The Darkness of Justice pt. 1

The morning came with nothing eventful taking place during the night. Once those I shared the tent with were out, I began to pack up the tent. As I did, I noticed the female had gone off a ways to pray. Something about how devout she looked made me miss how faithful I once was to Heironious... I also felt like she was foolish to be so devout.

As I tucked the last of the tent back into my haversack, a shadow loomed over me suddenly.

“Yesterday you said you were an Angel,” Cloudbreaker’s voice echoed. I bit my lip. I had hoped that would have been forgotten...

“Well, I still am an Angelic,” I corrected.

“How did you offend your God that you would be cast from Heaven?”

I pursed my lip and slowly turned around. It bothered me how obvious my fall was.

“A good question,” Grendel said moving closer to hear. I bit my tongue, nervous about the answer I was about to give.

“I caught my God in a lie. He threw me out to prevent me from doing anything about it,” I simply said. I didn’t want to go into the depths of what had happened, not yet. Cloudbreaker and Grendel looked at each other seeming to discern between themselves if I spoke truth.

“You say you caught your God lying. How do I know you’re not a liar yourself?” Cloudbreaker asked.

I scoffed. I wasn’t about to vy for my honesty. If they wanted proof of my integrity, they’d have to witness it for themselves.

“I have a solution,” the female said suddenly. She was standing right behind me.

“And what would that be?” Grendel asked.

“I’m a Cleric. I can enchant an area in which no one can lie,” she explained.

“I like this idea. If we are to work together, we need to trust each other and make sure our motives are pure,” Cloudbreaker said.

“We should all share our story too,” Trickfoot suggested. Nods were all around, except by me and Bal Vyr (who had since rejoined the group). I was unenthusiastic. What story could I possibly say that wouldn’t end up with them hating me? The most good I had done was with Raæin before getting kidnapped and doing an honest days work for a month. Everything else was just chaos, murder, and lies.

Trickfoot went first. He told us that he was an adventuring bard. He desired to become a renowned bard through his heroic deeds. Something other bards would sing about.

Surprisingly, Bal Vyr chose to go next. He basically said that his story was sad, painful and something he’d rather not share. If any of us wanted to know, then we had to ask him personally. The cleric then pointed out a different mark that was upon Bal Vyr’s chest. It was the mark of a dark God named, Loth? She wanted to know if he worshipped her. He said it wasn’t like he had a choice though that was debated heavily between him, the female and Grendel.

After Bal Vyr sat down, the female stood, introducing herself as Lash. She’s a servant of her God, the Raven Queen. I felt like I knew who the God was, but even now I can’t recall clearly who she is. It seemed quite foreign. But we were in an enchanted area of Truth.

Cloudbreaker stood up once Lash sat down. Apparently he was exiled because his tribe couldn’t care for him when he got severely injured. Bal Vyr interjected asking incredulously why his tribe had exiled him for being injured. Apparently his kind, only the strong survive. Bal Vyr suggests that the Drows aren’t so different from the Goliaths. I was sure Cloudbreaker was about ready to kill Bal Vyr, but he simply mentioned that his kind don’t enslave folk and that he was chosen by his God. That was why he lived after being badly hurt.

Something about his words made me wonder if that’s why I’ve survived so much since my return. Was there a deity watching over me? If so, I owed them my allegiance...

Grendel then stood. He was a crusader for some order, the name escapes me now. His focus is to bring about Justice, for that is what his order does. To uphold Justice to all. Bal Vyr questioned whose laws he abides by if he’s in foreign lands. Grendel mentioned he would abide by the law of Justice.

It was then my turn to speak again. I stated that I was like Bal Vyr in which my past was full of pain and things I’d rather not share unless asked. I then reiterated that I was a fallen Angelic of Heironious and that I had caught him in a lie. No one questioned me further and so I sat down.

Before heading out, Cloudbreaker made it known those who had shared the most had earn most of his trust. Part of me felt those words were directed toward me. Then again as the day progressed, it would seem Cloudbreaker wasn’t as menacing as he appeared to be.

The party decided it’d be best to follow a canyon path to a river that could take us south to the Baronies of Goldtide.The land sounded peaceful, which easily swayed me to head in that direction. It was also preferable over the vision Lash received if we went along the Kutur’s pass. There were mixed feelings about walking the sheer cliffs in the pass, so much that Lash prayed and apparently the Raven Queen gave her a vision of our death.

As we traveled the canyon path, Cloudbreaker fell back to walk with me. I felt nervous in his presence. I was use to being one of the tallest. With Cloudbreaker by my side, he easily towered a foot above me.

“Can you fly with those wings?” he asked. I looked at him, thinking it was an odd question, “I have never flown... My father used to tell me that generations ago, before the Giants took the mountains, the Goliaths used to ride great eagles high above the mountain valleys,” he looked to the sky, “I would love to fly one day.”

There was a softness then that I hadn’t seen the first day. It was almost like looking at a completely new person. I was certain he was stern and hard, incapable of the softness he now displayed.

I flexed my wings some, feeling fairly certain they weren’t strong enough yet.

“I use to fly. Before waking up in that bowl, I was rather good at it,” I replied. I then flapped my wings and lept off the ground. Sure enough I landed a moment later. I shrugged. "Yeah, my strength isn't what it use to be. Knowing the mark is upon me, I wonder if that's what's zapped all the strength I had. I suppose it could be worse. At least this time when I woke up I'm still walking on two legs and very much myself.

