ADVENTURERS TALES

Where to begin? I feel as if someone has told me the sky is beneath my feet and the grass above my head, and I not believing them, looked down to see I was standing on clouds. Such is a measure of how things have been turned on their end. What once was weak, is now strong, and what once was good, is now bad. I guess I should have expected it. My clan always warned me about the danger of hanging around with necromancers. Well, perhaps my clan did not warn me, but somebody did; and if they didn't, they should have. But again, I digress. I shall begin at the end. The end of my last entry that is.

After departing Ursk's, we had only one encounter of note in two weeks of travel. The fifth evening out from Ursk's, we heard what sounded like music in the distance. Shali, Merlaine and Bob went to investigate, and Vasquez, Bri and I stayed to guard the horses. It was a warm evening for this time of year, you could not even see your breath in the air, and they sky was wonderfully clear. Shali and crew walked through the woods for two miles or more, and then came upon the source of the music. It was a revel, only the revelers, instead of being human, had furry lower limbs such as a goat has. There were six or so males, which Shali called Satyrs, and each had a companion, or two. These female goat beings Shali knew to be nymphs. Their music had an entrancing effect, and all three of them felt a desire to dance and revel the evening away. Bob in particular was ready to lay down his weapons and rush out to join the nymphs, with who he was quite enamored. Shali and Merlaine had to haul him back into the woods, and they hustled him and themselves away before the music and the sight of the satyrs had a chance to overcome their good sense.

The next morning we visited the sight of the revels on our way out, and found naught but a large trampled area of grass and several discarded and empty wine skins. We traveled on for another week without incident until we reached the small town of Wolfskin which sits on the shore of mirror lake.

Wolfskin is not a large town, it is walled with a wooden palisade of sharpened timbers, with one gate that is both entrance and exit. As we approached the gate, we saw a guard on either side of the portal, and a priest of Ishtar taking toll and collecting the gate fee from the few farmers that were also entering town.

When we arrived at the gate the priest and guards were pleasant enough, they asked us where we had been and what our business in town was, and did we have any valuables that we intended to sell. We gave appropriately vague answers to these questions, and that seemed to satisfy the guards. The priest however, asked what was the matter with Moughrim, who was whimpering at the sight of the town. Again, we were vague in our answers, saying that we had rescued him from an evil wizard who had so tortured the poor fellow that this is how we found him, and if the priest could be of any help to Moughrim we would gladly accept it. The priest said that he would see what could be done. Then this priest asked what we had in the bag that was dangling from the side of one of Shali's horses, for it looked as if there might be a body in there.

We all looked to Merlaine to answer this, for we have learned well the lesson...never lie to a priest. Merlaine said that it was indeed a body, of a..companion of ours, whom had been slain in our last adventure and we were seeking someone...to say the appropriate rites over the body. The priest nodded and asked us to move aside, and then had the guards open the bag so he could inspect the body. We held our breath as he opened the leather sack and gazed at the corpse of Enkil. The increase in volume of Moughrim's whimpering did nothing to help the situation. Apparently the priest was pleased to see that the body had indeed been preserved by a competent healer, and that its valuables had been untouched. The guards rolled the body back into the bag.

The priest then informed us that we could not keep a corpse with us at the inn, and by law all deceased persons were to be held in the temple morgue until we were ready to leave town. Then he asked the name of the deceased. A long silence ensued as Merlaine thought hard of a way to get around this question without directly lying or obviously circumventing the question. After the silence became suspiciously long, and Merlaine still had no ready answer, she told the truth, and said his name was Enkil. The priest merely nodded and wrote the information down on his scroll; he then assigned one of the guards to accompany us to the temple, where we met with the Priestess. The guard informed her of the situation, and we saw Enkil tucked away in the small vault in the temple's basement. The priestess informed Merlaine that she (Merlaine) would have to renew the preservation on Enkil, as there was no healer in the town sufficiently skilled to do that. The guard then showed us to the one and only inn in the town of Wolfskin. This inn is called the Silver Dagger, and while it is small, the rooms are clean and mattress stuffed with good straw that appears free from lice and such. And the mutton stew the innkeep had on the fire smelled so good we nearly fainted when we entered the place.

Of course, since this inn caters mainly to locals, who are fisherman and farmers, the whole of the inn nearly fainted when we walked in, reeking as we were of several weeks on the road and in our much battered and abused armour with all our weapons and such. After a few minutes of open mouthed staring, the locals remembered themselves and went back to their drinks and meals. The guard, who was still with us, informed us that this was also the local Adventurers Guild, and the tavernkeep was also the Guildmaster, and sole employee of the Guild in this town.

