Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Into the Moral Darkness: (Now a Completed Story!)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3296005" data-attributes="member: 35788"><p>The night was long for each of the foursome who had just been married. Instead of the excitement of spending their first nights together as married couples, the four huddled together in Ischarus’ and Rhema’s room around a wood burning iron stove. They couldn’t sleep knowing what they had seen earlier in the night. They couldn’t bear to be alone and to be left with their thoughts to keep them awake. They spent much of the night talking amongst themselves and lightly dozing in and out of the conversation.</p><p></p><p>Just after sunrise, the foursome was alerted to the coming day by a knock upon the door. Brandt spoke to them from the other side. <span style="color: Lime">“Hello? Is everyone in this room? I tried the room for Semeion and Charis and couldn’t find anyone.”</span></p><p></p><p>Semeion and Charis sat closest to the door. The young mage stood up wearily and crossed the few steps to where he could open the door. He opened the door wide to allow Brandt free access to the room.</p><p></p><p>Brandt smiled as he saw Semeion and then the other three occupants of the room. <span style="color: Lime">“Well, I guess that is why I couldn’t find you, then.”</span> He knew that there wasn’t much point in asking them how their night was. The dark circles under their eyes told him all that he needed to know.</p><p></p><p>Charis stood to greet Brandt. <span style="color: Orange">“We didn’t sleep much, but that shouldn’t really surprise you. We were just waiting for the sun to come up so that we could go back to Tongra and start looking at what happened.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema looked out the window. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“The sun hasn’t been up for that long of a time, has it?”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt shook his head from side to side. <span style="color: Lime">“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes by now. Certainly it is still dark in Tongra to the west. However, the light of the sun should be reaching your father’s land within an hour. Does he know?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked to his new wife, but Rhema turned her head back to the window. She couldn’t bear the thought of telling her father what had happened. Ischarus turned his head back to look at Brandt but could see that Brandt had already interpreted Rhema’s actions. He spoke the truth anyway, knowing that Rhema needed to hear the words. <span style="color: LightBlue">“We couldn’t justify ruining his night of sleep. We could console each other, and there was nothing any one of us could have done last night anyway. We thought it best to let him sleep. I’ll go tell him while we get ready to return.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema reached her hand out back to where she knew Ischarus stood. She wasn’t looking in his direction, so she hand reached back blindly. Ischarus saw the gesture and reached out to take her hand into his own. At the touch, Rhema spoke as she continued to stare out the window. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“I’ll go, too. It was my land and he is my father. I should be there with you.”</span></p><p></p><p>Charis looked to Semeion and spoke the words that she knew Semeion was also thinking. <span style="color: Orange">“We can all go, Rhema. We can all be there to support you and your father.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled and turned away from the window to face Charis. <span style="color: PaleGreen">“No. You both stay here and pack. When you are ready, pack up what little Ischarus and I have brought as well. We’ll meet you wherever Brandt wants to meet so that we can return together.”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt spoke next. He wanted to interrupt the plans with the information that he had already learned before coming to the newlyweds’ chambers. <span style="color: Lime">“Ausaphaborishan and Llywessiar have already been told of this. I took the liberty to tell them early this morning. Ausaphaborishan desires to return with us and if nothing else to provide for our security. There is no telling if the ones who accomplished such destruction might still be in the area. If they are, Ausaphaborishan would like to be there to help discourage them from staying.”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled and hugged Rhema. <span style="color: LightBlue">“Then it is settled. We’ll go to Rhema’s father. Semeion and Ischarus will pack up what little belongings that we’ll need for the day. And we’ll meet you and Ausaphaborishan where, Brandt?”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt looked directly into Ischarus’ eyes. <span style="color: Lime">“We’ll meet Ausaphaborishan at the north face.”