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Story Hour
From the Diary of Doorag Marzipan
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<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 6585713" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Hrvstr 3</p><p></p><p> The crafting on the wedding gifts progresses well, though I have had to put the </p><p>project on hold for another day, though this time it is at Griff’s request. </p><p></p><p> I had mentioned the fact that I have made several spells permanent on myself, and</p><p>he had also picked up on the other spells that I can make permanent, which I had</p><p>mentioned in passing while discussing the ‘permanency’ dweomer. He approached </p><p>me a few days ago and asked me if I would be willing to cast a permanent</p><p>‘telepathic bond’ upon he and Happy during their wedding. He is willing to pay the </p><p>cost in life essence, and has also purchased a copy of the spell for me to learn. How</p><p>could I say no?</p><p></p><p> So I have spent the day learning the ‘telepathic bond’ spell. Griff, of course, does </p><p>not know that this will set his wedding gifts back a day, but it is something he</p><p>seems to really want, so I will be honored to do it for him.</p><p> </p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 11</p><p> </p><p> The deed is done! Griff and Happy are married! </p><p></p><p> It was a beautiful ceremony, and everyone of note in Havilah was there, even the</p><p>king and queen themselves! Outside, the streets were jammed with citizens eager to </p><p>catch a glimpse of this union of the two heroes. There was no shortage of halflings</p><p>either, as Taklinn spent the last week ‘wind walking’ Happy’s family (all twenty-six</p><p>of them) here from the Green Mountains. Crispin walked out at Griff’s side, his </p><p>narrow chest puffed out with pride as he took the position of Griff’s squire. </p><p></p><p> Griff was nervous and Hap was beautiful.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn and I stood nearby, dressed in our blue and white finery as the couple </p><p>stood before Nivin Mottul, who preformed the ceremony. Nivin seemed delighted</p><p>to wed them; he positively beamed. </p><p> After Nivin had led them through their vows, Griff asked me to come forward and </p><p>do my part. Happy looked a little unsure as I took both of them by the hand, but</p><p>Griff gave her a reassuring nod as I began to cast. Within seconds the ‘bond’ and</p><p>‘permanency’ had been cast, and Hap’s eyes widened as she heard Griff’s voice in </p><p>her mind for the first time. I don’t know what he said to her, but whatever it was</p><p>made her smile.</p><p></p><p> Soon after, Nivin pronounced them man and wife, and a great cheer shook the </p><p>hall. Taklinn and I looked at each other like proud parents as they walked down the</p><p>aisle amid the flower petals that the onlookers showered upon them. I am not</p><p>certain, but I think I saw a tear forming in Taklinn’s eye! </p><p></p><p> Every wary of her, I kept a sharp eye our for Scylla, and I had cast a ‘detect</p><p>scrying’ upon myself before the event, just to see if she would at least magically</p><p>watch the proceedings, but I saw nor sensed nothing. </p><p></p><p> Griff and Hap intend to plan to spend a week at their new home, after which we</p><p>will, at last, be after Caribdis. </p><p> </p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 12</p><p> </p><p> The wedding gifts are finally complete. Taklinn and I hid them in amongst the</p><p>massive pile of gifts that continue to arrive at our Academy quarters. Griff and Hap</p><p>will find them in their own time. </p><p></p><p> At last I have some time to learn the spells that I really wish to learn! While a</p><p>week is not even half the time I might wish for, it is far better than nothing, and far</p><p>more than I had expected. We are due to depart for the planes on the 19th which</p><p>gives me six days to learn spells. I have chosen them carefully, and, with any luck, </p><p>by the time we leave I will have added the following spells to my repertoire:</p><p>‘disintegrate’, ‘chain lightning’, greater teleport’, ray of enfeeblement’, ‘force </p><p>cage’, and ‘plane shift’.</p><p></p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 19 </p><p></p><p> Today started out innocuously enough, but it has grown progressively more </p><p>strange as it has progressed. </p><p></p><p> Knowing that we were to be headed into the shadow plane today, I took the</p><p>opportunity to teleport to Ester yesterday. Ester is, of course, the small town in </p><p>which Griff and Happy have set up their household. I have scryed them</p><p>occasionally while they were here, so it was a simple matter to arrive on their</p><p>doorstep. </p><p></p><p> Elium is a picturesque little town, and Griff and Happy’s house fits nicely. From</p><p>the outside one would never know that two of Havilah’s finest reside within when</p><p>they are not out righting wrongs. The only tip off might be the silver raven </p><p>sculpture that adorns the roof overlooking the front porch. I glanced at it nervously,</p><p>noting the dim aura of magic that surrounded it before knocking. </p><p></p><p> Happy was pleasantly surprised to see me and showed me in. We found Griff </p><p>lounging in the living quarters, and it may be the most relaxed I have ever seen him,</p><p>though the Talon was still propped within arms reach. I noticed that they both wore</p><p>the status charms that Taklinn and I had crafted for them. Hap gave me a tour of the </p><p>house, and I must say that, while no where near the magnificence of my mansion, it</p><p>is warm and cozy. I can easily see that the two of them would enjoy what days their</p><p>schedule allows there. </p><p></p><p> Hap offered me the guest quarters, but I assured her that I had no wish to intrude</p><p>upon their privacy, and that I still had work to do that would require solitude and</p><p>the rest of the day. To that end I cast a ‘mansion’ in their back yard and cloistered </p><p>myself within, not seeing them again except for a brief but enjoyable dinner. I must</p><p>say that I had no idea that Hap was such a fine cook! Certainly my memory of her</p><p>trail ration preparations did not hint at her true abilities in the kitchen. She smiled </p><p>wryly at me when I complimented her on the fare, giving only a mysterious look by</p><p>way of thanks.</p><p></p><p> At any rate, yesterday was spent in seclusion, as I was busy learning the final </p><p>spell on my list, ‘planeshift’. The plan is for Taklinn to cast that particular spell, but</p><p>it won’t hurt for me to know it as a back up.</p><p></p><p> I awoke this morning and broke my fast with Happy and Griff. We expected </p><p>Taklinn sometime today, and he was not late. Near noon he knocked on the door,</p><p>having ‘wind walked’ here from his home in the mountains. He has spent the last</p><p>week with his family and fiance, and he looked well rested and ready for action as </p><p>we greeted him.</p><p></p><p> The five of us took seats around the kitchen table to discuss our plan again.</p><p></p><p> “All right, Taklinn,” I said, “Break it down for us again.” </p><p></p><p> “Very well,” He replied, “Here it is. We will first ‘planeshift’ to the plane of</p><p>shadows. From there we must locate the nexus of the river Styx and Oceanus. We</p><p>follow Oceanus to the infinite staircase and ascend it to the third door, which should </p><p>lead us into the top lair of Ysguard, which is the domain of Olidamara. Once there,</p><p>we will more than likely have to petition the deity to even allow us to speak with</p><p>Caribdis, let alone let Caribdis return to life.” Our cleric looked at us with raised </p><p>eyebrow as he laid it out for us.” </p><p></p><p> “This is crazy.” Griff muttered. “Have you even cast this ‘planeshift’ thing</p><p>before?” </p><p></p><p> “Well, no, not actually.” Admitted Taklinn, “There’s never been a need for it. But</p><p>it’s a simple matter; just another spell.”</p><p></p><p> “Just another spell my arse!” Griff growled, “Is it like teleporting? Can you screw </p><p>it up?”</p><p></p><p> “He can’t screw it up,” I answered for Taklinn, “But there is the matter of how</p><p>close we come to our actual destination.” </p><p></p><p> “Right.” Taklinn said. “We will basically end up between five and five-hundred</p><p>miles from where I try to put us. My target will be the nexus, but the odds of </p><p>actually landing close to it are slim.”</p><p></p><p> “Marvelous.” Griff said, dryly. </p><p></p><p> “I still don’t understand something,” Happy interrupted, “If that spell can take us </p><p>to any plane, why not just go straight to Ysguard?”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn sighed, as if he weren’t too keen on his own answer, but gave it anyway.</p><p>“Because this is the course of action given to me by the servant of Clangeden I </p><p>communed with. Your right, in theory I should be able to shift directly into</p><p>Olidamra’s plane, but Clangeden has counseled me otherwise, and I am loathe to go</p><p>against that.” </p><p></p><p> “I agree.” I said. “Clangeden must know what he’s talking about. I’m not going to</p><p>second guess him.”</p><p></p><p> “So okay,” Griff said, “What do you two know about this shadow plane we’re going </p><p>to?”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn stabbed a thumb towards me. “I know a little, but I’m willing to bet</p><p>Doorag knows a lot.” </p><p></p><p> I smiled, for indeed, I had been doing some research, and the study of the planes</p><p>has long been an interest of mine. “The plane of shadows will be, as it’s name</p><p>implies, dark. You can expect vision to be as if under a moonless sky at night. Color </p><p>simply does not register well there, and everything will be drab and bland. Magic</p><p>will also be affected, though only Taklinn and I will have to worry about that. In</p><p>essence, spells containing a fire element will have a chance of failure, and their </p><p>ranges will be reduced. I, of course, have such profound control over my spells that</p><p>I should have little trouble, though I don’t know how Taklinn will fare.”</p><p></p><p> “I’ve chosen my spells accordingly.” Taklinn said, glumly. </p><p></p><p> “Also,” I continued, “the plane of shadows is morphic. That is to say, distance and</p><p>geography will have a tendency to shift, though not so much as to prevent us from</p><p>actually getting to where we need to go I believe. All in all, I think it will be </p><p>fascinating!” I smiled happily at them, but Griff still looked far from pleased. </p><p></p><p> “I’m just going to go on record one last time as saying that I think this is a</p><p>colossal waste of time! Caribdis is dead. There’s no coming back from that. Maybe </p><p>Taklinn can do it with his ‘raise dead’ or whatever it is, but I haven’t seen it yet,</p><p>and it’s been months. That’s way more than the time Taklinn said he had to cast that</p><p>spell. We’re going to get there and this diety thing is going to tell us to go piss up a </p><p>collective rope! Sooner or later you’re going to have to accept the fact that Caribdis</p><p>is not coming back!” Griff leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and glowered at</p><p>us. </p><p></p><p> “Duly noted.” I said. “No one has to go. Taklinn and I are doing this with or</p><p>without you, and Hap has said that she’s ready for it. Should we have another</p><p>vote?” </p><p></p><p> “Don’t even bother,” Griff sighed, “If you think I’m going to let you fools go</p><p>without me to keep you out of trouble, you’re touched in the head. I just want to be</p><p>able to say I told you so.” </p><p></p><p> “Oh cheer up!” Happy grinned, nudging Griff with her elbow. “It’ll be fun!”</p><p> Griff smiled in spite of himself, something only Happy seems to be able to make</p><p>him do when he is in an obstinate mood. </p><p></p><p> “Very well.” Said Taklinn. “When shall we go?”</p><p></p><p> “No time like the present.” I answered, standing up and shouldering my</p><p>haversack. The four of us assembled in their back yard and formed a circle, joining </p><p>hands. I saw in Griff’s face the same unease that was always there when we were</p><p>about to teleport as Taklinn intoned the words and held out the fork of metal used as</p><p>a focus. Slowly, then all at once, our world faded, the sky darkened, and ruined</p><p>buildings rose up around us. The grass beneath our feet was replaced by broken </p><p>cobblestone streets, and as we looked about we realized that we were in a gutted</p><p>city, standing on a crossroads. A faint air of familiarity touched me, as if I had </p><p>been here before. </p><p></p><p> As I had warned, it was dark, and Griff and Taklinn wasted little time seeing to</p><p>that. Griff lit his ever burning torch and Taklinn caused himself to glow with holy </p><p>light, though both of their illuminations were pushed back by the oppressive</p><p>shadow. </p><p></p><p> I cast an ‘overland flight’ on myself and took to the air for a look around, but no </p><p>sooner had I done so than Happy gave a sharp whistle of warning.</p><p></p><p> “We’ve got company!” She hissed, and even before the words had left her mouth</p><p>I saw the creatures bounding toward us. </p><p></p><p> From out of the ruins they came, horrid two-headed beasts seemingly torn from</p><p>the shadows themselves. Even their teeth were black, and they seemed to flow from </p><p>the night like quicksilver. Dusk Beasts! I recognized them from my research, but</p><p>had no time to alert the crew as to their nature, for they were already upon my land</p><p>bound comrades. But these denizens of the shadow realm had bitten off more than </p><p>they could chew, for Hap had already hurled a handful of daggers into the flank of</p><p>one, wounding it grievously, and as a second tried to close with Griff, our warrior</p><p>brought his blade around in an almost casual series of strokes, disemboweling it </p><p>within seconds. </p><p></p><p> Two more of the beasts appeared from the shadows, seeking to close with Griff</p><p>and Taklinn, and I was about to try out my new staff when a curious thing </p><p>happened. The dusk beasts were suddenly caught in the area of what I recognized as</p><p>an ‘ice storm’ spell. For a brief few seconds they were pelted with sleet and hail,</p><p>and while it didn’t kill them, it caused them quite a bit of damage. Startled, I looked </p><p>about, trying to find the caster of the spell, but the inky blackness hid everything</p><p>from me, even with my magically enhanced eyes. </p><p></p><p> The spell had only hit the creatures though. I could tell that it had been cast to </p><p>purposely miss Griff and Taklinn, which gave me some hope that we were not</p><p>dealing with another enemy. I decided to concentrate on the danger at hand, raising</p><p>my new staff and uttering it’s command. The ‘fireball’ shot forth, exploding around </p><p>the two injured beasts, enveloping them in flame. When the smoke cleared, they lay</p><p>dead.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn was already toe to toe with another beast, and Hap shouted a warning that </p><p>more were on the way. From my vantage point I could just make them out a second</p><p>pack of them running from shadow to shadow. I dropped a second ‘fireball’ into the</p><p>midst of them, and for a brief second I could make out three of the beasts, </p><p>illuminated in sharp contrast by the flame. I didn’t kill them though, and on they</p><p>came, leaping through the rubble to close with Griff and Taklinn, who had just put</p><p>down the last beast from the first group. I spied Hap as she scurried into a gutted </p><p>building to hide, presumably to attack from cover, but one of the beasts spotted her</p><p>as well and veered off to track her down.</p><p></p><p> And then another mysterious spell from our hidden ally was cast. From the </p><p>cloudless sky there came a bolt of lightning. It crackled and struck one of the beasts,</p><p>and I was able to ascertain that it was likely a bolt from the spell, ‘call lightning</p><p>storm’. Now I was even more intrigued, yet I had no time to try and find the caster, </p><p>for danger was still afoot below me. Griff and Taklinn were dealing well with the</p><p>pack of beasts that assailed them, but I did not like the idea of Hap dealing with one</p><p>of these things by herself. I flew above the building she had run into, it’s roof now </p><p>crumbled away, and was able to see down into the area where our rogue danced and</p><p>dodged away from the snarling creature. She had already been bitten at least once,</p><p>and I decided to lend her some aid. My ‘hold monster’ paralyzed the beast in it’s </p><p>tracks and Hap winked a thanks at me as she stepped in to pierce it with three quick</p><p>dagger thrusts that ended it’s life. </p><p> </p><p> I turned my attention to the street in time to see Griff slay another dusk beast</p><p>while Taklinn wounded a second. Another bolt of lightning crackled from the sky,</p><p>hitting a beast, and by now I was determined to find the caster. Griff killed another </p><p>beast, then another as his sword continued it’s arc. Taklinn laughed, almost</p><p>playfully fending off the last beast as Griff approached, knowing the warrior would</p><p>make short work of it. He was right, and within seconds the street was quiet again. </p><p> </p><p> As Happy stepped from the ruined house to join Taklinn and Griff, I set myself on</p><p>solid ground next to them. “We’ve got company.” I whispered as I scanned the</p><p>darkened street on all sides. I saw nothing, and decided to play a hunch. I </p><p>concentrated, looking for magical auras within range.</p><p></p><p> “What do you mean?” Taklinn asked. “What company?”</p><p></p><p> “Those spells,” I answered, still scanning the area, “The ice storm, the lightning; </p><p>somebody was helping us out.”</p><p> </p><p> “Griff looked surprised. “I thought that was you!”</p><p></p><p> I was about to answer him, when I suddenly beheld a faint glow from within a </p><p>tree standing not far from us. From within it’s branches (how do the trees here grow</p><p>without sunlight?) I could just make out an aura. It was quite small, and as I stared</p><p>at it, trying to get a better look, it seemed to fly away. Just like that, it disappeared </p><p>beyond the range of my detection. I thought I heard the flutter of wings as it</p><p>retreated, and I began to make a hypothesis. </p><p></p><p> “A druid?” I mused to myself. </p><p></p><p> “What?” Taklinn asked.</p><p></p><p> “Well,” I surmised aloud, “Those spells were of a divine nature, and are often</p><p>favored by druids. That, and I believe I just saw a magical bird fly away from that </p><p>tree yonder. I know of few clerics who can shape change into an animal, so I’m</p><p>thinking that our mysterious ally might be a nature priest.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn grunted at this, looking around, a little paranoid at the idea of unseen </p><p>birds casting spells, even if they were to aid us.</p><p></p><p> Happy, who had been listening to our exchange, suddenly hissed. “In the tree</p><p>behind us! I see a bird. I think it’s an owl!” </p><p></p><p> This time I decided to be cagey. Not wanting to tip my hand, I remained facing</p><p>away from the tree that Happy indicated as if still searching the east road. But</p><p>beneath my hat Ambros peered through his peep hole. He was the eyes in the back </p><p>of my head, and was able to benefit from the ‘detect magic’. Sure enough, there was</p><p>the magical owl, perched in a tree not far from where we stood.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn, however, is not prone to subtlety. Staring straight at the tree, he shouted. </p><p>“You there! Are you going to play about in trees all day, or are you gong to come</p><p>down and face us?”</p><p></p><p> I sighed, but turned to face the tree. “Yes,” I added, “Please show yourself! We </p><p>are an envoy from Havilah and mean you no harm! We thank you for your</p><p>assistance, and would like to meet a friendly face from this realm!” The bird</p><p>answered me by taking wing and quickly flapping away into the darkness. For a </p><p>moment I thought that it had left for good, but then Happy’s sharp eyes spotted a</p><p>figure moving toward us.</p><p></p><p> The man emerged from the shadows. He was dressed in simple robes and had the </p><p>scruffy appearance one might expect from a druid. His hair and beard were</p><p>unkempt, and well worn sandals shod his feet. He walked to within ten feet of us</p><p>and stopped. </p><p></p><p> “You might want to put out those lights.” He said simply, looking at Griff and</p><p>Taklinn, “They will only attract more evil.” </p><p></p><p> Griff scowled and seemed in no hurry to plunge himself into darkness, but he</p><p>played along, extinguishing his torch. Taklinn, likewise, turned his light off. </p><p>“Great!” Muttered Griff, “I’m freaking blind!”</p><p> </p><p> I bowed low to the man. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I said, “I am</p><p>Doorag Marzipan, and these are my friends, Griff, Happy and Taklinn. I thank you </p><p>again for your aid against those dusk beasts. What may we call you?”</p><p></p><p> “I am Driscoll.” The druid said. We waited for any elaboration, but none was</p><p>forthcoming. </p><p></p><p> “Well, Driscoll,” I carried on, “We are travelers, unfamiliar with this plane. What</p><p>about you? Are you from here?”</p><p></p><p> “No.” </p><p></p><p> “Ah, so but have you been here for some time?”</p><p></p><p> “For awhile, yes.” </p><p></p><p> “What do you do here?” Taklinn cut in. </p><p></p><p> “I am the guardian of this place.” Driscoll answered. </p><p></p><p> “Oh, a guardian!” I exclaimed, “Well, rest assured that we mean no harm to this,</p><p>ah…” I looked around me, wondering what further harm could actually come to this </p><p>ruined city, but though better of pointing that out. “…place.” </p><p></p><p> “Hey, maybe you can tell us where we need to go.” Happy interjected. “We could</p><p>use a guide.” </p><p> </p><p> “And where is that?” The druid asked. </p><p></p><p> “We seek the nexus of the river Styx and Oceanus,” I replied, “you see, a friend</p><p>of ours has died and we intend to find him and…” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn interrupted with an exaggerated clearing of his throat. “Perhaps,” He</p><p>cautioned, “We shouldn’t tell all before we really know who we’re talking to?”</p><p></p><p> I looked at Taklinn, but shrugged. “We’re looking for a friend of ours.” I said </p><p>simply. “Can you tell us how to find the nexus?”</p><p></p><p> The druid nodded slowly. “I can take you there.” He said. “It is outside the city,</p><p>perhaps a few hours, perhaps a day. It changes.” </p><p></p><p> “Ah, of course.” I said, remembering the morphic nature of this plane.</p><p> </p><p> “So you can take us there,” Griff said, “But will you?”</p><p></p><p> Driscoll almost smiled at Griff’s bluntness. “I will take you there. All I request is </p><p>your respect for the land.”</p><p></p><p> “Of course.” I assured him.</p><p></p><p> “What about me?” Griff complained. “I’m blind as a bat here. Doorag, can you do </p><p>anything about that?”</p><p> </p><p> “Hold on a minute,” I said, as I thumbed through my scroll collection, finally</p><p>finding an old ‘darkvision’ scroll. I unrolled it, casting the dweomer on Griff, </p><p>enabling him to see as well as the rest of us. “Unfortunately,” I said, “It’s a scroll I</p><p>scribed a long time ago. It will only last about three hours. Tomorrow I’ll make sure</p><p>to memorize a longer version for you.” </p><p> </p><p> “Whatever.” Griff grunted. “Let’s get moving.”</p><p></p><p> I looked at Driscoll. “Shall we?” </p><p> </p><p> He favored me with a curt nod, and then cocked his head for a moment, as if</p><p>listening to a voice in his head. We watched him curiously, but soon our attention</p><p>was drawn to the massive form that emerged from the darkness. It was a wolf, </p><p>roughly the size of a horse! I took several quick steps back, preparing to take to the</p><p>skies again, and my companions were equally startled by it. But the wolf paid us</p><p>little heed, instead it padded up to Driscoll where the druid gave it a friendly scratch </p><p>on it’s muzzle. Apparently the two were acquainted, and it fell into step behind him</p><p>as he headed off down the street. </p><p></p><p> We followed, still a little unsure, but thankful to have a guide. I nudged Taklinn</p><p>as I walked beside him. </p><p></p><p> “Did you check him?” I whispered.</p><p></p><p> “Aye,” He rumbled, “He bears no evil that I can see.” </p><p></p><p> “That’s a relief.”</p><p> </p><p> “True, but then again, neither did Scylla.”</p><p></p><p> That was food for thought, and I kept my eyes open as we walked down the </p><p>cracked streets. </p><p></p><p> As we made our way through the city I began to see more and more things that</p><p>jogged my memory until I could keep quiet no longer. “Does anyone else keep </p><p>seeing familiar buildings?” I asked, stopping in an intersection.</p><p> </p><p> “Now that you mention it…” Hap trailed off.</p><p> </p><p> I pointed to the husk of a burnt out building on the corner. “Tell me that’s not the </p><p>bakery on the corner of Adder street!”</p><p> </p><p> My crew looked hard at the building. “I think your right.” Said Griff.</p><p></p><p> “Aye, lad,” Taklinn agreed, “It’s a mess, but now that you mention it, I can see it. </p><p>And look there, that’s Barl the tailor’s shop next to it.”</p><p></p><p> “Ye gods! It’s Havilah!” I cried. </p><p></p><p> “Well, it’s one version of it.” Taklinn said, stroking his beard. </p><p></p><p> Happy looked mournfully around at what we all remembered as a thriving</p><p>metropolis. “How sad.” She said.</p><p> </p><p> “You think this is what it would have looked like if Melesandre had won?” Griff </p><p>wondered aloud.</p><p></p><p> “Probably,” I answered, “Though maybe even worse.” Then I was struck with a</p><p>sudden thought. “Hey, we’re heading right by the Academy! You don’t think…” </p><p></p><p> “Think what?” Griff snorted. “That we’ll find ourselves waiting for us? I doubt it.</p><p>If Havilah looks like this here, it means we’re probably dead.” Griff’s brow</p><p>furrowed around the duality of the idea. “This is making my head hurt.” </p><p></p><p> “Maybe we could just stop in for a moment…” I began, but Griff was having</p><p>none of it.</p><p></p><p> “Hell with that! We’re getting out of here as fast as we can. I only know one </p><p>Havilah, and I like it that way.”</p><p></p><p> “We need to be moving.” Driscoll interrupted us, “It is dangerous to stay too long</p><p>in the open.” Without waiting, he continued on down the street. We followed. </p><p></p><p> Now that I realized that we were in some sort of perverted mirror version of</p><p>Havilah, I could not help but marvel at the horror of it all. Everywhere I looked I</p><p>saw things that I recognized, though now they were sad parodies of what I </p><p>remembered. As we rounded a corner and the Academy came into sight, my heart</p><p>sank. Here in this land of oppressive darkness, it’s magnificence was reduced to</p><p>ugliness. Still, my curiosity was eating me alive, and I tried to think of some way to </p><p>convince my friends to at least give the insides a cursory look. Before I was able to</p><p>come up with anything, however, we would be assaulted again.</p><p> </p><p> As we walked up the wide street that paralleled the Academy’s courtyard, we </p><p>suddenly saw a dark shape ride from around the far corner. It was a man, dressed in</p><p>black armor, astride a six legged mount that I quickly and wondrously identified as</p><p>an ecolipse. The rider reined his mount, blocking our path, and the pair of them </p><p>stood menacingly in our way. Again, I was tickled with a faint familiararity. I had</p><p>seen that armor before.