The guard waited politely while we arranged for a room, arranged for and saw to the settling of our animals in their respective stalls, stripped off our dust and blood caked clothing, and put on our only slightly mildewed cloths from our packs. We then went down and checked all our weapons and armour in at the Guild Hall, which in this town also serves excellent drinks. Shali's hounds were allowed to sit under the table as long as they caused no trouble, but my eagle and owl had to stay in the barn, and Mischief was banished there as well. Once we were settled, the guard left us, and we ordered dinner.

Even plain food only moderately cooked can be a delight after eating either trail rations or rabbit cooked over a fire for several weeks. And as I mentioned before, the ale was excellent for a human brew. It was as we were sitting there, not saying much but just savoring the food and ale; and the fact that we were warm and dry, that another person walked into the inn.

Just as it had been plain to the locals that we were most definitely "not from around here", it was plain to all eyes as well that this fellow was also an adventurer of some experience. For most locals, the sight of a whole group of powerful and somewhat magical persons coming through the door of their small inn had been enough to send them home for the night. For those brave or curious ones that stayed, the sight of yet another mysterious yet obviously powerful person entering their inn was too much, and within minutes we and the stranger had the inn to ourselves.

Unlike ourselves, who each carry a variety of weapons, this fellow had only one obvious weapon. It was a huge sword, very narrow of blade to judge by the scabbard, and curved so that the hilt was just above and behind the fellows right shoulder, while the tip of the scabbard was mere inches from the floor near his left foot. This fellow wore no armour, but only a robe of deep burgundy silk tied with a dark blue sash. Over the robe was a black cloak that had the look of fine black leather, yet flowed like silk. We watched as this fellow went through the same routine we had, of getting a room, checking his weapon with the Guildmaster/Barkeep, ordering and greatly enjoying a meal.

When this fellow was obviously done with his repast, Bob looked at each of us and raised an eyebrow. We returned blank stares, or questioning glances to him. Finally Bob got up and said in low tones "Well, if none of you are gonna do it, I might as well." Bob then walked directly over to where this fellow was sitting and said "Hi, my name is Bob, and I was wondering about that interesting looking sword you walked in with, do you mind if I ask you a question or two about it?"

We all held our breath, wondering if this fellow would blast Bob into cinders, or whip out some concealed weapon and kill him on the spot for his audacity. But this fellow merely gave Bob a long and searching stare, just as a beggar might stare at an unidentified brownish lump found in the road when deciding weather to try to eat it, or fling it as far away as possible. After a long silence the strange fellow motioned to the seat across from him and said, "Sit then, and ask. I will not guarantee to answer. And your friends as well, although they will have to bring their own chairs. My name is Kendrik, pleased to meet you Bob."

And so it was that we all gathered around Kendrik's table. We exchanged names, and then Kendrik asked us about our travels and such. We told him as much as we were comfortable telling a stranger. Kendrik then told us that his sword was a weapon called an O'-Dachi, and had been given to him by a weapons instructor in a place very far away. Kendrik then asked what was the matter with Moughrim, and we told him, in very general terms, the tale of the temple and how we had come to rescue Moughrim. Kendrik then asked us many questions concerning the headaches that we had been attacked with in the temple dungeon. After a lengthy question and answer session, Kendrik said that he thought he might be able to help us rid ourselves of the lack of will and drive that had clung to several of us since our time in the dungeon. For you see, Kendrik is a professional hunter of vampires, or so he told us. That is what he is doing in this isolated little village. Villages such as Wolfskin are prime targets for vampires in the winter, once the great battles of the war have ceased for the year, and the troops and powerful priests have gone back to the cities to regroup and recuperate. Kendrik was here to see if he could find evidence of a vampire in the area. Kendrik said that the mental attack we had suffered was one of the favorite attacks of a vampire, and that any vampire hunter worth their salt would have about them several ways to cure, or even prevent the attack.

Well, when Kendrik said he might be able to help those of us who were victims of the headache spell, we were most glad indeed. We offered to pay him, and he said that he would accept as payment, any information we had about vampires. We agreed to this quickly. Another round of drinks was ordered, and we told Kendrik all about our encounter with the vampire back in Nvym-Dar, lo those many months ago. To this day Brianna still wears the Necklace of Saints the priest gave her. Kendrik looked pleased, and said he thought he might know this particular vampire, a very old and very powerful one. This vampire preys mainly on very wealthy folk, causing them to add their fortunes to her own before doing away with them. She is one of the few vampires who stays in or near the city during the winter, when the place is full of priests and knights home from the war.

