Chapter 22: On his own

Danyx raises his sword and says, "And now what?!?! May Armegil protect us and guide our weapons!!!"

The orc with the bone helm and sword shouts, "Wait! We aren't enemies! Who are you?"

Silverleaf moves toward the rear of the group drawing his bow.

Aladfar stand ready with his quarterstaff, with Danyx on one side and Ja 'Far on the other.

Ja 'Far starts to twirl his mace.

Mirelle stares at the advancing force a look of fear creeping over her face.

Torana begins to speak a rune.

The dozen men move silent as ghosts and with military precision deploy themselves to best outflank the group.

The amber haired elf and Fandaliel take up positions on the flanks and draw their bows.

When the distance between the two groups is little more than five feet. Every single one of the silent men raises his sword in a salute. Aladfar gasps in surprise and does a similar gesture.

Ja 'Far grunts and waves for them to come.

With the formalities seemingly over, the men charge. With the shower of arrows from the amber haired elf, Silverleaf, and Fandaliel, four silent men reach the front lines with scorch marks and arrows sticking out of their armor.

Danyx exchanges a few parries with one man before managing to disarm him and send his weapon flying he then plunges his weapon deep into the silent mans chest and is rewarded with a solid left hook that knocks him back a step. A second and third hit sends him sprawling backwards without his sword. The silent man moves in on him ignoring the fact that there is a sword stuck in his chest. Aladfar uses his staff to parry a couple of blows from those he is fighting. Then he steps back a moment and pushes hard with his staff extended. The attackers take the blows on their swords, but are still knocked backwards into their companions causing a total of four men to crash to the earth. They flail helplessly for a moment before attempting to untangle themselves.

Two men charge Ja 'Far and just as they near him, they suddenly stop turn and run screaming. Leaving a puzzled, Ja 'Far standing there with is four-head morning star twirling slowly. "Come back here you cowards. You dare challenge me then run away." He charges the rest of the men who start to attack him then run away screaming. The screams are unlike anything ever heard before. They seem to tear at the very soul. Ja 'Far disappears around a corner chasing five of the men who run screaming from him. "Get back here and fight you morons!!!!"

The orc with the bone helm and sword is attacked by one of the men and easily manages to disarm it, but even after dealing it several killing blows the man still advances!

Mirelle's eyes open wide and she screams in fear back away a few steps before collapsing on to the ground and huddling up whimpering something about "chaos" and "evil" and "never resting".

One man manages to get past the front line and charges the prone form of Mirelle. Wildstar drops his armor and moves to protect her.

Torana finishes his rune and a multicolored light that seems to be larger than him appears in front of him blocking all view of the mage. The light coalesces into arrows of light, which streak out and hit the man charging Mirelle. The man is knocked back by the continuous streams of magic arrows. With each hit, the arrow gives off a little explosion of light. In a moment all view of the man is lost in the light and Wildstar is temporarily blinded. When the light fades, the only thing left of the man is a few dusty ashes and very badly battered armor.

Silverleaf, Fandaliel and the amber haired elf concentrate their fire on the man moving after Danyx, who is slowly getting up. Arrow after arrow smashes into the body. Finally a burning arrow pierces the skull and the man can take no more punishment as he collapses at Danyx feet.

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The four men untangle themselves and spread out to around Aladfar.

The presence of Wildstar seems to have a calming effect on Mirelle as her whimpering becomes less and less pronounced.

The silent man fighting the orc with the bone helm and sword manages to get in a few hits, but they do little damage and seem to just bounce off of his armor. Meanwhile the orc dances around slashing. He reaches in and scores a hit with his torch the hair on the creature flares up and burns creating a hideous spectacle as it continues to attack. Finally the orc gives a mighty swing and the forces that were keeping the creature together depart as bones, and limbs fly off to the side. The burning skull bounces a couple of times and rolls to a stop looking at the party. It watches without comment as the flame claims its skin and eyes leaving a blackened skull.

One turns and moves back toward where Wildstar stands. The man moves quickly and quietly heedless of the remains of his comrade.

Danyx slowly recovers and retrieves his sword. He pauses then sheathes his sword and takes the silver sword from his fallen opponent. He then moves to help Wildstar.

Silverleaf and Fandaliel continue their assault, this time concentrating on relieving Aladfar of one of his many attackers.

The amber haired elf draws his sword and charges to the front lines to help the embattled ogre.

