CHAPTER TWELVE:  The DESTRUCTION of the ROD and the WILL of LOVIATHAR

Raeython
Raeython stands up from the table where he, PM, and Ravenwind were sitting.

"Aivanther is right, it's time we finished what we started. The moon will be in its proper alignment, and the druid's power will be at its height."

Raeython leads his companions to the mounts that wait for them outside.

"Wait a minute, nobody said anything about riding on horses," PM said as she gave Raeython a flinty glare.

"Who said anything about riding horses" Raeython responded as they approached the beasts. 

Upon closer examination, the group could see that indeed these were no ordinary horses. Each of these mounts appeared horse-like in shape, but that is where the resemblance ended. The general size and shape was that of a natural equine, but you could tell at a glance that something was not quite right. As the companions neared the 'horses' the mounts bodies seemed to be in a constant state of shifting and swirling around.

Each of the equines were about man-height, and they were a blackish gray in color. The general shape of the beasts remained constant, but the outline seemed to twist and blur every few seconds.

"These are shadow horses, summoned to take us to the grove where the threat of the dreaded Rod of Zantayla will finally be ended on this night." 

With that statement, Raeython leapt upon the back of the nearest 'horse'. As soon as the noble ranger's posterior came into contact with the shadow horse, the horse itself seemed to shift and mold itself to the shape of the ranger’s bottom. The rest of the companions looked dubiously at the ranger's actions, but after some urging they all followed suit.

Raeython started the group down the dusty road towards the forest. At first PM showed her usual discomfort at being on horseback, but after just a few minutes the scowl disapeared from her face. The difficulty she normally showed while mounted seemed not to apply to these shadow horses, as they mold themselves to their riders. As the companions left the city behind, PM actually smiled and seemed to be enjoying herself.

The great boughs of the forest loomed ever nearer, and Raeython brought the group to a stop.

"From here I must ask that you allow me to bind your eyes from sight, as the location of this grove must remain a secret to all but the most dedicated of our order."

Trusting the ranger after all that they had been through, the companions allow Raeython to blindfold them. Raeython then leads the companions on a twisting path that leads deeper and deeper into the dark forest. Just as it seems that the wily ranger is leading them in circles, Raeython brings them to a halt. The sound of a purple Warble bird can be heard, and then the answering call coming from somewhere ahead of the party.

"You may remove your blindfolds," Raeython calls to the party.

As they remove the blindfolds, the group is once again awed by the sheer size of the trees that seem to surround them. The size of the trees is impressive, but what really gets to the companions is the feeling of age and knowledge that seems to emanate from them.

Ravenwind
Ravenwind had not had much of a chance to absorb her surroundings the last time she had been given the rare chance to see this mighty grove. Being brought back from the dead can do that to one, she supposed. The others saw her tip her head to one side and smile, as if she were listening to something, and absorbing the peace of the grove into her being.

Finally, with a sigh, she inquired of Raeython, "What would they have us do to aid them in their task, my friend?" 

Raeython
Raeython gathers the companions and, in response to Ravenwind's query, leads them through the trees until at last they come upon a small clearing in the very center of the grove.

As they approach the clearing, it seems strange that the trees seem to have grown up all around, except for a near perfect circular center, where stands a statue and an altar. The statue is a pure white unicorn standing the height of a man. The unicorn is standing straight, with its horn spiraling up to the heavens. Though only a statue, the detail is so intricate and precise that each of them can almost imagine the statue will 'come to life' at any given moment. 

The only non-white part of the unicorn is its eyes, midnight black orbs, which almost seem to pierce each of the companions, judging their worth and dedication. A tranquil feeling of peace and justice seems to radiate from the statue.

Just to the right of the unicorn is an altar of the purest white stone. Lying on that pristine slab is something that draws the attention of all of the questors...the Rod of Zantayla. If the trees and statue instill a feeling of peace and harmony in each of the companions, than the rod is the antithesis of those noble emotions. The jet black rod is just lying on the altar, but everybody that looks at it feels threatened by something that is just beyond conscious thought.

On one side of the grove there is an archway, and two other, smaller altars lie on either side. On one of these smaller altars lies the Sword of Justice, where Ravenwind left it after her resurrection. Though the archway seems to leak into the bowels of one of the great trees, it does not seem out of place.

Suddenly, the archway seems to glow with a soft black light. The area between the stone seems to bend and twist, ripples forming on the 'surface' of what lies between. From this opening, suddenly figures begin to emerge. Each of them are dressed in a simple, pure silver robe with hoods covering their heads. Each of the figures also wear a silver stole, onyx black runes covering the length of it, wrapped around their necks, trailing down to their ankles. 

Seven of the druids come through the archway, and then the light disappears from the arch, once again transforming it into a normal stone formation. The druids form a semi-circle around the altar that contains the Rod of Zantayla, facing the companions.
   
B_FH
B_FH looks into the sixth tequila bottle on the table and sees that it's empty. "Time for a little fresh air," he thinks. He walks outside seeing that he always walks outside when B_FH sees he's getting a little tipsy when he doesn't want to be. 

B_FH lets out his frog familiar and after eating some of the sandwich that was taking up room in B_FH's scroll case the familiar says, "Master, I have a grave feeling about Rayethon and the others.  Something is not right." B_FH asks still feeling a bit tipsy, "Well what do you mean?" The familiar responds, "I'm not sure, but I believe they may be in danger. I'm sure it's nothing. They're more than capable of handling themselves."

Che

Che is downstairs in the cellar checking his distillery operation. "Aye, this batch be much better (hic). But still me's a wished me's 'ad me herbs to give it that kick again."

Ravenwind
Quietus stared from Ranna to Che and back again. Blinking a bit, and ignoring her comment, he tossed Che's bag of holding back to the dwarf. 

Che looked inside, and his expression grew even more despondent. "Ye didna get the herbs then, laddie?"

Ranna's hand flew to a dagger, and Quietus hastily responded, "Yes, we did, Che. I just didn't want the herbs to be found on us, should we be captured, so I worked a little trick I know, and sort of . . . asked. . . the bag to send the herbs, not to an extradimensional pocket, but to someplace else."

"Where?" Ranna's hand still gripped the dagger hilt.

"Downstairs in the cellar." Quietus swallowed hard, and tried not to breathe in a way that might offend the touchy red-head until Che had had a chance to look down in the distillery.

"Aye, lassie, the herbs indeed ha' been delivered," Che pronounced, returning from the cellar a much more cheerful dwarf. Ranna removed her hand from her dagger, accepted payment from Che, and glided out of the tavern once more on silent feet.

Che
Che was one happy dwarf, now that the herbs were back among his recipe for tequila. The massive smile across the dwarf's face was quite pronounced for all to see. Emerith closed within her father's earshot, "Papa, what brings you such joy on this rather dull afternoon."

"Oh, nothing, me's dear (hic), nothing at all." Che then sat at a table alone and began to munch upon some stale bread. He still wished to talk to Quietus about the casino, plus thank him gentlemanly for the recovery of the herbs.

Quietus
Quietus seems a bit confused. He's not quite sure what he's doing at this tavern or who the people around him are. This is not terribly unusual for him, so he decides to get a room and sleep it off. 

He talks to some one-armed guy and the man points out a room to him. He goes upstairs and takes a nap.

Charity heads back out on business for the casino. She noticed that Quietus looked a bit out of it, and figures that she might as well try to find some employees for the tavern.

What adventures will she find on her trip? What new excitement will take place? Will she come back with stories to amaze and fascinate her friends...?

No, but she might find a new croupier...

Edward approaches Che. "So, what would you have me do, boss? I'm willing to perform any type of chore you'd like. I do like jobs where I can get tips, though, you know?"

Palladium Muse
Meanwhile, back at the Grove...

As the Druids continue to chant, each becomes encased in a glow, ranging in shade from silver to green to gold. Their voices raise together, the seven sounding as one, and the glow stretch out to touch the rod, combining together to create a globe of translucent energy, shining in the glade.

The rod slowly lifts, centered in the globe, and the Druids' chant changes in cadence and tone, deepening, seeming to come from everywhere at once, drawn from the earth and the roots of the trees, from the sky and the soft breeze, from the adventurers, too. They can feel their life force being used to strengthen the ties in preparation for the breaking, but they do not weaken, rather, they find themselves part of a greater being, their combined strengths evening out their combined weaknesses, the frailties of fear being soothed by another's strength. And all the while the thrumming voices of the Druids go on.

Abruptly, the rising peace and power is disrupted, torn like the finest gossamer silk by a flamberge, and everyone is snapped back to their normal awareness, dazed and shaken by the untelegraphed grounding. 

All eyes go to the rod, and the Druids. The rod is now glowing blackly, the inky aura seeming to eat the peaceful aureole surrounding it, crumbling it away from the inside, and growing larger, stronger.

The stride of the chant changes yet again, from a rolling throb to a booming shout as the Druids lock into place, visibly straining against the rod's attempts to shatter their binding.

"Something is giving the rod its strength!" Raeython shouts, staring as helplessly at the Druids and the rod as everyone else. "Something...godlike!"

A mighty roar shakes the grove to the deepest roots of the oldest oak, and everyone is flung back by the sudden explosion, centred from the rod. Black light and heatless fire floods over everyone as they are thrown, and just as suddenly, it changes direction, rushing back into the rod, drawing with it all the ambient energies drawn by the druids and making those energies its own.

Everyone manages to raise horrified eyes to the rod, in time to see it raise higher, well above the height of a man, spinning furiously, black jags of lightning playing around it, the whine of its motion deafening.

And the rod shatters.

The concussive force that hit everyone before is nothing to what happens now, the Druids are the hardest hit, as are the closest and most venerable oak trees, the Druids land fifty feet away as charred corpses, the trees no more than blasted stumps.

The adventurers find themselves whole, but with various burns and injuries. Palladium Muse dazedly sits up, to find she has a broken arm, and what feels like broken ribs, face covered in burns. 

No trace of the rod remains, only a lifeless blasted crater in the center of the grove marks where it had been, ringed by the blackened stumps of oak trees.

Aivanther
Aivanther extracts himself from the branches of an oak tree, and drops to the ground, gasping as his ankle gives way. "Lloth's hairy legs! It's broken!" Looking around, he notices that his companions seem alive. Unfortunately, the remains of the druids leave little doubt in his mind that they have gone on to another world. Attempting to stand up, the elf collapses as the earth begins to spin rapidly. "Could someone please tell the world to stop, I want to get off"

Ravenwind
Ravenwind was bleeding rather noticeably from several nasty gashes, but she hastened over to Aivanther, gripped his ankle in her hands to keep it still, and murmured the words of a prayer for healing over it.

There was a brief pause before the magic took effect. Apparently Torm's eyebrows had gone up a bit over this one. Either that, or the magic field here had been severely warped by the destruction.

"Is everyone else okay?" she called, looking around at the survivors.

Raeython
Raeython picks himself up off the ground, and notices the others doing the same. He looks over to the center of the sacred grove, and where the altar once stood, is just a blackened, scorched hole in the ground. Further inspection shows Raeython that five of the 'trees' of the grove are obliterated, and several others are showing various signs of damage. Looking inward Raeython can 'hear' the silent screams of the dead and damaged trees. The only thing left standing in the center of the grove is the statue of Mielikki.

While the others are piecing themselves together, Raeython slowly walks over to where the druids had stood. His walking made slow by the fact there is a piece of tree limb poking through his left leg. Raeython makes his way over to where his mother in all but name was standing. Raeython crashes to his knees, oblivious to the pain and loss of blood caused by his injury.

"Why...why did this have to happen? Why did you have to take the entire high council? Why did you have to take her? MIELIKKI!"

The others can hear great sobs coming from the troubled ranger.

Ravenwind
Ravenwind hobbled over to her friend, and rested her hand on his heaving shoulder--only to flinch back from him as he turned on her, his face savagely angry. "Hold!" she ordered, before he could get a word out. "There will be a reckoning for this, Raeython; to that end I pledge my life and blood."

She sighed, taking in the devastation of the peaceful grove. "I had hoped to request of the druids that I might stay here and meditate with them for a while, and learn from them, but they will have much to do to heal this place, and little time and less likeing for outsiders underfoot."

She beckoned their comrades closer. "I think we all know who is repsonsible for this." She pulled out the amulet taken from the neck of her opponent during the duel. "Loviathar. . . and some other power."

"Malus," Ultima volunteered, his face streaked with tears. "That is his symbol. I hadn't a chance to tell you before now." The young ranger knelt in the ashes of the once-mighty grove, and touched the earth with his fingers.

Ravenwind saw Raeython's fists clench. She turned away for a moment, not trusting herself to be able to soothe another's pain, when her own anger was so great. She saw that the altar on which the Flame of Judgment had lain was no more. . . but the sword of Torm, which she had dedicated to Mielikki's use, lay in the hollow where the stone had been, miraculously untouched. However, the blade, which had once glowed with golden fire, now was overlain with a healthy green. She caught Raeython's arm, and pointed, unable to speak, unable to fathom what it could mean.

Raeython
Raeython's emotions are caught up in a maelstrom of conflicting feelings. The loss of his mother in all but blood, and the partial destruction of the most sacred grove. Most of what the ranger cared for is all but torn away by the destruction of the rod. The anguish that the ranger feels is like a rock threatening to crush his beliefs and his faith in the world.

From a distance he feels somebody grab his shoulder, and he can sense that his friend Ravenwind is beside him. Raeython turns towards Ravenwind with tears of rage and loss leaving trails of salt and water down his face.

"Hold!" she ordered, before he could get a word out. "There will be a reckoning for this, Raeython; to that end I pledge my life and blood."

Raeython can barely hear the rest of her words so lost in his rage and anguish. He hears somebody talking about who is responsible and suddenly the hears the name Malus. Like the way the sun melts away the morning mist, so did Malus's name melt away some of the anguish and loss, replacing them instead with a bitter rage, and Raeython clenches his fist in anger. 

Raeython begins to contemplate some means for revenge when again he hears Ravenwind's voice. She is pointing towards the altar where her sword of judgement once lay. The altar is gone, but the sword lay on the ground glowing with a vibrant green light.

Raeython looks to Ravenwind, seeing if she has some explanation for this interesting phenomenon.

Ravenwind
She stepped closer to the sword, tentatively, as if approaching a wild creature. Even the runes along its surface had changed, from the deeply incised, rather square script that had marked it before, to a curvilinear, rather exotic hand. She reached out gingerly, and rested a fingertip on the glowing blade. Her voice was disturbed as she quietly said, "This blade is no longer for me. There is something. . . some other force, other spirit . . .within it now. I think it wants someone else here to wield it. And it is very, very angry."

She stepped back away from the sword as carefully as she had advanced upon it. Her eyes fell upon each of the rangers there in turn. "Raeython, would you care to make the attempt?"

Raeython
Raeython shoots a questioning glance at Ravenwind, who nods her head encouragingly. Raeython takes a few slow steps towards the glowing sword, when he realizes that he still has a tree branch poking through his leg. Raeython grits his teeth against the pain, as he grabs the backside of the branch and quickly pulls the entire branch through his leg. Raeython lets out a muffled grunt as the branch slid entirely out of his leg.

Raeython then concentrates and utters a prayer to Mielikki, asking her to heal his wound. As with Ravenwind, Raeython encounters a reluctance before the wound starts to close over, and most of the bleeding stops. Raeython thinks this is strange indeed, as in this sacred place prayers to his goddess have always been answered swiftly.

Raeython continues his advance towards the sword, limping only slightly on his now semi-healed leg. When he is standing almost on top of the sword he starts to feel something from it. Raeyton is taken aback, and tries to concentrate on that feeling. The feeling is fleeting, but seems to whisper something of nature, and especially of justice. Raeython looks to Ravenwind:

"Are you sure I should be doing this?"

The only response he gets from his paladin friend is the shruging of her shoulders, though she does have a guarded expression on her face. Raeython shrugs his own shoulders, and reaches down and grasps the sword's hilt...

Ravenwind
Raeython’s hand closed on the hilt of the erstwhile Flame of Justice. The green glow flared brightly, subsided for an instant, and then exploded over his figure with an almost physical force. The companions were all blinded, and Ravenwind found herself on the ground once more, tears leaking from her eyes as her vision slowly cleared.

Raeython still stood, the sword in his hand, his expression transfixed, awed. “Amazing,” he said, his voice shaky. “I can hear them. All of them, but their voices are all. . .joined.”

 “Voices?” Aivanther muttered. “I have a bad feeling about anyone who hears voices.”

 “The spirits of the grove?” the Muse asked. “The druids? Their voices. . . preserved inside the sword?”

