Nonlethal Force
First Post
Semeion spoke with confidence as he tried to get the group to forget about the dagger for the moment. “Listen. I don’t think that we’ll be able to do anything about the dagger or the Ephistaemi until we head into Fingerdale and perhaps scrounge up some information. I say we start looking around the villa and see if there are any more accidental clues that are left behind.”
Brandt nodded and spoke next. “Actually, I think that I’m going to use the time and research the Ephistaemi a bit if I can. I’ll teleport back to my office in the temple in Fingerdale and see what the other priests might make of this. Ausaphaborishan, are you going to stay here for protection?”
The dragon nodded his head, “I certainly can if my presence is needed.”
Rhema’s father turned around where he stood and spoke in reply to the dragon. “There’s not much point in you staying around, Ausaphaborishan. The ground looks calm. If there was going to be any kind of ambush, I’d have expected it when we arrived.”
Rhema contradicted her father’s words. “Yet, they might be afraid of Ausaphaborishan’s presence. If he leaves, anyone waiting to strike might just do so.”
Rhema’s father looked at her daughter with eyes of respect in regard to the wisdom contained in her words. However, in the same look from his eyes he also looked like a father figure expecting to win over the words of a child. “Even so, Rhema, there is nothing here to keep us anymore. If Ausaphaborishan is capable of sending us the horses that we used to get to his valley there is no reason we simply couldn’t flee from any threat. The rest of the stuff we brought with us could be sent home with the Drakontai who were working at the villa but went for the wedding. They can spend the week on horseback traveling back here with our supplies.”
Charis nodded in agreement knowing full well that the majority of those Drakontai were her immediate kin through her dragon father. “Besides, there’s not much for them to do here anyway. If they take a week in coming and we have our horses here, we can have a good bit of the villa’s rubble removed and get the site prepared for a new building. Their arrival would correspond to when we rebuild.”
Rhema’s father smiled politely and looked to the ground. “That’s mighty kind of you to offer, Charis. But you all have work to do. This here was my home. You all need not worry about it. I can hire people to help rebuild it.”
Ischarus grinned at the man’s words. “With all due respect, sir.” His voice hesitated before he spoke the last word. His mind thought about calling Rhema’s father by the title of dad, but somehow it just didn’t seem to fight the context. “This here was not only your home but Rhema’s. And by virtue of it being Rhema’s home that means it now is seen as my home as well. You certainly can’t expect Rhema and I to just leave. And you can’t expect Charis and Semeion to go without us!”
Semeion put his thin arm around Ischarus’ shoulder. “Yep, that means that you are stuck with us for a while. Besides, if we’re going to get to the heart of why this has happened, we’ve got to stay in the area before the trail gets too cold. If we go about a journey into Quehalost now, there would be no way that we could follow the trail once we got back.”
Rhema hugged her father. “See, dad? It looks like you are stuck with us. We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got some kind of lead.” Rhema’s father didn’t reply except to embrace his daughter in return.
Charis looked back around to the rest of the farm. “But, I agree with what Semeion already said. We’ve spent enough time for now on that dagger. We should go about the rest of the farm. I think we’ll manage from here, Ausaphaborishan. Please give my regards to my dragon father.”
The dragon smiled and patted Charis lightly upon her head with his massive front clawed foot. “If you all are sure of this, then I will return to my valley and leave you in peace.”
Ischarus looked up to his dragon father. “As always, your tremendous service as honored us. But when you sent me out into the world you told me that there would be many things that I need to accomplish without your help. This task is something that we can do. You have more pressing matters, I’m sure.”
The wyrm nodded and looked to the east. “I do in fact have other duties that I could attend to, and I am sure that Llywessiar will stay in my valley until I return. If I were to go back now I would release him and enable him and his people to go.” The dragon nodded once more, gave the magical command word, and vanished.
Once the dragon left the area of the burned villa, the party began to assign different forces for assessment. Rhema, Semeion, and Rhema’s father sifted through the damage surrounding the villa. Their hope was to pick anything out of the ash and stone from the ruined house that could be salvaged or even reused when the villa was to be reconstructed. Besides to blackened fieldstone there was little else to find.
Charis and Ischarus were assigned to search through the fields and surrounding area. The ash across the fields was might lighter than near where the villa had burned. Fortunately there was not enough plant material in the fields to add to the ash. Instead, the task of Charis and Ischarus was to see if the entire crops were lost and if the fields could be replanted without doing much work to the ground.
When Ausaphaborishan had been gone for almost ten minutes the horses suddenly appeared just to the east of the villa. The sudden appearance of five horses startled Semeion, Rhema, and Rhema’s father because they were so close to the horses when they appeared. Fortunately, the horses did not attempt to flee out of being spooked by the sudden teleportation. Rhema’s father quickly gathered up the horses’ reigns and began walking them to the nearest edge of the forest. There was nothing remaining outside the forest that would serve as a tie down for the horses.
Semeion and Rhema were left alone in the ash of the ruin when they heard a mysterious voice from behind. The voice was feminine, but clearly filled with anger. “I want my dagger back, and I’m willing to kill you for it.”
Rhema and Semeion spun around to face the newcomer. Neither of them had heard her approach. She must have used a similar teleportation trick that Brandt and Ausaphaborishan had managed. Rhema let out a cry of surprise as she spun around and saw their adversary. “Ischarus!”
The woman standing before Semeion and Rhema wore a dark cloak. As Rhema and Semeion turned, the woman flashed her hand to her belt where she drew a dagger that matched the one that Ischarus had found earlier. Only five feet separated Rhema and Semeion from the woman. Both Rhema and Semeion could easily see the etching upon the side of the blade. The dagger was etched with a crescent moon and a dagger plunging through it. She worked for the Ephistaemi.
As the woman drew her blade, Semeion caught sight of a small gold pendant resting atop her chest. The pendant was suspended from a thick gold chain that hung around her neck. Semeion didn’t recognize the symbol, but he knew enough about jewelry to have a hunch as to what the symbol might represent. He spoke bitterly at the sight of the pendant. “Careful, Rhema. This one looks to be protected by the gods.”