</span></p><p></p><p>The foursome nodded and with a solemn determination they went about their tasks. Rhema and Ischarus had no easy time telling Rhema’s father, but within a half an hour they had worked through the shock and immediate despair to be able to bring themselves to the north face. Semeion and Charis were already standing beside Brandt waiting for them. Ausaphaborishan was lying in a great circle with his neck and tail wrapping around those who had gathered. As Ischarus approached with his new bride and father-in-law, the dragon stood. When everyone had reached out and placed a hand upon his tail, Ausaphaborishan spoke the magic words and the group vanished in the familiar wavering effect.</p><p></p><p>In Tongra, the group appeared under the cover of darkness. The teleportation spell had managed to beat the sun’s rays of light across the land. Ausaphaborishan lifted his head to the sky and searched the stars above him. As his nostrils filled with the smell of ash, he thought. The large wyrm spoke through a mighty exhale that nearly sounded light a deep moan of pain. <span style="color: SlateGray">“The sun will make its appearance in about ten minutes by the look of the stars and the clouds in the sky to the east.”</span></p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father fell to his knees as the starlight gave him his first glimpse of the ruined villa. As he collapsed to the ground, his left knee struck the remains of a completely burned timber that had once made up the outer wall of the house. The wood had been burned so quickly that it retained much of its shape despite being deeply blackened and ashen in color. As his knee struck the scorched log, it became obvious that the fire had destroyed the wood entirely, however. The log burst into a cloud of ash upon receiving the weight of the man’s knee.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father began to weep bitterly as the cloud of ash surrounded his body and then settled back upon the ground around him. The man reached down to the ground and scooped up a small handful of ash into his left hand. He spit several times into his right palm and mixed the two hands together. As the ash mixed together with the spit, he took the fingers of his left hand and smeared the mixture over the skin of his face. </p><p></p><p>The rest of the party could do nothing but stand around him and support the man in his pain. Rhema reached out and placed her hand lightly upon her father’s left shoulder. His right hand crossed his body and reached up to embrace the top of her hand. Rhema’s hand was smeared with the ash and spittle mixture. Ischarus reached out and wrapped his right arm around Rhema’s shoulders. There was little to do here but mourn.</p><p></p><p>After several minutes of silence, Rhema’s father spoke softly through the weeping. <span style="color: Lime">“Who could have done this? Who has the power enough to have accomplished this task?”</span></p><p></p><p>Silence passed for several moments. Nobody desired to speak until they were sure that the man’s words were complete. Ausaphaborishan spoke first in order to break the silence. <span style="color: SlateGray">“Not only should you ask who could have done this and who would have done this, but I think that you should also ask who knew of the details of the wedding. The strike against this villa was obviously timed to occur when it was most defenseless.”</span></p><p></p><p>The dragon’s voice from above had caught the gathered people off-guard. With the mourning of Rhema’s father they had completely forgotten that there was a large dragon in their midst. The wyrm’s voice had thundered down from above as if it were coming unexpectedly from the heavens above.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father shook his head. <span style="color: Lime">“I told my friends, of course. Any proud father would do such a thing. All of the servants at the villa knew of the wedding. Of course that means that most of Huetown would have known, or at least those who had any interest in the wedding would have known. But what would the rest of the world care? We have but few dealings with anyone of substantial power in the civilized lands. Our greatest enemies live in Quehalost. I doubt any word of the wedding would have made it that far!”</span></p><p></p><p>Brandt chewed on his lower lip for a second as he thought. <span style="color: Lime">“I agree. The threats in Quehalost are unlikely. They simply are just too far away to take this much effort in revenge. Not only that, but the red wyrm has been destroyed. That was the biggest foe for this adventuring band.”</span></p><p></p><p>The sun began to peak over the horizon to the east. With the sun’s rays taking such a slight angle with relation to the sun, Ischarus thought he could make out a simple glint of metal about twenty feet towards the coming appearance of the sun. His arm left Rhema’s shoulder and he slowly walked over to where he was sure the glint of metal had been seen.</p><p></p><p>When he reached the spot, he couldn’t see any metal. His feet began to sift through the ash and his boot struck something solid. As he knelt to the ground his hand reached gingerly into the short layer of ash that covered the ground. His fingers found what his foot had struck earlier. It was a small blade.