Before help can arrive Aladfar is hard pressed to hold back the three attackers. Before long he is bleeding from several cuts. Finally he slams one end of his pole into the ground in front of him and it extends upward carrying him with it. With the ogre no longer in front of them the men continue to attack the next targets, the orc with the bone helm and the amber haired elf.

One of the three attackers falls when an arrow puts a rather large hole in his skull and a second arrow knocks it off.

The second of the three attackers has the unfortunate karma to be move under the suspended ogre. His staff suddenly shrinking to normal size causes the ogre to fall quickly down and crushes his opponent beneath his great weight. The crash causes a miniature tremor and causes everyone to lose his footing for a moment. The ogre moan, "Owww. Oooh. Ahhh. If I ever do that again, I'll make sure they're not wearing armor! Owww!"

Wildstar attacks the silent man and seems slightly off balance, because of his lack of armor. The silent man takes full advantage of this and within moments Wildstar is bleeding from several major wounds. By the time Danyx arrives Wildstar has regained his balance and scored a hit on his opponent. Between the two of them and the fact that the silent man seems to only be able to concentrate on only one man at a time, they quickly cut him to ribbons.

Ja 'Far comes stomping back, his face a mixture of emotions.

The orc with the bone helm and the amber haired elf do a good job of finishing off the final silent man...that is until Ja 'Far gets within ten feet of him. Then the man gives an unholy scream and charges slamming into the orc and knocking him to one side. Before the orc can retaliate the man has run past everyone and ran screaming into the darkness from whence the party came.

Ja 'Far just looks at the creature as it leaves and says, "They all did that! What my breath stink or something?!?"

Silverleaf uses his staff to heal some of the wounds Aladfar and Wildstar took. Though they are still seriously wounded at least the bleeding has stopped and the healing has begun.

Mirelle recovers her composure.

Torana looks around and says, "No point in staying here and besides, we are late as it is." He moves down the hall to where it splits into two directions. "Ja 'Far chased those creatures down the right corridor, so we will take the left one."

They follow the corridor that seems to curve off to the right and after what seems like a small eternity they come face to face with the five men who ran away from Ja 'Far. Their reaction is to run away again, back the way they came.

Ja 'Far however seems disinclined to fight them. Instead his attention is taken up by the design one the floor. It seems to be the tiled design of a stylized Anhk, except the tiles are made of pure gold and in the center loop there seems to be a cavity.

Almost without hesitation, Aladfar moves over and digs into his bag. He pulls out a statue of a golden ogre with a club raised to the sky. The statue begins to glow and Aladfar says, "Welcome home little one. Finally my first task is done." With that he places the statue into the cavity. The gold from the loop seems to close over the space between it and the statue.

There is a rumbling and the inner wall seems to be rotating. Long dormant dust rises up and soon obscures the wall. After a few minutes an opening appears briefly through the dust. "Yes Aladfar, your first task is done", says a familiar voice. From the dust obscured opening walks out a huge being, but one instantly recognizable as the form of Rasalas.

After hearing several gasps of surprise he says, "You didn't think you get rid of me that easily did you?"

He turns to Torana and says, "Four times you've tried and four times you've failed. You finally reached the end of your journey. Your prize awaits you in there. It is guarded but, you must go alone. You have shown stubbornness and sacrifice to help those who aren't even of your kind. You help them to help themselves. Now can you help yourself. Do you have what is necessary to survive without them? Do not worry for your comrades. They will be sent to where they will be safe until your return."

Torana turns to Rasalas and says, "I won't ask how you survived or how you got here. But I have my suspicions. But I ask one boon...How goes the battle with my apprentice?"

Rasalas smiles and says, "He does quite well, but at the moment he is trapped in plan of his own devising. What in plan seems brilliant, in execution seems quite foolish."

Torana gives a crooked smile. His robes swirl and change him into a farmer boy with a wide brim hat and old worn clothes. With a confident look he says, "I'll be back in two shakes and then it's on to the final battle and payday for all you who've been looking forward to it." With that he turns and heads into the opening.

Moments later there is a loud unearthly scream and several loud flashes and a rumble that shake the very foundation of the building.

Rasalas turns to the rest of the group and says "Now the end is here for you." The dust suddenly begins swirling up around their feet it quickly rises and obscures vision. Just as suddenly it is blown away and they find themselves in the middle of a near empty square. It is late night and the moon is waning. Behind them is a large white building built like a giant igloo. Over the front entrance is a single rose. The plaza is completely empty except for the group and the large force of about 50 armed men surrounding the plaza. The men are all in red and white uniforms with peculiar red gems in the center.

