We set out from Al\u2019Veydra using the old portal that Zenith had set up in his rooms to the town of Dayvin, which is on the shore of lake Dal Avar, named for the city it drowned, and has a long history as an adventurer\u2019s town \u2013 lawless, but a resting place for groups exploring the ruins beneath the lake in between ventures.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A couple of hundred years ago, during the War of the Robe, one of the various nobles vying for the crown broke a dam far upstream of one of the largest cities of the Bannerlands.\u00a0 The flood enveloped the city overnight, drowning nearly its entire population.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It was this crime, which I believe the fellow we met what feels like long ages ago in the Feywild was seeking to avoid.\u00a0 As the brother of the king, he was seeking to avoid the fate of that city and save its people.\u00a0 But centuries have passed him by, similarly to the passage of my own empire.\u00a0 Much like him, I seek redemption for my own home, though unlike him, I seek a dose of revenge for the fate of my people \u2013 the criminal that ended his has long since passed to dust.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mine still sits upon a throne.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After the drowning of Dal Avar, much later, the town of Daven grew on the shores of lake Dal Avar, a town of scavengers and adventurers who seek out the drowned treasures in the towers and buildings under there.\u00a0 The usual places grew up around the lake, shanties and boats that grew old and dilapidated as the weather and time took their toll.\u00a0 The people, some of them at least, reflected the dwellings, growing old with the town.\u00a0 No one, it seemed, was born there.\u00a0 No children wandered the streets, and the youngest people around were groups of adventurers frequenting the few inns and taverns that belched small quantities of oily smoke from their chimneys.\u00a0 The smoke clung to the streets, drifting between the roofs as though afraid to stray upwards and into the winds above the streets.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The place had grown swampy, muddy, the ground here being unadjusted to the massive amounts of water, it had grown soft and swampy.\u00a0 Rushes and reeds grew all around, in between buildings and in the wet streets.\u00a0 Almost every building had a coating of moss on its north side, thick and green.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In spite of all the age and decay, the place had a friendly smell, smoke and food.\u00a0 The people smiled in welcome as we walked by.\u00a0 We saw several bands similar to ours walking about, none with quite so many scars, but quite often with a similar look in their eyes to our own.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It made me wonder, seeing these groups.\u00a0 They all seemed to share a bond of friendship among them, a camaraderie that went beyond simply sharing a common purpose.\u00a0 That something\u2026that bond, it seemed missing from Fellbane.\u00a0 We just seem\u2026wary of one another.\u00a0 I don\u2019t like it.\u00a0 My unit used to feel the sense of belonging, but among us, among Fellbane, there\u2019s an absence.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I cannot put my finger on it.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Our route would take us from Dayven to the ruins of Banner, en route to Abbor Alz and the Bonegate.\u00a0 Strange, I hadn\u2019t seen the Bonegate since my days in the Turathian army\u2026I was very curious to see what about it may have changed since I\u2019d been there.\u00a0 I suspected the mountains, as always, remain constant, but who could know what villages or other structures could surround the pass now?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
In Dayven, we rested at a local inn (the \u201cBoat and Oar\u201d) for a couple of days while gearing up for our venture.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
We visited the dry-goods store, picking up supplies for our journey, and there we inquired about where we might find gear suitable for enchantment, or found gear that might be already impressed with the nature.\u00a0 We were directed down to a shop on the shore, a great squat tower of stone.\u00a0 Perhaps twenty feet in height, it was surrounded by a half-moon dock that extended out into the lake waters.\u00a0 The Gilded Anchor it was called, and the sign was a great anchor that seemed to be coated with what might have been gold.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Inside, the building was unremarkable, stone walls to match the outside, divided with another stone wall that ran down the center of the room across from the door.\u00a0 It had an archway of its own, and a wooden countertop that ran parallel to it.\u00a0 An iron stove in the corner threw off a modicum of heat.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A small brass bell sat on the counter, which was otherwise clear of decoration.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Karac reached up and rang the little bell, which had a surprisingly clear note.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
From the archway a tall, thin dunkel<\/em> emerged, carrying a thin clay pipe that oozed blue smoke.\u00a0 His crisp speech was soft.\u00a0 \u201cHelp you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The dwarf squinted, shaking his head.\u00a0 \u201cFigures it\u2019d be more of them.\u00a0 Just took our leave of Dex for a while, gotta be more of \u2018em.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked back up.\u00a0 \u201cYep, you can help.\u00a0 I need me a throwing axe.\u00a0 Enchanted if you got it, enchant it if you don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, hmm.\u00a0 I am Huelbar.\u00a0 You are?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cKarac Gravelvoice.\u00a0 That matter much?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cIt would if you were intending to purchase something from me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered stepped up.\u00a0 \u201cPlease pardon my companion\u2019s gruffness.\u00a0 His people are very direct.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m familiar with his people\u2026and yours, you are\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSered.\u00a0 We are\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFellbane, yes, I know.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow did you\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cSmall town, not far from Al\u2019Veydra, return of the originators of the group after eighteen months\u2019 mysterious absence, yes, yes, yes.\u00a0 Shall we deal?\u00a0 If I\u2019m not mistaken, I see some of my brother\u2019s things among you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered looked around.\u00a0 \u201cI don\u2019t understand\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDeepar of Delver\u2019s Lantern is my brother.\u00a0 Is this not gear you acquired in his establishment?\u201d\u00a0 He pointed to a few things among us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDeepar?\u00a0 Yes, yes!\u00a0 We were just there a few months ago!\u201d\u00a0 Sered stepped up to the counter.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, we also know your other brother, Jindar of the Seven-Pillared Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShame.\u00a0 Had you mentioned it earlier, I might have arranged a discount.\u201d\u00a0 He looked back to Karac.\u00a0 \u201cA throwing axe, you say?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac turned his frown back from Sered and focused it on Huelbar.\u00a0 Nodded twice.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huelbar turned and moved back into the darkness through the archway.