Sayburr's Kalamar Storyhour

[Sayburr]

Lightning in a Bottle

We decided to stay split up to cover more ground in the same time, since only the person at the front of the column could engage the pests in the tight confines of the tunnels. We continued our crawl, marking our way and killing the little beasts as we went. We had to find the cup, the snuff box, and the way the little buggers were getting in, at the very least, to avoid becoming dragon fodder.

After living thru a mite ambush, we finally had some good luck. Amber and I came across the snuff box inside a pouch one of the mites carried around its waist. We crawled onward, carefully marking our way to avoid retracing our own path since this has been the hardest, dirtiest work I think I have ever done. We find a few tunnels that run back into the main cavern but are high off the floor. At last, we can smell a little fresh air. We follow the tunnel until it takes us outside: their entrance! I ask Amber if she will go back to one of the tunnels that led to the cavern and tell the dragon to fly outside and look for me because I will be standing next to the mites’ way into the cavern. I crawl out and wait for the dragon to come. Before too long, I see it in the sky, heading my way. I wave my hands above my head to insure that it sees me. It is approaching rapidly, too rapidly! It isn’t going to land like I thought it would. It opens its jaws wide and has its distended mouth pointing right at me! I dive back down in the hole and start crawling as fast as I can! The tunnel is collapsing behind me and sometimes practically on me! I crawl for all I am worth. Risk and Watcher must have been looking on that minute for somehow, thru the deafening noise and the choking dust and the falling rock, I made it beyond the destruction.

I crawl around looking for Amber. We find each other and I tell her of the dragon’s obvious disdain for my life and tell her this doesn’t bode well for us. We look around and discover that the only place we haven’t searched is now caved in. We are both worn out, injured, and out of spells so we decide to head back and look for the others as we make our way to the main cavern to rest. We don’t find Rakis, Ars, and Pandora but we do find the big cavern. We are not well received. The ogres are guarding the tunnel mouth. They get sort of restless and anxious when Amber and I start crawling out. I don’t know if it told them not to let us back in or if they are so dumb that they just don’t recognize us but when they start going for their weapons I tell them, “Hey, we work for the dragon too, remember?”. I don’t think they understood my Merchant speak unless it was the word “dragon” but I don’t want to take any chances so I pull out the snuff box to show them. They bellow in some grunts and growls that I take to ogrish and the leathery, reptilian musk of the dragon becomes stronger as the beast makes its way to us. “What are you doing out?” it asks. “Where is my treasure?” it asks. “We have brought out your snuff box…” I start, but before I can even get out –and we need to rest, it interrupts me. “Well get back in there and get the rest!” it orders. Trying to think quickly, I reply, “Of course, your magnificence. I just didn’t want something to happen to us where we might be dead or unable to get out and still have your pretty with us instead of with you, where it belongs.” “Good, now get back in there and bring the rest!” it snaps, and then hurries back to its horde.
This does not bode well at all, I think as Amber and I crawl back into the tunnel.

No matter what the dragon says, we are going to rest. We crawl back into one of the deepest dead end tunnels close to the entrance and lie down together. We are depending on our ears to warn us of any danger, but mostly upon Mother and Risk and Watcher I think. We wake up some hours later; stiff, sore, grimy, and cold but somewhat rested. At least, rested enuf for Amber to go thru her prayers and so that I can feel the powers of Risk and Watcher strong in my mind. I wonder why I don’t have to say prayers for my powers like Amber? I say my prayers, of course. Every morning and every night, but my powers are there before I say the prayers. I can feel them as soon as I awake. After she is done, we have a light breakfast and some water and set out again.

We look for the others, following their markings to avoid the dead ends. We find them after a short while. They have the cup. I tell them Amber and I have already taken the dragon the snuff box and closed the mites’ entrance. They tell us about a large room which has its floor covered in silver pieces. We decide to pack out the silver and consider our part of the deal finished, I just hope the dragon considers it finished too.

When we have emptied the last sack of silver onto the already monstrous horde, I say, “That is the last of it” and hold out the rod. “Now if you would breathe your lightning into this rod , your grace, we can close our deal and we can be on our way.” “Oh, yes, your silly toy,” it says as if I would believe that it could have slipped its mind. It reaches down with a clawed hand that could easily hide me inside it and takes the rod. I am readying myself to dive for cover in case it “forgets” to turn its head to breathe. It raises the rod above its head and lights up the ceiling of the cavern with the harsh blue bolts that are it’s breath weapon before they are drawn magically into the rod. “Here you are,” it says with what must have been an attempt at a grin as it hands the rod back to me. I understood the grin and the malice behind it as I took the rod into my hands. Even thru my gloves, I could feel the tremendous heat. I was determined not to blink in its evil little game of chicken and acted as if nothing was amiss. My pride cost me several blisters I would find later when I would remove my gloves, but they were worth it. It then said, “Now you may leave your valuables and go.” The others stood and stared at each other in disbelief: shocked. Of course, I had already seen this display up close and first hand so I just started laying my stuff down. I was hoping to get out of here with my glove and my sword, but mainly with my life.

I was somewhat shocked tho. I heard the woodsman and the witch offering up the dogmen to the dragon. They were trading the dogmen to the dragon as food for their equipment! I was down to my clothes and food and water and my secreted magic and was concerned with their bargaining that the dragon might find my magic so I asked if I could be blind folded and carried on out.

Luckily, the dragon said yes and I was soon on my way out. But only after he marked me with some sort of sigil and told the others they would be marked as well before they could leave. I told the others I would wait only half of an hour and then I was heading back. They came out shortly before I was ready to start out on my on and the dragon followed them out and flew off towards the dogmen. We found our guides and headed back to the village. Using their expertise and staying away from vampire cacti , we make the trip easily even piggy-backing.

Back at their village, there is another feast and many tales of the dangers we faced. Our guides were even good enuf to include us in some of their stories. Before my encounter with the demon cat in the jungle, I probably would have been hot-headed enuf to take offense at the retelling. Now, I just nod and raise my mug in salute. Somehow, it is just not as important to me as it used to be. Maybe I am growing up. Speaking of growing up, with all of our travels and my death and everything, I might be a year older already and not know it! I will have to check when we get back to Zoa. They should have a proper calendar there. I may be overdue for a birthing celebration. Our village friends say that they will take us back to our port city by boat since we don’t have horses any more. They say it is the least they can do for us, after all that has happened since we got here. We thank them. Even Rakis thanks them for the offer but then says no thanks. He says he has something else to do here before he can leave. Must be something to do with his quest he is on for his village.

Ars, Amber, Pandora, and I climb into the boats the next morning and head for our port o’ call. Of course, we are all flat busted when we get there and can’t afford passage. Yet. I tell them I will go watch the bazaar today and start working on our money shortage tomorrow. I watch the shops and businesses and the crowd. I don’t think anything will stop me from getting us all passage back to Zoa. I have worked more patrolled sites before. I go back to the others at our camp outside the city for some fresh roasted dinner and to tell them I think we will be leaving soon. We all settle in for the night. I wonder what Rakis is doing and if he is alright as I slip into sleep.

We break camp in the morning and all of us go into the city. I hit my first mark successfully and we slip into an alley to see what I lifted. Enuf to make 11 gold pieces. I ask them to wait on me here and I will lift another purse. I case my target and hit him cleanly. I go back to the others and find this one has enuf for 13 gold pieces. I ask Amber to hold enuf coins to buy two trips. I give the rest to Ars and tell them that they can go get some breakfast or something at the closest inn. I wait a bit and find my third mark. Success! I go off to assess my earnings in private. Enuf for 13 gold again. I go to find the others. I hope to find them and get some of their breakfast that they didn’t finish. There might be a chance of that since Rakis isn’t with them now. They aren’t eating when I find them. Nor have they. Ars and Pandora chose to gamble with the extra coins instead of eat. The gamble didn’t pay off evidently. I tell them I will try it. It is a dice game called twenty-one. I try it and lose the 3 extra coins I had. I insist the game is fixed and start to raise some hell before I come back to my senses. Flat broke, all of us, so no money for fines, no Rakis to back me up, fresh off of three robberies--- no need to press it Watcher whispers, is your game fixed when you win whispers Risk.

Back to work then. My party is depending on me. Daresh slips further away. Concentrate. She was once ours but was taken by greed. Can’t you remember anything you silly bitch? Back to work. Back to the bazaar. I watch and wait until I see a good mark. Hopefully this will be enuf to get us on a boat out of here. I reach to lift his purse but the strings catch on his dagger! I know he had to feel it. He is turning my way when some one bumps into him and they both nearly fall. I turn and try to become invisible in the crowd. Before I am away though, I can hear them laughing and talking as old friends and about how funny it was to “bump into each other” after so long and how good it is to see each other again. Mark distracted, my fumble forgotten for now. I go for the others and get us on the boat. I stay aboard and in my room until we cast off. I curse my clumsiness and thank Risk for my good fortune in equal measures. It is good to be under way.

As we approach Zoa, we see a near blockade of military ships guarding her harbor. When we hit the docks, we are questioned briefly as to who we are and what our business in Zoa is. Briefly for everyone except Ars. For some reason he tells them his name is Rakis and that he is from the north, somewhere north. Of course, he doesn’t look or speak like he is “from the north” and since he has trouble naming the city he is from they want to lock him up in case he is a spy. I try to tell the sergeant that just because he is simple minded doesn’t mean he is a spy. I mean really, would you send a simpleton to spy? If you were a spy, wouldn’t you have your story all laid out ahead of time? He doesn’t want to be reasonable and “Rakis” isn’t helping by being his normal belligerent self so I am sent to bring documents from Halaan or Geolain saying that Ars is their agent and is no danger to Zoa.

I get to Halaan’s and there is blue smoke rolling out of his chimney. I knock on the door and he answers. He asks if I have the rod and I say yes but Ars is being held at the docks. He grabs the rod as if he hadn’t heard me and slams the door. I stand there in utter disbelief. He then opens the door long enuf to tell me to be back at midnight and then slams it again. I can only shake my head as I turn and run toward Geolain’s thru the streets overflowing with traffic with the preparations for war. I get to Geolain’s and ring the bell while calling out it is me, Jza, I won’t shoot at you. His apprentice comes to let me in along with Pandora who has walked up while I am standing there. We explain what happened at the docks and ask him to give us something explaining that Ars is in his employ. He is already writing before I remember to tell him that Ars used Rakis’ name at the docks. I tell Pandora we are supposed to be at Halaan’s at midnight. She starts toward there as I head back to the docks. I am dripping with sweat from my runs while she is as fresh as a daisy. I don’t know if I have ever seen her run. I wonder if she can.

I get back to the docks and present the sergeant with Geolain’s paper. He grumbles but sets Ars free. I tell Amber and Ars we are supposed to be at Halaan’s at midnight and that Pandora has already set out for there. We make our way there too. Halaan offers us a room upstairs, but there is no way I can sleep or rest there. The smell of the forge is overpowering. I tell them I am going to work and will get us rooms at a local inn. I head off to work the bazaar.

