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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mallak" data-source="post: 2855296" data-attributes="member: 37105">[sblock=OOC]I'm going to take a short trip back in time here to last night.  Now, normally I wouldn't do this, but there were several things I had planned before the ENWorld crash, and I really want to get to them.  Hopefully, you'll all come with me on this one.  As you'll see, these scenes are mostly purely narrative in nature, not interactive, so they shouldn't overly disrupt our current flow of events.[/sblock]Somewhere last night...The man in black stares down at the thug on his knees in front of him.  Stupid, stupid man.  "Tell me again what you thought to accomplish with this...going into business for yourself.""Honest, Boss, that's not the way it was.  We was just lookin' to pick up a little extra cash on the side, we thought she'd be an easy mark!""Do I not pay you well, Shaun?""Well, yeah, Boss, but--""Is there anything for which you lack?""Well, no, but--""Then why did you endanger our entire operation chasing after some--some pretty face!"  He can feel himself losing it.  His breathing is getting heavier and his heart rate is increasing.  Be calm.  Be cold."We wasn't gonna endanger nuthin', Boss, we was bein' careful!  And when we was done we woulda sold her to them and--""And brought all the profits to me, no doubt.""Uh, yeah, Boss, sure thing.""Unfortunately, Shaun, you were not careful.  The girl had a trio of guardian angels, and now Niles and Reggie are dead.  Or worse, captured.  Two stupid men like yourself, but they will lead straight back to us.  Now, tell me more about these three...angels."When Shaun has told all he knows, the man in black calmly, coldly ensures that this stupid man will never again endanger the operation.  He will be an example to all others who have thoughts of going into business for themselves.  When he is finished, the man in black calls his Second."See that the body is discovered at home.  Then take his family and sell them.  I want no more freelancers."***Naomi bolts awake screaming, her terror echoing from the walls of Colmarr's cabin.  The friendly gnome awakens and holds the frightened little girl, rocking her to sleep and singing a sweet lullaby that bathes the cabin in a soft golden light until her eyes slowly close and she drifts into a more peaceful slumber.***[sblock=Malachi dreams]Malachi is breathing hard.  He is in the barren wasteland again, where there is no food, and the only water is the morning dew upon the rocks.  Up and up the land stretches before him, up and up, and rocks and dust his only companions.  Then, suddenly, Wakil is there beside him and they are standing in front of the opening of a cave, deep and dark.  From within, a light begins to grow, golden and inviting.  Malachi...Malachi...  The voice fills his head and his heart, urging him onward and in.  Together, he and Wakil cross the threshold from the brightness of day to the darkness of the cave.  But the cave is not dark.  The golden light permates the air, filling his vision.  His eyes grow sharp and his hearing acute.  He can see more detail in the rocks and stone than he has ever seen before.  A subliminal rumbling starts at his soles and moves up through his body, buzzing in his ears.  Malachi, Malachi...  He rounds a corner and the golden light bursts upon him, cascading over him.  The cave has opened up, and he is at the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley of immense breadth and depth.  In the golden light, his eyes can make out the details of the needles on the trees across the valley.  He can smell the musky scent of the heard of elk moving up the valley floor and hear the babbling stream from which they stop to drink.  An eagle soars across the opening of the cave, and in the distance something much larger dives into a pristine lake.  Behold the Land, Malachi, the Land created for My People so long ago, and abandoned.  There are no People to tend the Land, to hunt the elk or till the soil.  There are no People to swim in My streams, to frolic with the water nymphs or race the centuars across the plain.  My Land is empty, Malachi, abandoned so long ago by those who became filled with Pride and Greed, who stripped the Land of its riches and beauty.  They killed My creatures, they polluted My rivers and streams, they tore down My forests and burned My fields, and so they were pruned from My Garden.  But the Land has healed; it has grown, and it is beautiful once again.  It is ready and waiting to give Life to a new People.  Fill My Land, Malachi.  Bring me the poor, the tired, the hungry and downtrodden masses, the unwanted of nations.  Fill My Land, from the Eastern Peaks to the Western Slopes, from the Northern Woods to the Southern Passes.  Bring the Little Ones unto me, and save my People, Malachi.  