Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Al-Qarin: Into the Desert (3-1-24)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="EternalNewbie" data-source="post: 6296265" data-attributes="member: 6489"><p>Struggling to regain his senses through a fog of pain, Khalid's first thought was that he'd been attacked by Vestalt's minions. Trying to scramble away from the pointed horns with that filled his vision, he flopped about like a landed fish, until slowly his vision cleared, and Azarek's face coalesced in front of him. Blinking in confusion, he asked, “Ah, what happened?”</p><p></p><p>“You asked me to keep an eye out for anything funny,” Azarek rasped. “You went stone still for about half an hour, then started mumbling and drooling all over yerself. So I woke you up.”</p><p></p><p>“By bashing me with your shield?” Khalid moaned, rubbing his jaw.</p><p></p><p>“Hah,” Azarek barked. “That weren't nothing. Shaking ya didn't work, so I gave ya a little nudge is all.”</p><p></p><p>Annoyed as he was, Khalid couldn't really find fault with him. Brushing away Azarek's outstretched hand, he stood up and closed his eyes, trying to re-establish the connection. Ilsadora? Geoff? But this time there was no response, save for a faint whiff of pine that could have been no more than a memory. With a sigh, Khalid and went to find Gorak and Shayla. Holed up within the privacy of the magical shelter, they discussed it late into the evening. Khalid repeated the details several times, and, painful as it was for her, Shayla recounted her experience, at least as much as she could recall, in the hopes they could find some common thread. In the end, it came down to a single question.</p><p></p><p>“Are you sure?” Gorak growled, for the tenth time.</p><p></p><p>Khalid sighed. “Ah, it seemed as real as this does now. I could feel the warmth, yes, warmth of the sun upon my face and smell the pine upon the breeze. And I do not doubt the power of the being. Yes quite.”</p><p></p><p>“But was it Ilsadora?” Shayla pressed.</p><p></p><p>“Ah, I can only guess. Our...exchange...was cut short.”</p><p></p><p>“When you got clobbered,” Gorak grunted, scowling at Azarek.</p><p></p><p>Azarek shrugged off the comment. “He asked for it. Don't blame me jus cuz I enjoyed it a little.”</p><p></p><p>Ignoring that, Shayla asked, “Do we tell Erik?”</p><p></p><p>“Ah, I see no reason not to. Let them do what they will with the information, yes, quite. There can be no denying the presence of a higher power within the vault, and his sacrifice has already renewed their faith. The most obvious explanation is likely the correct one in this situation,” Khalid replied. “It's the implications, yes, implications, that concern me.”</p><p></p><p>“A'right,” Gorak grunted, cutting the conversation short. “Then I think we're just about done here. Probably best we head out in the morning.” No one disagreed, and they retired for the night.</p><p></p><p>Having done little but study the last few days, being awoken on Gorak's schedule was more than a little grating. Slowly Khalid collected his things and exited the portal, joining the others in the small house that had been given over for their use. The main square was a flurry of activity, with Erik at its centre. Dozens of people, rangers and villagers alike, crowded around him while he calmly organized everything from the provisioning of the town to the daily patrols. When he caught sight of them at the edge of the crowd, he extracted himself from the townsfolk and joined them. Seeing that they were carrying all of their gear, he said, “You're welcome to stay as long as you like, but I'm guessing folks like you have more important places to be.”</p><p></p><p>“Home,” Gorak grunted. “And we got a mountain range and half a desert to go yet. Best we get started.”</p><p></p><p>“I understand. Just know that nothing we can do will ever repay what you have given us.”</p><p></p><p>“Ah, there's something else you should know,” Khalid interrupted. He quickly covered the details of his experience. “I do not pretend, yes, pretend to know what it means but we thought you should know. Yes, quite.”</p><p></p><p>To his surprise, Erik reached out and clasped his arm. “I can't begin to thank you enough, for everything you've done, especially how we, how I, treated you before. I won't ignore the lesson in humility, Ilsadora has seen fit to teach me.”</p><p></p><p>Gorak grunted. “You had your reasons and we had ours. Worked out well enough for both of us I figure.” His scowl deepened. “But you know, Orcs maybe the least of yer problems. The Dwerro ain't gonna be busy down south for ever.”</p><p></p><p>Erik nodded. “We'll send out scouts. We'll have some warning at least.”</p><p></p><p>“Warning won't be enough to save you from the Dwerro army,” Shayla replied.