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<blockquote data-quote="Altalazar" data-source="post: 3931258" data-attributes="member: 939"><p>Book VII</p><p></p><p>Notes – Chapter One Hundred Five – One Happy Family</p><p></p><p> Elizar has moved in and is doing well. Wilhelm, William’s wraith brother, is also doing fine. Crushstone has completed our tunnel system, allowing us access to Reg’s town of Mayberry to the south as well as access to Night Falls (and its crypt) to the west without ever having to step out in the foul light of day. Goblin hunts in the woods continue to go well. Willow is concerned, as always, about the humanoid population, but she must appreciate the need to keep a stable food supply as well. </p><p>Our family has thus grown and is very happy. The only missing part of the family, as always, is our parents. But my experiments are getting closer and closer to fruition. </p><p>Our happy family was almost disrupted one morning when Crushstone came tunneling in, breathless (as always) and stated that he heard “many footfalls” coming from Night Falls, moving slow. I was busy in the kitchen, cooking up some goblin stew, when I was interrupted with this report. This required some investigation. I send my loyal sphinx corpse Tessa to the air to see what was coming. As always, I asked her to fly high, to avoid the prying eyes of those evil humanoids who would do her harm simply for existing. Such prejudice and bigotry runs deep. </p><p>When Tessa returned, she verified what Crushstone had said. There were almost a hundred men, all mounted on horseback, heading up the mountain toward Brightstone Keep. They had mixed banners, but they had one thing in common. They were all paladins. It remained to be seen if they were the evil sort of paladins we encountered when we rescued Elizar, or if they were true good paladins, such as Reg. </p><p>As they approached our gate, the Marshall rode out to greet them. “Ho! Parlay!” </p><p>“Stand aside in the name of King Asaloth,” they said to the Marshall. “We have reliable intelligence that there is an army of evil, vile undead here!” </p><p>“Well, your information is wrong,” the Marshall smoothly replied. “There are no _evil_ undead here,” he replied truthfully, with special emphasis on the word “evil.” The Marshall spoke true because we all knew that our undead were of the purest good. The paladins were ummoved. Such prejudice is to be expected from paladins. </p><p> “Deploy the troops!” the lead paladin said, and the paladins behind him began to move into formation for storming the keep. The Marshall’s forces behind him, some forty strong, manned the now-repaired walls and towers for the assault. My friends stayed out of sight below, ready if the gates were to be breached. </p><p> Just as the paladins were about to charge, we saw another mounted figure riding furiously up the path to the keep. It was Reg! “Here, let me handle this,” he said, as he pulled the lead paladins aside in conference. </p><p> It was hard to hear it all, but we heard Reg tell them of how the incidents of undead have drastically been reduced in the surrounding lands since we’ve come to the keep. Which, of course, is true. The undead in the surrounding lands have been drained considerably, I noted, looking back at all of the undead now standing in our walls. </p><p> Reg then assured them that he has instituted a program to guarantee there were no more incidents of undead in the surrounding area and then asked for them to allow this program to proceed. Reg then pulled aside on paladin in particular, someone he apparently knew well, and they talked privately. </p><p> “I don’t know what you have going here, Reg,” Reg’s friend said, “but be careful. So long as the higher-ups are appeased, you’ll be ok, but if anything happens…” </p><p> “I’ve got it covered,” Reg replied.</p><p> “I’ve seen undead. I saw something flying above us on the way here. I can smell them. Something up here reeks of evil, Reg.” </p><p> “I’ve got it covered,” Reg repeated. </p><p> “Just be careful,” Reg’s friend said before he rode off to join the others. </p><p> Reg then joined us. “I’m glad I was able to divert that.” </p><p> “Would you like to come in for a bite to eat,” the Marshall asked him. “Vincent just loves to cook.” </p><p> “Uh, no thank you,” Reg said. “I trust you, and lets just leave it at that. As long as you keep whatever it is you do away from the towns around here, I’ll do my part to keep trouble out of your way.”</p><p> “Good to know,” said the Marshall. “Do you have anything for us to do? Any evil to vanquish?”