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The Gate Pass Irregulars: A War of the Burning Sky Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Cafu" data-source="post: 5917680" data-attributes="member: 6692807"><p>Having slept peacefully during the night, the next day we decided to follow the river upstream. A map we had found in the Tower showed the river flowing from its source, a lake. The scale suggested that it was about a day’s travel away. We were going to retrace the steps outlined in Bhurisrava’s diary and try to find this mysterious Nelle who was named as a source of shelter for the refugees from the village.</p><p></p><p>Thankfully, we were able to walk along the dried part of the riverbed. Although there was still water in the river, it was obvious that it was evaporating at a very fast rate and at some point in the near future, it would disappear altogether. The ground was hard beneath our feet and the water nearby provided an unpleasant sense of humidity. Ah well, it would have to join the various other unpleasant sensations present during our travel through this unnatural place. </p><p></p><p>Almost as soon as we left the Tower, we met our first new hazard. As we walked, suddenly, we could see a huge cloud of fire and vapour flying at great speed towards us. Horrified, I stood as this new danger engulfed me, hurting and burning. The others had all managed to jump into the river and hurl themselves into the water, thus managing to avoid the fire. Not me; I was too slow and clumsy.</p><p></p><p>Wary and unsettled, we continued walking. Another of these clouds appeared. I managed to dodge this one, taking a dip with everyone else. Then a third cloud appeared but just before it hit us, John and Drudge shouted that there was some creature in a tree nearby. We waited as the cloud rolled over us and that beast must have taken advantage of our distraction because as we emerged from the water, it was already next to Victor and trying to wrap its many limbs around him. Yes, many limbs; at least six that I could count. It was also hairy, seemed to be reddish but that could have been due to the flame, had the head of a goblin and very, very large incisor teeth. It looked more like a spider with the head of a vampire goblin than anything else. Not a very sane combination.</p><p></p><p>It tried to grab Victor but the warrior shrugged it off with a titanic effort. He even managed to swing out at it but he was badly off balance and his blade sliced air. Then Drudge shot it with an arrow and it screeched in pain. I cast my blinding cloud on it but it went through it; Drudge hit it with his arrows again. Looking for easier prey, it alighted next to John and attempted to wrap some of its arms around him. This time, it succeeded and began to drag the rogue towards a nearby tree, having squeezed him into unconsciousness. Both Victor and Longhelim swung at it but they were also trying to avoid hitting John and therefore missed. Just as the creature was beginning to climb the tree Crystin hit it with her magic and finally it slumped. </p><p></p><p>We managed to retrieve poor John, who had been badly pummeled by this creature. He was very close to death and was also bleeding badly. Fortunately, Felix was able to heal him until he was able to continue although he was obviously still weak, pale and not his usual self. He went over and kicked the corpse of the creature, calling it a stupid vampire. This triggered a memory from another of my forays into Gabal’s library and I remembered about these multi-legged creatures which were known as rasts; they were extraplanar predators and not vampires, not even stupid ones thank the gods, but that was all that I could remember about them at this time. </p><p></p><p>Falling into our usual order, we continued up the river bed. Thankfully, there was a respite from the fiery clouds and we managed to travel quite quickly until we stopped. Drudge and John had seen a series of rocks further upstream. These created rapids on the river with foaming white water. Simultaneously, a troupe of small, dancing, amorphous beings of flame seemed to be playing and chasing each other among the rocks. I recognized them as fire elementals, little ones. We were not sure but suspected they would be hostile; we made ready for battle, even though we did not want to initiate it. Unfortunately, our precautions proved correct for as soon as the elementals spotted the team, they sped forward as fast as they could, obviously wanting to burn everything, especially us. </p><p></p><p>Seeing this, Drudge immediately loosed a couple of arrows and his target dissipated. That was one piece of good news; obviously, they were quite fragile, but they were still very dangerous, mostly as they set alight anything they touched. Longhelim and Victor quickly engaged one each, leaving several more but fortunately, the warriors were able to dissipate their opponents quite quickly and help all the other group members. Ultimately, these little fire elementals were not a great threat, thankfully. </p><p></p><p>Victor had been set on fire but he managed to douse himself in the river as soon as the battle was over. Once that was done, then we continued on our journey. </p><p></p><p>As we came around a gentle bend, we stopped again. This time, we could all see a figure in the distance. It was the unmistakably our enemy, the creature with the strange beard, clawed feet and hands and, most importantly, a large glaive, which curiously, was on the ground in front of it. The warriors stiffened; Felix and I readied various spells and Drudge was getting ready to fire when we heard a shout: </p><p></p><p>“Hail champions. Hold your weapons and listen to me. You are worthy foes, you have already proved that. There is no need for us to fight; we are both trapped here. I wear an iron collar and I am nothing but a servant to the Ragesians; but if you help me defeat the curse of this forest, you and I will both be able to escape. All we need to do is defeat the evil fae who live at the source of this river. They have been driven insane by the pain suffered by the forest and now just keep the fires going in their madness. Once they are slain, the madness will cease as will the fire. Come, there is no need to fight. We have enemies in common; those that keep these fires going. Together we can defeat them. Do you agree to this?”</p><p></p><p>Without hesitation, John flicked his head towards us and I swear I saw him wink at us. Then he answered:</p><p></p><p>“Yes”. </p><p></p><p>The creature beamed at John and then looked at us.</p><p></p><p>“What about the case?” I shouted. </p><p></p><p>“Well, I am sure we can come to some arrangement about that,” was the easy answer. </p><p></p><p>“NO!NO!NO!”, this from Longhelim. “John, this creature is evil. It was evil, is evil and will always be evil. By the time it has finished with you, it will own your soul. What are you doing? You think you are clever but it has been doing this for thousands of years. You will only be yet another fool whose soul will be taken. This is what it does. It tempts with reason, pretends to be your ally, tells you what you want to hear, pretends it is your idea and then suddenly, without realizing, you belong to it.”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim had either not seen John’s wink or he was not paying any attention. More likely the latter, as John had turned his back on the creature and was frantically winking at Longhelim. </p><p></p><p>“No, we are not going to join forces with him. We are not going to give him the case. We are not going to slay the fae which he says are evil. We are not going to let him escape with us. We are not going to make friends with him. He stinks of bilious evil and his stench is making me sick,” continued the holy warrior. </p><p></p><p>“Begone creature. We will make no bargains with you!”</p><p></p><p>“Is that your final answer?” asked the creature. “That is……a great pity. You are making a grave mistake. I will be seeing you all very soon”. </p><p></p><p>We all stared at him.