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Story Hour
From the Diary of Doorag Marzipan
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<blockquote data-quote="cthulhu42" data-source="post: 6587866" data-attributes="member: 6792361"><p>Rdyr’t 26 </p><p></p><p> This has been a busy, yet productive day. We have also managed to tidy up a few</p><p>loose ends and even get some real rest. </p><p> </p><p> This morning Sensesi and Happy slipped out of the mansion, despite Griff’s</p><p>frowns and Caribdis’ pouts. Griff could, of course, keep some track of his wife with</p><p>the amulets that bind them together, and he did just that, pacing the mansions dining </p><p>room for the several hours that they the pair were gone, ready to dash out the door</p><p>at any moment. </p><p> </p><p> In the end, his fears were unfounded, and by late afternoon they had returned,</p><p>flush with victory. Happy was positively giddy and she grinned from ear to ear</p><p>when she handed me a very fine circlet of jade that was just what I needed. But </p><p>when I asked her where and how they had gotten such a thing, she would only grin</p><p>wider and wink at me while Sensesi just shrugged. I did, however, notice a few</p><p>fresh splatters of blood on Happy’s sleeve, and when Sensesi said simply that I </p><p>probably wouldn’t want to know all of the details, I could but sigh and agree. I only</p><p>hope that no innocent blood was shed in securing my focus.</p><p></p><p> From there I teleported the lot of us to the spot where we had left Major Throst </p><p>and the Havilah soldiers. We were heartened to find them still there, in good health,</p><p>apparently unmolested. It took a little doing, but between Taklinn and I we</p><p>convinced them, at last, that it was time for them to return home. I had just come </p><p>into understanding the ‘gate’ spell and was able to open a portal back to Havilah for</p><p>them. With a salute, they stepped through and I dismissed the ‘gate’ behind them.</p><p>We are now truly alone in this place. </p><p></p><p> Finally we used the rest of the day to ‘analyze dweomer’ on several items that we</p><p>have been carrying around for some time now in the hopes that some of them may</p><p>come in handy against Illugi and his minions. </p><p></p><p> Sensesi and I have been going over the map she has drawn me of the inner temples</p><p>antechambers. I have had her describe it to me until I can picture it clearly in my</p><p>mind. With any luck we will be able to teleport there tomorrow. If such is the case, </p><p>then I suppose that this could well be my final journal entry, for we may encounter</p><p>Illugi, and if I am struck down…</p><p></p><p> But no, I will not entertain the notion of defeat. If it happens, so be it, but I won’t </p><p>burden this journal with worrisome lines and pre-emptive goodbyes. We shall</p><p>overcome this monster as we have all others!</p><p> </p><p></p><p> Rdyr’t 27</p><p> </p><p> It has been a bloody week up to this point, but the carnage I have witnessed today</p><p>puts the past several days to shame! If not for cleaning spells and the washing</p><p>facilities of the mansion I fear most of us would be covered head to toe in gore. </p><p>Today has been an inch by inch crawl through a sea of enemies, and we have left a</p><p>trail of bodies to rival a small army, one of which was almost a comrade!</p><p></p><p> We awoke early and consumed our ‘heroes feast’ in near silence, quite sure that </p><p>today would be the day that we faced the terrible avatar of Illugi. I had studied the</p><p>Sensesi’s map for much of the night and felt confident that my ‘greater teleport’</p><p>would take us there, providing she was right in her theory that the temple solidified </p><p>near its inner chambers. </p><p></p><p> When we were properly fed and girded, we left the mansion and stood in a tight</p><p>circle, each one of us touching another. Taklinn and I cast spells to aid ourselves </p><p>and our companions, and as a final touch I cast an ‘invisibility’ on each of us.</p><p>Sensesi had warned us that resistance would be fierce and was of the opinion that</p><p>stealth would be key to our success. I would have liked to agree with her, but with </p><p>Taklinn’s clanking armor and Caribdis’ general pell-mell attitude, I had my doubts</p><p>that we would go unnoticed for long.</p><p></p><p> I gave each of my friends a last look to make sure they were ready and was </p><p>answered with nods. I took a breath and cast my spell, holding the image of</p><p>Sensesi’s map in my mind.</p><p></p><p> And then we were there. Our tight circle stood in one corner of a non-descript</p><p>room that held four doors, one of which was a double set. With my permanent ‘see </p><p>invisibility’ I could see my comrades standing stalk still, trying to be as quiet as</p><p>possible, for even they were immediately aware of the danger that lurked in this </p><p>room.</p><p></p><p> The beast that stood guard here was unlike any that I had ever seen before, though</p><p>I quickly pinpointed what it was. A Slaad! </p><p></p><p> The creature was utterly alien, huge, and held a bluish tinge. I marveled at such an</p><p>atrocity, at the notion that Illugi had such creatures in his service. </p><p></p><p> A long second passed in which none of us moved. I quickly realized that the thing </p><p>should be taken out as swiftly and as silently as possible so as not to alert anything</p><p>waiting behind all those doors. There was only one of us that I trusted for a job like</p><p>that. I leaned toward Happy and, with barely a breath, whispered in her ear. “He’s </p><p>all yours. Take him now.”</p><p></p><p> I saw her face break into a grin and she quickly let go of Griff’s hand and moved</p><p>toward the unsuspecting Slaad on cat-like feet, making not a single sound. Griff </p><p>reached for her, unable to see her and worried for his wife, but I grabbed his arm</p><p>and held a hand to his chest, bidding him wait. </p><p></p><p> I watched as Hap slid close enough to the Slaad to climb into the things hip </p><p>pocket. I saw the length of steel in her hand as she withdrew a dagger. She paused</p><p>for a split second, gauging her aim, and then, with the speed of an asp, she struck,</p><p>once, twice, three times, and then a fourth from a second dagger! Hap had used her </p><p>dust of disappearance so as to remain invisible even after attacking, and the Slaad</p><p>never saw its killer as her blades bit again and again. She pierced the Slaad in all the</p><p>right places, her daggers thrusting upwards to puncture vital organs. The Slaad, </p><p>three times Happy’s size, gasped, open mouthed, tried to call out a warning, but had</p><p>not the strength to utter even a whisper. It was dead before its knees even buckled</p><p>and it slumped to the floor in a heap. </p><p></p><p> There was no time to congratulate our friend on her fine kill, for the invisibility</p><p>spells would not last long, and more monsters could open any of those doors at any</p><p>time. </p><p></p><p> “Positions!” I hissed, “By the doors!”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn moved to cover the far door while Griff took the middle. Caribdis and</p><p>Sensesi stood near the final single door. I stayed where I was, keeping an eye on the </p><p>set of double doors while Hap remained near the dead Slaad, ready with her</p><p>daggers, scanning the entire room. </p><p></p><p> I whispered to the crew, “OK, Taklinn, you and Griff…” But that was all I got out </p><p>before Caribdis unplugged the cork and let hell loose.</p><p></p><p> With a look of undeniable curiosity, he reached out and pulled the handle to his</p><p>door. The words, ‘Caribdis, no!’ never made it past my lips, for he had already </p><p>thrown the door wide. But what he saw in there gave him pause, and he slammed</p><p>the door shut just as quickly. I groaned in frustration that was mirrored in Sensesi’s</p><p>eyes. Though she could not see Caribdis, it was obvious that she knew that it had to </p><p>have been him. Not wanting to give whatever was in the room time to prepare, she</p><p>flung the door back open, the magical scimitar we had given her to replace the one I</p><p>had destroyed with my ‘Mordenkainen’s Disjunction’ held at the ready. </p><p></p><p> I had not been able to see what was in the room when Caribdis had opened it, and</p><p>I quickly shifted to better my angle, but before I could, whatever was in there</p><p>struck. It must have had enough time to cast an invisibility seeing dweomer upon </p><p>itself, for it had no trouble targeting Sensesi. I saw her take a step toward the room</p><p>and then stop in her tracks, her face twisted in unbelievable pain as a spell gripped</p><p>her. Her body twisted and jerked, seeming to fold in upon itself. She tried to </p><p>scream, but it was as her very throat had shut. Her scimitar clattered to the stone</p><p>floor and she slumped next to it, a pitiful pile of arms and legs, far too thin, twisted</p><p>at terrible angles. I recognized the results of the ‘implode’ spell. And just like that,</p><p>Sensesi was dead. </p><p></p><p> None of the rest of the crew could see what had happened, and they stood there</p><p>for a long second, wondering what had happened. I thought fast and acted, drawing </p><p>my back up staff and casting quickly. My ‘wall of force’ went up only a half inch</p><p>from the wall, effectively blocking off two of the three walls, leaving only the one</p><p>from which the ‘implode’ spell had come from uncovered. Taklinn had been </p><p>reaching for his own doors handle when he was suddenly blocked by the wall. </p><p></p><p> “Doorag!” he demanded, “What are you doing?”</p><p></p><p> “Sensesi is dead!” I called out, no longer bothering with stealth, “Get to the open </p><p>door!”</p><p></p><p> Griff was already moving, passing Caribdis and entering to deal with what waited</p><p>inside. Taklinn soon understood my words and charged in as well. Hap leapt over </p><p>her dead Slaad and slipped in behind them while Caribdis stepped back and raised</p><p>his bow, already letting fly with a steady stream of arrows. </p><p></p><p> I edged around to finally be able to see into the room and confirmed my worst </p><p>fears. It was a Death Slaad, the most dangerous of all Slaad, and it was again</p><p>attempting to cast one of its deadly dweomers. But it was surrounded on all sides,</p><p>and as terrible as it was, the thing was no match for four determined crew members </p><p>eager to avenge the death of even one such as Sensesi. Griff and Taklinn double</p><p>teamed the thing, slamming it with steel while Hap maneuvered into position.</p><p>Caribdis’ arrows found their target over and over, and by the time Happy struck </p><p>from behind, the Slaad was nearly dead. She finished the job, and down it went.</p><p></p><p> The alarm had been raised. I could see the other two doors banging against my</p><p>‘wall of force’ as whatever was behind them attempted to force them open. I </p><p>whistled quickly and the rest of the crew came out to deal with this new danger, all</p><p>of them now visible except for Happy.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn returned to the far door while Hap and Griff took the middle. Caribdis </p><p>stepped back, bow at the ready. When they were ready, I dismissed the wall.</p><p></p><p> The second that Taklinn and Griff could reach their door handles they hauled</p><p>them open. I caught a flash of steel gripped in a bluish arm as the Slaad in Taklinn’s </p><p>room lashed out at our dwarf, its sword clanging off of his armor. Taklinn</p><p>responded with a flurry of axe blows that sent the Blue Slaad reeling back into the</p><p>room. Taklinn pressed his attack, keeping the Slaad off balance and drawing a gout </p><p>of blood, but behind the Blue Slaad stood another Death Slaad, already casting. The</p><p>‘implode’ seemed to wash over Taklinn and I saw him shudder, as if fighting the</p><p>magic, before throwing it off and bellowing a laugh at the Slaad’s failed spell. </p><p></p><p> Meanwhile, Griff was facing nearly the same challenge, for behind his door there</p><p>also lurked a Blue and a Death Slaad. The Blue blocked the doorway, guarding the</p><p>Death Slaad, forcing Griff to cut and thrust in an attempt to force the brute back. I </p><p>saw Hap give a short skip, tuck her body into a tight ball, and roll between the</p><p>Slaad’s legs to come up on his opposite side. She was still invisible, and fortunately</p><p>her invisibility was the result of dust of disappearance, for I could tell that the Death </p><p>Slaad’s had cast ‘see invisibility’ on themselves. Dust of disappearance hides one</p><p>from even that powerful dweomer.</p><p></p><p> I cast quickly, placing a ‘Bigby’s Crushing Hand’ behind Griff’s Death Slaad and </p><p>began to slam at the thing, hampering it’s attempts to cast spells.</p><p></p><p> Caribdis was doing his part, his arrows finding their way around Taklinn to strike</p><p>the Slaad’s beyond. Taklinn, twice his size and glowing with divine energy, made </p><p>short work of even the monstrous Blue Slaad and dropped the creature with a final</p><p>axe swing that sent a spray of blood splashing from one end of the room to the</p><p>other. The Death Slaad, now without its guardian, hissed and cast another deadly </p><p>spell, ‘finger of death’, but again Taklinn merely sneered at the attempt and closed</p><p>with the creature. </p><p></p><p> In Griff’s room they were gaining ground. Hap had struck the Blue from behind</p><p>several times and Griff finished it off with a mighty cleave. He climbed over the </p><p>body to face the Death Slaad who was busy dodging my Bigby’s hand. In a desperate</p><p>attempt to escape, the Death Slaad cast an ‘invisibility’ on itself and winked out of </p><p>view, but I could still see him and I pressed the attack with the Hand, beating again</p><p>and again at him. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis rushed into Griff’s room and I saw Hap edge along the wall, looking for </p><p>where the Bigby’s hand was striking in an attempt to figure out where the Death</p><p>Slaad had got to. Griff did the same, though he had a fine answer for the Slaad’s</p><p>invisibility. Long ago we had come across a pouch of dust of appearance and </p><p>Griff’s had been packing it around for months for just such an occasion. With a</p><p>flick of his wrist, he tossed the contents of the pouch into the room and a very</p><p>surprised Death Slaad was revealed. </p><p></p><p> The Death Slaad’s, as fearsome as they are, were no match. Taklinn backed his</p><p>against the wall and pounded through its defenses until his axe bit deep and split the</p><p>Slaad’s skull. In the next room the final Slaad was surrounded by magical fist, </p><p>Happy, Griff and Caribdis. No matter where it turned it faced doom, and in mere</p><p>seconds it lay dead, festooned with arrows and blade wounds. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn stepped from his room with a grin, wiping the gore from his axe, but his </p><p>grin quickly faded as I dismissed the ‘invisibility’ from Sensesi’s body. The</p><p>implosion had reduced her to half her normal size, and her body was pathetic to</p><p>behold. </p><p></p><p> “Can you do anything for her?” I asked Taklinn as Griff, Hap and Caribdis also</p><p>exited their room. </p><p></p><p> “Aye,” Taklinn nodded, “I can. We’ve got to her quick enough. Give me a </p><p>minute.” Taklinn knelt next to the twisted husk of Sensesi’s form and began to</p><p>pray.</p><p> </p><p> As magic’s go, the power to bring the dead back to life must rank up with the very</p><p>best of dweomers. How can I be but envious of Taklinn, for if I live to be one</p><p>thousand, I will never be able to cast such a spell. It is unfortunate that so much of </p><p>arcane magic is devoted to extinguishing life. </p><p></p><p> And so it was that I watched with fascination as power flowed visibly from</p><p>Taklinn’s hands and into Sensesi’s mangled body. As divinity coursed through that </p><p>broken shell, it was as if watching a water skin being filled. Her arms and legs</p><p>straitened and took shape. Her face and head reformed and her chest heaved with a</p><p>gasp of breath as her eyes flickered and opened She looked around, at first, </p><p>disoriented, then a bit sheepishly as memory flooded her face and she realized what</p><p>must have happened. I shuddered, wondering if it would one day be me laying there</p><p>with the knowledge that I had just been dead and brought back to life. </p><p></p><p> Sensesi got unsteadily to her feet with Taklinn’s help while Hap and Griff made a</p><p>quick search of the rooms.</p><p></p><p> “How do you feel?” Taklinn asked Sensesi. </p><p></p><p> She stood on her own and tested her muscles. “I’ll be fine.” She said.</p><p></p><p> I looked at her uncertainly. “Are you sure? Maybe we should wait another day, or</p><p>at least a few hours.” </p><p></p><p> “I said I’d be fine,” She replied, curtly, “Besides, now that we’re this close we</p><p>mustn’t turn back or give them any more time to prepare. We must press on.”</p><p></p><p> I nodded. I could not but agree with her. </p><p></p><p> “Not much here.” Hap announced as she and Griff came back into the main</p><p>chambers. “We must be getting close to the big guy though, ‘cause this place is</p><p>lousy with Illugi statues. There’s one in every room.” </p><p></p><p> “I can feel him.” Griff added, thoughtfully, “It stinks of evil here. Its like the devil</p><p>farted.”</p><p></p><p> “Well then lets go!” Caribdis beamed, heading for the only door left. It was a</p><p>large double set, and a path of blood red carpet led from our room and under them. </p><p></p><p> “Caribdis, “I said, “I don’t know how many more times Taklinn can resurrect</p><p>someone today. Maybe you want to let Hap do her job?” </p><p></p><p> He stopped short, giving me a pained look. But then his eyes landed on Sensesi</p><p>and he relented. “Oh, okay.” He said with a half hearted roll of his eyes.</p><p></p><p> Pleased to have the opportunity to show off her skills, Happy set to work on the </p><p>double doors and soon pronounced them clean. Griff shoved them open to reveal a</p><p>malevolent antechamber. Three passageways led off into their own separate</p><p>darkness, and in each corner of the chamber stood yet another statue of the </p><p>tentacled Illugi. The thick red carpet beckoned us down each hallway, and the air</p><p>was thick with the feel and stench of evil. </p><p></p><p> “Say,” pondered Caribdis out loud as we wondered which hallway to take, “What </p><p>about this Scylla character? What are we planning to do with her once we find her?”</p><p></p><p> Griff looked at the boy with barely feigned amusement. “I don’t know, Caribdis,”</p><p>he said, “Maybe we’ll ask her to share tea and crumpets with us. I’m sure she’ll be </p><p>only too willing to give up her plans for world domination once we explain the error</p><p>of her ways to her.”</p><p></p><p> “We’ll likely have to kill her.” Taklinn said, a bit more gently. </p><p></p><p> “Do you think that’s really necessary?” Caribdis asked, and I moaned inwardly,</p><p>already able to tell that our bard was beginning to get ideas in his head. </p><p></p><p> “She hasn’t left us much choice, Caribdis.” I said. “She’s gone too far. She’s </p><p>willing to bring the wrath of Illugi down upon the heads of who knows how many</p><p>thousands of innocents. She’s already conquered Edik, and she won’t rest until</p><p>Havilah, at the very least, bends it’s knee to her.” </p><p></p><p> “Yes, but,” Caribdis argued, “It sounds to me like she got kind of a raw deal.”</p><p></p><p> Griff looked at Caribdis askance. “Raw deal? What the hell are you talking</p><p>about?” </p><p></p><p> “Well, from the way you’ve told the story all she really wanted was to join the</p><p>crew. You all rejected her. It sounds to me like you’ve brought all this upon</p><p>yourselves.” Caribdis stated this with such irritating simplicity that it was all I could </p><p>do to hold my tongue. Griff, however, was not so politic. </p><p></p><p> “Caribdis, you weren’t there! You have no clue what you’re talking about!”</p><p></p><p> “He’s right, lad.” Taklinn interjected, “We gave her every chance. We were </p><p>willing to back her to the Academy, and we were being generous at that. To let her</p><p>have a place as a full member of the Broken Blade, especially after all that she’d</p><p>done, it just wasn’t going to happen.” </p><p></p><p> “Not while I still drew breath!” I added.</p><p></p><p> “That crazy wench nearly killed me!” Griff spat. “She fireballed me right off the</p><p>back of Acessiwall! She damn near killed Hap a few times when she missed with </p><p>her spells. She was a bull in a china shop, and no way was she joining this crew!”</p><p></p><p> “Why do you care anyway, Caribdis?” Happy asked.</p><p></p><p> “Maybe I’ve learned something about the value of life while I was dead.” He said </p><p>with a shrug.</p><p></p><p> I laughed sharply. “Save your pity for someone who deserves it. Like maybe</p><p>anybody that used to call Anvie home. Caribdis, Scylla never learned the value of </p><p>life while she was with us. She didn’t give two hoots for our lives or the lives of any</p><p>innocents that we came across. She always had her own reasons for doing things,</p><p>and we never could figure out half of them. She was so twisted she had to screw </p><p>herself into her robe in the morning! She left us to rot in cave while she ported</p><p>back to a nice warm bed! What kind of comrade does such a thing?”</p><p></p><p> But Caribdis would not be moved and he clung stubbornly to his misguided </p><p>notion that Scylla was simply misunderstood.</p><p></p><p> “All I’m saying,” He said, “Is that maybe there’s some good in her somewhere.</p><p>She did fight on your side against the dragon-“ </p><p></p><p> “Nearly killed me in the process.” Griff interrupted with a mutter.</p><p></p><p> “-So who knows what would have happened had you let her join the crew?” </p><p>Caribdis went on. </p><p></p><p> “Are you seriously saying that we are the ones to blame for all of this?” I asked.</p><p></p><p> “Well, if you look at it in a certain light…”He replied. </p><p> </p><p> Taklinn’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you’d best look at this thing in the light that</p><p>shines brightest. Don’t try to lay this at the feet of your friends, lad. It’s a fools</p><p>tongue in your head if you do!” </p><p></p><p> Caribdis opened his mouth, I’m sure to obstinately reply with more inanities.</p><p>Fortunately he was interrupted. </p><p></p><p> We had been having this conversation while on the move, having chosen a </p><p>hallway at random and followed it. The hall led into a maze of carpeted halls and</p><p>small intersection chambers, all adorned with still more statues of the dark god, and</p><p>all branching off to other passages. We wandered for many minutes while trying to </p><p>talk some sense into Caribdis, and it was while we did that we passed yet another</p><p>intersection. We had stopped as the conversation grew more animated. I believe that</p><p>Happy must have heard a noise, for she had slipped down a hallway to investigate, </p><p>with Griff at her heels. The pair found a stout door and Griff pulled it open just as</p><p>the Himrock orc on the other side was reaching for the handle on the opposite side.</p><p>Behind him stood nine more orcs, and behind them slithered a Maralith! </p><p> </p><p> It was at this point that the rest of us became aware of what was going on, and we</p><p>just had time to hear Griff ask, in a most nonchalant manner, “Excuse me, do any of</p><p>you know the way to Illugi’s temple?” </p><p></p><p> The moment would have been hilarious, had the orc not immediately drawn steel</p><p>and tried to run Griff through. Griff nimbly side stepped the sword thrust and took a</p><p>step back, drawing his Talon, and the fight was on! </p><p></p><p> Caribdis may have been deep into the most foolhardy conversation he’d ever</p><p>initiated with us, but that did nothing to slow his reflexes. In mid-sentence he went</p><p>from defending Scylla to a quick song of discord which he planted right in the midst </p><p>of the orcs as they piled into the hallway. Immediately there was chaos as several of</p><p>them lost their senses and turned on their allies. </p><p></p><p> Seeing his opportunity, Griff went from a defensive to an offensive posture and </p><p>brought the lead orc down with a swift sword thrust.