Day 115: Part 2: Goodbye

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I was surprised to find Raæin suddenly next to me when I had finished journaling.

“There is nothing more I can do for those from Rehm, mistress,” Raæin told me, “I’m ready to move on. You’re welcome to come.”

It bothered me a little how quick he wanted to go. It bothered me he still called me mistress.

“Can you give me a few more minutes Raæin?” I asked. He nodded. I quickly began to write on a page in my journal.

Isaac and Cortanna,

Thank you for not making it harder for me than it already is with my decision to depart. I don't want this to be our last goodbye. I have every intention to return... but I am unsure when I'll be able to. I hope in this time away from the quest, away from death and misfortune, I'll be able to heal and find that inner strength I once had.

I paused for a moment as I contemplated what else I should add. I had to give a deadline, something they could look toward rather than wonder. 3 months sounded appropriate. Hopefully it wouldn’t be too late. I also withdrew a few feather tokens from my belt.

I anticipate in 3 months I should be ready, but I can't promise. That is why I've left these two feather tokens. They are able to carry a small message to anyone person. If you find that you need my assistance immediately, send word and I'll send my response. If I find I'm ready to return sooner, I'll send a token to let you know. I'm thinking just outside the mines near Podunk on Oukhd 18th. I would recommend finding more 'bird' feather tokens in case we need to correspond more.

Good luck, keep safe, and I do hope we meet again.

Sincerely,
Araja Eloirakn

Then for precaution I added:

P.S. Stay alive.

I carefully ripped the page from my journal and folded the feather tokens in it. I got up and watched Cortanna as she returned unscathed. The creature that stood next to her looked like a mere horse with flowing mane and tail.

"Now that is a fine mount, Cortanna. Far better than that last one," Raæin praised. Cortanna looked mildly bashful. I gave a small smile at Raæin giving his blessings to Cortanna’s new found friend. I suppose that was a bit of good news for the party.

I gave the note to Isaac.

“I hate to say goodbye, but I think this will be for the best. I will miss you," I said. I quickly gave each a hug. I kept it quick because though I didn’t feel it before, there was a love of those two. We had been through much. They may not have been the most supportive of friends, but they were there even in my darkest of moments.

I looked at Kedra. I hadn’t gotten to know her. Hopefully she’d get a better impression of our quest through Cortanna and Isaac without me around to throw in my crazy.

"Sorry I can't stick around and get to know you better Kedra, but I wish you all the best. Take care." I then went over to Raæin and hopped up on him. In a moment we were gone. There was no opportunity for me to look behind, but that was okay. I didn’t want to look back.

It was late morning now. At a quick glance we were in a farming community. It was a sorry sight though. Crying could be heard. The smell of illness and death was thick in the air. The hair on the back of my neck prickled.

I slid off of Raæin who then changed into his Mira form. I don’t know if I’ll ever get use to seeing him as a person. But at the same time, it was oddly comforting. Like I had a father figure once more. His hair and fur was white with some gray. He looked middle aged, not quite as old as Bor, but older than my father. The few areas of tan skin looked weathered which matched the clothes he had on... Hmm, he and I both needed new clothes. Raæin lacked clothes while the lake water took a toll on my mine. Thank goodness our circlets provided a disguise for moments like these.

“Mistress,” Raæin spoke reverently, pulling me from my thoughts, “this is a place that needs us. Let us go help them,” to which Raæin led the way. I followed after him. As we walked the dirty road that was sparsely lined with farm homes, I felt a bit inadequate. I didn’t have anything to heal with. My belt of healing wasn’t recovered from the lake and I couldn’t be of assistance to anyone other than cleaning them and attempting to be soothing versus awkward and insensitive with my words.

“Raæin, I don’t know what to do. I am here to assist you. For once, I’m to follow you,” I said respectfully. Raæin gave a nod but said nothing.

We approached our first home. Moaning could be heard from inside which made my stomach churn.

“Go find the people Araja,” Raæin instructed, looking me in the eyes before approaching a house, “Give them comfort. There is nothing more deadly to the weak than fear.” Raæin then walked into the home. I stood for a moment before heading on to another house, seeking out the people.

The town we were in was Corban. It wasn’t familiar to me, but I had heard of it. The rest of the morning and well into the early afternoon was spent with me comforting the homes, telling them we were there to help.  The people of Corbin had no recollection of who I was, or perhaps they were too ill to show recognition. The blindness didn’t help either. It was clear everyone was sick and blind because of the illness. Once more the hairs on the back of my neck prickled as the thought of the Boqor crossed my mind.

There was a warmth inside being able to see some comfort and joy come to the people as hope to live showed on their countenance. After tending to most of the people, I then examined the condition of the farms. It was primarily cows for livestock with horses, sheep and pigs, scattered about. They seemed fine enough, though I would need to care for them over the days Raæin and I end up staying.

I could see on the outskirts of the town, large fields. I examined them and could see they were growing wheat. The stalks were still green, but in a few more weeks, they’d be ready for harvest. I checked the soil and it still felt moist. No need to worry for another day or two about water.

Then it occurred to me I should prepare food for the survivors. They had to have been starving. I located the wheat mill and I went about preparing what I could with the wheat and salvageable produce I could find. Home to home I went intent on feeding, bathing, and cleaning those I could. The first home I made it to, a little boy named Kein, asked if I had seen his dog. I told him I wouldn’t know if I had. The boy informed me his dog was brown, about as tall as his hip , and was called Doggy. I told Kein that I would keep an eye open for him.

As I went about to other houses, the day being mid evening, I spotted a brown dog in the town center. He was foaming at the mouth and was staggering about. I knew Raæin was too busy healing the folk and so I figured I’d try and isolate the dog.

I found some rope to use as a crude leash. Seeing the dog was diseased, I knew I had best restrain it some how. I tied the rope with a large loop to slip over Doggy’s head. The knot would tighten once I pulled on it and hopefully that way I could tie the dog up.

As I returned to the dog, I called out to it, “Doggy.” The dog looked at me and began to growl. I withdrew the rapier Isaac gave me. It was one of the many treasures the luggage held in it’s depths. The nice thing about the rapier was its invisibility. If I had to hit the dog and someone who wasn’t blind by the illness happened to see, they would see a fist striking the dog rather than a sword.

“Hey boy,” I said as sweetly as I could, whistling to the pup. Doggy definitely wasn’t partial to me whether it be his normal personality or the disease distorting his reality. He lunged at me but I was able to easily avoid him, his sickness making him somewhat slow. I then swung the butt of the rapier down onto the dog’s head. Doggy dropped to the ground. His breath was still ragged, but he was out cold. I knew I needed to quarantine him until he could be healed.

I placed him in an empty stable. As I laid him down a thought struck me. I looked at my gloved hand and remembered the dagger that was placed there (Yeah, I need to find a more secure place for it to avoid another antimagic field fiasco). I knew it’s magic was that of healing; strong healing. I figured it was worth a try. If the dog died, it was diseased and with Raæin’s focus being on that of the folk, chances were this dog would very well have died anyways.

