that they make appreciate the good that much more. And as Watcher knows, any experience that you learn from is not wasted, good or bad.

We leap to the landing. We come upon a sight that startles me and nearly turns Rakis back to the boat. The temple is a pile of rubble mostly, but it is ringed by 13 skull-topped stakes. The eerie part is that the skulls are wreathed in an emerald flame and a bowl of blood sits at the bottom of each. If that is not bad enuf, when I cross the ring’s perimeter one of the skulls starts speaking in some language I don’t understand. Even without a translator, the message is pretty clear- STAY OUT! So I keep going. Rakis is really ready to go back now. His pride is the only tool that grants me enuf leverage to get him to continue. His upbringing will not let him quit while someone else continues, especially a woman. There is really nothing to be gained here but I had to come. I play around a little, looking for anything helpful. I end up leaving my rock I got from the river madman next to part of the shrine with similar markings and even cut my hand a little to put a little blood in one of the bowls. It is time to head back. The big northman looks so relieved. 

When we get back to the sloop, we describe what we saw to the others. They suddenly feel that we should try to get some more miles under our keel before we lose all light. I tell them they are crazy. I tell them that we won’t get more than a half of a mile before we have to stop again, but they are adamant. We lift anchor and sail far enuf away so that if I were to fire my bow as far as I could accurately and go to where that arrow fell and fire again that it might take me 6 arrows to hit the landing. What a waste of time. Amber, Hurm, and I take the first rotation again tonight. A short time into our shift I hear a muffled pattern of sound behind me on the river. I listen closer. It could be oars dipped into the water trying to be quiet or some river beast swimming close by, not caring whether we hear it or not. I don’t want one of those creatures that nearly got Hurm to sneak up on me so I send Amber the tug signal for quiet and cautious attention. Then I find one of our provisional coconuts, and I cast Watcher’s light upon it and throw it towards the sound. Quiet caution time is over! Four canoes loaded with natives were slipping quietly up on us in the darkness but now they throw their backs into it since it is hard to sneak when you are bathed in torch light. I yell for the others. How stupid of me! No wonder the others wanted to move away, the skulls were alarms to alert these guardians. 

They trade a few oarsmen in each boat for archers and begin to pepper the sloop as they advance. We send a few arrows of our own their way, as we prepare to take on boarders. Amber’s phantom lynx appears in one boat to distract them. Little damage is really taken by either side in the volleys and then they are at our rails. They come up quickly but must be holding some in reserve. I dispatch the first I meet and look over the rail hoping to sink one of the boats holding reserves to put them in disarray but there is only one boat there, empty. Damned illusions, but at least that only has us outnumbered 2 to 1 instead of 4 to 1. I see a likely spell caster and decide to target him. Magnus taught me this tactic. Not only are spellcasters usually the most dangerous foes, especially when their attention is not drawn from their casting by physical attacks, but most troops normally backed by magic become dependant upon it. “Usually if you can take out their magic users, you can break their morale,” he would say, “ get them to surrender even when they are not in a bad tactical situation just because they are not used to being with out their magical backing.” I already have Risk’s protection over me and can feel its power deflecting what would have been sure hits with too many foes around me to dodge them all effectively as I press the magician. I use Watcher’s words to guide my aim and feel Flamesinger bite into the man but it is as if he shrugs off the damage. I continue to attack him but feel the pressure of his pawns trying to slay me first, praise be to Risk for keeping them off me. Their movements and attacks keep me from good position on the caster, he has trained them well. Their magician is no mere spellcaster! I see a holy symbol he is using. He must be a priest like Amber. No wonder I have not sent him to the other side yet. While I am marveling at my discovery, I have let my guard down . His fighters strike thru my distracted defenses and spill my blood on the deck. I must dispatch them now! I pull my power pellet free and throw it at them. It bursts open on them in a rush of eldritch energy, downing the priest and enclosing one fighter and injuring the other. I rush in to finish the fighter off and turn to see why my companions have not come to my aid. Normally, Rakis should have been able to down ten men himself in this amount of time.

When I turn, I am dismayed to see only one other native down and several of our group lie bleeding where I expected natives to be. Amber is one of them! How can this be? Rakis is in a lather of sweat and blood, quite a bit of it his own by the looks of it. I have to drink my last curative potion before running to help them or possibly bleed to death before doing any good. As I do, I see a huge owl swoop in from the shore. What now? More magic play? Just as I am readying a death blow for it, I notice Ars seems to talk to it somehow and doesn’t seem threatened by it at all, so I turn my attention to the known threat. My presence has at least made the remaining natives have to pull some of their attention away from killing the others but little else, as I am too weak to be very effective offensively. Amber gets too her feet and harries them with bolts from a distance. She is bloodied but must have been pretending her injuries were worse than they appeared. Somehow I muster the strength to kill another native by the time the rest rid themselves of their foes too. We have had the battle taken to us again. I must look into the hiring of a personal bodyguard. 

The captain is down and so is Hurm, and of course that little bastard of a cabin boy has been no help at all during this and must still be hiding somewhere. The others feel that we should move from here quickly. I don’t see why but listen to their council after not seeing the native attack coming after our trespass. I tell them to give me directions from the bow and I will get us out of here. It is pitch black now of course. Rakis gets up on the bow and tries to give me hand signals but it is not long before we are aground again. This is not the shallows of the swamp and I don’t think even me jumping in now will get them into the water in the dark. So we hunker down and batten down and try to hold on til day breaks. A short time after I have laid down I hear Ars screaming, “Snake!” at the top of his lungs. Why doesn’t he just kill it, I wonder, as I make my way towards the main deck quickly. Rakis is already at the door trying to bolt it as Ars runs past me. I turn to ask him if he has lost his mind or nerve or both when a huge serpent breaks thru the door as Rakis almost had it closed. We jump to either side of it and slice it to bloody ribbons.

The next morning Balama is back on her feet and so is Hurm, thanks to that slippery cabin boy’s ministrations. Everyone is still injured but the night’s rest has been a big help. Amber helps with everyone’s worst wounds. The river’s current and the captain’s touch help to back us off what ever we hit upon last night. We resume the trip up the river. We sail all day and rest the night again and early into the next morning we drop anchor as we come upon a majestic waterfall blocking further travel in the sloop. 

To the side of the falls, there is an old stone roadway that winds upward. The captain and our little party leave the sloop behind and take to the road. It takes us most of the rest of the day to get to the road’s end which stops at a bridge to cross the river. The plateau above the falls is grassland instead of the jungle of the basin. In the distance we can make out towering spires that have to be manmade. Balama says that should be the temple we seek. We decide to camp and rest before crossing the bridge. During the night, Watcher speaks to me thru my dreams. “Know your allies as well as your enemies, my little apprentice,” he whispers to me. Then he makes me dream of the night at the Grand Circus when I was summoned to West Wood. The cabin boy! That miserable bitch has used the same mask twice and I have caught her! The cabin boy is the half-elf who gave me the envelope without the tapered ears who in turn is Daresh! That bitch has tricked Balama into believing that she is her cabin boy. But to what end? Or perhaps she has hired Balama to retrieve this Rain Tiger for her. I will tell Balama of the danger she is in when the morning comes. When we are breaking camp, I approach Balama to warn her. As I get close, she looks up. I open my mouth to tell her of my dream and discovery but there is something about the way she looks at me and I hear Watcher’s words again, “Know your allies…”. I just ask her if she is almost ready. She pauses even tho it is a simple question. “Oh, yes. I am ready. Are you?”, she replies. The chill that runs up my back tells me that she is not talking about breaking camp and it is good I have not told her. She hasn’t been tricked. She is in league with Daresh somehow, whether by aims or just thru coin but they are in this together. I know it. Very well. I will let her hold her Rain Tiger just before I break her grip on this life.

As we start to cross, we are attacked by some carnivorous plant from beneath the bridge. Perhaps it is just another warning from Watcher to expect danger from unexpected places. We continue to march. When we make it to the temple grounds, we come to the first of several moats surrounding the temple even tho the temple appears to be still a mile in the distance. The walls and buildings here are in fairly ruff shape but it is still evident that they were once grand. The deeper we go into the grounds, the condition of the buildings becomes better almost as if out of respect. We are finally stopped by a massive stone door. The door has carvings on it but I cannot read them. Amber steps up to ponder them and after a short prayer or incantation she lies on the ground and says “Pri Nhar Phul”. I repeat it quietly to myself 3 times and count to 10 and then repeat it 3 times again in case I need to get back out without aid as the doors swing open. When we go thru the doors, we are immediately confronted by another moat but this one has no bridge. I tell them to toss me a rope once I jump across. Ars and Rakis are discussing how to get across and trying the water and other nonsense, ignoring me. So I just back up and start my run to jump when Ars steps in front of me. “ Remember the jelly,” he says. He picks up a stone and tosses it across the moat to the landing on the other side – normally. I guess he does have his uses after all. I back up, run and clear the moat in a smooth leap. We tie ropes from some one side to the other using the large pillars on either side to let the party cross.

We are stopped again by a large stone door. There are great depictions of the gods all around this building. I try the words Amber used to open the first door. It doesn’t work. She tries them again. They don’t work for her either. I decide to scout around the building while they try to figure out what to do. I notice in all the depictions the gods have a scroll they seem to be reading but each scroll seems to have only one word on it. I bring this to Amber’s attention. She uses her power to decipher the words to open the second door.

Thru this door, we enter a room. It is small and has a dark archway as its only interesting feature. We walk thru it, except for Rakis, that is. For some reason, he cannot pass thru the shadowy barrier. We find ourselves in a similar room on this side with another shadowed archway. This time only Balama and Amber can pass. Ars and I wait and search the room we are in. We find nothing. Soon, Amber and Balama come running back thru the arch. They tell us about a pit trap in the next room and of a room beyond it trapped with darts and then Rakis comes thru the arch. We all ask him how he got thru and he tells us that he just went back to the start and tried again and he was able to pass without any problem. We all decide to try this. Amber, Balama, and I are able to reach the dart room but the bladesmen are stuck in the room before the pit even after multiple attempts. We girls decide to press on without them. 

After taking our wounds in the dart room, we make it to an altar room. There are two undead creatures guarding this room. One moves to attack us while the other moves toward what looks like a bell’s pull rope on the wall farthest from us. It would be a good race without the interference of our attacker but I don’t think I can make it. The first god mentioned here was a deity of the dead! I drop as Amber did at the door and repeat the words she said like I did to insure I could get thru the door again only louder now. “Pri Nhar Phul!” It works! They go back to their positions passively. We pass them quickly to enter the next room.

In this room, we are confronted by another undead monstrosity. The power nearly rolls off this one as a testament to his superiority to the other 2. He is reigned in high priest robes and his movements are not the stiff disjointed ones of the lesser undead and he has a voice. In which, he grates out a proclamation from beyond the grave; “You came seeking a place of death but death finds you in this place!” I have invoked Risk’s protection and am readying Watcher’s enchantment to guide my strokes, as it seems that suddenly I am our group’s best representative of the blade. I take the battle to it to try to give my spellcasters the very time I was trying to deny the native spellcaster on the sloop. Despite Watcher’s guidance Flamesinger seems to hardly scratch the creature tho it does seem to dislike the flames themselves. Amber must have noticed this too, but what is she doing? I strike again to keep it occupied. She is getting out her lantern. Ahhhhhh! Fuel for the flames! Balama sends a bolt of lightning past me into the creature. It sure doesn’t shrug that off. Amber douses the creature with her lantern and I strike true. That does the trick. The creature is immediately engulfed and falls under the fire and my stroke.

We take the stairs that the fiend once guarded down to a crypt. Balama says something about this being the crypt of the Seer King. She says that she can get into his crypt but that each crypt is warded differently so we can proceed but at our own risk. I tell her to get what we came for and then we will see about anything else. Amber says she will watch toward the back of the room and I say I will watch toward the door. I do watch that way but am readying my last spell to strike down Balama as soon as she comes thru the crypt arch. She says her chant to pass and goes over to the sarcophagus and lifts the lid. When she does, water pours from the ceiling and the door starts to slide shut. I call to Amber and we dash thru the door. I didn’t see Balama come thru behind us. I guess I won’t have to play the heavy after all. Damn it! I forgot about my alter self potion. I could have stayed behind to make sure that bitch was dead and gotten the treasure. Damn it! Oh well, it was more important to get Amber out safely. We run back to tell the men of the aborted mission. 

We are just starting to tell them when Balama, soaked and scraped, comes thru the archway behind us. She is grinning from ear to ear. She says she wasn’t sure she was going to make it when the door trapped her leg, nearly breaking it. She holds up the stone tho, removing her gloves as she does. “ Thanks for helping me again,” she says. It is then that we notice the marks branded into her hand. It is the Coin of Power! She is Daresh! I pull Flamesinger and mutter my last incantation but she is gone again in a blink. She has cut her own throat now. Before this I could have walked away. I never believed that take over the world rubbish anyway. That is a scary tale for children. I will not be made a fool of and have it go unpunished. Coin or no coin, world domination or no, she has made a blood enemy this day. I will not lay this down until one of us is laid down for good. She has married this day and doesn’t even know it. Until death do us part my pretty, and only then. This I swear by the blood that runs thru my veins and out of this cut.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Betrayal and Death in the Jungle*

Watcher, if I am truly one of your chosen, help me in this. I need some powerful magic to disrupt that disappearing ability. Send me the answer to that in one of your visions. While thinking about this, the doors across the moat swing open. Six tribesmen like the river attackers stand beyond the doors. Two immediately run away as the other 4 prepare some blowguns. One of them chants some spell as I ready my bow and a big crocodile appears in front of Rakis and starts to chew him up. He yells for me to back up and I do, all the way to the back of the room after a plan, surely from Risk, bursts forth into my mind. Right according to Risk’s wishes, Rakis steps out of my way. Then I see Ars slide limply to the ground under a wave of those blow darts. “Take out their spellcasters to take the fight out of them” Magnus’s voice reminds me. But wait that one seems to be casting too. They all have the look of the river priest I notice after I am 3 or 4 steps into my sprint. Risk protect me in this wild gamble you have gifted me with in the vision you sent. I have faith in you and hope yours is not misplaced in me. Now! Up onto the croc’s back and leap with everything you have woman! 

I did it! Risk be praised! I cleared the croc and the moat! Now to these spellcasters. I call Flamesinger from it’s place in my palm and wade into this new threat. I kill the man directly in front of me first to give me more room away from the edge. The conjurer finds a way past Risk’s barrier and hurts me horribly. I then tumble between two of them to keep from getting flanked. The conjurer then gets to feel my steel slice open his belly in one fluid stroke but I can taste copper in the back of my throat and feel sick to my stomach from his touch. Why hasn’t Rakis come to help me? I will depend on the barrier to protect me from the man with the hand ax while I kill the last magician. Another sickening wound from a mere touch. Kill him now woman or die. He has seen me lay open his friend’s belly so I feint that move only to change Flamesinger’s angle upward to take him under the chin. He will not touch me again. I am so weak. I have to kill this warrior quickly. I cut him but he doesn’t fall. He swings his handax and I feel it hit bone. Just don’t let it break! Backspin and sweep thru his legs….

I wake up in a hut on the water. I don’t remember how I got here. I check my arm for a break from the ax’s strike. A nasty wound but no break. Oh no. Only one place I have ever been has this many figurines. We must be at the mad merchant’s place. How did we get here? What happened after I went down? Where is everyone else? Amber comes in later and gives me the story of our escape with the mad merchant and Pandora. That bitch is like a bad copper piece. We rest and heal and then decide to go to the little delta village to try to get a ship back around the coast to Halaan. 

When we see a ship passing, we light our signal fire. As it draws close enuf to anchor, we see it is flying Kalmarian colors even tho it is bright pink everywhere else. I take a rowboat out to see if the captain will give us passage. I don’t know why the group lets me do it after the wonderful job I did the last time I got us a ride. It will cost us ten gold a piece but that seems a bargain compared to crossing the mountains so I pay him and tell him I will go get the others. Ars asks the captain about the ship’s paint job and he tells Ars that it is by the emperor’s decree. Too much inbreeding in the royal family has got to show up sometime and I think this is that time. 

Thankfully the trip around the cape is uneventful. Normally I would be so bored and would be eager for any action but lately I seem out of sorts. Like I am changing or just don’t feel like myself. I just have had a bad feeling since we passed the point where we should have stopped for finding Halaan. Damn that Daresh! The captain looks at us in the same way that I am sure we looked at the mad merchant when we tell him we want to be rowed ashore. He tries to reason with us but we know what we must do. The crew wishes us good luck when they drop us off but sound uncertain that it will do any good. I see a few even kissing and rubbing some charms. 

We head into the jungle. Ars and Rakis lead us along. We travel only a short while before coming to a large castle seemingly in disuse and threatened to be taken over by the jungle. There are the obligatory skulls on stakes, of course. While Ars and Rakis argue over what is and is not a track and is and is not a path, I tell them I don’t need any to follow since I can see the gate from here and make my way thru the tall grass to it. We enter the courtyard and proceed to a door on the castle’s wall. I check it for signs of tampering and finding none open it and we go in. We find a body mostly decomposed in the jungle’s merciless heat and moisture. The room doesn’t look in much better shape than the body. Rakis goes to the door across the room to watch while Amber and Pandora go to the body. As I eye the balcony that rings the room, I can almost hear Risk, “Up little one. Rise to the challenge. Your way is clear, is it not?” I loose my rope and grappling hook and start up. I look around and find a few doors and some stairs. I go back to tell the others. Pandora says she found a door behind a tapestry and Amber says she found a diary or journal of sorts. She reads from it and says that the way to find Halaan is in the highest part of the castle. I repeat that I found some stairs and will follow them up. Pandora says that she thinks we should go thru a door down there to get to the center of the castle to go up. Ars says he will go with me to see where the stairs go. Rakis will stay with Amber and Pandora in case there is trouble down here. 

Ars and I take the stairs up. We come out in an old armory with a corridor leading off and a door. As we pause to decide which to take, we are attacked by flying creatures. They look like birds with large mosquito heads and too many legs. Three of them land on Ars and stick him with their needle like noses. I begin to take them out of the air. Finally one of them lands on me and begins to feed. Is there anything more disgusting than parasites? I take my hand and squeeze it until it ruptures. We continue to climb. We find a room in which a large battle took place. We keep going up. We come to a door. I check it over and then open it. Another battle scarred room littered with skeletons. 

We head into the room. We see what Amber must have been referring to. There in the center of the room is a scroll tube. The skeletons start to rise up and head toward us. I seize the chance to be the instrument of Risk’s and Watcher’s power. I present my symbol of power to the undead and shout at them “Damn you! Return to the earth!” and they all crumble to dust under the power of my deities. Ars’ expression is priceless. I have felt his disdain since the days of the vaults. Like I wasn’t good enuf for his group since I didn’t have his or Rakis’s skill with a blade or his precious Pandora’s arcane skills or Amber’s awsome power over undead and her healing gift. Maybe this wasn’t as good as Amber but I don’t think he thinks of me as merely a dirty little street thief anymore. Almost as if reading my mind, or maybe MY expression, he asks, “You have been holding out on us, haven’t you?” I tell him I have been watching Amber closely. That is all he needs to know. He doesn’t need to know about our conversations after dark or while we are away from everyone else. I start toward the tube again and a whirlwind starts in the room. Ghostly images appear and I hope I haven’t used all of their power for today as I present my symbol and damn these too. The images fade and the whirlwind blows out. Ars grabs the tube and I, hearing drums like those in the Rain Tiger temple, look out the window. There must be a lot of something out there for me to notice that much movement from this far up thru that much jungle. We hurry back downstairs.

We notice right off that they are not where we left them once we get back to the balcony. The door that Rakis was guarding stands ajar. I call to them. Amber? Rakis? They call back from the other room. We find them in a sad state. There are dead rats everywhere. Pandora lays unconscious. We show them the scroll tube and tell them we think it is what the diary refers to. We try holding it and saying Halaan’s name and a few things like that but it doesn’t bring him so Ars and I decide we will go back up to see if we missed anything. Gives us five minutes to get there and look around. The drums are making everyone nervous I think to myself. Ars and I rush back upstairs. We look thru the scroll tube room again and find nothing else. We decide to look thru the other battle scarred room. I go over to look at the fire consumed man and Ars checks another part of the room. I hear a rumble and a cry of surprise. I look to the sound and see only a hole in the floor. No Ars. I get as close as I dare without causing another cave in and look down. I tell him I will lower my rope. I hook the grappling hook on the corner of the fireplace and throw the rope down to him. He isn’t climbing up. Come on I say. Come down he says. I am not coming down there and get caved in on I tell him. He says he sees some really nice doors and he is sure there is treasure behind them and we have not found much of that since the vault. That creepy feeling washes over me again. I want to tell him again that I am not coming down there but there is a faint voice. I can’t make out what it is saying. Go or don’t go? Which was it? Come on he calls. Over I go. We go over to the doors together. I check them out. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, I open them. 

Inside we find an ornate room to exceed the doors and what immediately commands your attention is a very nice chest on which sits a black cat. Now I know what was giving me the bad feeling. Witchcraft! Ars walks in like he doesn’t know that black cats are witches demons or that he doesn't care. He tells me to see if the chest is trapped. I get close to look and the damnable beast scratches me. We kill it. I go to check the chest again and the beast returns to life somehow and scratches at me again. We kill it again. I tell him to open it this time. The demon returns to life again—noticeably bigger this time. It puts Ars down with its attack. I take a hit from it to drag him to safety. I stabilize him and go get the others. I explain what has happened so far and tell them that it didn’t follow us out of the room so maybe we can shoot it with our bows from out here. We try that but it comes out after us. We kill the thing again. I am determined to see what is in the chest now. What could such a thing be guarding. We go for the chest again. The thing reappears of course but by now it is a large panther. We set to fight it again even tho we are both already bleeding from its previous attention. We hear a door crash in and Amber screams, “Natives!”. I tell Rakis to go help Amber and close with this hellish beast again. Using Watcher’s wisdom in the ways of battle I make the demon feel flame and steel in spite of its unnatural quickness. I just pray I can kill it one more time so I can get away from it to help Rakis and Amber before it kills me because I know I don’t have 9 lives like it. Without Watcher’s insight my next blow misses. I think I have made it miss me and will have one more chance to put it down before I realize that I didn’t dodge well enuf. It is just because the demon’s claws are so sharp that I did not feel the hit. My leg is so hot. I look down to my once beautiful thigh to see blood spurting from the four large furrows that have nearly reached the bone. I feel the chill of death like a shroud around my shoulders and upper body in such stark contrast to the heat flooding over my leg. I am still awake when I hit the stone floor but I know I am dead because the cat doesn’t even look my way. It just curls up on the chest, nearly covering it. Then the blackness covers me like the cat did the chest. 

From the darkness I hear (is that the right word?) 
“What is she doing here?”
“ I don’t know. Alicia is Watcher’s eyes and Risk’s revenge…”
“ Alicia, come to me my child.”
At that point all that was complete darkness is now replaced by complete light. I am still just as sightless because the light is overpowering, blinding. I then hear/feel/perceive the voice again.
“Why have you come before me?”
“Her destiny was to avenge me.”
“ Her destiny was to see for me.”
“ She had to much greed.”
“Yes, she failed the test.”
“Yes, but maybe she learned…”
“ Maybe she can still fill her destiny…”
“ Alicia, we know you…you are to return to the world of the living… your future has not ended but your time here has. Away with you now, but take care not to return before it is time.”
“ She was once ours, now she has been taken by greed, she must be stopped.”