</p><p></p><p> “I was afraid of this.” Driscoll said, without emotion. </p><p></p><p> “Who the hell is that?” Griff asked.</p><p></p><p> “He calls himself the toll master. He requires a fee for safe passage. I believe he</p><p>was once a blacksmith, though now he seems to have delusions. He is not right in </p><p>his head.”</p><p> </p><p> “Bert’s cudgel!” I exclaimed, “It’s Elbert! The Academy smith! We know him!” </p><p></p><p> “I doubt you know this version of him.” Driscoll warned. This fellow fancies</p><p>himself a knight of sorts, and he has a keen interest in arms and armor. He will want </p><p>a toll paid in return for safe passage.”</p><p></p><p> “Ho there!” Taklinn called out to the rider. “What is it you want? We mean no</p><p>harm, and I ask you to let us pass!” </p><p></p><p> For a long moment the rider and his mount stood as still as a statue, then, his</p><p>voice came to us, resonating throughout the street. “You may not pass!” He stated</p><p>“Without payment!” </p><p></p><p> “And what is your fee?” Taklinn asked.</p><p></p><p> The smith appeared to look each of us over until his helm pointed directly at</p><p>Griff. “I will have his armor.” It was more a command than a request. </p><p></p><p> Griff gave a short laugh. “To hell with that and to hell with you!” He snorted.</p><p></p><p> “Then you will fight me!” The smith retorted.</p><p></p><p> “Okay then.” Griff said, happily, and unsheathed his sword, walking resolutely </p><p>toward the knight.</p><p></p><p> Things happened fast after that. The smith spurred his mount forward in a</p><p>frighteningly fast charge, and I could see the incorperalness of the ecolipse as it </p><p>closed the distance. As they clashed, I saw the front half of the ecolipse suddenly</p><p>solidify, and I reasoned that Griff must have used his anti-magic vest for the first</p><p>time. This worried me a bit. </p><p></p><p> The two fighters clashed, and Griff drew his sword across the ecolipse’s flank,</p><p>drawing a gush of black ichors, while at the same time the rider brought around a</p><p>heavy war hammer. Without benefit of magical protection Griff was an easy target, </p><p>and the blow sent him reeling. </p><p></p><p> Happy raced around, doing her best to get to the opposite side of the ride so she</p><p>could flank him. Taklinn cast a spell, but it fizzled as it hit the anti-magic field. He </p><p>cursed when I shouted to him that Griff was using his vest. I cursed a little myself,</p><p>realizing that I could do little as long as the field was up. I tried a different tact.</p><p>“Elbert!” I cried, “Stand down! We are a crew of Havilah!” For the briefest of </p><p>seconds the helm turned toward me, as if in recognition of his name, but then he</p><p>turned back to Griff, dismounting and coming forward, hammer raised.</p><p> </p><p> The two exchanged blows again. Griff did what Griff does best, cutting deeply </p><p>through metal and flesh, but the smith appeared nonplused. Instead of dropping</p><p>dead, as most of Griff’s opponents do, he swung his hammer around in three</p><p>devastating arcs, connecting again and again. The force of the blows nearly dropped </p><p>Griff to his knees, and I saw pain and anger cross our warriors face as he went into</p><p>a defensive posture, warding off further blows. He was hurt, and badly at that. I</p><p>knew he could not take another pounding like that, and I screamed at him in </p><p>desperation. </p><p></p><p> “Griff! Turn it off! Turn the field off!” </p><p></p><p> I heard him utter the command word, and I took my chance then, knowing it was </p><p>slim, but desperate to end this fight before he was killed. Summoning the words to a</p><p>spell that I had only just learned, and had, in fact, never tried before, I cast</p><p>‘disintegrate’. The pale ray of magical energy sprang from my fingertip, striking the </p><p>smith above his right elbow.</p><p> </p><p> And then the smith was gone. His armor and hammer clattered to the</p><p>cobblestones, a thin scattering of dust the only evidence of their owner. Happy, </p><p>nearing the back side of the ecolipse, skidded to a stop, her mouth hanging open in</p><p>utter awe. Surprise lit Griff’s face, but he kept his head and turned his attention on</p><p>the riders mount. But the ecolipse would not stand without it’s master, and with a </p><p>shake of it’s ghostly head it turned and galloped away, disappearing into the</p><p>shadows. </p><p></p><p> I stood there, shaking at both the realization of just how close we had come to</p><p>losing Griff, and of the raw power of such a spell. I looked to Taklinn and saw our </p><p>cleric looking at me with something akin to awe. </p><p></p><p> “What the hell,” He asked, “Was that!”</p><p></p><p> “New spell.” I replied with a shrug. </p><p></p><p> Happy walked to the pile of armor and moved it with her toe, looking from the</p><p>dust to me, then back again. </p><p></p><p> “Ow!” Griff said, reminding us of his plight. Taklinn quickly moved to him and </p><p>began his healing spells, but even as he did his eyes kept returning to me, as if still</p><p>unable to believe that I commanded such power. </p><p></p><p> I was a bit embarrassed by all this, and busied myself with scanning the armor and </p><p>weapons for magic. I was gratified to find that the armor, hammer, and a ring all</p><p>glowed. We stashed them for future analysis. During all of this Driscoll had stood</p><p>by, watching with his wolf. I could not blame him, for it had not been his fight. </p><p>When Griff was sufficiently healed, I said, “Well, shall we move on? Unless, of</p><p>course, any of you thinks we ought to go into the Academy and have a look</p><p>around…” </p><p></p><p> “Let’s go!” spat Griff, working the feeling into his joints and muscles. </p><p></p><p> “You might want to be a little more careful with that vest.” I chided him.</p><p></p><p> “You don’t say.” He said, dryly. </p><p> </p><p> With that, we moved on again. </p><p></p><p> Within an hour we had reached the edge of the city. The grand gates and </p><p>portcullis that I remembered from Havilah hung from rusty hinges here, forever</p><p>frozen open to allow anything to come and go at will. Looking behind me I could</p><p>still barely make out the remaining spires of the academy, and sadness gripped my </p><p>heart. I was glad to be leaving this caricature of my home.</p><p></p><p> Driscoll led us along the main road until it was overtaken by thick forest. There</p><p>was still an air of familiarity about the place, but it faded more and more the further </p><p>we got from the city, until at last I truly felt like I was in a different place. Truth be</p><p>told, I preferred it to the constant reminder of what Havilah might become.</p><p></p><p> The oppressiveness of the forest in the shadow plane is like nothing else. It is </p><p>difficult to describe, and every shadow was a potential enemy, waiting to leap at our</p><p>throats. Yet Driscoll guided us unerringly, as comfortable here as Taklinn would be</p><p>in the belly of a mountain, and I was glad to have such a guide. </p><p></p><p> We traveled for several hours until we were in need of rest. By this time the</p><p>‘darkvision’ spell had worn off of Griff, and he was none too pleased with having to</p><p>be led through the darkness, so we elected to bed down for the night and get a fresh </p><p>start in the morning. I cast my mansion and invited Driscoll to join us, but he</p><p>humbly declined, stating that he was far more comfortable in the forest. </p><p> </p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 20</p><p> </p><p> I awoke early this morning to carefully select my spells and then meet the rest of</p><p>the crew to make a plan for the day. Taklinn had been busy with thoughts of his</p><p>own, and he revealed them to us as we gathered in the sitting room. </p><p> </p><p> “As much as I appreciate the help of the druid,” He said, “I believe we can make</p><p>far better time without him.”</p><p> </p><p> “How so?” Hap asked, her eyebrow cocked in curiosity. </p><p></p><p> “I’ve memorized two spells today that I believe will facilitate our travel.” Taklinn</p><p>explained. “One of them you’re already familiar with, ‘wind walk’. The other is</p><p>called ‘find the path’, and it will guide me to the exact location I specify.”</p><p> </p><p> “Without fail?” I asked, skeptically. </p><p></p><p> “Without fail.” Taklinn replied, with a firm nod.</p><p> </p><p> “I don’t know,” Happy mused, “It’s nice having an extra hand about if there’s a </p><p>fight. Actually, a hand and a paw, if you count his wolf.”</p><p> </p><p> Taklinn nodded in agreement, but pointed out, “Ah, but the wolf is the problem. If</p><p>it were just the druid we could offer to let him join us. But the wolf is far too large </p><p>for me to carry with us on a wind walk, and I have great doubts that Driscoll would</p><p>be willing to leave his friend behind to travel with strangers such as ourselves.</p><p>Besides, this is not his quest. We should not involve him in such dangers unduly.” </p><p> </p><p> “I agree.” Griff said firmly. “I’m all for anything that gets us there faster. Besides,</p><p>with the wind walk thing, we’ll fly over most of the dangers this forest has to offer.</p><p>I say we thank the druid and then get the hell out of here!” </p><p> I scratched my chin and said, “I have to agree. The power of flight will allow is to</p><p>circumvent many possible dangerous encounters, not to mention getting us there</p><p>much faster. Driscoll said the nexus might be an hour from the city, or it might be a </p><p>day away, depending upon how much the landscape shifts. We could be chasing it</p><p>on foot for quite some time.”</p><p> </p><p> In the end, only Hap was not keen on the idea of leaving Driscoll behind, but fate </p><p>would make the decision for us. I poked my head out of the mansion to invite</p><p>Driscoll in for breakfast and discussion, only to find that he was nowhere to be</p><p>seen. Indeed, the terrain had morphed considerably overnight. Where we had </p><p>stopped in a reasonably thin grove of unassuming trees, we were now within a</p><p>strand of what looked like mighty oaks with trunks of utter black. The very air was</p><p>forbidding, and I quickly pulled my head back into the warmth of the mansion after </p><p>calling out to Driscoll for several moments and receiving no reply. I hoped that he</p><p>was safe.</p><p> </p><p> I returned to the crew at the breakfast table and explained to them what had </p><p>happened. “I’m surprised Driscoll didn’t warn us that the land might carry him</p><p>away from our location.” I wondered aloud. </p><p></p><p> “Maybe he knew and wanted to cut us loose.” Griff surmised. </p><p></p><p> “Maybe.” I agreed, though not really believing it. “At any rate, it appears that we</p><p>will have to take Taklinn’s plan after all.”</p><p></p><p> “I hope he’s ok.” Hap said, worriedly. </p><p> </p><p> “We can have a look around for him before we go.” Griff suggested, and we all</p><p>agreed with that. It was the least we owed the druid, so we ate quickly and geared</p><p>ourselves up for the coming day. I cast an ‘overland flight’ on myself and a much </p><p>lengthier version of ‘darkvision’ on Griff while Taklinn cast his ‘wind walk’. We</p><p>stepped out of the mansion, right into the arms of danger!</p><p></p><p> No sooner had our feet touched the thick moss of the grove outside the mansion, </p><p>than the very forest itself seemed to leap to ambush us. We detected slight</p><p>movement from three of the massive trees that surrounded us, and then, from the</p><p>canopy of branches that covered our heads, thick vines dropped, each of them </p><p>looped to form a sort of noose that sought to snare us!</p><p> </p><p> I dodged aside as several of the nooses dropped near me, and I could see the rest</p><p>of the crew doing the same. I quickly aimed my staff skyward, filling the air above </p><p>our heads with a fireball that burned away several of the vines. I then scurried back</p><p>into the mansion, turning to poke my head out of it’s covering door. </p><p> </p><p> Happy fled several yards from the vines, but still more of them dropped to reach </p><p>for her. This time she could not dodge them all, and I heard her gasp in pain as they</p><p>tightened around her, squeezing the life from her small body. At the same time, I</p><p>heard Taklinn cast a ‘flame strike’ at the nearest tree, but apparently he had </p><p>forgotten that the plane of shadows is quite unreceptive to such spells, and he</p><p>cursed heartily as it fizzled.</p><p> </p><p> Griff raced to the trunk of the tree that had Grabbed Happy and slashed at it with</p><p>his sword, drawing a gush of oily sap. The tree seemed to wince in pain, but it still </p><p>held Happy tightly. As I watched helplessly, it tightened it’s vines around her even</p><p>more as she struggled, and she went limp. Desperate to free her from the tree, I cast </p><p>a new spell, ‘finger of death’, that should have killed the thing out right. But the</p><p>spell failed, and Happy was being hauled up into the trees branches even as Taklinn</p><p>joined Griff in hacking away at the trees base. </p><p> </p><p> I quickly cast a summoning, and a large earth elemental appeared beneath</p><p>Happy’s dangling body. The elemental heeded my bidding and reached up with one</p><p>massive hand to pull and snap the vines that held her while his other hand cupped </p><p>her body easily. Once it had freed her, the elemental brought her to the mansion, all</p><p>the while covering her with it’s body as still more vines dropped around it. The</p><p>elemental was far too large for the trees to get a grip on though, and it easily </p><p>deposited Happy next to me in the mansions foyer. I called out to Taklinn as I</p><p>checked her for life. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her chest still rise and fall.</p><p> </p><p> By this time Griff and Taklinn had hacked their way through the trunk of the tree, </p><p>and we could almost hear it groan as the life fled from it. Taklinn quickly returned</p><p>to the mansion and cast a ‘heal’ on Happy that returned her to her feet. She grinned,</p><p>rubbing her bruised ribs, and returned to the battle, skipping out the door even as I </p><p>sent my elemental against a second tree. This time, however, she was able to stay</p><p>out of reach of the remaining vines, and she hurled alchemist fire at the trees from a</p><p>safe distance as Griff, Taklinn and the elemental teamed up in an all out attack </p><p>against one of them. There was a bad moment when Taklinn was grabbed by a pair</p><p>of vines and hauled off his feet, but he managed to break free and fell with a solid</p><p>thud to the moss. I tried a ‘disintegrate’ on the tree, but again, it was ignored. I </p><p>cursed roundly, satisfying myself with a volley of empowered scorching rays. The</p><p>third and last tree still strove to grab my companions, and I decided to give it</p><p>something to think about. With my staff, I cast a ‘wall of fire’ that encircled the </p><p>trunk. The immobile creature could not escape the flames and heat, and within a</p><p>minute it was blackened and dead.</p><p> </p><p> At last all three of the tree creatures were still, and the forest around us was quiet </p><p>as a tomb. Griff ant Taklinn were both quite injured, so Taklinn set about taking</p><p>care of their wounds even as Griff said, “Can we go now?”</p><p> </p><p> We did search for Driscoll as much as we could, but the druid was no where to be </p><p>found, and he did not answer our calls. At last we had to hope that he was ok, and</p><p>Taklinn cast his ‘find the path’ spell. “Got it!” He announced, declaring that he had</p><p>the location of the nexus firmly in mind. We all let ourselves take on the cloudy </p><p>form that facilitates the wind walk, and we took to the skies, following our cleric</p><p>through the murky darkness.</p><p> </p><p></p><p> We soon found that wind walking in the shadow realms is an un-nerving exercise</p><p>at best. With our vision limited to only a handful of yards, the process of traveling </p><p>at such un-natural speeds became disconcerting very quickly, yet there was little</p><p>way around it and we had to put our faith in Taklinn to get us where we needed to</p><p>go without slamming into the side of a mountain. Of course, a mountain side would </p><p>be little more than a distraction, given our gaseous form, but still, I could not get the</p><p>image of a cliff face suddenly rushing to greet me out of my mind.</p><p> </p><p> Fortunately Taklinn knew his business, and we traveled throughout the day </p><p>without incident. Many hundreds of miles passed beneath us, and I wondered if</p><p>Driscoll’s calculations had simply been incorrect, or if the landscape had really</p><p>morphed so drastically, for the druid had inferred that the nexus could be reached </p><p>with a days walk. Certainly such would not have been the case.</p><p></p><p> At any rate, toward early evening Taklinn indicated that we were close and we</p><p>slowed down, not wanting to over shoot our mark. Several minutes later we </p><p>followed Taklinn as he began to descend, and soon we got our first glimpse of the</p><p>nexus. </p><p> </p><p> A great whirlpool of two toned water flowed in entirely the wrong direction,</p><p>allowing the water to gush upward from the earth instead of down into it. As we</p><p>landed beside the whirlpool we could see that the waters diverged and became two </p><p>very distinct rivers, one flowing north, the other flowing south. As different as night</p><p>and day, the river Styx was the color of coal and we could smell the scent of death</p><p>and decay coming off of it at a hundred paces. Conversely, the river Oceanus was </p><p>the color of snow, and gave off an inviting aura that brought a kind of peace just</p><p>from being near it. As we neared the nexus of the two rivers Taklinn gave us a stern</p><p>warning. </p><p> </p><p> “Hear me now,” He intoned, “Do not, under any circumstances, touch the waters</p><p>of the river Styx! It is the river of death and madness, and can bring only woe to</p><p>whomever comes into contact with it.” </p><p> </p><p> “You don’t say?” Happy said, looking curiously at the brackish water from the</p><p>river bank.</p><p></p><p> “I do say.” Taklinn said, solemnly. “I can’t say exactly what would happen, but I </p><p>know that it cannot be good for the living. Doorag may know more.”</p><p></p><p> “A bit.” I agreed. “According to my research the waters of the river Styx</p><p>eventually descend to the lowest pits of hell, traveling also through the abyss. It </p><p>would depend heavily on your own internal fortitude as to what might happen to</p><p>any who touch it, but I’d wager that it would do none of us any good at all. It might</p><p>simply kill you, and at the very least it would make you very ill, perhaps in body, </p><p>perhaps in spirit, or perhaps both. The river Oceanus, on the other hand, is reported</p><p>to have healing powers. It has also been known to reveal great truths to it’s</p><p>imbibers. Still, it is raw, uncontrolled magic, and I believe it would probably be </p><p>wisest to leave both of them well enough alone.”</p><p> </p><p> But even as I concurred with Taklinn’s warnings, I was already digging out a pair</p><p>of empty flasks that I had brought along for just such an occurrence. I simply could </p><p>not let such an opportunity go by without at least trying to collect samples for my</p><p>collection of oddities, and to that end I cast an ‘unseen servant’ from a scroll and</p><p>commanded it to procure a vial of water from each of the rivers. I was pleasantly </p><p>surprised that the Styx did not dissipate my servant, and in due course I proudly</p><p>held up two bottles, one black, and one white. “These will go right next to the alien</p><p>tool box in my lab.” I mused to myself while Hap looked on a bit nervously. </p><p></p><p> I was just tucking the bottles into my haversack when Griff gave a hiss of</p><p>warning. Looking up, I saw he and Taklinn hunched over a spot of muddy ground</p><p>near the Styx. As I joined them he pointed out what his sharp eyes had seen. I </p><p>would have missed it had he not traced the prints out for me with his finger, but</p><p>after he had done so it was easy to make out the mark of unshod hooves in the mud. </p><p> </p><p> “No ordinary horse made these tracks.” He whispered. “Whatever it was had six </p><p>legs, and I only know one kind of horse that fits that description.”</p><p></p><p> “An ecolipse?” I wondered.</p><p> </p><p> “Damn straight,” He grimaced. “And it was here not long ago. I say we get the </p><p>hell out of here.”</p><p></p><p> “I second that!” Happy nodded vigorously, already letting herself go cloudy for</p><p>further wind walking. </p><p></p><p> But it was not to be.</p><p></p><p> From the edge of our vision they came, three riders, mailed in black, mounted </p><p>astride fearsome ecolipse’s. They took shape from the shadows and I squinted to</p><p>make them out. The two on the outsides wore helmets, but the one in the center</p><p>wore only a dark cowl, and the features of his face that I could make out stirred a</p><p>sudden spark of recognition. I quickly realized the irony of my having referenced </p><p>the alien toolbox that graces my collection of oddities, for it was during the same</p><p>adventure that I had procured it that I had fought so many himrock orcs, and these </p><p>three riders (or at least the one in the center) were none other than members of that</p><p>same race. The slightly piggish and heavily tattooed features on the middle rider</p><p>were unmistakable. After all this time we had come face to face with himrock orcs </p><p>again, only these fellows were obviously of a more aristocratic breed. There was an</p><p>air of sure authority about them, and just from the ease with which they sat astride</p><p>their mounts and the way they carried themselves, I was fairly certain that these </p><p>fellows were seasoned warriors. One of the outside riders carried a heavy crossbow,</p><p>already cocked and loaded, as well as a great axe across his back. The other held a</p><p>wickedly curved bow of black wood, and a well broken in sword rested at his hip. </p><p>The center orc had a cruel looking mace strapped to his side. One hand moved in a</p><p>magical gesture to cast a protective spell upon himself, while the other held a short</p><p>length of rope from which he casually swung a round object about the size of a </p><p>pumpkin. From the fact that he wore armor I deducted that he was likely a priest,</p><p>and I stepped behind Griff to cover my actions and cast a ‘spell turning’ on myself</p><p>as they trio came to a halt some fifty feet from us, looking down toward where we </p><p>stood from the crest of a low hillock. </p><p> </p><p> They regarded us for a long moment, and we regarded them, until at last the</p><p>middle orc bellowed his challenge. </p><p></p><p> “You are the slayers of the armorer!” He declared, his voice filling the river</p><p>valley. </p><p> </p><p> We looked at one another, uncertainly. “The armorer?” I mouthed, unsure of who </p><p>we had been accused of killing.</p><p> </p><p> Griff grimaced. “What the hell are you talking about?” He yelled back at them.</p><p> </p><p> “The one called the Toll Keeper!” The orc exclaimed. “He was one of ours, and </p><p>you have slain him! For that we issue you challenge! You have taken one of ours,</p><p>and we will take two of yours!”</p><p> </p><p> “Looks like that guy in the city had friends.” Happy said with a smirk. “Good </p><p>thing they can’t catch us! Let’s get misty and get the heck out of here!” She was</p><p>already beginning to change to her wind walking form, but Taklinn turned slowly,</p><p>shaking his head. </p><p> </p><p> “I cannot.” He stated. There was small tinge of regret in his voice, but I could</p><p>already see by the line of his jaw that he would not be swayed. Happy, however,</p><p>would not be dissuaded from trying. </p><p></p><p> “What do you mean you can’t” She hissed. “We can outrun these fools! Turn</p><p>gaseous and lets get going already!”</p><p></p><p> “I cannot decline a challenge!” Taklinn rumbled. </p><p></p><p> Happy clapped a disbelieving hand to her forehead. “You’ve got to be kidding</p><p>me!”</p><p></p><p> “I’m sorry Hap.” Taklinn turned and began casting enhancement spells of his </p><p>own.</p><p></p><p> “Griff? Doorag?” Happy pleaded, looking to us for support. </p><p> </p><p> Just then the center orc whipped the pumpkin shaped object around on it’s rope in </p><p>a sharp circle and let it go. The thing sailed toward us, landing with a meaty thud</p><p>and bouncing to a stop at our feet.</p><p></p><p> It was Driscoll’s head. </p><p></p><p> “Well, that about answers that!” Griff frowned, drawing his sword from it’s</p><p>scabbard and taking a position beside Taklinn. I sighed and reached out to touch</p><p>Happy with a ‘fly’ spell. </p><p> </p><p> “Looks like we’ll be sticking it out.” I shrugged, and then turned to give a low</p><p>warning to the crew. “Don’t charge them,” I cautioned, “Let them come to us!”</p><p>Griff and Taklinn nodded and Happy sighed, quickly going invisible with the aid of</p><p>her magical dagger. </p><p></p><p> “Come on down and get some then!” Griff cried, his sword held out at a</p><p>dangerous angle from his body. </p><p> </p><p> The following seconds were silent except for the words of magic intoned by</p><p>Taklinn, myself, and they orcish cleric as we cast our respective enhancements. </p><p> </p><p> “The middle guy just put a ‘stone skin’ on himself.” I informed the group after </p><p>recognizing it being cast. I used my contingent ‘greater invisibility’, though I knew</p><p>that the cleric had already cast ‘true seeing’ upon himself. </p><p> </p><p> The flanking orcs opened the battle with missile weapons as a volley of arrows </p><p>and a crossbow bolt sped toward us. One of them hit Griff in the shoulder, but it</p><p>was more a feeling out than anything. When we refused to run to meet them, they</p><p>broke away from the cleric at fast trots. The one dropping his crossbow and un </p><p>slinging his battle axe, while the other moved to our right flank, already knocking</p><p>another arrow. The cleric made to cast another spell, but I had been holding a spell</p><p>on the tip of my tongue and chose that moment to unleash it, hoping to divide and </p><p>conquer our enemy. My ‘wall of ice’ formed a sudden barrier some twenty feet high</p><p>and blocked us, at least for the moment, from the archer and the cleric. One end of</p><p>my wall butted against the river Styx, while the other would be easily ridden around </p><p>by the cleric, but the archer would have to drastically change his direction to round</p><p>it. </p><p> </p><p> The axe wielder galloped in, heedless to our outnumbering him, straight at </p><p>Taklinn. The two smashed together in a clang of axe steel as the ecolipse reared</p><p>four of it’s legs in attack as well. Hooves and blades slammed into his armor, but</p><p>our cleric stood tall and responded in kind, his mighty steel biting deep into the orcs </p><p>flesh. </p><p></p><p> The orcish cleric had quickly maneuvered around the walls end and rode hard</p><p>along it’s length at an invisible Happy that had been skulking along it in the </p><p>opposite direction. His ‘true seeing’ exposed her to him, and he took a sweeping</p><p>blow at her with his mace that barely missed, whistling above her head by inches.</p><p>Griff charged forward to take the focus from Happy, coming down with his sword </p><p>on the clerics thigh.