Carefully I maneuvered the dagger to just prick the skin of the dog. Immediately the foaming stopped, the breathing slowed, and for a moment it seemed as though all was to be right with the dog as health glowed throughout his form. But then the last breath from Doggy hung in the air as his dead body remained. I bit my lip, frustrated that I killed the boy’s dog. I stored the blade back into the glove, cursing it in my head. Why was it something that registers as healing was still killing? I just don’t understand...

I found Kein and informed him that I had found his dog, but sadly he was dead from some disease. My heart ached knowing I was lying to a child about my mistake, but Kien took it surprisingly well. He looked sad no doubt, but he accepted it. I suppose understanding that a lot of folk and animals had died from the illness was what matured Kein.

The rest of the day I continued on to a few more houses. I fed and cleaned probably 20 or so people. Raæin healed a fraction of that. There is still more of the town to tend to and I am most certain the next week or two will consist of me caring for the ill, tending their herds and crops. Tiring work, but great for moral considering I was actually helping and not deterring for once. Here’s hoping I continue to find enlightenment through it and not become weary of it.

Next Entry

Part 21 - What Does the Penguin Say? Kua, Kua, Kuaaaaa!

When I return, Araja is just leaving! "Wait!" I shout but she keeps going. The nerve! I turn to Isaac, "Now what? Are you going to leave too?" I say with concern. Besides Isaac, it was only him and me now. Our party was rapidly dissolving. We weren’t sure where Gideon made off too. Maybe he was in trouble with his deity again? Would I ever see him again? At least Araja was kind enough to leave a note, I guess.

“We'll be ok,” Isaac says less then comfortingly, and I soon discover why, “I'm going to try something a bit... risky.” Wha-wha-what?  “If things don't go so well you should use Hubert's last wish to undo the misfortune.” Isaac unbuckles Hubert from his waist and hands me the sword, scabbard and all. I don’t know what he’s talking about. I look from Isaac, to the sword, and back again, confused. And then, he pulls out a seemingly mundane hat and puts it on.

I watch intently as a look of stern concentration crosses over Isaac's face. A moment passes, long enough for a look of triumph to begin spreading across his face. And then…he keels over.

"Isaaaaac? ISAAC???" I drop Hubert in time to catch Isaac before he falls over. I ease him to the ground as best a 16 year old girl does a skeleton.

Suddenly he turns to ash in my hands, leaving nothing behind. Body and gear alike are consumed. No bones, no clothing, nothing is left behind! Nothing except the wretched hat!

"No! No! Hubert? No!" I cry. I didn’t know what to do, torn between the ash, the sword, the dissolution of the party, and…I was alone!

The Luggage leaps over to where Isaac once was, sniffing, like a dog looking for its lost master. A few moments later, the Luggage begins hastily running off into the woods, following a trail only it can detect.

"Let’s follow him," I say mentally to Cutie-Pie. I start running after the Luggage as fast as my legs will allow, but even then it’s too fast. “Cutie-Pie!” I say in despair. The next thing I know the Asperi swoops down, whisking me off my feet, we speed after the Luggage, but still it is too fast. Soon we lose sight of it. I slap my leg, chagrined, “Lets go back!” I command, “We've got to find Hubert!" Hubert was the only hope. Hubert would undo the wrong and make things right again.

I leave Cutie-Pie in the trees and bolt for the sword. I unsheathe it, holding it skyward, “I wish for this misfortune to be undone!" I yell. I wait for something to happen, for the magic to start flowing, for the ash to turn to bone and flesh…but nothing happens.

“ I'm terribly sorry, My Lady,” I hear the sword say, “but I’m afraid it's too late. My powers can only change things that have happened very recently."

I drop the sword in shock. What have I done? What…have…I…DONE? I’ve failed him. I fall to my knees, my throat knotting with sobs, "ISAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAC!” I scream. I wanted him to hear me. I wanted someone, something to hear me as if my screams would write the wrong and bring Isaac back. I pound the ground with my fists, “EVERYTHING I KNOW – EVERYTHING I LOVE – TAKEN FROM ME! WHYYYYYYYY?” My sides heave and I cough as I inhale some dust. When the coughing fit ends, I lay on the ground, curled in a heap. The hat is conveniently ahead of me, as if purposely placed there. "Isaac?" I say again hoarsely.

Suddenly I’m aware I’m not alone. Melinda, speechless, babbles while pointing at the hat, and Kedra bows her head. A soft sob can be heard and Kedra’s shoulders seem to shake. "He was the only person to ever help me become a better person."

After some time and letting the shock settle in, we’re finally ready to move on. I collect Hubert and the hat, carefully, ceremoniously. "I really don't know what just happened to Isaac,” I say, “I can only hope for the best and that one day...we see him again. Araja - I mean, the General - has gone off to do some of her own investigating...I hope she will return safely as well. We should probably go back before it gets dark. I think the problem with the animated furniture has been solved."

We begin to walk when suddenly the weather changes. A huge thunder storm gathers and lightning begins streaking across the sky and large pellets of rain beat down upon us. Kedra and Melinda shout something to each other but it's inaudible over the storm.

Seconds later, a bolt of lightning strikes the ground in front of us, leaving behind a human in singed clothing and penguin on his back. They appear to be unconscious before us. The man is clothed in lots of fur, and leather

"What else could possibly go wrong?" I say dryly. "I think there's a beached seal lying over there," I shout to Kedra and Melinda while pointing toward the man. "He smells TERRRRRIBLE, like a horse stable that hasn't been mucked out in a month!"

The storm continues to rage. The rain turns into heavy hail "Help me get him to shelter!" I say to the others, "Oh and watch out for the, the, whatever that thing is." I point at the penguin. When I get no response I yell, “MELINDA! KEDRA! MOVE YOUR ASPERI'S! HELP ME!”

Kedra rushes in and heaves the unconscious man over her shoulder, pushing her way forward. "There's a cave over this way!" She shouts over the storm. "We use to use it as an ice house and quarantine area."

"QUARANTINE???" I shout back as I grab the penguin. The noise of the storm carries my words away and Kedra doesn’t seem to hear me. Melinda is running after her, but her short legs can’t carry her as fast. When I touch the penguin it turns to me and says:

I drop the penguin in fright and decide to chase after Melinda, "Cutie pie can you carry two?" I ask mentally, he’s there a moment later. I scoop up Melinda and hop on the Asperi’s back, "Follow that girl." I say, pointing ahead to Kedra.

Cutie-Pie flies ahead, unaffected by the wind, and we're able to catch up with Kedra. The penguin shuffles on, grabbing Cutie-Pie by the tale and swings along, merrily taking up the rear.

Part 20 - Can I Trust the Brony Pony from the Frosted Peaks of Wheyrune?