Before either Rhema or Semeion could react, the woman spoke in a low tone of chant. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” The woman seemingly blinked out of existence and disappeared.
Semeion drew his rapier and gave a shout to Rhema. “Move back. There’s no way that she can attack both of us if we get far enough away.” Semeion stepped a couple of feet in a direction away from the route that Ischarus would be coming from to help. He hoped that this would force Rhema to step a couple of feet in the direction toward help.
Rhema responded with a nod and moved as Semeion hoped. When she saw Semeion draw his rapier she likewise drew her own azure colored crystalline short sword. She braced herself with the sword in front of her, although she didn’t know from which direction that the attack would come.
After several seconds the woman materialized out of thin air immediately before Rhema. She sliced at the arm that held Rhema’s sword and connected with little difficulty. The woman had caught Rhema off-guard in spite of Rhema’s intent on keeping from being surprised. A thick line of dark red blood followed the path of the woman’s dagger across Rhema’s arm. Several droplets of blood splattered through the air and landed among the deep ash that rested upon the ground.
Knowing that he was not the focus of the attack, Semeion shifted his rapier to his left hand and gestured with his now empty right hand. His voice matched the chanting tone of the woman and he began to use his own magic. “Thin-tok arash.”
Instead of the typical blue energy that Rhema had been accustomed to seeing dance down Semeion’s arm to his hand, this time a green energy sparked down his skin to the tips of his fingers. The energy formed a ball, burst forward, and struck the woman from behind. Instantly smoke began to form along the back of her cloak as the green acid seeped through her clothing and burned at the flesh of her back. Semeion cheered as his magic worked. “I’ve got several new tricks up my sleeve!”
Rhema smiled at the upgraded magic that Semeion used. She focused on the woman who was attacking her and spoke in a commanding tone. “Get away from me and fear my presence!”
The robed woman smiled and began to chuckle. “You had better hope that your mind tricks work soon, because in a couple more strikes I’ll have killed you outright!” She sliced once more at Rhema, but this time Rhema was prepared for the attack and could see it coming. Rhema parried the blow from the dagger with her sword.
Semeion reached back into his traditional bag of tricks and pulled out another spell. He had already tried something new, now it was time to go back to his old favorite spell. “Thin-tok!” The familiar blue energy leapt down his arm and formed a blue energy ball at his fingertips. He threw the ball towards the cloaked woman and the ball collided with her back. Semeion watched as the acid from the previous attack continued to smolder through her cloak. To his surprise, another set of energy sparks formed along his arm and leapt into an additional ball at the tips of his fingers. He yelled once more as he threw the second ball and hit the woman again. “Apparently I’ve gotten more upgrades than even I knew about!”
Rhema laughed again as she refocused her mental powers. She tried the same mental trick as the last time. Her voice lowered in anger and frustration as she called out in fury. “I told you to leave me alone! Now get away from me before I have to seriously hurt you!”
The woman smirked again and replied. “That’s two failed attempts to control me with your mind powers. I can keep this up all day.” The woman drew her lips back in a flashy smile and spoke her magical words once more. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” As happened the last time she spoke the words, the woman vanished into thin air.
Semeion pointed behind Rhema to Ischarus. Rhema’s husband was charging across the nearest field toward the villa. Semeion yelled a command to Rhema. “Run to him. She’s going to reappear, but if you run away you’ll keep her from being able to strike you solidly until Ischarus can come to your aid.”
Rhema decided to follow Semeion’s advice. She turned her back to where the woman had just stood and began a full fledged retreat toward the charging Ischarus. Suddenly the blade of the dagger appeared out of the air and swiped at Rhema’s retreating back.
The blade missed by a considerable margin and the robed woman popped into full view. Rather than give pursuit toward Rhema, the woman turned around and faced Semeion. She casually approached him and challenged him as she prepared to strike. “Your magic will eventually run out, and then I shall have you as a sacrifice.” Her dagger slashed through the air and caught Semeion across the shoulder.
Semeion winced in pain but managed. He had a few more blows left in him. “Not before my friends arrive, though. And once they are here you will not last long.” When the woman had closed for combat he had switched the rapier back into his right hand. He used the blade to pierce the air, but the woman twisted out of the way. His blow caught nothing but air.
The woman responded to Semeion’s slice through the air with one of her own. Semeion easily parried the blow with his longer blade. He set himself to respond to the attack when suddenly a flash of movement to his left caught his eye.
A dog raced across the ground and leapt up to tear at the woman’s arm. The dog’s hair was a normal dark brown in color, although it almost seemed to radiate a golden hue. The jaws of the beast clamped down onto the woman’s left arm and she began to bleed. She cried out in both pain and surprise at the speed and ferocity of the dog. She completely missed the end of the pick that arced through the air.
Charis had heard Rhema’s initial cry for help. She had run towards the burned out villa as fast as her legs could carry her. When she approached within striking distance she had called upon her powers to bring the dog to help her in combat. Together, the dog and Charis managed to take the woman by surprise. The end of her pick lodged itself just under the woman’s right shoulder. The intense pain from the dog blow and the force of the pick dropped the cloaked woman to the ground at Semeion’s feet.
Ischarus quickly arrived on the scene with Rhema returning right behind him. “Are you both alright?”
Semeion glanced toward Ischarus before returning his gaze upon the fallen woman. “We’re fine, Ischarus. Although, I must admit that the help is greatly appreciated.” He nursed his sore shoulder as he spoke.
Charis bent down to the woman’s side and placed her hand upon the dog’s back. “Your service has been much appreciated, Arbok. Give my regards to our god.” Charis closed her eyes slowly and nodded to the dog in a dismissal. The dog vanished in much the same way as the party had used in teleporting into this place.
Ischarus bent down beside Charis. “Will she live for questioning?” He pulled a short rope out of his backpack as he spoke.
Charis placed her hand over the woman’s shoulder. She had lost a significant amount of blood between the pick wound and the dog bite. “Bondras-tol” She watched as a golden light radiated from her palm and passed through her fingers into the woman’s shoulders. A pleased expression passed across Charis’ face. “She will, now.”