</p><p></p><p>“No,” Erik agreed. “It won't. But if they come this far north, they'll find nothing but a few crumbling old buildings in a clearing in the trees. Once we drive the Orcs out and control the forest, there won't be an army in the world big enough to flush us out.”</p><p></p><p>“That's a hard life fer village folk,” Azarek rasped. “You sure yer ready fer it?”</p><p></p><p>“Those Orcs chipped a little bark off, but it’ll only grow back thicker. We've deep roots in this forest. With the goddess watching over us, we will come to thrive beneath the leaves.” The tone in his voice edged upon zeal. </p><p></p><p>“Ah, she may not yet be able to intervene in mortal realm again,” Khalid cautioned. “She said nothing...”</p><p></p><p>Erik smiled. “Maybe. But her courage is our courage in these dark times. Perhaps witnessing our small triumph will lend her some small amount of hope, in return for the faith she has given us.” </p><p>Khalid couldn't help but notice while objects of worship for Ilsadora were there to see before, now every building sported dedication to the Goddess. True faith might be enough shelter from the privations to come, he thought to himself. They parted ways with Erik shortly thereafter, and after checking in on Geoff one final time, they rode out of town. Once again, like Knolton, Khalid found himself the centre of far more attention than he felt he deserved, as townsfolk came out to bid them safe journey.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center">* * * * * * * * *</p><p></p><p>Two days into the journey, and Khalid was already missing the casual indolence of the last days in the village. Recent events had done little to quell his disquiet with the trees, and the prospect of running into fleeing Orcs was all too real. Being mounted and on the road, they gambled that they'd be able to overrun or escape any of the scattered bands foolish enough to cause trouble. But it was more than just physical discomfort that soured his mood. Once clear of the village, Gorak had pulled out the twisted staff, and carried it at his side. Khalid had long since learned to trust his instincts, especially the paranoid ones. The presence of the staff made him decidedly uncomfortable and not only because of its association with the basement. He caught Shayla's eye and motioned at the staff with a nod of his head. She leaned back in her saddle and shrugged, but Khalid caught her watching Gorak more and more often as they left the trees behind, and rode out onto the plain.</p><p></p><p>A few days later, Khalid's suspicions grew to the point where he could not help but voice them. <em>Gorak</em>, he began, with a glance over to Shayla. <em>We need to discuss the staff</em>.</p><p></p><p>“What about it?” Gorak grumbled.</p><p></p><p><em>We need to give it proper study, it could be unpredictable or dangerous.</em></p><p></p><p>“Relax,” Gorak grunted. “It's just a weapon.”</p><p></p><p><em>I should think it’s more than just a weapon. In any event we should discern exactly what it is capable of.</em></p><p></p><p>“I think I got a pretty good handle on it,” Gorak grumbled. “It ain't nothing to worry about.”</p><p></p><p>The last thing Khalid did when somebody told him to stop worrying, was stop worrying. “Ah, Gorak,” he said. “If you know something...yes quite.”</p><p></p><p>“Well it obviously does that thing that sucks all the water outta the air.” Gorak growled.</p><p></p><p>“Are you certain? Is, yes, is that all it does?” Khalid pressed. “How can you be sure?”</p><p></p><p>Realizing that he couldn't continue to be evasive, Gorak relented. “It told me.”</p><p></p><p>“Told you?” Shayla asked, in that deadly calm voice that usually meant somebody was about to get seriously hurt.</p><p></p><p>“Yeah,” Gorak rumbled. “It told me. It's a weapon alrigh'. Damned powerful and conscious of it.</p><p></p><p>Khalid switched again, directing his thoughts only to the three of them. G<em>orak, such things do not...think...the way we do. They are often times infused with singular purpose that they will carry out to the exclusion of all else. The most powerful can overwhelm a man's mind.</em></p><p></p><p>“It tried that. Din't work. It knows who’s boss.”</p><p></p><p><em>What does it want? You perhaps received some glimpse of its purpose?</em></p><p></p><p>“Well,” Gorak grumbled, starting to look a little defensive. “Maybe something. I got the feeling that it don't like cities and civilized folk much. That’s why it got on so well with them Orcs.”</p><p></p><p>“Great. It's capable of widespread carnage, and it hates cities.” Shayla muttered. “What if it went off in Gem-Sharad? How many people would it kill?”</p><p></p><p>“It can't do that,” Gorak growled. “It can't activate isself. It needs somebody to use it. And besides, that ain't nothing new. You can't tell me there weren't nothing that dangerous floating around Gem-Sharad before?