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n From the back room, a great deal of clatter began to arise.\u00a0 A cacophony of metal on metal made its way out to us.\u00a0 Huelbar\u2019s voice drifted out, \u201cHorace!\u00a0 Give me that poker from behind the stove!\u201d\u00a0 A hammering of iron echoed out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, not that one!\u00a0 The other!\u00a0 The one with the meat on it!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A few moments later, he came out, completely calm and composed.\u00a0 He laid a bundle on the table, silvery cloth around something.\u00a0 \u201cI have this old hatchet, Gorlen the woodcutter used to use this one.\u00a0 To use the turn of phrase in your language, he would swear at it more than by it.\u00a0 Will this suit your needs?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac opened the wrap, and uncovered a well-worn axe with an oak handle and steel wrappings.\u00a0 Its head had a stylized hole cut from it, the kind that generates a whistle when it flies through the air.\u00a0 Karac hefted it several times, made a mock of throwing it at Bingo, and turned back.\u00a0 \u201cIt\u2019ll do.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd what would you like to offer for it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac looked a little confused.\u00a0 \u201cGold do?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGold?\u201d\u00a0 Huelbar seemed disdainful of the thought.\u00a0 \u201cYou have nothing else?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat, won\u2019t be good enough?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huelbar looked resigned.\u00a0 \u201cI suppose it will have to be, won\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They talked figures for a moment, and Karac dropped a small pile of coins on the counter.\u00a0 Huelbar took up a box from the floor, and quickly swept the money into it from the countertop with a wooden stick.\u00a0 I noticed he was careful not to touch any of the coins.\u00a0 He quickly reached the box through the archway, where something or someone snatched it from his hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He turned back to us, his deep skin reflecting a little from light in the windows.\u00a0 \u201cDo you others need something, or is your dour friend it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I stepped up.\u00a0 \u201cYes, please.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked me up and down.\u00a0 \u201cThe change is almost done, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n How in the hells did he know?\u00a0 \u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe power is on you, and you are almost finished with the changing.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Nothing left, so I just went with it.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll need armor, that won\u2019t get in the way.\u00a0 This\u2026\u201d I pulled my chain shirt from my pack and laid it on the counter, \u201c\u2026will get in the way.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He nodded, and held up the links, looking at the centerpiece.\u00a0 The age-whitened circle glinted back at him.\u00a0 \u201cYes, I think I might have something suitable.\u201d\u00a0 He walked into the back for a few moments before returning with a large parchment bundle tied with twine.\u00a0 He untied the bow on the package, laying it open in front of us.\u00a0 A harness of leather armor rested in it, with clasps of iron cast in the form of small war-chariots with horses for the hooks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis seems more like something that would work for you, no?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I looked it over.\u00a0 Leather, so I could move more freely, and I could already feel a bit of the dweomer through my hands as I inspected it.\u00a0 I nodded.\u00a0 \u201cYes, this will do.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He swept my old chain shirt from view before a second passed.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the other?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I held up the bow.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ve had this for a very long while, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked at it.\u00a0 \u201cAnd its former owner certainly has little use for it now.\u201d\u00a0 He arched an eyebrow at me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI suppose that\u2019s true.\u201d\u00a0 I set it on the counter.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He picked it up, plucked at the string lightly, tested the weight of it.\u00a0 \u201cAnd what are you seeking for this?\u00a0 A blade?\u00a0 Wand?\u00a0 An axe?\u201d\u00a0 With this last he looked down at Karac, who was over by the stove lining up a piece of firewood for a good chop.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cA blade would be ideal, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He took the bow and set it gently down, and from beneath the counter drew another bundle.\u00a0 Some sort of reptile skin, with a leather belt clasped around it.\u00a0 He undid the clasp and opened it to reveal a sheathed dagger.\u00a0 Drawing it, I checked its thin, wickedly-sharp blade.\u00a0 After giving my thumb a good slice, I held the thing up to the light while sucking on the bleeding wound.\u00a0 The hilt was some form of stone, probably marble, while the blade was made of a silvery metal with a greenish tint \u2013 similar to the adamantium blades of the dunkels, but with a touch of the feywild about it.\u00a0 As with the armor, I could sense the aura of magic within it already, and looking at the runes engraved on its surface I picked up that this was a Portal<\/em> Blade<\/em>, one used for enhancing short dimensional hops, and suitable as a focus for more complicated rituals.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I set the blade down and looked back at the bow.\u00a0 I\u2019d had the bow for such a long while\u2026and it had saved me on numerous occasions.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd perhaps it may be time for it to save someone else, don\u2019t you think?\u201d\u00a0 Huergar leaned over the dagger, looking at it.\u00a0 \u201cI think this will suit you, but perhaps you think otherwise, hmm?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I made the decision months ago, this would only be one more step.\u00a0 Breaking with the past might be the only way to forge a future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll take it, yes.\u00a0 Thank you.\u201d\u00a0 I pulled the dagger from the counter and stuck it in my belt.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huergar leaned the bow against the wall behind him.\u00a0 \u201cNow, gentlemen, if there will be nothing else\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOne moment, please.\u201d\u00a0 I turned to the others.\u00a0 \u201cAre you sure we\u2019re good with the trade I wish to make here?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered looked at me.\u00a0 \u201cWe have no use for the extra blade, or the scale armor.\u00a0 You need the implement you are seeking, do it.\u201d\u00a0 Karac looked over from where he\u2019d split six or eight slices off the wood he had been slicing at.\u00a0 He shrugged from over there, then tossed the bigger piece in the air and with a quick move took another thin bit of kindling off of it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I turned back to Huergar.\u00a0 \u201cI am seeking a rod, an enchanted rod suitable for a warlock.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He raised both eyebrows this time.\u00a0 \u201cWhat have you to trade?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I drew forth the scale armor we\u2019d brought along.