Set them Free, and send them here to Me, for I am Adonai, and you are my Sword.  Malachi's eyes open, the last echoes of the dream fading away.  Set My People Free...[/sblock][sblock=Wakil dreams]Wakil is breathing hard.  He is in the barren wasteland again, where there is no food, and the only water is the morning dew upon the rocks.  Up and up the land stretches before him, up and up, and rocks and dust his only companions.  Then, suddenly, Malachi is there beside him and they are standing in front of the opening of a cave, deep and dark.  From within, a light begins to grow, golden and inviting.  Wakil...Wakil...  The voice fills his head and his heart, urging him onward and in.  Together, he and Malachi cross the threshold from the brightness of day to the darkness of the cave.  But the cave is not dark.  The golden light permates the air, filling his vision.  His eyes grow sharp and his hearing acute.  He can see more detail in the rocks and stone than he has ever seen before.  A subliminal rumbling starts at his soles and moves up through his body, buzzing in his ears.  Wakil, Wakil...  He rounds a corner and the golden light bursts upon him, cascading over him.  The cave has opened up, and he is at the edge of a cliff overlooking a beautiful valley of immense breadth and depth.  In the golden light, his eyes can make out the details of the needles on the trees across the valley.  He can smell the musky scent of the heard of elk moving up the valley floor and hear the babbling stream from which they stop to drink.  An eagle soars across the opening of the cave, and in the distance something much larger dives into a pristine lake.  Behold the Land, Wakil, the Land created for My People so long ago, and abandoned.  There are no People to tend the Land, to hunt the elk or till the soil.  There are no People to swim in My streams, to frolic with the water nymphs or race the centuars across the plain.  My Land is empty, Wakil, abandoned so long ago by those who became filled with Pride and Greed, who stripped the Land of its riches and beauty.  They killed My creatures, they polluted My rivers and streams, they tore down My forests and burned My fields, and so they were pruned from My Garden.  But the Land has healed; it has grown, and it is beautiful once again.  It is ready and waiting to give Life to a new People.  Fill My Land, Wakil.  Protect the poor, the tired, the hungry and downtrodden masses, the unwanted of nations.  Be the Eastern Peaks and the Western Slopes, the Northern Woods and the Southern Passes, to Shield My People when they are far from Home.  Guard my Little Ones, and save my People, Wakil.  Destroy the Snares that lie in wait and the Chains that seek to bind them.  Shepherd My People unto Me, for I am Adonai, and you are my Shield.  Wakil's eyes open, the last echoes of the dream fading away.  Defend My People...[/sblock]***[sblock=Grondar dreams]She dances through his mind like sunlight and passion, this angel of the night...He awakens soaked in sweat.  What was that?  Man, he needs to find a woman.[/sblock]***[sblock=Denther dreams]His home is burning.  The flames lick higher, eating up the walls and bursting through the thatched roof.  Inside, Denther can hear his sister screaming.  Father lies facedown in the mud before the house, his bloody head cradled in Mother's lap.  She is weeping softly.  A man in a flowing black cloak stands before them, staring down at them, laughing.  His back is to Denther.  Overhead, the man raises a wicked, curved sword.  His hand glistens wetly in the firelight, dripping red blood.  In the house, Denther can hear his sister screaming.Denther's eyes pop open in the darkness, a thin scream still echoing in his ears...It fades, and he is left in the dark with the comforting sound of water lapping against the wooden hull.[/sblock]***[sblock=Braer dreams]There is blackness all around, deep, dark, suffocating wetness.  It is cold, so cold, where is the light!?  His lungs burn and ache, and water fills his nostrils, his ears, his mouth, the icy shock hits his lungs--Braer starts awake, gasping for breath.  The sound of water lapping against the wooden hull and the gentle rock of the ship sends chills down his spine, and sleep is a long time in returning.[/sblock]***[sblock=Magyar dreams]"Ladies and Gentlemen, Magyar the Magnificent!"  Magyar bounds to the stage greeted by shattering applause and shouts of acclimation.  Fire flashes from his fingertips, and globes of light dance through the night.  He's back, baby, and the Rhineholdt name is once again synonymous with laughter and entertainment.[/sblock]***[sblock=Troth sleeps]Troth sleeps the deep sleep of the physically exhausted, the day's problems falling from him under night's sweet embrace.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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