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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 584173" data-attributes="member: 1210">To the Mountain of BileThe sky is overcast; it’s a warm summer day.  The stink of the fish markets is heavy today in Pesh City.  Business is heavy throughout the city, and it’s easy enough for Angel and Sheva to find a map that has Bile Mountain on it.  A short trip to a cartographer and they have what they need: the location of the mountain.Pesh is shaped something like a giant V; Bile Mountain is located on the northwestern arm, near the edge.  It’s an infamous region; a river runs through it, and on the map it’s labeled the River of Bile from that point until it reaches the sea, where it pours into the Bay of Bile.  After the party huddles over it to plan, they decide to use Lester and Horbin’s wind walk magic to travel the several hundred miles by evening.  They gather their gear and prepare to leave.It’s been a long time since I last really adventured, thinks Zeebo.  His pulse quickens; the lifestyle has an excitement to it that thrills him, even though it also fills him with sadness.  After all, he’s seen many good friends die along the way.  Still, several of his old friends are here now, and that heartens him.  His only concern is the lack of available companionship for relief on his journey- but then, there’s always Sybele.Horbin feels his blood quickening too; his time at sea, as a ship’s priest, seems like wasted years now.  He’s a combat medic- that’s what he’s always been.  He’s slipping easily back into his roll after five years of absence.  Even though none of his old friends are here, Lester somewhat reminds him of his old ally Anvar.  This, in turn, reminds him that he has an obligation to return to the Temple of Elemental Evil and overthrow it.  He’s seen the horrors within that place.  He once infiltrated it.  Sybele still can’t get over the rich tapestry of scent she perceives now.  She had no idea that the world could be this rich before she became a warrior of Chaos.  Her bow has a musky odor that she loves, and she can almost taste the oil on its string.  The fletching smells of birds- naturally- but she never knew that before.  It’s an exciting thing to perceive for the first time; she’s giddy like she was as a little girl. The group assumes vaporous form and rides the winds away to the north.  The wind whisks them along at unbelievable speed; it’s exhilarating for all of them.   Even at such fantastic speeds- Horbin guesses they’re moving about two days’ ride every hour- it still takes them all day to get there, and the shadow of the mountain has grown long as the afternoon has lengthened towards evening.  But they arrive, flying in above the mountain like clouds, scudding in upon the wind.Before them- below them- Bile Mountain squats like an otyugh, the land around it its dung heap.  The land around it is obviously poisoned and unhealthy; the few scraggly plants on the land around the mountain look sick and anemic.  A sweet river runs through the desert that leads up to Bile Mountain, and it flows in through a visible crack in the mountainside; but when the river emerges from the other side of the mountain it runs a sickly yellow, with froth like sea foam rolling atop it.  It reeks.  It has somehow become the River of Bile.  The mountain itself sweats bile like sap from a wounded tree.  There is a small camp on the desolate field beside the last of the river as it pours cleanly into the mountain.  A single individual stands staring at the hideous peak.  He’s a tabaxi- a feline humanoid.  The party approaches him cautiously, but several of them have met the cat folk before, so soon they have engaged in a parlay.  “Who are you?” asks Lester.“I’m Captain Grumpy Fluffbottom,” the tabaxi replies.  “Who’re all you?”“I’m the Elementalist,” proclaims Lester, “and this is my friend, the Eye.”  He gestures towards Orbius, who bows slightly.  The rest of the group introduce themselves as well.  “What are you doing here?”  the L asks Grumpy.“Well, a group of my people came to the continent of Dorhaus about ten years ago, following one of our great heroes, Hobbes.  I’ve been exploring the region ever since- I’m something of an adventurer.  I came here because- well, because I heard about it.”  The tabaxi gives out a loud purr.“Hmm,” says Sheva, “we’re here for reasons of our own, but it seems as though our purposes have intersected, at least for the time being.”“Perhaps,” the tabaxi offers, “we could join forces?”“Just what I had in mind.”  The red-head in a chain mail bikini smiles.The party and Grumpy chat for a little while and compare initial observations.  “There’s no way in from above that I could see,” Lester reports.  Attention turns to the river, and the great rent in the side of the mountain where it floats in.  Then there’s a flash of golden light from above them!  A glowing radiance washes over them, and instinctively the group draws weapons.  A form is descending from the clouds above- an angel of some kind.  Angel’s jaw tightens; will he have another battle with a celestial?  And then he realizes that he has met this one before.“You,” Sheva says.Alcar, the Angel of Food, alights before them, giving them a hard look.Next Time: Oh yes, they have past history indeed!  Will they fight now- or will they fight later?  And what will they find Within Bile Mountain?</blockquote>

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