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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brimshack" data-source="post: 3804671" data-attributes="member: 34694">At dusk the apparition finally made its appearance. This was the confrontation for which we had been waiting all day. Emerging from the charred remains of the main house, it moved slowly to the fresh graves. For a time, it stood before the grave, or hovered before it, as the case may be. There it remained for a time, and then it turned towards us.There is only one means to destroy a ghost, and that one means differs from one of these spirits to the next. We did not know the means to kill this one. Yes, it was a frightening moment.So, there I stood, making a conscious effort to retain my water, staring at a creature capable of inflicting terrible damage, and knowing full well that the best we could hope to accomplish was a stalemate. The latest of many a lose-lose equation that had been lain before us. It wasn’t more than a few weeks ago, that we all stumbled into this place, this terrible land with its dim sunlight. We washed up on its shores, so to speak, all of us comeing from radically different worlds. They found us lying on the ground. The orcs, I mean. They found us, and it is never good to be caught sleeping by orcs.It was a “Jubilee.” That is what the orcs had called it, a blessing of wayward souls offered up as if by cruel gods for the benefit of cruel beings. And so the ocs came to harvest us just as one might an ocean of fish flopping about on the shore in the wake of some strange tide. None of us had much to offer in those days; we could barely walk much less fight. Still we managed to ward off the first wave of orcs attempting to feast upon us. A Few have come and gone since then (the odd bat and an orc we never really knew). We still hope that a few of our friends who stayed back will catch up soon, but for now let me describe my current companions:A CAST OF FOOLS, NOT QUITE ON A SHIPIlkahn: Ilkahn is a Dark Elf. Despite the stories one hears of his kind, Ilkahn is an honourable creature, and one quite devoted to justice. It should be said though, that he is a little short on mercy. But that could be said of our group as a whole. I would not wish to fall in our hands after a battle. Still, none of us have sought out victims; they have all, down to the orc and the elf, sought out conflict with us. But I digress... Ilkahn wields a Long Sword and a Shield. Plus, he wears armor. As fate would have it, both his sword and his shield are highly magical. Each was made by Elves, and each bears the traits of its maker. So, Ilkahn gets the most out of these items. He is primarily skilled in defensive tactics. Even without the shied, he is very hard to hurt. With it, he is nigh impossible to harm by any means. Ilkahn is by all accounts our ringer. With the possible exception of our Offensive caster (one of the wayward party), we have no offensive powers quite so effective as Ilkahn’s defence. And if that does not sounds too impressive, consider that Ilkahn is highly effective in riposte. Ilkahn presents something of a dilemma for us, because he would be great to have on the front line. And yet, we need someone to protect the spell casters. Where this elf stands his ground will be the most important decision in every battle we fight. If we move Ilkahn foreword, the casters will be without the benefit of his shieldman skills. If we keep him back, then our best asset in melee combat is left passive,  applying his skills only on the initiative of the enemy. It’s a tricky trade, but one I would rather to have than to have not.Daidoji: This character comes from an island kingdom far off in the Orient. For all I know, he could be from my world, but that is another question. Daidoji is skilled with a kind of spear, and he too wears armor. Daidoji leads the attack as often as not. He too possesses a strong sense of Honour, though he is less keen on matters of Justice than our Dark Elven Shieldman. I do remember one battle which began with words. Serving as our spokesmen, it was Daidoji that began the hostilities by promising he would kill the main enemy. True to his word, it was Daidoji’s spear that finished the battle.Red: She is a late-comer. Another of the stragglers from the “Jubilee.” She had been captured by goblins, and we bargained for her release. The goblins begged us not to attack them, saying instead that we ought to fight the very minotaur that bade them to war against us. They had already sent for the Minotaur. It was a simple matter - we either fought the Minotaur for the freedom of the goblins or we fought it along with the goblins or our own lives. But we made a deal on the strength of our own honour (or at least that of Ilkahn and Daidoji), Red was given to us, and we slew the Minotaur before leaving the goblins in peace. Red wasn’t much use in that battle, come to think of it, but I digress