"I'd recognize your scent anywhere!” I hear in my head. The voice is soft, but obviously male. It also has a strange quality to it as if carried on the wind, “You're an elf from the Frosted Peaks of Wheyrune. I use to live there until I was captured and brought here, but you've come to rescue me, and take me home!" The flying horse looks at me with big, round eyes, expectant.

This is what you guys see

“Wha-wha-what?” I say to the voice, shocked when I realize its coming from the horse creature, “I don't even know where that place is! Who are you? Where are you taking me? What are you talking about? Please take me down this instant!”

The creature instantly takes me town below the treeline, "Oh...okay. I'm sorry, but you smell just like my home and the people there. If you aren't an elf from the Frosted Peaks of Wheyrune, where are you from?"

"I come from the small town of Eporthnacyl. I lived there all my life, although I was adopted when I was a baby. I don't know why I'm explaining this to you. Who are you really? You're obviously not a horse." I pull at his ears and mane as if the creature were some sort of aberration. Could this be Briar in disguise? "The last horse I helped stabbed me in the back." I explain.

"I am,” there’s a whooshing, whinny sound that quickly dies away. The creature continues, “and you are clearly from the Frosted Peaks of Wheyrune. Just because you don't remember living there, doesn't mean you aren't from there. My nose can tell. That's just awful that a horse stabbed you in the back, though how a horse could hold a knife is beyond me...mind you, I don't know much about horses. I'm an Asperi, you see, and though we look alike, we're actually quite different."

I flush with embarrassment realizing my folly. I should have known the creature wouldn’t have understood what I truly meant, "No, I mean she lied to me about what she truly was; an evil, murdering mare that used me so she could do whatever it was she was trying to accomplish. If I ever see her again..." I trail off darkly, fists clenched.

After some thought I say, "Wheyrune, that sounds like a beautiful place. Is it any better than here?" He seemed trustworthy…Briar was a mistake. I was stupid then – vulnerable even. I wanted so bad to have her that I blinded myself to reason, a mistake I’ll never make again.

"Wheyrune is a wonderful place...or well, I hope it still is,” the creature said, “We were attacked and I was taken captive, but the elves were on our side and the elves are really good warriors, so there's a really good chance that they fought off the attackers.”

I mouth the word elves in amazement, "When my mom - foster mom - told me I was part elf I didn't believe her. I just thought I was like everyone else, but everyone else treated me differently." Her shoulders slump as memories cloud her mind. "I feel like I've changed a lot since leaving Eporthnacyl. I feel like I need to fight. Is that what being an elf is like?" I looked at the Asperi expectantly as if to gain some unforeseen wisdom. Then I shook my head not wanting to delve deeper, "Do you know who, and why you were brought here? Were you being held hostage on this plane? Perhaps you were freed once my companions and I figured out how to obstruct the anti magic field. I wouldn't be surprised if this person(s) is the same one we're after."

"The ones who first caught me sold me to a man named Szen,” he says. My ears perk at the name, “He said I could help him with keeping his Ravid company. So I was kept in the same pen as the Ravid, and we got to know one another. She was a nice Ravid, sad, lonely, and we tried to break out a number of times. We almost were found a few times, but Szen would catch whoever was poking around his shed and stop them."

"What's a Ravid?” I ask, “Is it still around? Where is Szen now? Surely he'll be looking for you. What if he finds you with me?"

"A Ravid is a wonderful creature that gives life to things around it. I don't know where Szen is now; I haven't seen him in a long time. The Ravid and I only survived because the objects it gave life to would bring us food."

My eyes go wide, "Would you be able to find this Ravid again? I wonder if the objects it's been bringing to life have been causing some problems with the people who used to live here." I explain the situation with the towns people and animated objects, the discovery of the under dark and anti magic field, and the events leading up to the Asperi's freedom. "By the way, what do Asperis and Ravids eat?" I had to ask, as if this were some final test.

"I think the Ravid has already made his escape. He did bring a lot of things to life in the hopes of either making Szen release us, or else getting discovered. It sounds like all he succeeded in was chasing the people away. That would explain why we haven't seen Szen in so long...or anybody else.” The creature humers me by answering my question, "Ravids eat just about anything. But I prefer fruits and grains. I can't stand that meat stuff." Sigh, what a relief!

This is what Cortanna sees!!!!!!

"We should go back,” I say, my nerves settled, “The towns people will be happy to know they won't be chased or bothered by animate furniture anymore. Although, I think you should stay hidden. My party members might not react favorably to your presence...and perhaps the towns people too. Will we be able to communicate this way from a distance? Did Szen give you a name? May I call you by it? I can't promise your return to Wheyrune immediately, but if you'd like to join our group, in the mean time, I will make sure it happens. Uh...may I ride you back? My father - adoptive father - was a great horseman and I've learned a lot from him…" I grimace at the stinging memories of my father, "You will be in the best of care!" I say in an affirmed voice.

"Call me Cutie-Pie, that's what Szen called me. And I would love to help you and your friends, after all, you set me free so it's the least I can do. Though I do agree that it would be best if I stay hidden from the towns people until we figure out why Szen kept me, and if he's still around. I don't want to go back to that cage. And I can speak in your mind as long as we're not more than a mile away."

Cutie-Pie takes me back. I instruct him to land in the trees just before the crater and hide there. If I needed him I would use our mental connection to call on him. There is much that needs to be done!

Part 19 - 31 Leagues Beneath the Sea. Another Town Bites the Dust.

When we get back the town seems quieter than usual. All the guards are sleeping. It made sense for them to sleep during the day when the danger seemed to come at night. Melinda was still fast asleep with the unicorn in our mud hut, but the fire has long since burned out. I go to find more wood in case we stay longer.

Everyone knew when Kedra returned, “That was amaaaaaazing!” she said exuberantly, and louder than necessary, “Is this what you do aaaaall the time?” As Kedra keeps talking my mind goes blank and my vision blurs. Her words seem to come faster and faster like uncontrollable diarrhea. Suddenly my neck prickles and I’m snapped back into reality as she says, “Can I come with you?”

The others are silent, but I’ve decided to put my foot down, “You know Kedra, there aren’t that many people who speak giant here. What if you’re town has problems with other giants? There seems to be lots of giants in this area. Your services are invaluable to this town. They need you here.”

Perhaps Kedra could hear the blandness of my tone or maybe it was the bleak stare I was giving her, but she seemed to get the hint…and left crying.

Melinda wakes close to dinner time and rushes off. We find her and Roselyn in the infirmary, and tell them that we’d dealt with the giants.

And then Kedra is there. When she finds us she’s her warm bubbly self again, and she’s gloating about going on an adventure with…ARAJA??? Wha-wha-whaaaaat? I guess someone thought it would be funny to undermine my life saving desire to leave – her – here!

