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Story Hour
From the Diary of Doorag Marzipan
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<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 6585714" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Hrvstr 23</p><p> </p><p> This morning I met the crew at the breakfast table, and it was immediately</p><p>apparent that the wounds we had opened between ourselves had not healed over</p><p>night. Griff was even more silent than usual, and Happy refused to look at me at all. </p><p>Only Taklinn seemed not to have lost his appetite (well, he and Wasp) and the pair</p><p>of them were busy tearing into platters of eggs and ham. It was obvious that there</p><p>was much we all wanted to say, but none of us seemed to know where to begin. </p><p></p><p> I shuffled my feet for a few moments, stirring my eggs listlessly, until I finally</p><p>decided to break the tension.</p><p></p><p> “Ahem.” I cleared my throat, “Griff, Happy, I have a few things I need to say.” </p><p></p><p> The two of them looked at me expectantly, though it was clear by their faces that</p><p>they did not expect to like it. </p><p></p><p> “I, umm, I think I owe the pair of you an apology.” I began. “I said some things</p><p>last night that were not befitting of a crew member, let alone a friend and comrade.</p><p>I hope you will take me at my word when I say that I was simply heart sick at the </p><p>notion of forgoing our quest for Caribdis again, no matter how short the diversion</p><p>may be. I was blinded by it, and spoke without thinking. I placed my desire to find</p><p>him above your desires to do the right thing, and such is not the way of this crew. </p><p>Of course I will help you to free these prisoners. If I didn’t, I would not be worthy</p><p>of having a place in this crew, or of your friendship. I hope you can forgive me.”</p><p></p><p> Griff regarded me for a moment, then shrugged. “No apology necessary, Doorag. </p><p>Lets just do this and get out of here.”</p><p></p><p> Happy also looked at me, her face softened dramatically. “I understand, Doorag,”</p><p>she said softly, “I want to find Caribdis too. I know you didn’t mean those things. If </p><p>it’s any consolation, I can tell you that my main reason for wanting to knock these</p><p>Harmonium guys down a few pegs is because they picked on Griff and I. They</p><p>wanted to take us in for their ‘re-education’, or whatever it is, and that rubs me the </p><p>wrong way. I take that kind of thing personally.”</p><p></p><p> I smiled at her, realizing that she was telling the truth. My mind went back to our</p><p>capture of Sensesi and the memory of how personally Hap had taken the yuan-ti’s </p><p>attack on her.”</p><p></p><p> “OK,” said Griff, breaking the awkward silence that followed, “Taklinn, have you</p><p>talked with your god?” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn stopped his chewing, his mouth still stuffed with ham, and swallowed</p><p>slowly. “Err, no.” He said.</p><p></p><p> Griff raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why not?” </p><p></p><p> “Well,” our cleric answered, wiping his mouth, “I thought quite a bit about it last</p><p>night and came to the conclusion that I’m not entirely sure I want to use a</p><p>‘commune’ to speak with Clangeden this close to his home. I’m not real sure what </p><p>would happen. Probably nothing out of the ordinary, but I don’t know. That, and I</p><p>think this is a decision that we need to make ourselves, and I have a feeling that it</p><p>has been made.” </p><p></p><p> I nodded slowly. “You may be right, Taklinn. Truth be told, I’m all right with the</p><p>responsibility. This way Cuthbert cannot blame Clangeden for putting his stamp of</p><p>approval on our action.” </p><p></p><p> Griff shrugged again. “So I guess we need a plan.”</p><p></p><p> “Funny you should mention that, Griff,” I said, “I actually have a little something</p><p>put together in my head that you might like. Wasp, did you make that map we asked </p><p>you to?”</p><p></p><p> “Yep!” The little fellow grinned, shoving a rather rumbled and grimy, though still</p><p>legible sheet of parchment with a map drawn on it toward us. </p><p> </p><p> I spent the next twenty minutes going over my plan, stopping to answer questions</p><p>and clarify points, though for the most part Taklinn, Griff and Happy, and even</p><p>Wasp, listened with rapt attention, nodding now and again. I produced paper and </p><p>pen, sketching it out and showing them exactly what I had in mind. I used Wasp’s</p><p>map a reference often, and stopped to ask him for details on the schedule of the</p><p>Harmonium troops. </p><p></p><p> “So there you have it.” I said at last. “And the real beauty is, if it works, it may be</p><p>one of the sweetest prison breaks of all time! If all goes well, we’ll free every</p><p>prisoner in their, we won’t shed a drop of Harmonium blood, and they won’t have a </p><p>clue as to how we did it! What do you think?”</p><p> </p><p> The four of them looked at me for several minutes, then Griff’s face broke into a</p><p>broad smile. “I think we’ve got a plan!” </p><p></p><p> I spent the rest of the day in preparation. First, I wanted a peek inside that camp,</p><p>and to that end I used a ‘greater scrying’ to find and watch one of the fighters we </p><p>had let go the day before. He was busy going about his routine, and I was able to</p><p>catch many glimpses of other warriors as he passed and interacted with them. What</p><p>I saw gave me serious pause. </p><p></p><p> My second scry was directed at a fellow whom Wasp had shared a cell with. With</p><p>his name, I was able to find him, and got a good look at the interior of the prison as</p><p>well as the yard when they took him out for a bit of exercise before his ‘lesson’. </p><p>Fortunately, his lesson for the day consisted of a few hours of being preached to by</p><p>a pair of Harmonium who hammered away at him with their twisted philosophy of</p><p>law. It was an obvious attempt to brainwash him, and I could tell that he was very </p><p>tired. There was no physical abuse, but I could only imagine the mental strain of</p><p>such lectures day after day.</p><p></p><p> When I was satisfied, I cut the connection and found the rest of the crew. </p><p></p><p> “These guys are tough.” I said, flatly. “Very tough! And rich, apparently.”</p><p></p><p> “What did you see?” Hap asked, suddenly very interested. </p><p></p><p> “Well, as you know, we got quite a haul off of those six we dealt with in the field. </p><p>Each of those guys wore at least a decent ring of protection and a cloak of</p><p>resistance that is equal to mine, and those aren’t cheap! Not only that, but all of</p><p>them packed magical blades and armor. I was hoping that such wouldn’t be the case </p><p>with the rest of them, that perhaps that was some sort of elite strike team, but</p><p>apparently not. Just from following one of them around today I was able to see that</p><p>each knight is armed exactly the same way! We’re talking about heavily magically </p><p>equipped troops here, and a lot of them!”</p><p></p><p> “Well, with any luck we shouldn’t have to run into any of them!” Hap reasoned.</p><p>“Though it sure would be nice to relieve them of some of those toys. But ah well, if </p><p>we can relieve them of their stupid pride I’ll be satisfied.”</p><p></p><p> I spent the remainder of the day and most of the night in learning a spell from</p><p>Helious’ book that I would need. ‘Solid Fog’. </p><p></p><p></p><p> </p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 24 </p><p> </p><p> Today we put the first phase of our plan into action. As soon as we were up and</p><p>ready, we exited the mansion and walked back around toward the forest. The</p><p>encampment was located about one hundred yards from a tree line, which suited me </p><p>perfectly. We made our way to a spot about fifty yards back into the trees, well out</p><p>of sight of the camp, and we began.</p><p></p><p> First, Taklinn cast a ‘find the path’ on himself, and I was envious at what a nifty </p><p>spell it was! However, the second part fell to me, and thus I cast a ‘polymorph’ on</p><p>him. Immediately he took the form of a frost worm, smaller than the one I had</p><p>turned into a turtle on the tundra, but every bit as frightening. Taklinn seemed to </p><p>grin through the huge mandibles, ready to go to work.</p><p></p><p> I cast a ‘passwall’ spell directly at the ground, opening up a shaft in the earth that</p><p>descended for thirty feet. I stood back, motioning for Taklinn to lead the way, and </p><p>he did, slithering down the shaft. Once he’d reached bottom, he began to eat away</p><p>at the dirt below, quickly carving out a tunnel that led south, toward the Harmonium</p><p>encampment. With a levitate, I let myself down the shaft to follow him while Hap </p><p>and Griff remained on top. </p><p></p><p> I followed Taklinn as he bored his way through the earth at amazing speed,</p><p>casting ‘walls of stone’ every so often to ensure that the tunnel did not collapse on</p><p>our heads. With his dwarven knowledge of tunneling, he was able to avoid sections </p><p>that looked unstable. It took two castings of ‘polymorph’, but at last he stopped. We</p><p>were now exactly thirty feet below the prison building. I knew that, straight up, was </p><p>the hallway that ran between the rows of cells.</p><p></p><p> When Taklinn had returned to his own form, we made our way back through the</p><p>several hundred feet of tunnel and climbed out again. I dismissed the ‘passwall and </p><p>the earth closed up over our tunnel as if the shaft had never been there. Our tunnel</p><p>was hidden thirty feet below. </p><p></p><p> I cast a mansion and we entered, hiding out for another full day while I learned a </p><p>second spell from Helious’ book. ‘Dominate Person’.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> Hrvstr 25</p><p></p><p> Today we put our plan into action! </p><p></p><p> It took me until early afternoon today to learn the ‘dominate person’ dweomer,</p><p>after which I needed my rest, which was fine as we could do nothing until night. At</p><p>midnight my servant woke me as instructed and I began to prepare. By one o’ clock </p><p>we had assembled ourselves on the spot where we had begun our tunnel yesterday.</p><p>Wasp was to remain there, out of harms way and ready to greet the escapees. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn, Hap, Griff and I set out for the tree line and once there, we found </p><p>ourselves a fine hiding spot from which we could barely make out the log walls of</p><p>the Harmonium encampment in the odd moonlight afforded by the orb that passes</p><p>for a moon here on Arcadia. We waited there until two o’ clock, at which time we </p><p>put our plan into motion. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn began to intone a prayer that would eventually lead to the casting of a</p><p>‘control weather’ spell. At first the hot summer night was still, but as the minutes </p><p>passed a sudden breeze played at the trees and the first fat rain drops began to fall.</p><p>Thunder rolled in the distance. Our cleric let the storm build slowly, taking nearly</p><p>an hour to wind it up to its full force. By 3:00am the land was gripped in a two mile </p><p>radius by a full fledged summer storm that caused the trees around us to bend with</p><p>the force of the winds. A driving rain pelted down upon us and one thunder clap</p><p>quickly gave way to another. With any luck the storm would provide the distraction </p><p>we needed and would cover any noise we might make.</p><p> </p><p> “Ok, Taklinn!” I shouted above the thunder. “We’re going in! Remember, only</p><p>use the elementals if I give you the signal!” </p><p></p><p> I saw his face lit up by a flash of lightning as he nodded. We had decided that,</p><p>should we need further distractions to do our work, Taklinn would summon several</p><p>air elementals to wreak havoc in the camp. Hopefully it would not be necessary. </p><p></p><p> “Are you two ready?” I yelled at Griff and Hap. Griff gave me a thumbs up, and</p><p>all I needed from Happy was the excited grin on her face to know that she had been</p><p>ready for quite some time. </p><p></p><p> The first order of business was communication, and to that end I used a spell that</p><p>I had learned specifically for Hap and Griff’s wedding. I cast the ‘Rary’s telepathic</p><p>bond’ and the four of us soon found that we could hear each others thoughts </p><p>provided we were open to receiving and sending them. This would facilitate silent</p><p>communication between all of us, including Taklinn so that we could keep him</p><p>abreast of the situation. </p><p> </p><p> Next, I cast ‘invisibilities’ on Griff and Hap and they faded from view</p><p>satisfactorily. For myself, I invoked a ‘greater invisibility’. It would not last as long,</p><p>but it would enable me to cast offensively without becoming visible. We knew that </p><p>at least one controlling spell would have to be used.</p><p></p><p> “All right, get ready!” I thought to Griff and Hap. “And remember, there will be</p><p>one guard in the hall, I’ll attempt to deal with him. If it fails, it may be up to you.</p><p>Silence is key!” </p><p> </p><p> “Got it.” Griff thought back.</p><p></p><p> “Check.” Added Happy. </p><p></p><p> I reached for them and cast ‘greater teleport’, picturing the hall that ran between</p><p>the cells within the prison building. </p><p></p><p> And we were there. </p><p></p><p> The prison was the only solid structure within the entire camp. Warriors, clerics</p><p>and wizards alike resided in sturdy tents that lined the log walls, while at it’s center</p><p>they had constructed the prison, also from logs. One half of the building was used </p><p>for “re-education” while a single door led into a narrow hall that ran for thirty feet</p><p>or so. The entry door was made of sturdy wood with a single, barred, window</p><p>looking out into the rest of the building, while more of the same sorts of doors lined </p><p>the hall. Behind each of these locked doors I knew we would find several prisoners. </p><p></p><p> But first, there was the matter of the guard.</p><p></p><p> My previous scrying, and Wasp’s information, had told us that a single guard </p><p>patrolled the hallway at all times. I had aimed my teleport for the spot closest to the</p><p>outer door so that we could be between it and the guard should I fail to enspell him.</p><p>The first thing I did as we appeared in the hall was to look for the guard. He was </p><p>easy to find, as he was leaning up against a door not three feet from me! He</p><p>appeared quite bored, and never flinched as we ported in so near him. I had a split</p><p>second of panic before I remembered that he couldn’t see us, though I knew I had to </p><p>act quickly, for water from the rain outside would soon begin to drip from our</p><p>cloaks and give us away. In an instant, I was casting. </p><p></p><p> The thunder outside masked my whispered incantation. The guards eyes jerked </p><p>wide, and then I felt a powerful bond to him as the ‘dominate person’ dweomer</p><p>took hold! </p><p></p><p> “Got him!” I thought to Hap and Griff, excitedly. I felt rage and resistance boil </p><p>within the guard, but he had to obey me when I spoke quietly into his ear. “Do</p><p>nothing!” I commanded. “Stay where you are and remain utterly silent!” I felt him</p><p>try to break the charm, but it was no use. He was my puppet. </p><p></p><p> “Hap, get the keys!” I thought to her.</p><p></p><p> Our silent rogue did so, snatching them from the guards belt with a chuckle, but</p><p>Griff had discovered something. “Doorag!” He thought to me. “There’s another </p><p>one, right outside the door! All he’s gotta do is take a step and look left and the jig</p><p>is up!”</p><p></p><p> Fortunately I had prepared for just such an eventuality, and cast another spell that </p><p>I had never used before. I aimed the ‘permanent image’ at the outer doors window,</p><p>carefully picturing the scene I wanted to set. Once I had finished the spell I allowed</p><p>myself to relax just a bit, for now if anyone was to look through that window they </p><p>would see nothing more than the hall, empty except for the bored guard, leaning</p><p>against the wall. </p><p></p><p> “How’s it going in there?” I heard Taklinn’s worried thought in my head. </p><p></p><p> “Everything’s fine,” I answered, “Just keep that thunder coming.” As if in reply, a</p><p>huge clap of thunder sounded in the night sky, and I sent more instructions to the</p><p>crew. </p><p></p><p> “Hap, get the cell doors. Use the thunder to mask the sound. Griff, you know what</p><p>to do.” With that, I dismissed the ‘invisibility’ on him. </p><p></p><p> The day before, I had explained to Griff that I felt it was of vital importance that </p><p>he be the first one of us the prisoners saw. I reasoned that he was the most “heroic”</p><p>looking one among us, and would easily command the trust of the prisoners and be</p><p>able to convince them to stay silent, that we were here to help them. He had rolled </p><p>his eyes at this, but could hardly argue. The only thing that made him nervous, he</p><p>had said, was that he would be the only one visible!</p><p></p><p> Hap turned the key noiselessly in the first cell door and swung it open, thunder</p><p>and rain covering the creak of hinges. Inside we saw five forms, huddled in </p><p>threadbare blankets, rising and falling shallowly with the breath of sleep. Griff</p><p>entered quietly and knelt beside a man, placing his hand over his mouth and rousing </p><p>him from slumber. At first, the man’s eyes went wide with fear, but Griff quickly</p><p>put that to rest. </p><p></p><p> “We’re here to break you out!” Our warrior whispered urgently. “Be as quiet as </p><p>you can, wake the others and tell them to wait in the cells! Not a peep out of</p><p>anyone! Got it?”</p><p></p><p> The man nodded and Griff took his hand away to reveal a wolfish grin on the </p><p>fellows face. He and Griff quickly woke the rest.</p><p></p><p> Hap and Griff repeated the process again and again, unlocking doors, waking</p><p>prisoners, and assuring them that their freedom was at hand while I kept an eye on </p><p>the outer door, listening intently for sounds of alarm and communicating with</p><p>Taklinn every few seconds to tell him what was going on. </p><p></p><p> Within a minute every cell door was ajar and some fifty people waited within for </p><p>us to free them. We instructed one cells worth of prisoners to come out into the</p><p>hallway, after which I commanded the guard, who had, this entire time, been</p><p>seething with desire to scream for help, to enter the now vacant cell. I did not want </p><p>him to see how we were to free the prisoners. As I closed the door and locked it, I</p><p>told him to remain silent and to do nothing. He looked at me with hatred, but had to</p><p>obey. </p><p></p><p> It was time to put the next phase of our plan into effect. Hap took my spot and</p><p>kept watch as I made my way to the far end of the hall. Once there, I looked at the</p><p>final ten foot section and prayed that my calculations had been correct and that </p><p>Taklinn’s ‘find the path’ had been accurate. I cast a ‘passwall’ at the floor and a</p><p>thirty foot long shaft opened up into the earth. I looked down into it and breathed a</p><p>huge sigh of relief. I could see the end of our tunnel below. I quickly followed the </p><p>‘passwall’ with a ‘solid fog’, filling the shaft with the heavy mist. </p><p></p><p> “Ok, Griff,” I thought to him, “We’re set to go!”</p><p> </p><p> “All right, in you go.” Griff whispered to the nearest prisoner. She looked at the </p><p>shaft uncertainly, hardly willing to trust that the fog would keep her from</p><p>plummeting to the bottom, but Griff was convincing in his own way. “You can stay</p><p>here and let these tin suits beat on you,” he hissed, “Or you can trust me. It’s magic! </p><p>You’ll be fine!” He handed her his ever burning torch and lit it for her. “Take this,</p><p>it’ll be dark down there. Now go!”</p><p></p><p> The woman could hardly argue with him, and with a deep breath, she stepped into </p><p>the shaft. </p><p></p><p> As I had known it would, the fog caused her to settle slowly into the shaft. I was</p><p>gratified by the look of surprise and relief on her face as she sank harmlessly </p><p>downward.</p><p> </p><p> Griff motioned for more prisoners to follow, and seeing that the fog would do as</p><p>he had promised, they quickly followed the woman. The seconds that passed were </p><p>tense as we waited for all of them to take the leap of faith. I kept expecting the</p><p>sounds of our discovery and cries of alarm, but none came. At last, the final</p><p>prisoner had stepped into the shaft and we were alone in the hallway. </p><p> </p><p> “Let’s get the hell out of here!” I thought to Griff and Hap, and the could not have</p><p>agreed more. </p><p></p><p> The three of us jumped into the shaft and settled to the bottom where we found </p><p>the fifty people waiting for us. I quickly turned and dismissed both the ‘solid fog’</p><p>and the ‘passwall’, and just like that, the shaft sealed itself. Now, anyone searching</p><p>for a means of the prisoners escape would find nothing. We had left no trace. </p><p></p><p> “Let’s go!” Griff shouted, shouldering his way to the front of the column. We</p><p>followed him through the tunnel and I could see the excitement growing on the</p><p>faces of the people. They were beginning to believe that they were actually going to</p><p>be free! Truth be told, I was just beginning to believe it myself. </p><p></p><p> I sent a quick message to Taklinn. “We’re in the tunnel! Get out of there and meet</p><p>up with Wasp!” </p><p> </p><p> We followed Griff for several hundred feet until we came to the end of the tunnel.</p><p>Several of the prisoners eyed the dead end nervously, but I asked them to excuse me</p><p>as I made my way to the front of the line. From there, it was a simple matter of </p><p>casting a second ‘passwall’ at the tunnels ceiling, and soon I heard the delighted</p><p>gasps from the prisoners as they felt rain pour in and a breeze cool their faces. </p><p></p><p> I had used a ‘fabricate’ to craft a ladder the day before, and Wasp stood ready </p><p>with it. He lowered it down to us, and from there it was a simple matter of climbing</p><p>out. By the time half of the escapee’s had made it to the top Taklinn had rejoined</p><p>us. Soon the clearing was full of our crowd, and when I was certain that all were </p><p>accounted for, I dismissed the ‘passwall’, thus hiding the last of the evidence. </p><p></p><p> By this time I was visible, and I made the same true for Hap. I quickly made</p><p>introductions to the freed prisoners, but warned them that it was too early to </p><p>celebrate. </p><p></p><p> “I still have a connection to that guard,” I said, “So I’ll know when they find him.</p><p>So far, so good. He’s just sitting in that cell, stewing, but sooner or later they’ll </p><p>relieve him, and when that happens I want to be as far from here as possible! We’re</p><p>heading for the portal that will take us to the upper layer of Arcadia. I suggest that</p><p>you all accompany us!” </p><p> </p><p> There was no argument from the crowd, and soon we were a mobile column</p><p>again, moving in a northeasterly direction through the forest as fast as we could. </p><p></p><p> Despite their confinement, the prisoners were able to make good time, and we </p><p>soon left the trees and broke into open fields. On and on we raced, knowing that the</p><p>portal was only a few hours away, yet I also knew that we were not out of the real</p><p>woods yet, for I had to assume that a few things were going to soon happen. </p><p></p><p> First, the guard would be discovered. Second, their wizards would scry one of the</p><p>escaped prisoners. Third, they would mount up and ride hard after us while a</p><p>contingent of them would almost certainly teleport directly to our location. I could </p><p>only hope that we would beat them to the portal. Even then, there was no real</p><p>reason to believe that they would not chase us even to the upper layer. </p><p></p><p> We jogged on for two hours, at which point the “sun” showed it’s face, and within </p><p>seconds daylight bathed the plains of Arcadia. This seemed to invigorate us, and we</p><p>forged ahead.</p><p></p><p> Another hour passed, and still I felt nothing but frustration and anger from the </p><p>guard back in his cell, but then, that all changed. </p><p></p><p> I stopped, detecting a sudden change in the emotion of the guard. It was hope!</p><p>Griff, Taklinn and Hap looked at me quizzically and I told them what was </p><p>happening. “We’re about to be found out.” I informed them.</p><p></p><p> Minutes later, hope turned to excitement and relief, and I assumed that the guards</p><p>cell had finally been opened. I knew that the guard would be unable to tell them </p><p>anything as long as I dominated him, but I wanted one last laugh at the expense of</p><p>the Harmonium. I sent the guard a final mental command, which I also voiced aloud</p><p>for the benefit of Hap, Griff, and Taklinn. “You will do nothing but sing and </p><p>dance!” I willed, and I could feel a sudden burst of humiliation from the guard as</p><p>I’m sure he began to caper about and caterwaul. The rest of the crew must have had</p><p>the same mental image, for all of us doubled over with laughter at the thought of the </p><p>befuddled Harmonium as they watched the poor fellow helplessly prance about. </p><p></p><p> But there was no time to savor the joke. Wiping a tear of mirth from my eye, I</p><p>glanced behind us. “They’ll probably dispel my ‘dominate’ soon and that guard will </p><p>be able to talk. Also, they’ll scry us. I’ve got a ‘detect scrying’ going already, so I’ll</p><p>tell you when that happens. I think we’ll beat the riders to the portal if Wasp is right</p><p>about how far w have to go, but we can expect a few of them to port after us. Let’s</p><p>get going and stay ready. </p><p></p><p> I was soon proven correct, for fifteen minutes later I felt the bond between myself</p><p>and the guard break. Nearly an hour to the minute later, I felt the first hint of a scry </p><p>being used. </p><p></p><p> “They’re on to us!” I shouted. “Keep moving!” The prisoners renewed their</p><p>efforts, running on on tired legs, but the taste of freedom gave them strength. Griff, </p><p>Taklinn, Hap and I fell to the rear of the line of people, and I kept looking over my</p><p>shoulder, waiting for our pursuers to arrive. </p><p></p><p> I did not have long to wait. </p><p></p><p> They appeared behind us, eight of them in all, perhaps one hundred feet away.</p><p>One thing I can say about the Harmonium is that they are consistent in their </p><p>uniform, and thus it was easy to pick them out by occupation since their dress was</p><p>identical to the first six we had fought days ago. Five of them wore the plate mail of</p><p>their knight class; there was a single cleric; and my stomach fell when I saw not </p><p>one, but two mages. That was bad.