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<blockquote data-quote="Nthal" data-source="post: 7636529" data-attributes="member: 6971069"><p><strong>Plains of Blood - 07-18-2019</strong></p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><strong>Plains of Blood</strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"><strong></strong></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>There are no cemeteries in Sigil. The Dustman take care of the dead according to the beliefs of the deceased. That could be a burial in the earth, submerged in on ocean, picked apart by carrion birds of the sky, or incineration by great flames. Only the last is performed in Sigil, the rest the Dustman take care of.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em></em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>While I hated the Dustman for what they did to Elsina. For the ones that didn’t sell their shells, they did honorable work.</em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em> </em></p> <p style="text-align: center"><em>So I guess that most Dustmen are people too.</em></p><p></p><p>I know that I gave Iesa a start when I sat up suddenly, gasping for air, and clutching my symbol of Kelemvor. It was the first night that we had to camp in the wilds, and it had been a while since anyone noticed my nightly torment. I stared helplessly into the night; trying to remember what it was about. Why could I not shake this nightmare from my mind? Why could I not remember it? I guess I had some time to mull over it until dawn as I had drawn the last watch.</p><p>I pulled on my armor and weapons and crawled out of my tent to relieve the brothers. Iesa saw me and had a look for concern on his face. He pointed at me and was about to say something, but I waved him off. He shrugged, and Daneath and he retired for some sleep.</p><p></p><p>Foggle of course sat on a branch watching over everything. It never slept, and my understanding was that it had good night eyes. Still, we still took turns as only Beepu would trust the owl with our skins alone.</p><p></p><p>I should have focused more on the watch, but the nightmares frequency was troubling me. I guess they have been a recurring thing since I was perhaps fifteen turns of the wheel, but they were sporadic. Rarely was it clear in memory on what I saw or did. But it was always clear emotionally. Fear. Dread. Guilt. Sorrow. Loss. But now, there was something else lurking within; but only the barest glimpse. A revelation just beyond the grasp of my dreaming mind. </p><p>My dreams and nightmares weren’t usually this mysterious. But as I thought about it more, my nightmares have been more frequent ever since…</p><p></p><p>I died.</p><p></p><p>Granted, dying was horrific. Coming back even more so. But I didn’t dream about death or dying. It was something else lurking in my head that refused to let my waking self, see. But what was strange was unlike nightmares before, I had the same feelings each time. The same intensity. I wondered if I was experiencing the same nightmare each time. </p><p>I sat there mulling over my dreams for hours getting nowhere. Finally, the sun rose, spilling red orange light across the grassland we were in. To the north were low hills, but they were far in the distance, with a lot of rolling grassland in between. But I noticed something now as the sky started to brighten. In the distance were pillars of black smoke. They were widely separated from each other and whatever was causing them, was fixed. Once the sun rose above the horizon, I woke the others and pointed them out.</p><p></p><p>“Well, we’re not alone out here,” Iesa said grimacing as he squinted looking into the distance.</p><p></p><p>“Nope. But who should we expect to find?” Daneath said as he tightened the straps to his armor.</p><p></p><p>“In a word; trouble.” Beepu said grimly, and he sent Foggle aloft. “But, we will see them before they see us.”</p><p></p><p>We started heading north. Somewhere ahead of us was another gully surrounded by hills per the map. But there wasn’t much in the way of landmarks. So, our best guess was to head north and find a piece of high ground and see if we could get a better idea of where to go, and to use Foggle to maneuver through the grass safely.</p><p></p><p>It wasn’t long before Beepu gave us an indication of something interesting, and he pointed towards a narrow column of sputtering smoke nearby. It wasn’t as dark or thick as some of the others, and we hoped that this may give us an idea what may lay ahead.