again. It seems to be a character trait of mine.Please excuse me, I will return to the subject at hand. Red is a spell caster. She specializes in Offensive magic as well as Support. Despite a weak frame and a dainty set of skills, she has an exceedingly violent character, as demonstrated when she cut off the middle finger of an elven archer who had served in an attack against us. Red likes to wear clothing appropriate to her name. She has chosen the power of colour symbols, and the colour she has empowered with that choice is obvious enough I shant bther to mention it. The choice of colour has enhanced her aggressiveness well enough; it has also made her that much more dangerous to those clothed in fabrics from the other end of the colour spectrum. A few archers felt this power quite recently.And then there is Quenthalos: He is our main Support caster as well as our primary Healer. Quenthalos too has a hyper developed sense of honour. It seems I am surrounded by those who would keep their word, even at our own expense. That is not my way, but in this company honour is a value to be reckoned with. Quenthalos can usually generate a great deal of powerful magic very quickly. He is responsible for keeping many of us alive, and giving us many a power needed to defeat our enemies. Together with Ilkahn and our missing Offensive caster (the one left behind), Quenthalos has proven himself the key to many a victory.Hanse: What can be said of Hanse? He is a Centaur, one who joined us a little late in the game. His fighting skills are moderate at best, and he needs to work on his Defensive abilities if we are not to find ourselves in need of Resurrecting him again. But none of this really stands out. The most striking thing about Hanse is that he can only be described as Omnisexual. Everything makes Hanse happy. I do not really know what else to say about this creature. He is a good sort, I suppose, but he leaves me just a little queezy.Stump: Stump is our greatest archer. I try to keep up with him, but I have divided my efforts with the Healing magic. Until recently, I could shoot a target as well as he, but I am unable to move and shoot as he does. And when I fire quickly, the shots typically fall a bit off the mark. When stump wishes to shoot with speed, his arrows are nearly as dangerous as a single arrow fired with great care.Valosh: He is another one late to the party. Valosh joined us shortly before we took Red from the goblins. He is a melee fighter with pretensions to holy purpose. I should not say pretensions,  I suppose, Valosh has the aura about him, one which conveys righteousness with every word he speaks. It is actually quite inspiring, though I must say that I am unsure of the values which he chooses to personify. Valosh too is a minion of Honour and Justice. He too keeps his word, even when doing so would be foolish. Unlike Ilkahn and Daidoji, Values has yet to prove himself worthy of the bother.Spleenfritter: I don’t get this guy. Spleenfritter is an orc. He claims to come from a land where orcs are the great protectors of Hobbits and where Elves hunt small helpless things in the night.  I do not know just how seriously to take these comments, but I do know this. Spleenfritter washed up in this land just like the rest of us, and he lay there helpless on the first day just as the rest of us. When we fought the orcs, Spleen was true to our side of the conflict, charging out in front. We had to ressurrect him that day, and he claims to feel the traces of death still every morning. Of Spleenfritter, I will trust his sword, even if I don’t think much of his silly stories.And then there is me, Keleska Tain, your faithful narrator (and one of the few of my party literate enough to relate this tale to you this tale). I will tell you of our wayward friends if and when they catch up. For now, there is just me that remains to be described. I too am an archer. I had trained to serve my king in the armed forces of my homeland, but that is hardly important now. This place has little to do with home, and my efforts upon arriving in this place could hardly be better understood in the light of my past ambitions. Seeing as it was needed in the early days after the Jubilee, I took the time to learn how to heal others. Still, I am no great healer, just an assistant to Quenthalos, so to speak. What I do best is to shoot my bow, though I am not so good at that either. So, I guess you could call me a Jill of All Trades, a kind of secondary archer and a secondary healer to the party. I do what I can to fill in the gaps left by our companions. Most recently, I have learned to use physical attacjks as a means of cancelling magic. The next fool to come at us with powerful spells upon him may lose them quickly, at least if I get my way. Perhaps, I have finally found my niche in this party?That is me, and those are my companions.</blockquote>

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