Tales of the Legacy - Concluded

And now for the Bardic nuisance....

Lanara Rahila; 9th level Bard, 2nd level Virtuoso; medium outsider (cansin); hit dice 9d6 + 2d6 +22; hit points 65; Initiative +3; movement 30'; AC 25, touch 13, flatfooted 22; attack bonuses and such are not in a manner I can translate; Special Abilities: Acid resistance 5, fire resistance 5, change self 1/day, entropic shield 1/day, darkvision 60'; align NG; SV Fort 5, Ref 10, Will 12; Str 11, Dex 16, Con 14, Int 19, Wis 16, Cha 22
Skills: Balance 7, Bluff 18, Concentration 4, Decipher Script 8, Diplomacy 18, Disguise 13, Escape Artist 10, Forgery 6, Gather Information 18, Hide 15, Intimidate 8, Know History 11, Know Nobility 7, Know Religion 6, Know Dragon 5, Know Local Tlaxan 5, Perform Stringed 18, Prof Warsinger 10, Prof Storyteller 10, Sense Motive 15, Sleight of Hand 7, Swim 1, Tumble 10, Use Magic Device 10, Bardic Knowledge 14
Feats: Dodge, Extra Music, Lyric Music, Weapon Finesse
Items: She has 3 Instruments of the Bard, which in Aelfenn combine into one instrument when brought close to each other. Other than that, she has multitudes of items the likes of which I am afraid to decipher.
Her spells are also illegible to me.
And Delemental had best keep his little trap shut about that, because if he gets me in trouble...No more babysitting!

Thank you all...

Thanks guys, gals, and other creatures! Now, a couple more updates?

-sorry I am like a kid at christmas now...

Certainly, there are larger cities on Aelfenn than Miracle, and cities with more impressive features. The party had seen the deceptively delicate spire of the Tower in Trageon rising miles into the air, surrounded by the massive floating platforms that comprised the Upper City. They had seen the elegant grandeur of the Emperor’s Palace in Noxolt. Kavan had told them all tales of the thousands of elegant spires that rose from the island city of M’Dos, which they would soon all see themselves. But despite all this, they found that it was difficult, if not impossible, not to be awed at the sight of a city that existed purely by the will of a god.

As expected, the dominant feature in the city was the temple of Paccë, a grand structure that went by the deceptively humble name of “House of Harmony”. The temple’s single spire was clearly visible several miles from the city. Kavan commented that from this distance, the temple in Miracle looked to be nearly as impressive as the one in M’Dos.

About a mile from Miracle itself, the party came to a large way-station staffed by priests and priestesses of the god of peace. “Peace to you, strangers,” said a round-faced priestess. “May I ask your business in Miracle?”

“Rest and supplies,” said Lanara, “before continuing on to Medos.”

The priestess eyed the party’s many weapons. “Are you aware of Paccë’s decree that no one shall come to harm within Her city?”

“We are aware,” Lanara said, “and regret that the nature of the world outside Her city is such that the bearing of arms is necessary.”

“I understand. If you would like, we offer the courtesy of peace-bonding your weapons while inside the city. If you ride your horses around to that building over there, my fellow peace-brothers will assist you. While in the city, please be certain to visit the House of Harmony.”

The party rode around as instructed and met a small cluster of Pacceans waiting for them. As they handed over weapons, the party was somewhat surprised to see that rather than the standard notion of ‘peace-bonding’ – a leather strap tying the weapon into its scabbard – that here the process involved wrapping the dangerous parts of any weapon in several layers of heavy white cloth.

“That’ll be a little hard to sheathe,” quipped Lanara as Autumn regarded her greataxe, which now looked like a ball of laundry on a stick.

“I don’t exactly feel sorry for her,” said Arrie, who was now holding a medicine ball-sized bundle that used to be an orcish shotput. “I wasn’t expecting them to be quite so thorough.”

They rode into town without further incident, following a well-used road and passing several other travelers, mostly merchant caravans from Sargia or hin clans from the Steppes. The edge of the bridge upon which Miracle rested was marked by a row of majestic marble columns, spaced fifty feet apart.

“I’m not used to a city without a gate or a wall,” Arrie commented as they passed the columns.

“Not much need,” Lanara said. “They say that there’s only been one time that the city has been attacked.”

“What happened?” Autumn asked curiously.

“It was a mercenary warband out of the Steppes, about four years ago. As soon as they rode within a mile, the entire city, bridge and all, rose into the air and just stayed there, safely out of reach. As least, that’s what the stories say.”

“What about the warband?” Arrie wondered. “Obviously, the citizens of Miracle didn’t do anything like drop rocks on their head.”

Lanara shook her head. “Wiped out by a joint attack from the Sargian and Medosi armies. Seems they didn’t appreciate the disruption in their favorite trade route.”

While Lanara talked, Kyle saw a pair of teamsters driving a large wagon, furiously whipping their horses to get them moving. “I’m confused,” he said out loud. “Shouldn’t those two be disappearing right about now?”

Lanara pulled her horse up and turned to face everyone. “Look, things aren’t quite as cut-and-dry here as that priestess at the way-station would have you believe. Paccë’s protection only extends to bipeds – humans, elves, gnomes, the touched, even things like gnolls and goblins, though you don’t really see them around here much. And it only affects sentient creatures, so that horse, if it wanted, could kick that teamster back and nothing would happen. That’s why animals are often used as guards here, since they can wound and kill without disappearing. Same thing applies to constructs, so some of the wealthier houses and businesses will have golems. I’ve even heard there’s a few that’ll use undead, though not publicly, of course. Besides, getting hold of bodies in a city of peace ain’t exactly easy.”

“Hey, Lanara,” said Osborn, “I had a cousin who came here once a while back. He mentioned getting in a bar fight while he was here. I guess that decking someone doesn’t count?”

Lanara nodded. “Anything that doesn’t cause lasting harm is okay. Seems Paccë realized that occasionally the town guard would have to do something to stop a person who didn’t want to be stopped.” She grinned. “There’s always loopholes in any set of rules. For example, if you’re interested there’s a thriving drug trade here, and a variety of prostitutes. Seems that self-inflicted harm doesn’t count either.”

Once inside the city itself, the party gave a young tout a few coins to guide them to a decent inn and stables. The boy led them about a half-mile into the city, to a sturdy three-story stone building whose sign proclaimed it to be The Cedar Grove. The inside was clean and well-lit, and true to its name, was dominated by cedar chairs, table, and ceiling beams. After arranging their rooms (which, after some discussion due to the recent changes in their standard sleeping arrangements, ended up being two large suites), Arrie told the others that she was going to find the local church of Tor, and would meet them back at the inn that evening. The others spread out in the city to sell a few items, buy supplies, and take care of personal business.

That night, Arrie was the last to return to the inn. When she arrived, she was accompanied by a tall, middle-aged man carrying a sword of unusual design on his back. The man’s dress and facial features were very similar to Xu’s; no one seemed more surprised by this than her.

“Any luck?” Autumn asked as Arrie sat down. The stranger remained standing nearby.

“At first, I didn’t think I would,” Arrie said. “The church of Tor here isn’t that big, more of a dispatch point for the churches’ hunters. Seems a lot of fugitives get the impression they’ll be safe here. But then I ran into Togusa here, and he’s filled me in on what’s going on.”

“What is it?” Kyle asked.

“I’ll let Togusa explain,” she said, motioning the man over. Togusa walked over and sat down calmly next to Arrie. He looked everyone at the table over before speaking.

“My name is Togusa. I am originally from a land far from here, though I suspect you know of this already.” He made the slightest of nods toward Xu, who returned it. “For some time now, I have been a hunter for Tor. Several years ago, Ariadne, myself and perhaps ten others participated in the hunt for a fugitive convicted of a series of brutal murders. This person tried to justify his crimes as being in pursuit of alchemical knowledge, saying that his victims had been party to alchemical experiments that had failed. When confronted with the possibility of punishment, he fled and a Hunt was formed. We pursued him to a small village where he had stopped and was trying to find passage across a river. His flight was impeded by the fact that unseasonable rains had flooded the river and no one was willing to risk themselves to ford him across. We pursued him to the river and fought some of his creations. During this battle, he was mortally wounded and bled to death. However because of the flooding we were unable to retrieve his body. The Hunt was declared completed however, since the criminal was dead.

“Over the past few weeks, the mark from that Hunt has been slowly reappearing for the original members.” Togusa held out his right hand, and revealed a black hound’s head mark identical to the one Arrie had. “There are scant rumors about that the criminal has reappeared, peddling his alchemical creations here in Miracle. In addition, the other members of our Hunt have been dying. We are investigating further the whereabouts of the dead members’ corpses, as one corpse has gone missing from the place where it was entombed.”

Arrie leaned in and said in a low voice, “I think you all can see where this is going. About five of the original twelve in the Hunt are dead now, and one missing body.”

“How do you want us to help?” Tolly said automatically.

“I need your help in tracking down information about this criminal, who’s apparently alive again,” she said. “Neither Togusa or I are very skilled in the ‘investigating and tracking’ part of a Hunt; we were more on the ‘subdual and capture’ end of things. Unfortunately, all of the investigative types in the original Hunt are dead now, and the church here doesn’t have anyone in town right now with those skills.”

“I can help with that,” Lanara said.

“Who are we supposed to be looking for?” asked Autumn.

“His name was Neville,” Arrie said. “But he had a lot of aliases. Basically, the reason that the church of Tor marked him for death – not just to be brought back for justice, but marked for death – is because wherever he went he let a trail of bodies in the name of his ‘experiments’. He was beyond a murderer, he didn’t care who his experiments hurt. He had absolutely no conscience. The church of Tor only issues a death-mark for the most heinous, unforgivable crimes.”

“If what you say is true, and this Neville is practicing his foul craft again,” Tolly said, “why come here? Would not Paccë’s ban make his work impossible?”

“Remember the drug trade here, Tolly,” Kyle said. “If he gets people to be in these experiments willingly, then he’s not harming them in Paccë’s eyes.”

“If he is here,” Arrie said, “then Togusa and I will need your help to take him out. But first we need to find him, and I can’t make the same kind of connections that some of you might.”

“What does he look like?” asked Kavan.

“He’s fairly tall, perhaps a few inches taller than the average human male. He had medium brown hair, very pale eyes, darkish skin.”

“Any distinguishing marks?” the elf pressed.

“Other than the scars from when we fought him at the river, no.” Arrie thought for a moment. “But he did have an assistant. An orc-touched, I believe. He was… well, let me put it this way. I’ve never met anyone who I haven’t been able to like in some way, but this man was… foul. Nothing obvious that you could point to, but just unpleasant to be around.”

During the conversation, Xu had eyed Togusa warily. She recognized his style of dress as that of a samurai, and he had the requisite top-knot marking his station, as well as the katana at his back. But he did not carry the smaller wakizashi, which would mark him as ronin. As she studied the warrior, she saw him studying her back. There was a barely perceptible nod exchanged between them; we will speak later, that nod said.

“You said this guy was an alchemist,” Kyle was saying. “I have to go pay for the healing potions I ordered earlier today anyway. I can drop a few questions around to see if anyone knows anything.”

“May I come with you?” Autumn asked suddenly.

“Um, sure, but it’ll probably be pretty dull.”

“I’d still like to come,” she said.

“I can speak with the priests at the church of Paccë,” Tolly offered. “Perhaps they have heard of recent disappearances in the city, or problems with grave-robbing.”

“It is certain that Neville is operating out of the eyes of the public,” Togusa said. “If any of you have connections with the shadier side of society, there may be much to be gained by looking there.”

Osborn said nothing, but already his mind was working on possible avenues he could use to contact the local underworld. Next to him, Kavan raised her voice. “I could try and talk with some of the local prostitutes. Perhaps I could even put the word out on the street that I might fancy a rendezvous with a pale-eyed man.”

“I can start that rumor, if you’d like,” Lanara said.

“You might want to use a different name than ‘Kavan’,” Autumn suggested. “Something a bit more feminine?”

“Call me ‘Kay’ for now,” Kavan said.

Arrie looked around the table, gratitude plain on her face. “Thank you for helping me,” she said.

“There was no need to ask,” Tolly said. “We have shed blood for each other.”

“I know,” she replied, “but in this… Neville was a bad man. I’m not the type to say that about anyone, normally, but in this case… it disturbed me to find out that this task is apparently not finished. Not just because it was a task that I agreed to as a matter of faith, but because he is apparently back to his old atrocities.”

The party began to stand up. “We can start laying some groundwork tonight, and pick it up again first thing in the morning,” Kavan said, “and meet back here again tomorrow night to compare notes.”

“Agreed,” said Togusa. “I thank you for your assistance.” He bowed to the group, then turned and addressed Xu. “Honored Lady,” he said. “I would be honored if you would sit with me for dinner tonight. I know of an establishment in town that can prepare food similar to that in our homeland.”

Xu, slightly taken aback at Togusa’s forwardness, nevertheless accepted. He escorted her out of The Cedar Grove and to a small restaurant on the other side of the city. After they found a table, Togusa went and spoke briefly with the cook before returning to sit down.

“Thank you for agreeing to dine with me this evening, Honored Lady,” Togusa said, speaking in the dissonant tones of the Xhintai Empire*. “It is most satisfying to once again be able to converse in a proper, civilized tongue.”

“Agreed,” replied Xu, as the serving wench sullenly set the teas on the table in front of them. “However, Lord Togusa, it seems to me that you have a specific purpose in mind for this conversation, aside from idle chatter to refresh your memories of home.”

Togusa winced a bit, but bowed slightly at the waist to his dining companion. “Your flattery places honor where there should be none. I am now neither samurai nor ronin, but some strange place in between. All will become apparent in time. Look, here is food. Let us dine while I enlighten you on past events presently brought to bear.”

They ate for a few moments in silence; the curry, rice, and noodle dish a stark contrast to the other tables’ steaming heaps of meat, potatoes, and ale. Togusa chewed as he collected his thoughts, then began suddenly. “Some years ago, my Lord’s betrothed was kidnapped. In an apparent fit of rage, my Lord gave me the command to punish the wrongdoers and retrieve his bride, no matter how far I would have to go to track them down.

“I led several others through the town, leaving our armor behind, making no more noise than the She Who Brings Night as She creeps across the sky. We did find those who had taken my Lord’s betrothed, and slew them all, rescuing the woman. There were complications, though, that prevented me from resting that evening.”

Togusa paused to sip his tea and clear his throat before continuing. “First, the group’s leader was in the process of burning several documents, and was not able to complete the process. Given, however, that the documents were under my Lord’s hand and seal, the fact that I was able to claim them before any others saw them meant that I did not have to slay my own men.” Xu’s eyes widened slightly in surprise at these statements, but her iron self-control kept her from displaying any other signs that what Togusa was saying was at all interesting.

“I had also not, until that time, realized that my Lord’s betrothed was the woman that I had loved and courted in my younger years, and still held a special place for in my heart. I could not speak to her of such things, though, that night or ever, for she now belonged to my Lord, and I could not interfere in this affair. Upon reviewing the documents later that evening, though, I discovered that neither could I allow it to continue. For the documents revealed that my Lord had ordered both the kidnapping and the rescue, to increase his standing with his people, and possibly to find a new, slightly richer wife.”

Togusa dipped into his curry for a few moments, and Xu took the opportunity to speak. “I comprehend your maze," she said. "Your lord ordered you to bring the perpetrators to justice, and you could not disobey that order. But your lord was one of the perpetrators, and you could not bring dishonor to him by exposing him of his crime. I would imagine your exit from this maze has something to do with your presence in these lands.”

“Most perceptive, Lady. I left my wakizashi with a note for my Lord, advising him that justice was not yet finished, and I would not return for my blade until the time of the final reckoning had passed. I left those lands to follow a slightly looser interpretation of my Lord’s final command to me, in service to the Hound of Justice, neatly solving a complex problem.”

“Except,” Xu pointed out, gesturing with her teacup, “that the main figure in your tale who deserves punishment still lives, with the respect of his people, and the love of the woman who has your heart.”