There is an awful sickening feeling in gut of each and every one of them as they sense the unaccustomed feel of the hostility of the men before them.

One of them shouts, "Magic they used magic! They must be in league with the harmonists! Kill them!!!!"

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Chapter 23: Revenge!

"Orcs and Ogres in the town!!!" The cry goes up and the men rally to arms. Despite the overwhelming odds they seem reluctant to move very quickly and they all seem to fear the temple.

The amber haired elf draws his two swords and prepares for the charge. Danyx cries, "Stop! We are not! This is a mistake!"

Ja 'Far and his companion each prepare for battle. The telltale sound of his rotating weapon indicates he is more than ready to fight.

Wildstar shouts "Stop we're not in league with the Harmonists!"

Mirelle begins a prayer.

As the 50 soldiers advance the awful sickening feeling nearly engulfs the first few people. Pain, anguish, fear and suspicion, cloud their minds. Distrust of comrades both old and new and fear of the men coming toward them. For the first time in each of their lives they feel that it would be possible to take another human/elf life.

A man shouts, "You betray yourselves! Quickly before she finishes her prayer!"

Fear takes hold as the men move closer and bravery seems to drain out of the group. More than one pair of hands sweats as the group approaches.

As the start to move quickly. Silverleaf and Fandaliel draw their bows, but any can see their hands shake as they hold them.

Through the air there is a strange quivering.....as if great forces are being unleashed! The men stop their advance, fear plainly on their faces. The gems on their uniforms begin glowing bright red.

The leader shouts, "Kill them quickly before its too late!"

Wildstar shouts "Serghu Venom" and takes his place on the front line.

Aladfar extends his staff holding it in front of him like a sword.

The men charge closer, 30 feet...20 feet.....10 feet....and Mirelle finishes her prayer.

***************

As the men reach their line, the scent of roses dominates the area and strong wind surrounds the group. Some kind of vibration shakes each and every one of them to their very core and men scream in agony as the red gems upon their chests explode into shards that arc like knives both into them and outwards, but when the shards reach others they shatter into harmless dust.

All the energy, fear, distrust, hatred, anger drains out of their bodies and the feeling of calm and contentment replaces it. Everything is fine. Then men who were screaming only moments before look quietly around ignoring their wounds.

The ones that remain standing look at their weapons and wonder why they are drawn. All around the courtyard people put away their weapons and stare at their wounds in mild fascination.

From outside the square come the sounds of battle and cheering. People enter the square armed with weapons, but walk calm around and help each man in a uniform to his feet and quietly bind his hands together. When they come to the group of adventurers, the adventurers look quizzically at them not knowing what to do nor really caring.

They look at the group and they say "Look! Ogres and orcs in the city."

"What shall we do?" Cries one.

"But there is also a priestess." One man points at Mirelle.

This seems to decide it for them and they smile and turn away moving away from the temple. One man approaches and says, "We are in the midst of removing the Outsiders from the city! They've come from some far province to overthrow the harmony church and put us under their rule with their strange magic that makes us fear each other. Join us, we are fighting for your lives as well!"

Each adventurer of the group looks around with nothing particular on their minds. The only one who seems unaffected is the young Mirelle.

More uniformed men appear at the edges of the plaza, but one look around and the groups quickly back track. Torana's little ragtag army watches in idle fascination as a group of heavily armed men retreat from three or four unarmed people wearing white robes with a red rose painted on it.

Mirelle says, "Friends, this is indeed troublesome news. While we must prevent these invaders from harming the village, it is not our right to kill them. If you must fight, refrain from causing any permanent harm, even if they do not afford you the same courtesy. The church must learn more about these people before she is able to properly counter the threat that they pose. Any prisoners you capture should be left inside the church under a guard, unless you are told otherwise. I must now confer with my brethren about what is happening in the town."

A man replies, "Perhaps, but getting them inside a church is going to be next to impossible."

Mirelle moves toward the group of four people wearing the robes. "What is happening here?"

Mere seconds later the sky lights up as a bright light nearly blinds all! A dark deep rumbling is heard coming from some point in the sky and a blast of heat washes over them. The event only lasts a few seconds. Then the madness continues.

Danyx says, "WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND HERE???"

Aladfar looks around and shrugs his shoulders.