I wake up in a church of Risk’s. There is a priest of considerable rank standing with Amber, Ars, Rakis and Pandora around me. “ I do not know what the meaning of the words were that your companion spoke and I doubt she would know either. Sometimes death does not want to let go of someone and words are brought back from beyound with the soul of the deceased. Do not be concerned for the words usually have no meaning. I am sure the words had nothing to do with this ‘Daresh’ fellow. Please leave your donation to Risk on your way out,” the priest says. I climb shakily to my feet with some help. “I think I should leave these with you, brother.” I pull out 7 one thousand gp gems and place them in his hand. “Thank you, brother. And thank you all, my friends.” When we are outside I will ask Amber what I said.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*A Moment of Clarity and the Forging of Power*

I can see them as plain as day but larger than life. Watcher and Risk. They are at some gameboard like that of Go but with multiple layers of boards in play at once. Watcher usually seems to calculate his moves with an occasional impulse one thrown in. Risk, on the other hand, nearly always rolls his moves from a wine goblet as a domino player would his dice. Somehow the pieces always stay in play and never land out of square. Even tho Go is a competitive game I don’t get the feeling that they play against each other. I can hear them speaking but don’t understand their language even tho I here my name here and there. It is a harsh language and sounds like it would be very hard on the throat of the speaker. I walk towards them. They know I am there, of course, and beckon to me to come closer as a parent would a child unsure of interrupting a grown up conversation. They are so handsome, no, more than handsome, beautiful. And their power seems to glow from them as light does the sun. What could they possibly see in me?

The closer I get to them the more words I can understand. It is as if, the closer I get to them the more I understand, even tho they do not change their tongue their words are as merchant speak. There is my name again. And again. Twice, nearly back to back---or was the second time actually my name or just a word very similar to it? They turn their attention from their game to me. I feel compelled to kneel. Watcher nods in appreciation, I believe, from the brief glimpse I catch on my way to the floor. Risk touches my mind, for I would surely die again from the power that would flow from his merest touch, and bids me to rise. “Your deference is known thru your pledge to service and your daily actions so your kneeling is unnecessary, my dark Angel.” I cannot describe the joy this sends thru my heart and forget to ask him about the repetition of my name. “Just remember, she was once ours, now she has been taken by greed, and she must be stopped.” As I try to fumble the questions out as to whether they mean Daresh and how I should best go about stopping her, once again I awaken before they answer. I am so dumb! Why can I not figure out what they are trying to tell me? I must not fail them again! No wonder mother left me with the Tessin’s. She must have been able to see the weakness in me even then. I sob myself back to sleep reciting my prayers in hopes that this time, it will be clear for me.

This morning I slowly hobble to Halaan’s work area. He is fluttering around like a hummingbird in a poppy field. He doesn’t even notice me. I say aloud, “I think I can help with the coin.” He waves me away and says not to be foolish and that he is too busy right now. I tell him again I can help. He waves me away again. I hoist my heavy burden onto the table with a loud thump and dump the mithral out of the sack into view and stagger back to bed. Rakis checks in on me occasionally, as I recover. He tells me he ran across our dwarven friend, Burel, and how he is doing. Finally, after 8 nights of rest, I am feeling whole again. Just in time too, because they have told me that Halaan wants to see us all at sundown tonight. I wonder how we are to use the coin and what powers it holds. I suppose we will find out tonight.

We gather in Halaan’s “forge room” for lack of a better word. He says that they are about to start on the coin but will need some “ingredients” before they can finish it. And, oh yeah, they are short a smithy. “Ready to start?” bursts from my mouth. “I thought you were going to give us the coin tonight! And you don’t even know how to work the forge, either?” He explains that they were just getting everything ready and that it takes time to make something of this magnitude and so on. Rakis says that he thinks that we know someone who can handle the forge work and if he will just tell us what ingredients he needs we will go get him and them as well. I am still fuming but try to settle down to listen because Risk and Watcher are counting on me and I need to bleed that bitch out just for myself. He tells us he needs a diamond touched by death, the breath of a blue dragon, and the blood of a demon spilled by a coward. Of course! I think I have those in my backpack. Why was I even expecting some half way normal types of things? Halaan says he may be able to point us in the right direction concerning the diamond. He says there once was a manor in the dark woods northwest of Zoa. Some say it burned to the ground after a storm with terrible lightning. Others say the commoners of the surrounding area burned it down before moving out of the area. We tell him we will go after the smith and then go after the diamond. The others want to leave in the morning but I talk them into leaving tonight. I impress upon them my belief that Daresh is growing in power daily. It is almost as if we are connected somehow, I can feel it. They agree finally. We have to bribe the gate guard to open the gates while it is dark. Outside the gates in tents and blankets are those refugees that didn’t make it into the city before sundown. We travel the road thru them toward the dark woods.

We travel on thru the night and when dawn breaks the horizon we make camp. Once rested, we continue on. Later that day we hit the dark woods. It is easy to see why they are referred to as the dark woods. There is a gloom that settles upon us as we enter the trees. It is not really a fog or a mist or smoke but it is something tangible even if hard to describe. We make our way until we come to a gate. At least that is a sign we are on the right track. A little further on we see the ruins of the manor in a large clearing. I get off my horse and tie it to a tree limb. It has been deathly silent all the way here but there is plenty of wildlife here. They don’t really seem afraid of us either. They scurry away if moved towards but somehow give me the impression that they are watching us. I walk the perimeter of the clearing while the rest of the group, Amber, Ars, Rakis, and Pandora, search thru the ruins. Amber calls out that she has found something. We all go over to see what she has found. It looks like a capstone to seal an old cistern. The men try separately and together to lift it but cannot. I tell them I have a crowbar on my horse. I go get it and tell them to pry it up and hold it open and I will stick some rocks in to hold it that way. I look around for suitable rocks and they are already opening it up. I start to hurry over so they won’t have to hold it long when this cloud pours out of the opening they have created. I stop hurrying. They are overcome by the stench of whatever it is and begin vomiting. Hopefully it is just the smell and not poison. Their sickness passes and we decide to try again. It opens easier this time and we have the cap off in a short while.

There are slick looking stairs leading down into the darkness. I light a torch and sling it into the darkness. It bangs into double doors at the end of the stairs. I anchor my grappling hook and throw my rope down the steps. We decide to go one at a time so that one fall doesn’t endanger the whole group. We also decide to have a person at the top hold a rope tied around the person descending for more caution. I volunteer to go first since I don’t think I could hold either Ars or Rakis. The stairs are treacherous but I keep my footing all the way down. I see that the doors have pentagrams and other sigils on them and are made of iron and are secured with steel chains and lock. I tell the others what I have found and Rakis says he is on his way down. I pick the lock while he is descending. Pandora is next. She gets about 15 feet down and falls. I don’t think the fall is bad but then giant rats flood the stairs from somewhere and she is screaming and flailing and some run up and some run down the stairs. The narrow confines of the stairs prevent me from helping Rakis but I stand ready to open the door if we need to retreat. I remember what a hellish fight he described having with the rats in the tower in the jungle. 

Rakis takes several nasty bites from the disgusting vermin but kills those who came down toward us. Amber, Ars, and Pandora dispatch the ones who went up as well but took several nasty wounds as well. Pandora is a wreck and says she can’t go on and Ars says he is probably unable to be much help to us either. Amber says she will go on with us if the other two will guard the opening. Amber falls twice on the slick stairs but our preparation with the ropes lets her avoid serious injury. I open the door and step into a room filled with caskets lining the walls with a door at the far end. We start to look over what we think are name plates and realize no one down here can read them and that Pandora is not about to come down so we have her write down Abdul Herrid in Renaarian and throw it down. We find it easily after that but the coffin is empty. We decide to go thru the other door. Rakis goes to it and tries to open it but it slams downward on a hinge of some sort in the floor edge of it and knocks him down and backward battering him in the bargain. I noticed that there was only stone on the other side of the door trap so we decide to search the room for something we might have missed. We pull out Abdul’s coffin to search for the diamond and find a way to another area. We follow it to find a sarcophagus. Rakis tries to open it but can’t just pull it open. I yell for Ars to throw my crowbar down but by the time I do that Rakis has I warhammer out and starts to bludgeon it. After a few mighty smashes several large cracks are apparent. As he pulls back for another blow, the smashed sections blow out into the room and the horrid Herrid pulls itself out to see who has disturbed its slumber. 

Watcher only knows what changed this from whatever it once was into what it is now! It has tentacles growing from its face where there would be a mouth on a man and its arms are now tentacles too. Its frame is grotesquely warped and deformed and the thing drips some black ichor as well. Rakis goes into his battle rage and I call up Risk’s protective shield and ask Watcher to guide my blade and Amber calls her battle cat. Under this barrage, the monstrosity goes down to whatever hell awaits it on the other side. We cut the diamond out of the creature’s body and take a book from its coffin. To make sure it stays in its hell, we cover it in oil and light it on fire and get out of the crypt fast. We load up and make our way out of this desolate place. As we are trying to leave, a gigantic dark figure appears up ahead to block our path. I dismount immediately and run to flank it. Ars fires an arrow into it and Rakis drinks a potion and goes into his battle rage again to face the 20 foot foe toe to toe. Amber strikes the ground with her hammer to punish the shadowy figure some from a distance and Pandora sends a small blue sphere into it. Rakis hurts it with a mighty sweep of his ax and I am in position to threaten it from behind so now it must guard on two fronts and Ars is making his way to help Rakis. Amber’s battle cat appears and strikes it and Pandora depends on more mundane missiles now. The thing had wounded Rakis with its first blow and next it strikes Ars down in his weakened state. I try to help Rakis as much as I can but can’t compare to the massive damage he inflicts on enemies. Steadily we wear the creature down but instead of falling it simply dissipates like smoke. We are overdue to be out of these woods!

We make it back to Zoa and give Halaan the diamond. We ask him how we are supposed to catch a blue dragon’s breath and he says he really doesn’t know but Geolain might. He says he hasn’t seen him in a while and figures he is at his house. Rakis asks if we need him to go and we say no. We girls head to Geolain’s with Ars behind us and a distance back. I guess in case he is recognized. I ring the bell. No one answers. I ring it again. No answer. I start to go over the wall and see the little manservant peeking out the window when I get to the top of the wall. I wave him to the gate and drop back down. He hurries out and hurries us in with tells of unrest and bolts shot into the courtyard. We meet with Geolain in his study and I ask him how are we supposed to catch a dragon’s breath. He says he is glad we asked. He then hands me a metal rod and says all we have to do is get the dragon to breathe his breath weapon onto it and it will capture it for us. Sounds simple enuf, of course it is the getting away afterwards that is never simple. We ask him if he knows where we might find a blue dragon. He tells us about one which lives in the Khydoban Desert across the Sea of the Dead. We head back to get Rakis and to book passage on a ship once again. 

We make the relatively short trip without incident. We make landfall at the capital city, Dynaj. We buy horses and set out southeastward along the coastline. We are looking for the village of Ejja-Vonan as a jumping off point to navigate from. We travel at night because the sun practically roasts one during its trek across the sky. The men have even forgone their armor of leather to avoid dehydration. Rakis’s ax helps us a lot by cooling our water before we drink it and allowing us to cool off with a good dousing or soaking our clothes and headgear for some brief relief. After several nights worth of travel, we spot a village up ahead. It is still a few hours before dawn and we decide it would be best if we waited til daylight for 5 armed strangers to come riding into the village. We call out to the villagers once we see them up and lighting lamps and such as we ride in. I see a stable and a corral of sorts and make my way there. Ars has seen the boulder, in the center of the village, that wells forth water and heads for it. Pandora follows him of course. Amber and Rakis spot a tavern so to speak and head to it. I use sign language to get across to the fellow running the stable that I would like to pay him to feed and house my 3 animals. Amber and Rakis come back to where I am shortly, after discovering what any real pub frequenter like myself already knows. Taverns and pubs are night time establishments and therefore will generally be closed most mornings. They stable their horses with ease as Amber speaks this desert tongue. I am concerned about Ars and Pandora playing in the town’s centerpiece and water supply. Such a thing might be considered sacred in a place as this and cannot be natural, but I do not want to imitate the bossy Pandora and let it go. Eventually they come back to the stables too and Amber asks if we might get and audience with their mayor or chief. The stable hand tells us where to find him but suggests that we leave our weapons with our animals. I knew armed strangers in a place as desolate as this would not be too welcome. We leave our weapons with the horses( I keep Flamesinger in the palm of my glove of course) and we go to see their chief.

We draw lots of stares as we cross the small village. They must not get many visitors at all. We find the chief and we, I mean Amber, talks to him but he is of little use. We decide to catch up on our rest as the sun starts its brutal climb into the sky. We get up after the worst of the heat has gone and head toward the tavern. We go in and head for the bar. I use my crude sign language to ask for a drink and lay my money down. The barkeeper doesn’t even act like I am there. I try a couple of more times and get ignored each time. I know when I am not wanted. I may not know why but that is irrelevant when you get right down to it so I pick up my money and leave. I go back toward the stables where I had lain down earlier and enjoy the cool of the coming night and the soothing sound of the surf. It must be my brush with death but nothing seems trivial any more. To think that my flesh could already be moldering in the ground and that I might never get to enjoy a cool breeze or the sound of the waves again certainly can put things into perspective. The others come back grumbling except for Ars. Evidently he got service when no one else could. I tell them it is no matter. There is nothing of import to be had here. It is merely a navigation point as far as I am concerned. I turn over and use my prayers to ask for guidance and to calm me as I think of Daresh. Sleep comes, as do my visions, but they always end at the same place before I get an answer. 

The next morning we are making ready to depart but some of them want to try the chief again. I ready my animals. A short while later Amber returns and asks if I have any more of the potions that I gave her to help revive Ars from the blowun darts poison. I tell her yes. She asks if she may have one. Of course I give it to her. I ask if one of us was injured but she doesn’t answer except to shake her head and hurry away. I start to follow but feel she would have asked me to come if she thought my help was needed. The rest of them return after a short while and Amber tells me that she used my antitoxin to save a little boys life from a deadly sting from something called a jelly fish. She says the mother of the little boy will try to sway the chief to help us but we will have to wait until tomorrow. Delays! Delays! We must act I want to scream but the others want to wait too, so I start unpacking.

The next morning they go to see the chief again. I start to load up. While they are away a great commotion erupts from the villagers who are out fishing. I look up to see one boat smashed by a large tentacle a good ways from the shore and another tentacle picking a man from the sea close to the docks. I drink my potion of alter self and run to the water recalling the water humanoids that attacked us on the Forsaken. I call up Risk’s barrier as I dive into the water and start to change. I hit the large sea monster with Flamesinger and am plunged into night by some murky, inky discharge from the beast. I can see nothing here and decide to try to help some of the men further from the shore. I call on Watcher to help me get there in time and I nearly fly thru the water. I strike at the area it seems to be drawing the fisherman to and at first think it has dropped me into night as the first beast did, but then I notice the crimson color of this cloud between me and the sun just before I am buffeted as the waters churn in incredible violence. I can see the beast starting to drift to the sea’s floor a long distance from me. How could it have possibly covered such a distance in such a short time?! The men! I stroke hard hoping I can get there in time to keep them from drowning. I change back to my form before I reach them so as not to alarm them. Then I begin the arduous task of trying to get them back to shore.

Everybody’s attitude has changed by the time I get back to the shore. We are now heroes instead of strangers! We are fed and given plenty to drink and some of the bastards even thank us in merchant speak. I should have known. Even the chief changes his tune and says that he knows of the dragon and he will even give us guides if we will stay for our hero’s feast tonight. Ars and Rakis are eating it up. There will be no leaving til after the feast unless we want to go without them. Let them enjoy the adulation. I just hope no harm comes from our waiting. 

The next morning the chief is good for his word. He tells us what he knows about the dragon and provides us with 4 guides. We wanted to leave last night after the feast but the guides told us that braving the harsh sun would be far better than risking the sinking pits of sand and the predators camouflaging themselves in the terrain. We travel a few days and we come across a pit in the shifting sand. At the bottom of the pit, near the center, is a shiny object. A gold coin? A small gem? A plan leaps into my mind and nearly out of my mouth. I could tie a rope around my waist and around my saddle horn. I could take a running leap and dive into the pit using the difference in height to get to the object in that one bound. I could have one of the group ready to smack my horse’s ass as soon as I grab the object so that its power will pull me up and out of the pit just like that. Then I hear the words from my death’s vision and from my dreams… “She was once ours, now she has been taken by greed, she must be stopped” and I know that they apply to me as well as Daresh. This sends a chill down my spine, in spite of the baking sun, as I realize the similarities we share, and for some reason I fear the connection might run deeper than just that. I am sure that I did the right thing now when I felt overwhelmed by the desire to overpay the priest. Watcher’s hand guided me to rid myself of my excess of money, a symbol of my greed; no, no, a badge I wore proudly in greed’s name. Almost as if reading my thoughts, Ars asks, “Aren’t you going to retrieve it, Greedy?” I had already decided to ride around the pit and was on my way when he asked but this just makes me more certain I have chosen correctly even tho I would love to try it just to show him up. Rakis backs me up, scoffing at Ars calling anyone else greedy and sites several examples of the woodsman’s own greed as I ride on. Ars simply will not let it go tho and begins badgering Pandora. I tell her not to listen to his baiting because that is just exactly what the shiny object is: bait. I try to show him this by firing an arrow into the sand ; hoping to hit whatever lies beneath it waiting to devour the less wise. My arrow provokes no response tho, so he keeps at her to try to lift it with one of her spells. She says she should be able to do that safely because one of her spells aloows her to lift small objects like handaxes and light flails from up to 30 ft as long as nothing else is holding them. I smile as I continue to ride. She is wasting her spell. I might not know what is holding that carrot in front of that donkey’s nose but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t being held. “That is strange,” I hear her say. “ I should have been able to bring it right to me. It must be stuck or part of it must be buried under the sand to make it weigh more than it looks.” You are righter than you know sister I tell myself smugly.

The next day we cross a dune to see a tent covered in sigils with a camel tied outside. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up immediately. Daresh! I know it in my soul! I can feel my scar in my palm flare just as when I made my blood oath. I ride closer to Amber and whisper to her. “Have one of your cure spells ready because I am going to try to slay whoever is in that tent and I would hate for someone innocent to die if I am wrong.” She looks at me in a peculiar way and I realize what my face must look like. I must try to regain my composure before we enter the tent. We call out to the tent as we approach. No one answers. “Fortunes”, the sign reads. We dismount and go in. The inside seems larger than the outside would allow. More evidence of Daresh. A figure behind the veil bids us forward and to have a seat to have a fortune told. No one else steps forward to sit with the “man”. Even tho I want to keep my feet to try to catch this bitch off guard from behind in her new pretend role, I don’t want her to become suspicious, so I sit. Not too bad even tho I am seated because I am right on top of her at her own bidding. She goes into her play and turns some cards as if she were a real gypsy and I place one hand on the bottom of the table ready to throw it up and will Flamesinger into my hand to gut her. She turns up a skull and screams “Death!” as I am putting my plan into motion. I fling the table over as the smell of rotting meat floods the tent and she starts to fade into nothing. I mutter the words of power to guide my blade but it slides right thru her fading image as if thru smoke. Then I feel the pain. It is as if a thousand blades are folding in thru me as the tent folds in on itself. I scream as they pass thru me and then I am out in the sun again. I curse that bitch for all I am worth and then spit on her devilish trap and then put a torch to it.

We continue to ride until we see something shining of in the distance. We make our way to it. It seems to be a man in full plate resting under one of 3 good sized plants/trees. What a fool! He must be dying in that cooking pot he is wearing unless it has the chill power of Rakis’s ax. We are about to go investigate but our guides warn us that those plants look like “vampire cactus”. They warn us to stay a short javelin’s throw away. I walk up to within about 80% of my rope’s length. I swing my grappling hook and snag the man’s armor and begin to pull him toward me. It is heavy, but not like it should be for steel armor, if that is truly what it is, and a man inside. Once I get it to me I can see why. The thing inside the armor can only be described as a husk of a man. It has been drained of every drop of moisture. I throw again and hook the shield. The worth of this steel should be a fair gain for the group as we have seen so little since the vaults of our inheritance. I throw again, going for the sword. The hook slips off several times. The sword’s hilt is partially buried so I cannot hook it and use it to pull the sword to me. Ars asks Pandora to use her spell to carry a rope with a slipknot I put in it to loop it around the sword. She agrees to do it and takes the rope. She has it in hand and starts to walk forward. I know she heard the guides tell her to stay at least a short javelin’s throw away so I can’t believe she walks right into the things range! Six vines with barbs shoot out at her and five sink into her flesh. She is being dragged toward the plant! We all spring into action. Rakis runs around to one side and severs 4 of the 5 vines. I run to her to try a tackle to stop her from being dragged but miss as she suddenly pulls back against the pressure of 4 vines that are no longer there. More vines shoot out of the plant toward Rakis and Pandora and some shoot from the middle plant at Ars as he tries to help. Amber calls her battle cat to strike at the vines too. I decide to take the fight to the plant itself for who knows how many vines it can shoot. I rush to its flank and am rewarded with a direct strike in the throat that instantly covers my chest and belly in blood. I sever that vine out of sheer desperation. I can no longer see what the rest of them are doing as I try to save myself from point blank hits and slay this desert leech. I strike true a few times and see some puffs of dust that seem to streak toward and into the plant thru the sand itself and Pandora is free and the plant dead. I grab the sword and back away from the middle plant keeping the dead one between it and me. Our guides can only shake their heads.

Later we see smoke off to the side of our direction of travel. We send one of the guides to scout while we continue toward the dragon. Ahead in the distance we can make out a town nestled in some dunes as we crest some of the higher dunes. We leave our horses and guides and Pandora and Amber to go scout on foot. There are many dog-headed humanoids in the town. Many of them seem sick and some drunk. I suggest we sweep down upon them while they are weakened. Ars and Rakis do not like the idea. We are heading back when we see our scout coming back. He explains that the smoke was a nomadic camp that seems to be heading our way. I don’t like the sound of it and suggest that we try to lure them into town and maybe the two parties will eliminate themselves. The others agree and we ride away in single file with Ars covering our tracks. We ride off a good distance and then stop to watch. 

The nomads ride up our tracks as we had planned but do not blunder into the dog-headed beast men. They pause to consider the situation and we decide to make the most of our lead. Our guides say that this is as far as they go and tell us they will wait for us a few days in a spot they give us directions to from here to lead us back. We start off into the rapidly falling night. Not long after our departure we here the sounds of fighting. “Should we go back to help them?” I ask aloud, “ I am concerned about finding our way back.” Rakis assures me he can lead us back. “Let them survive if they can then,” I say, as I turn back to our destination. Rakis growls something under his breath and says he must go help them. Ars says the same but he seems less than happy about it too. “Well, if we are going let’s do it right,” I say as I put the spurs to my steed and charge off to the sounds of battle in the darkness. We find the fight dimly lit by starlight and I never slow my mount. I charge him in swinging Flamesinger and sending nomads on to wander the otherworld. I mean to finish this fast in hopes that we won’t alert the dog-men and any other nomads. Risk must be watching because after we drop the last nomad all is quiet. We head back toward the dragon’s hills.