</p><p></p><p>Following Foggle, it led us to a small cairn in a cleared area of grass. It was a simple affair, a pile of rounded stones stacked into a pile, with a smoking pyre of wood in the center. But as we approached, our curiosity turned and twisted into horror as we realized the truth of what it was.</p><p></p><p>The stones, weren’t rock, but were piled bleached skulls. Some had marks upon them indicating injuries, others the marks of teeth. All of them were human or humanoid stacked together, with the remains of bloodied soil as a crude mortar. Beside the smoking wood pile, was a sundered half of a log, hollowed out to form a basin. Within it, was a pool of congealed blood, with unidentified lumps of…something within. Finally sticking up on end behind and bowed over the smoking wood was a stave, from which hung three stones wrapped in rope and hanging from the top of the stave. A rare breeze blew the rocks, and they clicked together quietly over this display of blood and gore.</p><p></p><p>“This…this…isn’t Elk tribe is it.” Iesa stated flately.</p><p></p><p>“No,” I said looking at the effigy of a triple headed flail “It’s a shrine to the Tanar’ri lord known as the ‘Ruler of Ruin;’ Yeenoghu.”</p><p></p><p>“Gnolls,” Daneath said and spat. “Can’t say I’m surprised. </p><p></p><p>“Foggle does not see any packs nearby,” said Beepu hopefully. “Perhaps we can sneak through them?”</p><p></p><p>“Let’s hope so. I doubt we will find any Elks tribesman though,” Daneath said.</p><p></p><p>We left the grisly display undisturbed and continued onwards. We said little now, pushing our way through the tall grass. Our ears strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. But we heard nothing. Not birds, not animals, not even the wind on the grass.</p><p></p><p>We trudged north, constantly scanning the horizon for gnolls. And sometime after the sun climbed to peak, Beepu stopped and motioned us towards him.</p><p></p><p>“There is a depression nearby,” Beepu said concentrating, looking through Foggles eyes. “And an open pit it appears?”</p><p></p><p>“But no pyre?” Daneath asked.</p><p></p><p>“No, I am having Foggle fly in closer to—”</p><p></p><p>And then we heard a strange sound and a flash of red light, followed by a high pitched “BEEP” and the sound of metal parts hitting the ground.</p><p></p><p>Beepu closed his eyes and looked upwards mouthing the words “Not again.”</p><p></p><p>“I take it we need to get those parts back?” Daneath asked, to which Beepu nodded.</p><p></p><p>We ready ourselves and head towards the direction of the depression. It was not far, and for three of us it was a simple divot in the ground the size of a barn. Several small hillocks of dirt and rock were spread around the depression, breaking through the top of the tall grass spread around. Finally, in the middle was a large open pit. Beepu of course could see none of this, as the top of the grass was above his head.</p><p></p><p>“So where do we start?” I asked.</p><p></p><p>“The pit, and work our way out I guess,” Iesa suggested.</p><p></p><p>Having no better idea, we make our way into the depression.</p><p></p><p>Iesa was in front, followed by Daneath, and Beepu and lastly myself as we headed toward the open pit, when I noticed the odor. It was one of blood, sweat, rot and wet animal hide. I was about to shout a warning, when a pack attacked us. </p><p></p><p>A group of figures dashed out from crouched positions. It was sudden, and it appeared that their cunning was enough to conceal themselves even from Foggle’s sight before he was blown out of the air. So, we barely had time to react to our assailants.</p><p></p><p>The first two collided with the brothers, each slashing with swords. They snarled and the look on their faces screamed volumes about their Tanar’ri master. Madness, bloodlust, and hunger all mixed together as their yellow eyes looked at us as their next victim.</p><p></p><p>Beepu meanwhile had a problem; while the gnolls were no longer concealed, they might as well been from his perspective. Beepu stood well below the tops of the grass around us and was blind to the snarling band that attacked us now. He muttered under his breath, faded from sight, and I watched the grass part as he dashed to a nearby hillock.</p><p></p><p>“Great,” I muttered, and soon I was under attack by two of the dead withered gnolls. Or would have been, because as they closed I could feel a kind of…resonance as they approached. It was uncomfortable, but as they both came to me and looked to swing, they froze. Their clawed hands clutched swords, but the blades twisted in their hands in frustration and their bodies writhed and shivered. Then, they turned and headed straight for Daneath, a couple of yards away.