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<blockquote data-quote="Delemental" data-source="post: 3761704" data-attributes="member: 5203">Kyle’s eyes closed.&nbsp; When they opened again, the swirls of colors had almost completely vanished, though there was still a slight sheen, like oil on the surface of a pond.&nbsp; He stood up and emerged from the tent.&nbsp; Kupa and Rupert sat just outside, and looked up as he emerged.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Where?” was all he said.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kupa tuned his head and pointed out across the hill.&nbsp; Kyle saw the beginnings of a fortified wooden village a few hundred yards away.&nbsp; A partially-completed keep sat in the center, and smoke billowed from a large hole in the roof.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Kyle quickly cast a few spells, and then vanished.
*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The rumbling under their feet intensified, and there was a noticeable swelling in the floor near the center of the room.&nbsp; Osborn quickly unrolled his portable hole and unceremoniously dumped the unconscious priest inside, just before the earth exploded. Everyone was thrown back as a monstrosity arose from the newly formed pit, accompanied by the stench of rotting flowers.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The creature was large and bulbous, about the size of a wagon, and looked like a huge misshapen head.&nbsp; Instead of hair, several atrophied, spindly arms waved about, tremulous fingers pointing in all directions. As it floated upward, they saw that instead of a body, the creature’s underside was little more than a mass of tentacles and stalks.&nbsp; Four steel chains were attached to the underside of the huge head, tethered to the ground below with razor sharp spikes, as though trying to keep it from escaping.&nbsp; Orbiting the soulkeeper’s body were three black orbs.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Osborn was the first to act, hurling a dagger at the soulkeeper’s hideous body.&nbsp; The dagger bounced off harmlessly, not even leaving a scratch.&nbsp; Tolly then tried to cast destruction, but the spell fizzled before it even reached the creature.&nbsp; A shotput thrown by Arrie passed through the soulkeeper harmlessly, and a blow by Autumn that would have cut a normal man in half did little more than cause the beast to jiggle slightly.&nbsp; Finally, Yuri ran up and thrust her spear at the soulkeeper, and although it connected solidly, the wound it left was barely more than a scratch, which quickly scabbed over.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Oh dear,” Osborn said.
*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Two men, slightly stooped with age, stood vigilantly by the main entrance to the keep, their spears firmly in hand.&nbsp; They’d heard some strange, terrible noises coming from inside, the sounds of a fierce battle and the cries of several children.&nbsp; But these men had been charged by their high priest to remain on guard and defend the keep from intruders, and they intended to do their duty.&nbsp; Any less would show a lack of respect to Ladta.&nbsp; So much depended on her and her priests – could they do no less?&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There was a sudden popping noise, and a man appeared directly in front of them.&nbsp; He was large, and wore midnight blue robes.&nbsp; The door to the keep faced east, toward the rising sun, and so the man was silhouetted again the dawn.&nbsp; His eyes, however, seemed faintly luminescent.&nbsp; Slowly, the two guards raised their weapons.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Move,” he growled.&nbsp; “Now.”&nbsp; The crystal sphere on the end of the staff he held began to glow.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Faced with the reality of a hundred and forty pounds of old man with a spear against two hundred and thirty pounds of angry archmage, both guards wisely allowed common sense to override devotion.*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The soulkeeper floated in midair, almost seeming as though it hadn’t even noticed the party was there, assailing it with its most potent attacks.&nbsp; Tolly threw spell after spell which it simply ignored, and the blows of their various weapons did nothing but leave minor injuries.&nbsp; The soulkeeper glanced at Yuri and attempted to charm her, but fortunately her ring countered it.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Yuri, who had attacked the soulkeeper again with little effect, screamed in frustration.&nbsp; “Fine!” she yelled.&nbsp; “If I can’t hit you…” She turned and jabbed her longspear into one of the black orbs, sending a viscous, inky fluid spraying everywhere.&nbsp; The orb burst open, and suddenly the soulkeeper whirled on her, looking as perturbed as a giant gelatinous face could look.&nbsp; It hit her with another spell, and suddenly Yuri was frozen in place.&nbsp; With an awful noise, the chains holding the soulkeeper in place pulled free, and began waving around in all directions.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A figure appeared in the doorway of the chamber, surrounded by a crackling aura of electricity.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Soulkeeper!” Kyle shouted.&nbsp; “You couldn’t defeat me before, and now you stand no chance!”&nbsp; Two bolts of lightning arced out from his fingertips, striking each of the two remaining orbs.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The others quickly got the idea.