</p><p></p><p><em>Unquestionably. But the institutions that held those forces in check have been swept away. And new powers rush to fill the void. Thus far, we have managed to claw and scratch our way to near the front of the pack, through a combination of ill luck, suffering and a measure of bravado that is rarely substantiated by our actions. I certainly see the allure. But in the wrong hands...we bested it once, sacrificing half a town to do it. In that was in the hands of one ignorant, albeit charismatic, forest Orc.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p>“It's gonna take more than a shrivelled up stick…” he paused and glared at Khalid, “or a shiny egg to order me around. Ain't I proved that already? </p><p></p><p><em>We can't afford to underestimate it. It will be relentless. Its very identity is tied to its purpose. It will wait until you're wounded, or confused, to strike again. Perhaps it will remain docile for a time, until you come to depend on it, and when you need it this most, it will demand your surrender. If you refuse, it matters not, for the next to retrieve it may not be that strong.</em></p><p><em></em></p><p>“One of these times, we're gonna run into something that don't poison or burn too well,” Gorak replied, “and this thing'll help. If I can control it, we're a force to be reckoned with. The shyte that's dogging us, maybe for once, we got the edge.”</p><p></p><p><em>Perhaps. But given our recent success, it's equally likely that we'll end up putting a powerful artifact into the hands of Vestalt, who will no doubt find a way to employ it. It's my opinion that it's too dangerous to use, and too dangerous to carry with us. It's best destroyed, but given our present situation, I think we have to settle for concealing it.</em></p><p></p><p>Azarek rolled his eyes. “Ya don’t throw a sword away just cuz one end’s a little pointy. If you ain’t gonna risk getting cut, you ain’t never gonna win the fight.”</p><p></p><p>“I’m with Khalid on this one,” Shayla said, cutting him off. “It’s too dangerous. We’re not going to let it do what it wants, and worse, we took it away from somebody that would have. It’s going to turn on us. It’s just a matter of time.”</p><p></p><p>Gorak absently tossed the staff to the ground. “I think yer wrong,” Gorak growled. “But I can’t have you doubting me all the time, or we’ll end up dead fer sure. We’re in this now. Only way we live to see another day, is if we trust each other.”</p><p></p><p>Khalid half expected to be smote by some unseen power, but the staff just lay there. Gorak shrugged. “I just figured maybe I shouldn’t be holding it, if I was gonna say that.”</p><p></p><p>“Who’s going to pick it up?” Shayla asked. “We can’t just leave it there.”</p><p></p><p>“Relax,” Gorak rumbled, riding over to one of the stunted pines that still dotted the increasingly bleak landscape. Muttering a few words, he plunged his hand through the bark. The tree sagged a little as he pulled out a smooth pine box. Gorak grunted at Azarek, who slid off his horse and helped him manoeuver the awkward branch into the box. Repeating the incantation, Gorak ran his hand along the side and sealed the staff within. “That’s the best I can do for now. We find us a good sized chunk of rock, and I’ll bury it.”</p><p></p><p>Khalid, lacking a better suggestion, nodded, and they resumed their journey. Just before noon the following day, Gorak returned from scouting ahead. Shifting back into his natural form, he growled, “I think I found some place that’ll work.” He led them away from the thin rutted path they were following through the gently rolling terrain to a thin stream. As they followed its banks it gradually widened until it merged with another and became almost a proper river. A few miles further on, the gentle murmur of the water grew louder as it tumbled down a waterfall to a murky pool below. They picked their way down the rocky incline to the base of the falls. Unstrapping the box from the back of his horse, Gorak placed his hand on the rock and uttered the words to a spell. At his touch, the rock rippled and flowed away, forming a small opening, just large enough to accommodate the staff. Sliding it into place, he repeated the words and dragged his hand across the stone, leaving no trace of his work.</p><p></p><p>Breathing a sigh of relief that the staff hadn’t managed to strike them dead, a flicker of motion caught his eye as he was about to speak. Swooping down from overhead was a giant owl, larger even then the eagle they had faced many months ago in the desert. Gorak, absorbed with the task at hand, was similarly caught unaware as the bird settled at the rocks on the top of the falls.