October 607

10-12-07 (Friday)
It was dark by the time I arrived in Tyrangel. Sure I could have probably gotten ther faster if I had bought a horse at the last village, but it wasn't worth the risk. The Dark General knew I was coming and that alone was why I needed to be at my best.
Jackson was the first face I saw and I squealed in delight at seeing him. I mean I actually squealed. He was relieved to seem me and mentioned how he had heard a rumor that I permanently died in Ravenholt. Clearly those rumors were exaggerated. I bet Lily started them. She was the person who killed me afterall. Well jackson was most happy to see me and I updated him on everything. Even told him all about his new brother, Walker. Jackson seemed really excited about that and mentioned we needed to have a Willis family reunion. I agree.
I left Jackson when Countess Portia arrived and we talked some about the current situation while we walked to her lodgings. The Dark general found us before we even made it to the door and we ran inside like idiots hoping the light would protect us from him. He could rift in and out of shadows...so I guess at the time it seemed like a good idea. Go iside where it's so bright there isn't any shadow and you're safe, yes? I suppose we forgot that we make our own shadows as we walk through the same light. That and we found out later he didn't have to use shadows. Later is the key word here.
Anyway, he corners us inside and we proceed to fight. This is the part where normally I would now describe the battle that ensued, but it only lasted as long as it took me to write this, so there isn't much to say except we fell down really quickly. It was just good for us that the rest of the town heard the brief encounter and ran down to help us.
From then on we stayed outside where there was room to run. At least that was my reason. The town fought with the Dark General for hours. He would fight, fight, fight, fight, fight, rift out, rift in behind some unsuspecting adventurer, grab them, rift out, kill them, and rift back in with their lifeless bodies. Good tactic, I admit. Just not for us. Sometimes he'd try to barter with people for their lives. It never worked, which is kind of a shame because alot of people ressurrected.
Personally, I didn't want to fight the Dark General. In fact, I wanted to stop everyone from hurting him. Think about it. He had possessed Gunther's body, so every death they gave him only weakened Gunther's spirit more. It didn't even hurt DG. Why did they not understand this? At this point I seriously contemplated the smart level of the town.
Ok so back to the fighting. Early on in the battle, DG pointed to me and asked where Gregor was. Then he called me a bad word. Not nice. I was tempted to beat on him a little then, but I held firm. Partly because it wasn't Gunther and partly because he soon transformed into a Dark Phoenix. I guess that's what happens when shadow corrupts a Phoenix. It was fugly to say the least. Well, it was really neat looking...black phoenix consumed by fire and shadow and all that, but not fun to fight. At all. See, he didn't really die. He would just rise from the ashes, so to speak, and continue on.
The hour started gettig late and I saw Portia speaking iwth a man on the field. It was obvious by the way she held herself that he was of some importance. That means something when Portia is the Countess. I wandered over, hoping she would introduce me so that I might make a plea on Gunther's behalf if he held some say in what was happening. The fighting was too much of a distraction for all involved. Everyone began to wander into the fray and even the gentleman, who I had now come to realize was Prince Bane, turned and pulled his sword to fight. He pulled off his cloak and turned to look for a place to drop it. I offered my arm and he hesitated only a moment before handing it over. As if he didn't want anyone to have it, but I was ok for some reason. You would think a Prince would have a better cloak, but this was a raggedy mass of fabric. Odd. Eventually I handed it off to Jackson to hold because it was hard to fight with it.
Finally the fight came to an end. Well as much of an end as it could considering he would probably be back in a few hours, so I made my way over to the tavern to get a drink. This was actually the first time I got to meet anyone. The battle had been going since I first got there. I found a few hoblings that looked promising, but didn't get a chance to talk to them because I got a whispering wind from DG. He wanted me to meet up with him, claiming it might be the last time I see my precious Gunther. I agreed, and he came in to rift me away. I'm sure everyone thought I was being stupid, and I was, but the people you care about are worth it, yes? We talked for a while. He didn't hurt me or anything and eventually told me I could have Gunther back if the nobles in Tyrangel knelt to his Master, Armand. Well you can imagine how that could be a pretty tall order. Especially since I'm not even from Tyrangel. I offered to allow him to possess me if he let Gunther go, but apparently I wasn't a good enough 'body'. Gunther was chosen because he was immortal, so my only chance at this would be to get them all to kneel. I think the odds were against me on this one.
After we talk, DG rifts me back and I find Prince Bane. I found Prince Bane and though I already knew the answer, I pleaded with him to consider the idea. I was right, but he tried to explain why to me. I didn't have time for that. So against my bette judgement, I interrupted him in mid sentence by asking him if he cared about anyone. He said yes, so I told him that he would understand what I was about to do then. Honestly, I expected him to detain me or something, but he didn't. I wasn't sure if he should have at this point, but for now I was walking free.
