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Into the Moral Darkness: (Now a Completed Story!)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3291446" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>When the foursome had actually appeared in Tongra at Rhema’s father’s villa, they could each feel the magic of the rings drain across their fingers into the air around them. This simple passing of the magical effect paled in comparison to the emotional effect that they experienced from the destruction that stood before them. Small patches of fire still reached up into the air as the flames tried to consume each and every ounce of combustible material nearby. The fires greedily latched onto anything that would burn and suffocated it until there was nothing more to give.</p><p></p><p>The villa had crumbled and was completely destroyed. It had once been a proud testament to the land. The stone that made up the bottom floor had been pulled out of the fields as Rhema’s ancestors used teams of horses to clear the land. The second floor had been constructed from the large timbers of the surrounding forest. The building had withstood many strong gales without even flinching. It received a plethora of snow each winter, but the roof and the foundation never once sagged. The stone foundation had even lessened the risk of natural fire from dangers of outdoor cooking and even lightning strikes. The villa had stood for well over a century needing only casual repair.</p><p></p><p>Rhema ran the few short steps to her father’s villa and knelt in some of the ash that had fallen and cooled some time ago. Her words seethed angrily out of her mouth. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Arson. It has to be arson.”</span> Her eyes had not yet shifted away from the house to take in the surrounding farmland. Charis wrapped her arms around Rhema to embrace her in the midst of the great pain.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Semeion had turned their gaze to the land surrounding the villa. The scene of destruction sprawled away from them as far as they could see. The new crops had been burned in the fields. They would not produce a harvest this coming fall. Blackness scorched the earth running in long swaths across the ground. It was almost as if a great scythe made of fire had cut across the land. It appeared as though the destruction was premeditated and executed rather than left to burn on its own.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus spoke next, adding to Rhema’s earlier conclusion. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Arson comes in many kinds, Rhema. A look at the destruction in the fields proves that there was some kind of intelligence behind the attack. But the stretches of black are far deeper than what could have been left by the young green plants. The plants would not have burned so strongly. Something with a great source of fire thoroughly burned the fields.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion assumed that he knew where Ischarus was headed with his assertion. <span style="color: Plum">“Are you thinking this is the work of a dragon? Perhaps Charis’ father dragon wasn’t destroyed after all? Maybe the red wyrm has come back to exact revenge?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus nodded in partial agreement. <span style="color: LightBlue">“A dragon is a definite possibility as the culprit, but it couldn’t have been Charis’ dragon father. Ausaphaborishan, Lllywessiar, and Sappurapolician all saw the red wyrm enter into death. The wyrm exploded when it was overcome by my dragon father’s icy breath.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema turned and gasped for the first time as she drew her eyes away from the house and looked at the fields. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“By the gods! How could this have happened? Look at the destruction!”</span></p><p></p><p>The foursome, with Brandt standing behind them, knew that the destruction had to be worse than what they could see. It was already a few hours past dusk and they were looking by the means of starlight. Thankfully the night was clear and they could get a firm understanding of what exactly the damage would look like in the morning. However, they all knew that the light of day would shed a much more devastating picture on the destruction in this place.</p><p></p><p>Charis replied to Rhema’s rhetorical question as she turned to look at the carnage. <span style="color: Orange">“I don’t think that it is likely to be a dragon strike. Most of the evil dragons in Quehalost would’ve seen what we did to my dragon father as a blessing. There’s less competition in Quehalost now.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion nodded in agreement. <span style="color: Plum">“Yeah. Not only is there less competition, but there is also available space to move into. Surely the land is not still empty.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema continued to stare at the burned fields before them. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“But, what other force could provide enough fire to completely raze the villa and the fields? I don’t know of many forces in the world that can burn their way through fields that haven’t grown up enough to sustain the fire themselves!”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked up to the sky, wondering what had happened here while they were being united in marriage. He turned to Brandt and offered up a quizzical expression. <span style="color: LightBlue">“You don’t give the dragon theory much credence, do you Brandt?”