\u00a0 It had been around for a long while, since Ihnbharan, and no one had taken it up.\u00a0 I unrolled it on the counter for Huergar to have a look.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019ve already brought armor today,\u201d he said, nonplussed.\u00a0 \u201cDo you have anything else?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Well, guess this was going to be a little more of an issue.\u00a0 I drew out the sheath that held the longsword we\u2019d had for a bit.\u00a0 It was not visible \u2013 that was its nature.\u00a0 It remained out of sight until it saw use, and was a perfect weapon for those wishing to remain concealed in their attempt until the last minute.\u00a0 I drew it and laid it upon the surface between us.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huergar took an interest almost immediately.\u00a0 \u201cOohh, now this is interesting\u2026\u201d\u00a0 He held it up, which looked a bit strange.\u00a0 \u201cA rod, you say?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, please, if you have one available.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOne moment.\u201d\u00a0 He looked for a few moments at my hands.\u00a0 Turned back to his archway and snapped his fingers with a quick motion of his hand.\u00a0 Raised his open hand, and caught something that flew out of the dark to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThis, perhaps?\u201d\u00a0 He laid a short, stocky length of wood down.\u00a0 It was wrapped in silver wire, with tiny inlaid leaves up and down its length.\u00a0 \u201cIt should complement the blade, I think.\u00a0 Crafted from Feywild white oak, given from an oak from the grove of the White Tree.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor the blade?\u201d\u00a0 I pointed to the spot next to the rod where the cloaked weapon lay.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThe blade, and the armor, I should think.\u201d\u00a0 Huergar motioned to both objects.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat seems a little pricey of an exchange, I think.\u201d\u00a0 I turned to the others.\u00a0 \u201cAnyone of you need something else?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered held out a hand.\u00a0 \u201cPerhaps I do. \u00a0Huergar, do you have access to any tattoos?\u00a0 I have heard of enchanted skin paints that can be very useful to me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huergar thought for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cHmm.\u00a0 No, I don\u2019t.\u201d\u00a0 He looked back at me.\u00a0 Then back to Sered.\u00a0 \u201cBut perhaps I know someone who can help you.\u00a0 What manner of inscription were you seeking?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like to have a knife on my arm, here \u2013 something I can produce a dagger from, preferably one with some enchantment on it, so I don\u2019t have to be unarmed where I travel.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huergar considered this for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cWith such a tattoo, and this,\u201d he gestured to the rod, \u201c\u2026would you consider that a fair trade?\u201d\u00a0 I thought it over, and nodded.\u00a0 He drew a small wooden chip from his pocket, and walked over to one side, closer to the stove.\u00a0 \u201cMister dwarf, would you please light one of those and bring it to me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac lit one of the small strips and brought it to him.\u00a0 Huergar produced a small stick of blue wax and melted a splash of it onto the chip.\u00a0 Once enough was accumulated, he pressed a sigil hanging around his neck into the congealing liquid.\u00a0 \u201cTake this to Thall, who has a small shop just uphill.\u00a0 He will help you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I took the rod from him, and hung it on my belt.\u00a0 I cast one last look at the bow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Huergar followed my glance.\u00a0 \u201cDon\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll see to it that it finds a good home.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I nodded, and we departed.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Outside, we paused a moment.\u00a0 I handed my quiver over to Bingo.\u00a0 \u201cWon\u2019t be needing these, I guess.\u00a0 Feel free.\u00a0 Up the hill a ways probably means there.\u201d\u00a0 I pointed to a rough stone building, solidly built if unprofessionally mortared, with a roof made from a mishmash of tile and thatch.\u00a0 It was half-hidden through the pines, with a trail of grey smoke coming out from one side.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We strolled up to the place \u2013 which took considerably longer than I at first surmised.\u00a0 As it turns out, the distance combined with the size of the place had given it an illusion of proximity which deceived me.\u00a0 The place had a doorway that was probably twelve feet in height, and was comprised of split and bound tree boles.\u00a0 A huge handle made of iron, bolted to the doorway, rested at eye level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac looked grimly at all of this.\u00a0 \u201cCan\u2019t say as I\u2019m too comfortable with this Thall, and I haven\u2019t even met him.\u201d\u00a0 He fingered his new axe, shoved crookedly into his belt.\u00a0 \u201cMight be I\u2019d have reason to use this new toy here, hope he doesn\u2019t give me a reason to.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered, tallest of us, stepped to the door and banged on it a few times.\u00a0 A muffled voice inside responded, \u201cYes, come in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Entering, the place was dark \u2013 only two small windows, each of which was partially obscured by brik-a-brak and highly piled junk.\u00a0 An oversized table of sap-oozing wood with two matching chairs dominated the center of the room, and a stone hearth with a few smoking logs on it occupied the corner of the far wall.\u00a0 To the right side, shelves and small tables were covered with bottles and tools of a variety of sorts.\u00a0 The left was almost entirely books and scrolls, stacked neck-high to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sitting in one of the chairs was a giant.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Allow me to correct myself \u2013 it was an ettin.\u00a0 Two-headed, the stories of their origin lies in a strange experiment with the fomorians, and where members of single-craniumed races tend to at times be conflicted, ettins take this to a whole new level.\u00a0 This one was seated in a chair, arms resting on the table.\u00a0 Its right head wore a monocle of several layers of depth, and its right hand held a long, quill-like tool which it occasionally dipped in a pot of what I could only presume to be ink.\u00a0 With this hand, it was inscribing a tattoo on the left arm, which lay across the table and held in its ginger grasp an open book of normal size, which the left head was reading from with rapt attention.\u00a0 The left head wore glasses, and both heads were devoid of all but a few strands of hair.\u00a0 A large oil lantern provided light for the two of them to see by.\u00a0 The thumb of the left hand deftly flipped a page as we were opening the door.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The place smelled of old sweat and rotten food.\u00a0 Not overpoweringly, but strongly enough to know that staying for a great length of time would be at the very least irritating.\u00a0 The ettin\u2019s skin was a pallid grey, with light brown blotches, and almost its entire left side was covered with tattoos of varying intricacy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As we entered, the left head looked up from its book to look us over.\u00a0 \u201cOhh, visitors!\u00a0 Thall, loo\u2026OW!