&nbsp; Autumn continued to slash at the soulkeeper, trying to distract it, while Arrie began targeting one of the black orbs.&nbsp; A few moments later Yuri joined in, after Tolly dismissed the spell that held her.&nbsp; Osborn moved up behind Autumn and used a healing wand to tend to her wounds, to make sure she stayed on her feet against the soulkeeper’s attacks.&nbsp; Enraged, the soulkeeper lashed out with its four chains, knocking Autumn, Osborn, Yuri and Arrie to the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tolly surrounded the soulkeeper with a blade barrier to try and keep it in place, while Kyle surrounded one of the orbs with a resilient sphere, cutting it off.&nbsp; Kyle had seen the same thing that Tolly had been seeing; each of the orbs was connected by a string of energy to the soulkeeper.&nbsp; But Kyle had seen their purpose; the orbs fed a protective field around the creature that negated most physical and magical energies.&nbsp; Until the field was down, the soulkeeper was virtually invulnerable.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Arrie’s spiked chain whipped around the last orb, and pulled it apart.&nbsp; The soulkeeper shuddered and howled, and Kyle saw that the protective field was gone.&nbsp; Yuri was already taking advantage, thrusting her longspear into the now much more vulnerable nightmare.&nbsp; Strangely-colored fluids poured out of the wounds she left.&nbsp; The soulkeeper tried to paralyze her again, but this time she shook off the enchantment.&nbsp; It then started to float away, ignoring Tolly’s blade barrier, but it wasn’t nearly fast enough.&nbsp; Between Kyle’s lightning, Autumn’s falchion, Arrie’s chain, and Yuri’s longspear, the creature had no chance.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; It was Yuri who struck the final blow, screaming as she thrust the shaft of the spear halfway through the soulkeeper.&nbsp; It exploded in a burst of soul-destroying energy that lanced through everyone in the room, leaving them wounded but felling none of them.&nbsp; A torrent of freed souls shot upward out of the creature’s body like a geyser, blasting off the roof and hurling themselves into the sky, where they soon vanished as they made their way to the Shadow Plane.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Legacy picked themselves up and gathered together, wary of the broken floorboards and crumbling ceiling.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Kyle!” Autumn shouted happily.&nbsp; “You’re back!”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Of course,” he said.&nbsp; “I was just waylaid, that’s all.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “By what?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “By that,” he replied, pointing at the hole where the soulkeeper had emerged.&nbsp; “After I completed my spell, it sensed my presence in the Dream Realm and came after me.&nbsp; I’ve been fighting a battle of wills against it for the past day or so.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “If that’s the case,” Tolly said, “what took you so long?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “It was persistent,” Kyle answered.&nbsp; “But at least the spell works.&nbsp; I’ll just have to find a way to account for the proximity of soul-consuming nightmares.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Oh, is that all,” Yuri laughed.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Well, that’s all well and good,” Arrie said, “but right now we have a bunch of displaced orphans to worry about.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Legacy walked out of the ruined keep into the morning sunlight.&nbsp; The villagers, at least the elderly, had already gathered around, though none of them were carrying their spears.&nbsp; The children were still hiding, though the fact that they were hiding in large groups made them easy to find.&nbsp; The party moved around and gathered everyone together, making sure to remove the earrings from the children’s ears.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Let me deal with this,” Osborn said.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tolly seemed to bristle a little, then relaxed.&nbsp; “I suppose that makes sense, though I’m not used to deferring to a lesser priest.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Osborn turned and glared at Tolly.&nbsp; “A ‘lesser’ priest?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tolly turned slightly red.&nbsp; “I meant less experienced.&nbsp; You’ve not been ordained as long.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Osborn continued to glare.&nbsp; “I think you need to go away now.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Tolly paused, and then, nodding, he strode away toward their camp.&nbsp; Yuri accompanied him, just to make sure he wasn’t alone if the crowd got ugly.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; When he was gone, Osborn walked over to an overturned crate and climbed atop it.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Is there any among you who speak for the rest?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “What do you mean?” one man at the front asked.&nbsp; “What do you want of us?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “I wish to know who will take care of you.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “The Fatemaster took care of us,” an old woman shouted from the back.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “The man who brought you here was no true priest,” Osborn said.