</p><p> </p><p> As for myself, I flew quickly upwards, wanting to peer over the wall and see what</p><p>the archer was up to. I was quickly reminded that ecolipse’s can fly! The archer had </p><p>simply spurred his mount to climb thin air, and he met me at the top of the wall, his</p><p>arm already drawn. Fortunately, he did not have the luxury of ‘true seeing’ so I was</p><p>hidden from him. He released an arrow at Taklinn, and I saw it sink into our </p><p>dwarven friends hip.</p><p></p><p> Happy and Griff tried their best to flank the cleric, and they brought terrible pain</p><p>to him. I saw Happy, floating behind him, jab again and again, and the cleric reeled </p><p>atop his ecolipse, but did not fall even as Griff punished him further. But the cleric</p><p>seemed to focus instead on Taklinn as the dwarf brought his axes down again and</p><p>again in utterly devastating blows to the fighter. The orcish axe man sagged on his </p><p>mount, barely able to keep upright as Taklinn yelled, “Surrender!”</p><p></p><p> But there would be no surrender. The fighter swung back in kind, connecting, but</p><p>not nearly hard enough to give any hope that he could best Taklinn. Victory for </p><p>Taklinn looked assured, but the cleric had other plans. With harsh kicks of his heels,</p><p>he spurred his mount in a dead charge for Taklinn and reached out to touch him,</p><p>uttering black words as he did. I recognized the ‘harm’ spell and gasped. The very </p><p>life seemed to drain from Taklinn all at once, and our cleric, usually so hale and</p><p>healthy, nearly dropped to his knees. He could barely keep his feet, and I knew that</p><p>he was only one good axe hit away from death. Or an arrow strike! </p><p> </p><p> I glanced at the archer and saw his drawing a bead on Taklinn and I cast without</p><p>thinking. He stopped in mid bow draw as the ‘hold person’ gripped him. Unable to</p><p>shift his weight to stay atop his mount, he slid, statue-like, from the ecolipse’s back</p><p>and fell heavily to the ground. </p><p> </p><p> Meanwhile, Griff rushed to Taklinn’s rescue. He charged in, placing himself</p><p>between the axe wielder and Taklinn, simultaneously swinging his sword at </p><p>activating his anti-magic vest. His blade caught the axe man square in the breast,</p><p>piercing plate armor and flesh below. Blood gouted from the orcs mouth and he fell</p><p>to the ground in a heap. </p><p> </p><p> Hap flew in at top speed, skimming along ten feet above the ground. As she his</p><p>the anti-magic field, her momentum carried her forward and she landed neatly</p><p>behind the cleric with supreme grace. Her dagger came up and around, finding the </p><p>soft joint in the armor below his arm pit. It pierced deeply and the cleric groaned.</p><p>Happy followed him to the ground as he fell, barely conscious, already drawing</p><p>back her arm for the killing blow. </p><p></p><p> I breathed a sigh of relief and was able to concentrate on the archer. Griff was</p><p>holding off the dead axe wielders ecolipse, and the cleric’s had fled, plane shifting</p><p>away. </p><p> </p><p> The archer's ecolipse stood guard next to it’s masters form, and I cursed as I</p><p>watched the orc shake off the effects of the ‘hold’ spell and stand up, grabbing</p><p>another arrow. I hit him with three scorching rays, but it only seemed to enrage him, </p><p>for he fired off a volley of arrows at where he thought I was, only to have them</p><p>miss. </p><p></p><p> I decided to try to end the fight quickly, casting my only “sudden death” spell. If </p><p>it worked, he would be held for a significantly longer period of time. My ‘flesh to</p><p>stone’ spell hit him and I watched as he tried to fight it off. But the spell took, and I</p><p>saw him turn swiftly to a perfect statue of himself cast in solid stone, his bow string </p><p>still drawn back to his cheek in mid fire. </p><p></p><p> Looking back to the other side of the wall I could see that Griff had dispatched the</p><p>last remaining ecolipse. He had dismissed his anti-magic field, and Taklinn was </p><p>already casting healing spells upon himself, so there was no danger left. Even the</p><p>archer’s ecolipse had fled to another plane, and I quickly had to decide what to do</p><p>with my statue orc. He was hidden from the crew by the wall, and I acted swiftly. </p><p> </p><p> Setting down next to the statue, I cast a ‘mord’s mansion’. Then, from scrolls, I</p><p>cast both ‘reduce’ and levitate’ on the statue, making it light enough to lift with the</p><p>levitate. I quickly pushed it into the mansion and bid the servants take it to my </p><p>room. I am some what sad to say so, but I was worried by Taklinn’s potential</p><p>reaction to how the statue orc should be dealt with. As for me, I wanted the orcs</p><p>gear. To that end I would have to cast a ‘stone to flesh’ on him in the morning, but </p><p>to do that in safety would require the orcs permanent demise. As far as I was</p><p>concerned, he was already dead, and had given up any rights to life when he</p><p>attacked us. I had no qualms at all with the notion of breaking off the statues head, </p><p>thus assuring a very dead orc when I changed him back to flesh. I worried that</p><p>Taklinn, on the other hand, might not complicate the issue with his overly zealous</p><p>moral notions. </p><p></p><p> Indeed, when I flew back across the wall and announced that I had gone ahead</p><p>and put up a mansion, for we surely needed to rest, he asked me what had become</p><p>of the archer. I shrugged and assured him that the archer was “No longer </p><p>breathing.” And that he had been taken care of. It was an esoteric reply, and had</p><p>Taklinn not been so shaken by his close brush with death he probably would have</p><p>questioned me more closely, but as it was he was only too happy to accept it and </p><p>head for the mansion for some much needed rest in a safe place.</p><p></p><p> Later that night I made my way to Hap and Griff’s room and asked them to</p><p>quietly follow me to mine, where I showed them my prize. </p><p> </p><p> “What the hell did you do to him?” Griff asked wonderingly. </p><p></p><p> “Turned him to stone.” I replied. </p><p></p><p> “Wow!” Laughed Happy. “You never cease to amaze, Doorag. Too bad about his</p><p>gear though. You’d have to break his bow out of his hand, and it still wouldn’t be </p><p>worth anything.”</p><p> </p><p> “Well,” I said, “I actually can turn him back to flesh tomorrow. Trouble is, he’ll</p><p>be back to life and dangerous again. That’s kind of where you come in.” I looked </p><p>meaningfully at Griff.</p><p> </p><p> “What?” He said, suspiciously.</p><p> </p><p> “Well, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to knock his head off for me?” I asked. </p><p>“I’d do it myself, but I could be here all night chipping away at it. Your way</p><p>stronger than I. I’ll bet you could take it off with a single good hammer blow! You</p><p>could use that cleric’s mace we took!” </p><p></p><p> Griff stroked his chin and regarded both the statue and me with doubt. “I dunno.</p><p>You say he’s still alive in there?”</p><p></p><p> “Well, technically yes, I suppose so. Though in reality he’s permanently a statue </p><p>of stone, so he’s basically innate, and thus, dead.”</p><p> </p><p> “Yeah, well,” Griff mused, “That may be, but I still don’t really like the idea. I’m</p><p>not saying it’s necessarily a bad way to go, but I just can’t see myself killing a guy </p><p>who can’t fight back.”</p><p> </p><p> “He is pretty much already dead.” Happy chimed in, obviously having no</p><p>compunctions with fixing the ‘pretty much’ part. </p><p></p><p> “Mmm, well, still, I can’t do it.” Griff shrugged. “I won’t stop you from doing</p><p>what you have to do, Doorag, it just ain’t me. But don’t worry, I won’t mention it to</p><p>Taklinn. He’d probably want to send the guy home with a pat of the head and a </p><p>basket full of muffins. I don’t really buy that either.”</p><p></p><p> I shrugged back at him. “That’s ok, Griff. I can respect that. I wouldn’t want you</p><p>to do anything your not comfortable with. Besides, I can probably get the mansion </p><p>servants to work on it tonight.”</p><p></p><p> Which is what I did. Even as I write this I can hear three of the servants busily</p><p>chipping away at the statues head with hammers I provided them. It is taking a little </p><p>longer than Griff would have, but the last time I checked they had fairly good</p><p>progress, and I believe that a couple more hours will assure a very dead orc upon</p><p>his return to flesh tomorrow. </p><p></p><p> It is a bit morbid, I realize, but the orc can feel no pain, and he is unaware of what</p><p>is happening to him. Better to at least free his soul than to keep it trapped in</p><p>suspended animation forever. </p><p></p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 21 </p><p></p><p> Gads, what a day it has been. Once again I fear for the cohesion of my crew, only</p><p>this time it is I who is to blame. </p><p></p><p> We set out early this morning from the nexus with a fresh ‘wind walk’ cast upon</p><p>us. Thirty feet above the river Oceanus we sped, following it’s winding path like a</p><p>silver road through the darkness of the shadow realms. Unable to converse in our </p><p>gaseous form, it was, as long wind walks always are, a boring trip, and it was made</p><p>more so by the inability to even appreciate the scenery, hidden as it was by endless</p><p>shadow. </p><p> </p><p> As the hours passed I fear we must have grown complacent, for when we were</p><p>attacked without warning it was only Happy who had the presence of mind to react. </p><p> </p><p> The thing came out of the darkness right in front of us, hurtling itself at us at </p><p>insane speed. I never saw it coming until it was right on top of me; a horrid winged</p><p>creature with a massive great axe poised for a swing. I later identified it as a</p><p>Nycoloth, a sort of demon-like creature from the plane of Gahanna that lives only to </p><p>hunt and bring pain. It had chosen me as it’s target, and it would certainly have</p><p>caught me by surprise had Happy not intervened. </p><p></p><p> Before anyone of could even react, our small friend veered to cross it’s path,</p><p>putting herself between me and that terrible axe. She took the full brunt of it’s edge</p><p>and though she could make no sound, I could almost sense her cry of pain. </p><p></p><p> The Nycoloth flared it’s wings out, pulling itself up short and hovering as the rest</p><p>of us slowed to a halt. It brought it’s axe back for another swing, and I feared that it</p><p>would be the end for Hap, and I could do nothing about it. </p><p> </p><p> The one downside of wind walking is the cloud like form we must all take, and</p><p>the thirty seconds or so that it takes to enter into and come out of it. While in that</p><p>gaseous form I am helpless to cast and Taklinn and Griff are unable to swing their </p><p>blades. Normally Hap’s vaporous body would have allowed the Nycoloth’s axe to</p><p>simply pass right through her, but it must have been enchanted enough to allow it to</p><p>bite. I desperately began the transformation, knowing full well that it would be far </p><p>too late by the time I took solid form.</p><p> </p><p> But Griff was not about to wait. I saw his cloudy form shoot between me and</p><p>Hap, and suddenly he was solid again. I realized that he must have activated his </p><p>anti-magic vest! His sword was already in his hands, and he swung it even as he</p><p>began to fall. He would get only one good swing before hitting the ground as there</p><p>was no magic to hold him aloft, but he made it count, bringing his steel around in a </p><p>wicked arc that cleaved into the Nycoloth’s hide. A great gout of brackish blood</p><p>sprayed Griff, and then he fell the thirty feet, landing just inside the bank of the</p><p>Oceanus. I saw him splash and then haul himself to his feet, knee deep in the silvery </p><p>waters, and even in the midst of battle I found myself curious as to what the effects</p><p>of such a dunking would be.</p><p></p><p> Happy dove down to her husbands side, landing and doing her best to turn solid. </p><p>Taklinn floated near me doing the same thing. The Nycoloth was quite near us, and</p><p>had it wished to it could have hacked one of us to bits, but Griff had caught the</p><p>creatures undivided attention, and it folded it’s bat-like wings and dove, dropping to </p><p>it’s feet on the bank of the Oceanus, slamming into Griff with it’s axe. </p><p> </p><p> Unprotected by magic, Griff could do little but take the hit, and he reeled from the</p><p>power behind it, but our fighter showed then why he is a hero of renown. With a </p><p>bloody grin, he hauled The Talon back and brought it down. Three mighty cuts tore</p><p>through the Nycoloth’s blood and bone. The first sent it staggering, the second took</p><p>it to it’s knees, and the third separated most of it’s head from it’s body. It was the </p><p>work of mere seconds, and just like that, Griff stood over the things twitching form.</p><p>He was not even breathing hard. </p><p> </p><p> The Nycoloth’s blood flowed into the river Oceanus, and I watched with interest </p><p>as it left no stain at all on those pure waters. The blood simply dissipated into</p><p>nothingness as it came into contact with the river. With a grunt, Griff kicked the</p><p>body into the river, and it sank like a stone into it’s depths and we saw it no more. </p><p> </p><p> Our troubles were not quite at an end, however, for as we all became solid it was</p><p>evident that the creatures ax had been enchanted to leave lasting wounds. Happy</p><p>was still bleeding profusely, and I worried that even Taklinn would be unable to </p><p>staunch the flow. Then I noticed that, while Griff had also received wounds from</p><p>the axe, his wounds were not continuing to gush blood, and I had an idea as to why.</p><p> </p><p> “Hap, quick!” I exclaimed, “Get into the river!” </p><p></p><p> She looked at me quizzically, but did not argue. She waded into the Oceanus and</p><p>immersed herself neck deep before climbing back out again. To my relief, my</p><p>hunch had been right. While her wounds were still there, they were no longer </p><p>bleeding out, and Taklinn could now see to them.</p><p></p><p> Moments later we were back in the air, our eyes wide open now, on the alert for</p><p>any more enemies. Fortunately, no more attacks came. </p><p></p><p> Into our eleventh hour of travel I noticed a curious mist begin to cover the ground.</p><p>As we covered more miles the mist turned to light fog, which in turn turned thick. </p><p>Soon we were enveloped in the soup and vision became a serious issue. Several</p><p>times we thought we had actually lost the river, and we were forced to skim it’s</p><p>surface at a much slower speed. With my enhanced vision I could see that the fog </p><p>was magical in nature, and that had me a bit worried. </p><p> </p><p> At last, when we could barely see one another, we slowed to a stop and let</p><p>ourselves become solid on the rivers bank. We had little choice from that point on </p><p>but to do it the hard way. We continued on foot.</p><p> </p><p> Mile after mile we slogged on, following the twists and bends in the river. The</p><p>oppressive fog muted all sound, and it was an eerie thing to travel through it. </p><p> </p><p> Then, the river was gone. One moment it had been at our sides, and the next it</p><p>was nowhere to be found. We listened for it’s gurgle, but could hear nothing, and</p><p>panic gripped me as I feared we were well and truly lost and could not find our </p><p>guide. </p><p> </p><p> There was little to do but keep moving and hope for the best, and just like that, we</p><p>got a break. We took no more than a dozen steps, when suddenly the fog was gone, </p><p>and so was the shadow realm. I looked about in wonder at what I now beheld. </p><p> </p><p> We stood in a pasture of the most utterly pristine grass I had ever seen. Fields</p><p>spread out before us, dotted with small groves of trees that bore fat fruit. Not ten </p><p>feet from where we stood, a group of rabbits feasted upon the sweet grass with no</p><p>fear of us at all, and not far away I spied a small stream that led toward a beautiful</p><p>forest not more than a mile away. </p><p> </p><p> As I took it all in, I became aware of the oddities. It was, to put it in a word,</p><p>perfect. Each blade of grass was the same height and shade of green. Each tree was</p><p>spaced exactly the same distance from it’s brother, and each was a mirror image of </p><p>the other. The fields were perfect squares, and the river was unlike any river I had</p><p>ever seen in that it was absolutely straight and without variation in it’s width.</p><p>Everything about the place was a perfect representation of nature, yet it’s very </p><p>perfection was an anomaly to nature itself. As we walked deeper into the field, I</p><p>began to realize where we were.</p><p> </p><p> “We’ve crossed planes.” I said. “We’re on Arcadia!” </p><p></p><p> The others looked at me curiously, and Taklinn’s eyes practically bulged from his</p><p>head. “Are you certain?” He gasped.</p><p></p><p> “Look around!” I said, waving my hand at the geometric precision of the pasture, </p><p>“Could we be anywhere else?”</p><p> </p><p> “What the hell is an Arcadia?” Griff demanded. </p><p></p><p> I smiled back at him. “Arcadia,” I replied, “is the plane upon which one will find </p><p>Mount Clangeden.”</p><p></p><p> “Mount Clangeden?” Happy asked, eyes wide.</p><p></p><p> Griff narrowed his eyes. “You mean…?” </p><p></p><p> “Exactly,” I said, nodding, “Arcadia is the home of Taklinn’s god, that fine</p><p>dwarven diety whom we all owe our lives to.”</p><p> </p><p> Griff whistled low and long. “Well I’ll be damned!” </p><p> </p><p> “Arcadia,” I continued, as if giving a lesson, “Is a plane of law and good, though</p><p>it is not without it’s problems. The balance between law and good has, apparently,</p><p>been tipped in the favor of law, and therefore it is slowly being overcome by </p><p>unyielding structure. In fact, it used to encompass three layers, but, as I understand</p><p>it, it’s lowermost layer has been assimilated by the plane below it thousands of</p><p>years ago. That plane is, of course, Mechanus, the plan of ultimate law.” </p><p></p><p> “Your making my head hurt.” Griff said with a scowl. </p><p></p><p> I grinned back at him. “It’s all really quite fascinating! It could be said that we</p><p>now stand in the birthplace of harmony and law. Can you imagine? Even nature</p><p>conforms to order here. Have you ever seen orchards grow like the ones you see </p><p>over yonder? Have you ever seen a field with no blade of grass out of place? What</p><p>must the cities be like? Not to mention the fact that deities actually reside here! Not </p><p>only does Clangeden live here, but Saint Cuthbert as well!”</p><p> </p><p> Happy, at least, appeared to share my enthusiasm. “Do you think we have time to</p><p>visit Clangeden’s mountain?” She wondered. “Does he allow visitors there?” </p><p></p><p> “From what I’ve read,” I replied, “Mount Clangeden is actually quite inviting to</p><p>guests, especially warrior types who can stay within the law. From what I hear it’s</p><p>quite a party; and some of the finest armor and arms to be had anywhere can be </p><p>found there.”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” Griff said, stroking his chin, “That doesn’t sound too bad. Maybe it’s on</p><p>the way.” </p><p></p><p> But Taklinn had said nothing throughout this exchange, and I wondered as his</p><p>expression become more and more dour. At last, he said, “No. I cannot go. It has</p><p>been commanded.” </p><p></p><p> “What do you mean?” Hap asked, surprised.</p><p></p><p> “The servant of Clangeden whom I spoke to; the one who gave me this path to</p><p>walk to find Caribdis, specifically forbade me from entering the Mount.” </p><p></p><p> “But why?” I asked, astonished.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn hung his head, as if in shame. “I do not know.” I could see that it hurt him</p><p>deeply to be denied entry to his gods home, and I wondered why such a thing would </p><p>be.</p><p></p><p> “Perhaps it is a test.” I postulated.</p><p> </p><p> “Perhaps.” He nodded, glumly. </p><p> </p><p> “Well, at any rate, we still don’t know exactly where we are on this plane, and we</p><p>still have to find the river Oceanus again. We should find some civilization and ask</p><p>for directions. The inhabitants of this plane should be pretty friendly, especially to </p><p>Taklinn.” Everyone agreed to this, and soon we were walking along again. We</p><p>could have wind walked, as there was still some time left in the spell, but it was</p><p>good to feel the grass beneath our feet and the sun on our backs after the </p><p>oppressiveness of the shadow plane, and we elected to walk. We made our way to</p><p>the ram rod straight stream and began to follow it toward the tree line.</p><p> </p><p> We soon found out, however, that there is danger to be found even in this idyllic </p><p>place. </p><p> </p><p> We were less than a hundred feet from the perfect forest, when suddenly a small</p><p>form broke from the tree line. I immediately recognized it as a halfling, running as </p><p>fast as his short legs could carry him. He spotted us and made straight for us,</p><p>screaming for help at the top of his lungs. </p><p> </p><p> When he reached us we could see that he was battered and bruised, out of breath </p><p>and clad in tattered clothing. “Don’t let them get me!” He panted, “Please! Don’t let</p><p>them get me again!”</p><p></p><p> “Don’t let who get you?” Taklinn demanded. It was at that point that six riders </p><p>thundered forth from the trees, reigning their horses in hard as they saw us and</p><p>coming to a halt no more than fifty feet away.</p><p> </p><p> “Ahhh!” The obviously terrified halfling cried, “It’s them! Don’t let them hurt me </p><p>again, I beg of you!” </p><p></p><p> “Calm down!” Griff hushed the halfling, “No one is going to hurt you. Who are </p><p>these guys and what do they want with you?”</p><p> </p><p> Before the halfling could answer, Taklinn uttered a single word: “Harmonium.”</p><p></p><p> Keeping one eye on the six riders I asked Taklinn if he wouldn’t mind expanding </p><p>on that. The word struck a faint bell with me, but I couldn’t quite place it.</p><p> </p><p> “The Harmonium,” Our cleric explained, “Are a militant group dedicated to</p><p>forwarding the ways of law in all things. They span many planes, including the </p><p>prime. They have no real power base that I know of, but in some places they are</p><p>quite strong. I’d imagine they thrive here.” </p><p></p><p> “So what, they’re like a cult or something?” Griff scowled.</p><p> </p><p> “For lack of a better term.” Taklinn nodded and began to walk forward. “Perhaps</p><p>they will be open to parlay.” </p><p> </p><p> Griff fell into step behind Taklinn and the pair of them walked to within twentyfive</p><p>feet of the riders who had been conversing amongst themselves in hushed tones, probably</p><p>weighing our potential threat. Hap and I stood back with the shivering halfling; I quickly </p><p>cast a ‘fly’ on her just in case. “This could go bad.” I worried aloud. </p><p></p><p> “Do you have a weapon?” Happy asked the halfling. </p><p> </p><p> “N-no.” The fellow stammered.</p><p></p><p> “Here, take this,” She said, handing him one of her daggers. I wondered briefly at</p><p>the wisdom of arming him, considering the fact that he may very well be an escaped </p><p>criminal, but decided against bringing it up right then. Things were happening.</p><p></p><p> “Hail!” Taklinn called out to the riders. “I am Taklinn the Shorn, of the Band of</p><p>the Broken Blade! Yonder halfling has asked me for refuge and I cannot deny it </p><p>until I am certain that you are within your rights to take him! Will you parlay?”</p><p> </p><p> My discerning eye had already determined the probable types of men we were</p><p>facing. Four of them were heavily armored in uniform plate and carried pole arms </p><p>and long swords. Another was also dressed in plate but wore a holy symbol of</p><p>Cuthbert prominently displayed, and I surmised that he might be a priest. The last</p><p>of them hung toward the back, mounted on a light horse. He was dressed in robes, </p><p>and I could only assume that he was an arcane caster. I kept my eye firmly upon</p><p>him.</p><p></p><p> One of the knights leaned over in his saddle and words passed between he and the </p><p>cleric before the cleric answered Taklinn in an authoritative bellow. “The little one</p><p>is ours!” He shouted. “We will have him back, as well as two of yours!”</p><p></p><p> This last bit caught us by surprise but I had seen him glance at Happy and Griff </p><p>when he had said it. Apparently he could read the auras of our friends and had</p><p>decided that they would join the halfling as prisoners, presumably since neither of</p><p>them were adherent followers of the concepts of law. </p><p> </p><p> Taklinn was not yet ready to give up, even though Griff, who had also seen that</p><p>glance and heard the implied threat, had already dropped his sword into a ready</p><p>position. “There is no need for blood shed!” He called out. “I ask for twenty-four </p><p>hours to determine if you are within your rights to hold the halfling. If such is true,</p><p>then on my honor he shall be returned to you! My companions, however, you may</p><p>not have!” </p><p></p><p> The cleric swung down from his horse and his five followers did likewise. He</p><p>answered as if he had not heard Taklinn at all. “Both small ones will come with us,</p><p>as will the swordsman at your side! Drop your weapons and come quietly, or feel </p><p>the wrath of the Harmonium!”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn, at last realizing that diplomacy would not be an option with these</p><p>fellows, sighed and hefted his axes. “Then this question shall be determined by </p><p>combat!” He answered. “May your gods show mercy when you arrive at their</p><p>gates!”</p><p> </p><p> There was no turning back from that point, and I had already been whispering the </p><p>words to a spell. As quick as thought, I flew forward and left, covering some</p><p>ground and putting myself into line with two of the warriors and the mage. I</p><p>released the ‘lightning bolt’ and it sprang from my finger tip in a jagged line of </p><p>electricity. It struck all three of them, and I noted with satisfaction that the mage</p><p>took the full brunt of it. Yet none of them went down, and that worried me a bit. I</p><p>mouthed the word to my contingent ‘greater invisibility’ and disappeared from</p><p>sight, and was slightly perturbed to see their mage do likewise, though he had to </p><p>hard cast it. Fortunately he could not hide from my magically enhanced vision, and</p><p>I was able to see him flee back toward the tree line for cover. </p><p></p><p> Griff charged the cleric, covering the distance at terrific speed and smashing into</p><p>him with a great sword thrust. Two of the fighters ran to help their priest while a</p><p>third charged at Taklinn. The fourth fighter headed toward where Hap and the </p><p>halfling stood, but neither of them were going to stand still for very long. Hap took</p><p>to the air and headed toward Griff while the halfling took off at a dead run in the</p><p>opposite direction. </p><p> </p><p> The cleric got off a single spell before Griff unloaded a flurry of steel upon him.</p><p>Three mighty slashes opened up the priests guts and he fell with a scream that was</p><p>cut short by death. Griff’s momentum carried his blade into the flesh of another </p><p>knight, bringing more pain. Taklinn, still not wishing to kill these men, used the flat</p><p>of his axe to pound his foe, who was having a difficult time penetrating our clerics</p><p>armor. Hap, not having flown high enough, found out the hard way that the last </p><p>knight could reach her with his pole arm, and he drew a bit of blood from our</p><p>halfling friend. </p><p></p><p> I lost track of them from that point on, however, for I found myself embroiled in a </p><p>wizardly battle that took all my attention.