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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 257805" data-attributes="member: 1674">The struggle for the serpent amphora- part 3 of 4Eochaid, the Ranger, had full recovered by now, and he greeted them as they entered the village:” Greetings! I am glad to see you back. Did you succeed?”Torn patted the saddlebag that was holding the amphora now and nodded.“Ah, good. Well, come to the tavern, then. I owe you a dinner at the very least for now.”They accepted his invitation and had a pleasant evening with the ranger. At some point in the evening, after they had had dinner he asked:” Well, good gentlemen, I don’t know where you are heading, but I intend to bring this amphora to Lave, the capital of my homecountry, Vesh. I know I have already asked more than enough from you good people, but maybe you could accompany me on the way there?”.They checked the maps and seeing that it was on the way to Mithril, anyway, they agreed.“Besides” said Jan, “we have risked so much already, we too want to make sure that the artifact reaches a safe place.”.Eochaid was now grinning broadly: “Great! I have already purchased and prepared a boat that should take us over Adurn’s tear.”They sat merrily together for a few more hours and at midnight, Radraan, the priest of Belsameth entered the hut that was serving as the village’s tavern.He raised his hands in a greeting gesture:” Ah, I am glad to see that you all made it back alive! You are mighty heroes, indeed. You have entered the lion’s den and remained unscathed! Indeed, the gods are smiling upon you.”Jan got up and greeted the priest with equal politeness: “Greetings to you, too, good priest. Now, may I be frank and ask what brings you here?”The Belsameth priest was smiling his frozen smile again: “I came to give you a chance to reconsider your initial plan. After all, it is clear that Chardun wished to retrieve the Amphora that bears his seal. So, the only logical consequence would be to bring it to Calastia, where his royal highness King Virduk rules with the scepter and the laurels of the Great General himself!”.“True enough”, answered Jan:” But all The Overlord wished was that the amphora that bears his seal should be taken away from the titanspawn. And this is what we will be doing by bringing it to Vesh.”Now Niklas got up, too:” Besides, there is really not much we have to decide about it anyway. It was originally retrieved by the vigils, so it is Eochaid’s right to decide where the Amphora should be brought. And also, my brother had sworn an oath in the name of Corean to bring the Serpent Amphora to Vesh. And you can surely not expect a paladin of the champion to break his word now, can you?”.Radraan nodded shortly, and there was fake regret in his voice now:” Well, then, I see that you have made up your mind. I only hope that you will not regret your decision. Good night.”.And with these words, he disappeared into the night.Torn emptied his tankard of wine and said:” Looks like there is one more enemy we’ve got to watch out for.”.Eochaid agreed:” Yes, but then I would always rather have a priest of Belsameth as my enemy than as my friend… Anyway, I will only feel comfortable when the Amphora is safely in the Hall of Command in Lave.”And with these words, they ended their feast and went to bed.On the next morning, they set sail with the small boat Eochaid had prepared. They left their horses behind, but fortunately there was enough space for their two pack mules.It was a nice day for sailing a boat. There was a fresh breeze and the blue of the sky was mirrored in the crystal clear water of Adurn’s tear. As the sun had reached it’s peak, Niklas approached the ranger and asked him about the ratmen they had encountered in the blood steppes.“Yes, I know them. In fact, some vigils consider them to be the greatest danger Vesh is facing. They appeared out of nowwhere after the titanswar and by now, we even had to face them in full scaled battles! But maybe I should start at the beginning.”They call themselves slitheren, and from what we found out about now, this is how they came into being:”After the titans fell, the rats came, and they gnawed at the titan’s remains. Right from the start, the dark magical energies transformed the rats, making them bigger, smarter and more like the titan they were feasting on. They bred and each generation grew more humanoid. This is how they came into being.“Other rats became like other titans, without actually feasting on them, and from what we know now, there are now twelve distinct races among them, each one representing the titan that had instilled them with their dark energy. The one that killed your sorceror’s raven, for instance, would most likely be a “red witch” one of the brood that is instilled with the spirit of Mormo.”“There are several broods operating from withing the mourning marshes, and they are now endangering the entire south of our country…”They sailed on in silence, and at night, they anchored at a shallow part of the lake.As Jan held watch, he lay down on his back and watched the stars. Then, contrasting against the background of the sickle of Belsameth’s moon, he saw four vultures. He squinted his eyes- he had never heard of vultures that were out at night. The moment he got a better view, he got up and woke his companions- the “vultures” were really winged women who were armed with scythes, and they seemed ready to dive down at them!</blockquote>

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