</p><p></p><p> It was a scene of pandemonium. The orcs were bottled up in the hallway, shored</p><p>up on one end by Griff and Taklinn, and urged on by the Maralith behind, while a </p><p>third of them hacked away at their own brethren. Crossbow bolts flew from the</p><p>crowd and slammed home in the stone walls or in tough orc flesh. Griff, Taklinn</p><p>and Happy plied the mass of orcs with steel while I sent a ‘fireball’ over their heads </p><p>to explode in the orc’s midst. Sensesi loaded and fired a crossbow wherever she</p><p>found a target, and Caribdis did likewise with his bow, calmly picking off one after</p><p>another. </p><p></p><p> The Maralith did not remain idle. She cast one of our most hated spells, ‘unholy</p><p>aura’, on several of the orcs, but Caribdis was quick with a ‘dispel magic’ and</p><p>stripped the dweomer away from most of them. Taklinn took a step back and </p><p>attempted to ‘banish’ the Maralith, but she resisted his spell. I had the same luck</p><p>with my ‘disintegrate’.</p><p></p><p> But the demon was fighting a losing battle. Orc after orc fell to steel, either ours </p><p>or their own, and Griff and Taklinn pressed forward, eager to lay their blades on</p><p>her. With a look of hate, she disappeared, teleporting away to safety. </p><p></p><p> The rest of the fight was a mop up operation. With the orcs in such disarray it was </p><p>simple work for our fighters to lay them low, and within thirty seconds it was over.</p><p>The thick carpet soaked up blood, becoming an even deeper crimson than before. </p><p> </p><p> There were a few wounds on our side and Taklinn set to them immediately. As he</p><p>laid his hands on Griff, Griff seemed to smell the air and grimaced. </p><p></p><p> “I can sense her trail.” He said. “I think I can follow it to where she came from.”</p><p></p><p> It was as good a plan as any, so we stepped over the fallen orc bodies and </p><p>followed Griff as he tracked the Maralith’s scent of evil.</p><p></p><p> We hurried down still more carpeted halls, turning this way and that, taking odd</p><p>lefts and rights, jogging down long stretches of darkness, until we suddenly turned a </p><p>corned and stopped in our tracks. There, at the end of this fresh hall, we could all</p><p>see the tell-tale glow of firelight. </p><p></p><p> Hap held up a hand for silence. “I’ll check it out.” She whispered, gripping her </p><p>dagger and going invisible before Griff had a chance to argue with her. We could</p><p>see her light footsteps in the carpet as she crept toward the firelight.</p><p></p><p> “I’ll go with her!” Caribdis announced, also turning invisible. </p><p></p><p> “Caribdis, no!” I hissed. But it was too late. He was gone, hot on Hap’s heels.</p><p></p><p> The rest of us waited for what seemed like long, tense, minutes before Happy</p><p>returned. </p><p></p><p> “It’s an octagonal room,” She reported, “And they’re ready for us. Four orcs,</p><p>positioned at the entryway, ready to ambush.”</p><p></p><p> “Well then,” I said, “Lets not keep them waiting.” I looked at Taklinn, Griff and </p><p>Sensesi. “Ready?” </p><p></p><p> They nodded, drawing steel and readying themselves for a charge. I could see</p><p>Caribdis making his way back to us so I had no worries of catching him in my spell. </p><p>As he rejoined us and opened his mouth to say something, I raised my staff and</p><p>hurled a ‘fireball’ down the hall, setting it off in the middle of the room, enveloping</p><p>it in magical flames. I heard the howls of pain and grinned to myself even as </p><p>Caribdis moaned.</p><p></p><p> “No!” He cried, “I was going to charm them!”</p><p> </p><p> “Little late for that now,” I said by way of curt reply, and flung a second ‘fireball’ </p><p>over the heads of Taklinn and Griff as they sprinted down the hall. </p><p></p><p> The ‘fireball’ exploded a split second before they made the room, but the orcs</p><p>were not through. Two of them, at least, had held their ground, and slammed Griff </p><p>with their swords as he charged in. He shuddered in pain and I head Happy gasp</p><p>beside me. She raced forward, diving between Taklinn and Griff, hitting the floor in</p><p>a somersault to come up on one of the orcs flanks and drive a dagger home in his </p><p>side. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn and Griff hacked away grimly, beating back the orcs until two of them</p><p>went down. A third broke and ran and Taklinn gave chase as Sensesi stepped up to </p><p>take his place and aid Griff against the fourth orc. I slid into the room and trotted</p><p>after Taklinn to provide backup should he need it. And a good thing I did!</p><p></p><p> The octagonal room fed into a short hall that emptied into a massive, round </p><p>chamber. A twenty foot wide hall exited from its far side, and two more hallways</p><p>flanked it. Taklinn had chased his orc into this room and I arrived just in time to see</p><p>them reach the center of the chamber. I skidded to a stop, and I’m sure my eyes </p><p>grew as big around as dinner plates, for from the two flanking halls were pouring a</p><p>stream of orcs the likes of which I’d never seen. They charged from the halls in</p><p>their dozens, screaming their war cries and brandishing axes and swords. At a </p><p>glance I could estimate at least forty of them with still more coming! I swallowed</p><p>hard, knowing that we were badly outnumbered and Taklinn was about to be</p><p>completely overwhelmed. </p><p></p><p> I glanced over my shoulder. Caribdis was healing Griff even as Sensesi and Hap</p><p>took the last orc in the octagonal room down. My mind raced furiously and I prayed</p><p>that we might have a chance if we could bottle the orcs up in the hallways. I never </p><p>dreamed that we could take them in the open.</p><p></p><p> “Taklinn!” I screamed, “Get out! Run! Come on!”</p><p></p><p> But Taklinn wasn’t going anywhere. With a grin flashed at me over his shoulder,</p><p>he set his feet and hefted his axe. </p><p></p><p> “Come on then, you sad sacks of pus!” He bellowed over the orcish din, “Come</p><p>and have a taste of the power of Clangeden!” And then he began to cast. </p><p></p><p> Himrock orcs, as I have inferred before, are not your average, everyday orc. They</p><p>are as well seasoned knights to a shopkeeper. I would not put it past Taklinn to be </p><p>able to take care of two score of regular orcs with nothing but harsh language and a</p><p>sharp stick. But these were Himrock’s, and Himrock elite at that. What other kind</p><p>of orc but the toughest and most dangerous would be this close to Illugi’s heart? As </p><p>they swarmed into the room and spread out, making for Taklinn, I wondered if we</p><p>had not bitten off more than we could chew.</p><p></p><p> But Taklinn would no sooner run than use his holy symbol as a toothpick. He </p><p>stood firm, axe raised, and shouted his ‘holy word’!</p><p></p><p> The spell boomed from his throat, filling the room and coming down on the heads</p><p>of the orcs like Clangeden’s own hammer! I gasped at the effectiveness of the </p><p>powerful spell when I saw how many of them simply stopped in their tracks, wilted,</p><p>and died on the spot. He must have slain over twenty of them with that single spell!</p><p></p><p> I set my jaw and did a quick mental inventory of my spell repertoire. It was clear </p><p>that we were going to stand our ground so I’d best get involved, and now that I took</p><p>stock of my weaponry, I thought I might have a trick or two to give even these</p><p>powerful foes pause. </p><p></p><p> “Have a little of this!” I shouted at a knot of Himrock’s coming from the left hall.</p><p>It is a rare occasion to have so many enemies conveniently grouped together and I</p><p>took full advantage, dropping a ‘horrid wilting’ into them. </p><p></p><p> ‘Horrid wilting’ is a terrible spell to be on the receiving end of and fully fourteen</p><p>Himrock’s were suddenly sucked dry of all fluids and died shrieking in agony. Half</p><p>again that many felt the spell’s touch and halted their charge, yowling in pain and </p><p>anger. </p><p></p><p> There were still plenty of orcs, upwards of three dozen of them, and Griff</p><p>whooped in delight as he charged past me. </p><p></p><p> “Now this is more like it!” He hollered, smashing into an orc and cutting it down</p><p>with a clean slash of his blade. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis was not so exuberant as he entered the room to stand near me. </p><p></p><p> “Holy smokes!” He uttered, gaping at the orcish horde before remembering that</p><p>he could help. He raised his bow and unleashed a volley into an orc as he voiced a</p><p>poem to ‘inspire courage’ in Taklinn and Griff. </p><p></p><p> On his side of the room, the orcs had nearly reached Taklinn, but he was not out</p><p>of tricks yet. From the depths of his chest rumbled a second ‘holy word’, and this</p><p>one was even more devastating than the first! The power of the spell swept through </p><p>the horde with awe inspiring effect, dropping them like so many flies. In the space</p><p>of a heartbeat, over twenty Himrock’s dropped in mid charge, dyeing before their</p><p>battle cries had even ceased. </p><p></p><p> Not to be outdone, I used another of my most powerful dweomers on the mass of</p><p>orcs on the rooms left side. My ‘mass hold monster’ stopped another fourteen of them</p><p>in their tracks to stand as still as statues. The one lone orc that had managed to resist </p><p>my spell suddenly found himself the only voice raised in challenge, and he stopped,</p><p>looking about at his still comrades, trying to figure out why they all stood so stock</p><p>still. But he soon had other worries, for Griff had targeted him as the only real </p><p>threat on the rooms left side now, and was heading straight for him.</p><p></p><p> The huge hall in the middle of the rooms far end was a short one, and ended in a</p><p>set of massive double doors. These doors were now flung open to reveal a threat </p><p>even more sinister than the small army of orcs we had so quickly dispatched. It was</p><p>the Maralith, the one who had fled from the hall. Only now she was accompanied</p><p>by a second Maralith! </p><p></p><p> Griff spied them and veered away from his orc, wanting even bigger prey. He ran</p><p>straight for them, but never made it, for one of the demoness threw up a ‘blade </p><p>barrier’ across the entrance to the hall, catching Griff within it’s whirling blades. He</p><p>was flung back, grunting in pain as blood splattered from his wounds. He stumbled</p><p>back, fumbling in his pouch for the potion flask that Clangeden had given him. </p><p></p><p> On the rooms right side still more orcs were appearing from the passage, though</p><p>their numbers were certainly more manageable now. Still, Taklinn must have been</p><p>out of house cleaning spells, so he was forced to make do with something more </p><p>oblique. Taking a cue from the Maralith, Taklinn cast a ‘blade barrier’ of his own</p><p>which effectively cut the fresh orcs off from the rest of the room. </p><p></p><p> This was quite a gory site, as it turned out, given the fact that so many dead orcs </p><p>were strewn about right in the ‘blade barrier’s’ path. The whirling blades appeared</p><p>directly in the midst of a long line of orcish bodies and immediately began to grind</p><p>them to bits, flinging blood and bone and limbs in all directions! It was an awful </p><p>site as we were all splattered with gore! Heads, arms, legs, and torsos went flying,</p><p>and blood rained down upon us. I dodged an orcish head but still got smacked in the</p><p>face by an ownerless boot that still contained a foot. Soon the walls, floor and </p><p>ceiling were splattered and strewn with blood and entrails! Even Taklinn seemed a</p><p>bit taken aback at what he had rendered.</p><p></p><p> I wiped blood from my eyes and took quick stock of our situation. Two ‘blade </p><p>barrier’s’ whirred in the room, one of them cutting us off from the Maralith’s, and it</p><p>made me uneasy wondering what they were getting up to back there. Griff</p><p>positioned himself beside the wide hall as he took a swig of his potion and healed </p><p>his wounds. Nearby over a dozen orcs still remained in stasis under the sway of my</p><p>‘hold’ spell. I knew that they would not stay immobile forever so I made a tough</p><p>decision. I withdrew my staff and cast a ‘wall of fire’, encircling the hapless orcs. </p><p>Within seconds the stench of charred hair and burning flesh began to rise from the</p><p>orcs as they slowly cooked. It would be a cruel and painful death for them, made all</p><p>the more so by the fact that they would be unable to even scream, but I steeled </p><p>myself against pity, reminding myself that the fate of worlds was a stake. Besides,</p><p>we would certainly be able to expect no less were we to fall into their clutches. </p><p></p><p> From behind me I heard the sound of running boots. Caribdis and I spun around to </p><p>see several orcs charging from the octagonal room! I swore under my breath. The</p><p>orcs that Taklinn had cut off with his barrier must have doubled back and taken a</p><p>hall that put them behind us. They would not catch us flat footed though, for Happy </p><p>and Sensesi were ready for them. As the first orc entered our room he was</p><p>immediately brought down by the two of them. I just had time to fling a ‘fireball’</p><p>into the hall and scorch the orcs as Caribdis’ arrows found their mark time and </p><p>again. The orcs pulled up short, no longer superior in numbers and unsure of their</p><p>dedication to Illugi after all.</p><p></p><p> Caribdis ran to Taklinn. Our cleric had not managed to kill so many orcs </p><p>unscathed and had had to slay a few of them the old fashioned way, with axe and</p><p>arm. He’d been hit in many places and now staggered, weak with blood loss.</p><p>Caribdis laid his hands on Taklinn, healing him as best he could before dashing </p><p>over to join Griff, who seemed to have formulated a plan. </p><p></p><p> Griff invoked the power of his anti-magic vest and tested it against the Maralith’s</p><p>‘bladed barrier’. His hunch was right, and a path opened up in the seething mass of </p><p>blades to reveal the two demons lurking in the hall. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn spied the Maralith’s and took the opportunity to attempt to ‘banish’ one</p><p>of them, but the vile creature cackled a cruel laugh as she resisted his spell. </p><p></p><p> Then Caribdis was there, beside Griff, raising his bow for a shot at the demons,</p><p>but he never got an arrow off. Both of them rushed forward, their swords flashing,</p><p>and hit Caribdis hard. Caribdis was standing in Griff’s anti-magic field, and so did </p><p>not even have the benefits of magical protection. He came very close to being</p><p>killed, but Griff managed to grab him by the collar and drag him back. </p><p></p><p> The orcs behind us, seeing the Maralith’s, must have decided that the fight could</p><p>still be won, for they rallied and charged, though not before I hit them with a second</p><p>‘fireball’. Hap killed another one of them as they cleared the door. My magic’s had </p><p>wounded them to the point where they were easy prey for her if she could catch</p><p>them unaware. I followed my ‘fireball’ up with a ‘persistent missile’ spell and was</p><p>able to take down another with relative ease. </p><p></p><p> Then the Maralith’s were upon us! The pair of them ‘dimension doored’ into the</p><p>room, already swinging their swords. But Taklinn and Griff were ready for them,</p><p>and immediately closed in with their own steel. Both of our fighters made solid </p><p>contact and even managed to avoid paying the price of the ‘unholy aura’s’ that the</p><p>demons had on them. Caribdis finally got to get his shots off and soon Griff’s</p><p>Maralith looked like a pin cushion, so festooned with arrows was she. </p><p> </p><p> Sensesi and Hap appeared to have the orcs well in hand so I turned and dropped a</p><p>‘greater dispel magic’ on Taklinn’s Maralith, getting rid of her cursed ‘unholy</p><p>aura’. </p><p></p><p> For long seconds the only sound in the room was the clash of steel and the grunts</p><p>of the combatants as they traded blows back and forth. Griff stepped in and round</p><p>housed his Maralith with a blow that could have felled a tree. The Maralith </p><p>responded in kind, catching Griff with two devastating blows. Griff staggered and</p><p>nearly fell, but with inhuman resolve he stood his ground and swung back,</p><p>unloading with everything he had. When his sword finally stopped swinging, the </p><p>Maralith lay dead at his feet.</p><p></p><p> Caribdis turned his attention to Taklinn’s Maralith, his arm working like a piston</p><p>as he unleashed a solid line of arrows at her. His aim was true and he hit with five </p><p>arrows in a spread no larger than a fist. Taklinn waded in with his axe, cleaving into</p><p>demonic flesh. For my part, I hit her with a ‘disintegrate’, and though she was able</p><p>to resist its true effect, it still damaged her. </p><p></p><p> The Maralith refused to flee. This was her last stand and she made it a good one,</p><p>hacking away again and again at Taklinn. But our dwarf backed down not an inch.</p><p>He let her blows rain down on his armor, gritting his teeth against the ones that </p><p>broke through, and responded with his axe. </p><p></p><p> Griff joined Taklinn, adding his sword to the fight. Caribdis pumped another five</p><p>arrows into her. By this time the Maralith was beginning to flag, reeling from the </p><p>onslaught. She vainly tried to raise her swords again, but it was not to be. Taklinn</p><p>stepped in and brought his axe around in a low, vicious, arc, cutting deep into her</p><p>side. With a shriek of pain, rage and defeat, she fell. </p><p></p><p> And then it was over. We looked around, guard up, ready to take on still more of</p><p>the enemy, but there were none. Hap and Sensesi had finished off the last of their</p><p>orcs, and the ones within my wall of fire were beginning to expire. </p><p></p><p> We rest now in the mansion. We would liked to have pressed on, but it simply</p><p>couldn’t be. We are too wounded, too low on spells and resources. But we are very</p><p>close. We took two orcish prisoners that we found still alive in the carnage of the </p><p>round room and, under the effects of ‘charm’ spells, they have told us that Illugi’s</p><p>temple is only moments from where we are now. There is no doubt in my mind that</p><p>tomorrow will see our final confrontation between the Band of the Broken Blade </p><p>and the dark god, Illugi.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> Rdyr’t 28</p><p></p><p> There would be little sleep for me last night. In bed, I just tossed and turned,</p><p>going over and over again in my mind my battle plan when we again face Scylla. </p><p>The fact that we would also be facing Illugi’s avatar actually didn’t concern me as</p><p>much as the prospect of dealing with Scylla again. I was certainly not complacent at </p><p>the prospect of Illugi, but familiarity with Scylla gave me intimate knowledge of</p><p>just how dangerous she could be, and I have spent many nights staring at the</p><p>ceiling, going over and over again what spells she must have by this time in her </p><p>arsenal, and which spell I have in mine to counter her. </p><p></p><p> I wrote in my journal for many pages, but much of it was just busy work, jotting</p><p>down notes for spells and magic items. </p><p></p><p> I took a walk through the mansion and found that I was not the only insomniac.</p><p>Griff and Happy were playing tiles in the den, having a drink and talking quietly</p><p>with each other. </p><p></p><p> I found Sensesi in the kitchen with Taklinn, discussing religion. </p><p></p><p> And of course, I found Caribdis, fast asleep on a sofa in the hall, smiling in his</p><p>slumber as if he had not a care in the world. I suppose being dead for an extended </p><p>period of time, as he was, would allow you to face the prospect again with a certain</p><p>verve.</p><p></p><p> In the end, I forced myself to meditate for the required amount of time. When I </p><p>was refreshed, I sat down at my desk, already fairly sure of what spells to prepare.</p><p>Ambros slept late, still curled in a ball as I was finishing my preparations. </p><p></p><p> “If I die today,” he yawned, “I don’t want to regret not sleeping in.” </p><p></p><p> I smirked at him. “Ambros,” I said, packing away my journal and spell books,</p><p>“This journal would be a hundred pages thicker if I’d bothered to note all the hours</p><p>you have slept. I doubt anyone will accuse you of going to your final day unrested.” </p><p></p><p> “I should hope not.” He said, stretching and smacking his lips.</p><p></p><p> I washed and went to breakfast. Soon, the others straggled in and Taklinn</p><p>prepared his ‘hero’s feast’. When we had had our fill and could feel the magical </p><p>nature of the divine meal coursing through us, providing us with its protection, I</p><p>pushed my plate away and wiped my mouth.</p><p></p><p> “Well,” I said, “Shall we?” </p><p></p><p> “Aye.” Taklinn nodded. “Let’s be done with this.”</p><p> In a few moments we were once again geared up for anything. We stepped from</p><p>the opulence of the mansion back into the hellish scene of the large, round, </p><p>chamber. Each step was into a pool of congealing blood, and had we not become so</p><p>accustomed to such carnage over our career I’m sure some of us would have lost</p><p>our breakfast. We stepped over the seemingly endless orc bodies, charred and </p><p>dismembered. We were eager to leave this room behind us.</p><p></p><p> We made our way down the wide hallway toward the large set of double doors</p><p>that still stood open and, passing through them, we found ourselves in an </p><p>antechamber with doors on either side. Fully awake now and prepared for danger,</p><p>we took our positions, and Caribdis even let Happy check the doors for traps. </p><p></p><p> Behind each of the stout doors we found rooms that could only have been the </p><p>domains of the Maralith’s, for they still reeked of unspeakable evil, and the statues</p><p>of Illugi we found were even more malevolent than the many others we’d seen, if</p><p>that’s possible. </p><p></p><p> A quick search turned up some interesting finds. In one of the rooms Happy found</p><p>a figurine of an elephant that glowed strongly of magic. I had an idea of what it</p><p>might be, but it would have to wait for a more opportune time. In the second room </p><p>Hap also found a carefully hidden sack containing several dozen small vials</p><p>containing a strange and smoky substance of varying colors. None of the others</p><p>knew quite what they could be, but my studies had informed me of such things, and </p><p>I took the sack from Happy, gingerly placing it in a secure pocket of my haversack.</p><p>Unless I am mistake, the vials contain souls! Souls are the currency in the demonic</p><p>planes, and it stands to reason that these Maralith would have their treasures hidden</p><p>here. Those vials were the equivalent of a sack of gold to us, and I could not help </p><p>but be both fascinated and repulsed at the same time. I resolved to give the vials</p><p>further study at the first available opportunity. Perhaps there is a way to free them! </p><p></p><p> We found ourselves a bit stuck then, for no visible exits were in these rooms, and</p><p>at first glance we appeared to have arrived at a dead end. That is until Hap’s eyes,</p><p>ever sharp, noted an irregularity in one of the walls. Upon closer inspection, she </p><p>found a secret door which opened easily.</p><p> </p><p> The hallway beyond was rounded and curved, and the feeling of an evil presence</p><p>was palpable. All of us felt it: we were getting closer. </p><p></p><p> Griff and Taklinn took the lead and we followed them along the hallways bend.</p><p>We began to note the floor beginning to slant downwards, slightly at first, then</p><p>more sharply as we descended still further into the earth. </p><p></p><p> The hall spiraled downwards. Around and around, and every yard we covered</p><p>seemed to pull us further into an evil that made the air thick, until each step was</p><p>heavy. We breathed it in. It filled our lungs and we could taste it on our tongues. It </p><p>was an indescribable aura of hate, terror, pain, and cruelty. Griff seemed</p><p>particularly sickened by it, though it did nothing to his resolve, and he pressed on</p><p>with even greater urgency. </p><p></p><p> Down and down we went, and I wondered if we would find ourselves in the very</p><p>bowels of hell itself! Then, the hall began to widen, and the left wall veered sharply</p><p>away. It was clear that, should we continue around the bend, we would find </p><p>ourselves in a chamber of some kind.</p><p></p><p> We stopped then, for we had no idea if Illugi and Scylla might be waiting around</p><p>this very bend. We took no chances, and Taklinn and I used several protection </p><p>spells in preparation while Caribdis whispered a heartening verse. </p><p></p><p> Even over our quiet words Happy was able to hear something from the chamber. </p><p></p><p> “Shhh!” She hissed, holding up a hand, “I hear… stretching.” </p><p></p><p> Griff looked at her quizzically.</p><p></p><p> “Bows.” She explained. “I hear bows being drawn back.”