</p><p></p><p> I flew forward, scanning the tree line for the wizard, when suddenly, I was able to</p><p>see myself! I cursed, realizing that I must be in the area of an ‘invisibility purge’ </p><p>that the cleric had cast, and though he was dead, it still clung to him and revealed</p><p>me to the sight of the wizard, who took ample opportunity to fling a ‘fireball’ at me.</p><p>The flames overcame my mantel’s spell resistance and I was unable to dodge them. </p><p>I could do little but cry out in pain as the heat washed over me, singing my clothes</p><p>and blackening my flesh. I knew I could not sustain another hit like that, and</p><p>desperately looked for the wizard. </p><p></p><p> There! I spotted a bit of movement behind a tree and raised my staff to return a</p><p>fireball of my own, but at the last second I saw the shimmer of magical energy that</p><p>surrounded the spot. Though I do not personally have the spell, I could recognize it </p><p>for what it was; a ‘globe of invulnerability’. I cursed, knowing that I would be</p><p>unable to affect him with two thirds of my repertoire, including a fireball from my</p><p>staff. Still, I had plenty of other weapons at my disposal, and I resolved to give him </p><p>something to think about. I quickly cast my most powerful summoning spell,</p><p>conjuring up a massive air elemental and directing it to attack the spot where I’d</p><p>seen the mage. I then flew upwards in an attempt to get out of the invisibility purge </p><p>area. I was just able to see the elemental smash away at the spot, and was gratified</p><p>to hear a cry of pain. </p><p></p><p> I glanced over my shoulder to see how the others were doing and saw that two </p><p>more of the fighters now lay on the ground, either dead of unconscious. Hap and</p><p>Griff flanked one (and I knew he would not be long for this world), while Taklinn</p><p>continued to pound a second with subduing blows. They appeared to have their </p><p>situations well in hand, and I returned my attention to the wizard. </p><p> </p><p> Through the canopy of trees I could see the elemental swing away at the wizard,</p><p>and though my creature could not see the caster, it obviously frightened the mage </p><p>enough that he had to deal with him, which bought me the time I needed. I head the</p><p>wizard intone a quick spell, and to my surprise, it worked! The elemental was</p><p>polymorphed into a small, white, rabbit! </p><p></p><p> Cute, I muttered to myself, remembering how well that particular spell had served</p><p>me in the past; but these days I had a different spell that had quickly become my</p><p>favorite, and I was determined to give this wizard a taste of it. </p><p></p><p> I dove at a steep angle, heading straight for the wizards hiding spot. I zipped</p><p>through the branches and pulled up just short of the ground. There he was. The</p><p>enemy mage was just looking up from the polymorphed elemental, and he</p><p>desperately tried to bring a spell to bare on me, grabbing for his components. But I </p><p>was already casting, and though he still stood within the area of his ‘globe of</p><p>invulnerability’ I knew it would offer him no protection from ‘disintegrate’. </p><p></p><p> My ray struck him square in the chest. His eyes never had time to register surprise</p><p>before he was reduced to a small pile of ash. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing</p><p>that I had taken a gamble. Had I missed, or had he shrugged off the spell, he likely </p><p>would have killed me, for I was sorely wounded from his fireball. Such are the</p><p>ways of combat, I reasoned. I glanced toward the elemental/rabbit and quickly</p><p>issued an apology to it before releasing it to return to it’s home. Then I peered </p><p>through the trees to the battle field and saw that it was over. The ground was littered</p><p>with Harmonium dead, and Taklinn now knelt beside the cleric, obviously casting a</p><p>spell. I wondered what he was up to, but for now I contented myself with gathering </p><p>the wizards gear and shaking the dust from it.</p><p></p><p> I walked from the tree line with my hands full of the wizards belongings and </p><p>headed toward Griff and Happy who were already in the process of stripping the</p><p>dead or downed fighters. My magic scan detected quite a fine haul and Happy was</p><p>all smiles as she removed a cloak from a warrior. Griff looked me over as I checked </p><p>for a heart beat on one of the knights. </p><p></p><p> “You ok?” He asked.</p><p></p><p> “A little toasted around the edges,” I said, “But I should be fine after a bit of </p><p>Taklinn’s help.” I looked to where our cleric knelt over the enemy cleric. He was</p><p>still in the process of casting a spell and had his holy symbol held over the body. “Is</p><p>he doing what I think he’s doing?” I asked. </p><p> </p><p> “I dunno, what do you think he’s doing?” Griff replied.</p><p> </p><p> “Just watch.”</p><p></p><p> Sure enough, a moment later we were able to observe the dead cleric’s body begin </p><p>to undergo a transformation. His wounds began to close and then sealed shut</p><p>entirely. Within seconds his eyes fluttered and he sat up with a gasp.</p><p></p><p> “What the hell?” Griff exclaimed. </p><p> </p><p> Taklinn then cast a minor healing spell to give the cleric back a bit of strength,</p><p>then stood and offered the man a hand. The cleric looked at it with uncertainty, but</p><p>finally took it and allowed himself to be helped to his feet. </p><p> </p><p> “I am Taklinn the Shorn,” Taklinn said, solemnly, “Remember my name well, for</p><p>it is I who has given you a second chance at life today. I hope that you will use it</p><p>wisely.” </p><p></p><p> The cleric nodded, still obviously shaken from his experience in the great beyond.</p><p>“I will remember your name.” He said with a wry smile. </p><p> </p><p> Happy came to stand beside Griff and I as we watched the exchange. She dumped </p><p>some gear near us and rolled her eyes at the conversation.</p><p></p><p> “Perhaps,” Advised Taklinn, “You should consider a change in philosophy.</p><p>Forcing others to bend to your will is folly and has brought you only death today. </p><p>Might I suggest a more oblique approach?”</p><p></p><p> The cleric grimaced and spat out a little blood. “I thank you for your mercy,</p><p>dwarf,” He said, “But I will have to ask your forgiveness if I do not heed your </p><p>council. It is a shame that you are so misguided.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn nodded, and his voice was tinged with regret. “Very well. I can do no</p><p>more than I have. Two of your men yet live; I assume you can get them to their </p><p>feet?”</p><p></p><p> “I can.”</p><p></p><p> “Good. You shall return to your masters on foot, with only mundane weapons to </p><p>protect you. Should you cross my path again with such an attitude of aggression, I</p><p>cannot promise such mercy.”</p><p></p><p> The cleric smiled mirthlessly. “I will keep that in mind, Taklinn the Shorn.” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn walked to where we stood as Griff tossed our hard won treasure into his</p><p>bag of holding. Happy regarded Taklinn with a raised eye brow. </p><p></p><p> “What?” Taklinn asked.</p><p></p><p> “Nothing, nothing.” Hap said quickly, and busied herself searching for the</p><p>halfling. She found him a few hundred yards away, hiding behind a tree, and led </p><p>him back to us. He was still quite shaken up, but he could not hide his exuberance at</p><p>seeing the beaten cleric casting healing spells on the two fighters who yet lived. The</p><p>three of them gave us one last look before turning to walk back into the forest. </p><p> </p><p> “Yeah!” the halfling chuckled, “That’s right! Skulk on back to your camp, you</p><p>big bullies! Next time pick on somebody your own size!” The halfling turned to us,</p><p>eyes wide with adoration. “I’ve never seen anything like that!” He gushed. “You </p><p>took those buggers out like last nights chamber pot! Wow! How can I ever thank</p><p>you?”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” I said, “First off, you can tell us your name.” </p><p> </p><p> “Ah,” he replied brightly, “My name is Wasp!”</p><p></p><p> “Pleased to meet you, Wasp. My name is Doorag. This is Happy, Griffin and</p><p>Taklinn. We are a crew from the city of Havilah. Are you from around here?” </p><p></p><p> “Me?” He laughed, “Oh no! This place is far too stodgy for me! I’m from all over.</p><p>I was just passing through when those tin suits grabbed me.”</p><p></p><p> I had a sudden thought and asked our new friend, “Tell me, Wasp, we seek the </p><p>river Oceanus. Do you know where it is?”</p><p> </p><p> “The river Oceanus?” he looked thoughtful, “Hmm, the river… the river… Oh!</p><p>Yes, I know what you’re talking about! It’s up on the next layer.” </p><p></p><p> I glanced at the crew, then back at Wasp. “Do you know how to get there?”</p><p></p><p> “Oh, sure! I can take you there. Heck, it’s the least I can do! There’s a portal not</p><p>far away that will take us up, and from there it’s a short walk to the river. I’d be </p><p>glad to take you!”</p><p></p><p> “A most fortunate occurrence that we crossed your path,” Taklinn said, “For all of</p><p>us.” </p><p></p><p> “I’ll say!” Wasp concurred. “Those metal heads were putting a hurt on me, that’s</p><p>for sure. Wow! I still can’t believe how you beat up on them! They never had a</p><p>chance! You guys must be the best fighters anywhere!” </p><p> </p><p> “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way…” Taklinn said, modestly.</p><p> </p><p> “Can we get a move on now?” Griff cut in. “Those Harmonium guys could be</p><p>heading back here with reinforcements.” </p><p></p><p> “Griff is right,” I said, “Besides, it’s been a full day and we need to rest soon. I</p><p>say we use our new horses and put some distances between us and the Harmonium,</p><p>at least until night fall.” </p><p></p><p> “Great!” Wasp nodded vigorously, “I’ll be happy to camp out with you! Though,</p><p>I don’t see any tents.”</p><p></p><p> Happy grinned at the halfling. “Camping with Doorag isn’t what you might </p><p>expect,” She said, “Just wait.”</p><p> </p><p> Thus it was that we set out again, with Happy, Griff and Wasp riding our captured</p><p>horses. Taklinn, as always, refused to ride, but was able to trudge alongside at a fair </p><p>clip. I, of course, flew. </p><p></p><p> Night came to Arcadia as I knew it would; in one fell swoop. One moment all was</p><p>sunny and bright, the next, we beheld a line of darkness sweeping across the land. </p><p>Within seconds it had passed us and it was dark. Only this was not the cloying</p><p>darkness of the shadow plane. This was simple night time, and we felt no</p><p>malevolence in it. I cast a mansion and we all entered. Wasp gasped in delight as he </p><p>beheld the wonders of the place, and looked at me with renewed awe. </p><p></p><p> We made ourselves comfortable and Taklinn used the rest of his healing to take</p><p>care of the last of our wounds. Wasp, seeing him do this, cleared his throat. “I, uh,</p><p>don’t suppose…” He began. </p><p></p><p> “Are you wounded, little one?” Taklinn asked. </p><p></p><p> “Well, my feet have seen better days.” The halfling said, and to be sure, the poor </p><p>fellows feet were cut and bruised. Taklinn quickly laid his hands on them, and the</p><p>halfling sighed with content as the healing washed over him. </p><p></p><p> “So tell me about these Harmonium.” Griff said as we sat around the dinner table. </p><p></p><p> “Well,” Wasp replied through a mouthful of roast chicken, “Apparently they just</p><p>ride around and grab anybody they see that they don’t think is living right! I was</p><p>just wandering through the forest, minding my own business, and then there they </p><p>were. They snatched me up and said they were taking me back to their camp for</p><p>‘reeducation’.” Wasp shuddered at the memory. </p><p></p><p> “And what, exactly, did re education entail?” Taklinn asked. </p><p></p><p> “Hmm, well, you probably can’t see them too well now that you healed me, but</p><p>maybe you can.” Wasp stood and pulled his shirt off, turning around to show us his</p><p>back. I gasped, for I could still make out the faint criss cross pattern of whip scars. </p><p></p><p> “They flogged you?” Griff said, outraged.</p><p></p><p> “Just about every day.” Wasp nodded, pulling his shirt back over his head. </p><p></p><p> “But why?” Hap asked with disbelief. </p><p></p><p> “They said my mind wasn’t right.” Wasp shrugged. “They beat us every day like</p><p>clockwork until you said what they wanted to hear.”</p><p> </p><p> “’Us?’” Griff repeated, eyes narrowing. </p><p></p><p> “Oh yeah, they have a whole camp full of prisoners.”</p><p></p><p> “How many?”</p><p> </p><p> “Mmm, probably around fifty, I’d guess.” Wasp reached for a plate of bread and </p><p>slathered a slice liberally with sweet butter. “As a matter of fact, I seem to recall</p><p>some of them saying they were from Havilah. That’s where you said you were</p><p>from, right?” </p><p> </p><p> Griff looked around the table, and I knew what was on his mind. My heart sank.</p><p></p><p> “So? What, are we gonna let this just slide by?” Our warrior demanded.</p><p></p><p> “Griff,” I said, gently, “We already have our mission…” </p><p></p><p> “Are you kidding?” He looked at me. “We’re gonna leave those prisoners behind</p><p>to get beat on until they tow the Harmonium line? That’s crap!”</p><p> </p><p> “He’s right!” Happy nodded, “We can’t let them get away with that kind of </p><p>stuff!”</p><p></p><p> I groaned. “But what about Caribdis?” I asked. “We’re so close! For crying out</p><p>loud, let’s not get side tracked again! Besides, if those six that we fought back there </p><p>are any indication of their strength, we could be biting off more than we can chew!</p><p>Wasp, how many of the Harmonium would you say there are?”</p><p></p><p> The halfling paused to consider this for a moment, doing quick calculations in his </p><p>head. “Oh, probably not more than a hundred.” He said. “But you could take them!</p><p>You guys have got to be the most powerful fighters in the land! And with you</p><p>wizardly skills I’ll bet you could wipe them out in a minute! Why, just look at this </p><p>house your able to whip up!”</p><p> </p><p> I looked at Griff. “A hundred of them? Get serious, Griff! If they’re as tough as</p><p>the ones we fought, we’re out-numbered, and badly, not to mention that they must </p><p>have more spell casters!”</p><p></p><p> But Griff’s jaw was set. “Look,” he said, “I don’t care if there’s a thousand of</p><p>them. I can’t sit still while innocent people get nabbed off the road side and then get </p><p>whipped until they ‘get their minds right’. Taklinn, what do you say?”</p><p></p><p> Our cleric had been strangely silent throughout this exchange, and now he looked</p><p>from Griff to me and back again. At last, he sighed heavily. “Griff, you are my </p><p>friend, and you have followed me into messes that you probably didn’t believe in.</p><p>Of course I’ll go with you.”</p><p></p><p> Griff looked at Happy, but needen’t have worried. “Count me in!” She chirped. </p><p></p><p> Then our warrior looked at me, and I felt the terrific weight of responsibility settle</p><p>on my shoulder. A bitter taste filled my mouth as the seconds passed. The thought </p><p>of Caribdis being so near filled my mind, blocking all reasoning. “I’ll wait for you</p><p>here.” I said, at last.</p><p></p><p> Griff looked at me with an expression of such grave disappointment that it </p><p>crushed me. “After all the times you and Taklinn talked me into fights? After all the</p><p>times I followed you into fights that weren’t mine? After all those time, you’re</p><p>going to cut me loose?” </p><p></p><p> “Griff, we have our mission…” I tried.</p><p></p><p> “He’s right!” Happy scolded me, “Griff as always followed you guys everywhere,</p><p>and now that he finds something he believes in, you’re not going to back him up?” </p><p></p><p> “We can’t do it without you, Doorag.” Taklinn said, quietly. </p><p></p><p> “Look!” I sputtered, becoming more and more agitated, “I asked Griff to follow</p><p>me into fights that I believed we could win! We’re talking about a hundred well </p><p>trained, well equipped, warriors, and who knows how many wizards and clerics! Do</p><p>you really think the four of us can take them on?”</p><p></p><p> “Five!” Wasp interjected. “I’ll help!” </p><p></p><p> “And besides all that,” I went on, “Caribdis is…”</p><p></p><p> “Caribdis is dead!” Griff cut me off, “And these people are alive! Doesn’t that</p><p>mean anything to you?” </p><p></p><p> “Of course it does, and I’m sorry for their plight, but if we stop to right every</p><p>wrong we see, we’ll never get anywhere! What are you going to do if you find out</p><p>that there’s another Harmonium camp fifty miles from here with more prisoners? </p><p>Will you go after them too?”</p><p> </p><p> “If I have to, yes!” Griff shouted.</p><p> </p><p> “That’s ridiculous!” I cried, my own voice beginning to raise. “You’re suggesting</p><p>a declaration of war on a militaristic cult that spans whole planes!”</p><p></p><p> “Yeah, so what?” Griff growled, “What if we were in Havilah, Doorag? What if </p><p>those were Havilah citizens being held in that camp against their will?”</p><p></p><p> “Actually, I did say that there were folk from Havilah there…” Wasp piped up.</p><p></p><p> “He did say that!” Happy nodded vigorously. </p><p></p><p></p><p> Frustrated, I cast about for answers to these difficult questions. “It would depend</p><p>on the situation! I would ask for council from the Academy and the king, and if they</p><p>willed it…” </p><p></p><p> “You’re full of crap.” Griff interrupted. “You’d no sooner let this kind of stuff go</p><p>on within the borders of Havilah than you’d use your spell book for bog paper, and</p><p>you know it!” </p><p></p><p> “It’s a matter of priorities, Griff!” I insisted, digging in my heels, “We are here to</p><p>find Caribdis! Were he with us right now, if our crew was whole, there would be no</p><p>question as to what we must do.” </p><p></p><p> “But Caribdis isn’t here.” Griff retorted. “He’s dead. I, however, am alive, and</p><p>this is something I think we need to do.”</p><p></p><p> Happy jumped at this point. “He’s right, Doorag. I care about Caribdis too, but </p><p>this is here and now. Those people are suffering and we can stop it. Caribdis isn’t</p><p>going anywhere.”</p><p></p><p> “Since when did you become such a crusader?” I asked, turning on her, “How </p><p>many times have I heard you say that this is just a job to you? That you belong to a</p><p>crew because it pays well and is exciting? When did you start caring so much about</p><p>your fellow man?” </p><p></p><p> “If Griff cares, I care.” She said, curtly.</p><p></p><p> “And what about you, Griff?” I carried on, “Mr. ‘I don’t want to be a hero’?”</p><p></p><p> “It has nothing to do with heroics.” Griff answered, flatly. </p><p> </p><p> “Oh, I’m sorry, I guess it has to do with freeing the innocents. Well what about</p><p>your friend, Griff? What about Caribdis? Don’t you want to free him? Whoops! I </p><p>forgot, you don’t even believe we’ll ever see him! You think that this whole trip is a</p><p>fools errand, so why not hang him out to dry, eh?”</p><p></p><p> “Caribdis isn’t a prisoner! He had his chance to come back and he refused, as I </p><p>recall!” </p><p> </p><p> “He’s a confused boy! We owe it to him to offer him a second chance!” </p><p></p><p> Griff and I were now both on our feet, our voices raised to levels we had never </p><p>used before with each other, and Happy helped not at all when she interjected.</p><p></p><p> “You’re putting a dead comrade ahead of a live one, Doorag,” she declared, “Is</p><p>that how your loyalties lie? If so, then I’m a little disgusted with you!” </p><p></p><p> Now, full of righteous indignation, I swung around on her. “How dare you!” I</p><p>stormed, “How dare you question my loyalties! If it were you who had died and not</p><p>Caribdis, I’d still be here, willing to go to the ends of the earth to bring you back! </p><p>I’d hunt these planes to hell and beyond for any one of you, and I’d hope you know</p><p>that by now. The fact is, my dear, you’re only too willing to let yourself be</p><p>distracted by any perceived evil that comes down the pike. Or perhaps you simply </p><p>see this as more profitable than continuing our quest for a dead friend? We did get</p><p>quite a tidy haul off those we bested earlier, and maybe you’re hoping there’s more</p><p>where that came from, no? What are you’re priorities, Happy, my dear? Is the </p><p>promise of coin and magical trinkets more appealing than the long and unsure road</p><p>to finding Caribdis? If such is the case, then I am afraid that it is I who is a little</p><p>disgusted with you!” </p><p></p><p> Fury glazed Hap’s eyes, the likes of which I had never seen directed at me, but I</p><p>was too angry to take back my harsh words. “OK!” she said, tersely, “That’s it. I’m</p><p>through talking with you.” With that, she got up from the table and made to walk </p><p>from the room, but I was far from finished. </p><p></p><p> “Oh, you’re through talking to me?” I yelled, following her, “Well I’m not</p><p>through with you!” I was about to unleash another verbal barrage, but fortunately, I </p><p>was interrupted. </p><p></p><p> “Enough!” Taklinn slammed the table with the palm of his hand hard enough to</p><p>rattle the dishes. “We are a crew, and more than that, we are friends! We do not talk </p><p>to each other so! There must be a way to compromise!”</p><p></p><p> How do you expect to compromise with this pig headed…” Hap began, but I was</p><p>still seeing red myself, and, petty though it was, I deliberately baited her. </p><p></p><p> “I’m sorry, what?” I cut her off, “Are we talking again? I could have sworn that</p><p>you had said you were through talking to me. I take it we’re talking again?”</p><p></p><p> Her face reddened, and I could tell that I was treading on very dangerous ground, </p><p>but I didn’t care. She sputtered and said something under her breath.</p><p> </p><p> “All right, knock it off!” Griff said in a commanding tone. “Taklinn’s right.</p><p>There’s got to be a way we can work this out.” </p><p></p><p> “OK then,” I said, turning back to the table, “Let’s talk about a few things with</p><p>Taklinn.” I eyed our cleric and asked him a few rough questions. “Taklinn, if we do</p><p>this, are you prepared for what the consequences might be?” </p><p></p><p> “What do you mean?” he asked, warily.</p><p></p><p> “What I mean is this: If we mess with the Harmonium, it may very well mean that</p><p>we end up killing many or all of the ones that reside in that encampment. Are you </p><p>prepared to stand by and watch me fly over them and rain fireballs down upon their</p><p>heads if it comes to that?”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn looked uncomfortable at the thought, and I pressed on. </p><p></p><p> “Are you also prepared to wage war on a society that is not, technically, evil? As I</p><p>understand it, the Harmonium, despite committing what we might perceive as evil</p><p>acts, are not, in fact, evil. Will you impose your will upon their way of life because </p><p>you find it distasteful? I ask this because I recall a certain town called Latona that</p><p>we visited not long ago, and…” </p><p></p><p> “That was an entirely different situation.” Our dwarf insisted. </p><p></p><p> “True,” I agreed, “But this situation may well bring with it moral quandary, and I</p><p>don’t want to be in the thick of it only to have you change your mind half way </p><p>through. And need I point out the obvious repercussions of meddling in the affairs</p><p>of such a far flung order as the Harmonium, especially here, on Arcadia? I’m</p><p>willing to bet that there are more than a few followers of Cuthbert among them; so </p><p>now we’re talking about you, a servant of Clangeden, picking a fight with servants</p><p>of Cuthbert, on the very plane where both these gods live! Need I even point out the</p><p>implications of such a thing?” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn sighed, and I could tell that my points had driven home with him. “It is</p><p>something I shall have to pray upon.” He admitted. “But I say again, I cannot sit</p><p>idly by and let evil thrive, even if the evil doer does not understand it's actions. It is </p><p>complicated…”</p><p></p><p> “That it is.” I agreed, with a solemn nod, “That it is. I’m having a hard time</p><p>wrapping my mind around the notion that these Harmonium can commit evil acts </p><p>day after day, yet remain neutral. I can only assume that their belief that they are</p><p>doing the will of Law is so fervent that they are blinded by it; that it somehow</p><p>protects their souls with a sort of naive view that what they are doing is just. The </p><p>point is, Taklinn, we could very well end up killing many of them, which could lead</p><p>to a much bigger war than we counted on should this thing escalate, not to mention</p><p>the fact that we will forever be looking over our shoulders for retributive strikes </p><p>from the Harmonium. This is a powerful enemy we’re talking about here, and I</p><p>highly doubt that they’ll let bygones be bygones if we wound them.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn looked uncertainly at Griff, still wanting to throw in his lot with him, but </p><p>also beginning to see the bigger picture. Griff saved him the discomfort of</p><p>answering me.</p><p></p><p> “Tell you what,” Griff said, “Let’s focus on the tangibles. We don’t even know </p><p>what we’re really facing here. Wasp, can you draw us a map of the camp? A</p><p>detailed map?”</p><p></p><p> “Sure!” Wasp said, eager to be included in the plan. </p><p></p><p> “OK,” Griff continued, “And you, Doorag, can you use your magics to spy on</p><p>them to try and determine their strength?”</p><p></p><p> I looked doubtfully at him, but nodded. “I suppose I could try to scry that cleric; </p><p>maybe watch him for a bit and get an idea of how many other casters and clerics</p><p>they have if he interacts with them. That, and there’s the option of a fly over while</p><p>invisible. I can’t see that it would hurt to at least take a look…” </p><p></p><p> “Good enough!” Griff said. “And you, Taklinn, can you somehow talk this thing</p><p>over with Clangeden? Doorag is right, I don’t want to start some holy war, so</p><p>maybe if you could ask your god where he’d stand on such a mission?” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn pulled at his beard. “Give me the time to pray for the spell and I’ll do it.”</p><p></p><p> “OK,” Griff smiled thinly, “You do that. If Clangeden tells you it’s a bad idea, I’ll</p><p>trust that he knows better than I do and drop the whole thing. Is that fair?” He </p><p>looked at me.</p><p></p><p> “That’s fair.” I replied.</p><p></p><p> “Then I suggest we sleep on this.” Griff said. “Wasp will draw us a map and tell </p><p>us all he can remember, and you two can cast to your hearts content. Tomorrow</p><p>morning we’ll all be a lot calmer and we can hash this thing out like the crew we’re</p><p>supposed to be.” </p><p></p><p> I must admit, I was caught off guard by the maturity of Griff’s suggestion, but I</p><p>could hardly deny his wisdom, and I nodded my agreement. We all went to our</p><p>separate rooms shortly afterwards, though Happy and I still had little to say to each</p><p>other in the way of good night wishes. </p><p> </p><p> I retired to my room when we had all parted, commanding even the servants to </p><p>leave me in solitude and locking the door securely behind them. I had some</p><p>thinking to do.