“He does. His time will come. When I am old and gray, and unrecognizable, and all that I have described has been forgotten, I shall return. I will take up the blade that I left, and I shall strike down my Lord with it. The woman I love shall have had a full and happy life; I will have obeyed the orders of my Lord to bring the perpetrators to justice; and the guards will likely slay me shortly thereafter, so I shall die with my secret, an anonymous assassin, and preserve my Lord’s honor.”

They ate in silence for a few minutes, meditating on the nature of love, honor, and service. Xu finished her tea, and looked across the table at Togusa. “A most informative story. I still do not comprehend, though, how this ties in with me and my past.”

“Ah, yes. My apologies, Honorable Lady. You see, I recognize you. You were once introduced to my Lord as my Lord’s cousin’s betrothed.” Xu started, a flutter of fear coursing through her veins at the mention of the incident. Togusa’s mouth twitched. “Yes, Hungai the Great is my Lord's cousin.”

Xu snorted. “Hungai the Girthful, you mean.”

Togusa shrugged. “Whichever you prefer. He was greatly dishonored when you fled.”

“I can well imagine.”

“He has vowed to retrieve you, no matter the cost. He commonly hires those who value gold more than honor or life to conduct his searches. By the time I left, he was beginning to come to the conclusion that you had left the Empire. By now, I suspect he realizes that you have left the continent entirely, as there have been descriptions of you circulating in some of the larger ports of Sargia for some time, now.”

One of the tipsier patrons came staggering up behind Xu, murmuring something about dancing and blankets. Togusa shot him a look that promised a slow, agonizing death, and the man stumbled off.

Xu nodded resolutely. “I was certain this day would eventually come. I shall seek out what information I can in this place. Please inform my companions, and send them my apologies. I feel certain that the remainder of them can assist Ariadne, especially with your prowess at their side.”

Togusa nodded. “Of course, Lady. I felt it only honorable to warn you. I wish you success in your endeavor.”

“And you in yours.”

----------------------------

* A note regarding the Xhintai Empire. When we first began this campaign, our DM had no plans to include an Asian-style region on his world. However, one of the players created Xu Dhii Ngao, an obviously Asian monk. Up until this very moment, there had been nothing else done to develop Xu's homeland; it didn't even have a name until I originally wrote up this session. Thus most of the 'details' that emerge about Xhintai are things that were made up on the spot, or added in during the writeup. Since I don't think our DM has any plans to set adventures there, pretty much the only exposure you should see in this SH to that Empire is Xu, Togusa, and Hungai.

Xu opened the door to her room at The Cedar Grove and saw her roommates sitting together in front of the fireplace. The large room held five beds as well as the sitting area, and normally each was separated by a screen of cedar panels. The panels had been moved aside to open up the room. Arrie sat on one of the couches near the fire, writing a letter. Kavan sat on the floor, with Lanara perched behind her on a chair trying to comb out her hair. Lanara looked up at Xu when she walked in.

“Yes, we look like schoolgirls having a slumber party,” she said. Then she cocked her head to the side. “Something the matter, Xu?”

“There is something that I think you should know,” Xu said. The others quickly focused on the monk as she crossed the room and sat in a plush chair. “Where is Autumn?”

“She went for a walk with Tolly,” Arrie said. “We can fill her in when she gets back.”

“I thought she was still out with Kyle,” Kavan said.

“No, she got back and then went and asked Tolly to go for a stroll. You were downstairs at the time, Maddie.”

“Maddie?” Xu asked, curiously.

The elven favored soul grinned. “It’s short for Madrone. It’s my new female name. I came up with it while you were out on your date with Togusa.”

“It was not a ‘date’,” Xu said. “Neither of us have many opportunities to converse in our own language or hear news of home.”

“Okay, fine, it wasn’t a date.” Kavan turned away from Xu, but not before flashing a surreptitious wink for Lanara.

“But Xu was just saying that she had something to tell us,” Arrie said.

Xu nodded. “Do you remember some time ago, in that restaurant in Trageon, when I told all of you that I had once been engaged but left when I decided that I did not want to marry?”

Everyone nodded. “Yeah, during spring break,” Lanara said.

“My account was not entirely accurate. I described my husband to be as a nobleman; a more proper term might be ‘warlord’. However, Lord Hungai was a prosperous warlord, and seemed set to rise in station. My parents, who are merchants, thought it would be wise to establish a connection with Hungai the Great; thus I was offered as a bride. But upon meeting him, I found him to be a repugnant man with few redeeming qualities. Despite the shame I knew it would bring to my family, I simply could not stay and be wed to him. So I ran, and after a time I came here, hoping to elude him.”

“But…” Arrie prompted.

“But Lord Hungai is as persistent as he is vain. Apparently he has declared that I will be his wife no matter what the cost, and has been searching for me. Tonight, I learned from Togusa that those hunters have arrived on this continent, and are certain to locate me soon.”

Kavan’s eyes flashed. “This Hungai can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. We’ll cut off his balls first.”

The other women in the room heartily agreed. Although Xu’s intention in telling her story was only to warn her friends of the danger she might bring upon them, and not to plead for assistance, it felt reassuring to know they would side with her against Hungai’s men. Xu was confident that the men in the next room over would feel the same.

Xu flashed her friends one of her rare smiles. “Thank you for listening to my story,” she said. “But in the morning it will be Ariadne who requires your aid, not I. Unfortunately, there are some matters I must attend to immediately in regard to Hungai’s bounty hunters. I must endeavor to find out how long they have been in Affon, and how close they may be. I can do this myself; I see no need yet to ask for your assistance, as the rest of you will need to search for this Neville. I will leave early in the morning, and return when I have learned all I can.”

The others nodded their agreement. “Just stay out of trouble,” said Lanara. Then the cansin yawned loudly. “Well, Maddie, there’s not much more I can do with your hair until it grows out a little more.”

“Kyle said he might be able to help with that,” said Kavan, who was now Madrone. “He said something about altering a prestidigitation spell.”

“Well, you can talk to him in the morning,” Lanara said. “Right now I want to go to sleep.” The bard scrambled into her bed and was snoring within minutes. The other women began to prepare for bed as well, changing into night-clothes or tying back their hair.

“You coming to bed?” Maddie asked Arrie, who was still sitting up on her bed.

“I’ll wait for Autumn,” she said. “Go to sleep.”

Arrie sat and tried to finish her letter, but found she couldn’t concentrate. She folded it up and put it away in her pack, and then sat for a while and stared at the fire, feeling unusually relaxed as she thought about having to hunt down Neville again. This time, we make sure, she thought. The thought made her smile inexplicably, as though it were somehow funny. I must be more tired than I thought. I’m feeling loopy. Tor’s Teeth, I’ve been feeling loopy since dinner.

She stood up suddenly and went to the pitcher of water that sat next to her bed, pouring herself a glass. “Hurry up, Autumn, or I’ll fall asleep before you get back,” she muttered to herself. “You’ve got something big going on, and I want to know what it is.”


Autumn and Tolly strolled quietly along a wide cobblestone street that ran along one edge of the massive bridge that supported Miracle. The quiet rush of the water far below them was punctuated occasionally by the shouts of revelers or the occasional burst of music coming from the city’s many taverns and narcotic dens.

“Disgusting,” Tolly said, as an obviously drug-addled cluster of gnomes stumbled by. “I can hardly believe that people would allow themselves to lose control so readily.”

Autumn didn’t respond, but walked quietly next to Tolly, keeping her eyes on the stones at her feet. A cold wind blew in off the river, ruffling the edges of her cloak and causing her to shiver involuntarily.

“Here, take my cloak as well,” Tolly said, unfastening the clasp around his neck. But as he began to put it around her shoulders, Autumn held up a hand to stop him.

“Tolly, I need to talk to you,” she said.

There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, then Autumn looked up at the Ardaran, reaching out and taking his hand in a comforting grasp. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately, especially with my recent death. And… I’ve realized a lot of things that I should have realized sooner. One of those things was that I had died because I’d put myself in front of Kyle, and died protecting him.”

“Kyle has always had a disturbing lack of concern for his own personal safety,” Tolly said quickly. “For one not trained in hand to hand combat, he…”

Autumn silenced him with a squeeze on his hand. “I had a lot of choices in that battle. Arrie had just fallen to that acolyte of the skin, and I could have gone to her aid. The priest of Fiel had not yet been challenged in combat, and I could have gone to face him. Instead, I stepped in front of the monstrosity that used to wield the axe I now carry, and…” she let her voice trail off.

“I thought a lot about that during my recovery,” she continued after a time. “I chose to go to Kyle’s side; I chose to die defending him. It made me realize something – that I truly loved him.”

Tolly made a slightly startled noise in the back of his throat, barely perceptible over the noise of the river and the city around them. He felt his grip on Autumn’s hand tighten involuntarily.

“Once, you gave me a token of your affection, Tolly.” She let go of Tolly with one hand and reached into a pocket, pulling out the cold-forged iron rose that he had made for her on the ship to the Haran Desert. “I’m not entirely certain what meaning that held for you at the time, though I can guess your intent. But Tolly, I need to clear the air between us and make sure that we understand one another. I’m going to be with Kyle, but I wish for us to be friends as we always have been.”

There was another long silence. “Oh,” was all Tolly could say for a while. He turned and looked out over the water, not really finding any solace in it.

“I wanted you to understand that this wasn’t some rash decision I made,” Autumn said quietly.

“That’s… good,” Tolly said, with no weight behind the words. “Um, I…um… this is… unexpected. But… I’ll recover.” He turned back to face Autumn, who was holding out the iron rose, offering it back to him. “Keep the rose,” he said.

Autumn pulled Tolly close and hugged him, and kissed his cheek. “Thank you for understanding,” she said, “and I’m sorry.” She pulled back after holding the embrace for a moment. “Do you want to walk back to the inn with me?” she asked.

“No, I think I would like to stay out a little longer,” he said. “Perhaps walk down by that area over there.” He pointed off in a vague direction into the city.

“I understand,” Autumn said. “Good night, Tolly.” She slowly turned and walked away, leaving Tolly standing alone.

When Autumn was out of sight, Tolly walked over and leaned against the stone wall at the edge of the bridge, watching the reflection of the moon dance in the water below. He stood there, unmoving, for nearly ten minutes as the world went past around him.

Finally, he stood up straight. “So be it,” he said out loud to no one in particular, then he turned and strode off down the street, taking the long way back.


The next morning, everyone woke up to the sound of Autumn screaming.

“KAVAN!!”

Lanara sat straight up in bed, her head wrapped in sheets, and thrashed around trying to get untangled. In the next bed over, Maddie (who naturally had not yet stopped responding to her old name, especially when shouted at high volume) rolled out of her mattress and quickly ran over to where Autumn stood, white as a sheet, over her sister Arrie’s bed. A second later, Kyle burst into the room, and came to Autumn’s side after he saw that no one was being attacked. Osborn was a few steps behind him, and Lanara finally won her battle with the bedsheets and joined the others. Xu’s neatly made bed indicated that she had already left the inn.

“She’s… she’s… not breathing!” Autumn stammered. “Kavan, do something! Help her!”

Maddie knelt down next to Arrie, not bothering to correct Autumn now. Gingerly she felt the warrior’s skin, and noticed that it was cold and pale. True to Autumn’s word, there was no tell-tale rising and falling of her chest. She quickly intoned a spell and began examining Arrie under its effects. Kyle, standing just above Maddie, was also peering intently at Arrie, his eyes sparkling as he activated his ability to see magical auras.

“Strange,” said Maddie quietly to Kyle. “Arrie seems to be neither alive nor dead.” She turned to the sentinel. “Autumn, how did this happen?”

“I don’t know,” Autumn sobbed. “She was sleeping soundly when I got home last night. This morning I came to wake her up, and I found her like this.”

Behind them, Tolly came walking in to the room, looking like he’d slept poorly. “What’s going on?” he said tersely.

“Something’s wrong with Arrie,” Osborn told him. “She looks like she’s dead.”

“There’s an odd aura around her,” Kyle said. “Very complex, tricky to make out. It seems to be a mix of necromantic magic and conjuration. Nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

Tolly scowled, then cast a detect magic spell of his own and studied the aura as well. Maddie whispered her own findings to him as he worked. “Necromancy and conjuration,” he confirmed, then turned to Autumn. “What is it about your sister that attracts necromancers?” he snapped. “First someone tries to put her grandfather’s soul in her, then someone makes her ‘dead but not dead’?”

“She’s not dead?” Autumn said, seemingly oblivious to Tolly’s castigation.

“No.” He stooped and examined Arrie closely before Autumn could respond, lifting her arms and legs and pressing his fingers into her flesh. “There is no physical reason for her to be dead,” he announced.

Maddie leaned over and peeled one of Arrie’s eyelids open. “The eyes are rolled back as if she were asleep, not staring like the eyes of a dead body.” She stood and looked at Autumn. “I think we should probably tie her up.”

“What? Why?”

“Just to be safe. We’ll be gentle, and we won’t hurt her.”

“I’m not leaving her.”

“That’s fine,” Maddie said.

Kyle stepped up and put his arm around the sentinel. “Autumn, we don’t know what’s happened to Arrie. The necromancy part of the magic affecting her could be what’s put her in this not quite dead state; maybe it separated her soul from her body. The conjuration could be an attempt to summon something to replace it.”

“Or the conjuration is a way to keep her soul bound,” Tolly said.

“Fine,” said Autumn, “but I’m not leaving her.” She looked at Kyle. “Isn’t this considered harmful to her? Wouldn’t the person responsible now be banished from the city?”

“I don’t think so,” Lanara said. “Sorry, Autumn, but she technically hasn’t been killed yet, and she hasn’t been hurt otherwise. The person who did this knows what they’re doing.”

“We all know who’s responsible,” said Autumn.

The party began talking rapidly among themselves, suggesting ideas or theories about what to do. Lanara, who for once had nothing to say, went over to get a mug of water. She poured some from the nearby pitcher, and raised it to her lips. Suddenly she stopped, sniffing at the water inside.

“Hey, guys? This isn’t so good.” She extended the mug to the group. “Someone want to check this out?”

Both Kyle and Tolly stepped forward, peering at the mug with their active detection spells.

“Lingering magic,” Tolly confirmed.

“Necromancy and conjuration,” Kyle agreed. Then he sniffed the water. “And something else. It smells like… apples and metal. Odd.” Kyle handed the mug back to Lanara, and then walked out of the room, returning a minute later with his belt. He pulled out a few alchemical supplies and began working on the tainted water, trying to analyze it.

Lanara watched him work, a frown curling the edge of her mouth. Apples and metal… the combination reminded her of something, something she knew she should know but couldn’t get off the tip of her tongue. Everyone was talking about magic, and spells, and curses… somehow, that didn’t seem right to her. She mentioned this thought to the others.

“Huh,” Kyle said, scratching his head, “you’re right, Lanara. There’s something about that smell that’s familiar. I can’t place it either.”

“Perhaps this substance was the carrier for the magic affecting Arrie,” Tolly suggested.

“Well, that is what Neville’s known for; being able to place powerful spells into potions.”

Autumn looked over at Kyle. “Didn’t Arrie say that he was killing off members of the original Hunt?”

“Yes,” answered Tolly, “and one body has disappeared.”

Autumn clutched her sister’s still form tightly. “No one’s taking her anywhere.”

Kyle finished his work on the tainted water. Although he wasn’t able to identify it, he realized there were two different substances in the mug, besides water; the apple-metal poison, and a sediment of very, very fine crystals. A quick check of the pitcher next to Arrie’s bed confirmed that the substance was only in the mug. Kyle handed the mug to Maddie, and asked if she could purify it. After she complied, he scooped a layer of the crystals off the top and shook them into an empty vial. He looked at the others, and shook his head.

“I don’t have enough equipment to figure this out here,” he said. “But I can take it to an alchemist in the city and have them take a look.”

Lanara walked over to the trunk at the foot of her bed and pulled out one of her magical instruments. “Do you think a spell to halt the poison’s progress would help?” she asked.

Kyle suddenly slapped his forehead. “That’s it!” he shouted.

“What?” said several of the party at once.

“The conjuration portion of the spell!” he said. “It’s a delay poison spell! I didn’t recognize it at first because it’s not a typical arcane magic!” He walked over and picked up the strange-smelling mug. “Here’s what I think happened. Whatever poison’s in this mug should have killed Arrie. But the spell embedded in it is halting the poison’s progress just shy of the point of death. Neville’s smart enough to know not to kill her, or he’d be banished.”