Isaac gets down to business and asks Melinda more questions about the Well and her master. The story is the same. Her master tried to enchant an item with an anti magic field, but just as he was about to complete the spell, he was dragged down into the well. Several rescue attempts were made, all of which were unsuccessful, and the rescuers themselves were never seen again.

When Isaac mentions the Under Dark, Melinda pulls out a book, “That’s what Sven was talking about!” she says mysteriously, “He was researching this!”

It turns out Sven was Melinda’s teacher and he’d been trying to find a way into the Under Dark for some time. Why would he want to go there? I think, shuddering. That was his reason for coming to Rhem because of stories heard and his desire to learn more. Melinda thinks Sven is still alive and contemplates a way to go to the Under Dark. It would also explain why none of our magic items worked. Sven’s anti magic field was indeed working.

“Tell you what,” I say, business like, “We’ve all ready been down there and know what its like. On our first trip down, we lost a lot of our gear that we’re really interested in getting back. If we help you find Sven, will you help us get our stuff back?”

Melinda’s face glows, “The Gnomes!” she says aloud and rushes off. We follow her as fast as we can. Along the way she tells us about a ship the Gnomes have been repairing that can supposedly submerge itself under water. Perhaps we could use the vessel as a means to safely get into the Under Dark and collect our lost gear.

We come to a shed where the sounds of Gnomes feverishly pounding and banging away at metal rings toward us. The ship is like one I’ve never seen before…a tin can with holes all over it…actually it was more like a metal turd that when dropped into water, the water would separate out of its way, allowing it to plunge unceremoniously, until it splattered flat against the hard bottom of the sea…

We’re to set out at dawn the next morning. The Gnomes have assured us that all repairs would be complete by then. They seem overly eager for a chance to try out their…new toy.

For understandable reasons, I was unable to sleep that night. Not only was the ground hard, wet, and cold, but visions of us plunging back into the acidic waters of the Under Dark in the Tin Turd had me tossing and rolling in my sleep. Araja had an anxiety attack and feinted just before she finally found rest, but at least she got some sleep! It wasn’t until I saw the sky lightening with the rising of the sun that I finally blacked out from fatigue.

I’m rudely awakened a short while later and it’s time to go! Breakfast is over, and Isaac and Araja are dragging me to my feet and shoving me out the door! Melinda meets us as we head toward Rhem. Isaac asks her about the integrity of the ship, but all Melinda can tell us is that the Gnomes have everything under control! Am I losing my mind? Is this a dream?

We find the sorry excuse of scrap metal – that looks more like a 21^st century car wrapped around a telephone pole from high velocity – sitting on its keel near the well. The Gnomes are still pounding away, making adjustments here and there. Some of them look like their pounding just to hear the melodic sound of their hammers on steel. The sound was very familiar…like that pendulum that smashed that poor warrior against the wall in the dwarven ruins…

Anyway, Isaac devises an ingenious plan to launch the T.S.S. Halibut – as the Gnomes fondly called it – down the well. The only question now was what to do once the Halibut cleared the hole. There was still a long drop before it would hit the water. Those crafty Gnomes had an answer for that though, WINGS! In fact the wings were assembled on sight, and then attached willy-nilly to the sides of the ship like a two year old with super glue.

At this time Araja started having another anxiety attack and I couldn’t take it any longer. If we were going to die in this ship, I might as well get a good look inside the hull. Surprisingly, the interior of the ship was substantially better then the outside. I felt like I could live in there! Oddly enough, the interior of the ship is clearly more specious than the outside.

As we prepare to depart, Isaac, Melinda, Kedra, and the Gnomes drag a screaming Araja along like a pig to slaughter. They show us to the passenger quarters, which turns out to be a panic room for wary sea faring customers. The gnomes now show us to the real passenger quarters, but not before turning the lights out on Araja to conserve power. Tee, hee, hee!

We seat ourselves and before us is the control room. Glass walls separate our quarters from the control room and we can clearly see the Gnomes flying about like gerbils on crack as they press buttons and pull levers to get the ship going. The ship begins to shake and lurch. I grip the arm rests of my seat until my knuckles turn white. The ship groans as it finds its way into the chute and it deafeningly grates forward, gaining speed.

And then there was a feeling of weightlessness as gravity pulled my weight toward the ceiling against my restraints. We fall, and fall, and fall. The Gnomes scratch their heads and shrug to one another. They look back at us when they suddenly realize we’re watching. A couple of them hastily give us a thumbs up as they go back to pressing buttons and pulling levers. You’ve got to be kidding me –

Suddenly I fall back in my seat. The wings have deployed! The gnomes shout excitedly and high five each other, and belly bump, and then realize no one is at the controls. They hastily steer the ship in a wide arch, and the Halibut lands with a splash in the lake.

Again the Gnomes rejoice, “We’ve made it!” one shouts over the intercom. With more excitement than I care for. Their rejoicing is short lived as I feel the ship list to one side. Again the gnomes scramble until the ship is able to maintain equilibrium. Watching through the windows, we can see the ship sink, and sink, and sink, into the depths of the lake. “We’ve never made it this far without a fire!” I hear a Gnome say. My heart begins to race. You’ve done this before?

My heart begins to settle as the time passes, but all too soon a yellow light starts flashing. The Gnomes report numerous fires! They tell us no to worry and send some of their crew to deal with the problem. One Gnome returns a minute later, but the other doesn’t. The light begins to flash faster.

“Would one of you go check on Billy?” A Gnome asks, “He should have been back by now. He went to this room.” Isaac and Kedra bravely volunteer and go quickly to see what the problem is. The light continues to flash and a Gnome tells Melinda and I, if the light should go steady, we should press a button next to our chairs, but he doesn’t say why. Melinda and I exchange nervous looks and we watch the flashing lights intently.

Finally, the lights turn off. Isaac and Kedra return with an unconscious Gnome. After a very long time, and a couple more fire scares, the Gnomes announce they’ve detected the bottom! We were currently…30 miles deep…and the bottom was still a mile away. The Halibut gracefully hits the bottom. The strange lights that illuminated the lake before shine bright, but the silt from the lake bed makes it hard to see anything.

Then, a green light starts flashing. One of the Goblins gasps. Araja’s air supply was accidently turned off! We rush to go check on her with some of the Gnomes in the lead. Fortunately Araja appears to be fine. The Gnomes release her from her restraints and take us to the observatory, a large glass bubble at the bottom of the ship. Now that the silt has settled we can see items scattered all around! Now it’s just a matter of collecting it –

A large fin moves past one of the windows, then BOOM! The ship groans and shudders as it begins to roll to one side. I trip over a railing, but as the ship continues to roll, I land on my feet. The others manage to keep their footing. We make out way back on deck and buckle ourselves back in our seats. The Gnomes are rushing around in the control room again. They turn on some flood lights, which illuminate a gargantuan creature! As it swings around for another attack, the Gnomes prime our only defense.

A laser beam fires at the creature, but it misses and the ship rolls again. The Gnomes look back at us for a second as the T.S.S. Halibut makes an eerie groan. Suddenly the Gnomes scramble out of the room, pressing a button as they leave.