"As for flying, I use to have a circlet that could let you alter self. Whoever put me in that bowl back there took it unfortunately. Perhaps if we can find our way back to France- er, I mean the Wetland Jungles, my friend Raæin could give you a ride,” I responded. I was a bit curious if anyone would have noticed my mention of the Wetland Jungles, but no one seemed to flinch.

“What do you mean by 'this time' - you seem to know much about this mark. I’m guessing this happened to you before?” Cloudbreaker continued to pry. I wasn’t annoyed by his inquisitiveness, I had answered him in a way that would lead to more questions if he listened carefully. Still, my eyes hooded over at the thought of my past kidnappings.

“Unfortunately for me, since my return to the mortal realm, I have been kidnapped more times than I can care for. This is the third time I’ve been taken, though the second time to be completely lost. The first time I was poisoned and was slowly turning into a lizard. The man who did it to me nearly succeeded. The mark being placed upon me is very much new though," I ended it there for I didn’t want to go into details of the mark.

“That is indeed unfortunate, fallen one...” there was a mixture of hurt hearing him acknowledge me as fallen, yet there was reverence to it that it seemed he wasn’t judging me, “I cannot confess to having been kidnapped myself, but I know what it feels like to be away from home... It has been five years since I last set foot in the mountains... Five years of selling my sword from town to town, trying to find meaning in a life I wasn't born into..." Cloudbreaker became silent as he pondered.

“Okay. Now what is a Raæin?” the Goliath asked.

A small chuckle escaped me.

"Sorry," I apologized, I didn’t want Cloudbreaker confusing my laugh to be at him, "Raæin isn't a what, but rather a who. He's a Celestial Charger. He's been my friend and mentor from my youth,” Wow that sounded old... “A gift, if I remember correctly, from Heironious himself... or perhaps it was my people. Anyways, he's able to fly.”

We walked on a little further in silence. I was curious if he, or anyone in the party for that matter, had heard of my name.

"Cloudbreaker, this may sound presumptuous, but what have you heard of me, Araja Eloirakn?"

"I do not believe that I have ever heard your name before Araja. The same way I expect that you never heard mine. Why?"

Part of me felt disappointed that he hadn’t heard my name, but that was a good sign. No pretence expectations or hate toward me. He could truly judge me as I was then.

“One can't be too careful, though if that were true, I keep asking myself why I didn't use an alias. My name is had for good and evil,” I answered openly. I had thought about saying my name was Amy, but like I said, it was a way for me to see what kind of people I was among. “And no, I haven't heard of you or anyone in this party. You're the first Goliath I've met and Bal Vyr, over there, is the first Drow I've met.”

Cloudbreaker gave a nod of his head. He then moved on to the others. He was the only one among us interested in chatting. No questions came to mind other than wanting to know where we were and if they knew me. I chose to remain silent.

I then overheard Cloudbreaker speaking to Grendel.

“My people have always tried to be fair, Grendel. Fair in their dealings with all others and what not, but that can be hard sometimes. Hard to work out what is fair. Do you always know whether something is Just or Unjust or is that decision sometimes difficult for you?”

Before I could stop myself, my tongue spoke my mind, “When is anyone ever sure?” I could see Grendel turn his head my way before looking at Cloudbreaker.

“For the most part Justice is not easy, good Goliath and Angelic. That is why I studied it's ways ever since I was a young boy. There are many situations where Justice sits, waiting for someone to bring it to it's rightful place at the forefront of life. I must say I do not always know when anything is Just or unjust, but we can work to figure that out. That is a large part of my Order, trying to find out whether things were Just or not.“

I was glad Grendel didn’t make it out that Justice was black and white. Even for him, a crusader, and his order had difficulty. Once more it was a reminder how disappointing it was that there wasn’t a direct formula for discerning what was right and wrong; just and unjust. Sometimes I wish life was black and white like myself.

Cloudbreaker and Bal Vyr scouted ahead for us. The Drow had put a disguise on to look like a wood Elf. I envied him somewhat.

Only Cloudbreaker returned after a time. He saw wheat fields ahead and just beyond it a river.

Another hour later, we happened across a tragic scene. A man had been crucified on the side of the road. Something about it was foreboding. We soon saw the black mark upon it’s twisted and mutated body. It was quite revolting.

Lash’s breath became shallow. Her eyes were set on something beyond the crucified man. There was a black raven, dead, near by.

“I don’t know who this man was and we don’t have the time to bury him,” Cloudbreaker said. He knelt down and struck some steel with his flint. The crucifix caught fire easily. Thick smoke billowed into the sky as Lash muttered some parting words and Grendel muttered how Justly Cloudbreaker acted.

Suddenly a loud horn sounded. I looked to see where it came from, but all I noticed was how the smoke was clearly signalling to someone. I suggested we move on in case trouble was on its way. Cloudbreaker went to climb one of the cliffs to get a better look of where we were and if he could see the cause of the horn. As he did that, we heard something stumble behind us.

“Who the hell gave away our position!?” Bal Vyr demanded.

“It matters not, it is done,” Grendel responded.

“You were gone an hour and a half and you’re upset that we lit a fire? Seems like this is what helped you find us,” Lash added. The Drow sputtered a little before pursing his lips when no one seemed to care about his concerns.