</p><p>The first time this had happened outside of Triboar I had no idea what happened. Now I was more certain. That dark strand of magic was the resonance I felt, and it what was protecting me from the witherlings. I didn’t know how exactly, but I suspected that if I attacked them directly, that the resonance effect would be broken.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, I could cast magic at the living pair already on Iesa and Daneath. I grasped at the gnolls, summoning skeletal hands to claw and grasp at them both, while I held my ground from the fleeing witherlings.</p><p></p><p>The brothers Iesa and Daneath, now worked as brothers in arms. Daneath would take the lead hitting the beasty creatures with his sword and forcing openings so that Iesa could thrust and slash with devastating effect. Working together they easily brought one down, before the two witherlings reached their position. </p><p></p><p>Of to my left I could hear swearing and the sound of crumbling dirt giving way. As assumed that Beepu was trying to climb up a hillock to get a better view, and hopefully assist. Since the witherlings couldn’t see him, and they couldn’t approach me their ire was focused on Daneath who was closer to me than Iesa. They swung wildly, striking Daneath’s shield and hitting not much else.</p><p></p><p>I then focused my effort on the second gnoll, I pulled on that dark strand of energy and wrapped it around the gnoll and then sent a blast of purple energy at it. The bolt hit it forcefully in the chest, and the additional energy pulled and rent the flesh of the creature, causing it to howl in pain. My heart pounded quicker as I heard that sound, and I looked for other targets, when I saw another pair heading straight for us.</p><p></p><p>Iesa took advantage of the gnoll’s distraction and laid it low with a vicious cut across the throat. All the while Daneath bashed the other witherling off-balance with his shield and landed a crushing sword blow on the shoulder of the creature, nearly cleaving it into two. All the while, Mo screeched from Iesa’s pack, as if warning him about the additional combatants coming towards us.</p><p></p><p>And again, from my right I heard more dirt shifting and more grunts, as Beepu must have been looking for a way to gain some visibility of the battle. I in turn pulled the darkened thread from the corpse of the dead gnoll and shifted it to one of the charging pair. I sent another bolt of purple energy at my target, striking true. I could hear a cry of anger from it as I heard bone crack, and could see flesh rend. It shifted its gaze towards me and charged. Deneath finished the last witherling and moved himself between the gnoll and me. Iesa took advantage of the distraction that Daneath’s movement caused and thrust through the last witherling, causing it to drop.</p><p></p><p>The gnoll pair split, one heading for Daneath, and the other heading straight for me. The first swung it sword, and blood spurted from Iesa’s side as it found a gap between the boiled leather Iesa wore. The other was able to close to me and swung. But I batted away the blow with my shield. While I did so I focused on the dark strand and called another skeletal hand to grasp and claw at the gnoll, while the other spell also stripped away its vitality.</p><p></p><p>Daneath and Iesa again together exploited the holes of the gnoll’s defenses, and swiftly brought it down. Then both ran over to assist me as the gnoll again swung ineffectively, clipping my shield once again. I focused again and laid the last gnoll down, just as Daneath and Iesa reached me. I relaxed a bit standing straight and looking around for more to charge out of the brush. My cheeks and face ached a bit, and I then realized that I must have had a large grin on my face. I turned away from the brothers in shame and horror. I didn’t want to be seen enjoying this.</p><p></p><p>I shouldn’t be enjoying this.</p><p></p><p>My thoughts were interrupted by an “Ah HAH! No…wait. Where are they?!” from Beepu’s voice nearby. </p><p></p><p>“I think you missed it,” Daneath said calmly as he started to wipe the gore from his blade.</p><p></p><p>“Did he even see it?” Iesa asked.</p><p></p><p>Regaining composure, I turned to look at the pair and shrugged, “Who are you talking about? It’s only us three.”</p><p></p><p>“Very funny. Now help me down!” Beepu’s voice said.</p><p></p><p>We all looked around with sly grins aimlessly. “Wasn’t Beepu here a minute ago?” asked Daneath mockingly.</p><p></p><p>“Not sure. Might have fallen into another ankheg hole.” I said looking around.