Shali voluntereed to be first to be "cured". Kendrik then took out a small golden pendant, which he held in front of Shali. Kendrik set the pendant spinning as he mumbled some words under his breath. For a minute Shali looked confused, with a blank glassy stare. Then, with a snap of his fingers, Kendrik finished, and Shali was wide awake and alert as ever. She said she felt fine, better in fact than she had for a while, so it looked as if Kendrik's cure actually worked.

One by one all those who had been hit with the headache spell sat before Kendrik's pendant, and one by one all were restored. Then came Moughrim's turn. He had to be coaxed and led to the table, as he was afraid of Kendrik and his pendant. Once Moughrim was there, Kendrik encanted the spell just as before, but at the end, when he snapped his fingers, instead of waking with a smile, Moughrim screamed a scream that startled us all and caused the barkeep to drop a large basket of fresh baked bread. After the piercing scream, Moughrim curled up into a ball on the floor and sobbed great wracking sobs that I thought were sure to tear his frail body apart.

Merlaine checked Moughrim to be sure he was allright. Other than his frail condition and the painful looking sobs, and the badly healed leg, he was fine. After a time the sobs ceased, abruptly cut off. A few seconds later, Moughrim raised himself off the floor. He looked more a visage of a demon now than a slave. His eyes shone with some deep and powerful emotion, and his voice was tight and controlled, but gave no doubt that it was a voice that was accustomed to being obeyed. Moughrim stared long at us, and then said "thank you for your pains on my behalf, which have been great, I know. I must get out of these filthy rags before I say anymore, but none of you leave, as I have much to say." With that, he walked slowly over to the bar. Gone was the scared and haggard limp, even though he still limped badly, he bore this onus with great bearing and dignity, as if he were some great general who had gotten that wound while saving the entire frontier from ravaging orcs.

We could do naught but stare at this person, who was so radically changed from mere minutes ago. Our mouths dropped open even wider when Moughrim got to the bar, and said loudly 'My name is Moughrim Ap Tiernan, and I am a member of the Guild. I have two packages waiting for me, and I would like them delivered, Special Delivery. And I would also like a bath."

After a few seconds, the barkeep said "Special Delivery service costs 1,000 pieces of gold." To which Moughrim replied, "Yes, I know. There should be enough in my account to cover that." Looking nonplused, the barkeep went into a back room, and several minutes later emerged with a large package wrapped in brown paper. The bartender told Moughrim that the other package would be arriving shortly, and added that a bath was usually a silver piece, but there would be no charge for this one, though the water was cold.

Moughrim nodded and took this first package upstairs. When he came down an hour later, we scarcely recognized him. Gone were the filthy cloths, and in their place he wore long flowing robes of fine silk, trimmed with gold. A necklace of small gold skulls dangled from his neck and the bones of a human hand, complete but for two fingers, was pinned on the breast of the robe, each individual bone was of gold. A wide belt of heavy silver links, each with a skull embossed on it completed Moughrim's new attire. Moughrim apologized for the austentation, but said that the robes of his Collage were the only clean cloths he had right now, and that after years in filthy rags, being attired in clean cloths was very important to him.

We had known that Moughrim was of the Collage of Necromancy when we rescued him, but little idea had we that he was an acknowledged Master of this Collage! The silence was thick around our table as we adjusted to this turn of events. Kendrik did not look happy in the least at Moughrim's transformation. Moughrim wasted no words. He told Kendrik that even though they obviously saw the world differently, he was still greatly indebted to him for restoring him to his right mind, and would like to reward Kendrik. This seemed to soften Kendrik's expression somewhat.

When asked what he would like,Kendrik replied with "The lady vampire they encountered in Nvym-Dar, I would consider information about her habits and dwelling payment enough." Moughrim dismissed that request with a gesture saying, "I know nothing of her, she is not one of ours...you can have her." Just like that, as if he were giving a bone to a dog. Kendrik replied then with the names of several books. Moughrim said that knew he would never persuade his Collage to release those titles, but perhaps others ( and here he named some other, no less ominous sounding tomes) would suffice, as he just might be able to persuade his Collage to part with them. The bargaining continued for some time, but eventually he and Kendrik agreed on three books that Moughrim would acquire and give to Kendrik.

Moughrim then suggested that we retire to our rooms, as we had seen the door of the inn open every now and then, only to slam shut as some fisherman spied the guests within and thought better of entering for a pint or two of ale. We agreed, as we did not want to anger the barkeep by scaring away all his business for the rest of the evening.

Just as we were at the door to our room, the tavern keep's boy came dashing up the stairs. In his hand he held a dagger whose hilt glinted of gold and whose blade was blackest obsidian. Quicker that thought, Kendrik's foot had lashed out and tripped the boy even as his hand was poised to strike a knife edged blow to the boy's throat as he lay on the wooden floor. Kendrik did not land that blow, realizing in an instant that this boy was probably no enemy. Kendrik bowed low and apologized profusely to the boy, and said that he had seen someone running at him with a wicked looking dagger, and reacted. The boy, looking shaken but otherwise unharmed, pointed to the dagger which lay on the floor and then said to Moughrim "There's your other package, and you're welcome to it!" With that, they boy dashed off and was down the stairs and out the door.