I watch the place for a little while and wish I had longer but can’t wait any more. I pick my mark and go after him. As soon as I lift the purse, I feel a solid blow to the back of my head. I wheel to face my attacker and bring Flamesinger into my hand and miss him. He strikes me again and so does someone behind me. Things are getting fuzzy around the edges and I know I am in trouble, so I ask Watcher to guide my aim. I am rewarded with blood, but my attacker doesn’t go down. I am hit again and realize I have to get out from between them, so I tumble to the back side of the one in front of me. I ready a spell to help me run faster in my retreat. Too late. I am hit again and then two small blue orbs streak into me and I fall to the stones and into darkness.

I awake behind bars with Amber ministering to me. It is dark. Halaan! I gather my gear and we head to Halaan’s. He explains that the coin is nearly done. He asks Ars and me to hold these two containers of powder while he adds the diamond and the rod into the mix of the coin. He goes thru some incantations and throws some of one powder into the forge. Everything glows bright in the reflections of the forges colored and invigorated flames. He continues the chant and takes some of the other powder and throws it into the forge. Again, everything is bathed in the renewed and colored flames and the coin crackles with the electricity of the dragon’s breath. He tells us that all we need now is a week for the coin to cool and the blood to be added.

We are drinking a toast to our hard work when I hear something outside. I rush to the door and fling it open in time to see a cloaked figure running away. I yell that he is getting away and we all give chase. It has started raining some time since we got to Halaan’s and is pouring now. It makes it hard to follow the figure and we lose him after a turn just a short time into the chase. Pandora has sent her squab to follow him and he returns shortly to lead us to a house. Pandora says he is in the house. Two figures come out of the house and start up the street. Ars and I sneak up on them and kill them. We drag the bodies off the street and look at the house up close. I tell them I will climb to the second story and go thru a window. Ars says he will do the same. We ask Amber and Pandora to watch the front door in case they/he try to escape after we are inside.

I go up and open a window as I hear Ars hit the wet ground. I drop a rope and close to the figure on the bed in case he noisy once inside as well. He makes it in and I motion for him to watch the bed while I try the door. I listen at the door and hear muffled voices. I decide none are close and open the door and step out into a hallway with two more doors and stairs to the first floor. I motion Ars forward and I start down the steps. One of them creaks under my weight and I hear some one approaching and the voices stop. As the man rounds the corner, I leap the last 6 or 8 stairs and drive Flamesinger thru him. We check the other rooms and find them empty. Amber and Pandora drag in the man who tried to escape. We can’t wake him here so we go back to Halaan’s to rest.

After a little aid from Amber, the man wakes to find himself tied to a bed. We question him a little and find a mark of the House of Scorn on him. He confesses that they, the two men we killed, offered him money to spy on Halaan and Geolain. He seems a terrible coward. He might be just what we need. He asks about his sister and his father. Pandora tries to tell him his father is okay but I tell him he was killed in the fight but his sister is unharmed and will stay that way if he helps us with our quest. He refuses, saying that we have already killed her. I tell him she is fine but he remains adamant. He wants to see her. I say that that cannot be but if he wishes, he can have us ask her something that none of us could know, something personal and we could have her write the answer. He agrees, assured that he knows her handwriting.

He wants us to ask her what she got him for his last birthing celebration. I go walking up the street of last night’s activities. There is militia all over the place. I keep walking. A little ways up the street I find a young boy and ask him to wait half an hour and then give this paper to the lady talking to the militia down the street. In the paper, we have asked her to name in writing, what she got her brother for his last birthing celebration. We tell that he is okay, but is going to help us on a mission, but needs to know that she is fine before he goes. There are instructions to write her reply and to leave the paper on the window sill with the window open tonight. I give the boy a few coppers and leave.

We wait. Finally, Pandora sends her squab after the note. It returns with the note and we are about to open it and take it to our Scorn friend when there is a banging on the door…

 

[Sayburr]

The Road to Xaarum

The banging comes again. I place my forearm across the fat spy’s throat and my finger against the center of my lips. “Remember, your sister,” I whisper. The banging comes again, louder this time. What are they doing down there? Are they trying to let them wake the whole neighborhood? “Answer the freaking door, for Risk’s sake!” I yell. I don’t here the banging any more but I can hear voices. I can’t make out what they are saying but I don’t hear anyone on the stairs either. This waiting goes on for an eternity, it seems. But the fat man is being quiet and Pandora hasn’t made a puddle in the floor even tho she looks at the door like it is a rat, so for right now we are all happy. I am tempted to ask her to go downstairs to see if everything is alright but if anyone down there was the least bit suspicious before they saw her… Well, let’s just say she wouldn’t help matters.
At least there is no sound of swordplay, so what could be taking so long either way? Why is there no cry for help or an all clear sign? The suspense is making me edgy. It is good that fatboy is behaving. Under this stress, he might be dead before either he or I knew it had happened. Watcher, give me the strength of your patience. Pandora is not handling it well either, I see. Frozen, she still stares at the door as if it were a rat. At least she is watching the door. I guess that is something.

Finally, Amber comes thru the door. I guess it is a good thing it is Amber. Pandora jerked like she had been awakened from sleep when the door opened. If her mouth had been hanging open a little more I am sure she would have been drooling. I don’t know how much good she would have been if it had been someone other than a friend because she hadn’t even moved into a position for a fight. Amber tells us everything is fine. It was just some dwarves looking for Burel, the dwarf Rakis and I rescued from the ogres and resident forgesmithy. She also says that Ars went out to make sure no one is watching the house. I tell our coward to get some sleep because we are hitting the road northward tomorrow. He babbles, pouring out questions about where we are going and what we are doing. I am tired of his sniveling and cut him short, telling him to shut up and just be glad he is still alive and walk out, slamming the door behind me.
I normally have little patience for his kind anyway but the edge I have on from the suspense of a few minutes ago makes it even worse. Still, I berate myself on my way to my stinking room. It must be his sister that bothers me so. I personally know what she must be going thru now, to some degree. She must be feeling so alone. Even tho she wasn’t abandoned as I was, the loneliness has got to be there along with her grief and fear. And the pig did refuse us until he knew that she was safe. That has to count for something. And he is not working for Daresh. Or at least I don’t think he is. That alone will probably save him from me. Maybe he is just weak and in a bad position. I just can’t put the sister thing to rest tho. I will have to make sure that he has enuf to support her when he leaves us or if he happens to fall in this madness, then I will make sure she has plenty to keep her up for a while. Sleep does not come easily and for the first time in a while my dreams are not of Risk and Watcher and their game and/or Daresh. They are of a young girl who awakes to find her father dead on the stairs and her brother missing.

We pack up the next morning and head for the north gate of Zoa in the rain that started some time during the night to start or 3 day walk to Xaarum. The guard at the gates tells us of the heightened security measures in place because of the threat from the Kalamarians. He asks if we would like to purchase a pass before we leave in order to ease our re-entry to the city. I tell him we have no money for such a pass right now and ask how much would it cost to purchase one upon our return. He says we won’t have to buy one to get back in. We will just have to be subject to questioning, much as we faced when we docked I imagine, so I tell him we will just have to be inconvenienced since we are poor. With all this chatter, he has a chance to look us over pretty good and his eye catches fatboy. “What’s wrong with him?” he asks. I tell the guard that he is just homesick and a little worried about his home with all the Kalamarian trouble and Pandora pipes in, “And not to mention hungover, a little.” as she winks at the guard. “Yeah, first time in a big city and all. You know how it is for these bumpkins.” I add. “Well, move on along. I have 7 more hours on my shift and don’t want to spend it smelling vomit!” So we move briskly along and out the gate. Outside the gate, I tell our chicken that he did very well back there. I tell him that that kind of behavior is exactly what will get him back to his sister and get him back to her the quickest. I tell him that I had planned on putting him on bread and water for the trip but behavior like that will earn him rations just like the rest of us.

We traipse along the road northward. We closely keep an out for any trouble, Kalamarian or otherwise. After a short while, the road heads into the forest between Zoa and Xaarum. We finish the day’s march even quieter than it began. We discuss the new watch after we pitch our camp (quite quickly since the dragon helped us by lightening our load of non-essentials) and as we are eating. We finally decide that one of the spellcasters will take the first shift each night, alternating nights between them. I will take the second two hour stretch each night since it doesn’t bother me to have my rest in increments and I don’t have to prepare like they do in the mornings to receive their spells. Ars says that those four hours or so are all he needs to rest so he will take the remainder of the watch each night. This suits us all and we put it into practice this night after tying our captive to a tree and bed down for the night.

When I wake up the next morning, I nearly will Flamesinger into my hand as soon as I open my eyes! There is a large wolf in camp! Sitting right next to Ars as he eats his morning meal. Neither acts if anything is amiss. I guess for all my doubts Ars is a woodsman after all. We untie the chicken and Ars lets him answer the calls of nature in his company. I make sure the fat man gets a meal just like the rest of us this morning just as I did last night. I am hoping this will ease fears and perhaps abort some of his ideas of escape, if he has enuf backbone to have any such ideas. We quickly break camp and get back onto the road.
We travel half of the day, picking up a creek which flows along beside the road early in the morning. We are all talking about picking a site to have our mid-day meal when, out of nowhere, a flying log with an orc riding it smashes into Pandora, knocking her off her feet and into the creek. Before I can do anything, another log riding orc smashes into me but I roll with it to keep from being knocked into the creek. Two more such projectiles fly thru our column, but I can’t tell if Ars or Amber gets hit. They are not flying after all. They are bound with ropes to swing like pendulums! I will take care of that on their next pass! I scramble into a ready stance and bring the blazing sword into my grip. I breathe the words of power to guard myself from harm and wait for the orc to swing in again. As he approaches in his descent, I advance myself. I run to make my leap to clear the log and sever the rope that holds the log. I misjudged the speed of the log or I started too early to close the distance. Instead of clearing the log while it was low, I jumped before it got close enuf to go under me and took it in the chest. It picked me up and deposited me in the creek with Pandora. What is she doing still in here? I push myself to my feet and fel the mud sucking at my feet. More than sucking at them! They are trapped in what was once mud but now is as hard as stone. Two of the logs now swing empty. One lies at Amber’s feet with its head lying at an impossible angle to be healthy for it and one is stuck by its guide hook in the trees. The other two orcs finish their swings by leaping off on the other side of the creek. Some more have stormed out of the cover of the trees onto the path to rush Ars and Amber. I can hear screaming and look to find the source. Our coward is making all the fuss and is running off down the path the way we came.