We camp at the foot of the hills. In the morning, with everyone anxious, we start to climb for the huge opening in the side of the hills. When we get close, we find another man in full plate armor with the same crest on his shield. We find this no small coincidence. Pandora says that she thinks it might be the herald of a group of barbarians to the northeast of here if her memory serves her correctly. “The Skarrns,” Rakis says thru clenched teeth. While we are wondering at that I start calling out to the dragon. The others seem startled at this but I definitely don’t want the monster to think that we are trying to sneak up here to kill it. So I figure we should announce ourselves to avoid any confusion. 

I have called only a few times when a massive bolt of blue thunders out of the cave entrance on leathery wings that beat me to the ground from the buffeting air. It swoops out over us and completes a turn that belies its incredible size only to land back in between us and the cave entrance again. It grumbles in a gravely voice that I can feel in my chest as well as hear, 
“Who dares tread the path that leads to the lair of Agememnon and why?” I reply, “It is your humble servants Jzashedra, Amber, Ars, Pandora, and Rakis your magnificence. We come bringing you gifts of horse flesh and a precious stone in return all we ask is that you breath upon this rod. This is why we tread the path to your home and this we ask most humbly of your greatness,” I say as I struggle holding my pack horses steady and dropping their packs. In a flash the beast has taken the horses from my grasp and doused me liberally with their blood as he sweeps back into the cave. After the horrible sound of crunching bones and a few wet smacking sounds, the dragon sticks his head out of the entrance again. “What? You have not run for your miserable lives?” he booms. “We are on a quest of greater import than our lives, which is why we have traveled all this way to ask this favor of a grand beast such as yourself when you surely do not owe us anything. I do have this gem, probably not much compared to the horde I am sure you have garnered but it is all that I have. I risk my life and offer all that I have for this endeavor and I ask that you merely breathe on this rod in exchange for that,” I offer him in my most respectful yet persuasive tone in my first real attempt at diplomacy. I hope my words give him pause enuf to think about it instead of just killing us all and taking everything without giving anything in return. “I will take these gifts and two others to let you live and to breathe on your puny stick. the first of the 2 is to rid my home of some tiny pests that have invaded the cracks in my home and the second is to return the items they took from my horde. How say you?” We look at each other dumbfounded. Who ever thought there was a choice?

He bellows into the cave and some ogres come blundering out. Ars starts drawing his swords and Rakis probably saves all of our lives as he catches him before they clear scabbards. “What are you thinking?” he asks Ars. “But they are ogres! I must kill them. I am sworn to it!” he blathers. “And that is a dragon and they seem to be his dogs. Would you take kindly to someone coming to your home and killing your dogs?” Rakis asks. Ars is not happy but seems to see the situation a little more clearly and fully sheathes his blades. The dragon commands them and they start climbing down to us. He tells us that they will carry us up blindfolded and on into his lair. I don’t know if that crypt smelled any worse than being head down over an ogre’s ass. I think I am grateful for the blindfold if the view could have been anything like the smell.

They take the blindfolds off after what seems an impossibly long trek into the underground of the hill. The impressive scaly beast is sitting on a horde of treasure of uncountable wealth like a hen sits on her brood nest. We must be deep in the earth because this cavern seems to be wider and maybe taller than the very hill we were climbing. My ogres are too large to follow these pests back into their tiny tunnels. “You must go in and kill them all and return my treasure they have stolen to live.” He nods toward the far wall and the ogres push us ruffly toward it. Once there, they point out a hole maybe a little wider than Flamesinger is long. No wonder the brutes were ineffective. It will be tight for us. We start crawling in one by one, Rakis, Pandora, me, Ars, and Amber. 

We follow the twisty, curvy tunnel marking our way as we go. We go so far and come to a fork. I suggest we split up since only the person in the lead can fight anyway and I go left where Rakis went right. Amber follows me while the others follow Rakis. We continue marking our way and listening for movement. Soon we hear something. It is not the movement we were listening for but it helps us find the little beasts nonetheless. We sneak up on the noise and I slay 2 of them while they are rutting. We go on feeling like we are in a labyrinth until we hear some noise and see some light. That seems odd to me to see that bright light, so I call out softly, “Rakis?” It is the others. We relate what we have done since splitting up and pause to see what to do from here on.


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## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*Lightning in a Bottle*

We decided to stay split up to cover more ground in the same time, since only the person at the front of the column could engage the pests in the tight confines of the tunnels. We continued our crawl, marking our way and killing the little beasts as we went. We had to find the cup, the snuff box, and the way the little buggers were getting in, at the very least, to avoid becoming dragon fodder. 

After living thru a mite ambush, we finally had some good luck. Amber and I came across the snuff box inside a pouch one of the mites carried around its waist. We crawled onward, carefully marking our way to avoid retracing our own path since this has been the hardest, dirtiest work I think I have ever done. We find a few tunnels that run back into the main cavern but are high off the floor. At last, we can smell a little fresh air. We follow the tunnel until it takes us outside: their entrance! I ask Amber if she will go back to one of the tunnels that led to the cavern and tell the dragon to fly outside and look for me because I will be standing next to the mites’ way into the cavern. I crawl out and wait for the dragon to come. Before too long, I see it in the sky, heading my way. I wave my hands above my head to insure that it sees me. It is approaching rapidly, too rapidly! It isn’t going to land like I thought it would. It opens its jaws wide and has its distended mouth pointing right at me! I dive back down in the hole and start crawling as fast as I can! The tunnel is collapsing behind me and sometimes practically on me! I crawl for all I am worth. Risk and Watcher must have been looking on that minute for somehow, thru the deafening noise and the choking dust and the falling rock, I made it beyond the destruction.

I crawl around looking for Amber. We find each other and I tell her of the dragon’s obvious disdain for my life and tell her this doesn’t bode well for us. We look around and discover that the only place we haven’t searched is now caved in. We are both worn out, injured, and out of spells so we decide to head back and look for the others as we make our way to the main cavern to rest. We don’t find Rakis, Ars, and Pandora but we do find the big cavern. We are not well received. The ogres are guarding the tunnel mouth. They get sort of restless and anxious when Amber and I start crawling out. I don’t know if it told them not to let us back in or if they are so dumb that they just don’t recognize us but when they start going for their weapons I tell them, “Hey, we work for the dragon too, remember?”. I don’t think they understood my Merchant speak unless it was the word “dragon” but I don’t want to take any chances so I pull out the snuff box to show them. They bellow in some grunts and growls that I take to ogrish and the leathery, reptilian musk of the dragon becomes stronger as the beast makes its way to us. “What are you doing out?” it asks. “Where is my treasure?” it asks. “We have brought out your snuff box…” I start, but before I can even get out –and we need to rest, it interrupts me. “Well get back in there and get the rest!” it orders. Trying to think quickly, I reply, “Of course, your magnificence. I just didn’t want something to happen to us where we might be dead or unable to get out and still have your pretty with us instead of with you, where it belongs.” “Good, now get back in there and bring the rest!” it snaps, and then hurries back to its horde.
This does not bode well at all, I think as Amber and I crawl back into the tunnel. 

No matter what the dragon says, we are going to rest. We crawl back into one of the deepest dead end tunnels close to the entrance and lie down together. We are depending on our ears to warn us of any danger, but mostly upon Mother and Risk and Watcher I think. We wake up some hours later; stiff, sore, grimy, and cold but somewhat rested. At least, rested enuf for Amber to go thru her prayers and so that I can feel the powers of Risk and Watcher strong in my mind. I wonder why I don’t have to say prayers for my powers like Amber? I say my prayers, of course. Every morning and every night, but my powers are there before I say the prayers. I can feel them as soon as I awake. After she is done, we have a light breakfast and some water and set out again. 

We look for the others, following their markings to avoid the dead ends. We find them after a short while. They have the cup. I tell them Amber and I have already taken the dragon the snuff box and closed the mites’ entrance. They tell us about a large room which has its floor covered in silver pieces. We decide to pack out the silver and consider our part of the deal finished, I just hope the dragon considers it finished too. 

When we have emptied the last sack of silver onto the already monstrous horde, I say, “That is the last of it” and hold out the rod. “Now if you would breathe your lightning into this rod , your grace, we can close our deal and we can be on our way.” “Oh, yes, your silly toy,” it says as if I would believe that it could have slipped its mind. It reaches down with a clawed hand that could easily hide me inside it and takes the rod. I am readying myself to dive for cover in case it “forgets” to turn its head to breathe. It raises the rod above its head and lights up the ceiling of the cavern with the harsh blue bolts that are it’s breath weapon before they are drawn magically into the rod. “Here you are,” it says with what must have been an attempt at a grin as it hands the rod back to me. I understood the grin and the malice behind it as I took the rod into my hands. Even thru my gloves, I could feel the tremendous heat. I was determined not to blink in its evil little game of chicken and acted as if nothing was amiss. My pride cost me several blisters I would find later when I would remove my gloves, but they were worth it. It then said, “Now you may leave your valuables and go.” The others stood and stared at each other in disbelief: shocked. Of course, I had already seen this display up close and first hand so I just started laying my stuff down. I was hoping to get out of here with my glove and my sword, but mainly with my life. 

I was somewhat shocked tho. I heard the woodsman and the witch offering up the dogmen to the dragon. They were trading the dogmen to the dragon as food for their equipment! I was down to my clothes and food and water and my secreted magic and was concerned with their bargaining that the dragon might find my magic so I asked if I could be blind folded and carried on out. 

Luckily, the dragon said yes and I was soon on my way out. But only after he marked me with some sort of sigil and told the others they would be marked as well before they could leave. I told the others I would wait only half of an hour and then I was heading back. They came out shortly before I was ready to start out on my on and the dragon followed them out and flew off towards the dogmen. We found our guides and headed back to the village. Using their expertise and staying away from vampire cacti , we make the trip easily even piggy-backing. 

Back at their village, there is another feast and many tales of the dangers we faced. Our guides were even good enuf to include us in some of their stories. Before my encounter with the demon cat in the jungle, I probably would have been hot-headed enuf to take offense at the retelling. Now, I just nod and raise my mug in salute. Somehow, it is just not as important to me as it used to be. Maybe I am growing up. Speaking of growing up, with all of our travels and my death and everything, I might be a year older already and not know it! I will have to check when we get back to Zoa. They should have a proper calendar there. I may be overdue for a birthing celebration. Our village friends say that they will take us back to our port city by boat since we don’t have horses any more. They say it is the least they can do for us, after all that has happened since we got here. We thank them. Even Rakis thanks them for the offer but then says no thanks. He says he has something else to do here before he can leave. Must be something to do with his quest he is on for his village. 

Ars, Amber, Pandora, and I climb into the boats the next morning and head for our port o’ call. Of course, we are all flat busted when we get there and can’t afford passage. Yet. I tell them I will go watch the bazaar today and start working on our money shortage tomorrow. I watch the shops and businesses and the crowd. I don’t think anything will stop me from getting us all passage back to Zoa. I have worked more patrolled sites before. I go back to the others at our camp outside the city for some fresh roasted dinner and to tell them I think we will be leaving soon. We all settle in for the night. I wonder what Rakis is doing and if he is alright as I slip into sleep. 

We break camp in the morning and all of us go into the city. I hit my first mark successfully and we slip into an alley to see what I lifted. Enuf to make 11 gold pieces. I ask them to wait on me here and I will lift another purse. I case my target and hit him cleanly. I go back to the others and find this one has enuf for 13 gold pieces. I ask Amber to hold enuf coins to buy two trips. I give the rest to Ars and tell them that they can go get some breakfast or something at the closest inn. I wait a bit and find my third mark. Success! I go off to assess my earnings in private. Enuf for 13 gold again. I go to find the others. I hope to find them and get some of their breakfast that they didn’t finish. There might be a chance of that since Rakis isn’t with them now. They aren’t eating when I find them. Nor have they. Ars and Pandora chose to gamble with the extra coins instead of eat. The gamble didn’t pay off evidently. I tell them I will try it. It is a dice game called twenty-one. I try it and lose the 3 extra coins I had. I insist the game is fixed and start to raise some hell before I come back to my senses. Flat broke, all of us, so no money for fines, no Rakis to back me up, fresh off of three robberies--- no need to press it Watcher whispers, is your game fixed when you win whispers Risk. 

Back to work then. My party is depending on me. Daresh slips further away. Concentrate. She was once ours but was taken by greed. Can’t you remember anything you silly bitch? Back to work. Back to the bazaar. I watch and wait until I see a good mark. Hopefully this will be enuf to get us on a boat out of here. I reach to lift his purse but the strings catch on his dagger! I know he had to feel it. He is turning my way when some one bumps into him and they both nearly fall. I turn and try to become invisible in the crowd. Before I am away though, I can hear them laughing and talking as old friends and about how funny it was to “bump into each other” after so long and how good it is to see each other again. Mark distracted, my fumble forgotten for now. I go for the others and get us on the boat. I stay aboard and in my room until we cast off. I curse my clumsiness and thank Risk for my good fortune in equal measures. It is good to be under way.

As we approach Zoa, we see a near blockade of military ships guarding her harbor. When we hit the docks, we are questioned briefly as to who we are and what our business in Zoa is. Briefly for everyone except Ars. For some reason he tells them his name is Rakis and that he is from the north, somewhere north. Of course, he doesn’t look or speak like he is “from the north” and since he has trouble naming the city he is from they want to lock him up in case he is a spy. I try to tell the sergeant that just because he is simple minded doesn’t mean he is a spy. I mean really, would you send a simpleton to spy? If you were a spy, wouldn’t you have your story all laid out ahead of time? He doesn’t want to be reasonable and “Rakis” isn’t helping by being his normal belligerent self so I am sent to bring documents from Halaan or Geolain saying that Ars is their agent and is no danger to Zoa. 

I get to Halaan’s and there is blue smoke rolling out of his chimney. I knock on the door and he answers. He asks if I have the rod and I say yes but Ars is being held at the docks. He grabs the rod as if he hadn’t heard me and slams the door. I stand there in utter disbelief. He then opens the door long enuf to tell me to be back at midnight and then slams it again. I can only shake my head as I turn and run toward Geolain’s thru the streets overflowing with traffic with the preparations for war. I get to Geolain’s and ring the bell while calling out it is me, Jza, I won’t shoot at you. His apprentice comes to let me in along with Pandora who has walked up while I am standing there. We explain what happened at the docks and ask him to give us something explaining that Ars is in his employ. He is already writing before I remember to tell him that Ars used Rakis’ name at the docks. I tell Pandora we are supposed to be at Halaan’s at midnight. She starts toward there as I head back to the docks. I am dripping with sweat from my runs while she is as fresh as a daisy. I don’t know if I have ever seen her run. I wonder if she can. 

I get back to the docks and present the sergeant with Geolain’s paper. He grumbles but sets Ars free. I tell Amber and Ars we are supposed to be at Halaan’s at midnight and that Pandora has already set out for there. We make our way there too. Halaan offers us a room upstairs, but there is no way I can sleep or rest there. The smell of the forge is overpowering. I tell them I am going to work and will get us rooms at a local inn. I head off to work the bazaar. 

I watch the place for a little while and wish I had longer but can’t wait any more. I pick my mark and go after him. As soon as I lift the purse, I feel a solid blow to the back of my head. I wheel to face my attacker and bring Flamesinger into my hand and miss him. He strikes me again and so does someone behind me. Things are getting fuzzy around the edges and I know I am in trouble, so I ask Watcher to guide my aim. I am rewarded with blood, but my attacker doesn’t go down. I am hit again and realize I have to get out from between them, so I tumble to the back side of the one in front of me. I ready a spell to help me run faster in my retreat. Too late. I am hit again and then two small blue orbs streak into me and I fall to the stones and into darkness. 

I awake behind bars with Amber ministering to me. It is dark. Halaan! I gather my gear and we head to Halaan’s. He explains that the coin is nearly done. He asks Ars and me to hold these two containers of powder while he adds the diamond and the rod into the mix of the coin. He goes thru some incantations and throws some of one powder into the forge. Everything glows bright in the reflections of the forges colored and invigorated flames. He continues the chant and takes some of the other powder and throws it into the forge. Again, everything is bathed in the renewed and colored flames and the coin crackles with the electricity of the dragon’s breath. He tells us that all we need now is a week for the coin to cool and the blood to be added. 

We are drinking a toast to our hard work when I hear something outside. I rush to the door and fling it open in time to see a cloaked figure running away. I yell that he is getting away and we all give chase. It has started raining some time since we got to Halaan’s and is pouring now. It makes it hard to follow the figure and we lose him after a turn just a short time into the chase. Pandora has sent her squab to follow him and he returns shortly to lead us to a house. Pandora says he is in the house. Two figures come out of the house and start up the street. Ars and I sneak up on them and kill them. We drag the bodies off the street and look at the house up close. I tell them I will climb to the second story and go thru a window. Ars says he will do the same. We ask Amber and Pandora to watch the front door in case they/he try to escape after we are inside.

I go up and open a window as I hear Ars hit the wet ground. I drop a rope and close to the figure on the bed in case he noisy once inside as well. He makes it in and I motion for him to watch the bed while I try the door. I listen at the door and hear muffled voices. I decide none are close and open the door and step out into a hallway with two more doors and stairs to the first floor. I motion Ars forward and I start down the steps. One of them creaks under my weight and I hear some one approaching and the voices stop. As the man rounds the corner, I leap the last 6 or 8 stairs and drive Flamesinger thru him. We check the other rooms and find them empty. Amber and Pandora drag in the man who tried to escape. We can’t wake him here so we go back to Halaan’s to rest.

After a little aid from Amber, the man wakes to find himself tied to a bed. We question him a little and find a mark of the House of Scorn on him. He confesses that they, the two men we killed, offered him money to spy on Halaan and Geolain. He seems a terrible coward. He might be just what we need. He asks about his sister and his father. Pandora tries to tell him his father is okay but I tell him he was killed in the fight but his sister is unharmed and will stay that way if he helps us with our quest. He refuses, saying that we have already killed her. I tell him she is fine but he remains adamant. He wants to see her. I say that that cannot be but if he wishes, he can have us ask her something that none of us could know, something personal and we could have her write the answer. He agrees, assured that he knows her handwriting.

He wants us to ask her what she got him for his last birthing celebration. I go walking up the street of last night’s activities. There is militia all over the place. I keep walking. A little ways up the street I find a young boy and ask him to wait half an hour and then give this paper to the lady talking to the militia down the street. In the paper, we have asked her to name in writing, what she got her brother for his last birthing celebration. We tell that he is okay, but is going to help us on a mission, but needs to know that she is fine before he goes. There are instructions to write her reply and to leave the paper on the window sill with the window open tonight. I give the boy a few coppers and leave. 

We wait. Finally, Pandora sends her squab after the note. It returns with the note and we are about to open it and take it to our Scorn friend when there is a banging on the door…


----------



## Sayburr (Jan 15, 2002)

*The Road to Xaarum*

The banging comes again. I place my forearm across the fat spy’s throat and my finger against the center of my lips. “Remember, your sister,” I whisper. The banging comes again, louder this time. What are they doing down there? Are they trying to let them wake the whole neighborhood? “Answer the freaking door, for Risk’s sake!” I yell. I don’t here the banging any more but I can hear voices. I can’t make out what they are saying but I don’t hear anyone on the stairs either. This waiting goes on for an eternity, it seems. But the fat man is being quiet and Pandora hasn’t made a puddle in the floor even tho she looks at the door like it is a rat, so for right now we are all happy. I am tempted to ask her to go downstairs to see if everything is alright but if anyone down there was the least bit suspicious before they saw her… Well, let’s just say she wouldn’t help matters.
At least there is no sound of swordplay, so what could be taking so long either way? Why is there no cry for help or an all clear sign? The suspense is making me edgy. It is good that fatboy is behaving. Under this stress, he might be dead before either he or I knew it had happened. Watcher, give me the strength of your patience. Pandora is not handling it well either, I see. Frozen, she still stares at the door as if it were a rat. At least she is watching the door. I guess that is something.

Finally, Amber comes thru the door. I guess it is a good thing it is Amber. Pandora jerked like she had been awakened from sleep when the door opened. If her mouth had been hanging open a little more I am sure she would have been drooling. I don’t know how much good she would have been if it had been someone other than a friend because she hadn’t even moved into a position for a fight. Amber tells us everything is fine. It was just some dwarves looking for Burel, the dwarf Rakis and I rescued from the ogres and resident forgesmithy. She also says that Ars went out to make sure no one is watching the house. I tell our coward to get some sleep because we are hitting the road northward tomorrow. He babbles, pouring out questions about where we are going and what we are doing. I am tired of his sniveling and cut him short, telling him to shut up and just be glad he is still alive and walk out, slamming the door behind me. 
I normally have little patience for his kind anyway but the edge I have on from the suspense of a few minutes ago makes it even worse. Still, I berate myself on my way to my stinking room. It must be his sister that bothers me so. I personally know what she must be going thru now, to some degree. She must be feeling so alone. Even tho she wasn’t abandoned as I was, the loneliness has got to be there along with her grief and fear. And the pig did refuse us until he knew that she was safe. That has to count for something. And he is not working for Daresh. Or at least I don’t think he is. That alone will probably save him from me. Maybe he is just weak and in a bad position. I just can’t put the sister thing to rest tho. I will have to make sure that he has enuf to support her when he leaves us or if he happens to fall in this madness, then I will make sure she has plenty to keep her up for a while. Sleep does not come easily and for the first time in a while my dreams are not of Risk and Watcher and their game and/or Daresh. They are of a young girl who awakes to find her father dead on the stairs and her brother missing.

We pack up the next morning and head for the north gate of Zoa in the rain that started some time during the night to start or 3 day walk to Xaarum. The guard at the gates tells us of the heightened security measures in place because of the threat from the Kalamarians. He asks if we would like to purchase a pass before we leave in order to ease our re-entry to the city. I tell him we have no money for such a pass right now and ask how much would it cost to purchase one upon our return. He says we won’t have to buy one to get back in. We will just have to be subject to questioning, much as we faced when we docked I imagine, so I tell him we will just have to be inconvenienced since we are poor. With all this chatter, he has a chance to look us over pretty good and his eye catches fatboy. “What’s wrong with him?” he asks. I tell the guard that he is just homesick and a little worried about his home with all the Kalamarian trouble and Pandora pipes in, “And not to mention hungover, a little.” as she winks at the guard. “Yeah, first time in a big city and all. You know how it is for these bumpkins.” I add. “Well, move on along. I have 7 more hours on my shift and don’t want to spend it smelling vomit!” So we move briskly along and out the gate. Outside the gate, I tell our chicken that he did very well back there. I tell him that that kind of behavior is exactly what will get him back to his sister and get him back to her the quickest. I tell him that I had planned on putting him on bread and water for the trip but behavior like that will earn him rations just like the rest of us.

We traipse along the road northward. We closely keep an out for any trouble, Kalamarian or otherwise. After a short while, the road heads into the forest between Zoa and Xaarum. We finish the day’s march even quieter than it began. We discuss the new watch after we pitch our camp (quite quickly since the dragon helped us by lightening our load of non-essentials) and as we are eating. We finally decide that one of the spellcasters will take the first shift each night, alternating nights between them. I will take the second two hour stretch each night since it doesn’t bother me to have my rest in increments and I don’t have to prepare like they do in the mornings to receive their spells. Ars says that those four hours or so are all he needs to rest so he will take the remainder of the watch each night. This suits us all and we put it into practice this night after tying our captive to a tree and bed down for the night. 