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWell hold still, you page-flipping pansy!\u00a0 I know, visitors, you fool, I told them to come in, or didn\u2019t you hear me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, sorry, you\u2019re right.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The right head looked over, and its monocle flipped open to show another eye beneath it.\u00a0 \u201cWhat can we do for you, strangers?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, did you come looking for books?!?\u201d\u00a0 The left head chattered, retrieving its arm from the table and slapping its hand on a thigh as wide as Karac\u2019s torso.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cShut up, Thule, or I\u2019ll pop you one.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Thall, shutting up now.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered looked across at the tattooed arm.\u00a0 \u201cYou do good work.\u00a0 I was recommended you by Huergar, who said you could help me with a tattoo.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thule muttered, \u201cNo one ever wants to buy books.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall gave him a sidewise glance before returning his attention to Sered.\u00a0 \u201cGood man, that Huergar, always trust him to help me find new business.\u00a0 Whatcha thinking of?\u00a0 \u2018Mother\u2019?\u00a0 One of yer friends here got a fancy for you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, something more utilitarian, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAnd?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d like an enchantment laid on it, and I\u2019d like it on my arm, here.\u201d\u00a0 He pulled his sleeve up on his right arm.\u00a0 \u201cSomething from which I can recall a blade, should I find myself in need.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall nodded.\u00a0 \u201cNot going to be a simple job, then.\u00a0 I can probably manage that.\u00a0 Might even be able to tie a bit of a keen edge to it, as well, if you don\u2019t mind it being a little more closely linked to your blood than just skin deep.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat would be acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow big a blade?\u00a0 You\u2019ve got quite an arm there, I could fit all manner of things on it.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered pointed at the dagger on my belt. \u201cAbout that size would do, just the forearm.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall snapped his fingers at me and gestured.\u00a0 I drew my blade and handed it to him, hilt-first.\u00a0 He gripped it in his first two fingers and thumb, snapping the monocle down to get a closer view.\u00a0 \u201cHmm.\u00a0 Yes, all right, I can do something like that. Got coin?\u201d\u00a0 He looked up to Sered as he said this last.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered offered the wooden chip, the blue wax seal standing out even in the dim room.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThat lousy\u2026I hate these things.\u201d\u00a0 Thall took it, looked it over.\u00a0 \u201cAll right, he\u2019s good for it.\u00a0 If you want we can start now.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered shrugged.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He handed me back the blade.\u00a0 \u201cNice knife, by the way.\u00a0 Going to name it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I hadn\u2019t even thought of that.\u00a0 \u201cSuppose so, but don\u2019t know what yet.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAll right, you, make yourself comfortable, this is going to take a while.\u201d\u00a0 He gestured at the table.\u00a0 Sered climbed up via the other chair, and I passed his pack up to him to lean against.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cExcuse me, how long will this take?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall looked at Sered\u2019s arm.\u00a0 \u201c\u2019Bout two hours,\u201d he looked to Sered\u2019s face.\u00a0 \u201cUnless you want to get picky about colors or somethin?\u201d\u00a0 Sered shook his head.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOkay, thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I walked around to the other side, where Thule had resumed reading.\u00a0 \u201cExcuse me, but I would be interested in a book.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The ettin\u2019s eyes brightened with a flash.\u00a0 \u201cOh fantastic!\u00a0 What would you like?\u00a0 I have all sorts of great books!\u00a0 No one ever wants to really read my things here, this is just spectacular!\u00a0 Which can I help you fin\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I interrupted him.\u00a0 \u201cDemons, specifically.\u00a0 In particular I\u2019m trying to learn about possessed items, idols perhaps, and what they might be capable of or used for.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thule squinted, looked back over at Thall, who was already lining up ink-pots and some trays of metallic powder next to Sered\u2019s outstretched arm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t stand up, forgive me, but yes.\u00a0 See that shelf over there?\u201d\u00a0 He gestured with the book towards one of the bookshelves.\u00a0 I walked over to the one I thought he meant and pointed.\u00a0 He nodded back.\u00a0 \u201cSixth one up from the floor, on the right.\u00a0 That rolled scroll, the one fastened with blue fabric.\u201d\u00a0 I found the one he was referring to and pulled it down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I unrolled it and looked it over.\u00a0 To my surprise it was from Bael Turath \u2013 it must have been from my own time.\u00a0 I felt strangely nostalgic at this point, and for a moment felt a pang of genuine homesickness.\u00a0 Looking it over, it was part of a treatise on binding demons into objects, so it seemed right up my alley.\u00a0 Complete would have been better, but this was a big step ahead of the nothing I would otherwise be working with.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYes, this is good \u2013 do you have others like it, or the rest of this one?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, I\u2019m afraid not, that one came only in its current state.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat would you like for it?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thule scratched his chin for a minute with the corner of the book he\u2019d been reading, indecision playing a visible battle across his face.\u00a0 \u201cUmm\u2026one gold piece?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I thought this over for a moment, putting my best poker face on.\u00a0 \u201cHmm\u2026that seems quite expensive, but it is a rare text\u2026it hurts to say this, but okay, I can do that price.\u201d\u00a0 I fished out a gold from my pouch and pressed it into the ettin\u2019s large extended hand.\u00a0 He immediately gave it a bite, and when he was convinced of its reality turned to Thall.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHa!\u00a0 See??\u00a0 A WHOLE gold piece!\u00a0 All that painting you do, and here I am making money!\u00a0 HA!\u00a0 No more rotten potatoes for us!\u201d\u00a0 His left leg shivered, bouncing the both of them in their chair.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall didn\u2019t even adjust his head, just swiveled his eyes over to look at his other self before returning his attention to the task at hand.\u00a0 \u201cIf you don\u2019t shut up and hold still, I\u2019m going to put your eye out with this needle, Thule.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thule immediately went still, with an expression of fear that would have brought tears to the eyes of a child.\u00a0 \u201cYes, Thall, I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t mean to interrupt, I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 Can I bring you some tea?