</p><p> “I have nothing for you right now,” Reg said, and then he rode off, heading back to Mayberry, shaking his head, as he always seems to do after talking with us. </p><p> The last thing I heard before going back inside to my cooking was Willow commenting on the damage the horses’ hooves had done to the land as they rode up. “But at least they made up for it with the fertilizer they left behind,” she commented. </p><p></p><p></p><p> Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Six – Willows Gross Dreams</p><p></p><p> Willow told me the next morning that she had been having dreams, very vivid dreams, about something very wrong with the village of Gross Fell. </p><p> “Was it sexual?” asked the Marshall. </p><p> “It was a private dream,” was all she said in reply. The Marshall seemed to take that as a “yes” and then he departed before I could ask him what he was doing following me into Willow’s room. </p><p> “Something has gone bad in Gross Fell, something that is causing an illness in the land,” Willow said. </p><p> So that was it. We had a mission. Perhaps I could find out, in curing this illness, how to save our parents as well. We prepared to depart. </p><p> I decided to bring my three small bonedrinkers with me to see if they can prove their worth. BR, Blackberry, and Rankin came as my bodyguards. Two of my shadows came as well, to, well, shadow me. With my wall of undead flesh around me, we started to head out of the gate. Elizar stopped by to wish us off. </p><p> “Is there anything you’d like us to bring you, Elizar?” I asked him. </p><p> “Clean farm girls have nice blood,” he told me. </p><p> “Is used okay?” Balor asked (which I found puzzling, given that I did not think Balor drank blood and he always refused my meals). </p><p> “Just don’t taint the blood,” Elizar said. “Oh, and I don’t like children. Their blood is too gamey.” </p><p> “We’ll see what we can do!” I cheerily said, as we exited the gate and felt it close down behind us. We hunkered down in our wagon for the day’s journey to Gross Fell. </p><p></p><p> Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Seven – Naboo’s Hut leads to Frendy</p><p></p><p> By nightfall, we were at the outskirts of Gross Fell. Willow in particular noted a hut that seemed familiar. It was the hut of Naboo, Gross Fell’s resident druid. Willow asked him about her dream. </p><p> “In my dream, I saw a great and powerful druid, and elf, but when he spoke to me, the words were not understandable. It was like the land was trying to talk to me but I could not hear it,” she said. </p><p> “Did that elf have blue hair? Green eyes?” </p><p> “Yes!” Willow said. “Did you dream of him as well?” </p><p> “I often do, but not like that. I know this elf. I know him well. His name was Naralex. Long ago, he was a very powerful druid. He kept the land in balance. Then, two dozen moons ago, he vanished. Another druid, one of his disciples, traveled far to the west, to Camp Taurajo, to find him. He shared Naralex’s conviction that it was humanoids who were destroying the balance in this area.” </p><p> “It is settled, then, off to Camp Taurajo we go.” I said and then I headed back to the cart. </p><p> When Willow joined me, she told me we were searching for Frendy, Naralex’s disciple. </p><p></p><p>Not wanting to risk traveling in the open, we returned to the Keep and then we took the tunnels on the week’s journey to Night Falls. I checked in on my necromantic apprentice Harkin and the sphinx in her new body. Our tomb there is complete and they are now in the process of decorating it to taste. I noticed there were many detailed webs, some woven with symbols of magic. This place was definitely secure. Our inspection complete, we departed for Camp Taurajo. </p><p>After several days’ journey south from Night Falls, we came to Camp Taurajo, which was surrounded by a wooden palisade. Guards asked us our business at the “gate.” </p><p>“We are adventurers! We seek ale and food!” </p><p>The guards waved us in. One of them asked if I was feeling ok. “He seems a little pale.” </p><p>“He’s fine,” said the Marshall, and in we went. </p><p>We did not have much luck finding Frendy. Apparently he did grow up here, but no one has seen him in a long time. They said he left to follow Naralex and then never returned. </p><p>Well, that was helpful. Willow told me that the sickness seemed even stronger here. Well, at least that was something. Further inquiry by the Marshall revealed that there were creatures “not of this area” collecting in a place called the Howling Caverns. Lizard type creatures. So we went to investigate. </p><p></p><p>Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Eight – Howling Caves are Quiet</p><p></p><p>Following the directions of the locals, we found our way to the entrance to the Howling Caves. And what an entrance it was! It was shaped like a skull!</p><p>“Cool, we’re moving in!” I shouted as we saw it. </p><p>“Vincent, we already have several homes,” Willow said. </p><p>“But this is a skull!” </p><p>“You can always carve your own,” Willow said.