</p><p></p><p> We skidded to a stop, yelling for the prisoners to keep moving, to break for the</p><p>portal and not look back while we held the Harmonium off. Taklinn, Hap, Griff and </p><p>I turned to face these opponents and I began to cast furiously. </p><p> </p><p> I had only a few high level dweomers left after the escape plan. Even my normal</p><p>‘overland flight’ had had to be forgone in favor of other spells. I had a normal ‘fly’ </p><p>spell still in reserve, but I decided not to waste the precious time needed to cast it. I</p><p>wanted to hit them hard and fast. To that end, I invoked a contingent ‘greater</p><p>invisibility’, hoping that it would be defense enough. I followed that up by raising </p><p>my staff and sending a fireball at them. Grouped as they were, it caught them all,</p><p>and while I knew it probably wouldn’t kill any of them, it would soften them up a</p><p>bit and give them something to think about. The fireball exploded in their midst and </p><p>I saw at least one of the wizards nearly fall to the ground. Near dead, he was able to</p><p>keep his feet only with the aid of the cleric who was already casting a healing spell</p><p>on him. </p><p></p><p> After my initial volley, I raced away from the rest of the crew, hoping to get</p><p>outside the possible area of any return spells, and setting up for another blast of my</p><p>own. </p><p></p><p> My hunch was right, for the second mage, not as badly wounded, hurtled a</p><p>‘fireball’ of his own at my crew that completely missed me. It was a nice try, but</p><p>largely ineffective. It would take far more than a couple of medium evocations to </p><p>kill Taklinn, and Griff’s spell resistant armor simply allowed him to ignore the spell</p><p>entirely. As for Happy, it is pure folly to even try to hit her with such things as</p><p>‘fireballs’. She tucked and rolled, coming up without so much as a singe. She pulled </p><p>her magical dagger and went invisible, blinking out of sight. Now, only Taklinn and</p><p>Griff offered visible targets, and the Harmonium knights took their best shots.</p><p></p><p> Four of them charged straight at Taklinn and Griff while the fifth man hung back, </p><p>searching the area for Hap and I. Griff grunted as two long swords found him and</p><p>bit through his armor. Taklinn was hit once. Neither of our fighters were in too bad</p><p>a shape yet, and I resolved to concentrate on the spell casters. Besides, with my </p><p>enhanced sight, I could see Happy maneuvering around for a killing strike on one of</p><p>Griff’s enemies. I hoped that they would soon have those fighters well in hand.</p><p>Indeed, Taklinn took a step back and invoked his ‘righteous might’. As I saw the </p><p>holy energy flood through him I grinned, knowing that he would soon give these</p><p>Harmonium much to think about. </p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, the two mages and the cleric still stood back in the spot where they </p><p>had first appeared, and I thanked them inwardly for being kind enough to stay</p><p>bunched up like that. The cleric was preparing to cast another healing spell on one</p><p>of the mages, but he never got the chance. I hurled a second ‘fireball’ at them. For a</p><p>split second they were concealed by the flames, but when it cleared, both wizards </p><p>lay on the ground, still as death. The surprised and wounded cleric looked about</p><p>himself for help, found none, and switched the target of his healing spell to himself! </p><p></p><p> At the same time, Griff was returning the pain that his two enemies had visited</p><p>upon him. With a mighty swing he caught his first man high on the shoulder. The</p><p>knight tried to dodge, but that only brought him close enough for Happy to dart in </p><p>and sink a dagger into his thigh. Griff followed with a second slash that dropped the</p><p>knight where he stood. </p><p></p><p> Undaunted, the knights pressed their attack. Taklinn’s pair managed to hit him a </p><p>couple of good blows, but our cleric laughed them off. He was nearly twice his</p><p>normal height now, and bursting with holy strength. He dropped his shield, grabbed</p><p>the haft of one of his axes in both hands, and waded into the two knights. His first </p><p>attack caught a knight squarely in the side of the head, caving it in, helmet and all.</p><p>The knight dropped like a sack of flour. Taklinn followed through with a mighty</p><p>slam at his second opponent, and I saw that one drop as well! But our cleric was not </p><p>through yet, for his momentum carried his axe blade on around to connect with</p><p>Griff’s last opponent, and down when that one as well! True, the fighters had all</p><p>been softened a bit by my first ‘fireball’, but it was a fearsome display of clerical </p><p>might nonetheless! </p><p></p><p> There was one fighter remaining, and he appeared utterly ready to lay down his</p><p>life for his cause if it meant possibly taking one of us with him, and unfortunately, </p><p>Happy was directly in his line of attack. Her hit on Griff’s man had caused her to</p><p>become visible, and she barely had time to spin around to meet him as the knight</p><p>charged her from behind. His sword came down, she dodged, and the blade </p><p>whistled harmlessly past her! Cart wheeling out of the way, our roguish friend</p><p>backed off, opening up space for Griff and Taklinn to deal directly with the knight.</p><p> </p><p> The cleric had used his healing spell on himself after my last ‘fireball’, but I </p><p>continued to pile the damage on to him. I cast a ‘lightning bolt’ at him, all the while</p><p>moving ever closer to him, getting within the range I needed for a follow up should</p><p>it come to that. Apparently it would, for the cleric still would not go down! In fact, </p><p>he even ignored the damage to cast an offensive spell of his own! Vertical pillars of</p><p>flame suddenly filled the area where Hap, Griff and Taklinn stood. Happy, of</p><p>course, rolled out of the way, but Griff and Taklinn were beginning to show signs of </p><p>wear from the spells and hits they had taken. Still, they were far from down yet, and</p><p>I knew that if I could put the finishing touches on this cleric, our fighters would</p><p>certainly be able to take care of the final knight. </p><p> </p><p> I raced forward the final few feet I needed and unleashed an ‘empowered</p><p>scorching ray’. All three of the rays struck the cleric, nearly lifting him off his feet.</p><p>He shrieked in pain, franticly batting away at the flames, but it was no use. He took </p><p>three staggering steps and fell, face first, onto the ground.</p><p></p><p> I breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the rest of the crew to see how they</p><p>were doing. My relief was made complete, for I saw that the last of the knights was </p><p>on the ground, with Taklinn’s massive form pinning him there. I learned later that</p><p>Griff had rushed the man, knocking him off his feet, and Taklinn had simply thrown</p><p>himself on top of him. </p><p></p><p> “Surrender!” Taklinn commanded the helpless knight, and to my surprise, he did!</p><p>The knight let go of his sword and asked for quarter. </p><p></p><p> I checked myself for wounds, found none, and jogged to where the three casters </p><p>lay, scanning them quickly for useful gear and finding much to make me smile. </p><p></p><p> We gathered what items we wanted from our defeated foes while Taklinn healed</p><p>an unconscious knight. We now had two prisoners and Taklinn reminded them </p><p>again of who had brought about their ruin. </p><p> </p><p> “I am Taklinn the Shorn!” He roared at them. “You live today at my whim! Now</p><p>go, and tell your masters to end their harassment, or we shall not be so eager to take </p><p>prisoners the next time." Beaten and stripped of all but their undergarments, the two</p><p>knights gritted their teeth and began the long walk back to their encampment. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn laid his hands upon wounds that needed his attention as I rejoined them.</p><p>“We’d better catch up to our people.” I said. “The Harmonium might send more.</p><p>We were lucky this time. I doubt the next lot of wizards they send will be without </p><p>the protective magic’s they should have had. Lets go!”</p><p></p><p> I did not need to ask them twice, and soon the four of us set out at a run across the</p><p>plain. </p><p></p><p> Within a few minutes we had caught up to the prisoners, several of whom had</p><p>lagged back out of concern that we would lose them. The looks of relief on their </p><p>faces was obvious and a cheer went up from them as we neared. </p><p></p><p> We all trotted on, ever vigilant of more Harmonium that might come after us, but</p><p>all our backwards glances showed us nothing. The Harmonium were, if only for the </p><p>day, ready to sit back and lick their wounds. </p><p></p><p> Soon we crested a small rise and beheld the portal. A massive stone dais was</p><p>flanked by two massive pillars that curved slightly inward to points, like two giant </p><p>fangs. Between them glowed a shimmering, round, portal suspended in mid air.</p><p>Stone steps, worn concave by countless feet led up the dais toward the portal, and</p><p>we all stopped, catching our breath as we regarded it. </p><p> </p><p> “This is it!” Announced Wasp with a grin. The halfling approached each of us and</p><p>happily shook our hands. “I can’t thank you enough.” He said, solemnly. “If we</p><p>ever cross paths again, I hope its on better terms, and if its anywhere near a tavern, </p><p>the first round is on me!” With that, he climbed the steps and, with a last look over</p><p>his shoulder, he stepped through the portal. </p><p> </p><p> The rest of the former prisoners followed suit, each of them embracing us or </p><p>pumping our hands and offering their heartfelt thanks before disappearing into the</p><p>glowing disk. Finally it was just the four of us, and one by one, we entered the</p><p>portal to Abellio. </p><p></p><p> In no more time than it takes to draw a breath, we stood upon a similar portal, still</p><p>in Arcadia, but now on it’s top layer. Abellio shared all of the features of the lower</p><p>layer with regard to the terrains geometric precision. In the distance we could see </p><p>another river flowing arrow straight, dividing squares of grassy fields and</p><p>symmetric orchards. The most prominent feature, however, was easily the mountain</p><p>that dominated the horizon. Perfectly conical, it rose into the Arcadian sky, it’s tip </p><p>piercing the clouds. For me, it was awe inspiring. For Taklinn, it was heart</p><p>breaking. </p><p></p><p> I glanced at our dwarf to see him staring at Mount Clangeden with a barely </p><p>concealed look of anguish on his face. Even as Wasp, who had waited for us on this</p><p>side of the portal, piped up, Taklinn did not tear his eyes from the mountain.</p><p></p><p> “The river Oceanus is that way,” Wasp told us, pointing toward the mountain, </p><p>“Just keep heading toward Mount Clangeden and you’ll have to cross it. Good luck,</p><p>and thanks again!” With that, the halfling joined the rest of the people we had freed,</p><p>trotting away across the fields to what I hoped were better fates. </p><p> </p><p> “Well,” said Griff, “You heard him. Let’s go.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn heaved a sigh that was almost a choked sob, but he quickly coughed it</p><p>away and set his jaw. Without a word, he set his path toward the mountain and we </p><p>all followed. </p><p> </p><p> It had been a long and trying day though, and we made only an hour before we</p><p>decided to get some rest. I cast a mansion and entered, though it turns out that I </p><p>sleep here alone, for Hap, Griff and Taklinn have elected to sleep outside. Hap and</p><p>Griff simply prefer nature, and Taklinn, I believe, would at least sleep in the</p><p>shadow of his gods mountain, even if he may not climb it. </p><p> </p><p></p><p> Hrvstr 27 </p><p></p><p> We slept through most of the day of Harvester 26 and napped through the night.</p><p>By the time the sun orb cast its light over Arcadia on this, the 27th we were all</p><p>eager to be off, especially Taklinn, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, </p><p>spending long hours staring towards Mount Clangeden. </p><p></p><p> We walked at a leisurely pace for the better part of the day, fording small streams, </p><p>cutting through fields and small groves of forest, now and then waving at the</p><p>inhabitants of this plane. Though Abellio is much the same as the lower layer, we</p><p>felt somehow safer here, as if our troubles with the Harmonium had been left far </p><p>behind, though I knew, in the back of my mind, that that was probably untrue. </p><p> </p><p> By late noon the mountain was quite close, and soon we could see the shimmering</p><p>strip of liquid white that was the river Oceanus as it coursed its way across Abellio </p><p>like a razor straight slash. As we got nearer and nearer to the river, I stole more</p><p>glances at Taklinn, for I knew that once we reached it our course would change and</p><p>would be heading away from the mountain. He had said little all day, and it was </p><p>painfully apparent that his unexplained exclusion from Mount Clangeden was</p><p>causing him no end of torment. I sighed, feeling great empathy for him, and</p><p>allowing myself a moment of wonder at how the diety could justify such a cruel </p><p>thing. I knew that it was pointless to try to understand the workings of a god, but to</p><p>simply tell one of his most faithful that he can come right to the gates of his most</p><p>holy of places, but not enter, with no explanation, just seems unjust. I hoped that, </p><p>once we put the mountain to our backs, Taklinn’s mind would be put at ease a bit,</p><p>though I sorely doubted it. </p><p></p><p> As it turned out, our path would find yet another detour! </p><p></p><p> By early evening we were nearly to the banks of the Oceanus, and as we got</p><p>closer we could make out a figure standing on the far side of the river, apparently</p><p>waiting for us. As we drew closer still, we could see that the creature was quite tall, </p><p>hairless, and sprouted beautiful white wings from its back! It also held a massive,</p><p>two-handed sword. As we reached the river bank, I heard Taklinn gasp as he</p><p>realized what it was, and I echoed him as I also recognized it. </p><p></p><p> A solar! </p><p></p><p> Taklinn dropped to one knee in deference to the angelic form, and even I lowered</p><p>my eyes and gave it a courteous bow. Griff and Happy looked curiously from </p><p>Taklinn and I to the solar, having no idea what it was or why we would genuflect</p><p>toward it. </p><p></p><p> “It’s a solar!” I hissed at them. </p><p></p><p> “Yeah, so?” Shrugged Griff.</p><p></p><p> I opened my mouth to whisper to them exactly what a solar was and why they</p><p>should give it its due respect, but was interrupted by the creature itself. </p><p></p><p> “Arise, Taklinn the Shorn.” The solar said in a weird and echoic voice from his</p><p>position on the opposite side of the river. “I have been waiting for you.”</p><p></p><p> “You’ve been waiting for him?” Griff growled, eyes narrowing, “What the hell </p><p>does that mean?”</p><p></p><p> “I have been waiting for all of you, Griffin Dorjan.” The solar said patiently.</p><p>“Greetings, Happy Dorjan, and greetings, Doorag Marzipan.” </p><p></p><p> The fact that the solar knew our names did not surprise me, though it did take</p><p>Griff a bit off guard, and our warrior challenged him no more. </p><p></p><p> “What would you have of us?” Taklinn asked, his voice heavy with reverence. </p><p> </p><p> “Not I, but Clangeden,” The solar said, his topaz eyes glowing with holy inner</p><p>light, “For I am merely his messenger. You may call me Anwell. I have been sent</p><p>here to inform you that your quest has changed.” </p><p></p><p> I groaned inwardly at his words. Part of me had already known that the</p><p>appearance of the solar would lead us away from our path to Caribdis, but I had </p><p>been holding onto hope that such would not be the case. I said nothing, however,</p><p>for since the Harmonium I had come to a certain peace with the fact that we would</p><p>simply get to Caribdis when fate so decreed it. We were obviously only partially in </p><p>charge of our own fates, and there was little point in fighting it. I sighed and waited</p><p>for this new detour. </p><p> </p><p> “I am Clangeden’s humble servant.” Taklinn declared. “What would he have me </p><p>do?”</p><p></p><p> Clangeden would request a service of all of you,” Anwell spoke, “A service that,</p><p>if not completed, could tip the balance of power in the lower planes and send </p><p>ripples outward that affect us all.”</p><p></p><p> “Several nights ago,” The solar continued, “An item of great import was stolen</p><p>from Clangeden. How such a thing came to be is unimportant. Suffice to say, the </p><p>item is an axe of great power, both physically and symbolically. Clangeden asks</p><p>that you retrieve it.”</p><p></p><p> Griff sighed, obviously not as resigned to our fate as I. “Crap.” He muttered. </p><p></p><p> “Where must we go, my lord?” Taklinn asked, pointedly ignoring Griff. </p><p></p><p> “The axe has been taken by a Yugoloth called Valthjov to the grey wastes of</p><p>Hades, and there intends to use it’s powers in a bid to take over the throne of Siege </p><p>Malicious in Khin-oin. Such a thing cannot come to pass, especially with the aid of</p><p>Clangeden’s own weapon. </p><p> </p><p> “Khin-oin?” Happy wondered aloud. </p><p></p><p> “Siege Malicious?” Griff echoed her confusion.</p><p></p><p> “Perhaps Doorag Marzipan can explain the details better than I.” Invited the solar.</p><p> </p><p> I cleared my throat, knowing full well the weight of what the solar had asked, and </p><p>tried to put into words the details for Hap and Griff. </p><p> </p><p> “Hades is the grey wastes,” I began, “A plane that separates the abyss and the</p><p>hells. The abyss is, of course, where demons reside, while the hells are home to </p><p>devils, and Hades is where they meet to do battle.”</p><p></p><p> “To do battle?” Hap exclaimed.</p><p></p><p> “Yes,” I nodded, “It’s the site of the blood wars, the eternal battle that has raged </p><p>between demons and devils for untold millennia. Hades is a war zone of untold</p><p>proportions. It’s where demons and devils and untold amounts of other evil</p><p>creatures battle in a never ending conflict. It’s not a nice place.” </p><p></p><p> Griff spat on the ground. “And this Khin-oin?” He asked.</p><p></p><p> “Khin-oin is an artifact of near uncontrollable power.” I said. “It’s a tower that</p><p>stands in Hades. Legend has it that its carved from the spine of a massive demon. </p><p>Within the tower lies its control center, a throne, known as the Siege Malicious.</p><p>Whoever sits in the throne may wield the terrible power of Khin-oin to his own</p><p>ends, though, as I understand it, it’s a dangerous proposition at best.” </p><p></p><p> “Doorag Marzipan’s studies have served him well.” Anwell said. “Valthjov seeks</p><p>to unseat the current ruler of Khin-oin. That, in and of itself, is not our worry, for in</p><p>the end, the tower governs itself. What we may not allow is the use of Clangeden’s </p><p>axe to facilitate such a thing.”</p><p></p><p> “When do we go?” Taklinn asked simply. Griff and Happy looked none too</p><p>pleased with this new twist, but they said nothing, nor did I, for I knew that there </p><p>would be no turning away from this quest for Taklinn, and therefore we would</p><p>follow him. </p><p></p><p> “I will return to you in twenty-four hours.” The solar said. “Use that time to </p><p>prepare. Do not cross the river under any circumstances.” This last sentence seemed</p><p>to hit Taklinn in the gut, and he lowered his eyes in shame made all the more</p><p>hurtful by its lack of explanation. </p><p></p><p> “One more thing,” Anwell said, “You may rest assured that Clangeden is well</p><p>pleased with the way you dealt with the Harmonium.” With that, he simply </p><p>disappeared, and we were left alone on our side of the river.</p><p></p><p> With little to do except wait for the solar’s return, I decided to use the time wisely </p><p>and returned to the mansion for some study. I had only recently learned to control</p><p>spells from the eighth circle of power, and there was one particular spell from</p><p>Helios’ book that I felt might aid us in a fight against Yugoloth. Happy and Griff set </p><p>out to explore the area a bit, and Taklinn sat on the river bank, his axes at his feet. I</p><p>believe he stayed there most of the day and on into the night, staring wordlessly at</p><p>the mountain, so near, yet so far away. </p><p></p><p> At dinner that evening I explained what I knew of Yugoloths. </p><p> “Yugoloths,” I said, “Are evil creatures from the plane of Gehenna. Most often</p><p>they act as mercenaries for both demons and devils. They are extremely chaotic, </p><p>and have little loyalty other than to the highest bidder. They come in several</p><p>varieties, the least of which are the Canoloth, who are the grunts. They are blind,</p><p>but their sense of smell more than makes up for that. Next are the Mezzoloth. They </p><p>look like large beetle demons, and have a repertoire of nasty abilities, not the least</p><p>of which is the ability to cast ‘cloud kill’ at will. After that you have the Nycoloth,</p><p>one of which we already encountered just before we got to Arcadia. They are </p><p>winged, tough, and delight in pain and suffering. Finally, there are the Ultraloth.</p><p>You can consider them the generals or wizards of the Yugoloth. Not as tough as the</p><p>Nycoloth, but far more intelligent, and with a whole host of spell like abilities at </p><p>their command. It’s my guess that this Valthjov fellow is likely an Ultraloth. We</p><p>can expect all manner of nasty work from him, including hypnotism and mass</p><p>suggestion.” </p><p></p><p> “Great.” Griff said sourly.</p><p></p><p> “Oh, and they are also highly spell resistant,” I added, “Not to mention resistant to</p><p>fire, cold and most other energies. That could be a problem.” </p><p></p><p> “So what’s the plan?” Hap asked.</p><p></p><p> “I don’t really have one right now.” I answered. “Just being on Hades will present</p><p>its own difficulties. The Yugoloth might be the least of the foes we face there. My </p><p>suggestion would be to keep an extremely low profile, get in and get out as fast as</p><p>we can. We certainly don’t want to get the attention of some of the worst of the</p><p>things that inhabit that place on a regular basis. Even the minor demons and devils </p><p>might be encountered in their hundreds.”</p><p></p><p> “All will be well.” Taklinn said, somberly. “Clangeden guides us.”</p><p> </p><p> “Great, that makes me feel a lot better.” Griff chuckled dryly. </p><p></p><p> “I must return to my research,” I said, “Lets just try to get a good nights sleep and</p><p>be as ready as we can be for whatever tomorrow brings.”</p><p> </p><p> My friends agreed with this, and soon I was back at my desk, sifting through the </p><p>details of the ‘mind blank’ spell.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> Hrvstr 28</p><p></p><p> I awoke early the next morning and decided to prepare my spells on the river </p><p>bank, reasoning that a bit of fresh air would do me good. I had mastered the ‘mind</p><p>blank’ dweomer last night, and was eager to cast it upon myself. It was a spell I had</p><p>been looking forward to for quite some time. </p><p></p><p> I left the mansion to find Taklinn already sitting in his spot on the river bank, still</p><p>motionless, still staring at the mountain. I did not disturb him, but sat several yards</p><p>away with my books. An hour passed and I soon became lost in the preparation</p><p>process of my spells. When next I looked up, the sun had moved some ways across </p><p>the sky, and Taklinn still sat there. With a sigh, I put my books away and walked to</p><p>him. </p><p></p><p> “Umm, how ya doing?” I asked, rather lamely. </p><p></p><p> His only reply was a grunt of acknowledgment. </p><p></p><p> “Taklinn,” I tried again, “I know you must be feeling pretty low about this whole </p><p>Mount Clangeden thing, but you can’t let it drive you crazy.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn looked at me and I was surprised by the anger in his eyes. “You cannot</p><p>know the depths to which it affects me.” He said flatly. </p><p></p><p> “I’m sure that’s true, but perhaps my distance affords me some perspective.” I</p><p>said. “Surely this is just some sort of test…”</p><p></p><p> “How can he do this to me?” Taklinn’s words were tinged with heartbreak, with </p><p>anguish, and I felt his pain most acutely at that moment. “Have I not been a true and</p><p>faithful servant? Why does he shun me? What have I done to deserve to be</p><p>ostracized from his holy mountain? It is not right! It is not fair!” Taklinn had risen </p><p>to his feet by now, and though he spoke to me, his eyes never left the mountain.</p><p></p><p> “Again, I’m certain that this just must be some sort of test of faith, Taklinn.” I</p><p>assured him, “Part of your duty as a cleric of Clangeden is to accept his decree </p><p>without question, to trust in his wisdom.”</p><p></p><p> The anger seemed to drain from him a bit. “I do trust him.” He said. “Of course I</p><p>do. And I accept his word as well. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” </p><p></p><p> “No,” came a voice from behind us, “It does not.” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn and I whirled around to see Anwell standing there. He had crossed the</p><p>river this time. Taklinn clamped his mouth shut, refusing to speak more of his </p><p>feelings, which was just as well. Hap and Griff were, even then, sauntering down</p><p>the hill toward us, and I knew we would be off soon.</p><p></p><p> “A couple of questions, if you please?” I asked the solar. </p><p></p><p> “I will answer what I can.” He nodded.</p><p></p><p> “This Valthjov, what sort of Yugoloth is he?”</p><p></p><p> “Valthjov is an Ultraloth.” Anwell said. </p><p></p><p> “Hmm,” I mused, “I thought as much. And how many others can we expect?”</p><p></p><p> “Anwell considered for a moment. “Valthjov is the only Ultraloth we know of</p><p>that you will encounter, but he is in command of at least one Nycoloth, as well as a </p><p>small troop of Mezzoloth. It would not surprise me if he had more though.</p><p>Generally such creatures do not travel without an entourage of Canoloth at the very</p><p>least.” </p><p></p><p> “And how do we find him?”</p><p></p><p> “We are unsure as to his exact whereabouts, though we believe that you will find</p><p>him near the tower of Khin-oin.” </p><p></p><p> “Fair enough.” I said. “What about returning? I assume that you will shift us to</p><p>the Hades, but how will we get back here?”</p><p></p><p> “Taklinn will use this.” Anwell said, producing a small, forked piece of metal that </p><p>I recognized as a ‘plane shift’ key. “It is attuned to Arcadia. Either Taklinn or you,</p><p>Doorag Marzipan, can use it in conjunction with the ‘plane shift’ spell to return</p><p>here.” </p><p></p><p> By this time Hap and Griff had joined us, and though I’m certain they had plenty</p><p>of reservations about this mission, they seemed eager to be off. Their gear was</p><p>ready, and they nodded when Anwell asked if we were prepared to go. I had only to </p><p>cast a few long lasting preparatory spells on myself (‘mind blank’ being one of</p><p>them), and I was ready as well. I grasped Taklinn’s hand on one side, and Hap’s on</p><p>the other. Anwell touched out chain, and uttered a few words. The lands of Arcadia </p><p>grew dim and slipped away, and the next instant found us standing in the grey</p><p>wastes.</p><p></p><p> There was no sun. There was no moon. All was grey and lifeless. Here and there</p><p>we could see trees that somehow grew on this desolate plain of ash and rock, but </p><p>they were horribly twisted and deformed, as if evil itself had taken root in the very</p><p>soil of this forsaken place. In the distance we could see dots of light that might have </p><p>been hundreds of small fires, and I could only guess at the horrors that danced</p><p>around those flames. In another direction, we could just make out the cruel spire of</p><p>a tower that pointed like an accusing finger at the heavens, and I assumed it to be </p><p>the dreaded Khin-oin. Some fifty yards away we could see a black river winding its</p><p>way across the barren plain; I figured it to be the Styx. </p><p></p><p> Nothing moved as far as we could see, and we were gratified that Anwell had </p><p>seen fit to deposit us in a relatively safe place. </p><p></p><p> “Oh, this is lovely!” Hap exclaimed, sarcastically. </p><p></p><p> I peered about ourselves, quite nervous, and used my ‘overland flight’ to ascend </p><p>several feet into the air. “Let’s just get going.” I said. “Let’s find the axe, take it,</p><p>and get the hell out of here!”