{"id":115,"date":"2011-06-09T12:18:18","date_gmt":"2011-06-09T10:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/borkedcode.com\/wp\/?page_id=115"},"modified":"2011-06-09T12:18:18","modified_gmt":"2011-06-09T10:18:18","slug":"60-battle-with-the-seven-deadly-sins","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/borkedcode.com\/wp\/?page_id=115","title":{"rendered":"60 – Battle with the Seven Deadly Sins"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the moments between the appearance of the Seven Deadly Sins <\/em>and its arrival, I noticed on its main deck a set of four swiveled brass tubes, each apparatus with an imp caged at its base.\u00a0 These tiny devils each wore small leather caps with goggles, and they appeared to have a set of controls in front of each of them within their bulbed cages.\u00a0 I drew out Crownfire<\/em> and Riftspar, <\/em>figuring that I would have need of Crownfire\u2019s <\/em>teleporting power before I got close enough to put Dreaming Fire <\/em>to work.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As I watched, two of the tubes belched fire, and bolts of energy raced across the distance between to explode upon our deck.\u00a0 Karac and I were caught in the first blast, and I felt a sudden urge of desire for the bright hammer he held \u2013 in that moment, he was unworthy of holding such a weapon, it outshone my Dreaming Fire <\/em>so.\u00a0 In a heartbeat, from across the deck, I found his hammer sinking with a satisfying weight into my hand, and saw he had Crownfire<\/em> in his.\u00a0 I hefted the weapon, grinning like a child given a springtime candy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deep in the recesses of my mind I realized what those tubes were \u2013 they were sin cannons, designed to fire a blast of psychic energy capable of manipulating a foe\u2019s mind.\u00a0 The infernals no doubt were conditioned to be immune to the sins fired, or were so inured to the feelings at hand that they could only further the devils\u2019 commitment to their purpose.\u00a0 Their power was drawn from the engine powering the vessel\u2019s flight, so they were expensive to operate, but they certainly were effective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contemplating this, I saw the insect-like forms at the bottom of the hull clambered forward rapidly, racing along the frame of the ship before casting themselves off into the aether.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The strange things unfolded long, gossamer wings that gave off a terrible buzzing sound, grating on the ears.\u00a0 Shiny carapaces reflected the ambient light, making it seem as though we were under assault by the very plane itself for a moment.\u00a0 They flew so quickly even in the Astral medium that they were upon us before any of us could react.\u00a0 Three of them raced across our deck, buzzing angrily.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deimos arced a blast of lightning at one, which took the full force of the bolt head on, and kept coming.\u00a0 Not only that, but the layers of carapace on its back shivered, and what I took at first to be deformed scales revealed themselves to be daughter wasps, that freed themselves and angrily began to swarm down upon us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The leading one settled its focus on me, swinging in with two sword-like talons and jabbing at my midriff with a stinger the size of my hand.\u00a0 All three found their mark, though I did manage to twist and avoid most of the real pain in the strikes.\u00a0 The two blade arms, intending to impale me, simply gashed my side and leg, and pinchered between them I was carried off the deck.\u00a0 The stinger found my right calf \u2013 I idly wondered if I should refer to it as my portside-aft \u2013 and set it on fire.\u00a0 I mean that quite literally, in addition to the pain of the strike.\u00a0 I felt a poison in that sting that chewed into my perception with its quick burn, and the skin around the wound immediately burst into flames.\u00a0 The fire, however, did nothing to me \u2013 my flesh was not consumed.\u00a0 As I watched, the flames danced upon my skin and on the splurt of poison left behind, but it caused me no harm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I suppose I could thank Voedle for that \u2013 this fire looked like the kind that should burn even a Shadrim, yet here I was barely feeling a prickle of heat.\u00a0 The bronze infusing my skin must have shielded me even further from the effects of flame.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not so much the poison, though.\u00a0 That hurt like hell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The wasp carried me in a sweeping curve almost the entire distance to the approaching Dominion Ship before I could react, with it sawing and hacking at me with a free claw while I was pinned within the other.\u00a0 Parrying with Riftspar<\/em> as rapidly as I was able, I managed to avoid the majority of its most vicious swipes, though one drew a deep line along my leg to an unhealthy depth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Blood doesn\u2019t have anywhere to fall when you\u2019re away from an axis of gravity in the Astral Sea, did you know that?\u00a0 It leaks out, and pools where it is, or if the cut is violent enough it jets out and coasts away.\u00a0 On a ship, there\u2019s an axis of gravity to which it can flow.\u00a0 Floating free, there\u2019s no simple thing to demand the plane behave appropriately.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mine, there, floated free.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finally, I caught a blade-thrust the right way, and was able to pin its jointed limb beneath my arm instead of simply dodging or parrying it, thrusting Riftspar<\/em> in a counter-strike back at the wasp\u2019s face.\u00a0 It recoiled defensively, swinging its huge faceted eye away from the tip of my seeking blade.\u00a0 I sank my figurative teeth into the thing\u2019s spirit, and wriggled best I could to stay threatening while freeing up my body.\u00a0 This gave me just enough chance to get a glimpse of my surroundings and take a bearing on the Waves of Grass<\/em>.\u00a0 I immediately sliced open a rift in the Astral and fell through it to land on my feet on the deck of our vessel, and looking up at the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>, I spit out a bitter curse and ripped at the hellwasp that had held me with an eyebite<\/em>, tearing at its mind while rendering myself unseen to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I saw Sered and Zatsa over to my right, battling another of the wasp creatures, and strode up with a purpose.\u00a0 Laying the best swing I had into it (which isn\u2019t much \u2013 I\u2019ll never claim to be the strongest man alive), I pushed a surge of eldritch power through the haft of the hammer and felt it resonate with the force of the blow.\u00a0 The wasp flew back, pummeled by Karac\u2019s staggering weapon, and was shoved clean off the edge of the ship.\u00a0 I shouted in exultation at the joy of whalloping the thing with my newfound prize \u2013 and suddenly realized I didn\u2019t have the foggiest clue of how to use a hammer properly.\u00a0 I saw Karac, who had used Crownfire\u2019s<\/em> teleport to close distance with Sariel, the devil, who had meanwhile flown across and was busy pummeling Shalvar.\u00a0 He seemed to realize his error at the same time I had, for he threw Crownfire <\/em>to the ground and shouted for me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Ducking through another fast rift to reappear beside him, I dropped his hammer there.\u00a0 No time to take up Crownfire,<\/em> and no benefit to doing so, so I left him to handle Sariel while I did what I could to handle the Seven Deadly Sins.<\/em> She was closing with us, and the cannons were going off around the cluster of Morin, Zatsa, and Sered.\u00a0 All three suddenly took on the aspect of gluttony \u2013 another round of sin, apparently chosen at random \u2013 all three developed enormous rolls of fat, and practically choked on their own swelled cheeks as they fell to the deck with agonizing, muffled screams.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Over my shoulder, a hellwasp arrowed in and seized Morin from the deck, carrying him in a single fluid slope across to be deposited on the deck of the Sins<\/em>, in front of the Deva and his swinging greatsword.\u00a0 Morin seemed to shake off the cannon\u2019s effect en route, for he looked normal when he landed.\u00a0 Sered, meanwhile, continued to flounder, his buttocks growing as large as Karac or Morin either, flapping grotesquely in the air while his enormously fat and soft fingers clambered to get him to his feet.\u00a0 Zatsa was casting something when I raced to the edge of the deck and rifted across to the deck of the Sins<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had appeared on one of the forward tines of the Dominion Ship\u2019s deck, and leaped down nearby Morin and the Deva.\u00a0 It was hacking at Morin, who was doing his best to avoid the strokes of the sword, but I could see fatigue rapidly taking its toll on his motion.\u00a0 I drew Dreaming Fire<\/em> and lined up a spell along its length.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cPriest and a bearer of stolen power, Sered always chooses poorly among his friends,\u201d the Deva remarked casually as it pirouetted with its long blade.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I gauged my placement just right, and opened a smooth portal a short distance behind the Deva, just enough to catch it in the blast as I gave the nightmares of Taer Dian Loresh an outlet.\u00a0 Insubstantial nightmares began to ripple out from the portal immediately, pouring over the deck, encompassing three of the cannons in their vicious flow as well as the Deva facing off against Morin.\u00a0 The immortal screamed something as the blast wave caught at his armor, making a strange sigil with his left hand\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And in a flash of motion, I was horrified to see him switch places with Morin.\u00a0 The two simply dissolved into shadows and flew between each other, materializing in each others\u2019 place.\u00a0 Morin\u2019s orientation remained the same, and he caught the blast full in the face.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It did not go well.\u00a0 The scourging shades tore shreds from the flesh of his face and his exposed hands, and I felt the power of the spell thrumming through the length of my blade \u2013 I knew it was eating into Morin\u2019s spirit.\u00a0 The fires of Nessus and the icy cold of Stygia were funneling through the blade and into his mind as the nightmares of the Feywild ate away at his sanity.\u00a0 I was powerless to stop them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Deva twisted about to see Morin, then laughed.\u00a0 \u201cNice shot,\u201d he shouted at me.\u00a0 \u201cTough break, though!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I screamed my rage and agony at watching my friend get caught up in what I knew \u2013 from personal experience \u2013 to be a horrible torture.\u00a0 He swung backhandedly, blindly, missing the deva cleanly as he struggled to free himself of the flood of nightmares.\u00a0 I struggled up a desperate surge of hate for the strange immortal, letting it establish a feedback loop that grew to a shrieking ring of tide of corruption, and arrowed it at the Deva.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He saw it coming, and slipped it, my spell went sailing off into the Astral Sea, to eventually dissipate long out of sight.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo time to dance, Shadrim, I\u2019ve got some catching up to do with an old friend.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At the same time, the mast beside me burst into leaves, and through a strangely living wood, Sered emerged, the rage on his face clear as he looked across at the foreign deva.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Then the cannon fired.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The blast enveloped us both, and I felt the grip of control slip my hands.\u00a0 I cursed my fate and struggled to free myself, but instead could only struggle helplessly as the effect of the cannon took hold, raising Dreaming Fire<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