</p><p>“But this is a SKULL!” </p><p>Willow sighed and we entered the cave as my mouth hung open in wonder. </p><p>As we traveled the tunnels, they became noticeably damper. There were also strange plants growing, plants Willow had never seen before, and she had seen plenty. Most she had never even heard of before. That was strange. </p><p>Then the strangeness peaked, as the slimy floor rose up into a cube to attack us. And another, even larger glob of slime formed into a huge ball in front of us. Quickly, I sent my bonedrinkers to surround the smaller ooze in our midst. Before they could take it down, Balor and the Marshall “helpfully” split it into several smaller, but still deadly oozes. Then they turned their attention to the huge one in front of us. </p><p>Gerry, one of my bonedrinkers, was quickly engulfed by the ooze, and I watched in helpless horror as his flesh slowly melted away from the creature’s digestive juices. Then, just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Gerry was ejected and the ooze tried to slither away. We quickly surrounded it and pummeled it into submission. Gerry was saved! Though he was disappointed there were no bones to drink. I consoled him as I healed his grievous wounds. </p><p>It was then that we noticed that the caves, despite their moniker, were quiet and still. At least, they were right up to the point of Balor’s discovery. </p><p></p><p>Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Nine – Terrible Lizards not so Frendy</p><p></p><p>The cave ended in a cliff, opening up to an even larger cave. We saw dozens of lizards there, lizards much larger than animals normally get, but still animals themselves. Some had long necks and huge, long bodies. Others were smaller, but with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Some were nesting in the opening above the center of the larger cavern. Very strange. </p><p>We searched high and low, but could find no further egress into the cave. Then we noticed that the wall to our original tunnel was not what it seemed. It was not a wall at all, but an illusion. We could tell because we heard the faint sounds of battle on the other side of it and, when we touched the wall, our hands went right through it. </p><p>Stepping forth, we saw a minotaur battling with an elf and one of those terrible lizards. Before we could move, the elf was dispatched by the minotaur. Balor, thinking fast, quickly slew the lizard, and then shouted “don’t hit the minotaur!”</p><p>The minotaur then introduced himself. “I am Frendy.” At this point, I wondered if it would have been too much trouble for anyone we had talked to to mention that Fendy was a minotaur. But no matter. We, unlike certain paladins that will remain nameless, do not prejudge based on prejudice. We welcomed the minotaur with open arms. </p><p>“What happened?” we asked him. </p><p>“It has been so long, I can barely remember,” he told us. “I have been here, stemming the tide for as long as I could. I tire, but I cannot stop.” </p><p>“Where is Naralex,” Willow asked. </p><p>“He’s somewhere, but I know not where. I have not seen him in ages. There is something wrong with the others, his other disciples. They have all become . . . evil.” </p><p>“We don’t stand for evil!” I and the Marshall said, simultaneously. </p><p>“Do you mind if we take the elf,” Balor asked. </p><p>“Is she a farmer?” I asked. </p><p>Balor then had his shield guardian pick up the elf. </p><p></p><p>Frendy said he would guard the passage from any further escapes while we explored further, looking for Naralex. “If you find him and need my help, come get me,” Frendy said as we departed further into the caves. As a parting gesture, he cast an enchantment on all of us, making us feel smarter, stronger, and more vigorous. </p><p></p><p>Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Ten – Rivers Rise</p><p></p><p>The cave led to another cross-tunnel that had a twenty foot deep crevice down its center. Bridges led across the crevice on either side. The crevice itself had stairs leading down into it and it was filled with a river of water about two feet deep. Breeze smelled something down that way, so we followed the scent up the river into a room filled with two feet of water. Standing on a ledge in the room, just out of the water, were two elfs and a huge snake. </p><p>I stayed at the entrance to the room, surrounded by my protective flesh, while my three small bonedrinkers (and everyone else) charged into the room. Before they could reach the elves, a wall of fire sprung up in front of them and the water started to slowly rise. </p><p>There was much confusion, but one thing became clear. The elves and snake were not real. When I saw them, I saw them for the insubstantial illusions they were. The real elves were high up on a ledge, a ledge that came closer and closer to the surface of the water as it continued to rise. </p><p>In the end, they were no match for us. They both jumped off the cliff. One became a huge snake, the other a bat. The snake landed in the water and we surrounded it. The bat flew to the ceiling. Soon, the snake was an elf again, floating face-down in the water. Blackberry finished off the bat, blasting it with his circlet of blasting, sending it falling to the water where, by the time it impacted, the body was an elf once again. </p><p>We found several strange gems on the bodies. They had a strange, green, swirling color. They were not of this plane. We took them to Frendy, who told us that they were from a plane with no humanoids. He did not know what they were for, but he promised to study them. We left the gems with him (keeping the rest of the items we found on the druids for ourselves) and then returned to our exploration of the caves. Unfortunately for Elizar, it seemed there were few farm girls in this place. But one should never give up hope.