&nbsp; He held aloft his holy symbol.&nbsp; “I am a true priest of Ladta, and my companions and I have put an end to his heresy and freed you all.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Then you have doomed us all!” a man cried out.&nbsp; “The One True Goddess needs the souls of the faithful to maintain the balance!&nbsp; The Fatemaster told us this!”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “He lied!” Osborn shouted.&nbsp; “He lied to serve his own ends, and used you!&nbsp; All souls contribute to the balance, not just those faithful to Ladta, and they do not need to be sacrificed to serve that end!&nbsp; Ladta has never accepted the sacrifice of sentients!”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; A murmur rippled through the crowd.&nbsp; Then the old man in front who had first spoken raised his voice again.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “How are we to know your words are any more true than his?” he asked.&nbsp; “All I see is a hin with an engraving of a cat.&nbsp; Can you show us that you truly speak for Ladta?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Osborn thought for a moment, and then, reverently holding his holy symbol, he raised his arms into the air.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Ladta,” Osborn intoned, shouting into the morning air, “can you show these people a sign that they have been misled?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; There was a long, expectant silence.&nbsp; Osborn felt the relic coin in his pocket vibrate slightly, and grow slightly warm.&nbsp; He waited patiently, and then from the back of the crowd he heard a cry – not of fear, but of delight.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The crowd turned and saw a young girl, no more than seven, cradling a small gray and white kitten. Other children began to call out with joy as more kittens appeared, running out from behind houses and fences to leap into the waiting arms of the kids.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Suddenly, Osborn felt his relic coin grow warm again, and he felt a definite sensation of pulling.&nbsp; Trusting his instinct, he followed the sensation, waling slowly through the town accompanied by a small group of local villagers.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Osborn followed the urging until he reached a nondescript spot near the center of the village, a few yards from a large egg-shaped boulder.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Bring me a shovel,” Osborn said.&nbsp; Soon someone handed him a child-sized spade, which was sized perfectly for him.&nbsp; He began to dig, and after digging only a few inches down, his spade hit into a hard wooden surface.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Quickly expanding his hole, Osborn soon uncovered a very old strongbox, one that had obviously been there for decades.&nbsp; After it was pulled out of the hole, he pried it open, and a mound of silver coins, green with age, spilled across the ground.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “I believe this should be more than enough to help all of you find your way to other relatives, or establish a new settlement if you wish,” Osborn said proudly, standing up and gesturing for the displaced villagers to take their share.&nbsp; “It was lucky that this was found here.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; As the villagers began to gather up coins, Osborn felt a hand on his shoulder.&nbsp; He looked up into the face of the man who had challenged his authority.&nbsp; “It seems I owe you an apology,” he said.&nbsp; “Your faith seems genuine.&nbsp; How could we have been led astray?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “I will tell you that story in good time,” Osborn said.*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Fatemaster of Ladta tumbled out of the portable hole, and found himself surrounded by six people, none of them friendly.&nbsp; He knew all of their faces, except for one, a wizard in blue robes.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; One of them, the hin who pretended at true faith, crouched down in front of him.&nbsp; “Explain yourself,” he said.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Fatemaster was only too happy to educate these heathens on the path of salvation that had been revealed to him.&nbsp; He lectured them on the proper acts of faith required to save all of them from certain destruction, and how sacrifice was required so that the Soulkeeper could deliver the souls of the faithful to Ladta via the Soul Well in order to maintain the balance of powers.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Inexplicably, when he was finished none of them were moved by his words.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “How exactly did Ladta tell you all of this?” the wizard asked.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “She revealed it to me in a dream,” he said reverently.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The wizard sighed.&nbsp; “Well, now we know that some of them are actively seeking out people in the real world to corrupt.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “One more thing to worry about,” sighed the Ardaran priest.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “What should we do with him?” asked the aasimar, nudging the Fatemaster rudely with her boot.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “He’s nuts,” said the Sargian woman.&nbsp; “I’d think the answer was fairly obvious.”