“So, she’s in a stasis right now,” Tolly said.

“Well, then, delaying the poison further can’t hurt,” said Lanara, who put her fingers to her lute.

“No!” Kyle shouted, grabbing her wrist. “Don’t.”

“Why not?” Autumn asked, eyes flashing.

“Because it might kill her,” Kyle said, trying to sound calm. “Casting another delay poison might act as a counterspell, not as an enhancer, which would end the protection and kill her. The other problem is that necromantic magic in there. It’s tightly interwoven with the conjuration, and they’re in a very delicate balance. Even if casting another delay poison wouldn’t dispel the effect on Arrie, it would throw the balance off. I think that the necromantic effect would then take hold and kill her.”

“Crap,” Lanara said, lowering her lute.

Kyle shook his head. “Whoever this Neville is, he’s good… very good. The way he’s set this up, if we try to end the spell she dies, and then it’s our fault, not his, and we end up banished from Miracle. He’s made the knife and put it to her heart, but we’d be the ones pushing it in.” Kyle studied the aura again for a minute. “I can’t tell how long the delay poison will last,” he said. “I’d guess we have a while, but I can’t say how long for certain. But most spells like that don’t last forever.”

“Perhaps a death ward?” offered Tolly.

Kyle shook his head. “Neville would have thought of that. I suspect the necromantic magic isn’t a simple death spell.”

“What if we used a sleep spell?” Lanara said. “Maybe it’ll help slow things down more.”

“No, a sleep spell only works on weaker creatures. I doubt…” Kyle cut off suddenly, and looked at Lanara. The two of them lit up at the same time as a thought crossed their minds.

“Tincture of corundum,” they said in unison.

“What’s tincture of corundum?” Osborn asked.

Lanara picked up the poisoned mug. “It’s a sedative. A lot of people use it as a sleep aid.” She smelled the mug again. “But not this strong. It’s usually very, very diluted; a vial of it can last a person every night for a month. That’s why it took us a while to place this metallic apple smell; usually when you use it, it’s too dilute to be noticeable. There was probably enough in here to drop a horse.”

“Or kill a human,” Tolly concluded.

Autumn looked up from Arrie. “Everyone should check their own water pitchers and mugs. Neville may be trying to kill all of us.”

“I suspect that he is targeting Arrie specifically because she was in the original Hunt,” Tolly said.

Kyle looked worried. “Maybe someone should go to the church of Tor and check on Togusa.”

“Right,” said Maddie, “I’ll go.”

“I’ll go with you,” Lanara said. “There’s not much else I can do here.”

They turned to leave, and the instant they turned into the hallway outside their door they ran straight into Togusa.

“My apologies,” he said to them. “But Ariadne was to meet me this morning at the church, and did not arrive. Is everything all right?”

“Not really,” Maddie said. “It’s a bit of a mess up here, but I’m glad to see you’re all right. Come on in.”

“Wait,” he said, “there is trouble downstairs as well. Apparently the innkeeper’s teenage son is dying. His lips are turning blue and he’s not breathing, I heard someone say. I came up here to get help for them.”

Maddie and Lanara looked at each other. “We’ll go. Get someone in there to fill you in.”

After the two women left, and Togusa entered the room and was brought up to speed, Tolly turned to Kyle. “Perhaps we could try casting a…”

Kyle held up a hand to stop Tolly. “I don’t think we should do anything. I don’t want to just start throwing random spells at Arrie and saying ‘maybe this will help’. Until we can figure out how to dispel this particular spell, I don’t want to risk it.”

“We need to find out how the water was poisoned in the first place,” Tolly said. “We should speak with the innkeeper.”

“Let’s wait until they deal with his kid dying, shall we?” said Osborn.

“It could be related,” Tolly said.

“And we’ll find out… later. Right now we should figure out what to do with Arrie.”

“Our course is obvious,” Togusa said. “We must hunt down Neville and force him to give us the cure before we kill him.”

“I’m not leaving Arrie,” Autumn repeated.

“But we may need your assistance in capturing Neville,” Tolly said.

“She didn’t leave my side, I’m not leaving her.”

“Perhaps she could be left in the care of the church of Tor, or Paccë,” Tolly suggested.

Togusa shook his head. “Another one of the bodies of the original Hunt has disappeared. I would recommend that you not…”

“She’s not going anywhere,” Autumn snapped.

“Do you have any way of taking her with you?” Togusa said.

“The cart?” Osborn suggested.

“That doesn’t really solve the problem,” Kyle said.

“What about your portable hole?” Tolly asked.

Autumn glared at Tolly. “You want me to put my sister in my portable hole?”

“It would make sense,” Tolly said. “She does not need to breathe while in there, and she would be out of Neville’s reach. And she would be with you at all times, and we could get to her quickly if needed. And if she were secure in the hole, then we would not need to bind her up.”

Autumn sat unmoving for a moment, then finally nodded her head. She opened the trunk at the foot of her bed, and dug out the folded square of black cloth. “The weapons and armor we are hoping to sell are still in there,” she said quietly, holding out the cloth.

Kyle took the portable hole and spread it out on the floor. “We can leave that stuff here. Come on, guys, help me empty this out.”

They worked for a few minutes stacking armor and weapons on the far side of the room, then covering the pile with blankets. Autumn carried Arrie over and placed her inside, bringing a pillow and some blankets to make her as comfortable as possible. As she finished, Kyle climbed down into the hole holding one of his light globes and a sheet of parchment. He set both down next to her, the globe glowing softly.

“In case we fix this while she’s in here, and she wakes up,” Kyle explained. “The note lets her know where she is and what happened, so she doesn’t freak out.”

Tolly, standing above them at the edge of the hole, watched the two of them talk for a moment, then unfastened a necklace from around his neck and tossed it down. “This necklace provides breathable air,” he said. “Put it on her, just in case.”

Lanara and Maddid came back into the room, just as Autumn and Kyle climbed out of the hole. Maddie was holding a wine glass, with a strange red gelatinous lump in the bottom. “Kyle, we need you to tell us what this is,” Maddie said.

“What’s going on?” asked Osborn as Kyle took the glass and sat down on a bed. “How’s the innkeeper’s son?”

“Alive, barely,” said Lanara. “We got down there and he looked like he was fighting to stay awake. He was so sedated his heart and lungs were failing. I used my delay poison spell from my lute, which seemed to hold things at bay. They’re sending for a healer now.”

“We had the family search the inn for anything that smelled like apples and metal, thinking it was that tincture you mentioned,” Maddie continued. “They found a water pitcher with that smell, and also found this wine glass near the boy’s bed. We searched the children’s room in the attic, and found this under the boy’s bed.” Maddie held out a pouch with a single gold coin inside. “Unusual for a boy his age to have a gold coin, don’t you think? I think he’s selling drugs, or maybe himself.”

“Or maybe,” Kyle suggested, “someone came up to him last night and offered him a nice shiny gold coin if he made sure that a particular water pitcher ended up next to Arrie’s bed.”

Maddie’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“It was the first thing I thought of,” Osborn commented.

“The innkeeper’s wife said that the pitcher we found was from last night,” Lanara said, “and would have been replaced with a fresh one this morning. She had no idea which room it came from, but I think we can guess.” She glanced over at Arrie’s bedside table.

“And the wine glass?” Osborn asked.

“From last night as well. Mom thinks that the boy snuck an unfinished glass off to his room last night after serving the dinner guests.”

“Who else is staying here?” Tolly asked.

“Besides us, there was a merchant that left this morning, and a young newlywed couple, who are still in their room,” Lanara said. “The innkeeper was going to check on them, though his wife said that she could… well, hear them last night.”

Kyle finished his work and looked up. “It’s a drug,” he said. “It’s called Dreams of Tedros. It’s a very mild sedative and hallucinogen, purely recreational. It’s meant to be mixed with wine, as it doesn’t affect the flavor of the wine or the potency of the drug. Used properly it’s harmless, but this is a pretty large amount. If he got hold of that, and then took some tincture of corundum, the effects would multiply. That’s what’s killing him.”

“You should go tell the innkeeper’s wife,” Lanara said, “let them know what they should do.”

Kyle nodded and left the room.

Togusa turned to the others. “We should report to the church of Tor to let them know of Araidne’s condition,” he said.

After spending a few minutes collecting their gear, the party made their way to the church of Tor, picking up Kyle on the way out and handing him his equipment. As they walked, Togusa turned to the others.

“Once we report to the church, we can try and find where Neville is,” he said.

“I learned last night that he has a townhouse here,” Lanara said. “When he’s in town, he never leaves it. Sends that orc-touched out to run errands and buy supplies. They just call him ‘The Brute’. A lot of people end up disappearing when he’s in town, too.”

“Some of the prostitutes I talked to yesterday mentioned The Brute,” Maddie added. “Apparently he’s so foul that there’s only two women in town that will service him. I spoke to one, she said that his skin is cold and he’s covered in scars.”

“Do you know where this townhouse is?” Togusa asked Lanara.

She shook her head. “Not enough time last night to get that far.”

“What else did you learn about Neville?” he asked.

“Not much else. He only leaves or enters the city at night. He rides in a big carriage, pulled by these strange, twisted horses. Last time he was here, someone got too close to one of the horses and almost lost a hand. And he’s been coming here for some time – well before you and Arrie shoved him into that river a few years back. After that, no one heard from him for about six months, and for another six months after that there were rumors he was around but nothing could be confirmed. There were confirmed sightings of Neville and The Brute after that. Seems he now comes into Miracle an average of every seven weeks or so, and stays anywhere from a day to a week.”

Togusa shook his head. “That monster has been practicing his trade for that long, and we are only now learning of it? Shameful.”

“I tried to get an idea of what kinds of things he’s been making,” Kyle said. “Some of the ingredients The Brute buys are used to make common street drugs, but others can be used for things like poisons, or really nasty stuff like Liquid Pain.”

“What’s Liquid Pain?” Osborn asked.

“The distilled life-force of someone who has been tortured to death,” Kyle said. “It’s used to provide the energy needed to make magic items, so that the creator doesn’t have to use so much of his own.”

“To make things like magical potions, for example,” Tolly clarified.

Kyle nodded. “I tried to get a sense of what kind of spells thus guy can supposedly make into potions, but no one I spoke to knows enough about magic to tell me for sure. All I can say is be careful what you drink in his house.”

“I think that we should purify anything we want to eat or drink,” Maddie said.

“Agreed,” said Kyle, who then turned to address Togusa. “So, you and Arrie fought Neville and his servants once before. What can we expect?”

“Those who serve Neville are usually merely those who have lost their minds and free will to the narcotics that he peddles. The effects of the drugs make them stronger and faster than normal people, and nearly impervious to pain, but also fairly mindless. We learned the hard way that magics meant to influence or confuse the mind are useless.”
“So, they’re kind of like the undead,” Kyle said.

“Yes, except that they are still living beings, and so a spear to the heart or the severing of an artery will kill them. Besides them, there are Neville’s creations; animals mutated and crossbred with strange animals. The horses that pull his carriage are an example. Though we did not encounter any during our battle with Neville, there is also rumor that he has altered sentient creatures in similar ways.”

As Togusa talked, Autumn walked up next to Kyle and took his hand, holding it tightly. He squeezed back reassuringly.

The party arrived at the temple of Tor, which in reality was a largish townhouse with a large statue of Tor in the front, and a symbol of a hound’s head carved in marble over the doorway. The party walked inside, and came to a large open room. A middle-aged man sat at a desk near the back corner. Most of the party recognized him as a captain in the church; Tolly recognized him as one of Tor’s Judges, who were charged with setting laws and dispensing justice. It was the Judges who called a Hunt and declared one ended. Togusa, who obviously also recognized the Judge, bowed. Lanara, uncomfortable within the walls of a lawful church, stood near the door.

“Captain Barad,” Togusa said, “new information has come to light in regard to the Hunt for Neville.”

“Oh?” Captain Barad said, pulling out a sheet of parchment and a pen. “Continue.”

Tolly relayed the morning’s events to the captain, who wrote everything down dutifully. “Rest assured I will include this information in my dispatches to the other temples,” he said.

“Do you have information as to where we could find Neville?” Togusa asked.

“We know the district in which he lives, but no more,” Captain Barad informed him. “From there you could inquire with locals.”

“That should not be difficult,” Tolly said. “If it’s a disreputable district, Lanara can usually find a whorehouse and a tavern within two minutes of entering a place.”

Lanara glared at the back of Tolly’s head. “They’re great sources of information.”

“There are many ways to get people to talk,” Togusa said. “The district will suffice.”

Captain Barad regarded the group for a moment, then opened a pouch at his side and pulled out a scroll case made of gold. He pulled out a large sheet of fine vellum that was written in an elegant calligraphy, and began to read.

“Be it known that upon this day, on the authority of Tor as given through one of His Judges, that the entity known as Neville, among other names and aliases as are given on this document, has been deemed worthy of execution without trial or detainment. Among his crimes are murder of sentients, torture of sentients not for purposes of information extraction, mutilation of sentients, production and sale of harmful substances without license, production and sale of lethal substances without license, immoral magical experimentation on sentients, and other lesser crimes. The evidence of these crimes has been deemed by a Judge to be irrefutable. The entity known as Neville has been further deemed to be without possibility of redemption or reform, and no lesser sentence can be justified or tolerated. All who hear this declaration are charged with the responsibility of dispensing Tor’s justice, and shall be granted what protection that responsibility entails until such time as the sentence is carried out and its dispensation is confirmed by a Judge of Tor.”

Togusa bowed as the Judge finished and rolled up the document, while the others looked at each other uncertainly. It seemed important to Captain Barad that they heard those words, but no one was sure why. Captain Barad gave them directions to the district where Neville lived, and they walked out into the street.

“So, that stuff the captain was saying,” Lanara asked. “Does that mean that we can kill Neville without worrying about disappearing?”

Togusa shook his head. “The laws of Miracle still apply; Tor’s power cannot override that of Paccë. What it means is that we are authorized to kill him, and that it will be known to be a just act.”

“In other words, we won’t get arrested if we hack him to pieces in the middle of some other city,” Kyle said.

“Indeed. A Judge would be able to confirm that you were acting under the authority of Tor. Also, if we are successful, then the Hunt can be officially declared ended.”

“So, we will have to drag him out of the city before we kill him,” Tolly said. “I can accept that.”

They arrived in the district they sought, which was a middle-class neighborhood close to the ‘medicinal’ district. It consisted of a large open-air market, surrounded by rows of townhouses. The party split into groups of two and spread out to try and find rumors of Neville’s whereabouts. With the effort coordinated by Lanara, they were able to pinpoint the townhouse within a couple of hours. Part of their success was due to Maddie contacting some of the prostitutes in the area and spreading the word that she was looking for a partner who was “big, pale, and rough-looking”.

“A word of caution,” Tolly said on hearing of Maddie’s strategy. “If Erito is as thorough in her reshaping as Ardara is on her forge, there may be ramifications should you actually engage in the activities you have been advertising.”

“First of all, I have no intention of sleeping with The Brute,” Maddie said. “Other than that, Tolly, you’re being far too obtuse for me to understand what you’re getting at.”

“Don’t forget that you can get pregnant now,” he said tersely.

“Oh,” she replied. “Of course, that’s true.”

The party arrived outside the gates of Neville’s home. Lanara had cast a change self spell on herself, trying to look more nondescript. She reasoned that if rumors of her questions about Neville had gotten back to him, she best not look like “a pink-haired cansin with a purple leather outfit.”

The house was a long, narrow two-story building, which at first glance looked like every other house on the block. After fifteen minutes of observation, the party noted that there was no activity of servants either inside or outside, unlike the neighboring houses. A strong odor emanated from the house, a smell that seemed to bother Rupert greatly. Kyle sniffed, and wrinkled his nose.

“If we can smell it from out here, then it’s going to be really foul inside,” he said.

“Perhaps one of us should retrieve the necklace I gave to Arrie and wear it,” suggested Tolly. “There is enough air inside the portable hole to last several minutes anyway.”