</p><p></p><p>In a manner all too familiar, the bird began to writhe and shift, wings melting into arms, talons drawing back into booted feet. The steel grey feathers became a long coil of grey hair. Only her eyes remained the same. The cold, calculating menace of a predator. The woman, never taking her eyes from them, tilted back her head in a decidedly wolflike manner and sampled the air.</p><p></p><p>“You stink of blight,” she declared, her lips curling slightly. “Who are you?” she demanded. “And what are you doing here?”</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="EternalNewbie, post: 6296265, member: 6489"] Struggling to regain his senses through a fog of pain, Khalid's first thought was that he'd been attacked by Vestalt's minions. Trying to scramble away from the pointed horns with that filled his vision, he flopped about like a landed fish, until slowly his vision cleared, and Azarek's face coalesced in front of him. Blinking in confusion, he asked, “Ah, what happened?” “You asked me to keep an eye out for anything funny,” Azarek rasped. “You went stone still for about half an hour, then started mumbling and drooling all over yerself. So I woke you up.” “By bashing me with your shield?” Khalid moaned, rubbing his jaw. “Hah,” Azarek barked. “That weren't nothing. Shaking ya didn't work, so I gave ya a little nudge is all.” Annoyed as he was, Khalid couldn't really find fault with him. Brushing away Azarek's outstretched hand, he stood up and closed his eyes, trying to re-establish the connection. Ilsadora? Geoff? But this time there was no response, save for a faint whiff of pine that could have been no more than a memory. With a sigh, Khalid and went to find Gorak and Shayla. Holed up within the privacy of the magical shelter, they discussed it late into the evening. Khalid repeated the details several times, and, painful as it was for her, Shayla recounted her experience, at least as much as she could recall, in the hopes they could find some common thread. In the end, it came down to a single question. “Are you sure?” Gorak growled, for the tenth time. Khalid sighed. “Ah, it seemed as real as this does now. I could feel the warmth, yes, warmth of the sun upon my face and smell the pine upon the breeze. And I do not doubt the power of the being. Yes quite.” “But was it Ilsadora?” Shayla pressed. “Ah, I can only guess. Our...exchange...was cut short.” “When you got clobbered,” Gorak grunted, scowling at Azarek. Azarek shrugged off the comment. “He asked for it. Don't blame me jus cuz I enjoyed it a little.” Ignoring that, Shayla asked, “Do we tell Erik?” “Ah, I see no reason not to. Let them do what they will with the information, yes, quite. There can be no denying the presence of a higher power within the vault, and his sacrifice has already renewed their faith. The most obvious explanation is likely the correct one in this situation,” Khalid replied. “It's the implications, yes, implications, that concern me.” “A'right,” Gorak grunted, cutting the conversation short. “Then I think we're just about done here. Probably best we head out in the morning.” No one disagreed, and they retired for the night. Having done little but study the last few days, being awoken on Gorak's schedule was more than a little grating. Slowly Khalid collected his things and exited the portal, joining the others in the small house that had been given over for their use. The main square was a flurry of activity, with Erik at its centre. Dozens of people, rangers and villagers alike, crowded around him while he calmly organized everything from the provisioning of the town to the daily patrols. When he caught sight of them at the edge of the crowd, he extracted himself from the townsfolk and joined them. Seeing that they were carrying all of their gear, he said, “You're welcome to stay as long as you like, but I'm guessing folks like you have more important places to be.” “Home,” Gorak grunted. “And we got a mountain range and half a desert to go yet. Best we get started.” “I understand. Just know that nothing we can do will ever repay what you have given us.” “Ah, there's something else you should know,” Khalid interrupted. He quickly covered the details of his experience. “I do not pretend, yes, pretend to know what it means but we thought you should know. Yes, quite.” To his surprise, Erik reached out and clasped his arm. “I can't begin to thank you enough, for everything you've done, especially how we, how I, treated you before. I won't ignore the lesson in humility, Ilsadora has seen fit to teach me.” Gorak grunted. “You had your reasons and we had ours. Worked out well enough for both of us I figure.” His scowl deepened. “But you know, Orcs maybe the least of yer problems. The Dwerro ain't gonna be busy down south for ever.” Erik nodded. “We'll send out scouts. We'll have some warning at least.” “Warning won't be enough