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt slowly shook his head side to side. <span style="color: Lime">“Not for a moment. The destruction appears to be designed to look as though something large and powerful flew through here and wanted revenge. It looks as though to be caused by somebody who knew about the connection between this place and the red wyrm from Quehalost. But I know for certain that Tongra does not carry threats from red dragons this far north. There is occasionally a threat from a green or brown dragon that is native to the land. But the thought of a red wyrm this far north into Tongra is almost inconceivable. They’d have to cross the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains and fly the entire distance up here. Surely a wyrm large enough to produce this kind of destruction would be spotted by another dragon. Not only that, but this kind of thoroughness in destruction would have taken a single dragon too much time. If this was from a draconic source, it would have had to have been a flight of dragons. If that is the case, the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons would have been alerted of the threat.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema pursed her lips in anger. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Who, then? Who would have a large enough grudge against my father to burn down his villa and the crops in the fields?”</span></p><p></p><p>She paused for a moment and Charis gasped in realization. <span style="color: Orange">“Rhema, your father! Is he still safe in Ausaphaborishan’s valley in Barghost?”</span></p><p></p><p>A look of horror descended upon the faces of the five gathered among the ash covered remains. Up until now this was only a simple act of violence upon property. None of the five people standing together had once thought of the people in this place. With the celebration, only a skeleton staff was left behind to run the villa’s operations.</p><p></p><p>Rhema replied as a tear descended down her cheek. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Yes, my father is still in Ausaphaborishan’s valley. Most of those who were living at the villa had come to Barghost to witness the wedding. But certainly not everyone had come.”</span></p><p></p><p>A lump stuck in Rhema’s throat as she spoke the last words of her sentence. Whoever or whatever had brought this destruction upon the villa had obliterated the structure. They had destroyed the crop fields thoroughly. There could be little hope for anyone who was caught at the villa when the destruction had hit.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked back toward the rubble from the stone villa that was now covered in ash from the massive fire. <span style="color: LightBlue">“How many were left, Rhema? Do you remember?”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema shook her head from side to side. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“Four? Five? Six at the most? I don’t recall. I was too worried about the wedding celebration to really know for certain. I know that all the Drakontai still at the villa had come with us to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. There would have been someone to watch the house, someone to oversee the fields, someone to care for the farm animals.”</span></p><p></p><p>Her voice stopped suddenly at the thought of the animals. The whole group instinctively turned to the location of the barn. They were not surprised in the least to find smoldering remains left behind. In truth, the party had witnessed enough carnage by this point that there was little that would have surprised them any more. The act was so violent and so senseless that there was little reason for any of what they saw. It was impossible to make any sense of the destroyed land before their eyes.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus wrapped an arm around Rhema. <span style="color: LightBlue">“I know this isn’t really what you want to hear at this time, Rhema. But do you think that we’ve seen enough of the destruction for this night? I know that I can’t stomach much more of this destruction, and there isn’t much else that we can do for a while until the morning. We won’t get any answers until then.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis approached Rhema from the side opposite to which Ischarus stood and wrapped her own arm around Rhema’s waist. <span style="color: Orange">“He’s right, you know. There isn’t much we can do in the dark. We’ve all lost a bit of ourselves in this. Maybe the animals escaped the barn burn. Maybe the hands were able to flee if they got any warning at all. And we can certainly rebuild.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema turned her head into Ischarus’ strong shoulder and began to weep. She needed to mourn. It was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of her life. Instead, it would be a night that she wished she could forget.</p><p></p><p>Brandt motioned for Semeion to return to his side and complete the circle around Rhema. As Rhema continued to weep, the others joined hands around her and made sure that Rhema was included in the circle. Brandt spoke the simple arcane words that would return them to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. As silently as they had come, the party wavered once more and vanished into thin air.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>When the foursome had actually appeared in Tongra at Rhema’s father’s villa, they could each feel the magic of the rings drain across their fingers into the air around them. This simple passing of the magical effect paled in comparison to the emotional effect that they experienced from the destruction that stood before them. Small patches of fire still reached up into the air as the flames tried to consume each and every ounce of combustible material nearby. The fires greedily latched onto anything that would burn and suffocated it until there was nothing more to give.