</p><p></p><p>It shook its head in regret and disappeared in his usual explosion of flame. </p><p></p><p>As we continued up the river, John and Longhelim kept up an animated discussion: John insisted that he had the situation under control and that Longhelim did not understand the way this game was played; this led to John also suggesting that Longhelim’s mental acuity was not current to someone of his age; and Longhelim answered that John certainly did not have the situation or “the game” under control and then compared John’s reasoning and mental faculties to the fertilizer his father used on their tobacco fields. Please note that in such an animated discussion, I am paraphrasing certain parts of the conversation as I feel that using the exact vocabulary of both participants would not be appropriate. I am sure the readership of this chronicle can imagine the actual language used. Certainly there was far more vernacular in its original content. </p><p></p><p>Crystin giggled once or twice during the conversation while Torrent looked as if she had heard it all before and rolled her eyes several times. I certainly hadn’t. It was quite an education, in a purely academic sense of course. </p><p></p><p>Thankfully, the other members of the group were sufficiently vigilant during the rest of our journey and we finally came to the lake at the head of this river. It was quite a spectacular sight. </p><p></p><p>A waterfall fell down the side of a cliff. This waterfall created a large lake but before it reached the bottom, it cascaded off the roof of a shrine that had been built on a small island formed at its centre but ended under the waterfall. The surface of the lake and the island were covered in a fine grey ash and as the water fell endlessly, it disturbed this artificial covering, creating a thin mist. This mist was also augmented by steam from the ambient heat creating a white cloud which almost but not quite covered the island in the middle of the lake. It would have been very atmospheric if not for the roaring of the eternally burning fires all around us.</p><p></p><p>We approached, making no effort at stealth. The bearded creature had mentioned that there were fae here. It was impossible to know whether they were mad as he said but sometimes the time was right for action and sometimes it was right for stealth. We decided that this was the time for action. We were not very stealthy under the best of circumstances.</p><p></p><p>As we neared the island, a ghostly apparition emerged from the mist. It was a unicorn! An honest to goodness unicorn! I blinked several times. I couldn’t believe it. These beings were so rare, some scholars even doubted their actual existence and yet here was one in front of my very eyes. Despite the discomfort, despite the danger and the pain, it was at times such as these or when we met the ghaele that I was delighted that I had accepted Gabal’s mission. </p><p></p><p>As it approached, the unicorn looked at us steadily. I heard a mutter from the front: “Well, it is certainly not evil”. </p><p></p><p>Then it spoke: “Greetings, two legs; are you travelers? And you are not on fire. Then greetings and welcome; my name is Nelle and I guard this shrine. I see that your hearts are pure; I desperately need your help. Please come and join me and I will tell you more.”</p><p></p><p>When we waded out to the island and approached more closely, we could see that Nelle was not quite as magnificent as she first appeared. She was thin, oh so thin; her ribs were prominent and her eyes looked to be sunken in their sockets. Her horn was chipped and cracked and her skin was covered in fine grey ash. Mind you, like everyone else in this place, so were we and our faces were smeared with soot as we kept wiping our noses, mouths and eyes; that together with our sweat made us look very unsightly indeed; some more than others of course.</p><p></p><p>“Come with me please,” said Nelle.</p><p></p><p>She led us into the waterfall and beyond. Walking through it we entered into a cave. It was just as hot inside but at least it was free of the ever present ash. There, we saw a dreadful sight: a group burning figures on the ground. They were just lying there. They looked like elves and they were burning; not moving, not screaming, just burning. Their faces revealed decades of pain and suffering. Every so often there would be a crack as if the fire was consuming a particularly stubborn piece of wood and one of the bodies would twitch and then it would lie still again. Yet, they didn’t change. Dumbly, I realised that these were the refugees that Bhurisvara had led to “safety”. </p><p></p><p>“Please sit and let me tell you what I know”, said Nelle. </p><p></p><p>“This was once a great Forest with many creatures in its midst until it was invaded by Indomitability; this is a Trillith, child of Trilla. I do not know the nature of this creature but I do know that it must be driven away or slain before the Forest can become what it once was. You are the only ones I have been able to find who may be able to do this although there are others who may be able to help you.”</p><p></p><p>She paused briefly:” If you follow the river downstream, you will eventually arrive at the village of the Seelah. These are powerful woodland fey who have been holding the evil and fire at bay for decades. If not for them, this evil would have spread and the Forest would have been destroyed. Go to them with my blessing and they will tell you what must be done. Will you acquiesce to do this?”</p><p></p><p>I heard a whisper from Crystin behind me: “My dreams; I have seen this in my dreams!”</p><p></p><p>We looked at each other. She certainly didn’t look like an evil, insane fae. She looked like a desperate creature that had been holding and guarding a shrine against unspeakable odds for decades and who had seen a chance for change and seized it. The chance to help a unicorn was something about which epics were written; the stuff of legends. I was about to open my mouth when Longhelim said: </p><p></p><p>“We will do our utmost to drive this Trillith, whatever it may be, out of here”. </p><p></p><p>“Good. Thank you but my thanks are not quite sufficient. Come, for I have a boon to give you. It may not be enough but it is all I have.“</p><p></p><p>She took us to the rear of the cave to the site of a beautiful, exquisite stone statuette. It depicted a scene from myth. It showed the eternal chase between the Great Element of Fire as personified by The Dragon and the Great Element of Air as personified by The Eagle. Legend had it that the Dragon finally caught the Eagle, tricking it by insulting its pride and luring it underground where it could not fly; there it ripped out its heart and hid it deep in the earth; ever since then the Dragon, Fire was ascendant in the Land. It was certainly ascendant here in the Forest. </p><p></p><p>Nelle gave us several scales and feathers from the statues. These all had different magical properties; one of them was even able to turn into a boat for a whole day. It was quite a pretentious piece of magic; the boat was in the shape of a swan. </p><p></p><p>After that, we were allowed to rest in this cave. I tried to gain some lore from Nelle about Indomitability the Trillith but she was unable to tell me anything more. I had never heard or read anything about such creatures; Nelle told me that possibly the Seelah were more knowledgeable about them. I had to be satisfied with that. </p><p></p><p>In the morning, I woke up and realised that I would be one of the few people to be able to claim that I had slept in the same cave as a unicorn. </p><p></p><p>The next day, we said goodbye to Nelle and returned the way we came. As I glanced back several times, I saw Nelle watching us for as long as she could. It must have been a dreadfully lonely existence for her. </p><p></p><p>Fortunately, the return journey was uneventful. We had probably dealt with all the predators which made their home by the river for the time being. We reached the tower and settled down for the night on the first floor; but almost immediately, we were disturbed. Barely anyone had actually fallen asleep when the air was filled with a powerful, hypnotic, unsettling song. Everyone woke up and I, who had been on watch, moved to an arrow slit. I could see a figure striding down the bridge. It was not making any attempt to hide and as it approached, I could see that it was humanoid and within moments, I could also discern that it looked like an elf, but with wings, huge, black butterfly-like wings. It was a she, looking at the clothing or lack of it. It was very hot and she was only wearing something across her chest and her loins. She carried a spear and as well as several pouches and sacks. She approached our tower and as we watched, turned towards the entrance; bemused we made ready to receive her when suddenly, from the thin air, six other figures, much like her but this time male, appeared and began to attack her.