</p><p></p><p>“We’d see that. More likely a rabbit hole.” Iesa said. He then bent down peering into the grass. “Beepu? Are you in there?”</p><p></p><p>From on top of a mound of rock and dirt, Beepu appeared with a look that could melt iron and said angrily. “I. Am. Right. Here!”</p><p></p><p>“Hey nice of you to jump in and help! Appreciate that.” Iesa said waving at the gnome.</p><p></p><p>Beepu glared and started to slide his way back down the floor of the plains.</p><p></p><p>“Myr, nice of you to send two of them our way. How did you manage that, and not this one?” Daneath commented while nudging the corpse with his boot.</p><p></p><p>I shrugged, “I…I don’t think the dead ones <strong><em>could</em></strong> attack me. I can feel them want to and try, but my…my magic scares them?”</p><p></p><p>Beepu had walked up at this point, “So you invoked something?”</p><p></p><p>“No. I didn’t <strong><em>do</em></strong> anything. I just felt it happen.” I said.</p><p></p><p>“Well, at least you helped,” Daneath said with a smirk.</p><p></p><p>“Hey! I was going to—” Beepu started.</p><p></p><p>“Let’s find Foggle,” I said. “And get out of here. This place feels wrong.”</p><p></p><p>We continued to make our way to the pit, and once I stood at the edge, I regretted it. The smell that it emitted was one of the foulest I could have imagined. Within it, the skeletal remains of…people were scattered in pieces, rotting in the open air. If I had to guess there might have been twenty corpses dismembered within. I kept staring in horror drinking in more details, unable to turn away.</p><p></p><p>“Go find Foggle. I…need a moment.” I said as a sank down to my knees. The others moved away, looking for the brass familiar as I stared at the mess below me.</p><p></p><p>I wanted to do something. I didn’t know who the corpses were once. I didn’t know if they died fighting. I didn’t know what the gnolls were doing with them or even if they were done with them. What I did know is that they deserved better. A better fate. A better end. A better passing into the fugue.</p><p></p><p>I thought a moment, trying to find the right words for this. Trying to remember a prayer that my mentor taught me. Finally, one came to me. While I couldn’t bury them; I could give a blessing.</p><p><em></em></p><p><em>“We see the unknown before us and beseech You,</em></p><p><em>“May their souls pass to the Fugue for Your judgement and rest,</em></p><p><em>“May their kin remember them and their deeds,</em></p><p><em>“For while their shells left behind may be forgotten,</em></p><p><em>“Their souls shall travel far past failing memories reach,</em></p><p><em>“Let their souls rest, and provide succor to those who remain,</em></p><p><em>“So, they will be remembered. So, they will be honored,</em></p><p><em>“Blessed be the unknown fallen. </em></p><p></p><p>I grasped at the some of the dirt next to me and stood. I cast the dirt across the pit of gore. My head was bowed as I shed tears for the fallen. None of them met their end in the fullness of time. I could only hope that their souls could rest beyond the fugue.</p><p></p><p>“I found him!” Daneath said, lifting the owl from the grass. “Looks like he’s in one piece, but he does have a hole in him.”</p><p></p><p>“Let me see!” Beepu said rushing over. “Yes, yes, yes. You are right it appears. I will have to repair him again this evening.</p><p></p><p>In the distance we heard yelping and the mocking laughter from hyenas. The sound gave me the chills from the memory of the last encounter I had with the dog like animals.</p><p></p><p>“We should get going before they show up,” Iesa pointed out. “Are you done Myr?” </p><p></p><p>I nodded, and we restarted our trek northwards, quiet and lost in each in our own thoughts. The sounds of the hyenas faded in the distance, which we took as a good omen for passing by unnoticed. Eventually as the sun started to kiss the horizon to the west, Iesa found a place we could rest for the evening. It had a source of water and was nestled low between two low mounds of earth. We lit no fire for the evening, as we didn’t want to attract the attention of packs.</p><p></p><p>Beepu was hiding under a blanket with my light, so he could repair Foggle, without the light being seen. I chewed my rations slowly, occasionally adding some desperately needed flavor. Of the many foods I missed, it was Za I missed the most. Folded bread with meats, cheeses, mushrooms and sauces, baked and sooty. So, of course my jerky now tasted as perfect as my memory could recall. It was a pity I couldn’t do the heat or the texture to make the illusion complete.