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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nonlethal Force" data-source="post: 3217194" data-attributes="member: 35788">EPILOGUE:Four days later, a casually dressed and road weary party of four rode into Fingerdale on horseback.  The hoods of their cloaks were pulled up tight, although when they crossed under the city gates they each reached up and removed their hoods.  This sudden movement allowed the light of day to cascade upon their faces.  Each one of them sighed as they crossed under the familiar gate.Semeion laughed and spoke first.  “Remember the last time we were here?  Charis was sick, and you two tried to convince me that she was carrying half-dragon children like Tierna!”Ischarus smiled as he searched the surroundings.  Rhema decided to bite on Semeion’s inquiry. “I honestly don’t think that I’ve ever seen you quite so angry, either.”Charis laughed.  “I wish I wouldn’t have passed out so I could have witnessed that!”  She turned in her saddle toward Semeion and added, “Well, I’ve no fear of that diagnosis until something drastically changes to my fourth finger on my left hand!”The foursome laughed at the insinuation.  It was clear by their actions that they were searching the town of Fingerdale with a purpose.  They rode through the streets at a leisurely pace for about fifteen minutes before Rhema exclaimed in joy.  “There it is!”Ischarus followed the point of her finger to an old building that looked as though it had seen better days.  “Really?  I’d have expected him to live in a better place than that!”Rhema smiled.  “Well, apparently the outside of his house is really quite nice, he just disguises it with a spell all the time to make it look worse than it is.  He says it keeps out nosey people who come looking for him.”Semeion smiled.  “Well, I’ll have to remember that when I become famous.”Charis replied to the mage’s assertion with a smile upon her face.  “I don’t expect to live in some kind of dump!”Ischarus dismounted and slipped Elistra’s reigns into Rhema’s hand for her hold.  He walked up the steps, careful not to step on what appeared to be loose boards.  He safely arrived at the top of the stairs and used the brass knocker to solidly bang upon the door.  Only seconds later the door opened all by itself.  Thinking himself brave, Ischarus stepped two paces into the house and then stopped.When the doors opened, it exposed an elaborate wooden hallway.  A gold chair rail extended the length of the hallway on both sides.  Along the hallway were arches leading into side rooms.  The arches were constructed of a rare red and gray marble.  The plaster along the ceiling was sculpted, depicting a scene of several dragons above everyone’s head as they entered the house.From outside the house and where they were seated upon their horses, Charis’ eyes opened wide as she took in the entrance.  “Never mind what I was saying earlier about the condition of the house.”  Semeion and Rhema both laughed at the comment.A voice rang down the hallway as Ischarus stepped into the house.  “Ischarus!  Come in, come in!”Ischarus looked down the hallway but saw nobody speaking.  Suddenly he heard footsteps descending the marble stairs at the end of the hallway.  In a mater of seconds Ischarus saw Brandt running in his direction.  “Master Brandt, good to see you!”Brandt replied in return, “Ischarus, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon!  I assume that your trip was successful?  And are your friends safe as well?”Ischarus nodded in the affirmative.  “All is well.  Although it seems that I am unfortunately the bearer of regrettable news for your dragon father.”Brandt smiled hopefully.  “Ah, you must be referring the search for the eggs.”Ischarus nodded once more.  “Yes.  We were unable to recover any eggs.  Apparently the red wyrm did not keep any.”Brandt smiled even more broadly as if he shared in a joke to which Ischarus did not understand the punch-line.  “Or perhaps the last female wyrm with whom he mated did not allow him to retain any of the eggs.”Ischarus couldn’t help but smile.  He hadn’t thought of that possibility.  “Ah, perhaps it was that way instead.  And if so, that was one smart red wyrm.  Her eggs will be more likely to grow up with her than if they were with the red that was slain!  Either way, we were rather unfortunate and unable to recover the eggs as had been requested.Brandt smiled again as though he knew something Ischarus had missed.  Ischarus couldn’t help but notice the look.  “Is there something I’m missing, Brandt?”Brandt smiled again and invited Ischarus to sit in one of the side rooms.  Once they were seated Brant looked at Ischarus with quite a serious look upon his face.  “Have you ever asked me who the dragon was that desired the eggs?”Ischarus paused for a moment and rubbed the stubble growing upon his chin.  “I don’t believe so.  I honestly didn’t think it was a detail that concerned me.  I knew you to be respected by the good dragons and if the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons trusts you then who am I to judge?  Why do you ask?”Brandt smiled.  “The dragon who made the request of me was the same Llywessiar that you now know of.  You did not bring him dragon eggs, of course.  But you did bring him something equally valuable in a different kind of way.  You brought him draconic half-breeds.”Ischarus’ face wrinkled as he tried to understand exactly what was being said to him.  “But, how does a dragon bred Provenience compare with full blooded dragon eggs?”Brandt looked to the floor and confessed the reality of the situation to Ischarus.  “In truth, it doesn’t.  They are both quantities that are beyond expense.  Llywessiar heard of your journey through my comments to him and he knew of your adventures through Ausaphaborishan’s involvement in the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons.  He simply wanted to make sure that the eggs were treasured and not destroyed.  Had there been eggs which were then recovered, the dragons could have been reared by Llywessiar and perhaps redeemed from their evil nature.  In part, your saving the red wyrm’s Provenience fulfilled the same spirit of Llywessiar’s request.  What is it the say?  You lived up to the spirit, but not the letter of the request?”Ischarus smiled, knowing that this was proof that he had much to learn about dragons and their relationships to one another and the world.  It was also proof that he and his party were on the right track with their code of respect for life and a refusal to kill unless no other option presented itself.  He confessed from his own soul, “Even as a child of the dragons and being raised in their culture I have much to learn.”Brandt smiled knowingly.  “As do I, Ischarus.  As do I.  But that does not change the fact that you fulfilled your duty to the dragon’s request.  As part of your payment, I have been authorized to help you in any way possible.  So what is the true reason that you sought me out?”Ischarus pulled out the weapons and leather armor that had been removed from the goblin tribe in Quehalost.  “There was a figure we met on our journey.  We couldn’t have pulled off what we did so easily without his assistance.  He was a soul trapped in this world, unable to move on.  He was like us, a traveler into Quehalost to interact with the denizens of the land.  He believes that he was tied to that land because his mission was incomplete.  Although he had been slain, his family does not yet know of his demise.  He requested the return of the weapons to his family in an attempt to be released from the land.  The problem is that I don’t know where to find them.”Brandt grasped the hilt of the largest weapon.  “Well, let me see if I can figure this out.  I’ll need a few minutes to look up the appropriate spell and then commit it to my memory.  Then I will be ready.  Go bring your friends into my manor while I study.”Ischarus obeyed, inviting the remaining three into the manor.  The horses were tied outside and the party entered Brandt’s formal sitting room.  Through a window Charis was able to keep watch over the horses.  After some time, Brandt returned with the weapon and a smile upon his face.  He placed the weapon on the center table and knelt before it.  He lifted his hand over the weapon palm side down.  “Hara-Canal-Vass-Praos.”  The weapon began to glow subtly for several minutes, increasing in intensity as time passed.  Once the glow had brightened completely, Brandt extended his second hand palm side down over the weapon.  The glow slowly leached from the metal onto his hand and then up his arms and onto his face.  Once the glow had completely migrated from the weapon to his face he let his tired arms fall to his sides and looked up to the party.  “The place you want is in Tongra.  The parents live on a small family farm just to the west of Oak Grove in the region of Bacrothen.  I do not know their names, but I have seen the place vividly.  The farmhouse is surrounded with a three foot red brick fence.  The house itself is made from naturally cut logs, perhaps the very logs that were cut to clear the land.  There is an outbuilding in the back and to the left of the house.  I can send you there with my teleportation magic if you desire.”Ischarus stood, “We do desire, and the sooner the better actually.  We have to accomplish this task for the sake of our spirit friend stuck in Quehalost.”Semeion rose to his feet.  “No, sir.  You need to accomplish this task.”  Semeion turned to Brandt and continued his explanation.  “If its all the same, I’d just as soon you send me back to Quehalost and to the tunnel entrance.  The ghostly figure is there protecting our escape.  I want to see him off if he is still there.  And I want to say thanks.”Charis stood and joined Semeion.  “Thanks?  For helping us?”Semeion smiled.  “For helping all of us.  He protected us in the tunnels.  He kept me from unknowingly falling into the red wyrm’s trap.  We spoke for a while in the forest when I was badly injured.  He was there to encourage me on my journey.  I owe him that much to be there to encourage him on his next journey.”Charis clenched Semeion’s hand with her own.  “Then I shall be with you, too.”Semeion nodded in response to Charis’ suggestion.  Rhema rose and stood beside Ischarus. Brandt looked at the party with a sorrowful look upon his face and nodded slowly.He spoke softly in reply to the needs of the party.  “The task that you are going to undertake is not an easy one. Physically, it will not challenge you.  Spiritually, this task runs deeper than most.  I can help you.  Wait here until I return.”Brandt left the room for several minutes.  Upon his return he brought forth four rings made of what looked to be pure silver.  “These rings have been attuned to this house.  To activate them, the rings must be worn and twisted around the finger one complete revolution.  There is a problem, however.  I can easily send Ischarus and Rhema to Oak Grove because I have seen the place.  I cannot guarantee that Semeion and Charis will arrive where they need to be simply because I don’t know where you both are going.”Semeion smiled.  “Don’t worry, Brandt.  Of course I remember exactly what the tunnel looked like and where it is.  I’ve almost died every time I enter it from the Quehalost side!  You don’t forget a place like that too easily.  I can direct our rings to get us there.  Do they work in conjunction with one another?”Brandt smiled, “They do if you are holding hands.  Then they will work as one.  Whoever holds their ring higher will become the dominant ring and provide the teleport.”Brandt guided Ischarus and Rhema in the use of the rings, showing them how to activate them to return to his sitting room.  Semeion watched Brandt and learned quickly.  In a matter of seconds Ischarus and Charis were standing before the farmhouse in Oak grove.  Another instant later and Semeion and Charis appeared between the forest and the tunnel entrance in Quehalost.Semeion spoke softly.  “Hello?”Slowly the light gray figure poked his head out of a nearby tree.  “Semeion?  Charis?  How did you get here?”Semeion held out his hands.  “We’ve got little time to explain, so you’ll need to trust me.  Ischarus and Rhema are approaching your home as we speak.  With any luck, you should be going home soon.  Your leather and weapons will be returned and your parents will know.”The ghostly figure looked on with a grateful expression.  “Thank you, Semeion.  Thank you, Charis.  Tell Ischarus and Rhema that I am grateful.”Across the mountains and nearly completely across Tongra, Ischarus knocked solidly upon the face of the door.  A middle aged man opened the door slightly.  He saw the leather armor and recognized it immediately.  He let out a gasp as the door slid open further.  “Is that ...?”Ischarus nodded solemnly.  “Sir, may we come in?  We have a long tale to tell you and your wife.  I’d rather do that inside and sitting down if I may.”The man opened the door and invited Ischarus and Rhema inside.  He called his wife and the four of them sat around their table.  Ischarus handed the man the leather and the weapons and began to recount the tale.Across the land at the edge of the mountains, Charis looked with compassion upon the light-gray figure.  “We will tell them.  We couldn’t have done it without you.  We’re proud of you.”Semeion felt a single tear roll down his left cheek.  It was followed by a tear down his right cheek.  There was no need to hold back any more.  “Quehalost will never be the same.  Tales will be told of your sacrifices.  Sacrifices you made in life and this hereafter.  I will not forget.”As Semeion spoke, the ghostly image reached out to Semeion.  His image began to waver, and he vanished.  A warm breeze filled the area for a second and then it was gone.  Semeion embraced Charis with a hug.  They twisted their rings and soon they were gone as well.  The tunnel into Quehalost was now empty. The immediate land into which it spilled was now without a malevolent ruler.  The people who once lived in this small section of Quehalost had found a new dragon father and this one was noble.  