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall sighed with resignation.\u00a0 \u201cNo, Thule, I\u2019m busy working, so you can\u2019t bring me tea.\u00a0 Just don\u2019t be so enthusiastic when I\u2019m doing something delicate, please.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thule smacked himself lightly in the head.\u00a0 \u201cOf course, I can\u2019t reach the tea, I\u2019m sorry.\u00a0 I\u2019ll try to be calmer, Thall.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall just shook his head and resumed his work on Sered\u2019s arm.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We all milled around, looking at the books some more, and Thule managed to earn a pair of additional golds before Sered\u2019s arm was done.\u00a0 After the second, he actually cried a little with the joy of it, but he was very careful not to let his excitement result in too much movement.\u00a0 Thall would just occasionally shake his head with exasperation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOkay, that should about do it.\u201d\u00a0 He handed Sered a surprisingly clean rag.\u00a0 \u201cKeep it wrapped up until tomorrow night.\u00a0 It\u2019s going to feel a little funny, and you\u2019re going to be hungry as hell tonight, because it has to build the dagger from what it can draw from you while the enchantment sets in.\u00a0 Just eat whatever the mood demands, and it should be ready on its own.\u00a0 You\u2019ll know how to trigger it once it\u2019s set.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered tied the wrap around his arm and let his sleeve fall back in place.\u00a0 Small spots of blood seeped through the cloth, but they didn\u2019t seem to bother him at all.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I walked back to Thule.\u00a0 \u201cBefore we go, do you know anyone in town who I might be able to consult for more information along these lines?\u201d\u00a0 I waggled the scroll in my hand.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026I would have said Jasrim Hook, but he hasn\u2019t been in town for at least six months,\u201d I cursed myself for being a fool and not asking him back in Al\u2019Veydra.\u00a0 \u201cNext best person would be Bad Dray, he\u2019s got a home down in the lake, not much of a wizard, but he knows a lot.\u00a0 I occasionally go to him for help when I get a book that I can\u2019t read.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cBad Dray?\u00a0 How will I know him?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHe lives in a boat called Amanthea<\/em>, it\u2019s just a few hundred yards from the Boat and Oar inn.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed in the general direction of the inn.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOkay, that\u2019s easy enough to find.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Thall rapped on the table.\u00a0 \u201cTake a bottle or two with you.\u00a0 The man likes his drink.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Evening was already setting in as we left Thall and Thule\u2019s home.\u00a0 Sered shook his arm a bit.\u00a0 \u201cHe\u2019s right, I\u2019m famished.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve got to get in touch with this fellow he told me of, but that can wait until tomorrow.\u201d\u00a0 I offered.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac pulled one side of his moustache.\u00a0 \u201cI could eat.\u00a0 Why don\u2019t we go have a night in the inn, and get started on beers for the night?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We all agreed this sounded like one of the better ideas of the day, and returned to the inn.\u00a0 The evening passed calmly, happily, and with plenty of reasonably good wine and beer that we all ended up going to bed with a rather optimistic outlook.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I was drifting to sleep, I wondered how much longer it would be before the change I\u2019d embarked upon at Sybarron\u2019s beckoning finally completed.\u00a0 Was this a key to the prophecy I\u2019d so long ago ignored, the one that cost my people our empire, our future?\u00a0 It wouldn\u2019t be long, I knew, before it would complete out.\u00a0 The arcane nature of my skills, that I\u2019d learned ages ago when I first joined the Cairn Jale, were coming to a head, twisting, reforming, taking tighter hold of the lines of power extended to me through my arrangement with the Fey Court \u2013 now with Shan Doresh \u2013 and through my subtle tie to the infernal bonds of my ancestry.\u00a0 I could feel them strengthening, almost day to day.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Riftspar.\u00a0 That\u2019s what I would name the dagger I\u2019d acquired today.\u00a0 Riftspar.\u00a0 It just felt right.\u00a0 And its companion, the Feywild rod, that I would call Crownfire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I entered Dream with a smile on my face.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If I dreamed, I don\u2019t recall, but I slept well and fully, awaking refreshed and ready.\u00a0 We broke our fast with eggs, ham, rashers of bacon and a hot coffee mixed with some sort of bark tea from local trees.\u00a0 Overall it was bitter enough to wake you, and although it was obviously not pure coffee it was quite good.\u00a0 It had an acidic taste, not unlike the smell of a swamp in fall when the acorns have stained the water black.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After we\u2019d eaten our fill, we set out.\u00a0 I didn\u2019t relish the thought of the rest of the group laying eyes on this idol, but there was nothing to do about it \u2013 they seemed determined to accompany me, and in the end it would make little difference to me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Finding the Amanthea<\/em> was no trouble at all, it was just up the shore as Thule had said.\u00a0 Sered and Karac both accompanied me, quietly muttering amongst themselves.<\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n Amanthea <\/em>was a rundown old boat, chained to shore \u2013 quite the expensive property here, to live on the lake.\u00a0 His reputation for being a drunkard was well-deserved, as there were crates full of empty bottles of all sorts sitting beside the path leading to the short walkway of his vessel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When I walked towards it, a set of four big mastiffs rose around the pathway close to the boat and set up a howling bark at me.\u00a0 They were all chained, or I suspect I\u2019d have had to fight them off.\u00a0 I fingered Crownfire thoughtfully, but held back from drawing it up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou lot!\u00a0 Shut yer lousy traps!\u201d\u00a0 A tall, unshaven man stood on the deck of the boat, holding a cocked-and-loaded crossbow.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat the bloody hell do you want?\u201d\u00a0 He pointed the weapon at me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I raised my hands empty at my side.\u00a0 \u201cInformation.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He nodded and raised the weapon vertical.\u00a0 \u201cCome aboard.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We walked up the board and onto the little boat, which creaked and rolled slightly.\u00a0 He brought me into a small room just inside.\u00a0 A wagon-wheel stood in for a table, and the ledges to either side were stacked with books and scrolls packed tightly in the small space.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDrink?\u201d\u00a0 The man had a salt-and-pepper beard which hadn\u2019t seen a razor in a week or three, and his formerly-black hair was also showing the marks of age in it.