Cloudbreaker returned mentioning that we were roughly a mile from the river. Bal Vyr also encouraged that we get a move on before whoever blew the horn found us.

The canyon soon opened up to an enormous wheat field. It looked to go on for a mile along the river. Just beyond the river was a town. Everyone was eager to get to it. They elaborated about the possible lodging and food we could get there. I dampered their excitement by asking if any had money. I knew my pack carried no currency, hence my uninterest in storming the town.

The wheat field was golden and days from harvest. We walked through the fields, making sure not to trample the wheat. We got fairly close to the river and could see it had a steady pace to it. We located a ford and were making way to it when the horn we had heard earlier sounded again.

There was a tower at the head of the village. In the tower were guards. Cloudbreaker tried waving to them but the guards didn’t mimic his gesture. Grendel suggested that he would speak with the locals since his order was well respected across the land. I was perfectly happy with Grendel doing the talking. He was charismatic and had a way with words that I didn’t.

Grendel lead us closer to the river edge. The folk in the tower however found that offensive.

“That’s far enough demons! Leave these lands or we’ll destroy the lot of you!” one of them cried out. Immediately I knew we were in trouble.

“Good sir! We are no demons. My name is Grendel from the Order of (Athvala?). The Order of Justice. We mean you no harm. If anything, we can help you.”

There was silence in which I could see the man call down to someone.

“I’ve never heard of your order. Stay out of our lands! We know where you’ve come from!”

Grendel expressed how we primarily needed passage down the river and reminded them that we meant no harm.

I looked toward the village, trying to see what it looked like. Behind their meager walls, I could see the villagers all armed and ready. They looked ready to fight and capable at that.

Bal Vyr stepped forward only for an arrow zip by him.

“War is another form of diplomacy!” the Drow shouted.

“Wait stop! We mean you no harm!” Cloudbreaker shouted too. Grendel repeated himself once more on top of the Goliath’s cry. The man in the tower ordered someone behind him to go get the town Elder. He then shouted at us to remain put. We all complied.

After a few minutes, an old man emerges from the crowd. He looked livid. He asked us if we bore the mark to which we affirmed we did. The Elder then ordered the town to slay us. The town began to advance toward us. The river was deep, Bal Vyr and Grendel began to give out orders to which we could kill the villagers that would give us the best advantage at survival. I shook my head. That was not the way I wanted to start the first few days in this new land. I wasn’t going to repeat what I had done with the Goblins...

“No. We shouldn’t kill them. I think these people are scared,” I began.

“We’ve just told them we meant no harm, many times,” Grendel reminded.

“Yes, but I don’t think they understand. You and I, we know we’re in control despite the mark marring our body. They however do not,” I persisted. Bal Vyr made no mind to my counsel. He warned the villagers if they crossed the river that we’d retaliate. I gripped at my forehead, frustrated.

Archers appeared on the bank of the river, taking aim. Grendel stood at his full height and bellowed to the citizens of the town how we had purpose. It was quite moving actually. His words reminded me much of Gemmel. Without the light there could be no dark....

Unfortunately the Elder was equally charismatic and reminded his people how we were the heretics. The villagers continued to advance. Part of me was now ready to fight. I wasn’t about to let them destroy us, but part of me pitied that they didn’t trust us.

Half of the citizens suddenly stopped in the waist deep river ford. I heard Lash speak out to them and seemed to have caught their attention.

“Seriously, we can’t be considering actually killing these people?” Cloudbreaker questioned. His words snapped me from my determination to destroy them for their ignorance and continued aggressiveness toward us.

“I’d say now would be a good time to leave,” Lash added.

“I agree, let’s go,” I urged. Bal Vyr jabbed at me for my unwillingness to fight. I would have been more annoyed by it considering I wasn’t the one who suggested retreat, but I honestly could care less of the Drow’s opinion.

Grendel was obviously disgruntled, “Justice needs to be served!” he demanded.

“No Grendel. Like Araja said, these folk are scared. They’re not trying to be unjust. They’re trying to protect themselves,” Cloudbreaker responded.

“True, but their leader...” Grendel said menacingly.

Cloudbreaker rebuked the crusader. Grendel clearly not thrilled cried out to the people once more, asking them why they marched against us. Bal Vyr added to it, coming across more aggressive than persuasive. The folk who weren’t stunned in the ford by Lash’s words pressed forward while the Elder answered.

“The mark is a blasphemy against the Gods of this world. It must be cleansed as soon as it appears in this world,” he spat. I shook my head again. There was no use to trying to convince him that the mark wasn’t as bad as it was made out to be. He was like me; convinced that the only right thing to do was to kill the bearer of the mark.

“Look,” I caught Trickfoot saying. He was pointing south of the folk in the river. Tied up were four boats at a dock on the river.

“Ah, our escape plan,” Bal Vyr said.

“Except all the folk between us and the boats,” Cloudbreaker mentioned, “Here, let us retreat and devise a plan. Perhaps we could come back at night and take the boats then?”

The majority of us agreed to retreat and plan. I took no further prompting and ran back through the wheat field, Lash and Trickfoot close behind me.

Once safe in the canyon, with others gathered around, the debate of what to do about the people ensued. Everyone wanted to steal the boats, but what we couldn’t settle on for a while was whether to leave the village unharmed or not.