 “I—I think so,” Raeython’s voice was still hesitant. “I don’t know how it is possible, but the sword is somehow alive, now.”

The others nodded, uncomfortably. The Muse stretched out her hand, and murmured a few words.

 “No, wait, stop!” Ravenwind cried, feeling the magic building and twisting in the air around them.

The spell released. A cloud of very confused butterflies exploded from the Muse’s hand. She watched as they spiraled upwards into the sky above the grove. “Would someone please explain what’s going on here?” she asked.

 “It’s a wild magic zone,” Raeython said, his voice filling with concern. “Here, in the very heart of the grove!” The sword flared, mirroring his anger. The others edged away, not entirely sure who was in control: the sword or the ranger.

A couple of bruised and singed druids slipped through the trees in the distance, doubtless wanting to know what had happened. . . . 

pure_ultima
Ultima watched Raeython reach down for the blade. It seemed like he had come out of this quiet lightly. A few bruises, scratches and a large open gash down his left arm that continued down his leg. It was probably a tree limb he thought. He grimaced as he reached down and touched it. He had a sense of overpowering foreboding, something was a foot. It was definitely Malus. He felt dazed and was finding it hard to concentrate. His eyes fluttered shut. To the others it appeared as if in a trance.
                      
He reopened them, and he was in a black room. Malus stood a few paces before him. "Ahhh... It seems as if, wherever I meet you I have power o'er you. Hmmm..." He mused for a few seconds. "Just to clear up any confusions that your small minds may have created for itself to toy with, it was me who created all this destruction..." He held his hands out wide, as if in a gesture of innocence. "I feel much hatred coming from the one you call Raeython." He spat the word. " He will make a useful contribution to me, if only he could be swayed."
                       
"Remember that I watch your moves... I can even know your thoughts... from time to time. Don't think you will stop me... You will fail"

Ultima reopened his eyes, there he was back in the grove. It seemed as though hardly a few seconds had passed...

Raeython
Ever since his hand closed upon the hilt of the sword, Raeython's eyes have been glazed over. He can hear himself talking to his companions, but it is almost like somebody else is moving his lips.

Since he was a little kid Raeython always knew he was different from most people. He seemed to have an affinity towards nature and animals that was strange. Even after he found himself training to be a ranger, he found that his sense of nature was deeper and more profound than even the most experienced tracker he had ever seen. It was that sense of nature that led him to the grove in the first place.

When he had come to the grove years ago, the druids were amazed by his incredible affinity with nature. There wasn't an animal he couldn't track, there wasn't a beast he couldn't tame. The druids were startled when Raeython found his way to their sacred grove. They were downright stupefied when they found out that he was able to communicate with them, in much the same manner that they were.

It was by the 'trees' decision that he was the first non-druid to ever become a protector of the sacred grove. The sword Forest Friend, one of the most sacred items that the druids owned, chose Raeython to be its wielder, even after he had left the grove.

As soon as his hand closed upon the hilt of this new sword, he could 'hear' the jumbled voices of the arch druids. Even more profound, he could 'hear' the trees, the essence of all true rangers and druids that have passed. The intermixing of the two fills Raeython's head with confusion. The blending of the two intertwine into what is almost a musical chant filled with ire at what has been done to their sacred grove.

Then out of the confusion he can hear a single voice. At first so quiet he doesn't believe he actually heard it, it gradually grows to an audible level.

“Raeython, can you hear me? We have been trapped inside this blade. While we incanted to destroy the rod, something evil twisted at our magic. The power of this being must be immense to be able to warp our prayers in this our most sacred place. You must seek this being out and make sure he is destroyed. Yes, I believe you know who this being is. You must help Ultima destroy Malus. We will be here if you need us.”

The voice seemed to trail off into the distance upon the utterance of that last word.

"I will not fail you....mother" Raeython responded to the voice.

Instinctively, Raeython moves to sheath the new blade in the scabbard that holds Forest Friend, only to feel the blade slide home into the empty scabbard.

“Malus, you will pay for what you have done, this I swear on my life" Raeython whispered through clenched teeth.

Ravenwind
After briefly explaining the events of the past hour to the confused and frightened druids, the companions limped forth from the grove, their eyes bound once more. Ravenwind was thinking, desperately, burning through half-baked notions, plots, and plan, trying to find some solution to the problems that now ensnared them. Upon reaching the inn, they met Che, B_FH, and the archmage, Alexander, in the doorway.

 “Ah, now what ‘as ‘appened ‘ere?” Che shouted, waddling forward and catching a weary Ultima by an uninjured arm. 

 “Everyone take a seat so I can try to heal everyone,” Ravenwind suggested, weary herself. “I could barely feel Torm’s presence until now.”

Abandoning, for the moment, at least, their own venture, Che and his company helped the adventurers into the main room, and poured the tequila out liberally, a libation to the gods of sore muscles. The Muse reiterated the events in the grove to Che in a low voice, and Che smacked his head with one hand. “Och, I’d nearen forgot. Here, lassie,” Che said, handing Ravenwind a small bundle. “’Tis that wand of Loviathar that some ill-wisher left in amongst your things. Only now, ‘tis been enchanted to find the one who left it there.”

 “What good does that do us?” Raeython snapped. There was a great deal of anger and despair boiling in the ranger, waiting to be unleashed. The others could see it in the set of his face, the tautness and tension in his body.

 “Yes, Malus said that he alone was responsible for everything that happened in the grove; we need to find him and make him pay!” Ultima cried impulsively.

 “What makes you think Malus would tell you the truth?” Ravenwind asked, opening the bundle and handling the wand with loathing. “Every other sign has indicated that he was working with Loviathar, perhaps to gain the power of the rod for his own.” She fought down a rising tide of nausea as the wand touched the skin of her fingers. The once pure white rod seemed stained now, yellowish in cast, and it tugged at her hand impetuously. 

 “Does anyone else have any other ideas how we can track down Malus?” she asked. “We need ideas here, and fast.”

Che
Che motions B_FH over. "Hmmmm, Buffeh give me that wand o' teleportation we stills a 'ave." B_FH delicately hands the wand to the dwarf. Che recklessly grabs hold of the magical device.

"Yers knows what, if yer could tie the majik o' this wand with that Loviator rod, she might must lead yers to where yers want to be. The teleportation wand only has two charges left though. One fer wherever you go and the last a charge to be returning to these a parts. Takes it fer we 'ave no need fer it."

Alexander's cat was again becoming impatient with the delay but amused himself by flicking dustballs at Eddie and Figaro.

Quietus
Charity, noticing that most of the principals are engaged in something serious, approaches Slash.

"Greetings, Slash, I wonder if I might have a moment of your time?"

Slash nods his assent so violently that Charity fears he'll suffer whiplash.

Charity: "I'm eager to open the new casino, but we've been unable to fill all of the positions we desire. Do you think it would be a good idea for me to begin running some games right now? That way, people seeking employment might come to us. Plus, to be honest, I'm eager to start my new position. What do you think?"

Che
Slash is a little reluctant to reply to the alluring Charity, after his last attempt to impress her, but he ventures forth anyway. "I think that my boss would approve of any venture that begins to bring in gold and gratuities." The orc looks in the direction of Che, noticing that he is immersed in conversation with the adventurers. "But you know, Charity, it is really my insight that makes this tavern tick."

Charity thought that was an odd statement coming from the orc who cowered in the presence of the dwarf owner. Not wishing to upset any present power balance in the operation of the bar, she leans closer to Slash and whispers, "You know Slash, I may be able to use your insight in the casino operation. There you can apply yourself in one area, and you never know......" she blinks her wide-open eyes several times, "........what could happen."

A small grin greeted Slashes face and he whispered back, "Heh-heh, I like not knowing things."

Slash is rather hypnotized at the body positions of Charity as she flips her head from side to side, wondering what should be her first development of the casino. The other orcs in the kitchen doorway are giggling and giving Slash the thumbs-up signs.

Quietus
Charity is beginning to have some doubts as to the mental faculties of Slash, although he seems like a nice enough guy.

"Perhaps we should begin with games catering specifically orcish and human clientele, since those are the games I know best. Do you have any friends in town who like to gamble? If you could get the word out to them about the new casino, it might help to drum up some initial business. What do you say, Slash?"

She hopes he can understand some of the longer words she used...

Quietus, having listened to some of the conversation, decides that the casino is in good hands, and drifts back over towards Che, to see what his employer has to say about the situation with Malus.

Che
Slash thinks to himself momentarily and then enthusiastically responds, "Oh yes, I will go and find cli.....clien.......cleanen......people to come play." The orc frantically runs through the front doors of the tavern, almost knocking Che over.

Quietus
Charity goes to her room and opens one of her trunks. After rummaging around for a minute, she withdraws a long slender rod that is half blue and half red.

"Time for a little Gamami," she thinks. She flexes her wrist and sighs. "If Slash's friends are like most orcs, I'm in for a long night."

She returns to the main room of the tavern. "Agatha, how much hard liquor do we have available at this time? I have a feeling we're going to need a lot before this night is over."

Che
Slash rushes back with a couple of other orcs from another tavern, plus two halflings and three kobolds. All were very eager at the prospects of winning at some game of chance. The all congregated with Charity in the casino room area. The orcs from the kitchen sat back and just watched as they were still on duty.

Quietus 
Charity looked with some small annoyance at the halflings and kobolds. Both groups were known for their cunning at gambling. She had been expecting only orcs. "Oh well," she thinks, "the house always wins."

She sets down the Gamami rod. "So, what game would you all like to play? We have cards, dice, traditional orcish and kobold games including Mastaf Dagra (The grand knife), and roulette. Unfortunately we can only play one game at a time. What do you boys like?"

She waves for Agatha to come over and begin taking drink orders. Drinking gamblers are bad gamblers!

Che
Thi, Che's older brother, rallied the daughters together and announced that the tables must be cleaned, since most of the adventurers had just left through a portal. Emerith took the lead and began grabbing gratuities for the coffers. The other daughters tended to tasks of cleaning.

Slash, still entranced by Charity, was derelict with his duties. A strong slap on the back of the head by Thi soon corrected that. "Ow, what was that for?" questioned Slash.

Thi stared at the orc, "You know you can't forget the tequila stills in the cellar. Che not being here doesn't allow you to get your eyes all fancied up with some lovely. Not on my brother's time. Now go and heed to my brother's concern."

Slash rubbed his head, and glanced over to Charity, hoping that she didn't witness the humiliation. The orc entered the main room and met with Eddie. "Eddie, could you go downstairs and check on the tequila stills? The cellar entrance is through the kitchen."

Eddie shrugs one shoulder, "Sure I guess." and heads to the kitchen. Slash returns to witness Charity's casino expertise, among other things. Thi is now asleep at a table.

Che
"ZZZZZ.... hrmph.. wha..." Thi awakes from his little slumber and notices a small crowd gathering around Charity and her casino enterprise. The dwarf wanders over to check out how good this orcish lady is at running the tables.

Quietus
The halflings and kobolds both demand a dicing game, while the orcs seem inclined to go with Gamami  (big surprise). Since there is only one Charity, she asks Slash nicely, "Slash, do you think you could entertain the clients with some serious Gamami? I know Che won't make too much money off of the gambling part, so if you can convince them to drink a lot, I'd appreciate it."

She then pulls some dice out of a pouch and asks, "How about some craps?"

The kobolds and halflings nod their assent. Since he seems to be alone, she hands the dice to a peasant so that he feels more at home.

"Come on natural," cries the peasant. The kobolds and halflings begin making side-bets.

He tosses the dice and it comes up a 9. 

"Gotta make the point," he says, tossing the dice again.

"Good old craps," thinks Charity. "The house always wins."

She sits down to finally enjoy a pleasant night gambling.

Quietus
Edward descends the stairs to the cellar. He takes a look at the tequila stills and nods. 

"Hmmm...Ah yes...Okay...Yep...Now if only I knew what I was looking for..." 

Che
Cheron brought free drinks of ale to the gambling patrons. The kobolds, halflings, and the peasant all appreciated the well-tended service they were receiving, and reciprocated the generosity with bountiful gratuities. Cheron also noticed that the peasant's once-large sack of gold was now becoming modest in size. "Perhaps luck in not on his side tonight," she thought to herself.

Slash continued to entertain the orcs with the game of Gamami, but every once in a while trying to catch the gaze of Charity's eyes.

Thi was happy and content at the expertise displayed by Charity in running the crap tables. He decided to celebrate this with a quick nap at one of the nearby tables.

Che
Eddie comes up from the cellar and goes into the casino area. Slash is still flipping the Gamami sticks for the orcs and notices that Eddie is back. The one-handed bartender tries to give him "two thumbs up" that everything is okay downstairs, even though he doesn't know that at all. "I wish someone would show me more on how things work here." he says to no one as he gives Slash the "one thumb up.”

Back at the bar, Eddie begins wiping bar glasses clean of any streaks. Emerith walks by and comments, "Eddie, you're sweating. Is something wrong?"

"Oh no, I was just downstairs checking the tequila stills. Mighty warm down there." replies Eddie as he wipes the sweat from his brow.

Emerith gives him a confused look, "My father has it well ventilated down there. It shouldn't be that warm."

Quietus
Charity seems to have gone into a gaming trance. She is oblivious to the world outside of the game. The pile of coins belonging to the house has grown slowly but surely as the hours have passed.

Edward throws a worried glance at Emerith. "Maybe you and I should check it out. It's probably nothing major, but it can't hurt to look."

Che
Emerith has a perplexed expression but agrees with Eddie, "Yes, maybe we should have a wee gander down there. Slash is in charge of keeping the stills running at their proper temperature." Emerith and Eddie head through the kitchen to the entrance to the cellar.

BOOM!

Suddenly the entire tavern is shaken with a thunderous explosion from below. Thi is immediately
awakened from his slumber and rushes to the kitchen. Emerith and Eddie are unharmed and help each other up to their feet. The door to the cellar has come off of its hinges and steam is spewing out from below.

"Uh oh, my brother isn't going to like this," announced Thi as he headed down to the depths of the cellar waving away the cloudy mists of tequila in the air. 

The patrons in the casino barely missed a beat with Charity's crap game, though there was a brief argument on one roll of the dice when the building shook. Slash, on the other hand, gasped in horror as he suddenly realized what had happened, and rushed to the kitchen. Upon getting there, Thi was returning from the cellar.

"Well its a total mess down there. All of the stills are destroyed. Best we start a major clean up and try and figure out how to fix the brewery."

Peasant of Amn
"Uh, oh"

The peasant's eyes widens with horror. Noise from Explosions is not what he likes. ".....well, this was a nice game but I already lost enough and I don't like explosions very much. I .. I will better go home to my wife and children. Bye, 'til the next time"

Quietus
Edward looks at Thi and Emerith.

"Hmmmmm. Perhaps we could go to that endless spring thing. Then the Rusty Sword would be able to meet demand until it could get new stills... How far away is it? Do you know?"

Charity calls out, "7! I'm afraid you've failed to make your point, Terrance."

An explosion booms, and the dice bounce up landing on a 6 and a 3. 

Terrance cries, "Haha. A 9. I win."

Charity: "I'm afraid we have to accept the initial roll, Terrance."

The halfling seems upset.

Palladium Muse
Muse sipped at the liberally distributed tequila, grimacing at the lingering pain of formerly shattered leg and fractured ribs. She'd forgotten trees could be so hard.

"Is Malus truly a god? Recognized by other gods as such? If so...this could bode more evil than just his interference. Particularly if Loviathar is involved. The gods have very strict rules regarding the trifling in mortal lives. Unless one of us is a god and not telling, they're breaking all of those rules by doing all of this. We could get a fully fledged Gods’ War on our hands. As I recall my local history, the Realms nearly didn't survive the last one. We may not be getting a whole lot of deific help on this one," she nodded at Ravenwind. "Torm, harbinger of justice that he is, may be reluctant to drag mankind and the gods into another deific jihad.

"I'm not saying we shouldn't pursue this," she held up a hand to forestall Raeython's reply. "All I'm saying is we must proceed carefully. Do we really want to spark another war like that? We must find them, of that there is no question. Even gods can be dragged down."

Ultima looked uncomfortable at that, but was silent.