To lash out an eyebite <\/em>across Morin.\u00a0 The arcane energy whipped across his back, spinning him around in place.\u00a0 The shock playing across his face was apparent, as was the pain and blood, and wisps of nightmare were falling from his face like mist falling from ice.\u00a0 The deva saw Sered and grinned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe meet again, old friend,\u201d he called out.\u00a0 \u201cStill choosing the losing side, are you?\u00a0 You really should join me this time around, don\u2019t force me to enslave you as I did last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll wipe these decks with your skin, Tarsis-el.\u00a0 This life will be your last, I swear it.\u201d\u00a0 He took a few steps towards the immortal, his sword held out.\u00a0 Seeing the two across from each other made for a strange dichotomy.\u00a0 They were so similar, but spiritually so different.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, at least, back then I thought so.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ll have to catch me first, Sered, and you never have, in all of both of our lives, been able to do that.\u201d\u00a0 With that, he spread his arms and glided effortlessly over to the Waves of Grass<\/em>, where Karac and Zatsa had fought off Sariel from Shalvar\u2019s unconscious form and the helm.\u00a0 Deimos was down there as well, holding his own against the wasp that had spawned so many tiny daughters.\u00a0 I struggled to free myself from the fading control spell of the cannon, and managed it just in time to get a curse sunk into the deva as he passed, which induced a glance as he passed me, smiling patronizingly.\u00a0 I was so preoccupied freeing myself from the cannon round that I was unable to maintain the rift to Taer Lian Doresh, and my fountain of nightmares faded and choked off.\u00a0 I\u2019d hoped to scour the decks of the Sins<\/em> with that, so began revising my plans.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered rushed to Morin\u2019s aid as I threw off the last vestiges of the foreign control, but not quickly enough \u2013 another of the wasps darted perpendicular to our course, snatching the injured Dwur from the foredeck in its swordlike hinged claws.\u00a0 It continued its arc off the edge of the deck and into the open space, stinging him repeatedly while mangling him with its huge sharp blades.\u00a0 As we watched, horrified, it deposited his broken form, back bent at an unnatural angle, beside the spinning furnace of the soul engine.\u00a0 His blood and that already upon the deck mixed, indistinguishable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered and I went positively berserk.\u00a0 He ducked back into the leaves on the mast, and I saw him emerge on the deck of the Waves of Grass<\/em>, from a similar portal in one of her masts there \u2013 Zatsa must have done some sort of Fey linking portal there.\u00a0 Sered charged after Tarsis-el, screaming.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I returned my gaze to the crew of the Seven Deadly Sins.<\/em> I sang rage across the deck, carving Imps and pilot devils before me, trailing a vapor of pure terror from the blade of Dreaming Fire<\/em>.\u00a0 Two Infernals were picking up Morin\u2019s body as I approached, and I cleaved one where he stood, slashing across his back while twisting his soul into knots with a curse.\u00a0 He staggered away from Morin, drawing a small sword and backing away while clutching awkwardly at the wound I\u2019d dealt him.\u00a0 The other, holding Morin\u2019s arm still, just gaped as it saw me coming.\u00a0 I heard and felt detonations coming from the direction of my ship, but simply couldn\u2019t be bothered, I was so focused on laying waste to these creatures.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Infernal manhandling Morin\u2019s corpse released him and fled, so I returned my attention to the one I\u2019d injured, and to the cannon crews.\u00a0 It was time to silence their thunder once and for all.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Only one of the imps manning the cannons was watching me, strapped into his little bubble-canopied control chair.\u00a0 He raised his goggles to get a clearer view of me, and frantically began unstrapping himself.\u00a0 As I took my next step, a wasp sailed into view directly off the side, and a flash of spark chased it up from the Waves<\/em> to explode in a sphere of furious lightning.\u00a0 The wasp\u2019s wings crisped and sizzled, its legs curling up like hair exposed to fire, and its body flew apart.\u00a0 The cannon also fell inside the bounds of the sphere, and the little imp in his bubble jerked erratically, battering himself against his own controls before his gut finally burst, coating the clear canopy with black and purple ichor.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I heard a shout coming from the Waves<\/em> as the smoke cleared.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGet off the ship!\u00a0 She\u2019s leaving!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Looking around quickly, I realized the Seven Deadly Sins <\/em>had been piloting herself the entire time, angling towards a reddish color line I had not observed previously, hanging vertically behind the clot in which the Sins <\/em>had been hidden.\u00a0\u00a0 I glanced back to the mast through which Sered had emerged, and saw a half-dozen imps that had crawled up from belowdecks sawing away at it, attempting to sever it from the base, where it met the deck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

In that moment, a brilliant flash of gold beside me took my vision for a moment.\u00a0 I thought I\u2019d been fired upon by another cannon for a second, until I realized Morin was standing up, his armor clean and new, his face calm and determined.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBetter get back to the ship,\u201d he said.\u00a0 He jogged to the mast and vanished through it, while I stared dumbfoundedly at his retreat.\u00a0 I checked where he had lain, and sure enough, his body wasn\u2019t there.\u00a0 A fluttering to the aft of the Sins <\/em>made me look up, to see Sariel and Tarsis-el \u2013 whose name I have since discovered means \u201cFallen Star\u201d \u2013 settling onto the decking a short distance from me.\u00a0 I stabbed out a curse at Sariel, and an eyebite<\/em> at him, focusing my will through the boon that Sybarron <\/em>had granted me \u2013 and where I would have normally rent the devil\u2019s soul, instead I planted in him the undeniable need to strike out and lash at Fallen Star.\u00a0 After that I made double-time to the sprouting mast and dove through it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I found myself tumbling out of the foremast of the Waves of Grass,<\/em> my companions clustering to her railing as we all watched the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em> throw a shower of sparks and dip into the color line.\u00a0 In seconds she picked up speed and vanished in the far distance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I lay on the deck for a moment, until a hand reached down to help me up.\u00a0 I looked up and found Morin\u2019s face grinning down at me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGood to be back,\u201d he said as I stood up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI bet it is,\u201d I replied slowly.\u00a0 \u201cSorry to be the guy to point this out, but we haven\u2019t exactly, as a group, had the best success with guys who spontaneously return from the dead.\u00a0 You were<\/em> dead, weren\u2019t you?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAs a doornail.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I brushed myself off.\u00a0 The others were gathering around, watching.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cSo\u2026there\u2019s not a diplomatic way to ask this, but what happened?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI went home, to the Maker\u2019s Forge-house.\u00a0 I was offered a chance to continue my duty to stone and craft, and I accepted it.\u201d\u00a0 He said it so matter-of-factly, as though it was just a trip to the river for water.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And in hindsight, it made sense.\u00a0 Here I was, considering deicide, and that\u2019s a pretty grand scheme.\u00a0 That he should meet his own ruler and be granted a boon, certainly fell within the realm of possibility \u2013 probability, even.\u00a0 Looking at the peaceful expression on his face, it calmed me.\u00a0 Not like I was angry or upset, but just his presence was anchoring, as though he had the presence of a mountain behind him.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Here, truly was a Saint of Moradin.\u00a0 That gave me hope.\u00a0 Hope that our mission to find the brother to the Grand King and end the cycle of despair on the Bannerlands would be successful.\u00a0 Hope that we could bring Al\u2019Veydra unto its own destiny.\u00a0 Hope that my people might be avenged.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Maybe even that I could win.\u00a0 For a long while I\u2019d been in deep doubt that I would ever succeed in my self-appointed mission.\u00a0 Here was evidence that perhaps that mission mattered to more than just myself.\u00a0 Perhaps not as a primary goal of those involved, but that it held a measure of value to more than just me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou chose to return and continue with us \u2013 thank you.\u00a0 I can only assume the temptation to remain and take your place there was great, so my thanks are insufficient, but you have them anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He went serious for a moment, his thoughts elsewhere.\u00a0 Maybe on the memory of the Halls from which he\u2019d come.\u00a0 Then his vision snapped back to me, to the here and now.\u00a0 \u201cYes, it will be a great day when I do take my place there.\u00a0 But for now, we have work ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBrings tears to my eyes,\u201d Karac grumbled.\u00a0 \u201cYou two done?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s go.\u201d\u00a0 I said.\u00a0 Zatsa was helping Shalvar up, holding a thick bandage to his head where he\u2019d received a particularly nasty knock from Sariel.\u00a0 \u201cHe okay?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The tree made some motion of agreement.\u00a0 Karac held up a hand with three fingers out.\u00a0 \u201cHow many fingers?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shalvar looked at him.\u00a0 \u201cThose aren\u2019t fingers, they\u2019re sausages.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s alright.\u201d\u00a0 Karac trumped up to the front of the vessel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We re-located the green color line we\u2019d been following, and re-entered it to continue on our way.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The color line we were on passed close enough to Arvandor that it had adopted its color, even though we would be a good travel distance from it when we exited.\u00a0 Some kind of small cluster of reflecting objects were gathered around the line there.\u00a0 When we dropped off it, shedding a great deal of our velocity, the flickers resolved themselves.