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the party looked on with curiosity. When Ischarus knelt down to lift something up, Semeion called out with curiosity and began walking toward Ischarus. <span style="color: Plum">“Ischarus, what have you found?”</span></p><p></p><p>Ischarus carefully lifted the blade out of the ash that covered it. Ischarus discovered that his hands held a ceremonial dagger. Most likely, it had accidentally fallen from its owner’s hands or its sheath. Ischarus found that there was a pattern burned into the leather that bound the handle of the dagger. The symbol was as simple as the blade was ornate. The symbol was that of a crescent moon with a small dagger sticking through it. Ischarus narrowed his eyes as he thought about the design.</p><p></p><p>[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]</p><p>The night was long for each of the foursome who had just been married. Instead of the excitement of spending their first nights together as married couples, the four huddled together in Ischarus’ and Rhema’s room around a wood burning iron stove. They couldn’t sleep knowing what they had seen earlier in the night. They couldn’t bear to be alone and to be left with their thoughts to keep them awake. They spent much of the night talking amongst themselves and lightly dozing in and out of the conversation.</p><p></p><p>Just after sunrise, the foursome was alerted to the coming day by a knock upon the door. Brandt spoke to them from the other side. “Hello? Is everyone in this room? I tried the room for Semeion and Charis and couldn’t find anyone.”</p><p></p><p>Semeion and Charis sat closest to the door. The young mage stood up wearily and crossed the few steps to where he could open the door. He opened the door wide to allow Brandt free access to the room.</p><p></p><p>Brandt smiled as he saw Semeion and then the other three occupants of the room. “Well, I guess that is why I couldn’t find you, then.” He knew that there wasn’t much point in asking them how their night was. The dark circles under their eyes told him all that he needed to know.</p><p></p><p>Charis stood to greet Brandt. “We didn’t sleep much, but that shouldn’t really surprise you. We were just waiting for the sun to come up so that we could go back to Tongra and start looking at what happened.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema looked out the window. “The sun hasn’t been up for that long of a time, has it?”</p><p></p><p>Brandt shook his head from side to side. “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes by now. Certainly it is still dark in Tongra to the west. However, the light of the sun should be reaching your father’s land within an hour. Does he know?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus looked to his new wife, but Rhema turned her head back to the window. She couldn’t bear the thought of telling her father what had happened. Ischarus turned his head back to look at Brandt but could see that Brandt had already interpreted Rhema’s actions. He spoke the truth anyway, knowing that Rhema needed to hear the words. “We couldn’t justify ruining his night of sleep. We could console each other, and there was nothing any one of us could have done last night anyway. We thought it best to let him sleep. I’ll go tell him while we get ready to return.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema reached her hand out back to where she knew Ischarus stood. She wasn’t looking in his direction, so she hand reached back blindly. Ischarus saw the gesture and reached out to take her hand into his own. At the touch, Rhema spoke as she continued to stare out the window. “I’ll go, too. It was my land and he is my father. I should be there with you.”</p><p></p><p>Charis looked to Semeion and spoke the words that she knew Semeion was also thinking. “We can all go, Rhema. We can all be there to support you and your father.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema smiled and turned away from the window to face Charis. “No. You both stay here and pack. When you are ready, pack up what little Ischarus and I have brought as well. We’ll meet you wherever Brandt wants to meet so that we can return together.”</p><p></p><p>Brandt spoke next. He wanted to interrupt the plans with the information that he had already learned before coming to the newlyweds’ chambers. “Ausaphaborishan and Llywessiar have already been told of this. I took the liberty to tell them early this morning. Ausaphaborishan desires to return with us and if nothing else to provide for our security. There is no telling if the ones who accomplished such destruction might still be in the area. If they are, Ausaphaborishan would like to be there to help discourage them from staying.”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus smiled and hugged Rhema. “Then it is settled. We’ll go to Rhema’s father. Semeion and Ischarus will pack up what little belongings that we’ll need for the day. And we’ll meet you and Ausaphaborishan where, Brandt?”