</p><p></p><p>But I sat there, thinking about the magical forces I could manipulate. The strands of darkness. The strands of light. And now I realized that I didn’t even fully control them. These strands affected things around me without my input. Preventing the dead from attacking me. Allowing me to see perfectly in darkness. So, what was this Strand of magic I controlled? </p><p></p><p>Did I really control the Strand? </p><p></p><p>Or, did the Strand control me?</p><p><strong></strong></p><p><strong>Session notes:</strong></p><p></p><p>DM 2, Foggle 0. We never were sure what shot him.</p><p></p><p>And yes, Beepu technically did nothing. He couldn’t climb, and he couldn’t see. Might as well been visible, but I did have better armor so it worked out.</p><p></p><p>3712</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nthal, post: 7636529, member: 6971069"] [b]Plains of Blood - 07-18-2019[/b] [CENTER][B]Plains of Blood [/B] [I]There are no cemeteries in Sigil. The Dustman take care of the dead according to the beliefs of the deceased. That could be a burial in the earth, submerged in on ocean, picked apart by carrion birds of the sky, or incineration by great flames. Only the last is performed in Sigil, the rest the Dustman take care of. [/I] [I]While I hated the Dustman for what they did to Elsina. For the ones that didn’t sell their shells, they did honorable work. [/I] [I]So I guess that most Dustmen are people too.[/I][/CENTER] I know that I gave Iesa a start when I sat up suddenly, gasping for air, and clutching my symbol of Kelemvor. It was the first night that we had to camp in the wilds, and it had been a while since anyone noticed my nightly torment. I stared helplessly into the night; trying to remember what it was about. Why could I not shake this nightmare from my mind? Why could I not remember it? I guess I had some time to mull over it until dawn as I had drawn the last watch. I pulled on my armor and weapons and crawled out of my tent to relieve the brothers. Iesa saw me and had a look for concern on his face. He pointed at me and was about to say something, but I waved him off. He shrugged, and Daneath and he retired for some sleep. Foggle of course sat on a branch watching over everything. It never slept, and my understanding was that it had good night eyes. Still, we still took turns as only Beepu would trust the owl with our skins alone. I should have focused more on the watch, but the nightmares frequency was troubling me. I guess they have been a recurring thing since I was perhaps fifteen turns of the wheel, but they were sporadic. Rarely was it clear in memory on what I saw or did. But it was always clear emotionally. Fear. Dread. Guilt. Sorrow. Loss. But now, there was something else lurking within; but only the barest glimpse. A revelation just beyond the grasp of my dreaming mind. My dreams and nightmares weren’t usually this mysterious. But as I thought about it more, my nightmares have been more frequent ever since… I died. Granted, dying was horrific. Coming back even more so. But I didn’t dream about death or dying. It was something else lurking in my head that refused to let my waking self, see. But what was strange was unlike nightmares before, I had the same feelings each time. The same intensity. I wondered if I was experiencing the same nightmare each time. I sat there mulling over my dreams for hours getting nowhere. Finally, the sun rose, spilling red orange light across the grassland we were in. To the north were low hills, but they were far in the distance, with a lot of rolling grassland in between. But I noticed something now as the sky started to brighten. In the distance were pillars of black smoke. They were widely separated from each other and whatever was causing them, was fixed. Once the sun rose above the horizon, I woke the others and pointed them out. “Well, we’re not alone out here,” Iesa said grimacing as he squinted looking into the distance. “Nope. But who should we expect to find?” Daneath said as he tightened the straps to his armor. “In a word; trouble.” Beepu said grimly, and he sent Foggle aloft. “But, we will see them before they see us.” We started heading north. Somewhere ahead of us was another gully surrounded by hills per the map. But there wasn’t much in the way of landmarks. So, our best guess was to head north and find a piece of high ground and see if we could get a better idea of where to go, and to use Foggle to maneuver through the grass safely. It wasn’t long before Beepu gave us an indication of something interesting, and he pointed towards a narrow