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We could see Arvandor, far off, which appeared as a lime-green cloud of mist surrounded by a group of orbiting islets, with a single overhanging bright star.\u00a0 There were hundreds of tiny islands, but of them perhaps only twenty or thirty in view were of an appreciable size.\u00a0 When I say appreciable, I do mean large \u2013 Arvandor is a world unto itself, and although its bounds are limited, it does have full continents.\u00a0 The largest of these islets, though perhaps not themselves of continental magnitude, ranged from city-sized to hundreds of leagues in breadth.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Closer to us, though, was a sight of some concern.\u00a0 The wreckage of some kind of ship floated all around us, and moving among it were thick plates of black stone or metal, each emblazoned with a single glowing Word of deific power.\u00a0 The enormous plates seemed to maneuver in concert, keeping a strangely ordered coherence in their form.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Flying about among them were a group of what appeared to be magically-powered constructs, angelic forms eight to twelve feet in height or length.\u00a0 Had I not been in the Astral Sea I would have mistaken them for oversized Archons, but these were obviously of a different nature.\u00a0 They flew between us and another creature \u2013 an efreet \u2013 who was engaged in battle with them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The elemental saw our vessel appear and in a burst of ash and spark began to fly towards us.\u00a0 He shouted ahead, \u201cSave me and great riches will be yours!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered shouted back \u201cWe want no part of this fight!\u201d, and Karac called up to Shalvar, \u201cGet us out of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The efreet was easily the size of each of the angelic constructs, and as he flew he traded blows with two of them that had intercepted him along the way.\u00a0 He dodged expertly, but their strikes rang against his own blade and armor with palpable force even many yards away.\u00a0 He landed on the aft deck next to the helm and again implored with us:\u00a0 \u201cSave me, I am a prince among my kind, you will be rewarded greatly for your help!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Waves of Grass<\/em> had begun to move, angling away from the wreckage and this enormous divine engine of destruction.\u00a0 As she did, one of the plates further away from us rotated over, revealing a huge construct clinging to its face, fully twice the mass of the others we\u2019d seen so far \u2013 making their number four and then the leader.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I charged at the efreet, weapons in hand, and shouted, \u201cYou will drop your weapons and take no harmful action to this ship or its passengers and crew!\u201d\u00a0 I readied a spell in case it appeared my command would not hold.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The efreet recoiled, going into a defensive stance, and screamed back, \u201cFool!\u00a0 You will need these weapons against that!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deimos called out less-than-quietly, \u201cThis is not our fight,\u201d as sparks began to crawl along his fingertips.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The huge red elemental continued, \u201cMy people send help even as we speak \u2013 help me!\u201d\u00a0 A burst of light enveloped him at that point \u2013 one of the constructs had launched it.\u00a0 His skin cracked and blistered under the assault, and both Sered and Zatsa were caught in the blast as well.\u00a0 Sered moved to the aft deck opposite him, and I could see him lining up for an attack. Meanwhile, Karac charged the creature, swinging with his hammer.\u00a0 The efreet dodged the blow, but kept screaming \u201cYou fools!\u00a0 You\u2019ll pay for this!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It then lowered one hand, from which a burst of finely-wrought fire flew to singe the decking beneath his feet.\u00a0 As this took place, two of the constructs drew up beside the ship and began swinging deadly strokes with enormous blades.\u00a0 He countered them as best he could, parrying and dodging, but that he was overmatched was plainly obvious.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I hated that we\u2019d ended up taking such a cowardly position, denying help to a stranger under attack.\u00a0 But also, it was not our fight that we\u2019d been brought to, and my friends had chosen a side in this.\u00a0 I could not stand aside and let this play out without helping.\u00a0 Perhaps I could knock this creature unconscious, and in so doing the constructs would depart\u2026<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deimos vanished below-decks, as I released an eyebite<\/em> on the efreet.\u00a0 The elemental saw my spell working up and flung a shield up between us, deflecting a great portion of the power of the blow.\u00a0 I had hoped to knock him unconscious with it, but unfortunately all it did was throw him back a bit, his shield having absorbed most of my strike.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At that very moment, two of the angelic constructs rose from below the railing, floating alongside the Waves of Grass<\/em>, each bearing a weapon \u2013 one, a flail, the other, a sword.\u00a0 The efreet must have sensed them, because he wheeled about to face them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And was impaled on the sword.\u00a0 The enormous blade pierced him through, ejecting a large quantity of blood in a spray that fanned about the aft deck as the huge red humanoid slumped to the decking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two constructs held back, as if waiting for something, before silently returning to their runed platforms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat in the Nine Gates were those things?\u201d I asked of no one in particular.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWarwings,\u201d Morin said.\u00a0 \u201cThat whole thing is a divine engine of war.\u00a0 Probably been here forever, a leftover from the Dawn War.\u00a0 The efreeti ship probably triggered it to attack because of their origin in the Elemental Chaos, same as the Primordials.\u00a0 The efreeti sided with the Primordials in that war, so the engine probably just has kept going.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Longer answer than I expected.\u00a0 I was glad to hear it, though, the information was useful.\u00a0 I had hoped we could knock out the afflicted elemental, perhaps the warwings would have assumed it dead.\u00a0 At least then we could affect a rescue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So much for that idea, though.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do with him?\u201d Karac motioned at the body.\u00a0 \u201cSearch him?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The efreet\u2019s jewelry and other garments led me to believe he wasn\u2019t lying about being a prince.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not a good plan.\u00a0 Either we get caught rifling the body, or we get caught holding or selling his things.\u00a0 That is not the kind of bad blood we want to get called down on us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered nodded.\u00a0 \u201cEnough others already have issues with us, no sense in calling down more.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s just push the body off and get out of here.\u201d\u00a0 Karac volunteered.\u00a0 I had to agree.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While we were muscling the body off, Sered commented, \u201cEfreet are evil anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I looked sharply at him.\u00a0 \u201cWhat the hell does that mean?\u00a0 I think we\u2019ve met enough creatures who were supposed to be evil that turned out to benefit us a lot more than just killing them would have.\u00a0 Do I need to remind you of Zur Nav?\u00a0 How about Tarsis-el, hm?\u00a0 You two seem to have had a bit in common there.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said very little.\u00a0 Nothing I could hear.\u00a0 I refrained from pursuing the topic of Tarsis-el, the Fallen Star, who supposedly arose from a \u201cgood\u201d race.\u00a0 We\u2019d have to discuss that soon, though.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had a bit of a strange moment of epiphany there, while pointing that out.\u00a0 Though I am fast to recognize the lack of definition between racial tendencies towards good and evil, I myself have difficulty separating out servant versus master races.\u00a0 The halfwise, for instance, I reflexively consider them servile, slaves for others to use.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Perhaps Sered was simply accustomed to assigning comfortable \u2018good\u2019 and \u2018evil\u2019 labels to creatures, in a similar way that I associated some with being property.\u00a0 Still, as I had learned \u2013 and continued to learn \u2013 to break from my natural tendencies, he could as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this time it cost someone their life.\u00a0 Hopefully it would not in the future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The efreet\u2019s body, as it tumbled off the aft of the Waves<\/em>, crisped over.\u00a0 Deep within, red heat migrated up, cracking the skin and reducing the body to a glowing ember clothed in rich finery.\u00a0 I felt a certain sorrow once more, at the needless loss.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But I consigned myself to how it was.\u00a0 Had we not come along at that moment, he\u2019d be just as dead.\u00a0 He had had no concern for our safety in bringing his fight to our deck.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I loathed myself a little for rationalizing it that way.\u00a0 He was going to die.\u00a0 What one of us wouldn\u2019t have pursued an opportunity to survive in a case like that?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As Shalvar made towads Arvandor, the divine war-engine shrank into the middle distance.\u00a0 As it began fading from view entirely, another vessel materialized out of the mists.\u00a0 From this distance, it was hard to make out, but from the sudden flashes and lines of light, and the distant thunderous echoes, it had to be the backup the efreet had said was coming.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Best we got out of there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And get we did, sailing on to Arvandor with more than a little urgency.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arvandor \u2013 at least, the part near which we entered the water \u2013 was different than I expected.\u00a0 As we parted the veil surrounding it, settling into a salt sea whose surface was rippled with a light swell, its depths a measure of blue like the deepest gems of a Dwur horde.\u00a0 I thought I saw fish, or at least something of might, swimming beneath us, their indistinct shapes rippling in and out of view.\u00a0 What little waves there were possessed slight caps, each a model in perfection, a clinging foam of clean white.\u00a0 Above, a clear sky shaded in deep blue made it difficult to tell where the horizon line truly resided, the cloudless vista either giving way to dawn or settling into dusk, it was still too early to tell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before us stretched a shoreline reminiscent of that which we\u2019d seen when we first ventured on our way to the Taer Dian Loresh:\u00a0 enormous old-growth wood grew practically to the shoreline, trees many hundreds of feet tall, birds circling with loud voices, and blooms \u2013 countless blooms \u2013 sprinkled upon the trees as if an enormous florist had made place-settings of the entire shore.\u00a0 It truly was very similar to the Vastwood, though considerably less cold.\u00a0 I also hoped that perhaps the ocean was not patrolled by whale-hunting dragons, like Vasylim.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Directly ahead, we were greeted by the sight of a large settlement:\u00a0 Faeyan Verdaya.\u00a0 The port city\u2019s docks were home to a large variety of ships \u2013 some, like ours, of traditional Eladrin make, others more functional, the mark of human manufacture.\u00a0 Still others took on a wholly alien styling, barely recognizable as seagoing craft at all; one even resembled nothing so much as a floating castle, complete with towers capped with minarets and flapping banners.\u00a0 Another seemed to be carved from an enormous magnolia blossom.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