</p><p></p><p>Brandt looked directly into Ischarus’ eyes. “We’ll meet Ausaphaborishan at the north face.”</p><p></p><p>The foursome nodded and with a solemn determination they went about their tasks. Rhema and Ischarus had no easy time telling Rhema’s father, but within a half an hour they had worked through the shock and immediate despair to be able to bring themselves to the north face. Semeion and Charis were already standing beside Brandt waiting for them. Ausaphaborishan was lying in a great circle with his neck and tail wrapping around those who had gathered. As Ischarus approached with his new bride and father-in-law, the dragon stood. When everyone had reached out and placed a hand upon his tail, Ausaphaborishan spoke the magic words and the group vanished in the familiar wavering effect.</p><p></p><p>In Tongra, the group appeared under the cover of darkness. The teleportation spell had managed to beat the sun’s rays of light across the land. Ausaphaborishan lifted his head to the sky and searched the stars above him. As his nostrils filled with the smell of ash, he thought. The large wyrm spoke through a mighty exhale that nearly sounded light a deep moan of pain. “The sun will make its appearance in about ten minutes by the look of the stars and the clouds in the sky to the east.”</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father fell to his knees as the starlight gave him his first glimpse of the ruined villa. As he collapsed to the ground, his left knee struck the remains of a completely burned timber that had once made up the outer wall of the house. The wood had been burned so quickly that it retained much of its shape despite being deeply blackened and ashen in color. As his knee struck the scorched log, it became obvious that the fire had destroyed the wood entirely, however. The log burst into a cloud of ash upon receiving the weight of the man’s knee.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father began to weep bitterly as the cloud of ash surrounded his body and then settled back upon the ground around him. The man reached down to the ground and scooped up a small handful of ash into his left hand. He spit several times into his right palm and mixed the two hands together. As the ash mixed together with the spit, he took the fingers of his left hand and smeared the mixture over the skin of his face. </p><p></p><p>The rest of the party could do nothing but stand around him and support the man in his pain. Rhema reached out and placed her hand lightly upon her father’s left shoulder. His right hand crossed his body and reached up to embrace the top of her hand. Rhema’s hand was smeared with the ash and spittle mixture. Ischarus reached out and wrapped his right arm around Rhema’s shoulders. There was little to do here but mourn.</p><p></p><p>After several minutes of silence, Rhema’s father spoke softly through the weeping. “Who could have done this? Who has the power enough to have accomplished this task?”</p><p></p><p>Silence passed for several moments. Nobody desired to speak until they were sure that the man’s words were complete. Ausaphaborishan spoke first in order to break the silence. “Not only should you ask who could have done this and who would have done this, but I think that you should also ask who knew of the details of the wedding. The strike against this villa was obviously timed to occur when it was most defenseless.”</p><p></p><p>The dragon’s voice from above had caught the gathered people off-guard. With the mourning of Rhema’s father they had completely forgotten that there was a large dragon in their midst. The wyrm’s voice had thundered down from above as if it were coming unexpectedly from the heavens above.</p><p></p><p>Rhema’s father shook his head. “I told my friends, of course. Any proud father would do such a thing. All of the servants at the villa knew of the wedding. Of course that means that most of Huetown would have known, or at least those who had any interest in the wedding would have known. But what would the rest of the world care? We have but few dealings with anyone of substantial power in the civilized lands. Our greatest enemies live in Quehalost. I doubt any word of the wedding would have made it that far!”</p><p></p><p>Brandt chewed on his lower lip for a second as he thought. “I agree. The threats in Quehalost are unlikely. They simply are just too far away to take this much effort in revenge. Not only that, but the red wyrm has been destroyed. That was the biggest foe for this adventuring band.”</p><p></p><p>The sun began to peak over the horizon to the east. With the sun’s rays taking such a slight angle with relation to the sun, Ischarus thought he could make out a simple glint of metal about twenty feet towards the coming appearance of the sun. His arm left Rhema’s shoulder and he slowly walked over to where he was sure the glint of metal had been seen.</p><p></p><p>When he reached the spot, he couldn’t see any metal. His feet began to sift through the ash and his boot struck something solid. As he knelt to the ground his hand reached gingerly into the short layer of ash that covered the ground. His fingers found what his foot had struck earlier. It was a small blade.