\u00a0 His nose had been broken on more than one occasion, it drifted to the left on its long journey out from his face.\u00a0 He was holding a ceramic jug from which he\u2019d popped the cork and poured himself a cup.\u00a0 He was holding poise on a second cup, waiting for my answer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo thank you, filled up at the inn.\u201d\u00a0 He nodded and plopped into the seat across the wagon wheel from me.\u00a0 Karac and Sered both stood behind me, silent.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bad Dray balanced his cup on the outer rim of the wheel and leaned back in his chair.\u00a0 The wheel had no surface, so anything on it would have to balance on the rim or rest across the spars.\u00a0 \u201cSo, what kind of information can I supply you with?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d hoped you could enlighten me about an idol, whose origin I am trying to establish.\u00a0 I want to find out what it is and what it does.\u201d\u00a0 I pulled the scroll from my pouch and rested it on the center of the table.\u00a0 \u201cI purchased this from Thule yesterday, and while it has been enlightening in the sense of the general nature of things, it has been far from specific.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cGot this idol on you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I produced a black velvet bundle from my bag and unwrapped it, setting the mithril idol on the table between us.\u00a0 I heard Sered take a breath, but neither he nor Karac said anything.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI recovered this from a portion of the Feywild, but I suspect its ties are more closely aligned with the Abyss\u2026and I would like to find out anything I can of it.\u201d\u00a0 Next to it, I placed a stack of five gold coins, and from my bag produced a large bottle of Wynter\u2019s Fall<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bad Dray grunted, looking at the bottle and coins.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019m talking about,\u201d he hefted the bottle and vanished it into a cabinet.\u00a0 The coins went as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He picked the idol up and slipped on a pair of glasses \u2013 both lenses of which were broken.\u00a0 Probably suffered those breaks at the same time he broke his nose, I suppose.\u00a0 How he could see through them remained a mystery, but if they helped him somehow, I had no objection.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cInteresting.\u00a0 Going to take some time, I think.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow much time?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, I think just till this afternoon should do.\u00a0 You should probably leave it with me, come back before sunset.\u201d\u00a0 He set it back down on the table.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I wasn\u2019t entirely comfortable with this, and it must have shown.\u00a0 \u201cLook, I didn\u2019t get beachfront property by double-crossing people.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I supposed he was right.\u00a0 I nodded, and we departed.\u00a0 The other two didn\u2019t speak of where I got the idol, and I didn\u2019t feel it necessary to broach the topic.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The day went smoothly, we picked up the supplies we needed.\u00a0 Our journey, if all on horseback, would take us something approaching two months, assuming everything went smoothly.\u00a0 This was midwinter though, and things rarely go smoothly in the unpredictable weather of this season.\u00a0 I bought us all mounts \u2013 the inn and distillery had built up a good income in my absence, and I had plenty of cash to reinvest as well as some to keep for myself.\u00a0 Once the packs and bags were loaded, and I had the innkeep double-check all the horses before our departure in the morning.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before sunset, we returned to the Amanthea<\/em> to collect the information I sought.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I found Bad Dray in the small room, with several empty bottles on the floor and a good bender tied on already.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cTrying to curse me, are you?\u201d\u00a0 He slurred over his wet lower lip.\u00a0 \u201cSic the demons of hell on me?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I frowned, and looked more closely around the room.\u00a0 The idol was on the \u2018table\u2019, resting on the axle hub.\u00a0 My cloth was next to it.\u00a0 \u201cNo, not at all.\u00a0 I came with exactly the need I described.\u00a0 What have you found?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI used it, all right.\u00a0 Found out quite a bit.\u00a0 Made me sleep, it did.\u00a0 I set a candle and focused it, and it had me sleep.\u00a0 Slept like it was a whole night.\u00a0 Woke up barely a minute after I went down, but lasted a whole night\u2019s worth of dreaming.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t see the problem, so far, please\u2026\u201d\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t sure where he was going with this.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cOh, sleep\u2019s not the problem, I felt plenty rested.\u00a0 But they<\/em> are in there<\/em>.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed his empty cup at the idol.\u00a0 Looked into it, then up at me.\u00a0 \u201cGot another bottle of that brew?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I extracted another and handed it to him.\u00a0 He dropped the cup, popped off the clasp of the bottle, and swigged straight from it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDemons, it\u2019s a conduit.\u00a0 A gate.\u00a0 They wouldn\u2019t leave me alone, everywhere I went in my dreams, there they were.\u00a0 They were begging me to build it, got pretty angry too, eventually, started ordering me, threatening me to build it.\u00a0 I actually laid down a little foundation in there.\u201d\u00a0 He was waving the bottle at the idol.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand, they?\u00a0 A gate?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He lowered the bottle and paused for a deep breath.\u00a0 \u201cOkay, here you go.\u201d\u00a0 He raised a hand and looked at it, holding it steady to concentrate.\u00a0 \u201cWhen you use it, you pull a whole night\u2019s sleep into one moment of time.\u00a0 You dream, you rest, you wake up fine.\u00a0 But there\u2019s a link there, a bit of their essence attached to this jigger.\u201d\u00a0 He motioned to the idol again.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cThey get you to build a gate, while you\u2019re in your dreams, see?\u00a0 I think when you complete it, it isn\u2019t just dream \u2013 you\u2019ll be building this gate in your own mind, and they can come through then.\u201d\u00a0 His accent had become very thick with the drink.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow many times do you think might be safe?\u201d\u00a0 I asked, while I draped the velvet cloth back over the idol and wrapped it up.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t know, probably different for any of you lot.\u00a0 But when it\u2019s done, it\u2019ll be the same \u2013 they\u2019ll be able to use you as a gate and open the path between you and the Abyss.\u00a0 Whether you\u2019d live through it or not, can\u2019t say.\u00a0 In any case, I don\u2019t imagine it\u2019ll be too much fun.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I stacked up five sets of ten gold coins for him on the rim of the wheel, and revolved it around so they rested in front of him.