I am trying to free my feet and dodge the javelins the orc on the bank is tossing at me. I am succeeding at neither when I notice Pandora nearly fall over face first into the creek almost breaking her legs. It is then that I notice what would be worth breaking a leg over. Her maneuver just barely kept her out of the jaws of death. A crocodile just tried to bite her and, missing her, is now focused on me. I try to block out the orc on the bank as I await the croc. I speak the words to guide my aim and when it is close enuf I thrust the sword downward towards its head. I hit it hard but the bony case of its skull and its tuff hide prevent me from running it completely thru. It opens up and bites my leg as I try but can’t escape. I speak the words again and push the blade thru its head. Ars is now stuck in the creek to and he is yelling something about there still being one left over there in the trees. I pull my steel dagger from its sheath and throw it at the orc on the bank while it is distracted by Pandora’s squab. It falls. Now I can take the time to see what he is yelling about without getting killed while doing it. Where is Amber? Ahhh. There you are my pretty. Whatever you are, you are too far for a dagger throw. Perhaps if I could reach one of those javelins. I have it. I have never thrown one of these so I will ask Watcher to guide my aim and I throw it as hard as I can. A good solid hit! Watcher be praised! That at least distracted him from Ars and the wolf for a moment. The wolf is working it hard tho. The humanoid beast falls to the four-legged beast finally.

Amber comes trotting back up the trail but without the chicken. Ars sends her to get the weapon the bear man was trying to smash the wolf with so he can smash himself free. Amber gets it and says she will make Ars stronger to help him free himself and us. She says a few words and touches him and then she goes after the coward. Ars sends the wolf after her. Ars goes to work on the stone around his feet with a vengeance. In the course of freeing himself he covers himself with the muddy water that he has stirred up. No matter, it will wash off quickly in the rain. He then comes and bashes me free. While he works on Pandora, I go to search the bear man. It has the wand Ars said it used to turn the mud to stone, and another one as well. I slip the other one up my sleeve. He also has a belt pouch and a golden clasp on his tunic, the symbol of his evil deity I suppose. I hold up the unhidden booty and say, “He had this stuff too.” I take the stuff over to them where they can see me open the pouch right in front of them.

It has some parchments and a few silvers and a few coppers in it along with some pretty good drawings of us. I can’t read either of them and pass them to Ars and Pandora to let them see them. Neither of them can read them. Ars finishes freeing her and we wait for Amber and the wolf. They come back with the sullen spy. I show Amber my many wounds and ask her if she can help me with her healing powers. She says she is almost out of spells. She says she can help me with the nastiest one, the croc bite, which went deep into my calf muscle or she can take care of all the smaller injuries but not both. I ask her to take care of my leg. We ask her see if she can read the two parchments. She says she cannot but she will ask Mother for help if we want to know badly enuf. We do. She chants a little and then looks at the pages again and reads them to us. The first one says “Report to General Daresh for special operations orders – Radkke” and the second says “travel to Zoa, locate and dispatch Ars, Amber, Pandora, Rakis, and Jza. Sketches of each enclosed – Daresh.” We spend a few minutes each cursing that bitch to a long slow rotting death on some lower level of the Hells from where she was obviously conceived before starting to round up our hard earned spoils. There is quite a bit actually. Bulky and cumbersome and heavy as it is, it is still treasure to us. Ars and I carry all but one of the suits of scale mail. We put one on the fat man. He nearly staggers under its weight. We’ll see if he tries to run away carrying that. Am and Pan drag the axes split between them. Ooooof. I was making fun of the fat man but I am the one staggering now. Down the trail we struggle.

Other than the mite tunnels, the afternoon might have been the worst half of a day’s work I have ever done. My training in tumbling and acrobatics and my gloves may have saved my hands but my shoulders are sore and even blistered from the shafts of the javelins we carried the armor on. I should sleep well tonight. I can hardly wait to eat and hit the ground. I tie up the captive after feeding him and go to lie down. It seems like I had just closed my eyes when I hear Pan screaming and Ars yelling about intruders. I just have time to stand up before two foes come rushing to me. I leap into the air to bring every ounce of force I can down on the first man’s head. I timed it just right! Flamesinger cleaves the man all the Way down into his shoulders. I slide it free of his corpse as he slides to the forest floor and turn my attention to the second man. He is much more careful after witnessing his buddy’s demise but since we have already encountered some of Daresh’s agents today I redouble my efforts. I would hate to die again for any reason but to fall at the hands of one of her minions would shame me too greatly. I trade slicing open his belly for a cut across my bicep. I trade nearly severing the big muscles in his thigh for a cut on my heaving flank. As injured as he is it is not hard to lay his throat open with my next swing. I leap to help Amber with her two. Since they think their partners have me, I flank one of them easily and open his side up before he realizes his buddies are down. He will be soon, too. Without two on her, Amber quickly turns the tables on the one I left for her, too. Ars and his wolf pull Pan’s fat out of the fire. Ars says he and his wolf will try to track these guys back to their camp. He says he will be back soon and for us to stay here.

He comes back after a short while looking much the worse for the wear but he is leading twelve horses. We tether them and get back to the business of resting. It has been a full day.
We sleep later than normal in the morning, making sure that everyone is well rested and Amber does some much needed healing on Pan, Ars, and herself. We decide to load the horses down with the loot and bodies to try to throw off any other teams the Bitch might have sent after us. We will dump the bodies we before hitting Xaarum’s gates.

When we get there it doesn’t look like much. A city, for sure but run down is the first word that springs to my mind. We decide to sell all the stuff we can except Ars is keeping the strength bow and Amber is keeping the morningstar. We take our stuff to the bazaar and sell the mundane stuff and decide we will pay to have the wand identified before splitting the swag. We locate a mage and he tells us that it is a wand that transmutes mud into stone, that it has 14 charges left, and that he will give us 18,000 gp for it. Sold! We say. After that, we head to a nice looking inn. We get some rooms and divvy up. 5885gp each! I tell them I am heading to find my church here. I tell them I will get back with them tonight so we can make our plans.

I head back to the mage who identified the first wand.

 

[wsclark]

Hi Sayburr,

Just wanted to say that I'm really enjoying both Jza's write up and your Dm one as well. I'll have some comments on the DM one over there later, but do you think you could actually get Jza's player to join the message boards here to add to any commentary directly? I think it would be great if she did.

 

[Sayburr]

I will see if I can get the player to start posting once these boards go live.

 

[Sayburr]

If You Want Blood, You’ve Got It

I pay the mage to ID the second wand. He tells me it is the first wand’s opposite. He asks if I am interested in selling it as well. I tell him I am willing to part with the wand but would rather trade for some items, if he can get them, instead of the wand for just money. He says to tell him the items I want and he will see what he can do. I ask him what there is to be had. He rattles off a list of things and then I tell him my wants. A wand filled with the spell of mage armor, 2 scrolls with a spell of entanglement and entrapment capabilities, web –he called it, and 2 scrolls with a spell called- protection from elements: fire, are my choices. Sounded like a good idea since we are supposed to face a devil. I liked the web spells because I had been thinking of how we were going to get this devil to hold still long enough for our fat spy to draw blood. All of those things and some coin to boot sounds like a good trade to me. He says it will take several days to be able to put all of the items into my hands. I tell him that will be acceptable. I understand that anything magical is hard to come by.

I head out of his shop to see if I can find a temple of Risk or Watcher. I have a few questions to ask before sticking my head into the mouth of a devil. I talk to a few of Watcher’s clerics at the small temple for him here. Very few of them have dealt with devils, to my surprise. I thought most of them to have experiences with the like and undead as well but they talk of other planes of existence and gates and the difficulties of actually getting such creatures to “our plane”. My head begins to spin as they try to explain these planes. I finally just hold up my hands and ask them what would do me the most good if I were to encounter such a creature. They tell me: enchanted weapons, magic to some degree, and holy water. I ask them about each of the three. They tell me that most devils are so steeped in the evilness and magical environment of their “home plane” that most normal weapons forged here cannot hurt them. Magic, they say, can be very effective or almost ineffective. My bewildered look must show them that they should explain that. A spellcaster with enough power could actually send them back to the creature’s own plane or if the caster is strong enough their offensive spells can harm the creature. Sometimes the aura that gives the devil near immunity to normal weapons can allow them to shed magical energies like a duck does water. Lastly they tell me about holy water. Water blessed by a cleric of one’s faith has the ability to harm some creatures such as devils and undead which do not follow the philosophies of that cleric’s deity when wielded by a follower of that faith.

I try to take in all that they have told me. I think Flamesinger should be able to affect most anything. Magic; I know I am no where near the abilities to be able to match powers with a devil. I ask them about getting them to make me some holy water. They look a little shocked. “You carry his symbol and told us you were one of his faithful,” one of them says. He looks at me sort of strangely and I think he is casting a spell. Flamesinger nearly jumps into my hand before I remember where I am and whom I am with. “His mark is clearly upon you and your aura is laced strongly with enough magical energy to at least cast spells of that magnitude. Why can’t you make your own holy water?” he asks. I tell him that I don’t know. “My trainers were also confused about my inability to cast even the simplest spells but all agreed that my faith and devotion were genuine and the most important in my service for him. He speaks to me in dreams and he has taught me one or two spells thru them, but even though I say my prayers daily he never sends me any spells in answer to my prayers. They are already there when I wake up. I can feel them there before I even say my prayers.” I tell him. He looks at me even more strangely than he has been since I asked him to make the holy water. “Indeed, your faith shines strongly and unwaveringly. And your trainers were right, faith and devotion are more important than spellcasting abilities when it comes to serving him. Come along and I shall bless you some water myself.” he says. He makes 4 vials for me. I pay him for them and then ask him if I can pay my tithe here as well. He says of course. I give him his second reason to look at me strangely as I pull 4 pounds of what this strange city uses for platinum coins. “I hope this will help Watcher’s servants and temple here,” I say as I gather up my vials and head for the door.

I head back to the inn where we are staying and make sure the coward gets well fed and we talk about what we are going to do now that we are here. I ask them if they want to just jump on this thing at first light or if we want to try to re-equip ourselves a little better since we have some new found wealth. We vote for re-equipping. Pandora says she will replenish her spellbook that she lost to the dragon. Amber says she wants to brew some potions of healing and any others that we want, that she is able to. Ars says that he has a few things to look for and I say that I do, too. I also ask Amber if she will make me a potion to protect me from evil. She says she will have to get ingredients for all of them and gives us an idea of the cost. I tell her I will gladly pay for all the ingredients since I would have had to pay more than that for the one potion I wanted. We are ready for our beds. I tie the spy in my room.

I still dream of the look on his sister’s face when she found her father. I am sure I must do something about her.

The next morning Ars and I are going out to do our shopping when we remember our chicken. We decide upon tying him up and leaving him here with Pan and Amber. Ars goes to look for his things and I go to check with the merchant mage. We follow this pattern for four days. On the fifth afternoon, when I am going to check at the mage’s shop, a man confronts me.