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the party looked on with curiosity. When Ischarus knelt down to lift something up, Semeion called out with curiosity and began walking toward Ischarus. “Ischarus, what have you found?”</p><p></p><p>Ischarus carefully lifted the blade out of the ash that covered it. Ischarus discovered that his hands held a ceremonial dagger. Most likely, it had accidentally fallen from its owner’s hands or its sheath. Ischarus found that there was a pattern burned into the leather that bound the handle of the dagger. The symbol was as simple as the blade was ornate. The symbol was that of a crescent moon with a small dagger sticking through it. Ischarus narrowed his eyes as he thought about the design.</p><p>[/Sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nonlethal Force, post: 3296005, member: 35788"] The night was long for each of the foursome who had just been married. Instead of the excitement of spending their first nights together as married couples, the four huddled together in Ischarus’ and Rhema’s room around a wood burning iron stove. They couldn’t sleep knowing what they had seen earlier in the night. They couldn’t bear to be alone and to be left with their thoughts to keep them awake. They spent much of the night talking amongst themselves and lightly dozing in and out of the conversation. Just after sunrise, the foursome was alerted to the coming day by a knock upon the door. Brandt spoke to them from the other side. [Color=Lime]“Hello? Is everyone in this room? I tried the room for Semeion and Charis and couldn’t find anyone.”[/Color] Semeion and Charis sat closest to the door. The young mage stood up wearily and crossed the few steps to where he could open the door. He opened the door wide to allow Brandt free access to the room. Brandt smiled as he saw Semeion and then the other three occupants of the room. [Color=Lime]“Well, I guess that is why I couldn’t find you, then.”[/Color] He knew that there wasn’t much point in asking them how their night was. The dark circles under their eyes told him all that he needed to know. Charis stood to greet Brandt. [Color=Orange]“We didn’t sleep much, but that shouldn’t really surprise you. We were just waiting for the sun to come up so that we could go back to Tongra and start looking at what happened.”[/Color] Rhema looked out the window. [Color=PaleGreen]“The sun hasn’t been up for that long of a time, has it?”[/Color] Brandt shook his head from side to side. [Color=Lime]“Ten, maybe fifteen minutes by now. Certainly it is still dark in Tongra to the west. However, the light of the sun should be reaching your father’s land within an hour. Does he know?”[/Color] Ischarus looked to his new wife, but Rhema turned her head back to the window. She couldn’t bear the thought of telling her father what had happened. Ischarus turned his head back to look at Brandt but could see that Brandt had already interpreted Rhema’s actions. He spoke the truth anyway, knowing that Rhema needed to hear the words. [Color=LightBlue]“We couldn’t justify ruining his night of sleep. We could console each other, and there was nothing any one of us could have done last night anyway. We thought it best to let him sleep. I’ll go tell him while we get ready to return.”[/Color] Rhema reached her hand out back to where she knew Ischarus stood. She wasn’t looking in his direction, so she hand reached back blindly. Ischarus saw the gesture and reached out to take her hand into his own. At the touch, Rhema spoke as she continued to stare out the window. [Color=PaleGreen]“I’ll go, too. It was my land and he is my father. I should be there with you.”[/Color] Charis looked to Semeion and spoke the words that she knew Semeion was also thinking. [Color=Orange]“We can all go, Rhema. We can all be there to support you and your father.”[/Color] Rhema smiled and turned away from the window to face Charis. [Color=PaleGreen]“No. You both stay here and pack. When you are ready, pack up what little Ischarus and I have brought as well. We’ll meet you wherever Brandt wants to meet so that we can return together.”[/Color] Brandt spoke next. He wanted to interrupt the plans with the information that he had already learned before coming to the newlyweds’ chambers. [Color=Lime]“Ausaphaborishan and Llywessiar have already been told of this. I took the liberty to tell them early this morning. Ausaphaborishan desires to return with us and if nothing else to provide for our security. There is no telling if the ones who accomplished such destruction might still be in the area. If they are, Ausaphaborishan would like to be there to help discourage them from staying.”[/Color] Ischarus smiled and hugged Rhema. [Color=LightBlue]“Then it is settled. We’ll go to Rhema’s father. Semeion and Ischarus will pack up what little belongings that we’ll need for the day. And we’ll meet you and Ausaphaborishan where, Brandt?”[/Color] Brandt looked directly into Ischarus’ eyes. [Color=Lime]“We’ll meet Ausaphaborishan at the north face.”