In the distance a bird began to sing.  It was answered by another.  Soon the forest was alive with the calls and songs of little birds.[Sblock=Color-Free Speech Section]EPILOGUE:Four days later, a casually dressed and road weary party of four rode into Fingerdale on horseback. The hoods of their cloaks were pulled up tight, although when they crossed under the city gates they each reached up and removed their hoods. This sudden movement allowed the light of day to cascade upon their faces. Each one of them sighed as they crossed under the familiar gate.Semeion laughed and spoke first. “Remember the last time we were here? Charis was sick, and you two tried to convince me that she was carrying half-dragon children like Tierna!”Ischarus smiled as he searched the surroundings. Rhema decided to bite on Semeion’s inquiry. “I honestly don’t think that I’ve ever seen you quite so angry, either.”Charis laughed. “I wish I wouldn’t have passed out so I could have witnessed that!” She turned in her saddle toward Semeion and added, “Well, I’ve no fear of that diagnosis until something drastically changes to my fourth finger on my left hand!”The foursome laughed at the insinuation. It was clear by their actions that they were searching the town of Fingerdale with a purpose. They rode through the streets at a leisurely pace for about fifteen minutes before Rhema exclaimed in joy. “There it is!”Ischarus followed the point of her finger to an old building that looked as though it had seen better days. “Really? I’d have expected him to live in a better place than that!”Rhema smiled. “Well, apparently the outside of his house is really quite nice, he just disguises it with a spell all the time to make it look worse than it is. He says it keeps out nosey people who come looking for him.”Semeion smiled. “Well, I’ll have to remember that when I become famous.”Charis replied to the mage’s assertion with a smile upon her face. “I don’t expect to live in some kind of dump!”Ischarus dismounted and slipped Elistra’s reigns into Rhema’s hand for her hold. He walked up the steps, careful not to step on what appeared to be loose boards. He safely arrived at the top of the stairs and used the brass knocker to solidly bang upon the door. Only seconds later the door opened all by itself. Thinking himself brave, Ischarus stepped two paces into the house and then stopped.When the doors opened, it exposed an elaborate wooden hallway. A gold chair rail extended the length of the hallway on both sides. Along the hallway were arches leading into side rooms. The arches were constructed of a rare red and gray marble. The plaster along the ceiling was sculpted, depicting a scene of several dragons above everyone’s head as they entered the house.From outside the house and where they were seated upon their horses, Charis’ eyes opened wide as she took in the entrance. “Never mind what I was saying earlier about the condition of the house.” Semeion and Rhema both laughed at the comment.A voice rang down the hallway as Ischarus stepped into the house. “Ischarus! Come in, come in!”Ischarus looked down the hallway but saw nobody speaking. Suddenly he heard footsteps descending the marble stairs at the end of the hallway. In a mater of seconds Ischarus saw Brandt running in his direction. “Master Brandt, good to see you!”Brandt replied in return, “Ischarus, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon! I assume that your trip was successful? And are your friends safe as well?”Ischarus nodded in the affirmative. “All is well. Although it seems that I am unfortunately the bearer of regrettable news for your dragon father.”Brandt smiled hopefully. “Ah, you must be referring the search for the eggs.”Ischarus nodded once more. “Yes. We were unable to recover any eggs. Apparently the red wyrm did not keep any.”Brandt smiled even more broadly as if he shared in a joke to which Ischarus did not understand the punch-line. “Or perhaps the last female wyrm with whom he mated did not allow him to retain any of the eggs.”Ischarus couldn’t help but smile. He hadn’t thought of that possibility. “Ah, perhaps it was that way instead. And if so, that was one smart red wyrm. Her eggs will be more likely to grow up with her than if they were with the red that was slain! Either way, we were rather unfortunate and unable to recover the eggs as had been requested.Brandt smiled again as though he knew something Ischarus had missed. Ischarus couldn’t help but notice the look. “Is there something I’m missing, Brandt?”Brandt smiled again and invited Ischarus to sit in one of the side rooms. Once they were seated Brant looked at Ischarus with quite a serious look upon his face. “Have you ever asked me who the dragon was