Before anyone could respond, they heard Osborn sour sarcastically “Hey, that’s fun!”

“What?” Autumn asked.

“There was a real ugly orc-touched at that window, and he was looking down at us,” Osborn said, pointing.

“Great,” Lanara said.

“Looks like we’re expected,” Kyle said.

“Then we should let ourselves in,” Togusa said. He and Autumn began to head for the house, followed closely by the others, who scrambled to make what preparations they could in the short walk to the front door.

“Do we bother knocking?” Lanara asked.

“Sure,” said Autumn, who proceeded to kick the door down. Inside the townhouse, they saw two sets of stairs going up to the second floor, one to each side, and a long hallway down the middle leading to various rooms. Autumn immediately went to the stairs on the right, followed by Tolly. Togusa and Maddie went to the left, and the others spread out in the entryway.

There was a commotion upstairs, and the sound of people running. At the top of the stairs, a group of five humans with glassy-eyed expressions came charging down toward Autumn, brandishing small sticks. They shoved and stumbled into each other heading down the narrow stairs. Autumn paused, and then balled her hands into fists and plowed into them, hoping to knock them aside. But their combined weight pressing forward was too much, and Autumn was knocked back sprawling on the stairs. The drug-zombie in the lead flailed at her wildly with his stick, but it clanged uselessly off her plate armor.

Togusa and Maddie prepared to charge up their stairs and go around the landing to help Autumn and Tolly. But Maddie’s sharp elven ears heard more shouting from a room upstairs, toward the back of the house.

“There are people heading out the back of the house!” she shouted.

Kyle immediately turned around and cast a fly spell on himself, heading out the front door and flying up and over the house toward the back. Osborn, mounted atop Rupert, began to run down the central hall toward the back as well. Lanara spent a moment to activate one of the many magical instruments she carried, and soon she was surrounded by several identical images of herself that vanished and reappeared at random.

Togusa decided on a more direct route to the back. Running to the top of the stairs, he activated his speed-enhancing boots and charged full bore down the long corridor on the second floor, heading for a tall, narrow window on the back wall. He hurled himself through the window, sending wood and glass flying, and landed in the back yard on his feet. Maddie, right on his heels, came out the window right behind him, though her landing was less graceful.

Only Autumn, Tolly, and Lanara were left to deal with the crazed addicts on the stairs. As Autumn struggled to her feet, Tolly invoked Ardara’s power, and grew to enormous size. Reaching over Autumn, he was able to keep Neville’s minions at bay with his long arms, giving the sentinel time to regain her feet. But one of the men managed to get his ‘weapon’ through her armor. Though the wound was superficial, it was enough; the man vanished instantly, banished for violating Paccë’s peace. Tolly and Autumn looked at each other. “Can you handle this?” Tolly asked.

“Oh yes,” she replied. With that, Tolly launched himself up the stairs, past Autumn, and barreled through the pack of drug-zombies up the stairs. For her part, Autumn lowered her arms and stood still, beckoning her enemies to strike her. Autumn smiled as the men came at her, too crazed from the drugs in their systems to realize what she was doing. The makeshift weapons they had were too flimsy to cause any significant damage, and within a few seconds Autumn was the only one left on the stairs. As she heard Tolly charging down the upstairs hallway, she looked back at Lanara. “Go help the others,” she said to the bard. “I’m searching the house.”

Kyle flew into the back yard as Togusa helped Maddie to her feet, and Osborn was emerging from out the back door. In the far corner of the yard was a carriage house, its doors thrown open. Inside Kyle could hear movement. He flew down to the doors quickly, hoping to catch whoever was inside. Instead, he was thrown back as a large, furry animal launched itself at him. The creature looked like a dire weasel, but protruding from the side of its head were two large, beetle-like mandibles. The creature sank its teeth into Kyle’s thigh, locking itself in with the mandibles. Kyle screamed in pain as blood began to flow freely down his leg. A second mutated weasel leapt out of the carriage house and launched itself at Maddie. Togusa ran forward and stabbed at the weasel creature attached to Kyle, wounding it but unable to finish it off.

Osborn wheeled Rupert around, hoping to get in close to Maddie to help her out. But then he heard a strange noise behind him, a sort of wet, squelching slap against wood. He turned to see a set of cellar doors burst open, and a mass of… something burst out. It looked like nothing less than the bloody intestines of hundreds of creatures, wriggling and swarming out of the ground in a putrescent mass.

“Oh, great,” Osborn said, as he pulled Rupert around and moved to the far side of the yard. Daggers would be of little use against something like that. But the disgusting mass moved surprisingly swiftly, and enveloped Osborn and Maddie. Nearly overwhelmed by the horrific odor of decaying flesh and fluids, they were unable to ward off the sucking, grasping tubes that struck at them like dozens of enormous leeches.

Kyle pulled out a wand, and launched magic missiles at the weasel attacking him, killing it. Unfortunately, the mandibles did not release, and the animal was still firmly attached to his leg. He looked around, and saw the grotesque mass envelop Osborn and Maddie. At the same time, he saw a giant-sized Tolly burst out of another window on the second floor and land solidly on the ground. Then he heard a few screams and commotion from the street behind him, on the other side of the wall surrounding the back yard. Kyle quickly rose up into the air, trailing the dead creature. Clearing the wall, he saw people scattering in the street behind him as a lone cloaked figure rode out of the back of the carriage house on a strange horse. The horse had jagged, sharp teeth, and six legs, and a pair of extra limbs tucked to its side that ended in long claws. Wincing in disgust, Kyle pointed at the fleeing rider and intoned a spell. Instantly, a bank of fog rose up all around the horse and rider. Though the fog obscured them from sight, Kyle knew the vapors were so thick that the horse-thing would be slowed to a crawl. That’ll buy us some time, he thought, then wheeled in midair to observe the scene below.

Togusa had gone to Maddie’s aid, killing the second mandibled weasel that had dogged her. The favored soul just managed to get off a recitation spell when the gut-swarm enveloped her again, and she was overcome by the putrid stench. As she was about to be buried in a mass of intestines, Tolly ran up and picked the elven woman up, carrying her to the shelter of the carriage house.

“Thank you, Tolly,” she said, quickly recovering, “you can put me down now.”

As he set Maddie down, Togusa went running past them into the alley. He tried to plow his way through the solid fog, but backed out when he realized it would be impossible to get through it fast enough. The cloud filled the entire street, and people all around were shouting at the sudden disruption in traffic. Inside the cloud, Togusa could hear the horse-creature screaming in anger, and the terrified, pain stricken cries of a pedestrian that had been too close and stumbled into the horse’s grasp. No other noises came out of the cloud. Running back inside, Togusa went around and began trying to scale the outer wall of Neville’s townhouse, hoping to get high enough that he could jump into the center of the fog and catch the rider unaware.

Back in the yard, Osborn and Rupert were the only ones left in the open to face the gut-swarm. It surged forward and tried to envelop the hin, but he just as quickly moved away. Suddenly the mass seemed to lurch and recoil, and Osborn felt the concussion wave of a sound burst spell going off. Looking around, he saw Lanara standing in the doorway of the house, pointing a wand at the mass.

The putrescent swarm began to lurch toward Lanara, and Osborn wheeled around, determined to keep the creature away from the bard even though he knew he couldn’t defeat it. But then Kyle’s voice rang out above him.

“Back away from the pile of guts!”

Osborn pulled up on Rupert’s reins, stopping him just as a ball of flames landed in the yard in the midst of the instestinal mass. The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and boiling intestinal fluids. A second fireball came down, followed by a third. Lanara also blasted the swarm with few more sound bursts, and within moments nothing remained but wet, bloody ash.

“Come on!” Kyle said. “I’ve got The Brute pinned down!” He flew over the solid fog and waited for the others to surround the bank. A few minutes ticked by as they waited for the vapors to disperse. When they finally lifted, they saw the horse-creature standing there, the shredded remains of the bystander at its hooves. The cloaked rider was nowhere to be seen.

The party dispatched the mutated horse quickly. As it fell over, Kyle landed and walked up to the carcass, still dragging the dire weasel behind him, and kicked at the horse, blood splashing onto his boots.

“Dammit!” he swore. “Damn you! Son of a bitch!”

Maddie ran up and pulled Kyle back by the shoulders. “Kyle, relax, its all right.”

“I had him…” Kyle said angrily. “I thought I had him for sure.”

“What do you think happened?” Tolly asked him.

“He could have teleported, or dimension doored,” Kyle said, “or turned invisible and walked right past us. I assumed that The Brute was nothing but a meat-head; I didn’t stop to think he might be clever enough to escape.”

“Let’s search the house,” Maddie suggested. “Maybe we’ll find something in there.”

By the time they walked into Neville’s townhouse, most of the bookshelves and desks in the various rooms were bare. Autumn had opened her portable hole on the floor of the upstairs hallway, and was busy filling it with every scrap of paper she could find.

“The cure may be in here,” was all she said.

A further search turned up a hidden lab in the basement. Going in, they found an elaborate alchemists lab, stocked with supplies. Rows of shelves held finished products, everything from highly addictive street drugs to vile poisons. In a separate room, they found a wall of cages containing animals in various stages of transformation. These were quickly dispatched, but more problematic was the next room, which held similar cages filled with people in similar states of experimentation. Unable to give them a merciful death due to Miracle’s magical effect, the party decided they would inform the church of Paccë of Neville’s lab immediately and let the priests of the god of peace deal with the matter.

Unfortunately, nothing in the house revealed the whereabouts of Neville or The Brute. The party gathered in the back yard when the last book had been packed away.

“Now what?” Lanara asked.

“I will tell you,” Togusa said. “I will return to the church of Tor to retrieve my battle armor and my horse. In fifteen minutes I will return here, and begin tracking The Brute to whatever hiding place he has found. If you wish to find Neville, and save Ariadne, I suggest you be here then.” With that he turned and walked away, heading down the street back toward the church.

So, this is what death is really like.

It was the most coherent though Arrie had had in hours. Or was it days? It was dark to tell; silence and darkness were the only things in her world.

She had been waiting for Autumn, she remembered that. It was late, and Autumn was out with someone. Tolly, she thought, or was it Kyle? Or both? The details were fuzzy in her mind. She’d been waiting to tell Autumn something important. Or waiting for Autumn to tell her something. After that there was nothing. Silence and darkness. Time lost meaning for her. She willed herself to move, shout, breathe, anything, to no avail.

Arrie knew who was responsible for this. There could be only one suspect. Neville.

Suddenly there was… a sound! A loud, piercing shriek that sounded more beautiful to her than the finest elven choir. It was Autumn, her dear, sweet sister; she was shouting for someone – for Kavan…

No, dear, it’s Madrone now…

There were footsteps, and more voices, voices she knew and trusted. But why couldn’t she see anyone? Why couldn’t she move? Why did everyone sound so far away?

They were talking now. Talking about her. She heard words that made no sense – “not breathing” – “cold and pale” – “no pulse”. There was talk about something in her water – the water! – and of magic.

There was a sudden flash of light all around her, but only from her right side. She saw Maddie looking down at her, peering into her face, the elf’s hand right up next to her eye touching her face – why can’t I feel her hand on my face?

“The eyes are rolled back as if she were asleep, not staring like the eyes of a dead body,” she heard Maddie say.

She’s talking about my eyes. My body. My dead body.

Maddie pulled her hand away – no no no no don’t shut my eyes don’t take away the light and now there was more talk about her, about what Neville had done to her.

Help me please help I’m still in here.

There was talk about trying to help her, trying to end whatever held her trapped in her own body. But she heard Kyle telling them not to try. Kyle why won’t you help me? I thought we were friends. She heard Autumn refusing to leave her side, heard the anger in her voice. Yes, please stay with me. Then there was more talking, and she didn’t hear Autumn’s voice anymore.

There was the sound of people moving, of grunting as they lifted something heavy. Suddenly what sound she could hear began to echo strangely, as if she were inside a very small room. She heard Kyle and Tolly talking, something about leaving her something in case she woke up while she was still inside.

Inside? Inside what? Where are you putting me? Don’t leave me alone!

Suddenly all the sound ended, and all the light disappeared. Arrie hadn’t realized before that the silence and darkness she had experienced before was relative; what she now perceived was total. Absolute silence, absolute darkness. And there was nothing she could do about it.

A scream that only she could hear became Arrie’s entire world.


Everyone quickly scrambled to get their belongings together as Togusa strode away. Everyone, that is, except Autumn, who sat down with one of the large tomes she had pilfered from Neville’s townhouse and began reading.

“What are you doing?” Tolly asked.

“I’m not here to chase down this necromancer,” Autumn replied tersely. “I’m here to save my sister’s life. The answer may be in one of these books. I’m not going anywhere until I know what to do.”

Tolly rolled his eyes and walked off, getting ready to return to The Cedar Grove and get his horse. Kyle came up to Autumn and knelt down beside her. “Autumn, do you even know what you’re reading?”

Autumn’s jaw tensed. “What are you saying, Kyle?”

“That there’s days worth of reading here,” he said gently, “and you’re not trained as an alchemist or as a wizard, which means it will take you even longer to find the answer even if it’s here.” He laid a hand tenderly over hers. “Autumn, we need you with us. If we can capture Neville, we may be able to force him to tell us about the poison he used on Arrie. At the very least, he’s bound to have more books wherever he’s hiding.”

Autumn sat quietly for a moment, letting Kyle’s words sink in. A tear rolled down one cheek. “Damn you and your logical thinking,” she said at last.

He smiled at her. “I promise not to let it get in the way too often.”

They both stood at the same time. “I’ll stay here,” Kyle said. “I want to go over my own spellbooks before we leave, to prepare better for the next encounter. Autumn, can you bring my horse?”

The party, minus Kyle, quickly departed. They returned within the hour riding their horses, Autumn leading one by the reins. Togusa also returned around the same time. Kyle looked up to see that Xu was now with the party, but Kavan, who now went by the name Madrone, was absent.

“Xu was waiting at the inn when we got back,” Osborn said to the question Kyle was about to ask. “We’ve filled her in on what’s going on. But the innkeeper’s son is still not doing well, so Madrone is staying to watch over him. She says that she would feel responsible if the boy died because of something that someone tried to do against one of us.”

“I left Neville’s books and papers with her,” Autumn said. “She agreed to start reading through them while she waited.”

“Perfect,” Kyle said. “Now what?”

“Now we need to determine which direction The Brute took out of the city,” Togusa said. “There are only two gates, to the west leading into the Steppes, and to the east leading into Medos. We should divide up and check each gate to see if The Brute has been seen.”

“Autumn and I can take the west gate,” Kyle said.

“You two are going to the west gate?” Tolly said. “I’ll go east.”

“I’ll go with you two!” Osborn said to Autumn and Kyle.

Xu and Lanara decided to go with Tolly. Togusa stated he would wait at the townhouse, which was nearly in the center of the town, and wait for both groups to rendezvous there. After an hour, Xu ran up to where Togusa waited.

“What news?” he asked in Xhintai.

“Lanara’s inquiries at the eastern gate were quite thorough,” Xu replied in the same tongue. “We are certain The Brute did not go that way.”

“Then we should go to the western gate,” he said, standing up.

“The others are already on their way.”

The entire party met up just outside the western gate, where Osborn was talking with a group of merchants that were waiting to leave Miracle. They waited as he finished his conversation and returned.

“I don’t know,” the hin said, “nobody seems to remember The Brute coming through the gate here, and it’s not like he’s easy to miss. Are we sure he’s even left the city?”

“Well, I know for a fact he wasn’t at the east gate,” Lanara said.

“I can hardly imagine the man would remain in the city knowing he was being pursued,” Tolly said.

The party began to discuss their options. Lanara, growing bored, wandered over to a cluster of people talking in hushed tones next to a small doorway in the wall flanking the main gate.* One of the people wore a bright yellow cloak. As she watched, they went through the door, and a few minutes later she saw a flash of bright yellow from the other side of the gate, walking away from the city.

“Hey, Osborn,” Lanara said, wandering back to the group. “You know, there seem to be people leaving the city but not going through the gate.”

Osborn looked around, and spotted the door that the bard nodded toward.

“Huh,” he said, “looks like there’s more than one way out.”