We all stared at Kendrik. Shali had noticed something in the mishap, and now asked Kendrik about it. She had noticed that while one hand was poised to strike, the other had gone to a metal ring that was sewn onto the left hand seem of his cloak. Shali asked the purpose of this. Kendrik then told us, in very low tones, that it was a weapon. He revealed to us that the cloak was stronger than most, and whats more, its bottom hem was lined with small, very sharp blades, so that by grasping one of the rings in the cloak and spinning, the cloak became a devastating weapon. He said that vampires were most often encountered in cities and towns, where carrying weaponry other than small blades was frowned upon.

Bob finally recovered himself enough to speak, saying " I've been looking for years to find someone who knows moves like those! Please, tell me where you learned how to fight like that."

Kendrik looked at Bob for a moment and then said " Beyond the crystal sunset, follow the Sea Heron through the teeth of the dragon." With a shrug, he added "That is all I can tell you, and all you need to know." With a look at Moughrim he said "I must go see if the boy is all right, and pay his father for any inconvenience I may have caused. Please have the books we discussed delivered to the Green Dragon Inn in Dragon's Bay, they know me there and will keep them for me." And then he turned and went back downstairs.

We retired to our room. Once there, Moughrim gave us the bad news. He did not think that the church we had given Enkil's body to, would give it back. Moughrim stated that his Collage knew well the policies of the Church concerning deceased members. The next of kin were contacted, and it was they that got final say over what happened to the body. With someone from a family as powerful as the Dolgenens, Moughrim suspected that the family would want to bring the body back to Nvym-Dar in person, or bring their own Priestess of Ishtar out here, and try to raise him from the dead.

Whatever the case, Moughrim said that he knew that the Church has some form of very rapid communication, and that he thought that it would only be a matter of days before the Dolgenen family knew of Enkil's location and condition. Moughrim suspected that as little as a week after that, the Dolgenen family, and the Church of Ishtar would descend in force to claim Enkil.

Moughrim then surprised us yet again. He told us that since it is highly illegal to sell a body, and since he did very much want to see justice done to Enkil, he was claiming him, here and now. If we wanted to keep Enkil's body for ourselves, we could fight him, for that was they only way he was going to give up his claim on Enkil's corpse! As he said this, Moughrim's hand was resting on that nasty looking dagger of his, and his eyes left no room for doubt that he would indeed fight all of us to keep Enkil's body. We all looked at each other, then at Moughrim, then at each other, shrugged our shoulders and then Shali said, "Sure, you can take him then."

Much tension went out of the room at that. Moughrim then went on, and his hand left the daggers hilt. He told us that Enkil could kill anyone he had met before, at any time or any distance, through the use of some kind of spell. Therefore, Moughrim intended to see that if Enkil woke up, he was going to do so in a position where he could do no harm to anyone, ever again. Moughrim announced his intention to get Enkil's body out of the Church vault, and then take him back to Nvym-Dar and his Collage. Moughrim said he would reward us as well as he could if we helped him, but if we did help him, he let us know in no uncertain terms that we would be setting ourselves against the Church, in much the same way we were set against House Dolgenen. He then announced his intention to get a drink, and left the room.

Well, there was not really much to be said about all that. We could not let Enkil be retrieved by his family, and it seems likely that the Church will want to keep him in their temple until exactly that happens. Once that matter was decided, we had other thoughts that filled our head; such as, where would we go once the Church was on our heels? Just how do we intend to go and get Enkil out of the temple, and how are we going to transport him to Nvym-Dar, the site of Ishtar's High Church, while that very Church will be seeking us? I imagine grave robbing, kidnapping and whatever other crimes we are forced to commit during this endeavor will warrant a bit more than a fine and a slap on the wrist.

Moughrim returned with his ale, and a round for all of us as well. Then, in plain and direct speech, he asked us if we were with him, or against him. We nodded, and said we were with him, as long as he was against the Dolgenen's. He smiled, a discomforting expression on him, and served us our ale. I do not recall a time when I have needed a drink more.

And so now, I must once again cease writing, for we must discuss, in most quiet and hushed speech, how we plan to assault the temple of Ishtar and rob its crypt of a body.

                                        By My Soon to be Outlawed Hand
                                        This late evening of the 12th day of Saptembre, 
                                        The Year of our Lady 540

                                                           Drashak Khea Milari