&nbsp; She held up the end of her long spear and pointed it at him.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Leave him to me,” said the hin.&nbsp; He stood up, and pulled a coin from his pocket.&nbsp; No, not just any coin… a sacred relic of Ladta!&nbsp; For such a thing to be in the hands of a heretic…&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Fatemaster watched as the coin began to glow brightly, obviously reacting to the presence of a true believer.&nbsp; The hin pressed the relic to the Fatemaster’s forehead…*&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; *&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; The Legacy watched as the insane pawn of the Soulkeeper slowly vanished into the distance, his meandering path taking him far away from the lives of the villagers he had used.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “I still think killing him would have been better,” Yuri said.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “He has been stripped of all divine power by Ladta,” Osborn said, “and the mark he bears will tell all of my faith what he has done.&nbsp; His life will be far from easy.”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Well, that’s over with, then,” said Arrie.&nbsp; “Now where?”&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “Back to Dagger Rock, for a start,” Osborn said.&nbsp; “I’ll have Grog send some people out this way.&nbsp; These people will need help getting back on their feet.”&nbsp; The hin looked back at the fortified village.&nbsp; “Besides, for all his faults that crazy priest did pick a good defensible location.&nbsp; It may come in handy one day.”----------------------------Sadly, it may be some time before the next update appears.&nbsp; A good chunk of our gaming group has vacations scheduled this month, so we won't be playing much, and one of our players (Autumn's player) is wanting to get some experience in the DM chair, so she's going to be running us through Ruins of Greyhawk on rotation with the Aelfenn game and my Mutants and Masterminds game.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Delemental, post: 3761704, member: 5203"] Kyle’s eyes closed. When they opened again, the swirls of colors had almost completely vanished, though there was still a slight sheen, like oil on the surface of a pond. He stood up and emerged from the tent. Kupa and Rupert sat just outside, and looked up as he emerged. “Where?” was all he said. Kupa tuned his head and pointed out across the hill. Kyle saw the beginnings of a fortified wooden village a few hundred yards away. A partially-completed keep sat in the center, and smoke billowed from a large hole in the roof. Kyle quickly cast a few spells, and then vanished. [CENTER] * * *[/CENTER] The rumbling under their feet intensified, and there was a noticeable swelling in the floor near the center of the room. Osborn quickly unrolled his [I]portable hole[/I] and unceremoniously dumped the unconscious priest inside, just before the earth exploded. Everyone was thrown back as a monstrosity arose from the newly formed pit, accompanied by the stench of rotting flowers. The creature was large and bulbous, about the size of a wagon, and looked like a huge misshapen head. Instead of hair, several atrophied, spindly arms waved about, tremulous fingers pointing in all directions. As it floated upward, they saw that instead of a body, the creature’s underside was little more than a mass of tentacles and stalks. Four steel chains were attached to the underside of the huge head, tethered to the ground below with razor sharp spikes, as though trying to keep it from escaping. Orbiting the soulkeeper’s body were three black orbs. Osborn was the first to act, hurling a dagger at the soulkeeper’s hideous body. The dagger bounced off harmlessly, not even leaving a scratch. Tolly then tried to cast [I]destruction[/I], but the spell fizzled before it even reached the creature. A shotput thrown by Arrie passed through the soulkeeper harmlessly, and a blow by Autumn that would have cut a normal man in half did little more than cause the beast to jiggle slightly. Finally, Yuri ran up and thrust her spear at the soulkeeper, and although it connected solidly, the wound it left was barely more than a scratch, which quickly scabbed over. “Oh dear,” Osborn said. [CENTER] * * *[/CENTER] Two men, slightly stooped with age, stood vigilantly by the main entrance to the keep, their spears firmly in hand. They’d heard some strange, terrible noises coming from inside, the sounds of a fierce battle and the cries of several children. But these men had been charged by their high priest to remain on guard and defend the keep from intruders, and they intended to do their duty. Any less would show a lack of respect to Ladta. So much depended on her and her priests – could they do no less? There was a sudden popping noise, and a man appeared directly in front of them. He was large, and wore midnight blue robes. The door to the keep faced east, toward the rising sun, and so the man was silhouetted again the dawn. His eyes, however, seemed faintly luminescent. Slowly, the two guards raised their weapons. “Move,” he growled. “Now.” The crystal sphere on the end of the staff he held began to glow. Faced with the reality of a hundred and forty pounds of old man with a spear against two hundred and thirty pounds of angry archmage, both guards wisely allowed common sense to override devotion. [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] The soulkeeper floated in midair, almost seeming as though it hadn’t even noticed the party was