</p><p></p><p> “I’m all for that.” Griff nodded. The oppressive evil that permeated the very air </p><p>here seemed to disconcert even him. </p><p></p><p> Thus, we began to walk across the fields of ash and lava rock, picking our through</p><p>the unforgiving terrain. We used no light source, for we wanted no beacon to attract </p><p>unwanted investigators. Over hill and crag we walked (or flew, in my case), with</p><p>the tower ever in our sights. We were perhaps an hour from it when we met our first</p><p>denizens of this hellish place. </p><p></p><p> Happy heard them first and whirled around to face them with a warning to us all,</p><p>but it was too late. Three coal black horses with hooves of fire and eyes red with </p><p>hate ridden by three horrible old crones with sickly figures and hideously revealing</p><p>clothing charged down from behind us, crossing the distance with incredible speed.</p><p>I had chosen this moment to alight on the ground and walk with my comrades for </p><p>awhile, and I never even had time to retreat to the air before they were among us.</p><p></p><p> Griff was pounded by flaming hooves while Taklinn fended off his own hag with</p><p>his shield. The third looped around and came straight at me, and I ducked franticly </p><p>as hooves battered the air where my head had been only a fraction of a second</p><p>before. Without thinking, I fired off a trio of max/empowered ‘scorching rays’ at</p><p>the night hag rider, and then promptly cursed myself loudly, for not only did my </p><p>spell fail to penetrate her spell resistance, even if it had it would have done no good,</p><p>for hags are, of course, immune to fire! As I sailed into the air, dodging yet another</p><p>flurry of hooves, I berated myself for my stupidity. </p><p></p><p> Happy tucked and rolled, coming up behind Griff’s hag. Three quick dagger</p><p>thrusts found their homes and Griff followed with a massive slam of his own that</p><p>unseated the hag, which hit the ground hard and lay there twitching. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn slammed his own hag with axe blows, and meanwhile I was in trouble!</p><p>Even the air offered no refuge from the hag, for her nightmare simply took to the</p><p>skies after me. I could not avoid the hag as she grabbed for me. I felt her bite and </p><p>yelped loudly. Blood streamed from my shoulder as I dived for a position beside</p><p>Griff, turning in midair to fire off a ‘flesh to stone’ on her night mare. But it failed!</p><p>The hellish beast shook off my spell and dove right after me! </p><p></p><p> Then I saw Taklinn take a step back and hold out his crossed axes symbol of</p><p>Clangeden. With a mighty shout he cast what I learned later was “holy word’, a</p><p>very powerful divine spell which instantly paralyzed the three remaining </p><p>nightmares! I breathed a sigh of relief as the one coming after me froze and her</p><p>rider, caught off balance, fell to the ground, only to leap to her feet and try to bite</p><p>Taklinn! She pierced his armor and I saw blood on her teeth, but Taklinn merely </p><p>grunted and whirled to face her.</p><p></p><p> Griff stepped in at that moment and brought the Talon across the throat of</p><p>Taklinn’s first hag, dropping her where she stood. One of the nightmares fell,</p><p>reveling Happy, who had been standing on it’s other side. Her daggers were coated </p><p>with gleaming ichor, and she wore a gleeful grin as she moved on to the next frozen</p><p>nightmare. As for myself, I set my jaw and cocked my crossbow, flying up to the </p><p>last paralyzed nightmare. I took careful aim and unloaded a bolt into the things eye.</p><p></p><p> Between Taklinn and Griff, the final hag was out matched, and she quickly fell</p><p>beneath their steel. We looked around for more marauders, but none appeared. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn inspected his own wound and seemed satisfied that he was uninfected,</p><p>but upon examining my bite he clucked his tongue in concern. </p><p></p><p> “She’s given ya the taint, boy.” He informed me, and I had a moment of panic as </p><p>he explained the awful disease that night hags enjoy infecting their victims with.</p><p>Fortunately our cleric knew a bit about these creatures, and after rummaging over</p><p>one of their bodies for a moment, he gave a satisfied grunt as he found what he was </p><p>looking for. It was her heartstone, and with it he assured me he could cure the</p><p>wound. He pressed the stone against the bite for a moment, and I almost felt the</p><p>poison and sickness being pulled from my body. The stone glowed dully for a </p><p>moment and then returned to its dead black hue. I felt much better.</p><p></p><p> We gathered the two remaining heartstones, found nothing else, and headed out</p><p>again, eager to leave the bodies and any evidence of our existence on this plane </p><p>behind.</p><p></p><p> We trudged on for another hour, Khin-oin growing larger before us with each </p><p>passing step. Though I should say that Hap, Griff and Taklinn did most of the</p><p>trudging. After the attack by the hags I wanted to be off the ground as much as</p><p>possible (even though it was no help against the nightmares), so I spent the hour in </p><p>high in the air with Taklinn’s telescope, scanning the area around us for any signs</p><p>of trouble. </p><p></p><p> I found some! </p><p></p><p> I quickly adjusted the focus on the telescope, zeroing in on what appeared to be an</p><p>encampment of insectoid creatures. Though I had never actually seen one in the</p><p>flesh, my studies identified them easily enough. I flew straight back to the ground to </p><p>stand with the others.</p><p></p><p> “Mezzoloth!” I announced excitedly, “About a half mile away! Twenty of them!”</p><p></p><p> “Didn’t Anwell say something about Valthjov traveling with mezzoloth’s?” </p><p>Happy asked.</p><p></p><p> “Indeed he did,” I agreed, “These might be his.”</p><p></p><p> “So what do we do about them?” Griff said. “Did you see the guy we’re looking </p><p>for?”</p><p></p><p> I shook my head. “No, I didn’t see any Ultraloth or Nycoloth’s. They could be</p><p>just a random band of Yugoloth mercenaries.” </p><p></p><p> “Let’s find out!” Taklinn said menacingly. “We should capture one of them and</p><p>get information from it!”</p><p></p><p> “Easier said than done.” I said. “They can all plane shift at will. You’d have to </p><p>knock one of them out to take it prisoner. I could try a ‘dimensional anchor’, or</p><p>Griff could use his vest, though I don’t think that’s a good idea.”</p><p></p><p> “We can at least try.” Taklinn said, setting his jaw and hefting his axe. </p><p></p><p> “I agree with him.” Griff said, stroking his short beard. “If these guys know where</p><p>the Ultraloth is, it would be worth the trouble.”</p><p></p><p> “I suppose you're right,” I nodded, “Besides, I don’t relish the idea of letting them </p><p>get behind us. How do you think we should approach this?”</p><p> </p><p> “I say we sneak up on ‘em!” Happy said, a dagger already held loosely in her</p><p>hand. </p><p></p><p> I waited for Taklinn to disagree with such a dishonorable tactic, but he surprised</p><p>me by nodding his head and agreeing. Apparently he felt no compulsion to show the</p><p>inhabitants of this place the modicum of fair play he generally afforded others.</p><p></p><p> “How tough are these guys, Doorag?” Griff asked. </p><p></p><p> “Well,” I said after some thought, “I’m not real sure. Their ‘cloud kills’ could</p><p>hurt, and they have high resistance, both to spells and energies. I’m not certain how </p><p>effective I’ll be against them. Still, I don’t think they pack that much of a punch.”</p><p></p><p> The four of us spread out and began to cover the ground between us and the</p><p>mezzoloth’s as surreptitiously as we could by darting from sickly tree to ashy </p><p>hillock. We almost managed to get the drop on them, but alas, it was not to be.</p><p></p><p> I have said before that Happy can hide in the shadow of a pebble, and I don’t</p><p>think I’m exagurating, for even as we moved across the field I would look for her </p><p>from time to time, and even though I knew where she was, I still had trouble seeing</p><p>her. Griff and I are nowhere near as stealthy, but even we managed to keep our</p><p>heads down and our feet quiet enough to draw within about a hundred feet of the </p><p>Mezzoloth encampment. Taklinn, on the other hand, is an entirely different story.</p><p>Tip toe though he might try, there just wasn’t much help for his clanking armor and</p><p>lumbering pace. I cringed with every step he took as the sounds of metal on metal </p><p>echoed all around us. </p><p></p><p> We had made it to a small pile of rubble within a stones throw of the Mezzoloth,</p><p>and I felt reasonably happy that we had even made it that far without being heard, </p><p>but even as I was congratulating ourselves, Taklinn took another rattling step and I</p><p>watched in dismay as twenty Mezzoloth heads snapped around as one to look in our</p><p>direction. Taklinn gave us a look of, “Oops!” but it was far too late to worry about it </p><p>now. We had been discovered, and it was time to rely on our fighting abilities rather</p><p>than our stealth.</p><p></p><p> Suddenly our entire area was cloaked in a thick, cloying, gas that filled our lungs </p><p>and made us gag and choke! The Mezzoloth had wasted no time in using their</p><p>‘cloud kill’ abilities, and it appeared that the whole area was no suffused with the</p><p>yellowish fog. I felt the sickness grip my body and strength drained away from me. </p><p>I cursed as I watched it have the same effect on Hap and Griff. This was not good,</p><p>and I began to worry that we had underestimated these foes. </p><p></p><p> I leapt into the air, flying straight up as fast as I could, bringing my staff around to </p><p>point at the Mezzoloth pack. I unloaded a fireball into their midst, knowing it would</p><p>do little, but having few area effect spells available that would reach them. The</p><p>fireball exploded, and at least singed a handful of them, though for the most part </p><p>they simply ignored it and pointed toward me with their tridents. </p><p></p><p> I was out of the gas for the moment, and I watched as Griff charged from the</p><p>rubble where we had been hiding. He ran full tilt, sword gripped in both hands, lips </p><p>curled in a sneer. He barreled into the thick of them, and soon I could barely see</p><p>him, so surrounded by Mezzoloth he was. All I could make out for long seconds</p><p>was his blade coming down again and again. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn was hot on his heels and crashed into the flanks of Griff’s Mezzoloth</p><p>attackers. He waded in with his axes, and soon he and Griff were fighting back to</p><p>back. It was a desperate battle, for the Mezzoloth proved to be made of tougher </p><p>stuff than we had anticipated. I saw sword and axe blows land that would have split</p><p>normal men in two, but the Mezzoloth appeared non-pulsed and simply jabbed</p><p>away at our fighters with their tridents while the rest of them piled more ‘cloud </p><p>kills’ into the area. I was sick with worry over that strategy even as I hurled another</p><p>fireball into a group of them, for while Griff and Taklinn were very hard to hit, and</p><p>could withstand many physical attacks, sooner or later the cloud kill poison would </p><p>bring them down. We needed to turn the tide, and I was frustrated by my inability to</p><p>help. My fireballs, even when they overcame the Mezzoloth spell resistance, were</p><p>doing little real damage, and I had nothing else that could seriously hurt the </p><p>buggers. I decided to change tactics and try to aid our fighters instead. I used my</p><p>wand of ‘haste’ on Griff and Taklinn, and watched as they were suddenly made</p><p>faster. </p><p></p><p> More cloud kills surrounded me and I choked as I tried to fly out of the spells</p><p>area, feeling even more life drain from me. I scanned the ground for Hap but could </p><p>not find her, which was a good sign. She was probably hiding, working her way</p><p>into position for a stealthy kill. Taklinn and Griff hung on grimly, hacking and</p><p>slashing, slowly making small bits of headway as they dropped a couple of the </p><p>Mezzoloth. But there were still far too many of them.</p><p></p><p> I quickly cast a powerful summoning spell and called forth a large earth elemental</p><p>on the flank of the group surrounding Taklinn and Griff. The elemental immediately </p><p>laid about with its massive fists, slamming a Mezzoloth and getting their attention. </p><p></p><p> I continued to fly straight up, trying to get out of range of the cloud kills, when</p><p>suddenly, as if from nowhere, I spied a flurry of daggers whip through the air. Two </p><p>of them thunked home less than an inch apart in the back of a Mezzoloth’s head,</p><p>and the beetle creature dropped in instant death. A third dagger pierced a Mezzoloth</p><p>that Taklinn had already wounded, and it to dropped. I grinned in spite of the </p><p>nausea that gripped me, for I knew that Hap had finally gotten into position.</p><p></p><p> Happy’s two kills seemed to be the spark that Griff and Taklinn needed, for the</p><p>pair seemed to go mad with blood lust and fury. Griff howled out a guttural battle </p><p>cry and swung his sword like a madman. I watched as one, then two, then three,</p><p>then four, and finally a fifth Mezzoloth dropped. Taklinn was close behind, his axes</p><p>coming down, biting, cleaving, rending flesh and bone. He killed four of them out </p><p>right. </p><p></p><p> At last we were evening the odds. My elemental continued to beat on Mezzoloth</p><p>while Griff and Taklinn moved to deal with still more of them. The battle was </p><p>slowly turning in our favor and even the small amount of damage I had done with</p><p>my fireballs appeared to have helped as Griff and Taklinn waded through still more</p><p>of them. Between our fighters and the elemental, four more Mezzoloth’s were </p><p>dispatched. I was about to cast a few ‘magic missiles’ in an attempt to at least help</p><p>in some small way, but I never got the chance. Seeing that the fight was lost, the</p><p>remaining five Mezzoloth disappeared, plane shifting away. Just like that, we were </p><p>left alone on the field.</p><p></p><p> Cloud kill fumes still clung to the ground and I could hear my land bound</p><p>companions coughing as they sought clear air. At last, Happy, Taklinn, and finally </p><p>Griff stumbled from the clouds and I set down next to them. Griff was dragging the</p><p>still form of a Mezzoloth with him.</p><p></p><p> “This ones still alive.” He said, spitting bile. “That’s what we were after, right?” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn quickly saw to the bleeding Mezzoloth, using minor healings to stabilize</p><p>the creature without bringing it to full conciseness. </p><p> </p><p> Our lungs burned and all of us were worse for wear. Hap and I could barely stand </p><p>at all, and I suggested a quick retreat, voicing my fear that the fleeing Mezzoloth</p><p>may have gone to their Ultraloth master and might already be getting ready to come</p><p>back with reinforcements. </p><p></p><p> Packing our prisoner with us, we hurried away from the battle field to a position</p><p>about a half mile away. I quickly cast a mansion and we all stumbled inside. I</p><p>sealed the door behind us with a relieved sigh and joined the others in the sitting </p><p>room where I threw myself onto an overstuffed chair, breathing heavily.</p><p></p><p> “Cloud kill!” I said, simply.</p><p></p><p> “Yeah.” Griff replied, still coughing. </p><p></p><p> “That’s a nasty one all right.” Taklinn added.</p><p></p><p> “I feel like hell warmed over.” Happy said. I knew that all of us had been</p><p>poisoned by the gas, and I asked Taklinn if he could do anything about it. </p><p></p><p> “Tomorrow I’ll be able to dispel the lasting effects.” He replied. “But not much I</p><p>can do right now. It may be a long night. Sorry.”</p><p></p><p> “So what do we do with this thing?” Griff asked, pointing at the limp Mezzoloth</p><p>body that lay on the carpet before us. </p><p></p><p> “We get the information we seek from it, and then we kill it!” Taklinn replied</p><p>flatly. </p><p> “What?” Happy looked at Taklinn, aghast. “You never cease to amaze me…” She</p><p></p><p>started, but Taklinn knew where she was going.</p><p> </p><p> “Look,” he said, cutting her off, “These things are irredeemable. Everything on </p><p>this plane is fair game. I will show no mercy to demons, devils or Yugoloth. I see</p><p>no dishonor in slaying them, be they combatant or prisoner.” Happy glowered at</p><p>this, seething in Taklinn’s perceived hypocrisy. </p><p></p><p> “Yes,” I said, “But how are we to get the information from it? I don’t think torture</p><p>will do much good against a creature to whom torture is meat and drink, and</p><p>besides, I don’t relish such an idea anyway. Our other option is to promise it a </p><p>reward in return for the information.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of reward?”</p><p> </p><p> “Well, it’s freedom, I suppose.” </p><p> </p><p> “Bah! To hell with that!” Our cleric barked. “Promise him whatever you like, but</p><p>after that, he gets the axe!”</p><p></p><p> “Taklinn, think about that for a moment.” I cautioned him. “This Yugoloth may </p><p>be beyond redemption, but there is still the matter of your personal honor. If you</p><p>promise a prisoner freedom in exchange for information, and then kill him anyway,</p><p>isn’t that a pretty bad reflection on you, no matter how loathsome the prisoner?” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn scowled and chewed his lower lip for a moment. I could tell that he</p><p>wanted nothing more than to kill the Mezzoloth, that the very idea of freeing such</p><p>an evil creature was abhorrent to him, but at last he sighed heavily. “I suppose your </p><p>right. Especially if it means getting to the Ultraloth and Clangeden’s axe.”</p><p></p><p> “So how do we keep him from just plane shifting out of here when he wakes up?”</p><p>Happy asked. “And even if we can, what’s to keep him from just going to this </p><p>Valthjov character and warning him that we’re coming?”</p><p></p><p> I considered her questions for a moment and then said, “I have a few spells that</p><p>may help. I have a couple prepared that I normally don’t have ready since I thought </p><p>we may be meeting the Ultraloth today. I think they’ll work just as well against this</p><p>guy. My suggestion is this. I can use a ‘dimensional anchor’ on him to make sure he</p><p>can’t plane shift away. After that, I can incapacitate him until after we’re through </p><p>with Valthjov. Once we have the axe, we make good on our promise of his release.”</p><p></p><p> “How are you going to incapacitate him?” Griff asked. “Turn him into a statue?”</p><p></p><p> “Ah, therein lies the rub.” I said. “Unfortunately I don’t have that particular spell </p><p>prepared. We could wait until I’m rested and can prepare it, but we then run the risk</p><p>of our friend here waking up and shifting out of here. As an alternative, I do have a</p><p>scroll of ‘feeblemind’ though. It would keep him from being able to use his shifting </p><p>ability. He’d be too stupid.”</p><p> </p><p> “Wait a minute!” Taklinn interrupted. “Feeblemind? Isn’t that the spell you used</p><p>on Losom the Large?” </p><p></p><p> “It is.” I nodded.</p><p></p><p> “And isn’t the only way to get rid of the effects a ‘heal’ spell?”</p><p></p><p> “Yes,” I replied, “You would have to ‘heal’ him once our mission is </p><p>accomplished.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn had plenty to say about this, and Hap was only too eager to be</p><p>exasperated by his moral compass. Griff sighed and rolled his eyes. As for me, I felt </p><p>that the time for action was now. </p><p></p><p> “Griff, would you tie him up, please?” I asked. Griff shrugged, and in a minute,</p><p>the Mezzoloth was securely bound. I cast two spells in quick succession. The first, </p><p>‘weaken resistance’, was to strip away his spell resistance; the second, ‘dimensional</p><p>anchor’ took hold easily, and we could now rest assured that he would be unable to</p><p>shift away. </p><p></p><p> “Taklinn,” I said to our cleric, even as he was still arguing with Hap, “We have</p><p>fifteen minutes, after which time the ‘dimensional anchor’ will wear off. Would you </p><p>please bring him around?”</p><p></p><p> I don’t think that Taklinn had even realized that I had already cast my spells. He</p><p>scowled, realizing that we were committed. Grumbling, but seeing little choice, he </p><p>knelt next to the Mezzoloth and recited a prayer with very little passion. Health</p><p>flooded into the bound creature, and it’s eyes flickered open. It glanced about itself</p><p>with hate and fear. I knew it was trying its level best to plane shift away, and I </p><p>could see the confusion on its beetle-like face when it didn’t work.</p><p></p><p> “What do you want!” It demanded, speaking with us telepathically. </p><p> </p><p> “Information!” Griff answered the Mezzoloth with a steely voice. The creature,</p><p>out of its element, and unable to use its plane shifting powers to escape us, cowered</p><p>before Griff, obviously in great fear for its life. </p><p></p><p> “Will tell you what you want!” It whined. “Don’t kill! Don’t kill!”</p><p></p><p> “That’s up to you, my friend,” Griff answered, “Tell us what we want to know,</p><p>and you go free. Hold anything back, and I let him do what he wants.” Griff pointed </p><p>at Taklinn, who stood with axe in hand. The Mezzoloth shuddered, for Taklinn</p><p>wore his holy symbol openly, and there was little doubt as to what the dwarf would</p><p>do given the opportunity. </p><p></p><p> It peered at Griff. “I tell you, you let me go free?” It asked, slyly.</p><p></p><p> “That’s right. But if I think your lying, it’ll go bad for you.” Griff said.</p><p></p><p> “Will tell!” It nodded eagerly. </p><p></p><p> “OK, first question. You know Valthjov?” </p><p></p><p> The Mezzoloth hesitated not one second. “Yes! Valthjov! I know!”</p><p></p><p> Griff raised an eyebrow toward me, then continued. “You fight for him?” </p><p></p><p> “He is master! I obey! You let me go now, yes?”</p><p></p><p> “Not just yet.” Griff said. “Where is Valthjov?”</p><p> </p><p> “In lair. A cave, not far from Khin-oin.” </p><p></p><p> “How do we find it?”</p><p> </p><p> “Walk to Khin-oin until you get to boiling lake. Put Khin-oin on left. Walk to</p><p>hills; maybe one hour. There is valley between hills. Look for cave. You find </p><p>Valthjov there!”</p><p></p><p> I glanced at Taklinn, and even he seemed to think that this was going far better</p><p>than we could have hoped. Apparently, loyalty was not the strong suit of the </p><p>Yugoloth race. </p><p></p><p> “How many guards, and what kind of guards?” Griff continued his interrogation. </p><p></p><p> The Mezzoloth paused to think about this for several minutes, doing painful </p><p>calculations in his head. He seemed to finally give up trying to get a sound number</p><p>and simply said, “Many Canoloth. Maybe five or six Nycoloth. And Valthjov waits</p><p>for Clodoveo. Clodoveo is Ultraloth!” </p><p> </p><p> “Another Ultraloth?” Happy wailed. “This gets better and better!”</p><p></p><p> I stepped forward and caught the creatures attention. You’ve been in this lair?” I</p><p>asked. </p><p></p><p> “Yes, in lair. I have been!” The Mezzoloth answered.</p><p></p><p> “Describe it.” I said. “In detail.”</p><p></p><p> While the Mezzoloth told me of everything he could remember about the lair and </p><p>I committed it to memory, I had a servant fetch pen and paper, whereupon I had</p><p>Griff free one of the Mezzoloth’s arms and I bid him draw me a map. Ever helpful,</p><p>the creature took the pen in it’s hooked pincer and sketched a crude map of a large </p><p>underground cavern with two exits. </p><p> </p><p> “That way to Valthjov!” He announced, jabbing at one of the exits with his hook.</p><p>I no go there. No Canoloth go there. No Mezzoloth go there. Valthjov no allow!”</p><p></p><p> “But he is down that passageway?” I asked. </p><p> </p><p> “Yes, yes! Valthjov is there. Not far. But this room full of Yugoloth! They kill</p><p>you good, yes! Canoloth snap your bones and Nycoloth chop off your arms! They </p><p>kill you good!”</p><p></p><p> “We’ll see about that,” Griff cut him off, “When is the other Ultraloth supposed to</p><p>show up?” </p><p></p><p> “Do not know.” The Mezzoloth shrugged. </p><p></p><p> I looked at my crew. “Any more questions? We’re about out of time.”</p><p></p><p> “None that I can think of.” Griff said. Hap shrugged and Taklinn shook his head, </p><p>never taking his eyes from the Mezzoloth. </p><p></p><p> Satisfied with our information, I produced a scroll and unrolled it. </p><p></p><p> “You let me go now, yes?” The Mezzoloth asked, hopefully. </p><p></p><p> “Not just yet,” I replied, “But soon, don’t you worry. Just as soon as we take care</p><p>of Valthjov, you’re on your way.” </p><p></p><p> “But you say…!” The creature hissed, not understanding. I ignored him and read </p><p>from the scroll, casting the ‘feeblemind’ contained therein on him. As I said the</p><p>final word of the dweomer, the Mezzoloth became quiet and withdrawn. I looked at</p><p>his eyes and saw only dull listlessness and confusion. A small rope of drool began </p><p>to slip from his mouth. </p><p></p><p> I breathed a sigh of relief. “It worked.” I said. “He’s dumb as a box of hammers.</p><p>Let’s lock him in a room. I’ll have the servants feed and water him.” </p><p></p><p> “Doorag,” Griff said, “You seem awfully relieved. Did you have some doubt</p><p>about all of this?”</p><p></p><p> “Well,” I said, “To tell you the truth, that scroll was the only ‘feeblemind’ I had. </p><p>If it hadn’t worked, we’d be in a bit of a moral pickle right now.”</p><p></p><p> “What was your plan if it didn’t work?” Hap asked.</p><p></p><p> “Cross that bridge when we came to it?” I said, shrugging. “To tell you the truth, I </p><p>was just kind of hoping for the best.”</p><p></p><p> Griff chuckled. “So okay, we got our info. What do we do with it? It sounds like this</p><p>Valthjov is holed up pretty tight, and he’s got plenty of guards. If we had such </p><p>trouble with a grip of Mezzoloth, what are we going to do about this lot?”</p><p></p><p> I picked up the map that the Mezzoloth had drawn for me and studied it</p><p>thoughtfully. </p><p></p><p> “I have a plan.” I said.