"The question is how. I don't know much about this Malus, although I am familiar with Loviathar. If the evil gods are spreading their pacts across pantheons...this could get very, very ugly, and we've already had proof that Set is involved, too, even if peripherally."

pure_ultima
"Hmmm... It appears as if I have been keeping this from you..." Ultima paused - thinking to himself. "Malus is not a God - in some ways. I suppose he is more powerful than a God and then again not so. He likes to keep a low profile... He can manipulate time and also people’s minds. He is not just a God of Evil, he is Evil.  It seems like I, in my foolish ways... merely weakened him, and he has found some way of bringing back some of his power, particularly that over people’s minds. He is probably after some kind of object of power to wield. It seems like he first went for the Rod but was stopped. When I was small I noticed I could do things, slow time when I was feeling endangered... Not by much though... Maybe I was gifted with it to balance out Malus. Since then I have just wondered around from place to place..." His voice trailed off and he sat looking fixedly at the wall...

Aivanther
Standing, Aivather tested his ankle and found, to his surprise, that it was fully healed. "Amazing, Torm heals me, assasin of the dark" muttered the amused elf to himself. After hearing ultima's account of Malus, Aivanther pipes in, "The question is, what exactly are Lovianther and Malus doing together, and how do we break their little alliance up? I assume it's not simple as killing Malus."  Continuing silently to himself 'I don't think the world can handle anyone who is THAT evil.'

Raeython
Raeython sits quietly at the table. The burning rage that has consumed the ranger since the destruction of his mentor and some of the sacred grove, seems to have burned itself out. His outward appearance is one of calm, thoughtfulness. However, if you look into his eyes, you can see something entirely different.

The ranger's eyes, normally calm and steady yet with a hint of laughter around the edges, are now dead and cold. The flame of anger and the sorrow of loss have burned away the life and energy, leaving behind a cold quiet rage.

"I guess the question of the hour is where do we find Malus, and how do we kill him."

The words and the voice were Raeython's, but the tone and inflection were all wrong. The words were spoken quietly and deliberately, yet they carried an unmistakable feeling of menace, clearly evident to everybody sitting at the barroom at the table.

Che
Che waddled to the entrance of his tavern and noticed a dripping garment. The dwarf's full battle armour, that he became accustomed to wearing lately, clammered as he attempted to dry the moistened floor. "Hmmmmm, me's not dressed fer cleanin' duties." With his rag fully moistened he sat down at the table of Raeython and the others. Che began his usual silent stares at his patrons, attempting to decipher intent and common thought. But today he could only feel the troublesome thoughts of Raeython and ultima. With new faces gathering around The Rusty Sword he was sure that the consternation of thought would soon become the impetus of action.

Che continued his sober analysis but rendered no oral break to the silent interlude. 

ArchMage Alexander
Joining the group Alexander says, "Well now, the problem seems to me like this: One, where do we find Loviather and Malus? Two, what are they about? and three, how can we kill them? Now, I don't know enough to answer the last two, but if someone has some personal effects (or plentiful information) I can probably divine their location."

His cat leaps to Raytheon’s lap and rubs against his hands, purring.

Che
Che remained mute, but the constant glares from Alexander's cat, forced him out of silence. He arose at the table to address the others, "To a simple dwarf, if this Malus and Loviator and mixed up together then one should a lead to's the other, me thinks. Since we's a still a gots Ravenwind's rod o' Loviathar, that a should 'elp us to somethin' concrete. Yer sees when me's and Buffeh 'ere had the rod before........stand up Buffeh so the peoples can see yers........we's a ended up at the Temple o' Lliira. There the priests purified the rod and enchanted it, so as to whom ever planted the rod on Ravenwind could be traced back to."

Che looked at the other adventurers who seemed to court expressions on their faces that they were privy to one of the dwarf's long and painfully humorless dwarven jokes of yore. But they continued to grant attention to him. "So yers sees, if Malus went through Loviator to get Ravenwind, the rod could go back to find Malus." Che waited waited for some note of approval to his thoughts. "But she's a goin' ta need some o' yers majiks to do the retracin', me thinks." Che sat down at the table again and glared back the cat.

Quietus
Quietus enters the main room looking groggy and wiping sleep from his eyes. 

"Not to sound like too much of an idiot, but why do you need to kill this Malus character. With the destruction of the rod, perhaps he will just leave you alone now. Will killing him profit any of you in any way?"

He heads to the bar, clinks down a coin, and helps himself to a glass of milk.

"However, if you're determined to attack him, know that I'm willing to help you in any way that, uh, isn't too dangerous..."

Eddie takes the rag from Che and begins cleaning the floor. "Let me get that for you, boss."

pure_ultima
"Hmmmmm.... Some of these questions I cannot give answers to. If we leave Malus, as I have said, he will find something, possibly something more powerful than the rod. He will not only kill me, but possibly all of you and then knowing him carry on to wield this weapon for the destruction of everything else. I don't know what can destroy him, although I have a good idea..." 

For the second time Ultima's voice trailed off. Nobody wished to disturb his train of thought. 

Palladium Muse
Pouring another tequila for herself and refilling everyone's glasses, PM sits back in her seat, keeping a worried eye on Raeython. The destruction of the grove was the most horrendous thing she could imagine for the ranger, but he was too driven by rage and vengeance. He was not even allowing himself time to mourn. Unhealthy, to say the least.

She also considered the darkened ivory rod on the table in front of Ravenwind. Their single clue to beginning this quest to find the ones that had destroyed the Rod and the Grove. She knew Ravenwind would not be pleased having to handle the slender item, but it had to be done. 

Quietus
"Well, if he's going to kill you, that's certainly a good reason...

You guys all have gods, right? Maybe you should get them to help you. If this guy IS evil, one might imagine that it would be in their best interest to lend an active hand. Let me know if you want me to help. I do have some tricks up my sleeve..."

pure_ultima
"Hmmmm... I'm not sure the Gods are a good idea... As I have said he likes to keep a low profile. e is not really a God, so to speak, merely a manifestation of evil with a personality. The God's will surely know of Loviathar, but I'm not sure they fully know of Malus. Besides, as Palladium has said we do not want a fully blown Gods war on our hands. It looks like we may need to handle this ourselves."

SwordMage
Judging from the wet clothes the newcomer is wearing, it still seems to be raining outside. He places his tall and dirty body on a chair.

Silence.

Nobody welcomes him or even seems to notice his presence. The bunch of adventurers sitting around the tables seem to be a little bit drowsy. Some of them must have consumed alcohol. 'Not what I thought' crawls into his mind. 

Waiting for someone to serve him he looks around and notices a young mage covered with dust leaning against the wall. A sign hangs around his throat, that read:  "Don't touch Dravin!"

He has seen another one in this kind of stasis before: his former master when studying difficult spells. But never seen anyone so covered with dust. 'Hmm, nobody seems to be interested in a magic-user here. Could my senses have lead me so wrong?'

Deciding not to wait any longer he recounts his lasts silver coins to buy himself a drink and a meal, not knowing that no one here is interested in such a small purse.

pure_ultima
Ultima addressed Swordmage "Hello there, its good to have someone new into the tavern. What be your name? I guess you are a mage but looks can be deceptive..." Swordmage looked around, startled by such a friendly introduction.

Ultima chuckled "You don't want any mead... Try Che's tequila, its probably the best there is!"

SwordMage
Yes, indeed, now that someone got out of his drowsiness he can feel a sharp presence of ... magic? No. Yes. No, nothing he has sensed before,.. it's ... he doesn't know. Confused but satisfied that this is indeed the place emitting something he sensed on his way to the Rusty Sword, he realizes that the one who adressed him is awaiting an answer.

Not having spoken a word for weeks and unsure about the habits in this part of the world only a "..." leaves his mouth. Blushing but having a warm feeling due to the kind words he tries once more. "Indeed, partly I'm a mage, but.." and while sitting down in front of pure_ultima he puts his weapons down from his back "..only partly as you can see.” The last part of his answer is accompanied by a large smile.

A name! He wants to know my name!?! I must have thought about that, maybe... yes, I will use the word my master called me by, runs through his brain. This is civilization, he thinks, everything is much more complicated here with so many people together in one place. He feels like a dumb arse, but tries not to blush again when he finally answers

"SwordMage, but, er,.. you can call me Swordmage if this is more convenient for you"

Not a blink of an eye comes from pure_ultima.

Happy about the non-reaction SwordMage decides to accept his offer. "Thekuilaa?? ... Ok, I will give it a try, thanks, but I will need something to eat, too."

"This man runs the tavern?" he asked, pointing with a finger to Che and noticing the nod coming from pure_ultima he asks, "Er, bring me something... oh, whatever you have, thanks"

The tequila runs down his throat like a river of fire and strange thoughts come into his mind. Yes, it's the old story of drinking onto a empty stomach  Deciding to eat first, he smiles when Che arrives with something. He doesn't care what it is, only the process of eating is now important. "Mmm, testy, err, tasty"

Realizing that he owns only a short amount of money to pay for his meal, that he feels a little bit sleepy and has to sleep somewhere this night, that he has talked too much to someone he don't even know he asks with his full mouth, "Myamwhats ya name?" Horrified by his own manners he chews once more and speaks clearly, "What is your name by the way? You offered me a kind welcome and I even don't know your name. Maybe you can also give me some information about some of the people here and... ok, let's face it, I'm looking for some job or adventure to get some money,” he added, while showing his nearly empty purse.

Hoping to lure some information about this strange magic (?) enchantment (?) or whatever it is he eagerly awaits the answer. Pure_Ultima seems to hesitate... 

PrinceLegolas
Legolas, clothed in dark, brown leather with a green cloak and hat, walks into the tavern. With no expression on his face, the newcomer walks to the bar as if he comes here every day. He throws a few copper pieces on the bar and walks off with a mug 'o ale. Yes, Legolas has always liked ale, in contrary to the other elves he grew up with. Perhaps another reason he was a lonely elf. He walks towards the darkest corner of the tavern and sits down, slowly looking around and observing every single person in the building. Then he closes his eyes and thinks, his beer standing on the table untouched. He sits there like this for a long time.

Che
Emerith notices the newcomer in the far corner of the tavern and motions for her father. Che rises from the table of adventurers and gives attention to Emerith's concerns. "Papa, that stranger he be sitting there motionless and not drinking his ale."

"Aye, seems to be the case me dear. We'll a no be 'avin' any repeats o' what afflicted poor Dravin." Che walks calmly to the table of Legolas. "Good days to yers there stranger. Me name is Che, but me friends call me Che. Me's a be the owner and a proprietor o' tis fine establishment. Me's a noticed that me's fine ale there, a not be touchin' yer lips. Is there a somethin' a foul 'ith me beer, that I shoulds a-knows about?"

PrinceLegolas
Legolas abruptly opens his eyes when he hears someone talking to him. Without looking as to who is talking to him, he knows it's a dwarf. Legolas was considered strange for an Elf for more than just his fondness of ale. He also was the only one who was known to be seen with Dwarves as often as with the other Elves. The other Elves look upon the Dwarves with suspicion, for their strange voices, looks and mannerisms. Practically, Dwarves are the opposite of Elves. But Legolas doesn't mind. In fact, the only real friends Legolas ever made were Dwarves, but they are now in the past, and thinking of this still makes Legolas cry inside. Legolas turned his head and saw a friendly-looking Dwarf standing next to him. 

"Greetings Che,” Legolas responded, "My name is Legolas, and I have come to your beautiful tavern to find a place to sit down and spell my worries." Legolas took his ale and emptied the mug in his mouth. "No, there is certainly nothing wrong with your ale. I was just too... full of thought to ... to drink my ale, here...." A feeling of sadness came over him, and Legolas fell silent again. After staring to nothing for a few seconds, he looked back to Che, trying not to show any emotions. He didn't succeed in that as his face showed sadness, but hope at the same time. And hate. "Um... eh... could I... could I have another mug of ale here, please?" he asked.

Aivanther
Aivanther is beginning to get more than a bit uncomfortable, there are more faerie-elves here than he cares to deal with. However, they're all part of this quest and he'll put his discomforts, and his past, behind him.

Smiling at SwordMage's discomfort with society and it's peculiararities. Aivanther pretends not to notice Legolas and replies to SwordMage's inquiry, "We're on a quest, though I'm not sure how much in the way of gold we'll acquire. So far, much to my disappointment, we've not made much money off of this. However, there's always the chance, and you're welcome to join us." Forcing himself to look at Legolas he adds, "Do you want to join us as well?"

Che
Just after the request for more ale, Legolas noticed that the dwarf the was the barkeep was fully adorned with battle armor. Rather strange he thought for such a friendly looking establishment. The elf also noticed that many other patrons were heavily armed and other elves be present.

"Well, all right, then Legolas, another ale it be. And this one be on the house, but remember that all gratuities will a be greatly appreciated." Satisfied with the presence of Legolas, and unperturbed with the resolve presented by the elf, Che waved to one of this daughters to refill the empty mug.

PrinceLegolas
Quickly one of Che's daughters refilled the empty mug standing before Legolas, and he thanked the girl politely. Before picking up the mug to drink, he looked around the tavern once more. He still wondered what the reason could be that most of them were dressed up as if on an adventure. Halfway, he saw two people discussing something privately. Legolas could not hear what they were saying due to all the talking in the tavern, but just when he wanted to grab his mug and drink his ale, he saw that the darker of the two figures he noticed was looking at him. Legolas put down the mug again and looked back. Legolas was like that, no shame in looking back when he caught someone's attention. He doesn't like secrets. Then he heard the man speak louder, still looking towards him. "Do you want to join us as well?" he said. 

Legolas stood up and walked towards Aivanther and SwordMage. "Well... if it's not too much of a trouble I would like to know what exactly I am to join, elf," He said the last word a little louder, as if suspicious of the one he adressed. "And perhaps then you could also tell me why everyone here is dressed up like an adventurer.”

A rather strange inn I chose in which to drink away my sorrow, thought Legolas. But then again, if this gets
my mind off the recent happenings, everything is welcome...

Aivanther
Trying to keep his calm, Aivanther studies Legolas. His first suspicions were definitely true, Legolas had to be an archer. And judging by the way he was attired and held himself, a talented one. His group needed all the help we can get. Answering Legolas, "Well, you look like someone who needs something to do. I recognize the look in your eyes, I've had it myself." Swallowing uncomfortably, Aivanther leaned closer and whispered so the whole company won't hear, "You're angry and hurting, and believe me, the only thing that helps is getting out and doing something," speaking in a normal tone he continues, "We're avenging the death of a group of druids, and putting to end an alliance of evil pseudo-gods."

ArchMage Alexander
Focusing his attention on SwordMage, Alexander says, "Welcome, I am a mage as well. May I inquire as to your abilities in the magical arts? It's always nice to know just how much power and potential I'm working with." 

The cat purrs loudly, attempting to comfort the obviously distraught Raytheon who continues to stare blankly.
PrinceLegolas
He knows me, thought Legolas, Not personally, but he sees through me... I will have to be careful with this one.

Legolas tried even harder to wipe all emotion of his face, and it more or less worked. Elves were good at that anyway, but Legolas has a hard time with it due to recent happenings.... His Dwarven friends... dead... and all four of them too! No, he wouldn't let the thoughts carry him away again. He refocused himself and said: "Yes. Something to keep my mind of other things would be welcome at the moment." Suddenly, Aivanther saw a fire burning in Legolas's eyes. "Yes! Evil pseudo-gods, here we come!", he said, much louder this time. The fire went out. "Ahem, yes, I will be more than capable of shooting any arrow in any evil throat. I do not want to know any more details. Plans are better left unknown to me in this time,” said Legolas, "As you probably have noticed I'm rather confused at the moment. I will do my best however, and if there's anything essential I need to know, feel free to come and talk to me again in a while. I have some ale to attend to now."

Legolas walks back to the corner, sits down, and drinks from his Ale. Slowly, this time. More thoughts came upon him. He closed his eyes again, and thought....

SwordMage
Into the silence caused by pure_ultima's hesitation broke a sudden "..on a quest, though I'm not sure how much in the way of gold we'll acquire." 

The man who spoke these words seemed to be in the shady business though this was rather a guess. Never seen a thief before, but heard of their kind, I must be careful..., no, my small purse is still there.

Another man walked by and the two elves exchanged some looks. Someone in the tavern gave Aivanther a wink unnoticed by him. "Hey Aivanther, nothing wrong here.”

Following the little discussion and noticing the intense eye-contact of the two, SwordMage smiled to himself.  At least I know the name of someone here now. While he was thinking about the words Aivanther has spoken, someone else introduces himself. A mage.

And this mage asked his question in a very direct way without even dropping his name: "How powerful are you?" was the direct translation disguised under friendly words. In any other circumstances SwordMage would have drawn his 2-hander by now, but the time spent as an apprentice with his master has taught him: never threaten a mage until you have to!

And after another thought about the whole matter he even remembered more: Mages were very interested in this question, and to be truthful, SwordMage is also interested in these kind of questions.