The party quickly moved toward the gate and emerged on the other side. They asked around, and a pair of merchants running a roadside fruit stand mentioned that a short while ago, a large hulking figure on a very strange horse ran across a group riding in on a wagon. The figure had growled, and the people in the wagon had backed off. The hulking figure had then rode off to the north, riding fast but not in a panic.

“Well, we know he’s got another one of those weird horses,” Osborn said.

“Can you track him?” Tolly asked as they moved out in the direction the merchants had pointed.

Togusa dismounted and examined the ground carefully. “I believe these tracks are his. Neville’s horses ride heavy in front.” He jumped back into the saddle. “I can follow this trail, but not quickly. With luck The Brute will think he’s avoided pursuit and slow down.”

The party wheeled their horses around and rode north. They rode for hours, Togusa stopping every once in a while to pick up the tracks. They rode along what seemed to be a barely-used trail, leaving the city far behind them. After three hours or so, Togusa stopped.

“The tracks are gone,” he said. “The Brute left the trail some time between here and the last place we stopped.”

Osborn, squinting at the horizon, suddenly pointed back the way they had come. “You think he might live there?”

They all looked. A distance away, barely visible from the trail, a large manor house stood. “It’s worth a try, right?” Osborn asked.

The party approached the home cautiously. It was a large, two-story manor that had seen better days. The grounds were overgrown with vines and wild shrubs, which seemed unusually dark and twisted. Gnarled, sickly trees cast long shadows across the ground.

“The plants seem… odd here,” Autumn said.

“Yeah, they’re not supposed to look like that,” Osborn commented.

“Magical seepage,” Kyle explained. “It’s not the technical term for it, but basically when a wizard experiments a lot in an area and doesn’t take steps to prevent it, the magic from his or her work will get absorbed into the land and begin to alter how the plants grow. I’ve heard tell that way back when there used to be bloody conflicts between the various wizard’s guilds and the Druidic Enclaves over this sort of thing.”

Togusa looked around the ground. “The horse that The Brute rode came through here,” he announced.

“Perfect,” said Autumn who began to walk forward until Kyle put a hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t we see what’s on the other side of that door before we kick it down?” he suggested. “Give me a minute.”

Kyle closed his eyes and concentrated, muttering the words to a spell. After a while, he frowned and opened his eyes.

“Nothing much. The hallway on the other side of the front door is empty except for some strange, hairless saber-toothed rats. There are footprints in the dust, that I can’t make out clearly enough to say who they belong to. But at least there’s nothing nasty waiting for us.”

“Very good,” Togusa said.

“Perhaps some of us should see if there’s a back door,” suggested Xu. “After all, they evaded you in that manner last time.”

“Good idea,” Osborn said, “let’s go, Xu.”

The two of them moved off around the back of the house. They passed close to the stables, and heard the sounds of creatures that were almost horses inside. They debated burning the stables down, but decided that it would attract too much attention. They also decided that trying to block them in wasn’t worth the effort, as the horse-creatures were freakishly strong and their arm-like appendages would allow them to batter down any obstacle. They continued on, past a set of kennels that were eerily quiet, and an aviary containing birds whose wings had been replaced with various appendages; tentacles, clawed hands, insect wings, and so on. Finally, they arrived at the back door. Osborn slipped his ring of invisibility on, and checked the door, finding it unlocked. At the same time, Xu, noted a set of cellar doors nearby, with horse tracks leading up to it. Xu pointed it out to Osborn.

“Those doors do look big enough for a horse to ride in,” Osborn said. “Want to check it out?”

“Do you think it wise to go in alone?”

Meanwhile, the others had entered the front door, and were looking around in the main hallway. Togusa had lit a sunrod, and was looking at the tracks in the dust.

“Several creatures moved through here at various times,” he said. “Some of Neville’s drug-addicted slaves, and some true undead,” he held up a finger bone as proof. “I think The Brute has been here, too, but not recently.”

“Well, let’s head back and get to Osborn and Xu,” Lanara said.

“I’d suggest looking for them in the basement,” Kyle suggested. “It’s the best place for a lab to be.”

They proceeded to walk to the back of the house, Togusa throwing open the back doors. Xu was standing nearby, looking at a set of cellar doors. Kyle also nodded to Osborn nearby, being able to see invisible beings.

“I see you found the way back,” Osborn’s voice said from thin air.
“I see you found the way down,” Togusa said. The Xhintai warrior reached down and pulled the doors open, revealing wide steps leading downward.

The party went down the stairs into a hallway lit by a soft green luminescence, barely enough to see by. Togusa held his sunrod aloft, lighting their path. The hallway stretched on for several yards, before opening into a large chamber beyond.

“Get ready,” Togusa warned.

Preparatory spells began to fill the air as the party took up their battle formations. Tolly began to glow brightly, Kyle and Xu suddenly sprouted multiple copies of themselves, and Osborn renewed his invisibility.

The chamber at the end of the hallway was cluttered with several large cages, and more cages sat in alcoves on the wall. Some of the cages contained the mutated six-legged horses, while others contained the mandibled dire weasels they’d fought before. A huge, hideously scarred orc-touched hunched over one table, apparently in the midst of work. On the far end of the room were two more figures; one was an older, balding man with pale skin and a feral smile, who was conversing with what seemed at first to be a floating boulder. It turned as the party entered the chamber, peering at them with six eyestalks on top of its head as well as a large eye in the center of the round, fleshy mass.

“We have unexpected guests, master,” the orb said.

The bald man peered at the group. “No specimens worth my time,” he said. “Dispose of them, gauth.”

The party tried to rush forward into the room, but a few of the mutated weasels and horses, who were already out of their cages, sprang forward and filled the corridor, blocking the way in. Kyle managed to get off a single spell, shooting a ray at Neville and enveloping him in a greenish glow. “You’re not pulling the same trick as your lackey!” he shouted, before having to scramble out of the way of one of the horses.

Lanara’s song filled the room as the party pressed forward into melee. Togusa tried to maneuver around the mutated animals to get to Neville, but found his path blocked by the hulking mass of The Brute, swinging a large flail. The Brute growled and glared menacingly at Tolly as their weapons locked, but the priest only stared back intently. “May Ardara send you back into the pit from which you crawled,” he said.

Togusa’s blade flashed as he stepped up to challenge The Brute, and they locked in combat. Neville, in the back of the room, calmly walked behind a large table and turned a metal crank, and the cage doors began to crank open, allowing the other animals to join the battle. Meanwhile, the gauth casually floated in the corner of the room and fired a pair of eye beams into the melee, missing with one but striking Tolly with the other, tearing at his flesh with negative energy.

Xu, Tolly, and Autumn attacked the weasels and horses, trying to get past them and into the room. Tolly blasted one of the horses with acid as Xu blocked the beast’s slashing limbs and pummeled it with her fists, and Autumn hacked at it with her greataxe. For a brief moment there was an opening, but suddenly the gap was filled by a mass of writhing black tentacles that rose up out of the floor. But the tentacles were no obstacle for Osborn, who moved right through them thanks to his other magical ring. Still invisible, the hin ran to the far side of the room, preparing his daggers to face Neville.

Kyle shifted and moved forward as well, barely avoiding the slashing mandibles of one of the weasels. He tried to envelop a trio of animals in a cloud of smoke that would render them senseless, but they were largely unaffected. Then Tolly focused on the mass of tentacles, and dispelled it, once again making a clear path into the room.

“Go!” he shouted at Autumn, as the other mutant horses and weasels began to close in.

The sentinel ran full-bore into the room, greataxe held high, heading straight for Neville. But as she came around the large table, Neville raised a hand casually, and another field of tentacles sprang up around Autumn, pulling her off her feet and miring her down. She screamed in anger as she struggled, but to no avail. Only a few feet away, Neville tittered at her. “Perhaps there is something worth my time here after all,” he said to Autumn. “I wonder how you would look with tentacles of your own. Yes, my pretty, I think that would be splendid.”

The gauth floated toward the center of the room, still firing rays from its eyestalks. A pale beam struck Tolly, and suddenly he felt as though he’d just run twenty miles in full armor. His arms and legs felt like lead, and he couldn’t seem to draw enough breath. A second ray of fire struck the wall inches from Kyle’s head, and a third was aimed behind the gauth at Autumn, wounding her as she continued to struggle with the tentacles. Kyle tried to blind it with a glitterdust spell, but the sparkling dust did not get into any of the gauth’s eyes.

Togusa ran The Brute through, smiling with satisfaction as his blade emerged from the back of the hideous orc-touched. But The Brute only smiled back as he swung back with his flail, smashing Togusa’s ribcage. Togusa stepped back, pulling his blade free, and noticed there was no blood.

“You are undead!” Togusa said, startled. The Brute only continued to grin in response.

The monsters continued to press in, still keeping the bulk of the party from getting into the room. Lanara summoned a large spider with her wand to help, sending it to attack the closest horse. Xu pointed her ring of the ram at one of the horses, breaking bones as the force-bolt struck it but failing to push it back. She went back to her trusty feet and fists, but it was a struggle; though her skills meant she could hit the horses and weasels easily, their altered anatomy was foreign enough that the pressure points and weak spots that she normally relied on to inflict serious damage weren’t working. But the protection afforded by the mirror image spell Kyle had cast on her meant that the animals were having just as much trouble striking her.

Tolly, who had seen Togusa run through The Brute and the results of that attack, stepped back and raised his holy symbol.

“As I said before, vile undead,” he shouted. “May Ardara send you back into the pit!”

Holy power blasted out of the symbol and struck The Brute full in the chest, blowing straight through and hitting the far wall. The Brute did not so much die as fall apart, as though he were a rag doll and someone had pulled out all the stitches at once. As The Brute fell, Togusa saluted Tolly with his blade before wading into the mutant horses. The Xhintai warrior winced as another beam of negative energy from the gauth hit him. At the same time, another ray hit Autumn, draining her vitality even as she continued to struggle in the tentacles. “It’s better if you don’t resist, my pretty,” Neville whispered to her.

Despite his taunting, however, Neville had grown somewhat concerned that the intruders in his home had not yet been dispatched. The destruction of his servant was also unfortunate. The master alchemist cast a spell and starting climbing up the wall to the ceiling, out of reach of the intruder’s swords and axes. But from out of nowhere came a hail of daggers, piercing the necromancer in several places. Osborn appeared in the middle of the room, grinning at his success. But the grin faded as he saw that no blood was seeping out of the wounds, and that despite the damage to Neville’s frail form, he seemed to experience no pain.

“Crap,” Osborn said.

Neville fixed the hin with a glare of pure contempt, then pulled a vial from his belt and drank the contents. Osborn’s six daggers fell to the floor with a clatter as Neville suddenly turned into a fine gray mist, and began drifting slowly away to the far side of the room.

“Crap!” Osborn repeated. “Hey, Kyle! Can you fireball this thing?”

Tolly, hearing Osborn’s distress, glanced up from his fight with the weasels to see Neville turn gaseous. He threw out his hands and summoned a wall of solid iron, which blocked off the corner that the cloud seemed to be drifting toward. Tolly wasn’t sure if Neville had some sort of escape route there, or was simply trying to get out of the way; either way, it would take him longer to go around the wall, buying them time. But with his muscles still aching from exhaustion, it was all he could do to defend himself, let alone break free to aid Osborn. Tolly glanced back at Kyle. “Can’t you do something about these creatures?” he complained.

Kyle pulled out a wand and pointed into the room. Seconds later a fireball erupted behind the cluster of horses and weasels, singing several of them. The animals scurried around for a moment in confusion, trying to identify the source of the fire. They settled on Togusa, who was the closest, as the cause, and leapt to attack him. But the confusion left another opening; without waiting for a comment from Tolly, Kyle hurried through into the larger room. Looking around, he saw Osborn dodging a scorching ray from the gauth, and return fire with a searing light from his jeweled headband. He saw the misty form of Neville slowly drifting around an iron wall. Then he saw a mass of black tentacles on the other side of the room, and Autumn’s gauntleted fist rising up out of the mass, trying to escape. Gritting his teeth, Kyle summoned up the energies for a dispelling rite, and negated the arcane energy powering the tentacles.

Autumn quickly rose to her feet. She was exhausted and wounded by the gauth’s eye rays, and the tentacles had dislodged some of the plates of her armor, making it awkward to wear. She looked for Neville, but couldn’t see where he was. What she did see, however, was the gauth, hovering a few feet away, its eye stalks swiveling around to target Kyle and Osborn. Autumn gripped her greataxe tightly, and stepped forward as she brought it up over her head. One of the gauth’s eyestalks caught movement from behind it, and the aberration swiveled around in time to see the blade of the axe coming down.

Seconds later, a gore-covered Autumn stepped out from between the two halves of the gauth, a smile of grim satisfaction on her face.

Togusa, still pinned down by the mutated horses and weasels, growled in frustration as he saw Neville floating away, just out of reach. He swung his katana around him, shouting in rage, and brought down the last two horses. With a path clear, Togusa turned to charge at Neville, activating his speed-enhancing boots, but suddenly he screamed in pain as one of the weasels finally got past his adamantine armor and sank its mandibles into his leg. With effort, Togusa turned and addressed Xu in his native tongue.

“A little help with the rodent?”

Xu met her countryman’s request, running up and kicking the back of its neck, causing it to go limp. The mandibles, however, did not detach, but remained locked in Togusa’s thigh. Ignoring the pain, Togusa turned and ran across the room, dragging the dead weasel behind him. Blood trailed behind him as he picked up speed. Using an overturned workbench as a launching platform, Togusa leapt into the air, sword gleaming even in the dim light of the basement. The katana’s blade passed through the cloud that Neville had transformed himself into, ripping through the vapors. The entire cloud seemed to jerk and twitch violently, as if struck by a sudden air current, and then the vapors dissipated, emitting a foul odor as they vanished.

The last two weasels were dispatched by Tolly and Xu; even Lanara contributed, hitting one of the weasels with her whip. As the din of battle died, the party gathered around Togusa, who was standing quietly staring at the spot where Neville had been.

“What happened?” Autumn asked. “Where’s Neville?”

Slowly, Togusa extended his right hand, palm up, and uncurled his fingers. The hounds-head mark in his palm slowly faded and disappeared as they watched.

“It is done,” he said quietly. “He is defeated at last.”

“No!” shouted Autumn. “What about my sister! What about Arrie! We have to save her! We need Neville to tell us how!”

“Autumn.” Kyle called out to her from across the room.

The sentinel turned, eyes bright with fatigue and grief, and looked at Kyle, who was standing behind Neville’s desk. Kyle opened a drawer and withdrew a large, black tome.

“We don’t need Neville to tell us anything,” he said. “He already has.”


It was nearly dawn by the time Kyle had finished brewing the antidote. Autumn had brought Arrie out of the portable hole, and laid her out on the floor on top of blankets, inside a protective circle that Kyle had drawn in chalk. The others had gone about either ransacking the manor, or dispatching the remainder of Neville’s monstrosities. They studiously avoided the basement; Kyle had said that the antidote was complex, involving both magic and alchemy, and wanted to avoid any accidental disturbances. Most of the others were now asleep in upstairs rooms.

Kyle came up to the two sisters, holding four vials. “Are you ready?” he asked, kneeling down next to them.

Autumn nodded. “Kyle, if this doesn’t work, I want you to know that…”

Kyle silenced her by placing his fingertips on her lips. “It will work.”

Autumn closed her eyes, and a single tear rolled down her cheek. She kissed Kyle’s fingers before he pulled them away. Kyle gently placed three of the vials in front of Autumn in a row, setting the fourth down next to his knees. Then he pulled a funnel out of a pocket and placed it in Arrie’s mouth.

“When I start the spell, I’ll pause three times in the middle. Don’t concentrate on what I’m saying, it’ll just sound like magic mumbo-jumbo to you. Listen for the pauses. Each time, you need to pour one of these into Arrie’s mouth, in order from left to right. After you pour the third one in, pull the funnel out. Got it?”

She nodded. “What’s the fourth one for?” she asked, pointing at the vial next to Kyle.

“That one’s for me.”

“For you? I don’t…”

“It’s part of the ritual to bring her back. It’s called the Breath of Life. You’ll… you’ll see when I get to that part.”