When I wake up the next morning, I nearly will Flamesinger into my hand as soon as I open my eyes! There is a large wolf in camp! Sitting right next to Ars as he eats his morning meal. Neither acts if anything is amiss. I guess for all my doubts Ars is a woodsman after all. We untie the chicken and Ars lets him answer the calls of nature in his company. I make sure the fat man gets a meal just like the rest of us this morning just as I did last night. I am hoping this will ease fears and perhaps abort some of his ideas of escape, if he has enuf backbone to have any such ideas. We quickly break camp and get back onto the road.
We travel half of the day, picking up a creek which flows along beside the road early in the morning. We are all talking about picking a site to have our mid-day meal when, out of nowhere, a flying log with an orc riding it smashes into Pandora, knocking her off her feet and into the creek. Before I can do anything, another log riding orc smashes into me but I roll with it to keep from being knocked into the creek. Two more such projectiles fly thru our column, but I can’t tell if Ars or Amber gets hit. They are not flying after all. They are bound with ropes to swing like pendulums! I will take care of that on their next pass! I scramble into a ready stance and bring the blazing sword into my grip. I breathe the words of power to guard myself from harm and wait for the orc to swing in again. As he approaches in his descent, I advance myself. I run to make my leap to clear the log and sever the rope that holds the log. I misjudged the speed of the log or I started too early to close the distance. Instead of clearing the log while it was low, I jumped before it got close enuf to go under me and took it in the chest. It picked me up and deposited me in the creek with Pandora. What is she doing still in here? I push myself to my feet and fel the mud sucking at my feet. More than sucking at them! They are trapped in what was once mud but now is as hard as stone. Two of the logs now swing empty. One lies at Amber’s feet with its head lying at an impossible angle to be healthy for it and one is stuck by its guide hook in the trees. The other two orcs finish their swings by leaping off on the other side of the creek. Some more have stormed out of the cover of the trees onto the path to rush Ars and Amber. I can hear screaming and look to find the source. Our coward is making all the fuss and is running off down the path the way we came. 

I am trying to free my feet and dodge the javelins the orc on the bank is tossing at me. I am succeeding at neither when I notice Pandora nearly fall over face first into the creek almost breaking her legs. It is then that I notice what would be worth breaking a leg over. Her maneuver just barely kept her out of the jaws of death. A crocodile just tried to bite her and, missing her, is now focused on me. I try to block out the orc on the bank as I await the croc. I speak the words to guide my aim and when it is close enuf I thrust the sword downward towards its head. I hit it hard but the bony case of its skull and its tuff hide prevent me from running it completely thru. It opens up and bites my leg as I try but can’t escape. I speak the words again and push the blade thru its head. Ars is now stuck in the creek to and he is yelling something about there still being one left over there in the trees. I pull my steel dagger from its sheath and throw it at the orc on the bank while it is distracted by Pandora’s squab. It falls. Now I can take the time to see what he is yelling about without getting killed while doing it. Where is Amber? Ahhh. There you are my pretty. Whatever you are, you are too far for a dagger throw. Perhaps if I could reach one of those javelins. I have it. I have never thrown one of these so I will ask Watcher to guide my aim and I throw it as hard as I can. A good solid hit! Watcher be praised! That at least distracted him from Ars and the wolf for a moment. The wolf is working it hard tho. The humanoid beast falls to the four-legged beast finally. 

Amber comes trotting back up the trail but without the chicken. Ars sends her to get the weapon the bear man was trying to smash the wolf with so he can smash himself free. Amber gets it and says she will make Ars stronger to help him free himself and us. She says a few words and touches him and then she goes after the coward. Ars sends the wolf after her. Ars goes to work on the stone around his feet with a vengeance. In the course of freeing himself he covers himself with the muddy water that he has stirred up. No matter, it will wash off quickly in the rain. He then comes and bashes me free. While he works on Pandora, I go to search the bear man. It has the wand Ars said it used to turn the mud to stone, and another one as well. I slip the other one up my sleeve. He also has a belt pouch and a golden clasp on his tunic, the symbol of his evil deity I suppose. I hold up the unhidden booty and say, “He had this stuff too.” I take the stuff over to them where they can see me open the pouch right in front of them.

It has some parchments and a few silvers and a few coppers in it along with some pretty good drawings of us. I can’t read either of them and pass them to Ars and Pandora to let them see them. Neither of them can read them. Ars finishes freeing her and we wait for Amber and the wolf. They come back with the sullen spy. I show Amber my many wounds and ask her if she can help me with her healing powers. She says she is almost out of spells. She says she can help me with the nastiest one, the croc bite, which went deep into my calf muscle or she can take care of all the smaller injuries but not both. I ask her to take care of my leg. We ask her see if she can read the two parchments. She says she cannot but she will ask Mother for help if we want to know badly enuf. We do. She chants a little and then looks at the pages again and reads them to us. The first one says “Report to General Daresh for special operations orders – Radkke” and the second says “travel to Zoa, locate and dispatch Ars, Amber, Pandora, Rakis, and Jza. Sketches of each enclosed – Daresh.” We spend a few minutes each cursing that bitch to a long slow rotting death on some lower level of the Hells from where she was obviously conceived before starting to round up our hard earned spoils. There is quite a bit actually. Bulky and cumbersome and heavy as it is, it is still treasure to us. Ars and I carry all but one of the suits of scale mail. We put one on the fat man. He nearly staggers under its weight. We’ll see if he tries to run away carrying that. Am and Pan drag the axes split between them. Ooooof. I was making fun of the fat man but I am the one staggering now. Down the trail we struggle.

Other than the mite tunnels, the afternoon might have been the worst half of a day’s work I have ever done. My training in tumbling and acrobatics and my gloves may have saved my hands but my shoulders are sore and even blistered from the shafts of the javelins we carried the armor on. I should sleep well tonight. I can hardly wait to eat and hit the ground. I tie up the captive after feeding him and go to lie down. It seems like I had just closed my eyes when I hear Pan screaming and Ars yelling about intruders. I just have time to stand up before two foes come rushing to me. I leap into the air to bring every ounce of force I can down on the first man’s head. I timed it just right! Flamesinger cleaves the man all the Way down into his shoulders. I slide it free of his corpse as he slides to the forest floor and turn my attention to the second man. He is much more careful after witnessing his buddy’s demise but since we have already encountered some of Daresh’s agents today I redouble my efforts. I would hate to die again for any reason but to fall at the hands of one of her minions would shame me too greatly. I trade slicing open his belly for a cut across my bicep. I trade nearly severing the big muscles in his thigh for a cut on my heaving flank. As injured as he is it is not hard to lay his throat open with my next swing. I leap to help Amber with her two. Since they think their partners have me, I flank one of them easily and open his side up before he realizes his buddies are down. He will be soon, too. Without two on her, Amber quickly turns the tables on the one I left for her, too. Ars and his wolf pull Pan’s fat out of the fire. Ars says he and his wolf will try to track these guys back to their camp. He says he will be back soon and for us to stay here.

He comes back after a short while looking much the worse for the wear but he is leading twelve horses. We tether them and get back to the business of resting. It has been a full day.
We sleep later than normal in the morning, making sure that everyone is well rested and Amber does some much needed healing on Pan, Ars, and herself. We decide to load the horses down with the loot and bodies to try to throw off any other teams the Bitch might have sent after us. We will dump the bodies we before hitting Xaarum’s gates. 

When we get there it doesn’t look like much. A city, for sure but run down is the first word that springs to my mind. We decide to sell all the stuff we can except Ars is keeping the strength bow and Amber is keeping the morningstar. We take our stuff to the bazaar and sell the mundane stuff and decide we will pay to have the wand identified before splitting the swag. We locate a mage and he tells us that it is a wand that transmutes mud into stone, that it has 14 charges left, and that he will give us 18,000 gp for it. Sold! We say. After that, we head to a nice looking inn. We get some rooms and divvy up. 5885gp each! I tell them I am heading to find my church here. I tell them I will get back with them tonight so we can make our plans.

I head back to the mage who identified the first wand.


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## wsclark (Jan 15, 2002)

Hi Sayburr,

Just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying both Jza's write up and your Dm one as well. I'll have some comments on the DM one over there later, but do you think you could actually get Jza's player to join the message boards here to add to any commentary directly? I think it would be great if she did.


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## Sayburr (Jan 18, 2002)

I will see if I can get the player to start posting once these boards go live.


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## Sayburr (Feb 1, 2002)

*If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It*

I pay the mage to ID the second wand. He tells me it is the first wand’s opposite. He asks if I am interested in selling it as well. I tell him I am willing to part with the wand but would rather trade for some items, if he can get them, instead of the wand for just money. He says to tell him the items I want and he will see what he can do. I ask him what there is to be had. He rattles off a list of things and then I tell him my wants. A wand filled with the spell of mage armor, 2 scrolls with a spell of entanglement and entrapment capabilities, web –he called it, and 2 scrolls with a spell called- protection from elements: fire, are my choices. Sounded like a good idea since we are supposed to face a devil. I liked the web spells because I had been thinking of how we were going to get this devil to hold still long enough for our fat spy to draw blood. All of those things and some coin to boot sounds like a good trade to me. He says it will take several days to be able to put all of the items into my hands. I tell him that will be acceptable. I understand that anything magical is hard to come by. 

     I head out of his shop to see if I can find a temple of Risk or Watcher. I have a few questions to ask before sticking my head into the mouth of a devil. I talk to a few of Watcher’s clerics at the small temple for him here. Very few of them have dealt with devils, to my surprise. I thought most of them to have experiences with the like and undead as well but they talk of other planes of existence and gates and the difficulties of actually getting such creatures to “our plane”. My head begins to spin as they try to explain these planes. I finally just hold up my hands and ask them what would do me the most good if I were to encounter such a creature. They tell me: enchanted weapons, magic to some degree, and holy water. I ask them about each of the three. They tell me that most devils are so steeped in the evilness and magical environment of their “home plane” that most normal weapons forged here cannot hurt them. Magic, they say, can be very effective or almost ineffective. My bewildered look must show them that they should explain that. A spellcaster with enough power could actually send them back to the creature’s own plane or if the caster is strong enough their offensive spells can harm the creature. Sometimes the aura that gives the devil near immunity to normal weapons can allow them to shed magical energies like a duck does water. Lastly they tell me about holy water. Water blessed by a cleric of one’s faith has the ability to harm some creatures such as devils and undead which do not follow the philosophies of that cleric’s deity when wielded by a follower of that faith. 

     I try to take in all that they have told me. I think Flamesinger should be able to affect most anything. Magic; I know I am no where near the abilities to be able to match powers with a devil. I ask them about getting them to make me some holy water. They look a little shocked. “You carry his symbol and told us you were one of his faithful,” one of them says. He looks at me sort of strangely and I think he is casting a spell. Flamesinger nearly jumps into my hand before I remember where I am and whom I am with. “His mark is clearly upon you and your aura is laced strongly with enough magical energy to at least cast spells of that magnitude. Why can’t you make your own holy water?” he asks. I tell him that I don’t know. “My trainers were also confused about my inability to cast even the simplest spells but all agreed that my faith and devotion were genuine and the most important in my service for him. He speaks to me in dreams and he has taught me one or two spells thru them, but even though I say my prayers daily he never sends me any spells in answer to my prayers. They are already there when I wake up. I can feel them there before I even say my prayers.” I tell him. He looks at me even more strangely than he has been since I asked him to make the holy water. “Indeed, your faith shines strongly and unwaveringly. And your trainers were right, faith and devotion are more important than spellcasting abilities when it comes to serving him. Come along and I shall bless you some water myself.”  he says. He makes 4 vials for me. I pay him for them and then ask him if I can pay my tithe here as well. He says of course. I give him his second reason to look at me strangely as I pull 4 pounds of what this strange city uses for platinum coins. “I hope this will help Watcher’s servants and temple here,” I say as I gather up my vials and head for the door. 

     I head back to the inn where we are staying and make sure the coward gets well fed and we talk about what we are going to do now that we are here. I ask them if they want to just jump on this thing at first light or if we want to try to re-equip ourselves a little better since we have some new found wealth. We vote for re-equipping. Pandora says she will replenish her spellbook that she lost to the dragon. Amber says she wants to brew some potions of healing and any others that we want, that she is able to. Ars says that he has a few things to look for and I say that I do, too. I also ask Amber if she will make me a potion to protect me from evil. She says she will have to get ingredients for all of them and gives us an idea of the cost. I tell her I will gladly pay for all the ingredients since I would have had to pay more than that for the one potion I wanted. We are ready for our beds. I tie the spy in my room. 

     I still dream of the look on his sister’s face when she found her father. I am sure I must do something about her.

     The next morning Ars and I are going out to do our shopping when we remember our chicken. We decide upon tying him up and leaving him here with Pan and Amber. Ars goes to look for his things and I go to check with the merchant mage. We follow this pattern for four days. On the fifth afternoon, when I am going to check at the mage’s shop, a man confronts me. 

     He puts his hand out in front of him between us. “You have something I want and I mean to have it,” he says as he unsheathes a sword and pulls out a mace as well. I will Flamesinger into my hand. “Do you want to surrender it now or do you want me to take it from your dead hand?” he asks. “Take it if you are able,” I dare him. I say the words to use Risk’s power to  shield me and slash hard at him. At first, I think he might be one of the order which continually hunts for the swords of power but as I get close to him; close enough only to smell the stink of Daresh on him, not close enough to draw blood, I know otherwise. He, however, does not miss. I take a nasty cut from the blade and the mace bounces off my head hard enough to make me see stars. I call upon Watcher’s strength to return the injuries with a quick but accurate slash. He is good. I do have to give him that. He ignores the wound I just gave him and comes in strong again. I think I know his style now though. I make him miss with the blade and roll with most of the mace’s impact hardly feeling the bruising force wasted on the muscles of my shoulder. I use the momentum from the twisting motion I used to dodge his blow to spin around and deal him a bad wound that would have splattered the crowd watching this dance of death had they not had the forethought to give us plenty of room. I thought I had his attacks figured out. I didn’t take into account that he might change them slightly after I made him miss last time, so he scores a terrible strike that has me leaking blood from both the front and the back from the same thrust. Luckily, he didn’t change his defensive posture as well so I am able to glide in past his guard as I did last time. With a vicious slash that starts his guts spilling into the street and makes the wound he gave me feel like a hot iron has been run thru it, I make him think again about who it is that will be taking what from who’s dead hand. He makes some motions with his hands and I hope I can weather whatever spell it is so I can finish him as I go to close with him to end  this. I am stopped as if I have run into a wall even though there is nothing between us. He is holding his guts in with one hand as he steps closer to me. “Daresh said you would be a strong opponent. She didn’t say you would be this strong,” he says with blood running from his mouth.  My blade batters the invisible barrier between us in response. “We will meet again, though, my dark skinned tigress,” he says as he turns to stagger away. “That we will minion!” I scream after him, putting as much disgust as I can into the words. “You have only quickened your trip to the underworld by allying yourself with that bitch!” I rant as I batter the clear cage, venting my fury on it since I can’t reach him. After some time the barrier disappears. I go back to the inn to let Amber tend to my worst stab wound.

     We drop back into our former routine. Tie the spy, shop the shops, and meet back at the inn for the evening meal. I pick up a pack saddle, some more thieves’ tools, a silver dagger, some more antitoxins, some more trail rations, a new light cross bow with some bolts, and some clothes to replace the things I lost at the blue dragon’s lair. This passes the next few days. When we meet on the eighth day for our evening meal, Ars looks as bad, if not worse than I did a few days ago. He says that he met up with his step-father again and narrowly escaped. I tell them I pick up the last of my items tomorrow and ask them if they will be ready to make our assault on the mage, Li-mead. They all nod in agreement. We agree to hit the place tomorrow night.

     I go to the merchant mage’s shop and pick up my list of my items. I go back to the inn and lie down for a short nap until dark. We assemble in my room and decide the spy should be disguised as a monk with his hands tied under the folds of long loose sleeves and a gag just to be safe. He doesn’t like it but no one cares. We slip out into the twilight toward Li-mead’s home at an easy pace. We walk right past the gates of the place that are set into the 10 foot wall surrounding the grounds. They don’t have a chain nor does there appear to be a locking mechanism. They must be magically guarded. We keep walking right on past in order not to bring too much attention to ourselves. We round the corner and I say that I will sneak a look onto the grounds if Ars will boost me up. He boosts and I survey the yard. I tell them I see a large glowing cat on the prowl and that I see another glow coming from the other side of the grounds after I drop back to the ground lightly. I ask Amber if she wants to look the place over and perhaps detect for evil. She goes to the front gate to look in and do this. She comes back shortly to tell us that as she was looking in a man stepped out from behind the wall and told her to move along since this was private property before she could cast. Ars asks her if she wants a boost to just do it from here. She steps into his locked hands. She casts and concentrates for a few moments. We are waiting for her to tell us what she has learned when she goes limp and falls from her perch. We gently rouse her and ask her if she is alright and what happened. 

      She tells us she was concentrating to learn as much as she could from Mother’s spell when everything went black right after an almost sickening sense of evil washed over her. We decide to set things into motion. Pan is to hurt the beast using her magic missiles in order to lure it over the wall. Ars boosts her up. I get my new wand and use 2 charges on me. I get out a scroll to use when the beast clears the wall. Pan sends her missiles into the cat.  “You there! Stop! What are you doing? Hold!” is shouted from inside the wall. Pan comes down quickly. I am looking for the cat. She stammers something about being seen and wanting to move down before trying another spell. She could mess up trail rations, I think to myself. Ars starts moving down to reposition when the cat clears the wall with apparent ease with an old man on its back. Startled, we all scramble into defensive and offensive postures. The old man says, “We have been expecting you. Please, come to the front gate and then inside to see my master.” We look to one another to get a decision. I nod quickly, to get the voting started. We are all in agreement. The old man seems somewhat pleased at our decision but the cat doesn’t. It seems almost spoiling for a fight despite the odds.

     As we are following them to the gate, the glow coming from the cat seems to be flames actually licking off from its body. I wonder if we would have had to have gone any further for our devil’s blood. I came here looking for a large humanoid with a pointy tail, large fangs, clawed hands, black soulless eyes, and a pitchfork. Now I wonder if this might be the devil guardian we were told about.

     The old man and the cat lead us thru the front gate and across the yard to the base of tower. The man whistles and the other glow, a twin to the cat already here, races around the corner of the house. He tells us to wait here and tells the cats to watch us before turning and going into the house. A short while later Li-mead comes out. He asks if we are the mighty warriors that Daresh told him about. We say we are they. He says she offered him a tidy bounty for our heads but that he doesn’t really like her and likes the fact that she thinks she might consider him a hireling even less. He wants to know what we want here and why he shouldn’t kill us for trespassing and just take the bounty as a bonus.

     I tell him that, having a common enemy, perhaps we could be temporary allies. I say that we came here to do him no harm since we have no quarrel with him. We only have need of a small amount of devil’s blood for a rite we must perform and had heard that a devil guarded his home, that is why we are here. I ask him how could we help him in order to gain what we need and for him to gain as well and at the same time confound Daresh. I give him my most winning smile to top off my win-win-Daresh loses proposal. He thinks for a moment and decides in our favor. Finally, something goes our way in this mad, mad-woman hunt!

     He says he will allow us to harvest the blood, but not kill, we need from one of his hellcats. (I was right!) He will allow it, that is, after we do something for him. (Of course.) He says that he sent one of his men, Phol, to retrieve a book from some ruins in a swamp to the south. He hasn’t seen him since. If we go get the book Phol was supposed to get, we can have our blood. He describes Phol and the book and warns us not to try to read the book or even to open it. We tell him we understand. We were prepared to be up this night so we decide to go ahead and ride toward the swamp that he says is between the Fautee forest and the Ka-asa mountains that run north and south to the west of the city. 

     We ride about 6 hours and make a hasty camp. We ride about 6 more hours and come to the edge of the swamp. The air is fetid and filled with the smell of wet rot. We are looking for signs of the ruins when we come across a half-sunken road in great disrepair. We decide to follow it. After a few hours on the road, Ars says that there are some figures up ahead. We look at them and then around us. There are about a dozen in a circle around us at roughly the same distance of 100 feet. They are not showing threat or weapons so I lay my cross bow across my lap but do not place a bolt in it and continue to ride at the pace we were on. I wave to them. They return it. As we get closer, we can see that only one is human. The others seem to be as much lizards as they are men. The human steps forward and tells us well met. I return his greeting. He fits the description Li-mead gave us for Phol as much as I can make out except Li-mead never mentioned all of these terrible burn scars.

     He tells us that his name is Phol and that the large humanoid beside him is Saki or Snakey or something and these are “the People”. I notice the big lizardman beside him is wearing a talisman of an acorn and take him to be a nature priest at least, or perhaps one of the secretive druids even. I ask him if we are trespassing on his lands and tell him that we did not know and meant no offense if we were. He waves that away and says no offense taken. He and the people just don’t get many visitors and they were just wondering what brought us to their lands. I tell him we are just making our way thru the countryside taking our adventures as we came to them. He asks if we will come back to the village and eat with them and there he will tell us of an adventure. We agree and follow them for a short while back to their village. Ars asks if I noticed that Phol had a black book in a belt pouch. I said I saw it but didn’t think much about it. Pan carries one very similar to it. I figured him for a wizard, I say. He does work for Li-mead and doesn’t look like hired muscle to me, I say.

     At the village, over a meal Phol tells his tale. He says that he came here with a party of 5 others to loot the treasure of a dragon living in a ruined keep here in the swamp. (So much for the unguarded story Li-mead gave us.) He says that the rest of his party was killed before they even made it into the creature’s lair and that he was badly injured as we can see from his scars but managed to stagger away and into this village before dying. He says that Snakey healed him and that he has stayed here since. He says that the dragon exacts a tribute from the village of one sacrifice per day for a week once per month to keep from destroying the village. He asks if that doesn’t sound like a task for adventurers such as us and that he will help us. I start to tell him with a smile that we are not that kind of adventurers but I stop just before doing so and tell him that it sounds like a noble quest to me but that I cannot speak for all of my party members. I ask him if we might have some time and privacy to discuss this. He says of course.

     We retire to a hut that some of lizard men show us to. We talk about it. Of course we are going to do it. We just want to try to sort things out first. He has not mentioned Li-mead yet or the black book. Li-mead did not mention a party or a dragon. I mention that it seems odd that if he in fact works for Li that he would take up this do gooder attitude of- help these people that are not even human lift the yoke of the oppressive dragon. I say that we should be careful of the “help” that Phol might give us. He could be lying or charmed or anything, including getting us to be a big part of this month’s tribute. We go back to Phol and tell him that we will do it and ask him how far to the dragon. He says not far at all, maybe an hour or so. We say we are ready. He suggests getting a good night’s rest first and getting an early start. Very early. He says he has been watching the dragon since he was healed enough to. It seems to forage mainly at night and then return to its lair a little before dawn to sleep thru the day, he says. If we were to get up before dawn we could get there after it comes back from hunting. Then we could sneak in on it after it has gone to sleep. It sounds reasonable to us, so we agree. 