</p><p></p><p> Wearily undressing myself, I removed my hat from my head and set it on the </p><p>desk, immediately feeling the drain on my mental faculties as I did so, but enjoying</p><p>my normal intellect at the same time. While it is true that the hat, with it’s magical</p><p>enhancement to my intelligence, affords me a greater range and command of magic, </p><p>sometimes I think it causes me to be too cerebral, and thus, out of touch with</p><p>visceral emotions. I have always struggled to maintain a connection with my heart,</p><p>and the wisdom therein. Too often I am simply too analytical, and I feel like </p><p>removing my hat sometimes allows me to catch a glimpse of the world as “normal”</p><p>folk see it. </p><p></p><p> Besides, I needed to talk to someone, and that someone lived in my hat. </p><p></p><p> “Come on out, Ambros.” I said, sipping from a glass of sherry and rubbing the</p><p>bridge of my nose. My trusty familiar appeared, whiskers first, sniffing the air and</p><p>then padding out to sit on his haunches. He regarded me with raised eyebrows, and I </p><p>could see by the expression on his small face that the crew’s conversation had not</p><p>gone unheard by him.</p><p></p><p> I set my glass down so that he could have a sip of the sherry, and while he did, I </p><p>loaded my pipe, lighting it with a cantrip, trying to relax and look at things</p><p>objectively.</p><p></p><p> “Well,” I asked him, “What do you think?” </p><p></p><p> “About what?” he asked, innocently.</p><p></p><p> “Don’t be coy, Ambros.” I said, dryly. “You know what I’m talking about.”</p><p></p><p> “Ah,” he said, “The Harmonium problem?” </p><p></p><p> I blew a smoke ring that landed on his head and turned into a tiny wizard’s hat</p><p>before dissipating, a trick that I know irks him. “Yes. Specifically, my take, as</p><p>opposed to the rest of the crew’s position.” </p><p></p><p> “You want my honest opinion?” He asked, swatting away the smoky hat. </p><p></p><p> “Of course.” I replied.</p><p></p><p> Ambros scratched his chin for a moment and twisted a whisker thoughtfully as he </p><p>considered all the angles. Finally, he sat back on his haunches and began to speak.</p><p>“You bring up many good points,” He said. “The Harmonium could well be a far</p><p>reaching group, and our actions may have repercussions as far as Havilah and </p><p>beyond. I don’t relish the idea of having them as an enemy. Depending upon just</p><p>how vengeful they might be, we have to consider the possibility that they might</p><p>seek to extract revenge not on us directly, but on those whom we love, though that </p><p>is, of course, always that chance. Also, there is the matter of Taklinn’s stance to be</p><p>considered. Starting a war with them, especially here on Arcadia, could be</p><p>disastrous, given a possible clash between Cuthbert and Clangeden. Taklinn will not </p><p>want to be the one to upset the balance between the two deities on their home plane.</p><p>Hopefully things wouldn’t go that far, but, as with many things we stick our noses</p><p>into, the potential for uncontrolled escalation is there, and that’s a factor to be </p><p>considered. All too often, events have a tendency to run away from us. There is also</p><p>the matter of Caribdis. We are close, and every day we dilly dally about decreases</p><p>the odds of his returning with us when we finally find him.” </p><p> </p><p> “However…” he let this last word hang for several seconds until I prodded him.</p><p></p><p> “However, what?” I said.</p><p></p><p> “Well, you’ll forgive me for saying so, Master, but I personally believe that </p><p>Caribdis is a bit of a blind spot for you. Since his death you have become somewhat</p><p>obsessed with the idea that you can find him and return him to life. I know that you</p><p>accept the possibility that he may refuse to come back, or that we may never even</p><p>get the chance to talk to him, but in your heart of hearts I don’t think you have </p><p>allowed yourself to actually believe that it could happen that way. The closer we get</p><p>to him, the more tunnel visioned you have become, and now we find ourselves in a </p><p>position where you have been ostensibly forced to choose between Caribdis and</p><p>Griff, and you have chosen Caribdis, or at least that is what it looks like to the rest</p><p>of the crew. Not only that, but you have chosen Caribdis over your own morals and </p><p>the tenants by which you have lived your life and upheld as a crew member. Your</p><p>desire to find Caribdis has enabled you to rationalize the suffering of innocents, and</p><p>while I agree that we cannot save everyone, and that innocents will always suffer, </p><p>we have always considered ourselves duty bound to do what we can, when we can.</p><p>Evil thrives when good men do nothing, and all that.”</p><p></p><p> Ambros paused to take another sip of sherry and regarded me, trying to gauge my </p><p>reaction to his observations. </p><p></p><p> “Go on.” I urged him.</p><p></p><p> He did. “There is also the matter of your vote on this matter, and the way in which </p><p>you cast it. The fact is, should this encampment of Harmonium be as powerful as</p><p>we think they might be, the three of them, well, four including Wasp, will have</p><p>almost no chance at success without your help. Taklinn can cast some very </p><p>powerful spells, but I don’t think he has the utility that you command. Therefore,</p><p>what you have, in essence, done by simply refusing to take part is to attempt to win</p><p>the argument by allowing them no chance of success. Because I can feel your </p><p>emotions, I know that this was not your consence intent, but perhaps on a deeper</p><p>level you did realize it. Essentially you have made a power play, blocking their will</p><p>in an attempt to facilitate your own desires, which, I’m afraid, can only lead to </p><p>resentment.”</p><p></p><p> Ambros fell silent then, and I did not answer. I smoked furiously for several</p><p>minutes, looking at a point above his head, lost in thought. </p><p></p><p> “Your angry, but not at me.” He said.</p><p></p><p> I sighed. “I am angry at myself, Ambros. You are, of course, right.” I stood from</p><p>my chair and began to pace the room, talking all the while. “How can I possibly call </p><p>myself a crew member of Havilah if I am willing to let evil, even under the guise of</p><p>neutrality, go unchecked? And how can I call myself a friend if I am willing to</p><p>withhold my help in order to accomplish my own ends because I decide that they </p><p>are more important than Griff’s? I still doubt the wisdom of picking a fight with the</p><p>Harmonium, but I cannot let fear govern my choices. I’m quite sure that they will</p><p>not be the last enemies I acquire.” </p><p></p><p> I sighed again and realized my pipe had gone out. I set it on the desk and looked</p><p>thoughtfully at my rat friend. “Perhaps,” I said, “There is another way than a full</p><p>frontal assault.” I sat back down at my desk and began to formulate a plan.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 6585713, member: 6792361"] Hrvstr 3 The crafting on the wedding gifts progresses well, though I have had to put the project on hold for another day, though this time it is at Griff’s request. I had mentioned the fact that I have made several spells permanent on myself, and he had also picked up on the other spells that I can make permanent, which I had mentioned in passing while discussing the ‘permanency’ dweomer. He approached me a few days ago and asked me if I would be willing to cast a permanent ‘telepathic bond’ upon he and Happy during their wedding. He is willing to pay the cost in life essence, and has also purchased a copy of the spell for me to learn. How could I say no? So I have spent the day learning the ‘telepathic bond’ spell. Griff, of course, does not know that this will set his wedding gifts back a day, but it is something he seems to really want, so I will be honored to do it for him. Hrvstr 11 The deed is done! Griff and Happy are married! It was a beautiful ceremony, and everyone of note in Havilah was there, even the king and queen themselves! Outside, the streets were jammed with citizens eager to catch a glimpse of this union of the two heroes. There was no shortage of halflings either, as Taklinn spent the last week ‘wind walking’ Happy’s family (all twenty-six of them) here from the Green Mountains. Crispin walked out at Griff’s side, his narrow chest puffed out with pride as he took the position of Griff’s squire. Griff was nervous and Hap was beautiful. Taklinn and I stood nearby, dressed in our blue and white finery as the couple stood before Nivin Mottul, who preformed the ceremony. Nivin seemed delighted to wed them; he positively beamed. After Nivin had led them through their vows, Griff asked me to come forward and do my part. Happy looked a little unsure as I took both of them by the hand, but Griff gave her a reassuring nod as I began to cast. Within seconds the ‘bond’ and ‘permanency’ had been cast, and Hap’s eyes widened as she heard Griff’s voice in her mind for the first time. I don’t know what he said to her, but whatever it was made her smile. Soon after, Nivin pronounced them man and wife, and a great cheer shook the hall. Taklinn and I looked at each other like proud parents as they walked down the aisle amid the flower petals that the onlookers showered upon them. I am not certain, but I think I saw a tear forming in Taklinn’s eye! Every wary of her, I kept a sharp eye our for Scylla, and I had cast a ‘detect scrying’ upon myself before the event, just to see if she would at least magically watch the proceedings, but I saw nor sensed nothing. Griff and Hap intend to plan to spend a week at their new home, after which we will, at last, be after Caribdis. Hrvstr 12 The wedding gifts are finally complete. Taklinn and I hid them in amongst the massive pile of gifts that continue to arrive at our Academy quarters. Griff and Hap will find them in their own time. At last I have some time to learn the spells that I really wish to learn! While a week is not even half the time I might wish for, it is far better than nothing, and far more than I had expected. We are due to depart for the planes on the 19th which gives me six days to learn spells. I have chosen them carefully, and, with any luck, by the time we leave I will have added the following spells to my repertoire: ‘disintegrate’, ‘chain lightning’, greater teleport’, ray of enfeeblement’, ‘force cage’, and ‘plane shift’. Hrvstr 19 Today started out innocuously enough, but it has grown progressively more strange as it has progressed. Knowing that we were to be headed into the shadow plane today, I took the opportunity to teleport to Ester yesterday. Ester is, of course, the small town in which Griff and Happy have set up their household. I have scryed them occasionally while they were here, so it was a simple matter to arrive on their doorstep. Elium is a picturesque little town, and Griff and Happy’s house fits nicely. From the outside one would never know that two of Havilah’s finest reside within when they are not out righting wrongs. The only tip off might be the silver raven sculpture that adorns the roof overlooking the front porch. I glanced at it nervously, noting the dim aura of magic that surrounded it before knocking. Happy was pleasantly surprised to see me and showed me in. We found Griff lounging in the living quarters, and it may be the most relaxed I have ever seen him, though the Talon was still propped within arms reach. I noticed that they both wore the status charms that Taklinn and I had crafted for them. Hap gave me a tour of the house, and I must say that, while no where near the magnificence of my mansion, it is warm and cozy. I can easily see that the two of them would enjoy what days their schedule allows there. Hap offered me the guest quarters, but I assured her that I had no wish to intrude upon their privacy, and that I still had work to do that would require solitude and the rest of the day. To that end I cast a ‘mansion’ in their back yard and cloistered myself within, not seeing them again except for a brief but enjoyable dinner. I must say that I had no idea that Hap was such a fine cook! Certainly my memory of her trail ration preparations did not hint at her true abilities in the kitchen. She smiled wryly at me when I complimented her on the fare, giving only a mysterious look by way of thanks. At any rate, yesterday was spent in seclusion, as I was busy learning the final spell on my list, ‘planeshift’. The plan is for Taklinn to cast that particular spell, but it won’t hurt for me to know it as a back up. I awoke this morning and broke my fast with Happy and Griff. We expected Taklinn sometime today, and he was not late. Near noon he knocked on the door, having ‘wind walked’ here from his home in the mountains. He has spent the last week with his family and fiance, and he looked well rested and ready for action as we greeted him. The five of us took seats around the kitchen table to discuss our plan again. “All right, Taklinn,” I said, “Break it down for us again.” “Very well,” He replied, “Here it is. We will first ‘planeshift’ to the plane of shadows. From there we must locate the nexus of the river Styx and Oceanus. We follow Oceanus to the infinite staircase and ascend it to the third door, which should lead us into the top lair of Ysguard, which is the domain of Olidamara. Once there, we will more than likely have to petition the deity to even allow us to speak with Caribdis, let alone let Caribdis return to life.” Our cleric looked at us with raised eyebrow as he laid it out for us.” “This is crazy.” Griff muttered. “Have you even cast this ‘planeshift’ thing before?” “Well, no, not actually.” Admitted Taklinn, “There’s never been a need for it. But it’s a simple matter; just another spell.” “Just another spell my arse!” Griff growled, “Is it like teleporting? Can you screw it up?” “He can’t screw it up,” I answered for Taklinn, “But there is the matter of how close we come to our actual destination.” “Right.” Taklinn said. “We will basically end up between five and five-hundred miles from where I try to put us. My target will be the nexus, but the odds of actually landing close to it are slim.” “Marvelous.” Griff said, dryly. “I still don’t understand something,” Happy interrupted, “If that spell can take us to any plane, why not just go straight to Ysguard?” Taklinn sighed, as if he weren’t too keen on his own answer, but gave it anyway. “Because this is the course of action given to me by the servant of Clangeden I communed with. Your right, in theory I should be able to shift directly into Olidamra’s plane, but Clangeden has counseled me otherwise, and I am loathe to go against that.” “I agree.” I said. “Clangeden must know what he’s talking about. I’m not going to second guess him.” “So okay,” Griff said, “What do you two know about this shadow plane we’re going to?” Taklinn stabbed a thumb towards me. “I know a little, but I’m willing to bet Doorag knows a lot.” I smiled, for indeed, I had been doing some research, and the study of the planes has long been an interest of mine. “The plane of shadows will be, as it’s name implies, dark. You can expect vision to be as if under a moonless sky at night. Color simply does not register well there, and everything will be drab and bland. Magic will also be affected, though only Taklinn and I will have to worry about that. In essence, spells containing a fire element will have a chance of failure, and their ranges will be reduced. I, of course, have such profound control over my spells that I should have little trouble, though I don’t know how Taklinn will fare.” “I’ve chosen my spells accordingly.” Taklinn said, glumly. “Also,” I continued, “the plane of shadows is morphic. That is to say, distance and geography will have a tendency to shift, though not so much as to prevent us from actually getting to where we need to go I believe. All in all, I think it will be fascinating!” I smiled happily at them, but Griff still looked far from pleased. “I’m just going to go on record one last time as saying that I think this is a colossal waste of time! Caribdis is dead. There’s no coming back from that. Maybe Taklinn can do it with his ‘raise dead’ or whatever it is, but I haven’t seen it yet, and it’s been months. That’s way more than the time Taklinn said he had to cast that spell. We’re going to get there and this diety thing is going to tell us to go piss up a collective rope! Sooner or later you’re going to have to accept the fact that Caribdis is not coming back!” Griff leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, and glowered at us. “Duly noted.” I said. “No one has to go. Taklinn and I are doing this with or without you, and Hap has said that she’s ready for it. Should we have another vote?” “Don’t even bother,” Griff sighed, “If you think I’m going to let you fools go without me to keep you out of trouble, you’re touched in the head. I just want to be able to say I told you so.” “Oh cheer up!” Happy grinned, nudging Griff with her elbow. “It’ll be fun!” Griff smiled in spite of himself, something only Happy seems to be able to make him do when he is in an obstinate mood. “Very well.” Said Taklinn. “When shall we go?” “No time like the present.” I answered, standing up and shouldering my haversack. The four of us assembled in their back yard and formed a circle, joining hands. I saw in Griff’s face the same unease that was always there when we were about to teleport as Taklinn intoned the words and held out the fork of metal used as a focus. Slowly, then all at once, our world faded, the sky darkened, and ruined buildings rose up around us. The grass beneath our feet was replaced by broken cobblestone streets, and as we looked about we realized that we were in a gutted city, standing on a crossroads. A faint air of familiarity touched me, as if I had been here before. As I had warned, it was dark, and Griff and Taklinn wasted little time seeing to that. Griff lit his ever burning torch and Taklinn caused himself to glow with holy light, though both of their illuminations were pushed back by the oppressive shadow. I cast an ‘overland flight’ on myself and took to the air for a look around, but no sooner had I done so than Happy gave a sharp whistle of warning. “We’ve got company!” She hissed, and even before the words had left her mouth I saw the creatures bounding toward us. From out of the ruins they came, horrid two-headed beasts seemingly torn from the shadows themselves. Even their teeth were black, and they seemed to flow from the night like quicksilver. Dusk Beasts! I recognized them from my research, but had no time to alert the crew as to their nature, for they were already upon my land bound comrades. But these denizens of the shadow realm had bitten off more than they could chew, for Hap had already hurled a handful of daggers into the flank of one, wounding it grievously, and as a second tried to close with Griff, our warrior brought his blade around in an almost casual series of strokes, disemboweling it within seconds. Two more of the beasts appeared from the shadows, seeking to close with Griff and Taklinn, and I was about to try out my new staff when a curious thing happened. The dusk beasts were suddenly caught in the area of what I recognized as an ‘ice storm’ spell. For a brief few seconds they were pelted with sleet and hail, and while it didn’t kill them, it caused them quite a bit of damage. Startled, I looked about, trying to find the caster of the spell, but the inky blackness hid everything from me, even with my magically enhanced eyes. The spell had only hit the creatures though. I could tell that it had been cast to purposely miss Griff and Taklinn, which gave me some hope that we were not dealing with another enemy. I decided to concentrate on the danger at hand, raising my new staff and uttering it’s command. The ‘fireball’ shot forth, exploding around the two injured beasts, enveloping them in flame. When the smoke cleared, they lay dead. Taklinn was already toe to toe with another beast, and Hap shouted a warning that more were on the way. From my vantage point I could just make them out a second pack of them running from shadow to shadow. I dropped a second ‘fireball’ into the midst of them, and for a brief second I could make out three of the beasts, illuminated in sharp contrast by the flame. I didn’t kill them though, and on they came, leaping through the rubble to close with Griff and Taklinn, who had just put down the last beast from the first group. I spied Hap as she scurried into a gutted building to hide, presumably to attack from cover, but one of the beasts spotted her as well and veered off to track her down. And then another mysterious spell from our hidden ally was cast. From the cloudless sky there came a bolt of lightning. It crackled and struck one of the beasts, and I was able to ascertain that it was likely a bolt from the spell, ‘call lightning storm’. Now I was even more intrigued, yet I had no time to try and find the caster, for danger was still afoot below me. Griff and Taklinn were dealing well with the pack of beasts that assailed them, but I did not like the idea of Hap dealing with one of these things by herself. I flew above the building she had run into, it’s roof now crumbled away, and was able to see down into the area where our rogue danced and dodged away from the snarling creature. She had already been bitten at least once, and I decided to lend her some aid. My ‘hold monster’ paralyzed the beast in it’s tracks and Hap winked a thanks at me as she stepped in to pierce it with three quick dagger thrusts that ended it’s life. I turned my attention to the street in time to see Griff slay another dusk beast while Taklinn wounded a second. Another bolt of lightning crackled from the sky, hitting a beast, and by now I was determined to find the caster. Griff killed another beast, then another as his sword continued it’s arc. Taklinn laughed, almost playfully fending off the last beast as Griff approached, knowing the warrior would make short work of it. He was right, and within seconds the street was quiet again. As Happy stepped from the ruined house to join Taklinn and Griff, I set myself on solid ground next to them. “We’ve got company.” I whispered as I scanned the darkened street on all sides. I saw nothing, and decided to play a hunch. I concentrated, looking for magical auras within range. “What do you mean?” Taklinn asked. “What company?” “Those spells,” I answered, still scanning the area, “The ice storm, the lightning; somebody was helping us out.” “Griff looked surprised. “I thought that was you!” I was about to answer him, when I suddenly beheld a faint glow from within a tree standing not far from us. From within it’s branches (how do the trees here grow without sunlight?) I could just make out an aura. It was quite small, and as I stared at it, trying to get a better look, it seemed to fly away. Just like that, it disappeared beyond the range of my detection. I thought I heard the flutter of wings as it retreated, and I began to make a hypothesis. “A druid?” I mused to myself. “What?” Taklinn asked. “Well,” I surmised aloud, “Those spells were of a divine nature, and are often favored by druids. That, and I believe I just saw a magical bird fly away from that tree yonder. I know of few clerics who can shape change into an animal, so I’m thinking that our mysterious ally might be a nature priest.” Taklinn grunted at this, looking around, a little paranoid at the idea of unseen birds casting spells, even if they were to aid us. Happy, who had been listening to our exchange, suddenly hissed. “In the tree behind us! I see a bird. I think it’s an owl!” This time I decided to be cagey. Not wanting to tip my hand, I remained facing away from the tree that Happy indicated as if still searching the east road. But beneath my hat Ambros peered through his peep hole. He was the eyes in the back of my head, and was able to benefit from the ‘detect magic’. Sure enough, there was the magical owl, perched in a tree not far from where we stood. Taklinn, however, is not prone to subtlety. Staring straight at the tree, he shouted. “You there! Are you going to play about in trees all day, or are you gong to come down and face us?” I sighed, but turned to face the tree. “Yes,” I added, “Please show yourself! We are an envoy from Havilah and mean you no harm! We thank you for your assistance, and would like to meet a friendly face from this realm!” The bird answered me by taking wing and quickly flapping away into the darkness. For a moment I thought that it had left for good, but then Happy’s sharp eyes spotted a figure moving toward us. The man emerged from the shadows. He was dressed in simple robes and had the scruffy appearance one might expect from a druid. His hair and beard were unkempt, and well worn sandals shod his feet. He walked to within ten feet of us and stopped. “You might want to put out those lights.” He said simply, looking at Griff and Taklinn, “They will only attract more evil.” Griff scowled and seemed in no hurry to plunge himself into darkness, but he played along, extinguishing his torch. Taklinn, likewise, turned his light off. “Great!” Muttered Griff, “I’m freaking blind!” I bowed low to the man. “A pleasure to make your acquaintance,” I said, “I am Doorag Marzipan, and these are my friends, Griff, Happy and Taklinn. I thank you again for your aid against those dusk beasts. What may we call you?” “I am Driscoll.” The druid said. We waited for any elaboration, but none was forthcoming. “Well, Driscoll,” I carried on, “We are travelers, unfamiliar with this plane. What about you? Are you from here?” “No.” “Ah, so but have you been here for some time?” “For awhile, yes.” “What do you do here?” Taklinn cut in. “I am the guardian of this place.” Driscoll answered. “Oh, a guardian!” I exclaimed, “Well, rest assured that we mean no harm to this, ah…” I looked around me, wondering what further harm could actually come to this ruined city, but though better of pointing that out. “…place.” “Hey, maybe you can tell us where we need to go.” Happy interjected. “We could use a guide.” “And where is that?” The druid asked. “We seek the nexus of the river Styx and Oceanus,” I replied, “you see, a friend of ours has died and we intend to find him and…” Taklinn interrupted with an exaggerated clearing of his throat. “Perhaps,” He cautioned, “We shouldn’t tell all before we really know who we’re talking to?” I looked at Taklinn, but shrugged. “We’re looking for a friend of ours.” I said simply. “Can you tell us how to find the nexus?” The druid nodded slowly. “I can take you there.” He said. “It is outside the city, perhaps a few hours, perhaps a day. It changes.” “Ah, of course.” I said, remembering the morphic nature of this plane. “So you can take us there,” Griff said, “But will you?” Driscoll almost smiled at Griff’s bluntness. “I will take you there. All I request is your respect for the land.” “Of course.” I assured him. “What about me?” Griff complained. “I’m blind as a bat here. Doorag, can you do anything about that?” “Hold on a minute,” I said, as I thumbed through my scroll collection, finally finding an old ‘darkvision’ scroll. I unrolled it, casting the dweomer on Griff, enabling him to see as well as the rest of us. “Unfortunately,” I said, “It’s a scroll I scribed a long time ago. It will only last about three hours. Tomorrow I’ll make sure to memorize a longer version for you.” “Whatever.” Griff grunted. “Let’s get moving.” I looked at Driscoll. “Shall we?” He favored me with a curt nod, and then cocked his head for a moment, as if listening to a voice in his head. We watched him curiously, but soon our attention was drawn to the massive form that emerged from the