Amaris' daughter found me a few minutes later. She is some key or something that saves the world. Anyway, she was hungry, so back we go to the Tavern. It's pretty empty by now because DG has found his way back into town and another fight had commenced. So Jackson is with us and he's explaining to the tavernkeep how he wants his frito pie when in walk two liches. At least I think their liches. They had glowing eyes. Anwyay, they apparently want Amaris' daughter, whose name I can't remember right now, so theycan 'talk' to her. Right. Talk to her. Ok so the girl is new to adventuring, Jackson is only a merchant, he can't fight, I don't know how good the tavernkeep is at fighting, and then there's me. I can't take both of them at once, especially since one is a caster, so I do the next best thing...agree with them, but only if I can go with her. Jackson knows the drill. As soon as we leave, he is to run get help because it's no secret I'll be dead around the corner shortly. I only hoped the tavernkeep knew the drill as well.
The undead agree to allow me to chaperone and we leave, the girl yelling at me the whole time about how this is all my fault...yadda yadda yadda. I ignore her but she had already distracted me enough to not see the sword coming at me. I could have fought back, but he channeled a draining effect through the weapon and I fell to my knees, powerless to do anything else. Stupid me. Stupid her. Well I couldn't let them take her. That whole key or something that saves the world thing. I think it was her pretty sword, but that aside...she couldn't be taken. They were going to hand her off to the DG or Armand or something and that would be bad. I might not be strong enough to do anything, but I could walk, so at the very least I could find out where they were taking her, yes? No. The same undead who hit me the first time, didn't like that idea, so he headed back in my direction. That's when the tavernkeep ran out and tossed a few spells at him. WOOT for the distraction. The undead ran him off soon enough though and soon I was sleeping like a babe. Actually soon I was sleeping like the dead beause the next moment I was all creepy undead flesh and compelled to attack the town. That didn't last long and soon I was back to my normal self. I looked around for the girl and spotted her off in the distance. No one else seemed to know she was gone (I made a mental note of this fact in my head to speak to Jackson about later) so I ran off to save her. The field I had to run across by the way is HUGE. I realized he was taking her to the gate that went to the graveyard of the four winds...the very gate that Portia had said was treason to enter just a few hours earlier, so I ran as fast as I could...and almost made it. Missed her being thrown in by about two feet. That sucked. I thought the good guys always made it just in time. Apparently that is either untrue, or I am not a good guy. Take your pick. If nothing else, I annoyed the lich thing. I was still wounded from the last attack, so this fight didn't last long either. My only saving grace was that some of the townsfolk had followed me out of curiousity. Thank goodness. The bad part, aside of her actually being taken and thrown through the gate, was that I now had to go tell Prince Bane how I had suggested it and tehn not be able to help stop it in any way. He took it better then I thought he would. Nice guy.
Fighting with DG lasted for several more hours on and off. I was getting really tired, but was scared to go to sleep for fear he may just rift in and snatch me. I hate dying in my sleep unaware. Eventually I had no choice. The sun would soon be up and I could either pass out in my bed or pass out on a table in the tavern. The choice was clear. Sleep came quickly and I was thankful it was uninterrupted.

10-13-07 (Saturday)
Today was pretty much the same as yesterday. Alot of fighting. There did seem to be some time when I could just sit and talk with people though. That was nice. Jackson and I were even going to have a nice picnic with the Prince, but for some reason that never happened.
He did get mad at me though. Jackson did. I had just finished collecting Lamont and invited him on the picnic with us. I don't think Jackson cared too much for Lamont...or maybe he was mad I had invited him without asking. Either way, he got mad and asked what I was doing. Clearly I was being nice and inviting my new hobling on our picnic. Afterall, I need to get to know him somehow, yes? Well Jackson was upset and pulled me aside to have a 'talk'. Normally I would hate that, but he was being so funny. At least at first he was, but then he started chastising me for stuff I didn't do and it went downhill from there. I think he was just mad that Booger wasn't there and so I became his responsibility. The Prince sided with me by the way.
Most of the day after that ws concentrated on trying to save Gunther...or so they say. Killing the DG over and over again didn' really sound like a great way to do this. See my comments about that yesterday. At one point they had a light sword and their theory was that if they killed the DG with it, the he would leave Gunther's body and w could life him at that point. The word to remember here is theory. That means it hasn't been proven. So basically they 'hoped' it would work. I begged the Prince to stop killing him and told him that I would not stand idly by and watch any longer. Despite my words, he thought the idea at least worth a try. I tried to get to Gunther as they shoved the blade through his heart, but the Prince and his men made sure I could not reach him. Don't think killing them didn't cross mmy mind...it did. As I suspected, it didn't work. Gunther was no more free then he was beforehand.