</p><p></p><p>The villa had crumbled and was completely destroyed. It had once been a proud testament to the land. The stone that made up the bottom floor had been pulled out of the fields as Rhema’s ancestors used teams of horses to clear the land. The second floor had been constructed from the large timbers of the surrounding forest. The building had withstood many strong gales without even flinching. It received a plethora of snow each winter, but the roof and the foundation never once sagged. The stone foundation had even lessened the risk of natural fire from dangers of outdoor cooking and even lightning strikes. The villa had stood for well over a century needing only casual repair.</p><p></p><p>Rhema ran the few short steps to her father’s villa and knelt in some of the ash that had fallen and cooled some time ago. Her words seethed angrily out of her mouth. “Arson. It has to be arson.” Her eyes had not yet shifted away from the house to take in the surrounding farmland. Charis wrapped her arms around Rhema to embrace her in the midst of the great pain.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus and Semeion had turned their gaze to the land surrounding the villa. The scene of destruction sprawled away from them as far as they could see. The new crops had been burned in the fields. They would not produce a harvest this coming fall. Blackness scorched the earth running in long swaths across the ground. It was almost as if a great scythe made of fire had cut across the land. It appeared as though the destruction was premeditated and executed rather than left to burn on its own.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus spoke next, adding to Rhema’s earlier conclusion. “Arson comes in many kinds, Rhema. A look at the destruction in the fields proves that there was some kind of intelligence behind the attack. But the stretches of black are far deeper than what could have been left by the young green plants. The plants would not have burned so strongly. Something with a great source of fire thoroughly burned the fields.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion assumed that he knew where Ischarus was headed with his assertion. “Are you thinking this is the work of a dragon? Perhaps Charis’ father dragon wasn’t destroyed after all? Maybe the red wyrm has come back to exact revenge?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus nodded in partial agreement. “A dragon is a definite possibility as the culprit, but it couldn’t have been Charis’ dragon father. Ausaphaborishan, Lllywessiar, and Sappurapolician all saw the red wyrm enter into death. The wyrm exploded when it was overcome by my dragon father’s icy breath.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema turned and gasped for the first time as she drew her eyes away from the house and looked at the fields. “By the gods! How could this have happened? Look at the destruction!”</p><p></p><p>The foursome, with Brandt standing behind them, knew that the destruction had to be worse than what they could see. It was already a few hours past dusk and they were looking by the means of starlight. Thankfully the night was clear and they could get a firm understanding of what exactly the damage would look like in the morning. However, they all knew that the light of day would shed a much more devastating picture on the destruction in this place.</p><p></p><p>Charis replied to Rhema’s rhetorical question as she turned to look at the carnage. “I don’t think that it is likely to be a dragon strike. Most of the evil dragons in Quehalost would’ve seen what we did to my dragon father as a blessing. There’s less competition in Quehalost now.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Not only is there less competition, but there is also available space to move into. Surely the land is not still empty.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema continued to stare at the burned fields before them. “But, what other force could provide enough fire to completely raze the villa and the fields? I don’t know of many forces in the world that can burn their way through fields that haven’t grown up enough to sustain the fire themselves!”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked up to the sky, wondering what had happened here while they were being united in marriage. He turned to Brandt and offered up a quizzical expression. “You don’t give the dragon theory much credence, do you Brandt?”</p><p></p><p>Brandt slowly shook his head side to side. “Not for a moment. The destruction appears to be designed to look as though something large and powerful flew through here and wanted revenge. It looks as though to be caused by somebody who knew about the connection between this place and the red wyrm from Quehalost. But I know for certain that Tongra does not carry threats from red dragons this far north. There is occasionally a threat from a green or brown dragon that is native to the land. But the thought of a red wyrm this far north into Tongra is almost inconceivable. They’d have to cross the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains and fly the entire distance up here. Surely a wyrm large enough to produce this kind of destruction would be spotted by another dragon. Not only that, but this kind of thoroughness in destruction would have taken a single dragon too much time. If this was from a draconic source, it would have had to have been a flight of dragons. If that is the case, the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons would have been alerted of the threat.