column of sputtering smoke nearby. It wasn’t as dark or thick as some of the others, and we hoped that this may give us an idea what may lay ahead. Following Foggle, it led us to a small cairn in a cleared area of grass. It was a simple affair, a pile of rounded stones stacked into a pile, with a smoking pyre of wood in the center. But as we approached, our curiosity turned and twisted into horror as we realized the truth of what it was. The stones, weren’t rock, but were piled bleached skulls. Some had marks upon them indicating injuries, others the marks of teeth. All of them were human or humanoid stacked together, with the remains of bloodied soil as a crude mortar. Beside the smoking wood pile, was a sundered half of a log, hollowed out to form a basin. Within it, was a pool of congealed blood, with unidentified lumps of…something within. Finally sticking up on end behind and bowed over the smoking wood was a stave, from which hung three stones wrapped in rope and hanging from the top of the stave. A rare breeze blew the rocks, and they clicked together quietly over this display of blood and gore. “This…this…isn’t Elk tribe is it.” Iesa stated flately. “No,” I said looking at the effigy of a triple headed flail “It’s a shrine to the Tanar’ri lord known as the ‘Ruler of Ruin;’ Yeenoghu.” “Gnolls,” Daneath said and spat. “Can’t say I’m surprised. “Foggle does not see any packs nearby,” said Beepu hopefully. “Perhaps we can sneak through them?” “Let’s hope so. I doubt we will find any Elks tribesman though,” Daneath said. We left the grisly display undisturbed and continued onwards. We said little now, pushing our way through the tall grass. Our ears strained to hear anything out of the ordinary. But we heard nothing. Not birds, not animals, not even the wind on the grass. We trudged north, constantly scanning the horizon for gnolls. And sometime after the sun climbed to peak, Beepu stopped and motioned us towards him. “There is a depression nearby,” Beepu said concentrating, looking through Foggles eyes. “And an open pit it appears?” “But no pyre?” Daneath asked. “No, I am having Foggle fly in closer to—” And then we heard a strange sound and a flash of red light, followed by a high pitched “BEEP” and the sound of metal parts hitting the ground. Beepu closed his eyes and looked upwards mouthing the words “Not again.” “I take it we need to get those parts back?” Daneath asked, to which Beepu nodded. We ready ourselves and head towards the direction of the depression. It was not far, and for three of us it was a simple divot in the ground the size of a barn. Several small hillocks of dirt and rock were spread around the depression, breaking through the top of the tall grass spread around. Finally, in the middle was a large open pit. Beepu of course could see none of this, as the top of the grass was above his head. “So where do we start?” I asked. “The pit, and work our way out I guess,” Iesa suggested. Having no better idea, we make our way into the depression. Iesa was in front, followed by Daneath, and Beepu and lastly myself as we headed toward the open pit, when I noticed the odor. It was one of blood, sweat, rot and wet animal hide. I was about to shout a warning, when a pack attacked us. A group of figures dashed out from crouched positions. It was sudden, and it appeared that their cunning was enough to conceal themselves even from Foggle’s sight before he was blown out of the air. So, we barely had time to react to our assailants. The first two collided with the brothers, each slashing with swords. They snarled and the look on their faces screamed volumes about their Tanar’ri master. Madness, bloodlust, and hunger all mixed together as their yellow eyes looked at us as their next victim. Beepu meanwhile had a problem; while the gnolls were no longer concealed, they might as well been from his perspective. Beepu stood well below the tops of the grass around us and was blind to the snarling band that attacked us now. He muttered under his breath, faded from sight, and I watched the grass part as he dashed to a nearby hillock. “Great,” I muttered, and soon I was under attack by two of the dead withered gnolls. Or would have been, because as they closed I could feel a kind of…resonance as they approached. It was uncomfortable, but as they both came to me and looked to swing, they froze. Their clawed hands clutched swords, but the blades twisted in their hands in frustration and their bodies writhed and shivered. Then, they turned and headed straight for Daneath, a couple of yards away. The first time this had happened outside of Triboar I had no