The city was a combination of stone, wood, marble, and cloth \u2013 all of a broad range of colors, cheerfully greeting visitors at the docks with a welcoming and festive appearance.\u00a0 Greenery played as much a role in the architecture of Feyan Verdaya as it did in the Faewild, which is to say even occasional buildings appeared to be constructed within trees directly.\u00a0 The land curved up from the water, developing into mountains deep in the distance, their purple shadows barely visible over the skyline of the city.\u00a0 I found myself wondering if the mountains held settlements as rich in vibrant color as this one.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

One could be happy, living here \u2013 or, I corrected myself, dying and finding oneself here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

So long as one wasn\u2019t pursued by the Legions of Hell, that is.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I put such thoughts away from my mind, as Shalvar navigated the Waves of Grass<\/em> into a small port cove to the far side of the city.\u00a0 He had explained to me early in the journey that Ereliya, being a dryad and bound to the Waves, <\/em>was rendered to a state reminiscent of winter dormancy by her distance from her home world.\u00a0 While traveling in the Astral Sea, she was unable to manifest bodily outside of the ship, and her influence over its navigation was limited.\u00a0 This didn\u2019t seem to stop the railings from growing throns at unexpected \u2013 and unwelcome \u2013 moments, however.\u00a0 I think it must also have put a bit more strain on Shalvar than he cared for.\u00a0 I wondered for a time what manner of offer was given to him that would convince him to embark on such a voyage, given his already-successful career sailing the Sea of Scales.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Regardless, we pulled up to a small dock around the back side of the city, in a sheltered cove a good distance from the main traffic area.\u00a0 Trees overhung the dock, brushing into the water in places, small tufted buds spread up and down the long, supple branches.\u00a0 Now and then a breeze would touch the boughs, and small spatters of light green leaves would drift to the sea.\u00a0 Beneath, streamers of green plants drifted in a relaxed current, tended by schools of sucker-fish the length of my arm.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We drew up to the wooden dock, and both I and Karac went over the rails with thick ropes to moor our vessel solidly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

There were several Eladrin waiting on it, closer to shore, when we arrived.\u00a0 Three approached us, intently.\u00a0 Recognition dawned on me swiftly \u2013 one of them was Galeal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fey warrior raised his hand in greeting as we tied down the vessel.\u00a0 \u201cWell met,\u201d he called.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I stood straight from where I\u2019d been tying the vessel down, listening to my back snap with the movement.\u00a0 I waved back.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t know whether I should say so, given what you doubtless had to go through to reach these shores,\u201d I said.\u00a0 \u201cIt is pleasing to meet you here, though, and I find myself happy in the knowledge that you have done so.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cKind words, and yes, I have passed from the realm of mortal ken, I am Ruesti<\/em> now.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cRuesti?\u201d\u00a0 Morin asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe exalted of Corellon, we are all Ruesti<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He made a broad motion with his arm, encompassing all around him.\u00a0 \u201cBut come, we have been expecting you, and have made ready for your arrival.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExpecting us?\u201d\u00a0 Karac asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed, those of the Jessil Kerith, and the Lady Syntira has been in communication with us.\u201d\u00a0 He held out a small paper.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThis looks like your old home,\u201d I said, looking around.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed it should, for Aerovan was modeled after Feyan Verdaya, and the Vastwood was tended to give a similar appearance to the woods here.\u00a0 It was the hunts within the Vastwood that gave us an experience like unto which would be found here after we departed our mortality.\u201d\u00a0 He followed my gaze.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He turned back to us quickly.\u00a0 \u201cSo have you determined yet, the outcome of the prophecy?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cExcuse me?\u201d\u00a0 Sered said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe prophecy \u2013 one to die, one to be enslaved, one to be a prince, have you made that determination yet?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We muttered amongst ourselves for a few minutes, debating which of the conditions of that particular prophecy would be satisfied by past events unfolding.\u00a0 I remembered the old elvish woman, her fluttering scalpel, and what remained of the dove she had cloven in two.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo, I don\u2019t believe we have an answer to that, I don\u2019t think we saw any such occurrence.\u201d Sered said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal dismissed the question.\u00a0 \u201cIt is of no consequence.\u00a0 Prophecy being what it is, there are rarely any events that can be folded neatly into its confines.\u00a0 Please.\u00a0 You must be tired from your journey, and with twilight upon us, it is almost mealtime.\u00a0 We have rooms for you.\u201d\u00a0 He and his companions led us away, to a long, low building of living wood grown around a stone framework.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The meal was as always with Fey foodstuffs \u2013 intensely enjoyable, but difficult to recall in specific.\u00a0 I believe that fey chefs work with glamour in their kitchens, purely out of instinct, not any sense of malice or intentional disguise.\u00a0 Their intent to produce an admirable table simply results in their inherent magical talents finding expression in the foods they serve.\u00a0 We related our journey\u2019s happenings to Galeal and his associates, while they described something of what our next leg would look like.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

They had a box at hand, one which we were to take with us on our search for the Red Stair, the passageway that leads to Carceri.\u00a0 Apparently once in every very long while, moonlight falls on the site of the stair in just such a way that the stair will materialize \u2013 and did, one year prior.\u00a0 It was then, a year ago, that Bow \u2013 our Carifal Rath \u2013 found himself taking the stair and ending up locked in Carceri.\u00a0 There was some talk of what might have become of him, and a few second thoughts were had about pursuing him into the Red Prison if he had already been there a year.\u00a0 His prospects for survival were slim, but I pointed out that this was a man who had survived for over a century of time wandering the Feywild alone, and that would indicate the ability to cope with\u2026adverse circumstances.\u00a0 In the end, we decided to make the effort anyway, for the outcome of our journey was hinged on his presence \u2013 and the lack of his seal would weaken our position considerably.\u00a0 If there was any chance at all of his surviving, we had to make the attempt.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The box, an ornate wooden affair, encrusted with runes burnt into its surface, apparently contained moonlight captured at just the moment the Red Stair was made evident \u2013 and the runes upon it comprised a ritual that would provide the Stair with an excuse to form.\u00a0 At the correct moment in the ritual, the box would be thrown open, the moonlight escape, and the Stair would form.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

At least, that was the theory.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal offered us two means to reach the probable location \u2013 one, slower, but safer, followed the shoreline.\u00a0 The second, faster, but more likely subject to encountering the aberrations that leaked into this plane from the Red Prison, passed through the deep forest.\u00a0 After much debate, we decided that time was of the essence in this adventure, and we chose the forest route.\u00a0 Our departure was thus decided for the morning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Both ways led us to the ruins of Carantharas, a city formerly like this one, though more militarized.\u00a0 It had been overrun thousands of years ago by a string of abominations that had escaped en masse<\/em> from Carceri and laid waste to the city.\u00a0 None lived there any longer, at least not of the original inhabitants.\u00a0 Even the hunting parties seeking out abominations avoided the place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And we had to get there.\u00a0 Ah yes, par for the course for us.\u00a0 I really, really looked forward to the day when our lives led us to an easy path.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The night passed relatively uneventfully \u2013 until the following morning, when we were brought from our beds before dawnlight to a small banquet hall.\u00a0 Galeal was there, along with two other Eladrin attendants.\u00a0 Outside the hall, Galeal held up a hand and addressed us:<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHere, you are guests, as are those inside this room.\u00a0 Arvandor and Feyan Verdaya participate in commerce, and those who come to trade are granted safe passage so long as they obey the rules of this place.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you telling us this?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNo violence may be done to you here, nor any to other guests, unless and until they should violate the laws here.\u00a0 Do you understand?\u201d\u00a0 He looked at us all inturn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe means we aren\u2019t going to like what we find in there,\u201d Sered said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal nodded.\u00a0 \u201cWill you enter?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I shrugged.\u00a0 The others nodded or otherwise indicated their agreement.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The doors were opened.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Inside, standing at the right hand of the head of the table, stood a devil, his back to us.\u00a0 He had a woman chained beside him, and another standing freely at his other side.\u00a0 He was inspecting a tapestry on the wall with great intensity.