darkness. It was a wolf, roughly the size of a horse! I took several quick steps back, preparing to take to the skies again, and my companions were equally startled by it. But the wolf paid us little heed, instead it padded up to Driscoll where the druid gave it a friendly scratch on it’s muzzle. Apparently the two were acquainted, and it fell into step behind him as he headed off down the street. We followed, still a little unsure, but thankful to have a guide. I nudged Taklinn as I walked beside him. “Did you check him?” I whispered. “Aye,” He rumbled, “He bears no evil that I can see.” “That’s a relief.” “True, but then again, neither did Scylla.” That was food for thought, and I kept my eyes open as we walked down the cracked streets. As we made our way through the city I began to see more and more things that jogged my memory until I could keep quiet no longer. “Does anyone else keep seeing familiar buildings?” I asked, stopping in an intersection. “Now that you mention it…” Hap trailed off. I pointed to the husk of a burnt out building on the corner. “Tell me that’s not the bakery on the corner of Adder street!” My crew looked hard at the building. “I think your right.” Said Griff. “Aye, lad,” Taklinn agreed, “It’s a mess, but now that you mention it, I can see it. And look there, that’s Barl the tailor’s shop next to it.” “Ye gods! It’s Havilah!” I cried. “Well, it’s one version of it.” Taklinn said, stroking his beard. Happy looked mournfully around at what we all remembered as a thriving metropolis. “How sad.” She said. “You think this is what it would have looked like if Melesandre had won?” Griff wondered aloud. “Probably,” I answered, “Though maybe even worse.” Then I was struck with a sudden thought. “Hey, we’re heading right by the Academy! You don’t think…” “Think what?” Griff snorted. “That we’ll find ourselves waiting for us? I doubt it. If Havilah looks like this here, it means we’re probably dead.” Griff’s brow furrowed around the duality of the idea. “This is making my head hurt.” “Maybe we could just stop in for a moment…” I began, but Griff was having none of it. “Hell with that! We’re getting out of here as fast as we can. I only know one Havilah, and I like it that way.” “We need to be moving.” Driscoll interrupted us, “It is dangerous to stay too long in the open.” Without waiting, he continued on down the street. We followed. Now that I realized that we were in some sort of perverted mirror version of Havilah, I could not help but marvel at the horror of it all. Everywhere I looked I saw things that I recognized, though now they were sad parodies of what I remembered. As we rounded a corner and the Academy came into sight, my heart sank. Here in this land of oppressive darkness, it’s magnificence was reduced to ugliness. Still, my curiosity was eating me alive, and I tried to think of some way to convince my friends to at least give the insides a cursory look. Before I was able to come up with anything, however, we would be assaulted again. As we walked up the wide street that paralleled the Academy’s courtyard, we suddenly saw a dark shape ride from around the far corner. It was a man, dressed in black armor, astride a six legged mount that I quickly and wondrously identified as an ecolipse. The rider reined his mount, blocking our path, and the pair of them stood menacingly in our way. Again, I was tickled with a faint familiararity. I had seen that armor before. “I was afraid of this.” Driscoll said, without emotion. “Who the hell is that?” Griff asked. “He calls himself the toll master. He requires a fee for safe passage. I believe he was once a blacksmith, though now he seems to have delusions. He is not right in his head.” “Bert’s cudgel!” I exclaimed, “It’s Elbert! The Academy smith! We know him!” “I doubt you know this version of him.” Driscoll warned. This fellow fancies himself a knight of sorts, and he has a keen interest in arms and armor. He will want a toll paid in return for safe passage.” “Ho there!” Taklinn called out to the rider. “What is it you want? We mean no harm, and I ask you to let us pass!” For a long moment the rider and his mount stood as still as a statue, then, his voice came to us, resonating throughout the street. “You may not pass!” He stated “Without payment!” “And what is your fee?” Taklinn asked. The smith appeared to look each of us over until his helm pointed directly at Griff. “I will have his armor.” It was more a command than a request. Griff gave a short laugh. “To hell with that and to hell with you!” He snorted. “Then you will fight me!” The smith retorted. “Okay then.” Griff said, happily, and unsheathed his sword, walking resolutely toward the knight. Things happened fast after that. The smith spurred his mount forward in a frighteningly fast charge, and I could see the incorperalness of the ecolipse as it closed the distance. As they clashed, I saw the front half of the ecolipse suddenly solidify, and I reasoned that Griff must have used his anti-magic vest for the first time. This worried me a bit. The two fighters clashed, and Griff drew his sword across the ecolipse’s flank, drawing a gush of black ichors, while at the same time the rider brought around a heavy war hammer. Without benefit of magical protection Griff was an easy target, and the blow sent him reeling. Happy raced around, doing her best to get to the opposite side of the ride so she could flank him. Taklinn cast a spell, but it fizzled as it hit the anti-magic field. He cursed when I shouted to him that Griff was using his vest. I cursed a little myself, realizing that I could do little as long as the field was up. I tried a different tact. “Elbert!” I cried, “Stand down! We are a crew of Havilah!” For the briefest of seconds the helm turned toward me, as if in recognition of his name, but then he turned back to Griff, dismounting and coming forward, hammer raised. The two exchanged blows again. Griff did what Griff does best, cutting deeply through metal and flesh, but the smith appeared nonplused. Instead of dropping dead, as most of Griff’s opponents do, he swung his hammer around in three devastating arcs, connecting again and again. The force of the blows nearly dropped Griff to his knees, and I saw pain and anger cross our warriors face as he went into a defensive posture, warding off further blows. He was hurt, and badly at that. I knew he could not take another pounding like that, and I screamed at him in desperation. “Griff! Turn it off! Turn the field off!” I heard him utter the command word, and I took my chance then, knowing it was slim, but desperate to end this fight before he was killed. Summoning the words to a spell that I had only just learned, and had, in fact, never tried before, I cast ‘disintegrate’. The pale ray of magical energy sprang from my fingertip, striking the smith above his right elbow. And then the smith was gone. His armor and hammer clattered to the cobblestones, a thin scattering of dust the only evidence of their owner. Happy, nearing the back side of the ecolipse, skidded to a stop, her mouth hanging open in utter awe. Surprise lit Griff’s face, but he kept his head and turned his attention on the riders mount. But the ecolipse would not stand without it’s master, and with a shake of it’s ghostly head it turned and galloped away, disappearing into the shadows. I stood there, shaking at both the realization of just how close we had come to losing Griff, and of the raw power of such a spell. I looked to Taklinn and saw our cleric looking at me with something akin to awe. “What the hell,” He asked, “Was that!” “New spell.” I replied with a shrug. Happy walked to the pile of armor and moved it with her toe, looking from the dust to me, then back again. “Ow!” Griff said, reminding us of his plight. Taklinn quickly moved to him and began his healing spells, but even as he did his eyes kept returning to me, as if still unable to believe that I commanded such power. I was a bit embarrassed by all this, and busied myself with scanning the armor and weapons for magic. I was gratified to find that the armor, hammer, and a ring all glowed. We stashed them for future analysis. During all of this Driscoll had stood by, watching with his wolf. I could not blame him, for it had not been his fight. When Griff was sufficiently healed, I said, “Well, shall we move on? Unless, of course, any of you thinks we ought to go into the Academy and have a look around…” “Let’s go!” spat Griff, working the feeling into his joints and muscles. “You might want to be a little more careful with that vest.” I chided him. “You don’t say.” He said, dryly. With that, we moved on again. Within an hour we had reached the edge of the city. The grand gates and portcullis that I remembered from Havilah hung from rusty hinges here, forever frozen open to allow anything to come and go at will. Looking behind me I could still barely make out the remaining spires of the academy, and sadness gripped my heart. I was glad to be leaving this caricature of my home. Driscoll led us along the main road until it was overtaken by thick forest. There was still an air of familiarity about the place, but it faded more and more the further we got from the city, until at last I truly felt like I was in a different place. Truth be told, I preferred it to the constant reminder of what Havilah might become. The oppressiveness of the forest in the shadow plane is like nothing else. It is difficult to describe, and every shadow was a potential enemy, waiting to leap at our throats. Yet Driscoll guided us unerringly, as comfortable here as Taklinn would be in the belly of a mountain, and I was glad to have such a guide. We traveled for several hours until we were in need of rest. By this time the ‘darkvision’ spell had worn off of Griff, and he was none too pleased with having to be led through the darkness, so we elected to bed down for the night and get a fresh start in the morning. I cast my mansion and invited Driscoll to join us, but he humbly declined, stating that he was far more comfortable in the forest. Hrvstr 20 I awoke early this morning to carefully select my spells and then meet the rest of the crew to make a plan for the day. Taklinn had been busy with thoughts of his own, and he revealed them to us as we gathered in the sitting room. “As much as I appreciate the help of the druid,” He said, “I believe we can make far better time without him.” “How so?” Hap asked, her eyebrow cocked in curiosity. “I’ve memorized two spells today that I believe will facilitate our travel.” Taklinn explained. “One of them you’re already familiar with, ‘wind walk’. The other is called ‘find the path’, and it will guide me to the exact location I specify.” “Without fail?” I asked, skeptically. “Without fail.” Taklinn replied, with a firm nod. “I don’t know,” Happy mused, “It’s nice having an extra hand about if there’s a fight. Actually, a hand and a paw, if you count his wolf.” Taklinn nodded in agreement, but pointed out, “Ah, but the wolf is the problem. If it were just the druid we could offer to let him join us. But the wolf is far too large for me to carry with us on a wind walk, and I have great doubts that Driscoll would be willing to leave his friend behind to travel with strangers such as ourselves. Besides, this is not his quest. We should not involve him in such dangers unduly.” “I agree.” Griff said firmly. “I’m all for anything that gets us there faster. Besides, with the wind walk thing, we’ll fly over most of the dangers this forest has to offer. I say we thank the druid and then get the hell out of here!” I scratched my chin and said, “I have to agree. The power of flight will allow is to circumvent many possible dangerous encounters, not to mention getting us there much faster. Driscoll said the nexus might be an hour from the city, or it might be a day away, depending upon how much the landscape shifts. We could be chasing it on foot for quite some time.” In the end, only Hap was not keen on the idea of leaving Driscoll behind, but fate would make the decision for us. I poked my head out of the mansion to invite Driscoll in for breakfast and discussion, only to find that he was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, the terrain had morphed considerably overnight. Where we had stopped in a reasonably thin grove of unassuming trees, we were now within a strand of what looked like mighty oaks with trunks of utter black. The very air was forbidding, and I quickly pulled my head back into the warmth of the mansion after calling out to Driscoll for several moments and receiving no reply. I hoped that he was safe. I returned to the crew at the breakfast table and explained to them what had happened. “I’m surprised Driscoll didn’t warn us that the land might carry him away from our location.” I wondered aloud. “Maybe he knew and wanted to cut us loose.” Griff surmised. “Maybe.” I agreed, though not really believing it. “At any rate, it appears that we will have to take Taklinn’s plan after all.” “I hope he’s ok.” Hap said, worriedly. “We can have a look around for him before we go.” Griff suggested, and we all agreed with that. It was the least we owed the druid, so we ate quickly and geared ourselves up for the coming day. I cast an ‘overland flight’ on myself and a much lengthier version of ‘darkvision’ on Griff while Taklinn cast his ‘wind walk’. We stepped out of the mansion, right into the arms of danger! No sooner had our feet touched the thick moss of the grove outside the mansion, than the very forest itself seemed to leap to ambush us. We detected slight movement from three of the massive trees that surrounded us, and then, from the canopy of branches that covered our heads, thick vines dropped, each of them looped to form a sort of noose that sought to snare us! I dodged aside as several of the nooses dropped near me, and I could see the rest of the crew doing the same. I quickly aimed my staff skyward, filling the air above our heads with a fireball that burned away several of the vines. I then scurried back into the mansion, turning to poke my head out of it’s covering door. Happy fled several yards from the vines, but still more of them dropped to reach for her. This time she could not dodge them all, and I heard her gasp in pain as they tightened around her, squeezing the life from her small body. At the same time, I heard Taklinn cast a ‘flame strike’ at the nearest tree, but apparently he had forgotten that the plane of shadows is quite unreceptive to such spells, and he cursed heartily as it fizzled. Griff raced to the trunk of the tree that had Grabbed Happy and slashed at it with his sword, drawing a gush of oily sap. The tree seemed to wince in pain, but it still held Happy tightly. As I watched helplessly, it tightened it’s vines around her even more as she struggled, and she went limp. Desperate to free her from the tree, I cast a new spell, ‘finger of death’, that should have killed the thing out right. But the spell failed, and Happy was being hauled up into the trees branches even as Taklinn joined Griff in hacking away at the trees base. I quickly cast a summoning, and a large earth elemental appeared beneath Happy’s dangling body. The elemental heeded my bidding and reached up with one massive hand to pull and snap the vines that held her while his other hand cupped her body easily. Once it had freed her, the elemental brought her to the mansion, all the while covering her with it’s body as still more vines dropped around it. The elemental was far too large for the trees to get a grip on though, and it easily deposited Happy next to me in the mansions foyer. I called out to Taklinn as I checked her for life. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw her chest still rise and fall. By this time Griff and Taklinn had hacked their way through the trunk of the tree, and we could almost hear it groan as the life fled from it. Taklinn quickly returned to the mansion and cast a ‘heal’ on Happy that returned her to her feet. She grinned, rubbing her bruised ribs, and returned to the battle, skipping out the door even as I sent my elemental against a second tree. This time, however, she was able to stay out of reach of the remaining vines, and she hurled alchemist fire at the trees from a safe distance as Griff, Taklinn and the elemental teamed up in an all out attack against one of them. There was a bad moment when Taklinn was grabbed by a pair of vines and hauled off his feet, but he managed to break free and fell with a solid thud to the moss. I tried a ‘disintegrate’ on the tree, but again, it was ignored. I cursed roundly, satisfying myself with a volley of empowered scorching rays. The third and last tree still strove to grab my companions, and I decided to give it something to think about. With my staff, I cast a ‘wall of fire’ that encircled the trunk. The immobile creature could not escape the flames and heat, and within a minute it was blackened and dead. At last all three of the tree creatures were still, and the forest around us was quiet as a tomb. Griff ant Taklinn were both quite injured, so Taklinn set about taking care of their wounds even as Griff said, “Can we go now?” We did search for Driscoll as much as we could, but the druid was no where to be found, and he did not answer our calls. At last we had to hope that he was ok, and Taklinn cast his ‘find the path’ spell. “Got it!” He announced, declaring that he had the location of the nexus firmly in mind. We all let ourselves take on the cloudy form that facilitates the wind walk, and we took to the skies, following our cleric through the murky darkness. We soon found that wind walking in the shadow realms is an un-nerving exercise at best. With our vision limited to only a handful of yards, the process of traveling at such un-natural speeds became disconcerting very quickly, yet there was little way around it and we had to put our faith in Taklinn to get us where we needed to go without slamming into the side of a mountain. Of course, a mountain side would be little more than a distraction, given our gaseous form, but still, I could not get the image of a cliff face suddenly rushing to greet me out of my mind. Fortunately Taklinn knew his business, and we traveled throughout the day without incident. Many hundreds of miles passed beneath us, and I wondered if Driscoll’s calculations had simply been incorrect, or if the landscape had really morphed so drastically, for the druid had inferred that the nexus could be reached with a days walk. Certainly such would not have been the case. At any rate, toward early evening Taklinn indicated that we were close and we slowed down, not wanting to over shoot our mark. Several minutes later we followed Taklinn as he began to descend, and soon we got our first glimpse of the nexus. A great whirlpool of two toned water flowed in entirely the wrong direction, allowing the water to gush upward from the earth instead of down into it. As we landed beside the whirlpool we could see that the waters diverged and became two very distinct rivers, one flowing north, the other flowing south. As different as night and day, the river Styx was the color of coal and we could smell the scent of death and decay coming off of it at a hundred paces. Conversely, the river Oceanus was the color of snow, and gave off an inviting aura that brought a kind of peace just from being near it. As we neared the nexus of the two rivers Taklinn gave us a stern warning. “Hear me now,” He intoned, “Do not, under any circumstances, touch the waters of the river Styx! It is the river of death and madness, and can bring only woe to whomever comes into contact with it.” “You don’t say?” Happy said, looking curiously at the brackish water from the river bank. “I do say.” Taklinn said, solemnly. “I can’t say exactly what would happen, but I know that it cannot be good for the living. Doorag may know more.” “A bit.” I agreed. “According to my research the waters of the river Styx eventually descend to the lowest pits of hell, traveling also through the abyss. It would depend heavily on your own internal fortitude as to what might happen to any who touch it, but I’d wager that it would do none of us any good at all. It might simply kill you, and at the very least it would make you very ill, perhaps in body, perhaps in spirit, or perhaps both. The river Oceanus, on the other hand, is reported to have healing powers. It has also been known to reveal great truths to it’s imbibers. Still, it is raw, uncontrolled magic, and I believe it would probably be wisest to leave both of them well enough alone.” But even as I concurred with Taklinn’s warnings, I was already digging out a pair of empty flasks that I had brought along for just such an occurrence. I simply could not let such an opportunity go by without at least trying to collect samples for my collection of oddities, and to that end I cast an ‘unseen servant’ from a scroll and commanded it to procure a vial of water from each of the rivers. I was pleasantly surprised that the Styx did not dissipate my servant, and in due course I proudly held up two bottles, one black, and one white. “These will go right next to the alien tool box in my lab.” I mused to myself while Hap looked on a bit nervously. I was just tucking the bottles into my haversack when Griff gave a hiss of warning. Looking up, I saw he and Taklinn hunched over a spot of muddy ground near the Styx. As I joined them he pointed out what his sharp eyes had seen. I would have missed it had he not traced the prints out for me with his finger, but after he had done so it was easy to make out the mark of unshod hooves in the mud. “No ordinary horse made these tracks.” He whispered. “Whatever it was had six legs, and I only know one kind of horse that fits that description.” “An ecolipse?” I wondered. “Damn straight,” He grimaced. “And it was here not long ago. I say we get the hell out of here.” “I second that!” Happy nodded vigorously, already letting herself go cloudy for further wind walking. But it was not to be. From the edge of our vision they came, three riders, mailed in black, mounted astride fearsome ecolipse’s. They took shape from the shadows and I squinted to make them out. The two on the outsides wore helmets, but the one in the center wore only a dark cowl, and the features of his face that I could make out stirred a sudden spark of recognition. I quickly realized the irony of my having referenced the alien toolbox that graces my collection of oddities, for it was during the same adventure that I had procured it that I had fought so many himrock orcs, and these three riders (or at least the one in the center) were none other than members of that same race. The slightly piggish and heavily tattooed features on the middle rider were unmistakable. After all this time we had come face to face with himrock orcs again, only these fellows were obviously of a more aristocratic breed. There was an air of sure authority about them, and just from the ease with which they sat astride their mounts and the way they carried themselves, I was fairly certain that these fellows were seasoned warriors. One of the outside riders carried a heavy crossbow, already cocked and loaded, as well as a great axe across his back. The other held a wickedly curved bow of black wood, and a well broken in sword rested at his hip. The center orc had a cruel looking mace strapped to his side. One hand moved in a magical gesture to cast a protective spell upon himself, while the other held a short length of rope from which he casually swung a round object about the size of a pumpkin. From the fact that he wore armor I deducted that he was likely a priest, and I stepped behind Griff to cover my actions and cast a ‘spell turning’ on myself as they trio came to a halt some fifty feet from us, looking down toward where we stood from the crest of a low hillock. They regarded us for a long moment, and we regarded them, until at last the middle orc bellowed his challenge. “You are the slayers of the armorer!” He declared, his voice filling the river valley. We looked at one another, uncertainly. “The armorer?” I mouthed, unsure of who we had been accused of killing. Griff grimaced. “What the hell are you talking about?” He yelled back at them. “The one called the Toll Keeper!” The orc exclaimed. “He was one of ours, and you have slain him! For that we issue you challenge! You have taken one of ours, and we will take two of yours!” “Looks like that guy in the city had friends.” Happy said with a smirk. “Good thing they can’t catch us! Let’s get misty and get the heck out of here!” She was already beginning to change to her wind walking form, but Taklinn turned slowly, shaking his head. “I cannot.” He stated. There was small tinge of regret in his voice, but I could already see by the line of his jaw that he would not be swayed. Happy, however, would not be dissuaded from trying. “What do you mean you can’t” She hissed. “We can outrun these fools! Turn gaseous and lets get going already!” “I cannot decline a challenge!” Taklinn rumbled. Happy clapped a disbelieving hand to her forehead. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” “I’m sorry Hap.” Taklinn turned and began casting enhancement spells of his own. “Griff? Doorag?” Happy pleaded, looking to us for support. Just then the center orc whipped the pumpkin shaped object around on it’s rope in a sharp circle and let it go. The thing sailed toward us, landing with a meaty thud and bouncing to a stop at our feet. It was Driscoll’s head. “Well, that about answers that!” Griff frowned, drawing his sword from it’s scabbard and taking a position beside Taklinn. I sighed and reached out to touch Happy with a ‘fly’ spell. “Looks like we’ll be sticking it out.” I shrugged, and then turned to give a low warning to the crew. “Don’t charge them,” I cautioned, “Let them come to us!” Griff and Taklinn nodded and Happy sighed, quickly going invisible with the aid of her magical dagger. “Come on down and get some then!” Griff cried, his sword held out at a dangerous angle from his body. The following seconds were silent except for the words of magic intoned by Taklinn, myself, and they orcish cleric as we cast our respective enhancements. “The middle guy just put a ‘stone skin’ on himself.” I informed the group after recognizing it being cast. I used my contingent ‘greater invisibility’, though I knew that the cleric had already cast ‘true seeing’ upon himself. The flanking orcs opened the battle with missile weapons as a volley of arrows and a crossbow bolt sped toward us. One of them hit Griff in the shoulder, but it was more a feeling out than anything. When we refused to run to meet them, they broke away from the cleric at fast trots. The one dropping his crossbow and un slinging his battle axe, while the other moved to our right flank, already knocking another arrow. The cleric made to cast another spell, but I had been holding a spell on the tip of my tongue and chose that moment to unleash it, hoping to divide and conquer our enemy. My ‘wall of ice’ formed a sudden barrier some twenty feet high and blocked us, at least for the moment, from the archer and the cleric. One end of my wall butted against the river Styx, while the other would be easily ridden around by the cleric, but the archer would have to drastically change his direction to round it. The axe wielder galloped in, heedless to our outnumbering him, straight at Taklinn. The two smashed together in a clang of axe steel as the ecolipse reared four of it’s legs in attack as well. Hooves and blades slammed into his armor, but our cleric stood tall and responded in kind, his mighty steel biting deep into the orcs flesh. The orcish cleric had quickly maneuvered around the walls end and rode hard along it’s length at an invisible Happy that had been skulking along it in the opposite direction. His ‘true seeing’ exposed her to him, and he took a sweeping blow at her with his mace that barely missed, whistling above her head by inches. Griff charged forward to take the focus from Happy, coming down with his sword on the clerics thigh. As for myself, I flew quickly upwards, wanting to peer over the wall and see what the archer was up to. I was quickly reminded that ecolipse’s can fly! The archer had simply spurred his mount to climb thin air, and he met me at the top of the wall, his arm already drawn. Fortunately, he did not have the luxury of ‘true seeing’ so I was hidden from him. He released an arrow at Taklinn, and I saw it sink into our dwarven friends hip. Happy and Griff tried their best to flank the cleric, and they brought terrible pain to him. I saw Happy, floating behind him, jab again and again, and the cleric reeled atop his ecolipse, but did not fall even as Griff punished him further. But the cleric seemed to focus instead on Taklinn as the dwarf brought his axes down again and again in utterly devastating blows to the fighter. The orcish axe man sagged on his mount, barely able to keep upright as Taklinn yelled, “Surrender!” But there would be no surrender. The fighter swung back in kind, connecting, but not nearly hard enough to give any hope that he could best Taklinn. Victory for Taklinn looked assured, but the cleric had other plans. With harsh kicks of his heels, he spurred his mount in a dead charge for Taklinn and reached out to touch him, uttering black words as he did. I recognized the ‘harm’ spell and gasped. The very life seemed to drain from Taklinn all at once, and our cleric, usually so hale and healthy, nearly dropped to his knees. He could barely keep his feet, and I knew that he was only one good axe hit away from death. Or an arrow strike! I glanced at the archer and saw his drawing a bead on Taklinn and I cast without thinking. He stopped in mid bow draw as the ‘hold person’ gripped him. Unable to shift his weight to stay atop his mount, he slid, statue-like, from the ecolipse’s back and fell heavily to the ground. Meanwhile, Griff rushed to Taklinn’s rescue. He charged in, placing himself between the axe wielder and Taklinn, simultaneously swinging his sword at activating his anti-magic vest. His blade caught the axe man square in the breast, piercing plate armor and flesh below. Blood gouted from the orcs mouth and he fell to the ground in a heap. Hap flew in at top speed, skimming along ten feet above the ground. As she his the anti-magic field, her momentum carried her forward and she landed neatly behind the cleric with supreme grace. Her dagger came up and around, finding the soft joint in the armor below his arm pit. It pierced deeply and the cleric groaned. Happy followed him to the ground as he fell, barely conscious, already drawing back her arm for the killing blow. I breathed a sigh of relief and was able to concentrate on the archer. Griff was holding off the dead axe wielders ecolipse, and the cleric’s had fled, plane shifting away. The archer's ecolipse stood guard next to it’s masters form, and I cursed as I watched the orc shake off the effects of the ‘hold’ spell and stand up, grabbing another arrow. I hit him with three scorching rays, but it only seemed to enrage him, for he fired off a volley of arrows at where he thought I was, only to have them miss. I decided to try to end the fight quickly, casting my only “sudden death” spell. If it worked, he would be held for a significantly longer period of time. My ‘flesh to stone’ spell hit him and I watched as he tried to fight it off. But the spell took, and I saw him turn swiftly to a perfect statue of himself cast in solid stone, his bow string still drawn back to his cheek in mid fire. Looking back to the other side of the wall I could see that Griff had dispatched the last remaining ecolipse. He had dismissed his anti-magic field, and Taklinn was already casting healing spells upon himself, so there was no danger left. Even the archer’s ecolipse had fled to another plane, and I quickly had to decide what to do with my statue orc. He was hidden from the crew by the wall, and I acted swiftly. Setting down next to the statue, I cast a ‘mord’s mansion’. Then, from scrolls, I cast both ‘reduce’ and levitate’ on the statue, making it light enough to lift with the levitate. I quickly pushed it into the mansion and bid the servants take it to my room. I am some what sad to say so, but I was worried by Taklinn’s potential reaction to how the statue orc should be dealt with. As for me, I wanted the orcs gear. To that end I would have to cast a ‘stone to flesh’ on him in the morning, but to do that in safety would require the orcs permanent demise. As far as I was concerned, he was already dead, and had given up any rights to life when he attacked us. I had no qualms at all with the notion of breaking off the statues head, thus assuring a very dead orc when I changed him back to flesh. I worried that Taklinn, on the other hand, might not complicate the issue with his overly zealous moral notions. Indeed, when I flew back across the wall and announced that I had gone ahead and put up a mansion, for we surely needed to rest, he asked me what had become of the archer. I shrugged and assured him that the archer was “No longer breathing.” And that he had been taken care of. It was an esoteric reply, and had Taklinn not been so shaken by his close brush with death he probably would have questioned me more closely, but as it was he was only too happy to accept it and head for the mansion for some much needed rest in a safe place. Later that night I made my way to Hap and Griff’s room and asked them to quietly follow me to mine, where I showed them my prize. “What the hell did you do to him?” Griff asked wonderingly. “Turned him to stone.” I replied. “Wow!” Laughed Happy. “You never cease to amaze, Doorag. Too bad about his gear though. You’d have to break his bow out of his hand, and it still wouldn’t be worth anything.” “Well,” I said, “I actually can turn him back to flesh tomorrow. Trouble is, he’ll be back to life and dangerous again. That’s kind of where you come in.” I looked meaningfully at Griff. “What?” He said, suspiciously. “Well, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to knock his head off for me?” I asked. “I’d do it myself, but I could be here all night chipping away at it. Your way stronger than I. I’ll bet you could take it off with a single good hammer blow! You could use that cleric’s mace we took!” Griff stroked his chin and regarded both the statue and me with doubt. “I dunno. You say he’s still alive in there?” “Well, technically yes, I suppose so. Though in reality he’s permanently a statue of stone, so he’s basically innate, and thus, dead.” “Yeah, well,” Griff mused, “That may be, but I still don’t really like the idea. I’m not saying it’s necessarily a bad way to go, but I just can’t see myself killing a guy who can’t fight back.” “He is pretty much already dead.” Happy chimed in, obviously having no compunctions with fixing the ‘pretty much’ part. “Mmm, well, still, I can’t do it.” Griff shrugged. “I won’t stop you from doing what you have to do, Doorag, it just ain’t me. But don’t worry, I won’t mention it to Taklinn. He’d probably want to send the guy home with a pat of the head and a basket full of muffins. I don’t really buy that either.” I shrugged back at him. “That’s ok, Griff. I can respect that. I wouldn’t want you to do anything your not comfortable with. Besides, I can probably get the mansion servants to work on it tonight.” Which is what I did. Even as I write this I can hear three of the servants busily chipping away at the statues head with hammers I provided them. It is taking a little longer than Griff would have, but the last time I checked they had fairly good progress, and I believe that a couple more hours will assure a very dead orc upon his return to flesh tomorrow. It is a bit morbid, I realize, but the orc can feel no pain, and he is unaware of what is happening to him. Better to at least free his soul than to keep it trapped in suspended animation forever. Hrvstr 21 Gads, what a day it has been. Once again I fear for the cohesion of my crew, only this time it is I who is to blame. We set out early this morning from the nexus with a fresh ‘wind walk’ cast upon us. Thirty feet above the river Oceanus we sped, following it’s winding path like a silver road through the darkness of the shadow realms. Unable to converse in our gaseous form, it was, as long wind walks always are, a boring trip, and it was made more so by the inability to even appreciate the scenery, hidden as it was by endless shadow. As the hours passed I fear we must have grown complacent, for when we were attacked without warning it was only Happy who had the presence of mind to react. The thing came out of the darkness right in front of us, hurtling itself at us at insane speed. I never saw it coming until it was right on top of me; a horrid winged creature with a massive great axe poised for a swing. I later identified it as a Nycoloth, a sort of demon-like creature from the plane of Gahanna that lives only to hunt and bring pain. It had chosen me as it’s target, and it would certainly have caught me by surprise had Happy not intervened. Before anyone of could even react, our small friend veered to cross it’s path, putting herself between me and that terrible axe. She took the full brunt of it’s edge and though she could make no sound, I could almost sense her cry of pain. The Nycoloth flared it’s wings out, pulling itself up short and hovering as the rest of us slowed to a halt. It brought it’s axe back for another swing, and I feared that it would be the end for Hap, and I could do nothing about it. The one downside of wind walking is the cloud like form we must all take, and the thirty seconds or so that it takes to enter into and come out of it. While in that gaseous form I am helpless to cast and Taklinn and Griff are unable to swing their blades. Normally Hap’s vaporous body would have allowed the Nycoloth’s axe to simply pass right through her, but it must have been enchanted enough to allow it to bite. I desperately began the transformation, knowing full well that it would be far too late by the time I took solid form. But Griff was not about to wait. I saw his cloudy form shoot between me and Hap, and suddenly he was solid again. I realized that he must have activated his anti-magic vest! His sword was already in his hands, and he swung it even as he began to fall. He would get only one good swing before hitting the ground as there was no magic to hold him aloft, but he made it count, bringing his steel around in a wicked arc that cleaved into the Nycoloth’s hide. A great gout of brackish blood sprayed Griff, and then he fell the thirty feet, landing just inside the bank of the Oceanus. I saw him splash and then haul himself to his feet, knee deep in the silvery waters, and even in the midst of battle I found myself curious as to what the effects of such a dunking would be. Happy dove down to her husbands side, landing and doing her best to turn solid. Taklinn floated near me doing the same thing. The Nycoloth was quite near us, and had it wished to it could have hacked one of us to bits, but Griff had caught the creatures undivided attention, and it folded it’s bat-like wings and dove, dropping to it’s feet on the bank of the Oceanus, slamming into Griff with it’s axe. Unprotected by magic, Griff could do little but take the hit, and he reeled from the power behind it, but our fighter showed then why he is a hero of renown. With a bloody grin, he hauled The Talon back and brought it down. Three mighty cuts tore through the Nycoloth’s blood and bone. The first sent it staggering, the second took it to it’s knees, and the third separated most of it’s head from it’s body. It was the work of mere seconds, and just like that, Griff stood over the things twitching form. He was not even breathing hard. The Nycoloth’s blood flowed into the river Oceanus, and I watched with interest as it left no stain at all on those pure waters. The blood simply dissipated into nothingness as it came into contact with the river. With a grunt, Griff kicked the body into the river, and it sank like a stone into it’s depths and we saw it no more. Our troubles were not quite at an end, however, for as we all became solid it was evident that the creatures ax had been enchanted to leave lasting wounds. Happy was still bleeding profusely, and I worried that even Taklinn would be unable to staunch the flow. Then I noticed that, while Griff had also received wounds from the axe, his wounds were not continuing to gush blood, and I had an idea as to why. “Hap, quick!” I exclaimed, “Get into the river!” She looked at me quizzically, but did not argue. She waded into the Oceanus and immersed herself neck deep before climbing back out again. To my relief, my hunch had been right. While her wounds were still there, they were no longer bleeding out, and Taklinn could now see to them. Moments later we were back in the air, our eyes wide open now, on the alert for any more enemies. Fortunately, no more attacks came. Into our eleventh hour of travel I noticed a curious mist begin to cover the ground. As we covered more miles the mist turned to light fog, which in turn turned thick. Soon we were enveloped in the soup and vision became a serious issue. Several times we thought we had actually lost the river, and we were forced to skim it’s surface at a much slower speed. With my enhanced vision I could see that the fog was magical in nature, and that had me a bit worried. At last, when we could barely see one another, we slowed to a stop and let ourselves become solid on the rivers bank. We had little choice from that point on but to do it the hard way. We continued on foot. Mile after mile we slogged on, following the twists and bends in the river. The oppressive fog muted all sound, and it was an eerie thing to travel through it. Then, the river was gone. One moment it had been at our sides, and the next it was nowhere to be found. We listened for it’s gurgle, but could hear nothing, and panic gripped me as I feared we were well and truly lost and could not find our guide. There was little to do but keep moving and hope for the best, and just like that, we got a break. We took no more than a dozen steps, when suddenly the fog was gone, and so was the shadow realm. I looked about in wonder at what I now beheld. We stood in a pasture of the most utterly pristine grass I had ever seen. Fields spread out before us, dotted with small groves of trees that bore fat fruit. Not ten feet from where we stood, a group of rabbits feasted upon the sweet grass with no fear of us at all, and not far away I spied a small stream that led toward a beautiful forest not more than a mile away. As I took it all in, I became aware of the oddities. It was, to put it in a word, perfect. Each blade of grass was the same height and shade of green. Each tree was spaced exactly the same distance from it’s brother, and each was a mirror image of the other. The fields were perfect squares, and the river was unlike any river I had ever seen in that it was absolutely straight and without variation in it’s width. Everything about the place was a perfect representation of nature, yet it’s very perfection was an anomaly to nature itself. As we walked deeper into the field, I began to realize where we were. “We’ve crossed planes.” I said. “We’re on Arcadia!” The others looked at me curiously, and Taklinn’s eyes practically bulged from his head. “Are you certain?” He gasped. “Look around!” I said, waving my hand at the geometric precision of the pasture, “Could we be anywhere else?” “What the hell is an Arcadia?” Griff demanded. I smiled back at him. “Arcadia,” I replied, “is the plane upon which one will find Mount Clangeden.” “Mount Clangeden?” Happy asked, eyes wide. Griff narrowed his eyes. “You mean…?” “Exactly,” I said, nodding, “Arcadia is the home of Taklinn’s god, that fine dwarven diety whom we all owe our lives to.” Griff whistled low and long. “Well I’ll be damned!” “Arcadia,” I continued, as if giving a lesson, “Is a plane of law and good, though it is not without it’s problems. The balance between law and good has, apparently, been tipped in the favor of law, and therefore it is slowly being overcome by unyielding structure. In fact, it used to encompass three layers, but, as I understand it, it’s lowermost layer has been assimilated by the plane below it thousands of years ago. That plane is, of course, Mechanus, the plan of ultimate law.” “Your making my head hurt.” Griff said with a scowl. I grinned back at him. “It’s all really quite fascinating! It could be said that we now stand in the birthplace of harmony and law. Can you imagine? Even nature conforms to order here. Have you ever seen orchards grow like the ones you see over yonder? Have you ever seen a field with no blade of grass out of place? What must the cities be like? Not to mention the fact that deities actually reside here! Not only does Clangeden live here, but Saint Cuthbert as well!” Happy, at least, appeared to share my enthusiasm. “Do you think we have time to visit Clangeden’s mountain?” She wondered. “Does he allow visitors there?” “From what I’ve read,” I replied, “Mount Clangeden is actually quite inviting to guests, especially warrior types who can stay within the law. From what I hear it’s quite a party; and some of the finest armor and arms to be had anywhere can be found there.” “Well,” Griff said, stroking his chin, “That doesn’t sound too bad. Maybe it’s on the way.” But Taklinn had said nothing throughout this exchange, and I wondered as his expression become more and more dour. At last, he said, “No. I cannot go. It has been commanded.” “What do you mean?” Hap asked, surprised. “The servant of Clangeden whom I spoke to; the one who gave me this path to walk to find Caribdis, specifically forbade me from entering the Mount.” “But why?” I asked, astonished. Taklinn hung his head, as if in shame. “I do not know.” I could see that it hurt him deeply to be denied entry to his gods home, and I wondered why such a thing would be. “Perhaps it is a test.” I postulated. “Perhaps.” He nodded, glumly. “Well, at any rate, we still don’t know exactly where we are on this plane, and we still have to find the river Oceanus again. We should find some civilization and ask for directions. The inhabitants of this plane should be pretty friendly, especially to Taklinn.” Everyone agreed to this, and soon we were walking along again. We could have wind walked, as there was still some time left in the spell, but it was good to feel the grass beneath our feet and the sun on our backs after the oppressiveness of the shadow plane, and we elected to walk. We made our way to the ram rod straight stream and began to follow it toward the tree line. We soon found out, however, that there is danger to be found even in this idyllic place. We were less than a hundred feet from the perfect forest, when suddenly a small form broke from the tree line. I immediately recognized it as a halfling, running as fast as his short legs could carry him. He spotted us and made straight for us, screaming for help at the top of his lungs. When he reached us we could see that he was battered and bruised, out of breath and clad in tattered clothing. “Don’t let them get me!” He panted, “Please! Don’t let them get me again!” “Don’t let who get you?” Taklinn demanded. It was at that point that six riders thundered forth from the trees, reigning their horses in hard as they saw us and coming to a halt no more than fifty feet away. “Ahhh!” The obviously terrified halfling cried, “It’s them! Don’t let them hurt me again, I beg of you!” “Calm down!” Griff hushed the halfling, “No one is going to hurt you. Who are these guys and what do they want with you?” Before the halfling could answer, Taklinn uttered a single word: “Harmonium.” Keeping one eye on the six riders I asked Taklinn if he wouldn’t mind expanding on that. The word struck a faint bell with me, but I couldn’t quite place it. “The Harmonium,” Our cleric explained, “Are a militant group dedicated to forwarding the ways of law in all things. They span many planes, including the prime. They have no real power base that I know of, but in some places they are quite strong. I’d imagine they thrive here.” “So what, they’re like a cult or something?” Griff scowled. “For lack of a better term.” Taklinn nodded and began to walk forward. “Perhaps they will be open to parlay.” Griff fell into step behind Taklinn and the pair of them walked to within twentyfive feet of the riders who had been conversing amongst themselves in hushed tones, probably weighing our potential threat. Hap and I stood back with the shivering halfling; I quickly cast a ‘fly’ on her just in case. “This could go bad.” I worried aloud. “Do you have a weapon?” Happy asked the halfling. “N-no.” The fellow stammered. “Here, take this,” She said, handing him one of her daggers. I wondered briefly at the wisdom of arming him, considering the fact that he may very well be an escaped criminal, but decided against bringing it up right then. Things were happening. “Hail!” Taklinn called out to the riders. “I am Taklinn the Shorn, of the Band of the Broken Blade! Yonder halfling has asked me for refuge and I cannot deny it until I am certain that you are within your rights to take him! Will you parlay?” My discerning eye had already determined the probable types of men we were facing. Four of them were heavily armored in uniform plate and carried pole arms and long swords. Another was also dressed in plate but wore a holy symbol of Cuthbert prominently displayed, and I surmised that he might be a priest. The last of them hung toward the back, mounted on a light horse. He was dressed in robes, and I could only assume that he was an arcane caster. I kept my eye firmly upon him. One of the knights leaned over in his saddle and words passed between he and the cleric before the cleric answered Taklinn in an authoritative bellow. “The little one is ours!” He shouted. “We will have him back, as well as two of yours!” This last bit caught us by surprise but I had seen him glance at Happy and Griff when he had said it. Apparently he could read the auras of our friends and had decided that they would join the halfling as prisoners, presumably since neither of them were adherent followers of the concepts of law. Taklinn was not yet ready to give up, even though Griff, who had also seen that glance and heard the implied threat, had already dropped his sword into a ready position. “There is no need for blood shed!” He called out. “I ask for twenty-four hours to determine if you are within your rights to hold the halfling. If such is true, then on my honor he shall be returned to you! My companions, however, you may not have!” The cleric swung down from his horse and his five followers did likewise. He answered as if he had not heard Taklinn at all. “Both small ones will come with us, as will the swordsman at your side! Drop your weapons and come quietly, or feel the wrath of the Harmonium!” Taklinn, at last realizing that diplomacy would not be an option with these fellows, sighed and hefted his axes. “Then this question shall be determined by combat!” He answered. “May your gods show mercy when you arrive at their gates!” There was no turning back from that point, and I had already been whispering the words to a spell. As quick as thought, I flew forward and left, covering some ground and putting myself into line with two of the warriors and the mage. I released the ‘lightning bolt’ and it sprang from my finger tip in a jagged line of electricity. It struck all three of them, and I noted with satisfaction that the mage took the full brunt of it. Yet none of them went down, and that worried me a bit. I mouthed the word to my contingent ‘greater invisibility’ and disappeared from sight, and was slightly perturbed to see their mage do likewise, though he had to hard cast it. Fortunately he could not hide from my magically enhanced vision, and I was able to see him flee back toward the tree line for cover. Griff charged the cleric, covering the distance at terrific speed and smashing into him with a great sword thrust. Two of the fighters ran to help their priest while a third charged at Taklinn. The fourth fighter headed toward where Hap and the halfling stood, but neither of them were going to stand still for very long. Hap took to the air and headed toward Griff while the halfling took off at a dead run in the opposite direction. The cleric got off a single spell before Griff unloaded a flurry of steel upon him. Three mighty slashes opened up the priests guts and he fell with a scream that was cut short by death. Griff’s momentum carried his blade into the flesh of another knight, bringing more pain. Taklinn, still not wishing to kill these men, used the flat of his axe to pound his foe, who was having a difficult time penetrating our clerics armor. Hap, not having flown high enough, found out the hard way that the last knight could reach her with his pole arm, and he drew a bit of blood from our halfling friend. I lost track of them from that point on, however, for I found myself embroiled in a wizardly battle that took all my attention. I flew forward, scanning the tree line for the wizard, when suddenly, I was able to see myself! I cursed, realizing that I must be in the area of an ‘invisibility purge’ that the cleric had cast, and though he was dead, it still clung to him and revealed me to the sight of the wizard, who took ample opportunity to fling a ‘fireball’ at me. The flames overcame my mantel’s spell resistance and I was unable to dodge them. I could do little but cry out in pain as the heat washed over me, singing my clothes and blackening my flesh. I knew I could not sustain another hit like that, and desperately looked for the wizard. There! I spotted a bit of movement behind a tree and raised my staff to return a fireball of my own, but at the last second I saw the shimmer of magical energy that surrounded the spot. Though I do not personally have the spell, I could recognize it for what it was; a ‘globe of invulnerability’. I cursed, knowing that I would be unable to affect him with two thirds of my repertoire, including a fireball from my staff. Still, I had plenty of other weapons at my disposal, and I resolved to give him something to think about. I quickly cast my most powerful summoning spell, conjuring up a massive air elemental and directing it to attack the spot where I’d seen the mage. I then flew upwards in an attempt to get out of the invisibility purge area. I was just able to see the elemental smash away at the spot, and was gratified to hear a cry of pain. I glanced over my shoulder to see how the others were doing and saw that two more of the fighters now lay on the ground, either dead of unconscious. Hap and Griff flanked one (and I knew he would not be long for this world), while Taklinn continued to pound a second with subduing blows. They appeared to have their situations well in hand, and I returned my attention to the wizard. Through the canopy of trees I could see the elemental swing away at the wizard, and though my creature could not see the caster, it obviously frightened the mage enough that he had to deal with him, which bought me the time I needed. I head the wizard intone a quick spell, and to my surprise, it worked! The elemental was polymorphed into a small, white, rabbit! Cute, I muttered to myself, remembering how well that particular spell had served me in the past; but these days I had a different spell that had quickly become my favorite, and I was determined to give this wizard a taste of it. I dove at a steep angle, heading straight for the wizards hiding spot. I zipped through the branches and pulled up just short of the ground. There he was. The enemy mage was just looking up from the polymorphed elemental, and he desperately tried to bring a spell to bare