“Where are you going?” we shout. We struggle against our belts, but they won’t release us. Isaac frees himself just as Melinda says, “Hurry! We must get to the escape pod – ” A whooshing sound comes from outside the ship and we’re able to make out a tiny, round ship that’s hastily propelling away from us. The Gnomes had abandoned us!

Isaac hastily frees the rest of us and we make for the control room as the creature continues to assault the ship. Araja, Isaac, and I man the laser and land a few good hits, but soon more fires are breaking out, and suddenly the laser died! While Araja tries to fix the laser, Isaac, Melinda, Kedra, and I go to put out fires. We find where more extinguishers are stored and put them to use.

As I go from room to room, I realize there’s a lot of strange things stored on the ship. In room B there’s a lot of crates. I suppose that wasn’t so odd, but I didn’t have time to see what was inside. There were other fires to put out. There were some cargo nets in room E that looked like they were holding something against the wall – again, no time to look. Room F contained…plants?

I meet Melinda on our rounds. Her extinguisher is out and she warns me not to go into room Z because there was something strange in there… Now room C – the room we were getting the extra extinguishers from – was on fire. We quickly put out the fire and load up on more extinguishers. Then we discover the O room – the oxygen room – is on fire! But where is it? Neither Melinda nor I had discovered the room’s location and it wasn’t between room’s N and P. We’ve got to find it before the ship explodes!

Somehow we manage to get all the fires under control. The one in the O room must have burned out all on its own because we still haven’t been able to find it. When we return to the control room Araja reports that another creature seemed to have detoured the Abolyth – the creature that sought to destroy us.

With a moment of calm, go back to the observatory to see about collecting our items. Most anything that wasn’t made for durability would have been dissolved by the acid by now or broken due to the sheer pressure of the water.

Suddenly the silt stops glowing. A shadow falls over the ship and we can see the Abolyth decending toward us! A dark substance is leaking from it…moments later the Abolyth’s body lands in the silt, dead. As we look closer, the Abolyths body lurches once, twice, then we realize something is sucking it under the silt, as if eating it!

Araja tries to manipulate the controls to move the ship. The lights all around us continue to fade, and then it begins to come back. After repositioning the ship, we search for more items. We use the robotic arms to collect items and pull them into the ship. The light goes out again. Isaac concludes where the light isn’t glowing, magic doesn’t work.

There’s a thud against the ship. Isaac sends Brook to investigate. Brook finds lots of bones, and goo, and rocks. Melinda brought along a led box to store the stone that was enchanted with the anti magic field. But how do we go about collecting it and which one? Melinda then yields a led bag. With some repairs it would serve as a net we could use to scoop up a bunch of stones. We would know once we captured the stone that the light would return.

After a tape job that would have satisfied any school teacher…or Gnome for that matter… the bag is deemed fit for duty. We jerry rig the bag on one of the robotic arms, and after a few sweeps, we manage to capture the stone! With the stone successfully captured, we try to collect more items.

As time goes on, we suddenly see a spherical object floating down. It looks similar to the escape pod…only it’s in poor shape. Isaac sends Brook to check out the wrecked and twisted heap. He reports that there were no Gnomes inside. The hatch though, looked as if it’d been ripped off its hinges. I shudder not wanting to think of such a horrible death.

As we collect more items, others seem to be settling beneath the silt. We can see something stirring beneath the silt, as if sucking the items under. Unable to collect any more, I decide to explore the ship and check out how much oxygen we have left. At the control deck I discover our oxygen tanks are three quarters empty.

I find some pressure suits and a pressure lock in room P. I go back to room B to look in the crates and find a lot of buoys. The cargo room – room E – has tall fish tanks with six food eels inside, eww. I also find a note and pocket it. Room F – the room I found all the plants in – contained lots of flower looking plants. I’m careful to avoid them and find another note, which I take. As I’m exiting this room I bump into Melinda. I tell her about the strange flowers and she looks inside. She says some of the flowers are used in spell casting…I show her the note and then she runs off! I don’t think much of it and decide to head back to the deck.

I get back to the observatory in time as I hear a crack! Apparently Araja found her God slaying dagger, only it was imbedded in a stone tablet. When she tried to free it, the weight of the tablet broke one of the arms off. Now, the glass of the observatory was beginning to crack! We scramble out of the observatory and seal the room so if the glass were to shatter we wouldn’t be instantly killed by the water and pressure. I alert them that our oxygen is getting low and we should probably start thinking about returning to the surface…I hope we can get there…

Suddenly, out of one of the windows on the control deck, I see something moving through the silt. As the creature bob’s up again I see the Luggage! I ecstatically tell the others, dragging them to the window and point as the Luggage swallowed up an item.

I take Isaac to room P, but the pressure suits are much too small for either of us to fit. Isaac transforms himself into a Gnome – How noble! – puts on the pressure suit and hops in the air lock. I watch from the other side as water starts to fill the cabin. Once I see Isaac off, I go to put out more fires that have suddenly come to life.

When Isaac returns, not only does he have Araja’s dagger, but the Luggage as well! He looks pretty tattered though. The water hasn’t been good to him. Isaac fixes that with some cure spells from a wand it coughs up.

After a while I realize Melinda’s been gone for a long time. Isaac and I head for room Z. When we get there the door is jammed. As we try to pry it open, acidic water from the lake begins leaking through. We quickly close the door again. Isaac sends Brook inside. The room is filled with lake water. A window on the far side had broken, and Melinda…is dead. Brook says there was some sort of plant growing out of her. I tell Isaac about the plants and how Melinda seemed to be fascinated by them. We go to the room and see that it’s a mess. There are broken pots everywhere and some of the gray plants are missing… We seal the room.

With everything we need, we attempt to go back to the surface, but the ship seems to have no power. I tell everyone about the buoys in room B and hope to use them to float the ship back to the surface. Isaac volunteers to get back in the pressure suit – how noble! – to attach to buoys to the ship. More fires brake out. Was the ship finally giving up?

Finally the ship begins to rise! Isaac makes it back in the ship in time, as we float upward. A long while later, we breach the surface! We open the hatch and its pitch black. Isaac tries casting a spell and suddenly the darkness dissipates and we can see! Isaac lends me a pair of flying boots and with Kedra in tow, we fly out of the cave. The shell like structure begins to crumble around us an large chunks fall into the water and pummel the ship. We dodge the falling debris until we feel the warmth of the sun on our faces once again!

I’m afraid though, the city of Rhem is worse off than before. As we look down, we stare into the maw of a large crater that was once the city…

I see in the distance a slithering snake like creature rising from the ruined remains with a chain dangling behind it. It appears to have broken free from somewhere. The creature keen’s happily, but as soon as it see’s us, it bolts away. Isaac assures us the creature is nothing to be afraid of, though it was peculiar that someone would have it chained up. Araja and Kedra don’t seem to know anything about the creature.