</p><p></p><p> I’m sure I looked doubtful. Would Scylla leave it to mere archers to defend the </p><p>heart of Illugi’s temple? </p><p></p><p> Griff shrugged, adjusting his grip on his sword. “I’d hate to keep ‘em waiting.”</p><p>He said with a wry smirk. He turned on his heel and walked round the bend with the </p><p>rest of us close behind.</p><p></p><p> As the room revealed itself to us I could see that it was a massive natural cavern.</p><p>It stretched nearly sixty feet to an imposing flight of shallow stairs carved out of the </p><p>rock. At the top of those stairs, beyond a short landing, we could all see the portal, a</p><p>glistening, vertical, pool of blackness that shimmered and seemed to cancel out any</p><p>light. </p><p></p><p> The ceiling of the room soared above us, nearly a hundred feet, disappearing into</p><p>darkness. </p><p></p><p> But our attention was soon galvanized by a pair of ledges set about fifty feet up on </p><p>the walls flanking the great stairs. Standing in a row on each ledge stood five</p><p>creatures that I had a very difficult time placing. </p><p></p><p> They were demons, of that there could be no doubt. But I had to search the </p><p>recesses of my mind to find reference to them. They were tall and gangly, and each</p><p>had two pairs of arms, and each pair of arms held a horn bow that I’m sure would</p><p>have taken three normal men to bend, though these creatures seemed utterly at ease </p><p>with the tension. Each set of arms appeared to use each bow independently, and I</p><p>knew that they would have no trouble with their respective aims. All of this added</p><p>up to twenty bows pointed at us, and I just had time to leap back behind the wall as </p><p>the air was suddenly thick with black arrows. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn crouched behind his shield and Griff simply withstood the barrage, his</p><p>hand digging in his pouch and coming up with a potion bottle. I reached out and</p><p>touched him with a “greater heroism” even as he downed it and began to rise into </p><p>the air, pulling himself rapidly along the wall and upwards in an angle that would</p><p>end at the ledge on the right. Still more arrows pounded at him as he went, several </p><p>of them hitting the cave wall hard enough to stick in the hard stone.</p><p></p><p> Caribdis, meanwhile, used his favorite trick and sent a verse of discord amongst</p><p>the demons on the left. Say what you will about the boy, he has a very effective </p><p>attack in that verse, and the next thing I knew one of the demons had been hit by his</p><p>own no less than eight times. He staggered as another one of them heaved him off</p><p>of the ledge and sent him crashing to the stone floor where he lay quite still. </p><p></p><p> And then Scylla appeared.</p><p></p><p> She came from thin air and stood amongst the demons on the right ledge, her </p><p>purple robes swirling about like her own personal storm. She glared down at us</p><p>from her perch and raised her hands, weaving magic from the air.</p><p></p><p> I leapt back into the tunnel, bringing my own hands up in a desperate attempt to </p><p>cast. But I hesitated. Something told me to hold off, to wait. An instinct welled up</p><p>deep within me, an almost certain knowledge that the Scylla we saw here was not</p><p>real. She was trying to draw us out, get us to use our resources. I sat tight, watching </p><p>her intently, straining to see through the illusion and hoping I was right.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn sprinted into the room, one eye on Scylla and the other on the south</p><p>ledge, still full of demons that sent a merciless rain of arrows down upon him. He </p><p>let them bounce off of his armor as he gave them a little something to think about in</p><p>the form of a ‘blade barrier’ that covered the length of the ledge. It whirred to life,</p><p>catching one of the demons in its grinder-like blades and spraying a fountain of </p><p>blood and body parts (especially arms) across the room. The surviving demons</p><p>hurriedly blinked away, probably ‘dimension dooring’. </p><p></p><p> Griff had attained the opposite ledge and closed with the first in the line of </p><p>demons that stood there. They may have been archers without peer, but they were</p><p>within Griff’s range now, and he made them pay for it. His first thrust took a demon</p><p>through the breast. Griff hurled him from his blade and the beast hit the floor many </p><p>feet below with a wet smack. </p><p></p><p> Griff was now face to face with Scylla! I watched, eyes narrowed, as she lifted</p><p>her arms to cast. I knew it was now or never, and I began a spell of my own, still </p><p>desperately attempting to see her for what I was so sure she was: an illusion. But if I</p><p>was wrong, and allowed her to cast against Griff, the consequences could be terrible</p><p>indeed. </p><p></p><p> The last word of my spell lay on my tongue, ready to be spoken, when, at last, I</p><p>saw it! The wall behind her. My vision suddenly broke through her spell, and I</p><p>looked right through her! </p><p></p><p> “She’s not real!” I cried, flush with my small victory, “Scylla’s not real! It’s an</p><p>illusion!”</p><p></p><p> I continued calling that warning even as I flew into the room to deal with the </p><p>unpleasantness happening on the floor.</p><p></p><p> The arrow demons, it seems, were not through being a threat, even in death, for</p><p>from the two twisted bodies that lay beneath the ledges, had crawled some small </p><p>abomination! The awful, blob-like creatures tore their way from the carcasses of the</p><p>demons and made as if to crawl across the floor, still seeking to attack us. I dropped</p><p>two or three fireballs upon them, which was enough to finally kill them for good. </p><p></p><p> Griff heard my words and pulled up short as he readied a swing at Scylla. He</p><p>stared hard at her, then shrugged and plunged his blade through her breast. The</p><p>illusion shattered, and the spell was broken. Scylla dissipated into magical energy </p><p>once more. </p><p></p><p> Griff carried on, colliding with another demon, hacking it apart and sending it to</p><p>the floor to be finished off by myself and Happy, who found good use for her</p><p>‘scorching ray’ wand by frying the gross offspring of the demons body. </p><p></p><p> The demons on Griff’s ledge disappeared, winking out, only to show up again at</p><p>the top of the wide stairs that led up to the massive portal. They hissed at us, raising </p><p>their bows for a final volley. Caribdis sent another song of discord in amongst them,</p><p>and with shrieks of rage, they turned and leapt through the portal, letting themselves</p><p>be swallowed up in the inky blackness, but not before Taklinn could slam one of </p><p>them with his axes, killing it outright. </p><p></p><p> We were alone in the cavern. </p><p></p><p> “Ha, I knew it!” I exclaimed. “I knew that succubus wouldn’t show herself just </p><p>like that. Not with only a troop of lousy arrow demons to back her up.”</p><p></p><p> “Good call.” Said Griff, settling to the cavern floor. “She had me fooled good. I</p><p>thought sure she was gonna hit me with some god-awful spell.” He shuddered at the </p><p>thought.</p><p></p><p> “She must be beyond the portal,” Sensesi said, looking thoughtfully at the</p><p>obsidian-black expanse that towered over her like a giant mirror made of shadow. </p><p></p><p> “Wouldn’t surprise me,” I said, joining her to stand before the portal, “The heck</p><p>with it, I’m getting ready.” With that, I began casting my protective spells. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis cleared his throat, suddenly serious as he addressed us. “Listen,” he said, </p><p>his voice grave, “I just want to say it again: We die here, and we’re utterly dead.</p><p>There’s no coming back. I also want to ask a favor. If we can, if it’s possible, I want</p><p>the chance to capture Scylla. Please.” </p><p></p><p> I could see the sincerity in his eyes. Why he would take a personal interest in</p><p>Scylla was beyond me, and I was in no mood to try to figure it out. </p><p></p><p> “Caribdis, if Scylla gives up, then I will gladly accept her surrender.” That was all </p><p>I had to say on the matter. My decision had been made a long time ago. If she </p><p>didn't give up then one of us would die today, either myself or Scylla. </p><p></p><p> We cast, piling on the spells, instinctively knowing that our quarry was not far, </p><p>perhaps only beyond the veil of the portal. </p><p></p><p> Each of us looked at one another. </p><p> “It’s been a good ride.” I said, solemnly, “Drinks are on me when we get back to </p><p>Havilah.”</p><p></p><p> Taklinn nodded. “Aye. Should the chance to say it not come again, I’ll say it now:</p><p>You are all like family to me. That is the greatest honor I can bestow. It has been a </p><p>true pleasure.” The big dwarf grinned then. “Now lets be done with this!”</p><p></p><p> We stood shoulder to shoulder. Happy and Griff joined hands. The six of us</p><p>stepped into the portal. </p><p></p><p> ***</p><p></p><p> I thought I had felt evil. I thought I knew what it felt like to feel my head swim</p><p>with it. I thought I knew what it was for my soul to be in jeopardy. </p><p></p><p> I knew nothing.</p><p></p><p> The instant my flesh touched the portal I was drawn into the abyss. I felt despair</p><p>so deep that I wept with utter hopelessness. Abject terror nearly stopped my heart, </p><p>and mindless rage gnawed at my bones. My body and mind were racked with a pain</p><p>so severe that I thought I must certainly go mad. I saw none of my companions.</p><p>Even Ambros was lost to me. I fell though the eternity of my own private hell for </p><p>what seemed a very long time.</p><p></p><p> And then, there arose within me a spark, a flame, a burst of divine energy so</p><p>brilliant that it seemed to blind me from the inside. With the speed of thought it </p><p>coursed through my body, filling my limbs and clearing my mind. It exploded from</p><p>me, driving back the darkness, suffusing me in a state of joy, the purity of which I</p><p>had never known. </p><p></p><p> It was not a voice that calmed me, but rather a feeling, an unquestionable certainty</p><p>that what I was experiencing was the hand of divinity. The gods, whoever they may</p><p>have been, were intervening on our behalf. It would be providence that guided us</p><p>through this final test. </p><p></p><p> Suddenly, all was gone. All the evil, all the good, and I stood in a massive</p><p>chamber, staring at my goal. </p><p></p><p> Beside me I could see my friends. All of them had survived the crossing, though I</p><p>had a deep feeling that all of them had undergone the same journey. A certain</p><p>brightness still clung to them. </p><p></p><p> The chamber spread out before us, positively crackling with Illugi’s energy. At</p><p>the rooms center was laid an intricate magical circle, a pentagram. From each of its</p><p>points, spread throughout the room, were poles, long stakes with sharpened ends, </p><p>planted into the floor. Upon each pole was impaled the tortured figure of a being, as</p><p>much dead as alive. Energy arced from one body to the next, lighting up the room</p><p>with eerie pulses. In that weird light I could make out the twisting shapes that made </p><p>up the very walls of the chamber. Much as it had been in Illugi’s temple so long</p><p>ago, the walls of this room were alive with the tormented souls of those Illugi had</p><p>trapped. They wailed and moaned; I could see their outlines, as if only a sheet </p><p>separated them from me. </p><p></p><p> In the center of the room, surrounded by the pentagram, stood the biggest statue</p><p>of Illugi we had yet seen. It was blacker than any black had a right to be. Flanking it </p><p>were two demons that I could not identify. They were bloated and covered in</p><p>oozing sores. Their massive arms hung from hunched shoulders, and their taloned</p><p>hands drug on the ground. </p><p></p><p> Between the statue and us stood another line of defense in the form of twelve</p><p>himrock orcs bristling with weapons. They were the very finest of Illugi’s orc army,</p><p>and they stood ready to protect their lord. </p><p></p><p> But all of that was merely a diversion to what really drew my eye. At the far end</p><p>of the room rose a stage some fifteen feet above the floor. Two staircases, one at</p><p>either end, ascended to the stage. And at its center glowed a rainbow hued sphere. It </p><p>was a ‘prismatic sphere’, and I knew as well as I knew my own name that Scylla</p><p>was in there. </p><p> </p><p> They were ready for us. I had only an instant to take stock of the situation and get</p><p>my bearings before the himrocks were moving in with drawn blades, and the</p><p>demons were casting. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn and I were both hit with targeted ‘dispel magic’s’ flung at us by the</p><p>demons flanking Illugi’s statue. Fortunately for me I had cast a ‘spell turning’ on</p><p>myself before stepping through the portal, along with ‘stone skin’ and ‘protection </p><p>from energy’. The dispel bounced harmlessly from me and saturated its caster.</p><p>Taklinn was not so lucky, and I heard him curse as several dweomers were</p><p>stripped away from him. </p><p></p><p> Griff stood in front of me in a protective stance, sword held easily in his right</p><p>hand, letting the himrocks close the distance, though the orcs were the last of my</p><p>worries. I watched as the fight began to unfold. Sensesi took three quick bounds </p><p>forward and met a himrock full force, her sword a blur as it crashed through armor</p><p>and flesh. </p><p></p><p> I took to the air, raising up to get above the weapons below and to get a better </p><p>view of the stage. I saw a burst of conjuration magic emanate from the sphere</p><p>before I was able to bring a spell to bear. </p><p></p><p> It was no time for cat and mouse games. I unloaded the first of the two </p><p>‘Mordenkainen’s disjunction’s’ I’d prepared, encompassing the stage, the prismatic</p><p>sphere, the back wall and several of the impaling stakes. The result was most</p><p>satisfying. </p><p></p><p> The temple wall within the area of the disjunction appeared to heave and writhe</p><p>and finally melt away as the magic harnessing the souls contained therein was</p><p>quashed. The bodies impaled on sharpened stakes swelled and burst with sickening</p><p>pops, and the lines of magical energy snapped, whipping wildly as their anchors </p><p>were destroyed. The prismatic sphere was dispelled as well, winking out. But its</p><p>disappearance revealed nothing. I saw no Scylla suddenly revealed and I cursed, </p><p>looking wildly about for her. </p><p></p><p> Below me I kept an eye on Taklinn as he stepped up to the front lines to lend</p><p>Sensesi his aid. Between his axe and her sword they brought down a pair of the </p><p>himrocks even as more orcs stepped in to take their fallen comrades places. Several</p><p>of them fired heavy crossbows at me, but my stone skin repelled the bolts. </p><p></p><p> Below and to my right, Caribdis loosed arrows at an orc while sending a song of </p><p>discord their way. Only one of them was affected, but, as always, it was gratifying</p><p>to watch him turn against his own without warning. </p><p></p><p> Happy had gone invisible. I was able to see her as she maneuvered beneath an </p><p>unsuspecting orcs guard and stabbed him with lightning quick thrusts. </p><p></p><p> The two demons stepped up their offense, blinking from existence, only to</p><p>teleport to within a few yards of us. Brutal magic emanated from them and all of us </p><p>were filled with a sense of loss and despair. For a second I felt like just giving up,</p><p>but my rational mind saw it for the cheap trick it was and resisted, forcing the</p><p>hopelessness away. Fortunately the rest of my crew was just as strong willed, and </p><p>none of us were overcome by the aura. </p><p></p><p> Now that they were close enough, Griff waded into them, Talon at the ready. He</p><p>took a brutal hit before he was able to swing, but once he did the sound of his steel </p><p>biting into demonic flesh resounded throughout the room. He hacked into the beast,</p><p>forcing it back several steps, and finally knocking it from its feet to sprawl across</p><p>the floor, desperately trying to defend itself against Griff’s fury. </p><p></p><p> I was still in the air, holding my spells, looking for Scylla. </p><p></p><p> I saw her! The sorceress stepped out from behind the statue of Illugi, a spell at the</p><p>ready. Before I could hit her with a casting of my own, she let her spell fly. I felt the </p><p>terrible magic grip me and I took the full brunt of a spell the likes of which none of</p><p>my studies had prepared me for. I felt my blood boil and I was racked with agony</p><p>for long seconds before it seemed that my blood burst from every pore in my body, </p><p>twisting me with pain. The blood that shot from me formed a wispy, but strong</p><p>web, anchoring to the ceiling and holding me fast within its net, much like a ‘web’</p><p>spell, only far stronger and far more gory. I struggled and fought to get an arm free, </p><p>desperately trying to extricate myself. I was badly injured and had no spell readily</p><p>available for such a situation. I cursed, knowing I was a sitting duck. But I had a</p><p>trick still up my sleeve. I was just able to reach two fingers into my scroll pouch </p><p>and, after tearing my arm free of the bloody webbing, I flipped it open, and was</p><p>able to read the ‘greater teleport’. In a flash, I was out of the webbing and had</p><p>repositioned myself across the room, looking down on the battle once again. I saw </p><p>Scylla below me, her back now to me. She was franticly trying to find me. My eyes</p><p>narrowed and I used a spell that I had prepared specifically for her. It was a</p><p>quickened ‘dimensional anchor’, and it struck her squarely. She hissed in rage, </p><p>wheeling to face me as she realized what I had done. My spell would severely limit</p><p>her mobility, and I knew that was the first important step in her defeat.</p><p></p><p> Scylla raised her hands to cast at me but I was not her only problem. Caribdis had </p><p>spotted her and he crossed the distance at a dead run, casting on the way. He</p><p>grabbed her shoulder just as he completed an ‘Otto’s irresistible dance’ spell. She</p><p>must have retained some sort of spell resistance, however, despite having been hit </p><p>with my disjunction, for Caribdis’ spell had no effect on her. She slapped his hand</p><p>away and leapt back, turning her own magic on our bard.</p><p> </p><p> We were by no means the only ones locked in combat. Below me the battle raged </p><p>fiercely. Sensesi and Happy were thinning out the orcish ranks slowly but surely.</p><p>Hap was particularly effective, still invisible to the himrocks eyes. She danced and</p><p>tumbled among them, flinging daggers, stabbing, finding vital organs, and dropping</p><p>them one after another. Several yards from her, Griff was still locked in a deadly </p><p>battle with one of the demons. He’d been hit hard, and two orcs had joined the fight,</p><p>making the odds three to one. Hap rolled clear of a clutch of orcs and fired off a </p><p>volley of daggers that struck one of Griff’s orcs in a neat line of steel that ran from</p><p>the base of his neck to the bottom of his spine. The orc pitched over dead. Hap sent</p><p>another set of daggers at Griff’s second orc, wounding the brute badly. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn joined with Sensesi and the pair fought back to back. He brought his axe</p><p>around again and again, bringing it away bloody every time. Himrocks fell about</p><p>them and began to pile up as he sang a dwarven battle song loud enough that </p><p>Clangeden must surely have heard it. I watched Taklinn closely, for he was the</p><p>lynch pin in a plan that I had formulated to defeat Scylla many weeks ago.</p><p></p><p> Not far away Griff had finally gotten the upper hand against the demon. He </p><p>ducked a brutal swing, leapt out of the way of another, then came in low and fast,</p><p>driving the point of his blade up into the sternum of the unholy beast, pushing with</p><p>all his might, driving it to the hilt. A great gout of blood poured from the demon, </p><p>and with a scream of rage and terror at having failed, it died even as Griff used a</p><p>foot to kick the creature free of his sword. Griff turned momentum into a swing that</p><p>caught the orc that still harried him under the chin. The Himrock’s head tumbled </p><p>end over end, bouncing across the blood slick floor.</p><p></p><p> All of this happened in the space of mere seconds. When I turned my eyes back</p><p>toward Scylla and Caribdis, I saw her finish her casting. It was another spell that I </p><p>did not recognize. Illugi must certainly have made available to her some truly</p><p>unholy and unique spells. I saw Caribdis wince as the spell hit him, but somehow it</p><p>seemed to bounce off of him and return to Scylla. I believe his armor must have </p><p>some spell turning properties, though he has never given me more than a wry smile</p><p>when I’ve asked him about it. </p><p></p><p> Scylla gnashed her teeth as she was hit by her own spell, but her own resistance </p><p>fended it off. With hate in her eyes, she began to cast again.</p><p></p><p> Then the moment I’d been waiting for arrived. I saw Taklinn tear his axe free of</p><p>an orc he’d just killed. Our dwarf looked around for another target, and I resolved to </p><p>give him one.</p><p></p><p> For a long time I have been turning over strategies in my head. Plans that would</p><p>best be used against a foe such as Scylla. This morning, when I’d prepared my </p><p>spells, I had just this situation in mind, and with no hesitation, I cast. </p><p></p><p> My first spell was ‘weaken resistance’. The thin, gray, beam hit her just behind</p><p>the ear, and while it did no damage, it stripped away the many layers of protective </p><p>spell resistance that I knew still clung to her. In an instant she was laid bare, and I</p><p>knew that she was finished.</p><p></p><p> My second spell was a quickened ‘scorching ray’. I knew it wouldn’t kill her, but </p><p>it was key to the plan. All three rays of fire slammed into her, leaving scorch marks</p><p>and causing her to whirl and face me. She snarled, raising a finger to point at me. I</p><p>am positive that the spell that would have come from that finger may very well have </p><p>been the end of me. But I also knew she would never have the chance to cast it. I</p><p>smiled at her.</p><p></p><p> “Taklinn! NOW!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn turned, his eyes taking in the situation. He saw Scylla, saw that she was</p><p>injured, saw that she was open. Our eyes met, and without words, he knew exactly</p><p>what I meant for him to do. He took three quick steps toward Scylla and called her </p><p>name.</p><p></p><p> “Scylla!” he bellowed, “DIE!”</p><p></p><p> It was the single verbal component of one of his most powerful spells, ‘power </p><p>word kill’. </p><p></p><p> Ordinarily she would have been unaffected by the dweomer, but my ‘scorching</p><p>ray’ had brought her within striking distance of it. She glanced at Taklinn, then her</p><p>eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she realized, too late, the trap she’d fallen </p><p>into. She heard the word, terror swept across her face, she opened her mouth and I</p><p>could see her lips trying to form a defiant, “No!” </p><p></p><p> But no sound escaped her throat as Taklinn’s spell gripped her heart, stopping it</p><p>in mid-beat. She staggered, fell to her knees, tried one last time to bring her hands</p><p>together in a casting, but her fingers went numb. Time seemed to stand still as her </p><p>mouth fell slack, and she fell backwards, slumping onto the floor, staring at the</p><p>heavens she had abandoned with lifeless eyes. Scylla was dead.</p><p></p><p> I had little time to congratulate myself, for the fight was far from over. Even as </p><p>Scylla died, the remaining orcs and demon renewed their attacks with fresh fury. An</p><p>orc leapt at Sensesi, hacking into her with a broad axe. Our yuan-ti ally was looking</p><p>quite the worse for wear, for she bled now from a dozen wounds. She reeled under </p><p>the blow, bringing her sword up, desperately parrying another swing. </p><p></p><p> Another orc closed with Griff, hammering at our warrior and making solid contact</p><p>twice. Griff returned with a solid slash of the Talon, and Happy punctuated that </p><p>with a handful of daggers that killed the orc outright. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis tore his eyes from the fallen body of Scylla, and I could see deep regret</p><p>there. Still, to his credit, he did not let his remorse get in the way of what had to be </p><p>done. With uncanny accuracy he let fly two arrows at Sensesi’s orc, striking first in</p><p>the right eye, then in the left. With twin arrows lodged in its brain, the himrock died</p><p>instantly. </p><p></p><p> The remaining demon launched itself into the fray, bounding across the floor to</p><p>slam into both Taklinn and Sensesi. Sensesi managed to throw herself out of the</p><p>way, but Taklinn bore the full brunt of the hit. The demons claw pierced our cleric’s </p><p>protective steel and came away covered in blood. Taklinn stumbled back a step,</p><p>grievously wounded, and raised his axe. </p><p></p><p> Then Griff was there. Screaming a challenge, the big warrior sprinted the distance </p><p>and smashed into the demon with everything he had, hacking through hide and</p><p>bone. The demon shrieked and turned to face Griff in a rage. Griff hit it again, this</p><p>time with enough force to knock the demon to the floor. Howling in anger, it leapt </p><p>to its feet, but not before I flew in low and struck it twice, first with a maximized,</p><p>empowered, ‘scorching ray’, and then with a quickened ‘scorching ray’. All six</p><p>gouts of flame hit the demon, sending acrid smoke boiling from its matted fur. </p><p></p><p> The few orcs that were left were determined to fight to the very end, and they</p><p>closed in around Taklinn and Griff and the demon. Taklinn backhanded one of them</p><p>with a massive axe blow, sending its head flying. His axe never slowed as it </p><p>continued its arc, slamming into a second orc. But that second orc refused to die,</p><p>and cut Taklinn across the shoulder with a wicked sword strike. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis raised his bow to help, but two more orcs had spotted him. They charged </p><p>and Caribdis grunted in pain as both of them hit home, piercing his armor and</p><p>drawing copious amounts of blood. Caribdis, like myself, is far from used to being</p><p>injured, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and ignored his attackers. He leapt </p><p>back, briefly getting out of their range just long enough to loose a half-dozen</p><p>arrows. Four of them struck the demon just as it was getting to its feet. They</p><p>thudded into its forehead in a grouping no bigger than my fist. The demon’s eyes </p><p>crossed stupidly for a second, trying to focus on the shafts that had grown so</p><p>suddenly from its face, then it fell like an oak, dead before it hit the ground. A fifth</p><p>arrow took Taklinn’s orc neatly in the heart, slipping through a narrow gash it its </p><p>breast plate. Like the demon, the orc died instantly.</p><p></p><p> By now the fight was ours. Taklinn and Happy, and even a very wounded Sensesi</p><p>waded into the final pair of orcs on their side of the room. The himrocks fell like </p><p>ripe wheat.</p><p></p><p> Griff raced across the floor to Caribdis’ aid. Our bard was dancing franticly,</p><p>ducking and twisting to avoid sword thrusts. Griff rammed the first orc from</p><p>behind, severing its spine with a well aimed slash. Griff turned on the last living </p><p>orc, opening up a long wound down its side. The orc spun to face Griff, but in doing</p><p>so he left himself wide open for Caribdis. Our young bard calmly put an arrow in </p><p>the back of the orcs skull from point blank range. The orc was dead before it had a</p><p>chance to attack Griff.</p><p></p><p> They were all dead. The himrocks, the demons, Scylla, all of them lay at our feet, </p><p>and the only sound in the chamber was our own labored breathing and the crackling</p><p>of energy that flailed from broken connections between the impaled bodies. I landed</p><p>near Scylla’s body, looking at her still form. I felt quiet satisfaction in the victory. </p><p></p><p> But we were not finished. All six of us turned to regard the massive statue of</p><p>Illugi that dominated the room. It seemed to pulse with a dark evil, as if it wanted to</p><p>come to life and strike those who had defiled its temple and slain its worshipers. I </p><p>knew that it would soon be granted that opportunity, for all that remained to be</p><p>done was a second casting of ‘Mordenkainen’s disjunction’ for Illugi’s avatar to be</p><p>set free. </p><p></p><p> Griff wiped sweat and blood from his eyes and flung it away without a thought.</p><p>“Damn.” Was all he said. The big warrior limped over to Happy who flung her arms </p><p>around him gingerly. </p><p></p><p> “You’re hurt.” She said, reaching up to smooth Griff’s long hair from his face.</p><p></p><p> “What else is new?” He gave Hap his wry grin and bent to kiss her on the head. </p><p></p><p> “I can help with that.” Taklinn announced, walking toward Scylla’s body where</p><p>we had all begun to gather. </p><p></p><p> “Good thing,” I observed, glancing at the statue, “That was just round one. We </p><p>still have another to go.”</p><p></p><p> When we were all within range Taklinn cast a ‘mass heal’. I never tire of seeing</p><p>wounds that would normally take weeks or months to mend be healed within a few </p><p>seconds by clerical magic. Soon we were back in top shape, at least physically. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis stood over Scylla’s limp body, a sad look on his face. She looked terribly</p><p>small and frail, laying there on the bloody floor, her eyes still wide and empty. </p><p>Caribdis said nothing as I unfolded my portable hole and rolled Scylla’s body</p><p>inside. I was unwilling to leave it behind.</p><p></p><p> I folded the hole and tucked it away in a pouch. I turned to stand with the rest of </p><p>my comrades and stare up at the baleful statue of Illugi.</p><p></p><p> “It’s pretty big.” Caribdis said, thoughtfully.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn nodded. “That it is, lad. That it is.” </p><p></p><p> Griff snorted and stretched his shoulders. He wiped the blood from the Talon with</p><p>a rag. “It ain’t that big. Let’s get on with it! Doorag, do what you gotta do.”</p><p></p><p> I sighed, knowing that Griff was right. Best to take it on now while our blood was </p><p>up.</p><p></p><p> We took our positions. Caribdis stood at the foot of the stage, his bow at the</p><p>ready. Hap went invisible again, though she must surely have known that it would </p><p>do nothing to hide her from the gaze of an avatar. Still, it probably made her more</p><p>comfortable. Griff and Taklinn took flanking positions. Taklinn used several spells</p><p>to strengthen himself, and he was soon twice his size and glowing with divine </p><p>energy. Sensesi stood near Taklinn, her sword at the ready, a determined look on</p><p>her face. As for me, I flew up as far as I could to a corner of the rooms ceiling,</p><p>wanting as much distance as I could between me and the tentacled horror. </p><p> “Everyone ready?” I asked. I was answered with five nods. I took a deep breath,</p><p>picked out a spot at the far end of the chamber where none of my friends would be</p><p>within the area of the spell, and cast my second ‘disjunction’. </p><p></p><p> As before, the wall of the room seemed to bulge and distend. The souls trapped</p><p>behind that horrid membrane shrieked with new found anguish. Power lines between</p><p>impaled bodies snapped as their supports exploded. They fizzled angrily before</p><p>glutting out. Then the wall began to shimmer and fade, melting out of existence to </p><p>reveal bare rock. Only this time the effect spread, drifting left and right and</p><p>upwards to slowly encompass the entire room and still the cries of those tortured </p><p>souls forever. All of the impaled bodies swelled and burst, and every single magical</p><p>cable disappeared into mist. </p><p></p><p> All was silent for several long seconds. Our eyes were glued to the statue, waiting </p><p>for some sign of life. </p><p> It moved.</p><p></p><p> That one, exploratory stretch of a tentacle was all it took. We were on it with </p><p>everything we had. </p><p></p><p> I went for damage, firing off a ‘polar ray’. My jaw dropped in disbelief as I</p><p>missed. I looked at my offending finger, astounded that I could fail to hit something </p><p>that big!</p><p></p><p> Taklinn had been standing about fifteen feet from the beast, wanting to get a good</p><p>run at it. He charged, his familiar dwarven war howl erupting from his throat. His </p><p>axe came down as he collided with the tree trunk-like body, sinking his steel past its</p><p>thick, fibrous hide, and he was rewarded by a gout of thick, black blood that stained</p><p>his arms to the shoulders. </p><p></p><p> The avatar seemed to flinch, and spun as if on an axis. Though it had no eyes to</p><p>speak of, it was plain to see that its attention was now firmly on Taklinn.</p><p></p><p> It moved with an unearthly speed, whipping at least a dozen tentacles toward </p><p>Taklinn. They smashed into him with incredible force. His shield bent and his</p><p>armor was crushed. Taklinn flew backwards, driven off his feet. I shuddered as I</p><p>saw that his left arm was bent at an un natural angle, and his face contorted in pain. </p><p>His jaw was dislocated, and I saw him clinging stubbornly to consciousness as he</p><p>groped for his axe and tried to get to his feet. He was obviously terribly wounded.</p><p>The avatar would have killed ten lesser men with such a furious attack. </p><p></p><p> Then Griff and Happy were there, working in tandem. Hap hurled a handful of</p><p>daggers, and one of them even bit home. Griff chose his target, seeking some kind</p><p>of soft spot. He hacked again and again, finally driving his sword through layers of </p><p>muscle and hide to unleash a second torrent of ichors.</p><p></p><p> Sensesi was not far behind. She came in under a flailing tentacle and slashed a</p><p>deep wound across the monsters trunk. </p><p></p><p> Wanting to take some of the heat off of Taklinn, knowing he couldn’t take</p><p>another hit like that, I summoned the most powerful creature I could, an elder earth</p><p>elemental. The stony creature appeared from thin air between Taklinn and the </p><p>avatar, already swinging its bolder-like fists. But even such a behemoth could do</p><p>little more than annoy the avatar, for its blows seemed to harm it not at all.</p><p></p><p> Below me, seeing that her daggers were doing next to nothing to the beast, Happy </p><p>changed tactics, pulling her wand of ‘scorching ray’ and letting fly with a trio of</p><p>fiery beams at the thing. They struck it and sizzled against slime covered flesh. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn had staggered to his feet by now, his axe cradled loosely in his mangled </p><p>arm. With his free hand he gave a hard yank on his beard, popping his jaw back into</p><p>place. One of the avatars tentacles snaked around the earth elemental and tried to hit</p><p>Taklinn again, and he ducked, stumbling in pain, grimacing at the effort it took just </p><p>to stay on his feet. With his mouth working again, he uttered the words to a spell,</p><p>and just like that, he seemed to melt into the very floor! Where is he going, I</p><p>wondered, distressed at his disappearance. But I had no time to dwell on it. With </p><p>Taklinn seemingly out of the fight, the odds had fallen even further against us. </p><p> </p><p> The avatar had been gashed and burnt and pierced with arrows, but it still</p><p>appeared to be going strong. It swiveled with frightening speed and filled the air </p><p>with deadly tentacles. Two of them snapped at Griff and sent him flying backwards</p><p>to land heavily on the stone floor. Another slammed into my elemental, chipping off</p><p>fragments of rock. Three tentacles lashed at Sensesi, catching her off balance and</p><p>wrapping around her waist, pinning her arms to her side. The avatar lifted her easily </p><p>into the air and tightened its grip on our yuan-ti ally. I heard her try to scream in</p><p>pain only to have it come out as a whispered gasp. The tentacles dripped with a foul </p><p>looking secretion, and as it came into contact with Sensesi’s flesh she began to</p><p>shudder and foam at the mouth. Her sword slipped from her grasp and clattered to</p><p>the floor as she went limp. No longer a threat, the avatar flung her away, tossing her </p><p>the length of the room as easily as a child throwing a twig.</p><p></p><p> We were now down to five, including the elemental.</p><p></p><p> Griff struggled to his feet, holding his side as his cracked ribs caused him great </p><p>pain. With a sneer, he squared himself and lowered his head. He brought the Talon</p><p>up to shoulder height, and with the sound of a raging bear, he charged. The avatar</p><p>spun to face him, but too late. Griff smashed into the things side with the force of a </p><p>bull, slamming his sword with all his might, slicing through hide and laying a three</p><p>foot long section of the avatar open like a jagged mouth. I stopped in mid-cast,</p><p>staring in awe as Illugi’s avatar reeled from the power of Griff’s blow. It seemed to </p><p>attempt to scuttle back, but got tangled in its own root-like appendages and fell to</p><p>the floor with a wet thud! I couldn’t believe it. Griff had actually knocked the thing</p><p>down! </p><p></p><p> It was far from dead though, and we took advantage of it’s being knocked down</p><p>as best we could while it struggled to raise it’s bulk up again. Hap fired off another</p><p>volley of ‘scorching rays’, but they fizzled upon contact. I knew that it must have </p><p>tremendous protective magic’s on it, so I did my best to strip them away, casting a</p><p>‘greater dispel’ that, unfortunately, appeared to do little good. My elemental kicked</p><p>the avatar a solid blow as it finally rose to a standing position. </p><p></p><p> The avatar was in a rage. A high, piercing, wail rose from somewhere in its gullet,</p><p>and everywhere we looked there were tentacles lashing out at us.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn, where are you? I said to myself. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis had been doing his best to help with his verse, inspiring us all while</p><p>unleashing a non-stop barrage of arrows. Nearly a dozen of his shafts protruded</p><p>from the beast at odd angles, and it seemed he finally got its attention, for a tentacle </p><p>whipped toward him, hitting him in the chest with the force of a battering ram and</p><p>slamming him against the wall. </p><p></p><p> A tentacle pounded into the elemental, breaking off still more rock from its stony </p><p>body. </p><p></p><p> Two tentacles snaked toward Griff. He dodged and danced away from them, but</p><p>they were too quick, and before he knew it, they had both wrapped themselves </p><p>around his body, coiling about him and squeezing until he writhed in agony. I could</p><p>see him shaking his head, fighting the poison as it passed through his skin. Unable</p><p>to bring his sword to bare, Griff dropped it and pulled free a dagger with which he </p><p>vainly stabbed and cut at a tentacle. </p><p></p><p> This was bad. The thing was wounded, but with Griff bound up by the avatar,</p><p>Sensesi down, and Taklinn nowhere to be found, all of our heavy hitters were gone. </p><p>For the first time I began to wonder if we were doomed to fail. </p><p></p><p> I had no time to ponder such matters though, for even as far from the avatar as I</p><p>was, I was not safe from those tentacles. One of them flashed toward me. I saw it </p><p>coming from the corner of my eye too late, and was hit across the shoulder. The</p><p>blow sent me flying into the ceiling and pain coursed through my body.</p><p></p><p> Seeing her husband being rapidly constricted to death, Happy went at the thing </p><p>with renewed fury. “Let him go, you ugly piece of…” Her ‘scorching ray’s’</p><p>pounded the avatar again, this time breaking through its resistance and burning</p><p>deeply. </p><p></p><p> Caribdis tried a ‘shout’ spell, but only succeeded in wounding Griff even further.</p><p>The avatar seemed to notice it not at all.</p><p></p><p> Across the room, I was amazed to see Sensesi haul herself to her feet. She was</p><p>pale and obviously near deaths door, but she refused to relent as long as life still </p><p>coursed through her. With tremendous effort, she limped toward the fight, pulling</p><p>her back up sword. </p><p></p><p> As for me, the hit I had taken nearly caused me to black out. I blinked my blurred</p><p>eyes to restore my vision. I knew that we had reached the point of desperation, but</p><p>more than that, I was angry. A hot rage built up within me and I flew forward at a </p><p>fast dive, knowing that distance was no guarantee of safety. Once within range, I let</p><p>the beast have it with everything I could muster, targeting it with a maximized</p><p>‘scorching ray’. All three rays sizzled into it, bypassing its spell protections and </p><p>melting away dinner plate sized portions of its hide. </p><p></p><p> But it was not enough. The thing had no face, but when it turned to face me I</p><p>could almost see an expression of victory in its body language. It continued to </p><p>squeeze the life out of Griff who was weakly trying to cut himself free with failing</p><p>strength. I tried to cast, knowing I would never make it, knowing that it was going</p><p>to hit me and that I would not survive it. A dozen tentacles seemed to rear back, </p><p>each of them aiming at me like a slave driver hauling back the lash to bring it</p><p>cracking down. </p><p></p><p> And then Taklinn was back. </p><p></p><p> Our dwarf rose up from the very stone, now fully healed. He had obviously used</p><p>his retreat to mend himself and was now back in the fight. He stepped from the</p><p>solid rock, poised and ready, his axe held in a two-fisted death grip. He took a step, </p><p>then another, and a third brought him into range. He roared the name of Clangeden</p><p>as he swung.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn’s axe bit home, hewing into the avatar as if it were an oak. He swung </p><p>again, drawing forth another geyser of blood. His third swing buried the head of his</p><p>axe so deeply into the thing that it was all he could do to pull it free.</p><p></p><p> Time seemed to stand still. A keening wail emanated from the avatar as it </p><p>attempted to turn and face this new threat. I was forgotten as its tentacles flailed</p><p>about, searching for Taklinn. </p><p></p><p> It staggered, its tentacles loosening from around Griff. Our warrior crashed to the </p><p>floor with a bone jarring thud. </p><p> </p><p> Taklinn hauled his axe back for another swing, but let it stay there, watching as</p><p>the avatar shuddered and swayed. Finally, its shriek died in its throat, and like the </p><p>massive tree that it resembled, it teetered, lost balance, and toppled to the ground</p><p>with a heavy crash.</p><p></p><p> I blinked, barely able to believe my eyes. Illugi’s avatar lay still, its tentacles </p><p>splayed limply about the room. It was dead.</p><p></p><p> Taklinn stood over the fallen avatar, teeth bared, flush with having delivered the </p><p>killing blow. </p><p></p><p> “About time you showed up.” Griff said with a pained groan as he picked himself</p><p>up from the floor and limped over to retrieve his sword. </p><p></p><p> I landed near Caribdis as we all looked at the avatars soggy body. It was already</p><p>beginning to decompose before our very eyes. </p><p></p><p> It’s over! I thought to myself. It’s really over. Scylla is dead. Illugi is exiled. Two </p><p>worlds are free of their meddling. We’ve done it!</p><p></p><p> I must believe that similar thoughts were passing through the minds of each of my</p><p>companions. But we would have no time to voice them. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn, of course, noticed it first. “Uh oh.” He said.</p><p></p><p> A slight tremor, barely perceptible, shivered beneath our feet, and a fine shower</p><p>of dust settled from the ceiling. I looked up, a bad feeling growing in my gut. </p><p></p><p> Another tremor, this one stronger. A hair-thin crack appeared in the near wall.</p><p></p><p> “We need to get out of here,” Taklinn said, flatly, “now!” Another shower of dust</p><p>fell from above, this time accompanied by a few errant pebbles. The place was</p><p>coming down. </p><p></p><p> The earth seemed to groan and rumble as I had us all grasp hands and cast my</p><p>‘teleport’. In the next breath, we stood outside the gates of Anvie where we could </p><p>see the upper floors of Illugi’s temple jutting up like a diseased tooth into the sky.</p><p>We watched as it began to tremble. Soon long cracks began to appear. Great chunks</p><p>of masonry fell away, and in due time, it collapsed in a mushroom cloud of debris </p><p>that blanketed the city. The six of us watched, and a sense of finality washed over</p><p>all. </p><p> </p><p> “So can we go home now?” Happy, ever pragmatic, asked. </p><p></p><p> “Aye, girl,” Taklinn nodded, “That we can. Our work is finished here. Now it lies</p><p>for the folk of Edik to rebuild.”</p><p></p><p> “What about you, Sensesi?” I asked the yuan-ti. Truth be known, I half hoped </p><p>she’d return to Havilah with us. I may have had my doubts about her, but she was</p><p>true to the end and fought well.</p><p></p><p> “I suppose I shall stay here.” She replied. “Perhaps there is a place for me yet in a </p><p>new Edik.” </p><p></p><p> “I was wrong about you, you know.” I said, matter of factly. “I’m glad now that</p><p>Taklinn wouldn’t let us kill you.” </p><p></p><p> She shook her head. “Accepted. Perhaps you can make it up to me by paying me a</p><p>visit now and again.”</p><p></p><p> I answered with a nod and a small smile. We shook hands with her all round. </p><p>Even Happy begrudgingly extended her hand.</p><p></p><p> “Right.” I said, “It’ll be a day before I can cast a ‘gate’, so we’ve got another bit</p><p>to go here. I’ll get us a mansion going-“ </p><p></p><p> Caribdis interrupted. “See you later!” And cast a spell. He disappeared.</p><p></p><p> </p><p> Sunsebb 21</p><p></p><p> We did not see Caribdis for the rest of that day. We did not see him when we </p><p>finally returned to Havilah. We have not, in fact, seen Caribdis since that moment.</p><p>It has been nearly a month, and I can only conclude that he has returned to</p><p>Himinborg. </p><p></p><p> I have thought about gating there to find him and call him on the carpet for his</p><p>rudeness at leaving us without so much as a final goodbye, but in the end I think I</p><p>have finally come to accept that Caribdis will always be an enigma to me, and, I </p><p>believe, to himself as well. Scolding Caribdis would be the equivalent of wagging a</p><p>finger in disappointment at a cat. What good would it really do?