He puts his hand out in front of him between us. “You have something I want and I mean to have it,” he says as he unsheathes a sword and pulls out a mace as well. I will Flamesinger into my hand. “Do you want to surrender it now or do you want me to take it from your dead hand?” he asks. “Take it if you are able,” I dare him. I say the words to use Risk’s power to shield me and slash hard at him. At first, I think he might be one of the order which continually hunts for the swords of power but as I get close to him; close enough only to smell the stink of Daresh on him, not close enough to draw blood, I know otherwise. He, however, does not miss. I take a nasty cut from the blade and the mace bounces off my head hard enough to make me see stars. I call upon Watcher’s strength to return the injuries with a quick but accurate slash. He is good. I do have to give him that. He ignores the wound I just gave him and comes in strong again. I think I know his style now though. I make him miss with the blade and roll with most of the mace’s impact hardly feeling the bruising force wasted on the muscles of my shoulder. I use the momentum from the twisting motion I used to dodge his blow to spin around and deal him a bad wound that would have splattered the crowd watching this dance of death had they not had the forethought to give us plenty of room. I thought I had his attacks figured out. I didn’t take into account that he might change them slightly after I made him miss last time, so he scores a terrible strike that has me leaking blood from both the front and the back from the same thrust. Luckily, he didn’t change his defensive posture as well so I am able to glide in past his guard as I did last time. With a vicious slash that starts his guts spilling into the street and makes the wound he gave me feel like a hot iron has been run thru it, I make him think again about who it is that will be taking what from who’s dead hand. He makes some motions with his hands and I hope I can weather whatever spell it is so I can finish him as I go to close with him to end this. I am stopped as if I have run into a wall even though there is nothing between us. He is holding his guts in with one hand as he steps closer to me. “Daresh said you would be a strong opponent. She didn’t say you would be this strong,” he says with blood running from his mouth. My blade batters the invisible barrier between us in response. “We will meet again, though, my dark skinned tigress,” he says as he turns to stagger away. “That we will minion!” I scream after him, putting as much disgust as I can into the words. “You have only quickened your trip to the underworld by allying yourself with that bitch!” I rant as I batter the clear cage, venting my fury on it since I can’t reach him. After some time the barrier disappears. I go back to the inn to let Amber tend to my worst stab wound.

We drop back into our former routine. Tie the spy, shop the shops, and meet back at the inn for the evening meal. I pick up a pack saddle, some more thieves’ tools, a silver dagger, some more antitoxins, some more trail rations, a new light cross bow with some bolts, and some clothes to replace the things I lost at the blue dragon’s lair. This passes the next few days. When we meet on the eighth day for our evening meal, Ars looks as bad, if not worse than I did a few days ago. He says that he met up with his step-father again and narrowly escaped. I tell them I pick up the last of my items tomorrow and ask them if they will be ready to make our assault on the mage, Li-mead. They all nod in agreement. We agree to hit the place tomorrow night.

I go to the merchant mage’s shop and pick up my list of my items. I go back to the inn and lie down for a short nap until dark. We assemble in my room and decide the spy should be disguised as a monk with his hands tied under the folds of long loose sleeves and a gag just to be safe. He doesn’t like it but no one cares. We slip out into the twilight toward Li-mead’s home at an easy pace. We walk right past the gates of the place that are set into the 10 foot wall surrounding the grounds. They don’t have a chain nor does there appear to be a locking mechanism. They must be magically guarded. We keep walking right on past in order not to bring too much attention to ourselves. We round the corner and I say that I will sneak a look onto the grounds if Ars will boost me up. He boosts and I survey the yard. I tell them I see a large glowing cat on the prowl and that I see another glow coming from the other side of the grounds after I drop back to the ground lightly. I ask Amber if she wants to look the place over and perhaps detect for evil. She goes to the front gate to look in and do this. She comes back shortly to tell us that as she was looking in a man stepped out from behind the wall and told her to move along since this was private property before she could cast. Ars asks her if she wants a boost to just do it from here. She steps into his locked hands. She casts and concentrates for a few moments. We are waiting for her to tell us what she has learned when she goes limp and falls from her perch. We gently rouse her and ask her if she is alright and what happened.

She tells us she was concentrating to learn as much as she could from Mother’s spell when everything went black right after an almost sickening sense of evil washed over her. We decide to set things into motion. Pan is to hurt the beast using her magic missiles in order to lure it over the wall. Ars boosts her up. I get my new wand and use 2 charges on me. I get out a scroll to use when the beast clears the wall. Pan sends her missiles into the cat. “You there! Stop! What are you doing? Hold!” is shouted from inside the wall. Pan comes down quickly. I am looking for the cat. She stammers something about being seen and wanting to move down before trying another spell. She could mess up trail rations, I think to myself. Ars starts moving down to reposition when the cat clears the wall with apparent ease with an old man on its back. Startled, we all scramble into defensive and offensive postures. The old man says, “We have been expecting you. Please, come to the front gate and then inside to see my master.” We look to one another to get a decision. I nod quickly, to get the voting started. We are all in agreement. The old man seems somewhat pleased at our decision but the cat doesn’t. It seems almost spoiling for a fight despite the odds.

As we are following them to the gate, the glow coming from the cat seems to be flames actually licking off from its body. I wonder if we would have had to have gone any further for our devil’s blood. I came here looking for a large humanoid with a pointy tail, large fangs, clawed hands, black soulless eyes, and a pitchfork. Now I wonder if this might be the devil guardian we were told about.

The old man and the cat lead us thru the front gate and across the yard to the base of tower. The man whistles and the other glow, a twin to the cat already here, races around the corner of the house. He tells us to wait here and tells the cats to watch us before turning and going into the house. A short while later Li-mead comes out. He asks if we are the mighty warriors that Daresh told him about. We say we are they. He says she offered him a tidy bounty for our heads but that he doesn’t really like her and likes the fact that she thinks she might consider him a hireling even less. He wants to know what we want here and why he shouldn’t kill us for trespassing and just take the bounty as a bonus.

I tell him that, having a common enemy, perhaps we could be temporary allies. I say that we came here to do him no harm since we have no quarrel with him. We only have need of a small amount of devil’s blood for a rite we must perform and had heard that a devil guarded his home, that is why we are here. I ask him how could we help him in order to gain what we need and for him to gain as well and at the same time confound Daresh. I give him my most winning smile to top off my win-win-Daresh loses proposal. He thinks for a moment and decides in our favor. Finally, something goes our way in this mad, mad-woman hunt!

He says he will allow us to harvest the blood, but not kill, we need from one of his hellcats. (I was right!) He will allow it, that is, after we do something for him. (Of course.) He says that he sent one of his men, Phol, to retrieve a book from some ruins in a swamp to the south. He hasn’t seen him since. If we go get the book Phol was supposed to get, we can have our blood. He describes Phol and the book and warns us not to try to read the book or even to open it. We tell him we understand. We were prepared to be up this night so we decide to go ahead and ride toward the swamp that he says is between the Fautee forest and the Ka-asa mountains that run north and south to the west of the city.

We ride about 6 hours and make a hasty camp. We ride about 6 more hours and come to the edge of the swamp. The air is fetid and filled with the smell of wet rot. We are looking for signs of the ruins when we come across a half-sunken road in great disrepair. We decide to follow it. After a few hours on the road, Ars says that there are some figures up ahead. We look at them and then around us. There are about a dozen in a circle around us at roughly the same distance of 100 feet. They are not showing threat or weapons so I lay my cross bow across my lap but do not place a bolt in it and continue to ride at the pace we were on. I wave to them. They return it. As we get closer, we can see that only one is human. The others seem to be as much lizards as they are men. The human steps forward and tells us well met. I return his greeting. He fits the description Li-mead gave us for Phol as much as I can make out except Li-mead never mentioned all of these terrible burn scars.

He tells us that his name is Phol and that the large humanoid beside him is Saki or Snakey or something and these are “the People”. I notice the big lizardman beside him is wearing a talisman of an acorn and take him to be a nature priest at least, or perhaps one of the secretive druids even. I ask him if we are trespassing on his lands and tell him that we did not know and meant no offense if we were. He waves that away and says no offense taken. He and the people just don’t get many visitors and they were just wondering what brought us to their lands. I tell him we are just making our way thru the countryside taking our adventures as we came to them. He asks if we will come back to the village and eat with them and there he will tell us of an adventure. We agree and follow them for a short while back to their village. Ars asks if I noticed that Phol had a black book in a belt pouch. I said I saw it but didn’t think much about it. Pan carries one very similar to it. I figured him for a wizard, I say. He does work for Li-mead and doesn’t look like hired muscle to me, I say.

At the village, over a meal Phol tells his tale. He says that he came here with a party of 5 others to loot the treasure of a dragon living in a ruined keep here in the swamp. (So much for the unguarded story Li-mead gave us.) He says that the rest of his party was killed before they even made it into the creature’s lair and that he was badly injured as we can see from his scars but managed to stagger away and into this village before dying. He says that Snakey healed him and that he has stayed here since. He says that the dragon exacts a tribute from the village of one sacrifice per day for a week once per month to keep from destroying the village. He asks if that doesn’t sound like a task for adventurers such as us and that he will help us. I start to tell him with a smile that we are not that kind of adventurers but I stop just before doing so and tell him that it sounds like a noble quest to me but that I cannot speak for all of my party members. I ask him if we might have some time and privacy to discuss this. He says of course.

We retire to a hut that some of lizard men show us to. We talk about it. Of course we are going to do it. We just want to try to sort things out first. He has not mentioned Li-mead yet or the black book. Li-mead did not mention a party or a dragon. I mention that it seems odd that if he in fact works for Li that he would take up this do gooder attitude of- help these people that are not even human lift the yoke of the oppressive dragon. I say that we should be careful of the “help” that Phol might give us. He could be lying or charmed or anything, including getting us to be a big part of this month’s tribute. We go back to Phol and tell him that we will do it and ask him how far to the dragon. He says not far at all, maybe an hour or so. We say we are ready. He suggests getting a good night’s rest first and getting an early start. Very early. He says he has been watching the dragon since he was healed enough to. It seems to forage mainly at night and then return to its lair a little before dawn to sleep thru the day, he says. If we were to get up before dawn we could get there after it comes back from hunting. Then we could sneak in on it after it has gone to sleep. It sounds reasonable to us, so we agree.