Kyle shifted into a more comfortable position, and laid his hands on Arrie’s body, just above her heart. He took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and began.

The entire ritual took ten minutes, though to Autumn it felt like an eternity. Fears crept into her mind; what if the antidote wasn’t as reliable as Kyle believed? What if there were risks Kyle wasn’t telling her about? She pushed the doubts aside, though, and focused on her task, pouring the vials down Arrie’s throat each time Kyle paused in his incantation.

After the third vial had gone in and Autumn had withdrawn the funnel, Kyle continued to intone the ritual for several seconds. Then, in one rapid motion he picked up the vial next to his leg and drank it in one gulp. Thick, light blue smoke immediately began to pour out of his mouth and nostrils. He inhaled deeply, sucking the vapors back in, and then suddenly bent down and placed his mouth over Arrie’s, exhaling even as he reached up and pinched her nostrils shut with his free hand. Autumn watched Arrie’s chest rise as her lungs filled with the blue vapors, then drop as she exhaled sharply. Kyle broke away from Arrie, stumbling back out of the magic circle, looking as though he were choking. Autumn began to stand up to help him, but Kyle thrust out a hand warning her to stop. She watched as he struggled for a few minutes, then with a sickening cough spit out a black stone the size of a sling bullet. As Kyle gasped for air, the stone clattered on the cold stone floor, shattered, and vanished in a puff of black smoke.

Autumn watched, wanting to go and help Kyle but fearing to move. But after a moment he regained his composure, and crawled back into the circle. “Sorry,” he said, a little hoarse, “The ritual said I’d have to do that. I didn’t expect it to be the size of a turkey egg.”

“I could have helped you, you know.”

“I know, but I didn’t want to chance you being exposed to that stuff before it dissolved. But I think you’re getting distracted from something a little more important here.” Kyle gestured at Arrie, whose skin had become flush and pink, and whose chest now rose and fell steadily.

Kyle put out an arm to hold Autumn back as she was about to pick up her sister and embrace her. “She’ll be waking up any second,” he warned, his tone strangely dire. “This all could be… a little disturbing to her. Wait a minute and let’s see how she reacts.” He withdrew his arm, and from another pocket pulled out a small flask, which he uncorked. Autumn caught the faint scent of apples and metal, and looked at him questioningly. “Tincture of corundum,” he confirmed, “a safe dose. In case she freaks out a little on us.”

Arrie’s eyes opened rather suddenly. She looked around the room, seeming as though she were in shock. Then, as her eyes focused on Autumn and Kyle hovering over her, her face became strangely serene.

“Welcome back, Arrie,” Kyle said. “Rest for now. You’ll wake up soon, and we’ll explain everything.”

As Arrie closed her eyes, Kyle stood up and offered a hand to Autumn. Autumn went over and grabbed a blanket, laying it over her sister. “Will she really be all right?” she asked.

“She’ll be fine, she just needs to rest a little. Probably will be up in an hour or so; after all, in a sense she’s been sleeping all day.” He started to smile, then it faded. “Um, wow, that didn’t come out very well. What I meant was…”

His explanation was halted as Autumn ran up and kissed him, throwing her arms around the wizard in a passionate, tender embrace.

“It’s all right, Kyle,” she said as she pulled away, laughing. “It’s very much all right.”


“So, he was undead, huh?” Arrie gulped down another ale, waiting for Kyle to answer her question.

The party had returned to Miracle four days ago, and was busy with last-minute affairs. They’d found the deed to Neville’s townhouse among the alchemist’s personal papers, and had decided to keep it for their own use. Maddie and Lanara had been out selling a few odd items of treasure to raise money to pay back taxes and to pay a staff, and were also searching for a diamond to replace the one Tolly had used to raise Autumn from the dead. Tolly had been tasked with filing the proper papers with the city, paying any taxes or fees, and making sure there ware no legal complications, and Autumn had been placed in charge of searching out suitable candidates for a steward to handle affairs once the party left. Osborn was assigned the task of spreading the word through Miracle’s underworld that Neville’s townhouse was no longer a narcotics den or a place to bring corpses for quick cash. Xu served a somewhat similar function, staying hear the townhouse and ‘re-educating’ those who wandered by looking for Neville’s drugs or illicit potions.

Kyle had been working inside the townhouse itself, using a combination of magic and muscle to clean out the building and grounds and make needed repairs. Tolly was also helping in that regard, sanctifying the grounds to help remove the necromantic taint. That had left Arrie alone most of the time to rest, though she received frequent visits, especially from her sister. But this evening Arrie had insisted on taking Kyle out drinking, to which he readily agreed. But unlike the last time they’d gone out for ales, this time it was Arrie’s side of the table that held the majority of the empty mugs.

The wizard set down his own mug. “Seems that way. Maddie read about it in his personal journal while we were gone. Seems that back before the first Hunt, Neville was trying to make an Elixir of Life.” At Arrie’s curious look, he explained, “old alchemist’s legend, supposed to make you immortal. Well, he thought it hadn’t worked, but actually it did, sort of. It just turned him undead after he drowned in that river. So, you guys really did kill him on that first Hunt, he just… recovered.”

“I’ll be damned.” Arrie set down her empty mug next to the others, then waved down the barmaid. Then she opened up her right hand and looked at the palm. “I’m glad that Mark is gone for good,” she said.

“So was Togusa.”

“How’s the old boy doing?” Arrie asked.

“Good. He left the city yesterday, said he was heading for Sargia. He gave Xu a scroll before he left, something in their native language. Xu says that it basically means ‘The Dreamer sees and approves’. Apparently, though, it has a lot of different meanings depending on how you read it.”

The barmaid came by the table, already holding two mugs of ale. She moved around Kyle, brushing against his back as she went, and crossed to Arrie’s side of the table before setting the mugs down, careful to lean toward Kyle as she did so, exposing her cleavage to him. The barmaid departed with a smile and wink at Kyle.

“Damn, Kyle,” Arrie said, picking up one of the fresh mugs. “It looks like you’ve got an open invitation there.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think so, Arrie.”

“Oh, come on, Kyle! She practically sat in your lap and pressed her breasts into your face! Even you can’t be that socially clueless. Look, I’ll clear out of here, you can pitch a little woo. The rooms in the basement of the townhouse are soundproof, so you don’t have to worry about…”

“Arrie,” Kyle said, interrupting her, “I’m with Autumn now.”

She stopped and stared at him for a minute. “Since when?”

“The night before you were poisoned. Autumn never had a chance to tell you then, and then with finding Neville, and dealing with the townhouse, there hasn’t been time. Heck, even Autumn and I haven’t seen much of each other lately.”

Arrie smiled. “It’s about gods-damned time. Does Tolly know?”

Kyle nodded. “He’s been a bit snippy to me and Autumn recently, but he seems to be handling it well so far.”

“Good.” Arrie leaned back, and looked at Kyle for a while longer. Then a wicked grin spread across her face. “So, does Autumn sit in your lap and press her…”

“Arrie!”

The warrior began laughing hysterically, leaning over and falling out of her chair. Ale splashed onto the sawdust-covered floor as she sprawled under the table, laughing until she turned red. Gaining a little control, she pulled herself back up to her chair, sitting down unsteadily. “Forgive me, Kyle. And don’t tell Autumn I said that. She’d kill me.”

Kyle looked at Arrie, and glanced at the numerous empty mugs on her side of the table. “I think maybe you’ve had enough, Arrie.”

Her response was to smile, and grab the full mug from Kyle’s side of the table and begin drinking it.

Kyle watched her down the ale, studying her face carefully. “You know, that was an interesting spell that Neville used on you.”

Arrie seemed not to pay attention at first, but the rate at which she was swallowing slowed drastically.

“For all his faults, he was good at what he did. I found it especially clever how the spell was designed to trap your soul inside your own body. And how it allowed the victim to be aware of their surroundings.”

Arrie set the mug down.

“Yup, it’d probably be pretty terrible, trapped, able to hear everything going on around you but not able to do anything, hearing people talk about you like you were dead… maybe wondering if you’d ever come out of it, if they’d end up burying you like that… I’d imagine that’d really do a number on a person’s mind. Maybe drive them to drink. Or worse.”

Arrie’s only response was a strange, wistful smile.

Kyle sighed, then reached across the table and took one of Arrie’s hands, squeezing it. “Of course, that’s just me thinking out loud about boring old wizard stuff. Nothing I feel that anyone else would be interested in hearing about… if I don’t ever have a reason to bring it up.” Kyle looked at her intently. “I won’t have a reason, will I, Ariadne?”

Arrie looked down at her hand in Kyle’s for a minute, then squeezed his hand back firmly. “No, I don’t think you will.”

“Glad to hear it.” Kyle pulled a few coins out of his pocket and slapped them on the table, then stood up, still holding Arrie’s hand. “Come on. I’m pretty sure you’re going to need help getting up.”

Kyle pulled Arrie to her feet, and they left the tavern, Arrie leaning heavily on Kyle. She leaned her head on his shoulder for a moment. “You’re a good man, Kyle Goodson,” she said.

He laughed. “Too late to trade up now, Arrie. You’re stuck with the crown prince of Tlaxan for a husband.”

Arrie laughed and punched Kyle in the ribs playfully. They walked back to the townhouse in silence for a while, letting the sounds of Miracle drift by.

“So,” Arrie said, when they were almost home, “when can I expect my first nephew or niece?”

This time it was Kyle’s turn to fall down.


------------------------------------------

* One of the hazards of playing in a world in development is that certain details become mutable. Observant readers will note that when the party first came to Miracle, it was described as not having an outer wall or gate. Apparently, one was built overnight. Most of the little inconsistencies like this I've managed to cover up over time - one of the advantages of posting these stories several months after they were played. This one got by me, and I just let it go.

Stone's Blood

She paused at the edge of the platform that dropped down to the ship.

“You know what? No. Forget it.”

The rest of the party turned and looked at Lanara. “What do you mean, ‘forget it’?” Kyle asked.

“The boat. Forget it. No more boats for me.”

Tolly rolled his eyes, and the others looked uncomfortable. “Lanara,” Arrie began, “we’re already here, and…”

“And the rest of you can go. I’m taking my horse and leaving. I can get to M’Dos by land as easily as taking a ship.”

“But we have already purchased your passage on this ship,” Tolly said testily.

“So, shove your gear in my bunk and give yourselves more room! Qin-Chu’s toes, Tolly, for someone who just had his eighteenth birthday party yesterday, you’re pretty grumpy.”

“You do realize that it’ll take you longer to get to M’Dos overland than it will take us by sea, right?” Arrie asked.

“Not that much longer. By myself I can make better time.”

There was an awkward pause. “Was it something we did?” Maddie asked.

“No, dear, I’m just not fond of boats, and in this case I have a choice.”

“Well,” said Kyle after another awkward silence, “should some of us come with you?”

“Stars and planets above, no!” she exclaimed. Seeing the hurt look on Kyle’s face, she smiled gently. “It’s nothing personal, folks. Just see no need to inconvenience everyone. Medos is a relatively safe country to travel in, and I’ll be on major roads with lots of traffic. Besides, it’ll be good to get a little private time. I can practice some of those songs that Tolly won’t ever let me play.”

“Okay, then,” Autumn said. “I guess we should help get your horse out from the hold and see you off.”

Though the captain wasn’t particularly pleased at having to unload one of the horses, he didn’t argue much. Since the ship was still taking on cargo, they were able to get the horse off without too much incident, and within an hour Lanara was on her way, riding off through the wide streets of the river-port district headed east. The others gathered onto the platform, which slowly lowered itself on study chains down through the bottom of the bridge that Miracle rested on and onto the merchant galley moored directly below.

Another hour passed before the ship lifted anchor and cast off. As the party watched the enormous span of Miracle slowly recede behind them as the galley made its way downriver to the ocean, Arrie sighed and smiled.

“I’m so glad to be out of that city,” she said. “I don’t think I ever want to come back.”

“Me either,” Osborn said. “That city sucked.”

Kyle turned to the hin. “I understand why she wouldn’t like it here, but why you?”

“Because, I couldn’t poke anything there.”

Kyle grinned. “Actually, Osborn, there were a number of prostitutes in Miracle.”

Everyone stared at Kyle, who looked around and shrugged. “What? Someone has to fill in for Lanara until she gets back.”

Autumn came up and put her arm around Kyle’s waist. “Let someone else do it, Kyle.”


It was an uneventful voyage. The spring rains set in the day after they set sail, and continued all the way to M’Dos. The party, having paid full passage and thus not expected to work, spent most of their time in their cabins. They had been on the road almost constantly for the past year, and were looking forward to finally arriving in M’Dos and fulfilling Tolly’s quest. The party had decided to stay in the capital city for a few weeks, giving everyone a chance to rest and catch their breath, but also giving Tolly and Kyle a chance to work on some magical items. Their arrival in M’Dos would also mark two significant events; Madrone’s birthday, and the one-year anniversary of the party meeting for the first time back at The Tower.

The party gathered at the ship’s railing as they came within sight of M’Dos. The city was built on one side of an large island, and spread out all the way to the shoreline. As they drew closer, Maddie began to point out details.

“That’s the government ward,” she said. “The large building in the middle is where the heads of the eighteen churches gather to make laws for Medos.”

“So, every church gets a voice?” Autumn asked, “even ones like Fiel and Grabâkh?”

“Every one,” Maddie confirmed. “You’ll find temples to every god or goddess in M’Dos, right out in the open. Qin-Chu’s temple is hidden, actually, but that’s more because of their nature than anything.”

“What keeps the evil churches from wreaking havoc?” Kyle asked.

“Or the chaotic ones?” Tolly asked.

“It’s a balance sort of thing. All the churches keep an eye on each other, and no one wants to risk getting in enough trouble to get kicked off the Divinity Council and possibly out of Medos. This is the only place a lot of the less savory deities can have a public face.”

Maddie began to point out other buildings. “The really tall building that looks like a giant unicorn horn? That’s Erito’s temple, the Infinite Spire. Over there is Ardara’s church, the Cathedral of Eminent Order.”

“Where?” Osborn asked, “on top of that big mound of granite?”

“The Cathedral is that big mound of granite,” Maddie replied. “As you might guess, the one with the giant pillar of flame on top is Grabâkh’s, the Temple of the Flaming Eye, and the one out there off shore that looks like it’s halfway submerged is Krûsh’s – The Citadel of Tides. Feesha’s is called The Eyrie, and it’s the one with all the thin spires and towers.”

Maddie spent the next few minutes pointing out what other temples she could identify from the ship to her friends. She pointed out the locations of the market wards, and the hospitality wards. Then she pointed to another section of the city.
“And that’s where I spent most of my days as a young man,” she said. “In the entertainer’s ward.”

“You going to be all right?” Arrie asked.

“Fine, actually. As Madrone I have far more freedom to move around in the city than I would as Kavan. I may even find out what my father’s been up to this whole time.”

“Well, if you’re up for it I’d love a tour in a few days,” Kyle said.

“Certainly,” Maddie beamed.

The ship made it to port, and the party disembarked, following Maddie’s lead into the city to find a suitable inn. They settled on a cozy place called the Whistling Mermaid. Kyle and Autumn caused a bit of a flutter when they quietly announced that they were going to be sharing a room, but the news was not wholly unexpected. Kyle also paid for an extra room in which to work on magic items, alchemy, and on translating and transcribing the spells from Neville’s spellbooks. Tolly only stopped long enough to drop his pack off in the room we was sharing with Osborn before announcing that he was going to the Cathedral of Eminent Order to deliver his diamonds to Archprelate Jerome.

“I’ll go with you,” Autumn said.

It was a brisk thirty-minute walk up to the Cathedral. As they entered through the massive gold-plated doors, Tolly paused.

“What is it?” Autumn asked.

“It’s just… a good feeling knowing that this quest will soon be behind me.” Tolly switched his warhammer to his other shoulder before continuing.

“Why did you bring that?” the sentinel asked.

“The hammer is a relic of my church, Autumn. Though it has served me well, I feel it is time that I return back to their care, and forge a weapon of my own to continue Ardara’s work in this world.” Tolly looked at Autumn. “I should warn you that this could take some time. Getting in to see the Archprelate is not something done quickly.”