</p><p> </p><p> Our month here has been a good one, though I have a feeling that the Band of the</p><p>Broken Blade has somehow reached a new plateau. </p><p></p><p> Happy and Griff returned to their home, and then, a week ago, set out on a </p><p>journey. They told no one where they were off to and left no indication of when</p><p>they might return. Perhaps this is their honeymoon. I know I could scry them, but it</p><p>is obvious that they are seeking privacy. I will not deny them that. </p><p></p><p> Taklinn has returned to his home in the mountains. I have heard from him once,</p><p>and he tells me that all is well. He is spending much time with his fiance and his</p><p>church, and he is already deep in planning to build his own temple. </p><p></p><p> As for me, barely a week passed before I was back in my lab, hip deep in books</p><p>and beakers, Ambros perched on the shelf and offering alchemical advise. I’ve been</p><p>here ever since, except for frequent jaunts into the city to see a play or hear an </p><p>orchestra. </p><p></p><p> I have attained a level of power that very few in our worlds history have reached,</p><p>not to mention a credibility and reputation that far precedes me. I have been offered</p><p>posts within the Academy, from several large merchant houses, and even the throne. </p><p>For now, however, I have left those decisions for a later date. It is time to study, to</p><p>read, to craft and to ponder the responsibility of wielding so much power. </p><p></p><p> I have visited my family. I have visited The Old Man In The Pointy Hat. How odd</p><p>it seems that I have surpassed my old master ten fold in magical skill. Yet he retains</p><p>a wisdom that still leaves me gaping at times, and we have spent several enjoyable </p><p>nights together, talking of everything under the sun. Only now we are no longer</p><p>teacher and student. Now, we are colleagues. </p><p></p><p> I am thinking of teaching a class or two. I see now that The Old Man In The </p><p>Pointy Hat taught me more than mere magic. He taught me respect and ethics and a</p><p>sense of honor. It would be a fitting tribute to him if I were able to pass those same</p><p>qualities along to young wizards attending the Academy. </p><p></p><p> A curious thing happened about a week after we’d returned from Edik. I have</p><p>mentioned young Crispin Reis briefly in this journal as the young lad assigned to us </p><p>when we first became a full fledged crew as our errand boy, runner and what have</p><p>you. Just a snot of a lad at the time, he has grown into a sturdy boy over this year,</p><p>and Griff has taken him under his wing. The boy has no family to speak of, and </p><p>Griff has become a sort of father figure to Crispin, which is all well and fine and</p><p>hardly any of my concern. But apparently, seven days after we’d returned from</p><p>Edik, Crispin was visited, while doing chores on the Academy grounds, by an old </p><p>crone. From his story, the toothless hag appeared from nowhere and seemed to</p><p>know quite a bit about him, not the least of which was his name, which she called</p><p>him by straight away. </p><p></p><p> Crispin, of course, got quite a fright out of this, but to his credit, he stood fast and</p><p>demanded to know what she wanted. She replied that she had a gift for him, and</p><p>produced a linen wrapped object. It was long and slender and heavy, and she laid it </p><p>in his hands with several commands. </p><p></p><p> Griffin Dorjan, she explained with authority, was to teach Crispin how to use this</p><p>object, and Doorag Marzipan was to infuse it with magic when the time came. She </p><p>said that I would know when that time was. </p><p></p><p> With a puzzled look, Crispin unwrapped the thing, letting the linen fall to the</p><p>grass. </p><p></p><p> It was Everyman’s Blade, the sword that Griff had used to slay Melesandre, the</p><p>sword that had shattered. Griff had given it to Caribdis, who had hung it in his</p><p>tavern, only to have it stolen some time later. It has been a source of mystery and </p><p>consternation to all of us, especially Taklinn and I. Both of us have used powerful</p><p>magic’s to try and locate it, but to no avail. Powerful protections indeed, to ward off</p><p>a ‘discern location’ dweomer. </p><p></p><p> And now here was this old woman, handing Everyman’s Blade to Crispin. Crispin</p><p>looked up to ask her where she’d gotten it. Who she was. But she was already gone. </p><p></p><p> The sword is now whole and shining, and Crispin practices with it every day. </p><p>Griff took the news with a shrug and said, sure, he’d train the boy when he and</p><p>Happy returned.</p><p> </p><p> There is a feeling of having drifted quickly apart from my friends, as if all of us</p><p>are eager to take on new lives and more “mundane’ pursuits. I find myself saddened</p><p>by it, but at the same time, I realize it is the natural evolution in our relationship. </p><p>We have been through so much together, have been so close to one another, have</p><p>grown so much with each other, perhaps it is time for all of us to grow a little bit on</p><p>our own. </p><p> </p><p> I don’t doubt that we shall remain friends, and should some evil threat ever raise</p><p>its head against Havilah, or any one of us, I know in my heart that I, Taklinn, Happy</p><p>and Griff will respond. There are some things one never out grows. But I suspect</p><p>that our days of actively seeking out adventures will be fewer and further between. </p><p></p><p> I shall miss those days, but I look forward to the many fine days to come as well.</p><p> </p><p> Three weeks have passed since our return, and I have kept myself plenty busy,</p><p>and have been happier than I have been in a long while. But this coming week shall</p><p>be different. </p><p></p><p> While we were in Illugi’s temple, after Caribdis had rejoined us, he pulled me</p><p>aside one evening as we rested in the mansion. </p><p></p><p> Doorag,” he began, “I have made a request of each of our friends. A thing that I’d </p><p>like them to do for me when they return home. I’d like to ask you a favor as well.”</p><p></p><p> “Like what things did you ask them to do?” I asked, suspicious. </p><p></p><p> “Never mind their tasks,” he said, waving away my question, “It’s you I want to </p><p>talk about. Will you do it?”</p><p></p><p> I blinked at him. “Do what?”</p><p></p><p> “The favor!” </p><p></p><p> “But you haven’t told me what it is you want me to do!” I said, growing frustrated</p><p>at having been caught up in another of Caribdis’ conversational circles. </p><p></p><p> “Just say you’ll do it.” He prodded. </p><p></p><p> “No, Caribdis!” I exclaimed, exasperated, “I’m not going to commit to a favor</p><p>when I don’t even know what it is. That’s ridiculous. You might ask me to do</p><p>something impossible, and then where would I be?” </p><p></p><p> He sighed. “Okay, look, this is all it is: I want you to relax. You work too hard!</p><p>All the time with the studying and the books! You miss out on so much of</p><p>everything else life has to offer. I want you to promise me to find yourself a nice </p><p>quiet meadow and lay in the grass. Watch the bees buzz. Smell the flowers. Go</p><p>fishing. That sort of thing.”</p><p></p><p> I looked at him, appalled. “You can’t be serious.” I said. </p><p></p><p> “I’m deadly serious.” He said, with a deadly serious expression.</p><p></p><p> “Well, no!” I huffed. “I’ll have you know that I LIKE spending my time with my</p><p>nose in a book! You could do a lot worse than to read a little yourself, you know. I </p><p>don’t care for meadows and I’m a lousy fisherman. No!”</p><p></p><p> Caribdis cocked his head and widened his eyes almost imperceptibly. “Please?”</p><p> </p><p> “Caribdis, no. It’s silly!” I stated flatly. </p><p></p><p> “Please?”</p><p></p><p> And on it went, for the next hour, until at last, to simply shut him up, I agreed to</p><p>consider it. </p><p></p><p> I purchased my fishing pole yesterday, and there is a fine meadow about one</p><p>hundred miles southeast that should do the trick. It has a small stream running</p><p>through it, and I am sure that I shall catch no fish at all.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="cthulhu42, post: 6587866, member: 6792361"] Rdyr’t 26 This has been a busy, yet productive day. We have also managed to tidy up a few loose ends and even get some real rest. This morning Sensesi and Happy slipped out of the mansion, despite Griff’s frowns and Caribdis’ pouts. Griff could, of course, keep some track of his wife with the amulets that bind them together, and he did just that, pacing the mansions dining room for the several hours that they the pair were gone, ready to dash out the door at any moment. In the end, his fears were unfounded, and by late afternoon they had returned, flush with victory. Happy was positively giddy and she grinned from ear to ear when she handed me a very fine circlet of jade that was just what I needed. But when I asked her where and how they had gotten such a thing, she would only grin wider and wink at me while Sensesi just shrugged. I did, however, notice a few fresh splatters of blood on Happy’s sleeve, and when Sensesi said simply that I probably wouldn’t want to know all of the details, I could but sigh and agree. I only hope that no innocent blood was shed in securing my focus. From there I teleported the lot of us to the spot where we had left Major Throst and the Havilah soldiers. We were heartened to find them still there, in good health, apparently unmolested. It took a little doing, but between Taklinn and I we convinced them, at last, that it was time for them to return home. I had just come into understanding the ‘gate’ spell and was able to open a portal back to Havilah for them. With a salute, they stepped through and I dismissed the ‘gate’ behind them. We are now truly alone in this place. Finally we used the rest of the day to ‘analyze dweomer’ on several items that we have been carrying around for some time now in the hopes that some of them may come in handy against Illugi and his minions. Sensesi and I have been going over the map she has drawn me of the inner temples antechambers. I have had her describe it to me until I can picture it clearly in my mind. With any luck we will be able to teleport there tomorrow. If such is the case, then I suppose that this could well be my final journal entry, for we may encounter Illugi, and if I am struck down… But no, I will not entertain the notion of defeat. If it happens, so be it, but I won’t burden this journal with worrisome lines and pre-emptive goodbyes. We shall overcome this monster as we have all others! Rdyr’t 27 It has been a bloody week up to this point, but the carnage I have witnessed today puts the past several days to shame! If not for cleaning spells and the washing facilities of the mansion I fear most of us would be covered head to toe in gore. Today has been an inch by inch crawl through a sea of enemies, and we have left a trail of bodies to rival a small army, one of which was almost a comrade! We awoke early and consumed our ‘heroes feast’ in near silence, quite sure that today would be the day that we faced the terrible avatar of Illugi. I had studied the Sensesi’s map for much of the night and felt confident that my ‘greater teleport’ would take us there, providing she was right in her theory that the temple solidified near its inner chambers. When we were properly fed and girded, we left the mansion and stood in a tight circle, each one of us touching another. Taklinn and I cast spells to aid ourselves and our companions, and as a final touch I cast an ‘invisibility’ on each of us. Sensesi had warned us that resistance would be fierce and was of the opinion that stealth would be key to our success. I would have liked to agree with her, but with Taklinn’s clanking armor and Caribdis’ general pell-mell attitude, I had my doubts that we would go unnoticed for long. I gave each of my friends a last look to make sure they were ready and was answered with nods. I took a breath and cast my spell, holding the image of Sensesi’s map in my mind. And then we were there. Our tight circle stood in one corner of a non-descript room that held four doors, one of which was a double set. With my permanent ‘see invisibility’ I could see my comrades standing stalk still, trying to be as quiet as possible, for even they were immediately aware of the danger that lurked in this room. The beast that stood guard here was unlike any that I had ever seen before, though I quickly pinpointed what it was. A Slaad! The creature was utterly alien, huge, and held a bluish tinge. I marveled at such an atrocity, at the notion that Illugi had such creatures in his service. A long second passed in which none of us moved. I quickly realized that the thing should be taken out as swiftly and as silently as possible so as not to alert anything waiting behind all those doors. There was only one of us that I trusted for a job like that. I leaned toward Happy and, with barely a breath, whispered in her ear. “He’s all yours. Take him now.” I saw her face break into a grin and she quickly let go of Griff’s hand and moved toward the unsuspecting Slaad on cat-like feet, making not a single sound. Griff reached for her, unable to see her and worried for his wife, but I grabbed his arm and held a hand to his chest, bidding him wait. I watched as Hap slid close enough to the Slaad to climb into the things hip pocket. I saw the length of steel in her hand as she withdrew a dagger. She paused for a split second, gauging her aim, and then, with the speed of an asp, she struck, once, twice, three times, and then a fourth from a second dagger! Hap had used her dust of disappearance so as to remain invisible even after attacking, and the Slaad never saw its killer as her blades bit again and again. She pierced the Slaad in all the right places, her daggers thrusting upwards to puncture vital organs. The Slaad, three times Happy’s size, gasped, open mouthed, tried to call out a warning, but had not the strength to utter even a whisper. It was dead before its knees even buckled and it slumped to the floor in a heap. There was no time to congratulate our friend on her fine kill, for the invisibility spells would not last long, and more monsters could open any of those doors at any time. “Positions!” I hissed, “By the doors!” Taklinn moved to cover the far door while Griff took the middle. Caribdis and Sensesi stood near the final single door. I stayed where I was, keeping an eye on the set of double doors while Hap remained near the dead Slaad, ready with her daggers, scanning the entire room. I whispered to the crew, “OK, Taklinn, you and Griff…” But that was all I got out before Caribdis unplugged the cork and let hell loose. With a look of undeniable curiosity, he reached out and pulled the handle to his door. The words, ‘Caribdis, no!’ never made it past my lips, for he had already thrown the door wide. But what he saw in there gave him pause, and he slammed the door shut just as quickly. I groaned in frustration that was mirrored in Sensesi’s eyes. Though she could not see Caribdis, it was obvious that she knew that it had to have been him. Not wanting to give whatever was in the room time to prepare, she flung the door back open, the magical scimitar we had given her to replace the one I had destroyed with my ‘Mordenkainen’s Disjunction’ held at the ready. I had not been able to see what was in the room when Caribdis had opened it, and I quickly shifted to better my angle, but before I could, whatever was in there struck. It must have had enough time to cast an invisibility seeing dweomer upon itself, for it had no trouble targeting Sensesi. I saw her take a step toward the room and then stop in her tracks, her face twisted in unbelievable pain as a spell gripped her. Her body twisted and jerked, seeming to fold in upon itself. She tried to scream, but it was as her very throat had shut. Her scimitar clattered to the stone floor and she slumped next to it, a pitiful pile of arms and legs, far too thin, twisted at terrible angles. I recognized the results of the ‘implode’ spell. And just like that, Sensesi was dead. None of the rest of the crew could see what had happened, and they stood there for a long second, wondering what had happened. I thought fast and acted, drawing my back up staff and casting quickly. My ‘wall of force’ went up only a half inch from the wall, effectively blocking off two of the three walls, leaving only the one from which the ‘implode’ spell had come from uncovered. Taklinn had been reaching for his own doors handle when he was suddenly blocked by the wall. “Doorag!” he demanded, “What are you doing?” “Sensesi is dead!” I called out, no longer bothering with stealth, “Get to the open door!” Griff was already moving, passing Caribdis and entering to deal with what waited inside. Taklinn soon understood my words and charged in as well. Hap leapt over her dead Slaad and slipped in behind them while Caribdis stepped back and raised his bow, already letting fly with a steady stream of arrows. I edged around to finally be able to see into the room and confirmed my worst fears. It was a Death Slaad, the most dangerous of all Slaad, and it was again attempting to cast one of its deadly dweomers. But it was surrounded on all sides, and as terrible as it was, the thing was no match for four determined crew members eager to avenge the death of even one such as Sensesi. Griff and Taklinn double teamed the thing, slamming it with steel while Hap maneuvered into position. Caribdis’ arrows found their target over and over, and by the time Happy struck from behind, the Slaad was nearly dead. She finished the job, and down it went. The alarm had been raised. I could see the other two doors banging against my ‘wall of force’ as whatever was behind them attempted to force them open. I whistled quickly and the rest of the crew came out to deal with this new danger, all of them now visible except for Happy. Taklinn returned to the far door while Hap and Griff took the middle. Caribdis stepped back, bow at the ready. When they were ready, I dismissed the wall. The second that Taklinn and Griff could reach their door handles they hauled them open. I caught a flash of steel gripped in a bluish arm as the Slaad in Taklinn’s room lashed out at our dwarf, its sword clanging off of his armor. Taklinn responded with a flurry of axe blows that sent the Blue Slaad reeling back into the room. Taklinn pressed his attack, keeping the Slaad off balance and drawing a gout of blood, but behind the Blue Slaad stood another Death Slaad, already casting. The ‘implode’ seemed to wash over Taklinn and I saw him shudder, as if fighting the magic, before throwing it off and bellowing a laugh at the Slaad’s failed spell. Meanwhile, Griff was facing nearly the same challenge, for behind his door there also lurked a Blue and a Death Slaad. The Blue blocked the doorway, guarding the Death Slaad, forcing Griff to cut and thrust in an attempt to force the brute back. I saw Hap give a short skip, tuck her body into a tight ball, and roll between the Slaad’s legs to come up on his opposite side. She was still invisible, and fortunately her invisibility was the result of dust of disappearance, for I could tell that the Death Slaad’s had cast ‘see invisibility’ on themselves. Dust of disappearance hides one from even that powerful dweomer. I cast quickly, placing a ‘Bigby’s Crushing Hand’ behind Griff’s Death Slaad and began to slam at the thing, hampering it’s attempts to cast spells. Caribdis was doing his part, his arrows finding their way around Taklinn to strike the Slaad’s beyond. Taklinn, twice his size and glowing with divine energy, made short work of even the monstrous Blue Slaad and dropped the creature with a final axe swing that sent a spray of blood splashing from one end of the room to the other. The Death Slaad, now without its guardian, hissed and cast another deadly spell, ‘finger of death’, but again Taklinn merely sneered at the attempt and closed with the creature. In Griff’s room they were gaining ground. Hap had struck the Blue from behind several times and Griff finished it off with a mighty cleave. He climbed over the body to face the Death Slaad who was busy dodging my Bigby’s hand. In a desperate attempt to escape, the Death Slaad cast an ‘invisibility’ on itself and winked out of view, but I could still see him and I pressed the attack with the Hand, beating again and again at him. Caribdis rushed into Griff’s room and I saw Hap edge along the wall, looking for where the Bigby’s hand was striking in an attempt to figure out where the Death Slaad had got to. Griff did the same, though he had a fine answer for the Slaad’s invisibility. Long ago we had come across a pouch of dust of appearance and Griff’s had been packing it around for months for just such an occasion. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed the contents of the pouch into the room and a very surprised Death Slaad was revealed. The Death Slaad’s, as fearsome as they are, were no match. Taklinn backed his against the wall and pounded through its defenses until his axe bit deep and split the Slaad’s skull. In the next room the final Slaad was surrounded by magical fist, Happy, Griff and Caribdis. No matter where it turned it faced doom, and in mere seconds it lay dead, festooned with arrows and blade wounds. Taklinn stepped from his room with a grin, wiping the gore from his axe, but his grin quickly faded as I dismissed the ‘invisibility’ from Sensesi’s body. The implosion had reduced her to half her normal size, and her body was pathetic to behold. “Can you do anything for her?” I asked Taklinn as Griff, Hap and Caribdis also exited their room. “Aye,” Taklinn nodded, “I can. We’ve got to her quick enough. Give me a minute.” Taklinn knelt next to the twisted husk of Sensesi’s form and began to pray. As magic’s go, the power to bring the dead back to life must rank up with the very best of dweomers. How can I be but envious of Taklinn, for if I live to be one thousand, I will never be able to cast such a spell. It is unfortunate that so much of arcane magic is devoted to extinguishing life. And so it was that I watched with fascination as power flowed visibly from Taklinn’s hands and into Sensesi’s mangled body. As divinity coursed through that broken shell, it was as if watching a water skin being filled. Her arms and legs straitened and took shape. Her face and head reformed and her chest heaved with a gasp of breath as her eyes flickered and opened She looked around, at first, disoriented, then a bit sheepishly as memory flooded her face and she realized what must have happened. I shuddered, wondering if it would one day be me laying there with the knowledge that I had just been dead and brought back to life. Sensesi got unsteadily to her feet with Taklinn’s help while Hap and Griff made a quick search of the rooms. “How do you feel?” Taklinn asked Sensesi. She stood on her own and tested her muscles. “I’ll be fine.” She said. I looked at her uncertainly. “Are you sure? Maybe we should wait another day, or at least a few hours.” “I said I’d be fine,” She replied, curtly, “Besides, now that we’re this close we mustn’t turn back or give them any more time to prepare. We must press on.” I nodded. I could not but agree with her. “Not much here.” Hap announced as she and Griff came back into the main chambers. “We must be getting close to the big guy though, ‘cause this place is lousy with Illugi statues. There’s one in every room.” “I can feel him.” Griff added, thoughtfully, “It stinks of evil here. Its like the devil farted.” “Well then lets go!” Caribdis beamed, heading for the only door left. It was a large double set, and a path of blood red carpet led from our room and under them. “Caribdis, “I said, “I don’t know how many more times Taklinn can resurrect someone today. Maybe you want to let Hap do her job?” He stopped short, giving me a pained look. But then his eyes landed on Sensesi and he relented. “Oh, okay.” He said with a half hearted roll of his eyes. Pleased to have the opportunity to show off her skills, Happy set to work on the double doors and soon pronounced them clean. Griff shoved them open to reveal a malevolent antechamber. Three passageways led off into their own separate darkness, and in each corner of the chamber stood yet another statue of the tentacled Illugi. The thick red carpet beckoned us down each hallway, and the air was thick with the feel and stench of evil. “Say,” pondered Caribdis out loud as we wondered which hallway to take, “What about this Scylla character? What are we planning to do with her once we find her?” Griff looked at the boy with barely feigned amusement. “I don’t know, Caribdis,” he said, “Maybe we’ll ask her to share tea and crumpets with us. I’m sure she’ll be only too willing to give up her plans for world domination once we explain the error of her ways to her.” “We’ll likely have to kill her.” Taklinn said, a bit more gently. “Do you think that’s really necessary?” Caribdis asked, and I moaned inwardly, already able to tell that our bard was beginning to get ideas in his head. “She hasn’t left us much choice, Caribdis.” I said. “She’s gone too far. She’s willing to bring the wrath of Illugi down upon the heads of who knows how many thousands of innocents. She’s already conquered Edik, and she won’t rest until Havilah, at the very least, bends it’s knee to her.” “Yes, but,” Caribdis argued, “It sounds to me like she got kind of a raw deal.” Griff looked at Caribdis askance. “Raw deal? What the hell are you talking about?” “Well, from the way you’ve told the story all she really wanted was to join the crew. You all rejected her. It sounds to me like you’ve brought all this upon yourselves.” Caribdis stated this with such irritating simplicity that it was all I could do to hold my tongue. Griff, however, was not so politic. “Caribdis, you weren’t there! You have no clue what you’re talking about!” “He’s right, lad.” Taklinn interjected, “We gave her every chance. We were willing to back her to the Academy, and we were being generous at that. To let her have a place as a full member of the Broken Blade, especially after all that she’d done, it just wasn’t going to happen.” “Not while I still drew breath!” I added. “That crazy wench nearly killed me!” Griff spat. “She fireballed me right off the back of Acessiwall! She damn near killed Hap a few times when she missed with her spells. She was a bull in a china shop, and no way was she joining this crew!” “Why do you care anyway, Caribdis?” Happy asked. “Maybe I’ve learned something about the value of life while I was dead.” He said with a shrug. I laughed sharply. “Save your pity for someone who deserves it. Like maybe anybody that used to call Anvie home. Caribdis, Scylla never learned the value of life while she was with us. She didn’t give two hoots for our lives or the lives of any innocents that we came across. She always had her own reasons for doing things, and we never could figure out half of them. She was so twisted she had to screw herself into her robe in the morning! She left us to rot in cave while she ported back to a nice