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Altalazar, post: 3931258, member: 939"] Book VII Notes – Chapter One Hundred Five – One Happy Family Elizar has moved in and is doing well. Wilhelm, William’s wraith brother, is also doing fine. Crushstone has completed our tunnel system, allowing us access to Reg’s town of Mayberry to the south as well as access to Night Falls (and its crypt) to the west without ever having to step out in the foul light of day. Goblin hunts in the woods continue to go well. Willow is concerned, as always, about the humanoid population, but she must appreciate the need to keep a stable food supply as well. Our family has thus grown and is very happy. The only missing part of the family, as always, is our parents. But my experiments are getting closer and closer to fruition. Our happy family was almost disrupted one morning when Crushstone came tunneling in, breathless (as always) and stated that he heard “many footfalls” coming from Night Falls, moving slow. I was busy in the kitchen, cooking up some goblin stew, when I was interrupted with this report. This required some investigation. I send my loyal sphinx corpse Tessa to the air to see what was coming. As always, I asked her to fly high, to avoid the prying eyes of those evil humanoids who would do her harm simply for existing. Such prejudice and bigotry runs deep. When Tessa returned, she verified what Crushstone had said. There were almost a hundred men, all mounted on horseback, heading up the mountain toward Brightstone Keep. They had mixed banners, but they had one thing in common. They were all paladins. It remained to be seen if they were the evil sort of paladins we encountered when we rescued Elizar, or if they were true good paladins, such as Reg. As they approached our gate, the Marshall rode out to greet them. “Ho! Parlay!” “Stand aside in the name of King Asaloth,” they said to the Marshall. “We have reliable intelligence that there is an army of evil, vile undead here!” “Well, your information is wrong,” the Marshall smoothly replied. “There are no _evil_ undead here,” he replied truthfully, with special emphasis on the word “evil.” The Marshall spoke true because we all knew that our undead were of the purest good. The paladins were ummoved. Such prejudice is to be expected from paladins. “Deploy the troops!” the lead paladin said, and the paladins behind him began to move into formation for storming the keep. The Marshall’s forces behind him, some forty strong, manned the now-repaired walls and towers for the assault. My friends stayed out of sight below, ready if the gates were to be breached. Just as the paladins were about to charge, we saw another mounted figure riding furiously up the path to the keep. It was Reg! “Here, let me handle this,” he said, as he pulled the lead paladins aside in conference. It was hard to hear it all, but we heard Reg tell them of how the incidents of undead have drastically been reduced in the surrounding lands since we’ve come to the keep. Which, of course, is true. The undead in the surrounding lands have been drained considerably, I noted, looking back at all of the undead now standing in our walls. Reg then assured them that he has instituted a program to guarantee there were no more incidents of undead in the surrounding area and then asked for them to allow this program to proceed. Reg then pulled aside on paladin in particular, someone he apparently knew well, and they talked privately. “I don’t know what you have going here, Reg,” Reg’s friend said, “but be careful. So long as the higher-ups are appeased, you’ll be ok, but if anything happens…” “I’ve got it covered,” Reg replied. “I’ve seen undead. I saw something flying above us on the way here. I can smell them. Something up here reeks of evil, Reg.” “I’ve got it covered,” Reg repeated. “Just be careful,” Reg’s friend said before he rode off to join the others. Reg then joined us. “I’m glad I was able to divert that.” “Would you like to come in for a bite to eat,” the Marshall asked him. “Vincent just loves to cook.” “Uh, no thank you,” Reg said. “I trust you, and lets just leave it at that. As long as you keep whatever it is you do away from the towns around here, I’ll do my part to keep trouble out of your way.” “Good to know,” said the Marshall. “Do you have anything for us to do? Any evil to vanquish?” “I have nothing for you right now,” Reg said, and then he rode off, heading back to Mayberry, shaking his head, as he always seems to do after talking with us. The last thing I heard before going back inside to my cooking was Willow commenting on the damage the horses’ hooves had done to the land as they rode up. “But at least they made up for it with the fertilizer they left behind,” she commented. Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Six – Willows Gross Dreams Willow told me the next morning that she had been having dreams, very vivid dreams, about something very wrong with the village of Gross Fell. “Was it sexual?” asked the Marshall. “It was a private dream,” was all she said in reply. The Marshall seemed to take that as a “yes” and then he departed before I could ask him what he was doing following me into Willow’s room. “Something has gone bad in Gross Fell, something that is causing an illness in the land,” Willow said. So that was it. We had a mission. Perhaps I could find out, in curing this illness, how to save our parents as well. We prepared to depart. I decided to bring my three small bonedrinkers with me to see if they can prove their worth. BR, Blackberry, and Rankin came as my bodyguards. Two of my shadows came as well, to, well, shadow me. With my wall of undead flesh around me, we started to head out of the gate. Elizar stopped by to wish us off. “Is there anything you’d like us to bring you, Elizar?” I asked him. “Clean farm girls have nice blood,” he told me. “Is used okay?” Balor asked (which I found puzzling, given that I did not think Balor drank blood and he always refused my meals). “Just don’t taint the blood,” Elizar said. “Oh, and I don’t like children. Their blood is too gamey.” “We’ll see what we can do!” I cheerily said, as we exited the gate and felt it close down behind us. We hunkered down in our wagon for the day’s journey to Gross Fell. Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Seven – Naboo’s Hut leads to Frendy By nightfall, we were at the outskirts of Gross Fell. Willow in particular noted a hut that seemed familiar. It was the hut of Naboo, Gross Fell’s resident druid. Willow asked him about her dream. “In my dream, I saw a great and powerful druid, and elf, but when he spoke to me, the words were not understandable. It was like the land was trying to talk to me but I could not hear it,” she said. “Did that elf have blue hair? Green eyes?” “Yes!” Willow said. “Did you dream of him as well?” “I often do, but not like that. I know this elf. I know him well. His name was Naralex. Long ago, he was a very powerful druid. He kept the land in balance. Then, two dozen moons ago, he vanished. Another druid, one of his disciples, traveled far to the west, to Camp Taurajo, to find him. He shared Naralex’s conviction that it was humanoids who were destroying the balance in this area.” “It is settled, then, off to Camp Taurajo we go.” I said and then I headed back to the cart. When Willow joined me, she told me we were searching for Frendy, Naralex’s disciple. Not wanting to risk traveling in the open, we returned to the Keep and then we took the tunnels on the week’s journey to Night Falls. I checked in on my necromantic apprentice Harkin and the sphinx in her new body. Our tomb there is complete and they are now in the process of decorating it to taste. I noticed there were many detailed webs, some woven with symbols of magic. This place was definitely secure. Our inspection complete, we departed for Camp Taurajo. After several days’ journey south from Night Falls, we came to Camp Taurajo, which was surrounded by a wooden palisade. Guards asked us our business at the “gate.” “We are adventurers! We seek ale and food!” The guards waved us in. One of them asked if I was feeling ok. “He seems a little pale.” “He’s fine,” said the Marshall, and in we went. We did not have much luck finding Frendy. Apparently he did grow up here, but no one has seen him in a long time. They said he left to follow Naralex and then never returned. Well, that was helpful. Willow told me that the sickness seemed even stronger here. Well, at least that was something. Further inquiry by the Marshall revealed that there were creatures “not of this area” collecting in a place called the Howling Caverns. Lizard type creatures. So we went to investigate. Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Eight – Howling Caves are Quiet Following the directions of the locals, we found our way to the entrance to the Howling Caves. And what an entrance it was! It was shaped like a skull! “Cool, we’re moving in!” I shouted as we saw it. “Vincent, we already have several homes,” Willow said. “But this is a skull!” “You can always carve your own,” Willow said. “But this is a SKULL!” Willow sighed and we entered the cave as my mouth hung open in wonder. As we traveled the tunnels, they became noticeably damper. There were also strange plants growing, plants Willow had never seen before, and she had seen plenty. Most she had never even heard of before. That was strange. Then the strangeness peaked, as the slimy floor rose up into a cube to attack us. And another, even larger glob of slime formed into a huge ball in front of us. Quickly, I sent my bonedrinkers to surround the smaller ooze in our midst. Before they could take it down, Balor and the Marshall “helpfully” split it into several smaller, but still deadly oozes. Then they turned their attention to the huge one in front of us. Gerry, one of my bonedrinkers, was quickly engulfed by the ooze, and I watched in helpless horror as his flesh slowly melted away from the creature’s digestive juices. Then, just when it seemed like all hope was lost, Gerry was ejected and the ooze tried to slither away. We quickly surrounded it and pummeled it into submission. Gerry was saved! Though he was disappointed there were no bones to drink. I consoled him as I healed his grievous wounds. It was then that we noticed that the caves, despite their moniker, were quiet and still. At least, they were right up to the point of Balor’s discovery. Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Nine – Terrible Lizards not so Frendy The cave ended in a cliff, opening up to an even larger cave. We saw dozens of lizards there, lizards much larger than animals normally get, but still animals themselves. Some had long necks and huge, long bodies. Others were smaller, but with rows of razor-sharp teeth. Some were nesting in the opening above the center of the larger cavern. Very strange. We searched high and low, but could find no further egress into the cave. Then we noticed that the wall to our original tunnel was not what it seemed. It was not a wall at all, but an illusion. We could tell because we heard the faint sounds of battle on the other side of it and, when we touched the wall, our hands went right through it. Stepping forth, we saw a minotaur battling with an elf and one of those terrible lizards. Before we could move, the elf was dispatched by the minotaur. Balor, thinking fast, quickly slew the lizard, and then shouted “don’t hit the minotaur!” The minotaur then introduced himself. “I am Frendy.” At this point, I wondered if it would have been too much trouble for anyone we had talked to to mention that Fendy was a minotaur. But no matter. We, unlike certain paladins that will remain nameless, do not prejudge based on prejudice. We welcomed the minotaur with open arms. “What happened?” we asked him. “It has been so long, I can barely remember,” he told us. “I have been here, stemming the tide for as long as I could. I tire, but I cannot stop.” “Where is Naralex,” Willow asked. “He’s somewhere, but I know not where. I have not seen him in ages. There is something wrong with the others, his other disciples. They have all become . . . evil.” “We don’t stand for evil!” I and the Marshall said, simultaneously. “Do you mind if we take the elf,” Balor asked. “Is she a farmer?” I asked. Balor then had his shield guardian pick up the elf. Frendy said he would guard the passage from any further escapes while we explored further, looking for Naralex. “If you find him and need my help, come get me,” Frendy said as we departed further into the caves. As a parting gesture, he cast an enchantment on all of us, making us feel smarter, stronger, and more vigorous. Notes – Chapter One-Hundred Ten – Rivers Rise The cave led to another cross-tunnel that had a twenty foot deep crevice down its center. Bridges led across the crevice on either side. The crevice itself had stairs leading down into it and it was filled with a river of water about two feet deep. Breeze smelled something down that way, so we followed the scent up the river into a room filled with two feet of water. Standing on a ledge in the room, just out of the water, were two elfs and a huge snake. I stayed at the entrance to the room, surrounded by my protective flesh, while my three small bonedrinkers (and everyone else) charged into the room. Before they could reach the elves, a wall of fire sprung up in front of them and the water started to slowly rise. There was much confusion, but one thing became clear. The elves and snake were not real. When I saw them, I saw them for the insubstantial illusions they were. The real elves were high up on a ledge, a ledge that came closer and closer to the surface of the water as it continued to rise. In the end, they were no match for us. They both jumped off the cliff. One became a huge snake, the other a bat. The snake landed in the water and we surrounded it. The bat flew to the ceiling. Soon, the snake was an elf again, floating face-down in the water. Blackberry finished off the bat, blasting it with his circlet of blasting, sending it falling to the water where, by the time it impacted, the body was an elf once again. We found several strange gems on the bodies. They had a strange, green, swirling color. They were not of this plane. We took them to Frendy, who told us that they were from a plane with no humanoids. He did not know what they were for, but he promised to study them. We left the gems with him (keeping the rest of the items we found on the druids for ourselves) and then returned to our exploration of the caves. Unfortunately for Elizar, it seemed there were few farm girls in this place. But one should never give up hope. [/QUOTE]
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Vincent's Laboratory Notes and Footnotes (Updated December 30, 2007)
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