[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]
Semeion spoke with confidence as he tried to get the group to forget about the dagger for the moment. “Listen. I don’t think that we’ll be able to do anything about the dagger or the Ephistaemi until we head into Fingerdale and perhaps scrounge up some information. I say we start looking around the villa and see if there are any more accidental clues that are left behind.”
Brandt nodded and spoke next. “Actually, I think that I’m going to use the time and research the Ephistaemi a bit if I can. I’ll teleport back to my office in the temple in Fingerdale and see what the other priests might make of this. Ausaphaborishan, are you going to stay here for protection?”
The dragon nodded his head, “I certainly can if my presence is needed.”
Rhema’s father turned around where he stood and spoke in reply to the dragon. “There’s not much point in you staying around, Ausaphaborishan. The ground looks calm. If there was going to be any kind of ambush, I’d have expected it when we arrived.”
Rhema contradicted her father’s words. “Yet, they might be afraid of Ausaphaborishan’s presence. If he leaves, anyone waiting to strike might just do so.”
Rhema’s father looked at her daughter with eyes of respect in regard to the wisdom contained in her words. However, in the same look from his eyes he also looked like a father figure expecting to win over the words of a child. “Even so, Rhema, there is nothing here to keep us anymore. If Ausaphaborishan is capable of sending us the horses that we used to get to his valley there is no reason we simply couldn’t flee from any threat. The rest of the stuff we brought with us could be sent home with the Drakontai who were working at the villa but went for the wedding. They can spend the week on horseback traveling back here with our supplies.”
Charis nodded in agreement knowing full well that the majority of those Drakontai were her immediate kin through her dragon father. “Besides, there’s not much for them to do here anyway. If they take a week in coming and we have our horses here, we can have a good bit of the villa’s rubble removed and get the site prepared for a new building. Their arrival would correspond to when we rebuild.”
Rhema’s father smiled politely and looked to the ground. “That’s mighty kind of you to offer, Charis. But you all have work to do. This here was my home. You all need not worry about it. I can hire people to help rebuild it.”
Ischarus grinned at the man’s words. “With all due respect, sir.” His voice hesitated before he spoke the last word. His mind thought about calling Rhema’s father by the title of dad, but somehow it just didn’t seem to fight the context. “This here was not only your home but Rhema’s. And by virtue of it being Rhema’s home that means it now is seen as my home as well. You certainly can’t expect Rhema and I to just leave. And you can’t expect Charis and Semeion to go without us!”
Semeion put his thin arm around Ischarus’ shoulder. “Yep, that means that you are stuck with us for a while. Besides, if we’re going to get to the heart of why this has happened, we’ve got to stay in the area before the trail gets too cold. If we go about a journey into Quehalost now, there would be no way that we could follow the trail once we got back.”
Rhema hugged her father. “See, dad? It looks like you are stuck with us. We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got some kind of lead.” Rhema’s father didn’t reply except to embrace his daughter in return.
Charis looked back around to the rest of the farm. “But, I agree with what Semeion already said. We’ve spent enough time for now on that dagger. We should go about the rest of the farm. I think we’ll manage from here, Ausaphaborishan. Please give my regards to my dragon father.”
The dragon smiled and patted Charis lightly upon her head with his massive front clawed foot. “If you all are sure of this, then I will return to my valley and leave you in peace.”
Ischarus looked up to his dragon father. “As always, your tremendous service as honored us. But when you sent me out into the world you told me that there would be many things that I need to accomplish without your help. This task is something that we can do. You have more pressing matters, I’m sure.”
The wyrm nodded and looked to the east. “I do in fact have other duties that I could attend to, and I am sure that Llywessiar will stay in my valley until I return. If I were to go back now I would release him and enable him and his people to go.” The dragon nodded once more, gave the magical command word, and vanished.
Once the dragon left the area of the burned villa, the party began to assign different forces for assessment. Rhema, Semeion, and Rhema’s father sifted through the damage surrounding the villa. Their hope was to pick anything out of the ash and stone from the ruined house that could be salvaged or even reused when the villa was to be reconstructed. Besides to blackened fieldstone there was little else to find.
Charis and Ischarus were assigned to search through the fields and surrounding area. The ash across the fields was might lighter than near where the villa had burned. Fortunately there was not enough plant material in the fields to add to the ash. Instead, the task of Charis and Ischarus was to see if the entire crops were lost and if the fields could be replanted without doing much work to the ground.
When Ausaphaborishan had been gone for almost ten minutes the horses suddenly appeared just to the east of the villa. The sudden appearance of five horses startled Semeion, Rhema, and Rhema’s father because they were so close to the horses when they appeared. Fortunately, the horses did not attempt to flee out of being spooked by the sudden teleportation. Rhema’s father quickly gathered up the horses’ reigns and began walking them to the nearest edge of the forest. There was nothing remaining outside the forest that would serve as a tie down for the horses.
Semeion and Rhema were left alone in the ash of the ruin when they heard a mysterious voice from behind. The voice was feminine, but clearly filled with anger. “I want my dagger back, and I’m willing to kill you for it.”
Rhema and Semeion spun around to face the newcomer. Neither of them had heard her approach. She must have used a similar teleportation trick that Brandt and Ausaphaborishan had managed. Rhema let out a cry of surprise as she spun around and saw their adversary. “Ischarus!”
The woman standing before Semeion and Rhema wore a dark cloak. As Rhema and Semeion turned, the woman flashed her hand to her belt where she drew a dagger that matched the one that Ischarus had found earlier. Only five feet separated Rhema and Semeion from the woman. Both Rhema and Semeion could easily see the etching upon the side of the blade. The dagger was etched with a crescent moon and a dagger plunging through it. She worked for the Ephistaemi.
As the woman drew her blade, Semeion caught sight of a small gold pendant resting atop her chest. The pendant was suspended from a thick gold chain that hung around her neck. Semeion didn’t recognize the symbol, but he knew enough about jewelry to have a hunch as to what the symbol might represent. He spoke bitterly at the sight of the pendant. “Careful, Rhema. This one looks to be protected by the gods.”