“Like I said, I’m pretty sure they’re just scared,” I repeated myself.

“Why?” Bal Vyr asked.

“Because I use to be like them. I thought the mark possessed the being and made the bearer evil and helpless to the mark’s power. The only way to stop them was by killing them,” I elaborated.

“Wait, you know about the mark?” Grendel asked.

“Yeah and why haven’t you brought this to our attention sooner?” Bal Vyr added.

“Last time I mentioned my knowledge of the mark, past folk I use to travel with thought I was crazy. In my first life it was instilled in me that the mark was bad and one had to be killed to prevent the mark bearer from committing heinous crimes. When I was cast from the Kingdom, it became known to me what a lie the mark was. It was just a symbol of loyalty to Heironious and Erythnul!” I vented.

“You’re talking about the mark we’re all wearing right?” Bal Vyr questioned.

“Yes.”

“How is Heironeous even involved in this?” Bal Vyr continued, “Why is it a dead God cursing us?”

I cocked my head at the last question.

“He’s... dead?”

“Yes,” Grendel answered, “He died in the God Wars a few generations ago.”

I eyed them both closely. Something didn’t seem right. In fact, I knew they were lying. I hadn’t been back in the mortal plain long enough for generations to have passed. I may be in a new land, but I still had Gemmel’s stone in my hand and my hair hadn’t grown long enough to suggest I was out for decades. I had seen Heironeous in his new form months ago.

My eyes glared back. Clearly they thought I was crazy and were trying to fool me. That was until Lash pulled out a book, and placed a black feather upon it.

“Araja, I can assure you that Heironeous is dead,” she solemnly said. Her words pierced something in my mind. She spoke truth and I could feel my head reel. There was a God’s War? Was Heironeous stopped then? Had I been out a couple generations?

I barely caught word of Bal Vyr re-asking his question about a dead God marking us. I studdard, too distracted by my thoughts. A thrill ran through me at the notion of Heironeous dead. How I wished I was there. However, the mark was still around. Perhaps Erythnul was still reigning strong... I dropped out of the discussion as I worked through my thoughts.

✻   ✻   ✻   ✻   ✻

Here I Go Again...

What strange new place have I ended up in?

Surely someone or something has cursed me. Whoever or whatever is out there wants me dead. I should have known the month of peace, of normalcy, would have been stripped from me.

I woke up mid afternoon- or was it late morning?- covered in sweat from the heat. The discomfort of being hot and sweaty was soon forgotten as I realized I wasn’t in my bed. With a jerk, I sat up. From what I could tell, I was in a large, metal bowl. The sun was high and was relentless with the heat it radiated.

Once more I had been taken from my home and left for dead. Again I was missing things. My draconic ring and circlet weren’t on my person. I could feel the weight of my wings on my back. My skin looked so white against the basin of the bowl. How long my hair was getting. My vision was impeded for my bangs were falling into my eyes. I could also feel the strands of hair brushing against my jaw line and lower neck.

Despite not having my circlet to disguise myself, nor my ring that healed and protected me, I still had my halberd, my mithril shirt, and one of the daggers. Why wouldn’t the person who did this have taken both daggers? I thought to myself. There was another curious matter; I had my haversack and my old tunic back. Oh that tunic! What sick joke was Heironious playing? I was delighted to have had that outfit destroyed months ago. Now I felt iconic once more in my champion outfit I wore for Him.

As I hugged my knees, trying not to think about what was currently at hand, I did notice how worn my outfit was. It was as though someone had recovered my tunic from the acidic water in Rehm’s well. It was rough and frayed thin in areas. Why did that matter though? It just meant less cloth on my hot skin. How sorely tempted I was to rip the leotard I was wearing under my tunic from my body.

I hated my situation. I kept asking myself why I was letting it get to me. It must have been the heat. It wasn’t like I hadn’t experienced that before. Surely I’d be able to find my home again. I’ve been successful in doing so all those past times.

In an attempt to soothe my nerves and clear my mind, I squeezed the small stone embedded in my hand. That was the one comfort I had. The one thing that kept the crippling fear of being alone from setting in. I had Gemmel. He was only a short stone toss away. If I truly needed help, he would come. There was also Isaac. I figured he was hiding somewhere near by and would pop up at any moment... actually, it concerned me that I was taken and Isaac hadn’t done anything about it. Or was he destroyed? Would a ghost know where to find me if I was taken secretly?

I shook my head trying not to worry about Isaac too much. It didn’t matter, I still had Gemmel.

A small laugh just escaped me because despite knowing I could rely on Gemmel for help, I couldn’t stop becoming pessimistic. Seeing that there were other folk stirring in the metal bowl, I glared at them. Surely they were just as unfortunate as myself to be where we were, but I couldn’t help but hate them at first. Maybe it was because I wanted to be alone to brood- yet wouldn’t that have been worse? If those people were like me, taken from their homes by force, how fortunate I was to have them. All of us kidnapped, tortured, and left there to die. Surely allies with a common cause; to get home and possibly even to exact revenge on the person who placed us there.

However, my eyes were drawn to a dark shape on their skin. They looked the same, but something was distinct about each one of them as to make them different. A dread overcame me for surely those were the mark of Heironious and Erythnul. Here I was in the midst of them, alone!