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> Brwfst 1</p><p></p><p> “It’s a simple scry and fry.” I said the next morning. We were gathered around the </p><p>dining table as is our habit, and Taklinn was in the process of casting ‘restorations’</p><p>on us to heal the losses incurred from the ‘cloud kills’. I pointed at the map that the</p><p>Mezzoloth had drawn for us, outlining my plan. “We port in here,” I said, drawing </p><p>an ‘X’ on a point nearest the exit where the Mezzoloth had said Valthjov could be</p><p>found, “And we hit them hard and fast. We don’t screw around with the guards in</p><p>this main room unless we have to. We’ll be flying, and as soon as we get there we </p><p>make for Valthjov’s chamber. Griff, I’m thinking that you and I should concentrate</p><p>on him. Hap, if you can get the right angle on him, well, you know what to do.” </p><p> </p><p> Hap grinned wolfishly at me, fingering the hilt of a dagger. </p><p> </p><p> “Taklinn, I’ll need you to protect my flank. These guys can see through my</p><p>invisibility, and chances are the ceiling won’t be high enough for flight to afford me</p><p>much safety. Heck, the Nycoloth can fly, and if they come after me, I’ve had it. I’ll </p><p>do my level best to ‘dimensionally anchor’ Valthjov, because if he thinks he’s in</p><p>any real trouble he’ll just shift out and we’ll be worse off than we are now. We need</p><p>to take him out as fast as possible, grab the axe, and port out of there. Any</p><p>questions?” </p><p></p><p> Three heads shook, and we spent the next twenty minutes going over details and</p><p>finally casting enhancement spells. By the time we were ready nearly all of us had </p><p>‘fly’, ‘stone skin’, and ‘haste’ on us. I added a ‘greater heroism’ to Griff before we all</p><p>joined hands. I pictured the point in the cave in my mind and cast ‘greater teleport’, </p><p>crossing my fingers in hopes that the Mezzoloth hadn’t been smart enough to lie. </p><p></p><p> As it turned out, our prisoner had been telling the truth, for in the next instant we</p><p>appeared in a large underground cavern, quite near an exit. The cave was full of </p><p>bulldog looking Canoloth and four-armed Nycoloth, but there was no time to deal</p><p>with them even as their heads snapped around to regard us with surprise. </p><p> </p><p> We’d gotten the drop on them and had a few precious seconds in which to act </p><p>before they gathered themselves to attack us. I resolved to use them wisely.</p><p></p><p> I was the first to move, and thus I flew as fast as I could through the exit. The</p><p>tunnel was short, only fifteen or so feet, and emptied into a smaller chamber. At it’s </p><p>far end, I saw our target! An Ultraloth stood over the body of a second Ultraloth.</p><p>The dead one appeared to have died in quite a bit of pain for its features were</p><p>twisted in agony. The living Ultraloth stood over it’s brethren with a look of </p><p>consternation on its face. I saw also that the dead Ultraloth held in its claws a</p><p>beautiful white axe, and I immediately assumed that the pair had been attempting to</p><p>wield Clangeden’s artifact and that one of them had paid the ultimate price for </p><p>doing so. </p><p></p><p> The Ultraloth, whom I assumed to be Valthjov, looked up at me with a face full of</p><p>pure shock. My companions were already streaming in behind me, and for a second </p><p>I thought to go with our original plan. But I had a plan B in the back of my mind</p><p>that was contingent on just such an event. I had the drop on Valthjov, and I had</p><p>decided that if such came to pass, I would gamble. Casting furiously, I rolled the </p><p>dice.</p><p></p><p> One of the things that had given me great pause when formulating a plan of attack</p><p>against the Yugoloth had been their resistance against spells, and therefore I had </p><p>spent the previous night going into the back pages of my spell books and boning up</p><p>on offensive dweomers that could not be resisted. Two of them had leapt</p><p>immediately to mind. ‘Conjuring bolt’, a spell that I had used with great success in </p><p>the early days of my career, and ‘Duvar’s Ripper Portal’, which was basically the</p><p>more powerful cousin of ‘conjuring bolt’. Both of them used force energy to</p><p>damage their targets, both of them hit unerringly, and neither of them could be </p><p>resisted. The only downside was the relatively small amount of damage that they</p><p>would cause. But I had recently mastered a couple of new meta-magic techniques</p><p>that I hoped would make those spells far more dangerous. </p><p></p><p> I had gone into the fight assuming that the best I’d be able to hope for would be to</p><p>use ‘dimensional anchors’ and ‘weaken resistances’ against Valthjov, but I’d also</p><p>prepared two big hitters in the event that I caught him with his pants down. </p><p></p><p> My first spell was a maximized ‘ripper portal’ which took Valthjov square in the</p><p>chest. The Ultraloth took a surprised step back as a look of rage and pain swept</p><p>across his face. He snarled and glared at me with hatred, but I was not through yet! </p><p> </p><p> I followed my first spell with a quickened ‘conjuring bolt’, and it too sizzled into</p><p>the Ultraloth’s chest. A look of sheer amazement crossed his face, and then he</p><p>dropped to the floor, dead. </p><p></p><p> “Holy crap!” I heard Happy yell from behind me. “What did you just do?”</p><p> </p><p> “Get the axe and lets get the hell out of here!” I yelled back by way of reply. But</p><p>Taklinn and Griff had already reached the bodies of the Ultraloth. Taklinn reached </p><p>down and grasped the axe, tearing it from the dead hands of the Ultraloth and</p><p>holding it up reverently. Happy flew to their sides, as did I, but it was too late for a</p><p>clean get away. As fast as we were, the Yugoloth were hot on our heels. Three </p><p>Nycoloth’s suddenly teleported directly into the room to surround Taklinn and Griff</p><p>while Canoloth began to pour into the room, charging our fighters. </p><p></p><p> “Grab my hands!” I shouted, already bringing a ‘teleport’ spell to my lips. But it</p><p>was not to be. Even as Happy reached for me, a Nycoloth leapt into the air,</p><p>pumping his wings, and grabbed her in its four arms, pulling her out of reach of my </p><p>extended hand. On the ground, two more Nycoloth swung away at Griff and</p><p>Taklinn while the Canoloth joined in as well, snapping at the pair of them (and at</p><p>me as well) with long tongues that dripped with paralyzing poison. Our luck held, </p><p>and none of us were frozen by the Conoloth’s poison, but there would be no easy</p><p>escape. Griff and Taklinn were in the thick of it, and Happy struggled for her life to</p><p>escape the grip of the Nycoloth as it attempted to rend her. </p><p></p><p> Griff looked over his shoulder to see his wife in the grip of the Nycoloth. Rage </p><p>overtook him and he tried to go to her, but he was pressed back by Yugoloth</p><p>attackers. I saw him dodge a Canoloth tongue even as he parried a Nycoloth axe.</p><p>Frustrated in his attempt to reach Happy, something seemed to snap in him. Griff’s </p><p>eyes became narrow slits of steel; through clenched teeth I heard his guttural exhale</p><p>as he lashed out with his sword. The Talon caught the Nycoloth between its two left</p><p>arms with a meaty slice that nearly cut the beast in half. It threw up its hands, its </p><p>axe flying away from it as it howled fruitless denial at its own death. </p><p> </p><p> The Nycoloth slumped in death, but Griff was far from finished. His yard of steel</p><p>continued its arc, cleaving into one, then two Canoloth, both of whom fell. Griff let </p><p>his momentum carry him to the next, and it too fell to the gore soaked cavern floor.</p><p>Then another, and another fell dead, cut too deeply to live, until Griff stood at the</p><p>center of a clearing, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Not one Yugoloth was </p><p>within reach of him.</p><p></p><p> Not to be outdone, Taklinn faced a horde of his own Yugoloth. The axe he held in</p><p>his hand seemed to flare with brightness as he gripped it, and I saw flickers of doubt </p><p>and fear in the eyes of the Yugoloth as holy light appeared to dapple across them.</p><p>With a look of wonder, and something like peace, Taklinn swung Clangeden’s axe,</p><p>and buried it to the haft in a Nycoloth chest. </p><p> </p><p> The Nycoloth was driven to the ground by the force of the blow, and it died there</p><p>as Taklinn used his boot to kick the body off of his axe. He fended a Canoloth off</p><p>with his shield even as he brought the axe around for a backhand swing that took </p><p>the top off of a second Canoloth’s head. </p><p></p><p> He brought it back forward, and his eyes seemed to follow the axe head, as if in</p><p>awe, instead of his targets, but it did not affect his aim, for he dispatched two more </p><p>with bone crushing slams.</p><p></p><p> All of this happened in the space of a few heartbeats, yet I witnessed it all, as if in</p><p>slow motion, as I twisted my body to dodge the tongues of two Canoloth that </p><p>stalked me from below. I could see that victory, not escape, was now the order of</p><p>the day, for Taklinn and Griff had reduced the enemies number by nearly two</p><p>thirds. Instead of running, we were going to kill these hateful creatures. </p><p> </p><p> But there was still the matter of Hap, and I resolved to free her of the Nycoloth</p><p>that was doing its level best to tear her head off. </p><p></p><p> My intention was to fly out of range of the Canoloth tongues, but even as I made </p><p>to shoot away, a tongue found my ankle, wrapping around it and hanging on. I felt</p><p>its poison flow into me, but I shook my head to clear it, refusing to succumb to the</p><p>paralyzation. Never taking my eyes off of Hap, I pulled at the Canoloth’s tongue </p><p>even as I cast the ‘hold monster’. </p><p></p><p> The Nycoloth froze, utterly frozen by my spell. It’s wings stopped beating, and</p><p>immediately both it and Happy crashed to the ground. Fortunately Happy landed on</p><p>top, and managed to quickly slither free of the Nycoloth’s statue-like grasp. It’s </p><p>eyes flashed with hatred as it willed itself to disappear into another realm, but not</p><p>before Hap got in one quick thrust with a dagger that nearly killed it. Alas, before </p><p>she could draw back for a second thrust, it shifted. </p><p></p><p> The rest of the Canoloth, seeing the final Nycoloth flee, did likewise. My ankle</p><p>was suddenly free as they shifted away, popping out of Hades one after the other </p><p>until only the four of us and the bodies of our foes remained.</p><p></p><p> Griff limped over to Hap, who was gingerly checking her bruised ribs. </p><p> </p><p> “You okay?” He asked. </p><p></p><p> She grinned through the pain at her husband. “Been worse.” She said, giving</p><p>Griff’s hand a squeeze. She clucked her tongue as she checked Griff’s wounds,</p><p>making sure that none were potentially fatal. </p><p> </p><p> I landed beside them and nodded toward Taklinn, who stood amidst the scatter of</p><p>Yugoloth bodies. His eyes were still glued to the axe with a reverent gaze as he held</p><p>it before him. He was utterly entranced. </p><p></p><p> “Taklinn?” I called to him, and he broke from his reverie with a start, looking</p><p>sheepishly, yet proudly at me.</p><p></p><p> Happy was already searching the bodies, and soon we’d collected a nice sum of </p><p>platinum. She spied a chest in a small alcove as well, and within a few minutes had</p><p>bested the lock to reveal quite a bit more coin. We tossed the lot of it into Griff’s</p><p>bag of holding, and Taklinn said, “Very well then! Let’s be back to Clangeden!” He </p><p>withdrew his plane shift ‘key’ that Anwell had given him, and held out his hands to</p><p>us.</p><p></p><p> “Not so fast!” I said. “We still have one more obligation!” </p><p></p><p> Taklinn gave me a look, but merely sighed. “All right, all right. Let’s get it over</p><p>with!”</p><p></p><p> I grinned at him and held out my own hands. As they all linked together, I </p><p>‘teleported’ us back to the mansion. </p><p></p><p> We entered and went to the room where we had locked the ‘feebleminded’</p><p>Mezzoloth. Taklinn gave me another sour look and a grumble, but in the end he </p><p>gritted his teeth and cast the ‘heal’ that was needed to restore the Yugoloth to its</p><p>full faculties. The thing grunted and hissed at us, but Taklinn simply gave it a level</p><p>gaze that spoke volumes. </p><p></p><p> “Never let me see you again.” Our cleric said simply. The Mezzoloth’s eyes</p><p>widened, and it disappeared. </p><p> </p><p> “Now can we go?” Griff asked. </p><p></p><p> “Yes,” I said, “Taklinn, cast away.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn did, and we soon left the infernal planes of the blood wars to return to</p><p>Arcadia. </p><p></p><p> We wait now on the spot where we first met the solar. I had to use up all my</p><p>seventh circle spells capabilities during the Yugoloth fight, and thus, I sleep for the</p><p>first time in a long time without the comfort of the mansion. Though I miss it, I </p><p>must admit to a certain pang of nostalgia as I sit around the campfire with my</p><p>friends as we did on so many nights so long ago and listen to them recount the tales</p><p>of our battles as I write in this journal. </p><p></p><p> Yes, I miss the warmth and comfort of the mansion, but I have a feeling that I will</p><p>sleep very soundly tonight, under an open sky with my friends near at hand. </p><p> </p><p></p><p> Brwfst 2</p><p> </p><p> Today has been a fair whirl wind of events that I am nearly at a loss to even put</p><p>into words, though I suppose I shall have to try.</p><p> </p><p> This morning would be a good place to start. </p><p> </p><p> I arose early and stretched in the new “sun” of a fresh Arcadian day and saw that</p><p>Taklinn was already up, seated in his now familiar spot on the riverbank, keeping </p><p>his vigil for the return of the solar. Clangeden’s axe was still gripped firmly in his</p><p>hand.</p><p></p><p> Hap and Griff rolled out of their blankets shortly after I had begun to prepare my </p><p>spells, and they soon had breakfast in order. </p><p></p><p> After a meal I cast an ‘analyze dweomer’ on the unidentified prizes we’d</p><p>accumulated and split them as we saw fit. </p><p></p><p> As we finished this task, I saw Taklinn jump to his feet from the corner of my</p><p>eye. Anwell had returned, and now stood on our side of the river. He had appeared</p><p>no more than five feet from Taklinn, and our cleric bowed low before him, </p><p>proffering the axe in outstretched arms. </p><p></p><p> The solar said nothing, but took the axe from Taklinn’s hands. He gave it an</p><p>appraising look, and when he was satisfied that this was, truly Clangeden’s axe, I </p><p>saw a smile spread over his face. </p><p></p><p> I got the distinct impression that solar do not smile much.</p><p></p><p> “You have retrieved the axe and accomplished what was asked of you, Taklinn </p><p>the Shorn.” Anwell said. I heard Happy cough loudly in the back ground, but the</p><p>solar ignored her. “Our lord Clangeden wishes to express his gratitude. You are</p><p>permitted from this day forward, to enter his mountain as a guest of honor. He </p><p>wishes you to make haste to the front gates of the city.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn looked up with a mixture of “its about time!” and gratitude on his face,</p><p>but the solar was already gone, having disappeared in the blink of an eye. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn looked at us. “Well what are ya standing there for?” He exclaimed,</p><p>throwing his hands up. “You heard him! We have to get to the city!” With that, he</p><p>tromped away from us, fording the river like a bull and climbing up the opposite </p><p>bank. He did not wait for us, and we were left to hurriedly stuff our gear (his</p><p>included) away and run after him. </p><p></p><p> We caught up to our dwarf eventually and asked him to kindly slow down a bit, </p><p>but there was no talking to him, and we could do nothing but match his pace as his</p><p>short strides ate up the ground. I flew, but Hap was reduced to being carried on</p><p>Griff’s shoulders. </p><p></p><p> “We gotta get you a harness!” Griff laughed.</p><p></p><p> “You just keep walking!” She said, playfully slapping his head. “You’re a lot</p><p>prettier when you don’t talk!” </p><p></p><p> It was three hours to the gates of the city nestled within Mount Clangeden. Those</p><p>gates were tall, reinforced, and meant business, but as we neared, they were opened</p><p>wide to us by none other than Anwell, flanked by a contingent of heavily armed </p><p>dwarf guards, who parted to let us through. </p><p></p><p> “Come.” Anwell said, motioning for us to follow him. We did.</p><p> </p><p> The city is a honeycomb of dwarven engineering the likes of which I had never </p><p>hoped to see. It was breathtaking as each massive cavern gave way to the next, each</p><p>one in turn more magnificent, more complex, as they connected to each other via a</p><p>myriad of tunnels. Buildings were hewn out of solid rock, and vast walkways </p><p>spanned the air above us, connecting their upper floors. I saw shops of every kind as</p><p>well as temples, schools, sculpture, rivers… the list goes on and on, and I soon</p><p>realized that beneath the face of Mount Clangeden there breathed a living </p><p>metropolis.</p><p></p><p> Everywhere I looked I could see dwarves in training. They marched through fest</p><p>halls, they sparred in court yards, they drilled in front of their homes. But dwarves </p><p>were not the only race I recognized. Plenty of humans, and even a smattering of</p><p>small folk walked the roads, shopped in stores and made merry in inns. </p><p></p><p> And last, but certainly not least, was the clanging of hammers on anvils. Every</p><p>fourth shop here appears to be devoted to blacksmithing of some kind, and even a </p><p>cursory glance at their wares displayed out front showed us weapons and armor that</p><p>were enough to have Taklinn and Griff practically drooling openly. We also had to </p><p>keep dragging Happy away from selection after selection of some of the finest</p><p>daggers she claims to have ever seen.</p><p></p><p> Anwell finally brought us to one of the cities finer inns and stated that we were </p><p>honored guests, and that rooms had been prepared for us. Our room and food</p><p>would, he said, be taken care of. We were led by the beaming dwarven proprietor to</p><p>our rooms and left to rest, though Anwell informed us that we would be visited </p><p>shortly.</p><p></p><p> I closed the door to my room and looked around at what passed for dwarven</p><p>luxury. It was not on par with my mansion, but it was certainly comfortable by any </p><p>standards, and I bustled about happily, setting up house as much as I could. When</p><p>an hour had passed and I had still seen no sign of a visitor, I settled down with</p><p>Helious’ spell book, in hopes that I would have time to learn a fresh spell from it. </p><p></p><p> Several hours passed, and I was quite immersed in my studies. I fear I missed the</p><p>first series of knocks on my door, but when they caught my attention at last, I</p><p>opened it to find Anwell standing there. </p><p></p><p> “May I come in, Doorag Marzipan?” He politely asked. </p><p></p><p> “Of course.” I replied, standing aside to let him enter. I eyed him a bit warily, for</p><p>he still presented an imposing and fearsome figure, despite the kind smile that he </p><p>directed at me. I shut the door and found a chair, awaiting his words. </p><p> “Clangeden has chosen to honor you, Doorag Marzipan,” he said, “It is not often</p><p>that the Father of All Battles finds occasion to gift a halfling, a halfling wizard at </p><p>that. But he is pleased with the doings of you and your dwarven companion,</p><p>Taklinn the Shorn.”</p><p></p><p> “It is not an easy thing for a suitable gift to be found,” the solar continued, “You </p><p>stand in a center of metallurgy and smithing. Were you a warrior, the task would be</p><p>simple. The best armor and weapons in the planes can be found here.”</p><p></p><p> “But you, Doorag Marzipan, are not a warrior. You are a wizard – an uncommon </p><p>career for the dwarven fold. You are a weaver of spells, a slayer from a distance.</p><p>These are things that Clangeden Silverbeard does not honor.”</p><p></p><p> I raised an eyebrow at this and stiffened a little, but did not interrupt him. </p><p></p><p> “But Clangeden honors you, Doorag Marzipan, and thus he has ordered this. First,</p><p>he gives you the title of Dwarf Friend. This is a gift in and of itself, for should you</p><p>need aid and find a dwarf in your midst, you must merely name yourself in the eyes </p><p>of Clangeden, and good dwarves within the reach of Clangeden will recognize you</p><p>and come to your aid.”</p><p></p><p> “But this is only part of your reward, Doorag Marzipan. He also offers you these.” </p><p>Anwell dropped to one knee as a box appeared from thin air at his feet. It appeared</p><p>to be crafted of finest mithril and bore the images of scrolls on its lid, crossed in the</p><p>manner of Clangeden’s axes. I could see that it glowed with the aura of </p><p>transmutation.</p><p></p><p> “Open it.” The solar commanded.</p><p></p><p> I slid from my chair and walked around to the font of the box, eyeing it and </p><p>appreciating the craftsmanship required to build such a thing. I could see no seam in</p><p>its construction, and wondered if it might even be water tight. With a look at the</p><p>solar over my shoulder, I reached for the lid and slowly opened the box. </p><p></p><p> Inside, I was puzzled to find a small chain shirt, patiently crafted from links of</p><p>pure mithril. </p><p></p><p> “Few mages wear armor,” Anwell said as I lifted the shirt from the box. It was </p><p>surprisingly light, and the links rippled like folds of Ebarium silk, “but few mages</p><p>have had the opportunity to wear armor such as this. It will not slow you down, nor</p><p>will it hamper the flow of your magic. It is comfortable enough to sleep in, and you</p><p>will never find need to repair it. It is the final achievement of Kristol Goblinsbane, a </p><p>follower of Clangeden Silverbeard. He considered it his greatest creation. Indeed,</p><p>Clangeden has kept it over the ages, until now. He believes he has found the one </p><p>worthy to wear it.”</p><p></p><p> “Finally,” he said, “The box is also yours. You may call it or send it away at will,</p><p>and when it is gone you can be sure that it has gone to a place untouchable except </p><p>by gods. Your belongings will be as safe, or safer than anywhere else you could</p><p>imagine. Clangeden gives you his word on that.”</p><p></p><p> The solar was silent then, as if waiting for the true weight of these gifts to sink in </p><p>to me and to say something.</p><p></p><p> My mind raced. The title of Dwarf Friend would have been enough reward for</p><p>me, but the addition of the box was more than I had dreamed of. The chain shirt, </p><p>however, gave me pause, and I searched for the proper thing to say. </p><p></p><p> “Err, thanks…?” I said, lamely.</p><p></p><p> A frown creased Anwell’s features. “I sense that you are… embarrassed.” He </p><p>said, curiously. “Pray, tell me why?”</p><p></p><p> I looked up at the tall, winged, creature and felt like a fool. “Its just that…” I</p><p>stammered, “Well, please convey my thanks to Clangeden for the title and the box, </p><p>I hope they both see use. But, err, well, I’m thinking that I cannot accept the shirt of</p><p>chain.”</p><p></p><p> Anwell’s eyes widened in surprise. “And why not?” He asked. </p><p></p><p> “Ah, well,” I swallowed, “Its just that… I don’t… I don’t wear armor.” I admitted</p><p>at last. I hurried to explain as he opened his mouth to protest. “You see,” I said, “I</p><p>already have items that provide me with as much protection as this shirt could, and I </p><p>already wear magical clothing that I could not continue to wear were I to put on this</p><p>shirt. My mantel and robe are both enchanted, and I would be loathe to part with</p><p>them. Therefore, I’m afraid that this fine gift would be wasted on me. If it is, </p><p>indeed, the crowning achievement of this Kristol Goblinsbane fellow, I would hate</p><p>to take it only to give it an unfitting home amongst my collection of oddities. This</p><p>armor is a piece of art, and I fear that it would be wasted upon me. Please </p><p>understand, I do not wish to appear ungrateful. These rewards are far more generous</p><p>than I deserve, and I am more than happy with the box and title. But please, see to it</p><p>that someone more fitting than I receives this armor. It deserves much more than to </p><p>end up a museum piece in a wizards laboratory.”</p><p></p><p> Anwell considered this gravely for a moment. “You are correct, Doorag</p><p>Marzipan.” He said, at last. “I will take the shirt back to Clangeden and explain the </p><p>situation. He will understand your motivations. Still, he will not be satisfied until</p><p>you receive what he feels to be adequate reward.”</p><p></p><p> “But really,” I began to protest, “The box and the title are more than…” </p><p></p><p> Anwell cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Such things are not for you nor I to</p><p>decide, Doorag Marzipan.” He said. “Simply accept his generosity. Now then, do</p><p>you have an idea as to what might prove a more suitable reward? Something that </p><p>you desire?”</p><p></p><p> I thought about that for a long moment, reluctant to offer suggestions and still</p><p>feeling like a lout over the whole armor thing, but at last, I sighed. “Well,” I said, “I </p><p>have most of what I need, and what I don’t, I can eventually craft myself, if I ever</p><p>get the time, so I don’t really…”</p><p></p><p> “Time?” the solar said. </p><p> </p><p> “Well, yes, time. I never seem to have enough time. Heck, I have a whole book</p><p>full of spells that need learning, but I just never have the time to…” I stopped, for</p><p>he had caught my eye. His look was questioning, and I dared a guess. “Unless,” I </p><p>wondered, “Clangeden can give me… time?”</p><p> </p><p> “Would that be your desire, Doorag Marzipan?” Anwell asked. “Time?”</p><p></p><p> “Why, yes!” I exclaimed. “Is that possible?” </p><p></p><p> “We shall see,” The solar smiled, “We shall see.” And with that, he was gone,</p><p>leaving me to wonder at what he was up to. I shrugged, and went back to my </p><p>studies, though I could not help but try out the box several times. It satisfactorily</p><p>disappeared and reappeared when I spoke the command words, and I was quite</p><p>pleased indeed. </p><p></p><p> Several hours later there came another knock on my door. It was Anwell again,</p><p>and he wore a wide smile on his face. </p><p></p><p> “Gather your belongings and come with me, Doorag Marzipan.” He said simply. </p><p></p><p> Anwell led me from the inn and through a half mile or more of tunnels to an awe</p><p>inspiring structure carved of living rock. Priests of Clangeden milled about </p><p>everywhere I looked, and the gods crossed axes symbol was carved prominently</p><p>above the entryway. Anwell led me inside and dwarven priests bowed low before</p><p>him, parting to let us pass. </p><p></p><p> Down corridors and through chambers I was led until at last he brought me to a</p><p>simple, stone, door. He pushed it open and I could feel a grin spread across my face</p><p>when I saw what was inside. A complete wizard’s laboratory was set up inside, as </p><p>well as a fine selection of tomes and books. The solar led me inside and opened a</p><p>second door that led into an adjoining room that was obviously a living area with</p><p>bed, basin, and other accoutrements. It was comfortable and clean, and I looked at </p><p>Anwell questioningly.</p><p></p><p> “Once I close this door you will have your time.” Anwell stated. “Two months, to</p><p>be precise. Outside the door only two weeks will pass, but within this room you </p><p>have much longer to do with as you please. I will explain to your friends what you</p><p>are doing. Have no fear for them, for they have much to accomplish as well, and</p><p>some of their rewards will take more than two weeks to facilitate. Is this an </p><p>acceptable reward, Doorag Marzipan?”</p><p></p><p> I gaped at the solar, open mouthed. “Two months?” I hardly dared believe he was</p><p>serious. </p><p></p><p> “Two months.” He nodded.