</p><p></p><p>Torrent was the first to react, rushing down towards the door. We were not sure what she was but six to one odds seemed very unfair. Victor moved rapidly after Torrent and Longhelim was looking intently at the scene; I realised he was using his uncanny ability to tell if anyone out there was evil. Torrent reached the door and opened it, allowing Victor to run through. The poor victim had obviously been hurt and she was still being attacked by all six of her opponents. Amazingly, as she spotted Victor at the door with his large sword, she shouted: </p><p></p><p>“Spare them please! Do not kill them! They are only misguided!”</p><p></p><p>Victor grunted and with a grimace, he turned his sword and gave a mighty whack to one of the enemy with the flat of his blade, leaving only a bruise as opposed to a deep cut. At this point Longhelim’s voice rang out: </p><p></p><p>“The six are evil!”</p><p></p><p>He then emerged down the stairs. I had already ran down the stairs and looked at the situation. I cast my spell and suddenly a silvery cloud covered several of the enemy and also the victim. However, as the cloud dissipated, with little glittering particles covering all those in it, four of the attackers were groping around blindly while the victim looked fine until one of the other two unaffected enemy stuck a spear into her side, causing her to collapse. </p><p></p><p>The blind figures began to climb off the bridge and glide down to the water while Drudge seemed to be firing arrows into them. I could see that several of them were hit. The final two then confronted us but were not match for Victor, Longhelim and Torrent. One other managed to jump over the side of the bridge but the final foe was rendered unconscious and bound. Felix then looked at the woman and as he touched her, he exclaimed in surprise. He said that as he touched her, he could feel some sort of armour; it felt like fine leather. We all touched her and yes indeed, she was wearing some sort of ensorcelled armour that was unseen to the normal eye, yet protected her. </p><p></p><p>Felix was able to heal her and as she opened her eyes and looked at us she smiled.</p><p></p><p>“I have found you! I thought it would only be a dream but you are here! I am Tiljann of the Seelah and I have been waiting for you for a very long time.”</p><p></p><p>We looked at each other. The Seelah were the forest fey and the people that Nelle mentioned we had to find. In fact, it looked as if they had found us. </p><p></p><p>“Please come with me to our village. There we will tell you what we know. Papuvin, our leader will tell what has happened, what is happening and what we hope will happen”. </p><p></p><p>After some questioning, she did indeed confirm that she was from the Seelah community that we were supposed to find and that they were all singing the Song of Forms, whatever that may have been. Nelle had mentioned that once already. </p><p></p><p>After a long conversation we settled for the night. </p><p></p><p>The next morning, we all felt somehow stronger, as if we had a new determination to see this whole mystery through. This forest was an abomination and all the burning creatures inside were suffering. It had to be stopped and it was with this thought that we all travelled to Tiljann’s village. </p><p></p><p>A path through forested cliffs took us to a semi dried lake bed. There was still a good body of water in the centre of the lake bed but it was also obvious that a substantial amount had evaporated. The shores of the lake were surrounded by a fiery ring of burning brush, almost deliberately placed. On the dried lake bed, there was a collection of huts while several cave entrances were also visible, leading into surrounding cliffs. </p><p></p><p>As we approached, we heard the same haunting song that Tiljann had first been singing except that it was magnified as it was being sung by a chorus. The sound, disturbing, memorable, melodic and discordant, sounded weary, faint and varied in volume; as we entered the village, a drumming began and suddenly we were met by a crowd of Seelah and cries of anger. Shocked, I saw that several of the Seelah who had attacked Tiljann were in the crowd; not only that but they were pointing at us and shouting in their language. They seemed to be pointing particularly at Drudge. Tiljann, turned to us and looked shocked:</p><p></p><p>“You did not tell me that you had killed several of my people!”</p><p></p><p>“Your people were busy trying to stick spears into your sides during that time. The reason you don’t remember it is because you were lying on the floor bleeding to death at the time; and you would have bled to death as well if it hadn’t been for us!”, John shot back. </p><p></p><p>Almost pleading she shouted: “They are only misguided. You must understand, they didn’t really mean to do it.”</p><p></p><p>I had said nothing up to that point but that was such a blatant misconception as to what had happened that I asked Tiljann: “So, as they were stabbing you with spears and the blood was flowing out of your wounds, just what did you think they actually meant to do?”</p><p></p><p>Longhelim, in the meantime, had been staring at the crowd and a few moments later he began pointing to particulars members: </p><p></p><p>“You; you; you and you; you, the one is that is trying to hide at the back; and you, just because you are a woman does not mean you are not tainted. You should be ashamed and pray to whatever gods you have. You are hiding amongst these good people. What evil are you planning? What are you going to do?”</p><p></p><p> A few moments later, a tall older Seelah with a careworn face approached us. Tiljann stopped speaking and inclined her head: </p><p></p><p>“Pupavin. These are they who we have sought”. </p><p></p><p>He raised his hands and the shouting abated.</p><p></p><p>“No Tiljann. These are they who you have sought. They can do nothing for us. The Song must go on. The Song will go on. Strangers, come with me but do not disturb the Song.”</p><p></p><p>With that, he turned around and walked away, heading into a cave. </p><p></p><p>When the crowd saw that, they also began to drift away, although one of the Seelah seemed to make a peculiar sign at John. </p><p></p><p>Inside Pupavin’s cave, he bade us to sit and then said: </p><p></p><p>“I know you mean well but you must understand that you can do nothing for us. We, the Seelah now have one purpose even if we are dying. The Song of Forms must go on. Even though many of us have lost hope; even though Vuhl and his followers now openly advocate for us to stop the Song, loose the Stag and allow us to die. That must not happen. That will not happen. The Song must and will go on. Leave now, there is nothing you can do here.”</p><p></p><p>Tiljann looked crushed at this pronouncement and we left the cave. As soon as we did, I turned to her: </p><p></p><p>“Tiljann, just what is going on here? We followed you, we did not ask you any questions, we promised that we would help your people. You told us that Pupavin would explain everything about the Forest, about Indomitability, about the Fire?”