to save you from the Dwerro army,” Shayla replied. “No,” Erik agreed. “It won't. But if they come this far north, they'll find nothing but a few crumbling old buildings in a clearing in the trees. Once we drive the Orcs out and control the forest, there won't be an army in the world big enough to flush us out.” “That's a hard life fer village folk,” Azarek rasped. “You sure yer ready fer it?” “Those Orcs chipped a little bark off, but it’ll only grow back thicker. We've deep roots in this forest. With the goddess watching over us, we will come to thrive beneath the leaves.” The tone in his voice edged upon zeal. “Ah, she may not yet be able to intervene in mortal realm again,” Khalid cautioned. “She said nothing...” Erik smiled. “Maybe. But her courage is our courage in these dark times. Perhaps witnessing our small triumph will lend her some small amount of hope, in return for the faith she has given us.” Khalid couldn't help but notice while objects of worship for Ilsadora were there to see before, now every building sported dedication to the Goddess. True faith might be enough shelter from the privations to come, he thought to himself. They parted ways with Erik shortly thereafter, and after checking in on Geoff one final time, they rode out of town. Once again, like Knolton, Khalid found himself the centre of far more attention than he felt he deserved, as townsfolk came out to bid them safe journey. [CENTER]* * * * * * * * *[/CENTER] Two days into the journey, and Khalid was already missing the casual indolence of the last days in the village. Recent events had done little to quell his disquiet with the trees, and the prospect of running into fleeing Orcs was all too real. Being mounted and on the road, they gambled that they'd be able to overrun or escape any of the scattered bands foolish enough to cause trouble. But it was more than just physical discomfort that soured his mood. Once clear of the village, Gorak had pulled out the twisted staff, and carried it at his side. Khalid had long since learned to trust his instincts, especially the paranoid ones. The presence of the staff made him decidedly uncomfortable and not only because of its association with the basement. He caught Shayla's eye and motioned at the staff with a nod of his head. She leaned back in her saddle and shrugged, but Khalid caught her watching Gorak more and more often as they left the trees behind, and rode out onto the plain. A few days later, Khalid's suspicions grew to the point where he could not help but voice them. [I]Gorak[/I], he began, with a glance over to Shayla. [I]We need to discuss the staff[/I]. “What about it?” Gorak grumbled. [I]We need to give it proper study, it could be unpredictable or dangerous.[/I] “Relax,” Gorak grunted. “It's just a weapon.” [I]I should think it’s more than just a weapon. In any event we should discern exactly what it is capable of.[/I] “I think I got a pretty good handle on it,” Gorak grumbled. “It ain't nothing to worry about.” The last thing Khalid did when somebody told him to stop worrying, was stop worrying. “Ah, Gorak,” he said. “If you know something...yes quite.” “Well it obviously does that thing that sucks all the water outta the air.” Gorak growled. “Are you certain? Is, yes, is that all it does?” Khalid pressed. “How can you be sure?” Realizing that he couldn't continue to be evasive, Gorak relented. “It told me.” “Told you?” Shayla asked, in that deadly calm voice that usually meant somebody was about to get seriously hurt. “Yeah,” Gorak rumbled. “It told me. It's a weapon alrigh'. Damned powerful and conscious of it. Khalid switched again, directing his thoughts only to the three of them. G[I]orak, such things do not...think...the way we do. They are often times infused with singular purpose that they will carry out to the exclusion of all else. The most powerful can overwhelm a man's mind.[/I] “It tried that. Din't work. It knows who’s boss.” [I]What does it want? You perhaps received some glimpse of its purpose?[/I] “Well,” Gorak grumbled, starting to look a little defensive. “Maybe something. I got the feeling that it don't like cities and civilized folk much. That’s why it got on so well with them Orcs.” “Great. It's capable of widespread carnage, and it hates cities.” Shayla muttered. “What if it went off in Gem-Sharad? How many people would it kill?” “It can't do that,” Gorak growled. “It can't activate isself. It needs somebody to use it. And besides, that ain't nothing new. You can't tell me there weren't nothing that dangerous floating around Gem-Sharad before? [I]Unquestionably. But the institutions that held those forces in check have been swept away. And new powers rush to fill the void. Thus far, we have managed to claw and scratch our way to near the front of the pack, through a combination of ill