Before either Rhema or Semeion could react, the woman spoke in a low tone of chant. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” The woman seemingly blinked out of existence and disappeared.
Semeion drew his rapier and gave a shout to Rhema. “Move back. There’s no way that she can attack both of us if we get far enough away.” Semeion stepped a couple of feet in a direction away from the route that Ischarus would be coming from to help. He hoped that this would force Rhema to step a couple of feet in the direction toward help.
Rhema responded with a nod and moved as Semeion hoped. When she saw Semeion draw his rapier she likewise drew her own azure colored crystalline short sword. She braced herself with the sword in front of her, although she didn’t know from which direction that the attack would come.
After several seconds the woman materialized out of thin air immediately before Rhema. She sliced at the arm that held Rhema’s sword and connected with little difficulty. The woman had caught Rhema off-guard in spite of Rhema’s intent on keeping from being surprised. A thick line of dark red blood followed the path of the woman’s dagger across Rhema’s arm. Several droplets of blood splattered through the air and landed among the deep ash that rested upon the ground.
Knowing that he was not the focus of the attack, Semeion shifted his rapier to his left hand and gestured with his now empty right hand. His voice matched the chanting tone of the woman and he began to use his own magic. “Thin-tok arash.”
Instead of the typical blue energy that Rhema had been accustomed to seeing dance down Semeion’s arm to his hand, this time a green energy sparked down his skin to the tips of his fingers. The energy formed a ball, burst forward, and struck the woman from behind. Instantly smoke began to form along the back of her cloak as the green acid seeped through her clothing and burned at the flesh of her back. Semeion cheered as his magic worked. “I’ve got several new tricks up my sleeve!”
Rhema smiled at the upgraded magic that Semeion used. She focused on the woman who was attacking her and spoke in a commanding tone. “Get away from me and fear my presence!”
The robed woman smiled and began to chuckle. “You had better hope that your mind tricks work soon, because in a couple more strikes I’ll have killed you outright!” She sliced once more at Rhema, but this time Rhema was prepared for the attack and could see it coming. Rhema parried the blow from the dagger with her sword.
Semeion reached back into his traditional bag of tricks and pulled out another spell. He had already tried something new, now it was time to go back to his old favorite spell. “Thin-tok!” The familiar blue energy leapt down his arm and formed a blue energy ball at his fingertips. He threw the ball towards the cloaked woman and the ball collided with her back. Semeion watched as the acid from the previous attack continued to smolder through her cloak. To his surprise, another set of energy sparks formed along his arm and leapt into an additional ball at the tips of his fingers. He yelled once more as he threw the second ball and hit the woman again. “Apparently I’ve gotten more upgrades than even I knew about!”
Rhema laughed again as she refocused her mental powers. She tried the same mental trick as the last time. Her voice lowered in anger and frustration as she called out in fury. “I told you to leave me alone! Now get away from me before I have to seriously hurt you!”
The woman smirked again and replied. “That’s two failed attempts to control me with your mind powers. I can keep this up all day.” The woman drew her lips back in a flashy smile and spoke her magical words once more. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” As happened the last time she spoke the words, the woman vanished into thin air.
Semeion pointed behind Rhema to Ischarus. Rhema’s husband was charging across the nearest field toward the villa. Semeion yelled a command to Rhema. “Run to him. She’s going to reappear, but if you run away you’ll keep her from being able to strike you solidly until Ischarus can come to your aid.”
Rhema decided to follow Semeion’s advice. She turned her back to where the woman had just stood and began a full fledged retreat toward the charging Ischarus. Suddenly the blade of the dagger appeared out of the air and swiped at Rhema’s retreating back.
The blade missed by a considerable margin and the robed woman popped into full view. Rather than give pursuit toward Rhema, the woman turned around and faced Semeion. She casually approached him and challenged him as she prepared to strike. “Your magic will eventually run out, and then I shall have you as a sacrifice.” Her dagger slashed through the air and caught Semeion across the shoulder.
Semeion winced in pain but managed. He had a few more blows left in him. “Not before my friends arrive, though. And once they are here you will not last long.” When the woman had closed for combat he had switched the rapier back into his right hand. He used the blade to pierce the air, but the woman twisted out of the way. His blow caught nothing but air.
The woman responded to Semeion’s slice through the air with one of her own. Semeion easily parried the blow with his longer blade. He set himself to respond to the attack when suddenly a flash of movement to his left caught his eye.
A dog raced across the ground and leapt up to tear at the woman’s arm. The dog’s hair was a normal dark brown in color, although it almost seemed to radiate a golden hue. The jaws of the beast clamped down onto the woman’s left arm and she began to bleed. She cried out in both pain and surprise at the speed and ferocity of the dog. She completely missed the end of the pick that arced through the air.
Charis had heard Rhema’s initial cry for help. She had run towards the burned out villa as fast as her legs could carry her. When she approached within striking distance she had called upon her powers to bring the dog to help her in combat. Together, the dog and Charis managed to take the woman by surprise. The end of her pick lodged itself just under the woman’s right shoulder. The intense pain from the dog blow and the force of the pick dropped the cloaked woman to the ground at Semeion’s feet.
Ischarus quickly arrived on the scene with Rhema returning right behind him. “Are you both alright?”
Semeion glanced toward Ischarus before returning his gaze upon the fallen woman. “We’re fine, Ischarus. Although, I must admit that the help is greatly appreciated.” He nursed his sore shoulder as he spoke.
Charis bent down to the woman’s side and placed her hand upon the dog’s back. “Your service has been much appreciated, Arbok. Give my regards to our god.” Charis closed her eyes slowly and nodded to the dog in a dismissal. The dog vanished in much the same way as the party had used in teleporting into this place.
Ischarus bent down beside Charis. “Will she live for questioning?” He pulled a short rope out of his backpack as he spoke.
Charis placed her hand over the woman’s shoulder. She had lost a significant amount of blood between the pick wound and the dog bite. “Bondras-tol” She watched as a golden light radiated from her palm and passed through her fingers into the woman’s shoulders. A pleased expression passed across Charis’ face. “She will, now.”