\u00a0 He was the size of a man, with deep skin the color of wood, grey horns streaked with light ivory stripes that swept back and upwards past his ears.\u00a0 Athletically built, his features were largely covered by a suit of chain and a tabard bearing the symbol of the Ruby Rod.\u00a0 He could have been Shadrim.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Probably had been, come to think of it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe work your people put into these is admirable,\u201d the devil said.\u00a0 \u201cMy compliment to the weaver.\u00a0 Was he or she Ruesti<\/em> as well?\u201d\u00a0 He turned to face us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal ignored the question.\u00a0 \u201cMembers of Fellbane, this is\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCallax,\u201d I finished for him.\u00a0 \u201cYes, we met briefly, long ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou remembered!\u00a0 I\u2019m flattered.\u00a0 Some of you I don\u2019t recall, however.\u00a0 New replacements for the others you\u2019ve managed to get killed, I suppose?\u201d\u00a0 The infernal we\u2019d met in Vor Kragal, accompanying a party of Morvreyans whom we\u2019d fought in the streets of the ruined city on our first visit there.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He yanked on the chain he held, and the woman at the other end of it went down on all fours behind him.\u00a0 He promptly sat on her back, which she accepted soundlessly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFor almost a year now, my master\u2019s plans have found frustration.\u00a0 At first, it seemed mere chance, ill fortune, or the plans of his rival were to blame.\u00a0 Yet there has been a recurring theme\u2026\u201d he gestured in the air, gazing into the middle distance.\u00a0 His eyes snapped back into focus.\u00a0 \u201cPlease, sit, we have much to discuss, and it is yet early.\u00a0 Ruesti, fetch us refreshment per our privilege as guests,\u201d he snapped his fingers in Galeal\u2019s direction.\u00a0 The fey warrior blanched at the insult, but turned to his two attendants and nodded.\u00a0 They departed, I assumed to\u00a0 retrieve breakfast of some sort.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere was I?\u00a0 Oh yes, a recurring theme.\u00a0 Fellbane<\/em>.\u00a0 Such an ambitious name for what appears to be such a bumbling, ragtag mix of misfits.\u201d\u00a0 He stopped for a moment, pulling a cigar from his coat.\u00a0 His deep mahogany skin flickered in the light of a flame sparked from his own thumb as he lit the tobacco, puffing and sucking noisily at it.\u00a0 \u201cNo offense intended, of course.\u00a0 It just seems that throughout this long string of accidents and mistakes, the name Fellbane seems to crop up more often than not.\u00a0 In Parlay with my counterparts serving my master\u2019s rival, they have experienced similar occurrences.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe drow outpost of Cozule, the escape of the citizens of Tarsis, the raiding of the Library of the Jessil Kerith, even my own expedition to Vor Kragal, each a resounding failure by its stakeholders, and each coming to rest on the shoulders of Fellbane.<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 He rapped his knuckles on the table.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He let out a long breath of acrid smoke.\u00a0 \u201cAnd so it is that my master, the Lord of the Ruby Rod, finally took notice, and tasked me with finding out what the difficulty was, and putting a stop to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We all waited silently, arrayed around our end of the room.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat, nothing to say?\u00a0 Am I that much of a dullard?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot per se<\/em>, no, but I think the rest of us are waiting for you to get to the point.\u201d I said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled back on the cigar, which had developed a half-inch of ash on its tip.\u00a0 \u201cYou encountered the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em> some time yesterday.\u00a0 I believe in your parlance, that would be considered \u2018the stick.\u2019\u00a0 Obviously, that didn\u2019t work.\u00a0 Ergo, I am here to present you with \u2018the carrot.\u2019\u00a0 That is the correct term, is it not?\u201d\u00a0 He drew back on the cigar again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cUsually, that\u2019s the phrase,\u201d Deimos grumbled.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The two Eladrin Ruesti<\/em> arrived, bearing large trays of foods \u2013 cheeses, breads, pots of coffee, and the like were laid out before us.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOoohh, speaking of carrots!\u00a0 I love coming here,\u201d Callax said.\u00a0 \u201cArvandor has the most amazing vegetables.\u00a0 I have a love affair with the tomatoes.\u00a0 Nothing like little Jesse and I do,\u201d he tugged at the chain attached to the woman providing his chair.\u00a0 \u201cOh no, but love nonetheless.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He waved quickly at the table, and his other attendant set to assembling him a plate.\u00a0 \u201cCoffee this morning, dear, you know how I like it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He then looked over at us again.\u00a0 \u201cHave a seat, I can\u2019t hurt you here, and my mission is entirely peaceful.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I looked at the others, then shrugged and put a plate together for myself.\u00a0 I picked a place not directly across from Callax, but close enough to provide a clear ear.\u00a0 A few of the others remained standing near the door.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNow, where was I?\u201d\u00a0 Callax wondered.\u00a0 \u201cOh yes, Fellbane, Fellbane, Fellbane.\u00a0 It seems you turn up everywhere.\u201d\u00a0 He downed a glass of juice in one swallow, his throat distending grossly as he did so.\u00a0 It returned to normal seconds later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can imagine my surprise when I did a little research into your background.\u00a0 I can\u2019t for the life of me figure out why you are even involved with this fight.\u00a0 For millennia, my Lord and the Abyssals have fought over the territories of your world, reaping the harvest it grants us.\u00a0 It\u2019s a world of men, in all their fickle and faithless nature.\u00a0 Humans.\u00a0 Worthless to anyone other than us.\u00a0 Yet here you stand\u2026\u201d\u00a0 he motioned across us all with a half-eaten roast quail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cFellbane, fighting pointlessly against both sides.\u00a0 What could you possibly hope to gain from all of this?\u00a0 A Deva who should be wandering these seas freely, two dwur with no interest in human affairs \u2013 you\u2019d probably rather be digging in a hole deep underground, eh?\u201d\u00a0 He gestured at Morin, then squinted for a second, as if to clear his vision.\u00a0 \u201cWell, perhaps not you, you\u2019ve business elsewhere, but you at least!\u201d\u00a0 With this he waved an open hand at Karac dismissively.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd then two Shadrim, who by all I can see have forgotten utterly which side of this fight they should be standing on.\u00a0 Here you are, not a human among you, raising a little town and making gestures as if you wanted to belong among them.\u00a0 Humans, who would probably burn each of you alive if given a semi-conscious priest with a mean streak to lead them.\u00a0 What in the world are you people thinking?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m here to ask just that \u2013 why bother?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Convincing point.\u00a0 I hadn\u2019t considered it, but he was to some degree correct \u2013 there weren\u2019t humans among us, though we knew plenty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered spoke first.\u00a0 \u201cWe fight against injustice, whatever form it may take, and your war is the embodiment of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh yes,\u201d Callax didn\u2019t even look up.\u00a0 \u201cAnd were you serving justice when you killed Kaza\u2019el and pushed his corpse off your vessel?\u00a0 That was his mark of vengeance on the deck I saw, was it not?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered remained silent.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, yes, convenient when justice comes all neatly wrapped up in a form like mine, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 Horns, tail, slaves, very easy to see and strike out against, hmm?\u201d\u00a0 He rapped upon his own horns with his knuckles for emphasis.\u00a0 \u201cWhose law provides that justice, hmm?\u00a0 These humans would fall to warring over their own petty squabbles, territory, women,\u201d he slapped the posterior of his standing companion.\u00a0 \u201cNot that you\u2019re not worth fighting over, my dear,\u201d he said patronizingly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cMy Lord brings order to the squabbles.\u00a0 He provides a framework in which justice is guaranteed.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBy limiting choices so that the only way is doomed to end up in hell?\u201d\u00a0 Deimos asked.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf that is their fate, indeed so,\u201d Callax replied.\u00a0 \u201cYour kind were the beneficiaries of our generosity.\u00a0 Lost to the elements you may be, but you cannot deny the heritage of your blood.\u00a0 Just as you seek your destiny among the empty, forgotten thrones of the Primordials, so too did others of your race find destinies that led them to many places other than Avernus.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut where are my manners?\u00a0 I mention carrots and do not deliver,\u201d he shook his head again.\u00a0 He snapped his fingers, and his attendant looked to him.\u00a0 \u201cThe gifts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

She turned and leaned down behind him, standing with a large oiled wooden case.\u00a0 Callax motioned her to put it on the table, where she then unsnapped the catches and lifted thelid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are gifts for you all from my master.\u00a0 They are given without obligation, in honor of your victory over Sariel and the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>, of which I am now master.\u201d\u00a0 Within the case was a coiled whip, barbed with small razor-sharp spikes, and five tiny daggers, each appearing to be the claw of an animal and soaked in some kind of metal.\u00a0 Come to think of it, the whip looked like a tail of something.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We all gazed at these things with a healthy skepticism.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh come now, I gave my word, no harm will befall you here.\u201d\u00a0 He looked melodramatically stricken.\u00a0 \u201cWhat would you take me for?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Zatsa, which had remained silent up to now, turned its head \u2013 do plants have heads? \u2013 to Galeal.\u00a0 \u201cDo curses fall within the boundaries of the protection offered to guests?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNo harm may be perpetrated upon any other while still a guest in the house of Correllon.\u00a0 The gifting of a curse upon an object would be considered harmful, and would invalidate such status.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Still no one moved.\u00a0 I finally became impatient.\u00a0 If we were up against a coming battle, we were going to need all the resources we could lay our hands on, even if that meant items we would barter.\u00a0 At the very least, we could trade some of these for ritual components if we needed.