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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ruined" data-source="post: 1451752" data-attributes="member: 113">Big two-parter here. The continuation will be posted in a few days.17th of Chardot, yr. 150 A.V. Sweat beaded on the brow of an exhausted Surielle. The sun was just beginning to rise, sending fresh warmth across her skin as she knelt on the flagstones atop Kelkarrin's tower.  She had worked for much of the night, practicing with the scrying pool after a weary Tréan had shambled off to bed. Surielle knew it could take years to master such a skill, but she wanted to have enough proficiency for the mage's plan. The others quietly assembled and joined her at the pool.Kelkarrin nodded at her, signaling that it was time to begin. Once more she peered into the waters, willing her vision away. The waters began to blur, pulling away from the tower and moving east. Despite a night of focusing on locales she knew and trying to see them through the pool, her attempts still failed more often than not. She redoubled her efforts now, bringing to mind someone close to her heart. The waters swirled, gaining colors until they displayed a forest scene. In the pool a vision of Brianna, peacefully sleeping on a bower of soft moss, begin to form. Surielle felt a pang of guilt spying on her friend while she slept, but this was what was needed. As her concentration lapsed, the pool began to fade back to water, but she forced aside distraction and brought back the image. "Is that good?" she asked through clenched teeth, not daring to look away from the wavy image. "It is perfect," Kelkarrin said in a reassuring tone. "Everyone gather near." And so they did. Surielle felt their presence, keeping her vision fixed upon Brianna. Kelkarrin spoke a sharp series of unfamiliar words, his voice resonating with power. The waters began to swirl and bubble, and Surielle grasped the side of the pool. A force wrenched her away from the tower and then stopped suddenly. She felt jarred, but the movement was not enough to throw her from her feet. They were now in a forested glade, nowhere in sight of Kelkarrin's tower or Oakdale. Before them lay a cold campsite, and the stirring form of Brianna, awakened by their sudden arrival. Above them, Brianna's hawk, Glory, cried out a warning. Brianna leapt to her feet with her scarlet hair falling into an unruly mess. The small robe she slept in hung open, leaving little to the imagination. Surielle caught Gerad trying hard to look elsewhere and smiled."What?" she stammered, caught between clutching her robes and preparing to fight. When her eyes fell upon Surielle, she exhaled loudly and eased her shoulders. "I'm sorry to rouse you, Bri," Surielle said, walking forward to embrace her friend. "We needed a focus to bring us this place, and I was able to find you in a scrying pool."After brief introductions were made, Kelkarrin and Gerad took their leave, heading to Zamon to acquire a boat with which to cross the river. It allowed Surielle and Tréan time to talk with Brianna and catch up on events of the past few weeks. Brianna was amazed at the dangers they had encountered and of the grave news regarding the Globe and the Calastian army. She had spent most of her time cleansing and warding the grove near Quelsk. Sadly, she told Surielle that there was no further sign of Maximillian, who had last been seen sinking into the earth in an effort to stop the foul servant of Gaurak. It seemed his sacrifice was a final one, sending him on to the next cycle of rebirth. The grove was now healing properly, and Brianna had contacted another druid to assume her duties, so she could return to Darakeene. When asked, Brianna remembered seeing the spectral glow from the direction of the Last Watchtower, but she did not know the source. Her campsite was less than an hour north from where she had seen the luminescence. She asked what lay inside the Watchtower, but they had no good answers for her. They all agreed that it was undoubtedly evil. The men returned after a few hours, both sweating in the growing heat of the day. "We've acquired a boat large enough for the five of us," Kelkarrin said, wiping sweat from his brow. "Good then," Brianna said, rising to stand before him. "I didn't plan on staying behind." "Actually I was referring to the wolf. She's nearly as large as Tréan." Both Brianna's and Tréan's cheeks colored. "You came to my campsite, so obviously you needed me. You just do not realize it yet." Brianna turned and began to break her small camp. Surielle gave an apologetic look to her friends. She knew Brianna, and she wasn't about to be dissuaded from going with them.