[/Sblock]
Brandt nodded and spoke next. “Actually, I think that I’m going to use the time and research the Ephistaemi a bit if I can. I’ll teleport back to my office in the temple in Fingerdale and see what the other priests might make of this. Ausaphaborishan, are you going to stay here for protection?”
The dragon nodded his head, “I certainly can if my presence is needed.”
Rhema’s father turned around where he stood and spoke in reply to the dragon. “There’s not much point in you staying around, Ausaphaborishan. The ground looks calm. If there was going to be any kind of ambush, I’d have expected it when we arrived.”
Rhema contradicted her father’s words. “Yet, they might be afraid of Ausaphaborishan’s presence. If he leaves, anyone waiting to strike might just do so.”
Rhema’s father looked at her daughter with eyes of respect in regard to the wisdom contained in her words. However, in the same look from his eyes he also looked like a father figure expecting to win over the words of a child. “Even so, Rhema, there is nothing here to keep us anymore. If Ausaphaborishan is capable of sending us the horses that we used to get to his valley there is no reason we simply couldn’t flee from any threat. The rest of the stuff we brought with us could be sent home with the Drakontai who were working at the villa but went for the wedding. They can spend the week on horseback traveling back here with our supplies.”
Charis nodded in agreement knowing full well that the majority of those Drakontai were her immediate kin through her dragon father. “Besides, there’s not much for them to do here anyway. If they take a week in coming and we have our horses here, we can have a good bit of the villa’s rubble removed and get the site prepared for a new building. Their arrival would correspond to when we rebuild.”
Rhema’s father smiled politely and looked to the ground. “That’s mighty kind of you to offer, Charis. But you all have work to do. This here was my home. You all need not worry about it. I can hire people to help rebuild it.”
Ischarus grinned at the man’s words. “With all due respect, sir.” His voice hesitated before he spoke the last word. His mind thought about calling Rhema’s father by the title of dad, but somehow it just didn’t seem to fight the context. “This here was not only your home but Rhema’s. And by virtue of it being Rhema’s home that means it now is seen as my home as well. You certainly can’t expect Rhema and I to just leave. And you can’t expect Charis and Semeion to go without us!”
Semeion put his thin arm around Ischarus’ shoulder. “Yep, that means that you are stuck with us for a while. Besides, if we’re going to get to the heart of why this has happened, we’ve got to stay in the area before the trail gets too cold. If we go about a journey into Quehalost now, there would be no way that we could follow the trail once we got back.”
Rhema hugged her father. “See, dad? It looks like you are stuck with us. We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got some kind of lead.” Rhema’s father didn’t reply except to embrace his daughter in return.
Charis looked back around to the rest of the farm. “But, I agree with what Semeion already said. We’ve spent enough time for now on that dagger. We should go about the rest of the farm. I think we’ll manage from here, Ausaphaborishan. Please give my regards to my dragon father.”
The dragon smiled and patted Charis lightly upon her head with his massive front clawed foot. “If you all are sure of this, then I will return to my valley and leave you in peace.”
Ischarus looked up to his dragon father. “As always, your tremendous service as honored us. But when you sent me out into the world you told me that there would be many things that I need to accomplish without your help. This task is something that we can do. You have more pressing matters, I’m sure.”
The wyrm nodded and looked to the east. “I do in fact have other duties that I could attend to, and I am sure that Llywessiar will stay in my valley until I return. If I were to go back now I would release him and enable him and his people to go.” The dragon nodded once more, gave the magical command word, and vanished.
Once the dragon left the area of the burned villa, the party began to assign different forces for assessment. Rhema, Semeion, and Rhema’s father sifted through the damage surrounding the villa. Their hope was to pick anything out of the ash and stone from the ruined house that could be salvaged or even reused when the villa was to be reconstructed. Besides to blackened fieldstone there was little else to find.
Charis and Ischarus were assigned to search through the fields and surrounding area. The ash across the fields was might lighter than near where the villa had burned. Fortunately there was not enough plant material in the fields to add to the ash. Instead, the task of Charis and Ischarus was to see if the entire crops were lost and if the fields could be replanted without doing much work to the ground.
When Ausaphaborishan had been gone for almost ten minutes the horses suddenly appeared just to the east of the villa. The sudden appearance of five horses startled Semeion, Rhema, and Rhema’s father because they were so close to the horses when they appeared. Fortunately, the horses did not attempt to flee out of being spooked by the sudden teleportation. Rhema’s father quickly gathered up the horses’ reigns and began walking them to the nearest edge of the forest. There was nothing remaining outside the forest that would serve as a tie down for the horses.
Semeion and Rhema were left alone in the ash of the ruin when they heard a mysterious voice from behind. The voice was feminine, but clearly filled with anger. “I want my dagger back, and I’m willing to kill you for it.”
Rhema and Semeion spun around to face the newcomer. Neither of them had heard her approach. She must have used a similar teleportation trick that Brandt and Ausaphaborishan had managed. Rhema let out a cry of surprise as she spun around and saw their adversary. “Ischarus!”
The woman standing before Semeion and Rhema wore a dark cloak. As Rhema and Semeion turned, the woman flashed her hand to her belt where she drew a dagger that matched the one that Ischarus had found earlier. Only five feet separated Rhema and Semeion from the woman. Both Rhema and Semeion could easily see the etching upon the side of the blade. The dagger was etched with a crescent moon and a dagger plunging through it. She worked for the Ephistaemi.
As the woman drew her blade, Semeion caught sight of a small gold pendant resting atop her chest. The pendant was suspended from a thick gold chain that hung around her neck. Semeion didn’t recognize the symbol, but he knew enough about jewelry to have a hunch as to what the symbol might represent. He spoke bitterly at the sight of the pendant. “Careful, Rhema. This one looks to be protected by the gods.”
Before either Rhema or Semeion could react, the woman spoke in a low tone of chant. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” The woman seemingly blinked out of existence and disappeared.