"Ah revered seeker-sister. It is kind of you to join us here. You must have been away when all this began. These men in red uniforms with their magic gems have been trying to take over the town and destroy our church. They hold us responsible for the peace that binds us all and they are repulsed by it. It is sad really, we have peace and they want to destroy it. The gems they wear destroy any magic near them. It also seems to temporarily stop the peaceful magic of the valley allowing us to kill one another. They are truly agents of Chaos."

He turns to the rest of the group and noting their bemused appearance. He says, "Ah I see you prayed for peace inside of a Sage aura. Do not worry you will return to normal once you leave the plaza area. We must go now. We must check the west side of the city as was the plan. But I beg you to go to the Hydra's Head Inn. We could use some extra help there. The enemy has made it their base and it is protected by strange magic. Some mercenaries tried to take it. They managed to get inside, but we have heard nothing since then." His eyebrows raise quizzically when he sees Aladfar, but he says nothing.

"Peace be with you sister." He says and moves away.

The light that began to fade away reappears again behind the group, out of the light shuffles a bent man wearing a nearly shredded and burned robe. He looks like he took a short trip through hell. Down one arm is a jagged cut that seems to be trickling blood. In his hand is a peculiar staff that shines with a light all its own. As he steps out of the light. The light fades away completely. Something around his neck glows a bright blue and lighting seems to play across his body. "What!?" He seems surprised by the blue lighting. He turns around facing the while building and says, "Of course, I walked right into a Sage spell." He chuckles and straightens up and gives and involuntary cry as he grips the staff with both hands. "Geez, that is why I hired bodyguards, so I wouldn't have to fight a billion monsters by myself!"

He turns back around and his shoot covered face is obvious to all, with ashes trickling down off the remains of a burned hat. He walks toward the group and wipes the soot off of his face. "Well what are you waiting around for! I go off on my own for a few hours and you guys think it's time to take a break!" With the removal of the soot it is obvious that the bent figure is in fact Torana.

"On ward to kill the Hydra." He pauses for a moment and says, "Why is it always a Hydra with this adventure?" He gives a short laugh and limps forward. The strange blue lights still playing all around him. "There ain't nothing more useless than mercenaries sitting in a Sage spell. They can't fight and they are clueless about anything else to do. Come on it's that way." He points with the staff. Now that he is closer they can get a better look at the staff. It is around six and half feet tall and seemingly made of pure gold. At the top of the staff is a what looks like a stylized Ankh and from inside the loop is a bright white light that seems to both be harsh and bright and at the same time, being soft and muted so one can look at it directly. Every once in a while a piece of the light seems to leave its place and travel down the staff circling it as it goes.

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The group stands there silently looking around seemingly entranced by nothing and everything. When Torana takes off, Mirelle follows and lacking anything else to do, the others mindlessly shuffle behind following the pretty priestess and the mage covered in blue lighting and carrying a golden staff of light.

That is until they reach the edge of the plaza. Almost at once they all shake their heads as if leaving a dream. Upon their return to reality Silverleaf says, "Welcome back, Torana."

The orc with the bone helm moves over to Mirelle and whispers something to her.

Aladfar looks around and his eyes focus on the staff, "Hold it right there mage!" He positions himself in front of Torana his staff extended. The light from the staff seems to come faster now. "This is what you came for! People risked their lives so you could commit sacrilege! Do you even know the power of the staff you hold?"

Wildstar takes advantage of the moment to finish getting back into his armor.

Torana looks up at the ogre and says, "Yes I do and if you do I suggest you stand a little farther back. Which reminds me..." He turns to the rest of the group. "I would suggest any of you with magic items, give this staff a wide berth unless you are tired of living." Turning back to Aladfar he says, "I know all about the staff that is why I came to get it. If Assyir didn't want me to have it, I would have never have gotten it now would I?"

Aladfar stares hard at the mage then at the staff, finally he nods and turns away, "As you say. But when this is done, you WILL return it."

"Of course!" Torana says.

Ja 'Far grumbles and mumbles to himself before saying, "What happened to your fancy magic clothing mage?"

Torana looks at him and says, "This happened." He points to the staff. "I forgot I was wearing a magic cloak when I touched the staff. It nearly finished me off! But I'm back and I've got the weapon we need to end this little foolishness."

Fandaliel walks over to Torana: "Torana! What was happened? Did you find out anything?"