\u00a0 His eyes grew a little wider at seeing them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019d appreciate it if you didn\u2019t remember our meeting, or having seen this,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWith the booze I\u2019ll be puttin\u2019 away this evening on some of this money, be lucky if I remember you at all,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I socked away the idol in my bag and rose with a nod.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So\u2026this little idol turns out to have been more dangerous than I assumed.\u00a0 I was glad I had been keeping it shrouded rather than handling it directly.\u00a0 This also gave me ideas on how it might be useful \u2013 though I would not want to use it much myself, the ability to create a portal into the Abyss could be of great value to someone<\/em>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n For instance, if the Infernal Legions wished to launch a strike into the Abyss through a surprise path, they might have a minion use this idol to construct the gate, destroy the demons that initially come through, and then funnel a counterstrike invasion through the created gate.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which could be very useful in drawing away forces from a power base at a key moment in time.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Valuable indeed.\u00a0 An ambitious fiend might also pay a great deal for something like this, either in favors or more hard currency.\u00a0 And once I found out which demon and where it was within that churning maelstrom, this little object\u2019s value could escalate further.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The evening passed, once again safely and with little fanfare.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We traveled out of Dayven the next morning shortly after dawn, the chill air biting hard at exposed skin and our breath leaving in clouds of fine mist.\u00a0 South we\u2019d go, some fifteen to twenty days before reaching the ruins of Banner, then on further into the Hastwith Desert, another two weeks to reach Tarsis, city of a Thousand Tents.\u00a0 After that would be almost thirty days more before reaching Abbor Alz.\u00a0 I found myself wishing for a few of my brighter lieutenants from the Cairn Jale\u2026our travel rituals would have made short work of this journey.\u00a0 But that magic was already denied me on this new path, so we would go as best we could.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A day into the journey we found ourselves confronted with a broken-down wagon in the road, and a family of people clustered around it.\u00a0 A woman came around the back and saw us, and immediately set up an alarmed cry, \u201cOh my gods, bandits!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bingo broke off and started off into the woods to the left, and I kept my eyes wide, looking around us.\u00a0 Before too long I realized that it was us she was referring to, not some batch of highwaymen that might have startled her.\u00a0 Sered came to the realization about the same time I did, and raised his hands, calling out \u201cNo need for alarm, ma\u2019am, we aren\u2019t here to rob you.\u00a0 How can we help?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The woman had brought her husband out from behind the wagon, and was sheltering herself behind him.\u00a0 We approached slowly, keeping an eye out.\u00a0 We got to within about twenty yards of the wagon, and Sered called out \u201cLook out, ambush right!\u201d\u00a0 At the same time, I realized the children at the wagon\u2026weren\u2019t children.\u00a0 They were gnomes, dressed in little children\u2019s clothes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The gnomes charged, closing ground between us.\u00a0 The woman \u2013 a man, actually, now that he\u2019d broken disguise \u2013 and her \u2018husband\u2019 had drawn weapons and were following the gnomes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered, Karac and I charged up the right to the trees where Sered was pointing out two men waiting with bows.\u00a0 Their arrows went wide as we moved in.\u00a0 I got there first, sliding up alongside both and uttering a phrase I\u2019d been given by Shan Doresh.\u00a0 A vortex of grey mist and chips of ice sprang up around me, and both men vanished in an instant \u2013 banished to Taer Dian Loresh.\u00a0 I dashed back to the cover of my companions, and I heard the soft susurrus of the icy wind slowing down behind me.\u00a0 Both men appeared moments later, hair gone completely white and their faces pallid with fear.\u00a0 I could see tiny slices drawing blood on the face of the closer one, his haunted eyes barely registering the pain of the lacerations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the gnomes had pulled out a tiny drum, and was beating a hasty tune on it as he closed with us.\u00a0 Both Sered and Karac recognized this as a focus of some kind, and lit into the tiny humanoid like a rabid dog.\u00a0 The creature\u2019s drumming arm was actually severed as it closed, Sered meeting it head on with a long connecting swing from his greatsword.\u00a0 The little limb tumbled through the frosty late-afternoon air, leaving small streamers of blood behind it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A man on horseback rode out of the woods nearer to the wagon, calling out \u201c\u2019Ere, boys, pull away, get out get out!\u00a0 These aren\u2019t easy marks!\u201d\u00a0 Half his face appeared skinless, muscles and tendons working in the crisp air for all to see.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered saw the fellow riding out, and with a rush of swirling robes he closed the many yards in a mere instant, grabbing the gang-leader and then pulling him along on his semi-substantial path some distance away.\u00a0 The half-faced bandit leader was pulled bodily from the saddle and Sered dropped him on the ground where his vaporous charge ended.\u00a0 Seeing the setup, I immediately used Riftspar to cut a hole in reality, stepping through and out directly behind the bandit leader.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When the man looked up at me emerging above him with weapons in hand, his face twisted up into a grimace and he called out \u201cParlay?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered connected with a swing just as the word made its way out, and anything else the man was going to say was expelled in an enormous *huff* of breath from the force of the blow.\u00a0 The man\u2019s armor kept him from being cut cleanly in two, but the force of the blow drove him to his knees.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I approached to deliver a follow up to his skull with the hilt of Riftspar, but the man had pulled another of those small drums out.\u00a0 He caught my eyes with his, \u201cI would have parlayed!\u201d he shouted as he completed the little ditty on the drum.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When he finished it, the ground beneath us rumbled fiercely, and it took all I could to remain on my feet.\u00a0 Around us, four great insects, each probably a full arms-length in width and who knows how long they were \u2013 most of their bodies remained below ground \u2013 burrowed up out of the earth around us.\u00a0 I saw one almost immediately spasm off to the left side of the road, two of Bingo\u2019s arrows protruding from its head and thorax.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Karac, I couldn\u2019t even see \u2013 he was surrounded by humans and one of the insects.\u00a0 A third was about halfway between the wagon and Sered, looking around and making way towards him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I reached down and grabbed the man by the jerkin and held Riftspar up to his eye.\u00a0 \u201cCall them off!\u00a0 Call them off!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He shook his head and waved his hands helplessly, \u201cI already did!\u00a0 You kept attacking us!