"Well," he tried for an opening, "I have no formal education, but my skills in Illusions and Necromancy are..." unbeaten so far came into his mind but then he thinks about the fact that the number of mages he has seen so far is four "Er, good. My master taught me some really good spells. Look at this one..." but Aivanther layed an arm on his shoulder

“No fireballs in the tavern." He smiled.

"Oh, yes, of course. Hmm, we will discuss this further another time. Maybe you want to have a look at my scrolls then?" he finished his answer to the Archmage Alexander.

Then he sat back. Well, I have to think about this. I got an offer to join up with you from Aivanther who has also some relation to this strange source of magic. The other guy (ultima) seems to hesitate and the rest of their party...or aren't they a party?..is sitting over there without much motion.   And then he saw the source: The sword! A Ranger! A Ranger with a sword! This is the source I have sensed over miles! What a powerful artifact this must be!
Not concerned anymore about the possibility to face physical dangers (Hey, I am a berserker!) and more dangerous magical perils (Hey, I am a mage!) he turns again towards Aivanther with an eye also on pure_ultima, hoping to get along with him.

“But you know nothing of me.  Do you still wish my company?”
 
ArchMage Alexander

"So, you're a beserker/mage specialzing in illusions and necromancy, what an odd combination. Now, what exactly is your experience in traveling, fighting, etc. and could you please tell me some about your past." His cat coughs and glares at him, "Oh, forgive me, my name is Alexander, I am a mage of no small means." 

Raeython
Raeython's eyes are vacant as they stare off into the distance. Though he is sitting at the table surrounded by his fellow adventurers, his mind is a million miles away. 

Even though the sword is in its sheath hanging from Raeython's swordbelt, he can still 'hear' its muted agony, still feel its terrible rage. Those emotions, those feelings tear through Raeython's mind, fueling his own sentiments about that terrible event. All he can think about is retribution, all he can feel is rage.

Suddenly, the mantra in his head starts to fade. Then, as if from a distance, one voice stands clear from the rest. A voice that Raeython would recognize no matter what was troubling his mind; the voice of his mother in all but name.

“Raeython, you must listen to what I have to say. The other druids have joined with the trees, I am the only one left. Raeython, you must snap out of this stupor. You must drive the voices to the back of your mind, before you lose yourself in their longings.'”

"But, mother I can't. I have tried, but the voices are too strong. I can't resist their urges. All I can think about is the grove, and vengeance. Even now I can 'hear' them at the back of my mind, urging me to track down Malus and kill him."

“If that is so, you must separate your feelings from your mind. You must form a partition in your being. You must let go most of your emotions if you are to resist the call of the blade.”

"But mother, that is something only druids can do. I can't do that."

“You must do that. If you do not, your identity will be absorbed by the blade, and you will have lost yourself forever.”

"Why do they do this to me? I have always served them, I have protected them as best I was able. Why to they hate me so?"

 “They don't hate you, Raeython. In their own way, they love you. You have to understand they are no longer human by any stretch of the word. They don't understand the limitations of the human mind. They are trying to push you and help you, they don't realize they are destroying you in the process. You must partition off your mind, or you will join with the trees, and be lost forever.”

"I will try, mother. Mother, are you going to stay separate, or am I going to lose you forever?"

 “My son, I can stay for a time, but in the end I must join with the trees. My time in your world is done, and there is nothing more I want than to finish my great journey. Your time is not yet done, you have more life to experience. Raeython, you must do this or your quest will fail.”

Aivanther
Noticing SwordMage's continuous checking for his purse and his suspicious gazes at the him, Aivanther chuckles and says, "Don't worry about your purse; pickpoketing is not my specialty. I am an assassin, a blade in the night, not a pickpocket. I also have quite the talent with locks and traps. And do not worry, I don't steal or kill my companions, it's not exactly wise or strategic."

Shifting in his chair, Aivanther says, "We're all saddened by the druids’ deaths, and that's our purpose."

pure_ultima

Raeython
Suffering from a vague sense of loss, Raeython realizes that his mother is gone. He considers what she told him, and tries to remember all he can. While partitioning off part of yourself is not a magic spell in any sense, it is something reserved for higher level druids. 

Before a druid can shapechange for the first time, they have to learn this discipline. When encountering the primal instincts and emotions that come with assuming the form of an animal, the druid can be overwhelmed by the force of the feelings. That is why they are taught to partisan off that part of their persona while in their altered state. 

Raeython knows that is not exactly the truth. It's more like creating a buffer against your emotions, but that is as close as he ever understood it. From what was explained to him, you can still feel your emotions, but it is as if your body is feeling them, and your body is leagues away.

Raeython snaps himself back to attention. Since the departure of his mother, he can feel the urgings of the sword growing steadily stronger. If he is going to attempt this, it is going to have to be soon.

Raeython takes a dagger out of his right boot. He quickly makes a one inch slit in his right forearm.
 He quickly duplicates the incision on his left forearm, on each of his thighs, and finally on his forehead. He then sheathes his dagger, and closes his eyes in concentration as the blood slowly trickles down his forehead and arms.

ArchMage Alexander
Alex watches Raytheon in curiosity, he didn't know much about Druid magic, but he recognized the fact that this was an important ritual. Sipping his wine, he petted his cat, who had jumped into his lap when it noticed Raytheon begin his rituals. “Interesting,” he muttered to his cat, "look at the way he's drawing magic, it's both from somewhere else and himself. I guess that ‘somewhere else’ is in the earth. Fascinating." 

The cat simply watched.

PrinceLegolas
Legolas opened one eye when he noticed the tavern fell silent. He saw a druidic figure sitting in the middle of the room, with cuts in his forehead, arms, and thighs. He opened his other eye as well and concentrated. He recognized this ritual.... He had seen something much like it before... Long ago, his father had shown him something like this... He could not remember what it was for though. He emptied his mug of ale, and raised from his seat. He walked up to the center of the room where most people stood. He then took a small pouch from his belt. With his right hand he took some powder out of the pouch, and smeared it on his face. One horizontal, green stripe on his forehead, and two triangles with a horizontal stripe through each of them on his cheeks. He closed the pouch and attached it to his belt again. "Are we ready to go?", he asked to no one personally, "I don't think I can wait much longer, there is to much to do, if I'm not mistaken.” Legolas was very determined. He stood there, waiting for a response, and alert as if he could grab his longsword any moment and impale it in someone's chest.

ArchMage Alexander
Alexander responded to Legolas's question, 'Well now, though I trust Aivanther's judgment on your acceptability for this quest, I'd like to know some about your experiences with adventuring. Also, I just want to make sure you can be able to work WITH us. You don't seem to be in the greatest of states, if you don't mind my saying so." 

Che
Che walked around his tavern making notes on everything that he overheard. Much was just gossip and recounts of tales of yore. Other things were about nothing of concern for the dwarf at the moment. Che continued to scribble his scrawls along a piece of parchment when Alexander's cat addressed him, "Hmmmmmm, deep in thought there Che? Two plus two is four, if that's any help."

"Me's just gettin’ everyone's names down if someone's needs a tab to cover 'em. By the ways there cat, yers been smackin' up me's goats milk 'ith a fury lately. If ye 'ad a name, me's could run a tab for ye." 

The cat quickly looked away and pawed its whiskers to erase the drops of white liquid evidencing Che's statement. "For what do you mean, my good dwarf?" Che just turned away with a grunt.

The dwarf continued his list whispering the names to himself, "Let's see, Damasith, a lord, hmmmmm,; Swordmage, better keep those a fireballs in check; hmmmm, Boondock a paladin, and a tired one at that, hmmmmm; Legolas finally awake and speaking to Raeython and Alexander." Che walked over to the table of adventurers to gather orders when he glanced at Raeython. The dwarf ended his whispers with a loud bellow, "Emerith!"

The yell was deafening to all present, and alerted many to come to attention, especially the daughter Emerith who promptly came to her father's side. "Yes, Papa what is it?"

"Looky at Raeython. He be doin' 'is druidic bleedin' again. And a on me nice 'ardwood floor. Ye knows how 'ard it is to gits that stain out. Gets a rag to put under the boy." commanded Che. Emerith quickly placed the towel she had wrapped around her arm underneath the chair of Raeython. She then left for the kitchen once Che gave her an approving nod to do so. Che's attention then resumed again with his notetaking.

B_FH
B_FH sits there, amazed as he finds the fact that Rayethon is a masochist. B_FH's eyes trail off and he sees that Rayethon's new sword is slightly edging toward the blood that is trickling onto the floor. Suddenly the entire scabbard flies away from Rayethon's side and onto the blood. Were the sword itself unsheathed it surely would've cut Ravenwind's leg.

B_FH sits there, unfazed, awaiting to see what happens next.

Palladium Muse
With a yelp the previously catatonic Muse jumps out of her chair, fingers flickering, nearly toppling over backwards. With a crash of her plate mail, she manages to catch herself.

Anyone who can see magic sees a golden dome snap into being over the sword, completely encasing it.

She turns an accusing eye to Raeython, but is hesitant to speak before he completes whatever ritual he's intent on. She knows it's the type best left uninterrupted, and hopes devoutly that the sword did not break his concentration.

Once she ascertains his continuing, she turns a studying eye on the sword. By all she knows, the sword should not have done that...interesting.

"Curiouser and curiouser," she murmurs. And also, unfortunately, all manners are now gone, and she is unable to introduce herself to the newcomers, all attention on the sword.

SwordMage
Impressed by Aivanther's skills in sensing his fears and understanding the meaning of the words SwordMage answers with a smile.  Teased by Alexander's suggestion that his skills are "odd," he feels a need for explaining something. Weaving a tale of his life, he concludes "and so I spent my youth with fighting under command. I haven't adventured a lot so far. My master, who saved me, was my teacher from then on. Some things he never showed me, but he helped me to learn more about the schools of magic I was interested in. So I'm not a specialist mage, just a little bit more proficient in those schools compared to the others."

“A talking cat,” he muttered to himself as Alexander mused.  “And what an intelligent one!”

Noticing that there are even more people coming into the tavern, some of them sitting at his table or nearby talking to each other, telling her own tales "..big fight.." "..hahaha.." "..nonono, let's.." and introducing themselves, SwordMage has a look around to overlook the scene when he realizes the fading background of tavern noise.

More and more pairs of eyes focus the Ranger and his actions. The people sitting at the Ranger's table don't seem to be willing to interrupt him though he is hurting himself. Not daring to interfere, SwordMage also waits for the outcome. . . 

Figaro
*Hits the table with the flat of his palm.* Alright now that everyone has gone on about their lives’ stories, is there any chance that we can come up with a plan that has remote chance of finding and removing Malus's head?

Quietus
Quietus idly shuffles a deck of cards while he waits to see what will develop. Cleverly deducing Figaro's impatience, Quietus responds in the stunned silence that follows.

"Well, Figaro, I still think having you guys bring your gods into the fray would be a good idea, but most seem opposed. That being the case, I'd recommend trying to force Malus to meet you on your terms, if that's possible. Chasing after him probably isn't the best plan, although if that's what you have to do..."

Vintar
Wizzix is a gnomish alchemist/mage, or a student, at least. He loves tinkering with strange potions and powders and finding out what could happen if. . . ! His overwhelming curiosity drove him to a local mage, who finally took him in after being bothered for days. After a few years of minor accidents, Wizzix kind of blew up the laboratory when his mentor was out of town one day. Needless to say, the mage was furious and threw him out. Now, Wizzix is looking for a new mentor, despite the reputation he built up as 'the-little-guy-with-the-singed-eyebrows-you-have-to-keep-clear-of'..

Wizzix awakened from his daydreaming when hearing the word 'mage' and scurried over to the two men standing at the bar. “Are you really mages?” he asked, looking up hopefully, 'I want to be one too, someday.. but I already can do some neat stuff, see?' He waved his hands, furiously chanting some mysterious words in an attempt to impress the two. Suddenly there was a bright flash, as the produce-flame-spell fizzeled in his face, leaving a blackened smoking gnome behind. 

“WIZZIX!! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I WARNED YOU NOT TO FOOL AROUND IN MY TAVERN!!” the bartender roared furiously.

“Oops, sorry. . ,” the gnome whispered, still dazed by the flash. He looked back at the two mages, hoping they didn't mind too much. “Anyone need a pupil?” he said cheerfully, trying to ignore the wicked look the bartender gave him..

Raeython
In the very backmost corner of his mind, Raeython is still aware of what is going on in the bar. Everything around him is a blur, as he concentrates and tries to bring all of his awareness to  the task at hand. He narrows his focus searching inward, deeper until he can feel the primal essence which makes up Raeython himself. Next he concentrates and the lacerations he made on his body. He begins with the cut on his left thigh. Using the cut as a focus, Raeython pushes all of the pain away, and concentrates on feeling nothing at all. When the ache is down to almost a memory he begins again on his right thigh. 

In the bar people are staring at him, and wondering what he is doing. At some point, the sword came out of his scabbard seemingly of its own volition, but Raeython neither sees or feels any of this. His concentration is complete as he moves on to the last wound on his forehead. 

The ranger seems almost to float in his chair as all of the sensations from his arms and legs are numbed to the point of not existing at all. Raeython's lips move in the slighest fashion, indicating some cryptic mantra he is whispering so lightly, it can be heard by no one else in the bar. 

The ranger tenses his whole body, his back arching backwards off his chair at the table. With a final sigh, the ranger sinks back into his chair, his eyelids closed as the tension falls away from his body. Raeython then opens his eyes and surveys the smoky barroom.

The first thing he notices, is that the sword is no longer hanging at his side. Raeython calmly reaches down, and picks up the sword which had landed in a small puddle of his own blood. Seeing his blood on the dusty floor reminded Raeython of his wounds. Whispering a quick prayer to Mielikki, the ranger's wounds close themselves, and disappear without a trace.

Suddenly, he becomes aware of someone tapping him on the shoulder. From the urgency of the tap, it is apparent that they have been trying to get his attention for some time. Raeython turns around, and he sees it was his companion PM trying to get his attention.

As the ranger meets PM's gaze, she can sense something is different in the demeanor of the attentive ranger. Then she notices his eyes. In the past when she met Raeython's stare his eyes were always intense and focused, as if he was aware of every minute detail in his range of sight. Those eyes now still held their knowing look, but the intensity was gone, replaced with a glazed-over expression.

"Was there something you needed?" Raeython inquired of the Muse.

Palladium Muse
"Um...no, I suppose not. I just wanted to make sure you were okay..." She trails off, trying to assemble her thoughts at the quick succession of events surrounding the ranger. The lack of his normal intensity was disturbing, to say the least. It was as if some disinterested stranger had taken residence behind his eyes.

Almost absentmindedly, she gestured to the blood on the floor and it collected into a small pool and evaporated with a sickly sweet smell. Che's daughter, approaching with a bucket and mop, looked at her, something between gratitude and annoyance at her job being upstaged in the glance.

"Things are...upsetting, right now," she said diffidently. "If you need a bit more time to...deal with anything, I'm sure it can be arranged."

Out of the corner of her eye, she catches Ravenwind's slight shake of the head, and realizes that the ranger taking a bit to deal with his grief is not going to be happening for quite some time, if at all.

Squaring her shoulders, she met that bland gaze firmly. "Very well. We shall get started. Ravenwind can lead us to the first piece of the puzzle, the originator of that rod of Loviathar. Just..." Words died once more, any thoughts of warning fading beneath that disquieting stare.

PrinceLegolas
Legolas sighed, and he loosened his grip on his sword. "Very well" he said. "I will tell you all you need to know. First of all, I am Legolas, and I was raised with the wood elves of the north. I'm an elf myself, though I don't favor my own race above any other. I was trained in archery and swordplay for my entire childhood, and became very good at this, if I may say. When I reached the first stages of adulthood, I left the elves to go out in the woods on my own. This has hardened me and I learned more about the ways of the forest and combat. I have since then been with Humans and Dwarves, and I have particularly enjoyed and learned in my time with the Dwarves. I went adventuring with four of my Dwarven friends, and we disposed of evil for several years. That time is... over now, though." Legolas hesitated, as if he didn't like this subject. "My Dwarven friends are gone now, and I have failed. I have failed for the very first time in my already long life, by human standards. Now, I seek to find my death in combat like they did, but not before slaying many more evil-doers, particularly the evil one who killed my dwarven friends, the Red Dragon. I shall help you on your quest and I assure you that I can be trusted. Surely, I am not in the best of states, but I'm in a good enough state to fight and I will lighten up when my mind is busy slaying evil. Count on that."