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema pursed her lips in anger. “Who, then? Who would have a large enough grudge against my father to burn down his villa and the crops in the fields?”</p><p></p><p>She paused for a moment and Charis gasped in realization. “Rhema, your father! Is he still safe in Ausaphaborishan’s valley in Barghost?”</p><p></p><p>A look of horror descended upon the faces of the five gathered among the ash covered remains. Up until now this was only a simple act of violence upon property. None of the five people standing together had once thought of the people in this place. With the celebration, only a skeleton staff was left behind to run the villa’s operations.</p><p></p><p>Rhema replied as a tear descended down her cheek. “Yes, my father is still in Ausaphaborishan’s valley. Most of those who were living at the villa had come to Barghost to witness the wedding. But certainly not everyone had come.”</p><p></p><p>A lump stuck in Rhema’s throat as she spoke the last words of her sentence. Whoever or whatever had brought this destruction upon the villa had obliterated the structure. They had destroyed the crop fields thoroughly. There could be little hope for anyone who was caught at the villa when the destruction had hit.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked back toward the rubble from the stone villa that was now covered in ash from the massive fire. “How many were left, Rhema? Do you remember?”</p><p></p><p>Rhema shook her head from side to side. “Four? Five? Six at the most? I don’t recall. I was too worried about the wedding celebration to really know for certain. I know that all the Drakontai still at the villa had come with us to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. There would have been someone to watch the house, someone to oversee the fields, someone to care for the farm animals.”</p><p></p><p>Her voice stopped suddenly at the thought of the animals. The whole group instinctively turned to the location of the barn. They were not surprised in the least to find smoldering remains left behind. In truth, the party had witnessed enough carnage by this point that there was little that would have surprised them any more. The act was so violent and so senseless that there was little reason for any of what they saw. It was impossible to make any sense of the destroyed land before their eyes.</p><p></p><p>Ischarus wrapped an arm around Rhema. “I know this isn’t really what you want to hear at this time, Rhema. But do you think that we’ve seen enough of the destruction for this night? I know that I can’t stomach much more of this destruction, and there isn’t much else that we can do for a while until the morning. We won’t get any answers until then.”</p><p></p><p>Charis approached Rhema from the side opposite to which Ischarus stood and wrapped her own arm around Rhema’s waist. “He’s right, you know. There isn’t much we can do in the dark. We’ve all lost a bit of ourselves in this. Maybe the animals escaped the barn burn. Maybe the hands were able to flee if they got any warning at all. And we can certainly rebuild.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema turned her head into Ischarus’ strong shoulder and began to weep. She needed to mourn. It was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of her life. Instead, it would be a night that she wished she could forget.</p><p></p><p>Brandt motioned for Semeion to return to his side and complete the circle around Rhema. As Rhema continued to weep, the others joined hands around her and made sure that Rhema was included in the circle. Brandt spoke the simple arcane words that would return them to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. As silently as they had come, the party wavered once more and vanished into thin air.[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3291446, member: 35788"] When the foursome had actually appeared in Tongra at Rhema’s father’s villa, they could each feel the magic of the rings drain across their fingers into the air around them. This simple passing of the magical effect paled in comparison to the emotional effect that they experienced from the destruction that stood before them. Small patches of fire still reached up into the air as the flames tried to consume each and every ounce of combustible material nearby. The fires greedily latched onto anything that would burn and suffocated it until there was nothing more to give. The villa had crumbled and was completely destroyed. It had once been a proud testament to the land. The stone that made up the bottom floor had been pulled out of the fields as Rhema’s ancestors used teams of horses to clear the land. The second floor had been constructed from the large timbers of the surrounding forest. The building had withstood many strong gales without even flinching. It received a plethora of snow each winter, but the roof and the foundation never once sagged. The stone foundation had even lessened the risk of natural fire from dangers of outdoor cooking and even lightning strikes. The villa had stood for well over a century needing only casual repair. Rhema ran the few short steps to her father’s villa and knelt in some of the ash that had fallen and cooled some time ago. Her words seethed angrily out of her mouth. [Color=PaleGreen]“Arson. It has to be arson.”