You cannot imagine my anger. The thought of them risking Gunther on theories was almost too much. The only comfort I could find were in prince Bane's words when he swore to me that Gunther would not stay in the hraveyard sgould he suffer his final death. He promised that should the worst happen, he would enter the graveyard himself and get him back for me. Bold words, yes? We will see if they hold true.
Edwin was another hobling I found running about the lands of Tyrangel that I wanted. He proved more elusive though and was denying my collection attempts. I wore him down eventually though and he finally agreed to join if there was snuggling. Ummmm...sure there's snuggling. Right? I mean, there wasn't, but that's a request I can fulfill, so why not. See how nice I am Jackson?
Eventually they captured the DG again and thought to DFM him. I was on the other side of town when I heard this mind you, and ran as fast as my little legs could carry me to get to him. We all know why, so I don't think I need to go into much detail on that except to say that I got there just in time. Gunther's body was laying in the circle with Portia and a couple of other people who I didn't take notice of. Portia was really the only one I needed to know was there. I asked very politely if I could come in the circle and was recognized in. Once inside, I turned to Portia and said,"Because you know how much I hate rituals..." and then sat down. You should have see her face. HAHAHAHAHAHA. The sudden look of realization that overtook her face was a mixture of fear and dread. Nice. I didn't know I could do that to anyone. She tried to get me to leave by asking me to walk down to the cabin and get her some water. Do I look like a water girl? No. But she is the Countess and so should hve a drink if she requests it. No problem. I stood up and clapped for the tavernkeep (since the circle is in the tavern) and told him the Countess was parched and needed some water. Then I took my seat again. I could almost hear her teeth grinding in frustration. Actually I might have if I hadn't seen her spin around, hands glowing, and incant a sleep spell. I know I did alot of sidestepping as she threw her spells at me, but eventually I took a nap. That's what happens when you're in a tiny circle. No room to really move around. When I woke up, I was with Jackson. Odd. The tavern was in front of me though, so I jumped up and ran to see what had happened (as if I didn't know). I didn't get very far though before I took another nap. I wasn't tired, so I can only assume someone felt the need to impede my progress toward the circle. Hmmmm... This time when I woke up, I was being dragged between Jacksom and Lemi (I think it was Lemi)toward a table outside. Not really wanting to take another nap, I faked being hurt and started saying ow. Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow, actually. They dropped me and looked to see what the matter was. This was all going as planned, and I was closer to the tavern door, so I booked it inside before anything else happened. And inside was Portia...no Gunther, but Portia. She just looked up and started spouting off that YES they had cast a rtual and how sometimes that ws necessary. WHATEVER! Casting a ritual is NEVER necessary and always causes problems. Guess what? Gunther wasn't inside because his spirit resisted it and he disappated. GO YOU! Yeah, that was so wonderful and let's not forget, NECESSARY. It s hard to say anything to her at that point that wouldn't get me charged with treason, but I had to say something, so I asked her just how many sleep spells it took her to put me down. Her eyes widened just a bit which made me think she had been hoping I wouldn't remember that. Right... Leaving was the best option at that point.
This is about when I needed a good dose of fun, so I found Lamont and Babble. And despite knowing better, I wandered off alone with them. I had only found 2g so far this whole gathering and that fell out of my pocket when I was put asleep against my will, so they took me to get some. Babble was backpacking me and boy was he good. Even better, I had helped some guy kill this banshee nd all he found on it was a single coin. Babble walked over and politely asked him to give it to me because I had yet to find any treasure. Oddly enough, the guy handed it over. I was truly in awe of his masterful power of persuasion. And then I giggled.
After a few banshee fights, I saw some lighted creatures across the field. I thought they were some new creature we had to fight, but I was wrong. apparently during all this, Portia nad some of her friends had gone off and become light elementals. I don't know how, but they did. Probably to better fight DG since he was a shadow creature. I was a little jealous. Portia came back and tried to poke my spirit to turn me into the Maiden, but I was sure it didn't work that way. And it was creepy. She went and got Jubel then, who touched me for a few seconds and *BOOM* I was all black. Let me tell you, Jackson was excited. He said I was adorable with horns. He was right. Ask Lamont. Needless to say, that made fighting undead alot easier.