Legolas looked around, and saw that the other ranger had stopped his ritual. He focused on his sword again, and as he saw more people get ready, he got more and more anxious to go. Again he said: "I'm ready to go anytime now... "

Raeython
PM trails off her warning while studying Raeython's face. Raeython looks back at her and says:

"I believe Che had a good notion about using the teleportation rod to send them to the origin of the rod of Loviathar. I am not very versed in the way of magic, but I believe some of our fellow questors are."

With that, Raeython walks across the noisy taproom where Alexander and Swordmage are having a conversation.

Swordmage: "I'm telling you, the fungus off the toe of a zombie is the perfect ingredient for controlling the undead..."

Alexander: "Bah, you’re daft, man. Everybody knows that the zombie's armpit algae works best. Why just the other day...

Raeython cut in, "I'm sorry to intrude upon your discussion, but I need your help in getting our quest started. As you may or may not be aware, this rod of Loviathar is our best clue on figuring out this puzzle before us. Now we had a good idea from Che about using our rod of teleportation to send us to the origin of the rod of Loviathar. What we need to know is if this is possible or not? Additionally, if we can track the rod of Loviathar back to its origin, is there any type of magic you could use to scout the area so we are not just jumping in blind?"

Raeython waits for a response.

ArchMage Alexander
Alex carefully takes the rod from Raytheon and examines it. He can sense the magic of it, and it definitely had divination capabilities. However, it seemed to be a bit more. He was aware of Swordmage and Wizzix's own curiosity (though he was worried about what Wizzix might do). Carefully he chanted a powerful identify spell, that not only told of the power of the object, but also of the nature and weaving of it's magics.

After several minutes of intense concentration, Alex leans back and sighs. "Well, there's a lot of magic in this. There seems to be a counter spell, a divination, and some sort of cursing magic on it. I THINK the counter-spell is a back trace of the original divination spell (which by the way seems inactive due to the counter-spell) which traces back, or near to, the spot of those who have carried it. It's rather confusing really, because it points to Raytheon, B_FH, and some others (Loviator's followers presumably). The curse seems to be a safeguard from misuse or stealing, but I can easily go around that. Now the teleportation seems just your stan..." 

The cat interrupted, even as Aivanther was chuckling at his friend, "Get to the point."

"Well, I can follow it back to where the orignal one or two people who touched it are. Also, I'm not sure what I can do to probe it, but I'll try." Pulls out a crystal glass and fills it with tequila and concentrates. After a couple minutes he says, "Well there seems to be some temple, but it's shrouded from my sight. I recommend someone who's invisible and has a knack for looking around. Unless someone has a better idea?" He gazes about the room 

Palladium Muse
"Sounds like a job for our resident sneakers."

PrinceLegolas
Legolas steps forward. "Over here" he said. "Let me and Aivanther here scout the area. I'm sure that he, being an assassin, is quite capable of stealth, and I myself have lived in the forests for so long, no foe will see me when there's a tree about. Of course, you could have a mage cast invisibility or some other spell out of your books but what if there's something other powerful out there, something that can see through your invisibility? No offense or anything but wizards are not much use in close combat..... At least, that's what I learned from the elven mages in the woods" Legolas looked around the room. 

"You all don't look like you believe me. Well, do I have to show you or what? Trust me, there's no tree or mountain I can't take without being noticed. And should I be seen, combat is not unknown to me either."

Legolas put his sword in his scabbard, grabbed his bow and an arrow, and launched an arrow with great speed in the wooden door. "Now, have another drink, you all, and let me and Aivanther do the job." Legolas looked to the assassin. "You're with me, right? Now wizard, if you'd please teleport me where I need to go, and Aivanther as well, if he wants to come. We'll scout the area to see if there is anything to expect. Don't worry me being teleported into someone's arms, I'll be gone in no time." Legolas tied the bow back to his back and took his longsword in his left hand.

pure_ultima
Raeython finally snapped out of his strange trance. The bar seemed surreal and quiet. The little alchemist who had just introduced himself, Wizzix, was having an animated discussion with Swordmage and Archmage Alexander. Raeython was talking with PM, and Prince Legolas and Aivanther were leaving the tavern to scout about. 

Ultima sat down into the chair. The door seemed to open but no-one came in. And then Bob the Kobold leaped up onto the table.
                       
"Hullo" he said,
                       
"Hey! Where've you been? Last time I saw you was with that brush with Malus."
                       
"Err... yeah..." The kobold shuffled his feet. "Weeeellll... I kinda tried to steal a few melons from that fruit cart you overturned and well..." 
                       
The kobold shuddered.
                       
Ultima could tell this was not a subject Bob wanted too talk about, so let it drop.

Aivanther
Sighing, Aivanther stands up and says, "Sure, Legolas, I'll go. Heck, won't be the first time I've done something like this. Would you like to make us invisible Alex?" Alexander nods, stands, and casts a spell of improved invisibility and non-detection on Aivanther and then on Legolas, and then invisibility on the cat, "He can tell me, telepathically, when you guys think it's safe and is intrinsically non-detectable." Alexander then concentrates with the wand of teleportation of Che's and concentrating on the rod, opens a portal, through which the three invisibly step.

PrinceLegolas
With his sword in his left hand Legolas steps through the portal. Just before he is teleported away, he says to Aivanther: "I won't be able to see you there. Let's just scout around and have the cat do the talking. We are better left unheard if we are to be unseen." With those words, Legolas vanishes.

Raeython
A momentary look of irritation crosses Raeython's face as the invisible people (and animal) step through the portal. As soon as Aivanther and Legolas dissapeared, the sword began urging him forward through the shimmering portal. He could hear the voices trying to drive him onward towards justice and vengeance, but with his new state of detachment, Raeython is able to resist the incessant urgings of the sword, and seats himself next to Ravenwind and PM at the table once more.

Palladium Muse
Hurredly pours the ranger a mugful of tequila and pushes it in front of him.

PrinceLegolas
Legolas had to recover himself after the teleportation took place. It was quite a rough trip, although it only took a mere second. After a few seconds his sight was clear again, and for a moment, he thought he sensed a small movement in the air around him. "Must be Aivanther," Legolas thought.

He looked around the room he found himself into. Everything was shiny white in here, with the occasional gold statue at the walls. The ground was tiled with perfectly clean stones. In the south end of the room was a door, a large, wooden door with ornaments carved in it. Strange ornaments, ornaments of flying heads with many eyes and large, giant-like creatures unknown to Legolas. They might never be seen on the surface world.

In the north of the shiny room was a coal-black altar, with two golden candles on it, burning. "So there IS someone near", thought Legolas. "These candles are quite new . . ."  The altar was truly evil to behold. Even Legolas, who was not experienced with the ways of magic, could feel that it held unholy powers...

In the east wall of the room, was another door. A small, iron door which Legolas would fit barely fit through, despite the fact that he barely topped five feet in height.

Next to the door in the east wall was a bookcase filled with books in strange, runic languages. Legolas felt no real need to investigate the books, he just hoped the cat would notice all this too, as he didn't want to risk someone hearing them. Even whispering was too dangerous.

Raeython
Raeython accepts the mug, and sips on it nonchalantly while waiting for news from the scouts.

Aivanther
Slipping around the temple, Aivanther's eyes scan for traps and people. Seeing neither, Aivanther investigated the altar. He noticed fresh candles, and sensed powerful magic from it. Also there was a knife, marked with strange runes of blood, lying on the altar. Investigating and listening at both doors, Aivanther hears no noises and is worried. However, he can't place his finger on anything wrong, scanning the smaller doors lock, he notices a trap.

ArchMage Alexander
Sweating with the effort of holding the portal open, Alex says in a strained voice, "He says to come on through, they can't find anything. He does however say the whole setting is rather fishy.”

SwordMage
SwordMage puts his weapons on his back to be ready and helps Alexander in his efforts to keep the portal open. 'Wow, this is indeed a tough mage!'

"We won't be able to do this much longer," adding a "Thanks!" when Wizzix adds his powers.
"What next? You know much more about this, argh, stuff,” he coughed, “Raeython. Should we follow or not?"

Che
Che, being frustrated with the hesitation of the others, waddles forward. He checks his armor and secures a couple of straps. The dwarf affixes his rusty sword close to his leg. Confident with what he is about to do, he grabs the arm of Palladium and moves towards the portal. Quietus rushes forward, "Do you want me to watch your back on this one, boss?"

“Of course, me friend. And you, Buffeh, step forward and let’s go."

Che then gently gives small push on the shoulders Palladium and Quietus and guides B_FH to his side. Che then looks back to the others. "Before ye all come along through, remember to leaves a small gratuity on yer table. A large one if ye be inclined so."

With that the four of them entered the portal. *Poof*

Raeython
Raeython watches as Che grabs PM and heads through the portal. Raeython finishes the rest of his mug with one gulp and sets the mug back on the table. He fishes around in one of his many pouches and comes up with a silver piece which he leaves next to his mug on the table. 

He holds his arm out for Ravenwind, who gracefully accepts with a bemused look on her face. The two of them calmly stroll towards the open portal. Before they enter, Raeython turns around to the rest of the adventurers and says:

"All ashore who's going ashore. Alexander, feel free to dissolve the portal once you have made through. We don't want to leave anything like this open for any length of time. We always have one charge left in the rod and any spells you might have to get us back afterward."

With that, Raeython and Ravenwind step through the portal. *Pop*

SwordMage
Well, we have a problem now" grinning at the other two mages, "Who wants to be the one who keeps the portal (urgh) open for the other two of us to step through?"

"Forget it. On three we'll go."

“One . . ."

"Two . . ."

"Three . . ."

PrinceLegolas
Legolas heard a faint buzzing. Immediately he jumped up and turned around to see what's making the sound, with his sword more than ready. The portal made the sound, he noticed. "Is it going to close?" thought Legolas... That wouldn't be good. But as he thought about this, he sees the body of Palladium coming through, soon followed by all the others that stepped through. Legolas was glad to see them, but of course, they could not see him. When he realized this he said: "Hey, it's me, Legolas, I'm invisible, but as you can see there's nothing dangerous in this room. However, Aivanther is around here somewhere too and I would advise not to touch anything until he says you can... He's good at detecting traps and such, but you know that. Perhaps my invisibility can be dispelled now, but remaining unseen could also have it's advantages. Oh, and I know I'm a stranger to most of you, but I hope you will all trust me today and the next."

Legolas walked up to the altar and investigated the knife with the runes. They were not readable to him, but it was a fascinating item. He put it back in place, though, as he didn't want to take anything away from the altar before the mages had taken a look at it.

Aivanther
Glancing over at the emerging group, and stifling a chuckle as he saw the mages fall in a heap over each other, Aivanther called out, "I'm over by the small door, there's a trap on it and I'm going to disarm it. Most of the room is free, but steer clear of the other doors I haven't checked it out yet." Turning his gaze back to the trap, he studied it and the group heard some clicking and scraping noises. The disembodied voice announced, "I'll check out this other door now, that one's disarmed and unlocked."

Quietus
Quietus arrives in a temple that is suddenly as crowded as a tavern. "Must be bingo night," he thinks as he glances around to see what is going on.

Recalling his last debacle in a temple, Quietus decides to kick back and see what the others want him to do. No sense in getting everyone killed by making a stupid move...

ArchMage Alexander
Disentangling himself from the mess of mages (sounds like a bizarre spell) Alex surveyed the room. Through his telepathic link he located his cat and pointed towards the gnome who was eagerly surveying the temple, "Keep an eye on him." Turning to the gnome, he said sharply, "Wizzix! Don't touch anything!"

Turning his attention to the room, Alex chants a detect magic spell. Suddenly the altar, the books on the shelf, the door Aivanther was searching, and especially the knife glowed a bright blue. When the door turned blue an exclamation of surprise was heard from the region of the door, as well as some falling tools.

"Warn me first! I nearly cut my finger off when you did that," growled a disembodied voice. It subsided to a grumbling, something about 'inconsiderate mages.’

Those that paid attention to the mage noticed that Alexander's usually absent-minded and innocently curious facial expression had turned to a very serious and commanding cast as the mage studied the room. Alexander moved towards the altar studying it and the knife. "Never seen the likes of it before. Some sort of sacrificial dagger I suppose, but what are the enchantments on it?" Moving towards the door, he studied the markings on it. "Hmmmmmmmm, don't know about this, but it seems magically warded. Interesting..." Suddenly Legolas's disembodied voice said, "Look, I can see a blue glow coming under the door Aivanther unlocked."

Che
As Alexander surveyed the situation, Che did a quick head count of everyone that came through. "Alexander there and that cat, Raeython.... ooooh nasty gash on his forehead, ah, Palladium.... why's she glarin' at me, I didn't push 'er that hard , Ravenwind, .....she's awfully quiet today, ah, Buffeh, good, Quietus . . . keeps watchin' me back there, Legolas fine, Aivanther, (coins still in me pockets good, yes), ah, is that Figaro . . . looks like it, hard to tell with this smoke......ah, the Saint, good, SwordMage.....where's SwordMage...oh right behind me. . . .heh . . .ah . . . pure ultima, yes . . . Wizzix, the new guy. . . .hmmmm, haven't seen him leave any gratuities yet . . . ah......hey we're missin someone."

The cat looks at Che, "And yourself, dwarf."

"Ah good, and meself. All's a-present."

SwordMage
He incants, and the color of SwordMage's clothes fades away. He is looking like .. well, like a petrified human now. He steps over to the altar without touching the dagger.

"Hmm, the last one seems to indicate death or fading away, while the first one has something to do with a snake or a worm or .. no, don't know it exactly. But interesting, indeed."

The blue glow seems to become more intensely and it's not only glowing now. Tentacles form themselves out of the glow, and there is something like a vein throbbing in the biggest of them. The tentacles seem to search something or someone though they are moving rather slowly at the moment..

SwordMage rapidly casts Remove Fear.  Don’t know what it is and I hope that Aivanther and PrinceLegolas are also affected by my spell!

Quietus
The tentacles move towards Raeython, writhing almost hypnotically. 

Quietus, having managed to avoid doing anything stupid for over five minutes, feels compelled to act. Pointing his small crossbow at the source of the light, he squeezes the trigger, sending a bolt into the creature.

Suddenly, the blue light forms into the shape of a woman. Quietus gasps, "Mara?"

The woman quickly and gracefully glides out the small door.

Che, simply observing the tentacles moving away from Raeython and towards Quietus calls out urgently, "Quietus, me boy, what be you talking about?"

Quietus ignores him... and without warning runs out the door.

The tentacles begin moving towards SwordMage.

Vintar
“Eek!” Wizzix shrieked as he saw the writhing mass of tentacles closing in. Instinctively, words came pouring out of his mouth, and suddenly a small flaming ball popped up in the palm of his hand. He stared at it in surpise.  “It worked, it worked!” he cried joyfully, almost forgetting the situation. A tentacle wrapping around his ankle brought him back to reality and he chucked the flame towards his feet. A small explosion occurred, causing the tentacle to release its vicelike grip and throwing the gnome off balance. The strange beast didn’t seem very impressed, however, and quickly resumed the attack..

PrinceLegolas
Without a second thought, Legolas jumped on the tentacle creature, surrendering his invisibility. He managed to grab the tentacles at the point where they split up, heavily restricting its movement. "Hurry up, someone put this beast to sleep! It's too strong, I can't hold it much longer!" Legolas saw Raeython hacking at the creature with his sword. "Go on! It's distracted! Someone kill it!" He shouted. Using all the power he had, Legolas held onto the tentacle.

Raeython
The sword in Raeython's right scabbard twisted and wreathed like a thing alive when the tentacles first appeared. The steady mantra running through Raeython's head hits a crescendo, as all of the voices seem to cry out as one: vengeance! The force of the emotions roll over Raeython, and he feels them despite the detached state he is in.

Raeython quickly surveys the situation, and says, "What the hell!" and draws his blades. The second the new blade clears the scabbard, the steady green glow that normally outlines the sword intensifies and everything within a ten-foot radius takes on a green cast. The blade kicks in Raeython's hand, urging him to join the fight.

Palladium Muse
Ravenwind draws her own blade, and watches as Raeython draws his. Slashing at the nearest tentacle curling towards her, there's a flash as Kaltseax makes contact, and the tentacle fades in a cloud of reeking light blue smoke.

The tentacles seemed to sense the mounting attack and send out more, questing for their living forms.

Prince Legolas stiffened, weapons drawn as one of the blue tentacles neared him. "No. You’re dead..." he was heard to whisper.