     We get up in the dark and follow Phol to the wyrm’s lair. It is still dark when we get there. Morning’s twilight is just beginning to cut into the night. I don’t know why I didn’t think to get Amber to see if the man was evil before now but it just hits me that we should know before we walk into this possible death trap. I give her the high sign and distract Phol so that she can cast and concentrate. To my dismay, she feints shortly after casting. We rouse her once again, just like at Li’s. She says there is a great evil inside the castle, she looks at Phol and shakes her head when he turns to look toward the ruins. I tell them I will go scout a little ahead to see if the drawbridge seems safe enough to cross. It does not. I notice when I am up there that the moat is dry. How odd! Here we are in a swamp and the one place that would be and should be wet even outside of a swamp is dry in here. This new contradiction only serves to increase my sense of foreboding about this mission. I go back to the others and suggest we make our way thru one of the torn down sections of the wall rather than chancing the bridge. We tie our fat spy with the horses and make our way to one side of the ruins. Phol makes his way to the back of our formation. Ars and I go side by side in the front but I hand signal to Amber and Pan to flank Phol and not let him all the way behind them and to watch him closely.We go thru one of the gaping holes in the wall and cross the courtyard to the doorway that leads into the main building. The wyrm lies sleeping on his hoard about 50 feet from the doorway in the dark shadows inside the building in the pre-dawn grayness. Everyone puts on their best magics to help them against what is sure to be an unimaginable retaliation to our attack.  

     I know the plan was to try to sneak up on the big lizard and put as much damage to it before it was awake and I even start to quietly approach it but Risk’s guidance screams to me that it would be so wrong. What if one of us isn’t quiet enough? What if Phol isn’t going to try to be quiet? No! Be bold! Conservative is for farmers, not followers of Risk! I charge! I ask Watcher’s hand to guide my stroke as I sprint across the floor toward the sleeping drake. I bring the flaming blade down with all the force and momentum I can muster where Watcher whispers to me to strike. Just behind the skull a few scales of its armor have a space just big enough for my blade. My stroke doesn’t stop until Flamesinger bites into the stone of the floor. The floor is already awash in the great creature’s blood. I severed its head so cleanly that it never even opened its eye or woke up before it died. I turn to show Phol the point of my blade just in case he was thinking of anything stupid. My turn slings a pattern of blood from the flaming blade to the floor but the point never rests on my intended target. Phol is gone! Pan shouts, “He flew up and thru a window.” I look up but don’t see him so I tumble to one side to avoid the attack I am sure is coming. It doesn’t. I dive over the beast’s neck for the cover the body will give me and search the rafters for Phol. I still don’t see him. Amber shouts, “There are floors above this room.” I dive over the body and tumble and come up in a sprint that gets me outside. They are pointing up but not doing anything else. I pull my rope and hook from their ties on my backpack and start twirling for my throw. I hear chanting from the upper floor and in the back of my mind I know that can’t be good. I throw and my hook catches. I test it with a pull and start up the wall. 

     I can’t seem to climb nearly fast enough and the ascent to the window seems to take forever even though I am sure it could not have taken half of a minute. I tumble in thru the window in case someone is waiting for me to climb thru. No one is. Phol is too busy groveling at the feet of what looks to be a handsome Svimohzhish prince to ambush me. The dark skinned prince seems to have been crossed with a demon because in spite of his comely features he has two large sharp fangs that show as he smiles at me and his fingers end in weapons that are more like talons or claws than nails. Behind the dark skinned prince is a glowing portal that seems to float in the air. Of course! Now all the cleric’s talk about gates comes into focus. This must be one of the gates they told me about. I hear a yell and a scream and a couple of thuds and another scream from outside. “Hey guys! I found Phol and his friend. Come on up and help me.” I yell. On a podium between the men, a black book rests. So close! I think I will have to throw Magnus’ advice about taking out the wizard first out the window. I am not sure that rule applies when there is a devil in the room. I rush them.

     As I close, I can feel some one gripping my mind with amazing power. I try to make it as slippery as possible and feel them lose their grip. I use Watcher’s words of power to guide my blade again. The dark prince seems amazed that I hit him at all even if the wound doesn’t seem too bad. The very air in the room seems thick and rife with the magical energies these two are bringing to bear on me. I dare not let the dark prince touch me even as something in the back of my mind tells me how much I yearn for it and would enjoy it. I use my best defensive move. One I have used and never been touched and come away with claw marks thru my clothes. No blood was drawn but I am not sure I can move any better than that. I can only hope that was his best attack as well but the fear that has started to creep into my mind is whispering that it probably was not. Phol fans his hands out like I have seen Pan do. That can only mean bad things. I tuck my shoulder and roll underneath the sheet of flame that shoots forth from his splayed fingers. I roll up onto my feet in time to see the demon man shoot a look of displeasure at Phol as if the fire in his presence was not a good idea. Strange for a hell spawn to show a distaste for flame. Who knows, maybe he gets plenty of flame on his home plane? I use my last spell to guide Flamesinger to his ebony skin again. I know I have not hurt him badly but I have cut him twice but rather than being displeased with me there is almost a look of pride in his eyes. For me. I know this can’t go on like this for long. Where are they? The room has a nearly audible crackle, like fat in the fire, from the arcane energies being spent. Finally, I feel my muscles begin to stiffen quickly, paralyzing me. Watcher whispers in my mind, “These next few seconds are yours. Do with them what you will, in spite of his spell.” Both of them seem surprised that I am still able to move. I try to end it with a killing blow aimed at the handsome devil but fail miserably and then feel my muscles knotting up again. 

     I see the dark devil step toward me and know I am about to taste death again but I am helpless to do anything about it. I can only hope that the protection from evil potion that Amber brewed that I drank before going in to the dragon is still working. I feel his caress on my cheek and am revolted by his touch and revolted even more because I find myself yearning for it. I feel his nails go thru my clothes again. This time blood is drawn. Only a small amount, as if to say this could be down to the bone if I chose for it to be but I didn’t for now. He looks over my shoulder as the grayness of the twilight is giving way to the dawn. He speaks to me in an old tongue of Svimohzhish with some of the words I haven’t heard outside of the gypsy camp. “My black beauty, I would love to stay here with you but I have unfinished business at Sleeping Bear Rock. Do not worry though, we will meet again, and I will make you mine, then,”
he says. Then he turns, grabs the book and turns into a cloud of smoke or mist and drifts out the window.

     Amber comes in thru the window as Pohl is shaking his head as if he just took a good thump from a constable’s club. He asks what happened. I stand there like a statue. Phol flies out the window over Ars’ head and disappears. After a short while the spell breaks and I can move again. I tell the others what happened and what I saw and begin going down the wall. I rush back to the horses and I start to change my clothes as soon as I get there to Ars’ and the fat spy’s  delight judging from the size of their… eyes when they realize what I am doing. I can still feel the touch where his fingers trailed over me. And the scratches that he left let other people know that he touched me makes me feel more naked than I ever have before. Even standing here in front of the 4 of them.  We know Li will not want to hear any excuses but perhaps if we offer to go to Bear Rock we can still get the blood we need without too much trouble at Li’s place. We take the valuable treasure from the dragon’s hoard and decide to stop at the village to see if Phol went there. No luck. We get the idea across to the lizard men that the dragon is dead by drawing in the mud since none of us can speak to them. We trek back to Xaarum and Li-mead’s.

     Li is not pleased and does not want to hear about us going to Sleeping Bear Rock to get the book there. After my description of the dark devil and describing him as such, Li  laughs at me. He tells us that the creature was probably not a devil prince at all. Li says that what I describe sounds much more like the powerful undead creatures we probably have heard called vampires. He says we are lucky he does not kill us for failing as it is. I look to Ars and he knows that is just the kind of talk I do not need to hear. I am pleading with him with my eyes  to let me cut off this arrogant bastard’s head like I did the dragon’s. He gives me the- this is not the time and place with the 2 hell cats and his servant and him all here- look. I bite a hole in my lip to keep from bringing the flaming bastard sword to the flaming bastard’s neck and follow my partners lead out.

     We go back to the inn to figure out what we will do. We know we need to get out of this town as quickly as possible. We know we need devil’s blood and that we were sent here to get it. We wonder if we could get an evil cleric to summon a devil for us to bleed like Am summons her lynx. We figure it is worth a try rather than trying Li’s again. We cannot get a cleric to do it once they find out what we want to do. Sometimes you just can’t shed the shackles of fate. We will hit Li’s tonight.

     We go back to the wall where Pan hit the cat the first time. I take out my web scroll to try to trap it so we can get the fat man to cut it. I read the scroll. A huge web shoots toward the cat but it dodges it before the web can trap it. Then it leaps to try to take my head off. It nearly succeeds. I dodge its foreclaws letting them go over my shoulders but being on top of Ars limits my movement so that it sinks its fangs into my head as it knocks me backwards off of Ars and to the ground where it slashes me with its rear claws. The pressure of the huge creature’s jaws on my head starts to black out my peripheral vision, making it seem as if I am looking down a gopher’s tunnel or something. I will my blade into my hand but cannot wield it properly enough to even scratch the hell cat. I can hear the commotion going on around me but it sounds like it is getting farther away. I hear the crunching of bone and hope that one of them hit the big beast hard enough to make it let me go. They must have because the pain is nearly gone now, maybe it won’t be as bad as it felt at first. Then the blackness swallows me…

     I awaken on the road. By all the gods! My head! Even though Am tells me they cleared most of the blood off my face, my eyes are still nearly matted together with the coagulated mess. My head pounds with every beat of my heart and any tilt makes it feel like it will explode. I throw up three times within the first hundred strides of my mount from the pain the animal’s movement brings. Thankfully there is nothing left to bring up after that. We ride like the very prince of the underworld is on our heels and after what we have seen and done in the past few months, he might very well be. We push our mounts and ourselves to the limit as we ride straight thru to Zoa. 

     When we get there, the line to get into the city is longer than the longest merchant caravan I have ever seen.  We ride past the people in line and right up to the gate. I offer to buy passes from the gate guardsman. He informs me that we need to get back in line that passes can only be bought inside the city. We start back toward the end of the line. Ars says that maybe we can buy a place in line. I say maybe that would be ok with the guy you buy off but what about all the people behind him. He says maybe instead of getting in front of them we could buy their place altogether. We start asking. We find a melon farmer who has a wagonload waiting to get them inside. I offer to but his melons so that he doesn’t even need to go into the city. I ask him what they would be worth and he says 100 gold pieces. I tell him it is a deal. As soon as it is out of my mouth I know it is a mistake. I agreed too quickly. “Never let them know you need what they have much less that you need it badly,” my father used to tell me after his negotiations. This farmer then says but what about my time it is worth something too. Very well then, what is it worth, I ask. Another 100 gold he says. I am ready to slash his throat but know it was my mistake that got me where I am in this deal so I pay the man the 200 gold he asked for and he wheels his wagon on out of here and we take his place.

     We ride thru the gate and point our lathered mounts in the direction of the forge at Haalan’s house. It seems like we crawl thru the streets at a snail’s pace. This last leg of our trip seems to drag on forever when I think of it from the perspective of reaching our stopping point. At the same time, the pace seems so comfortable when compared to the frenzied, tension-laced race of the rest of the trip from Xaarum. How can one thing be perceived so differently? 

     When we get to Haalan’s, we are hardly surprised by the latest obstacle in our path. This quest seems so full of such things that I bet our path might resemble that of someone lost in the woods who follows his own tracks. A note is tacked to the door. It reads as follows: THIS HOUSE CONDEMNED. THE OWNER HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR INSIDIOUS AND TRECHEROUS ACTS. We barely have time to listen to Pan translate it from the Reanaarian it is written in before we hear the crunch of gravel under rough boots behind us. Damn. I must be more tired or injured or both than I thought. They just walked right up on us. We turn to see the latest in the long line of ambushers who seem to know our every move and await us at every other corner. One of them steps forward and tells us to come with them without a fuss or become pincushions. To add insult to injury, we are told we can not even take our horses. I can almost imagine them sighing in relief. 

     We are herded back outside the city. 200 gold pieces for about twenty minutes in town. It makes my head hurt even worse when I think about that. We travel a short distance luckily. We stop in a small clearing in a copse of woods. A large man with the sign of Scorn comes out of the trees. He says that we have something that he wants and that he will trade for something that we want. “What could we have that you would want?” asks Ars. “The books,” I simply state. “Very good,” he says, “I won’t have to spell it out for you then.” We tell him that we want to see Haalan alive first. He says no way and starts to walk back into the woods. I yell to him to see if he wants to meet back here. He turns back to us smiling the smile that only those who think that they are holding all the trump cards can smile. He tells us, yes, back here in just a few hours. We protest. We tell him that his men didn’t let us buy passes and that we could not even get thru the gate in that short time. Oddly enough he agrees. He yells to one of his partners who comes running out. “You know a captain in the city militia, don’t you?” he asks. His man answers that he does know one like the back of his hand and laughs. “Write these heroes some gate passes, would you my good captain?” the big Scorner asks. They both laugh as the second man produces some parchment and quills and ink from several scroll tubes. I hope the man’s confidence is based on past performances rather than the bravado of most forgers who get caught thinking that all the people who read a note are stupid or faking it. I hate to think what the punishment might be for trying to get thru a gate of a city that is practically one step away from martial law. We take the notes and trudge back to the gate. They work famously. I hope the others appreciate the talent of the man who forged the papers. I wonder if any of them gave a thought to what might happen if the man’s work was slipshod.

     We go to Haalan’s first to get our mounts to make the trip faster. When we get there, half the horses are gone. That is just one more thing gone wrong in this odyssey. Amber is furious as her frustrations erupt thru her normally placid demeanor. We are all so tired that it is a wonder that more of us haven’t displayed our tempers so evidently. We get on the horses that remain and ride to Geolain’s. We use our secret ring code so we can get the cowardly Joa to answer the door. We tell him that we need to see Geolain. We ask him if he knows that Haalan has been taken. He says no and leads us to the waiting room. We wait and wait. No Geolain. Finally, we begin to yell for him in our impatience as well as our dire need. Joa comes back to see what the fuss is about. We tell him we need to see Geolain now! We have only a short time to ransom him or he will be killed! He scurries off. Geolain arrives within a minute or two. “What is Joa talking about concerning Haalan being kidnapped and about to be killed?” he asks as soon as he enters the room. We tell him that we need the books that we saved from the Scorners. We explain that the Scorners have him and will trade him to us for the books but we have to hurry. He says he thinks that he still has them all and calls for Joa. The two of them rush to another section of the house and bid us to follow them. “You will get them back again, won’t you?” asks Geolain. I say sure we will and hope he has no spell for discerning lies. We put the books in four sacks and load them onto the horses. 

      We ride back out to the clearing. When we get close, we decide to have Ars and me ride in with half the books while Am and Pan stay hidden with the other half of the books just in case these thieves are less than honorable. We ride in and call out to them holding out the sacks. The big man comes out and asks us if we have the books. We tell him we have half of them but that we want to see Haalan before we have the other half brought in. He nods as if he might have done the same thing and waves to a section of the trees. Haalan is marched out, flanked by 2 men with their crossbows almost touching him. We wave Am and Pan in with the other books. The big man looks in the bags and nods to the bow men. They give Haalan a push towards us. We pull him up to ride double and head back to the city.

     At Haalan’s, he pulls the note down and wads it up and throws it to the dirt in disgust. “Idiots,” he grumbles. He tells us to hurry. He says that it was hard enough to keep the coin ready to accept the final magics with heat from the forge while he was here. He hopes that it has not cooled enough while he was in the grasp of the Scorners to ruin the rite. We rush in and he calls for Ars to start pumping the bellows right away. Ars does so in a rush. He asks if we have the blood. I hold out the vial of the precious liquid to him. He goes thru a lot of ceremony and chanting that I don’t understand and then has me throw some powder into the fire. It makes the flames blaze higher. He continues chanting. The door bursts in under the pressure of the eight armed men behind it. They attack us yelling some fanatical idiocy about stopping evil and magic and some other rot. Haalan continues to chant as we rush to stop the wave of men. He shows great resolve as he continues the rite despite taking a couple of sword thrusts. He then pours the devil’s blood onto the coin and every flame and light source in the place goes out. Even Flamesinger! The fighting continues in the pitch black. Abruptly the whole place is lit back up as all of the light sources and flames re-ignite along with most of the house. Haalan yells over the din that he needs a soul to seal the magic. “Let me. It is my destiny!” I yell in response. I begin making my way toward the coin. My dreams all make sense now. I must get to the coin. 

     Haalan pulls a wickedly curved dagger from somewhere. I am so close. Amber screams for me to stop. She says that if someone must die to let it be her. Her nobility touches me deeply. I suspect that her character might be stronger than any steel. She thinks I am trying to sacrifice my own life! How could I possible fulfill my destiny if I am dead? I am trying to get to one of the last attackers to let him play the role of sacrificial goat. Haalan beats me to the punch when he grabs one and opens the man’s throat with one slash of that dagger. The man’s blood gushes over the coin in a gory splash. The man’s essence is pulled into the coin and his body withers into a dry husk in front of our very eyes in seconds. As Ars puts the last attacker down, I pick up the newest coin of power. It burns my hand as I hold it but I refuse to let the pain make me put it down. I know, after my dreams have become clear this day, that fate and destiny are but flip sides of the same coin. That coin is the coin of our life. Just as we have helped forge this tool of magical power, I will in turn use it to forge my destiny. Now we should be able to face Daresh on level footing. I must take care not to repeat her mistakes. I have to remember that the coin is a tool only. How much destiny does a garden hoe have? I must remember that true greatness is defined by one’s character. I must take care to remember that the true hero can overcome trials without her tools as well. She must not fall into the trap of just being the steed which delivers the item that does the great deeds. She must not fall into the habit of relying on her magic to achieve greatness. True power must come from within just like Amber has. I must take care to remember that…. this place is on fire! I come out of my fugue to rush out of the burning house just in time. A crowd begins to gather as they always seem to do at such spectacles. We decide to slip away while we can before everyone determines that the terrible stink is burning flesh. We ride in different directions away from the fire to avoid as much attention as we can after agreeing to meet up at Geolain’s as soon as we can.  

     This gives me the opportunity to see the fat spy’s sister. I hasten to her house. I rehearse what I will say in my mind on the way there. I try to come up with a lie that I will be able to tell her that will make him sound brave and heroic but as I tell them to myself as I ride they all stick in my throat. I try several but none work. She probably would know that they were lies anyway. She should know her brother better than we did. I am shaking when I get there. It takes all I have left to will my feet up the short set of steps which lead to her front door. I knock almost too quietly to be heard but I hear feet rushing to the door. This is it. Show time. She opens the door and looks like she will scream until I realize what I must look like. Dark skin and clothes covered in blood and reeking of smoke, some of my gashes on my face and head from the cat still open despite some of Am’s best spells. I come to this realization as she is opening her mouth widely to let her whole neighborhood know she is in danger. I fumble for the idiot’s name. I can’t blurt out Fat Spy sent me! “Gonnathan sent me,” I finally manage to get out. Relief floods her face as tears begin to flood her cheeks. She starts a thousand questions which I can’t even separate much less answer here on her porch. “Can I come in?” I ask her.

     She stumbles as badly as I did and finally reaches out to pull me in by the wrist instead of answering me. Where is he? Why isn’t he here himself? Is he hurt? Is he alive? All of these and more rush out of her mouth as she finds her tongue again. I tell her that I know that she must be beside herself right now but as she can see I am hurt and in need of some cleaning up before I can go back out in the streets. I tell her that when I last saw him that he was very much alive and in fact unhurt. I ask her if the rest of her questions can wait until I can dress my wounds and wash up in general and change clothes. I say that then I will tell her all I know then and give her what Gonnathan sent to her. What he undertook this quest for in the first place. She looks ready to burst but finally agrees. He was alive and unhurt? You are sure? I reassure her and ask if she will show me where I can wash and patch up. She takes me up the stairs over a rug that was not there a few weeks ago that must cover the stained floor where her father bled out. I know I am doing the right thing. So much blood. Not just here but all along the path Daresh has blazed for us to follow. She leads me to her room. She can’t know that I have already been in here but I remember. She excuses herself and leaves me to myself.

     I finish in a hurry because I know she must be climbing the walls waiting on me and because the others will already be getting to Geolain’s. I stuff my bloody smokey rags back into my pack and go down the stairs. I tell her that I really don’t know much except that he went on a quest of great importance and that he saw it thru to the end. I do not know which direction or where he went after he left me but I know that he thinks you deserve this. I hand her a pouch with enough money in it to get her father raised and tell her what it is and what it is to be used for. This is part of why he went on this quest I tell her. For the love of his family. I hope he will return home to you soon. I know he faced great personal injury and danger to make sure that you were safe. She is crying openly now and says that she doesn’t know what to say. She tells me that she knew he had that in him even though no one else believed her. She says that she cannot thank me enough for bringing this great amount of money to her to help her get her father back. She says that he must have trusted me very much to have given it to me to get it here. She starts to praise me, saying that most people would have taken it for themselves rather than bringing it to her. That is more than I can take. I tell her to just think of it as something I had to do and tell her that I must leave. She rises as I do and follows me to the door still crying like a summer storm. I tell her I must go now and open the door. She bids me wait just a moment longer. “I don’t even know your name. At least tell me that before you go,” she begs. I tell her I am known as Jzashaedra. I turn and run to my horse and head him down the street for Geolain’s. 

     At Geolain’s they all wonder what took me so long and I tell them I ducked into an alley along the way after some of the looks I was getting riding down the street soot covered and bloody. Geolain offers to let us stay there to rest and begins to tell of some of the dangers of the coin. He says that there are rumors of a new woman of power to the north of Haanex and that just might be Daresh. He suggests we go back to see Veodon. The books again, Veodon again, did I mention someone following their own tracks before? That thought is interrupted by a pounding on Geolain’s door. I doubt this is the dwarves again. “We know they’re in there,” shouted from outside removes all doubt. Geolain tells us to take the back way out while he buys us some time. We move quickly despite our fatigue. Personal danger has a way of revitalizing you.

     We head north. Sleep comes in the saddle. I no longer dream of a young girl waking up to her father’s bloody corpse. I dream of Risk and Watcher and their triple layered game of Go. They are speaking in the tongue of my previous dreams. I can understand more now but still not all of it. They are definitely saying my name and the word similar to it is the variation I told Gonnathan’s sister. Watcher has the head of a black dragon over his fist like I would wear a puppet. He moves its mouth in time to his and Risk’s words. “Now you have it right. Jzashaedra not Jzashedra. Angel Redeemed not Angel Forsaken. Only one letter difference but a very important difference, wouldn’t you say? Many of the old languages are like that,” he says.  He turns the head inside out like taking off a glove that is too tight. It becomes the coin of power. Risk takes it from Watcher’s upturned palm and places it into his wine goblet he uses for his go pieces. Funny. I just now realize that the go pieces are so similar to the coin as to be nearly impossible to tell them apart. It makes me wonder just how many coins there actually are. He shakes it and “rolls” it my way. I catch the coin easily. It says, “She was once ours, now she has been taken by greed,” on 1 side and “she must be stopped,” on the other. I awaken still in my saddle. Head still throbbing, still tired but not as bad, still on the road on the run, remembering when I could think of nothing more than being on the road to get  away and realizing now that one of the best parts of traveling is the trip back home and how different being on the road constantly running without some where to go back to is from that. But even with all of that, a smile spreads across my face: Angel Redeemed sounded so much better to me than Angel Forsaken…


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## Sayburr (Mar 10, 2002)

*Nothing Like a Ride Thru the Forest to Help You Appreciate (Human) Nature*

This was part of a play test, so it will be posted after it is releasted.


