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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 631483" data-attributes="member: 143">Heh heh... I was noting where the future posts for the rest of Book Seven would fall, and I think I can promise several Friday cliffhangers in a row that will be quite satisfying...And hopefully the events between won't be dull either, as we move toward the culmination of several confrontations that have been brewing for some time.But first, a lighter update, before we get back into the dark and serious stuff: * * * * * Book VII, Part 38Cal felt a surge of exhilaration as the rolling landscape passed quickly beneath him.  As high up as they were, the ground was just an undulating expanse of hills and ridges, the colors muted in the gray of the fading afternoon.  At least the rain had eased to a drizzle, although fat droplets still drove at his face, forcing him to close his eyes, and wind tore at his cloak, threatening to rip it from his body.  Dana, holding him by an arm wrapped around his body, helped shield him from the worst of it.  At first he’d clung to her tightly, as the sight of the ground falling away rapidly had been disconcerting even with the reassurance offered by his feather fall spell.  Now, though, even with the poor weather, he was amazed at the sensation of flying.  This was one spell he would have to add to his repertoire.  He glanced back over his shoulder, and caught sight of Benzan and the others.  Benzan was clearly having to exert some effort, with both Lok and Lariel perched on his back, even though they’d tried to place as much of their miscellaneous gear as would fit within the extradimensional pockets of Cal’s magical backpack before he’d implemented his plan.  He had to admit, there was a certain graceful beauty in the tiefling’s new form, granted by the power of Cal’s polymorph spell.  He’d gotten the idea from Dana, who was quite familiar with that magical horse known as the pegasus through her use of her divine summoning spells.  Admittedly, it had taken a while for Benzan to get used to flying, but now he seemed to have the knack of it down. The pegasus/tiefling flapped its wings in powerful strokes that carried it and its passengers over the rolling hills.  Lariel seemed to be enjoying the ride, laughing and waving at Cal as he saw the gnome looking back, but Lok, holding on behind the slender elf, appeared to have his eyes closed, his body rigid.  Cal, feeling a slight tinge of vertigo as he glanced down at the hills below, understood. He’d suggested that they fly above the clouds, to leave the rain below them, but Dana had vetoed that idea.  Not only did it get colder the higher one went, she explained, at a certain distance it became difficult to breathe, and furthermore they would have to be careful of the duration of her spell, lest it fail without leaving sufficient time for them to descend to the ground.  Cal knew his feather fall would avail them in such a circumstance, but he deferred to her experience in the matter.  So they pressed onward flying just a few hundred feet above the ground, bypassing terrain that would have been very difficult had they remained bound to the earth.  Their only regret was that they’d had to leave their mounts behind, but Lariel reminded them that frequent caravans of troops and supplies would be traveling the Vale Road in pursuit of General Goran’s force, and that the horses would be quickly found and put to use by their allies.  Finally Dana gestured and started a rapid descent.  As far as Cal could tell they’d covered at least a dozen miles since they’d left the road, several times what they would have managed on horses, and they’d only been aloft a little more than an hour.  Dana directed them toward a likely campsite, on a protruding ridge not easily accessible from below.  She landed smoothly on a stone outcropping, followed a few moments later by a clatter of rocks as Benzan bounced to a rather more awkward landing behind her.  “I saw a sheltered spot over there,” Cal said, pointing toward a cluster of huge boulders that jutted out from the ridge.  “I doubt we’ll find anything to burn, but I have plenty of oil for my portable stove in my pack, so we’ll have hot tea, at least.”Lok and Lariel started in that direction, but Benzan-the-pegasus interrupted with a snort and a not-so-subtle headbutt that knocked Cal forward a step.  The gnome turned around.  “Um, well, you see, Benzan... I’ve been thinking over our course of action during the trip here, and I’m afraid you’ll need to keep that form for another day.  Dana’s spell doesn’t last long enough to carry us as far as we need to go, but tomorrow, I can polymorph Lariel into a pegasus as well, and the two of you can carry us all the way up into the mountains, until we find those prisoners...”Benzan neighed loudly, and reared, shaking his head.  “Oh, I don’t think it’s all that bad,” the elf commented.  “I am looking forward to the experience, actually—flying as a passenger was a unique experience, and to have the powerful form of such a noble...”Benzan interrupted again, neighing and slamming his hooves hard on the stone.  He drew back his equine lips to reveal his teeth in an angry grin. “Benzan,” Cal said.  “Honestly, I can transform you back now, but we’ll just have to use two spells tomorrow to get the job done, and it’ll mean one less invisibility, or stoneskin, if it comes to a confrontation.  And I don’t think those hobgoblins are just going to let those captives go.  Remember the slaves we freed back in the Wood of Sharp Teeth?”The gnome and the pegasus fixed each other with a hard stare, neither flinching.  Finally, Dana came up, and wrapped her arms around the horse’s neck.  “Please, Benzan.  It’s just another day, and it’s not like you’re a monster—this form, it’s so beautiful...  Please, I promise, once this is over, I’ll make it worth it...”  The last was really just a whisper, not intended for anyone but his ears, but Cal, with his sharp gnomish senses, heard it.  With a final desultory snort at the gnome, Benzan let himself be led over to the campsite, with Dana stroking his mane.Cal shot a glance at Lok, who shrugged.  “Is it absolutely necessary that we change him back at all?”The gnome smiled, and the two turned to join their companions in preparing their campsite.</blockquote>

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