</p><p></p><p> “That is more than generous!” I grinned. “Thank you very much!”</p><p></p><p> “It is Clangeden’s will.” Anwell said simply. “Food will be delivered to you daily, </p><p>and if you have need of anything at all you may ring the bell you will find in the</p><p>laboratory. Good luck with your studies, Doorag Marzipan, and enjoy your time.”</p><p>With that, he bowed low and backed out of the room, shutting the door softly after </p><p>him. </p><p></p><p> I looked about, hardly knowing where to begin. Two months! What I could do</p><p>with that kind of time! I quickly unloaded my haversack and became familiar with </p><p>the lab and library. Once I was satisfied that I had everything I needed, I decided</p><p>upon which project to start first. I withdrew Helious’ spell book and laid it open on</p><p>the desk, turning to the first of some twenty spells that I had thus far had no time to </p><p>learn. </p><p></p><p></p><p> Ptchwl 9</p><p></p><p> Only two weeks have passed since my last journal entry here outside of the time </p><p>fold in which I have been sequestered. Inside the room that Anwell left me in,</p><p>however, two months have passed, and not a second of it went to waste. In that time</p><p>I have learned more than twenty new spells and have crafted for myself a pair of</p><p>dexterous gloves much like the ones I made for Happy. </p><p></p><p> My journal is chock full of notes concerning my time spent outside of the normal</p><p>stream of time, the vast majority of which are technical specifications and notations </p><p>of curiosities with regard to spells, yet one entry in particular I keep going back to</p><p>over and over again. </p><p></p><p> My reward here in Arcadia has sparked an idea within me that I cannot let go, and </p><p>I am determined to explore it further. </p><p></p><p> In essence, my idea concerns time; my need for it, and a way to get it. I had not</p><p>previously considered a way in which to facilitate my studies and crafting in a more </p><p>expeditious manner, but now that I realize that it can, in fact, be done, I am</p><p>intrigued enough to follow through on ways in which I can emulate the gift given to</p><p>me by Clangeden. Near the halfway point of the two months spent in the lab, it </p><p>suddenly dawned on me that the answer to this dilemma has been right under my</p><p>nose for some time now! </p><p></p><p> Edik. </p><p></p><p> Once the name of that plane popped into my head I immediately re-read my</p><p>journal entries from our time spent there and, sure enough, I saw where I had</p><p>recorded a time difference of ten Edik days for every one of our days! </p><p></p><p> This is a tremendously exciting discovery, for it means that, if I can return to</p><p>Edik, I can have access to just about all the time I will ever need! For example, the</p><p>gloves that I so recently crafted would require thirty-six days to create in Havilah, </p><p>but if I were to make them on Edik, only three to four days would have passed in</p><p>Havilah! </p><p></p><p> The mind boggles at the possibilities! </p><p></p><p> We have already been able to return to Edik with Yigil’s help. At the time I was</p><p>unable to cast the needed spell, namely, ‘plane shift’. But Yigil had cast it after</p><p>crafting a key to the plane and we were able to return there to retrieve the remainder </p><p>of the women and children that did not accompany their men when we attacked</p><p>Melesandre. I can only believe that, now that I possess the ‘plane shift’ dweomer,</p><p>the only thing between me and unlimited access to Edik and it’s time differential is </p><p>a ‘fork’ attuned to it. If Yigil can craft one, then why not me?</p><p></p><p> All of which dove tails nicely with a quest that Taklinn has been hinting about for</p><p>some weeks. He has visions of returning to Edik to destroy the evil temple to Illugi </p><p>where the souls of Kester Orban and his crew are still trapped. Taklinn feels it is our</p><p>duty to free them, and I can naught but agree, though now I have all the more</p><p>reason to wish to return to Edik </p><p></p><p> But I am getting very far ahead of myself. Our quest here is hardly at an end. I</p><p>feel that we are so terribly close to Caribdis, and I yearn to get back on his track. It</p><p>will still be another week before we leave Arcadia though, for Taklinn, Hap and </p><p>Griff are all in the process of having weapons and armor crafted for them. Each of</p><p>them has already received a major reward from Clangeden. When I finally left the</p><p>laboratory, exhausted but happy, I went back to the inn where my friends have been </p><p>staying. They were glad to see me, and I could immediately see that they had</p><p>received their gifts. Happy carries a new dagger that glows with a magic the</p><p>brightness of which is matched only by the new sword that Griff now wears at his </p><p>side. He still carries the blade I crafted for him, but it has now been relegated to a</p><p>back up weapon, for this new bastard sword is a blade of incredible enchantment</p><p>and quality. I must admit to being slightly saddened at the thought that the Talon is </p><p>in semi-retirement, but Griff made me smile again when he flashed both of his</p><p>swords from their scabbards and referred to them as “The Talons”. I suppose that</p><p>any decent griffin should, indeed, have two talons. </p><p></p><p> And Taklinn, well, Taklinn carries the axe. Yes, the axe we rescued from the</p><p>Yugoloth now belongs to our cleric. I doubt I could ever put into words the pride</p><p>with which Taklinn wields that axe. It is perhaps THE major milestone in his</p><p>career, and he now joins what I am sure is a very elite group of dwarves who have </p><p>been personally gifted by Clangeden with one of his weapons. I am by no means a</p><p>scholar on the ways of dwarves, but I know enough to appreciate the honor and </p><p>prestige that such a gift confers. </p><p></p><p> As I said, we are still a week from departing Arcadia, as at least Happy is having</p><p>a new suit of armor crafted. She tells me that it will be heavily imbued celestial </p><p>armor that will allow her the ability to fly for limited periods of time, which I agree</p><p>is something she has been lacking. Between her new armor making her far more</p><p>mobile and difficult to hit, and her new dagger, with its myriad of enhancements, </p><p>she will become twice as dangerous to her foes as before, so I cannot begrudge her</p><p>the extra time we are spending here. </p><p></p><p> As for me, even though I have just spent two grueling months at work, I have </p><p>resolved to use the next seven days wisely. I plan to scribe several new scrolls, as</p><p>well as make permanent both the ‘tongues’ and ‘comprehend languages’ spells</p><p>upon myself. It is a significant drain on my life essence, but I feel the benefits are </p><p>well worth it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 6585714, member: 6792361"] Hrvstr 23 This morning I met the crew at the breakfast table, and it was immediately apparent that the wounds we had opened between ourselves had not healed over night. Griff was even more silent than usual, and Happy refused to look at me at all. Only Taklinn seemed not to have lost his appetite (well, he and Wasp) and the pair of them were busy tearing into platters of eggs and ham. It was obvious that there was much we all wanted to say, but none of us seemed to know where to begin. I shuffled my feet for a few moments, stirring my eggs listlessly, until I finally decided to break the tension. “Ahem.” I cleared my throat, “Griff, Happy, I have a few things I need to say.” The two of them looked at me expectantly, though it was clear by their faces that they did not expect to like it. “I, umm, I think I owe the pair of you an apology.” I began. “I said some things last night that were not befitting of a crew member, let alone a friend and comrade. I hope you will take me at my word when I say that I was simply heart sick at the notion of forgoing our quest for Caribdis again, no matter how short the diversion may be. I was blinded by it, and spoke without thinking. I placed my desire to find him above your desires to do the right thing, and such is not the way of this crew. Of course I will help you to free these prisoners. If I didn’t, I would not be worthy of having a place in this crew, or of your friendship. I hope you can forgive me.” Griff regarded me for a moment, then shrugged. “No apology necessary, Doorag. Lets just do this and get out of here.” Happy also looked at me, her face softened dramatically. “I understand, Doorag,” she said softly, “I want to find Caribdis too. I know you didn’t mean those things. If it’s any consolation, I can tell you that my main reason for wanting to knock these Harmonium guys down a few pegs is because they picked on Griff and I. They wanted to take us in for their ‘re-education’, or whatever it is, and that rubs me the wrong way. I take that kind of thing personally.” I smiled at her, realizing that she was telling the truth. My mind went back to our capture of Sensesi and the memory of how personally Hap had taken the yuan-ti’s attack on her.” “OK,” said Griff, breaking the awkward silence that followed, “Taklinn, have you talked with your god?” Taklinn stopped his chewing, his mouth still stuffed with ham, and swallowed slowly. “Err, no.” He said. Griff raised a questioning eyebrow. “Why not?” “Well,” our cleric answered, wiping his mouth, “I thought quite a bit about it last night and came to the conclusion that I’m not entirely sure I want to use a ‘commune’ to speak with Clangeden this close to his home. I’m not real sure what would happen. Probably nothing out of the ordinary, but I don’t know. That, and I think this is a decision that we need to make ourselves, and I have a feeling that it has been made.” I nodded slowly. “You may be right, Taklinn. Truth be told, I’m all right with the responsibility. This way Cuthbert cannot blame Clangeden for putting his stamp of approval on our action.” Griff shrugged again. “So I guess we need a plan.” “Funny you should mention that, Griff,” I said, “I actually have a little something put together in my head that you might like. Wasp, did you make that map we asked you to?” “Yep!” The little fellow grinned, shoving a rather rumbled and grimy, though still legible sheet of parchment with a map drawn on it toward us. I spent the next twenty minutes going over my plan, stopping to answer questions and clarify points, though for the most part Taklinn, Griff and Happy, and even Wasp, listened with rapt attention, nodding now and again. I produced paper and pen, sketching it out and showing them exactly what I had in mind. I used Wasp’s map a reference often, and stopped to ask him for details on the schedule of the Harmonium troops. “So there you have it.” I said at last. “And the real beauty is, if it works, it may be one of the sweetest prison breaks of all time! If all goes well, we’ll free every prisoner in their, we won’t shed a drop of Harmonium blood, and they won’t have a clue as to how we did it! What do you think?” The four of them looked at me for several minutes, then Griff’s face broke into a broad smile. “I think we’ve got a plan!” I spent the rest of the day in preparation. First, I wanted a peek inside that camp, and to that end I used a ‘greater scrying’ to find and watch one of the fighters we had let go the day before. He was busy going about his routine, and I was able to catch many glimpses of other warriors as he passed and interacted with them. What I saw gave me serious pause. My second scry was directed at a fellow whom Wasp had shared a cell with. With his name, I was able to find him, and got a good look at the interior of the prison as well as the yard when they took him out for a bit of exercise before his ‘lesson’. Fortunately, his lesson for the day consisted of a few hours of being preached to by a pair of Harmonium who hammered away at him with their twisted philosophy of law. It was an obvious attempt to brainwash him, and I could tell that he was very tired. There was no physical abuse, but I could only imagine the mental strain of such lectures day after day. When I was satisfied, I cut the connection and found the rest of the crew. “These guys are tough.” I said, flatly. “Very tough! And rich, apparently.” “What did you see?” Hap asked, suddenly very interested. “Well, as you know, we got quite a haul off of those six we dealt with in the field. Each of those guys wore at least a decent ring of protection and a cloak of resistance that is equal to mine, and those aren’t cheap! Not only that, but all of them packed magical blades and armor. I was hoping that such wouldn’t be the case with the rest of them, that perhaps that was some sort of elite strike team, but apparently not. Just from following one of them around today I was able to see that each knight is armed exactly the same way! We’re talking about heavily magically equipped troops here, and a lot of them!” “Well, with any luck we shouldn’t have to run into any of them!” Hap reasoned. “Though it sure would be nice to relieve them of some of those toys. But ah well, if we can relieve them of their stupid pride I’ll be satisfied.” I spent the remainder of the day and most of the night in learning a spell from Helious’ book that I would need. ‘Solid Fog’. Hrvstr 24 Today we put the first phase of our plan into action. As soon as we were up and ready, we exited the mansion and walked back around toward the forest. The encampment was located about one hundred yards from a tree line, which suited me perfectly. We made our way to a spot about fifty yards back into the trees, well out of sight of the camp, and we began. First, Taklinn cast a ‘find the path’ on himself, and I was envious at what a nifty spell it was! However, the second part fell to me, and thus I cast a ‘polymorph’ on him. Immediately he took the form of a frost worm, smaller than the one I had turned into a turtle on the tundra, but every bit as frightening. Taklinn seemed to grin through the huge mandibles, ready to go to work. I cast a ‘passwall’ spell directly at the ground, opening up a shaft in the earth that descended for thirty feet. I stood back, motioning for Taklinn to lead the way, and he did, slithering down the shaft. Once he’d reached bottom, he began to eat away at the dirt below, quickly carving out a tunnel that led south, toward the Harmonium encampment. With a levitate, I let myself down the shaft to follow him while Hap and Griff remained on top. I followed Taklinn as he bored his way through the earth at amazing speed, casting ‘walls of stone’ every so often to ensure that the tunnel did not collapse on our heads. With his dwarven knowledge of tunneling, he was able to avoid sections that looked unstable. It took two castings of ‘polymorph’, but at last he stopped. We were now exactly thirty feet below the prison building. I knew that, straight up, was the hallway that ran between the rows of cells. When Taklinn had returned to his own form, we made our way back through the several hundred feet of tunnel and climbed out again. I dismissed the ‘passwall and the earth closed up over our tunnel as if the shaft had never been there. Our tunnel was hidden thirty feet below. I cast a mansion and we entered, hiding out for another full day while I learned a second spell from Helious’ book. ‘Dominate Person’. Hrvstr 25 Today we put our plan into action! It took me until early afternoon today to learn the ‘dominate person’ dweomer, after which I needed my rest, which was fine as we could do nothing until night. At midnight my servant woke me as instructed and I began to prepare. By one o’ clock we had assembled ourselves on the spot where we had begun our tunnel yesterday. Wasp was to remain there, out of harms way and ready to greet the escapees. Taklinn, Hap, Griff and I set out for the tree line and once there, we found ourselves a fine hiding spot from which we could barely make out the log walls of the Harmonium encampment in the odd moonlight afforded by the orb that passes for a moon here on Arcadia. We waited there until two o’ clock, at which time we put our plan into motion. Taklinn began to intone a prayer that would eventually lead to the casting of a ‘control weather’ spell. At first the hot summer night was still, but as the minutes passed a sudden breeze played at the trees and the first fat rain drops began to fall. Thunder rolled in the distance. Our cleric let the storm build slowly, taking nearly an hour to wind it up to its full force. By 3:00am the land was gripped in a two mile radius by a full fledged summer storm that caused the trees around us to bend with the force of the winds. A driving rain pelted down upon us and one thunder clap quickly gave way to another. With any luck the storm would provide the distraction we needed and would cover any noise we might make. “Ok, Taklinn!” I shouted above the thunder. “We’re going in! Remember, only use the elementals if I give you the signal!” I saw his face lit up by a flash of lightning as he nodded. We had decided that, should we need further distractions to do our work, Taklinn would summon several air elementals to wreak havoc in the camp. Hopefully it would not be necessary. “Are you two ready?” I yelled at Griff and Hap. Griff gave me a thumbs up, and all I needed from Happy was the excited grin on her face to know that she had been ready for quite some time. The first order of business was communication, and to that end I used a spell that I had learned specifically for Hap and Griff’s wedding. I cast the ‘Rary’s telepathic bond’ and the four of us soon found that we could hear each others thoughts provided we were open to receiving and sending them. This would facilitate silent communication between all of us, including Taklinn so that we could keep him abreast of the situation. Next, I cast ‘invisibilities’ on Griff and Hap and they faded from view satisfactorily. For myself, I invoked a ‘greater invisibility’. It would not last as long, but it would enable me to cast offensively without becoming visible. We knew that at least one controlling spell would have to be used. “All right, get ready!” I thought to Griff and Hap. “And remember, there will be one guard in the hall, I’ll attempt to deal with him. If it fails, it may be up to you. Silence is key!” “Got it.” Griff thought back. “Check.” Added Happy. I reached for them and cast ‘greater teleport’, picturing the hall that ran between the cells within the prison building. And we were there. The prison was the only solid structure within the entire camp. Warriors, clerics and wizards alike resided in sturdy tents that lined the log walls, while at it’s center they had constructed the prison, also from logs. One half of the building was used for “re-education” while a single door led into a narrow hall that ran for thirty feet or so. The entry door was made of sturdy wood with a single, barred, window looking out into the rest of the building, while more of the same sorts of doors lined the hall. Behind each of these locked doors I knew we would find several prisoners. But first, there was the matter of the guard. My previous scrying, and Wasp’s information, had told us that a single guard patrolled the hallway at all times. I had aimed my teleport for the spot closest to the outer door so that we could be between it and the guard should I fail to enspell him. The first thing I did as we appeared in the hall was to look for the guard. He was easy to find, as he was leaning up against a door not three feet from me! He appeared quite bored, and never flinched as we ported in so near him. I had a split second of panic before I remembered that he couldn’t see us, though I knew I had to act quickly, for water from the rain outside would soon begin to drip from our cloaks and give us away. In an instant, I was casting. The thunder outside masked my whispered incantation. The guards eyes jerked wide, and then I felt a powerful bond to him as the ‘dominate person’ dweomer took hold! “Got him!” I thought to Hap and Griff, excitedly. I felt rage and resistance boil within the guard, but he had to obey me when I spoke quietly into his ear. “Do nothing!” I commanded. “Stay where you are and remain utterly silent!” I felt him try to break the charm, but it was no use. He was my puppet. “Hap, get the keys!” I thought to her. Our silent rogue did so, snatching them from the guards belt with a chuckle, but Griff had discovered something. “Doorag!” He thought to me. “There’s another one, right outside the door! All he’s gotta do is take a step and look left and the jig is up!” Fortunately I had prepared for just such an eventuality, and cast another spell that I had never used before. I aimed the ‘permanent image’ at the outer doors window, carefully picturing the scene I wanted to set. Once I had finished the spell I allowed myself to relax just a bit, for now if anyone was to look through that window they would see nothing more than the hall, empty except for the bored guard, leaning against the wall. “How’s it going in there?” I heard Taklinn’s worried thought in my head. “Everything’s fine,” I answered, “Just keep that thunder coming.” As if in reply, a huge clap of thunder sounded in the night sky, and I sent more instructions to the crew. “Hap, get the cell doors. Use the thunder to mask the sound. Griff, you know what to do.” With that, I dismissed the ‘invisibility’ on him. The day before, I had explained to Griff that I felt it was of vital importance that he be the first one of us the prisoners saw. I reasoned that he was the most “heroic” looking one among us, and would easily command the trust of the prisoners and be able to convince them to stay silent, that we were here to help them. He had rolled his eyes at this, but could hardly argue. The only thing that made him nervous, he had said, was that he would be the only one visible! Hap turned the key noiselessly in the first cell door and swung it open, thunder and rain covering the creak of hinges. Inside we saw five forms, huddled in threadbare blankets, rising and falling shallowly with the breath of sleep. Griff entered quietly and knelt beside a man, placing his hand over his mouth and rousing him from slumber. At first, the man’s eyes went wide with fear, but Griff quickly put that to rest. “We’re here to break you out!” Our warrior whispered urgently. “Be as quiet as you can, wake the others and tell them to wait in the cells! Not a peep out of anyone! Got it?” The man nodded and Griff took his hand away to reveal a wolfish grin on the fellows face. He and Griff quickly woke the rest. Hap and Griff repeated the process again and again, unlocking doors, waking prisoners, and assuring them that their freedom was at hand while I kept an eye on the outer door, listening intently for sounds of alarm and communicating with Taklinn every few seconds to tell him what was going on. Within a minute every cell door was ajar and some fifty people waited within for us to free them. We instructed one cells worth of prisoners to come out into the hallway, after which I commanded the guard, who had, this entire time, been seething with desire to scream for help, to enter the now vacant cell. I did not want him to see how we were to free the prisoners. As I closed the door and locked it, I told him to remain silent and to do nothing. He looked at me with hatred, but had to obey. It was time to put the next phase of our plan into effect. Hap took my spot and kept watch as I made my way to the far end of the hall. Once there, I looked at the final ten foot section and prayed that my calculations had been correct and that Taklinn’s ‘find the path’ had been accurate. I cast a ‘passwall’ at the floor and a thirty foot long shaft opened up into the earth. I looked down into it and breathed a huge sigh of relief. I could see the end of our tunnel below. I quickly followed the ‘passwall’ with a ‘solid fog’, filling the shaft with the heavy mist. “Ok, Griff,” I thought to him, “We’re set to go!” “All right, in you go.” Griff whispered to the nearest prisoner. She looked at the shaft uncertainly, hardly willing to trust that the fog would keep her from plummeting to the bottom, but Griff was convincing in his own way. “You can stay here and let these tin suits beat on you,” he hissed, “Or you can trust me. It’s magic! You’ll be fine!” He handed her his ever burning torch and lit it for her. “Take this, it’ll be dark down there. Now go!” The woman could hardly argue with him, and with a deep breath, she stepped into the shaft. As I had known it would, the fog caused her to settle slowly into the shaft. I was gratified by the look of surprise and relief on her face as she sank harmlessly downward. Griff motioned for more prisoners to follow, and seeing that the fog would do as he had promised, they quickly followed the woman. The seconds that passed were tense as we waited for all of them to take the leap of faith. I kept expecting the sounds of our discovery and cries of alarm, but none came. At last, the final prisoner had stepped into the shaft and we were alone in the hallway. “Let’s get the hell out of here!” I thought to Griff and Hap, and the could not have agreed more. The three of us jumped into the shaft and settled to the bottom where we found the fifty people waiting for us. I quickly turned and dismissed both the ‘solid fog’ and the ‘passwall’, and just like that, the shaft sealed itself. Now, anyone searching for a means of the prisoners escape would find nothing. We had left no trace. “Let’s go!” Griff shouted, shouldering his way to the front of the column. We followed him through the tunnel and I could see the excitement growing on the faces of the people. They were beginning to believe that they were actually going to be free! Truth be told, I was just beginning to believe it myself. I sent a quick message to Taklinn. “We’re in the tunnel! Get out of there and meet up with Wasp!” We followed Griff for several hundred feet until we came to the end of the tunnel. Several of the prisoners eyed the dead end nervously, but I asked them to excuse me as I made my way to the front of the line. From there, it was a simple matter of casting a second ‘passwall’ at the tunnels ceiling, and soon I heard the delighted gasps from the prisoners as they felt rain pour in and a breeze cool their faces. I had used a ‘fabricate’ to craft a ladder the day before, and Wasp stood ready with it. He lowered it down to us, and from there it was a simple matter of climbing out. By the time half of the escapee’s had made it to the top Taklinn had rejoined us. Soon the clearing was full of our crowd, and when I was certain that all were accounted for, I dismissed the ‘passwall’, thus hiding the last of the evidence. By this time I was visible, and I made the same true for Hap. I quickly made introductions to the freed prisoners, but warned them that it was too early to celebrate. “I still have a connection to that guard,” I said, “So I’ll know when they find him. So far, so good. He’s just sitting in that cell, stewing, but sooner or later they’ll relieve him, and when that happens I want to be as far from here as possible! We’re heading for the portal that will take us to the upper layer of Arcadia. I suggest that you all accompany us!” There was no argument from the crowd, and soon we were a mobile column again, moving in a northeasterly direction through the forest as fast as we could. Despite their confinement, the prisoners were able to make good time, and we soon left the trees and broke into open fields. On and on we raced, knowing that the portal was only a few hours away, yet I also knew that we were not out of the real woods yet, for I had to assume that a few things were going to soon happen. First, the guard would be discovered. Second, their wizards would scry one of