on me, grabbing for his components. But I was already casting, and though he still stood within the area of his ‘globe of invulnerability’ I knew it would offer him no protection from ‘disintegrate’. My ray struck him square in the chest. His eyes never had time to register surprise before he was reduced to a small pile of ash. I breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that I had taken a gamble. Had I missed, or had he shrugged off the spell, he likely would have killed me, for I was sorely wounded from his fireball. Such are the ways of combat, I reasoned. I glanced toward the elemental/rabbit and quickly issued an apology to it before releasing it to return to it’s home. Then I peered through the trees to the battle field and saw that it was over. The ground was littered with Harmonium dead, and Taklinn now knelt beside the cleric, obviously casting a spell. I wondered what he was up to, but for now I contented myself with gathering the wizards gear and shaking the dust from it. I walked from the tree line with my hands full of the wizards belongings and headed toward Griff and Happy who were already in the process of stripping the dead or downed fighters. My magic scan detected quite a fine haul and Happy was all smiles as she removed a cloak from a warrior. Griff looked me over as I checked for a heart beat on one of the knights. “You ok?” He asked. “A little toasted around the edges,” I said, “But I should be fine after a bit of Taklinn’s help.” I looked to where our cleric knelt over the enemy cleric. He was still in the process of casting a spell and had his holy symbol held over the body. “Is he doing what I think he’s doing?” I asked. “I dunno, what do you think he’s doing?” Griff replied. “Just watch.” Sure enough, a moment later we were able to observe the dead cleric’s body begin to undergo a transformation. His wounds began to close and then sealed shut entirely. Within seconds his eyes fluttered and he sat up with a gasp. “What the hell?” Griff exclaimed. Taklinn then cast a minor healing spell to give the cleric back a bit of strength, then stood and offered the man a hand. The cleric looked at it with uncertainty, but finally took it and allowed himself to be helped to his feet. “I am Taklinn the Shorn,” Taklinn said, solemnly, “Remember my name well, for it is I who has given you a second chance at life today. I hope that you will use it wisely.” The cleric nodded, still obviously shaken from his experience in the great beyond. “I will remember your name.” He said with a wry smile. Happy came to stand beside Griff and I as we watched the exchange. She dumped some gear near us and rolled her eyes at the conversation. “Perhaps,” Advised Taklinn, “You should consider a change in philosophy. Forcing others to bend to your will is folly and has brought you only death today. Might I suggest a more oblique approach?” The cleric grimaced and spat out a little blood. “I thank you for your mercy, dwarf,” He said, “But I will have to ask your forgiveness if I do not heed your council. It is a shame that you are so misguided.” Taklinn nodded, and his voice was tinged with regret. “Very well. I can do no more than I have. Two of your men yet live; I assume you can get them to their feet?” “I can.” “Good. You shall return to your masters on foot, with only mundane weapons to protect you. Should you cross my path again with such an attitude of aggression, I cannot promise such mercy.” The cleric smiled mirthlessly. “I will keep that in mind, Taklinn the Shorn.” Taklinn walked to where we stood as Griff tossed our hard won treasure into his bag of holding. Happy regarded Taklinn with a raised eye brow. “What?” Taklinn asked. “Nothing, nothing.” Hap said quickly, and busied herself searching for the halfling. She found him a few hundred yards away, hiding behind a tree, and led him back to us. He was still quite shaken up, but he could not hide his exuberance at seeing the beaten cleric casting healing spells on the two fighters who yet lived. The three of them gave us one last look before turning to walk back into the forest. “Yeah!” the halfling chuckled, “That’s right! Skulk on back to your camp, you big bullies! Next time pick on somebody your own size!” The halfling turned to us, eyes wide with adoration. “I’ve never seen anything like that!” He gushed. “You took those buggers out like last nights chamber pot! Wow! How can I ever thank you?” “Well,” I said, “First off, you can tell us your name.” “Ah,” he replied brightly, “My name is Wasp!” “Pleased to meet you, Wasp. My name is Doorag. This is Happy, Griffin and Taklinn. We are a crew from the city of Havilah. Are you from around here?” “Me?” He laughed, “Oh no! This place is far too stodgy for me! I’m from all over. I was just passing through when those tin suits grabbed me.” I had a sudden thought and asked our new friend, “Tell me, Wasp, we seek the river Oceanus. Do you know where it is?” “The river Oceanus?” he looked thoughtful, “Hmm, the river… the river… Oh! Yes, I know what you’re talking about! It’s up on the next layer.” I glanced at the crew, then back at Wasp. “Do you know how to get there?” “Oh, sure! I can take you there. Heck, it’s the least I can do! There’s a portal not far away that will take us up, and from there it’s a short walk to the river. I’d be glad to take you!” “A most fortunate occurrence that we crossed your path,” Taklinn said, “For all of us.” “I’ll say!” Wasp concurred. “Those metal heads were putting a hurt on me, that’s for sure. Wow! I still can’t believe how you beat up on them! They never had a chance! You guys must be the best fighters anywhere!” “Well, I wouldn’t put it that way…” Taklinn said, modestly. “Can we get a move on now?” Griff cut in. “Those Harmonium guys could be heading back here with reinforcements.” “Griff is right,” I said, “Besides, it’s been a full day and we need to rest soon. I say we use our new horses and put some distances between us and the Harmonium, at least until night fall.” “Great!” Wasp nodded vigorously, “I’ll be happy to camp out with you! Though, I don’t see any tents.” Happy grinned at the halfling. “Camping with Doorag isn’t what you might expect,” She said, “Just wait.” Thus it was that we set out again, with Happy, Griff and Wasp riding our captured horses. Taklinn, as always, refused to ride, but was able to trudge alongside at a fair clip. I, of course, flew. Night came to Arcadia as I knew it would; in one fell swoop. One moment all was sunny and bright, the next, we beheld a line of darkness sweeping across the land. Within seconds it had passed us and it was dark. Only this was not the cloying darkness of the shadow plane. This was simple night time, and we felt no malevolence in it. I cast a mansion and we all entered. Wasp gasped in delight as he beheld the wonders of the place, and looked at me with renewed awe. We made ourselves comfortable and Taklinn used the rest of his healing to take care of the last of our wounds. Wasp, seeing him do this, cleared his throat. “I, uh, don’t suppose…” He began. “Are you wounded, little one?” Taklinn asked. “Well, my feet have seen better days.” The halfling said, and to be sure, the poor fellows feet were cut and bruised. Taklinn quickly laid his hands on them, and the halfling sighed with content as the healing washed over him. “So tell me about these Harmonium.” Griff said as we sat around the dinner table. “Well,” Wasp replied through a mouthful of roast chicken, “Apparently they just ride around and grab anybody they see that they don’t think is living right! I was just wandering through the forest, minding my own business, and then there they were. They snatched me up and said they were taking me back to their camp for ‘reeducation’.” Wasp shuddered at the memory. “And what, exactly, did re education entail?” Taklinn asked. “Hmm, well, you probably can’t see them too well now that you healed me, but maybe you can.” Wasp stood and pulled his shirt off, turning around to show us his back. I gasped, for I could still make out the faint criss cross pattern of whip scars. “They flogged you?” Griff said, outraged. “Just about every day.” Wasp nodded, pulling his shirt back over his head. “But why?” Hap asked with disbelief. “They said my mind wasn’t right.” Wasp shrugged. “They beat us every day like clockwork until you said what they wanted to hear.” “’Us?’” Griff repeated, eyes narrowing. “Oh yeah, they have a whole camp full of prisoners.” “How many?” “Mmm, probably around fifty, I’d guess.” Wasp reached for a plate of bread and slathered a slice liberally with sweet butter. “As a matter of fact, I seem to recall some of them saying they were from Havilah. That’s where you said you were from, right?” Griff looked around the table, and I knew what was on his mind. My heart sank. “So? What, are we gonna let this just slide by?” Our warrior demanded. “Griff,” I said, gently, “We already have our mission…” “Are you kidding?” He looked at me. “We’re gonna leave those prisoners behind to get beat on until they tow the Harmonium line? That’s crap!” “He’s right!” Happy nodded, “We can’t let them get away with that kind of stuff!” I groaned. “But what about Caribdis?” I asked. “We’re so close! For crying out loud, let’s not get side tracked again! Besides, if those six that we fought back there are any indication of their strength, we could be biting off more than we can chew! Wasp, how many of the Harmonium would you say there are?” The halfling paused to consider this for a moment, doing quick calculations in his head. “Oh, probably not more than a hundred.” He said. “But you could take them! You guys have got to be the most powerful fighters in the land! And with you wizardly skills I’ll bet you could wipe them out in a minute! Why, just look at this house your able to whip up!” I looked at Griff. “A hundred of them? Get serious, Griff! If they’re as tough as the ones we fought, we’re out-numbered, and badly, not to mention that they must have more spell casters!” But Griff’s jaw was set. “Look,” he said, “I don’t care if there’s a thousand of them. I can’t sit still while innocent people get nabbed off the road side and then get whipped until they ‘get their minds right’. Taklinn, what do you say?” Our cleric had been strangely silent throughout this exchange, and now he looked from Griff to me and back again. At last, he sighed heavily. “Griff, you are my friend, and you have followed me into messes that you probably didn’t believe in. Of course I’ll go with you.” Griff looked at Happy, but needen’t have worried. “Count me in!” She chirped. Then our warrior looked at me, and I felt the terrific weight of responsibility settle on my shoulder. A bitter taste filled my mouth as the seconds passed. The thought of Caribdis being so near filled my mind, blocking all reasoning. “I’ll wait for you here.” I said, at last. Griff looked at me with an expression of such grave disappointment that it crushed me. “After all the times you and Taklinn talked me into fights? After all the times I followed you into fights that weren’t mine? After all those time, you’re going to cut me loose?” “Griff, we have our mission…” I tried. “He’s right!” Happy scolded me, “Griff as always followed you guys everywhere, and now that he finds something he believes in, you’re not going to back him up?” “We can’t do it without you, Doorag.” Taklinn said, quietly. “Look!” I sputtered, becoming more and more agitated, “I asked Griff to follow me into fights that I believed we could win! We’re talking about a hundred well trained, well equipped, warriors, and who knows how many wizards and clerics! Do you really think the four of us can take them on?” “Five!” Wasp interjected. “I’ll help!” “And besides all that,” I went on, “Caribdis is…” “Caribdis is dead!” Griff cut me off, “And these people are alive! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” “Of course it does, and I’m sorry for their plight, but if we stop to right every wrong we see, we’ll never get anywhere! What are you going to do if you find out that there’s another Harmonium camp fifty miles from here with more prisoners? Will you go after them too?” “If I have to, yes!” Griff shouted. “That’s ridiculous!” I cried, my own voice beginning to raise. “You’re suggesting a declaration of war on a militaristic cult that spans whole planes!” “Yeah, so what?” Griff growled, “What if we were in Havilah, Doorag? What if those were Havilah citizens being held in that camp against their will?” “Actually, I did say that there were folk from Havilah there…” Wasp piped up. “He did say that!” Happy nodded vigorously. Frustrated, I cast about for answers to these difficult questions. “It would depend on the situation! I would ask for council from the Academy and the king, and if they willed it…” “You’re full of crap.” Griff interrupted. “You’d no sooner let this kind of stuff go on within the borders of Havilah than you’d use your spell book for bog paper, and you know it!” “It’s a matter of priorities, Griff!” I insisted, digging in my heels, “We are here to find Caribdis! Were he with us right now, if our crew was whole, there would be no question as to what we must do.” “But Caribdis isn’t here.” Griff retorted. “He’s dead. I, however, am alive, and this is something I think we need to do.” Happy jumped at this point. “He’s right, Doorag. I care about Caribdis too, but this is here and now. Those people are suffering and we can stop it. Caribdis isn’t going anywhere.” “Since when did you become such a crusader?” I asked, turning on her, “How many times have I heard you say that this is just a job to you? That you belong to a crew because it pays well and is exciting? When did you start caring so much about your fellow man?” “If Griff cares, I care.” She said, curtly. “And what about you, Griff?” I carried on, “Mr. ‘I don’t want to be a hero’?” “It has nothing to do with heroics.” Griff answered, flatly. “Oh, I’m sorry, I guess it has to do with freeing the innocents. Well what about your friend, Griff? What about Caribdis? Don’t you want to free him? Whoops! I forgot, you don’t even believe we’ll ever see him! You think that this whole trip is a fools errand, so why not hang him out to dry, eh?” “Caribdis isn’t a prisoner! He had his chance to come back and he refused, as I recall!” “He’s a confused boy! We owe it to him to offer him a second chance!” Griff and I were now both on our feet, our voices raised to levels we had never used before with each other, and Happy helped not at all when she interjected. “You’re putting a dead comrade ahead of a live one, Doorag,” she declared, “Is that how your loyalties lie? If so, then I’m a little disgusted with you!” Now, full of righteous indignation, I swung around on her. “How dare you!” I stormed, “How dare you question my loyalties! If it were you who had died and not Caribdis, I’d still be here, willing to go to the ends of the earth to bring you back! I’d hunt these planes to hell and beyond for any one of you, and I’d hope you know that by now. The fact is, my dear, you’re only too willing to let yourself be distracted by any perceived evil that comes down the pike. Or perhaps you simply see this as more profitable than continuing our quest for a dead friend? We did get quite a tidy haul off those we bested earlier, and maybe you’re hoping there’s more where that came from, no? What are you’re priorities, Happy, my dear? Is the promise of coin and magical trinkets more appealing than the long and unsure road to finding Caribdis? If such is the case, then I am afraid that it is I who is a little disgusted with you!” Fury glazed Hap’s eyes, the likes of which I had never seen directed at me, but I was too angry to take back my harsh words. “OK!” she said, tersely, “That’s it. I’m through talking with you.” With that, she got up from the table and made to walk from the room, but I was far from finished. “Oh, you’re through talking to me?” I yelled, following her, “Well I’m not through with you!” I was about to unleash another verbal barrage, but fortunately, I was interrupted. “Enough!” Taklinn slammed the table with the palm of his hand hard enough to rattle the dishes. “We are a crew, and more than that, we are friends! We do not talk to each other so! There must be a way to compromise!” How do you expect to compromise with this pig headed…” Hap began, but I was still seeing red myself, and, petty though it was, I deliberately baited her. “I’m sorry, what?” I cut her off, “Are we talking again? I could have sworn that you had said you were through talking to me. I take it we’re talking again?” Her face reddened, and I could tell that I was treading on very dangerous ground, but I didn’t care. She sputtered and said something under her breath. “All right, knock it off!” Griff said in a commanding tone. “Taklinn’s right. There’s got to be a way we can work this out.” “OK then,” I said, turning back to the table, “Let’s talk about a few things with Taklinn.” I eyed our cleric and asked him a few rough questions. “Taklinn, if we do this, are you prepared for what the consequences might be?” “What do you mean?” he asked, warily. “What I mean is this: If we mess with the Harmonium, it may very well mean that we end up killing many or all of the ones that reside in that encampment. Are you prepared to stand by and watch me fly over them and rain fireballs down upon their heads if it comes to that?” Taklinn looked uncomfortable at the thought, and I pressed on. “Are you also prepared to wage war on a society that is not, technically, evil? As I understand it, the Harmonium, despite committing what we might perceive as evil acts, are not, in fact, evil. Will you impose your will upon their way of life because you find it distasteful? I ask this because I recall a certain town called Latona that we visited not long ago, and…” “That was an entirely different situation.” Our dwarf insisted. “True,” I agreed, “But this situation may well bring with it moral quandary, and I don’t want to be in the thick of it only to have you change your mind half way through. And need I point out the obvious repercussions of meddling in the affairs of such a far flung order as the Harmonium, especially here, on Arcadia? I’m willing to bet that there are more than a few followers of Cuthbert among them; so now we’re talking about you, a servant of Clangeden, picking a fight with servants of Cuthbert, on the very plane where both these gods live! Need I even point out the implications of such a thing?” Taklinn sighed, and I could tell that my points had driven home with him. “It is something I shall have to pray upon.” He admitted. “But I say again, I cannot sit idly by and let evil thrive, even if the evil doer does not understand it's actions. It is complicated…” “That it is.” I agreed, with a solemn nod, “That it is. I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around the notion that these Harmonium can commit evil acts day after day, yet remain neutral. I can only assume that their belief that they are doing the will of Law is so fervent that they are blinded by it; that it somehow protects their souls with a sort of naive view that what they are doing is just. The point is, Taklinn, we could very well end up killing many of them, which could lead to a much bigger war than we counted on should this thing escalate, not to mention the fact that we will forever be looking over our shoulders for retributive strikes from the Harmonium. This is a powerful enemy we’re talking about here, and I highly doubt that they’ll let bygones be bygones if we wound them.” Taklinn looked uncertainly at Griff, still wanting to throw in his lot with him, but also beginning to see the bigger picture. Griff saved him the discomfort of answering me. “Tell you what,” Griff said, “Let’s focus on the tangibles. We don’t even know what we’re really facing here. Wasp, can you draw us a map of the camp? A detailed map?” “Sure!” Wasp said, eager to be included in the plan. “OK,” Griff continued, “And you, Doorag, can you use your magics to spy on them to try and determine their strength?” I looked doubtfully at him, but nodded. “I suppose I could try to scry that cleric; maybe watch him for a bit and get an idea of how many other casters and clerics they have if he interacts with them. That, and there’s the option of a fly over while invisible. I can’t see that it would hurt to at least take a look…” “Good enough!” Griff said. “And you, Taklinn, can you somehow talk this thing over with Clangeden? Doorag is right, I don’t want to start some holy war, so maybe if you could ask your god where he’d stand on such a mission?” Taklinn pulled at his beard. “Give me the time to pray for the spell and I’ll do it.” “OK,” Griff smiled thinly, “You do that. If Clangeden tells you it’s a bad idea, I’ll trust that he knows better than I do and drop the whole thing. Is that fair?” He looked at me. “That’s fair.” I replied. “Then I suggest we sleep on this.” Griff said. “Wasp will draw us a map and tell us all he can remember, and you two can cast to your hearts content. Tomorrow morning we’ll all be a lot calmer and we can hash this thing out like the crew we’re supposed to be.” I must admit, I was caught off guard by the maturity of Griff’s suggestion, but I could hardly deny his wisdom, and I nodded my agreement. We all went to our separate rooms shortly afterwards, though Happy and I still had little to say to each other in the way of good night wishes. I retired to my room when we had all parted, commanding even the servants to leave me in solitude and locking the door securely behind them. I had some thinking to do. Wearily undressing myself, I removed my hat from my head and set it on the desk, immediately feeling the drain on my mental faculties as I did so, but enjoying my normal intellect at the same time. While it is true that the hat, with it’s magical enhancement to my intelligence, affords me a greater range and command of magic, sometimes I think it causes me to be too cerebral, and thus, out of touch with visceral emotions. I have always struggled to maintain a connection with my heart, and the wisdom therein. Too often I am simply too analytical, and I feel like removing my hat sometimes allows me to catch a glimpse of the world as “normal” folk see it. Besides, I needed to talk to someone, and that someone lived in my hat. “Come on out, Ambros.” I said, sipping from a glass of sherry and rubbing the bridge of my nose. My trusty familiar appeared, whiskers first, sniffing the air and then padding out to sit on his haunches. He regarded me with raised eyebrows, and I could see by the expression on his small face that the crew’s conversation had not gone unheard by him. I set my glass down so that he could have a sip of the sherry, and while he did, I loaded my pipe, lighting it with a cantrip, trying to relax and look at things objectively. “Well,” I asked him, “What do you think?” “About what?” he asked, innocently. “Don’t be coy, Ambros.” I said, dryly. “You know what I’m talking about.” “Ah,” he said, “The Harmonium problem?” I blew a smoke ring that landed on his head and turned into a tiny wizard’s hat before dissipating, a trick that I know irks him. “Yes. Specifically, my take, as opposed to the rest of the crew’s position.” “You want my honest opinion?” He asked, swatting away the smoky hat. “Of course.” I replied. Ambros scratched his chin for a moment and twisted a whisker thoughtfully as he considered all the angles. Finally, he sat back on his haunches and began to speak. “You bring up many good points,” He said. “The Harmonium could well be a far reaching group, and our actions may have repercussions as far as Havilah and beyond. I don’t relish the idea of having them as an enemy. Depending upon just how vengeful they might be, we have to consider the possibility that they might seek to extract revenge not on us directly, but on those whom we love, though that is, of course, always that chance. Also, there is the matter of Taklinn’s stance to be considered. Starting a war with them, especially here on Arcadia, could be disastrous, given a possible clash between Cuthbert and Clangeden. Taklinn will not want to be the one to upset the balance between the two deities on their home plane. Hopefully things wouldn’t go that far, but, as with many things we stick our noses into, the potential for uncontrolled escalation is there, and that’s a factor to be considered. All too often, events have a tendency to run away from us. There is also the matter of Caribdis. We are close, and every day we dilly dally about decreases the odds of his returning with us when we finally find him.” “However…” he let this last word hang for several seconds until I prodded him. “However, what?” I said. “Well, you’ll forgive me for saying so, Master, but I personally believe that Caribdis is a bit of a blind spot for you. Since his death you have become somewhat obsessed with the idea that you can find him and return him to life. I know that you accept the possibility that he may refuse to come back, or that we may never even get the chance to talk to him, but in your heart of hearts I don’t think you have allowed yourself to actually believe that it could happen that way. The closer we get to him, the more tunnel visioned you have become, and now we find ourselves in a position where you have been ostensibly forced to choose between Caribdis and Griff, and you have chosen Caribdis, or at least that is what it looks like to the rest of the crew. Not only that, but you have chosen Caribdis over your own morals and the tenants by which you have lived your life and upheld as a crew member. Your desire to find Caribdis has enabled you to rationalize the suffering of innocents, and while I agree that we cannot save everyone, and that innocents will always suffer, we have always considered ourselves duty bound to do what we can, when we can. Evil thrives when good men do nothing, and all that.” Ambros paused to take another sip of sherry and regarded me, trying to gauge my reaction to his observations. “Go on.” I urged him. He did. “There is also the matter of your vote on this matter, and the way in which you cast it. The fact is, should this encampment of Harmonium be as powerful as we think they might be, the three of them, well, four including Wasp, will have almost no chance at success without your help. Taklinn can cast some very powerful spells, but I don’t think he has the utility that you command. Therefore, what you have, in essence, done by simply refusing to take part is to attempt to win the argument by allowing them no chance of success. Because I can feel your emotions, I know that this was not your consence intent, but perhaps on a deeper level you did realize it. Essentially you have made a power play, blocking their will in an attempt to facilitate your own desires, which, I’m afraid, can only lead to resentment.” Ambros fell silent then, and I did not answer. I smoked furiously for several minutes, looking at a point above his head, lost in thought. “Your angry, but not at me.” He said. I sighed. “I am angry at myself, Ambros. You are, of course, right.” I stood from my chair and began to pace the room, talking all the while. “How can I possibly call myself a crew member of Havilah if I am willing to let evil, even under the guise of neutrality, go unchecked? And how can I call myself a friend if I am willing to withhold my help in order to accomplish my own ends because I decide that they are more important than Griff’s? I still doubt the wisdom of picking a fight with the Harmonium, but I cannot let fear govern my choices. I’m quite sure that they will not be the last enemies I acquire.” I sighed again and realized my pipe had gone out. I set it on the desk and looked thoughtfully at my rat friend. “Perhaps,” I said, “There is another way than a full frontal assault.” I sat back down at my desk and began to formulate a plan. [/QUOTE]
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