luck, suffering and a measure of bravado that is rarely substantiated by our actions. I certainly see the allure. But in the wrong hands...we bested it once, sacrificing half a town to do it. In that was in the hands of one ignorant, albeit charismatic, forest Orc. [/I] “It's gonna take more than a shrivelled up stick…” he paused and glared at Khalid, “or a shiny egg to order me around. Ain't I proved that already? [I]We can't afford to underestimate it. It will be relentless. Its very identity is tied to its purpose. It will wait until you're wounded, or confused, to strike again. Perhaps it will remain docile for a time, until you come to depend on it, and when you need it this most, it will demand your surrender. If you refuse, it matters not, for the next to retrieve it may not be that strong. [/I] “One of these times, we're gonna run into something that don't poison or burn too well,” Gorak replied, “and this thing'll help. If I can control it, we're a force to be reckoned with. The shyte that's dogging us, maybe for once, we got the edge.” [I]Perhaps. But given our recent success, it's equally likely that we'll end up putting a powerful artifact into the hands of Vestalt, who will no doubt find a way to employ it. It's my opinion that it's too dangerous to use, and too dangerous to carry with us. It's best destroyed, but given our present situation, I think we have to settle for concealing it.[/I] Azarek rolled his eyes. “Ya don’t throw a sword away just cuz one end’s a little pointy. If you ain’t gonna risk getting cut, you ain’t never gonna win the fight.” “I’m with Khalid on this one,” Shayla said, cutting him off. “It’s too dangerous. We’re not going to let it do what it wants, and worse, we took it away from somebody that would have. It’s going to turn on us. It’s just a matter of time.” Gorak absently tossed the staff to the ground. “I think yer wrong,” Gorak growled. “But I can’t have you doubting me all the time, or we’ll end up dead fer sure. We’re in this now. Only way we live to see another day, is if we trust each other.” Khalid half expected to be smote by some unseen power, but the staff just lay there. Gorak shrugged. “I just figured maybe I shouldn’t be holding it, if I was gonna say that.” “Who’s going to pick it up?” Shayla asked. “We can’t just leave it there.” “Relax,” Gorak rumbled, riding over to one of the stunted pines that still dotted the increasingly bleak landscape. Muttering a few words, he plunged his hand through the bark. The tree sagged a little as he pulled out a smooth pine box. Gorak grunted at Azarek, who slid off his horse and helped him manoeuver the awkward branch into the box. Repeating the incantation, Gorak ran his hand along the side and sealed the staff within. “That’s the best I can do for now. We find us a good sized chunk of rock, and I’ll bury it.” Khalid, lacking a better suggestion, nodded, and they resumed their journey. Just before noon the following day, Gorak returned from scouting ahead. Shifting back into his natural form, he growled, “I think I found some place that’ll work.” He led them away from the thin rutted path they were following through the gently rolling terrain to a thin stream. As they followed its banks it gradually widened until it merged with another and became almost a proper river. A few miles further on, the gentle murmur of the water grew louder as it tumbled down a waterfall to a murky pool below. They picked their way down the rocky incline to the base of the falls. Unstrapping the box from the back of his horse, Gorak placed his hand on the rock and uttered the words to a spell. At his touch, the rock rippled and flowed away, forming a small opening, just large enough to accommodate the staff. Sliding it into place, he repeated the words and dragged his hand across the stone, leaving no trace of his work. Breathing a sigh of relief that the staff hadn’t managed to strike them dead, a flicker of motion caught his eye as he was about to speak. Swooping down from overhead was a giant owl, larger even then the eagle they had faced many months ago in the desert. Gorak, absorbed with the task at hand, was similarly caught unaware as the bird settled at the rocks on the top of the falls. In a manner all too familiar, the bird began to writhe and shift, wings melting into arms, talons drawing back into booted feet. The steel grey feathers became a long coil of grey hair. Only her eyes remained the same. The cold, calculating menace of a predator. The woman, never taking her eyes from them, tilted back her head in a decidedly wolflike manner and sampled the air. “You stink of blight,” she declared, her lips curling slightly. “Who are you?” she demanded. “And what are you doing here?” [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Al-Qarin: Into the Desert (3-1-24)
Top