[/Color] Her eyes had not yet shifted away from the house to take in the surrounding farmland. Charis wrapped her arms around Rhema to embrace her in the midst of the great pain. Ischarus and Semeion had turned their gaze to the land surrounding the villa. The scene of destruction sprawled away from them as far as they could see. The new crops had been burned in the fields. They would not produce a harvest this coming fall. Blackness scorched the earth running in long swaths across the ground. It was almost as if a great scythe made of fire had cut across the land. It appeared as though the destruction was premeditated and executed rather than left to burn on its own. Ischarus spoke next, adding to Rhema’s earlier conclusion. [Color=LightBlue]“Arson comes in many kinds, Rhema. A look at the destruction in the fields proves that there was some kind of intelligence behind the attack. But the stretches of black are far deeper than what could have been left by the young green plants. The plants would not have burned so strongly. Something with a great source of fire thoroughly burned the fields.”[/Color] Semeion assumed that he knew where Ischarus was headed with his assertion. [Color=Plum]“Are you thinking this is the work of a dragon? Perhaps Charis’ father dragon wasn’t destroyed after all? Maybe the red wyrm has come back to exact revenge?”[/Color] Ischarus nodded in partial agreement. [Color=LightBlue]“A dragon is a definite possibility as the culprit, but it couldn’t have been Charis’ dragon father. Ausaphaborishan, Lllywessiar, and Sappurapolician all saw the red wyrm enter into death. The wyrm exploded when it was overcome by my dragon father’s icy breath.”[/Color] Rhema turned and gasped for the first time as she drew her eyes away from the house and looked at the fields. [Color=PaleGreen]“By the gods! How could this have happened? Look at the destruction!”[/Color] The foursome, with Brandt standing behind them, knew that the destruction had to be worse than what they could see. It was already a few hours past dusk and they were looking by the means of starlight. Thankfully the night was clear and they could get a firm understanding of what exactly the damage would look like in the morning. However, they all knew that the light of day would shed a much more devastating picture on the destruction in this place. Charis replied to Rhema’s rhetorical question as she turned to look at the carnage. [Color=Orange]“I don’t think that it is likely to be a dragon strike. Most of the evil dragons in Quehalost would’ve seen what we did to my dragon father as a blessing. There’s less competition in Quehalost now.”[/Color] Semeion nodded in agreement. [Color=Plum]“Yeah. Not only is there less competition, but there is also available space to move into. Surely the land is not still empty.”[/Color] Rhema continued to stare at the burned fields before them. [Color=PaleGreen]“But, what other force could provide enough fire to completely raze the villa and the fields? I don’t know of many forces in the world that can burn their way through fields that haven’t grown up enough to sustain the fire themselves!”[/Color] Ischarus looked up to the sky, wondering what had happened here while they were being united in marriage. He turned to Brandt and offered up a quizzical expression. [Color=LightBlue]“You don’t give the dragon theory much credence, do you Brandt?”[/Color] Brandt slowly shook his head side to side. [Color=Lime]“Not for a moment. The destruction appears to be designed to look as though something large and powerful flew through here and wanted revenge. It looks as though to be caused by somebody who knew about the connection between this place and the red wyrm from Quehalost. But I know for certain that Tongra does not carry threats from red dragons this far north. There is occasionally a threat from a green or brown dragon that is native to the land. But the thought of a red wyrm this far north into Tongra is almost inconceivable. They’d have to cross the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains and fly the entire distance up here. Surely a wyrm large enough to produce this kind of destruction would be spotted by another dragon. Not only that, but this kind of thoroughness in destruction would have taken a single dragon too much time. If this was from a draconic source, it would have had to have been a flight of dragons. If that is the case, the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons would have been alerted of the threat.”[/Color] Rhema pursed her lips in anger. [Color=PaleGreen]“Who, then? Who would have a large enough grudge against my father to burn down his villa and the crops in the fields?”[/Color] She paused for a moment and Charis gasped in realization. [Color=Orange]“Rhema, your father! Is he still safe in Ausaphaborishan’s valley in Barghost?”[/Color] A look of horror descended upon the faces of the five gathered among the ash covered remains. Up until now this was only a simple act of violence upon property. None of the five people standing together had once thought of the people in this place. With the celebration, only a skeleton staff was left behind to run the villa’s operations. Rhema replied as a tear descended down her cheek. [Color=PaleGreen]“Yes, my father is still in Ausaphaborishan’s valley. Most of those who were living at the villa had come to Barghost to witness the wedding. But certainly not everyone had come.”[/Color] A lump stuck in Rhema’s throat as she spoke the last words of her sentence. Whoever or whatever had brought this destruction upon the villa had obliterated the structure. They had destroyed the crop fields thoroughly. There could be little hope for anyone who was caught at the villa when the destruction had hit. Ischarus looked back toward the rubble from the stone villa that was now covered in ash from the massive fire. [Color=LightBlue]“How many were left, Rhema? Do you remember?”[/Color] Rhema shook her head from side to side. [Color=PaleGreen]“Four? Five? Six at the most? I don’t recall. I was too worried about the wedding celebration to really know for certain. I know that all the Drakontai still at the villa had come with us to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. There would have been someone to watch the house, someone to oversee the fields, someone to care for the farm animals.”