We get up in the dark and follow Phol to the wyrm’s lair. It is still dark when we get there. Morning’s twilight is just beginning to cut into the night. I don’t know why I didn’t think to get Amber to see if the man was evil before now but it just hits me that we should know before we walk into this possible death trap. I give her the high sign and distract Phol so that she can cast and concentrate. To my dismay, she feints shortly after casting. We rouse her once again, just like at Li’s. She says there is a great evil inside the castle, she looks at Phol and shakes her head when he turns to look toward the ruins. I tell them I will go scout a little ahead to see if the drawbridge seems safe enough to cross. It does not. I notice when I am up there that the moat is dry. How odd! Here we are in a swamp and the one place that would be and should be wet even outside of a swamp is dry in here. This new contradiction only serves to increase my sense of foreboding about this mission. I go back to the others and suggest we make our way thru one of the torn down sections of the wall rather than chancing the bridge. We tie our fat spy with the horses and make our way to one side of the ruins. Phol makes his way to the back of our formation. Ars and I go side by side in the front but I hand signal to Amber and Pan to flank Phol and not let him all the way behind them and to watch him closely.We go thru one of the gaping holes in the wall and cross the courtyard to the doorway that leads into the main building. The wyrm lies sleeping on his hoard about 50 feet from the doorway in the dark shadows inside the building in the pre-dawn grayness. Everyone puts on their best magics to help them against what is sure to be an unimaginable retaliation to our attack.

I know the plan was to try to sneak up on the big lizard and put as much damage to it before it was awake and I even start to quietly approach it but Risk’s guidance screams to me that it would be so wrong. What if one of us isn’t quiet enough? What if Phol isn’t going to try to be quiet? No! Be bold! Conservative is for farmers, not followers of Risk! I charge! I ask Watcher’s hand to guide my stroke as I sprint across the floor toward the sleeping drake. I bring the flaming blade down with all the force and momentum I can muster where Watcher whispers to me to strike. Just behind the skull a few scales of its armor have a space just big enough for my blade. My stroke doesn’t stop until Flamesinger bites into the stone of the floor. The floor is already awash in the great creature’s blood. I severed its head so cleanly that it never even opened its eye or woke up before it died. I turn to show Phol the point of my blade just in case he was thinking of anything stupid. My turn slings a pattern of blood from the flaming blade to the floor but the point never rests on my intended target. Phol is gone! Pan shouts, “He flew up and thru a window.” I look up but don’t see him so I tumble to one side to avoid the attack I am sure is coming. It doesn’t. I dive over the beast’s neck for the cover the body will give me and search the rafters for Phol. I still don’t see him. Amber shouts, “There are floors above this room.” I dive over the body and tumble and come up in a sprint that gets me outside. They are pointing up but not doing anything else. I pull my rope and hook from their ties on my backpack and start twirling for my throw. I hear chanting from the upper floor and in the back of my mind I know that can’t be good. I throw and my hook catches. I test it with a pull and start up the wall.

I can’t seem to climb nearly fast enough and the ascent to the window seems to take forever even though I am sure it could not have taken half of a minute. I tumble in thru the window in case someone is waiting for me to climb thru. No one is. Phol is too busy groveling at the feet of what looks to be a handsome Svimohzhish prince to ambush me. The dark skinned prince seems to have been crossed with a demon because in spite of his comely features he has two large sharp fangs that show as he smiles at me and his fingers end in weapons that are more like talons or claws than nails. Behind the dark skinned prince is a glowing portal that seems to float in the air. Of course! Now all the cleric’s talk about gates comes into focus. This must be one of the gates they told me about. I hear a yell and a scream and a couple of thuds and another scream from outside. “Hey guys! I found Phol and his friend. Come on up and help me.” I yell. On a podium between the men, a black book rests. So close! I think I will have to throw Magnus’ advice about taking out the wizard first out the window. I am not sure that rule applies when there is a devil in the room. I rush them.

As I close, I can feel some one gripping my mind with amazing power. I try to make it as slippery as possible and feel them lose their grip. I use Watcher’s words of power to guide my blade again. The dark prince seems amazed that I hit him at all even if the wound doesn’t seem too bad. The very air in the room seems thick and rife with the magical energies these two are bringing to bear on me. I dare not let the dark prince touch me even as something in the back of my mind tells me how much I yearn for it and would enjoy it. I use my best defensive move. One I have used and never been touched and come away with claw marks thru my clothes. No blood was drawn but I am not sure I can move any better than that. I can only hope that was his best attack as well but the fear that has started to creep into my mind is whispering that it probably was not. Phol fans his hands out like I have seen Pan do. That can only mean bad things. I tuck my shoulder and roll underneath the sheet of flame that shoots forth from his splayed fingers. I roll up onto my feet in time to see the demon man shoot a look of displeasure at Phol as if the fire in his presence was not a good idea. Strange for a hell spawn to show a distaste for flame. Who knows, maybe he gets plenty of flame on his home plane? I use my last spell to guide Flamesinger to his ebony skin again. I know I have not hurt him badly but I have cut him twice but rather than being displeased with me there is almost a look of pride in his eyes. For me. I know this can’t go on like this for long. Where are they? The room has a nearly audible crackle, like fat in the fire, from the arcane energies being spent. Finally, I feel my muscles begin to stiffen quickly, paralyzing me. Watcher whispers in my mind, “These next few seconds are yours. Do with them what you will, in spite of his spell.” Both of them seem surprised that I am still able to move. I try to end it with a killing blow aimed at the handsome devil but fail miserably and then feel my muscles knotting up again.

I see the dark devil step toward me and know I am about to taste death again but I am helpless to do anything about it. I can only hope that the protection from evil potion that Amber brewed that I drank before going in to the dragon is still working. I feel his caress on my cheek and am revolted by his touch and revolted even more because I find myself yearning for it. I feel his nails go thru my clothes again. This time blood is drawn. Only a small amount, as if to say this could be down to the bone if I chose for it to be but I didn’t for now. He looks over my shoulder as the grayness of the twilight is giving way to the dawn. He speaks to me in an old tongue of Svimohzhish with some of the words I haven’t heard outside of the gypsy camp. “My black beauty, I would love to stay here with you but I have unfinished business at Sleeping Bear Rock. Do not worry though, we will meet again, and I will make you mine, then,”
he says. Then he turns, grabs the book and turns into a cloud of smoke or mist and drifts out the window.

Amber comes in thru the window as Pohl is shaking his head as if he just took a good thump from a constable’s club. He asks what happened. I stand there like a statue. Phol flies out the window over Ars’ head and disappears. After a short while the spell breaks and I can move again. I tell the others what happened and what I saw and begin going down the wall. I rush back to the horses and I start to change my clothes as soon as I get there to Ars’ and the fat spy’s delight judging from the size of their… eyes when they realize what I am doing. I can still feel the touch where his fingers trailed over me. And the scratches that he left let other people know that he touched me makes me feel more naked than I ever have before. Even standing here in front of the 4 of them. We know Li will not want to hear any excuses but perhaps if we offer to go to Bear Rock we can still get the blood we need without too much trouble at Li’s place. We take the valuable treasure from the dragon’s hoard and decide to stop at the village to see if Phol went there. No luck. We get the idea across to the lizard men that the dragon is dead by drawing in the mud since none of us can speak to them. We trek back to Xaarum and Li-mead’s.

Li is not pleased and does not want to hear about us going to Sleeping Bear Rock to get the book there. After my description of the dark devil and describing him as such, Li laughs at me. He tells us that the creature was probably not a devil prince at all. Li says that what I describe sounds much more like the powerful undead creatures we probably have heard called vampires. He says we are lucky he does not kill us for failing as it is. I look to Ars and he knows that is just the kind of talk I do not need to hear. I am pleading with him with my eyes to let me cut off this arrogant bastard’s head like I did the dragon’s. He gives me the- this is not the time and place with the 2 hell cats and his servant and him all here- look. I bite a hole in my lip to keep from bringing the flaming bastard sword to the flaming bastard’s neck and follow my partners lead out.

We go back to the inn to figure out what we will do. We know we need to get out of this town as quickly as possible. We know we need devil’s blood and that we were sent here to get it. We wonder if we could get an evil cleric to summon a devil for us to bleed like Am summons her lynx. We figure it is worth a try rather than trying Li’s again. We cannot get a cleric to do it once they find out what we want to do. Sometimes you just can’t shed the shackles of fate. We will hit Li’s tonight.

We go back to the wall where Pan hit the cat the first time. I take out my web scroll to try to trap it so we can get the fat man to cut it. I read the scroll. A huge web shoots toward the cat but it dodges it before the web can trap it. Then it leaps to try to take my head off. It nearly succeeds. I dodge its foreclaws letting them go over my shoulders but being on top of Ars limits my movement so that it sinks its fangs into my head as it knocks me backwards off of Ars and to the ground where it slashes me with its rear claws. The pressure of the huge creature’s jaws on my head starts to black out my peripheral vision, making it seem as if I am looking down a gopher’s tunnel or something. I will my blade into my hand but cannot wield it properly enough to even scratch the hell cat. I can hear the commotion going on around me but it sounds like it is getting farther away. I hear the crunching of bone and hope that one of them hit the big beast hard enough to make it let me go. They must have because the pain is nearly gone now, maybe it won’t be as bad as it felt at first. Then the blackness swallows me…

I awaken on the road. By all the gods! My head! Even though Am tells me they cleared most of the blood off my face, my eyes are still nearly matted together with the coagulated mess. My head pounds with every beat of my heart and any tilt makes it feel like it will explode. I throw up three times within the first hundred strides of my mount from the pain the animal’s movement brings. Thankfully there is nothing left to bring up after that. We ride like the very prince of the underworld is on our heels and after what we have seen and done in the past few months, he might very well be. We push our mounts and ourselves to the limit as we ride straight thru to Zoa.

When we get there, the line to get into the city is longer than the longest merchant caravan I have ever seen. We ride past the people in line and right up to the gate. I offer to buy passes from the gate guardsman. He informs me that we need to get back in line that passes can only be bought inside the city. We start back toward the end of the line. Ars says that maybe we can buy a place in line. I say maybe that would be ok with the guy you buy off but what about all the people behind him. He says maybe instead of getting in front of them we could buy their place altogether. We start asking. We find a melon farmer who has a wagonload waiting to get them inside. I offer to but his melons so that he doesn’t even need to go into the city. I ask him what they would be worth and he says 100 gold pieces. I tell him it is a deal. As soon as it is out of my mouth I know it is a mistake. I agreed too quickly. “Never let them know you need what they have much less that you need it badly,” my father used to tell me after his negotiations. This farmer then says but what about my time it is worth something too. Very well then, what is it worth, I ask. Another 100 gold he says. I am ready to slash his throat but know it was my mistake that got me where I am in this deal so I pay the man the 200 gold he asked for and he wheels his wagon on out of here and we take his place.

We ride thru the gate and point our lathered mounts in the direction of the forge at Haalan’s house. It seems like we crawl thru the streets at a snail’s pace. This last leg of our trip seems to drag on forever when I think of it from the perspective of reaching our stopping point. At the same time, the pace seems so comfortable when compared to the frenzied, tension-laced race of the rest of the trip from Xaarum. How can one thing be perceived so differently?