“Isaac?” I decided to call out. It was barely whispered. My mouth was dry. I needed water.

“Right, which one of you thavali put snakes on me? Own up now, and I might not kill you!” a blue giant roared. I jerked my head toward him and was grateful there was a dead polar bear between us. I felt my chest seize up as fear coursed through me. Surely the man was angry, but his whole composure did not register as an ally in the making. I desperately wanted to run, but I didn’t want to risk being pursued. So I held my tongue, not daring to speak.

About as sudden as the giant had spoken, something else happened. Some of the bodies around us began to convulse. Three of them erupted into black beasts that had tentacles flailing about. I was paralyzed as I watched the monstrosities form. Were the marked beings turning into these hideous creatures? I thought.

“In Justice’s name I will slay thee!” a thunderous cry rang out. A fully armoured person just beyond the giant, charged one of the creatures near him. I heard his sword hit, but due to the polar bear couldn’t tell how successful his hit was.

The giant quickly followed suit. He let out a cry of anger and grew. It was impressive and yet had me wondering if he was to be trusted.

The creature closest to me began to squirm away. I saw it going after some other dark being who fled. Part of me wanted to not do anything, but I felt I should help; from a distance. I shot a fire bolt at the creature that moved away from me. The bolt hit and it appeared to really harm the creature. Not only did I harm it, but it changed course and began to come back toward me.

As he charged in my direction, I heard someone yell out, “Don’t use lightning!” For a moment I felt smart for having used fire versus electricity.

I scrambled to my feet as fast as I could, but not fast enough. The monster lashed out and hit me with one of it’s tentacles. Chills rushed through my body. I knew the creature had used a spell to deliver that chill. If I thought I was already tense, my body tightened more as it shook off the cold. My halberd and armor suddenly had a heaviness to them. I shook my head to clear my mind from the intense pain I felt. The creatures were much stronger than I though for I felt incredibly weak after one hit. Knowing how strong my mithril shirt was, it was unnerving how hard that creature hit me.

What was most unsettling was how unstable the monster began to look. It seemed crazed or like it was about to erupt. Not willing to let it kill me, I stood up, gript my halberd and charged a fire bolt on it. I then swung with all my might releasing only the fire bolt since that appeared to be most effective. The shocking grasp could wait for later.

My hit was true. The creature burned and did something rather familiar. It exploded upon my hit. In the last moment I remember of that creature was a blast of frost hitting me before the darkness took over.

Something seemed to call out to me, in a haunting manner. Perhaps it was just a dream. It must have been, for a shadowy figure formed. I felt it grab at me and pull me up. I was certain something awful was about to happen. My limbs were useless as I tried to will them to fight back. A dread overcame me as I remained helpless to this unknown figure.

Whatever was suppose to happen, didn’t for light pierced the dream as my eyes fluttered open. I still felt weak and some pain lingered from the attack I took.

My eyes quickly registered the blue giant above me as well as an old gnome, some dark skinned elf (that at the time I didn’t realize was a Drow), a female with white hair, and a heavily armored person. Alarmed as these marked beings hovering over me, I jerked to a sitting and scooted away from them.

“I didn’t mark you!” I exclaimed. Surely they thought I was the cause. Why else would they be surrounding me? Let alone, why wasn’t I in the metal bowl, I wondered.

“Then who did?” the armored man asked.

“I don’t know,” I automatically said. I knew who had done it. Erythnul and Heironious or one of their goonies got them. “When did we get out of the bowl?” I asked.

“Just now, before one of those monsters erupted in a massive lightning bolt,” the giant explained.

Suddenly the blue giant (actually he’s a Goliath, thankfully I didn’t call him a giant to his face) and the armored man began to bicker with each other. Supposedly the armored man had attacked the Goliath during combat... or the Goliath got in his way. It was hard to follow for pain suddenly shot through my back.

I cried out for a moment before stifling my anguish. Something had pierce my back between my wings. I reached behind to feel what had attacked me but felt an odd, slick, and slightly gritty patch of skin. I furrowed my brow confused. When I looked at my hand, nothing was on it.

“What’s wrong with you?” the Goliath demanded.

“I- uh, m-my back hurt suddenly. I- I don’t know-”

“Turn around,” he barked. I quickly complied, feeling uneasy under the Goliath’s scrutiny.

“Nothing there but the mark,” I heard him say.

“What?” I hoarsely spoke. I slowly looked at him.

“Your back bares the same mark we all have,” he repeated gesturing to the others. I gaped out of astonishment. My vision blurred as my breath became shallow. It had to be a lie, but why would he lie? His whole demeanor suggested he was an honest person. I wanted to cry. Had I failed? Was Heinul’s ultimate goal finally accomplished by branding their mark upon me? How had this happened!? How was it Isaac didn’t prevent this!?

I was livid. I was discouraged. It just seemed unfair. I had taken great steps to try and sever my involvement with destroying the God heads. Why were they so intent upon my destruction?

Looking around as I seethed in my skin, I could see the mark upon each of them. The right forearm of the Goliath and weaving around the Gnome’s neck (his beard giving it some concealment). Interestingly enough, on the other three, I could see the mark... glowing? Despite the armor and clothing they wore, the darkness that the mark emanated, pierced through. The armored man had his mark on his right shoulder, the dark elf above his navel, and the other female had her’s on her back like myself.