[/Color] Her voice stopped suddenly at the thought of the animals. The whole group instinctively turned to the location of the barn. They were not surprised in the least to find smoldering remains left behind. In truth, the party had witnessed enough carnage by this point that there was little that would have surprised them any more. The act was so violent and so senseless that there was little reason for any of what they saw. It was impossible to make any sense of the destroyed land before their eyes. Ischarus wrapped an arm around Rhema. [Color=LightBlue]“I know this isn’t really what you want to hear at this time, Rhema. But do you think that we’ve seen enough of the destruction for this night? I know that I can’t stomach much more of this destruction, and there isn’t much else that we can do for a while until the morning. We won’t get any answers until then.”[/Color] Charis approached Rhema from the side opposite to which Ischarus stood and wrapped her own arm around Rhema’s waist. [Color=Orange]“He’s right, you know. There isn’t much we can do in the dark. We’ve all lost a bit of ourselves in this. Maybe the animals escaped the barn burn. Maybe the hands were able to flee if they got any warning at all. And we can certainly rebuild.”[/Color] Rhema turned her head into Ischarus’ strong shoulder and began to weep. She needed to mourn. It was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of her life. Instead, it would be a night that she wished she could forget. Brandt motioned for Semeion to return to his side and complete the circle around Rhema. As Rhema continued to weep, the others joined hands around her and made sure that Rhema was included in the circle. Brandt spoke the simple arcane words that would return them to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. As silently as they had come, the party wavered once more and vanished into thin air. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] When the foursome had actually appeared in Tongra at Rhema’s father’s villa, they could each feel the magic of the rings drain across their fingers into the air around them. This simple passing of the magical effect paled in comparison to the emotional effect that they experienced from the destruction that stood before them. Small patches of fire still reached up into the air as the flames tried to consume each and every ounce of combustible material nearby. The fires greedily latched onto anything that would burn and suffocated it until there was nothing more to give. The villa had crumbled and was completely destroyed. It had once been a proud testament to the land. The stone that made up the bottom floor had been pulled out of the fields as Rhema’s ancestors used teams of horses to clear the land. The second floor had been constructed from the large timbers of the surrounding forest. The building had withstood many strong gales without even flinching. It received a plethora of snow each winter, but the roof and the foundation never once sagged. The stone foundation had even lessened the risk of natural fire from dangers of outdoor cooking and even lightning strikes. The villa had stood for well over a century needing only casual repair. Rhema ran the few short steps to her father’s villa and knelt in some of the ash that had fallen and cooled some time ago. Her words seethed angrily out of her mouth. “Arson. It has to be arson.” Her eyes had not yet shifted away from the house to take in the surrounding farmland. Charis wrapped her arms around Rhema to embrace her in the midst of the great pain. Ischarus and Semeion had turned their gaze to the land surrounding the villa. The scene of destruction sprawled away from them as far as they could see. The new crops had been burned in the fields. They would not produce a harvest this coming fall. Blackness scorched the earth running in long swaths across the ground. It was almost as if a great scythe made of fire had cut across the land. It appeared as though the destruction was premeditated and executed rather than left to burn on its own. Ischarus spoke next, adding to Rhema’s earlier conclusion. “Arson comes in many kinds, Rhema. A look at the destruction in the fields proves that there was some kind of intelligence behind the attack. But the stretches of black are far deeper than what could have been left by the young green plants. The plants would not have burned so strongly. Something with a great source of fire thoroughly burned the fields.” Semeion assumed that he knew where Ischarus was headed with his assertion. “Are you thinking this is the work of a dragon? Perhaps Charis’ father dragon wasn’t destroyed after all? Maybe the red wyrm has come back to exact revenge?” Ischarus nodded in partial agreement. “A dragon is a definite possibility as the culprit, but it couldn’t have been Charis’ dragon father. Ausaphaborishan, Lllywessiar, and Sappurapolician all saw the red wyrm enter into death. The wyrm exploded when it was overcome by my dragon father’s icy breath.” Rhema turned and gasped for the first time as she drew her eyes away from the house and looked at the fields. “By the gods! How could this have happened? Look at the destruction!” The foursome, with Brandt standing behind them, knew that the destruction had to be worse than what they could see. It was already a few hours past dusk and they were looking by the means of starlight. Thankfully the night was clear and they could get a firm understanding of what exactly the damage would look like in the morning. However, they all knew that the light