When we get to Haalan’s, we are hardly surprised by the latest obstacle in our path. This quest seems so full of such things that I bet our path might resemble that of someone lost in the woods who follows his own tracks. A note is tacked to the door. It reads as follows: THIS HOUSE CONDEMNED. THE OWNER HAS BEEN ARRESTED FOR INSIDIOUS AND TRECHEROUS ACTS. We barely have time to listen to Pan translate it from the Reanaarian it is written in before we hear the crunch of gravel under rough boots behind us. Damn. I must be more tired or injured or both than I thought. They just walked right up on us. We turn to see the latest in the long line of ambushers who seem to know our every move and await us at every other corner. One of them steps forward and tells us to come with them without a fuss or become pincushions. To add insult to injury, we are told we can not even take our horses. I can almost imagine them sighing in relief.

We are herded back outside the city. 200 gold pieces for about twenty minutes in town. It makes my head hurt even worse when I think about that. We travel a short distance luckily. We stop in a small clearing in a copse of woods. A large man with the sign of Scorn comes out of the trees. He says that we have something that he wants and that he will trade for something that we want. “What could we have that you would want?” asks Ars. “The books,” I simply state. “Very good,” he says, “I won’t have to spell it out for you then.” We tell him that we want to see Haalan alive first. He says no way and starts to walk back into the woods. I yell to him to see if he wants to meet back here. He turns back to us smiling the smile that only those who think that they are holding all the trump cards can smile. He tells us, yes, back here in just a few hours. We protest. We tell him that his men didn’t let us buy passes and that we could not even get thru the gate in that short time. Oddly enough he agrees. He yells to one of his partners who comes running out. “You know a captain in the city militia, don’t you?” he asks. His man answers that he does know one like the back of his hand and laughs. “Write these heroes some gate passes, would you my good captain?” the big Scorner asks. They both laugh as the second man produces some parchment and quills and ink from several scroll tubes. I hope the man’s confidence is based on past performances rather than the bravado of most forgers who get caught thinking that all the people who read a note are stupid or faking it. I hate to think what the punishment might be for trying to get thru a gate of a city that is practically one step away from martial law. We take the notes and trudge back to the gate. They work famously. I hope the others appreciate the talent of the man who forged the papers. I wonder if any of them gave a thought to what might happen if the man’s work was slipshod.

We go to Haalan’s first to get our mounts to make the trip faster. When we get there, half the horses are gone. That is just one more thing gone wrong in this odyssey. Amber is furious as her frustrations erupt thru her normally placid demeanor. We are all so tired that it is a wonder that more of us haven’t displayed our tempers so evidently. We get on the horses that remain and ride to Geolain’s. We use our secret ring code so we can get the cowardly Joa to answer the door. We tell him that we need to see Geolain. We ask him if he knows that Haalan has been taken. He says no and leads us to the waiting room. We wait and wait. No Geolain. Finally, we begin to yell for him in our impatience as well as our dire need. Joa comes back to see what the fuss is about. We tell him we need to see Geolain now! We have only a short time to ransom him or he will be killed! He scurries off. Geolain arrives within a minute or two. “What is Joa talking about concerning Haalan being kidnapped and about to be killed?” he asks as soon as he enters the room. We tell him that we need the books that we saved from the Scorners. We explain that the Scorners have him and will trade him to us for the books but we have to hurry. He says he thinks that he still has them all and calls for Joa. The two of them rush to another section of the house and bid us to follow them. “You will get them back again, won’t you?” asks Geolain. I say sure we will and hope he has no spell for discerning lies. We put the books in four sacks and load them onto the horses.

We ride back out to the clearing. When we get close, we decide to have Ars and me ride in with half the books while Am and Pan stay hidden with the other half of the books just in case these thieves are less than honorable. We ride in and call out to them holding out the sacks. The big man comes out and asks us if we have the books. We tell him we have half of them but that we want to see Haalan before we have the other half brought in. He nods as if he might have done the same thing and waves to a section of the trees. Haalan is marched out, flanked by 2 men with their crossbows almost touching him. We wave Am and Pan in with the other books. The big man looks in the bags and nods to the bow men. They give Haalan a push towards us. We pull him up to ride double and head back to the city.

At Haalan’s, he pulls the note down and wads it up and throws it to the dirt in disgust. “Idiots,” he grumbles. He tells us to hurry. He says that it was hard enough to keep the coin ready to accept the final magics with heat from the forge while he was here. He hopes that it has not cooled enough while he was in the grasp of the Scorners to ruin the rite. We rush in and he calls for Ars to start pumping the bellows right away. Ars does so in a rush. He asks if we have the blood. I hold out the vial of the precious liquid to him. He goes thru a lot of ceremony and chanting that I don’t understand and then has me throw some powder into the fire. It makes the flames blaze higher. He continues chanting. The door bursts in under the pressure of the eight armed men behind it. They attack us yelling some fanatical idiocy about stopping evil and magic and some other rot. Haalan continues to chant as we rush to stop the wave of men. He shows great resolve as he continues the rite despite taking a couple of sword thrusts. He then pours the devil’s blood onto the coin and every flame and light source in the place goes out. Even Flamesinger! The fighting continues in the pitch black. Abruptly the whole place is lit back up as all of the light sources and flames re-ignite along with most of the house. Haalan yells over the din that he needs a soul to seal the magic. “Let me. It is my destiny!” I yell in response. I begin making my way toward the coin. My dreams all make sense now. I must get to the coin.

Haalan pulls a wickedly curved dagger from somewhere. I am so close. Amber screams for me to stop. She says that if someone must die to let it be her. Her nobility touches me deeply. I suspect that her character might be stronger than any steel. She thinks I am trying to sacrifice my own life! How could I possible fulfill my destiny if I am dead? I am trying to get to one of the last attackers to let him play the role of sacrificial goat. Haalan beats me to the punch when he grabs one and opens the man’s throat with one slash of that dagger. The man’s blood gushes over the coin in a gory splash. The man’s essence is pulled into the coin and his body withers into a dry husk in front of our very eyes in seconds. As Ars puts the last attacker down, I pick up the newest coin of power. It burns my hand as I hold it but I refuse to let the pain make me put it down. I know, after my dreams have become clear this day, that fate and destiny are but flip sides of the same coin. That coin is the coin of our life. Just as we have helped forge this tool of magical power, I will in turn use it to forge my destiny. Now we should be able to face Daresh on level footing. I must take care not to repeat her mistakes. I have to remember that the coin is a tool only. How much destiny does a garden hoe have? I must remember that true greatness is defined by one’s character. I must take care to remember that the true hero can overcome trials without her tools as well. She must not fall into the trap of just being the steed which delivers the item that does the great deeds. She must not fall into the habit of relying on her magic to achieve greatness. True power must come from within just like Amber has. I must take care to remember that…. this place is on fire! I come out of my fugue to rush out of the burning house just in time. A crowd begins to gather as they always seem to do at such spectacles. We decide to slip away while we can before everyone determines that the terrible stink is burning flesh. We ride in different directions away from the fire to avoid as much attention as we can after agreeing to meet up at Geolain’s as soon as we can.

This gives me the opportunity to see the fat spy’s sister. I hasten to her house. I rehearse what I will say in my mind on the way there. I try to come up with a lie that I will be able to tell her that will make him sound brave and heroic but as I tell them to myself as I ride they all stick in my throat. I try several but none work. She probably would know that they were lies anyway. She should know her brother better than we did. I am shaking when I get there. It takes all I have left to will my feet up the short set of steps which lead to her front door. I knock almost too quietly to be heard but I hear feet rushing to the door. This is it. Show time. She opens the door and looks like she will scream until I realize what I must look like. Dark skin and clothes covered in blood and reeking of smoke, some of my gashes on my face and head from the cat still open despite some of Am’s best spells. I come to this realization as she is opening her mouth widely to let her whole neighborhood know she is in danger. I fumble for the idiot’s name. I can’t blurt out Fat Spy sent me! “Gonnathan sent me,” I finally manage to get out. Relief floods her face as tears begin to flood her cheeks. She starts a thousand questions which I can’t even separate much less answer here on her porch. “Can I come in?” I ask her.

She stumbles as badly as I did and finally reaches out to pull me in by the wrist instead of answering me. Where is he? Why isn’t he here himself? Is he hurt? Is he alive? All of these and more rush out of her mouth as she finds her tongue again. I tell her that I know that she must be beside herself right now but as she can see I am hurt and in need of some cleaning up before I can go back out in the streets. I tell her that when I last saw him that he was very much alive and in fact unhurt. I ask her if the rest of her questions can wait until I can dress my wounds and wash up in general and change clothes. I say that then I will tell her all I know then and give her what Gonnathan sent to her. What he undertook this quest for in the first place. She looks ready to burst but finally agrees. He was alive and unhurt? You are sure? I reassure her and ask if she will show me where I can wash and patch up. She takes me up the stairs over a rug that was not there a few weeks ago that must cover the stained floor where her father bled out. I know I am doing the right thing. So much blood. Not just here but all along the path Daresh has blazed for us to follow. She leads me to her room. She can’t know that I have already been in here but I remember. She excuses herself and leaves me to myself.

I finish in a hurry because I know she must be climbing the walls waiting on me and because the others will already be getting to Geolain’s. I stuff my bloody smokey rags back into my pack and go down the stairs. I tell her that I really don’t know much except that he went on a quest of great importance and that he saw it thru to the end. I do not know which direction or where he went after he left me but I know that he thinks you deserve this. I hand her a pouch with enough money in it to get her father raised and tell her what it is and what it is to be used for. This is part of why he went on this quest I tell her. For the love of his family. I hope he will return home to you soon. I know he faced great personal injury and danger to make sure that you were safe. She is crying openly now and says that she doesn’t know what to say. She tells me that she knew he had that in him even though no one else believed her. She says that she cannot thank me enough for bringing this great amount of money to her to help her get her father back. She says that he must have trusted me very much to have given it to me to get it here. She starts to praise me, saying that most people would have taken it for themselves rather than bringing it to her. That is more than I can take. I tell her to just think of it as something I had to do and tell her that I must leave. She rises as I do and follows me to the door still crying like a summer storm. I tell her I must go now and open the door. She bids me wait just a moment longer. “I don’t even know your name. At least tell me that before you go,” she begs. I tell her I am known as Jzashaedra. I turn and run to my horse and head him down the street for Geolain’s.

At Geolain’s they all wonder what took me so long and I tell them I ducked into an alley along the way after some of the looks I was getting riding down the street soot covered and bloody. Geolain offers to let us stay there to rest and begins to tell of some of the dangers of the coin. He says that there are rumors of a new woman of power to the north of Haanex and that just might be Daresh. He suggests we go back to see Veodon. The books again, Veodon again, did I mention someone following their own tracks before? That thought is interrupted by a pounding on Geolain’s door. I doubt this is the dwarves again. “We know they’re in there,” shouted from outside removes all doubt. Geolain tells us to take the back way out while he buys us some time. We move quickly despite our fatigue. Personal danger has a way of revitalizing you.