As I observed the placement of their marks, I caught word of them speaking of the area we were in. Helmridge Mountains, Kutur Pass, Baronies of the Goldtide, Athvala? It certainly wasn’t France we were in and I was most certain it wasn’t the Kingdom of Men either. It could be the Gnomish Kingdom, but it seemed more likely the Elven or Dwarven Kingdoms, or quite possibly some other continent I forgot about.

“Wait, where are we? What continent is this?” I asked.

“Goodness, did you lose your memory as well?” the Goliath asked. I had to wonder if he thought I was daft. Clearly there was something I was missing.

“Well, it’s late afternoon. We’re clearly in the arid part of Athvala. If we stay here, it will get very cold. I suggest we head toward the mountains and make camp there,” the Goliath suggested.

“I concur,” The armored man grunted in agreement. He then began to lead the way toward the mountains.

“Could we not be in the hills at night? Especially with no sort of encampment,” the dark Elf mentioned.

“It’d be better than this arid wasteland,” the armored man replied.

“And in the hills we can find cover,” the Goliath added.

“Yes, but we could also find Dwarves and therefore susceptible to Dwarf attacks,” the dark elf persisted. I thought it rather presumptuous of him to think Dwarves would attack us out right. Then again, if they are knowing of the mark like I was in my frst life, perhaps. But that was quite doubtful knowing how uneducated folk were of the mark since my return.

“Dwarves are good people,” the Goliath said.

“Whatever,” the elf muttered. I followed after the group as they headed toward the mountains. I was marked and felt my chances at surviving might be best with them. Also, they hadn’t tried to murder me, so clearly they were better company than some folk I’ve ran into in the past.

As we walked, my bare feet hurting from the dry grass we walked upon, I attempted to fly. After a few flaps, my feel landed hard on the ground. I was able to keep up right, but I was definitely not expecting to land so suddenly.

“What are you?” I heard the Elf ask, “I don’t know of many races with wings in this.. ‘up’ part of the world.”

“I was- er, rather still am, an Angelic-” I began before being interrupted.

“You said was,” the armored man had cut in. The whole party came to a stop, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Well, you look like hell, did it hurt when you fell from heaven babe?” the Elf flirted. I scowled at him.

“It did actually.”

People continued to press on, dropping the topic of who I was. Part of me was thankful since I didn’t want to explain.

As the evening turned into twilight, we found a little nook in the hills as the base of the mountain. As the others began to putter around setting up camp, I took a moment to look through my haversack. I was surprised to find my tent and bedroll in there as well as two of my three bags of tricks. I also found rope, rations, and soap. I looked at the soap. There was a lot. Whoever packed my bag must have thought I needed it...

The rations had mostly gone bad. I had about 2 days worth that were edible. From the looks of the others, they had a similar problem. The Goliath and the Elf went off hunting while I pitched my tent. We all kept to ourself for the most part, but seeing how large my tent was, I felt I should offer it to the female and the gnome.

The Goliath and Elf returned from their unsuccessful hunt. We all ended up sitting around the campfire, trying to keep warm as the night air became cold. I saw the Elf pull out a shovel and began to dig a line, muttering more about Dwarves and how awful they were. I thought about trying to summon a badger for him, but figured I wouldn’t encourage his paranoia of the race.

As we sat around the fire, I figured it was time I learned names. A pondered for a moment if I wanted to trust them with mine. It would be a test to see if any of them recognized my name. If I was lucky, they wouldn’t.

“My name’s Araja by the way,” I blurted. Heads turned toward me, some giving an acknowledging nod, “I figure if we’re going to be traveling together then we ought to introduce ourselves.”

“I’m Trickfoot,” the old Gnome said.

“I’ll tell you my name after you pass the Drow test which is surviving one day in our company,” the Drow replied. My eyes narrowed a little. I remembered the Asterial Drow that almost tricked me and my fellow comrades at the time to go with them. Apparently they were nothing but a band of slave traders. This Drow looked somewhat different and had an arrogance about him.

“Speaking of which,” the Drow continued, “Greetings denizens of the above lands. I am your new subterranean Master. You’re all pretty cool so far, but you’re now technically property of I, Bal Vyr.”

So much for not giving us his first name, I thought.

“By what right do you rule me?” the armored man asked.

“Are you trying to enslave a Goliath!?” the Goliath asked menacingly.

“The Drow are a master race and therefore due to that hierarchy I am at the top and you are to serve me,” he replied matter-of-factly. He pulled out a sheet of paper. I didn’t get a chance to see it before the armored man took it from him and ripped it. The Goliath walked over and grabbed Bal Vyr by the shoulders, thrusting him against the rock wall that encompassed us.

“No one enslaves a Goliath!” he roared.

“I didn’t say enslaved!” Bal Vyr retorted, “everyone else who isn’t a Drow is considered a slave in Drow society.”

I shook my head slightly. How was it a normal introduction got so carried away? I suppose it was good to know the kind of character the Drow was. Perhaps the Goliath and armored man would deal with him. They bickered back and forth trying to convince the Drow he wasn’t in his society any more and that slavery was unjust. The Goliath was set on making it known he wouldn’t be enslaved.

Things began to cool down somewhat as the Goliath asked the armored man, calling him a crusader, how to justly go about dealing with the Drow. The crusader thought for a moment.