[/Color] The foursome nodded and with a solemn determination they went about their tasks. Rhema and Ischarus had no easy time telling Rhema’s father, but within a half an hour they had worked through the shock and immediate despair to be able to bring themselves to the north face. Semeion and Charis were already standing beside Brandt waiting for them. Ausaphaborishan was lying in a great circle with his neck and tail wrapping around those who had gathered. As Ischarus approached with his new bride and father-in-law, the dragon stood. When everyone had reached out and placed a hand upon his tail, Ausaphaborishan spoke the magic words and the group vanished in the familiar wavering effect. In Tongra, the group appeared under the cover of darkness. The teleportation spell had managed to beat the sun’s rays of light across the land. Ausaphaborishan lifted his head to the sky and searched the stars above him. As his nostrils filled with the smell of ash, he thought. The large wyrm spoke through a mighty exhale that nearly sounded light a deep moan of pain. [Color=SlateGray]“The sun will make its appearance in about ten minutes by the look of the stars and the clouds in the sky to the east.”[/Color] Rhema’s father fell to his knees as the starlight gave him his first glimpse of the ruined villa. As he collapsed to the ground, his left knee struck the remains of a completely burned timber that had once made up the outer wall of the house. The wood had been burned so quickly that it retained much of its shape despite being deeply blackened and ashen in color. As his knee struck the scorched log, it became obvious that the fire had destroyed the wood entirely, however. The log burst into a cloud of ash upon receiving the weight of the man’s knee. Rhema’s father began to weep bitterly as the cloud of ash surrounded his body and then settled back upon the ground around him. The man reached down to the ground and scooped up a small handful of ash into his left hand. He spit several times into his right palm and mixed the two hands together. As the ash mixed together with the spit, he took the fingers of his left hand and smeared the mixture over the skin of his face. The rest of the party could do nothing but stand around him and support the man in his pain. Rhema reached out and placed her hand lightly upon her father’s left shoulder. His right hand crossed his body and reached up to embrace the top of her hand. Rhema’s hand was smeared with the ash and spittle mixture. Ischarus reached out and wrapped his right arm around Rhema’s shoulders. There was little to do here but mourn. After several minutes of silence, Rhema’s father spoke softly through the weeping. [Color=Lime]“Who could have done this? Who has the power enough to have accomplished this task?”[/Color] Silence passed for several moments. Nobody desired to speak until they were sure that the man’s words were complete. Ausaphaborishan spoke first in order to break the silence. [Color=SlateGray]“Not only should you ask who could have done this and who would have done this, but I think that you should also ask who knew of the details of the wedding. The strike against this villa was obviously timed to occur when it was most defenseless.”[/Color] The dragon’s voice from above had caught the gathered people off-guard. With the mourning of Rhema’s father they had completely forgotten that there was a large dragon in their midst. The wyrm’s voice had thundered down from above as if it were coming unexpectedly from the heavens above. Rhema’s father shook his head. [Color=Lime]“I told my friends, of course. Any proud father would do such a thing. All of the servants at the villa knew of the wedding. Of course that means that most of Huetown would have known, or at least those who had any interest in the wedding would have known. But what would the rest of the world care? We have but few dealings with anyone of substantial power in the civilized lands. Our greatest enemies live in Quehalost. I doubt any word of the wedding would have made it that far!”[/Color] Brandt chewed on his lower lip for a second as he thought. [Color=Lime]“I agree. The threats in Quehalost are unlikely. They simply are just too far away to take this much effort in revenge. Not only that, but the red wyrm has been destroyed. That was the biggest foe for this adventuring band.”[/Color] The sun began to peak over the horizon to the east. With the sun’s rays taking such a slight angle with relation to the sun, Ischarus thought he could make out a simple glint of metal about twenty feet towards the coming appearance of the sun. His arm left Rhema’s shoulder and he slowly walked over to where he was sure the glint of metal had been seen. When he reached the spot, he couldn’t see any metal. His feet began to sift through the ash and his boot struck something solid. As he knelt to the ground his hand reached gingerly into the short layer of ash that covered the ground. His fingers found what his foot had struck earlier. It was a small blade. The rest of the party looked on with curiosity. When Ischarus knelt down to lift something up, Semeion called out with curiosity and began walking toward Ischarus. [Color=Plum]“Ischarus, what have you found?”