Then, out of the rubble, another figure stirs. A bluish-white light seems to fly toward us. It looks like…a horse? There’s no time to react though, the creature swoops down, scoops me up and flies off with me screaming, “ISAAAAAAC!!!”   

Part 18 - The People of Rhem and Taking Out the Trash

Bone weary, we forge ahead. We decide to try and find the settlement the other villagers referred to before the happenings with the Well. We follow a smoke stack that leads us to the village. When we break through the trees, at the entrance to the village we are stopped by a tall, large, well armored woman.

“Halt, who goes there?” She says in a voice so deep it startles us into silence. When none of us reply, the woman takes up a defensive posture and rings a gong. Archers appear at the tops of the walls and we can make out the sounds of others flanking us from behind.

“Please, my name is Araja, and these are my guards, Isaac, Gideon, and Cortanna,” Araja says lamely. The trick seems to work. The others appear struck when they hear Araja’s name.

“What is it you want?” the woman asks, who we come to know as Roselyn.

“We are weary and we bring some of your people. We ask to seek shelter so we can rest and be on our way,” Araja says.

“Very well,” Roselyn says. She and her guards allow us into the city, “I do apologize, we recently lost town and have been living in this make shift spot for some time. Things started going south for us and we’re just trying to protect ourselves, you see. We are honored you, Araja, would come here, although I’m afraid you won’t find finery and frippery here. Hope you don’t mind sleeping on the ground ‘cause I’m afraid that’s the best we can offer. Gereth here will lead you to your lodgings.”

Gereth, one of the archers who was all too eager to shoot us in the beginning, leads us to a nice mud hut, that is, in comparison to the other mud huts that dotted the hastily assembled town. Apparently they’d been living like this for three and a half years! As soon as the town reached an advanced point of development, inanimate objects would start coming to life and tormenting the people. A well respected wizard amongst the towns people tried to come up with a solution by creating an anti magic field around the city, but just as his plan was about to be executed, some ropes dragged him down into the Well, never to be seen again.    

I ask about the chibi girl and I’m answered with vehemence. She was responsible for the deaths of their old and weak, even after they’d showed her kindness and compassion by taking her in. Her family was supposedly murdered. No doubt by her own hand! I thought with amused satire (not sure if that’s the right word). They described the girl’s victims with bite marks, as if being sucked dry by a blood thirsty creature…In fact; the last person to die was the town’s last Cleric!

As the sun goes down, Araja, Isaac, and I settle in, only Isaac just sits in a corner, lost in his own thoughts. Araja manages to drift off, but I can’t sleep! The cold, wet ground is unforgiving and offers no comfort. Finally with an exasperated sigh, I jump up, grasp Shodan by the handle, and with a swift downward ark, cut at a log in the fire place. The blade of a shortsword meets the unoffending log and it bursts into flame. Finally, with enough warmth from the crackling fire, my tired body is lulled to sleep.  

I wake achy and frozen to the bone. My body might have slept, but my mind seemed to keep me awake with vivid and fleeting dreams. Rekka’s death punctuated these dreams, and so did the deaths of my loved ones. Each time they would be tortured in a different way, but always with death as the end result. Not only that, but I couldn’t help but overhear the town guard as they argued in the night. They didn’t really approve of our presence. We were just another mouth to feed. They too sounded tired and worn. At least my lungs didn’t sting as bad and my cough was beginning to subside.

When Araja finally wakes, she sits us down for a talk. Maybe I pretended not to listen, but she was right. If we were going to be a better team, we needed to trust one another and talk to each other. We owed it to Rekka…

At the end of our conversation, there’s a knock at the door. Gereth is there. His face is pale, his clothes are haggard, and his bow is missing, “Hate to trouble you,” he begins, “Last night was bad. We’ve been fighting these great winged lizards for some time. They only seem to come at night. A while back one of our scouts saw a small group of giants. We didn’t do anything about them ‘cause they seemed to hunt the lizards and kept to themselves. But last night, three of the giants attacked. One of the men said they’d be coming back tomorrow night, and that we were going to pay for what we’d done.”

“Why didn’t you come get us last night?” Isaac said.

“It happened so fast…we did what we could,” Gereth said, fatigue weighing on his words.

Isaac asks Gereth if there’s another wizard in town that might have known the one that fell down the Well.

“You’ll wanna talk to Melinda. I’m afraid she’s the only wizard we’ve got. I’ll go get her,” Gereth says. Before he leaves he adds, “Breakfast will be starting shortly. We eat in shifts ‘cause the mess halls a bit cramped. You’re welcome to get something to eat when you like. The food’s good, though it ain’t no biscuits and gravy.”

A short while later there’s another knock. This time there’s a halfling at the door. She looks exhausted and irritated at the same time. Isaac goes to greet her warmly, but is cut off curtly as the halfling barged into the room. She proceeds to make herself at home and even relights the fire, even though the wood that I’d light previously was nothing more than ash. Melinda warmed her hands by the fire before plopping down on the floor.

Isaac asks her about the anti magic field, but as he and Araja begin telling her about our time in the Well, Melinda breaks into an uncontrollable sob. She blubbers something about her master dying in vain. Araja’s unicorn tries to comfort Melinda, and the halfling ends up falling asleep.

We leave Melinda with the unicorn so she can get some much needed rest. In the mean time, we try to find someone who speaks giant. Every soldier we meet tells us the same story about the attack. They refer us to a woman named Kedra who was currently working in the infirmary.

When we get to the infirmary, it’s filled with soldiers from the previous nights attack. Their injuries appear to be from bludgeoning weapons, which was consistent with the stories the soldiers were telling us. After asking some of the patients, we’re pointed to a person whose back is to us.

Once we get Kedra’s attention, we realize Kedra is not the person we were expecting. She looks similar to Isaac, but with some differences. She greats us with more enthusiasm then the all the people in the infirmary could muster. They seem to treat her differently, and very quickly the reason begins to show.

Kedra is a scholar and even the smallest things seem to fascinate her. We ask her if she’d be willing to go with us to see if we could make deal with the giants. Kedra is intrigued, but she’s not sure talking with the giants would be benificail. She’s excited and willing, but it rapidly becomes evident she is no soldier… We still have some time before breakfast so I volunteer my time and help out in the infirmary. It was the least I could do.

After breakfast, I point out to the others that I’d need some armor if we were going to go up against these giants. The idea of talking to them doesn’t bode well with me. A guard named Carl, that Araja had been conversing with points me to the armory. Kedra finds us there. She looks like a collage of armor and weapons. My stomach wrenches and I try to tactfully tell her to let us do all the heavy lifting.

“Oh I’m very strong!” Kedra says, assuring us of her ability. I mentally face palm…

Geared in armor that had likely seen better days when my grandfather was alive, we set out to track the giants. Giants aren’t that hard to track due to their size. All you have to do is follow the path of destruction. We crest a hill and hear sounds of large things moving about. There’s a clearing in the valley below where four giants are wondering about. Kedra goes pale at the sight of them. I face palm…twice for good measure.