that desired the eggs?”Ischarus paused for a moment and rubbed the stubble growing upon his chin. “I don’t believe so. I honestly didn’t think it was a detail that concerned me. I knew you to be respected by the good dragons and if the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons trusts you then who am I to judge? Why do you ask?”Brandt smiled. “The dragon who made the request of me was the same Llywessiar that you now know of. You did not bring him dragon eggs, of course. But you did bring him something equally valuable in a different kind of way. You brought him draconic half-breeds.”Ischarus’ face wrinkled as he tried to understand exactly what was being said to him. “But, how does a dragon bred Provenience compare with full blooded dragon eggs?”Brandt looked to the floor and confessed the reality of the situation to Ischarus. “In truth, it doesn’t. They are both quantities that are beyond expense. Llywessiar heard of your journey through my comments to him and he knew of your adventures through Ausaphaborishan’s involvement in the Assembly of Virtuous Dragons. He simply wanted to make sure that the eggs were treasured and not destroyed. Had there been eggs which were then recovered, the dragons could have been reared by Llywessiar and perhaps redeemed from their evil nature. In part, your saving the red wyrm’s Provenience fulfilled the same spirit of Llywessiar’s request. What is it the say? You lived up to the spirit, but not the letter of the request?”Ischarus smiled, knowing that this was proof that he had much to learn about dragons and their relationships to one another and the world. It was also proof that he and his party were on the right track with their code of respect for life and a refusal to kill unless no other option presented itself. He confessed from his own soul, “Even as a child of the dragons and being raised in their culture I have much to learn.”Brandt smiled knowingly. “As do I, Ischarus. As do I. But that does not change the fact that you fulfilled your duty to the dragon’s request. As part of your payment, I have been authorized to help you in any way possible. So what is the true reason that you sought me out?”Ischarus pulled out the weapons and leather armor that had been removed from the goblin tribe in Quehalost. “There was a figure we met on our journey. We couldn’t have pulled off what we did so easily without his assistance. He was a soul trapped in this world, unable to move on. He was like us, a traveler into Quehalost to interact with the denizens of the land. He believes that he was tied to that land because his mission was incomplete. Although he had been slain, his family does not yet know of his demise. He requested the return of the weapons to his family in an attempt to be released from the land. The problem is that I don’t know where to find them.”Brandt grasped the hilt of the largest weapon. “Well, let me see if I can figure this out. I’ll need a few minutes to look up the appropriate spell and then commit it to my memory. Then I will be ready. Go bring your friends into my manor while I study.”Ischarus obeyed, inviting the remaining three into the manor. The horses were tied outside and the party entered Brandt’s formal sitting room. Through a window Charis was able to keep watch over the horses. After some time, Brandt returned with the weapon and a smile upon his face. He placed the weapon on the center table and knelt before it. He lifted his hand over the weapon palm side down. “Hara-Canal-Vass-Praos.” The weapon began to glow subtly for several minutes, increasing in intensity as time passed. Once the glow had brightened completely, Brandt extended his second hand palm side down over the weapon. The glow slowly leached from the metal onto his hand and then up his arms and onto his face. Once the glow had completely migrated from the weapon to his face he let his tired arms fall to his sides and looked up to the party. “The place you want is in Tongra. The parents live on a small family farm just to the west of Oak Grove in the region of Bacrothen. I do not know their names, but I have seen the place vividly. The farmhouse is surrounded with a three foot red brick fence. The house itself is made from naturally cut logs, perhaps the very logs that were cut to clear the land. There is an outbuilding in the back and to the left of the house. I can send you there with my teleportation magic if you desire.”Ischarus stood, “We do desire, and the sooner the better actually. We have to accomplish this task for the sake of our spirit friend stuck in Quehalost.”Semeion rose to his feet. “No, sir. You need to accomplish this task.” Semeion turned to Brandt and continued his explanation. “If its all the