Torana smiles and says, "It was awful. I think if I had run into one more monster, I would have just leveled the temple and take my chances digging through the rubble." He turns on Aladfar, "That wasn't fair sending beholders and drakes after me *after* divesting me of my bodyguard. If I wanted to fight the monsters alone I wouldn't have bothered!" He notices Wildstar putting his armor on and says, "Now he decides to wear armor? Was he carrying it the entire time we were in the temple?"

Fandaliel walks over to Ja Far and says, "There is yet one more thing that needs to be taken care of. Orc. Ja'Far. What you said to Wildstar.... Well, let's just say that I am tried of waiting for you to strike. Yes, I killed two of your, as you say, children. But I will claim that it was in self-defense! If I hadn't killed them, they would have killed my friends, or me! Having this grudge going on weakens the group...."

Fandaliel takes his bow in the left hand and an arrow in the right hand, holding both of to the sides. "I can't speak for the rest of the group, but...I give you your shot now. I'm tried of waiting. You may try to kill me now.... or be ready to forgive. So... what do you say?"

Ja 'Far smiles and evil grin and says, "You are safe here, from all except me! I accept your gift fool!" In the blink of an eye, his 4 head morning star connects with the unresisting head and body of Fandaliel and the elf goes flying sideways to land in a heap on the ground motionless. Ja 'Far charges the helpless form of Fandaliel only to be stopped by the extended pole from Aladfar as it connects with his chest. Ja 'Far is knocked back several yards, but quickly rolls to his feet. "Stay out of this, your time will come ogre!"

***************

As Ja'Far gets back to his feet, his companion yells, "Ja 'Far, stop it! This is neither the time nor the place for this!" Watching Ja 'Far he moves closer to the others.

Danyx unsheathes his sword and moves to put himself between Fandaliel and Ja 'Far yelling, "I knew we couldn't trust this beast, this abomination of nature. Evil creature, I was waiting for this moment! Ja' Far, you'll pay this one hard! "Watch the other Orc, comrades. He has behaved much better than this one, but is also one of this nasty race!"

Ja 'Far ignores Danyx outburst turning toward his companion he laughs and says, "Fool, you were nothing more than a tool to be used in my vengeance and now you shall be more useful now than ever before. Tel-my-set 'Gho!"

His companion cries out in shock as the bone helm glows a sickly yellow and bones extend from the helm running down the edges of his plate armor, covering him completely. In seconds the plate mail armor is covered with an extra covering of bones. The companion pulls out his sword and immediately attacks a weaponless Wildstar who is still trying to get back into his armor. Despite a few seconds warning, Wildstar seems unable to avoid the swift attack and in the blink of an eye the courageous human is without an arm, before he can back up, bringing his armored arm between him and his attacker. The shock of losing an arm causes him to collapses in pain, His blood oozing out of him the only thing he can do is put his remaining armored arm over his face to protect him

Aladfar and Silverleaf moves over toward the fallen Fandaliel as Ja 'Far charges Danyx.

Torana shakes his head and says, "Must this always happen?" He moves over toward Wildstar and the orc with the bone armor.

The amber haired elf moves toward Fandaliel and picks up his bow. Aiming toward the orc with the bone armor, he shoots. Upon leaving the bow, the arrow bursts into flames. The burning arrow soars through the air and hits the orc in the back of the head. Unfortunately the arrow fails to penetrate very deeply through the bone armor, as the creature doesn't even slow its attack.

Silverleaf checks over Fandaliel and breathes a sigh of relief at finding him alive. Using his staff he touches it to the elf's head and a reddish-orange light covers the elfs' head and arms. The glow fades and elf recovers slightly. He tries to move but cries out in pain.

Danyx charges Ja 'Far and tries to sidestep him to get to the orcs flank. But the orc tries the same maneuver and ends up face to face weapons clashing. Ja 'Far quickly falls backwards, yanking hard. Danyx is pulled off his feet and sent through the air several feet to land on his back hard, but he keeps his grip on his weapon.

As Ja 'Far starts to get up Aladfar extends his pole slamming the orc in the back. Ja 'Far flies through the air landing on his stomach only a feet to the left of Danyx. Danyx seeing his opponent lying only a few feet away, tries a desperate attack extending himself and slashing at the prone orc. The orc rolls away sensing the attack, but not fast enough that he avoids it completely as Danyx sword slices into his arm. Both regain their feet as Aladfar tries to maneuver around the orc.