the escaped prisoners. Third, they would mount up and ride hard after us while a contingent of them would almost certainly teleport directly to our location. I could only hope that we would beat them to the portal. Even then, there was no real reason to believe that they would not chase us even to the upper layer. We jogged on for two hours, at which point the “sun” showed it’s face, and within seconds daylight bathed the plains of Arcadia. This seemed to invigorate us, and we forged ahead. Another hour passed, and still I felt nothing but frustration and anger from the guard back in his cell, but then, that all changed. I stopped, detecting a sudden change in the emotion of the guard. It was hope! Griff, Taklinn and Hap looked at me quizzically and I told them what was happening. “We’re about to be found out.” I informed them. Minutes later, hope turned to excitement and relief, and I assumed that the guards cell had finally been opened. I knew that the guard would be unable to tell them anything as long as I dominated him, but I wanted one last laugh at the expense of the Harmonium. I sent the guard a final mental command, which I also voiced aloud for the benefit of Hap, Griff, and Taklinn. “You will do nothing but sing and dance!” I willed, and I could feel a sudden burst of humiliation from the guard as I’m sure he began to caper about and caterwaul. The rest of the crew must have had the same mental image, for all of us doubled over with laughter at the thought of the befuddled Harmonium as they watched the poor fellow helplessly prance about. But there was no time to savor the joke. Wiping a tear of mirth from my eye, I glanced behind us. “They’ll probably dispel my ‘dominate’ soon and that guard will be able to talk. Also, they’ll scry us. I’ve got a ‘detect scrying’ going already, so I’ll tell you when that happens. I think we’ll beat the riders to the portal if Wasp is right about how far w have to go, but we can expect a few of them to port after us. Let’s get going and stay ready. I was soon proven correct, for fifteen minutes later I felt the bond between myself and the guard break. Nearly an hour to the minute later, I felt the first hint of a scry being used. “They’re on to us!” I shouted. “Keep moving!” The prisoners renewed their efforts, running on on tired legs, but the taste of freedom gave them strength. Griff, Taklinn, Hap and I fell to the rear of the line of people, and I kept looking over my shoulder, waiting for our pursuers to arrive. I did not have long to wait. They appeared behind us, eight of them in all, perhaps one hundred feet away. One thing I can say about the Harmonium is that they are consistent in their uniform, and thus it was easy to pick them out by occupation since their dress was identical to the first six we had fought days ago. Five of them wore the plate mail of their knight class; there was a single cleric; and my stomach fell when I saw not one, but two mages. That was bad. We skidded to a stop, yelling for the prisoners to keep moving, to break for the portal and not look back while we held the Harmonium off. Taklinn, Hap, Griff and I turned to face these opponents and I began to cast furiously. I had only a few high level dweomers left after the escape plan. Even my normal ‘overland flight’ had had to be forgone in favor of other spells. I had a normal ‘fly’ spell still in reserve, but I decided not to waste the precious time needed to cast it. I wanted to hit them hard and fast. To that end, I invoked a contingent ‘greater invisibility’, hoping that it would be defense enough. I followed that up by raising my staff and sending a fireball at them. Grouped as they were, it caught them all, and while I knew it probably wouldn’t kill any of them, it would soften them up a bit and give them something to think about. The fireball exploded in their midst and I saw at least one of the wizards nearly fall to the ground. Near dead, he was able to keep his feet only with the aid of the cleric who was already casting a healing spell on him. After my initial volley, I raced away from the rest of the crew, hoping to get outside the possible area of any return spells, and setting up for another blast of my own. My hunch was right, for the second mage, not as badly wounded, hurtled a ‘fireball’ of his own at my crew that completely missed me. It was a nice try, but largely ineffective. It would take far more than a couple of medium evocations to kill Taklinn, and Griff’s spell resistant armor simply allowed him to ignore the spell entirely. As for Happy, it is pure folly to even try to hit her with such things as ‘fireballs’. She tucked and rolled, coming up without so much as a singe. She pulled her magical dagger and went invisible, blinking out of sight. Now, only Taklinn and Griff offered visible targets, and the Harmonium knights took their best shots. Four of them charged straight at Taklinn and Griff while the fifth man hung back, searching the area for Hap and I. Griff grunted as two long swords found him and bit through his armor. Taklinn was hit once. Neither of our fighters were in too bad a shape yet, and I resolved to concentrate on the spell casters. Besides, with my enhanced sight, I could see Happy maneuvering around for a killing strike on one of Griff’s enemies. I hoped that they would soon have those fighters well in hand. Indeed, Taklinn took a step back and invoked his ‘righteous might’. As I saw the holy energy flood through him I grinned, knowing that he would soon give these Harmonium much to think about. Meanwhile, the two mages and the cleric still stood back in the spot where they had first appeared, and I thanked them inwardly for being kind enough to stay bunched up like that. The cleric was preparing to cast another healing spell on one of the mages, but he never got the chance. I hurled a second ‘fireball’ at them. For a split second they were concealed by the flames, but when it cleared, both wizards lay on the ground, still as death. The surprised and wounded cleric looked about himself for help, found none, and switched the target of his healing spell to himself! At the same time, Griff was returning the pain that his two enemies had visited upon him. With a mighty swing he caught his first man high on the shoulder. The knight tried to dodge, but that only brought him close enough for Happy to dart in and sink a dagger into his thigh. Griff followed with a second slash that dropped the knight where he stood. Undaunted, the knights pressed their attack. Taklinn’s pair managed to hit him a couple of good blows, but our cleric laughed them off. He was nearly twice his normal height now, and bursting with holy strength. He dropped his shield, grabbed the haft of one of his axes in both hands, and waded into the two knights. His first attack caught a knight squarely in the side of the head, caving it in, helmet and all. The knight dropped like a sack of flour. Taklinn followed through with a mighty slam at his second opponent, and I saw that one drop as well! But our cleric was not through yet, for his momentum carried his axe blade on around to connect with Griff’s last opponent, and down when that one as well! True, the fighters had all been softened a bit by my first ‘fireball’, but it was a fearsome display of clerical might nonetheless! There was one fighter remaining, and he appeared utterly ready to lay down his life for his cause if it meant possibly taking one of us with him, and unfortunately, Happy was directly in his line of attack. Her hit on Griff’s man had caused her to become visible, and she barely had time to spin around to meet him as the knight charged her from behind. His sword came down, she dodged, and the blade whistled harmlessly past her! Cart wheeling out of the way, our roguish friend backed off, opening up space for Griff and Taklinn to deal directly with the knight. The cleric had used his healing spell on himself after my last ‘fireball’, but I continued to pile the damage on to him. I cast a ‘lightning bolt’ at him, all the while moving ever closer to him, getting within the range I needed for a follow up should it come to that. Apparently it would, for the cleric still would not go down! In fact, he even ignored the damage to cast an offensive spell of his own! Vertical pillars of flame suddenly filled the area where Hap, Griff and Taklinn stood. Happy, of course, rolled out of the way, but Griff and Taklinn were beginning to show signs of wear from the spells and hits they had taken. Still, they were far from down yet, and I knew that if I could put the finishing touches on this cleric, our fighters would certainly be able to take care of the final knight. I raced forward the final few feet I needed and unleashed an ‘empowered scorching ray’. All three of the rays struck the cleric, nearly lifting him off his feet. He shrieked in pain, franticly batting away at the flames, but it was no use. He took three staggering steps and fell, face first, onto the ground. I breathed a sigh of relief and looked back at the rest of the crew to see how they were doing. My relief was made complete, for I saw that the last of the knights was on the ground, with Taklinn’s massive form pinning him there. I learned later that Griff had rushed the man, knocking him off his feet, and Taklinn had simply thrown himself on top of him. “Surrender!” Taklinn commanded the helpless knight, and to my surprise, he did! The knight let go of his sword and asked for quarter. I checked myself for wounds, found none, and jogged to where the three casters lay, scanning them quickly for useful gear and finding much to make me smile. We gathered what items we wanted from our defeated foes while Taklinn healed an unconscious knight. We now had two prisoners and Taklinn reminded them again of who had brought about their ruin. “I am Taklinn the Shorn!” He roared at them. “You live today at my whim! Now go, and tell your masters to end their harassment, or we shall not be so eager to take prisoners the next time." Beaten and stripped of all but their undergarments, the two knights gritted their teeth and began the long walk back to their encampment. Taklinn laid his hands upon wounds that needed his attention as I rejoined them. “We’d better catch up to our people.” I said. “The Harmonium might send more. We were lucky this time. I doubt the next lot of wizards they send will be without the protective magic’s they should have had. Lets go!” I did not need to ask them twice, and soon the four of us set out at a run across the plain. Within a few minutes we had caught up to the prisoners, several of whom had lagged back out of concern that we would lose them. The looks of relief on their faces was obvious and a cheer went up from them as we neared. We all trotted on, ever vigilant of more Harmonium that might come after us, but all our backwards glances showed us nothing. The Harmonium were, if only for the day, ready to sit back and lick their wounds. Soon we crested a small rise and beheld the portal. A massive stone dais was flanked by two massive pillars that curved slightly inward to points, like two giant fangs. Between them glowed a shimmering, round, portal suspended in mid air. Stone steps, worn concave by countless feet led up the dais toward the portal, and we all stopped, catching our breath as we regarded it. “This is it!” Announced Wasp with a grin. The halfling approached each of us and happily shook our hands. “I can’t thank you enough.” He said, solemnly. “If we ever cross paths again, I hope its on better terms, and if its anywhere near a tavern, the first round is on me!” With that, he climbed the steps and, with a last look over his shoulder, he stepped through the portal. The rest of the former prisoners followed suit, each of them embracing us or pumping our hands and offering their heartfelt thanks before disappearing into the glowing disk. Finally it was just the four of us, and one by one, we entered the portal to Abellio. In no more time than it takes to draw a breath, we stood upon a similar portal, still in Arcadia, but now on it’s top layer. Abellio shared all of the features of the lower layer with regard to the terrains geometric precision. In the distance we could see another river flowing arrow straight, dividing squares of grassy fields and symmetric orchards. The most prominent feature, however, was easily the mountain that dominated the horizon. Perfectly conical, it rose into the Arcadian sky, it’s tip piercing the clouds. For me, it was awe inspiring. For Taklinn, it was heart breaking. I glanced at our dwarf to see him staring at Mount Clangeden with a barely concealed look of anguish on his face. Even as Wasp, who had waited for us on this side of the portal, piped up, Taklinn did not tear his eyes from the mountain. “The river Oceanus is that way,” Wasp told us, pointing toward the mountain, “Just keep heading toward Mount Clangeden and you’ll have to cross it. Good luck, and thanks again!” With that, the halfling joined the rest of the people we had freed, trotting away across the fields to what I hoped were better fates. “Well,” said Griff, “You heard him. Let’s go.” Taklinn heaved a sigh that was almost a choked sob, but he quickly coughed it away and set his jaw. Without a word, he set his path toward the mountain and we all followed. It had been a long and trying day though, and we made only an hour before we decided to get some rest. I cast a mansion and entered, though it turns out that I sleep here alone, for Hap, Griff and Taklinn have elected to sleep outside. Hap and Griff simply prefer nature, and Taklinn, I believe, would at least sleep in the shadow of his gods mountain, even if he may not climb it. Hrvstr 27 We slept through most of the day of Harvester 26 and napped through the night. By the time the sun orb cast its light over Arcadia on this, the 27th we were all eager to be off, especially Taklinn, who has been uncharacteristically quiet, spending long hours staring towards Mount Clangeden. We walked at a leisurely pace for the better part of the day, fording small streams, cutting through fields and small groves of forest, now and then waving at the inhabitants of this plane. Though Abellio is much the same as the lower layer, we felt somehow safer here, as if our troubles with the Harmonium had been left far behind, though I knew, in the back of my mind, that that was probably untrue. By late noon the mountain was quite close, and soon we could see the shimmering strip of liquid white that was the river Oceanus as it coursed its way across Abellio like a razor straight slash. As we got nearer and nearer to the river, I stole more glances at Taklinn, for I knew that once we reached it our course would change and would be heading away from the mountain. He had said little all day, and it was painfully apparent that his unexplained exclusion from Mount Clangeden was causing him no end of torment. I sighed, feeling great empathy for him, and allowing myself a moment of wonder at how the diety could justify such a cruel thing. I knew that it was pointless to try to understand the workings of a god, but to simply tell one of his most faithful that he can come right to the gates of his most holy of places, but not enter, with no explanation, just seems unjust. I hoped that, once we put the mountain to our backs, Taklinn’s mind would be put at ease a bit, though I sorely doubted it. As it turned out, our path would find yet another detour! By early evening we were nearly to the banks of the Oceanus, and as we got closer we could make out a figure standing on the far side of the river, apparently waiting for us. As we drew closer still, we could see that the creature was quite tall, hairless, and sprouted beautiful white wings from its back! It also held a massive, two-handed sword. As we reached the river bank, I heard Taklinn gasp as he realized what it was, and I echoed him as I also recognized it. A solar! Taklinn dropped to one knee in deference to the angelic form, and even I lowered my eyes and gave it a courteous bow. Griff and Happy looked curiously from Taklinn and I to the solar, having no idea what it was or why we would genuflect toward it. “It’s a solar!” I hissed at them. “Yeah, so?” Shrugged Griff. I opened my mouth to whisper to them exactly what a solar was and why they should give it its due respect, but was interrupted by the creature itself. “Arise, Taklinn the Shorn.” The solar said in a weird and echoic voice from his position on the opposite side of the river. “I have been waiting for you.” “You’ve been waiting for him?” Griff growled, eyes narrowing, “What the hell does that mean?” “I have been waiting for all of you, Griffin Dorjan.” The solar said patiently. “Greetings, Happy Dorjan, and greetings, Doorag Marzipan.” The fact that the solar knew our names did not surprise me, though it did take Griff a bit off guard, and our warrior challenged him no more. “What would you have of us?” Taklinn asked, his voice heavy with reverence. “Not I, but Clangeden,” The solar said, his topaz eyes glowing with holy inner light, “For I am merely his messenger. You may call me Anwell. I have been sent here to inform you that your quest has changed.” I groaned inwardly at his words. Part of me had already known that the appearance of the solar would lead us away from our path to Caribdis, but I had been holding onto hope that such would not be the case. I said nothing, however, for since the Harmonium I had come to a certain peace with the fact that we would simply get to Caribdis when fate so decreed it. We were obviously only partially in charge of our own fates, and there was little point in fighting it. I sighed and waited for this new detour. “I am Clangeden’s humble servant.” Taklinn declared. “What would he have me do?” Clangeden would request a service of all of you,” Anwell spoke, “A service that, if not completed, could tip the balance of power in the lower planes and send ripples outward that affect us all.” “Several nights ago,” The solar continued, “An item of great import was stolen from Clangeden. How such a thing came to be is unimportant. Suffice to say, the item is an axe of great power, both physically and symbolically. Clangeden asks that you retrieve it.” Griff sighed, obviously not as resigned to our fate as I. “Crap.” He muttered. “Where must we go, my lord?” Taklinn asked, pointedly ignoring Griff. “The axe has been taken by a Yugoloth called Valthjov to the grey wastes of Hades, and there intends to use it’s powers in a bid to take over the throne of Siege Malicious in Khin-oin. Such a thing cannot come to pass, especially with the aid of Clangeden’s own weapon. “Khin-oin?” Happy wondered aloud. “Siege Malicious?” Griff echoed her confusion. “Perhaps Doorag Marzipan can explain the details better than I.” Invited the solar. I cleared my throat, knowing full well the weight of what the solar had asked, and tried to put into words the details for Hap and Griff. “Hades is the grey wastes,” I began, “A plane that separates the abyss and the hells. The abyss is, of course, where demons reside, while the hells are home to devils, and Hades is where they meet to do battle.” “To do battle?” Hap exclaimed. “Yes,” I nodded, “It’s the site of the blood wars, the eternal battle that has raged between demons and devils for untold millennia. Hades is a war zone of untold proportions. It’s where demons and devils and untold amounts of other evil creatures battle in a never ending conflict. It’s not a nice place.” Griff spat on the ground. “And this Khin-oin?” He asked. “Khin-oin is an artifact of near uncontrollable power.” I said. “It’s a tower that stands in Hades. Legend has it that its carved from the spine of a massive demon. Within the tower lies its control center, a throne, known as the Siege Malicious. Whoever sits in the throne may wield the terrible power of Khin-oin to his own ends, though, as I understand it, it’s a dangerous proposition at best.” “Doorag Marzipan’s studies have served him well.” Anwell said. “Valthjov seeks to unseat the current ruler of Khin-oin. That, in and of itself, is not our worry, for in the end, the tower governs itself. What we may not allow is the use of Clangeden’s axe to facilitate such a thing.” “When do we go?” Taklinn asked simply. Griff and Happy looked none too pleased with this new twist, but they said nothing, nor did I, for I knew that there would be no turning away from this quest for Taklinn, and therefore we would follow him. “I will return to you in twenty-four hours.” The solar said. “Use that time to prepare. Do not cross the river under any circumstances.” This last sentence seemed to hit Taklinn in the gut, and he lowered his eyes in shame made all the more hurtful by its lack of explanation. “One more thing,” Anwell said, “You may rest assured that Clangeden is well pleased with the way you dealt with the Harmonium.” With that, he simply disappeared, and we were left alone on our side of the river. With little to do except wait for the solar’s return, I decided to use the time wisely and returned to the mansion for some study. I had only recently learned to control spells from the eighth circle of power, and there was one particular spell from Helios’ book that I felt might aid us in a fight against Yugoloth. Happy and Griff set out to explore the area a bit, and Taklinn sat on the river bank, his axes at his feet. I believe he stayed there most of the day and on into the night, staring wordlessly at the mountain, so near, yet so far away. At dinner that evening I explained what I knew of Yugoloths. “Yugoloths,” I said, “Are evil creatures from the plane of Gehenna. Most often they act as mercenaries for both demons and devils. They are extremely chaotic, and have little loyalty other than to the highest bidder. They come in several varieties, the least of which are the Canoloth, who are the grunts. They are blind, but their sense of smell more than makes up for that. Next are the Mezzoloth. They look like large beetle demons, and have a repertoire of nasty abilities, not the least of which is the ability to cast ‘cloud kill’ at will. After that you have the Nycoloth, one of which we already encountered just before we got to Arcadia. They are winged, tough, and delight in pain and suffering. Finally, there are the Ultraloth. You can consider them the generals or wizards of the Yugoloth. Not as tough as the Nycoloth, but far more intelligent, and with a whole host of spell like abilities at their command. It’s my guess that this Valthjov fellow is likely an Ultraloth. We can expect all manner of nasty work from him, including hypnotism and mass suggestion.” “Great.” Griff said sourly. “Oh, and they are also highly spell resistant,” I added, “Not to mention resistant to fire, cold and most other energies. That could be a problem.” “So what’s the plan?” Hap asked. “I don’t really have one right now.” I answered. “Just being on Hades will present its own difficulties. The Yugoloth might be the least of the foes we face there. My suggestion would be to keep an extremely low profile, get in and get out as fast as we can. We certainly don’t want to get the attention of some of the worst of the things that inhabit that place on a regular basis. Even the minor demons and devils might be encountered in their hundreds.” “All will be well.” Taklinn said, somberly. “Clangeden guides us.” “Great, that makes me feel a lot better.” Griff chuckled dryly. “I must return to my research,” I said, “Lets just try to get a good nights sleep and be as ready as we can be for whatever tomorrow brings.” My friends agreed with this, and soon I was back at my desk, sifting through the details of the ‘mind blank’ spell. Hrvstr 28 I awoke early the next morning and decided to prepare my spells on the river bank, reasoning that a bit of fresh air would do me good. I had mastered the ‘mind blank’ dweomer last night, and was eager to cast it upon myself. It was a spell I had been looking forward to for quite some time. I left the mansion to find Taklinn already sitting in his spot on the river bank, still motionless, still staring at the mountain. I did not disturb him, but sat several yards away with my books. An hour passed and I soon became lost in the preparation process of my spells. When next I looked up, the sun had moved some ways across the sky, and Taklinn still sat there. With a sigh, I put my books away and walked to him. “Umm, how ya doing?” I asked, rather lamely. His only reply was a grunt of acknowledgment. “Taklinn,” I tried again, “I know you must be feeling pretty low about this whole Mount Clangeden thing, but you can’t let it drive you crazy.” Taklinn looked at me and I was surprised by the anger in his eyes. “You cannot know the depths to which it affects me.” He said flatly. “I’m sure that’s true, but perhaps my distance affords me some perspective.” I said. “Surely this is just some sort of test…” “How can he do this to me?” Taklinn’s words were tinged with heartbreak, with anguish, and I felt his pain most acutely at that moment. “Have I not been a true and faithful servant? Why does he shun me? What have I done to deserve to be ostracized from his holy mountain? It is not right! It is not fair!” Taklinn had risen to his feet by now, and though he spoke to me, his eyes never left the mountain. “Again, I’m certain that this just must be some sort of test of faith, Taklinn.” I assured him, “Part of your duty as a cleric of Clangeden is to accept his decree without question, to trust in his wisdom.” The anger seemed to drain from him a bit. “I do trust him.” He said. “Of course I do. And I accept his word as well. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.” “No,” came a voice from behind us, “It does not.” Taklinn and I whirled around to see Anwell standing there. He had crossed the river this time. Taklinn clamped his mouth shut, refusing to speak more of his feelings, which was just as well. Hap and Griff were, even then, sauntering down the hill toward us, and I knew we would be off soon. “A couple of questions, if you please?” I asked the solar. “I will answer what I can.” He nodded. “This Valthjov, what sort of Yugoloth is he?” “Valthjov is an Ultraloth.” Anwell said. “Hmm,” I mused, “I thought as much. And how many others can we expect?” “Anwell considered for a moment. “Valthjov is the only Ultraloth we know of that you will encounter, but he is in command of at least one Nycoloth, as well as a small troop of Mezzoloth. It would not surprise me if he had more though. Generally such creatures do not travel without an entourage of Canoloth at the very least.” “And how do we find him?” “We are unsure as to his exact whereabouts, though we believe that you will find him near the tower of Khin-oin.” “Fair enough.” I said. “What about returning? I assume that you will shift us to the Hades, but how will we get back here?” “Taklinn will use this.” Anwell said, producing a small, forked piece of metal that I recognized as a ‘plane shift’ key. “It is attuned to Arcadia. Either Taklinn or you, Doorag Marzipan, can use it in conjunction with the ‘plane shift’ spell to return here.” By this time Hap and Griff had joined us, and though I’m certain they had plenty of reservations about this mission, they seemed eager to be off. Their gear was ready, and they nodded when Anwell asked if we were prepared to go. I had only to cast a few long lasting preparatory spells on myself (‘mind blank’ being one of them), and I was ready as well. I grasped Taklinn’s hand on one side, and Hap’s on the other. Anwell touched out chain, and uttered a few words. The lands of Arcadia grew dim and slipped away, and the next instant found us standing in the grey wastes. There was no sun. There was no moon. All was grey and lifeless. Here and there we could see trees that somehow grew on this desolate plain of ash and rock, but they were horribly twisted and deformed, as if evil itself had taken root in the very soil of this forsaken place. In the distance we could see dots of light that might have been hundreds of small fires, and I could only guess at the horrors that danced around those flames. In another direction, we could just make out the cruel spire of a tower that pointed like an accusing finger at the heavens, and I assumed it to be the dreaded Khin-oin. Some fifty yards away we could see a black river winding its way across the barren plain; I figured it to be the Styx. Nothing moved as far as we could see, and we were gratified that Anwell had seen fit to deposit us in a relatively safe place. “Oh, this is lovely!” Hap exclaimed, sarcastically. I peered about ourselves, quite nervous, and used my ‘overland flight’ to ascend several feet into the air. “Let’s just get going.” I said. “Let’s find the axe, take it, and get the hell out of here!” “I’m all for that.” Griff nodded. The oppressive evil that permeated the very air here seemed to disconcert even him. Thus, we began to walk across the fields of ash and lava rock, picking our through the unforgiving terrain. We used no light source, for we wanted no beacon to attract unwanted investigators. Over hill and crag we walked (or flew, in my case), with the tower ever in our sights. We were perhaps an hour from it when we met our first denizens of this hellish place. Happy heard them first and whirled around to face them with a warning to us all, but it was too late. Three coal black horses with hooves of fire and eyes red with hate ridden by three horrible old crones with sickly figures and hideously revealing clothing charged down from behind us, crossing the distance with incredible speed. I had chosen this moment to alight on the ground and walk with my comrades for awhile, and I never even had time to retreat to the air before they were among us. Griff was pounded by flaming hooves while Taklinn fended off his own hag with his shield. The third looped around and came straight at me, and I ducked franticly as hooves battered the air where my head had been only a fraction of a second before. Without thinking, I fired off a trio of max/empowered ‘scorching rays’ at the night hag rider, and then promptly cursed myself loudly, for not only did my spell fail to penetrate her spell resistance, even if it had it would have done no good, for hags are, of course, immune to fire! As I sailed into the air, dodging yet another flurry of hooves, I berated myself for my stupidity. Happy tucked and rolled, coming up behind Griff’s hag. Three quick dagger thrusts found their homes and Griff followed with a massive slam of his own that unseated the hag, which hit the ground hard and lay there twitching. Taklinn slammed his own hag with axe blows, and meanwhile I was in trouble! Even the air offered no refuge from the hag, for her nightmare simply took to the skies after me. I could not avoid the hag as she grabbed for me. I felt her bite and yelped loudly. Blood streamed from my shoulder as I dived for a position beside Griff, turning in midair to fire off a ‘flesh to stone’ on her night mare. But it failed! The hellish beast shook off my spell and dove right after me! Then I saw Taklinn take a step back and hold out his crossed axes symbol of Clangeden. With a mighty shout he cast what I learned later was “holy word’, a very powerful divine spell which instantly paralyzed the three remaining nightmares! I breathed a sigh of relief as the one coming after me froze and her rider, caught off balance, fell to the ground, only to leap to her feet and try to bite Taklinn! She pierced his armor and I saw blood on her teeth, but Taklinn merely grunted and whirled to face her. Griff stepped in at that moment and brought the Talon across the throat of Taklinn’s first hag, dropping her where she stood. One of the nightmares fell, reveling Happy, who had been standing on it’s other side. Her daggers were coated with gleaming ichor, and she wore a gleeful grin as she moved on to the next frozen nightmare. As for myself, I set my jaw and cocked my crossbow, flying up to the last paralyzed nightmare. I took careful aim and unloaded a bolt into the things eye. Between Taklinn and Griff, the final hag was out matched, and she quickly fell beneath their steel. We looked around for more marauders, but none appeared. Taklinn inspected his own wound and seemed satisfied that he was uninfected, but upon examining my bite he clucked his tongue in concern. “She’s given ya the taint, boy.” He informed me, and I had a moment of panic as he explained the awful disease that night hags enjoy infecting their victims with. Fortunately our cleric knew a bit about these creatures, and after rummaging over one of their bodies for a moment, he gave a satisfied grunt as he found what he was looking for. It was her heartstone, and with it he assured me he could cure the wound. He pressed the stone against the bite for a moment, and I almost felt the poison and sickness being pulled from my body. The stone glowed dully for a moment and then returned to its dead black hue. I felt much better. We gathered the two remaining heartstones, found nothing else, and headed out again, eager to leave the bodies and any evidence of our existence on this plane behind. We trudged on for another hour, Khin-oin growing larger before us with each passing step. Though I should say that Hap, Griff and Taklinn did most of the trudging. After the attack by the hags I wanted to be off the ground as much as possible (even though it was no help against the nightmares), so I spent the hour in high in the air with Taklinn’s telescope, scanning the area around us for any signs of trouble. I found some! I quickly adjusted the focus on the telescope, zeroing in on what appeared to be an encampment of insectoid creatures. Though I had never actually seen one in the flesh, my studies identified them easily enough. I flew straight back to the ground to stand with the others. “Mezzoloth!” I announced excitedly, “About a half mile away! Twenty of them!” “Didn’t Anwell say something about Valthjov traveling with mezzoloth’s?” Happy asked. “Indeed he did,” I agreed, “These might be his.” “So what do we do about them?” Griff said. “Did you see the guy we’re looking for?” I shook my head. “No, I didn’t see any Ultraloth or Nycoloth’s. They could be just a random band of Yugoloth mercenaries.” “Let’s find out!” Taklinn said menacingly. “We should capture one of them and get information from it!” “Easier said than done.” I said. “They can all plane shift at will. You’d have to knock one of them out to take it prisoner. I could try a ‘dimensional anchor’, or Griff could use his vest, though I don’t think that’s a good idea.” “We can at least try.” Taklinn said, setting his jaw and hefting his axe. “I agree with him.” Griff said, stroking his short beard. “If these guys know where the Ultraloth is, it would be worth the trouble.” “I suppose you're right,” I nodded, “Besides, I don’t relish the idea of letting them get behind us. How do you think we should approach this?” “I say we sneak up on ‘em!” Happy said, a dagger already held loosely in her hand. I waited for Taklinn to disagree with such a dishonorable tactic, but he surprised me by nodding his head and agreeing. Apparently he felt no compulsion to show the inhabitants of this place the modicum of fair play he generally afforded others. “How tough are these guys, Doorag?” Griff asked. “Well,” I said after some thought, “I’m not real sure. Their ‘cloud kills’ could hurt, and they have high resistance, both to spells and energies. I’m not certain how effective I’ll be against them. Still, I don’t think they pack that much of a punch.” The four of us spread out and began to cover the ground between us and the mezzoloth’s as surreptitiously as we could by darting from sickly tree to ashy hillock. We almost managed to get the drop on them, but alas, it was not to be. I have said before that Happy can hide in the shadow of a pebble, and I don’t think I’m exagurating, for even as we moved across the field I would look for her from time to time, and even though I knew where she was, I still had trouble seeing her. Griff and I are nowhere near as stealthy, but even we managed to keep our heads down and our feet quiet enough to draw within about a hundred feet of the Mezzoloth encampment. Taklinn, on the other hand, is an entirely different story. Tip toe though he might try, there just wasn’t much help for his clanking armor and lumbering pace. I cringed with every step he took as the sounds of metal on metal echoed all around us. We had made it to a small pile of rubble within a stones throw of the Mezzoloth, and I felt reasonably happy that we had even made it that far without being heard, but even as I was congratulating ourselves, Taklinn took another rattling step and I watched in dismay as twenty Mezzoloth heads snapped around as one to look in our direction. Taklinn gave us a look of, “Oops!” but it was far too late to worry about it now. We had been discovered, and it was time to rely on our fighting abilities rather than our stealth. Suddenly our entire area was cloaked in a thick, cloying, gas that filled our lungs and made us gag and choke! The Mezzoloth had wasted no time in using their ‘cloud kill’ abilities, and it appeared that the whole area was no suffused with the yellowish fog. I felt the sickness grip my body and strength drained away from me. I cursed as I watched it have the same effect on Hap and Griff. This was not good, and I began to worry that we had underestimated these foes. I leapt into the air, flying straight up as fast as I could, bringing my staff around to point at the Mezzoloth pack. I unloaded a fireball into their midst, knowing it would do little, but having few area effect spells available that would reach them. The fireball exploded, and at least singed a handful of them, though for the most part they simply ignored it and pointed toward me with their tridents. I was out of the gas for the moment, and I watched as Griff charged from the rubble where we had been hiding. He ran full tilt, sword gripped in both hands, lips curled in a sneer. He barreled into the thick of them, and soon I could barely see him, so surrounded by Mezzoloth he was. All I could make out for long seconds was his blade coming down again and again. Taklinn was hot on his heels and crashed into the flanks of Griff’s Mezzoloth attackers. He waded in with his axes, and soon he and Griff were fighting back to back. It was a desperate battle, for the Mezzoloth proved to be made of tougher stuff than we had anticipated. I saw sword and axe blows land that would have split normal men in two, but the Mezzoloth appeared non-pulsed and simply jabbed away at our fighters with their tridents while the rest of them piled more ‘cloud kills’ into the area. I was sick with worry over that strategy even as I hurled another fireball into a group of them, for while Griff and Taklinn were very hard to hit, and could withstand many physical attacks, sooner or later the cloud kill poison would bring them down. We needed to turn the tide, and I was frustrated by my inability to help. My fireballs, even when they overcame the Mezzoloth spell resistance, were doing little real damage, and I had nothing else that could seriously hurt the buggers. I decided to change tactics and try to aid our fighters instead. I used my wand of ‘haste’ on Griff and Taklinn, and watched as they were suddenly made faster. More cloud kills surrounded me and I choked as I tried to fly out of the spells area, feeling even more life drain from me. I scanned the ground for Hap but could not find her, which was a good sign. She was probably hiding, working her way into position for a stealthy kill. Taklinn and Griff hung on grimly, hacking and slashing, slowly making small bits of headway as they dropped a couple of the Mezzoloth. But there were still far too many of them. I quickly cast a powerful summoning spell and called forth a large earth elemental on the flank of the group surrounding Taklinn and Griff. The elemental immediately laid about with its massive fists, slamming a Mezzoloth and getting their attention. I continued to fly straight up, trying to get out of range of the cloud kills, when suddenly, as if from nowhere, I spied a flurry of daggers whip through the air. Two of them thunked home less than an inch apart in the back of a Mezzoloth’s head, and the beetle creature dropped in instant death. A third dagger pierced a Mezzoloth that Taklinn had already wounded, and it to dropped. I grinned in spite of the nausea that gripped me, for I knew that Hap had finally gotten into position. Happy’s two kills seemed to be the spark that Griff and Taklinn needed, for the pair seemed to go mad with blood lust and fury. Griff howled out a guttural battle cry and swung his sword like a madman. I watched as one, then two, then three, then four, and finally a fifth Mezzoloth dropped. Taklinn was close behind, his axes coming down, biting, cleaving, rending flesh and bone. He killed four of them out right. At last we were evening the odds. My elemental continued to beat on Mezzoloth while Griff and Taklinn moved to deal with still more of them. The battle was slowly turning in our favor and even the small amount of damage I had done with my fireballs appeared to have helped as Griff and Taklinn waded through still more of them. Between our fighters and the elemental, four more Mezzoloth’s were dispatched. I was about to cast a few ‘magic missiles’ in an attempt to at least help in some small way, but I never got the chance. Seeing that the fight was lost, the remaining five Mezzoloth disappeared, plane shifting away. Just like that, we were left alone on the field. Cloud kill fumes still clung to the ground and I could hear my land bound companions coughing as they sought clear air. At last, Happy, Taklinn, and finally Griff stumbled from the clouds and I set down next to them. Griff was dragging the still form of a Mezzoloth with him. “This ones still alive.” He said, spitting bile. “That’s what we were after, right?” Taklinn quickly saw to the bleeding Mezzoloth, using minor healings to stabilize the creature without bringing it to full conciseness. Our lungs burned and all of us were worse for wear. Hap and I could barely stand at all, and I suggested a quick retreat, voicing my fear that the fleeing Mezzoloth may have gone to their Ultraloth master and might already be getting ready to come back with reinforcements. Packing our prisoner with us, we hurried away from the battle field to a position about a half mile away. I quickly cast a mansion and we all stumbled inside. I sealed the door behind us with a relieved sigh and joined the others in the sitting room where I threw myself onto an overstuffed chair, breathing heavily. “Cloud kill!” I said, simply. “Yeah.” Griff replied, still coughing. “That’s a nasty one all right.” Taklinn added. “I feel like hell warmed over.” Happy said. I knew that all of us had been poisoned by the gas, and I asked Taklinn if he could do anything about it. “Tomorrow I’ll be able to dispel the lasting effects.” He replied. “But not much I can do right now. It may be a long night. Sorry.” “So what do we do with this thing?” Griff asked, pointing at the limp Mezzoloth body that lay on the carpet before us. “We get the information we seek from it, and then we kill it!” Taklinn replied flatly. “What?” Happy looked at Taklinn, aghast. “You never cease to amaze me…” She started, but Taklinn knew where she was going. “Look,” he said, cutting her off, “These things are irredeemable. Everything on this plane is fair game. I will show no mercy to demons, devils or Yugoloth. I see no dishonor in slaying them, be they combatant or prisoner.” Happy glowered at this, seething in Taklinn’s perceived hypocrisy. “Yes,” I said, “But how are we to get the information from it? I don’t think torture will do much good against a creature to whom torture is meat and drink, and besides, I don’t relish such an idea anyway. Our other option is to promise it a reward in return for the information.” Taklinn’s eyes narrowed. “What kind of reward?” “Well, it’s freedom, I suppose.” “Bah! To hell with that!” Our cleric barked. “Promise him whatever you like, but after that, he gets the axe!” “Taklinn, think about that for a moment.” I cautioned him. “This Yugoloth may be beyond redemption, but there is still the matter of your personal honor. If you promise a prisoner freedom in exchange for information, and then kill him anyway, isn’t that a pretty bad reflection on you, no matter how loathsome the prisoner?” Taklinn scowled and chewed his lower lip for a moment. I could tell that he wanted nothing more than to kill the Mezzoloth, that the very idea of freeing such an evil creature was abhorrent to him, but at last he sighed heavily. “I suppose your right. Especially if it means getting to the Ultraloth and Clangeden’s axe.” “So how do we keep him from just plane shifting out of here when he wakes up?” Happy asked. “And even if we can, what’s to keep him from just going to this Valthjov character and warning him that we’re coming?” I considered her questions for a moment and then said, “I have a few spells that may help. I have a couple prepared that I normally don’t have ready since I thought we may be meeting the Ultraloth today. I think they’ll work just as well against this guy. My suggestion is this. I can use a ‘dimensional anchor’ on him to make sure he can’t plane shift away. After that, I can incapacitate him until after we’re through with Valthjov. Once we have the axe, we make good on our promise of his release.” “How are you going to incapacitate him?” Griff asked. “Turn him into a statue?” “Ah, therein lies the rub.” I said. “Unfortunately I don’t have that particular spell prepared. We could wait until I’m rested and can prepare it, but we then run the risk of our friend here waking up and shifting out of here. As an alternative, I do have a scroll of ‘feeblemind’ though. It would keep him from being able to use his shifting ability. He’d be too stupid.” “Wait a minute!” Taklinn interrupted. “Feeblemind? Isn’t that the spell you used on Losom the Large?” “It is.” I nodded. “And isn’t the only way to get rid of the effects a ‘heal’ spell?” “Yes,” I replied, “You would have to ‘heal’ him once our mission is accomplished. Taklinn had plenty to say about this, and Hap was only too eager to be exasperated by his moral compass. Griff sighed and rolled his eyes. As for me, I felt that the time for action was now. “Griff, would you tie him up, please?” I asked. Griff shrugged, and in a minute, the Mezzoloth was securely bound. I cast two spells in quick succession. The first, ‘weaken resistance’, was to strip away his spell resistance; the second, ‘dimensional anchor’ took hold easily, and we could now rest assured that he would be unable to shift away. “Taklinn,” I said to our cleric, even as he was still arguing with Hap, “We have fifteen minutes, after which time the ‘dimensional anchor’ will wear off. Would you please bring him around?” I don’t think that Taklinn had even realized that I had already cast my spells. He scowled, realizing that we were committed. Grumbling, but seeing little choice, he knelt next to the Mezzoloth and recited a prayer with very little passion. Health flooded into the bound creature, and it’s eyes flickered open. It glanced about itself with hate and fear. I knew it was trying its level best to plane shift away, and I could see the confusion on its beetle-like face when it didn’t work. “What do you want!” It demanded, speaking with us telepathically. “Information!” Griff answered the Mezzoloth with a steely voice. The creature, out of its element, and unable to use its plane shifting powers to escape us, cowered before Griff, obviously in great fear for its life. “Will tell you what you want!” It whined. “Don’t kill! Don’t kill!” “That’s up to you, my friend,” Griff answered, “Tell us what we want to know, and you go free. Hold anything back, and I let him do what he wants.” Griff pointed at Taklinn, who stood with axe in hand. The Mezzoloth shuddered, for Taklinn wore his holy symbol openly, and there was little doubt as to what the dwarf would do given the opportunity. It peered at Griff. “I tell you, you let me go free?” It asked, slyly. “That’s right. But if I think your lying, it’ll go bad for you.” Griff said. “Will tell!” It nodded eagerly. “OK, first question. You know Valthjov?” The Mezzoloth hesitated not one second. “Yes! Valthjov! I know!” Griff raised an eyebrow toward me, then continued. “You fight for him?” “He is master! I obey! You let me go now, yes?” “Not just yet.” Griff said. “Where is Valthjov?” “In lair. A cave, not far from Khin-oin.” “How do we find it?” “Walk to Khin-oin until you get to boiling lake. Put Khin-oin on left. Walk to hills; maybe one hour. There is valley between hills. Look for cave. You find Valthjov there!” I glanced at Taklinn, and even he seemed to think that this was going far better than we could have hoped. Apparently, loyalty was not the strong suit of the Yugoloth race. “How many guards, and what kind of guards?” Griff continued his interrogation. The Mezzoloth paused to think about this for several minutes, doing painful calculations in his head. He seemed to finally give up trying to get a sound number and simply said, “Many Canoloth. Maybe five or six Nycoloth. And Valthjov waits for Clodoveo. Clodoveo is Ultraloth!” “Another Ultraloth?” Happy wailed. “This gets better and better!” I stepped forward and caught the creatures attention. You’ve been in this lair?” I asked. “Yes, in lair. I have been!” The Mezzoloth answered. “Describe it.” I said. “In detail.” While the Mezzoloth told me of everything he could remember about the lair and I committed it to memory, I had a servant fetch pen and paper, whereupon I had Griff free one of the Mezzoloth’s arms and I bid him draw me a map. Ever helpful, the creature took the pen in it’s hooked pincer and sketched a crude map of a large underground cavern with two exits. “That way to Valthjov!” He announced, jabbing at one of the exits with his hook. I no go there. No Canoloth go there. No Mezzoloth go there. Valthjov no allow!” “But he is down that passageway?” I asked. “Yes, yes! Valthjov is there. Not far. But this room full of Yugoloth! They kill you good, yes! Canoloth snap your bones and Nycoloth chop off your arms! They kill you good!” “We’ll see about that,” Griff cut him off, “When is the other Ultraloth supposed to show up?” “Do not know.” The Mezzoloth shrugged. I looked at my crew. “Any more questions? We’re about out of time.” “None that I can think of.” Griff said. Hap shrugged and Taklinn shook his head, never taking his eyes from the Mezzoloth. Satisfied with our information, I produced a scroll and unrolled it. “You let me go now, yes?” The Mezzoloth asked, hopefully. “Not just yet,” I replied, “But soon, don’t you worry. Just as soon as we take care of Valthjov, you’re on your way.” “But you say…!” The creature hissed, not understanding. I ignored him and read from the scroll, casting the ‘feeblemind’ contained therein on him. As I said the final word of the dweomer, the Mezzoloth became quiet and withdrawn. I looked at his eyes and saw only dull listlessness and confusion. A small rope of drool began to slip from his mouth. I breathed a sigh of relief. “It worked.” I said. “He’s dumb as a box of hammers. Let’s lock him in a room. I’ll have the servants feed and water him.” “Doorag,” Griff said, “You seem awfully relieved. Did you have some doubt about all of this?” “Well,” I said, “To tell you the truth, that scroll was the only ‘feeblemind’ I had. If it hadn’t worked, we’d be in a bit of a moral pickle right now.” “What was your plan if it didn’t work?” Hap asked. “Cross that bridge when we came to it?” I said, shrugging. “To tell you the truth, I was just kind of hoping for the best.” Griff chuckled. “So okay, we got our info. What do we do with it? It sounds like this Valthjov is holed up pretty tight, and he’s got plenty of guards. If we had such trouble with a grip of Mezzoloth, what are we going to do about this lot?” I picked up the map that the Mezzoloth had drawn for me and studied it thoughtfully. “I have a plan.” I said. Brwfst 1 “It’s a simple scry and fry.” I said the next morning. We were gathered around the dining table as is our habit, and Taklinn was in the process of casting ‘restorations’ on us to heal the losses incurred from the ‘cloud kills’. I pointed at the map that the Mezzoloth had drawn for us, outlining my plan. “We port in here,” I said, drawing an ‘X’ on a point nearest the exit where the Mezzoloth had said Valthjov could be found, “And we hit them hard and fast. We don’t screw around with the guards in this main room unless we have to. We’ll be flying, and as soon as we get there we make for Valthjov’s chamber. Griff, I’m thinking that you and I should concentrate on him. Hap, if you can get the right angle on him, well, you know what to do.” Hap grinned wolfishly at me, fingering the hilt of a dagger. “Taklinn, I’ll need you to protect my flank. These guys can see through my invisibility, and chances are the ceiling won’t be high enough for flight to afford me much safety. Heck, the Nycoloth can fly, and if they come after me, I’ve had it. I’ll do my level best to ‘dimensionally anchor’ Valthjov, because if he thinks he’s in any real trouble he’ll just shift out and we’ll be worse off than we are now. We need to take him out as fast as possible, grab the axe, and port out of there. Any questions?” Three heads shook, and we spent the next twenty minutes going over details and finally casting enhancement spells. By the time we were ready nearly all of us had ‘fly’, ‘stone skin’, and ‘haste’ on us. I added a ‘greater heroism’ to Griff before we all joined hands. I pictured the point in the cave in my mind and cast ‘greater teleport’, crossing my fingers in hopes that the Mezzoloth hadn’t been smart enough to lie. As it turned out, our prisoner had been telling the truth, for in the next instant we appeared in a large underground cavern, quite near an exit. The cave was full of bulldog looking Canoloth and four-armed Nycoloth, but there was no time to deal with them even as their heads snapped around to regard us with surprise. We’d gotten the drop on them and had a few precious seconds in which to act before they gathered themselves to attack us. I resolved to use them wisely. I was the first to move, and thus I flew as fast as I could through the exit. The tunnel was short, only fifteen or so feet, and emptied into a smaller chamber. At it’s far end, I saw our target! An Ultraloth stood over the body of a second Ultraloth. The dead one appeared to have died in quite a bit of pain for its features were twisted in agony. The living Ultraloth stood over it’s brethren with a look of consternation on its face. I saw also that the dead Ultraloth held in its claws a beautiful white axe, and I immediately assumed that the pair had been attempting to wield Clangeden’s artifact and that one of them had paid the ultimate price for doing so. The Ultraloth, whom I assumed to be Valthjov, looked up at me with a face full of pure shock. My companions were already streaming in behind me, and for a second I thought to go with our original plan. But I had a plan B in the back of my mind that was contingent on just such an event. I had the drop on Valthjov, and I had decided that if such came to pass, I would gamble. Casting furiously, I rolled the dice. One of the things that had given me great pause when formulating a plan of attack against the Yugoloth had been their resistance against spells, and therefore I had spent the previous night going into the back pages of my spell books and boning up on offensive dweomers that could not be resisted. Two of them had leapt immediately to mind. ‘Conjuring bolt’, a spell that I had used with great success in the early days of my career, and ‘Duvar’s Ripper Portal’, which