</p><p></p><p>Without realizing it, my voice had been rising in its frustration and suddenly another more reasoned tone joined mine. Longhelim: that man could charm the birds of the trees with that voice when he wanted to: </p><p></p><p>“What my friend is trying to say, Tiljann, is that in the same way as we feel we have an obligation to you due to our promise, we also feel you have an obligation by your promise to explain everything you can to us. Now Pupavin, for whatever reason, has decided that he does not want to participate in your search for a solution. However, he did not tell you to desist either. Obviously, you know a great deal more. We do not. Until we do, our quest will be much harder. We still plan to try to find a solution but we are far less likely to succeed unless you can tell us what you know.”</p><p></p><p>Tiljann looked at us, obviously torn. She looked at Drudge and shook her head although he looked at her without any expression on his face. I was about to say something when Longhelim motioned me to keep quiet. </p><p></p><p>Finally, she turned around and said “I will be back” as she went out. </p><p></p><p>Longhelim turned to me and said: “Now she will either help us or she won’t. There is nothing more we can say to convince her.”</p><p></p><p>A little time later, she returned and this time she was dressed in a ceremonial costume and began to speak in a rhythmic storyteller’s voice: </p><p></p><p>“Picture a forest in all its beauty and majesty. Huge trees, a gentle breeze flowing through their branches; dappled sunshine falling on glades and groves; gentle, nourishing rivers flowing through its length and animals, birds, fey and elves all living together, mindful of the balance of nature. </p><p></p><p>Then imagine someone, something coming into the forest and suddenly this balance is no more. That was Indomitability; we do not know what a Trillith is; we do not know its nature or motivation; we do not even know what it truly looks like; we do know that it is capable of destroying this precious balance. Somehow, it imbued the power of undeath on plants and animals. A forest must exist by life, death and rebirth. That is how it must be. Indomitability destroyed this cycle. Somehow, she prevented animals and plants from dying, thus starving the soil. The whole Forest began to die yet could not. </p><p></p><p>We, the Seelah, are dependent on the Forest, sensitive to its moods, its strengths and vagaries. Without it, we die, yet this abomination was worse than death. In desperation, we called upon the elven hero Anaryan for help. With a mighty spell, the Song of Forms, we trapped Indomitability in the body of a stag and Anaryan transfixed it with her sword. Despite its entrapment though, Indomitability’s influence still seeps through the land, preventing the resumption of the natural cycle of nature; for although it is trapped, the trillith still lives. Then the Shahalesti invaded the Forest and it was set on fire; the fire cannot consume a wood that cannot die so the fire burns forever. </p><p></p><p>We sing the Song of Forms to keep Indomitability trapped in the stag’s form; but we cannot go on for much longer. We are tired; there are less of us; and many of us just want this to finish; just want to.....go. We are bound to the Forest and its fate. </p><p></p><p>So, for the time being, the body of the stag is at the bottom of the lake outside. It was also said that a tribe of merrow, the dreaded water ogres, made their homes in the same lake. They may be there still, unable to come out of the water because of the ring of fire around the water’s edge. It could be that somehow they guard Indomitability in her stag form.“</p><p></p><p>Tiljann’s story came to an end. We looked at her in silence and looking tired, she left us for a little time. I opened my mouth, my mind full of questions but Victor motioned me to stop as everyone was left with their own thoughts. The story that we had been told was a tragedy that had not yet finished; and we had become players. </p><p></p><p>A little time later, Tiljann returned. She said: </p><p></p><p>“John and Drudge, both of you have shown that you can speak the Tongue of the Wood. Please stay with me and I will tell you more of the Song of Forms.”</p><p></p><p>John and Drudge stayed in the cave and left us to our own devices. Strangely, now the Seelah seemed much friendlier; probably because we had not been ordered to leave by Pupavin. Almost instinctively, we avoided those whom Longhelim had pointed out. Tiljann had called them misguided; the warrior had another term for it. The other Seelah however were more than willing to talk to us. Many of them had their own stories but one of them in particular struck us. It was the tale of Anyarian and Timbre. </p><p></p><p>One Seelah told us that Anaryan had a lover in the wood, a dryad named Timbre; this was not just any dryad but a fey who was one of the first beings of the Living Wood of Innenotdar. Despite this and their obvious love though, another dryad named Gwenvere became obsessed with Anaryan. The elf had no interest in her new admirer and hate and jealousy as well as Indomitability turned Gwenvere into something horrible, twisted and evil. When Anaryan was slain, grief stricken, Timbre sequestered her body and took it with her to her grove. She also donated a lock of Anaryan’s hair to her shrine. Soon after, the shrine was assaulted and the lock was taken. </p><p></p><p>It was immediately obvious to me that the lock of hair must have been taken by this Gwenvere and I said this to the others but they were more cautious. They said that it seemed to fit all the facts. The Seelah also told us that if there was anyone who could tell us more about Indomitability, it would be Timbre, but she did not entertain strangers in her grief. </p><p></p><p>My immediate thought was that if we managed to retrieve the lock of hair from Gwenvere, then maybe Timbre would become well disposed towards us. Of course, we were not even sure if lock of hair was where we thought but it was certainly investigating.</p><p></p><p>Our last visit was to the cave of Vuhl. This was the Seelah who was the leader of the group of his people who believed that their time on this plane was finished; that they should stop singing the Song of Forms and accept their fate. Strangely, he was also the one who seemed acknowledge John. </p><p></p><p>As we entered his cave, he said: </p><p></p><p>“Good, you are here. There is little time to waste. Look, we must face reality. Our time here is done. We do not belong here anymore. In the eternal cycle, we have to die to be reborn. That cannot happen while the Song of Forms is sung. Please, you must stop it. If you go to the grove of the dryad Timbre, slay her and bring her body here, the shock will be such that the Song will stop, Indomitability will be set free and everything will be as it should be.”</p><p></p><p>His entreaty was passionate and beseeching, the words of a true believer.</p><p></p><p>He looked at us expectantly. </p><p></p><p>I admired Longhelim’s self control. I took my cue from him. He did not reveal anything of what he was thinking. He just nodded, got up and left, followed by the rest of us. </p><p></p><p>We did not say anything of Vuhl’s proposition. I did not want to dignify his proposal with serious thought. It was so against everything that I believed in that even thinking about it made me feel nauseous. </p><p></p><p>We met with John and Drudge who both looked tired, as if just absorbing knowledge about the Song of Forms was exhausting. We told them everything we had found out. They both agreed that a visit to Gwenvere to see if she had the lock of hair was a good plan of action. </p><p></p><p>I was very curious though and I pestered them about their conversation with Tiljann. They were both happy to share what they had learned. </p><p></p><p>It was a brief overview; the Song of Forms was a powerful magic, completely unknown to me. It was not clear whether it was a long and complicated spell or an actual full branch of magic known to the Seelah. It effectively bound an incorporeal creature to a corporeal form. </p><p></p><p>Incorporeal beings were powerful entities who lived partly on this plane and partly on another; some were able to affect people and creatures on this plane while others were only able to watch. They were usually difficult to see and often needed powerful legendary weapons to be defeated or even hurt. If Indomitability was incorporeal then it would explain much as to why no one was able to tell us what it looked like or what it was. Little study had been made of incorporeal creatures for obvious reasons although it was known that several powerful undead were incorporeal. </p><p></p><p>It could be that the Song of Forms was the only way that a trillith could be defeated or slain. As such, it was most powerful magic about which I had no knowledge.