idea what happened. Now I was more certain. That dark strand of magic was the resonance I felt, and it what was protecting me from the witherlings. I didn’t know how exactly, but I suspected that if I attacked them directly, that the resonance effect would be broken. Fortunately, I could cast magic at the living pair already on Iesa and Daneath. I grasped at the gnolls, summoning skeletal hands to claw and grasp at them both, while I held my ground from the fleeing witherlings. The brothers Iesa and Daneath, now worked as brothers in arms. Daneath would take the lead hitting the beasty creatures with his sword and forcing openings so that Iesa could thrust and slash with devastating effect. Working together they easily brought one down, before the two witherlings reached their position. Of to my left I could hear swearing and the sound of crumbling dirt giving way. As assumed that Beepu was trying to climb up a hillock to get a better view, and hopefully assist. Since the witherlings couldn’t see him, and they couldn’t approach me their ire was focused on Daneath who was closer to me than Iesa. They swung wildly, striking Daneath’s shield and hitting not much else. I then focused my effort on the second gnoll, I pulled on that dark strand of energy and wrapped it around the gnoll and then sent a blast of purple energy at it. The bolt hit it forcefully in the chest, and the additional energy pulled and rent the flesh of the creature, causing it to howl in pain. My heart pounded quicker as I heard that sound, and I looked for other targets, when I saw another pair heading straight for us. Iesa took advantage of the gnoll’s distraction and laid it low with a vicious cut across the throat. All the while Daneath bashed the other witherling off-balance with his shield and landed a crushing sword blow on the shoulder of the creature, nearly cleaving it into two. All the while, Mo screeched from Iesa’s pack, as if warning him about the additional combatants coming towards us. And again, from my right I heard more dirt shifting and more grunts, as Beepu must have been looking for a way to gain some visibility of the battle. I in turn pulled the darkened thread from the corpse of the dead gnoll and shifted it to one of the charging pair. I sent another bolt of purple energy at my target, striking true. I could hear a cry of anger from it as I heard bone crack, and could see flesh rend. It shifted its gaze towards me and charged. Deneath finished the last witherling and moved himself between the gnoll and me. Iesa took advantage of the distraction that Daneath’s movement caused and thrust through the last witherling, causing it to drop. The gnoll pair split, one heading for Daneath, and the other heading straight for me. The first swung it sword, and blood spurted from Iesa’s side as it found a gap between the boiled leather Iesa wore. The other was able to close to me and swung. But I batted away the blow with my shield. While I did so I focused on the dark strand and called another skeletal hand to grasp and claw at the gnoll, while the other spell also stripped away its vitality. Daneath and Iesa again together exploited the holes of the gnoll’s defenses, and swiftly brought it down. Then both ran over to assist me as the gnoll again swung ineffectively, clipping my shield once again. I focused again and laid the last gnoll down, just as Daneath and Iesa reached me. I relaxed a bit standing straight and looking around for more to charge out of the brush. My cheeks and face ached a bit, and I then realized that I must have had a large grin on my face. I turned away from the brothers in shame and horror. I didn’t want to be seen enjoying this. I shouldn’t be enjoying this. My thoughts were interrupted by an “Ah HAH! No…wait. Where are they?!” from Beepu’s voice nearby. “I think you missed it,” Daneath said calmly as he started to wipe the gore from his blade. “Did he even see it?” Iesa asked. Regaining composure, I turned to look at the pair and shrugged, “Who are you talking about? It’s only us three.” “Very funny. Now help me down!” Beepu’s voice said. We all looked around with sly grins aimlessly. “Wasn’t Beepu here a minute ago?” asked Daneath mockingly. “Not sure. Might have fallen into another ankheg hole.” I said looking around. “We’d see that. More likely a rabbit hole.” Iesa said. He then bent down peering into the grass. “Beepu? Are you in there?” From on top of a mound of rock and dirt, Beepu appeared with a look that could melt iron and said angrily. “I. Am. Right. Here!” “Hey nice of you to jump in and help! Appreciate that.” Iesa said waving at