“I’ll wait with you,” was Autumn’s reply.

The two approached a large marble-topped desk, manned by a middle-aged dwarf in heavy plate armor. “Greetings, and the blessing of the Lady upon you, Brother,” the dwarf intoned.

“Greetings and blessings to you as well,” Tolly said. “I am Brother Tolly Nightsleaving, of Trageon, accompanied by Lady Autumn Verahannen of Merlion. I was sent upon a holy mission by Archprelate Jerome, and have come here to complete that mission. I wish to have a message sent to the Archprelate informing him of my arrival and requesting an appointment to meet with him.” Tolly crossed his hands behind his back as he finished, waiting.

The dwarf peered at him with bright, but narrow eyes. “I will direct you to the Office of the Archprelate,” he said. “You may deliver your request to his secretary there, Brother.” He proceeded to give Tolly a set of long, complex directions, which the young priest dutifully wrote down using a sheet of parchment and inkpen sitting on the desk. Then they set out. They went up several flights of stairs, heading for the top of the mountain-temple.

“Is Jerome at the very top?” Autumn asked as they reached another set of stairs.

“Nearly so. The very top of the Cathedral would be set aside for very important ceremonies.”

They finally came to a large set of doors seemingly carved of solid marble. The doors pushed open easily, however, to reveal a large, well-appointed antechamber. A large desk dominated one wall, and several people in Ardaran garb sat in wooden chairs around the room. Some looked as though they had been there for a while.

“How long did you say this would take, Tolly?” Autumn asked.

“Once, just before I entered the Tower, I was sent to see the Prelate in charge of Trageon. I waited in his offices for three days.”

Tolly and Autumn walked up to the desk, behind which sat another dwarf. Unlike the one at the main entrance, however, this dwarf clearly outranked Tolly. After making the proper obeisance, Tolly repeated his purpose and request.

The dwarf started to flip through a large appointment book. “Do you have written orders from Archprelate Jerome?”

“No,” Tolly replied. “They were verbal. This task was given to me after the Archprelate brought me back from the dead, exactly ten months and one day ago. I was in a small logging village in the southwestern corner of Tlaxan, close to Aleppi.”

“Ah, yes, that little side trip he took. A moment.” The dwarf flipped the book over several pages, and perused an entry there. Then he slammed the book closed. “Yes, we were left instructions for your arrival.” The dwarf looked at Tolly for a moment, shaking his head. “It would be best if Frelarr attends to you directly. Wait over there, Brother Nightsleaving, and when the current appointment comes out, you may go right in.”

There was a bit of grumbling from some of the human priests in the room as Tolly and Autumn sat down. “Wow, Tolly,” Autumn said, “you get priority.”

“Well, sometimes when you do missions for your superiors, they do not make you wait quite so long. Still, it appears there will be some wait. I am seeing this Frelarr, not Jerome.”

After a while, the inner doors to the office opened, and to dwarves came out. One walked away out of the room, while the second addressed the dwarf at the desk.

“Who’s next?” the dwarf said.

“Actually, sir, you have a priority… from Jerome.”

The dwarf at the desk opened his appointment book and showed an entry to the other dwarf, who nodded. “Oh, yes, the diamond thing.” The second dwarf motioned to Tolly. “Well, come on then.”

Tolly stood and began to make the formal bows to one of higher station, but the dwarf waved him off. “Enough of that,” he said. “Come in, come in.”

Tolly and Autumn entered an enormous office, with windows overlooking the city. At first glance, it seemed as though the office was being shared; the décor in half the room was dramatically different from the other half. One half was designed in a more traditional dwarven style; sparse and utilitarian. The rest was more ornate, with large carpets and upholstered chairs. The dwarf sat behind the desk and motioned for them to take seats as well. They remained standing.

“So, you’re Brother Nightsleaving, correct? And this is?”

“This is Lady Autumn Verahannen…” Tolly trailed off for a moment, realizing he didn’t know this man’s position in the church. He settled for a generic “… sir.”

“Pleasure,” he said, nodding to her, then he turned back to Tolly. “Wife?”

“No, sir,” he said, his voice remaining steady. “Friend and companion in battle. Am I correct in assuming that you are Frelarr?”

“That’s correct,” the dwarf said.

“I have come here to meet with Archprelate Jerome,” Tolly explained. “I was sent to obtain diamonds to replace those used in a resurrection ritual. The Archprelate instructed me to return and speak with him when I had completed this quest.”

“Yes, the diamonds. May I see them?”

Tolly handed Frelarr a small sack. Frelarr reached in and pulled out a large diamond, holding it up to the light from the window. He examined it for a moment, then replaced it in the bag. “Very nice,” he said. “Well done.” Leaving the bag on the desk, he looked at Tolly with a level eye. “You’ve been away for a while, correct? You haven’t been in touch with the church recently?”

“Today was my first opportunity, sir,” Tolly said.

“Then you wouldn’t know. Archprelate Jerome died about a week ago.”

“Oh dear,” Autumn exclaimed. Tolly remained silent.

“Why don’t you have a seat?” Frelarr suggested. Both of them took the dwarf’s offer this time.

“This is unexpected,” Tolly said. “I know that the Archprelate was getting on in years, but…”

“He was a human,” Frelarr said. “Their lives are sadly brief.” Frelarr held his hands out in a helpless gesture. “I’m Archprelate Frelarr, by the way.”

Tolly turned slightly pale, and immediately dropped to one knee. “I beg forgiveness from the Hand of the Earth, the foundation upon which Ardara builds…”

“Enough, enough,” Frelarr said, waving his arms in irritation. “Get up and have a seat, Brother Nightsleaving. First of all, I’m not officially Archprelate yet. Second, I’m not one for all this ceremony. I’m thinking of initiating a few reforms.”

Tolly sat back down, still slightly flustered. “What manner of reforms?”

Frelarr sighed. “All this ceremony is nice, but it gets in the way of work.”

Tolly frowned. “True, but without ceremony sometimes the feel of order is lost.”

“A good point. That’s why I’ll look at it for a while before I decide anything.”

“Did… the former Archprelate leave any instructions for me?” Tolly asked.

“Not that we’ve seen. Just a note that he was expecting you soon.” Frelarr sighed. “Of course, Jerome left a lot of loose ends.”

Tolly frowned at this. The Archprelates were usually not ones to leave ‘loose ends’. Though an Archprelate, once elected by the Council of Prelates, served for life, they usually would carefully choose and train their successor, and when they were ready to assume the mantle of leadership, the old Archprelate would commit ritual suicide to ensure an orderly transfer of power. “His death was unexpected?”

“Sadly, yes. One day he was healthy, the next he was dead. But he was eighty-three.”

“Were the circumstances at all suspicious?”

Archprelate Frelarr shrugged. “To be honest, I wasn’t even around when it happened. I’d come down on pilgrimage from the Confederates, and when I arrived I was told that I’d been chosen as Archprelate. They were fitting me for robes that same day.”

Tolly shook his head. This was all feeling so… chaotic. “Will there be an investigation into his death?”

“Yes, I believe the Inquisitors are looking into it.”

Tolly leaned forward. “Archprelate, I would like to speak with the Inquisition. I may have information useful to them. We have recently encountered forces in the world that have not been seen on the face of the planet for some time. Psionicists are back, which I am not certain means much to you.”

Frelarr shook his head to indicate that it did not. “Why don’t you compile a full report, Brother Nightsleaving,” he suggested. “Leave it on my secretary’s desk. I can have the Inquisition look at it and contact you.” Frelarr stood up. “I’m sorry, but as you might imagine I’ve got a lot of people to see.”

As they stood, Autumn spoke up. “Pardon me for speaking out of turn, Archprelate, but I wanted you to know that Tolly has been a very hard-working advocate for Ardara throughout our travels, and wanted to say as someone who is not a member of this church that he is very much a servant of Ardara.”

Frelarr nodded. “It’s good to know that our priests are doing their duty to Ardara. Thank you for coming.”

Frelarr escorted them to the door and saw them out. On the way down the stairs, Tolly began to think out loud.

“The situation seems suspicious,” he said. “Ardaran Archprelates do not just die unexpectedly. Jerome was a vigorous man. Yes, he was human, and our lives are short compared to dwarves, but the Hand of the Earth just falling without warning? It creates too much disorder in the church.”

“So you suspect he was assassinated,” Autumn said, “and you suspect the psions are behind it.”

“It would be congruous with other actions we have seen the psions take,” he replied. “They seem interested in subverting existing power structures on the surface. Their efforts to unite the orc clans is an example, as is their attempt to gain influence over the Imperial Family of Tlaxan.”

Tolly continued to muse silently for several minutes, until he reached the main foyer of the Cathedral. He turned abruptly away from the exit and headed for the same clerk he’d spoken with on their arrival.

“Greetings, brother,” said the clerk. “How may I be of service?”

“I need to know where I can find the offices of the Inquisition,” Tolly said.

The clerk turned white as a sheet. “You… want to go there?”

“I have information that the Archprelate has told me to report to the Inquisition.”

“You… you’ve told this to Archprelate Frelarr?”

“Yes.”

“I… I think they’ll probably contact you,” the clerk said nervously. “Please, Brother, just wait for them to come to you.”

“Very well,” Tolly said, “then give me directions to the forges.”

Tolly turned and headed back for the exit after the clerk gave him instructions to reach the forges under the Cathedral. At Autumn’s questioning look, he said, “The Ardaran Inquisition has something of a reputation, even outside the church, but especially within it.”

Autumn looked a bit green. “I hope they’re only contacting you, then.”

Tolly shrugged. “They hardly ever torture anyone to death these days.”

It was a quieter walk back to the Whistling Mermaid. Once there, Autumn shared the details with the group of Jerome’s death, Frelarr’s appointment, and Tolly’s suspicions.

“I may be contacted in the next few days by a slightly suspicious seeming character,” Tolly said. “Do not concern yourself too much; it’s probably just the Inquisition.” Tolly paused for a minute, then shook his head sadly. “Just the Inquisition. Did I say that?” When others confirmed that he had, he shook his head again. “You know, traveling with you people has really… changed me. I never would have looked at the Inquisition without fear before.”

“Is it fair to assume that the church might have done a divination or two on the matter?” Kyle asked.

“That is why I expect the Inquisition to contact me. They may not know of psionics and thus would not know what to look for.”

“Or, it could just be a really good assassin,” Arrie pointed out. “Psionics aren’t to blame for everything, you know.”

“True,” Tolly said.

“Do you know this new Archprelate well enough to know what policy changes might be instigated, and who they might benefit?” Arrie asked.

“Archprelate Frelarr did mention some reforms he is considering. He apparently does not hold to ceremony as much as Jerome did. But he intends to take a long look at it; changes in the church are not easy to make.”

“Right, I forgot we were talking about Ardara. The more things stay the same, the more they stay the same.”

“It sounds like we won’t know much until the Inquisition shows up,” Kyle said.

“So, it seems that what we thought was going to be a leisurely time in M’Dos…” Autumn commented.

“Oh, it still could be. We could hop on a ferry, then ride away from this as fast as we can,” Arrie said. “But I can see the vein in Tolly’s forehead throbbing when I say that.”

“But it’s worth pointing out that we did come here to take a break after Tolly’s quest ended,” Kyle said. “And the city’s just chock full of very powerful clerics and holy warriors. We don’t have to solve every problem, you know.”

Tolly sighed. “Until I’m satisfied there was no foul play, I cannot picture leaving.”

“Can we at least wait until your Inquisition asks for our help before jumping in the midst of all this?” Arrie asked.

“That would be wise. The Inquisition does not take kindly to outside interference.”

“Right, then,” Arrie said, standing up. “Let’s get busy selling all this collected treasure so we can start relaxing properly.”


Several days passed. After selling their goods and dividing up the money, the party went their separate ways. Tolly spent his days at the Ardaran forges; he was still tasked with creating a silvered greatsword for the hound archon Alexriel, and was also making a new weapon for himself. Kyle produced a number of alchemical items for Autumn, then set about creating some magical items for Osborn and Arrie, and generally was not seen much outside of either his makeshift lab or the room he shared with Autumn. Autumn visited the temple of her own god Bail; a resplendent structure that looked more like a palace than a church. The church elders asked about the oathbond dagger she had recovered in the Dwarven Confederates, and then lost to Marreck; she reported that she had not yet been able to track it down. She asked about Archprelate Jerome, and learned that there was no suspicion of assassination among the clergy in the city. Osborn, checking underworld information sources, learned that there was no talk of a plot again Jerome; he then went to the temple of Ladta and spent his days gambling. Maddie and Arrie seemed to find an instant bond in their pursuit of debauchery, and were seen together frequently. Xu, however, mostly stayed in her room; even more so when Osborn commented on seeing a number of people in the city from Xhintai.

“I also saw a bunch of people that looked kind of like you,” Osborn told her, “but their eyes were a bit different. They wore loose clothing, with lots of flowers and plants in them.”

“Those are natives of the Red Archipelago,” Xu explained. “Their islands lie north of Affon.”

“Neat,” Osborn said, before heading back to the dice tables.

It was several days before anyone saw Kyle for more than a few minutes, other than Autumn. He emerged from his makeshift lab every few days when he’d completed a piece of work; he presented Osborn with a new knife vest that held several dozen daggers at once, and Arrie with an extradimensional bag to hold a collection of orcish shotputs. It was over a week before he came down to the common room to find Madrone, who was sitting with Arrie discussing local news.

“I need a couple days off,” he said, sitting down at their table. “My next project is a long one, so I thought it’d be better if I took it easy and actually enjoyed some of our vacation.”

“A very wise decision, Kyle,” said Maddie.

“So, I’m ready for that tour we talked about,” he said to the elf.

“Wonderful!” she said, clapping in glee. “I know just the place to start. There’s a parlor with the most amazing acrobatic dancers. One of them has a very impressive routine involving a pole in the ground.”

“Um, that wasn’t the kind of tour I was expecting,” Kyle said. “I thought you’d be showing me all the temples and such.”

“Temples?” Maddie asked, sounding thoroughly perplexed as to why anyone would want to see temples.

“I want one of your tours!” Arrie said, jumping up. “Let’s go!”

“Hey, wait…” Kyle protested, as Maddie and Arrie hooked a hand under each arm and pulled him out the door. They were gone several hours, and when they returned Kyle was considerably more subdued. In fact, he looked somewhat dazed, though the hint of a grin kept creeping onto his face. All three were slightly unsteady on their feet.

“Good tour, Maddie,” was all he said before he went up the stairs to his room.

Maddie looked over at Arrie cheerfully. “Think we should tell Autumn?”

“Nah, more fun to watch him squirm later. Besides, it’s harmless fun. Now, you still have that bottle we bought?”

Maddie laughed. “Which one?”

It was late into the next day before Maddie and Arrie were seen again. They came down the stairs together, and were surprised to see Lanara walk in. Both women ran up and greeted the cansin.

“Hi there,” Lanara replied, rather listlessly. “Thanks for leaving word with the ferry-master for me.”

“Lanara, what’s wrong?” Arrie asked.

“I’m just… tired,” the bard answered. “It was a long trip.”

“If we try to cheer you up, will that make you happy?”

Maddie pulled out a half-empty bottle of liquor. “Perhaps this?”

Lanara smiled, though it wasn’t very convincing. “I appreciate the thought, but I think I’m just tired and need rest. It wasn’t a very good trip for me. Which room is ours?’

After getting instructions, Lanara walked slowly to the stairs. Maddie frowned and shook her head as the bard walked away.

“That’s odd,” she said.

“What’s odd?”

Maddie pointed to Lanara’s waist. Hanging from a belt was a rapier, worn as though it had been there all along.

“A weapon?” Arrie said, mystified. “Lanara with an actual weapon that could hurt someone? Something has to have happened while she was gone.”

“Well, you know Lanara,” Maddie said. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, she won’t. Let’s give her time to rest and see how she is in the morning.”

As they spoke, Kyle came down the stairs. He stopped when he saw Arrie and Maddie standing near the door.

“Hello, Kyle!” Arrie shouted. “Ready for another tour? I think there’s a couple of dancers in M’Dos who would love to see you again today!”

Kyle turned and went back up the stairs, followed by the laughter of two women.