“Since he’s not from our lands, he has the right to learn. He is clearly ignorant of our customs. He must be taught,” the crusader reasoned.

“Great. I’ll be sure to teach him,” the Goliath said. Then he looked the Drow squarely in the eyes, “And we’ll start with this. When someone misbehaves in camp, they sleep outside for the night!” The Goliath then threw the Drow well beyond the encampment boundaries. The Drow retorted something about how his kind don’t sleep.

I stifled a smile. Something about those two made me feel safe.

“Crusader, what do they call you by?” the Goliath asked.

“Grendel. And you?”

“A’aluke Cloudbreaker.”

They passed some more words between each other, both seeming to know of the other’s group of people. Cloudbreaker then returned to the fire while Grendel went out to he Drow. 

Once Grendel returned, watch orders were made. all the males taking turns. We then went to bed, the female, Trickfoot, and Grendel sharing my tent. Maybe it will prove to be foolish to welcome these strangers so soon into my space, but then again, I know I needed to do my part to be open if I wanted these folk to help me.

Day 248: Amy's Sanitation System

Joj 2nd, 4288: 248 Days in the Mortal Realm

Wow, I didn’t mean to completely ignore writing. The past month has been a constant stream of work, sleep, and working with the Engineers. Yes, Carl pitched the sanitation idea to the guild and they loved it. I’ve help figure out a design and have been overseeing the crafting. It is a white bowl propped up on a base. There’s a lid and a lever. One does their business and pulls the lever when they're done. The contents in the bowl are then purified. The lever also opens a hole in which there’s a container below that the purified sewage falls into. One could use it as fertilizer or dump it with their other garbage. When the hole closes, the create water spell is triggered and the seat is ready for use again.

It’s such a strange device, but I’m hoping this will help the citizens of Dijon in remaining healthy and halt the spread of diseases. Who knows, if Dijon benefits from it greatly, this could spread over the continent... maybe even the world...

It’s called Amy’s Sanitation System. I don’t think I’ve mentioned my alias name. Considering I was in France, I don’t trust my actual name to be used. Knowing Heinul’s cult was lurking about, I’m sure Araja would be a red flag and I’d once more find myself in more trouble than I’d care for.

Also, I'm quite worried. No response has come from Cortanna still. I am beginning to wonder if something terrible has happened to her... Perhaps she's decided to ignore what's been going on. Maybe she's settling down like myself. That's another worry even. The past month as been so easy. Busy, yes, but not having had to fight, it is relieving. Yet in the back of my mind... I have to wonder when my luck will run out.

Day 218: A Curious Idea

Oukhd 8th, 4288: 218 Days in the Mortal Realm

The job has been going well. It’s been rather uneventful. I miss being able to enjoy the day time, but I needed the job.

Funny enough last night I had a crazy idea come to mine. Raæin urged us to make sure we washed our hands regularly because the people of Dijon aren’t very clean. The illness Blindness was being spread in this place and Raæin suspects it’s do to the folk not properly cleaning themselves, especially in consideration to using the restroom.

I wish I was skilled in healing like Raæin and Meryth, but alas, that was not my talent. Instead an idea came to mind of making the restrooms sanitary. One would only need a chair to sit upon that had a whole. Then after doings their business, there could be a lever that cast purify food and water and just like that, what was unsanitary is sanitary. It was definitely an odd idea, but I figured I’d mention it to Isaac.

Isaac thought it quite strange. He ragged on me the rest of the night, making jokes about the whole idea. As soon as we walked into Carl’s place, he blurted my idea to him. I was certain he was going to join in on Isaac's incessant badgering, but after a moment he said that it was actually a very logical and reasonable idea. My mouth formed a smug smile as Carl took my side.

Tomorrow Carl’s going to go investigate the Engineering Guild and pitch the idea to them. I might have found a new form of income that’ll give me my day time back.

Day 212: House Obtained

Oukhd 2nd, 4288: 212 Days in the Mortal Realm

Carl, Isaac and I looked around the city Dijon. We saw plenty of homes for sale or for rent. One home had a great price but we’d have to live with a housemate who was loud and elderly. In the end Carl made the final choice and I am getting ready to hit the sack since tonight will be mine and Isaac’s first night on the job.

Still haven’t hear back from Cortanna. I can only hope she’s alright.

Day 211: Unexpected Laughter

Oukhd 1st, 4288: 211 Days in the Mortal Realm

I just realized today that in 17 days Isaac and I will need to be at the mine near Podunk. I mentioned that to Isaac. He suggested asking if they could meet us here. I reminded him that I had lost my feather tokens. He then pulled out his and said he could activate it. And so Isaac sent a message to her saying, “Meet us in Rehm. How soon can you get there?” and before letting it go adds, “Isaac’s alive.”

Laughter erupted from me at the thought of Cortanna receiving her message. I know if I thought a comrade was dead only to hear months later that they’re alive, I’d be ecstatic! How I wish I could see her reaction.

It felt really good to laugh so hard. It really set the tone for the day too. The city was large but only a few job openings. Isaac and I ended up taking a security position at the warehouses. It’ll be at night, but at least I have Isaac to work with me, meaning twice the pay for the both of us. We were one step closer to being independent of Raæin.