I put on my goggles of far sight to get a better look of the giant’s camp below. There are half eaten remains of the flying lizard creatures Gereth was talking about earlier. One giant appears to have an infected wound. Another keeps scratching his neck, and upon closer inspection, seems to have a strange fungal infection. The third appears to be blind, and the last one had an arm bound in a sling. Kedra takes out a journal and begins scribbling notes and babbling to herself excitedly.

“Are you sure you can speak giant?” I ask the scholar dryly. Kedra assures me she can.

Suddenly Kedra goes into shock, “I can’t do this, I can’t do this!” she says. I grit my teeth, fearing the giants would soon discover our presence as Araja calms her. “Okay,” Kedra says with a note of finality. Then, just as quickly as her shock had started, it ended, and Kedra was marching down the hill toward the giants, shouting in a strange language at the top of her lungs. It sounds like gibberish to me and I cringe as our cover is blown. The giants take notice and say some garble in response. “They’re ready to talk!” Kedra informs us merrily.

As we approach, the giants look pretty bad, obviously having suffered an attack. Kedra translates for us. The giants say they were out hunting when the stumbled upon the village. When the people started attacking them, they attacked back in defense. Araja has Kedra tell the giants she will offer healing, and that we would tell the towns people they meant no harm, so long as they held off their attack. Her words seem to have no effect on the giants though. They seek revenge!

No longer interested in entertaining us, a giant chucks a boulder in our direction. Araja, Isaac, and I scatter, but Kedra’s too slow. She stares at the rock like a cow does at an oncoming train, and then smack! When the rock rolls away, Kedra is flattened to the ground and does not get up. The giants advance and we have no choice but to deal with them.

Sometime during the fight, Kedra regains consciousness and peels herself from her impression in the ground. She knocks an arrow to her bow. I nervously stand at a distance as Kedra fires her first shot. By the grace of the Gods, her arrow flew true, stabbing one of the giants in the eye. As it turns to flee, it trips, landing face first on the ground, arrow thrusting through the back of his skull. The giant was dead!

Once the other giants are confirmed dead, Kedra runs over to the giant she killed and is very fascinated by it. We try to pry her away, but it’s no use. The scholar sits down, pulling out her journal, and begins scribbling notes feverishly, stopping periodically to peer at the body before her or mumble some words to herself. We decide to leave her and head back to the village.

Part 17 - Sticks and Stones

While we wait for the incapacitated villagers to regain consciousness so we can make our escape, Araja offers to answer questions about her absence. Once she escaped from the giant – yes, the same one who had been chasing us – she sought refuge in a tree and prayed for guidance. She was answered by the gods themselves and her sister seemed to be caught up with them at the same time. She hands Araja a dagger and demands she slay her before misfortune can happen. Now Araja possesses the God slaying dagger we needed to start sealing the portals the Gods have been using for their own benefit.

Rekka prickles as Araja goes on with her tale: “Great! You’ve regained your memories, so now you’ve got half an idea as to what you’re doing instead of a whole idea?” Rekka snarls at the villagers in turn, hopelessly wondering why their God hadn’t bestowed more common sense into these people.

I frown at Rekka’s words, but decide it’s no use to jump in. We were all tired and anxious to leave with hardly any protection from the creatures in the dark. Araja ignores her, but this only fuels Rekka’s anger.

She mutters a few words in a language I don’t understand, “Let’s just stand here wasting time we don’t have!” she snaps.

Araja can’t ignore Rekka’s antagonism any longer, “I know we need to get out of here, that’s what we all want,” she tries to say calmly, but her voice waivers with tension, “Let’s wait for Brook to come back so we can hopefully get our stuff back. And since we’re waiting I thought I’d use my time wisely and answer some of Isaac’s questions.”

"REALLY?” Rekka roars, “If my brain is still working you can get out, in fact you’ve been out several times! You didn't just watch five people's skin fall off,” she said, ticking each point of on her fingers, “You haven't lost all your things for the second time in many weeks. You didn't just lose over 100,000gp that you were saving. You don’t have the whole of Deity-dom wanting your death. You might be some whatever General from whatever time,” Rekka used her fingers to make invisible quotations, punctuating the word General before hastily moving on, “but I am a 15 year old, who is now up against the whole world! I don't care about what you think. I am not spending another night in fear of some unknown creatures attacking and killing the group! I wouldn't be in this mess if I didn't meet up with all you, so leave me alone!" Rekka turns on her heel with her back to everyone.

There was an eerie moment of silence to follow. I cup my knees to my chest trying to ease the burning sensation in my lungs. Part of me sympathizes with Rekka’s words, but the other part wants to shake her for her outburst. Weren’t we all going through the same thing? Why should Rekka’s problems outweigh our own? I knew she spoke the truth, but I wish she didn’t have to take it out on us. I didn’t know what to do. I had Shodan, which was now just a weapon handle, my amulet of healing, which was now just a fancy piece of jewelry, and my bag of holding, which was now just a drab shoulder bag. My gloves, quivers of fire and ice, shortsword, ring, goggles, and longbow were all just ordinary accessories. All of my protective armor was gone, my potions, the dragon slaying hammer (which was now just a hammer), my brand spanking new dragon hide shield, aaaaaand all of my carefully managed wealth. I felt naked!

Suddenly Isaac strides over to Rekka, “I will not tolerate this any longer!” With a resounding crack, Isaac cuffs Rekka’s cheek, sending the girl sprawling, “You are going to get more people killed with an attitude like that! If the whole deity-dom was out to get you then you'd already be dead, so stop tying yourself up in knots about it. We're ALL exhausted from swimming and near drowning. Araja passed out earlier for no apparent reason. We're taking a moment to catch our breaths and ask her why she passed out and see if she's going to do it again so when we are, say, walking next to a lava flow! I need to know if Araja still has our backs and I'm not going to allow your childish sense of entitlement to get in the way. Now SIT DOWN and calm yourself."

As Rekka recoils, she pulls her shortsword from its sheath. She utters an unfamiliar word and takes a swing at Isaac’s middle, “I told you to leave me alone!” she yells at the peak of her strike.

Isaac! I say to myself as he doubles over holding his front. Is that blood? Did she actually…?

 Isaac stumbles backward. He unsheathes Hubert, but instead of retaliating he turns and runs to one of the secret doors, disappearing. A trail of blood follows him.

Rekka turns to us, holding her sword at the ready as if daring us to attack her.  Araja straightens herself and says darkly, "You’re going to make an excellent deity. How fortunate am I that I get to serve you?" She spins away from Rekka and follows Isaac’s blood soaked path.

Rekka stands there, fuming, with nothing left to say or do. The new girl leans over and says some words in Rekka’s ear.