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## Sayburr (Mar 10, 2002)

*Out of the Woods and into the Fire*

...

     We travel the rest of the day leading our horses thru the trees. We make camp when there is not enuf light coming thru the trees and set our guard rotation. That night on my shift, I am just getting up from adding a little wood to our small fire when I notice the air just inside the fire’s light shimmering just like it would directly over a fire. I will Flamesinger into my hand and call to the others as a smoky cloud with wings and claws and fangs appears and attacks me. I slash at it and wound it as it does me and then it disappears. The others are tumbling out of their sleeping rolls now, trying to get to me and the manifestation. I slash wildly at the area I saw it last. It reappears and rakes me with its claws and slams me with one of its wings and tries to bite me too! I had thought the animated shield was bad enuf but this creature has two more attacks to guard against then the shield did. Ars and Pan and Amber are all ready to fight now. I slash out at my invisible foe again. It reappears in a different spot and draws my blood again. Ars and Pan must have been waiting for it to reappear. As soon as it is visible again they lay into it hard. So does Amber.  I can’t wait. I can smell Daresh on this thing somehow. That scent overrides my good sense to follow the good plan Ars and the others are using. I continue to slash at it as quickly as I am able. That is how the dance goes. I attack it wildly and then become the bait to draw it into the open and then the others attack it when they can see it. It works quite well actually. Only my blood is spilled and the apparition is put down after several trades of claw and steel. After the thing falls, I notice a note attached to its body. How do you attach something to a puff of smoke? I take the note off the body. It is from Daresh. The brazenness of that bitch must know no boundaries! It says that we should give up now because all of our efforts will be futile anyway. I think that once I take her down I will see if Amber can keep her alive long enuf for me to build a fire and shovel the flaming embers into the hole where her guts used to be. We must have her worried tho. Why else would she even waste her time sending this thing after us? I wonder how she found us. The last time I could see her finding us. She probably knew what ingredients we needed for the coin and figured the closest place would be Xaarum. We blundered right into that one. We made that one easy for her. But out here? No matter. I would wager a hundred gold against one that she will have no trouble finding the sharp edge of Flamesinger when we do meet.

     We make it the rest of the way out of the woods with no problems. When we do clear the trees, we see smoke filling the sky where Xaarum should be. That makes me double glad we avoided it. We continue our march but can’t help glancing that way every so often, drawn by some morbid fascination. After we are too far to watch the smoke’s base anymore, I ask the others if they think it might be a good idea to stop at Soona to book passage on a ship in our names heading north to Skaarna. I think Daresh has had spies watching us for sometime and that has been how she has seemed or been smarter than us. Ars asks what good it would do to take a boat instead of riding. I sigh heavily and say we just book it, we don’t actually take the ship. Maybe even get some ringers to actually take the ride in our places to really make it look good. “Ringers?” he asks. I have to explain that to him as well, maybe he is a goody-two-shoes after all. The others agree that it is a good plan.  The rest of the day is uneventful.  

     Our second day out of the woods, we meet some dwarves on the trail heading south. Ars looks at me and asks, “Daresh?”. I tell him I don’t think so. We ride on trying to act casually. Pan speaks to them after we get close enuf to do so. They chat for a short time while we sit there. I don’t understand a word of it except that I do hear Xaarum a few times. She bids them good-bye and we ride on. She tells us that they are heading to Xaarum. They believe that the Kalamarians are responsible for its burning. They also mentioned a dragon. We ride on.

     On the third day out of the woods, we see something large and white off to one side of the road (didn’t I ask him to keep us off the roads?) far ahead. As we get closer, it looks like a big tent or canvas shelter sitting on the ground. I tell them I am going to see what it is. Ars says he is going to take up a flanking position off to my left. Pan and Amber stay here overwatching us with my horse I just dismounted from. I load a bolt into my crossbow and start to advance. It is no tent or shelter. It is a wagon with the wheels knocked off one side and nearly off the other from the way it sits canted. As I get closer, perhaps within 50 feet, I can see the bodies start to become apparent as well as the tatters and tears in the cover of the wagon. I can also make out the rumps off the horses that pulled the wagon. Whatever did this, I am glad it found them instead of us.  The bodies are riddled with bolts like mine except they are without feathers. I hear something that makes me look up. Bolting down from the sky are two massive, winged feline forms  with somewhat humanoid or ogre-ish heads. I invoke Risk’s Shield as they descend upon us. One makes for Ars and the other goes for Am and Pan. It isn’t getting very close to Ars I think to myself. Then I see why. It whips its tail at him and 6 bolts like big porcupine quills or crossbow bolts without feathers cover the distance between them in a blink of an eye. I think all but 1 sink into him before I can even pull the trigger on my bow and send a bolt into the beast. I bring up the ghostly hand of Sorcerous Touch as it comes back for another pass, slinging its deadly spines as it does. That silly hag, Pan, is leading the other beast right to us! Ars is starting to look porcupine-esque by now. I take out my wand and add Mage Armor on top of Risk’s Shield to try to keep that from happening to me. The monsters finally land, one on Ars’ side of the wagon and one on Pan’s while I am at the rear of it. I use the Sorcerous Touch to channel Personal Lightning into the beasts while they concentrate on Ars and Pan. These things are ferocious! One almost has to admire their near perfection as mayhem machines. The damage being inflicted upon them doesn’t seem to faze them at all. 

     For whatever reason Pan brought the 2nd beast to us, she just paid for it. Her blood is splashed all over the wagon from a terrible slash from the monster’s claws and she hits the ground hard and bonelessly. I guess the time for spells is past. Flamesinger leaps into my hand and I close on the beast before it can devour her or take to the skies with her. I slash a huge gaping wound in its side and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face upon hearing its agonized roar. Battle! It is times like these that I know I was born for it. My magical barriers keep me safe from most of the beast’s vicious strikes. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Pan’s form being dragged under the remnants of the wagon. That could be trouble. I didn’t hear any feline death scream from the other side of the wagon and there is no way one of these things could fit under that wreck. I could be between two of these things in a short time. I can think of many places I would rather be. I call for Watcher’s Aim and finish the monster in front of me. I turn just in time to see the other monster cat come around the corner of the wagon in a very foul temper. I call for Watcher’s Aim again as it closes and strike it as if I knew how and where it would approach before it did. Even my defensive spells cannot turn aside all of the damage of this one’s claws. It leaves several bloody furrows across my abdomen and down one thigh. I notice that it does have some wounds, to Ars’ credit, in addition to the slash I just dealt it. I need to finish this quickly so I use Watcher’s Aim again to slice open its belly as I roll under its leaping attack. I crashes to the ground hard as its guts spill out and it doesn’t have the strength left in its legs to hold the rest of itself up. Magnus would be so proud of me! I walk over to the dead thing and dip my fingers into its blood. I draw my fingers down one cheek. I walk to the other and do the same on the opposite cheek. Magnus told me it is a show of respect and brings good luck to be blooded by either a first kill or that of a worthy or dangerous foe. Even tho Risk has told me that the prepared make their own luck, for the most part, I will take all the luck I can get right now. I hope he is looking down upon me now. Even tho I am eager to bring Daresh to her doom, I know there are harsh times ahead of us.

     Ars dragging Pan out from under the wagon drags me out of my thoughts too. Seeing her makes me realize that those harsh times may already be upon us. I don’t know how she is not dead. Ars says that he poured a healing potion down her as soon as he got her under the wagon. She is positively gray. She has lost so much blood. Amber rushes over to help her. I go to search the man without armor while they take care of her. I find several gems in his purse. I start to take the largest for myself but leave it with the others and take another one of lesser value instead. Can’t let my greed make me make the same mistakes as Daresh. It takes nearly all of Am’s spells she had left after fighting these things just to get Pan awake. I go back and show them what I found. Even with all that has gone between us and our many differences, I can’t help but feel for her now. It was not that long ago that I lay bleeding to death from wounds from similar claws. I know first hand, the cold –the bone numbing cold- and the lack air no matter how hard your lungs pull she must have felt as her blood ran out of her. Ars asks if we should camp to let her rest. I tell him that if she can ride we would do better to put as much distance between this slaughterhouse and us as possible. No telling what this much blood scent might draw, I tell them. Shouldn’t he know such things? I wonder to myself. We mount up and head out.

     I ask Ars about our plan to stay off the roads. He says that this is more like a path. I think to myself that we have already met some dwarves and saw a wagon on this “path”. I start to speak these thoughts aloud but offer up a short prayer instead. I will try to do my part in keeping things quiet. Blooded luck must have something to it. Our day is very calm. We make camp with Soona on the dusky horizon. We might have tried to push on to finish the trip tonight but Pan is still very weak from the fight with the spiny cats. We figure 2 more hours ride, half a day at the most, will put us in the city tomorrow. We make our cold camp as we usually do when in the open and talk about our ship booking and ringers plan before getting to our beds and guard rotation.

     That night my dreams are troublesome. I dream of the man who ambushed me in search of Flamesinger. I dream we awaken and start our last leg of our journey to Soona except that the road we travel on is black instead of the brown color of the dirt it should be. I awaken and wonder what these dreams mean but cannot sort them out. I curse my thick-headedness as I saddle my mount and try to shake the edginess I feel. 

     We have ridden perhaps an hour when we see a moderate sized group of riders off in the distance. A chill runs over me. A black path- a road to death. “Daresh!” I hiss thru clenched teeth. They all look at me for a second since we cannot even make out any details about the riders yet. But then they either feel it too or simply trust my gut feeling. We consider our options. Run? So many of them! Would we really have a chance to get away? And where would we run to? We decide to take as many of them with us as we can. We form up into a tight square with our backs against each other. I put on my Mage Armor and bring up Risk’s Shield. Ars sends his horse away with a sharp slap. I bring my Sorcerous Touch alive and hold onto my horses reins tightly. What is he thinking? There must be 20 horsemen riding down on us! I do not intend to prepare for battle just to be trampled to death under hoof. I will hold my mount until they get close and then send it right out into those who think they might ride me over. Battle! It fairly sings thru my veins! I know I will see other side of this fight safely just as surely as I know what the black path meant now. What I am worried about is how many of the others will make it. Here they come on the charge! Yes, danger comes on horseback today. Look at that formation. These are no street thugs. These men are trained and well lead it seems. A lynx appears of to my left just in front of the front line. Am is busy already. 

     The first of the riders ride at Ars since he is in the front. Somehow he holds the line, breaking the horse’s focus and making it rear instead of trampling him like the rider must have wanted. Here come 2 for me. “HIIIYAAAH!” I yell at the top of my lungs and slap my mount’s rump hard to startle it forward to break the charge of the 2 riders bearing down on me. I slash on of them as he tries to control his mount and the lights go out. I immediately drop to the ground and tumble back down the road the direction that we came from wondering which of their spellcasters did that. I roll away and come up on my feet and move back some more but am still in the darkness. From the sounds of the chaos in there, I wonder if it was one of their casters. I think that caught everyone off guard. I back up until I am in the light of day again and look around for targets. The darkened area is huge. Perhaps this is the hand of Watcher or Risk. A little help for one of the chosen. My first victim appears from the darkness. I light him up with some Personal Lightning. Amber backs out of the darkness. The sounds of confusion still roll out of the darkness. Another man appears out of the darkness, this one on my side. He is still mounted and I believe he is a leader. He was at the rear of the formation and has the look of a war priest. My mind is made up in an instant. I charge him! I can see him readying to meet my charge. I feint to one side of his horse to draw him out of position and off balance. As he moves to counter my feint, I spin directly in front of his horse and whip Flamesinger around in a backhanded arc. My blazing blade doesn't stop at armor, flesh, or bone. It goes thru all of that and the only thing that saves the horse from injury is the hard leather of its saddle. His leg, from just under the hip, falls from the stirrup to the ground next to me. The rest of him falls to the ground on the other side of his horse. Battle! This is tenfold better than anything I ever stole or any caper I ever ran! Something tells me to conserve my spells for when they will be sorely needed rather than burn them up early on trying to get this over with quickly. I feel that this might drag out for quite a while.

     I will try to stay close to the edge of the darkness to catch them unaware and take advantage of the time it will take for their eyes to adjust from dark to daylight until there are too many of them for that strategy to hold its advantage. A strong compelling voice booms from the darkness. It is barking orders to try to regain the composure of the unit broken by the sudden midday night. We have to press that advantage. We must kill as many of them as possible as individuals before they can regroup and not only have a decided numbers advantage but the advantage of a seasoned combat team. I engage and kill several at the edge of night before several come out together and give me cause to give some ground. Everything is so clear to me. It is almost as if everyone else moves in slow motion. I can see some of them lose their nerve as I face them. My cheeks hurt from a smile so big that it must resemble a death’s head visage. This is home, I realize in a startling flash. The battleground that so many fear and dread is the place where I rest my head. The chaos and confusion and distractions that confound so many others, simply serve me to clear the dull cheap glass thru which my senses usually view the world.  I fall back from the Stygian sphere engaging 2 men to keep from being badly outnumbered immediately should more emerge. I slash them unmercifully as I retreat.. I put one down and a few seconds later I drop the other. Just as I do, one of the leaders, steps from the darkness. Perhaps he is the owner of the booming voice. He certainly is big enuf. He reminds me of the berserker half-orc we faced in the streets of Zoa.  I see no need to let him get started. I slap him with some Personal Lightning. He must have someone else’s attention too because he stops in mid stride. I decide this would be as good of a time as any to loose the bolt I had in my crossbow. I take aim and send it into his massive chest. Two more come out of the darkness so I drop my now empty ’bow and close to meet them halfway since the berserker seems out of it for a while.

     Some of the men have come out of the darkness away from me and seem to be heading after Amber. Brother, will they be sorry. Bad decision, my not-so-friends. Even above the ringing of our steel, I can hear the battle screams of Am’s lynxes mixed with some human screams of pain. They are learning just how bad; the hard way. Another man has emerged from the darkness. He is so smooth and calm. He even smells of power from here. He might be the leader of all these men. He starts firing arrows from his position around the blood soaked ground. I am near the end of my dance(yes, that’s it; battle is so much like the dances I used to love at my birthing celebrations) with these men. One is down and now the other. Just in time too. The berserker has shaken off the effects of the spell which held him. I charge him and wound him horribly. His might is awesome. I can feel him punch thru my magical barriers with his steel. Now! Now is the time. I use Watcher’s Aim and know he will try another power thrust again since he brought blood with the last one. I simply let him come to me. When he draws back, muscles bulging, ready to drive his steel thru my chest, I simply am not there any more. I have pushed my sword up and to my left, away from him actually, since it is not my strike. It is only the start of my spin. I use that momentum to swing me and Flamesinger around him to his left and behind him. That spin ends with the blazing blade slashing into his unprotected side and a huge got of blood so dark that it is almost black. He is done for. Magnus told me that blood that dark only comes from a vital spot called the liver. If you see black blood, death is only seconds away he said. 

     There is a man menacing Pan who must be out of spells because all she is doing is retreating and firing her crossbow at him. He is getting to close. I step between them. I slow him down considerable with a few wounds and hope that I am giving the impression that he has all of my attention. In truth, I am using him as a ploy to gain position on the man I think of as captain of this troop. When I feel I am in the right spot, I break from this man to charge the captain. I am pleased to catch him off guard by my ploy. I am on him before he can use his bow against me even as I cross the open ground between us. Power indeed. Even tho I call for Watcher’s Aim to aid me against this man and even tho it guides my blade to where the man will be I can feel my blade turned aside at the last instant by his own magical barriers. Another battle mage! Another? I am no battle mage. I am a priestess of Watcher and Risk. “All will be revealed to you…” floats thru my mind in Risk’s voice. Can it be? It will do you little good either way if you let this man kill you, I chastise myself and then redouble my efforts. Focus, Jza, focus.

     I parry several of his attacks but a few get thru to give me minor cuts. I decide to use every spell I have left. I assault him with a terrible cold fury. He manages to turn aside one more of my divinely guided slashes but all the rest find their mark. His blood spills from 4 deep scores in his skin. I have a few more of my own by now too, but nothing I cannot grit out. I see his resolve break on the last one. He retreats into the darkness. I slash blindly thru the edge close to me just in case he had some cute ploy of his own in mind. I hit nothing and decide to gamble a glance to see how the others are doing. Am is aiding Ars amid a pile of bodies and Pan looks quite shaken but is still sweeping the edge of the darkness in case someone decides to step out. That was no ploy! That was a retreat! I can’t see him thru the darkness but I can see into his mind somehow and know he is on the run. I cast Fleet Feet and pick up my crossbow from where I dropped it earlier. I sprint around the dark sphere. I get to the other side to find him climbing on a horse. I call for Watcher to guide my aim one last time as I draw down on him on his galloping mount. My bolt sinks deep into his back but he doesn’t fall. I race after him to keep him in range. I can keep up with the horse for a short burst but can’t do much else. I feel my speed ebbing so I drop to one knee and reload and fire one last shot. It falls short as he gallops away.

     I look of into the distance ahead of him. I can see a large group of riders heading this way from Loona. Time to go. I make my way back to the others. I tell them of the riders approaching and suggest we leave now. As I talk to them I notice a shape sort of squatted in an area of twisting tangled up grass just off from the darkness. I walk over close to him and raise my crossbow to my shoulder after loading it. He pleads with me not to fire since he is helpless and obviously defeated. He says that it was nothing personal between us. He is only a merc trying to make a living. I drop my aim. “Throw your weapons further into the tangles,” I tell him. He does so. “I will pull you out and let you live if you will tell me who hired you,” I tell him. He asks how does he know I won’t kill him anyway. I raise my ’bow again. “Okay, okay! Sure. Toran hired us. Toran that’s who,” he says. So Daresh’s little minion has a name other than dirty little minion bastard. I take the bolt from my ’bow and hold it out for him to grab onto. It takes some doing (what is that mess and where did it come from?) but I pull him out. I tell him he had better get out of here quick because my friends are not so nice as I am. He is running before I finish. 

     “Where did that… whatever it is come from?” I ask. Ars says he used his nature powers to animate the growth to help slow the enemies. “Nice trick,” I say. “Where did that false night come from?” I ask while I am looking for the closest horse. “Did I do well? Did blocking out the sun help like I thought it would?” Am asks. I surprise myself by going over and kissing her full on the mouth before exclaiming, “Help? Your darkness did what all of our blades and bows probably could not have done! It changed them from a well-trained, highly disciplined, tactical unit into a confused broken group of individuals. It leveled the battlefield and probably saved  2 of our lives at least.” Her modesty always amazes me nearly as much as her divine power. 

     As we ride away, I reflect on my battlefield revelations. Battle mage…No wonder I can’t bless water to make it holy or cast healing spells. And I think more about battle as a dance. The more I think about that the more I think it is more like a present Fo, I mean my father brought to me from a wealthy Kalamarian trader. I think he called it a kaleidoscope. You look thru one end and twist the other and it creates a rapidly changing shifting series of images, colors, and/or  shapes. Yes, I like that better. Battle is a human kaleidoscope and I twist the end of it. It can be confusing and flashy and hypnotizing unless you control or at least understand the pattern… Yes, much better. Battle is a human kaleidoscope. Praise be to Risk and Watcher…
Now let’s get the hell out of here…


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## Darklone (Mar 10, 2002)

*No bump*

Just wanted to make sure you don't think noone's reading


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## wsclark (Mar 11, 2002)

I'm still reading this too. Nice to see an update. Jza's player did a wonderful job on this one, very personal. It was also quite different in tone from your DM version over on the Kenzer Boards. This one was a bit more upbeat whereas the DM one showed how desperate that last battle was. Any chance of seeing some of the other players reactions to this session? I would be quite interested in hearing the tale from their point of view.


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## Darklone (Mar 11, 2002)

*Nah*

They are probably still under medical observation due to serious heart problems and abuse of alcoholics... Don't think they can write something !