Ja 'Far takes a deep breath, opens his mouth and lets out a bone chilling roar that seems to pierce the very heart and soul touching a primal fear and exposing to everyone a glimpse of the orcs true power. There is a general feeling in the air that he his toying with them. Like cat and mouse.

All fighting stops as everyone stares at the orc. Some men come from around the corner to stare in disbelief. After one look they run fleeing and screaming.

The first to recover is the orc with the bone helm. Instead of finishing off Wildstar, he charges Silverleaf while avoiding Torana who tries to hit him with the staff. As the mage misses, a blue spark momentarily appears between the staff and the bone armor.

Silverleaf seeing the charging orc raises his staff in defense as the orc levels an over head swing at Silverleaf. Deflecting the first blow then a second blow.

The amber haired elf fires at point blank range two quick flaming arrows that hit the bone armor, cracking it, but only to be stopped by the metal armor beneath.

A third attack by the orc results in the shattering of Silverleaf's staff, followed by a massive explosion and a bright white light.

The explosion knocks nearly everyone off their feet, except Aladfar who seems shaken but okay.

"Enough with you orc!" Aladfar charges the prone orc and kicks him solidly in the side. The orc sails a good twenty feet landing back into the plaza area. He gets up and realizes he in now inside the realm of calming magic projected by the Harmony temple.

Danyx gets up next and turns to see the orc with the bone helm getting up.

Torana raises up to one knee and tosses the staff at the orc with the bone helm. The orc never sees the staff coming as it touches his back. The little white lights that drifted down the pole suddenly swarm around the orc and he screams a high pitched scream that almost seems feminine in nature.

The armor begins to change color from bone white to bright yellow to blood red and finally it explodes in a brilliant blast that blinds all who see it and sending everyone flying again

***************

When the smoke clears Torana raises his head and looks around. Nearby he sees the prone form of Mirelle battered and bruised. A few feet away he sees the amber haired elf, face and body peppered with fragments of bone and steel. Blood slowly leaking through a dozen different places. A body hideously burned and recognizable only by a few colorful scraps of cloth that identifies the remains as Fandaliel. The motionless form of Wildstar lies in a pool of his own blood. Aladfar stands in a nearby building. The force of the blast, enough to knock the ogre into thick brick wall forming an ogre sized and shaped dent in the wall. Danyx attempts to get up but is too weak to do much other than roll onto his side and survey the devastation. The sound of footsteps approaches and through the settling dust, Ja 'Far walks unharmed by the blast through the remains of the group. He walks to the center of the blast area where the body of a young human woman lies. He picks up the woman up by the hair and lifts her up to his eye level. Though her face is covered with blood and dirt it is still obvious that at one time she was quite attractive. "Asura Heavenstar", Ja 'Far growls, "You have done your job quite well. I am surprised you still live. I have no further use for you. Now the children can rest in peace."

As Asura looks weakly around she realizes for the first time that Ja 'Far is not human, but in fact an orc. Her eyes cleared she glance around in your limited vision and sees her other companions were not orcs, but in fact humans and elves, except for Aldafar who was an ogre.

Then he does something truly odd. He takes the body of the woman known as Asura and moves over to the woman known as Mirelle. Standing over both of them he gives a small prayer to someone known as Lord Solutious. The sound of moving water suddenly comes from the surrounding area as if a flood were occurring. His hands glow bright blue and the aura passes from his hands to both of the women. Though only Asura recovers enough to moan a little, Ja 'Far nods and says, "You will live. My fight was not with the innocent only with the guilty." He turns and picks up the golden staff, he watches as a piece of light detaches from the main light and slowly makes its way down the staff. Turning to Torana he says, "This was truly a potent weapon. I should take it to keep you from using it against us in the coming war, but I think you won't be keeping it that long any way." He plants the staff in the ground and with one last look around, he sinks slowly into the ground disappearing.

When the orc is gone, people come from out of their houses nearby and look around. Torana moves over to the staff and leaning on it says, "Please help my friends, when they revive take them to Toran's chandler shop."

With that he moves away carrying the staff muttering, "Must hurry." Passing nearby a building, he touches the staff to one side of the building and a spark appears. Flames seem to pop up and run in a line from that point in the center of the wall to the next wall and to the next until it touches nearly every building surrounding the plaza. As the mage moves into the darkness, a sense of peace and safety fall over those remaining. A feeling that they have been missing lately. That familiar feeling that they've known sense birth that says, "I'm safe here."