warm bed! What kind of comrade does such a thing?” But Caribdis would not be moved and he clung stubbornly to his misguided notion that Scylla was simply misunderstood. “All I’m saying,” He said, “Is that maybe there’s some good in her somewhere. She did fight on your side against the dragon-“ “Nearly killed me in the process.” Griff interrupted with a mutter. “-So who knows what would have happened had you let her join the crew?” Caribdis went on. “Are you seriously saying that we are the ones to blame for all of this?” I asked. “Well, if you look at it in a certain light…”He replied. Taklinn’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe you’d best look at this thing in the light that shines brightest. Don’t try to lay this at the feet of your friends, lad. It’s a fools tongue in your head if you do!” Caribdis opened his mouth, I’m sure to obstinately reply with more inanities. Fortunately he was interrupted. We had been having this conversation while on the move, having chosen a hallway at random and followed it. The hall led into a maze of carpeted halls and small intersection chambers, all adorned with still more statues of the dark god, and all branching off to other passages. We wandered for many minutes while trying to talk some sense into Caribdis, and it was while we did that we passed yet another intersection. We had stopped as the conversation grew more animated. I believe that Happy must have heard a noise, for she had slipped down a hallway to investigate, with Griff at her heels. The pair found a stout door and Griff pulled it open just as the Himrock orc on the other side was reaching for the handle on the opposite side. Behind him stood nine more orcs, and behind them slithered a Maralith! It was at this point that the rest of us became aware of what was going on, and we just had time to hear Griff ask, in a most nonchalant manner, “Excuse me, do any of you know the way to Illugi’s temple?” The moment would have been hilarious, had the orc not immediately drawn steel and tried to run Griff through. Griff nimbly side stepped the sword thrust and took a step back, drawing his Talon, and the fight was on! Caribdis may have been deep into the most foolhardy conversation he’d ever initiated with us, but that did nothing to slow his reflexes. In mid-sentence he went from defending Scylla to a quick song of discord which he planted right in the midst of the orcs as they piled into the hallway. Immediately there was chaos as several of them lost their senses and turned on their allies. Seeing his opportunity, Griff went from a defensive to an offensive posture and brought the lead orc down with a swift sword thrust. It was a scene of pandemonium. The orcs were bottled up in the hallway, shored up on one end by Griff and Taklinn, and urged on by the Maralith behind, while a third of them hacked away at their own brethren. Crossbow bolts flew from the crowd and slammed home in the stone walls or in tough orc flesh. Griff, Taklinn and Happy plied the mass of orcs with steel while I sent a ‘fireball’ over their heads to explode in the orc’s midst. Sensesi loaded and fired a crossbow wherever she found a target, and Caribdis did likewise with his bow, calmly picking off one after another. The Maralith did not remain idle. She cast one of our most hated spells, ‘unholy aura’, on several of the orcs, but Caribdis was quick with a ‘dispel magic’ and stripped the dweomer away from most of them. Taklinn took a step back and attempted to ‘banish’ the Maralith, but she resisted his spell. I had the same luck with my ‘disintegrate’. But the demon was fighting a losing battle. Orc after orc fell to steel, either ours or their own, and Griff and Taklinn pressed forward, eager to lay their blades on her. With a look of hate, she disappeared, teleporting away to safety. The rest of the fight was a mop up operation. With the orcs in such disarray it was simple work for our fighters to lay them low, and within thirty seconds it was over. The thick carpet soaked up blood, becoming an even deeper crimson than before. There were a few wounds on our side and Taklinn set to them immediately. As he laid his hands on Griff, Griff seemed to smell the air and grimaced. “I can sense her trail.” He said. “I think I can follow it to where she came from.” It was as good a plan as any, so we stepped over the fallen orc bodies and followed Griff as he tracked the Maralith’s scent of evil. We hurried down still more carpeted halls, turning this way and that, taking odd lefts and rights, jogging down long stretches of darkness, until we suddenly turned a corned and stopped in our tracks. There, at the end of this fresh hall, we could all see the tell-tale glow of firelight. Hap held up a hand for silence. “I’ll check it out.” She whispered, gripping her dagger and going invisible before Griff had a chance to argue with her. We could see her light footsteps in the carpet as she crept toward the firelight. “I’ll go with her!” Caribdis announced, also turning invisible. “Caribdis, no!” I hissed. But it was too late. He was gone, hot on Hap’s heels. The rest of us waited for what seemed like long, tense, minutes before Happy returned. “It’s an octagonal room,” She reported, “And they’re ready for us. Four orcs, positioned at the entryway, ready to ambush.” “Well then,” I said, “Lets not keep them waiting.” I looked at Taklinn, Griff and Sensesi. “Ready?” They nodded, drawing steel and readying themselves for a charge. I could see Caribdis making his way back to us so I had no worries of catching him in my spell. As he rejoined us and opened his mouth to say something, I raised my staff and hurled a ‘fireball’ down the hall, setting it off in the middle of the room, enveloping it in magical flames. I heard the howls of pain and grinned to myself even as Caribdis moaned. “No!” He cried, “I was going to charm them!” “Little late for that now,” I said by way of curt reply, and flung a second ‘fireball’ over the heads of Taklinn and Griff as they sprinted down the hall. The ‘fireball’ exploded a split second before they made the room, but the orcs were not through. Two of them, at least, had held their ground, and slammed Griff with their swords as he charged in. He shuddered in pain and I head Happy gasp beside me. She raced forward, diving between Taklinn and Griff, hitting the floor in a somersault to come up on one of the orcs flanks and drive a dagger home in his side. Taklinn and Griff hacked away grimly, beating back the orcs until two of them went down. A third broke and ran and Taklinn gave chase as Sensesi stepped up to take his place and aid Griff against the fourth orc. I slid into the room and trotted after Taklinn to provide backup should he need it. And a good thing I did! The octagonal room fed into a short hall that emptied into a massive, round chamber. A twenty foot wide hall exited from its far side, and two more hallways flanked it. Taklinn had chased his orc into this room and I arrived just in time to see them reach the center of the chamber. I skidded to a stop, and I’m sure my eyes grew as big around as dinner plates, for from the two flanking halls were pouring a stream of orcs the likes of which I’d never seen. They charged from the halls in their dozens, screaming their war cries and brandishing axes and swords. At a glance I could estimate at least forty of them with still more coming! I swallowed hard, knowing that we were badly outnumbered and Taklinn was about to be completely overwhelmed. I glanced over my shoulder. Caribdis was healing Griff even as Sensesi and Hap took the last orc in the octagonal room down. My mind raced furiously and I prayed that we might have a chance if we could bottle the orcs up in the hallways. I never dreamed that we could take them in the open. “Taklinn!” I screamed, “Get out! Run! Come on!” But Taklinn wasn’t going anywhere. With a grin flashed at me over his shoulder, he set his feet and hefted his axe. “Come on then, you sad sacks of pus!” He bellowed over the orcish din, “Come and have a taste of the power of Clangeden!” And then he began to cast. Himrock orcs, as I have inferred before, are not your average, everyday orc. They are as well seasoned knights to a shopkeeper. I would not put it past Taklinn to be able to take care of two score of regular orcs with nothing but harsh language and a sharp stick. But these were Himrock’s, and Himrock elite at that. What other kind of orc but the toughest and most dangerous would be this close to Illugi’s heart? As they swarmed into the room and spread out, making for Taklinn, I wondered if we had not bitten off more than we could chew. But Taklinn would no sooner run than use his holy symbol as a toothpick. He stood firm, axe raised, and shouted his ‘holy word’! The spell boomed from his throat, filling the room and coming down on the heads of the orcs like Clangeden’s own hammer! I gasped at the effectiveness of the powerful spell when I saw how many of them simply stopped in their tracks, wilted, and died on the spot. He must have slain over twenty of them with that single spell! I set my jaw and did a quick mental inventory of my spell repertoire. It was clear that we were going to stand our ground so I’d best get involved, and now that I took stock of my weaponry, I thought I might have a trick or two to give even these powerful foes pause. “Have a little of this!” I shouted at a knot of Himrock’s coming from the left hall. It is a rare occasion to have so many enemies conveniently grouped together and I took full advantage, dropping a ‘horrid wilting’ into them. ‘Horrid wilting’ is a terrible spell to be on the receiving end of and fully fourteen Himrock’s were suddenly sucked dry of all fluids and died shrieking in agony. Half again that many felt the spell’s touch and halted their charge, yowling in pain and anger. There were still plenty of orcs, upwards of three dozen of them, and Griff whooped in delight as he charged past me. “Now this is more like it!” He hollered, smashing into an orc and cutting it down with a clean slash of his blade. Caribdis was not so exuberant as he entered the room to stand near me. “Holy smokes!” He uttered, gaping at the orcish horde before remembering that he could help. He raised his bow and unleashed a volley into an orc as he voiced a poem to ‘inspire courage’ in Taklinn and Griff. On his side of the room, the orcs had nearly reached Taklinn, but he was not out of tricks yet. From the depths of his chest rumbled a second ‘holy word’, and this one was even more devastating than the first! The power of the spell swept through the horde with awe inspiring effect, dropping them like so many flies. In the space of a heartbeat, over twenty Himrock’s dropped in mid charge, dyeing before their battle cries had even ceased. Not to be outdone, I used another of my most powerful dweomers on the mass of orcs on the rooms left side. My ‘mass hold monster’ stopped another fourteen of them in their tracks to stand as still as statues. The one lone orc that had managed to resist my spell suddenly found himself the only voice raised in challenge, and he stopped, looking about at his still comrades, trying to figure out why they all stood so stock still. But he soon had other worries, for Griff had targeted him as the only real threat on the rooms left side now, and was heading straight for him. The huge hall in the middle of the rooms far end was a short one, and ended in a set of massive double doors. These doors were now flung open to reveal a threat even more sinister than the small army of orcs we had so quickly dispatched. It was the Maralith, the one who had fled from the hall. Only now she was accompanied by a second Maralith! Griff spied them and veered away from his orc, wanting even bigger prey. He ran straight for them, but never made it, for one of the demoness threw up a ‘blade barrier’ across the entrance to the hall, catching Griff within it’s whirling blades. He was flung back, grunting in pain as blood splattered from his wounds. He stumbled back, fumbling in his pouch for the potion flask that Clangeden had given him. On the rooms right side still more orcs were appearing from the passage, though their numbers were certainly more manageable now. Still, Taklinn must have been out of house cleaning spells, so he was forced to make do with something more oblique. Taking a cue from the Maralith, Taklinn cast a ‘blade barrier’ of his own which effectively cut the fresh orcs off from the rest of the room. This was quite a gory site, as it turned out, given the fact that so many dead orcs were strewn about right in the ‘blade barrier’s’ path. The whirling blades appeared directly in the midst of a long line of orcish bodies and immediately began to grind them to bits, flinging blood and bone and limbs in all directions! It was an awful site as we were all splattered with gore! Heads, arms, legs, and torsos went flying, and blood rained down upon us. I dodged an orcish head but still got smacked in the face by an ownerless boot that still contained a foot. Soon the walls, floor and ceiling were splattered and strewn with blood and entrails! Even Taklinn seemed a bit taken aback at what he had rendered. I wiped blood from my eyes and took quick stock of our situation. Two ‘blade barrier’s’ whirred in the room, one of them cutting us off from the Maralith’s, and it made me uneasy wondering what they were getting up to back there. Griff positioned himself beside the wide hall as he took a swig of his potion and healed his wounds. Nearby over a dozen orcs still remained in stasis under the sway of my ‘hold’ spell. I knew that they would not stay immobile forever so I made a tough decision. I withdrew my staff and cast a ‘wall of fire’, encircling the hapless orcs. Within seconds the stench of charred hair and burning flesh began to rise from the orcs as they slowly cooked. It would be a cruel and painful death for them, made all the more so by the fact that they would be unable to even scream, but I steeled myself against pity, reminding myself that the fate of worlds was a stake. Besides, we would certainly be able to expect no less were we to fall into their clutches. From behind me I heard the sound of running boots. Caribdis and I spun around to see several orcs charging from the octagonal room! I swore under my breath. The orcs that Taklinn had cut off with his barrier must have doubled back and taken a hall that put them behind us. They would not catch us flat footed though, for Happy and Sensesi were ready for them. As the first orc entered our room he was immediately brought down by the two of them. I just had time to fling a ‘fireball’ into the hall and scorch the orcs as Caribdis’ arrows found their mark time and again. The orcs pulled up short, no longer superior in numbers and unsure of their dedication to Illugi after all. Caribdis ran to Taklinn. Our cleric had not managed to kill so many orcs unscathed and had had to slay a few of them the old fashioned way, with axe and arm. He’d been hit in many places and now staggered, weak with blood loss. Caribdis laid his hands on Taklinn, healing him as best he could before dashing over to join Griff, who seemed to have formulated a plan. Griff invoked the power of his anti-magic vest and tested it against the Maralith’s ‘bladed barrier’. His hunch was right, and a path opened up in the seething mass of blades to reveal the two demons lurking in the hall. Taklinn spied the Maralith’s and took the opportunity to attempt to ‘banish’ one of them, but the vile creature cackled a cruel laugh as she resisted his spell. Then Caribdis was there, beside Griff, raising his bow for a shot at the demons, but he never got an arrow off. Both of them rushed forward, their swords flashing, and hit Caribdis hard. Caribdis was standing in Griff’s anti-magic field, and so did not even have the benefits of magical protection. He came very close to being killed, but Griff managed to grab him by the collar and drag him back. The orcs behind us, seeing the Maralith’s, must have decided that the fight could still be won, for they rallied and charged, though not before I hit them with a second ‘fireball’. Hap killed another one of them as they cleared the door. My magic’s had wounded them to the point where they were easy prey for her if she could catch them unaware. I followed my ‘fireball’ up with a ‘persistent missile’ spell and was able to take down another with relative ease. Then the Maralith’s were upon us! The pair of them ‘dimension doored’ into the room, already swinging their swords. But Taklinn and Griff were ready for them, and immediately closed in with their own steel. Both of our fighters made solid contact and even managed to avoid paying the price of the ‘unholy aura’s’ that the demons had on them. Caribdis finally got to get his shots off and soon Griff’s Maralith looked like a pin cushion, so festooned with arrows was she. Sensesi and Hap appeared to have the orcs well in hand so I turned and dropped a ‘greater dispel magic’ on Taklinn’s Maralith, getting rid of her cursed ‘unholy aura’. For long seconds the only sound in the room was the clash of steel and the grunts of the combatants as they traded blows back and forth. Griff stepped in and round housed his Maralith with a blow that could have felled a tree. The Maralith responded in kind, catching Griff with two devastating blows. Griff staggered and nearly fell, but with inhuman resolve he stood his ground and swung back, unloading with everything he had. When his sword finally stopped swinging, the Maralith lay dead at his feet. Caribdis turned his attention to Taklinn’s Maralith, his arm working like a piston as he unleashed a solid line of arrows at her. His aim was true and he hit with five arrows in a spread no larger than a fist. Taklinn waded in with his axe, cleaving into demonic flesh. For my part, I hit her with a ‘disintegrate’, and though she was able to resist its true effect, it still damaged her. The Maralith refused to flee. This was her last stand and she made it a good one, hacking away again and again at Taklinn. But our dwarf backed down not an inch. He let her blows rain down on his armor, gritting his teeth against the ones that broke through, and responded with his axe. Griff joined Taklinn, adding his sword to the fight. Caribdis pumped another five arrows into her. By this time the Maralith was beginning to flag, reeling from the onslaught. She vainly tried to raise her swords again, but it was not to be. Taklinn stepped in and brought his axe around in a low, vicious, arc, cutting deep into her side. With a shriek of pain, rage and defeat, she fell. And then it was over. We looked around, guard up, ready to take on still more of the enemy, but there were none. Hap and Sensesi had finished off the last of their orcs, and the ones within my wall of fire were beginning to expire. We rest now in the mansion. We would liked to have pressed on, but it simply couldn’t be. We are too wounded, too low on spells and resources. But we are very close. We took two orcish prisoners that we found still alive in the carnage of the round room and, under the effects of ‘charm’ spells, they have told us that Illugi’s temple is only moments from where we are now. There is no doubt in my mind that tomorrow will see our final confrontation between the Band of the Broken Blade and the dark god, Illugi. Rdyr’t 28 There would be little sleep for me last night. In bed, I just tossed and turned, going over and over again in my mind my battle plan when we again face Scylla. The fact that we would also be facing Illugi’s avatar actually didn’t concern me as much as the prospect of dealing with Scylla again. I was certainly not complacent at the prospect of Illugi, but familiarity with Scylla gave me intimate knowledge of just how dangerous she could be, and I have spent many nights staring at the ceiling, going over and over again what spells she must have by this time in her arsenal, and which spell I have in mine to counter her. I wrote in my journal for many pages, but much of it was just busy work, jotting down notes for spells and magic items. I took a walk through the mansion and found that I was not the only insomniac. Griff and Happy were playing tiles in the den, having a drink and talking quietly with each other. I found Sensesi in the kitchen with Taklinn, discussing religion. And of course, I found Caribdis, fast asleep on a sofa in the hall, smiling in his slumber as if he had not a care in the world. I suppose being dead for an extended period of time, as he was, would allow you to face the prospect again with a certain verve. In the end, I forced myself to meditate for the required amount of time. When I was refreshed, I sat down at my desk, already fairly sure of what spells to prepare. Ambros slept late, still curled in a ball as I was finishing my preparations. “If I die today,” he yawned, “I don’t want to regret not sleeping in.” I smirked at him. “Ambros,” I said, packing away my journal and spell books, “This journal would be a hundred pages thicker if I’d bothered to note all the hours you have slept. I doubt anyone will accuse you of going to your final day unrested.” “I should hope not.” He said, stretching and smacking his lips. I washed and went to breakfast. Soon, the others straggled in and Taklinn prepared his ‘hero’s feast’. When we had had our fill and could feel the magical nature of the divine meal coursing through us, providing us with its protection, I pushed my plate away and wiped my mouth. “Well,” I said, “Shall we?” “Aye.” Taklinn nodded. “Let’s be done with this.” In a few moments we were once again geared up for anything. We stepped from the opulence of the mansion back into the hellish scene of the large, round, chamber. Each step was into a pool of congealing blood, and had we not become so accustomed to such carnage over our career I’m sure some of us would have lost our breakfast. We stepped over the seemingly endless orc bodies, charred and dismembered. We were eager to leave this room behind us. We made our way down the wide hallway toward the large set of double doors that still stood open and, passing through them, we found ourselves in an antechamber with doors on either side. Fully awake now and prepared for danger, we took our positions, and Caribdis even let Happy check the doors for traps. Behind each of the stout doors we found rooms that could only have been the domains of the Maralith’s, for they still reeked of unspeakable evil, and the statues of Illugi we found were even more malevolent than the many others we’d seen, if that’s possible. A quick search turned up some interesting finds. In one of the rooms Happy found a figurine of an elephant that glowed strongly of magic. I had an idea of what it might be, but it would have to wait for a more opportune time. In the second room Hap also found a carefully hidden sack containing several dozen small vials containing a strange and smoky substance of varying colors. None of the others knew quite what they could be, but my studies had informed me of such things, and I took the sack from Happy, gingerly placing it in a secure pocket of my haversack. Unless I am mistake, the vials contain souls! Souls are the currency in the demonic planes, and it stands to reason that these Maralith would have their treasures hidden here. Those vials were the equivalent of a sack of gold to us, and I could not help but be both fascinated and repulsed at the same time. I resolved to give the vials further study at the first available opportunity. Perhaps there is a way to free them! We found ourselves a bit stuck then, for no visible exits were in these rooms, and at first glance we appeared to have arrived at a dead end. That is until Hap’s eyes, ever sharp, noted an irregularity in one of the walls. Upon closer inspection, she found a secret door which opened easily. The hallway beyond was rounded and curved, and the feeling of an evil presence was palpable. All of us felt it: we were getting closer. Griff and Taklinn took the lead and we followed them along the hallways bend. We began to note the floor beginning to slant downwards, slightly at first, then more sharply as we descended still further into the earth. The hall spiraled downwards. Around and around, and every yard we covered seemed to pull us further into an evil that made the air thick, until each step was heavy. We breathed it in. It filled our lungs and we could taste it on our tongues. It was an indescribable aura of hate, terror, pain, and cruelty. Griff seemed particularly sickened by it, though it did nothing to his resolve, and he pressed on with even greater urgency. Down and down we went, and I wondered if we would find ourselves in the very bowels of hell itself! Then, the hall began to widen, and the left wall veered sharply away. It was clear that, should we continue around the bend, we would find ourselves in a chamber of some kind. We stopped then, for we had no idea if Illugi and Scylla might be waiting around this very bend. We took no