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cafu, post: 5917680, member: 6692807"] Having slept peacefully during the night, the next day we decided to follow the river upstream. A map we had found in the Tower showed the river flowing from its source, a lake. The scale suggested that it was about a day’s travel away. We were going to retrace the steps outlined in Bhurisrava’s diary and try to find this mysterious Nelle who was named as a source of shelter for the refugees from the village. Thankfully, we were able to walk along the dried part of the riverbed. Although there was still water in the river, it was obvious that it was evaporating at a very fast rate and at some point in the near future, it would disappear altogether. The ground was hard beneath our feet and the water nearby provided an unpleasant sense of humidity. Ah well, it would have to join the various other unpleasant sensations present during our travel through this unnatural place. Almost as soon as we left the Tower, we met our first new hazard. As we walked, suddenly, we could see a huge cloud of fire and vapour flying at great speed towards us. Horrified, I stood as this new danger engulfed me, hurting and burning. The others had all managed to jump into the river and hurl themselves into the water, thus managing to avoid the fire. Not me; I was too slow and clumsy. Wary and unsettled, we continued walking. Another of these clouds appeared. I managed to dodge this one, taking a dip with everyone else. Then a third cloud appeared but just before it hit us, John and Drudge shouted that there was some creature in a tree nearby. We waited as the cloud rolled over us and that beast must have taken advantage of our distraction because as we emerged from the water, it was already next to Victor and trying to wrap its many limbs around him. Yes, many limbs; at least six that I could count. It was also hairy, seemed to be reddish but that could have been due to the flame, had the head of a goblin and very, very large incisor teeth. It looked more like a spider with the head of a vampire goblin than anything else. Not a very sane combination. It tried to grab Victor but the warrior shrugged it off with a titanic effort. He even managed to swing out at it but he was badly off balance and his blade sliced air. Then Drudge shot it with an arrow and it screeched in pain. I cast my blinding cloud on it but it went through it; Drudge hit it with his arrows again. Looking for easier prey, it alighted next to John and attempted to wrap some of its arms around him. This time, it succeeded and began to drag the rogue towards a nearby tree, having squeezed him into unconsciousness. Both Victor and Longhelim swung at it but they were also trying to avoid hitting John and therefore missed. Just as the creature was beginning to climb the tree Crystin hit it with her magic and finally it slumped. We managed to retrieve poor John, who had been badly pummeled by this creature. He was very close to death and was also bleeding badly. Fortunately, Felix was able to heal him until he was able to continue although he was obviously still weak, pale and not his usual self. He went over and kicked the corpse of the creature, calling it a stupid vampire. This triggered a memory from another of my forays into Gabal’s library and I remembered about these multi-legged creatures which were known as rasts; they were extraplanar predators and not vampires, not even stupid ones thank the gods, but that was all that I could remember about them at this time. Falling into our usual order, we continued up the river bed. Thankfully, there was a respite from the fiery clouds and we managed to travel quite quickly until we stopped. Drudge and John had seen a series of rocks further upstream. These created rapids on the river with foaming white water. Simultaneously, a troupe of small, dancing, amorphous beings of flame seemed to be playing and chasing each other among the rocks. I recognized them as fire elementals, little ones. We were not sure but suspected they would be hostile; we made ready for battle, even though we did not want to initiate it. Unfortunately, our precautions proved correct for as soon as the elementals spotted the team, they sped forward as fast as they could, obviously wanting to burn everything, especially us. Seeing this, Drudge immediately loosed a couple of arrows and his target dissipated. That was one piece of good news; obviously, they were quite fragile, but they were still very dangerous, mostly as they set alight anything they touched. Longhelim and Victor quickly engaged one each, leaving several more but fortunately, the warriors were able to dissipate their opponents quite quickly and help all the other group members. Ultimately, these little fire elementals were not a great threat, thankfully. Victor had been set on fire but he managed to douse himself in the river as soon as the battle was over. Once that was done, then we continued on our journey. As we came around a gentle bend, we stopped again. This time, we could all see a figure in the distance. It was the unmistakably our enemy, the creature with the strange beard, clawed feet and hands and, most importantly, a large glaive, which curiously, was on the ground in front of it. The warriors stiffened; Felix and I readied various spells and Drudge was getting ready to fire when we heard a shout: “Hail champions. Hold your weapons and listen to me. You are worthy foes, you have already proved that. There is no need for us to fight; we are both trapped here. I wear an iron collar and I am nothing but a servant to the Ragesians; but if you help me defeat the curse of this forest, you and I will both be able to escape. All we need to do is defeat the evil fae who live at the source of this river. They have been driven insane by the pain suffered by the forest and now just keep the fires going in their madness. Once they are slain, the madness will cease as will the fire. Come, there is no need to fight. We have enemies in common; those that keep these fires going. Together we can defeat them. Do you agree to this?” Without hesitation, John flicked his head towards us and I swear I saw him wink at us. Then he answered: “Yes”. The creature beamed at John and then looked at us. “What about the case?” I shouted. “Well, I am sure we can come to some arrangement about that,” was the easy answer. “NO!NO!NO!”, this from Longhelim. “John, this creature is evil. It was evil, is evil and will always be evil. By the time it has finished with you, it will own your soul. What are you doing? You think you are clever but it has been doing this for thousands of years. You will only be yet another fool whose soul will be taken. This is what it does. It tempts with reason, pretends to be your ally, tells you what you want to hear, pretends it is your idea and then suddenly, without realizing, you belong to it.” Longhelim had either not seen John’s wink or he was not paying any attention. More likely the latter, as John had turned his back on the creature and was frantically winking at Longhelim. “No, we are not going to join forces with him. We are not going to give him the case. We are not going to slay the fae which he says are evil. We are not going to let him escape with us. We are not going to