Semeion drew his rapier and gave a shout to Rhema. “Move back. There’s no way that she can attack both of us if we get far enough away.” Semeion stepped a couple of feet in a direction away from the route that Ischarus would be coming from to help. He hoped that this would force Rhema to step a couple of feet in the direction toward help.
Rhema responded with a nod and moved as Semeion hoped. When she saw Semeion draw his rapier she likewise drew her own azure colored crystalline short sword. She braced herself with the sword in front of her, although she didn’t know from which direction that the attack would come.
After several seconds the woman materialized out of thin air immediately before Rhema. She sliced at the arm that held Rhema’s sword and connected with little difficulty. The woman had caught Rhema off-guard in spite of Rhema’s intent on keeping from being surprised. A thick line of dark red blood followed the path of the woman’s dagger across Rhema’s arm. Several droplets of blood splattered through the air and landed among the deep ash that rested upon the ground.
Knowing that he was not the focus of the attack, Semeion shifted his rapier to his left hand and gestured with his now empty right hand. His voice matched the chanting tone of the woman and he began to use his own magic. “Thin-tok arash.”
Instead of the typical blue energy that Rhema had been accustomed to seeing dance down Semeion’s arm to his hand, this time a green energy sparked down his skin to the tips of his fingers. The energy formed a ball, burst forward, and struck the woman from behind. Instantly smoke began to form along the back of her cloak as the green acid seeped through her clothing and burned at the flesh of her back. Semeion cheered as his magic worked. “I’ve got several new tricks up my sleeve!”
Rhema smiled at the upgraded magic that Semeion used. She focused on the woman who was attacking her and spoke in a commanding tone. “Get away from me and fear my presence!”
The robed woman smiled and began to chuckle. “You had better hope that your mind tricks work soon, because in a couple more strikes I’ll have killed you outright!” She sliced once more at Rhema, but this time Rhema was prepared for the attack and could see it coming. Rhema parried the blow from the dagger with her sword.
Semeion reached back into his traditional bag of tricks and pulled out another spell. He had already tried something new, now it was time to go back to his old favorite spell. “Thin-tok!” The familiar blue energy leapt down his arm and formed a blue energy ball at his fingertips. He threw the ball towards the cloaked woman and the ball collided with her back. Semeion watched as the acid from the previous attack continued to smolder through her cloak. To his surprise, another set of energy sparks formed along his arm and leapt into an additional ball at the tips of his fingers. He yelled once more as he threw the second ball and hit the woman again. “Apparently I’ve gotten more upgrades than even I knew about!”
Rhema laughed again as she refocused her mental powers. She tried the same mental trick as the last time. Her voice lowered in anger and frustration as she called out in fury. “I told you to leave me alone! Now get away from me before I have to seriously hurt you!”
The woman smirked again and replied. “That’s two failed attempts to control me with your mind powers. I can keep this up all day.” The woman drew her lips back in a flashy smile and spoke her magical words once more. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” As happened the last time she spoke the words, the woman vanished into thin air.
Semeion pointed behind Rhema to Ischarus. Rhema’s husband was charging across the nearest field toward the villa. Semeion yelled a command to Rhema. “Run to him. She’s going to reappear, but if you run away you’ll keep her from being able to strike you solidly until Ischarus can come to your aid.”
Rhema decided to follow Semeion’s advice. She turned her back to where the woman had just stood and began a full fledged retreat toward the charging Ischarus. Suddenly the blade of the dagger appeared out of the air and swiped at Rhema’s retreating back.
The blade missed by a considerable margin and the robed woman popped into full view. Rather than give pursuit toward Rhema, the woman turned around and faced Semeion. She casually approached him and challenged him as she prepared to strike. “Your magic will eventually run out, and then I shall have you as a sacrifice.” Her dagger slashed through the air and caught Semeion across the shoulder.
Semeion winced in pain but managed. He had a few more blows left in him. “Not before my friends arrive, though. And once they are here you will not last long.” When the woman had closed for combat he had switched the rapier back into his right hand. He used the blade to pierce the air, but the woman twisted out of the way. His blow caught nothing but air.
The woman responded to Semeion’s slice through the air with one of her own. Semeion easily parried the blow with his longer blade. He set himself to respond to the attack when suddenly a flash of movement to his left caught his eye.
A dog raced across the ground and leapt up to tear at the woman’s arm. The dog’s hair was a normal dark brown in color, although it almost seemed to radiate a golden hue. The jaws of the beast clamped down onto the woman’s left arm and she began to bleed. She cried out in both pain and surprise at the speed and ferocity of the dog. She completely missed the end of the pick that arced through the air.
Charis had heard Rhema’s initial cry for help. She had run towards the burned out villa as fast as her legs could carry her. When she approached within striking distance she had called upon her powers to bring the dog to help her in combat. Together, the dog and Charis managed to take the woman by surprise. The end of her pick lodged itself just under the woman’s right shoulder. The intense pain from the dog blow and the force of the pick dropped the cloaked woman to the ground at Semeion’s feet.
Ischarus quickly arrived on the scene with Rhema returning right behind him. “Are you both alright?”
Semeion glanced toward Ischarus before returning his gaze upon the fallen woman. “We’re fine, Ischarus. Although, I must admit that the help is greatly appreciated.” He nursed his sore shoulder as he spoke.
Charis bent down to the woman’s side and placed her hand upon the dog’s back. “Your service has been much appreciated, Arbok. Give my regards to our god.” Charis closed her eyes slowly and nodded to the dog in a dismissal. The dog vanished in much the same way as the party had used in teleporting into this place.
Ischarus bent down beside Charis. “Will she live for questioning?” He pulled a short rope out of his backpack as he spoke.
Charis placed her hand over the woman’s shoulder. She had lost a significant amount of blood between the pick wound and the dog bite. “Bondras-tol” She watched as a golden light radiated from her palm and passed through her fingers into the woman’s shoulders. A pleased expression passed across Charis’ face. “She will, now.”