the gnome. Beepu glared and started to slide his way back down the floor of the plains. “Myr, nice of you to send two of them our way. How did you manage that, and not this one?” Daneath commented while nudging the corpse with his boot. I shrugged, “I…I don’t think the dead ones [B][I]could[/I][/B] attack me. I can feel them want to and try, but my…my magic scares them?” Beepu had walked up at this point, “So you invoked something?” “No. I didn’t [B][I]do[/I][/B] anything. I just felt it happen.” I said. “Well, at least you helped,” Daneath said with a smirk. “Hey! I was going to—” Beepu started. “Let’s find Foggle,” I said. “And get out of here. This place feels wrong.” We continued to make our way to the pit, and once I stood at the edge, I regretted it. The smell that it emitted was one of the foulest I could have imagined. Within it, the skeletal remains of…people were scattered in pieces, rotting in the open air. If I had to guess there might have been twenty corpses dismembered within. I kept staring in horror drinking in more details, unable to turn away. “Go find Foggle. I…need a moment.” I said as a sank down to my knees. The others moved away, looking for the brass familiar as I stared at the mess below me. I wanted to do something. I didn’t know who the corpses were once. I didn’t know if they died fighting. I didn’t know what the gnolls were doing with them or even if they were done with them. What I did know is that they deserved better. A better fate. A better end. A better passing into the fugue. I thought a moment, trying to find the right words for this. Trying to remember a prayer that my mentor taught me. Finally, one came to me. While I couldn’t bury them; I could give a blessing. [I] “We see the unknown before us and beseech You,[/I] [I]“May their souls pass to the Fugue for Your judgement and rest,[/I] [I]“May their kin remember them and their deeds,[/I] [I]“For while their shells left behind may be forgotten,[/I] [I]“Their souls shall travel far past failing memories reach,[/I] [I]“Let their souls rest, and provide succor to those who remain,[/I] [I]“So, they will be remembered. So, they will be honored,[/I] [I]“Blessed be the unknown fallen. [/I] I grasped at the some of the dirt next to me and stood. I cast the dirt across the pit of gore. My head was bowed as I shed tears for the fallen. None of them met their end in the fullness of time. I could only hope that their souls could rest beyond the fugue. “I found him!” Daneath said, lifting the owl from the grass. “Looks like he’s in one piece, but he does have a hole in him.” “Let me see!” Beepu said rushing over. “Yes, yes, yes. You are right it appears. I will have to repair him again this evening. In the distance we heard yelping and the mocking laughter from hyenas. The sound gave me the chills from the memory of the last encounter I had with the dog like animals. “We should get going before they show up,” Iesa pointed out. “Are you done Myr?” I nodded, and we restarted our trek northwards, quiet and lost in each in our own thoughts. The sounds of the hyenas faded in the distance, which we took as a good omen for passing by unnoticed. Eventually as the sun started to kiss the horizon to the west, Iesa found a place we could rest for the evening. It had a source of water and was nestled low between two low mounds of earth. We lit no fire for the evening, as we didn’t want to attract the attention of packs. Beepu was hiding under a blanket with my light, so he could repair Foggle, without the light being seen. I chewed my rations slowly, occasionally adding some desperately needed flavor. Of the many foods I missed, it was Za I missed the most. Folded bread with meats, cheeses, mushrooms and sauces, baked and sooty. So, of course my jerky now tasted as perfect as my memory could recall. It was a pity I couldn’t do the heat or the texture to make the illusion complete. But I sat there, thinking about the magical forces I could manipulate. The strands of darkness. The strands of light. And now I realized that I didn’t even fully control them. These strands affected things around me without my input. Preventing the dead from attacking me. Allowing me to see perfectly in darkness. So, what was this Strand of magic I controlled? Did I really control the Strand? Or, did the Strand control me? [B] Session notes:[/B] DM 2, Foggle 0. We never were sure what shot him. And yes, Beepu technically did nothing. He couldn’t climb, and he couldn’t see. Might as well been visible, but I did have better armor so it worked out. 3712 [/QUOTE]
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