***Tréan was one of the last to disembark from the boat as they reached the western shore, taking great cares not to soak her armor. She had spent far too much time scouring her chain mail after the pisceans had dragged her under. It was not a task she wanted to repeat. Sparse clouds rolled across the sky, trying their best to obscure Madriel's glorious sun. As they crested a large hill, Tréan could see the disheartening field that surrounded the Last Watchtower. Bones protruded from the ground at odd angles, along with rust-coated weapons and armor. The battle must have had thousands of combatants, all now intermingled in unrest. So many years had past and no one had come to properly bury the dead. She could understand long-forgotten tombs under the earth not receiving attention from her order, but this field was mere hours from living settlements. From the cracked ground amid the battlefield rose a tall obelisk of grayish-black stone. Tréan found her eyes watering if she looked at the tower for too long. From this angle, she could see no doors or windows breaking the stone surface. Her eyes traveled up to the top of the tower, which was concealed in an unmoving patch of darkness. This place was anathema to everything that walked the lands of Scarn, breathed its air, and craved the light of day."Charming place," Gerad said, grasping his spear with both hands. "What should we be looking for?" Kelkarrin shielded his eyes from the sun as he examined the watchtower. "The field and tower is rife with necromantic energy, but I see nothing that brings the Globe to mind." He took a few steps toward the tower, stopping just short of a skeletal hand resting lazily on the desiccated soil. Tréan was ready to caution him against moving farther in. The last thing they needed was to accidentally awaken the dead that were rumored to roam at night. "No, we're looking for history. If we can determine what happened here when the globe was sundered, then we are better equipped to search for the missing half." "Do we go into the tower?" Brianna asked. "It is likely our best source of lore. Yet how do we enter?" Kelkarrin pondered. No one in the party was able to see an entrance. Thunder rumbled in the distance. "There may be an entrance at the top," Tréan hazarded. Kelkarrin nodded. "I can fly up with a few of you in tow." The mage scratched his beard absently as he looked at each of them. "Two of the women. Gerad I'm sure your arm would be useful, but I can only heft so much weight with the spell." "No worries, Kelkarrin. I will wait here, and search through the bone yard. There may be things of worth to us found here." "I will go," Surielle said. "As will I," Tréan added. "Gerad, darling. Please be wary of the dead. You yourself told us of how these bodies roam the night." Gerad looked at Brianna who would be staying with him. "We'll be careful. This is not a place where I wish to fight." They gathered in silence as Kelkarrin prepared his spell. Tréan had enhanced her vision to spot the restless dead, but there were no abominations to be seen in the bone yard. Charms were called forth to enhance their abilities and to mask their presence from the dead. Kelkarrin finished his spell and extended his hands out to her and Surielle. She immediately felt buoyant, as if she were floating on the surface of a lake. Kelkarrin gently pulled her and Surielle into the sky toward the top of the tower. They flew above the tower to inspect the top before landing, and Tréan could see the cloying, choking essence of death swirling throughout a sphere of darkness there. The darkness didn't cover the entire top of the tower; an outer ring about fifteen feet wide was untouched, leaving them a safe place to land. Kelkarrin pulled her and Surielle forward, aiming for the untouched space. Suddenly, burst of purplish energy pulsed from the tower, sending a wave outward that passed through all three of them. It was cold, but Tréan felt no illness accompanying it. However, it disrupted whatever spell Kelkarrin used to keep them aloft, and the three of them tumbled from the sky. *** Gerad slowly walked through the field of bones, focusing more on the refuse at his feet than on Brianna. He did not like the awkward feelings she brought out in him. It was a weakness that distracted him from his duties. She was very attractive, but he had been with women before. Why should this one make his heart quicken in his chest? "Be careful. That's a rusty blade." He pointed to an orange spear tip half-exposed under a mound of scrub grass. "A wound from such a blade could give a man lockjaw." She's a healer - she would know that Gerad. Idiot. "Thank you," she said politely, flashing a smile beneath her reddish curls.   There was a loud noise from the top of the tower, and they both looked up to see a flash of purplish light.  Gerad could no longer see his friends. The ground rumbled and lines of purple streaked down the sides of the tower and across the ground. One came perilously close to where he stood, but it did not hurt him. The ground pitched and heaved, throwing bones in all directions. Gerad tried to reach Brianna, but fell to his knees from the unsteady ground. "Brianna!" he called, but he could barely hear his own voice amid the rumbling. He pushed himself to his feet again, but there was no sight of her. "Brianna!" he called again. He took another tentative step, and the ground gave way beneath his feet. Gerad fell into darkness.</blockquote>

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