make friends with him. He stinks of bilious evil and his stench is making me sick,” continued the holy warrior. “Begone creature. We will make no bargains with you!” “Is that your final answer?” asked the creature. “That is……a great pity. You are making a grave mistake. I will be seeing you all very soon”. We all stared at him. It shook its head in regret and disappeared in his usual explosion of flame. As we continued up the river, John and Longhelim kept up an animated discussion: John insisted that he had the situation under control and that Longhelim did not understand the way this game was played; this led to John also suggesting that Longhelim’s mental acuity was not current to someone of his age; and Longhelim answered that John certainly did not have the situation or “the game” under control and then compared John’s reasoning and mental faculties to the fertilizer his father used on their tobacco fields. Please note that in such an animated discussion, I am paraphrasing certain parts of the conversation as I feel that using the exact vocabulary of both participants would not be appropriate. I am sure the readership of this chronicle can imagine the actual language used. Certainly there was far more vernacular in its original content. Crystin giggled once or twice during the conversation while Torrent looked as if she had heard it all before and rolled her eyes several times. I certainly hadn’t. It was quite an education, in a purely academic sense of course. Thankfully, the other members of the group were sufficiently vigilant during the rest of our journey and we finally came to the lake at the head of this river. It was quite a spectacular sight. A waterfall fell down the side of a cliff. This waterfall created a large lake but before it reached the bottom, it cascaded off the roof of a shrine that had been built on a small island formed at its centre but ended under the waterfall. The surface of the lake and the island were covered in a fine grey ash and as the water fell endlessly, it disturbed this artificial covering, creating a thin mist. This mist was also augmented by steam from the ambient heat creating a white cloud which almost but not quite covered the island in the middle of the lake. It would have been very atmospheric if not for the roaring of the eternally burning fires all around us. We approached, making no effort at stealth. The bearded creature had mentioned that there were fae here. It was impossible to know whether they were mad as he said but sometimes the time was right for action and sometimes it was right for stealth. We decided that this was the time for action. We were not very stealthy under the best of circumstances. As we neared the island, a ghostly apparition emerged from the mist. It was a unicorn! An honest to goodness unicorn! I blinked several times. I couldn’t believe it. These beings were so rare, some scholars even doubted their actual existence and yet here was one in front of my very eyes. Despite the discomfort, despite the danger and the pain, it was at times such as these or when we met the ghaele that I was delighted that I had accepted Gabal’s mission. As it approached, the unicorn looked at us steadily. I heard a mutter from the front: “Well, it is certainly not evil”. Then it spoke: “Greetings, two legs; are you travelers? And you are not on fire. Then greetings and welcome; my name is Nelle and I guard this shrine. I see that your hearts are pure; I desperately need your help. Please come and join me and I will tell you more.” When we waded out to the island and approached more closely, we could see that Nelle was not quite as magnificent as she first appeared. She was thin, oh so thin; her ribs were prominent and her eyes looked to be sunken in their sockets. Her horn was chipped and cracked and her skin was covered in fine grey ash. Mind you, like everyone else in this place, so were we and our faces were smeared with soot as we kept wiping our noses, mouths and eyes; that together with our sweat made us look very unsightly indeed; some more than others of course. “Come with me please,” said Nelle. She led us into the waterfall and beyond. Walking through it we entered into a cave. It was just as hot inside but at least it was free of the ever present ash. There, we saw a dreadful sight: a group burning figures on the ground. They were just lying there. They looked like elves and they were burning; not moving, not screaming, just burning. Their faces revealed decades of pain and suffering. Every so often there would be a crack as if the fire was consuming a particularly stubborn piece of wood and one of the bodies would twitch and then it would lie still again. Yet, they didn’t change. Dumbly, I realised that these were the refugees that Bhurisvara had led to “safety”. “Please sit and let me tell you what I know”, said Nelle. “This was once a great Forest with many creatures in its midst until it was invaded by Indomitability; this is a Trillith, child of Trilla. I do not know the nature of this creature but I do know that it must be driven away or slain before the Forest can become what it once was. You are the only ones I have been able to find who may be able to do this although there are others who may be able to help you.” She paused briefly:” If you follow the river downstream, you will eventually arrive at the village of the Seelah. These are powerful woodland fey who have been holding the evil and fire at bay for decades. If not for them, this evil would have spread and the Forest would have been destroyed. Go to them with my blessing and they will tell you what must be done. Will you acquiesce to do this?” I heard a whisper from Crystin behind me: “My dreams; I have seen this in my dreams!” We looked at each other. She certainly didn’t look like an evil, insane fae. She looked like a desperate creature that had been holding and guarding a shrine against unspeakable odds for decades and who had seen a chance for change and seized it. The chance to help a unicorn was something about which epics were written; the stuff of legends. I was about to open my mouth when Longhelim said: “We will do our utmost to drive this Trillith, whatever it may be, out of here”. “Good. Thank you but my thanks are not quite sufficient. Come, for I have a boon to give you. It may not be enough but it is all I have.“ She took us to the rear of the cave to the site of a beautiful, exquisite stone statuette. It depicted a scene from myth. It showed the eternal chase between the Great Element of Fire as personified by The Dragon and the Great Element of Air as personified by The Eagle. Legend had it that the Dragon finally caught the Eagle, tricking it by insulting its pride and luring it underground where it could not fly; there it ripped out its heart and hid it deep in the earth; ever since then the Dragon, Fire was ascendant in the Land. It was certainly ascendant here in the Forest. Nelle gave us several scales and feathers from the statues. These all had different magical properties; one of them was even able to turn into a boat for a whole day. It was quite a pretentious piece of magic; the boat was in the shape of a swan. After that, we were allowed to rest in this cave. I tried to gain some lore from Nelle about Indomitability the Trillith but she was unable to tell me anything more. I had never heard or read anything about such creatures; Nelle told me that possibly the Seelah were more knowledgeable about them. I had to be satisfied with that. In the morning, I woke up and realised that I would be one of the few people to be able to claim that I had slept in the same cave as a unicorn. The next day, we said goodbye to Nelle and returned the way we came. As I glanced back several times, I saw Nelle watching us for as long as she could. It must have been a dreadfully lonely existence for her. Fortunately, the return journey was uneventful. We had probably dealt with all the predators which made their home by the river for the time being. We reached the tower and settled down for the night on the first floor; but almost