We head north. Sleep comes in the saddle. I no longer dream of a young girl waking up to her father’s bloody corpse. I dream of Risk and Watcher and their triple layered game of Go. They are speaking in the tongue of my previous dreams. I can understand more now but still not all of it. They are definitely saying my name and the word similar to it is the variation I told Gonnathan’s sister. Watcher has the head of a black dragon over his fist like I would wear a puppet. He moves its mouth in time to his and Risk’s words. “Now you have it right. Jzashaedra not Jzashedra. Angel Redeemed not Angel Forsaken. Only one letter difference but a very important difference, wouldn’t you say? Many of the old languages are like that,” he says. He turns the head inside out like taking off a glove that is too tight. It becomes the coin of power. Risk takes it from Watcher’s upturned palm and places it into his wine goblet he uses for his go pieces. Funny. I just now realize that the go pieces are so similar to the coin as to be nearly impossible to tell them apart. It makes me wonder just how many coins there actually are. He shakes it and “rolls” it my way. I catch the coin easily. It says, “She was once ours, now she has been taken by greed,” on 1 side and “she must be stopped,” on the other. I awaken still in my saddle. Head still throbbing, still tired but not as bad, still on the road on the run, remembering when I could think of nothing more than being on the road to get away and realizing now that one of the best parts of traveling is the trip back home and how different being on the road constantly running without some where to go back to is from that. But even with all of that, a smile spreads across my face: Angel Redeemed sounded so much better to me than Angel Forsaken…

 

[Sayburr]

Nothing Like a Ride Thru the Forest to Help You Appreciate (Human) Nature

This was part of a play test, so it will be posted after it is releasted.

 

[Sayburr]

Out of the Woods and into the Fire

...

We travel the rest of the day leading our horses thru the trees. We make camp when there is not enuf light coming thru the trees and set our guard rotation. That night on my shift, I am just getting up from adding a little wood to our small fire when I notice the air just inside the fire’s light shimmering just like it would directly over a fire. I will Flamesinger into my hand and call to the others as a smoky cloud with wings and claws and fangs appears and attacks me. I slash at it and wound it as it does me and then it disappears. The others are tumbling out of their sleeping rolls now, trying to get to me and the manifestation. I slash wildly at the area I saw it last. It reappears and rakes me with its claws and slams me with one of its wings and tries to bite me too! I had thought the animated shield was bad enuf but this creature has two more attacks to guard against then the shield did. Ars and Pan and Amber are all ready to fight now. I slash out at my invisible foe again. It reappears in a different spot and draws my blood again. Ars and Pan must have been waiting for it to reappear. As soon as it is visible again they lay into it hard. So does Amber. I can’t wait. I can smell Daresh on this thing somehow. That scent overrides my good sense to follow the good plan Ars and the others are using. I continue to slash at it as quickly as I am able. That is how the dance goes. I attack it wildly and then become the bait to draw it into the open and then the others attack it when they can see it. It works quite well actually. Only my blood is spilled and the apparition is put down after several trades of claw and steel. After the thing falls, I notice a note attached to its body. How do you attach something to a puff of smoke? I take the note off the body. It is from Daresh. The brazenness of that bitch must know no boundaries! It says that we should give up now because all of our efforts will be futile anyway. I think that once I take her down I will see if Amber can keep her alive long enuf for me to build a fire and shovel the flaming embers into the hole where her guts used to be. We must have her worried tho. Why else would she even waste her time sending this thing after us? I wonder how she found us. The last time I could see her finding us. She probably knew what ingredients we needed for the coin and figured the closest place would be Xaarum. We blundered right into that one. We made that one easy for her. But out here? No matter. I would wager a hundred gold against one that she will have no trouble finding the sharp edge of Flamesinger when we do meet.

We make it the rest of the way out of the woods with no problems. When we do clear the trees, we see smoke filling the sky where Xaarum should be. That makes me double glad we avoided it. We continue our march but can’t help glancing that way every so often, drawn by some morbid fascination. After we are too far to watch the smoke’s base anymore, I ask the others if they think it might be a good idea to stop at Soona to book passage on a ship in our names heading north to Skaarna. I think Daresh has had spies watching us for sometime and that has been how she has seemed or been smarter than us. Ars asks what good it would do to take a boat instead of riding. I sigh heavily and say we just book it, we don’t actually take the ship. Maybe even get some ringers to actually take the ride in our places to really make it look good. “Ringers?” he asks. I have to explain that to him as well, maybe he is a goody-two-shoes after all. The others agree that it is a good plan. The rest of the day is uneventful.

Our second day out of the woods, we meet some dwarves on the trail heading south. Ars looks at me and asks, “Daresh?”. I tell him I don’t think so. We ride on trying to act casually. Pan speaks to them after we get close enuf to do so. They chat for a short time while we sit there. I don’t understand a word of it except that I do hear Xaarum a few times. She bids them good-bye and we ride on. She tells us that they are heading to Xaarum. They believe that the Kalamarians are responsible for its burning. They also mentioned a dragon. We ride on.

On the third day out of the woods, we see something large and white off to one side of the road (didn’t I ask him to keep us off the roads?) far ahead. As we get closer, it looks like a big tent or canvas shelter sitting on the ground. I tell them I am going to see what it is. Ars says he is going to take up a flanking position off to my left. Pan and Amber stay here overwatching us with my horse I just dismounted from. I load a bolt into my crossbow and start to advance. It is no tent or shelter. It is a wagon with the wheels knocked off one side and nearly off the other from the way it sits canted. As I get closer, perhaps within 50 feet, I can see the bodies start to become apparent as well as the tatters and tears in the cover of the wagon. I can also make out the rumps off the horses that pulled the wagon. Whatever did this, I am glad it found them instead of us. The bodies are riddled with bolts like mine except they are without feathers. I hear something that makes me look up. Bolting down from the sky are two massive, winged feline forms with somewhat humanoid or ogre-ish heads. I invoke Risk’s Shield as they descend upon us. One makes for Ars and the other goes for Am and Pan. It isn’t getting very close to Ars I think to myself. Then I see why. It whips its tail at him and 6 bolts like big porcupine quills or crossbow bolts without feathers cover the distance between them in a blink of an eye. I think all but 1 sink into him before I can even pull the trigger on my bow and send a bolt into the beast. I bring up the ghostly hand of Sorcerous Touch as it comes back for another pass, slinging its deadly spines as it does. That silly hag, Pan, is leading the other beast right to us! Ars is starting to look porcupine-esque by now. I take out my wand and add Mage Armor on top of Risk’s Shield to try to keep that from happening to me. The monsters finally land, one on Ars’ side of the wagon and one on Pan’s while I am at the rear of it. I use the Sorcerous Touch to channel Personal Lightning into the beasts while they concentrate on Ars and Pan. These things are ferocious! One almost has to admire their near perfection as mayhem machines. The damage being inflicted upon them doesn’t seem to faze them at all.

For whatever reason Pan brought the 2nd beast to us, she just paid for it. Her blood is splashed all over the wagon from a terrible slash from the monster’s claws and she hits the ground hard and bonelessly. I guess the time for spells is past. Flamesinger leaps into my hand and I close on the beast before it can devour her or take to the skies with her. I slash a huge gaping wound in its side and can’t help the smile that spreads across my face upon hearing its agonized roar. Battle! It is times like these that I know I was born for it. My magical barriers keep me safe from most of the beast’s vicious strikes. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Pan’s form being dragged under the remnants of the wagon. That could be trouble. I didn’t hear any feline death scream from the other side of the wagon and there is no way one of these things could fit under that wreck. I could be between two of these things in a short time. I can think of many places I would rather be. I call for Watcher’s Aim and finish the monster in front of me. I turn just in time to see the other monster cat come around the corner of the wagon in a very foul temper. I call for Watcher’s Aim again as it closes and strike it as if I knew how and where it would approach before it did. Even my defensive spells cannot turn aside all of the damage of this one’s claws. It leaves several bloody furrows across my abdomen and down one thigh. I notice that it does have some wounds, to Ars’ credit, in addition to the slash I just dealt it. I need to finish this quickly so I use Watcher’s Aim again to slice open its belly as I roll under its leaping attack. I crashes to the ground hard as its guts spill out and it doesn’t have the strength left in its legs to hold the rest of itself up. Magnus would be so proud of me! I walk over to the dead thing and dip my fingers into its blood. I draw my fingers down one cheek. I walk to the other and do the same on the opposite cheek. Magnus told me it is a show of respect and brings good luck to be blooded by either a first kill or that of a worthy or dangerous foe. Even tho Risk has told me that the prepared make their own luck, for the most part, I will take all the luck I can get right now. I hope he is looking down upon me now. Even tho I am eager to bring Daresh to her doom, I know there are harsh times ahead of us.

Ars dragging Pan out from under the wagon drags me out of my thoughts too. Seeing her makes me realize that those harsh times may already be upon us. I don’t know how she is not dead. Ars says that he poured a healing potion down her as soon as he got her under the wagon. She is positively gray. She has lost so much blood. Amber rushes over to help her. I go to search the man without armor while they take care of her. I find several gems in his purse. I start to take the largest for myself but leave it with the others and take another one of lesser value instead. Can’t let my greed make me make the same mistakes as Daresh. It takes nearly all of Am’s spells she had left after fighting these things just to get Pan awake. I go back and show them what I found. Even with all that has gone between us and our many differences, I can’t help but feel for her now. It was not that long ago that I lay bleeding to death from wounds from similar claws. I know first hand, the cold –the bone numbing cold- and the lack air no matter how hard your lungs pull she must have felt as her blood ran out of her. Ars asks if we should camp to let her rest. I tell him that if she can ride we would do better to put as much distance between this slaughterhouse and us as possible. No telling what this much blood scent might draw, I tell them. Shouldn’t he know such things? I wonder to myself. We mount up and head out.

I ask Ars about our plan to stay off the roads. He says that this is more like a path. I think to myself that we have already met some dwarves and saw a wagon on this “path”. I start to speak these thoughts aloud but offer up a short prayer instead. I will try to do my part in keeping things quiet. Blooded luck must have something to it. Our day is very calm. We make camp with Soona on the dusky horizon. We might have tried to push on to finish the trip tonight but Pan is still very weak from the fight with the spiny cats. We figure 2 more hours ride, half a day at the most, will put us in the city tomorrow. We make our cold camp as we usually do when in the open and talk about our ship booking and ringers plan before getting to our beds and guard rotation.

That night my dreams are troublesome. I dream of the man who ambushed me in search of Flamesinger. I dream we awaken and start our last leg of our journey to Soona except that the road we travel on is black instead of the brown color of the dirt it should be. I awaken and wonder what these dreams mean but cannot sort them out. I curse my thick-headedness as I saddle my mount and try to shake the edginess I feel.

