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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lars Frehse" data-source="post: 509730" data-attributes="member: 1674">Eve of the Taurosphinx part 4 of 4Suddenly, he felt a slap to his face, and heard Torn's voice:" Wake up, wake up, and stop screaming!"Trepat looked around, and there he was, in the middle of the camp, and all his friends were still alive. Except for Torn, all of them seemed to have been asleep. In spite of the cool spring night, he was drenched in sweat- even though he was over a hundred years old, he could not remember any dream that had been even remotely as intense... It all had felt real- the wind on his skin, the way the beast had looked and he had even felt the feathers of the arrow as he let it fly...Trying to remember all details, he told his friends about the dream. When he was done, he added:" I am most certain that this was no ordinary dream. This was different- maybe a divine warning..."."Odd,", Niklas said,"but what you have been calling a beast looks like the Taurosphinx, the herald of Hedrada. I can not think of a reason why the herald of the Lawgiver should attack us so viciously.".Poking a stick into the glowing embers of their campfire, Torn said:" Maybe it wasn't a divine sending. After all, someone seems to be interested in stopping us, or at least slowing us down. I think that even if we would have been aprehended in Lave for stealing that brooch it would have only cost us a few days. So, that would have delayed our progress. And now, Trepat is having this dream... Could be that it is supposed to make us afraid of going to the lawgiver's city..."They all agreed, even though Trepat was still feeling uneasy, then Niklas said:" You know, I had a dream, too. It is not as dramatic as the one Trepat had, but maybe it does have a special meaning. I was in a corridor with many doors. Then, I heard the voice of my father calling for me. He seemed to be searching for me, since I heard doors being opened and slammed again."Niklas sighed deeply, and then continued:" I  tried to find him myself- but whenever I opened a door, there was another corridor with lots of doors, similar to the one in which I had been. All the time, I heard my father searching for me, but I wasn't able to find him..."Niklas fell silent. It had been years since the Black Dragoons had turned him into an orphan, but the wound had never fully healed. His friends looked at him with compassion, but none of them was able to say whether the dream had any meaning in their current situation.Eventually, they went back to sleep. The rest of the trip down the Hornswythe was uneventful, and checking in Barel, they saw that they would have to cover the way to Lake Repose on foot. They said goodbye to Captain Yengly and the crew of the Skiprock and headed east.In the first night, they were attacked by strange skeletons, which seemed to be animated by vines. The way it looked, it was the wines moving the skeletons and not the skeletons themselves. However, they quickly dispatched that threat. The adventurers had fought tougher foes before, and their experience and training made them far superior to those mindless monsters.On the next day, they moved on, already forgetting about the fight of the previous night. After all, they were travelling through rather untamed wilderness- and plant-skeleton-hybrids didn't seem to be Mormo's style. It seemed much more likely that they had simply encountered one of the every-day nightmares, which was still making life so dangerous and hard for the divine races of Ghelspad.They reached Sheer Falls just before sunset. From atop an enormous wall, the waters of  Lake Placid where thundering earthward. The soaking spray around the waterfall were shimmering in all colors of the rainbow, as the clouds suddenly blocked out the sun's light, leaving only a single shaft of light that striked at the base of the falls.As the heroes stood and looked in awe, the waters at the base of the fall split, and an enormous form launched itself into the air. It was the Taurosphinx, which Trepat had seen in his dream. As it circled once overhead and landed with a majestic flourish at the bank of the river next to them, Trepat stood paralyzed- the memory of his dream filled him dull desperation. There was no doubt for him that resistance was futile.The Taurosphinx's wings shook once to get rid of the water and then folded primly along it's flanks."I have been seeking you", it announced with a thunderous voice.Slowly, it approached Trepat, who stood absolutely rigid. " You have been beset by illusion and nearly unmade by falsehood", it said, "You labor on behalf of the Mother of Serpents, although you know it not.".Now it stood in front of Trepat, and with it's huge right paw, it gently touched Trepat on the forehead, who was now able to see that his entire nightmare had been an illusion. Then, it continued to speak:" The dream you have suffered was a sending, inflicted upon you by the Witch Queen's servants, that you would be disinclined to trust my good council."Niklas was the first who summoned the courage to adress the Taurosphinx:"Herald of Hedrada, I too have had a dream, in which my father was calling for me. Dou you know the meaning?"It nodded:" Yes, that was me. I used the voice of Hedrada, which sounds like the voice of a father to all mortals, to call for you, but the magic of the witch queen's servants had blocked me from you.""We fear that there are servants of Mormo among the Vigilants' ranks, since it seems to be the only way that they could know about our mission..", Torn said."You are right. You have all been deceived. There is indeed one of the Hag's vipers amidst the ranks of the Vigils. I know not who he is, for the servants of the Witch Queen are elusive, but I know that he exists. "You have been send on a fool's errand- the information you are seeking can not be found in Hedrad. You were sent to the wrong place in order to ensure the Witch's servitors to get what you should seek."But all is not yet lost. High up in the Kelder Mountains, scattered about the peak of Mount Croiganne lie the ruins of Sky Keep. It once had been a flying fortress, but now it is nothing more than a wreckage. There you will find the Vault of Chardun, where you will find a manuscript that will tell you and the Vigils what you must know".Meanwhile, night had fallen, and a strong wind was blowing from the south: "The children of the Serpent Mother are on their way to Sky Keep, too, but knowing the importance of what you face, my master and his brother Enkili have arranged top speed your way."There is a great storm stirring out at the sea. By tomorrow, it will make the Hornswythe reverse it's flow. If you hurry and get a boat, you can use this to your benefit. We can only reverse the river's flow for a short time, though, since we cannot risk the Bloodbasin grow once more and corrupt the land around it."Seeing that the adventurers had understood, the Taurosphinx spread it's magnificent wings again:" But I have my own tasks to perform, even as you do, and I have already tarried too long with you as it is. Take to the road by dawn, and be swift! The fortune of all gods be with you!"And with that, the Herald of Hedrada leapt into the air. Riding the growing winds, it disappeared into the nightsky, leaving the adventurers behind.</blockquote>

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