same, I’d just as soon you send me back to Quehalost and to the tunnel entrance. The ghostly figure is there protecting our escape. I want to see him off if he is still there. And I want to say thanks.”Charis stood and joined Semeion. “Thanks? For helping us?”Semeion smiled. “For helping all of us. He protected us in the tunnels. He kept me from unknowingly falling into the red wyrm’s trap. We spoke for a while in the forest when I was badly injured. He was there to encourage me on my journey. I owe him that much to be there to encourage him on his next journey.”Charis clenched Semeion’s hand with her own. “Then I shall be with you, too.”Semeion nodded in response to Charis’ suggestion. Rhema rose and stood beside Ischarus. Brandt looked at the party with a sorrowful look upon his face and nodded slowly.He spoke softly in reply to the needs of the party. “The task that you are going to undertake is not an easy one. Physically, it will not challenge you. Spiritually, this task runs deeper than most. I can help you. Wait here until I return.”Brandt left the room for several minutes. Upon his return he brought forth four rings made of what looked to be pure silver. “These rings have been attuned to this house. To activate them, the rings must be worn and twisted around the finger one complete revolution. There is a problem, however. I can easily send Ischarus and Rhema to Oak Grove because I have seen the place. I cannot guarantee that Semeion and Charis will arrive where they need to be simply because I don’t know where you both are going.”Semeion smiled. “Don’t worry, Brandt. Of course I remember exactly what the tunnel looked like and where it is. I’ve almost died every time I enter it from the Quehalost side! You don’t forget a place like that too easily. I can direct our rings to get us there. Do they work in conjunction with one another?”Brandt smiled, “They do if you are holding hands. Then they will work as one. Whoever holds their ring higher will become the dominant ring and provide the teleport.”Brandt guided Ischarus and Rhema in the use of the rings, showing them how to activate them to return to his sitting room. Semeion watched Brandt and learned quickly. In a matter of seconds Ischarus and Charis were standing before the farmhouse in Oak grove. Another instant later and Semeion and Charis appeared between the forest and the tunnel entrance in Quehalost.Semeion spoke softly. “Hello?”Slowly the light gray figure poked his head out of a nearby tree. “Semeion? Charis? How did you get here?”Semeion held out his hands. “We’ve got little time to explain, so you’ll need to trust me. Ischarus and Rhema are approaching your home as we speak. With any luck, you should be going home soon. Your leather and weapons will be returned and your parents will know.”The ghostly figure looked on with a grateful expression. “Thank you, Semeion. Thank you, Charis. Tell Ischarus and Rhema that I am grateful.”Across the mountains and nearly completely across Tongra, Ischarus knocked solidly upon the face of the door. A middle aged man opened the door slightly. He saw the leather armor and recognized it immediately. He let out a gasp as the door slid open further. “Is that ...?”Ischarus nodded solemnly. “Sir, may we come in? We have a long tale to tell you and your wife. I’d rather do that inside and sitting down if I may.”The man opened the door and invited Ischarus and Rhema inside. He called his wife and the four of them sat around their table. Ischarus handed the man the leather and the weapons and began to recount the tale.Across the land at the edge of the mountains, Charis looked with compassion upon the light-gray figure. “We will tell them. We couldn’t have done it without you. We’re proud of you.”Semeion felt a single tear roll down his left cheek. It was followed by a tear down his right cheek. There was no need to hold back any more. “Quehalost will never be the same. Tales will be told of your sacrifices. Sacrifices you made in life and this hereafter. I will not forget.”As Semeion spoke, the ghostly image reached out to Semeion. His image began to waver, and he vanished. A warm breeze filled the area for a second and then it was gone. Semeion embraced Charis with a hug. They twisted their rings and soon they were gone as well. The tunnel into Quehalost was now empty. The immediate land into which it spilled was now without a malevolent ruler. The people who once lived in this small section of Quehalost had found a new dragon father and this one was noble. In the distance a bird began to sing. It was answered by another. Soon the forest was alive with the calls and songs of little birds.[/Sblock]</blockquote>

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