[/Color] Ischarus carefully lifted the blade out of the ash that covered it. Ischarus discovered that his hands held a ceremonial dagger. Most likely, it had accidentally fallen from its owner’s hands or its sheath. Ischarus found that there was a pattern burned into the leather that bound the handle of the dagger. The symbol was as simple as the blade was ornate. The symbol was that of a crescent moon with a small dagger sticking through it. Ischarus narrowed his eyes as he thought about the design. [Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section] The night was long for each of the foursome who had just been married. Instead of the excitement of spending their first nights together as married couples, the four huddled together in Ischarus’ and Rhema’s room around a wood burning iron stove. They couldn’t sleep knowing what they had seen earlier in the night. They couldn’t bear to be alone and to be left with their thoughts to keep them awake. They spent much of the night talking amongst themselves and lightly dozing in and out of the conversation. Just after sunrise, the foursome was alerted to the coming day by a knock upon the door. Brandt spoke to them from the other side. “Hello? Is everyone in this room? I tried the room for Semeion and Charis and couldn’t find anyone.” Semeion and Charis sat closest to the door. The young mage stood up wearily and crossed the few steps to where he could open the door. He opened the door wide to allow Brandt free access to the room. Brandt smiled as he saw Semeion and then the other three occupants of the room. “Well, I guess that is why I couldn’t find you, then.” He knew that there wasn’t much point in asking them how their night was. The dark circles under their eyes told him all that he needed to know. Charis stood to greet Brandt. “We didn’t sleep much, but that shouldn’t really surprise you. We were just waiting for the sun to come up so that we could go back to Tongra and start looking at what happened.” Rhema looked out the window. “The sun hasn’t been up for that long of a time, has it?” Brandt shook his head from side to side. “Ten, maybe fifteen minutes by now. Certainly it is still dark in Tongra to the west. However, the light of the sun should be reaching your father’s land within an hour. Does he know?” Ischarus looked to his new wife, but Rhema turned her head back to the window. She couldn’t bear the thought of telling her father what had happened. Ischarus turned his head back to look at Brandt but could see that Brandt had already interpreted Rhema’s actions. He spoke the truth anyway, knowing that Rhema needed to hear the words. “We couldn’t justify ruining his night of sleep. We could console each other, and there was nothing any one of us could have done last night anyway. We thought it best to let him sleep. I’ll go tell him while we get ready to return.” Rhema reached her hand out back to where she knew Ischarus stood. She wasn’t looking in his direction, so she hand reached back blindly. Ischarus saw the gesture and reached out to take her hand into his own. At the touch, Rhema spoke as she continued to stare out the window. “I’ll go, too. It was my land and he is my father. I should be there with you.” Charis looked to Semeion and spoke the words that she knew Semeion was also thinking. “We can all go, Rhema. We can all be there to support you and your father.” Rhema smiled and turned away from the window to face Charis. “No. You both stay here and pack. When you are ready, pack up what little Ischarus and I have brought as well. We’ll meet you wherever Brandt wants to meet so that we can return together.” Brandt spoke next. He wanted to interrupt the plans with the information that he had already learned before coming to the newlyweds’ chambers. “Ausaphaborishan and Llywessiar have already been told of this. I took the liberty to tell them early this morning. Ausaphaborishan desires to return with us and if nothing else to provide for our security. There is no telling if the ones who accomplished such destruction might still be in the area. If they are, Ausaphaborishan would like to be there to help discourage them from staying.” Ischarus smiled and hugged Rhema. “Then it is settled. We’ll go to Rhema’s father. Semeion and Ischarus will pack up what little belongings that we’ll need for the day. And we’ll meet you and Ausaphaborishan where, Brandt?” Brandt looked directly into Ischarus’ eyes. “We’ll meet Ausaphaborishan at the north face.” The foursome nodded and with a solemn determination they went about their tasks. Rhema and Ischarus had no easy time telling Rhema’s father, but within a half an hour they had worked through the shock and immediate despair to be able to bring themselves to the north face. Semeion and Charis were already standing beside Brandt waiting for them. Ausaphaborishan was lying in a great circle with his neck and tail wrapping around those who had gathered. As Ischarus approached with his new bride and father-in-law, the dragon stood. When everyone had reached out and placed a hand upon