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## Sayburr (Mar 31, 2002)

*Things that Go Thump(Now That’s Kicking Your Ass) In the Night*

…Now let’s get the hell out of here. We begin hastily gathering horses and put Ars up on one. We are in a shouting discussion about our options as we scurry around. A reserve group twice as large as the front line? I think to myself. Certainly not unheard of, but what would be the tactical gain here? I wonder. “Those don’t have to be more bad guys, you know,” I call to my sisters in arms. They look so funny as they both pull up short, frozen for a moment, in contrast to their previous haste. “They could be the city watch if this place has such a thing,” I say. In light of our other sad options, this one finally wins out. 
     We gather up a couple of horses each and start toward the large group of riders. It takes just a few minutes to close the gap between us with both parties riding.  I know I have led myself and my companions to their death when I see the rat bastard whom I chased off riding with them. This thought is whisked away as I see that he is not leading them and that he is not riding correctly. He is tied! They caught him and he is tied! I was right! Relief washes thru me like a flood.
     I scream out, “There he is! He is the guy who tried to kill us!” just moments before he exclaims the same thing about us. “You lying bastard!” I scream as I try to close on him. The guards quickly move in between us. “There will be no more of that,” the captain of the guard says. “We’ll get to the bottom of this,” he says. He tells me to tell my side of what happened. I relate the whole battle to them as best I can. I tell them that we are just weary travelers heading for Loona and were ambushed by these brigands and bandits. The rat bastard keeps trying to interrupt. He tries to tell them that we four ambushed them! I ask him if he is crazy! 4 ambushing 20? He tries to tell the captain that we are very powerful and that was the case. He even goes so far as to try to claim that he created the darkness to aid his men. I know I have him then! “If you created it then let’s see you dispel it!”I cry. He then mumbles something about he didn’t create it but it was one of his men or some such rubbish. One of his lieutenants leans over and tells the captain, “The dark girl speaks the truth, Captain.” He simply nods and tells a couple of guards to take the rat bastard aside til this mess is cleared away. He asks who did create the dome of darkness. Am steps forward and says that she did. He asks her how long it will last. “Mother is powerful. 5 full days,” she says. He and his Lt. look at Am with a little more respect than before. He asks if she can dispel it. “Mother has complete control of her powers,” Am says as she waves her hand at the darkness. It vanishes as quickly as it appeared, revealing even more bodies and scope of the battle. 
     I can see some of the guardsmen talking among themselves. They appear to be counting the bodies and regarding Am. I think that they believe at least one thing rat bastard said. The part about us being powerful. The way that they look at us bespeaks of the respect and astonishment of 4 coming out of this situation alive much less victorious. Funny. I had never thought about us as being powerful before now. I had never really had the time to think about us much except as doing what we had to do to survive. But if I heard someone tell this story about some other group I would say that they were powerful. Thinking of story tellers makes me wonder about our little bard that started out with us. What was her name? Something that starts with an L. Laura! Yes, that is it. Laura. I wonder what she is doing now? I wonder how she would have captured some of our adventures in song or poem if she had stayed with us? Judging from the looks on the city guards faces this one should have been a good one. The captain tells us if we will help load up the bodies we will be free to go. Finally, a meeting with the law that I don’t have to run from! I have never been so happy to do manual labor; well, unless you count stuff for pranks and practical jokes.
     We tag along behind the guards and head into Geanavue instead of Loona. As we go, a giant approaches from the west! Flamesinger leaps into my hand on an instant. None of the guard seems to be moving into a battle formation. Surely they can’t all be so frightened into immobility. The captain actually seems to be waving to the colossus. The humanoid mountain waves back and approaches us. I can barely believe my eyes! I had heard tales of giants when I was a girl and from Magnus too. But nothing told had prepared me for seeing one in the flesh. OK, Risk and Watcher. Point delivered home. Never confuse some good tactics and bravery and some luck for being powerful. I bow to your wisdom and welcome your teachings.
     We ask the captain if he can recommend a reputable inn. He says that all inns in Geanavue are reputable. If we will follow Poole, the giant, he will show us to some very nice accommodations. Poole leads the way. I can guess why all inns are reputable with a giant on the city guard. The door is a massive round affair. Poole knocks and there are 2 more giants just like him on the other side when it opens. “The inn likes to know who is coming in,” Poole explains in a voice low and rumbling like rolling thunder. “Enjoy your stay,” he says before turning to go back down the street. I notice he has a silver acorn adorning his shirt similar to the one the Saki, the lizardman shaman, of the swamp had. I wonder if Poole is druidic or if he merely follows the nature god.
     The place is grand. Easily the nicest place I have ever stayed the night in. We waste no time asking for 2 rooms and oddly enough (considering we are blood drenched and torn to pieces and carrying a man in a coma) have no trouble getting them. It must have been because we were accompanied by Poole, I assume. We take Ars upstairs and put him to bed. I suggest that this would be a good time to split up the loot we have been just carrying around with us while running for our lives. I suggest taking the magical items to a mage to get them identified so we will not be choosing blindly. Am and Pan agree, saying that we can use the gems we found to pay for the spells before splitting the money. Pan says she can tells us what the potions that we got from the dragon’s hoard are so we don’t have to waste the gold on getting them identified. That sounds great to me. Am says that she will stay with Ars while the 2 of us go. 
     Pan and I gather the rapier, the 2 rings, the leather armor, and the gems and go in search of a mage. It takes us a while to find one. There must not be many in this city. We go in and negotiate a fee of 250 gold pieces per item to be identified. The mage tells us that the rapier is of the lowest level of enchantment. He tells us that one ring is enchanted with protective magics of a level higher than that of the rapier. He tells us that the second ring is enchanted to protect against cold. Last but not least, he tells us that the armor is enchanted with about the same power of the rapier. He thanks us for the business and we thank him for the information. He asks us if we would like to purchase any potions before we go. We thank him for the offer but tell him no thanks. We head back to the inn. After a little way, I tell Pan that I just thought of a potion that I would like to see if the mage had. I tell her that I will go back and meet her at the inn later.
     I go back to the old man to see what potions he has. He has quite a few. I get him to tell me about them and their properties and advantages. I learn a lot about what he calls low power spells that afternoon, I can tell you. Just learning about the different kinds of spells that there are is worth the time and nearly the money. Several catch my interest as the old man describes their various enchantments and workings. Of the ones he has, Jump, Spider Climb, Magic Missle, Endurance, Mirror Image, See Invisibility, my old friend Alter Self, Knock, Protection from Arrows, Vampiric Touch, Keen Edge, Fireball, and Gaseous Form all have immediate values that I can see.  Just hearing about them makes me wonder what spells Risk and Watcher will grant me as I grow in their power. I finally decide to get 2. One is called Mirror Images which creates duplicate images of you to distract enemies. The other is called Keen Edge. It is an oil to coat a weapon to enhance its edge to better find an enemies vital spots. I plan on having a few surprises for that bitch, Daresh. I thank him for his time and instruction and start walking back to the inn.
     This city is so clean and so… I don’t want to say friendly because I don’t want to conjure up the image of the goody goody idea of fawning upon one in an effort to be friendly. I guess simply courteous and calm is the best description. More like everyone is content to mind their own business and live together rather than trying to convince everyone else how good they are. It is refreshing. I get back to the inn and knock. It is opened by one of the massive giants inside. Ars is resting as is Pan. I go to my room that I am sharing with Am. She is sleeping quite soundly too. I soon see why. The bed is so soft and comfortable. Even tho I am by far the least scarred by today’s battle, I am quite fatigued. Even so, my mind works on the details for the ringers that I will try to hire to ship out of Loona in our stead. I don’t work long at it tho. The bed drags me down into sleep’s embrace quickly.
     We awaken in the morning and freshen up and hurry to Ars and Pan’s room after Am has prayed to Mother for many healing spells. Using nearly all her spells on Ars rouses him from his coma and aids Pan and Am a little. The night’s rest has done wonders for me and I ask Am for only the lowest of her healing magics. I tell the others that I have missed the city life while traipsing thru the woods and want to wander the streets while they rest if they don’t mind. I ask Am how long she thinks it will be before everyone is ready to ride again. She says she thinks that she can have everyone healed up in a few days if they stay in bed and recuperate. I tell her I will have some breakfast sent up for them all on my way out. I stop at the front desk and do just that and then go out thru the kitchens grabbing some fruit and a hot slice of meat on a hard roll for me. Ahhh, just like growing up. Sneaking out of the house thru the kitchen and grabbing some food for the trip of sneaking off to town. It is almost enuf to let me forget about that bitch Daresh for a few minutes. It is enuf to at least push her to the back burners of my mind’s wood stove. 
     I wander around Geanavue for a little while but it is almost too nice. I decide to go on to Loona to see about our ringers. It is a nice ride between the cities. The road is busy with traffic to and from the port but not so much as to be crowded. 
     Ahhhhhh! Loona! A lot dirtier, smellier, and definitely a place you want to watch your back. Sailors and docks and shadows, what more could a girl ask for? I go to the docks and find a ship heading for Ardarr-Norr in Skaarna. I book four cabins, making sure to use our names. I head to a pub that seems to be doing a lively business despite the relatively early hour. I take a seat and start to look for our ringers. I find an elf resembling Ars after a few watered down drinks. I approach him and play out my spiel. I buy him a drink and tell him about my employer seeking adventurous sorts to do a job for him. I tell him I have booked his passage and there will be 10 gold in his cabin when the ship sails and that there will be 40 more gold in Ardarr-Norr just for listening to my employer’s offer. He not only looks similar to Ars but acts much like him in his snotty, elvish way too. He says it is not for him. I say probably not since it is for the brave sort who are good with a blade and leave his table. I find a Dejy girl who looks a lot like Am. I give her the same spiel. She accepts readily. She asks if she can go ahead and stay on the ship since she has no where else to stay and no money. I tell her she can’t do that but I will pay her room and board at a local inn til the ship sails if she will come with me. I get her a place here in Loona and she thanks me profusely. She hugs me and jostles me so hard I am just barely able to actually slip the 2 gold into her pocket without dropping them or her noticing me. 
     On my way back to the pub to look for my double, I notice a game running in an alley. I walk up the alley to watch. Risk and Watcher are truly shining on me today. There is my double! She is taking the money from all the men playing there with her. I hear a few complaining of her cheating and the game breaks up. I approach her and ask her if she would like to listen to a business proposition over some drinks. She says sure and drops the many coins of her winnings from one hand to the other and winks and says that she will even buy. We go in and have a few drinks and talk of Svimohzia and turn down a many an offer to retire to the whoring rooms upstairs. After getting to know her a little, I do my song and dance. I tell her the ship leaves the day after tomorrow and her gold will be there in her cabin when it sails. The deal is struck. We part ways when she finally accepts an offer from one of the better looking patrons. I make my way back to Geanavue determined to come back tomorrow in search of Ars 2. 
     The others seem to be recovering quite well when I get back but Am is probably right about anyone being totally well and road ready for a few more days. I don’t tell the others about my day’s activities for a couple of reasons. I am not sure how Daresh seems to know what we are doing ahead of us. I don’t know if she has a spy watching and listening to us somehow and I am not entirely certain it might not be Pan. I will just pretend that my talk on the trail was just that and I did not take any action on it. Things have quieted between us since the squabble over the vault books but there is just something unsettling about her. The bed works its wonders and quickly drags me into sleep again. I will hate sleeping on the ground again after getting spoiled here.
     This morning is pretty much a repeat of yesterday with the exception of the healing being spread more evenly with Ars no longer in so desperate need and that we divide up our hoard. I choose the protective ring, Ars takes the rapier, Pan takes the ring of warmth and Am decides that she doesn’t want the armor so we sell it and then divide up the coin. Pan also takes a scroll of fireball and I take a potion of flight. Since some of our items are more valuable than our share would be we owe the rest of the group for the balance. Ars takes this time to say something about me having the coin. I start to say something about him not being able to use it anyway but decide against it. I just say that no one had said anything about it. He says that he is saying something about it now. I agree to pay the others 5000 gold per person to keep the coin. I send up more food and make my way back to Loona. 
     I use the rest of my morning, that is not spent on the ride, just walking her streets waiting for the pubs to open back up. I am in luck. I spot a gypsy traveling show. I make sure to drop some coins in for every performer. It takes me back to my own little gypsy troupe like it was yesterday. I enjoy myself immensely. I clap and laugh right along with many of the children who have gotten  their mothers or fathers to stop to watch the shows. I have such a good time I nearly forget to head to the pubs until they should all be serving the mid-day meal. I notice the hawker is being relieved (presumably for his break for that meal). I offered to treat him if he would eat with me. I knew no gypsy would pass up a free meal and so off we went. 
     We talked and talked. We compared stories and even found out that we knew of a few of the same people thru acquaintances with some of the people that each of us traveled with. We gypsies do range far and wide evidently. He said he had noticed that I had made a point of patronizing each performer and had wondered if I had been in the life or was just a soft sell. He said that after he got a good look into my eyes once I got close to his stand he knew it was not the latter. We got around to how long we were each going to be there and where we had been recently. My paranoia about Daresh made me invent most of my recent past and I felt bad for it but not bad enuf not to do it. He told me that he and his troupe were working their way south. I asked him how his travels had been. He said that they had been very smooth except for some trouble in Giilia. I asked him what sort of trouble. He said that it is now sometimes called the city of bats. He said too, that the city was once a growing thriving city but that now it was losing citizens instead. He said they are very suspicious of outsiders there now. He told me that many of those who could afford it were moving out. He also spoke of mysterious disappearances besides those people moving. He advised that if my route led north that I might want to steer clear of Giilia. I thanked him for the warning and he thanked me for the patronage and the meal and the company.
     I had bad luck the rest of the day with the search for Ars 2. I finally gave up and went back to the docks. I told the captain that I wanted to check the cabins to make sure all was in order for my group tomorrow. I went to the cabins and put the 10 gold in each of the 3 of them that would be occupied. I thanked the captain and told him that all seemed in order and left to head back to Geanavue.
     The following morning everyone seems well but Ars advises against traveling with all of Am’s spells depleted. Everyone seems to think this a good idea so we stay another night before continuing our march northward. I tell the others what I have learned about Giilia once we are back on the road and we agree to give it a wide berth. We travel until near dusk looking for a good camping site. Just when we are about to give up and settle for the open ground we have been riding over, we spot a cabin thru some widely spaced trees. There is no smoke coming from the chimney. As we get closer, the place looks deserted. Not only deserted, it looks dilapidated too. We approach it cautiously nonetheless. I sneak to the side to listen at one of the open windows. I hear nothing at first. Then, very distinctively, I hear boots on a wooden floor. I listen more closely, holding my breath so that I won’t miss anything. The boots stop and then I hear KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK- “Hello, is anybody home?” in Ars’ voice! I could choke him! “Helloooo, anybody home?” he calls again. I go around to the front to back him up.
After I get there, he opens the door to look in. I don’t see anything in the sorry little room that was behind the door. I hurry back around the building in case anyone is trying to sneak out the back and away or around to the front to surprise us after we are inside. Nothing. I go back to the front and start tying up my horse for the night.
     Ars calls for Am from inside the cabin. I can hear them talking inside but can’t make out what they are saying. This goes on for a little while and I decide to go in and see what is going on. When I walk in the door, the cabin now smells like a field hand’s old work boots. There is an old blanket pulled aside to reveal a second room to the cabin. The smell is stronger the closer I get to that second room. Pan is in there with Am and Ars and some old geezer sweating out the shakes. Ye gods but he stinks! Ars and Am seem to be discussing the flowering plant beside the man’s bed. I think Am calls it belladonna and they both seem to agree it is poisonous. They wonder aloud if he has eaten it and if that might be the source of his obvious discomfort. Big deal. I guess they have never seen a drunkard have to go without the juice for long where they come from. I turn to go back out to my horse. Too bad. I guess I will be sleeping on the ground after all. There is no way I can sleep in that stench. And just wait til he starts seeing things! I doubt any of us will get any sleep then. As I make it back to the horses, I hear the first lonesome howl that can only be a wolf baying at the moon. I look up. It is a full moon too. I wonder how close it –no, there go a couple of more of them; and they sound closer than the first. Maybe I can stand the smell if I try. Then I hear something behind me. I turn to see Ars helping/dragging the old man from the cabin with Am and Pan behind him. I ask if they heard the wolves. They all nod. I ask Ars if he has been calling for one since he lost Courage, his wolf companion. He starts to reply but we are rushed by 6 wolves before he can.
     3 of them rush for Ars and the old man. Ars drops him to draw his weapons and tries to get between them and the old man. 2 go for Pan and the last goes for Am. I close to striking distance to help Ars. Am calls one of her lynxes to fight her wolf. Pan sends a gout of flame from her hands to ignite the wolves fur to deter them. Ars can’t keep both wolves off the old man and he is soon finished off with his throat torn out. I finish the one I started on in 2 rapid strokes. Am and her lynx have hers almost finished. Pan’s have finished rolling on the ground putting out their fiery pelts and are closing on her again. Ars is having some trouble since he has 2 as well. Then, as if from nowhere, two humanoids that look like a cross between a man and a wolf that walk upright, charge in on Pan and Ars’ flank! I close on the man-wolf to help Ars again since he is now covered on 3 sides. Pan starts to take a serious beating. I have engaged the man beast thinking that Ars and I can make short work of it together after he finished the wolves on him. I suppose I guessed wrong. He maneuvers out of the ring of foes and as soon as he has the 2 wolves down he runs off to help Pan. He always finds a way to piss me off every day it seems! I vent my fury on the big furry. It hits the ground in short order but I am amazed at the amount of damage it was able to absorb in order to put it down. Ars and Pan are still fighting theirs. I downed mine alone before the 2 of them have stopped theirs. Praise be unto Risk and Watcher! It is good to be one of the Chosen! What black magic is this?! The beast I just felled is no longer a beast! It has changed into a normal looking man! The one on those 2 has decided to run and fight another day. I debate chasing it and decide not to. Ars pulls his bow and drops the wounded beast with a single arrow. We heal a little and move on to a quieter camp site despite the late hour. 
     The next nine days and eight nights are unexpectedly calm and uneventful. We travel and camp as if we haven’t a care in the world.
     Late in the ninth day, we enter Haanex. We make our way to the crazy tilted tower that is home to Veodin. Blue smoke pours from the upper floors of the tower that seems even more canted despite its obviously new supports’ efforts. I knock on the door lightly in hopes of not sending it tumbling over. There is no answer. Ars calls out to Veodin as he bangs on the door. The entire tower seems to shake as he does so. Veodin sticks his head out of one of the smoking windows and in a very surly tone asks, “WHAT? Can’t you see that I am busy?” He recognizes us at this point and bids us to come in. We yell back that the door is locked. He nods and says something about yes of course it is and turns to tell somebody in the room with him to go down to let us in. Shortly, his son opens the door for us. 
     We follow him up the rickety stairs to Veodin’s lab. We tell him a little about our adventures since going of to find Geolain and explain that we are looking for Daresh. We tell him that we think she is the “woman of power in the north”. He says that he may be able to help us. He begins concocting something from several beakers and vials. He rushes downstairs only to rush back up with the final ingredient. “Now watch the mirror,” he says. He adds the final liquid and an oily vapor rises from the blended liquids to coat the mirror he indicated. The mirror seems to warp and bend slightly. Then it is as if we are flying over the land going north along the side of the forest and can view our path thru the mirror. The trip gains more speed the farther we go, nearly blurring at the end until it comes to an abrupt halt with the image of a large stone walled stronghold on its silvery surface. It continues inside the stronghold into a bedchamber where a familiar figure lies sleeping. As our view improves, it is apparent that Daresh is changing under the influence of the coin. She has the coloration of some of the undead creatures we killed in the vaults of NeMoran. Suddenly, her eyes snap open and she lets out a hiss like a snake or a terrified cat. She flings her hand out toward us and the mirror cracks into a thousand shards. 
     We know at least that we should follow the edge of the forest for a ways before we need to head out more into the plains of Skaarna. Veodin says that most of the trip was too fast but he thinks that he recognized at least one village and that the information that he has heard about this “woman of power” would put her in the general direction of that village. She would be further north of course, he says. It is told that she has already taken over 3 of the 10 fiefdoms that Skaarna is divided into. “The name of the village…” I prompt. Of course, he says. The village is Raddick. We take our rest for the night and head for Raddick the next morning.
     We make our way to Raddick, some 2 days journey. It catches our eye a short while before dark. We enter thru the southern gate after being briefly questioned by the gate guards. We make our way to the inn the guards recommended (the only one in town), the Shattered Candle. It is not really an inn. It is more like several manor houses that have been joined together. I just thought the inn in Geanavue was grand. This puts it to shame. It has kept all of its stately elegance of the former home that it was and more. We take rooms on some of the upper floors but not the “suites” which are at the very top. The dining room is doing a lively trade in spite of the small town population. It must be the center gathering point for nightlife and such for the whole town. The food is great and the atmosphere is too. There is much laughter and plenty of singing and story telling and lots of games like cards and darts and some drinking game where the contestants stack copper pieces on various parts of their bodies and then have to move and catch them. It is heavy on fun with your neighbors without the pressure of the big city bustle to make every copper they can off the customer and without the yoke of any mean drunks that I can see. All in all it is a very homey, small farm town kind of feeling.
     That is until the shadows start to stretch long. 
     Things break up rapidly as the night begins to fall. After all the other diners have left, the door is locked and barred with a heavy piece of oak. The barkeep tells us we are welcome to stay up as long as we like and eat or drink as we like. We can settle up in the morning for that he tells us. He makes us swear not to open the doors or windows however. We ask him why not but he will not give any details. He just tells us that our lives will be forfeit if we open them and more than likely the lives of everyone in the inn. We press him for information but he simply retires after getting our oath. Sitting here in an empty dining hall is no fun so we go on to our rooms. We watch out our windows for a while to try to see what has the town so fearful but see nothing and so decide to retire ourselves.  
     Shortly after I lie down, I hear the sound of heavy boots marching echoing thru the streets. Am must have heard it too because she is already sitting up when I start to get out of bed. It is a little unsettling to tell the truth. There is something that is positively eerie about it. We go to the window together to try to find out what is going on. In a little while, for better or for worse we get our answer. A shadowy gaunt figure clad in fine, if battle-tested, plate armor and shield stalks the night. It is or rather was definitely military at some time if its current carriage means anything. Its movement can only be described as a brisk tactical march. Its movement is crisp and sure despite its obvious undead state. This is not the brittle skeleton or staggering zombie that we have faced before. I only see the one but I can hear the bootfalls of its companions in other parts of the town. By now, I can hear Ars and Pan talking as they too look on from their window. Our militant wraith is systematically making its way down the street. It stops at each door and shuttered window; trying each one so as to gain entry. When it gets to the Shattered Candle’s doorway, I decide to see what our fiends are made of. As it turns the knob and shakes the door, I cast Disrupt Undead. The golden glowing ray hits the creature squarely and it does not seem pleased. I draw back alongside the wall next to the window to make the best use of my cover. I did not count on the infernal creature firing thru the panes of the glass itself! A heavy bolt crashes thru the glass and leaves a burning furrow across my dark belly. I step to the window and hit it again with the golden ray. Am tries to turn the filthy thing using Mother’s power. I can’t believe it! It is unfazed! By now it has reloaded its heavy crossbow. It sends a bolt into Am. Am and I have become so close in these last weeks that the only thing that could have sealed its fate more surely would have been for it to use some sort of magic on me. This is surely enuf to get it the grave it has eluded so far. I ask Am to heal me. She looks a little surprised since my wound is not too serious and I don’t usually ask for her spells needlessly. “A 3 story drop can be a little tricky,” I say as I climb into the open window. I feel her hands on me and the warm sensation I always get when she works her healing magics on me; and then I am dropping quickly to meet our foe face to rotted face.
     The ground rushes up at me. I use everything I have learned about tumbling and jumping but I still feel my ankle give a little twinge as I come down on one of the larger cobblestones. I roll with it to keep the damage to a minimum and call Flamesinger into the cool night air. I see some of Ars’ arrows bounce off of it as it closes to me and know that the charge off the wand and Risk’s Shield were both well spent upstairs. I also had cast Sorcerous Touch before I leapt and I use it to channel some Personal Lightning right into all that fine metal made for stopping blades. It doesn’t help in any way that I can see against my sparking arc. If anything it seems to attract it. Before I have time to celebrate my success, it has closed the ground and misses me by barely the width of the flat side of a blade despite my enchantments.. Focus, woman! If you mean to see the light of day again, that is. I spin and take my blazing blade high to bring it crashing into a weak point Magnus told me about in plate- the joints. I hit home true enuf but the blow seemed to have much less affect than it should have. I had expected the slash to at least disable the foul animated corpse somewhat. It did not. It practically absorbed most of the impact and then sent its longsword’s glittering point thru my side almost as if I had not even hit it. Nothing vital is hit but quite a bit of blood running. That won’t be good if this drags out a while. Strange, I can feel the fatigue setting in already. The others are helping some. I think that was one of Pan’s magic missles I just saw flash into it. I dance away from it and try a different combat style hoping to confuse it. I flash   ’Singer high and bring it down quickly and viciously between its helm and the edge of its shoulder protections. Let him try to shrug that off! The blazing blade even bit into the upper part of the breastplate. Oh no! It is wedged there! I yank it free with all of my might and spin away to narrowly avoid another nasty jab. After a few several more slashes and defenses, I finally put the nasty grave escapee down for good. 
     I can hear the others telling me to climb the rope. Rope? “What rope?” I ask while turning to them. They have dropped one end of a rope out of the window. “I just got down here and have only killed one. I am not climbing back up there. If you want to help me, come down here and let’s take them out or drop me one of those potions,” I call back up to them while holding my hand to my bloody side. I listen intently in the quiet of the street. I hear a soft whump to my left. Am has dropped a pillow out of the window. “I put the potion inside the pillow cover to keep it on the pillow during the drop,” Am calls down. Good thinking, girl. Better that than trying to catch it in my slippery, bloody hands. “Let me know if you see one coming,” I yell to them as I reach for the pillow. “His armor is magical. So is his sword. So is his shield. His cloak is magical too!” Am calls down from the window. Wow! Talk about hitting the jackpot! Where would a dead guy come up with that much magic? Maybe the rest of his buddies will be loaded too. I certainly hope so. I would like to get back to the mage’s potion shop in Geanavue at the very least, if not bigger and better things. I feel around inside the cover until I find the potion. I pull it out and swallow the potion down in one gulp. Its warmth spreads rapidly from my throat to my side where it quickly stays the bleeding from the shallow wound. 
     I can hear the sound of heavy boots but can’t determine the direction it is coming from when Pan yells that another one is coming from the street straight ahead of the inn. There is my next victim. I can barely make him out in the low light of the small street lanterns from this distance. I reach out to him with my Lightning thru my Touch. No need to let him get here fresh; well as fresh as a rotted corpse can be. I’ll try to have him worn down as much as I can if I can’t drop him outright before he gets here. All of a sudden, he is entangled in a massive web stretching from one side of the street to the other. Not to pass up a freebie, I Lightning him again. Ars is peppering him with arrows while he is stuck but my spells are not as easy to replenish as his arrows so I hold my hand for now. 
     “There are 2 more coming from the south,” Pan shouts. Ignorant witch! Like I have a clue as to which direction is south! Oh, wait. We were coming from the south and the gate we came thru is that way. I can hear them but cannot see them. Her perch must give her a better vantage point. Where is Ars? Why isn’t he down here killing off these abominations? He was so ready to kill those men at the keep on the cliff because they had imprisoned a thief. Aren’t these abominations so much more obviously “wrong” than those tower inhabitants? Does his conscience only work when females are involved and screaming for help? Well, if he is waiting for one of the Chosen to start mewling like that bitch in the tower, he had better not be holding his breath. Oh, how I miss Rakis. And missing him reminds me of how much more I miss Magnus. Neither of them would be in a third story room while a woman stood her ground, alone, in the streets with these things. A couple of bolts zinging by my head serve to bring me back to matters at hand.  The 2 undead things have made their way to where we can all 3 see each other. I will use the same Lightning strategy since I have sometime before they close to melee distance. It is probably even wiser now since I don’t think being between 2 of those bastards could be too healthy for a girl Even if she is one of the Chosen.. 
     I repeatedly shock the hell out of the one in the lead. I can see either smoke or steam rising from inside its armor into the cool night air but it continues, undaunted, for me. The others are trying to aid me with plenty of missle fire, magical and mundane, from above. Just as I am steeling myself to be head to skull with these 2, I feel the fire and impact of a heavy bolt racing from the big muscle in the back of my leg to my mind! Damn it! One is behind me. 2 was bad but 3 is worse. I move across the street to use the corner of that building to cover me from the 3rd’s aim. I hear the wild scream of Am’s battle cat and hope it will keep the newest guest busy and off my back til I can drop at least one of these. I pull the bolt from the back of my thigh and feel the wave of nausea wash over my stomach as it makes a wet, sucking sound as it pulls free. I also feel the warm rush of blood that bathes the lower half of my leg. After all the Lightning I slammed into the lead corpse, he goes down quickly under my fiery blade. Am must have come down to the rope to help me after seeing the arrow hit me from behind. That must have finally shamed Ars from his cubby hole. He is climbing down a rope from his and Pan’s room. 
     The 2nd from the south decided to try to take on Am instead of doubling up on me. I don’t know if it was because he saw how I carved up his buddies or what but I am glad for the respite. My breath is coming in ragged gasps. The wounds are bad but I have had worse and still held up better than this. Flamesinger seems so heavy and so do my feet and legs when I try to execute even some of the simple footwork involved in the martial styles I have adopted. Why am I so weak? 
     Break is over. The undead merc went thru Am’s cat just about as quickly as I have ever seen anything do it. That is scary, when I consider some off the foes those cats have faced right along beside of us. I send some Lightning into him to try to soften him up a little before he gets here. Now it is just down and dirty. Slash and dodge. Feint and strike. Defend and counterattack. Over and over again, we repeat this deadly marathon dance competition. Only in this contest, you must outlast your partner rather than the other couples. My legs scream from the hot ache that usually comes only after a long period of hard running. I have lost count of the times that my blade has cut into this bastard. I know I have hit him at least 10 times. I have never had anyone withstand that many blows from me and Flamesinger. I don’t know of course, but I think 10 blows from me and ’Singer would have even given Poole some pause if I was be able to stay away from the terrible crushing blows that he and his club must be able to deliver. Another one of its thrusts gets thru my defenses. I can feel my muscles becoming even more tired before the blade is withdrawn for another strike. What are these things and where did they come from? After several more do si do ’s, I finally watch him drop to the ground in a motionless heap. I am too tired to celebrate. Sweat pours out of me and drips to the ground in great large drops. It is as if the strength has just been sapped from my body. 
     From the growling and feline screams coming from my right, another one of them must have joined our little party only to be met by another battle lynx. Am and Ars are having a terrible time with the one under the inn’s windows. I look to my right. The fiend has dispatched the lesser lynx already. If I step out from my cover, he could rush me. If I don’t Am’s flank is uncovered and she and Ars have trouble enuf already. Hopefully it is too stupid to charge. I cast Fleet Feet upon myself. I pull a vial of holy water from it’s steel skin. I step out and dash it against the foul bladesman. The joy I feel from the smoking hole it makes on him and the resulting scream of pain is short lived. His squad-mate is not so stupid as I had hoped. He has charged my unprotected flank. I feel as if molten lead has just been poured into my guts. I can hear screaming as he pulls his longsword from within me only to realize it is me doing the screaming. Blood pours from 3 holes: the entry point, the exit wound on my other side, and from my mouth. Am rushes to me and pours healing energy into me. Although it is one of her mightiest spells, it can only slow the red rivers, not stop them. I use Watcher’s gift of speed to put as much distance between me and my would-be-killer. I drink the potion of Mirror Image I had intended to surprise Daresh with( I have to live out today to get to her) and pull out my web scroll. . Ars and Am retreat to me faster than the corpse-blades can. I read the scroll only to miss them as I did Li-mead’s hellcat. Damnation! Wasted gold and another public show of my incompetence! I am not sure which I hate worse. 
     The foul bladesmen advance upon us with the steady morale that can only come from already being dead. Am escapes further behind me. Ars flees to my left. I try to remember everything Magnus told me about fighting while outnumbered. I want to use my feet to position myself so that one of them  acts as a shield for me against the other one so I move to try to keep one of them between me and the other one. It is better to prevent an attack from coming rather than having to try to make them all miss. It is also paramount to prevent them charging and flanking tactical advantages. One of the damned strikes and dissipates one of my images. The other is out of position due to my previous movement. I know not where the strength comes from to do it but I execute a leap and a few somersaults to tumble away from the undead murderers and reposition myself to keep them out of advantageous positions. I use my quickness to stop the opportunities of their attacks from coming, rather than my blade or my spells(what few remain) to defend against them in order to  give the others a chance to regroup. I continue to keep them in line with each other or otherwise confound their attempts to charge and/or flank me while putting more distance between us. “Always try to play to your strengths or to your foe’s weakness or best case: your strength against his weakness,” Magnus told me on several occasions. Well right now my speed against their lack of it seems about as good of a match as I am going to get. I just don’t want to get too far ahead of them so that they remember that they could both attack with their heavy crossbows pretty much no matter how I move. I don’t think I could take even one more hit at this point. I need to stay close enuf to bait them into keeping their swords out no matter how ineffectual they are.  
     Then the world goes up in flames!
     Or at least, the street and the remaining undead and part of the surrounding buildings go up in flames. A massive explosion unlike anything I have ever seen before simply consumes nearly everything in a circle twice as wide as the street around the monsters. I am barely able to keep my feet from the shock wave that rolls out from the blast. For maybe the second time, I am glad Pan is with us. I am on my last legs. The inn is on fire. Pan is throwing her stuff and Ars’ gear from the window. I tell her to throw Am’s and mine too. I go to the previously undead but now really dead bladesmen and start to strip them of the things Am detected as magical right after I killed the first one. The inn is going up fast. I tell Pan again to start throwing out our stuff too. There is no way I can undo all the buckles and straps of the armor before the whole town should be out here. I just get the quick stuff. 
     Ars comes riding around the blazing building. He tells me to forget stripping them but to just throw the goons over the backs of the horses. I help him do it. Pan is coming down the rope! She hasn’t gotten anything out of mine and Am’s! My happiness with her company is officially over. I go over and start to pick up some of her stuff to throw back into the fire. Ars yells at me to just climb up the other rope and get it myself. I scream at him to look at me! Just how far does he think I could climb? I can scarcely stand from the weakness and fatigue of both the strenuousness of the battle and from the fantastic amount of blood I have lost so how does he expect me to climb anywhere? He tells me to lead the horses back to the stables with the bodies and he will get our stuff and be right behind me.
     I slowly lead the animals back to the stables. It is a good thing they don’t act up too much. I don’t know if I could hold them if they did. It finally hits me how badly I am hurt as I move away from the fire of the inn. The fire must have been keeping me warm while I was so close to it. Now that I am away from it I can feel the cold sinking in. The cold is just like when I lay bleeding out at the feet of that demon cat in the jungle. I hope Am has some healing left. Thru the fog of my self-pity, I notice that the fire has driven the people from the inn but that there are no other people but the inn dwellers in the streets. I also notice that no one is trying to put out the blaze. Everyone seems much more intent on beating on a door trying to get in off the street. No luck there to be had by anyone that I can see. There are no doors opening despite the terrible cries of their neighbors out here in the firelit streets. What have these things done to this town? What could they have done so that not one person has the heart to try to help his neighbor? Fie! A pox on all the gutless cowards! I finally make it to the stables.
     Am and Pan are saddling the horses. I start stripping the bodies and loading that gear on the horses already dressed out. I can see the inn thru the stable doorway. There will be nothing left. I take one of the shields and walk out into the streets. I look for the innkeeper. I want to give him the shield to help him rebuild the Shattered Candle. It was a grand inn and it was no fault of his that Pan doesn’t know how to use her spells or scrolls. I look until I see Ars finally coming back. Where has he been so long? While I am looking for the innkeeper, I see that the fire has spread. After it has run its course, there may not be anything left of the town. Back to the stables I go.
     We load up and ride for the north gate. When we get there, it is locked. Ars calls for the guards and I look for a mechanism to open the thing from here inside the walls. I don’t find one; it must be inside the guard shack. Ars is getting no answer from in there despite his pleas for help to save the burning town. Cowards! Ars goes of to try to find another way out or some more receptive guards. I think I will try to contend with these; I am too tired to run all over this burgh. I try to pick the lock on the door. It confounds my attempts. Damn you cowards in there! I wish Rakis were here again so that he could just smash the door down but I here my father saying, “If wishes were horses, then beggers would ride…” Horses! Horses are strong. I will use my horse to pull the door down. I tie my rope thru the pull ring. I tie the other end around the horn of my saddle. I smack the animal on the haunch and leap back ready for it to drag the door of the hinges. It does not work quite like I thought. The pull ring is no longer on the door but the door still stands in the way. Damn it! I hurry to the door and push my fingers in the hole to try to lift the bar or whatever is keeping us from getting in. I can’t feel anything. I squat down to look thru the hole to see if I can at least see what our obstacle is. The lantern light is blacked out quickly and I have the terrible feeling that this was a bad idea. I duck my head to protect my eye and try to roll out of the way. Too late. There is a bright colorful flash of light just above my right eye from the impact and as the colors fade out so does the rest of my vision as I fall over backwards. At least I saved my eye, runs thru my mind as I fall in what seems like slow motion. I never even feel the ground as everything is black before I get there…