Che, Buffeh, Muse, everyone but the paladin Ravenwind and the ranger Raeython saw something they knew should not be. Ravenwind glanced around in uncertainty as the movement to defend died in the others. They stood transfixed, staring at the tentacles that writhed towards them.

ArchMage Alexander
Surveying the situation, Alex begins to chant a spell. Suddenly a bolt of energy flies from Alex's han causing the tentacles writhe in a agony and withdraw for a moment. Realizing he'd only given them a few seconds and realizing their desperate situation, Alex quickly started another spell, a spell of summoning. An alarmed PM recognized the word “Nishruu” in the spell. The hissing voice of his familiar is heard saying, "Hurry! Someone kill it! Don't let Alex complete this spell! Last time he barely controlled the monster when he summoned it, who knows if he can this time!"

Raeython
Ravenwind and Raeython advance towards the tentacles side by side. Each time Kaltseax contacts one of the whirling tentacles, it vanishes in a cloud of smoke. Each time Raeython connects, the tentacle is severed, and a blackish-brown rot begins at the end of the tentacle, and slowly works its way towards the main body. 

The gyrations of the beast become more and more agitated, as it loses more of its limbs, and the taint on the tentacles Raeython severed moves slowly but inexorably into the main body. Then from the background Raeython can hear the frantic plea of Alexander's familiar to kill the beast. Raeython and Ravenwind slowly advance towards the main body.

Aivanther
Suddenly Aivanther appears, his Crystal Saber severing a tentacle in a flash of light. A menacing sound emanates from the beast as the adventurers drive it back, steadily cutting it to pieces. Bringing his black dagger out, he notices a deadly sheen to the weapon. Striking a tentacle with the dagger an ultra-sonic wail emanates from the beast as Aivanther feels the power of Mask strike through his dagger.

PrinceLegolas
When seeing Raeython, Ravenwind, and Aivanther chopping of more and more tentacles, Legolas held on more firmly. "I can't let go now, we're too close!" thought Legolas. He could see that Raeython and Ravenwind were now busy severing the last three tentacles, and it seemed like as if just before its defeat, the beast had one last burst of strength. Suddenly, the main tentacle, which Legolas was holding onto, lashed out quickly, causing Legolas to fall backwards, off the tentacle. It then lashed back with great speed again, flailing Legolas to the western wall of the room. Legolas hit the wall with great speed, and fell to the ground, on his knees, and face-down on the ground. The tentacle knocked him unconscious as a last action before its death. Ravenwind and Raeython were now close to finishing the beast off, Aivanther was viciously helping them, and Alexander was still casting his spell.

Palladium Muse
The walls of the temple shudder as the beast recoils from Aivanthar's attack. Raeython and Ravenwind, seeing the hesitation, press forward with a flurry of blows.

A blackened streak races up the tentacle Aivanthar had struck with his dagger, into the heart of the beast, combining with the rot inflicted by Raeython's attacks. With a keening howl, which forces everyone to flinch, the beast's amorphous body seems to pile in on itself, the tentacles whipping back into it. It shudders and thrashes, misty blue slowly fading to an amalgam of black and unhealthy brown.

As one, Raeython and Ravenwind strike, driving their blades deep into the mass. With one last howl, the beast implodes silently, but with enough force to send nearly everyone to the floor. 

A shaken Muse picks herself up off the floor. "Where's Quietus?" she asks, after taking a quick head-count. Heading for Legolas, she presses her fingers to his temples, a silvery glow outlining them. He revives a few moments later.

Quietus
Quietus bursts through the door and enters a small antechamber. He notices none of his surrounding, as he only has eyes for Mara. 

"How can you be here?" he asks. "I haven't seen you in so long."

She whispers to him in a frightened tone, "You must help me. Your 'friends' are trying to kill me again. Please." She gasps as if suffering a painful blow.

Quietus withdraws his spear and waits by the small door, prepared to defend Mara at any cost. He doesn't notice that behind him, Mara has collapsed into a small blue ball, conserving her energy for one final attack.

ArchMage Alexander
The now visible (and named) Faust stands in front of the chanting Alexander, waiting for the right opportunity. As soon as he reaches a certain point, Faust jumps up and bats him on the nose, causing him to yell, "Heya, little bugger!" Due to the cat's timing the spell fizzles off into a summon hell-hound spell, which is quickly slain by a startled Ravenwind. Looking around ALex says, "Oh, we got him!"

Raeython
Raeython wipes the green bile off of his blade, and notices that sword is still emitting its circle of light. 

"Something is still not right. Where is Quietus?"

PrinceLegolas
The first thing Legolas saw when he woke up again was the face of Palladium Muse. "Um . . . you . . . uh... thanks for healing me... I guess," he said. Legolas got up and looked at the imploded body of the tentacle creature, and that of the hell-hound. "You finished the tentacle, I see, and something else. Good, but I guess there's more to come." Legolas turned back to PM, and reached out his hand to her. "I've seen you, but we haven't really met. I'm Legolas. Thanks again for healing me there."

Palladium Muse
Smiling, she took his hand and shook it, then helped him to his feet. "My pleasure. I'm Palladium Muse, mage extraordinaire," she finished with a wink. "Now, where did that Quietus run off to?"

Quietus
Quietus lurks behind the door, ready to battle if need be. "Lousy scum," he thinks, "what did she ever do to them? Why did I trust them? Oh well, they won't get her this time." 

He continues his ramblings, seemingly unaffected by the absurdity of the situation.

SwordMage
Thoughtfully SwordMage cleans his two-handed sword. The disembodied tentacles transform once more, first into a gaseous form, then a blue glow, and then--nothing.

The throbbing vein, he thinks. "Hey, I think we don't need to attack all the tentacles the next time. Legolas made the right decision before he was knocked out. We'll have to cut into the veins or directly attack the heart. I think that this . . . thing . . . was like a guardian, and it seems to recover itself or its energy or whatever at a safe place. Whenever we'll face it again it will be much better prepared for us."

"As to Quietus? I think I saw him running into the next room." And SwordMage enters the room.

Quietus
SwordMage and B_FH enter the room one after the other, squeezing through the small door. Having been defeated using physical attacks, the guardian decides to upgrade its psychic assault. The blue ball expands and forms strange images.

B_FH cries out, "Father, you're alive!"

"Yes, my boy. Hurry, defend me. Your friends have tried to murder me. You must stop them."

SwordMage feels a strong presence trying to enter his mind, and the form of his mentor appears before him. Drawing on his strong mental discipline, he attempts to fight off the mental intrusion.

Quietus hears Mara cry out, "Quick, strike him down while he is confused."

Quietus lashes out with his spear and scratches SwordMage's unprotected side—unprotected except for the enduring power of his stoneskin spell.

With his great strength and fortitude, SwordMage withstands the blow. The attack causes his mind to clear of the images and he sees that the room has erupted into a violent blue color. The brightness of the light makes the thing’s center difficult to detect. He wards off a blow from Quietus and ponders what to do.

Meanwhile, another figure slips through the door. B_FH whirls to attack.

SwordMage
“RRAAARGHHH!”

Brutal and fierce thoughts flood into SwordMage's brain. A small glow in his eyes indicates that some of his intelligence remains, but there isn't much left.

He raises both arms to smash the cowardly opponent.

PrinceLegolas
Legolas walks towards the door. Suddenly, everyone heard SwordMage shout, "RRAAWWWGH! Quietus has been posessed!" Upon hearing this, Legolas immediately ran into the room behind the small door. There, he saw B_FH, Swordmage, Quietus, and a blue ball of energy. Without hesitation, Legolas grabs Swordmage by his arm and pulls him backward, back into the room where the tentacle attacked. Immediately after this, he takes his longsword and parries any attacks made by Quietus or B_FH, while shouting "Someone help! I can't keep these two busy for too long! Knock them down, B_FH and Quietus have been posessed!"

Palladium Muse
Swordmage, now fully into his bezerker rage, immediately attacks Prince Legolas, unable to discern between someone grabbing him to help and someone grabbing him to hurt.

Quietus
B_FH decides to end the battle with Prince Legolas as quickly as he can. He drags out a scroll of magic missile and casts it on him. Immediately upon finishing the spell, the energy is drained into the blue creature. Apparently it is draining all magic in order to increase its power.
 The relatively small room has degenerated into a massive melee. Quietus, as the least skilled fighter of the lot, is taking a beating. A wild slash from SwordMage cuts him across the chest. Quietus falls back with blood oozing out of the wound. He drops his spear and picks up his crossbow. He leans back, waiting for the perfect shot.

Aivanther
An extremely annoyed Aivanther comes into the room and pulls out his bow and dispelling arrows. He superficially wounds Legolas and B_FH, not knowing who's been possessed, and these being the closest two. He then moves his targets to farther out. Glancing over his shoulder he sees Alex begin another spell.

ArchMage Alexander
Alex's chanting reaches a crescendo and an earth elemental forms. Alex orders it to restrain Quietus. He then casts his own stoneskin spell. Seeing the glow in the room Alexander considers his next move. 

PrinceLegolas
"NO!" Legolas shouted, "Swordmage, get ahold of yourself!" Legolas, since Quietus was on the ground and B_FH stopped his melee, Legolas now grabbed Swordmage with both hands, dropping his sword, and Legolas fell backwards onto the ground, taking Swordmage with him. Just before Swordmage would fall upon him, he raised his leg, and kicked Swordmage backwards, over his head, so Swordmage fell back into the room where the others were. "Hold on to Swordmage, someone!"Legolas shouted, "He's gone berserk!" 

Legolas came to his feet again, and so did Quietus. Before Quietus - or Legolas for that matter - could arm himself, Legolas jumped on him, and kept him to the ground. Struggling to remain on top, Legolas hoped someone would quickly come and help before the blue ball or B_FH would do something nasty to him. Suddenly, he felt something piercing in his back. It didn't go deep, but someone had shot an arrow at him. Legolas weakened from the shot, but managed to keep on top Quietus, and shouted, "No, not me!"

Figaro
    The ranger steps out of the shadows and quickly whacks Quietus on the head with the pommel of his sword. “A small force held in reserve can often turn the tide of the battle,” he says with a grin.  “Okay, I'm ready; who wants some?”

Palladium Muse
Incanting, she quickly wraps up Swordmage in a cubic wall of force and lifts it several feet in the air. Using a cantrip, she darkens the sides of the cube to black.

Swordmage, not seeing any more enemies standing, sits abruptly within the cube, staring blankly, face slack.

ArchMage Alexander
Deciding on a course of action, Alex begins to chant. Reaching a crescendo to his spell, Alex's mind becomes locked into a psychic battle with the tentacle monstrosity. Dimly he's aware that Quietus has ceased to thrash, having been released, both by Figaro’s stunning blow to his head, and also since the monster is now lost in its efforts to battle Alex. He was also aware of Faust's own mental attack, through him, on the monster. However, he paid little attention to that, all of his attention was focused on the mental struggle.

Che
Che moves in beside Alexander making sure not to disrupt the mages concentration. The dwarf sees Quietus lying on the ground, slightly stunned by the happening. Che quickly rushes to Quietus, and pulls him back. "Yer supposed to be watchin' me back, not the others way around." The two of them slowly backed away, with weapons drawn, awaiting the outcome of Alexander's chant.

Quietus
Quietus rubs his head and glances at the blood oozing out of his chest. He's not quite sure what has happened, but he figures it can't be good. Unaware of who all helped him, he sees Che dragging him away.

"Thanks, Che. Next time, I'll try to restrain myself from doing ...whatever it is I did. Dang man, my head is killing me, and I seem to have cut myself. It's times like these that I wish healing spells worked on me..."

Vintar
“Brrr!” Wizzix shook his head and scrambled to his feet. He looked at his brand new boots, now dry and brittle. Grumbling he looked around to see what was happening. He saw a strange black cube hovering in the air, apparently doing nothing. The other party-members were strewn about here and there, some bleeding more than others. Luckily, there was no sign of the monster anymore, but there was another presence that was even more dangerous. He saw Alexander battling the blue monstrosity, felt the powerful forces involved, but couldn’t understand them. Breathlessly, he awaited the outcome of the struggle..

                                                                                                    IP: Logged
Palladium Muse
PM, seeing Alexander readying a spell to attack the monster, gently lowers the cube and releases it just as Swordmage recovers from his post-rage weakness.

She then proceeds to keep an eye on the other actions, ready to go.

ArchMage Alexander
Locked in psychic battle, everything fades from his mind except the struggle. Slowly the battle turns as Alex gains the upper hand. Just before he reaches the point of dominating the monster, a strong mind takes up the battle through the monster forcing him back again. Gasping, Alex's knees buckle and he slumps to the ground, slowly losing to the new mind. Putting all of his will power behind his struggle, and with the aid of Faust, Alex regains his defenses and presses back on the attack. 

This new mind, however, is not that of a monster, it is subtle and quick, and has turned the battle from one of brute force only, to one of strength and wits. Focusing himself entirely on the battle of mind, Alex loses all thought outside the battle, he doesn't remember who he is or why he's fighting, only that he must win. A primal growl escapes his lips as he strikes and parries in a mental combat every bit as, or even more so, dangerous than a physical battle.

The group sees Alex simply standing there with a terrific look of anger and struggle on his face. They also notice that the monster is not moving either. 

Aivanther
Seeing the mage obviously locked in some type of struggle with the monster, Aivanther decides to see if he can help. Drawing his blades, Aivanther moves up beside the monster and plunges both blades deep into the pulsating vein. Once again, his saber flashes and a surge of energy strikes through the dagger, and the monster emits a horrible wail, causing all but Alex to cover their ears in pain.

ArchMage Alexander
He was losing, he could see that. No matter what he tried he couldn't break through his opponent’s wall, and he could feel his own wall start to crumble. Determined to hold on, he continued to fight, desperately holding his defenses while searching for a weak spot to pry into or bash open. Suddenly, his opponent quivered, and a gap opened in the wall and he surged through, smiting his enemy, not giving it any time to recover. Drawing a last well of strength he attempted to destroy it, but his foe fled, and all that was left was a pathetic unfeeling thing of rage which quickly fell under the blow.

The group watched as the creature shrieked and then fell silent, dissolving into a black vapor. Alex collapsed to the ground, Wizzix and PM moved to him, checking him to make sure he was all right. Slowly, Alex sits up and gazes around confused, "Do I know you? Who am I? And would you all stop spinning, you're making me sick." 

The party was dismayed, their companion had lost himself. Che, however, had the solution. Walking up to the mage, he decked him across the back of the head.
"Ow! Che, why in the Nine Hells did you do that?" 

Che
"Oh, sorry, Alex, me's forgots that ye don't wear a helm. Anyways, we's got poor Quietus 'ere with a bad wound. Me's put some o' me healin' herbs on it but that a-will a no be doin' the trick. He needs some stronger 'ealing else he be pinin' fer the fyords very soon."

SwordMage
SwordMage cannot stand. He walks like someone who has the burden of ages on his shoulders. Something (or someone!) has wounded him where a man suffers the most. "Hmrmphf!" he snorts. He puts his arms above his head and took a deep breath. Once more.  A little bit better now.

Then he sees Quietus who also suffers but more seriously.  "I feel a little bit guilty for that, though I must say that you're also to blame. Take that, it's my last one. Think you need it now."

And Queitus drinks the great potion of healing with delight. He's not bleeding anymore, though he still has an ugly wound.

A fighter/mage? Female? he thinks, studying the Muse.  My mentor told me that females aren't intelligent enough for understanding magic . . . mmh, maybe he had some prejudices, thinks Swordmage, but to his own luck, not aloud. 

"So this is what they call a 'temple,’ eh? Never seen one before."

Ravenwind walks over to Legolas "Hmm, an arrow of dispelling - without barbs. Not a bad wound, you had luck."

B_FH
"Ugh... feels like I've been through a shredder. What happened? I remember walking in . . . then everything after that is a blur." B_FH checks the back of his head and sees that it's bleeding. "Did I get into a fight?" he asks.

Che
Che checks the back of B_FH's head. "Nothin' here of any importance." B_FH gives the dwarf a questioning stare for that comment. "Ye will a-be fine. Strange monsters about and berserkin' adventurers........ all in a day’s work."

Che tethers a small head bandage to B_FH. "Ow!"

"Hmmmm, that's twice now me's a caused ye mages some o' head pain. Ah, be's good fer ye recovery. Keeps yers magic ready, there, Buffeh. We still have to recoup ourselves 'ere."

Che then looks over at Swordmage and sees where he's been injured. "Ah, he can tend to himself on that one."

Quietus
"Thanks, SwordMage...What? You don't have any more potions? What are you going to do about your, uh, injury? Perhaps you should see if Ravenwind could do something about it. I'll check the other room to see if they have any potions lying around...after all, it is a temple."