[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]
Semeion spoke with confidence as he tried to get the group to forget about the dagger for the moment. “Listen. I don’t think that we’ll be able to do anything about the dagger or the Ephistaemi until we head into Fingerdale and perhaps scrounge up some information. I say we start looking around the villa and see if there are any more accidental clues that are left behind.”
Brandt nodded and spoke next. “Actually, I think that I’m going to use the time and research the Ephistaemi a bit if I can. I’ll teleport back to my office in the temple in Fingerdale and see what the other priests might make of this. Ausaphaborishan, are you going to stay here for protection?”
The dragon nodded his head, “I certainly can if my presence is needed.”
Rhema’s father turned around where he stood and spoke in reply to the dragon. “There’s not much point in you staying around, Ausaphaborishan. The ground looks calm. If there was going to be any kind of ambush, I’d have expected it when we arrived.”
Rhema contradicted her father’s words. “Yet, they might be afraid of Ausaphaborishan’s presence. If he leaves, anyone waiting to strike might just do so.”
Rhema’s father looked at her daughter with eyes of respect in regard to the wisdom contained in her words. However, in the same look from his eyes he also looked like a father figure expecting to win over the words of a child. “Even so, Rhema, there is nothing here to keep us anymore. If Ausaphaborishan is capable of sending us the horses that we used to get to his valley there is no reason we simply couldn’t flee from any threat. The rest of the stuff we brought with us could be sent home with the Drakontai who were working at the villa but went for the wedding. They can spend the week on horseback traveling back here with our supplies.”
Charis nodded in agreement knowing full well that the majority of those Drakontai were her immediate kin through her dragon father. “Besides, there’s not much for them to do here anyway. If they take a week in coming and we have our horses here, we can have a good bit of the villa’s rubble removed and get the site prepared for a new building. Their arrival would correspond to when we rebuild.”
Rhema’s father smiled politely and looked to the ground. “That’s mighty kind of you to offer, Charis. But you all have work to do. This here was my home. You all need not worry about it. I can hire people to help rebuild it.”
Ischarus grinned at the man’s words. “With all due respect, sir.” His voice hesitated before he spoke the last word. His mind thought about calling Rhema’s father by the title of dad, but somehow it just didn’t seem to fight the context. “This here was not only your home but Rhema’s. And by virtue of it being Rhema’s home that means it now is seen as my home as well. You certainly can’t expect Rhema and I to just leave. And you can’t expect Charis and Semeion to go without us!”
Semeion put his thin arm around Ischarus’ shoulder. “Yep, that means that you are stuck with us for a while. Besides, if we’re going to get to the heart of why this has happened, we’ve got to stay in the area before the trail gets too cold. If we go about a journey into Quehalost now, there would be no way that we could follow the trail once we got back.”
Rhema hugged her father. “See, dad? It looks like you are stuck with us. We’re not going anywhere until we’ve got some kind of lead.” Rhema’s father didn’t reply except to embrace his daughter in return.
Charis looked back around to the rest of the farm. “But, I agree with what Semeion already said. We’ve spent enough time for now on that dagger. We should go about the rest of the farm. I think we’ll manage from here, Ausaphaborishan. Please give my regards to my dragon father.”
The dragon smiled and patted Charis lightly upon her head with his massive front clawed foot. “If you all are sure of this, then I will return to my valley and leave you in peace.”
Ischarus looked up to his dragon father. “As always, your tremendous service as honored us. But when you sent me out into the world you told me that there would be many things that I need to accomplish without your help. This task is something that we can do. You have more pressing matters, I’m sure.”
The wyrm nodded and looked to the east. “I do in fact have other duties that I could attend to, and I am sure that Llywessiar will stay in my valley until I return. If I were to go back now I would release him and enable him and his people to go.” The dragon nodded once more, gave the magical command word, and vanished.
Once the dragon left the area of the burned villa, the party began to assign different forces for assessment. Rhema, Semeion, and Rhema’s father sifted through the damage surrounding the villa. Their hope was to pick anything out of the ash and stone from the ruined house that could be salvaged or even reused when the villa was to be reconstructed. Besides to blackened fieldstone there was little else to find.
Charis and Ischarus were assigned to search through the fields and surrounding area. The ash across the fields was might lighter than near where the villa had burned. Fortunately there was not enough plant material in the fields to add to the ash. Instead, the task of Charis and Ischarus was to see if the entire crops were lost and if the fields could be replanted without doing much work to the ground.
When Ausaphaborishan had been gone for almost ten minutes the horses suddenly appeared just to the east of the villa. The sudden appearance of five horses startled Semeion, Rhema, and Rhema’s father because they were so close to the horses when they appeared. Fortunately, the horses did not attempt to flee out of being spooked by the sudden teleportation. Rhema’s father quickly gathered up the horses’ reigns and began walking them to the nearest edge of the forest. There was nothing remaining outside the forest that would serve as a tie down for the horses.
Semeion and Rhema were left alone in the ash of the ruin when they heard a mysterious voice from behind. The voice was feminine, but clearly filled with anger. “I want my dagger back, and I’m willing to kill you for it.”
Rhema and Semeion spun around to face the newcomer. Neither of them had heard her approach. She must have used a similar teleportation trick that Brandt and Ausaphaborishan had managed. Rhema let out a cry of surprise as she spun around and saw their adversary. “Ischarus!”
The woman standing before Semeion and Rhema wore a dark cloak. As Rhema and Semeion turned, the woman flashed her hand to her belt where she drew a dagger that matched the one that Ischarus had found earlier. Only five feet separated Rhema and Semeion from the woman. Both Rhema and Semeion could easily see the etching upon the side of the blade. The dagger was etched with a crescent moon and a dagger plunging through it. She worked for the Ephistaemi.
As the woman drew her blade, Semeion caught sight of a small gold pendant resting atop her chest. The pendant was suspended from a thick gold chain that hung around her neck. Semeion didn’t recognize the symbol, but he knew enough about jewelry to have a hunch as to what the symbol might represent. He spoke bitterly at the sight of the pendant. “Careful, Rhema. This one looks to be protected by the gods.”
Before either Rhema or Semeion could react, the woman spoke in a low tone of chant. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” The woman seemingly blinked out of existence and disappeared.