That night I mentioned to Raæin how I planned on getting my own place in the future. To that Carl mentioned that he had a retirement savings and would be more than happy to get a place. In all honesty it just felt like I was going from one place to the other, being dependant on someone, but my goal was to not need Raæin. Carl’s help would certainly let me reach that goal and so we agreed to find a place tomorrow.

Day 210: Home

Coqoj 36th, 4288: 210 Days in the Mortal Realm

I must say, I’m thankful for the composure I still have. I’m home once more with Raæin. It was a sweet reunion, but I can feel part of me keeping Raæin at an arm’s length away. There’s comfort knowing I’m with him, but I’m determined not to need him.

Last night when Isaac had teleported the circlet of Szen’s to the Ethereal plain, he told us that he could easily teleport us to France. Now of course this was after I woke up and we attempted to go back for Carl. I had rested in the ocean as a mermaid. It wasn’t the best of choices for cows and bodies were floating in the water I was breathing by morning. It was quite retched to say the least.

Quickly I got back on land and did my best to clean up from all the blood and feces. Isaac then suggested to go find the ornithopter and try using it to get to France again. I was doubtful since we still hadn’t had enough time to make fuel, let alone that part of town could have been burnt down. Still, we went and searched.

After a short time, we found the Roaring Rafters, ornithopter still on top. We walk in and soon discover Carl was tied up in a closet. Apparently I had returned to the right place the other night. The people who answered were the ones who had tied Carl up.

I figured we’d fly a safe distance from Threll, land somewhere inconspicuous, and continue to create fuel. That way I’d be able to finish flying us to France.

Our flight out of the city was soon interrupted by a red dragon pursuing us. Not being able to accelerate due to the broken windows, Isaac casted an illusion to make it look like we were crash landing. I landed the ornithopter and we waited. It had seemed the dragon had gone, but after a time Carl noticed the dragon was a few hundred yards away watching us. That was when Isaac got the idea to teleport us to France.

Isaac did warn us that there was a chance he’d teleport us to the wrong place, but if we succeeded we’d finally be back where I had wanted to be. Part of me felt irked that he hadn’t suggested such a plan sooner. I certainly wouldn’t have had the horrible experiences yesterday.

Carl figuring it’d be pointless to just leave the ornithopter and tavern as it was. So he set a self destruct mechanism before holding my hand as Isaac took us to Rehm.

It wasn’t Rehm we landed in, but the fauna we were surrounded in was that of France. I called for Raæin and a moment later a most welcomed image of a Celestial Charger appeared before me.

“There you are!” he greeted.

“Oh Raæin the stories I have to tell you!” I said throwing my arms around his neck. It felt wonderful to be back with my mentor.

“So tell me,” he said.

“First, let’s go to a safe place before I just start spewing details.” Raæin nodded. I told Carl to place a hand on Raæin’s flanks. Once he did, Raæin took a step.

We were in a large forest like town. It wasn’t familiar to me, but I figured it had to have been one of the elven settlements. From the looks of the folk walking around though, it was too diverse to be primarily elves.

I looked back to Raæin who had disguised himself in his MIra deguise.

“Still keeping that look up?” I asked.

“Yeah, no one here knows what I am.”

“Is this the place you’re currently healing?”

“Yes. I’ve actually been doing quite well. Let me take you to my place,” we all began to follow Raæin, “I must warn you though, that cult is very much here,” Raæin warned. The mention of Heinul’s cult scared me, yet intrigued me considering how Raæin has chosen to stay in the city.

“Tells us where and we’ll take care of it,” Isaac said.

“Uh, no. I’m not getting involved with that. I know they are here, but I don’t know where their headquarters are. Ah, this is my place,” Raæin said.

He opened a door to a quaint house  right off the main road. I was in awe at how well Raæin was doing. I’m still envious, but I have the determination to make my own way. I want to do what he’s doing, what Gemmel’s doing; help those in need with my talents. I imagine though that my talents won’t as needed and therefore some side job should help with meeting my physical needs.

And I must say, I’m trying to figure out what my talents are. What could I do as a job? I know how to fight... I know how to work with livestock and I can fly. I can fly an ornithopter... I’m sure I’ll figure something out, but enough of that.

The rest of the day was spent telling Raæin about what had happened since my kidnapping. How I almost turned into a lizard. How Gemmel saved me, twice. How Isaac met up with me and how he died. I told him about how we met Carl. When it got to Threll, I purposefully avoided telling Raæin about what had happened in the suite since that wasn’t a shining moment for myself. Isaac elaborated on about how he saved me from Szen while I mentioned how I almost was possessed by him. Raæin was impressed I wasn’t killed though admitted I always had a way of getting out of tight places. I assured him that my luck was soon to run out if I kept that kind of life up.

I can feel my mortality hovering closer to me each day. Not that I think I’m about to die, but each time I’ve come close to death, it has become that more apparent of how mortal I am. This notion that I’ll be protected is thinning. I know I need to strive to be more cautious. Hence my decision to settle down and not pursue the evil. If it comes to me, I’ll deal with it. But for now, I want to try and live the memory that I once thought was real. Where I lived a normal life in which no one revered me. Where I found joy in the daily things and hadn’t a care in the world to what the bigger picture held.

Raæin kindly is allowing the three of us to reside with him. I think tomorrow I’ll explore the city, get a feel for it and the job opportunities available.