\u00a0 I stood and leaned over the table, laying hand on the whip.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhy?\u00a0 I mean, why these?\u201d\u00a0 Karac looked at the contents of the box.\u00a0 \u201cThey\u2019re certainly of fine manufacture, but what is the significance?\u00a0 Why a whip?\u00a0 Why daggers?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cGood point,\u201d I added.\u00a0 \u201cThe Lord of the Rod makes no move that hasn\u2019t some thought behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are the claws and tail of Sariel, the former captain of the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>.\u00a0 His reward for his failure was not simply displacement from his cabin on board.\u201d\u00a0 Callax waved over the weapons with a hand.\u00a0 \u201cHis defeat is to your benefit, and although disappointed my Lord was, he acknowledges your victory in this fashion.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I stood and walked around to look over the weapons.\u00a0 \u201cI will accept this,\u201d I said.\u00a0 I thought further about it, and seeing Sered still standing by the door.\u00a0 \u201cAnd since Sered will likely not avail himself of this, I will take his as well.\u201d\u00a0 At the very least, we could trade these for ritual components.\u00a0 Given the nature of the fight we were likely to be engaging in, we might need more than a few revitalizing spells cast upon us, and if Sered let this one pass, we\u2019d all end up paying for it later.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cArrogance always was a failing of our kind,\u201d Callax said pointedly as I withdrew one of the daggers.\u00a0 \u201cTaking a lion\u2019s share, or seeking to usurp that which is not yours, yes, the old pride hasn\u2019t lost its color.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I smiled at the jab.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deimos also took a dagger, as did Karac.\u00a0 Callax pushed the box with its remaining contents down the table, dismissing it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI also bring an offer,\u201d Callax then said, hands flat on the table.\u00a0 \u201cIt shall be good this day only, as I have the Sins<\/em> moored in the docks as we speak, and I shall depart at sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOh, here it comes,\u201d Karac said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIndeed.\u201d Callax looked at each of us in turn.\u00a0 \u201cIt is simple:\u00a0 stand down, step back.\u00a0 Take no further role in this fight, and peace shall continue to grace Al\u2019Veydra.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My attention focused in on the mention of the town.\u00a0 Callax continued, \u201cMy Lord will build his new empire, and will even find roles of significance for some of you.\u00a0 Make no mistake, the profits for all of you would be significant, regardless of your station in the new order.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if we don\u2019t?\u201d Sered asked quietly.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen Al\u2019Veydra will be burnt.\u00a0 My Lord will see to it personally that your little hamlet will not be spared from the horrors of the war to come.\u00a0 All which you treasure shall be found, abused, broken, and destroyed.\u00a0 There is also the matter of the family of Kaza\u2019el, the efreet prince \u2013 his family are quite beside themselves at his death.\u201d\u00a0 He smirked casually.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m sure they would welcome the news that his killers had been found.\u00a0 They probably would like to have words with you.\u00a0 In fact, several of their representatives are combing the dockside, seeking a vessel that was spotted leaving the area.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I looked over at Galeal, seething inside and wanting few things more at that moment than to freeze this infernal and shatter him upon the floor.\u00a0 \u201cDo threats constitute a violation of status?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Ruesti shook his head, negative.\u00a0 Where the dawn had seemed certain to come, the light had adopted a grey shade, and a slight breeze was coming in through the window, softly stirring the drapes.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Callax grinned at me, his oversized canines adding a feral mask to his features.\u00a0 \u201cTouched something, did I?\u00a0 Oh yes, lest you think I had forgotten you, Azrael, my Lord has an offer for you as well.\u00a0 He admits that perhaps the two of you have gotten off on the wrong foot, and he is willing to wipe the slate clean.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sat back, not sure what was being said.\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are willing to accompany me this evening, my Lord would like to visit with you, and discuss a mutually agreeable settlement to your differences.\u00a0 His expression to me was that he would be most generous.\u201d\u00a0 He had his hands on the table, and was tapping the fingers of his right in a steady rhythm.\u00a0 \u201cYou are, after all, scion of a noble house, albeit one that has been abandoned for such a very long time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe wants me to just walk in, and he\u2019ll let bygones be bygones, is that it?\u201d\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t believe I was hearing this.\u00a0 \u201cHow is it that He who condemned my people to destruction, who abandoned them in their time of need, in an attempt to end me, can simply turn around and make such an offer?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I saw Sered glaring reproachfully at me.\u00a0 Was there no pleasing the creature?\u00a0 Would he have smiled if I\u2019d simply said \u2018alright, let\u2019s talk about princedoms!\u2019?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Callax looked at me coolly.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps not quite that simply, but that is accurate for purposes of summary.\u00a0 What occurred in the past is just that, the past.\u00a0 But know this \u2013 as I said, these offers expire upon my departure this evening.\u00a0 And as with the issue of Al\u2019Veydra, spurning this offer would be\u2026unwise.\u00a0 You are being given a chance to return to my Lord\u2019s good graces, and that is far more than many ever get.\u00a0 You should consider yourself gifted simply for the opportunity.\u00a0 If you refuse, there will be no quarter given \u2013 and you shall be marked for all eternity, the infinite Legions will be unleashed upon you, and there will be no safe place where you can flee from us.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Time for a little honesty here \u2013 this is my<\/em> journal, after all \u2013 I was extremely tempted at this.\u00a0 And not a little bit worried at the threat.\u00a0 I had lived this long only because my presence was a small matter, and an inconsequential affair in the machinations of the Lord of Tyranny.\u00a0 This posed the case that the Legions would now be actively tasked with my pursuit, at least in the form of a substantial reward for my life or death.\u00a0 Having the mark of the Lord of Hell upon your brow is not a comfortable sensation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And the thought of a dukedom of my own was a sore, sore temptation.\u00a0 Rulership of my own domain\u2026I did entertain that in silence for some time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But what safety could I reasonably expect?\u00a0 I just could not believe that the Lord of the Hells would so easily cast aside his discomfort at my continued existence.\u00a0 No, so long as Ilived, I would be a threat to him \u2013 whether directly or as a rallying point for those who would oppose him, it did not matter.\u00a0 It would not be long before my head would be gracing the walls of his castle somewhere.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Deimos spoke up.\u00a0 \u201cWe must really be getting under someone\u2019s skin, to be noticed like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered gave a start, apparently not having considered this.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I suppose we must if our mission is deemed this important to upset.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The barest shadow of a frown crossed Callax\u2019 face, but he was a professional at his negotiation, and didn\u2019t let it linger.\u00a0 \u201cThink what you will, Fellbane.\u00a0 I have said my piece, it is yours now to contemplate.\u201d\u00a0 He stood and picked up an orange, hefting it in his hand.\u00a0 Motioning to the box with the remaining daggers, he added, \u201cDo with those as you will.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With a snap of his fingers, the retainer who had been standing walked to the door and opened it.\u00a0 Callax looked down and tugged the chain of his other, who had borne him as a chair, silently through the entire conversation.\u00a0 She stood, wiping her hands off on her thick skirt, chains jingling slightly.\u00a0 She looked up, her dark brown hair falling away from her face, and I recognized her at last.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Her name was Missy.\u00a0 She\u2019d been a barmaid at the Death\u2019s Head <\/em>Inn.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Callax smiled at what must have been a plainly legible expression on my face.\u00a0 \u201cI trust you will know which vessel is the Sins<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

With that, he walked out.\u00a0 As if on cue, a soft rain began to fall outside.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, that\u2019s problematic,\u201d Morin said.\u00a0 He motioned at Deimos.\u00a0 \u201cStill, as you said, we must be doing something to get that kind of attention.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do we do?\u00a0 We can\u2019t just let the town be destroyed,\u201d Karac was clenching his fists.\u00a0 \u201cBut if we turn back\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThen everyone loses.\u201d\u00a0 I said.\u00a0 \u201cThis can only end with the Bannerlands free.\u00a0 We would save Al\u2019Veydra only to have it fall to the new Empire, and all its people would be lost in the fullness of time.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered looked over at me.\u00a0 \u201cI really don\u2019t like to admit this, but you\u2019re right.\u00a0 We have to continue, no matter what that implies.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I tucked the weapons under my belt.\u00a0 \u201cThen I suggest we get ready.\u00a0 If we depart today, then let\u2019s be about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cBut\u2026what about Al\u2019Veydra?\u201d\u00a0 Karac was getting angry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I shook my head.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve lost one home already.\u00a0 We will have to rely on the other members of Fellbane already there to protect it from direct assault.\u00a0 If anything remains on our return, we can cleanse it and restore what we\u2019re able.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Karac shook his head.\u00a0 \u201cThere\u2019s gotta be a way.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered looked at him neutrally.\u00a0 \u201cWhat do you suggest?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to go see him.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I watched him stand up.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t let him set you up.\u00a0 He\u2019s going to make you feel like the destruction visited upon the town is your fault.\u00a0 Don\u2019t buy it.\u00a0 They <\/em>are threatening our home, and it will be them who are responsible for any harm that befalls it.