immediately, we were disturbed. Barely anyone had actually fallen asleep when the air was filled with a powerful, hypnotic, unsettling song. Everyone woke up and I, who had been on watch, moved to an arrow slit. I could see a figure striding down the bridge. It was not making any attempt to hide and as it approached, I could see that it was humanoid and within moments, I could also discern that it looked like an elf, but with wings, huge, black butterfly-like wings. It was a she, looking at the clothing or lack of it. It was very hot and she was only wearing something across her chest and her loins. She carried a spear and as well as several pouches and sacks. She approached our tower and as we watched, turned towards the entrance; bemused we made ready to receive her when suddenly, from the thin air, six other figures, much like her but this time male, appeared and began to attack her. Torrent was the first to react, rushing down towards the door. We were not sure what she was but six to one odds seemed very unfair. Victor moved rapidly after Torrent and Longhelim was looking intently at the scene; I realised he was using his uncanny ability to tell if anyone out there was evil. Torrent reached the door and opened it, allowing Victor to run through. The poor victim had obviously been hurt and she was still being attacked by all six of her opponents. Amazingly, as she spotted Victor at the door with his large sword, she shouted: “Spare them please! Do not kill them! They are only misguided!” Victor grunted and with a grimace, he turned his sword and gave a mighty whack to one of the enemy with the flat of his blade, leaving only a bruise as opposed to a deep cut. At this point Longhelim’s voice rang out: “The six are evil!” He then emerged down the stairs. I had already ran down the stairs and looked at the situation. I cast my spell and suddenly a silvery cloud covered several of the enemy and also the victim. However, as the cloud dissipated, with little glittering particles covering all those in it, four of the attackers were groping around blindly while the victim looked fine until one of the other two unaffected enemy stuck a spear into her side, causing her to collapse. The blind figures began to climb off the bridge and glide down to the water while Drudge seemed to be firing arrows into them. I could see that several of them were hit. The final two then confronted us but were not match for Victor, Longhelim and Torrent. One other managed to jump over the side of the bridge but the final foe was rendered unconscious and bound. Felix then looked at the woman and as he touched her, he exclaimed in surprise. He said that as he touched her, he could feel some sort of armour; it felt like fine leather. We all touched her and yes indeed, she was wearing some sort of ensorcelled armour that was unseen to the normal eye, yet protected her. Felix was able to heal her and as she opened her eyes and looked at us she smiled. “I have found you! I thought it would only be a dream but you are here! I am Tiljann of the Seelah and I have been waiting for you for a very long time.” We looked at each other. The Seelah were the forest fey and the people that Nelle mentioned we had to find. In fact, it looked as if they had found us. “Please come with me to our village. There we will tell you what we know. Papuvin, our leader will tell what has happened, what is happening and what we hope will happen”. After some questioning, she did indeed confirm that she was from the Seelah community that we were supposed to find and that they were all singing the Song of Forms, whatever that may have been. Nelle had mentioned that once already. After a long conversation we settled for the night. The next morning, we all felt somehow stronger, as if we had a new determination to see this whole mystery through. This forest was an abomination and all the burning creatures inside were suffering. It had to be stopped and it was with this thought that we all travelled to Tiljann’s village. A path through forested cliffs took us to a semi dried lake bed. There was still a good body of water in the centre of the lake bed but it was also obvious that a substantial amount had evaporated. The shores of the lake were surrounded by a fiery ring of burning brush, almost deliberately placed. On the dried lake bed, there was a collection of huts while several cave entrances were also visible, leading into surrounding cliffs. As we approached, we heard the same haunting song that Tiljann had first been singing except that it was magnified as it was being sung by a chorus. The sound, disturbing, memorable, melodic and discordant, sounded weary, faint and varied in volume; as we entered the village, a drumming began and suddenly we were met by a crowd of Seelah and cries of anger. Shocked, I saw that several of the Seelah who had attacked Tiljann were in the crowd; not only that but they were pointing at us and shouting in their language. They seemed to be pointing particularly at Drudge. Tiljann, turned to us and looked shocked: “You did not tell me that you had killed several of my people!” “Your people were busy trying to stick spears into your sides during that time. The reason you don’t remember it is because you were lying on the floor bleeding to death at the time; and you would have bled to death as well if it hadn’t been for us!”, John shot back. Almost pleading she shouted: “They are only misguided. You must understand, they didn’t really mean to do it.” I had said nothing up to that point but that was such a blatant misconception as to what had happened that I asked Tiljann: “So, as they were stabbing you with spears and the blood was flowing out of your wounds, just what did you think they actually meant to do?” Longhelim, in the meantime, had been staring at the crowd and a few moments later he began pointing to particulars members: “You; you; you and you; you, the one is that is trying to hide at the back; and you, just because you are a woman does not mean you are not tainted. You should be ashamed and pray to whatever gods you have. You are hiding amongst these good people. What evil are you planning? What are you going to do?” A few moments later, a tall older Seelah with a careworn face approached us. Tiljann stopped speaking and inclined her head: “Pupavin. These are they who we have sought”. He raised his hands and the shouting abated. “No Tiljann. These are they who you have sought. They can do nothing for us. The Song must go on. The Song will go on. Strangers, come with me but do not disturb the Song.” With that, he turned around and walked away, heading into a cave. When the crowd saw that, they also began to drift away, although one of the Seelah seemed to make a peculiar sign at John. Inside Pupavin’s cave, he bade us to sit and then said: “I know you mean well but you must understand that you can do nothing for us. We, the Seelah now have one purpose even if we are dying. The Song of Forms must go on. Even though many of us have lost hope; even though Vuhl and his followers now openly advocate for us to stop the Song, loose the Stag and allow us to die. That must not happen. That will not happen. The Song must and will go on. Leave now, there is nothing you can do here.” Tiljann looked crushed at this pronouncement and we left the cave. As soon as we did, I turned to her: “Tiljann, just what is going on here? We followed you, we did not ask you any questions, we promised that we would help your people. You told us that Pupavin would explain everything about the Forest, about Indomitability, about the Fire?” Without realizing it, my voice had been rising in its frustration and suddenly another more reasoned tone joined mine. Longhelim: that man could charm the birds of the trees with that voice when he wanted to: “What my friend is trying to say, Tiljann, is that in the same way as we feel we have an obligation to you due to our promise, we also feel you have an obligation by your promise to explain everything you can to us. Now Pupavin, for whatever reason, has decided that he does not want