We interrupt this SH for an important message...

Just thought I would keep you, the faithful reader(s), appraised of current events in our game.

Our DM has informed our group that he wishes to take a few months hiatus from the campaign. Among other reasons, we have just ended Part Two of the campaign, and he needs the time to prepare for the next major segment. Thus, as of last week, we're on break.

What does this mean for you, dear reader? For now, not much at all.

Allow me to give you insight into how things work. I actually write my stories for the game between sessions every week, and post them to our group's private website. I deliberately waited a few months to start posting them here, so that I'd have a good cushion of time between the actual game and posting the sessions here, just so I wouldn't have the double pressure of trying to write for my group and ENWorld. The adventure that I just posted a couple of days ago was played in March of this year. Thus I have months of adventures already written out, ready to cut and paste.

So, things here will continue as normal, at least for a while. Depending on how things go, it is possible that I could run out of prewritten material before the D&D campaign starts again, in which case I'd have to pause this Story Hour. I may also decide to slow down updates for a bit at some point in the future, just to maintain a bit of that time cushion. We'll see.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't entirely necessary for me to say all that now, but I assume at least a couple of people are following this story, and figured it was worth mentioning so that people know that the SH hasn't died if I suddenly slow down or stop posting for a while. If I do have to stop, of course, I'll mention it so people know I haven't disappeared.

That's all. Thanks for reading.

That night, Tolly had a visitor.

He awoke to the feel of a gauntleted hand shaking him. When he opened his eyes, the room was dark, and he could see the silhouetted form of an armored person standing over him, features hidden by the darkness. One the other side of the room, he heard Osborn and Rupert breathing deeply as they slept.

“No shouts, no sudden movements, speak only when you are spoken to,” said a deep male voice. Tolly nodded.

“You wished to speak with us,” the man stated flatly.

“Yes,” Tolly said. “You are aware, I presume, of the re-emergence of psionics in Aelfenn?”

“What we know is not your place to ask,” the inquisitor said. “Continue.”

“I can give you fragments of psionic weaponry and psionically-imbued items that I have not yet disposed of properly. They are in my pack in the south corner – I know better than to try and rise to get them for you.”

“You are wise, Brother Nightsleaving. Is this why you wish to speak with us?”

“That, and because of certain patterns I have observed. We have encountered psions two or three times in the past year. In each case they appeared to either be trying to eliminate a leader or take one under their control.”

“Explain.”

Tolly laid out the party’s encounters in detail. He told the inquisitor about Marreck and the theft of the Bailite oathbond dagger. He spoke of Xerxes and how he had tried to abduct Princess Aralda. He talked about Sun-Harrow and Takar and how they had corrupted the orcish warchief Orth. He spoke of their strange dream-encounter with Lord Momuus, and of the meeting with Aran that happened later. He told him everything that Aran had said about psionics, and the alternate version of history they had heard, and about Kristyan and the two alleged factions within the psionic community. He even mentioned Kyle’s staff and its apparent ability to detect psionic auras. The inquisitor listened to every detail, never making a sound.

“Archprelate Jerome’s sudden death makes me suspicious,” Tolly concluded. “The Hand of the Earth does not just suddenly die.”

“It has happened, Brother,” said the inquisitor, “and Jerome was not a young man. But there are enough irregularities into his death that we have begun an investigation.”

“He resurrected me,” Tolly said. “If there is anything I can do…”

“We will contact you.”

“I suspect Archprelate Jerome may have had some knowledge of this,” Tolly added. “It was he who sent me to the desert where we encountered Takar and Sun-Harrow. Ardara’s Hand works in mysterious ways.”

Tolly suddenly felt a hand press firmly, but not painfully, into his chest just below his throat. “How far do you trust your friends?” The inquisitor asked.

Tolly swallowed nervously. “The sentinel Autumn I would trust with my life. The hin Osborn I would trust with my life, but not my money. The monk Xu I am not certain of; she is too guarded with her past. The bard Lanara… is a cansin. I know not what to think of her. The priestess of Erito, Ka… Madrone, I definitely trust. The warrior, Ariadne, while spontaneous, also seems trustworthy. The wizard, Kyle… I trust him.”

The hand moved up to Tolly’s throat and the pressure increased. “Be careful who you trust,” the inquisitor said darkly. There was a moment of blackness, and then the armored figure was gone.

After a few minutes, Tolly stood up and checked on Osborn. The hin was snoring deeply, and did not respond when shaken. There was the barest fragrance in the air around him, which Tolly assumed was a sedative of some kind. With a sigh, Tolly laid back down, though sleep did not return easily.

When the party came down for breakfast the next morning, they were shocked to see Lanara was already downstairs, eating a large bowl of porridge. Arrie and Maddie looked at each other questioningly; Lanara was normally a notoriously late sleeper.

“So, Lanara, how was your trip?” Kyle asked when he sat down.

Lanara leveled a stare at him. “You really want all the gory details?” Kyle faltered a bit.

“Did something happen that would require gory details?” Autumn asked.

The bard sighed. “Bandits aren’t the most fun people to travel with,” she said.

“Why were you traveling with bandits?” Autumn asked.

“It wasn’t voluntary.”

Maddie’s eyes flashed. “If you were violated, Lanara, we’re going to go find them, and…”

“They’ve been dealt with,” Lanara said, in a tone that said the subject was now closed.

There was an awkward silence for a while, until Lanara said, “So, what has everyone been up to?”

“We found out that Archprelate Jerome is dead,” Autumn began.

“And we went on a tour of the city,” Arrie said, putting her arm around Maddie, “right, Kyle?”

Kyle looked at Arrie, then glanced over at Autumn sitting next to him. “I’ve been crafting magic items,” he said quickly.

Lanara’s brow raised a bit. “You spoke up awfully quickly there, Kyle.” She was just about ready to launch into the poor wizard, when she suddenly turned back to Autumn. “Wait a minute, Jerome’s dead? Tolly doesn’t still have those damn diamonds, does he?”

“No, he gave them to their new Archprelate, Frelarr. Tolly suspects foul play. He’s waiting for the Inquisition to contact him to see if they suspect the same thing.”

“Actually,” Tolly said, “they came to me last night.”

“Really?” Osborn said, surprised. “When?”

“What did they say?” Autumn asked.

“I cannot say much, other than I gave them the information I had, and they were not surprised.”

Maddie frowned. “You know, Tolly, it’s hard to hear you say you ‘can’t say much’ when we’ve put our lives on the line for your cause.”

“This is agreed,” Tolly said, “but the Inquisition has ways of making it clear they do not wish this discussed too freely.” Tolly unconsciously rubbed at his neck as he spoke. “All I know is that they have some suspicions, and share some of my opinions. Whether they can use the information I gave them remains to be seen. They will contact me if they need more.”

“Well, if they want us to help, they’ll have to give us more information,” Autumn said.

“I am sure they will contact us if that is what they want,” Tolly replied. “Until then I suggest we go about our business normally.”

Arrie glanced down at the floor near Tolly’s chair, and saw a battered warhammer sitting there, with old dwarven runes carved into the head. “What’s with the hammer?” she asked.

“It was loaned to me by the church while I complete work on my new weapon,” he said.

“Oh,” she took a closer look at the runes on the side. “Property of the Church of Ardara,” she read. “So, Tolly, are you going to have that tattooed on your chest?”

Tolly looked blankly at Arrie, unamused. “Ariadne, I think you need to spend more time with your sister.”

Arrie looked over at Autumn, who at the moment was giving Kyle a quick kiss. “Ugh, I don’t go in for that sort of thing,” she said.

“Not that sort of time,” Tolly said, exasperated. “You’ve become far less restrained recently, Arrie.”

“So?” said Osborn and Lanara at the same time.

“Actually, Tolly,” Xu said, “Araidne has begun practicing meditation in the morning.”
“If anyone thinks that my behavior has become a problem,” Arrie said, “please tell me. But Tolly, my powers of concentration are not diminished, I simply choose not to exercise them.”

“It’s called ‘relaxing’, Tolly,” Lanara said. “You should try it.”

“Yes, perhaps you could come with us on a tour of the city,” Maddie said. “It’s a lot of fun, right Kyle?”

Kyle tried very hard to focus on his breakfast.

“Nothing wrong with having a good time,” Osborn said.

Tolly sighed again, then stood. “I am going to the forge now,” he announced, shouldering his borrowed warhammer before departing.

Autumn looked around at the others after he left. “Try not to provoke the poor man,” she said.

“But it’s such fun, and so easy,” Lanara argued.

“The man’s spiritual leader just died,” the sentinel pointed out.

Arrie nodded. “There’s a trick I’ve learned recently,” she said. “I’ll just try to apply it whenever he talks.”

“What do you do, listen to the voices in your head?” Osborn asked.

“Actually, it’s more like not listening to anything at all,” she explained.

“I thought you might be referring to that pole trick we saw the other day,” Maddie said with a grin and a glance toward Kyle.

“Oh, no! That’s much different, and not for Tolly’s consumption.” Arrie leaned over the table toward Kyle. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

“What pole trick?” Osborn asked, saving Kyle from having to answer.

“We can show you,” Maddie said. “We should all go. Their matinee show is even more impressive.”

“That sounds good to me,”

“Yeah, I’d like to see this show you’re talking about, Maddie,” said Kyle quickly.

Autumn looked at Kyle curiously. “You said that awfully fast, Kyle. What’s up?”

He shook his head, quickly stuffing more food in his mouth.

Eventually the entire group decided to go, except for Tolly. Even Autumn came along, walking hand in hand with Kyle, who had the look of a condemned man on his face. Xu was also looking very nervous.

“What’s wrong, Xu?” Arrie asked, when the monk jumped at a merchant who suddenly shouted nearby. “I’ve never seen you this agitated. Normally you’re very centered.”

“It’s… nothing,” Xu said. “It is related to the problems I have mentioned before. Being out here, so publicly, and having been in one city for so long…”

“Well, if it helps, Xu,” Kyle said, “I’ve noticed that there are a number of people in this city from Xhintai. I wouldn’t say they’re common, but you don’t stick out in M’Dos quite as much as normal.”

“The larger number of people from my country is also a source of concern,” Xu said. “Any of them could be Hungai’s bounty hunters.”

“You know,” Arrie said, “Maddie has already undergone a drastic change in appearance, so to speak, in order to hide. I don’t see why you couldn’t as well.”

“Yeah,” Maddie said, “we could help!”

“Lanara could help, too, if she’s up to it,” Arrie added.

“Sure,” the bard said, not terribly enthusiastically.

Arrie, Maddie, and Lanara began discussing ideas for clothing and hairstyle changes on the way to the dance parlor Maddie had discovered. The afternoon act was indeed more impressive; it featured two dancers, one a gnomish woman whose routine utilized a gnomish double spear set into the ground. While watching the performance, Xu suddenly felt something pressed into her hand. She looked around, but there were too many people around her to identify anyone. Very quietly, Xu rose and went across the room to where the light was better, and looked at the paper in her hand. It was actually two sheets of very thin, translucent rice paper. There were markings on each piece that were lined up to create characters in the Xhintai language. Xu saw that if separated, the marks would look like random lines, completely illegible.



The Dreamlord Aran proclaims that those like him did not end the Earthlord.



Xu quickly pocketed the note and returned to the others. After a while they emerged from the parlor. Kyle was very studiously avoiding meeting Autumn’s eyes. When Arrie glanced over at Autumn, however, the sentinel flashed her sister a wink that said I’m not mad at him, but I’m going to make him squirm for a while, too.

When the party crossed through a rather empty alley on the way back through the city, Xu stopped the others and showed them the note, explaining how she got it and what it meant. All of them remembered that Aran had mentioned that he would keep in touch through underlings.

“The note says ‘those like him’,” Arrie said. “Does that mean like him in abilities, or like him in attitude?”

“I’d guess the former,” Kyle said. “If Kristyan’s faction was involved, I think Aran would tell us.”

“If he knows,” Osborn pointed out.

“Well, if there has been any brain-tampering, Kyle’s staff will tell us,” Arrie said.

“So, should we go find Tolly at the forge and tell him about this?” Autumn asked.

“No, I don’t think we should announce this for everyone in Ardara’s church to hear,” she replied. “Let’s wait until he gets home. For now, though, we still need to buy some new clothes for Xu. Can we show you some ideas we had?”

The women went off to the tailors, while Kyle and Osborn headed to a tavern. They returned to the Whistling Mermaid around the same time as the women, quite intoxicated. Xu was now dressed in flowing, brightly colored clothes, and had ribbons braided into her hair. “We went with the idea that the hunters won’t think that a monk trying to hide will make herself more visible,” Arrie said.

Tolly returned home later that night. He looked at Xu’s new wardrobe.

“Interesting,” Tolly said. “Is this how you spend your days?”

“Sometimes,” Arrie said. “Come upstairs with us and we’ll show you what else we do during the day.”

“I am not certain I wish to know,” he replied.

Suddenly he was picked up by Arrie and Autumn, with Lanara, Xu, and Maddie right behind him. “No, we insist you come with us upstairs right now,” Arrie said as they went up the stairs. Behind them, the other patrons of the inn cheered at Tolly’s apparent good fortune in going upstairs with five attractive women. Once he had been shoved into the women’s room and the door was closed, he turned to them.

“You know,” Tolly said, “if word of this behavior ever got back to my brothers at the church…”

“You’d be a hero,” Lanara interrupted. “‘Rocks and steel, such tempering and endurance’, they’ll say.”

Tolly then noticed that Kyle and Osborn were also in the room. Xu handed Tolly the note, and translated it for him, as well as their uncertainty of Aran’s exact meeting.

“We could also attempt to use a commune,” Kyle suggested. “The relic that Maddie has should still work. Maybe Erito would know for sure.”

“Or Ardara,” Tolly said. “I can commune with her in the morning as well.”

“Why not both?” Arrie suggested.

“Good idea,” Kyle said. “How about we discuss what questions to ask, and plan to contact Ardara and Erito in the morning?”

The party spent the next hour refining their questions. They decided to focus most of the questions regarding Jerome’s death to Ardara, and ask Erito about other matters. After they finished, conversation lagged a bit, until Arrie spoke again.

“So, who wants to braid Tolly’s hair while he’s asleep?”

“Did you say ‘braid’ or ‘shave’?” Maddie asked with a grin.

“Ooh! Let’s do both!”

Tolly shook his head. “I think I’ll sleep at the Cathedral tonight.”

“Chicken,” Lanara said.


Lanara opened the door to Kyle’s lab. After their conversation had broken up, Kyle had gone into his room to check up on a few works in progress. He was sitting behind a desk when she came in.

“Autumn said you wanted to see me?”

Kyle nodded. “Come in.”

Lanara walked in, looking around at all the glass tubing and containers in the room. “Shouldn’t you be playing with Autumn instead of all this stuff?” she asked. “Surely those dancers put some ideas in your head.”

Kyle ignored her. “I have a spare tanglefoot bag for you. I heard you say a while ago that you were out, and I’m not using it.” He held out a leather bundle in one hand. “I can always make more of these if you want, you know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Lanara said as she reached for the bag. But Kyle withdrew it as her hand was about to close around the strap.

“First,” he said, “you tell me what really happened out on the road.”

Lanara stared at Kyle for a moment, then turned on her heel to leave. Kyle gestured with his free hand, and the door swung closed in front of her.

“You’ve been sullen and moody since you returned,” he said. “You’ve said nothing about your trip, which isn’t like you. You were up early this morning, which also isn’t like you. And you’re carrying a sword, which definitely isn’t like you.” He leveled a glare to match Lanara’s. “I’m socially awkward, Lanara. I’m not stupid.”

Lanara continued to stare at Kyle for a while. Then, unexpectedly, a tear rolled down her cheek. The sight was so unnerving that the fire completely left Kyle’s eyes, and he was left looking blankly at her.

“Tomorrow,” she snapped. “Noon. The Flaming Cauldron. You and me, alone.” Her voice suddenly softened, and behind the hard exterior there was a twinge of sadness, and fear. “We have to talk.”

grr...

yeap, loyal reader, and proud lurker...I will await all updates, and for the game to restart if need be...thanks for the heads up...still lovin it.