Semeion drew his rapier and gave a shout to Rhema. “Move back. There’s no way that she can attack both of us if we get far enough away.” Semeion stepped a couple of feet in a direction away from the route that Ischarus would be coming from to help. He hoped that this would force Rhema to step a couple of feet in the direction toward help.
Rhema responded with a nod and moved as Semeion hoped. When she saw Semeion draw his rapier she likewise drew her own azure colored crystalline short sword. She braced herself with the sword in front of her, although she didn’t know from which direction that the attack would come.
After several seconds the woman materialized out of thin air immediately before Rhema. She sliced at the arm that held Rhema’s sword and connected with little difficulty. The woman had caught Rhema off-guard in spite of Rhema’s intent on keeping from being surprised. A thick line of dark red blood followed the path of the woman’s dagger across Rhema’s arm. Several droplets of blood splattered through the air and landed among the deep ash that rested upon the ground.
Knowing that he was not the focus of the attack, Semeion shifted his rapier to his left hand and gestured with his now empty right hand. His voice matched the chanting tone of the woman and he began to use his own magic. “Thin-tok arash.”
Instead of the typical blue energy that Rhema had been accustomed to seeing dance down Semeion’s arm to his hand, this time a green energy sparked down his skin to the tips of his fingers. The energy formed a ball, burst forward, and struck the woman from behind. Instantly smoke began to form along the back of her cloak as the green acid seeped through her clothing and burned at the flesh of her back. Semeion cheered as his magic worked. “I’ve got several new tricks up my sleeve!”
Rhema smiled at the upgraded magic that Semeion used. She focused on the woman who was attacking her and spoke in a commanding tone. “Get away from me and fear my presence!”
The robed woman smiled and began to chuckle. “You had better hope that your mind tricks work soon, because in a couple more strikes I’ll have killed you outright!” She sliced once more at Rhema, but this time Rhema was prepared for the attack and could see it coming. Rhema parried the blow from the dagger with her sword.
Semeion reached back into his traditional bag of tricks and pulled out another spell. He had already tried something new, now it was time to go back to his old favorite spell. “Thin-tok!” The familiar blue energy leapt down his arm and formed a blue energy ball at his fingertips. He threw the ball towards the cloaked woman and the ball collided with her back. Semeion watched as the acid from the previous attack continued to smolder through her cloak. To his surprise, another set of energy sparks formed along his arm and leapt into an additional ball at the tips of his fingers. He yelled once more as he threw the second ball and hit the woman again. “Apparently I’ve gotten more upgrades than even I knew about!”
Rhema laughed again as she refocused her mental powers. She tried the same mental trick as the last time. Her voice lowered in anger and frustration as she called out in fury. “I told you to leave me alone! Now get away from me before I have to seriously hurt you!”
The woman smirked again and replied. “That’s two failed attempts to control me with your mind powers. I can keep this up all day.” The woman drew her lips back in a flashy smile and spoke her magical words once more. “Para Doithican Fael-tru.” As happened the last time she spoke the words, the woman vanished into thin air.
Semeion pointed behind Rhema to Ischarus. Rhema’s husband was charging across the nearest field toward the villa. Semeion yelled a command to Rhema. “Run to him. She’s going to reappear, but if you run away you’ll keep her from being able to strike you solidly until Ischarus can come to your aid.”
Rhema decided to follow Semeion’s advice. She turned her back to where the woman had just stood and began a full fledged retreat toward the charging Ischarus. Suddenly the blade of the dagger appeared out of the air and swiped at Rhema’s retreating back.
The blade missed by a considerable margin and the robed woman popped into full view. Rather than give pursuit toward Rhema, the woman turned around and faced Semeion. She casually approached him and challenged him as she prepared to strike. “Your magic will eventually run out, and then I shall have you as a sacrifice.” Her dagger slashed through the air and caught Semeion across the shoulder.
Semeion winced in pain but managed. He had a few more blows left in him. “Not before my friends arrive, though. And once they are here you will not last long.” When the woman had closed for combat he had switched the rapier back into his right hand. He used the blade to pierce the air, but the woman twisted out of the way. His blow caught nothing but air.
The woman responded to Semeion’s slice through the air with one of her own. Semeion easily parried the blow with his longer blade. He set himself to respond to the attack when suddenly a flash of movement to his left caught his eye.
A dog raced across the ground and leapt up to tear at the woman’s arm. The dog’s hair was a normal dark brown in color, although it almost seemed to radiate a golden hue. The jaws of the beast clamped down onto the woman’s left arm and she began to bleed. She cried out in both pain and surprise at the speed and ferocity of the dog. She completely missed the end of the pick that arced through the air.
Charis had heard Rhema’s initial cry for help. She had run towards the burned out villa as fast as her legs could carry her. When she approached within striking distance she had called upon her powers to bring the dog to help her in combat. Together, the dog and Charis managed to take the woman by surprise. The end of her pick lodged itself just under the woman’s right shoulder. The intense pain from the dog blow and the force of the pick dropped the cloaked woman to the ground at Semeion’s feet.
Ischarus quickly arrived on the scene with Rhema returning right behind him. “Are you both alright?”
Semeion glanced toward Ischarus before returning his gaze upon the fallen woman. “We’re fine, Ischarus. Although, I must admit that the help is greatly appreciated.” He nursed his sore shoulder as he spoke.
Charis bent down to the woman’s side and placed her hand upon the dog’s back. “Your service has been much appreciated, Arbok. Give my regards to our god.” Charis closed her eyes slowly and nodded to the dog in a dismissal. The dog vanished in much the same way as the party had used in teleporting into this place.
Ischarus bent down beside Charis. “Will she live for questioning?” He pulled a short rope out of his backpack as he spoke.
Charis placed her hand over the woman’s shoulder. She had lost a significant amount of blood between the pick wound and the dog bite. “Bondras-tol” She watched as a golden light radiated from her palm and passed through her fingers into the woman’s shoulders. A pleased expression passed across Charis’ face. “She will, now.”
[/Sblock]