We have ridden perhaps an hour when we see a moderate sized group of riders off in the distance. A chill runs over me. A black path- a road to death. “Daresh!” I hiss thru clenched teeth. They all look at me for a second since we cannot even make out any details about the riders yet. But then they either feel it too or simply trust my gut feeling. We consider our options. Run? So many of them! Would we really have a chance to get away? And where would we run to? We decide to take as many of them with us as we can. We form up into a tight square with our backs against each other. I put on my Mage Armor and bring up Risk’s Shield. Ars sends his horse away with a sharp slap. I bring my Sorcerous Touch alive and hold onto my horses reins tightly. What is he thinking? There must be 20 horsemen riding down on us! I do not intend to prepare for battle just to be trampled to death under hoof. I will hold my mount until they get close and then send it right out into those who think they might ride me over. Battle! It fairly sings thru my veins! I know I will see other side of this fight safely just as surely as I know what the black path meant now. What I am worried about is how many of the others will make it. Here they come on the charge! Yes, danger comes on horseback today. Look at that formation. These are no street thugs. These men are trained and well lead it seems. A lynx appears of to my left just in front of the front line. Am is busy already.

The first of the riders ride at Ars since he is in the front. Somehow he holds the line, breaking the horse’s focus and making it rear instead of trampling him like the rider must have wanted. Here come 2 for me. “HIIIYAAAH!” I yell at the top of my lungs and slap my mount’s rump hard to startle it forward to break the charge of the 2 riders bearing down on me. I slash on of them as he tries to control his mount and the lights go out. I immediately drop to the ground and tumble back down the road the direction that we came from wondering which of their spellcasters did that. I roll away and come up on my feet and move back some more but am still in the darkness. From the sounds of the chaos in there, I wonder if it was one of their casters. I think that caught everyone off guard. I back up until I am in the light of day again and look around for targets. The darkened area is huge. Perhaps this is the hand of Watcher or Risk. A little help for one of the chosen. My first victim appears from the darkness. I light him up with some Personal Lightning. Amber backs out of the darkness. The sounds of confusion still roll out of the darkness. Another man appears out of the darkness, this one on my side. He is still mounted and I believe he is a leader. He was at the rear of the formation and has the look of a war priest. My mind is made up in an instant. I charge him! I can see him readying to meet my charge. I feint to one side of his horse to draw him out of position and off balance. As he moves to counter my feint, I spin directly in front of his horse and whip Flamesinger around in a backhanded arc. My blazing blade doesn't stop at armor, flesh, or bone. It goes thru all of that and the only thing that saves the horse from injury is the hard leather of its saddle. His leg, from just under the hip, falls from the stirrup to the ground next to me. The rest of him falls to the ground on the other side of his horse. Battle! This is tenfold better than anything I ever stole or any caper I ever ran! Something tells me to conserve my spells for when they will be sorely needed rather than burn them up early on trying to get this over with quickly. I feel that this might drag out for quite a while.

I will try to stay close to the edge of the darkness to catch them unaware and take advantage of the time it will take for their eyes to adjust from dark to daylight until there are too many of them for that strategy to hold its advantage. A strong compelling voice booms from the darkness. It is barking orders to try to regain the composure of the unit broken by the sudden midday night. We have to press that advantage. We must kill as many of them as possible as individuals before they can regroup and not only have a decided numbers advantage but the advantage of a seasoned combat team. I engage and kill several at the edge of night before several come out together and give me cause to give some ground. Everything is so clear to me. It is almost as if everyone else moves in slow motion. I can see some of them lose their nerve as I face them. My cheeks hurt from a smile so big that it must resemble a death’s head visage. This is home, I realize in a startling flash. The battleground that so many fear and dread is the place where I rest my head. The chaos and confusion and distractions that confound so many others, simply serve me to clear the dull cheap glass thru which my senses usually view the world. I fall back from the Stygian sphere engaging 2 men to keep from being badly outnumbered immediately should more emerge. I slash them unmercifully as I retreat.. I put one down and a few seconds later I drop the other. Just as I do, one of the leaders, steps from the darkness. Perhaps he is the owner of the booming voice. He certainly is big enuf. He reminds me of the berserker half-orc we faced in the streets of Zoa. I see no need to let him get started. I slap him with some Personal Lightning. He must have someone else’s attention too because he stops in mid stride. I decide this would be as good of a time as any to loose the bolt I had in my crossbow. I take aim and send it into his massive chest. Two more come out of the darkness so I drop my now empty ’bow and close to meet them halfway since the berserker seems out of it for a while.

Some of the men have come out of the darkness away from me and seem to be heading after Amber. Brother, will they be sorry. Bad decision, my not-so-friends. Even above the ringing of our steel, I can hear the battle screams of Am’s lynxes mixed with some human screams of pain. They are learning just how bad; the hard way. Another man has emerged from the darkness. He is so smooth and calm. He even smells of power from here. He might be the leader of all these men. He starts firing arrows from his position around the blood soaked ground. I am near the end of my dance(yes, that’s it; battle is so much like the dances I used to love at my birthing celebrations) with these men. One is down and now the other. Just in time too. The berserker has shaken off the effects of the spell which held him. I charge him and wound him horribly. His might is awesome. I can feel him punch thru my magical barriers with his steel. Now! Now is the time. I use Watcher’s Aim and know he will try another power thrust again since he brought blood with the last one. I simply let him come to me. When he draws back, muscles bulging, ready to drive his steel thru my chest, I simply am not there any more. I have pushed my sword up and to my left, away from him actually, since it is not my strike. It is only the start of my spin. I use that momentum to swing me and Flamesinger around him to his left and behind him. That spin ends with the blazing blade slashing into his unprotected side and a huge got of blood so dark that it is almost black. He is done for. Magnus told me that blood that dark only comes from a vital spot called the liver. If you see black blood, death is only seconds away he said.

There is a man menacing Pan who must be out of spells because all she is doing is retreating and firing her crossbow at him. He is getting to close. I step between them. I slow him down considerable with a few wounds and hope that I am giving the impression that he has all of my attention. In truth, I am using him as a ploy to gain position on the man I think of as captain of this troop. When I feel I am in the right spot, I break from this man to charge the captain. I am pleased to catch him off guard by my ploy. I am on him before he can use his bow against me even as I cross the open ground between us. Power indeed. Even tho I call for Watcher’s Aim to aid me against this man and even tho it guides my blade to where the man will be I can feel my blade turned aside at the last instant by his own magical barriers. Another battle mage! Another? I am no battle mage. I am a priestess of Watcher and Risk. “All will be revealed to you…” floats thru my mind in Risk’s voice. Can it be? It will do you little good either way if you let this man kill you, I chastise myself and then redouble my efforts. Focus, Jza, focus.

I parry several of his attacks but a few get thru to give me minor cuts. I decide to use every spell I have left. I assault him with a terrible cold fury. He manages to turn aside one more of my divinely guided slashes but all the rest find their mark. His blood spills from 4 deep scores in his skin. I have a few more of my own by now too, but nothing I cannot grit out. I see his resolve break on the last one. He retreats into the darkness. I slash blindly thru the edge close to me just in case he had some cute ploy of his own in mind. I hit nothing and decide to gamble a glance to see how the others are doing. Am is aiding Ars amid a pile of bodies and Pan looks quite shaken but is still sweeping the edge of the darkness in case someone decides to step out. That was no ploy! That was a retreat! I can’t see him thru the darkness but I can see into his mind somehow and know he is on the run. I cast Fleet Feet and pick up my crossbow from where I dropped it earlier. I sprint around the dark sphere. I get to the other side to find him climbing on a horse. I call for Watcher to guide my aim one last time as I draw down on him on his galloping mount. My bolt sinks deep into his back but he doesn’t fall. I race after him to keep him in range. I can keep up with the horse for a short burst but can’t do much else. I feel my speed ebbing so I drop to one knee and reload and fire one last shot. It falls short as he gallops away.

I look of into the distance ahead of him. I can see a large group of riders heading this way from Loona. Time to go. I make my way back to the others. I tell them of the riders approaching and suggest we leave now. As I talk to them I notice a shape sort of squatted in an area of twisting tangled up grass just off from the darkness. I walk over close to him and raise my crossbow to my shoulder after loading it. He pleads with me not to fire since he is helpless and obviously defeated. He says that it was nothing personal between us. He is only a merc trying to make a living. I drop my aim. “Throw your weapons further into the tangles,” I tell him. He does so. “I will pull you out and let you live if you will tell me who hired you,” I tell him. He asks how does he know I won’t kill him anyway. I raise my ’bow again. “Okay, okay! Sure. Toran hired us. Toran that’s who,” he says. So Daresh’s little minion has a name other than dirty little minion bastard. I take the bolt from my ’bow and hold it out for him to grab onto. It takes some doing (what is that mess and where did it come from?) but I pull him out. I tell him he had better get out of here quick because my friends are not so nice as I am. He is running before I finish.

“Where did that… whatever it is come from?” I ask. Ars says he used his nature powers to animate the growth to help slow the enemies. “Nice trick,” I say. “Where did that false night come from?” I ask while I am looking for the closest horse. “Did I do well? Did blocking out the sun help like I thought it would?” Am asks. I surprise myself by going over and kissing her full on the mouth before exclaiming, “Help? Your darkness did what all of our blades and bows probably could not have done! It changed them from a well-trained, highly disciplined, tactical unit into a confused broken group of individuals. It leveled the battlefield and probably saved 2 of our lives at least.” Her modesty always amazes me nearly as much as her divine power.

As we ride away, I reflect on my battlefield revelations. Battle mage…No wonder I can’t bless water to make it holy or cast healing spells. And I think more about battle as a dance. The more I think about that the more I think it is more like a present Fo, I mean my father brought to me from a wealthy Kalamarian trader. I think he called it a kaleidoscope. You look thru one end and twist the other and it creates a rapidly changing shifting series of images, colors, and/or shapes. Yes, I like that better. Battle is a human kaleidoscope and I twist the end of it. It can be confusing and flashy and hypnotizing unless you control or at least understand the pattern… Yes, much better. Battle is a human kaleidoscope. Praise be to Risk and Watcher…
Now let’s get the hell out of here…

 

[Darklone]

No bump

Just wanted to make sure you don't think noone's reading

 

[wsclark]

I'm still reading this too. Nice to see an update. Jza's player did a wonderful job on this one, very personal. It was also quite different in tone from your DM version over on the Kenzer Boards. This one was a bit more upbeat whereas the DM one showed how desperate that last battle was. Any chance of seeing some of the other players reactions to this session? I would be quite interested in hearing the tale from their point of view.

 

[Darklone]

Nah

They are probably still under medical observation due to serious heart problems and abuse of alcoholics... Don't think they can write something !