there, assailing it with its most potent attacks. Tolly threw spell after spell which it simply ignored, and the blows of their various weapons did nothing but leave minor injuries. The soulkeeper glanced at Yuri and attempted to charm her, but fortunately her ring countered it. Yuri, who had attacked the soulkeeper again with little effect, screamed in frustration. “Fine!” she yelled. “If I can’t hit you…” She turned and jabbed her longspear into one of the black orbs, sending a viscous, inky fluid spraying everywhere. The orb burst open, and suddenly the soulkeeper whirled on her, looking as perturbed as a giant gelatinous face could look. It hit her with another spell, and suddenly Yuri was frozen in place. With an awful noise, the chains holding the soulkeeper in place pulled free, and began waving around in all directions. A figure appeared in the doorway of the chamber, surrounded by a crackling aura of electricity. “Soulkeeper!” Kyle shouted. “You couldn’t defeat me before, and now you stand no chance!” Two bolts of lightning arced out from his fingertips, striking each of the two remaining orbs. The others quickly got the idea. Autumn continued to slash at the soulkeeper, trying to distract it, while Arrie began targeting one of the black orbs. A few moments later Yuri joined in, after Tolly dismissed the spell that held her. Osborn moved up behind Autumn and used a healing wand to tend to her wounds, to make sure she stayed on her feet against the soulkeeper’s attacks. Enraged, the soulkeeper lashed out with its four chains, knocking Autumn, Osborn, Yuri and Arrie to the ground. Tolly surrounded the soulkeeper with a [I]blade barrier [/I]to try and keep it in place, while Kyle surrounded one of the orbs with a [I]resilient sphere[/I], cutting it off. Kyle had seen the same thing that Tolly had been seeing; each of the orbs was connected by a string of energy to the soulkeeper. But Kyle had seen their purpose; the orbs fed a protective field around the creature that negated most physical and magical energies. Until the field was down, the soulkeeper was virtually invulnerable. Arrie’s spiked chain whipped around the last orb, and pulled it apart. The soulkeeper shuddered and howled, and Kyle saw that the protective field was gone. Yuri was already taking advantage, thrusting her longspear into the now much more vulnerable nightmare. Strangely-colored fluids poured out of the wounds she left. The soulkeeper tried to paralyze her again, but this time she shook off the enchantment. It then started to float away, ignoring Tolly’s [I]blade barrier[/I], but it wasn’t nearly fast enough. Between Kyle’s lightning, Autumn’s falchion, Arrie’s chain, and Yuri’s longspear, the creature had no chance. It was Yuri who struck the final blow, screaming as she thrust the shaft of the spear halfway through the soulkeeper. It exploded in a burst of soul-destroying energy that lanced through everyone in the room, leaving them wounded but felling none of them. A torrent of freed souls shot upward out of the creature’s body like a geyser, blasting off the roof and hurling themselves into the sky, where they soon vanished as they made their way to the Shadow Plane. The Legacy picked themselves up and gathered together, wary of the broken floorboards and crumbling ceiling. “Kyle!” Autumn shouted happily. “You’re back!” “Of course,” he said. “I was just waylaid, that’s all.” “By what?” “By that,” he replied, pointing at the hole where the soulkeeper had emerged. “After I completed my spell, it sensed my presence in the Dream Realm and came after me. I’ve been fighting a battle of wills against it for the past day or so.” “If that’s the case,” Tolly said, “what took you so long?” “It was persistent,” Kyle answered. “But at least the spell works. I’ll just have to find a way to account for the proximity of soul-consuming nightmares.” “Oh, is [I]that [/I]all,” Yuri laughed. “Well, that’s all well and good,” Arrie said, “but right now we have a bunch of displaced orphans to worry about.” The Legacy walked out of the ruined keep into the morning sunlight. The villagers, at least the elderly, had already gathered around, though none of them were carrying their spears. The children were still hiding, though the fact that they were hiding in large groups made them easy to find. The party moved around and gathered everyone together, making sure to remove the earrings from the children’s ears. “Let me deal with this,” Osborn said. Tolly seemed to bristle a little, then relaxed. “I suppose that makes sense, though I’m not used to deferring to a lesser priest.” Osborn turned and glared at Tolly. “A ‘lesser’ priest?” Tolly turned slightly red. “I meant less experienced. You’ve not been ordained as long.” Osborn continued to glare. “I think you need to go away now.” Tolly paused, and then, nodding, he strode away toward their camp. Yuri accompanied him, just to make sure he wasn’t alone if the crowd got ugly. When he was gone, Osborn walked over to an overturned crate and climbed atop it. “Is there any among you who speak for the rest?” “What do you mean?” one man at the front asked. “What do you want of us?” “I wish to know who will take care of you.” “The Fatemaster took care of us,” an old woman shouted from the back. “The man who brought you here was no true priest,” Osborn said. He held aloft his holy symbol. “I am a true priest of Ladta, and my companions and I have put an end to his heresy and freed you all.” “Then you have doomed us all!” a man cried out. “The One True Goddess needs the souls of the faithful to maintain the balance! The Fatemaster told us