Eventually we tired of fighting banshees over and over and over an over. Mostly because of the running across the field to fight, so we wandered off to find our own fun. Lamont had wanted us to find a way to 'consummate' his being collected, so we thought perhaps a little sparring would do it. He cheated, by the way. Healing himself in the middle of it. I like him already... I was clearly in the lead when I got a whispering wind from Gunther. If anything could distract me and throw me off my groove, that was it, and it did. I kinda ran off in the middle of our fun (which is probably way against hobling culture) to find the Prince. He had promised me and I needed him right then. Unfortuneately, he was nowhere to be found. Even the Duke did not know his whereabouts, though he did offer his services instead, which I quickly tuned down. How could HE help me. The Prince was the one who made the promise and now...when I needed him most, he had disappeared. How convenient... After abut half an hour, the reasons for my search quickly changed from needing his help, to finding him so I could give him a good tongue lashing and a lesson on honor and keeping your word. Probably not the smartest thing to do, but my mind was not focused on the niceties of rank at the moment. I never did find him. It was about then that DG came rolling back into town. Now...now...I was furious. I walked by him and glanced in his direction over my shoulder. I remember, he looked back too, briefly. Then I turned (which I know he didn't expect) and stabbed him over and over repeatedly in the back. That would have killed most people, but he just took a step forward, turned to face me, and transformed into the Black Pheonix. Scary... I tried to be brave at this point, but I admit, I took a step back. And then it was all I could do to defend myself. My only saving grace was that the town had seen him transform and were on their way to help me. Which is good because at that point they all became a much bigger threat to him then I was by my lonesome.
I wandered off from the fight for a minute, exhausted, and overcome by what I had just done. It didn't take long for me to shake it off though and get back into the battle. The whole town surrounded him at this point so you would think it would be hard to see what was happening, but in reality, you couldn't miss it. I don't know exactly what happened, but Portia basically exploded into a light as bright as the sun. Well it exploded off of her anyway...and ripped the shadow that was DG out of Gunther's body. Normally that would be good, but all that was left was a pile of ash...and Gunther's stuff.
I...was...stunned.
Portia lept over his stuff and threatened anyone who would touch it. I almost wanted to out of spite. But I didn't. Instead I told her she could handle his stuff and I would go see if he resurrected. I don't think she heard me really. It didn't really matter. The tavern was close, so it didn't take me long to get there. I'm not invested in the circle...for obvious reasons...so I pulled a chair next to it and waited. And waited. And waited. Jackson walked in after a while. He didn't say anything. Just pulled up a chair next to me and sat down. After a good half hour or so, I realized Gunther wasn't coming, so we got up and left.
The town was still in chaos when I walked out. I assume because they were fighting over Gunther's stuff. That was too much. I found the red head in the midst and started my angry march toward her. She did, afterall, kill Gunther and I wasn't going to let her get away with it. Not without knowing how I felt about that. But I didn't make it very far. The closer I got to her, the harder it was to breathe and the more my chest hurt. I had to stop and sit on the retaining wall near the tavern it hurt so bad. Funny, everyone was joking around and playing with the supposed grieving Countess, but no one looked in my direction to help me. I'm in serious need of help, but I'm the one who gets ignored. Nice. Well I take that back. Not long after I sat down, Lamont and Babble came flying over my head. It's amazing what he can do, really. This was the first time I had seen them since I told them I'd be right back, but they didn't say anything. Lamont asked me if I was ok. I nodded. He asked me why my face was 'glistening' then. Ok...who uses glisten? Not that it isn't a good word, but I don't think I've ever heard it used while adventuring. Maybe it's part of that hobling culture he keeps talking about. Anyway I explained that my face was probably oily and that I just needed to powder it. That gave way to a long pause. He then asked if I wanted to be alone and I nodded again, so they left. What did think I was doing? Crying? HAH! Death does not cry!
After al the partying went on with Portia's group, she tried to send me off to the Plane of Death to look for Gunther. As if I hadn't already thought of that. Hello...it's my job. I thought it would be easy enough to find him once I rifted there, but none of the elementals could find him. These lands had no Icon sitting on the throne either, so I was unsure where to turn when his spirit seemed to elude me. He had to be somewhere. It was then one of the Advocates found me. I talked with him at length and he assured me that Gunther was safe. That his spirit was in need of repair, and that he would return to us again in a few months time. I found that hard to believe, but he promised me as a true vornae. His honor would not allow him to lie, and so I accepted it and left knowing Gunther would return to us soon.
What to do now? Find Lamont, of course. I was really needing some hobling culture right about then. There were letters to write and protocol to destroy before the week was up, so this was my last night of fun for a while as far as I was concerned. He didn't let me down.

10-31-07 (Wednesday)
Still no word from Gunther.