Quietus reenters the altar room and looks around. With the recent battle, he sees no need to keep quiet. 

"Hey. Wasn't there some sort of knife on this altar when we first came in? It seems to have disappeared. And those candles, they were almost whole, but now they've burnt themselves out. What do you think is going on?"

While he waits for his companions to rejoin him, he walks over to Faust to see if he enjoys being petted....

Apparently not, as he jumps off his perch on the bookshelf and scampers into the antechamber.

Quietus takes a closer look at the books and notices that the script is perfectly legible to him. He starts scanning the titles to see if they will prove to be of any assistance.

Ravenwind
Ravenwind sheathed her sword, and held out her hands, murmuring softly under her breath, fighting off the overwhelming sensations of evil that surrounded her. The waves of oily loathing that surrounded her had kept her silent until now.

"Aivanther, have you examined that door as yet?" she asked gently, gesturing to a plain wooden door to the right of the dark altar. "I'm sensing a pull there from the wand of Loviathar."

Raeython nodded grimly, patting his sword. As Aivanther lithely moved to examine the other door, Ravenwind whispered to Raeython, "I feel your anger, and the great hatred within the sword. Remember, though, that the power of Torm still lies in it. Draw on his might, if you need it."

Aivanther interrupted, sounding aggrieved, "I can sense that it's trapped, but I'm sensing magical emanations here. I don't think I should tamper with it." In a dark undertone, he cursed mages of all kinds, everwhere. Fortunately for him, no one heard.

The gnomish alchemist, Alexander, Palladium, and Swordmage descended on the door like eager locusts, and Aivanther had to slap the gnome's hands away from touching the door. "Do you want it to blow up in your face?" the assassin snarled.

Ravenwind prudently pulled Swordmage away from the portal and began examining him for any signs of injury. "Barely a scratch," he brusquely dismissed her offers of aid. 

Quietus
Quietus glances up absentmindedly from the book he is reading.

"If you want to get into that room, why don't you just disintegrate the wall? That way you don't have to worry about the trap in the door."

He returns to his reading.

Vintar
“Hmmph,” Wizzix snorted, pulling his eager hands away from the doorknob. Instead he decided to study the lock as close he could to see if he was able to find this so-called 'trap.' After a moment of intense staring he came to the conclusion that there probably wasn't anything there at all, and just as he wanted to open the door anyway, Aivanther brushed him roughly aside.

Palladium Muse
PM studies the door for several minutes before spreading her hands. A dark purplish glow surrounds them, and she seems to be looking through the door.

"Wards," she announces. "Most of them very unpleasant. Still, I think a good, ordinary Knock spell will take care of it."

Taking a step back, she does the brief chant and gestures at the door. There's a click, and Aivanthar goes to gingerly inspect it.

"It's unlocked."

"Goody," Muse says. "I'm really tired of this room. Let's go."

They advance carefully in, only to stop and stare.

More gold than a dozen dragons could hoard was gathered in the cavernous room. Crowns glittered with gems were tossed carelessly among platinum scepters, and equally gleaming jewelry of every sort.

Also like a dragon's hoard, it was piled carelessly around the room, a golden attic. Pedestals of solid gold supported enormous jewels, and too, scattered through the coins and loose precious stones, are coins of unknown design, the most interesting being nearly six inches across, inset with 16 gems, inscribed with a dragon on one side and a castle on the other.

The room stretches into blackness, PM's gaze unfocusses for a moment, and she is heard to say in surprise, "It's not an illusion. This is all real..."

PrinceLegolas
After being touched by Ravenwind, Legolas regained the power to get up and he pulled the arrow out of his back. Within seconds the wound closed. He walked back into the room he came from, and saw PM standing in front of an open door, and a bright, goldish light came from the room. Legolas walked towards the door and saw all the piles of gold and other treasure in the room, and it almost blinded him.

"Wow . . . there is a lot here of value for certain people... I'm not interested, though,” said Legolas, and he walked slowly, carefully looking around into the room. He slowly walked around the room, close to the walls to sense any secret doors, as there were no normal doors to be seen. When Legolas was at three-quarters of the room, he noticed a small crack in the stone wall, and upon closer investigation, Legolas saw that this indeed was a secret passage. Not sure how to open it, Legolas walked on. When he was almost back to where he started again, he saw a big, shiny ruby lying on the ground, and next to it, a golden arrow, with a black tip. Legolas quickly picked the ruby up, and stuffed it into his pocket. He took the arrow, and a small electrical shock went through his entire body upon touch. He wrapped the arrow in a piece of cloth, and took it with him.

Legolas walked back into the room they started, and confronted Palladium with the magical arrow. "I sense a magic about this arrow I found in there,” he said, "perhaps you have any ideas what it is? I'm quite skilled with the bow, so it might come in handy, and perhaps there are more lying about in that room."

Palladium Muse
"I can but try," she replies, accepting the arrow from Legolas, careful to handle it as he did, by the wrapping. Closing her eyes, she held it for a moment, then reopened them. "Put it in your quiver." She told him.

He did, and all the other arrows were instantly transformed into exact duplicates of the original.

"In addition to that, it seems they do no small amount of electrical damage, either. At least double what normal arrows do, if not triple."

Ravenwind
Ravenwind frowned as she saw the contents of the room. "We'd best not let too much of this out," she warned. 

The others stared at her as if she'd lost her wits.

"Think about it," she said with a sigh. "This much more money in circulation could destabilize the entire economy of the Sword Coast. Sometimes, you've really got to think about the big picture."

She lightly stepped ahead of the others, and examined the room Legolas had discovered, but was careful not to touch any of the arrows. Some of the arrows seemed permanently attached to the
walls in some sort of maze-like pattern. "Aivanther," she called. "There must be a sequence here."

"Do this, do that," the assassin muttered, then fell silent as he examined the walls. After a long, intense scrutiny, he pressed four of the silver colored arrows in rapid succession. There was a faint click, and the floor beneath their feet suddenly plummeted away, sending Aivanther and Ravenwind hurtling down with it into a deep shaft. . . .

"It's all right," Ravenwind called back up once they hit the bottom. "We're not hurt."

Yet, a voice whispered in the darkness that now enclosed them.

PrinceLegolas
"Thanks for identifying that arrow, PM," said Legolas, "I'm sure I'll put them to good use.”

Suddenly, he heard a scream coming from the treasure room, followed by the voice of Ravenwind, saying she is unhurt.

Quickly, Legolas ran into the room, followed by some of the others, and saw an opening in the floor, one that he didn't see when he first scouted the room.

"Are you in there, Ravenwind? Aivanther?" Legolas shouted. He heard both Ravenwind and Aivanther react from down the shaft.

"Can you see anything down there? Wait, we'll get you out!", Legolas shouted, "Hey, anyone have a rope we can throw down so we can get them out of there?"

ArchMage Alexander
Alex didn't like this room. Since his birth he'd had the magic sight, able to see magic. Since he entered this room he'd seen flows of magic in here, and he found it disturbing. Faust was aggravated as well judging by the twitch in his tail.  As he was studying a particularly peculiar item of jewelry featuring a dragon and castle, and probably strongest of all the magic in the room, he was startled by a shout from Aivanther and Ravenwind. He shouted “Theos negrit talim veelan!” and disappeared before he knew what was going on. 

He then heard Ravenwind's shout saying they were all right, and at that moment he felt something ominous and threatening. Not quite understanding what it was he prepared a battle spell in his mind just in case.

Raeython
Raeython witnesses the abrupt disappearance of Ravenwind and Aivanther. He quickly walks over to the wall where the arrows are attached. He reaches into one of his many belt pouches and begins to pull out a rope. He firmly attaches one end to one of the stationary arrows on the wall, and proceeds to slide down the chute and join his missing comrades; uncoiling his rope as he goes.

Che
Che moved in closer to examine the loot. He heard Ravenwind's words about destablizing the Sword Coast economy. "Ah, but me could a recoup some o' me losses on Muriel's wedding." The dwarf was about to handle some of the golden pieces of treasure, when he too heard the eerie voice.

The voice spoke, but the words were indiscernible at this distance. The echoing within the room also made it very difficult to attune to the location from where it came. "Hmmmm, me's recognizes this sound," Che muttered to himself, though the others heard him. "Yes, but I can't remember exactly where. Seems though that its not o' human kind." Che stood up and looked left, then right. He then took off his helm and drew his long hair away from his ears. Still the voice was muffled.

pure_ultima
Ultima slowly walked into the room. He was seldom used to seeing such a huge amount of treasure with no gaurdian or annoying catch. He then saw Ravenind and Aivanther disappear down the hole in the ground. He sees Raeython go before him and decides to follow him down . . .  shimmying down the rope.

B_FH
B_FH runs up to the hole and looks down only to see blackness. He then opens up his pack and looks through it. "Familiar, scroll case, golden figurine, gold pieces... Aha!" Out of his backpack B_FH procures a gem. It seems to be normal at first though when he holds it near the hole it seems to have a faint red glow. As it gets nearer to the blackness it gets brighter. 

"I don't see them." He then runs over to the gold and takes one gold piece. He runs back to the hole and drops it. It takes about three whole seconds until they hear it hit the ground. He then shouts
"I'm sending down a light gem! Be sure to catch it!" Ravenwind responds "You don't have to yell. I'll catch it." B_FH then holds the gem over the trap door and lets go...

Che
Che was in the darkness of this strange room, but his innate infravision helped considerably to decipher where everyone was. The brightness of the gold was catching Che's eyes the most though. The dwarf began rumaging through the treasure pile when he came upon an ornately jeweled crown. "Hmmmmm, no head be attached to this bauble....... no one should a miss it." The dwarf quickly stuffed the crown within his bag of holding and stood up. Drawing his rusty sword, Che awaited for a consensus of action.

Figaro
Grumbles quietly, “Yeah, I am here also, and seem to be in one piece. More or less . . . ”

Che
With everyone's hesitation as they caught their breath, Che waved B_FH over. The mage wandered beside the dwarf. "What do you want?" Che asked as he scooped up some gold coins from the floor and began filling B_FH's sack, making sure not to burden the little mage.

Che then waved the others to follow in on the pillaging, as he kept a wary eye on any trouble that they may encounter.

Quietus
The altar room seems to grow colder. Quietus looks up from his book. An image is forming over the black altar... it is a woman dressed all in white, carrying some sort of whip. 

"The door has been opened without the proper key. Prepare to face the wrath of Loviathar . . . “

The figure fades from sight.

Quietus sets down his book waiting for their doom to appear. After several anxious moments, nothing happens. He picks up his book again and reads it for a few minutes, then places it back on the shelf. He notices that the shelf seems much dustier than before. He begins to worry.

Figaro
“Hummm, I don't suppose anyone could cast a quick detect magic/evil? I am getting an uneasy feeling. Not a good sign . . . “

PrinceLegolas
While still standing near the opening in the floor, Legolas overheard the others’ concerns. Without a second thought, he jumped down the opening in the ground, and landed with a thump in the room, and with his low-light vision he saw Aivanther and Ravenwind, standing still like statues. A thick, grey mist was spread out in the small room. The room had no exits except for the one they 'entered' through. Legolas jumped to his feet, and whispered "What IS this place . . ?" No one replied. “Aivanther... Ravenwind?" No one replied. Then, Legolas saw the mist gather in the center of the room, and felt the menace coming from it. "Oh, shit," whispered Legolas, and grabbed his bow. Quickly, he took an enchanted arrow out of his quiver and launched it towards the thick mist. The arrow went straight through the mist, and hit the stone wall behind it. Before the mist had come any closer, Legolas dropped his bow on the ground and unsheathed his longsword. Somehow, the mist had charmed or held Aivanther and Ravenwind, as they were still standing there, in the exact same position as before. 

pure_ultima
As Ultima climbed down the rope after Raeython, he felt that same feeling of time slowing again, like everyone was walking through treacle. He touched the bottom to see the mist curling around. Its grey tendrils started to wrap around his ankles and envelop his feet. He quickly reached for his sword. It was burning an electrifying blue. The mist recoiled, as if in pain, away from the sword. After a moment or two it started for him again. He backed up against the wall next to Legolas...

ArchMage
The invisible Alexander sensed powerful emanations from the pit. Walking over he looked down, and though it was dark, he could see the mists and its magical power. Not hesitating, he dropped a spell of protection over Ultima and Legolas. Turning to the mists he casts a spell of his own devising and a small whirlwind forms around the mist, scattering it about and releasing Ravenwind and Aivanther from its grasp. Faust beside Alex hisses, "Over there!" Looking up, Alex curses rather creatively through a wide variety of languages as a group of Iron Golems appear from out of the mass of gold. 

"Che!" Alex shouts as one comes up behind the dwarf. Pulling a wand out Alex looks back to the pit for an opportunity to zap the reforming mists.

PrinceLegolas
Now that the mist was scattered by Alexander and distracted for a while, Legolas had a second to come up with something. Quickly, he took off his cloak and wrapped a small part of it around it's wrist, so he could hold it firmly. Then, Legolas jumped into the mist, ignoring the magic shocks the mist continually gave him, and began flailing around with his cloak at every point where the mist was gathering. Every time Legolas did this, the mist scattered again, and again, and again. The mist could never reform itself while Legolas was still waving around with his cloak. The magical shocks from the mist, however, started to irritate and fatigue him already. 

Legolas shouted to pure_ultima, Ravenwind, Raeython, and Aivanther. "Quick, think of a way to get rid of this mist before while I keep it from reforming!"

At the same moment, the room below the treasury, where Legolas, Aivanther, Ravenwind, Raeython, and pure_ultima were, trembled. And again, and again. Two Iron Golems had risen from the heaps of gold above them, and one was now walking towards Che, while the other was looking for another target in the room. With every heavy step they took, the room trembled and the gold moved around the room.

Ravenwind
It was no spell of confusion or feeblemindedness that held Aivanther and Ravenwind silent and still. Pain inundated them; coursing along their limbs like fire, a pain so great their muscles seized up, frozen and rigid, a pain their minds and very souls recoiled from. Wave after wave of fire lashed down nerve endings; cold so intense it froze their joints, needles probing every sensitive area, knives slicing into their viscera—these were the sensations that wracked them.

A faint moan escaped her lips. She didn’t even see the iron golems approaching. Reaching down deep into herself, she found a tiny corner of herself untouched by the pain, deep in the center of her being. She couldn’t even speak the words of her prayer aloud, could only whisper them in the silence of her soul.

The pain didn’t ease in the slightest, but the cloud of mist began to part. Her eyes widened frantically as she saw the hooded, white-clad figure of a woman standing not far from them, a scarlet whip coiled loosely in one hand. She couldn’t see the woman’s face, but she felt an unmistakable sense of presence around the figure.

Quietus
Quietus sets down his book and charges into the treasure room. He makes a quick assessment of what is going on. He can't help but notice that Che's beard looks particularly long, and B_FH is suddenly growing an unkempt beard. He examines the iron golems. 

"Che, Bufu, throw me the treasures."

Che thinks briefly, then looks at the approaching iron golem. He tosses Quietus the bag of holding and whips out his rusty sword. B_FH also tosses over the small stash he has gathered.

The iron golems immediately begin moving towards Quietus. He dashes back into the altar room and then into the antechamber. The iron golems, moving more quickly now, step through the large wooden door and surge through the altar room. They arrive at the small iron door to the antechamber and become confused. They begin smashing the white walls with their massive iron hands.

Quietus trembles in the small room by himself. He starts pawing through the bag of holding for something to attack them.

The walls slowly begin to crumble beneath the golems' mighty blows.

SwordMage
SwordMage has been a bit distracted by all the gold, and hasn’t entirely been paying attention to event around him . . .  "Three, five, twenty-one,” he counts, adding gold to his pouch.  “Ha ha, destabilize the entire economy of the Sword Coast? We will build a new economy if necessary! Ravenwind must have gone crazy. Oh, this one looks good. Che's the man who knows what's important now. This one looks good, too. Che is right. We have to gather as much as we can. And I thought there is a shortness of money, tsk, tsk, haha!" murmurs SwordMage.

He paused.  Gold shouldn't move itself. . . and where is everyone else?

When he sees the Iron Golems he throws down the gold he gathered so far. Quietus seems to have some problems, to put it mildly. Still having his Stoneskin in effect, SordMage fwollows them, atttacks the first one and nothing happens, except that now his sword is broken. None of the Golems is interested in him.
                      
“'Stupid creatures, should have thought of that!  Hold on Quietus, I will search for a better weapon. I saw a good one over there. Just a minute!"