this!” “He lied!” Osborn shouted. “He lied to serve his own ends, and used you! All souls contribute to the balance, not just those faithful to Ladta, and they do not need to be sacrificed to serve that end! Ladta has never accepted the sacrifice of sentients!” A murmur rippled through the crowd. Then the old man in front who had first spoken raised his voice again. “How are we to know your words are any more true than his?” he asked. “All I see is a hin with an engraving of a cat. Can you show us that you truly speak for Ladta?” Osborn thought for a moment, and then, reverently holding his holy symbol, he raised his arms into the air. “Ladta,” Osborn intoned, shouting into the morning air, “can you show these people a sign that they have been misled?” There was a long, expectant silence. Osborn felt the relic coin in his pocket vibrate slightly, and grow slightly warm. He waited patiently, and then from the back of the crowd he heard a cry – not of fear, but of delight. The crowd turned and saw a young girl, no more than seven, cradling a small gray and white kitten. Other children began to call out with joy as more kittens appeared, running out from behind houses and fences to leap into the waiting arms of the kids. Suddenly, Osborn felt his relic coin grow warm again, and he felt a definite sensation of pulling. Trusting his instinct, he followed the sensation, waling slowly through the town accompanied by a small group of local villagers. Osborn followed the urging until he reached a nondescript spot near the center of the village, a few yards from a large egg-shaped boulder. “Bring me a shovel,” Osborn said. Soon someone handed him a child-sized spade, which was sized perfectly for him. He began to dig, and after digging only a few inches down, his spade hit into a hard wooden surface. Quickly expanding his hole, Osborn soon uncovered a very old strongbox, one that had obviously been there for decades. After it was pulled out of the hole, he pried it open, and a mound of silver coins, green with age, spilled across the ground. “I believe this should be more than enough to help all of you find your way to other relatives, or establish a new settlement if you wish,” Osborn said proudly, standing up and gesturing for the displaced villagers to take their share. “It was lucky that this was found here.” As the villagers began to gather up coins, Osborn felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up into the face of the man who had challenged his authority. “It seems I owe you an apology,” he said. “Your faith seems genuine. How could we have been led astray?” “I will tell you that story in good time,” Osborn said. [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] The Fatemaster of Ladta tumbled out of the [I]portable hole[/I], and found himself surrounded by six people, none of them friendly. He knew all of their faces, except for one, a wizard in blue robes. One of them, the hin who pretended at true faith, crouched down in front of him. “Explain yourself,” he said. The Fatemaster was only too happy to educate these heathens on the path of salvation that had been revealed to him. He lectured them on the proper acts of faith required to save all of them from certain destruction, and how sacrifice was required so that the Soulkeeper could deliver the souls of the faithful to Ladta via the Soul Well in order to maintain the balance of powers. Inexplicably, when he was finished none of them were moved by his words. “How exactly did Ladta tell you all of this?” the wizard asked. “She revealed it to me in a dream,” he said reverently. The wizard sighed. “Well, now we know that some of them are actively seeking out people in the real world to corrupt.” “One more thing to worry about,” sighed the Ardaran priest. “What should we do with him?” asked the aasimar, nudging the Fatemaster rudely with her boot. “He’s nuts,” said the Sargian woman. “I’d think the answer was fairly obvious.” She held up the end of her long spear and pointed it at him. “Leave him to me,” said the hin. He stood up, and pulled a coin from his pocket. No, not just any coin… a sacred relic of Ladta! For such a thing to be in the hands of a heretic… The Fatemaster watched as the coin began to glow brightly, obviously reacting to the presence of a true believer. The hin pressed the relic to the Fatemaster’s forehead… [CENTER]* * *[/CENTER] The Legacy watched as the insane pawn of the Soulkeeper slowly vanished into the distance, his meandering path taking him far away from the lives of the villagers he had used. “I still think killing him would have been better,” Yuri said. “He has been stripped of all divine power by Ladta,” Osborn said, “and the mark he bears will tell all of my faith what he has done. His life will be far from easy.” “Well, that’s over with, then,” said Arrie. “Now where?” “Back to Dagger Rock, for a start,” Osborn said. “I’ll have Grog send some people out this way. These people will need help getting back on their feet.” The hin looked back at the fortified village. “Besides, for all his faults that crazy priest did pick a good defensible location. It may come in handy one day.” ---------------------------- Sadly, it may be some time before the next update appears. A good chunk of our gaming group has vacations scheduled this month, so we won't be playing much, and one of our players (Autumn's player) is wanting to get some experience in the DM chair, so she's going to be running us through Ruins of Greyhawk on rotation with the Aelfenn game and my Mutants and Masterminds game. [/QUOTE]

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