chances, and Taklinn and I used several protection spells in preparation while Caribdis whispered a heartening verse. Even over our quiet words Happy was able to hear something from the chamber. “Shhh!” She hissed, holding up a hand, “I hear… stretching.” Griff looked at her quizzically. “Bows.” She explained. “I hear bows being drawn back.” I’m sure I looked doubtful. Would Scylla leave it to mere archers to defend the heart of Illugi’s temple? Griff shrugged, adjusting his grip on his sword. “I’d hate to keep ‘em waiting.” He said with a wry smirk. He turned on his heel and walked round the bend with the rest of us close behind. As the room revealed itself to us I could see that it was a massive natural cavern. It stretched nearly sixty feet to an imposing flight of shallow stairs carved out of the rock. At the top of those stairs, beyond a short landing, we could all see the portal, a glistening, vertical, pool of blackness that shimmered and seemed to cancel out any light. The ceiling of the room soared above us, nearly a hundred feet, disappearing into darkness. But our attention was soon galvanized by a pair of ledges set about fifty feet up on the walls flanking the great stairs. Standing in a row on each ledge stood five creatures that I had a very difficult time placing. They were demons, of that there could be no doubt. But I had to search the recesses of my mind to find reference to them. They were tall and gangly, and each had two pairs of arms, and each pair of arms held a horn bow that I’m sure would have taken three normal men to bend, though these creatures seemed utterly at ease with the tension. Each set of arms appeared to use each bow independently, and I knew that they would have no trouble with their respective aims. All of this added up to twenty bows pointed at us, and I just had time to leap back behind the wall as the air was suddenly thick with black arrows. Taklinn crouched behind his shield and Griff simply withstood the barrage, his hand digging in his pouch and coming up with a potion bottle. I reached out and touched him with a “greater heroism” even as he downed it and began to rise into the air, pulling himself rapidly along the wall and upwards in an angle that would end at the ledge on the right. Still more arrows pounded at him as he went, several of them hitting the cave wall hard enough to stick in the hard stone. Caribdis, meanwhile, used his favorite trick and sent a verse of discord amongst the demons on the left. Say what you will about the boy, he has a very effective attack in that verse, and the next thing I knew one of the demons had been hit by his own no less than eight times. He staggered as another one of them heaved him off of the ledge and sent him crashing to the stone floor where he lay quite still. And then Scylla appeared. She came from thin air and stood amongst the demons on the right ledge, her purple robes swirling about like her own personal storm. She glared down at us from her perch and raised her hands, weaving magic from the air. I leapt back into the tunnel, bringing my own hands up in a desperate attempt to cast. But I hesitated. Something told me to hold off, to wait. An instinct welled up deep within me, an almost certain knowledge that the Scylla we saw here was not real. She was trying to draw us out, get us to use our resources. I sat tight, watching her intently, straining to see through the illusion and hoping I was right. Taklinn sprinted into the room, one eye on Scylla and the other on the south ledge, still full of demons that sent a merciless rain of arrows down upon him. He let them bounce off of his armor as he gave them a little something to think about in the form of a ‘blade barrier’ that covered the length of the ledge. It whirred to life, catching one of the demons in its grinder-like blades and spraying a fountain of blood and body parts (especially arms) across the room. The surviving demons hurriedly blinked away, probably ‘dimension dooring’. Griff had attained the opposite ledge and closed with the first in the line of demons that stood there. They may have been archers without peer, but they were within Griff’s range now, and he made them pay for it. His first thrust took a demon through the breast. Griff hurled him from his blade and the beast hit the floor many feet below with a wet smack. Griff was now face to face with Scylla! I watched, eyes narrowed, as she lifted her arms to cast. I knew it was now or never, and I began a spell of my own, still desperately attempting to see her for what I was so sure she was: an illusion. But if I was wrong, and allowed her to cast against Griff, the consequences could be terrible indeed. The last word of my spell lay on my tongue, ready to be spoken, when, at last, I saw it! The wall behind her. My vision suddenly broke through her spell, and I looked right through her! “She’s not real!” I cried, flush with my small victory, “Scylla’s not real! It’s an illusion!” I continued calling that warning even as I flew into the room to deal with the unpleasantness happening on the floor. The arrow demons, it seems, were not through being a threat, even in death, for from the two twisted bodies that lay beneath the ledges, had crawled some small abomination! The awful, blob-like creatures tore their way from the carcasses of the demons and made as if to crawl across the floor, still seeking to attack us. I dropped two or three fireballs upon them, which was enough to finally kill them for good. Griff heard my words and pulled up short as he readied a swing at Scylla. He stared hard at her, then shrugged and plunged his blade through her breast. The illusion shattered, and the spell was broken. Scylla dissipated into magical energy once more. Griff carried on, colliding with another demon, hacking it apart and sending it to the floor to be finished off by myself and Happy, who found good use for her ‘scorching ray’ wand by frying the gross offspring of the demons body. The demons on Griff’s ledge disappeared, winking out, only to show up again at the top of the wide stairs that led up to the massive portal. They hissed at us, raising their bows for a final volley. Caribdis sent another song of discord in amongst them, and with shrieks of rage, they turned and leapt through the portal, letting themselves be swallowed up in the inky blackness, but not before Taklinn could slam one of them with his axes, killing it outright. We were alone in the cavern. “Ha, I knew it!” I exclaimed. “I knew that succubus wouldn’t show herself just like that. Not with only a troop of lousy arrow demons to back her up.” “Good call.” Said Griff, settling to the cavern floor. “She had me fooled good. I thought sure she was gonna hit me with some god-awful spell.” He shuddered at the thought. “She must be beyond the portal,” Sensesi said, looking thoughtfully at the obsidian-black expanse that towered over her like a giant mirror made of shadow. “Wouldn’t surprise me,” I said, joining her to stand before the portal, “The heck with it, I’m getting ready.” With that, I began casting my protective spells. Caribdis cleared his throat, suddenly serious as he addressed us. “Listen,” he said, his voice grave, “I just want to say it again: We die here, and we’re utterly dead. There’s no coming back. I also want to ask a favor. If we can, if it’s possible, I want the chance to capture Scylla. Please.” I could see the sincerity in his eyes. Why he would take a personal interest in Scylla was beyond me, and I was in no mood to try to figure it out. “Caribdis, if Scylla gives up, then I will gladly accept her surrender.” That was all I had to say on the matter. My decision had been made a long time ago. If she didn't give up then one of us would die today, either myself or Scylla. We cast, piling on the spells, instinctively knowing that our quarry was not far, perhaps only beyond the veil of the portal. Each of us looked at one another. “It’s been a good ride.” I said, solemnly, “Drinks are on me when we get back to Havilah.” Taklinn nodded. “Aye. Should the chance to say it not come again, I’ll say it now: You are all like family to me. That is the greatest honor I can bestow. It has been a true pleasure.” The big dwarf grinned then. “Now lets be done with this!” We stood shoulder to shoulder. Happy and Griff joined hands. The six of us stepped into the portal. *** I thought I had felt evil. I thought I knew what it felt like to feel my head swim with it. I thought I knew what it was for my soul to be in jeopardy. I knew nothing. The instant my flesh touched the portal I was drawn into the abyss. I felt despair so deep that I wept with utter hopelessness. Abject terror nearly stopped my heart, and mindless rage gnawed at my bones. My body and mind were racked with a pain so severe that I thought I must certainly go mad. I saw none of my companions. Even Ambros was lost to me. I fell though the eternity of my own private hell for what seemed a very long time. And then, there arose within me a spark, a flame, a burst of divine energy so brilliant that it seemed to blind me from the inside. With the speed of thought it coursed through my body, filling my limbs and clearing my mind. It exploded from me, driving back the darkness, suffusing me in a state of joy, the purity of which I had never known. It was not a voice that calmed me, but rather a feeling, an unquestionable certainty that what I was experiencing was the hand of divinity. The gods, whoever they may have been, were intervening on our behalf. It would be providence that guided us through this final test. Suddenly, all was gone. All the evil, all the good, and I stood in a massive chamber, staring at my goal. Beside me I could see my friends. All of them had survived the crossing, though I had a deep feeling that all of them had undergone the same journey. A certain brightness still clung to them. The chamber spread out before us, positively crackling with Illugi’s energy. At the rooms center was laid an intricate magical circle, a pentagram. From each of its points, spread throughout the room, were poles, long stakes with sharpened ends, planted into the floor. Upon each pole was impaled the tortured figure of a being, as much dead as alive. Energy arced from one body to the next, lighting up the room with eerie pulses. In that weird light I could make out the twisting shapes that made up the very walls of the chamber. Much as it had been in Illugi’s temple so long ago, the walls of this room were alive with the tormented souls of those Illugi had trapped. They wailed and moaned; I could see their outlines, as if only a sheet separated them from me. In the center of the room, surrounded by the pentagram, stood the biggest statue of Illugi we had yet seen. It was blacker than any black had a right to be. Flanking it were two demons that I could not identify. They were bloated and covered in oozing sores. Their massive arms hung from hunched shoulders, and their taloned hands drug on the ground. Between the statue and us stood another line of defense in the form of twelve himrock orcs bristling with weapons. They were the very finest of Illugi’s orc army, and they stood ready to protect their lord. But all of that was merely a diversion to what really drew my eye. At the far end of the room rose a stage some fifteen feet above the floor. Two staircases, one at either end, ascended to the stage. And at its center glowed a rainbow hued sphere. It was a ‘prismatic sphere’, and I knew as well as I knew my own name that Scylla was in there. They were ready for us. I had only an instant to take stock of the situation and get my bearings before the himrocks were moving in with drawn blades, and the demons were casting. Taklinn and I were both hit with targeted ‘dispel magic’s’ flung at us by the demons flanking Illugi’s statue. Fortunately for me I had cast a ‘spell turning’ on myself before stepping through the portal, along with ‘stone skin’ and ‘protection from energy’. The dispel bounced harmlessly from me and saturated its caster. Taklinn was not so lucky, and I heard him curse as several dweomers were stripped away from him. Griff stood in front of me in a protective stance, sword held easily in his right hand, letting the himrocks close the distance, though the orcs were the last of my worries. I watched as the fight began to unfold. Sensesi took three quick bounds forward and met a himrock full force, her sword a blur as it crashed through armor and flesh. I took to the air, raising up to get above the weapons below and to get a better view of the stage. I saw a burst of conjuration magic emanate from the sphere before I was able to bring a spell to bear. It was no time for cat and mouse games. I unloaded the first of the two ‘Mordenkainen’s disjunction’s’ I’d prepared, encompassing the stage, the prismatic sphere, the back wall and several of the impaling stakes. The result was most satisfying. The temple wall within the area of the disjunction appeared to heave and writhe and finally melt away as the magic harnessing the souls contained therein was quashed. The bodies impaled on sharpened stakes swelled and burst with sickening pops, and the lines of magical energy snapped, whipping wildly as their anchors were destroyed. The prismatic sphere was dispelled as well, winking out. But its disappearance revealed nothing. I saw no Scylla suddenly revealed and I cursed, looking wildly about for her. Below me I kept an eye on Taklinn as he stepped up to the front lines to lend Sensesi his aid. Between his axe and her sword they brought down a pair of the himrocks even as more orcs stepped in to take their fallen comrades places. Several of them fired heavy crossbows at me, but my stone skin repelled the bolts. Below and to my right, Caribdis loosed arrows at an orc while sending a song of discord their way. Only one of them was affected, but, as always, it was gratifying to watch him turn against his own without warning. Happy had gone invisible. I was able to see her as she maneuvered beneath an unsuspecting orcs guard and stabbed him with lightning quick thrusts. The two demons stepped up their offense, blinking from existence, only to teleport to within a few yards of us. Brutal magic emanated from them and all of us were filled with a sense of loss and despair. For a second I felt like just giving up, but my rational mind saw it for the cheap trick it was and resisted, forcing the hopelessness away. Fortunately the rest of my crew was just as strong willed, and none of us were overcome by the aura. Now that they were close enough, Griff waded into them, Talon at the ready. He took a brutal hit before he was able to swing, but once he did the sound of his steel biting into demonic flesh resounded throughout the room. He hacked into the beast, forcing it back several steps, and finally knocking it from its feet to sprawl across the floor, desperately trying to defend itself against Griff’s fury. I was still in the air, holding my spells, looking for Scylla. I saw her! The sorceress stepped out from behind the statue of Illugi, a spell at the ready. Before I could hit her with a casting of my own, she let her spell fly. I felt the terrible magic grip me and I took the full brunt of a spell the likes of which none of my studies had prepared me for. I felt my blood boil and I was racked with agony for long seconds before it seemed that my blood burst from every pore in my body, twisting me with pain. The blood that shot from me formed a wispy, but strong web, anchoring to the ceiling and holding me fast within its net, much like a ‘web’ spell, only far stronger and far more gory. I struggled and fought to get an arm free, desperately trying to extricate myself. I was badly injured and had no spell readily available for such a situation. I cursed, knowing I was a sitting duck. But I had a trick still up my sleeve. I was just able to reach two fingers into my scroll pouch and, after tearing my arm free of the bloody webbing, I flipped it open, and was able to read the ‘greater teleport’. In a flash, I was out of the webbing and had repositioned myself across the room, looking down on the battle once again. I saw Scylla below me, her back now to me. She was franticly trying to find me. My eyes narrowed and I used a spell that I had prepared specifically for her. It was a quickened ‘dimensional anchor’, and it struck her squarely. She hissed in rage, wheeling to face me as she realized what I had done. My spell would severely limit her mobility, and I knew that was the first important step in her defeat. Scylla raised her hands to cast at me but I was not her only problem. Caribdis had spotted her and he crossed the distance at a dead run, casting on the way. He grabbed her shoulder just as he completed an ‘Otto’s irresistible dance’ spell. She must have retained some sort of spell resistance, however, despite having been hit with my disjunction, for Caribdis’ spell had no effect on her. She slapped his hand away and leapt back, turning her own magic on our bard. We were by no means the only ones locked in combat. Below me the battle raged fiercely. Sensesi and Happy were thinning out the orcish ranks slowly but surely. Hap was particularly effective, still invisible to the himrocks eyes. She danced and tumbled among them, flinging daggers, stabbing, finding vital organs, and dropping them one after another. Several yards from her, Griff was still locked in a deadly battle with one of the demons. He’d been hit hard, and two orcs had joined the fight, making the odds three to one. Hap rolled clear of a clutch of orcs and fired off a volley of daggers that struck one of Griff’s orcs in a neat line of steel that ran from the base of his neck to the bottom of his spine. The orc pitched over dead. Hap sent another set of daggers at Griff’s second orc, wounding the brute badly. Taklinn joined with Sensesi and the pair fought back to back. He brought his axe around again and again, bringing it away bloody every time. Himrocks fell about them and began to pile up as he sang a dwarven battle song loud enough that Clangeden must surely have heard it. I watched Taklinn closely, for he was the lynch pin in a plan that I had formulated to defeat Scylla many weeks ago. Not far away Griff had finally gotten the upper hand against the demon. He ducked a brutal swing, leapt out of the way of another, then came in low and fast, driving the point of his blade up into the sternum of the unholy beast, pushing with all his might, driving it to the hilt. A great gout of blood poured from the demon, and with a scream of rage and terror at having failed, it died even as Griff used a foot to kick the creature free of his sword. Griff turned momentum into a swing that caught the orc that still harried him under the chin. The Himrock’s head tumbled end over end, bouncing across the blood slick floor. All of this happened in the space of mere seconds. When I turned my eyes back toward Scylla and Caribdis, I saw her finish her casting. It was another spell that I did not recognize. Illugi must certainly have made available to her some truly unholy and unique spells. I saw Caribdis wince as the spell hit him, but somehow it seemed to bounce off of him and return to Scylla. I believe his armor must have some spell turning properties, though he has never given me more than a wry smile when I’ve asked him about it. Scylla gnashed her teeth as she was hit by her own spell, but her own resistance fended it off. With hate in her eyes, she began to cast again. Then the moment I’d been waiting for arrived. I saw Taklinn tear his axe free of an orc he’d just killed. Our dwarf looked around for another target, and I resolved to give him one. For a long time I have been turning over strategies in my head. Plans that would best be used against a foe such as Scylla. This morning, when I’d prepared my spells, I had just this situation in mind, and with no hesitation, I cast. My first spell was ‘weaken resistance’. The thin, gray, beam hit her just behind the ear, and while it did no damage, it stripped away the many layers of protective spell resistance that I knew still clung to her. In an instant she was laid bare, and I knew that she was finished. My second spell was a quickened ‘scorching ray’. I knew it wouldn’t kill her, but it was key to the plan. All three rays of fire slammed into her, leaving scorch marks and causing her to whirl and face me. She snarled, raising a finger to point at me. I am positive that the spell that would have come from that finger may very well have been the end of me. But I also knew she would never have the chance to cast it. I smiled at her. “Taklinn! NOW!!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. Taklinn turned, his eyes taking in the situation. He saw Scylla, saw that she was injured, saw that she was open. Our eyes met, and without words, he knew exactly what I meant for him to do. He took three quick steps toward Scylla and called her name. “Scylla!” he bellowed, “DIE!” It was the single verbal component of one of his most powerful spells, ‘power word kill’. Ordinarily she would have been unaffected by the dweomer, but my ‘scorching ray’ had brought her within striking distance of it. She glanced at Taklinn, then her eyes widened in shock and disbelief as she realized, too late, the trap she’d fallen into. She heard the word, terror swept across her face, she opened her mouth and I could see her lips trying to form a defiant, “No!” But no sound escaped her throat as Taklinn’s spell gripped her heart, stopping it in mid-beat. She staggered, fell to her knees, tried one last time to bring her hands together in a casting, but her fingers went numb. Time seemed to stand still as her mouth fell slack, and she fell backwards, slumping onto the floor, staring at the heavens she had abandoned with lifeless eyes. Scylla was dead. I had little time to congratulate myself, for the fight was far from over. Even as Scylla died, the remaining orcs and demon renewed their attacks with fresh fury. An orc leapt at Sensesi, hacking into her with a broad axe. Our yuan-ti ally was looking quite the worse for wear, for she bled now from a dozen wounds. She reeled under the blow, bringing her sword up, desperately parrying another swing. Another orc closed with Griff, hammering at our warrior and making solid contact twice. Griff returned with a solid slash of the Talon, and Happy punctuated that with a handful of daggers that killed the orc outright. Caribdis tore his eyes from the fallen body of Scylla, and I could see deep regret there. Still, to his credit, he did not let his remorse get in the way of what had to be done. With uncanny accuracy he let fly two arrows at Sensesi’s orc, striking first in the right eye, then in the left. With twin arrows lodged in its brain, the himrock died instantly. The remaining demon launched itself into the fray, bounding across the floor to slam into both Taklinn and Sensesi. Sensesi managed to throw herself out of the way, but Taklinn bore the full brunt of the hit. The demons claw pierced our cleric’s protective steel and came away covered in blood. Taklinn stumbled back a step, grievously wounded, and raised his axe. Then Griff was there. Screaming a challenge, the big warrior sprinted the distance and smashed into the demon with everything he had, hacking through hide and bone. The demon shrieked and turned to face Griff in a rage. Griff hit it again, this time with enough force to knock the demon to the floor. Howling in anger, it leapt to its feet, but not before I flew in low and struck it twice, first with a maximized, empowered, ‘scorching ray’, and then with a quickened ‘scorching ray’. All six gouts of flame hit the demon, sending acrid smoke boiling from its matted fur. The few orcs that were left were determined to fight to the very end, and they closed in around Taklinn and Griff and the demon. Taklinn backhanded one of them with a massive axe blow, sending its head flying. His axe never slowed as it continued its arc, slamming into a second orc. But that second orc refused to die, and cut Taklinn across the shoulder with a wicked sword strike. Caribdis raised his bow to help, but two more orcs had spotted him. They charged and Caribdis grunted in pain as both of them hit home, piercing his armor and drawing copious amounts of blood. Caribdis, like myself, is far from used to being injured, but he gritted his teeth against the pain and ignored his attackers. He leapt back, briefly getting out of their range just long enough to loose a half-dozen arrows. Four of them struck the demon just as it was getting to its feet. They thudded into its forehead in a grouping no bigger than my fist. The demon’s eyes crossed stupidly for a second, trying to focus on the shafts that had grown so suddenly from its face, then it fell like an oak, dead before it hit the ground. A fifth arrow took Taklinn’s orc neatly in the heart, slipping through a narrow gash it its breast plate. Like the demon, the orc died instantly. By now the fight was ours. Taklinn and Happy, and