That’s it! I pushed myself off the floor using the wall to brace myself. I had seen and heard enough. I wasn’t going to fight Rekka. I knew better than to waste my energy, “What have you done? We are in no condition to be fighting,” a coughing fit wracks my body. “This isn’t all about you, Rekka, nor Araja. We’ve all lost something.” I cast an eerie gaze toward the Bar Wench's body and shudder, "How can you make friends so quickly – the way things have been going – and now that Jessica is dead? Come on Gideon. We better find Isaac. Rekka can stay here with her new friend. You better hope Isaac isn't dead." I leave it at that and follow Isaac’s trail.

I’d always known Jessica’s true name, but I chose not to use it…until now. Bar Wench was only a nick name, but it had power and meaning behind it. It was like – addressing someone by saying Sir or Miss. It seemed more proper. I never called my mom or dad by their names, especially my dad! If I were to slip and say “good morning, Randal” instead of dad, he would quickly turn around and glare at me as if I’d cursed in his face. Repeated slip ups resulted in extra chores or sometimes a slap. When Mother used his name though, he would smile at her, the most beautiful smile, as if her words were sweet honey. He hardly ever proffered me the same…

I shook my head, a flush of anger filling my cheeks. How could I be thinking about them at a time like this? Everything seemed to remind me of them recently. I have more important things to think about! Like Jessica, and Isaac – who may soon be dead – and the villagers, and finding a way out of this godforsaken…

Araja walks past me, back toward the water where we left Rekka and the villagers. As she passes she informs me Isaac will be alright and that she has a plan for getting out of the Under Dark. Gideon and I continue toward Isaac, not wanting to leave him alone and defenseless to hungry beasts that might be lurking about.

Suddenly I hear Araja shout, “Rekka!”

Great, I thought, Now Araja’s in trouble. I can’t leave Isaac here… Gideon and I move to either side of Isaac, “Come on,” I say, not giving Isaac much choice, “we can’t stay here. We’re far to exposed.” Once Isaac was on his feet, I asked Gideon to bring him back to the cavern so I could quickly check on Araja.

When I get there, Araja is now where to be seen! The villagers are huddled against the wall in fear and Rekka is lying motionless in a pool of blood…her blood! I rush over to her, despite my aching lungs, and lift her head, “Rekka!” I yell. Her own sword ran her through and through. Her hands still gripped at the hilt. It was obvious Rekka had taken her own life.

Everyone in Eporhtnacyl, every child, every teen, and every adult knew that suicide wasn’t acceptable. It was drilled into your head by teachers and parents alike. Taking your life was the easy way out, the cowards’ way. “Endure to the end” was the town’s motto.

 “You stupid, stupid, girl!” I shouted, even though I knew she couldn’t hear me, “If you die I won't be there to mourn you! I'm done mourning! I've mourned for too long!"

Now I knew why my every waking thought led me back to my past. I lost my family, my home town, Podunk, my possessions, friends, and now Rekka. My memories were all I had, the one thing that couldn’t be taken from me! It was like they were haunting me, popping up when I was most vulnerable. Even now, images of blood and death consumed me.

Araja returns…on a flying chair? A whole flock of them in fact have followed her down from the surface and collect us up, even Rekka’s dead body. They usher us to the surface as if controlled by a whirl wind. We burst into the sun light…a glorious feeling, as if we’d been stuck in the Under Dark for days.

My chair deposits me on my feet as they make contact with the ground, “Where’s Rekka?” I shout. She’s there on the ground with Araja and the unicorn around her. The unicorn’s horn is at Rekka’s chest, healing magic coursing through like glowing light, but it doesn’t seem to flow past the point where it contacts her skin.

Suddenly the unicorn speaks! I knew he could but he never spoke in a language I understood, “She's not dead...yet," he says, "But something's preventing me from healing her. I'll keep trying, but if she doesn't stabilize soon, there won't be anything I can do for her."

“Gideon, please help her!” Araja pleads, tears wetting her cheeks.

I touch Rekka’s forehead, “Be healed!” I command, touching my amulet with the other. I feel energy course through my hand, but a barrier seems to repel the energy, “Shards! My amulet won’t work!” I exclaim.

Gideon tries, but seems to be thwarted by the same barrier. He shrugs his shoulders having done his best.

“Isaac, what’s going on?” I say, grasping at any chance to bring Rekka back, “Why isn’t our healing affecting her?”

“Hmph,” Isaac responded. I expected no less, “Not like I care if she bleeds out. But... maybe try using a bandage and stop the bleeding in a moot mundane way? It could be a magic item, like when I couldn't heal Araja – ”

Suddenly Araja grabs the sword and wrenches it from Rekka’s stomach. The unicorn’s magic flows into Rekka, giving her skin a healthy glow. Araja reports that she’s stabilizing, but Rekka never wakes. And then, just as soon as her body became stable, Rekka disappeared. We were all dismayed. Where could she have gone? We needed Rekka! Without her the whole of existence would be doomed!

I snapped, “You!” I point at the small woman, the one who was the cause of this whole mishap in the first place, "You were right there! Why didn't you stop her!?" Araja yells something at me, but her words are lost on me. I only have the woman in my focus.

When the woman see’s me she pulls out some paper and begins writing! WRIGHTING!!! “So now you're deaf? You weren't a minute ago. Why didn't you stop her?” I repeated in vain, “Did you kill her?" I step closer to her, but I’m wise enough to keep my distance. I can feel my muscles stiffening, my blood boiling with anger. And then, at the peak of my rage she disappears.

Two pieces of paper seem to hover for a moment, and then float to the ground where the woman once stood. I pounce on them with a snarl, as if I were one of the mind controlled beasts that once roamed the continent, and hastily read them, expecting her answers to my questions to be written on them.

On the first paper:

Why blame the person who just got here? How was I supposed to know Rekka was going to kill herself? Maybe you need to learn to treat your other party member or other people you JUST meet with a little more respect than blaming or killing them. If you are suppose to be good, why does death follow you everywhere you go?

On the second paper:

Cortanna,

Don't hate the night or fear the moon like you always have.

After reading the notes I growl in frustration, crumple them up, and throw them as hard as I can into the wind. She wants me to trust her? How can I trust ANYONE when all they do is turn around and stab me in the back! I began making a list of all the people who’d wronged us, There was Soap, the Priestess Y’dey, Briar, Lupic, the Prince, Pendral and his gang, the Aither Drow, dragons, daemons, and all kinds of magical beasts, even the farding Gods themselves, just to name a few…!

I look over where the notes landed, and quickly recover them, What does she mean by the moon and the night? Is she talking about werewolves? Then what would the night represent? I pocket the notes, another mystery for another time, I hope I don’t run into her again, and if I do, I felt my hand go to my weapon handle. The villagers begged for us to kill her. I still didn’t know why, but the idea was beginning to sound more appealing as I had come to know her. One thing was for sure, I would be on my guard.