Aivanther
Realeased temporarily from the grips of the mist, Aivanther rolls back, putting his back to the wall. Scanning the room he notices the woman. Trying to buy himself sometime, Aivanther hurls a small vial at the woman's feet. The resulting explosion makes her rock back some, then she laughs. "Impudent fool! You seek to harm me!" But Aivanther wasn't even listening, he was running straight at her. He ducked at the last minute and skidded behind her, narrowly avoiding a whip.

Che
A golem came down on Che hard. With his sword already drawn, he wished that he had a war hammer at this moment instead. "Uh oh, that big bugger is going to takes some tricky thinkin'." Che jumped into the path of the iron golem, and ducked as the metal beast took a swing at the dwarf. Che kissed his sword and then began swinging wildly at the leg of the golem connecting with every strike. 

Not a mark was being left on the enemy. "What are you doing Che? The golem isn't hurt. Look out!" cried B_FH.

Che ducked again but lost his helm with such a quick movement. He continued to pound upon the golem's leg with the rusty sword. Then suddenly the dwarf backed away a couple of steps. His sword was resonating a howling pitch that was mildly irritating to his ears. The vibrating blade of the sword seemed to sway as Che held the hilt with both hands. The golem seemed to have halted his attack and was looking around as if he was pestered by a noisy fly. 

Che turned his head over his shoulder but kept his eyes on the golem, "Well if someone's got the proper weapon to bonks me buddy 'ere, nows would be a good time, fer his hesitation will be only momentary."

SwordMage
 
*Identify*
"No"
*Identify*
"Yes, this one will do!"

SwordMage runs back to the antechamber with his new quarterstaff. Che has won some time in between but seems to be in trouble now. SwordMage analyses the situation while running back. These Golems seem to be tougher than I thought. If Che cannot hurt them . . . I will try to stay in the first door so that Che can step behind me. One Golem will follow him. The other one  . . . Quietus?

"Step behind me!!! My Stoneskin will last for some time! "

Che
The rusty sword was still resonating, but beginning to falter. Che noticed the happenings behind him, but anxiety was beginning to get the better of him. "Hurry! Me's canna not 'old 'im much longer."

Quietus
Quietus empties all of the treasure out of Che's bag of holding and places it into his own backpack. Then, with half the treasure in his backpack and half in B_FH's, he charges out of the room while SwordMage and Che distract the golems.

Then, darting forward, he ties his bag around the golem facing Che, before it can recover from the effects of the rusty sword. With a deft move, he dodges the other golem's punishing fist. He jumps forward and ties B_FH's bag around the other golems neck. Just as he finishes doing so, the golem swipes his right arm into Quietus. Quietus is flung back into the jet-black altar, now stained with blood.

Badly battered, he looks up and sees the two golems attacking each other. The loud sound of metal on metal causes his head to hurt, although the blood oozing out from the golem's blow probably isn't helping.

"Go help Ravenwind. I'll be okay...probably."

SwordMage feels fatigued, as though he hasn't slept in several days. He pushes back his once-short hair, which now inexplicably covers his entire face. He glances at the golems, Quietus, and the treasure room, and tries to decide what to do.

Che pauses to rest for a moment. He feels totally exhausted, and his fingernails seem to be way too long. He sighs, and then musters his energy. His friends need him.

B_FH is so tired he can barely stand. He goes over to the altar and sits down next to Quietus. 

"I'll just make sure he's okay," he yawns. He tries to think of a spell that will help, but his exhaustion combined with the incredible noise created by the golems is making it difficult to think.

ArchMage Alexander
Seeing Legolas's desperate situation, Alexander puts up the wand and begins a summoning spell. Reaching a crescendo, an air elemental appears next to Legolas, stirring up a tumult of wind. Legolas backs up and draws his sword again, looking for an oppurtunity to strike.

Turning his attention to Ravenwind and Aivanther who're desperately trying to keep ahead of the faster-than-believable blows from the woman while still trying to overcome the pain of the mist-monster. Pulling a new wand out, he sends a stream of fire at the woman, who seems surprised at the new attack. "Fool! I am the chosen one of Loviathar! You can not harm me, mageling!"

"That's Archmage," he muttered as the woman hurled a bolt of energy at him which he easily deflected with his magical staff, "and I'm sick of stupid monsters and priests, and crap who don't know when to quit." Turning his attention to Ravenwind and Aivanther he casts a haste spell.
Suddenly the two of them movements speed up. However, Alex's laps in defense earns him a blow of magic, which sends him reeling backwards. "Torm's gloves, I'm gonna turn that girl into a newt!"

Che
With one golem frozen and the other now paying attention to B_FH, Che moves in behind. The enemy golem directed its slow methodical steps towards the mage and Quietus. "Buffeh, keeps his attention on yer," yelled the dwarf as he drew his rusty sword and prepared for a lunging attack. Quietus and B_FH began yelling at the golem who had caught them within his cold iron gaze. Che moved in to strike the lower section of the enemy. He forced the point of his blade into the leg of the golem. The metal on metal sound gave a sparkling ring to the ear.

Che withdrew the sword and prepared for another assault. The golem continued to step forward. Another sting into the golem, this time struck a pause into its movement. The enemy swung his massive arm behind himself, aiming at nothing in particular. Che struck his target again, but this time couldn't retrieve the sword from within the golem's leg. The massive iron beast reared its head and seemed to scream in pain but was mute to all within earshot. Suddenly the bulking mass wavered and seemed to be losing its balance.

Che frantically continued to struggle with his sword, "Come on, come on me darlin', he be down fer sure now. Just lets go o' yer grip and comes back to me." Quietus and B_Fh noticed that their hand-waving was no longer effective on their audience. The golem was falling backwards, and it seemed that Che was going to be in the path of the fall.

Finally the sword released its sting from within the iron enemy. Che abruptly fell backwards uncontrollably, with the rusty sword again under his control. With a thunderous crunch on the ground, the golem struck the earth, and was still. Che was very still, as the dust around him settle. Laying on his back, he turned his head to the right and saw the back of the lifeless golem's head. To his left his saw a massive iron arm that was motionless.

"Whew, that was close. I almost lost me helm again."

PrinceLegolas
While the Air Elemental Alex had summoned was keeping the mist and the strange, powerful woman busy, Legolas hurried back to the shaft, and climbed up the rope Raeython left there. "Keep the mist busy! I'll be right back!" he shouted. Ignoring the situation with the Iron Golems, Legolas hurried into the treasure room, and searched for the biggest gem there was. After a few seconds he found a large, green, pulsing gem.

He put it in his belt pouch, and used the rope to get down again. He said: "Ravenwind, Alexander, I need your help. If I'm not mistaken, the old elven sages that used to teach me said that some gems have the ability to imprison incorporeal creatures. Now, this mist looks pretty incorporeal to me, and this gem looks pretty magical. However, I'm not a mage, and I'm not sure. It is a risk we have to take though. I will hold this gem, while you use your energies to imprison the mist. Nothing can seem to hurt this mist, and when we do kill it, it will return time after time again, unless we do this now. Are you ready?" Legolas took the gem in both his hands.

Ravenwind
Fighting back the overwhelming pain, Ravenwind hoarsely whispered, "It's worth a try, but I don't know if you know what we're dealing with. That's not just some ordinary priestess; I feel a god's power here, in this room, made manifest."

Swallowing hard, she reached out to Torm's justice for solace, as ever  . . . and found herself blocked. Blocked even as Raeython's link to Mielikki had been blocked during their duel.

Torm's handmaiden screamed.

Aivanther
Seeing as he was left on his own against the woman, Aivanther searched for a way to attack. However, even with Alex's haste spell, he could not find an opening. Getting desperate, Aivanther hurled his dagger at the woman, who flinched not from pain but in surprise. Not hesitating, Aivanther quickly drew his bow and shot an arrow of dispelling. To his surprise the arrow struck the woman, fizzled, then turned to dust. Laughing maniacally the woman struck at him, Aivanther felt the sting on his shoulder as he ducked. Still laughing at the elf, she reached for his dagger, "How would you like to be killed by your own weapon, assassin?" Aivanther smiled as she grasped the dagger. The woman screamed as her hand suddenly took a greenish hint and began to tremble uncontrollably. The woman gripped her hand and concentrated, trying to combat the poison. Running forward, Aivanther was stunned as she recovered and backhanded him, sending him reeling.

ArchMage Alexander
Alex concentrated on the gem, seeking it's purpose. Looking at Ravenwind as she screamed, Alex sighed as his face momentarily regained his dreamy, curious expression. "Small problem, Legolas, it already has something contained in it. I'm not sure what, but I don't think it's from this plane. It may be something of the Abyss or Tarterus. Or it could be from the shadow plane. I'm not exactly sure as the power of the containment skews the signature inside. Now, it's possible we could trap the mist inside, but then we'd be left with whatever's inside here. Now it's possible that Ravenwind might be able to control whatever it is, but she seems to be having problems."

"Shut up and do something you fool!" shrieked Faust as he pounced on the woman, aiding Aivanther. Alex snapped back to here and now and said, "Well what do you say, the demon we have no idea about, for the being we can't hurt?"

PrinceLegolas
"Perhaps..." Legolas hesitated, "Can you detect how powerful exactly the creature within this gem is?" Legolas lowered the gem to just before his eyes, and gazed into the gem. "If the creature within is so powerful... then we could use it to our advantage... release the beast, leave it battling with the mist, and run for it..."

Legolas lowered the gem. "You see, there is only one way out of here", legolas pointed to the shaft leading to the treasure room, "and it is way to small for whatever creature caught within this gem, I may assume. And if the mist and the woman win, they will be considerably weaker, and easier to defeat."

"If you agree, who is going to be left behind and free the creature in this gem? I am sure you could focus your energies on this from a distance, so I would be willing to do it." Legolas glared into the gem. "And let's hope this creature focuses on the mist instead of me, so I can get away.."

ArchMage Alexander
"Just leave it all to me. Get out of here all of you!" Legolas looks like he's about to argue, but Aivanther grabs him as he runs by. "I know what I'm doing believe me!" Alex shouts as they shimmy up the rope. Alex casts a protection from evil spell upon himself. Focusing his energy upon the crystal, he chants. As he reaches the climax of the spell, he casts the gem towards the mist. He is much surprised to see a shadow daemon, take the place of the misty monster. Ignoring all else, the demon turns on the now recovered and very angry woman, “You shall die, you foul woman! The impudence of imprisoning me will cost you your life!” The woman shrieks in dismay and the two begin to battle. Although he is fascinated by the battle, Alexander casts a spell of dimensional door and steps through.

Coming out of the gate beside the pit. Alex notices that Aivanther is hurriedly tapping on the symbols, closing the pit back up., even as the others scrambled to exit it, Raeython hauling Ravenwind to the rope by her arm.

Sitting down Alex says, "Tyr's beard, I'm glad that's over at least, though it probably won't be the last. Che, you wouldn't happen to have a bottle of tequila on you? I could use a swig."

Aivanther
"I don't think we have to worry about either,” said Aivanther, "There's no other exit to that shaft, and I just sealed it, so we're safe for now. My worry is that the woman, obviously a powerful entity, won't be contained in there. The shadow demon, the mist and the woman are duking it out right now though, so I suggest we make the best of it." Sighing, he sat heavily on the ground, "And right now I could use some painkillers." So saying he took a potion out of his sack and drank it.

Vintar
Wizzix looked around, dazed by the string of events that had taken place. The enormous treasures and powerful foes were rather intimidating, especially when it became clear that they could hardly be touched. He sat down on the ground, trying to comprehend what was going on; he still had a lot to learn, that's for sure . . .

The floor slid shut behind them.

Raeython
Raeython has been meditating for quite some time on the current situation. The sword is still throwing out its ten-foot halo of light, as if it is trying to tell him something. The whispering increases its volume and intensity in his brain, and he realizes that things are not at all what they seem. Suddenly, like a mist parting to the vibrant light of the dawn, he begins to understand what is going on.

All of his companions seem to be fighting something, but under the influence of the sword, they appear like marionettes, fighting to the urgings of some unseen puppeteer. Raeython climbs back up his rope and he sees the same thing happening to Che and the others, in what he now sees as a plain room without the mounds of treasure strewn about. 

He retraces his steps until he comes to the room with the altar. The altar is still there, but it now seems to glow with an eerie black light, that seems to twist the light around it into shadows, racing off into all directions of the temple. 

As Raeython approaches the altar, a renewed jolt of energy leaps down the sword's hilt, and into the ranger's right arm. Raeython nearly swoons even in his detached state as the voices reach a new height, mentally screaming in rage and defiance towards the altar and the light it is emitting. The sword seems to pull Raeython along, and he nears the altar.

As the outer ring of light from the sword illuminates the altar, the black light appears agitated, and begins to form quickly around the altar. As the light slowly begins to take form, Raeython makes his way forward, until he is standing directly in front of the cursed altar. Raeython loses all conscious thought, as the sword pulls his arm over his head, and brings itself crashing down onto the stone altar, the angry blade piercing through the very heart of the altar.

With a tremendous roar, the floor splits open, and the shadow demon, the mist, and the avatar all emerged into the treasury chamber where the exhausted adventurers sat.

Palladium Muse
PM (who was going to step through the Dimension Door), is staying near Ravenwind, trying to protect the shocked paladin as the battle between demon/avatar/and mist gets underway.

Ravenwind
Ravenwind's mind shuddered under the impacts of the colossal, titanic energies spinning around her. Raeython's strike at the altar unleashed a whirlwind of almost-visible power, which screamed through the chamber. The avatar of Loviathar screamed as the energy struck her, in pain of her own, now. The walls of reality wobbled around them, as if the avatar had held them there by will alone.

PM and the others fell screaming to their knees, writhing in agony. Ravenwind still stood silent, unable to move, unable to speak, only able to watch as a gaping hole of nothingness appeared in the air and began to draw energy and matter into itself. The gold, once real, flitted into that gaping void, as if it had been an illusion, sucked away to some unimaginable place.

"Noooooooooooooo!" the avatar screamed, her eyes wild as she stared around her. The walls and ceiling began to crumble, as if the weight of centuries suddenly sapped them.

And the shield blocking Ravenwind from her link with her god crumbled. Seething with fury and fear, Ravenwind reached instinctively for the Flame of Justice, which had been so long buckled at her waist—and found herself gripping a bar of pure white energy instead. She had no idea where it had come from, but she watched as the energy grew more and more sword-like in her hand, a flaming extension of her own will, or of the godly power of Torm still locked inside her from when she had carried his essence and the Shield of Arness. "Shiver and die, thou scarlet harlot!" she snarled at the avatar, the archaic words tumbling from her lips unbidden. 

The avatar turned and ran from the advancing handmaiden of Torm, fleeing directly into the heart of the void. Ravenwind sprinted after her, calling over her shoulder, "Palladium, Aivanther, get the others to safety. Without Raeython, all is lost!"

And then she dove into the heart of the maelstrom after her quarry.

Without warning, the coruscating energies that had radiated throughout the room stopped. Palladium and the others sat up wearily. But Raeython still lay limply by the altar.

Palladium Muse
IC: PM dazedly made her way to her feet, Ravenwind's last words echoing in her head. The ground beneath her feet began to tremble, she didn't know the cause, and didn't exactly want to hang around to find out.

"Right! Everyone out!" she managed to shout, gesturing with shaking hands so that a large portal appeared, the Rusty Sword visible on the other side. Lurching to the cracked and smoking altar, she stooped and managed to haul Raeython over her shoulders before staggering through the portal.

Vintar
Completely paralyzed with fear, Wizzix stared at the black sphere Ravenwind had produced. Its tremendous power caused the earth to tremble and the arches on which the roof of the cavern rested to groan under its gravitational force. Small cracks began to appear in the walls, running up towards the ceiling and joining one another. Through the screaming of the wind as it rushed towards the hole, he could faintly hear the wounded avatar shriek in terror. The terrible winds tore at his clothes and his grip slipped, sending him flying through the air; luckily he could grab hold of a crevice in the wall, preventing him from disappearing into the hole. Looking behind him, he could just see the avatar running into the void; then, after Ravenwind had seemingly joined the avatar in her fate, the black hole started to close again. 

As the severed altar crumbled and turned to dust, the mighty arches began to buckle. Huge chunks of rock came falling down as the cavern quickly lost its structural integrity. Scrambling to his feet, Wizzix saw the portal, and bolted towards it, throwing himself through the opening.

Figaro
“Okay, quick like a bunny, everyone get through the portal!” He leaps through the portal himself, and with a grin says on the other side, “Man, I could use a glass of wine and a bath.”