of day would shed a much more devastating picture on the destruction in this place. Charis replied to Rhema’s rhetorical question as she turned to look at the carnage. “I don’t think that it is likely to be a dragon strike. Most of the evil dragons in Quehalost would’ve seen what we did to my dragon father as a blessing. There’s less competition in Quehalost now.” Semeion nodded in agreement. “Yeah. Not only is there less competition, but there is also available space to move into. Surely the land is not still empty.” Rhema continued to stare at the burned fields before them. “But, what other force could provide enough fire to completely raze the villa and the fields? I don’t know of many forces in the world that can burn their way through fields that haven’t grown up enough to sustain the fire themselves!” Ischarus looked up to the sky, wondering what had happened here while they were being united in marriage. He turned to Brandt and offered up a quizzical expression. “You don’t give the dragon theory much credence, do you Brandt?” Brandt slowly shook his head side to side. “Not for a moment. The destruction appears to be designed to look as though something large and powerful flew through here and wanted revenge. It looks as though to be caused by somebody who knew about the connection between this place and the red wyrm from Quehalost. But I know for certain that Tongra does not carry threats from red dragons this far north. There is occasionally a threat from a green or brown dragon that is native to the land. But the thought of a red wyrm this far north into Tongra is almost inconceivable. They’d have to cross the Tongra-Quehalost Mountains and fly the entire distance up here. Surely a wyrm large enough to produce this kind of destruction would be spotted by another dragon. Not only that, but this kind of thoroughness in destruction would have taken a single dragon too much time. If this was from a draconic source, it would have had to have been a flight of dragons. If that is the case, the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons would have been alerted of the threat.” Rhema pursed her lips in anger. “Who, then? Who would have a large enough grudge against my father to burn down his villa and the crops in the fields?” She paused for a moment and Charis gasped in realization. “Rhema, your father! Is he still safe in Ausaphaborishan’s valley in Barghost?” A look of horror descended upon the faces of the five gathered among the ash covered remains. Up until now this was only a simple act of violence upon property. None of the five people standing together had once thought of the people in this place. With the celebration, only a skeleton staff was left behind to run the villa’s operations. Rhema replied as a tear descended down her cheek. “Yes, my father is still in Ausaphaborishan’s valley. Most of those who were living at the villa had come to Barghost to witness the wedding. But certainly not everyone had come.” A lump stuck in Rhema’s throat as she spoke the last words of her sentence. Whoever or whatever had brought this destruction upon the villa had obliterated the structure. They had destroyed the crop fields thoroughly. There could be little hope for anyone who was caught at the villa when the destruction had hit. Ischarus looked back toward the rubble from the stone villa that was now covered in ash from the massive fire. “How many were left, Rhema? Do you remember?” Rhema shook her head from side to side. “Four? Five? Six at the most? I don’t recall. I was too worried about the wedding celebration to really know for certain. I know that all the Drakontai still at the villa had come with us to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. There would have been someone to watch the house, someone to oversee the fields, someone to care for the farm animals.” Her voice stopped suddenly at the thought of the animals. The whole group instinctively turned to the location of the barn. They were not surprised in the least to find smoldering remains left behind. In truth, the party had witnessed enough carnage by this point that there was little that would have surprised them any more. The act was so violent and so senseless that there was little reason for any of what they saw. It was impossible to make any sense of the destroyed land before their eyes. Ischarus wrapped an arm around Rhema. “I know this isn’t really what you want to hear at this time, Rhema. But do you think that we’ve seen enough of the destruction for this night? I know that I can’t stomach much more of this destruction, and there isn’t much else that we can do for a while until the morning. We won’t get any answers until then.” Charis approached Rhema from the side opposite to which Ischarus stood and wrapped her own arm around Rhema’s waist. “He’s right, you know. There isn’t much we can do in the dark. We’ve all lost a bit of ourselves in this. Maybe the animals escaped the barn burn. Maybe the hands were able to flee if they got any warning at all. And we can certainly rebuild.” Rhema turned her head into Ischarus’ strong shoulder and began to weep. She needed to mourn. It was supposed to be one of the happiest nights of her life. Instead, it would be a night that she wished she could forget. Brandt motioned for Semeion to return to his side and complete the circle around Rhema. As Rhema continued to weep, the others joined hands around her and made sure that Rhema was included in the circle. Brandt spoke the simple arcane words that would return them to Ausaphaborishan’s valley. As silently as they had come, the party wavered once more and vanished into thin air.[/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
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