\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Frustrated, I reversed my grip on the dagger and brought the hilt sharply against the bandit\u2019s skull.\u00a0 He collapsed like a pile of limp rags.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As if on queue, the bugs re-burrowed and dispersed, and the remainder of the bandits quickly took up the chorus about their leader being down.\u00a0 They made best speed away, but not before Karac and Sered could drop another of their number.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We bound the ring-leader, and harnessed up their horses and left the wagon \u2013 it was truly broken, and none of us felt like fixing it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once we\u2019d gone an hour or two down the road, we set up camp for the night with a shielded fire.\u00a0 The ringleader had awakened somewhere along the line, and though he didn\u2019t protest much, he obviously knew he was in trouble.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once we\u2019d unloaded the horses, Karac pulled the bandit down from the horse we\u2019d slung him over, hauled him over and dropped him near the fire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered took on the questioning.\u00a0 There was obviously some anger there, but I stayed clear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhat is your name?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The man scratched his face \u2013 the scarred side \u2013 and looked up at him.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Del Clim, the Smiling Bandit.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cHow many others have you attacked this way?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t really count.\u00a0 Things down here are a little dicey, you know?\u00a0 Not much in the way of pickings to choose from.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWhy shouldn\u2019t we just kill you and be done with it?\u00a0 Pelor\u2019s justice is on you now, so make it good.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe because I didn\u2019t kill you?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou were going to.\u00a0 Those bugs you called up certainly would have.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYeah, maybe true.\u00a0 But you don\u2019t know if I\u2019d have called them off before they did you in.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I piped up, \u201cHow did you figure that trick out, anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He looked over at me, and grinned with a full set of teeth, waving at his scarred head.\u00a0 \u201cWasn\u2019t easy.\u00a0 Old trick my father knew.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered smacked him, hard, across the scarred side of his face.\u00a0 \u201cThis is not a time for jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The man held his face.\u00a0 \u201cApparently not.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I continued.\u00a0 \u201cTell us where your camp is, and lead us to your cache, and we might think towards the merciful side of justice here.\u201d\u00a0 Sered cast me an angry glance at that.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWon\u2019t find much there, anyhow, like I said \u2013 pickings are slim this far south.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019d find your companions, though, wouldn\u2019t we?\u201d\u00a0 Sered asked with a lot more malice than I thought his passionless people were capable of.\u00a0 What was in him tonight?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe, but I\u2019d guess if they saw me go down, they\u2019re all gone to secondary spots tonight.\u00a0 We arranged for that in case someone ever got captured, we don\u2019t regroup in the same place twice.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered paused for a moment.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019ve no doubt murdered who knows how many others along here.\u00a0 Probably the prior owners of that wagon.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I jumped in again.\u00a0 \u201cWe don\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Smiling Del Clim pointed to me.\u00a0 \u201cWhat your friend said, you don\u2019t know that.\u00a0 Could very well have been that I\u2019d have let you all free after robbing you.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cFor your crimes, your life is forfeit, Del Clim.\u201d\u00a0 Sered drew his greatsword from its sheath across his back.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Del Clim didn\u2019t seem very phased by this.\u00a0 \u201cWhatever makes you happy, there.\u00a0 I told you what I\u2019m going to, and I was dead from the moment you captured me.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I looked this situation over.\u00a0 \u201cHe didn\u2019t kill any of us, and we\u2019ve broken his reputation with his gangmembers here.\u00a0 Death might be a tad on the harsh side, don\u2019t you think?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered looked over at me angrily.\u00a0 \u201cYou would let this man free to continue to prey on the weak and defenseless?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cNo, but killing him outright seems a little excessive.\u00a0 Particularly since he never attacked us directly.\u00a0 Is there some other thing you can do which might accomplish the same goal, and perhaps do more?\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He thought about it, and turned back to Clim.\u00a0 \u201cYou keep your life, but you lose your hand.\u00a0 You\u2019ll not raise it against another.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before I could even register the motion, with a deft flick of the tip of his blade, Sered had buried it in the ground next to Del Clim.\u00a0 The bandit\u2019s hand lay on the ground next to him, twitching slightly.\u00a0 His wrist pulsed blood, red in the dimming twilight.\u00a0 The bandit let out a fierce grunt, doubling over his new stump.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re free to go.\u201d\u00a0 Sered said calmly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cAhhh, shit\u2026\u201d\u00a0 Clim whispered under his breath.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I arced a dose of eldritch knitting at the stump, stopping the bleeding as best I could in a way Sered wouldn\u2019t notice.\u00a0 The bandit rose slowly to his feet.\u00a0 I walked over and unbound him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Smiling Del Clim never let his eyes leave Sered.\u00a0 \u201cKnow this, angel-born:\u00a0 you\u2019ve earned an enemy tonight.\u00a0 I won\u2019t rest until I regain my vengeance upon you.\u00a0 I\u2019ll dance on your ashes.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sered made a dismissive gesture and sat by the fire.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe it\u2019s best you leave.\u201d\u00a0 I suggested calmly in a voice only Clim would hear.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll find you, mark my words.\u201d\u00a0 He pointed at Sered one last time before vanishing into the shadows.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I picked up the severed hand and wrapped it in a rag, before stowing it away.\u00a0 Never can tell, the legends of the Hand of Glory don\u2019t really say whether the criminal in question should be hung before or after the hand is taken.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not sure quite what to say, and not exactly sure what had happened to Sered today, I sat across the fire from him and started cooking my dinner.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We set out from Al\u2019Veydra using the old portal that Zenith had set up in his rooms to the town of Dayvin, which is on the shore of lake Dal Avar, named for the city it drowned, and has a … Continue reading