was basically the more powerful cousin of ‘conjuring bolt’. Both of them used force energy to damage their targets, both of them hit unerringly, and neither of them could be resisted. The only downside was the relatively small amount of damage that they would cause. But I had recently mastered a couple of new meta-magic techniques that I hoped would make those spells far more dangerous. I had gone into the fight assuming that the best I’d be able to hope for would be to use ‘dimensional anchors’ and ‘weaken resistances’ against Valthjov, but I’d also prepared two big hitters in the event that I caught him with his pants down. My first spell was a maximized ‘ripper portal’ which took Valthjov square in the chest. The Ultraloth took a surprised step back as a look of rage and pain swept across his face. He snarled and glared at me with hatred, but I was not through yet! I followed my first spell with a quickened ‘conjuring bolt’, and it too sizzled into the Ultraloth’s chest. A look of sheer amazement crossed his face, and then he dropped to the floor, dead. “Holy crap!” I heard Happy yell from behind me. “What did you just do?” “Get the axe and lets get the hell out of here!” I yelled back by way of reply. But Taklinn and Griff had already reached the bodies of the Ultraloth. Taklinn reached down and grasped the axe, tearing it from the dead hands of the Ultraloth and holding it up reverently. Happy flew to their sides, as did I, but it was too late for a clean get away. As fast as we were, the Yugoloth were hot on our heels. Three Nycoloth’s suddenly teleported directly into the room to surround Taklinn and Griff while Canoloth began to pour into the room, charging our fighters. “Grab my hands!” I shouted, already bringing a ‘teleport’ spell to my lips. But it was not to be. Even as Happy reached for me, a Nycoloth leapt into the air, pumping his wings, and grabbed her in its four arms, pulling her out of reach of my extended hand. On the ground, two more Nycoloth swung away at Griff and Taklinn while the Canoloth joined in as well, snapping at the pair of them (and at me as well) with long tongues that dripped with paralyzing poison. Our luck held, and none of us were frozen by the Conoloth’s poison, but there would be no easy escape. Griff and Taklinn were in the thick of it, and Happy struggled for her life to escape the grip of the Nycoloth as it attempted to rend her. Griff looked over his shoulder to see his wife in the grip of the Nycoloth. Rage overtook him and he tried to go to her, but he was pressed back by Yugoloth attackers. I saw him dodge a Canoloth tongue even as he parried a Nycoloth axe. Frustrated in his attempt to reach Happy, something seemed to snap in him. Griff’s eyes became narrow slits of steel; through clenched teeth I heard his guttural exhale as he lashed out with his sword. The Talon caught the Nycoloth between its two left arms with a meaty slice that nearly cut the beast in half. It threw up its hands, its axe flying away from it as it howled fruitless denial at its own death. The Nycoloth slumped in death, but Griff was far from finished. His yard of steel continued its arc, cleaving into one, then two Canoloth, both of whom fell. Griff let his momentum carry him to the next, and it too fell to the gore soaked cavern floor. Then another, and another fell dead, cut too deeply to live, until Griff stood at the center of a clearing, his breath coming in ragged gasps. Not one Yugoloth was within reach of him. Not to be outdone, Taklinn faced a horde of his own Yugoloth. The axe he held in his hand seemed to flare with brightness as he gripped it, and I saw flickers of doubt and fear in the eyes of the Yugoloth as holy light appeared to dapple across them. With a look of wonder, and something like peace, Taklinn swung Clangeden’s axe, and buried it to the haft in a Nycoloth chest. The Nycoloth was driven to the ground by the force of the blow, and it died there as Taklinn used his boot to kick the body off of his axe. He fended a Canoloth off with his shield even as he brought the axe around for a backhand swing that took the top off of a second Canoloth’s head. He brought it back forward, and his eyes seemed to follow the axe head, as if in awe, instead of his targets, but it did not affect his aim, for he dispatched two more with bone crushing slams. All of this happened in the space of a few heartbeats, yet I witnessed it all, as if in slow motion, as I twisted my body to dodge the tongues of two Canoloth that stalked me from below. I could see that victory, not escape, was now the order of the day, for Taklinn and Griff had reduced the enemies number by nearly two thirds. Instead of running, we were going to kill these hateful creatures. But there was still the matter of Hap, and I resolved to free her of the Nycoloth that was doing its level best to tear her head off. My intention was to fly out of range of the Canoloth tongues, but even as I made to shoot away, a tongue found my ankle, wrapping around it and hanging on. I felt its poison flow into me, but I shook my head to clear it, refusing to succumb to the paralyzation. Never taking my eyes off of Hap, I pulled at the Canoloth’s tongue even as I cast the ‘hold monster’. The Nycoloth froze, utterly frozen by my spell. It’s wings stopped beating, and immediately both it and Happy crashed to the ground. Fortunately Happy landed on top, and managed to quickly slither free of the Nycoloth’s statue-like grasp. It’s eyes flashed with hatred as it willed itself to disappear into another realm, but not before Hap got in one quick thrust with a dagger that nearly killed it. Alas, before she could draw back for a second thrust, it shifted. The rest of the Canoloth, seeing the final Nycoloth flee, did likewise. My ankle was suddenly free as they shifted away, popping out of Hades one after the other until only the four of us and the bodies of our foes remained. Griff limped over to Hap, who was gingerly checking her bruised ribs. “You okay?” He asked. She grinned through the pain at her husband. “Been worse.” She said, giving Griff’s hand a squeeze. She clucked her tongue as she checked Griff’s wounds, making sure that none were potentially fatal. I landed beside them and nodded toward Taklinn, who stood amidst the scatter of Yugoloth bodies. His eyes were still glued to the axe with a reverent gaze as he held it before him. He was utterly entranced. “Taklinn?” I called to him, and he broke from his reverie with a start, looking sheepishly, yet proudly at me. Happy was already searching the bodies, and soon we’d collected a nice sum of platinum. She spied a chest in a small alcove as well, and within a few minutes had bested the lock to reveal quite a bit more coin. We tossed the lot of it into Griff’s bag of holding, and Taklinn said, “Very well then! Let’s be back to Clangeden!” He withdrew his plane shift ‘key’ that Anwell had given him, and held out his hands to us. “Not so fast!” I said. “We still have one more obligation!” Taklinn gave me a look, but merely sighed. “All right, all right. Let’s get it over with!” I grinned at him and held out my own hands. As they all linked together, I ‘teleported’ us back to the mansion. We entered and went to the room where we had locked the ‘feebleminded’ Mezzoloth. Taklinn gave me another sour look and a grumble, but in the end he gritted his teeth and cast the ‘heal’ that was needed to restore the Yugoloth to its full faculties. The thing grunted and hissed at us, but Taklinn simply gave it a level gaze that spoke volumes. “Never let me see you again.” Our cleric said simply. The Mezzoloth’s eyes widened, and it disappeared. “Now can we go?” Griff asked. “Yes,” I said, “Taklinn, cast away.” Taklinn did, and we soon left the infernal planes of the blood wars to return to Arcadia. We wait now on the spot where we first met the solar. I had to use up all my seventh circle spells capabilities during the Yugoloth fight, and thus, I sleep for the first time in a long time without the comfort of the mansion. Though I miss it, I must admit to a certain pang of nostalgia as I sit around the campfire with my friends as we did on so many nights so long ago and listen to them recount the tales of our battles as I write in this journal. Yes, I miss the warmth and comfort of the mansion, but I have a feeling that I will sleep very soundly tonight, under an open sky with my friends near at hand. Brwfst 2 Today has been a fair whirl wind of events that I am nearly at a loss to even put into words, though I suppose I shall have to try. This morning would be a good place to start. I arose early and stretched in the new “sun” of a fresh Arcadian day and saw that Taklinn was already up, seated in his now familiar spot on the riverbank, keeping his vigil for the return of the solar. Clangeden’s axe was still gripped firmly in his hand. Hap and Griff rolled out of their blankets shortly after I had begun to prepare my spells, and they soon had breakfast in order. After a meal I cast an ‘analyze dweomer’ on the unidentified prizes we’d accumulated and split them as we saw fit. As we finished this task, I saw Taklinn jump to his feet from the corner of my eye. Anwell had returned, and now stood on our side of the river. He had appeared no more than five feet from Taklinn, and our cleric bowed low before him, proffering the axe in outstretched arms. The solar said nothing, but took the axe from Taklinn’s hands. He gave it an appraising look, and when he was satisfied that this was, truly Clangeden’s axe, I saw a smile spread over his face. I got the distinct impression that solar do not smile much. “You have retrieved the axe and accomplished what was asked of you, Taklinn the Shorn.” Anwell said. I heard Happy cough loudly in the back ground, but the solar ignored her. “Our lord Clangeden wishes to express his gratitude. You are permitted from this day forward, to enter his mountain as a guest of honor. He wishes you to make haste to the front gates of the city.” Taklinn looked up with a mixture of “its about time!” and gratitude on his face, but the solar was already gone, having disappeared in the blink of an eye. Taklinn looked at us. “Well what are ya standing there for?” He exclaimed, throwing his hands up. “You heard him! We have to get to the city!” With that, he tromped away from us, fording the river like a bull and climbing up the opposite bank. He did not wait for us, and we were left to hurriedly stuff our gear (his included) away and run after him. We caught up to our dwarf eventually and asked him to kindly slow down a bit, but there was no talking to him, and we could do nothing but match his pace as his short strides ate up the ground. I flew, but Hap was reduced to being carried on Griff’s shoulders. “We gotta get you a harness!” Griff laughed. “You just keep walking!” She said, playfully slapping his head. “You’re a lot prettier when you don’t talk!” It was three hours to the gates of the city nestled within Mount Clangeden. Those gates were tall, reinforced, and meant business, but as we neared, they were opened wide to us by none other than Anwell, flanked by a contingent of heavily armed dwarf guards, who parted to let us through. “Come.” Anwell said, motioning for us to follow him. We did. The city is a honeycomb of dwarven engineering the likes of which I had never hoped to see. It was breathtaking as each massive cavern gave way to the next, each one in turn more magnificent, more complex, as they connected to each other via a myriad of tunnels. Buildings were hewn out of solid rock, and vast walkways spanned the air above us, connecting their upper floors. I saw shops of every kind as well as temples, schools, sculpture, rivers… the list goes on and on, and I soon realized that beneath the face of Mount Clangeden there breathed a living metropolis. Everywhere I looked I could see dwarves in training. They marched through fest halls, they sparred in court yards, they drilled in front of their homes. But dwarves were not the only race I recognized. Plenty of humans, and even a smattering of small folk walked the roads, shopped in stores and made merry in inns. And last, but certainly not least, was the clanging of hammers on anvils. Every fourth shop here appears to be devoted to blacksmithing of some kind, and even a cursory glance at their wares displayed out front showed us weapons and armor that were enough to have Taklinn and Griff practically drooling openly. We also had to keep dragging Happy away from selection after selection of some of the finest daggers she claims to have ever seen. Anwell finally brought us to one of the cities finer inns and stated that we were honored guests, and that rooms had been prepared for us. Our room and food would, he said, be taken care of. We were led by the beaming dwarven proprietor to our rooms and left to rest, though Anwell informed us that we would be visited shortly. I closed the door to my room and looked around at what passed for dwarven luxury. It was not on par with my mansion, but it was certainly comfortable by any standards, and I bustled about happily, setting up house as much as I could. When an hour had passed and I had still seen no sign of a visitor, I settled down with Helious’ spell book, in hopes that I would have time to learn a fresh spell from it. Several hours passed, and I was quite immersed in my studies. I fear I missed the first series of knocks on my door, but when they caught my attention at last, I opened it to find Anwell standing there. “May I come in, Doorag Marzipan?” He politely asked. “Of course.” I replied, standing aside to let him enter. I eyed him a bit warily, for he still presented an imposing and fearsome figure, despite the kind smile that he directed at me. I shut the door and found a chair, awaiting his words. “Clangeden has chosen to honor you, Doorag Marzipan,” he said, “It is not often that the Father of All Battles finds occasion to gift a halfling, a halfling wizard at that. But he is pleased with the doings of you and your dwarven companion, Taklinn the Shorn.” “It is not an easy thing for a suitable gift to be found,” the solar continued, “You stand in a center of metallurgy and smithing. Were you a warrior, the task would be simple. The best armor and weapons in the planes can be found here.” “But you, Doorag Marzipan, are not a warrior. You are a wizard – an uncommon career for the dwarven fold. You are a weaver of spells, a slayer from a distance. These are things that Clangeden Silverbeard does not honor.” I raised an eyebrow at this and stiffened a little, but did not interrupt him. “But Clangeden honors you, Doorag Marzipan, and thus he has ordered this. First, he gives you the title of Dwarf Friend. This is a gift in and of itself, for should you need aid and find a dwarf in your midst, you must merely name yourself in the eyes of Clangeden, and good dwarves within the reach of Clangeden will recognize you and come to your aid.” “But this is only part of your reward, Doorag Marzipan. He also offers you these.” Anwell dropped to one knee as a box appeared from thin air at his feet. It appeared to be crafted of finest mithril and bore the images of scrolls on its lid, crossed in the manner of Clangeden’s axes. I could see that it glowed with the aura of transmutation. “Open it.” The solar commanded. I slid from my chair and walked around to the font of the box, eyeing it and appreciating the craftsmanship required to build such a thing. I could see no seam in its construction, and wondered if it might even be water tight. With a look at the solar over my shoulder, I reached for the lid and slowly opened the box. Inside, I was puzzled to find a small chain shirt, patiently crafted from links of pure mithril. “Few mages wear armor,” Anwell said as I lifted the shirt from the box. It was surprisingly light, and the links rippled like folds of Ebarium silk, “but few mages have had the opportunity to wear armor such as this. It will not slow you down, nor will it hamper the flow of your magic. It is comfortable enough to sleep in, and you will never find need to repair it. It is the final achievement of Kristol Goblinsbane, a follower of Clangeden Silverbeard. He considered it his greatest creation. Indeed, Clangeden has kept it over the ages, until now. He believes he has found the one worthy to wear it.” “Finally,” he said, “The box is also yours. You may call it or send it away at will, and when it is gone you can be sure that it has gone to a place untouchable except by gods. Your belongings will be as safe, or safer than anywhere else you could imagine. Clangeden gives you his word on that.” The solar was silent then, as if waiting for the true weight of these gifts to sink in to me and to say something. My mind raced. The title of Dwarf Friend would have been enough reward for me, but the addition of the box was more than I had dreamed of. The chain shirt, however, gave me pause, and I searched for the proper thing to say. “Err, thanks…?” I said, lamely. A frown creased Anwell’s features. “I sense that you are… embarrassed.” He said, curiously. “Pray, tell me why?” I looked up at the tall, winged, creature and felt like a fool. “Its just that…” I stammered, “Well, please convey my thanks to Clangeden for the title and the box, I hope they both see use. But, err, well, I’m thinking that I cannot accept the shirt of chain.” Anwell’s eyes widened in surprise. “And why not?” He asked. “Ah, well,” I swallowed, “Its just that… I don’t… I don’t wear armor.” I admitted at last. I hurried to explain as he opened his mouth to protest. “You see,” I said, “I already have items that provide me with as much protection as this shirt could, and I already wear magical clothing that I could not continue to wear were I to put on this shirt. My mantel and robe are both enchanted, and I would be loathe to part with them. Therefore, I’m afraid that this fine gift would be wasted on me. If it is, indeed, the crowning achievement of this Kristol Goblinsbane fellow, I would hate to take it only to give it an unfitting home amongst my collection of oddities. This armor is a piece of art, and I fear that it would be wasted upon me. Please understand, I do not wish to appear ungrateful. These rewards are far more generous than I deserve, and I am more than happy with the box and title. But please, see to it that someone more fitting than I receives this armor. It deserves much more than to end up a museum piece in a wizards laboratory.” Anwell considered this gravely for a moment. “You are correct, Doorag Marzipan.” He said, at last. “I will take the shirt back to Clangeden and explain the situation. He will understand your motivations. Still, he will not be satisfied until you receive what he feels to be adequate reward.” “But really,” I began to protest, “The box and the title are more than…” Anwell cut me off with a wave of his hand. “Such things are not for you nor I to decide, Doorag Marzipan.” He said. “Simply accept his generosity. Now then, do you have an idea as to what might prove a more suitable reward? Something that you desire?” I thought about that for a long moment, reluctant to offer suggestions and still feeling like a lout over the whole armor thing, but at last, I sighed. “Well,” I said, “I have most of what I need, and what I don’t, I can eventually craft myself, if I ever get the time, so I don’t really…” “Time?” the solar said. “Well, yes, time. I never seem to have enough time. Heck, I have a whole book full of spells that need learning, but I just never have the time to…” I stopped, for he had caught my eye. His look was questioning, and I dared a guess. “Unless,” I wondered, “Clangeden can give me… time?” “Would that be your desire, Doorag Marzipan?” Anwell asked. “Time?” “Why, yes!” I exclaimed. “Is that possible?” “We shall see,” The solar smiled, “We shall see.” And with that, he was gone, leaving me to wonder at what he was up to. I shrugged, and went back to my studies, though I could not help but try out the box several times. It satisfactorily disappeared and reappeared when I spoke the command words, and I was quite pleased indeed. Several hours later there came another knock on my door. It was Anwell again, and he wore a wide smile on his face. “Gather your belongings and come with me, Doorag Marzipan.” He said simply. Anwell led me from the inn and through a half mile or more of tunnels to an awe inspiring structure carved of living rock. Priests of Clangeden milled about everywhere I looked, and the gods crossed axes symbol was carved prominently above the entryway. Anwell led me inside and dwarven priests bowed low before him, parting to let us pass. Down corridors and through chambers I was led until at last he brought me to a simple, stone, door. He pushed it open and I could feel a grin spread across my face when I saw what was inside. A complete wizard’s laboratory was set up inside, as well as a fine selection of tomes and books. The solar led me inside and opened a second door that led into an adjoining room that was obviously a living area with bed, basin, and other accoutrements. It was comfortable and clean, and I looked at Anwell questioningly. “Once I close this door you will have your time.” Anwell stated. “Two months, to be precise. Outside the door only two weeks will pass, but within this room you have much longer to do with as you please. I will explain to your friends what you are doing. Have no fear for them, for they have much to accomplish as well, and some of their rewards will take more than two weeks to facilitate. Is this an acceptable reward, Doorag Marzipan?” I gaped at the solar, open mouthed. “Two months?” I hardly dared believe he was serious. “Two months.” He nodded. “That is more than generous!” I grinned. “Thank you very much!” “It is Clangeden’s will.” Anwell said simply. “Food will be delivered to you daily, and if you have need of anything at all you may ring the bell you will find in the laboratory. Good luck with your studies, Doorag Marzipan, and enjoy your time.” With that, he bowed low and backed out of the room, shutting the door softly after him. I looked about, hardly knowing where to begin. Two months! What I could do with that kind of time! I quickly unloaded my haversack and became familiar with the lab and library. Once I was satisfied that I had everything I needed, I decided upon which project to start first. I withdrew Helious’ spell book and laid it open on the desk, turning to the first of some twenty spells that I had thus far had no time to learn. Ptchwl 9 Only two weeks have passed since my last journal entry here outside of the time fold in which I have been sequestered. Inside the room that Anwell left me in, however, two months have passed, and not a second of it went to waste. In that time I have learned more than twenty new spells and have crafted for myself a pair of dexterous gloves much like the ones I made for Happy. My journal is chock full of notes concerning my time spent outside of the normal stream of time, the vast majority of which are technical specifications and notations of curiosities with regard to spells, yet one entry in particular I keep going back to over and over again. My reward here in Arcadia has sparked an idea within me that I cannot let go, and I am determined to explore it further. In essence, my idea concerns time; my need for it, and a way to get it. I had not previously considered a way in which to facilitate my studies and crafting in a more expeditious manner, but now that I realize that it can, in fact, be done, I am intrigued enough to follow through on ways in which I can emulate the gift given to me by Clangeden. Near the halfway point of the two months spent in the lab, it suddenly dawned on me that the answer to this dilemma has been right under my nose for some time now! Edik. Once the name of that plane popped into my head I immediately re-read my journal entries from our time spent there and, sure enough, I saw where I had recorded a time difference of ten Edik days for every one of our days! This is a tremendously exciting discovery, for it means that, if I can return to Edik, I can have access to just about all the time I will ever need! For example, the gloves that I so recently crafted would require thirty-six days to create in Havilah, but if I were to make them on Edik, only three to four days would have passed in Havilah! The mind boggles at the possibilities! We have already been able to return to Edik with Yigil’s help. At the time I was unable to cast the needed spell, namely, ‘plane shift’. But Yigil had cast it after crafting a key to the plane and we were able to return there to retrieve the remainder of the women and children that did not accompany their men when we attacked Melesandre. I can only believe that, now that I possess the ‘plane shift’ dweomer, the only thing between me and unlimited access to Edik and it’s time differential is a ‘fork’ attuned to it. If Yigil can craft one, then why not me? All of which dove tails nicely with a quest that Taklinn has been hinting about for some weeks. He has visions of returning to Edik to destroy the evil temple to Illugi where the souls of Kester Orban and his crew are still trapped. Taklinn feels it is our duty to free them, and I can naught but agree, though now I have all the more reason to wish to return to Edik But I am getting very far ahead of myself. Our quest here is hardly at an end. I feel that we are so terribly close to Caribdis, and I yearn to get back on his track. It will still be another week before we leave Arcadia though, for Taklinn, Hap and Griff are all in the process of having weapons and armor crafted for them. Each of them has already received a major reward from Clangeden. When I finally left the laboratory, exhausted but happy, I went back to the inn where my friends have been staying. They were glad to see me, and I could immediately see that they had received their gifts. Happy carries a new dagger that glows with a magic the brightness of which is matched only by the new sword that Griff now wears at his side. He still carries the blade I crafted for him, but it has now been relegated to a back up weapon, for this new bastard sword is a blade of incredible enchantment and quality. I must admit to being slightly saddened at the thought that the Talon is in semi-retirement, but Griff made me smile again when he flashed both of his swords from their scabbards and referred to them as “The Talons”. I suppose that any decent griffin should, indeed, have two talons. And Taklinn, well, Taklinn carries the axe. Yes, the axe we rescued from the Yugoloth now belongs to our cleric. I doubt I could ever put into words the pride with which Taklinn wields that axe. It is perhaps THE major milestone in his career, and he now joins what I am sure is a very elite group of dwarves who have been personally gifted by Clangeden with one of his weapons. I am by no means a scholar on the ways of dwarves, but I know enough to appreciate the honor and prestige that such a gift confers. As I said, we are still a week from departing Arcadia, as at least Happy is having a new suit of armor crafted. She tells me that it will be heavily imbued celestial armor that will allow her the ability to fly for limited periods of time, which I agree is something she has been lacking. Between her new armor making her far more mobile and difficult to hit, and her new dagger, with its myriad of enhancements, she will become twice as dangerous to her foes as before, so I cannot begrudge her the extra time we are spending here. As for me, even though I have just spent two grueling months at work, I have resolved to use the next seven days wisely. I plan to scribe several new scrolls, as well as make permanent both the ‘tongues’ and ‘comprehend languages’ spells upon myself. It is a significant drain on my life essence, but I feel the benefits are well worth it. [/QUOTE]
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