\u00a0 It\u2019s easy to point the finger and say \u2018look what you made me do,\u2019 but that\u2019s their sick logic.\u00a0 Our best hope is to defeat them utterly.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd once they do, we visit retribution on their king?\u201d Sered asked, sarcasm dripping from his voice.\u00a0 \u201cConvenient how that works out for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I frowned.\u00a0 \u201cThere is nothing<\/em> convenient about this.\u00a0 Do you think I want this?\u00a0 Don\u2019t you think I miss my family?\u00a0 My house?\u00a0 My civilization<\/em>?\u00a0 Convenient that I have a death-mark upon me by the Lord of Tyranny himself?\u00a0 Where, I beg of you, where is there an ounce of convenience in all of this?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I walked out without waiting for an answer.\u00a0 I heard Karac and Morin muttering amongst themselves as I retreated to my rooms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We set out perhaps two hours later, Galeal accompanying us.\u00a0 Karac had returned, having unsuccessfully attempted to negotiate a peaceful outcome for Al\u2019Veydra.\u00a0 His expression was troubled \u2013 I\u2019m sure he wasn\u2019t comfortable with the outcome of the discussions with Callax.\u00a0 When I approached him, he handed me a bottle.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It was wine.\u00a0 It was one of mine, from the Death\u2019s Head <\/em>distillery.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He told me that Callax had brushed him off; he\u2019d been in discussion with two efreet when the Dwur had arrived, but he\u2019d given that bottle to him with farewell.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Karac had also seen the petrified medusa\u2019s head, Nala\u2019s head, on the wall aboard the Seven Deadly Sins<\/em>.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I had to face it, it was likely that Al\u2019Veydra was gone \u2013 or at least, that the Inn and perhaps the distillery itself were no more.\u00a0 I tried not to think too much about it, instead adding them to the tally.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It would be a minor addition atop the loss of an entire Empire, but every stitch in this weave mattered to me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Galeal led us, mostly in silence, for hours.\u00a0 We paused to eat once or twice, and none of us had a great deal to say.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Feywild forests are like ours, but amplified.\u00a0 The plants grow lush and thick, heavy with life, and every moving thing seems ready to bite, sting, or eat a traveler.\u00a0 Come to think of it, so do some of the plants.\u00a0 The colors are so vibrant there, that when you return you feel as though someone has washed the hues right out of the Middle World.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Arvandor\u2019s forests were nothing like that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The trees were stately, enormous, and spaced well apart from each other.\u00a0 The ground between them was generally clear, just settled under a thick blanket of leaves and needles.\u00a0 If it resembled anything, it truly did have the appearance of the Vastwood \u2013 strong, old-growth forest with a canopy far above our heads \u2013 at least twenty feet before the first branches.\u00a0 Rather than the thick overgrown jungle of the Feywild near Al\u2019Veydra\u2019s borders, there was an elegance, a stateliness, to this forest.\u00a0 It gave me pause to wonder at which was the reflection \u2013 was the Vastwood a shade of this forest truly, or perhaps was it the other way around?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Our journey was enjoyable \u2013 and went without interruption, much to my surprise.\u00a0 We found our way eaily, Galeal showing us along game trails and riding lanes.\u00a0 Shortly before evening, the shoreline crept in towards where we were walking, revealing a deep secluded cove in front of us \u2013 and in it, a large vessel, perhaps half again the size of the Waves of Grass<\/em>, but of considerably less worthy construction.\u00a0 It was definitely seaworthy, but its bound up sails were a hodge-podge of linen and fur, its wood warped and discolored in places.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

On the shore around it were a series of tents and shacks, perhaps ten in all, from which rose small streamers of smoke.\u00a0 Some movement could be seen, though it was hard to determine at distance what race they were \u2013 human, elf, eladrin, once past two hundred yards or so it becomes difficult to distinguish without lengthy observation.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Before we could decide whether to approach or avoid the small outpost, one of its inhabitants must have spotted us.\u00a0 The rest vanished into their huts, while one came forward \u2013 an elf by the look of him, but clad in strange furs and bearing weapons of a make I would not have associated with his kind.\u00a0 I looked around at the others.\u00a0 Sered finally said, \u201cOh all right, we might as well.\u00a0 It\u2019s getting on to nighttime anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we came down the hill towards the cove, the elf held up a hand and called out in their lilting tongue:\u00a0 \u201cHalt and declare yourselves.\u00a0 We recognize neither your people nor your purpose.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019d he say?\u201d Morin asked.\u00a0 I then realized I might be the only one who was able to speak with the elf, if he did not have the common tongue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cHe is telling us to approach no closer.\u00a0 He wants to know who we are,\u201d Zatsa told him.\u00a0 At least I wouldn\u2019t be stuck translating all night.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sered waved at me, gesturing me toward the elf.\u00a0 \u201cGo on, then, you\u2019re the Emissary.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I shrugged.\u00a0 \u201cHail. We are Fellbane, hunters of aberrations in these woods, on a journey on behalf of the lords of this land.\u00a0 We mean you no harm.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The elf slit his eyes suspiciously.\u00a0 Something was wrong with his eyes, but I couldn\u2019t begin to say what.\u00a0 \u201cHow do I know this?\u00a0 Many of the aberrations can adopt a pleasing form only to lull one\u2019s senses and prepare for an ambush.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I thought it over for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou do not know, and I can\u2019t think of any way to prove it to you.\u201d\u00a0 I drew Dreaming Fire<\/em> and held it hilt out.\u00a0 \u201cBut I, Azrael of the House Macreane, give you my word that I mean no harm to you or yours, and will lift no hand in aggression against you.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The fey thought this over, and nodded.\u00a0 \u201cPut away your weapon, and come down.\u00a0 We have food and drink to share.\u00a0 I am Korvath.\u201d\u00a0 With that he turned and began walking towards the center of the camp.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I looked back at the others, who gazed expectantly at me.\u00a0 Zatsa had been whispering a translation to them.\u00a0 Karac made a harrumphing sound, and walked forward.\u00a0 I followed, and the rest fell in line with me.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cOn business of the lords here, you say?\u00a0 We also hunt these woods for aberrations,\u201d the elf said as he reached the center.\u00a0 A large bonfire was blazing there, surrounded by log benches of various sizes \u2013 some quite large.\u00a0 \u201cHave you had any luck?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot so far,\u201d I replied.\u00a0 \u201cWe are only a day out of our venture, and have several days left to travel before we expect any serious opportunities to arise.\u00a0 Yourselves?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cNot in over a week.\u00a0 Our vessel has been foundered here for almost five, but we are happy to have the chance to hunt here.\u201d\u00a0 He stirred the fire with a stick.\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t mind my asking, what is the nature of your mission, and what lord is it that sends you into such dangerous grounds?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWe seek the red stair of Carceri, to effect a rescue of one within.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cCarceri?\u00a0 Aren\u2019t you a little far from your destination?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cA gateway of sorts opens here from time to time, which will enable us to depart.\u201d\u00a0 I offered.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cStill, it sounds as though someone doesn\u2019t have your best interests in mind.\u00a0 How do you propose to escape?\u201d\u00a0 His eyebrows rose in surprise at my mention of the place.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cThe border between this world and that are permeable here, hence the frequent escapes of abominations from the Red Prison.\u201d\u00a0 I offered.\u00a0 \u201cWe hope to exploit the same tricks in the barriers that they do.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you can find none?\u201d\u00a0 He stirred up smoke and ash with the stick he was prodding the fire with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, then we\u2019ll have to work out some other alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI believe you might have a flaw in your plan, Shadrim,\u201d he grinned slyly over the fire.\u00a0 \u201cWho is it that sends you on such a hazardous quest?\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAgents of Corellon,\u201d I lied.\u00a0 Best not to invoke the Jessil Kerith or the rest here.\u00a0 \u201cHe felt the one we seek to rescue was imprisoned wrongly, and has tasked us with the effort.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cTruly?\u00a0 Corellon sends you?\u201d\u00a0 Korvath was very interested in this, though given his place here I wasn\u2019t sure why it was such an affair to him. \u00a0\u201cHe must not care for you overmuch.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWell, technically not me.\u00a0 Our group is nominally headed by Sered here,\u201d I pointed over to the deva, who was looking around and listening to Zatsa\u2019s translations.\u00a0 \u201cIt was he that received the mission.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Zatsa was looking down at the ground at something, and kept cocking its\u2026I was going to say \u2018head\u2019, though I suppose \u201cclump of branches sporting what I took to be its eyes\u201d is more accurate\u2026but I\u2019ll use \u2018head\u2019 for brevity\u2019s sake \u2013 anyway, it kept cocking its head this way and that.\u00a0 It seemed to be looking at something on the ground, trying to see it different ways.\u00a0 I glanced down to see what it was looking at, but aside from a great many footprints ranging in size from that of a normal human to a far larger humanoid, I couldn\u2019t really figure out what was getting him agitated.\u00a0 It glanced up at me, and said something, but all I could make out was \u201cFeet.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Feet?<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cI see.\u00a0 We too, as I mentioned, hunt these woods at the behest of our god.\u00a0 The abominations that roam here are tough, very tough, and dangerous.\u00a0 They bring much glory to those who defeat them.\u201d\u00a0 He put the stick in the fire and left it there while he walked around it toward us.\u00a0 \u201cBut nothing brings glory to the victor more than to defeat the chosen of CORELLON!