even a very wounded Sensesi waded into the final pair of orcs on their side of the room. The himrocks fell like ripe wheat. Griff raced across the floor to Caribdis’ aid. Our bard was dancing franticly, ducking and twisting to avoid sword thrusts. Griff rammed the first orc from behind, severing its spine with a well aimed slash. Griff turned on the last living orc, opening up a long wound down its side. The orc spun to face Griff, but in doing so he left himself wide open for Caribdis. Our young bard calmly put an arrow in the back of the orcs skull from point blank range. The orc was dead before it had a chance to attack Griff. They were all dead. The himrocks, the demons, Scylla, all of them lay at our feet, and the only sound in the chamber was our own labored breathing and the crackling of energy that flailed from broken connections between the impaled bodies. I landed near Scylla’s body, looking at her still form. I felt quiet satisfaction in the victory. But we were not finished. All six of us turned to regard the massive statue of Illugi that dominated the room. It seemed to pulse with a dark evil, as if it wanted to come to life and strike those who had defiled its temple and slain its worshipers. I knew that it would soon be granted that opportunity, for all that remained to be done was a second casting of ‘Mordenkainen’s disjunction’ for Illugi’s avatar to be set free. Griff wiped sweat and blood from his eyes and flung it away without a thought. “Damn.” Was all he said. The big warrior limped over to Happy who flung her arms around him gingerly. “You’re hurt.” She said, reaching up to smooth Griff’s long hair from his face. “What else is new?” He gave Hap his wry grin and bent to kiss her on the head. “I can help with that.” Taklinn announced, walking toward Scylla’s body where we had all begun to gather. “Good thing,” I observed, glancing at the statue, “That was just round one. We still have another to go.” When we were all within range Taklinn cast a ‘mass heal’. I never tire of seeing wounds that would normally take weeks or months to mend be healed within a few seconds by clerical magic. Soon we were back in top shape, at least physically. Caribdis stood over Scylla’s limp body, a sad look on his face. She looked terribly small and frail, laying there on the bloody floor, her eyes still wide and empty. Caribdis said nothing as I unfolded my portable hole and rolled Scylla’s body inside. I was unwilling to leave it behind. I folded the hole and tucked it away in a pouch. I turned to stand with the rest of my comrades and stare up at the baleful statue of Illugi. “It’s pretty big.” Caribdis said, thoughtfully. Taklinn nodded. “That it is, lad. That it is.” Griff snorted and stretched his shoulders. He wiped the blood from the Talon with a rag. “It ain’t that big. Let’s get on with it! Doorag, do what you gotta do.” I sighed, knowing that Griff was right. Best to take it on now while our blood was up. We took our positions. Caribdis stood at the foot of the stage, his bow at the ready. Hap went invisible again, though she must surely have known that it would do nothing to hide her from the gaze of an avatar. Still, it probably made her more comfortable. Griff and Taklinn took flanking positions. Taklinn used several spells to strengthen himself, and he was soon twice his size and glowing with divine energy. Sensesi stood near Taklinn, her sword at the ready, a determined look on her face. As for me, I flew up as far as I could to a corner of the rooms ceiling, wanting as much distance as I could between me and the tentacled horror. “Everyone ready?” I asked. I was answered with five nods. I took a deep breath, picked out a spot at the far end of the chamber where none of my friends would be within the area of the spell, and cast my second ‘disjunction’. As before, the wall of the room seemed to bulge and distend. The souls trapped behind that horrid membrane shrieked with new found anguish. Power lines between impaled bodies snapped as their supports exploded. They fizzled angrily before glutting out. Then the wall began to shimmer and fade, melting out of existence to reveal bare rock. Only this time the effect spread, drifting left and right and upwards to slowly encompass the entire room and still the cries of those tortured souls forever. All of the impaled bodies swelled and burst, and every single magical cable disappeared into mist. All was silent for several long seconds. Our eyes were glued to the statue, waiting for some sign of life. It moved. That one, exploratory stretch of a tentacle was all it took. We were on it with everything we had. I went for damage, firing off a ‘polar ray’. My jaw dropped in disbelief as I missed. I looked at my offending finger, astounded that I could fail to hit something that big! Taklinn had been standing about fifteen feet from the beast, wanting to get a good run at it. He charged, his familiar dwarven war howl erupting from his throat. His axe came down as he collided with the tree trunk-like body, sinking his steel past its thick, fibrous hide, and he was rewarded by a gout of thick, black blood that stained his arms to the shoulders. The avatar seemed to flinch, and spun as if on an axis. Though it had no eyes to speak of, it was plain to see that its attention was now firmly on Taklinn. It moved with an unearthly speed, whipping at least a dozen tentacles toward Taklinn. They smashed into him with incredible force. His shield bent and his armor was crushed. Taklinn flew backwards, driven off his feet. I shuddered as I saw that his left arm was bent at an un natural angle, and his face contorted in pain. His jaw was dislocated, and I saw him clinging stubbornly to consciousness as he groped for his axe and tried to get to his feet. He was obviously terribly wounded. The avatar would have killed ten lesser men with such a furious attack. Then Griff and Happy were there, working in tandem. Hap hurled a handful of daggers, and one of them even bit home. Griff chose his target, seeking some kind of soft spot. He hacked again and again, finally driving his sword through layers of muscle and hide to unleash a second torrent of ichors. Sensesi was not far behind. She came in under a flailing tentacle and slashed a deep wound across the monsters trunk. Wanting to take some of the heat off of Taklinn, knowing he couldn’t take another hit like that, I summoned the most powerful creature I could, an elder earth elemental. The stony creature appeared from thin air between Taklinn and the avatar, already swinging its bolder-like fists. But even such a behemoth could do little more than annoy the avatar, for its blows seemed to harm it not at all. Below me, seeing that her daggers were doing next to nothing to the beast, Happy changed tactics, pulling her wand of ‘scorching ray’ and letting fly with a trio of fiery beams at the thing. They struck it and sizzled against slime covered flesh. Taklinn had staggered to his feet by now, his axe cradled loosely in his mangled arm. With his free hand he gave a hard yank on his beard, popping his jaw back into place. One of the avatars tentacles snaked around the earth elemental and tried to hit Taklinn again, and he ducked, stumbling in pain, grimacing at the effort it took just to stay on his feet. With his mouth working again, he uttered the words to a spell, and just like that, he seemed to melt into the very floor! Where is he going, I wondered, distressed at his disappearance. But I had no time to dwell on it. With Taklinn seemingly out of the fight, the odds had fallen even further against us. The avatar had been gashed and burnt and pierced with arrows, but it still appeared to be going strong. It swiveled with frightening speed and filled the air with deadly tentacles. Two of them snapped at Griff and sent him flying backwards to land heavily on the stone floor. Another slammed into my elemental, chipping off fragments of rock. Three tentacles lashed at Sensesi, catching her off balance and wrapping around her waist, pinning her arms to her side. The avatar lifted her easily into the air and tightened its grip on our yuan-ti ally. I heard her try to scream in pain only to have it come out as a whispered gasp. The tentacles dripped with a foul looking secretion, and as it came into contact with Sensesi’s flesh she began to shudder and foam at the mouth. Her sword slipped from her grasp and clattered to the floor as she went limp. No longer a threat, the avatar flung her away, tossing her the length of the room as easily as a child throwing a twig. We were now down to five, including the elemental. Griff struggled to his feet, holding his side as his cracked ribs caused him great pain. With a sneer, he squared himself and lowered his head. He brought the Talon up to shoulder height, and with the sound of a raging bear, he charged. The avatar spun to face him, but too late. Griff smashed into the things side with the force of a bull, slamming his sword with all his might, slicing through hide and laying a three foot long section of the avatar open like a jagged mouth. I stopped in mid-cast, staring in awe as Illugi’s avatar reeled from the power of Griff’s blow. It seemed to attempt to scuttle back, but got tangled in its own root-like appendages and fell to the floor with a wet thud! I couldn’t believe it. Griff had actually knocked the thing down! It was far from dead though, and we took advantage of it’s being knocked down as best we could while it struggled to raise it’s bulk up again. Hap fired off another volley of ‘scorching rays’, but they fizzled upon contact. I knew that it must have tremendous protective magic’s on it, so I did my best to strip them away, casting a ‘greater dispel’ that, unfortunately, appeared to do little good. My elemental kicked the avatar a solid blow as it finally rose to a standing position. The avatar was in a rage. A high, piercing, wail rose from somewhere in its gullet, and everywhere we looked there were tentacles lashing out at us. Taklinn, where are you? I said to myself. Caribdis had been doing his best to help with his verse, inspiring us all while unleashing a non-stop barrage of arrows. Nearly a dozen of his shafts protruded from the beast at odd angles, and it seemed he finally got its attention, for a tentacle whipped toward him, hitting him in the chest with the force of a battering ram and slamming him against the wall. A tentacle pounded into the elemental, breaking off still more rock from its stony body. Two tentacles snaked toward Griff. He dodged and danced away from them, but they were too quick, and before he knew it, they had both wrapped themselves around his body, coiling about him and squeezing until he writhed in agony. I could see him shaking his head, fighting the poison as it passed through his skin. Unable to bring his sword to bare, Griff dropped it and pulled free a dagger with which he vainly stabbed and cut at a tentacle. This was bad. The thing was wounded, but with Griff bound up by the avatar, Sensesi down, and Taklinn nowhere to be found, all of our heavy hitters were gone. For the first time I began to wonder if we were doomed to fail. I had no time to ponder such matters though, for even as far from the avatar as I was, I was not safe from those tentacles. One of them flashed toward me. I saw it coming from the corner of my eye too late, and was hit across the shoulder. The blow sent me flying into the ceiling and pain coursed through my body. Seeing her husband being rapidly constricted to death, Happy went at the thing with renewed fury. “Let him go, you ugly piece of…” Her ‘scorching ray’s’ pounded the avatar again, this time breaking through its resistance and burning deeply. Caribdis tried a ‘shout’ spell, but only succeeded in wounding Griff even further. The avatar seemed to notice it not at all. Across the room, I was amazed to see Sensesi haul herself to her feet. She was pale and obviously near deaths door, but she refused to relent as long as life still coursed through her. With tremendous effort, she limped toward the fight, pulling her back up sword. As for me, the hit I had taken nearly caused me to black out. I blinked my blurred eyes to restore my vision. I knew that we had reached the point of desperation, but more than that, I was angry. A hot rage built up within me and I flew forward at a fast dive, knowing that distance was no guarantee of safety. Once within range, I let the beast have it with everything I could muster, targeting it with a maximized ‘scorching ray’. All three rays sizzled into it, bypassing its spell protections and melting away dinner plate sized portions of its hide. But it was not enough. The thing had no face, but when it turned to face me I could almost see an expression of victory in its body language. It continued to squeeze the life out of Griff who was weakly trying to cut himself free with failing strength. I tried to cast, knowing I would never make it, knowing that it was going to hit me and that I would not survive it. A dozen tentacles seemed to rear back, each of them aiming at me like a slave driver hauling back the lash to bring it cracking down. And then Taklinn was back. Our dwarf rose up from the very stone, now fully healed. He had obviously used his retreat to mend himself and was now back in the fight. He stepped from the solid rock, poised and ready, his axe held in a two-fisted death grip. He took a step, then another, and a third brought him into range. He roared the name of Clangeden as he swung. Taklinn’s axe bit home, hewing into the avatar as if it were an oak. He swung again, drawing forth another geyser of blood. His third swing buried the head of his axe so deeply into the thing that it was all he could do to pull it free. Time seemed to stand still. A keening wail emanated from the avatar as it attempted to turn and face this new threat. I was forgotten as its tentacles flailed about, searching for Taklinn. It staggered, its tentacles loosening from around Griff. Our warrior crashed to the floor with a bone jarring thud. Taklinn hauled his axe back for another swing, but let it stay there, watching as the avatar shuddered and swayed. Finally, its shriek died in its throat, and like the massive tree that it resembled, it teetered, lost balance, and toppled to the ground with a heavy crash. I blinked, barely able to believe my eyes. Illugi’s avatar lay still, its tentacles splayed limply about the room. It was dead. Taklinn stood over the fallen avatar, teeth bared, flush with having delivered the killing blow. “About time you showed up.” Griff said with a pained groan as he picked himself up from the floor and limped over to retrieve his sword. I landed near Caribdis as we all looked at the avatars soggy body. It was already beginning to decompose before our very eyes. It’s over! I thought to myself. It’s really over. Scylla is dead. Illugi is exiled. Two worlds are free of their meddling. We’ve done it! I must believe that similar thoughts were passing through the minds of each of my companions. But we would have no time to voice them. Taklinn, of course, noticed it first. “Uh oh.” He said. A slight tremor, barely perceptible, shivered beneath our feet, and a fine shower of dust settled from the ceiling. I looked up, a bad feeling growing in my gut. Another tremor, this one stronger. A hair-thin crack appeared in the near wall. “We need to get out of here,” Taklinn said, flatly, “now!” Another shower of dust fell from above, this time accompanied by a few errant pebbles. The place was coming down. The earth seemed to groan and rumble as I had us all grasp hands and cast my ‘teleport’. In the next breath, we stood outside the gates of Anvie where we could see the upper floors of Illugi’s temple jutting up like a diseased tooth into the sky. We watched as it began to tremble. Soon long cracks began to appear. Great chunks of masonry fell away, and in due time, it collapsed in a mushroom cloud of debris that blanketed the city. The six of us watched, and a sense of finality washed over all. “So can we go home now?” Happy, ever pragmatic, asked. “Aye, girl,” Taklinn nodded, “That we can. Our work is finished here. Now it lies for the folk of Edik to rebuild.” “What about you, Sensesi?” I asked the yuan-ti. Truth be known, I half hoped she’d return to Havilah with us. I may have had my doubts about her, but she was true to the end and fought well. “I suppose I shall stay here.” She replied. “Perhaps there is a place for me yet in a new Edik.” “I was wrong about you, you know.” I said, matter of factly. “I’m glad now that Taklinn wouldn’t let us kill you.” She shook her head. “Accepted. Perhaps you can make it up to me by paying me a visit now and again.” I answered with a nod and a small smile. We shook hands with her all round. Even Happy begrudgingly extended her hand. “Right.” I said, “It’ll be a day before I can cast a ‘gate’, so we’ve got another bit to go here. I’ll get us a mansion going-“ Caribdis interrupted. “See you later!” And cast a spell. He disappeared. Sunsebb 21 We did not see Caribdis for the rest of that day. We did not see him when we finally returned to Havilah. We have not, in fact, seen Caribdis since that moment. It has been nearly a month, and I can only conclude that he has returned to Himinborg. I have thought about gating there to find him and call him on the carpet for his rudeness at leaving us without so much as a final goodbye, but in the end I think I have finally come to accept that Caribdis will always be an enigma to me, and, I believe, to himself as well. Scolding Caribdis would be the equivalent of wagging a finger in disappointment at a cat. What good would it really do? Our month here has been a good one, though I have a feeling that the Band of the Broken Blade has somehow reached a new plateau. Happy and Griff returned to their home, and then, a week ago, set out on a journey. They told no one where they were off to and left no indication of when they might return. Perhaps this is their honeymoon. I know I could scry them, but it is obvious that they are seeking privacy. I will not deny them that. Taklinn has returned to his home in the mountains. I have heard from him once, and he tells me that all is well. He is spending much time with his fiance and his church, and he is already deep in planning to build his own temple. As for me, barely a week passed before I was back in my lab, hip deep in books and beakers, Ambros perched on the shelf and offering alchemical advise. I’ve been here ever since, except for frequent jaunts into the city to see a play or hear an orchestra. I have attained a level of power that very few in our worlds history have reached, not to mention a credibility and reputation that far precedes me. I have been offered posts within the Academy, from several large merchant houses, and even the throne. For now, however, I have left those decisions for a later date. It is time to study, to read, to craft and to ponder the responsibility of wielding so much power. I have visited my family. I have visited The Old Man In The Pointy Hat. How odd it seems that I have surpassed my old master ten fold in magical skill. Yet he retains a wisdom that still leaves me gaping at times, and we have spent several enjoyable nights together, talking of everything under the sun. Only now we are no longer teacher and student. Now, we are colleagues. I am thinking of teaching a class or two. I see now that The Old Man In The Pointy Hat taught me more than mere magic. He taught me respect and ethics and a sense of honor. It would be a fitting tribute to him if I were able to pass those same qualities along to young wizards attending the Academy. A curious thing happened about a week after we’d returned from Edik. I have mentioned young Crispin Reis briefly in this journal as the young lad assigned to us when we first became a full fledged crew as our errand boy, runner and what have you. Just a snot of a lad at the time, he has grown into a sturdy boy over this year, and Griff has taken him under his wing. The boy has no family to speak of, and Griff has become a sort of father figure to Crispin, which is all well and fine and hardly any of my concern. But apparently, seven days after we’d returned from Edik, Crispin was visited, while doing chores on the Academy grounds, by an old crone. From his story, the toothless hag appeared from nowhere and seemed to know quite a bit about him, not the least of which was his name, which she called him by straight away. Crispin, of course, got quite a fright out of this, but to his credit, he stood fast and demanded to know what she wanted. She replied that she had a gift for him, and produced a linen wrapped object. It was long and slender and heavy, and she laid it in his hands with several commands. Griffin Dorjan, she explained with authority, was to teach Crispin how to use this object, and Doorag Marzipan was to infuse it with magic when the time came. She said that I would know when that time was. With a puzzled look, Crispin unwrapped the thing, letting the linen fall to the grass. It was Everyman’s Blade, the sword that Griff had used to slay Melesandre, the sword that had shattered. Griff had given it to Caribdis, who had hung it in his tavern, only to have it stolen some time later. It has been a source of mystery and consternation to all of us, especially Taklinn and I. Both of us have used powerful magic’s to try and locate it, but to no avail. Powerful protections indeed, to ward off a ‘discern location’ dweomer. And now here was this old woman, handing Everyman’s Blade to Crispin. Crispin looked up to ask her where she’d gotten it. Who she was. But she was already gone. The sword is now whole and shining, and Crispin practices with it every day. Griff took the news with a shrug and said, sure, he’d train the boy when he and Happy returned. There is a feeling of having drifted quickly apart from my friends, as if all of us are eager to take on new lives and more “mundane’ pursuits. I find myself saddened by it, but at the same time, I realize it is the natural evolution in our relationship. We have been through so much together, have been so close to one another, have grown so much with each other, perhaps it is time for all of us to grow a little bit on our own. I don’t doubt that we shall remain friends, and should some evil threat ever raise its head against Havilah, or any one of us, I know in my heart that I, Taklinn, Happy and Griff will respond. There are some things one never out grows. But I suspect that our days of actively seeking out adventures will be fewer and further between. I shall miss those days, but I look forward to the many fine days to come as well. Three weeks have passed since our return, and I have kept myself plenty busy, and have been happier than I have been in a long while. But this coming week shall be different. While we were in Illugi’s temple, after Caribdis had rejoined us, he pulled me aside one evening as we rested in the mansion. Doorag,” he began, “I have made a request of each of our friends. A thing that I’d like them to do for me when they return home. I’d like to ask you a favor as well.” “Like what things did you ask them to do?” I asked, suspicious. “Never mind their tasks,” he said, waving away my question, “It’s you I want to talk about. Will you do it?” I blinked at him. “Do what?” “The favor!” “But you haven’t told me what it is you want me to do!” I said, growing frustrated at having been caught up in another of Caribdis’ conversational circles. “Just say you’ll do it.” He prodded. “No, Caribdis!” I exclaimed, exasperated, “I’m not going to commit to a favor when I don’t even know what it is. That’s ridiculous. You might ask me to do something impossible, and then where would I be?” He sighed. “Okay, look, this is all it is: I want you to relax. You work too hard! All the time with the studying and the books! You miss out on so much of everything else life has to offer. I want you to promise me to find yourself a nice quiet meadow and lay in the grass. Watch the bees buzz. Smell the flowers. Go fishing. That sort of thing.” I looked at him, appalled. “You can’t be serious.” I said. “I’m deadly serious.” He said, with a deadly serious expression. “Well, no!” I huffed. “I’ll have you know that I LIKE spending my time with my nose in a book! You could do a lot worse than to read a little yourself, you know. I don’t care for meadows and I’m a lousy fisherman. No!” Caribdis cocked his head and widened his eyes almost imperceptibly. “Please?” “Caribdis, no. It’s silly!” I stated flatly. “Please?” And on it went, for the next hour, until at last, to simply shut him up, I agreed to consider it. I purchased my fishing pole yesterday, and there is a fine meadow about one hundred miles southeast that should do the trick. It has a small stream running through it, and I am sure that I shall catch no fish at all. [/QUOTE]
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From the Diary of Doorag Marzipan
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