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## Sayburr (Mar 31, 2002)

Yes, I think Jza's player does a most wonderful job on the writeup.  It is nice to see how the character feels during some of the situations and it also gives me an idea on where the character would like to see the campaign go.  Seeing these write ups gives me additional plot hooks to use later.

Mark is the only one in the group who takes the time to do a write up so I am afraid you will not get to see other's reactions to the adventures.  I wish they would do write ups so I can make the campaign more interesting for them.


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## Sayburr (Apr 27, 2002)

*Three Poisoned Beers for Here Please*

'oooooooooh my aching head! Why is it that everything must try to crack my skull' Other than the cat in the jungle which did actually send me to see Watcher and Risk, it seems that every other serious blow has been to my head. 'Amber'' I call weakly. She is not far, of course. She touches me with Mother's healing to restore me to good health after several spells. After that, she tells me that we rode out of town and came across this farmhouse and its family. The farmer has given us shelter and privacy after Ars paid them a few gold and brought in a deer to help feed everyone. The farmer has asked us to break bread with his family tonight. Amber tells me that the farmer has been trying to convince us that we need to go any direction except north. He does so again that night over the evening meal and we try to be polite and act as if we might take his advice after some consideration. It is a good meal and it is nice to be at a family table again. It makes me long for the one I left behind somewhat.

     We set our watches and bed down for the night again in the farmer's barn. It seems like I have just begun to sleep when Ars is shaking me awake again. 'What is it'' I ask bringing Flamesinger into my hand. He says he thinks something is disturbing the cattle and he fears it might be more of that devil bitch's agents. Everyone is awake now and we go to the door of the barn to have a look. We are all looking out and Ars says he thinks he sees something and starts toward it. The rest of us see nothing and remain in the door. After a short while, he returns to tell us there are wolves out there and he has talked to them and they are hungry and want to kill some of the cattle. I tell him that is what wolves do and head back to bed. Later, he comes back and BRINGS ONE OF THE WOLVES INTO THE BARN WITH HIM! I start up the ladder into the loft and am almost half of the way up it before he is telling it (or us) that everything is ok as he rubs its neck. 'Get that thing out of here!' I yell. 'Can't you see it is scaring the horses!' He puts it outside and we bed back down for the rest of the night.

     The next morning we are getting geared up for the road when we see some riders approaching the farmhouse. They ask if they can water their horses and perhaps get a bite to eat. We tell them that we are only doing just that and they should ask the owner instead of us. They start asking questions about us and where we have ridden from and I am sure it is time to go. I turn the tables on them by asking them questions in reply to their questions instead of giving them answers to them. I pretend we are sellswords who would like to join with the region's leader against this 'woman of power'. They are distracted by my tactics and we end up getting information from them and at the same time stop their inquires about us.  I ask them where we might find someone to talk to about earning some coin in this conflict. They give us directions to a manor house a day's travel north. They say we should find whom we need to talk to there. We thank them and move out rapidly before they start to question us again or talk to the farmer about us before we are gone.

     We debate not taking the road but it will be a day's travel on it and more off so we ride on the road despite the obvious dangers. The cold is becoming more apparent. Towards the end of the day it begins to rain. As the sun is dropping out of the sky, we make out the manor house in the distance. Full dusk is upon us when we reach it. I am looking forward to getting out of the chill and into what seems a lively pub as I am tying off my horse. Just being close to a tavern has raised my spirits. But, as I am reaching for the door, a revelation occurs to me. We have been on the road. It is a well-known path to the bitch whose heels we are dogging. I don't remember seeing ANY other people in this whole day of riding with skin or hair dark like mine. Bells go off tolling the dangers of staying in a place like this in my mind. I almost turn around to go back to my horse but the others have already tied off their horses and have almost caught up with me. I can hear them talking about how good it will be to get out of the chill and the rain and how much better it will be sleeping in a warm bed rather than a barn. Make the best of it I tell myself. I go straight to the barkeep and get an ale and tell him to have a hot meal sent up right after he tells me which room is to be mine. I head quickly for the stairs acutely aware of how much I stand out here. There is a serving girl who is even prettier than I. I can tell from the hate in her eyes behind her smile that she is not used to nor liking even the few sets off eyes that look at me rather than her. She is used to all of them on her I am sure. I don't even slow down or acknowledge her anger to give it anything to catch on. I lower my head and get to my room as quickly as possible.

     The others stay downstairs. 

     I eat and make ready for bed quickly. I am preparing to wash when there is a knock on my door. 'Jza, it is Amber. Open the door quickly,' comes thru the door in a muffled urgent whisper. I rush to the door to find it is all 3 of them, not just Amber.  They all push into the room and close the door behind them. 'What is going on'' I ask. 

     They tell me that they had noticed some of the customers at one table looking at them more than they thought to be reasonable interest. Amber had told Pan and Ars that she would go outside to cast detect evil unnoticed and then return to the table. When she returned, she immediately told Ars and Pan that there were several evil entities in the room. She concentrated on her spell a little longer and numbered them as 5. By now, Ars and Pan are having trouble not staring at the people they caught staring at them. 'But there are only 4 of those guys,' Ars said. 'Where is the fifth'' he asks. 'The fifth is standing right there with them,' Amber says. Pan turns and is amazed to see the serving wench is the only one close to the ruff looking bunch. 'And the standing one is the strongest source of evil,' Amber says after a little more concentration. 'The serving wench is the only one there with them,' Pan says. This breaks Amber's concentration. She looks suddenly at the mugs the wench brought to their table just before going to the ruffians table. Ars and Pan have less than a half a mug left each. She calls on Mother to tell her if anything at the table is poisoned. All the drinks change to a sickly green-black color as do Pan and Ars. (Evidently she had not told them what she was casting and until she tells me, they must not have known what dire straits they were in. The look on their faces as that realization dawns is priceless.) Amber says that she remembered when the little desert boy was suffering from the jellyfish stings that I had something to help him so she asked the 2 of them to come upstairs with her. She asks if I have any left to try to help Ars and Pan because she doesn't have any spells that will help other than to make the poison take longer to kill them.

     I nearly tell her I only have one and am prepared to let Pan deal with it herself. But she may be of some use against the queen bitch, Daresh, so I hand over two of the four vials I had been holding in case someone was particularly wicked in their use of traps. Ars and Pan quickly grab the vials and gulp their contents down. We wait a few moments to let it work and Amber casts asks Mother if they are still poisoned and is relieved to find out that they are not. I use a charge from my wand of armor and invoke Risk's shield. I empty what is left of my ale (damn glad I got mine directly from the barkeep) into the chamber pot and head out the door and down the steps.

     I stagger purposely as I make my way to the main floor. I hold my empty mug up and call for the serving wench to come over and refill my mug. She points out to me that the barkeep is right there and that he will be glad to refill it while she is waiting on these customers. I continue my slightly drunken charade as I cross the floor to where she and the rest of the murderous scum are. 'But, I want you to fill it my sweetling,' I say with a slur as I set the mug onto her serving tray. As she is trying to puzzle out what exactly to do, I will 'Singer into my hands and drop to one knee to slash her belly underneath the tray she is still holding. Then all Hell breaks loose!

     I can hear the rest of the group charging across the floor to come to my aid as I continue my spin coming back up to my feet. Using Watcher's Aim, I open up her belly like a cook does a fish with a second cut to spill even more of her blood. The shock has worn off now and the scum seated around the table are leaping to their feet and pulling their weapons. There is a sudden terrible stench of burning sulphur and just as suddenly there are four demons among us! By now Ars has come to her and has driven a terrible blow right thru the wench in addition to my slashes. One of the demons is right next to me but I am intent on sending this summoner to her grave before giving her any chance to do any more damage. Ars strikes her again. There is that terrible smell again as four more devil spawn step into the room via some portal to hell. I wonder just how good my plan was at this point but quickly discard that wonder to keep my battle focus. Remember the kaleidoscope. Distractions and hesitation kill as surely as steel. I invoke Watcher's Aim again and send the tramp down to the floor in a bloody jumbled heap. 

     I step quickly from between two demons to avoid a terrible position of being flanked by them. Just in time too! Pan's efforts manifest in one of her sticky web spells to trap some of the scum and demons close to where I had been standing moments before. Ars has both blades flashing displaying his advancing skill with them. The familiar screams of Amber's battle cats are quite loud inside the hall. Blood runs freely from us, the scum, and a couple of guardsmen that have come to our aid. There are 2 more demons added to the fray at some point even tho the wench has since crumpled. The demons don't seem to have blood in their veins. They rather gushed some sort of thick viscous black ichor from their wounds instead. 

     From the edge of my vision, I see that Pan has been trapped in a web just like her own. Amber seems to be using her cats to shield her from the brunt of the demons brutal hand to hand attacks while she wounds them from just touching them. Ars and I are just standing toe to toe with these brutal outsiders and thugs as best we can. Ars is concentrating on the thugs and I seem to have drawn demon duty. No matter. They are all the same to one of the chosen. Their terrible claws are finding a way past my dancing defenses sometimes even with all of my protections and skill. And the wounds they leave make me all the more glad that the breeches are few. One of the guardsmen, the younger of the 2 in leather goes down hard. I don't know if he will ever get back up. The rest is mainly a haze of dodge and parry. Strike and counterstrike. Pain and blood. Furious battle yells and sickening steel inspired screams. 

     I had just put down a demon on one side of me while his companion on the other side was taking advantage of my Shield being away from him. I turned Risk's Shield to protect me from the remaining demon. I had just slashed at it twice when I saw several magical spheres of energy streak from the wizard thug toward me. They impacted upon Risk's Shield but could not penetrate it! That served to remind me of how close to death I really was. The terrible wounds from the demons had been mounting and I am sure that the missiles from the wizard would have surely taken me out of the fight, and maybe this life. I called upon the healing powers in the coin. My worst wounds were unfazed but my fatigue was lifted from me. I struck the demon and called forth the flaming sphere from inside 'Singer to appear right on the wizard! Some of the thugs had made their way out of her web spell and were closing on Ars and her. I saw what must have been the beginnings of another web spell from her but as soon as it hit my flaming sphere it became a mini fireball. It engulfed the wizard, the three who had just freed themselves, and unfortunately for Pan, the edge of her web; which of course sent it up in flames as well. She lays still upon the floor, burned and bloody.

     We have reduced our foes little by little to where they no longer have us badly outnumbered finally but all of us are badly wounded now too. Amber goes over to help Pan. A demon follows her and puts Amber down shortly after Amber has just saved Pan. Ars goes over to help Amber and he falls prey to the same fate but just by a different foe after saving Amber. The older guardsman has just finished the archer who dropped Ars, so I yell for him to help Ars since I still have a demon trying to rake my face off and one last one working its way out of Pan's surviving web. I put the demon down and the guardsman has saved Ars. 

     This leaves the guardsman and me and one unharmed webbed demon. I turn to him and ask if he is ready and he says yes. We close to the demon in position to flank it. I tell him to be ready after my first strike consumes the web and slash the demon mightily. As soon as the flames of 'Singer touch the web, it goes up instantly. The 2 of us double team the demon furiously. With it untouched and two of us sorely wounded, it is a close match. The guardsman goes down after a few exchanges but I send the demon down shortly after him. I stop the guardsman's worst bleeding and check on the others. All are still alive except the young guardsman. I stomp out the burning curtains and throw out into the cold rain what tables and chairs I can't put out. I loot the bodies of the fallen foes and start carrying the unconscious upstairs so they can rest better in their beds. I put a chair under the door knob of the room we are all in and hope it will at least give us some warning and time in case some one wants in that we don't want in. I pour all the healing potions I can find into Amber. After I have the 3 of them resting as well as I can, I lay down myself. Sleep is dragging me down into the darkness and I do not go kicking and screaming. I go quietly and with no resistance-like a good captive should...

     I go downstairs in the morning to get some breakfast and check on the guardsman. He is gone as are the bodies. Interesting...

     Amber is up and does some serious healing on herself and the rest of us. We debate pressing northward or heading east to get to a large town to find something to aid us after trading the magic we have gathered from the undead swordsmen in Raddick and from the murder squad from downstairs. I show the others the map and ambush layout and instructions I lifted from one of the would-be assassins. We finally decide to trade and arm ourselves as best we can in the east. We ride and get our items identified. No one wants the cloak that the spellcasting assassin wore so I tell them I would like it if no one else wants it. I pay them each a little gold on the money I owe them for keeping the coin. The rest try to find things to help them against Daresh. We hear that she is pressing her advantage and heading our direction. Now I have to ponder how to finally overpower and kill that bitch...


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