his tail, Ausaphaborishan spoke the magic words and the group vanished in the familiar wavering effect. In Tongra, the group appeared under the cover of darkness. The teleportation spell had managed to beat the sun’s rays of light across the land. Ausaphaborishan lifted his head to the sky and searched the stars above him. As his nostrils filled with the smell of ash, he thought. The large wyrm spoke through a mighty exhale that nearly sounded light a deep moan of pain. “The sun will make its appearance in about ten minutes by the look of the stars and the clouds in the sky to the east.” Rhema’s father fell to his knees as the starlight gave him his first glimpse of the ruined villa. As he collapsed to the ground, his left knee struck the remains of a completely burned timber that had once made up the outer wall of the house. The wood had been burned so quickly that it retained much of its shape despite being deeply blackened and ashen in color. As his knee struck the scorched log, it became obvious that the fire had destroyed the wood entirely, however. The log burst into a cloud of ash upon receiving the weight of the man’s knee. Rhema’s father began to weep bitterly as the cloud of ash surrounded his body and then settled back upon the ground around him. The man reached down to the ground and scooped up a small handful of ash into his left hand. He spit several times into his right palm and mixed the two hands together. As the ash mixed together with the spit, he took the fingers of his left hand and smeared the mixture over the skin of his face. The rest of the party could do nothing but stand around him and support the man in his pain. Rhema reached out and placed her hand lightly upon her father’s left shoulder. His right hand crossed his body and reached up to embrace the top of her hand. Rhema’s hand was smeared with the ash and spittle mixture. Ischarus reached out and wrapped his right arm around Rhema’s shoulders. There was little to do here but mourn. After several minutes of silence, Rhema’s father spoke softly through the weeping. “Who could have done this? Who has the power enough to have accomplished this task?” Silence passed for several moments. Nobody desired to speak until they were sure that the man’s words were complete. Ausaphaborishan spoke first in order to break the silence. “Not only should you ask who could have done this and who would have done this, but I think that you should also ask who knew of the details of the wedding. The strike against this villa was obviously timed to occur when it was most defenseless.” The dragon’s voice from above had caught the gathered people off-guard. With the mourning of Rhema’s father they had completely forgotten that there was a large dragon in their midst. The wyrm’s voice had thundered down from above as if it were coming unexpectedly from the heavens above. Rhema’s father shook his head. “I told my friends, of course. Any proud father would do such a thing. All of the servants at the villa knew of the wedding. Of course that means that most of Huetown would have known, or at least those who had any interest in the wedding would have known. But what would the rest of the world care? We have but few dealings with anyone of substantial power in the civilized lands. Our greatest enemies live in Quehalost. I doubt any word of the wedding would have made it that far!” Brandt chewed on his lower lip for a second as he thought. “I agree. The threats in Quehalost are unlikely. They simply are just too far away to take this much effort in revenge. Not only that, but the red wyrm has been destroyed. That was the biggest foe for this adventuring band.” The sun began to peak over the horizon to the east. With the sun’s rays taking such a slight angle with relation to the sun, Ischarus thought he could make out a simple glint of metal about twenty feet towards the coming appearance of the sun. His arm left Rhema’s shoulder and he slowly walked over to where he was sure the glint of metal had been seen. When he reached the spot, he couldn’t see any metal. His feet began to sift through the ash and his boot struck something solid. As he knelt to the ground his hand reached gingerly into the short layer of ash that covered the ground. His fingers found what his foot had struck earlier. It was a small blade. The rest of the party looked on with curiosity. When Ischarus knelt down to lift something up, Semeion called out with curiosity and began walking toward Ischarus. “Ischarus, what have you found?” Ischarus carefully lifted the blade out of the ash that covered it. Ischarus discovered that his hands held a ceremonial dagger. Most likely, it had accidentally fallen from its owner’s hands or its sheath. Ischarus found that there was a pattern burned into the leather that bound the handle of the dagger. The symbol was as simple as the blade was ornate. The symbol was that of a crescent moon with a small dagger sticking through it. Ischarus narrowed his eyes as he thought about the design. [/Sblock] [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Into the Moral Darkness: (Now a Completed Story!)
Top