to participate in your search for a solution. However, he did not tell you to desist either. Obviously, you know a great deal more. We do not. Until we do, our quest will be much harder. We still plan to try to find a solution but we are far less likely to succeed unless you can tell us what you know.” Tiljann looked at us, obviously torn. She looked at Drudge and shook her head although he looked at her without any expression on his face. I was about to say something when Longhelim motioned me to keep quiet. Finally, she turned around and said “I will be back” as she went out. Longhelim turned to me and said: “Now she will either help us or she won’t. There is nothing more we can say to convince her.” A little time later, she returned and this time she was dressed in a ceremonial costume and began to speak in a rhythmic storyteller’s voice: “Picture a forest in all its beauty and majesty. Huge trees, a gentle breeze flowing through their branches; dappled sunshine falling on glades and groves; gentle, nourishing rivers flowing through its length and animals, birds, fey and elves all living together, mindful of the balance of nature. Then imagine someone, something coming into the forest and suddenly this balance is no more. That was Indomitability; we do not know what a Trillith is; we do not know its nature or motivation; we do not even know what it truly looks like; we do know that it is capable of destroying this precious balance. Somehow, it imbued the power of undeath on plants and animals. A forest must exist by life, death and rebirth. That is how it must be. Indomitability destroyed this cycle. Somehow, she prevented animals and plants from dying, thus starving the soil. The whole Forest began to die yet could not. We, the Seelah, are dependent on the Forest, sensitive to its moods, its strengths and vagaries. Without it, we die, yet this abomination was worse than death. In desperation, we called upon the elven hero Anaryan for help. With a mighty spell, the Song of Forms, we trapped Indomitability in the body of a stag and Anaryan transfixed it with her sword. Despite its entrapment though, Indomitability’s influence still seeps through the land, preventing the resumption of the natural cycle of nature; for although it is trapped, the trillith still lives. Then the Shahalesti invaded the Forest and it was set on fire; the fire cannot consume a wood that cannot die so the fire burns forever. We sing the Song of Forms to keep Indomitability trapped in the stag’s form; but we cannot go on for much longer. We are tired; there are less of us; and many of us just want this to finish; just want to.....go. We are bound to the Forest and its fate. So, for the time being, the body of the stag is at the bottom of the lake outside. It was also said that a tribe of merrow, the dreaded water ogres, made their homes in the same lake. They may be there still, unable to come out of the water because of the ring of fire around the water’s edge. It could be that somehow they guard Indomitability in her stag form.“ Tiljann’s story came to an end. We looked at her in silence and looking tired, she left us for a little time. I opened my mouth, my mind full of questions but Victor motioned me to stop as everyone was left with their own thoughts. The story that we had been told was a tragedy that had not yet finished; and we had become players. A little time later, Tiljann returned. She said: “John and Drudge, both of you have shown that you can speak the Tongue of the Wood. Please stay with me and I will tell you more of the Song of Forms.” John and Drudge stayed in the cave and left us to our own devices. Strangely, now the Seelah seemed much friendlier; probably because we had not been ordered to leave by Pupavin. Almost instinctively, we avoided those whom Longhelim had pointed out. Tiljann had called them misguided; the warrior had another term for it. The other Seelah however were more than willing to talk to us. Many of them had their own stories but one of them in particular struck us. It was the tale of Anyarian and Timbre. One Seelah told us that Anaryan had a lover in the wood, a dryad named Timbre; this was not just any dryad but a fey who was one of the first beings of the Living Wood of Innenotdar. Despite this and their obvious love though, another dryad named Gwenvere became obsessed with Anaryan. The elf had no interest in her new admirer and hate and jealousy as well as Indomitability turned Gwenvere into something horrible, twisted and evil. When Anaryan was slain, grief stricken, Timbre sequestered her body and took it with her to her grove. She also donated a lock of Anaryan’s hair to her shrine. Soon after, the shrine was assaulted and the lock was taken. It was immediately obvious to me that the lock of hair must have been taken by this Gwenvere and I said this to the others but they were more cautious. They said that it seemed to fit all the facts. The Seelah also told us that if there was anyone who could tell us more about Indomitability, it would be Timbre, but she did not entertain strangers in her grief. My immediate thought was that if we managed to retrieve the lock of hair from Gwenvere, then maybe Timbre would become well disposed towards us. Of course, we were not even sure if lock of hair was where we thought but it was certainly investigating. Our last visit was to the cave of Vuhl. This was the Seelah who was the leader of the group of his people who believed that their time on this plane was finished; that they should stop singing the Song of Forms and accept their fate. Strangely, he was also the one who seemed acknowledge John. As we entered his cave, he said: “Good, you are here. There is little time to waste. Look, we must face reality. Our time here is done. We do not belong here anymore. In the eternal cycle, we have to die to be reborn. That cannot happen while the Song of Forms is sung. Please, you must stop it. If you go to the grove of the dryad Timbre, slay her and bring her body here, the shock will be such that the Song will stop, Indomitability will be set free and everything will be as it should be.” His entreaty was passionate and beseeching, the words of a true believer. He looked at us expectantly. I admired Longhelim’s self control. I took my cue from him. He did not reveal anything of what he was thinking. He just nodded, got up and left, followed by the rest of us. We did not say anything of Vuhl’s proposition. I did not want to dignify his proposal with serious thought. It was so against everything that I believed in that even thinking about it made me feel nauseous. We met with John and Drudge who both looked tired, as if just absorbing knowledge about the Song of Forms was exhausting. We told them everything we had found out. They both agreed that a visit to Gwenvere to see if she had the lock of hair was a good plan of action. I was very curious though and I pestered them about their conversation with Tiljann. They were both happy to share what they had learned. It was a brief overview; the Song of Forms was a powerful magic, completely unknown to me. It was not clear whether it was a long and complicated spell or an actual full branch of magic known to the Seelah. It effectively bound an incorporeal creature to a corporeal form. Incorporeal beings were powerful entities who lived partly on this plane and partly on another; some were able to affect people and creatures on this plane while others were only able to watch. They were usually difficult to see and often needed powerful legendary weapons to be defeated or even hurt. If Indomitability was incorporeal then it would explain much as to why no one was able to tell us what it looked like or what it was. Little study had been made of incorporeal creatures for obvious reasons although it was known that several powerful undead were incorporeal. It could be that the Song of Forms was the only way that a trillith could be defeated or slain. As such, it was most powerful magic about which I had no knowledge. [/QUOTE]
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