Ujaset's Tail

would have noticed the slight smile on the bard's lowered face. After an acceptable moment of silence, his head snapped up with a smile on his face and a sparkling in his eyes.

"But I get ahead of myself," he said. " ... no sense in telling the end before the beginning now is there ..."

With that the tale began ...

The party had decided to go to Zazzespur and Port Zir in order to secure a boat to Balder's Gate. They left Mosstone and had an uneventful day of travel to just the other side the main pass through the Star Spires. They set up camp just off the main road to spend the night.

The excitement began, oddly enough, early the next morning with a number of big, burly men screaming maniacally as they ran down the road toward the adventurer's camp.

Ariana was on watch and roused those that weren't already wide awake form the commotion (Conor) in time to position themselves somewhat defensively as these men ran past in full voice. They ran right by and kept on going screaming all the way.

After hearing words like "Monster", "Evil", "Run for your lives", they, being the mighty adventurers that they were, were naturally curious. So they broke camp and led their mounts to investigate.

As they topped a small rise, what was before them was at the same time confusing and wondrous. A small group of carts, haulers, and the accompanying live-stock stood in a protective circle. In the center of the circle stood what could only be described as an apparition. Larger than even the largest of the haulers, it sat there calm but poised. It was a giant cat but with a man's head. Surrounding the apparition were several men; apparently unconscious but bleeding from the eyes, nose, and mouth.

The party approached carefully ... on guard without making any sudden moves. They drew closer, each coming from a different direction as they crossed the boundary of carts. Unbelievably, it seemed that no matter from what direction each approached, the apparition always faced them.

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