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His voice elevated to a basso scream as he said this, while his body\u2026inflated<\/em> to an enormous size.\u00a0 His face tore at the center, huge tusks protruding hog-like from his lower jaw.\u00a0 He\u2019d drawn his weapon and in a swift move slammed it down upon the ground before him, sending a shock-wave of force that knocked Sered and I back a good six or eight feet and set my ears ringing.\u00a0 When I got my bearings again, I rolled over fast and rocked to my feet, to find myself face to face with an Oni \u2013 a relative of the ogres, but far more dangerous.\u00a0 Where an ogre is a cruel brute of magnificent strength and ferocity, he is also intensely stupid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Oni have no such limitation.\u00a0 Their minds work as quickly as any race known, and to my recollection the only thing that kept them from dominance was that they bred too slowly to populate an empire.\u00a0 They are vicious relatives of the ogre, both belonging to the Reddalkan<\/em> family (by Shadrim nomenclature) sharing some characteristics with them \u2013 notably, size, teeth, a similarly-shaped pupil, and most notably diet.\u00a0 Ogres and Oni will eat practically anything.\u00a0 I remember one folk-tale of an ogre subsisting on a diet of basaltic lava rocks for over a year, but that was hearsay.\u00a0 I can\u2019t imagine that creature surviving taking more than one or two dumps, and even if it did, I can\u2019t imagine it being in a good enough mood \u2013 ever \u2013 to let someone escape to talk about it.\u00a0 Regardless of what they can<\/em> live on, there is no doubt about what they prefer<\/em> to live on.\u00a0 That is generally the flesh of other thinking creatures, the more culturally gifted \u00a0the better.\u00a0 Personally, I think it\u2019s a recessive inferiority complex, but it may be a cultural push to possess the power of others through consumption of their flesh.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All this academic clap-trap is certainly interesting in a college of the arcane, but when faced with a slavering example of a Reddalkan food critic, it takes on a new perspective.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Korvath had stepped closer still after the initial blast and swung a huge fist in a vicious uppercut that caught Sered as he rose from being prone, and flipped the deva head-over-heels directly over me.\u00a0 I\u2019m certain I heard his jaw snap shut at the blow, and hoped he\u2019d remembered to keep his tongue in.\u00a0 He fell unceremoniously in a heap behind me, and let out a moan of pain.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The others had mobilized, but looking around, all the tents and shacks were bursting with enemies \u2013 there were at least six orcs, perhaps more, two large war-trolls, and one enormous troll that could have been the spitting image of Veyd himself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Each had had one of its eyes gouged roughly from its socket.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I sank a curse in the spirit of Korvath, and stepped through a rift to put me near the huge Veyd look-alike.\u00a0 Flinging a spray of ice slivers at the monstrous troll, I locked his legs to the ground with a casing of ice and whispered, \u201cStay put for a while, will you?\u201d\u00a0 I snapped a curse into it for good measure, and teleported away adjacent to one of the huts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Karac had faced off against Korvath, while Sered climbed to his feet and wobbled after him.\u00a0 Deimos had backed off to a safe distance and was sizzling lightning into one of the war trolls, and Morin planted his hammer directly in the face of an orc, shattering its skull and sending a red-and-white slurry jetting out the back of its skull.\u00a0 Zatsa was streaming across the campsite, and buried its fingers in the soil some distance from the second war troll.\u00a0 Within a second, enormous roots sprung from the earth at the troll\u2019s feet, wrapping its legs in tight tendrils almost to its waist.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turning back to the fight, Zatsa nearly walked into a crackling lasso of lightning that Deimos was whipping around about himself.\u00a0 It jumped back just as Deimos let loose with an arcing blast that chained four or five of the creatures together, which utterly destroyed the rest of the orcs and raised steam jetting up from the hair and harnesses of both war trolls, vaporized perspiration making miniature cloudscapes above each.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Meanwhile Sered and Karac were engaged in a fierce fight with Korvath, who was rifting his way about the camp and flinging bolts of shadow at them both.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I settled on one of the war trolls and charged him, a long sweep of Dreaming Fire<\/em> leaving vortices of fading mist behind it.\u00a0 The troll saw the stroke coming and parried with its shield, following with a quick swing of its cudgel around the edge which caught me \u2013 stupidly \u2013 by surprise and sent me sprawling several yards away.\u00a0 My strike was not without consequence, as I saw the shield smoulder faintly where I hit, but it was nowhere near the definitive measure I\u2019d hoped for.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I couldn\u2019t spend a lot of time considering this, as for the next few seconds I spent my best efforts trying not to be pasted beneath that cudgel.\u00a0 Rolling left and right, I at last got a good moment to focus and rifted twenty or thirty feet off to buy time to get to my feet.\u00a0 I made the rift intentionally leaky, the blast where I\u2019d been was sufficient to surround the troll with a small pack of nightmare spirits, which he brushed away like stinging flies as he gave chase.\u00a0 Still, it had the desired effect, slowing him to prevent him from catching up right away.\u00a0 I saw out of the corner of my eye that Korvath was giving my two companions a drubbing, and whispered off a quick spell of prescience.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Korvath suddenly took on a ghostly halo, the result of my spell, which was in the form of himself \u2013 but himself only moments in the future, more solid where his fate would more likely bring him, effectively broadcasting to everyone exactly where to strike in anticipation of where he would be when the blow landed.\u00a0 Sered and Karac immediately shouted and swung, and from a short distance off Deimos also cut loose with a blast that encompassed both Korvath and the Veyd-lookalike, who had broken free from my bindings and had come running up on them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Karac saw the incoming avalanche of troll, and did some sort of twirling spin \u2013 much like a ballerina, though he probably wouldn\u2019t get along well with that assessment \u2013 and met the enormous troll head-on.\u00a0 Okay, well, knee-on.\u00a0 I heard the resounding snap of bone as his axe met the metal greave of the creature just below the knee, and the momentum of its charge sent it spinning away, howling with rage and agony.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I grinned with satisfaction at this, right up until I saw that cudgel again. swinging for my head.\u00a0 I ducked in time, but caught what felt like the majority of the blow on my shoulder.\u00a0\u00a0 I have to say, armor is a great thing, my leather being just mobile enough to give me the flexibility I need.\u00a0 But blunt weapons have a habit of sending their love straight through armor, doesn\u2019t really matter what kind.\u00a0 Much as the old joke about hanging goes \u2013 it isn\u2019t the rope or the fall that kills you, it\u2019s the short stop at the end \u2013 armor is great at protecting you from edges and points seeking out your innards, but it\u2019s not so hot at preventing harm from impacts.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This one sent me sprawling yet again, almost into the bonfire.\u00a0 I rifted myself towards one of the huts, and crawled inside as fast as I could, hoping against hope that it was empty.\u00a0 As luck would have it, it was.\u00a0 The dilapidated old structure was dark inside, and the holes in the roof were the ony source of light.\u00a0 I got to my knees, trying to catch my breath for a second before running out to rejoin the fray, when the light suddenly lessened.\u00a0 Looking up, I saw the face of the troll peering in through one of the holes, a grin spread wide across his crooked and decaying teeth.\u00a0 The empty socket in its face squinched down, I assume in thought.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The face vanished from the hole before I could poke its remaining eye out with a well-placed spell.\u00a0 I stood, turning to face the door, readying myself.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

And that was when it brought the building down on me.\u00a0 I remember seeing the roof and its supporting beams coming down, and no more.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 *<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As it turned out, the others had killed Korvath and driven off the giant Veyd, and eventually my own assailant.\u00a0 I\u2019d been dragged out of the building, Morin and Zatsa tending the injured.\u00a0 I was only out a few minutes, fortunately, but I felt like I could sleep for another two days.\u00a0 A deep gash had been sliced into my chest, and Morin told me I had probably broken a rib or two.\u00a0 All in all, lucky to survive.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We took stock of the area, finding little of interest or value in the camp.\u00a0 As the others looked over the gear left over, it became clear that these were no ordinary trolls and orcs.\u00a0 They\u2019d been the exalted of Gruumsh, on a raiding expedition to Arvandor, no doubt hunting elves as well as abominations.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The bodies of the enemy lay where they\u2019d fallen, and unlike mortal corpses, their blood and flesh was slowly dissolving into a bluish mist, leaving bones behind that seemed to be degrading even as we watched.\u00a0 I suppose the exalted of all the gods here had similar outcomes.\u00a0 There being little reason for decay to function here \u2013 the Astral being not a material place \u2013 I supposed that the natives were not subject to it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While the group was examining the campsite, I and Morin went to give the ship a once-over.\u00a0 We realized without much effort that the ship was not only a functioning vessel \u2013 no signs of a hull puncture to back up the claim of having foundered \u2013 it was an Astral vessel as well.\u00a0 The furled sails, when we got a closer look at them, bore the rough eye symbol of the fallen Raddalkans\u2019 patron, in styling that could have been simply slathered on in blood.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t spend a lot of time considering whether it genuinely was.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

After much discussion about time and effort, we determined the best course of action would be to take the ship and sail it back to Feyan Verdaya.\u00a0 It would serve us both as a backup vessel in case Waves of Grass<\/em> was too noticeable, and also because the inherent value in an Astral vessel itself was considerable.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

That night we slept aboard, having cast off and sailed out from shore a good ways.\u00a0 In the morning, we made for the Eladrin city and its harbor.\u00a0 How we would be received, bearing sails emblazoned with the symbol of their most dire enemy, I had no idea.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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