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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1632883" data-attributes="member: 1210">The Stone BlockHigh Priest Spadron could not believe his ears.  The Voice- coming from him, from the Nadly boy!  How is it possible?And yet- Spadron’s denouncement of him, spoken in the Voice as well, was clear and unequivocal.  One could not lie in the Voice.  It was infallible.  Dexter was, indeed a heretic and murderer.And that was his answer, as well.”Yes,” Dexter answered Spadron’s accusation heavily.  “I have practiced heresy and even Bleakism.  I have murdered, even priests of the Light.”  Eyes blazing, he raised a shaking hand to the terrible scars on his forehead.  “That is why I wear this!  The mark of Bleak, branded on me by the Inquisition- and later crossed out with hot metal as well.  I have committed terrible crimes- but I have repented.  I have come into the Light.  And now-“ Dex glared at Spadron “-now I even act as His cleric.”Spadron glowered from behind his beard.  He considered for a long moment.“You will be watched,” he snapped at last.  Then, to one of the guards, he barked, “Summon Lady Keen.”***Dexter’s first warden was Lady Charlotte Keen, an ugly paladin whose shield bore a sword above a kocho before the sun, rising over the mountains.  Though not too clever, she was very wise, and warned of Dexter’s wiles.  She was to keep a close eye on him; to report back to Spadron by letter; and to ensure that Dexter did not perpetrate any crimes against the people of Forinthia or the Church of Galador.  A tall order, but a paladin of House Keen was certainly capable of fulfilling the task.Reluctantly, she left her lands and friends to join the party.  Reluctantly, they let her.***“Thule, that’s the key,” Malford insisted.  “The king of Thule is without an heir.  I can make him a potion that will help.”“Then let’s go,” Lochenvare answered.  “I can’t stand Forinthia.  The Imperials are everywhere, gettin’ into everyone’s business.”  He snorted.  “I’m not going to church on Godsday.  Darken that.”“Right,” Malford said.  “The capitol is called Fuzia.”***The Kingdom of Thule was far to the west of Forinthia.  It was on the western side of the westernmost continent in the region, Dorhaus.  The passage our heroes bought took them to the south coast, from whence they continued overland.  They traveled through heavily forested areas, thick groves of maple and oak spreading branches above thick undergrowth.  Eventually they came out on a path and followed it west and somewhat north; this lasted them for a week, including several stops in small communities, and by the end of it the forest had thinned and the ground had taken on a rolling character.  Little rills and brooks burbled between the hills and occasional frog-filled ponds dotted the landscape, yet after a few more days the party had come into a dryer area.  They crossed over a small hump of mountains, skirting the edge of a great wall that separated the open fields of two great adversarial nations (Thule and Wotan).On the day they passed the wall, about five miles north of it, they met an interesting sight.  A pale little gnome with greasy black hair was puzzling over an artificial-looking block of stone.  Halting, the party inquired as to what was going on.“I’m trying to move this block,” he explained, and went on to tell our heroes that there were goblins beneath.  “They raided my people,” the gnome went on, “and I wish to exact an agonizing revenge upon them.”  He gave an evil grin.“I can understand that,” Lochenvare nodded approvingly.Lady Charlotte glared at him.  “He’s evil,” she said.  Lochenvare smirked, out of her detection’s area.  “Nonetheless, there are goblins down there,” Malford replied.“Right,” said Dexter.  “And I’m sure that we can be a good influence on both this fellow and the goblins.”Charlotte made a mental note: consorting with evil.***The block was very difficult to move, but with the burly Lochenvare there to throw his back into it, as well as Lady Charlotte (who seemed possessed of nearly superhuman strength), our heroes managed.  A stinking hole was revealed, and our heroes dropped in, Lochenvare and Charlotte in the lead. They fell right into a goblin ambush, unfortunately for the goblins.  Moments later, cleaning their weapons off, our heroes glanced around the chamber they were in.  There were two exits.  “I’ll check this one out,” Ingen Jager offered, and crept off to the left.“He’s brave,” murmured Dexter. Lochenvare snorted.  “Yeah, but he should try using weapons instead of his hands.”There was a noise down the hall Ingen had gone into- a sort of ‘thump- splash.’“What was that?” wondered Lady Charlotte, drawing forth her rapier.  And then the ogres came.Next Time: Ingen Jager’s fate!</blockquote>

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