ADVENTURERS TALES

	Well, after a good sleep, we were most ready to be quit of this dank and 
ominous abode.   Moughrim said that he did not really know which of the several large 
tunnels we could see led out.  He had never actually been here before, only read about 
this place in his studies.  Merlaine asked him if his studies had described what the 
entrance to this vault looked like.  After a few minutes of silence, Moughrim said 
"yes," and then described the entrance to Merlaine as it had been written in the text 
he had studied.  Using that information, Merlaine was able to use her Arrow of Location, 
and cause it to point the way to the described exit.
	Just because we knew the way however, did not mean it would be easy.  First 
we had to stop to talk with the rats.  You see, Shali had noticed a great abundance 
of rats about the place.  So, she had to do her spells and communicate with them, to 
see if she could discern weather they were controlled by some other entity, or placed 
here as guards of a sort or what.  After a while of her staring at a particularly large 
and ugly rat, she determined that there were indeed a lot of rats here, and that they 
were just rats.  There was some great source of food much lower down, according to the 
rat she communed with, that brought the rats in such great numbers.  Shali, nor indeed 
any of us, wished to speculate further what that source of food might be.
	After the kaffee-clatch with the rat, we walked through huge corridors, pushed 
open several very large, and very rusted doors, and wended through many galleries 
filled with dust and rat tracks.  All of this effort eventually brought us to a large 
mound of rubble, which rose maybe forty feet to a hole in the roof of the gallery, 
through which we could see stars and feel fresh air moving.  The horses looked at the 
steep incline, and did not look pleased, for they knew what we were going to try to 
get them to do.
	But the fears of the horses did not come to pass, for we did not feel like 
dragging them up the incline even more than they did not feel like being dragged up 
it.  Instead, I sat down and began doing a couple of rituals to inscribe runesticks.  
While the pair of rituals left me near exhausted, so would dragging a couple of tons 
of horse up a loose gravel hill.  While I did this, Brianna climbed up and poked her 
head out, after she gave the all-clear, I climbed up behind her.  Our exit was a hole 
in some long unused courtyard.  The remains of a once grand building were not far 
away, and other ruined structures could be seen in the distance.  
	I picked a spot well supplied with fallen boulders and debris, and placed my 
new Portal runestick.  Then I climbed back down, placed the mate to the first stick 
and cast the spell.  I must be getting good at this particular spell, for it worked 
without a hitch.  Then we all used the runesticks to achieve the courtyard, and all 
were much relieved.
	As I was standing guard whilst my companions ported via runestick to the 
courtyard, I noticed a spot of heat some distance off in the night.  I pointed this 
out to Brianna, and after a bit of looking, she said she could see a faint light at 
the spot I was pointing towards.  Once we were all assembled, Bob, Brianna and Shali 
cloaked themselves with Unseen spells and went to investigate.    When they returned, 
they reported that there was a tower, some sixty or so feet in height, that appeared 
to be occupied.  The light had come from a window in the tower, and from a brazier of 
coals that a person standing guard on a balcony of the tower was using to warm himself.
	All of us wanted to take a closer look, for people who ensconce themselves in 
ruined towers in long forgotten cities, are usually up to no-good, and so therefore 
make themselves prime targets for our particular method of Òkarmic recycling and wealth 
redistribution.Ó   But, we had a place to be, and so with much grumbling we snuck away 
from the tower in the dead city, moving slowly and using rocks and trees as cover, for 
if we could spot the guard, the guard could spot us.  Bob erased our tracks as we 
departed, and we made good our leave taking.   I do hope whatever evil those folks 
were working will not come back to haunt us.  Moughrim says he will mention the tower 
to his guild, and perhaps they will send some people out to have a look-see.  After 
that, the traveling was good for over a week.  While the trails were narrow and 
sometimes no more that deer tracks through the woods, the weather held and we saw 
no sign of pursuit.
	Of course, as they always do, these good times came to an abrupt end.  Just 
after we had set camp for the night, we were disturbed by the sounds of a ferocious 
battle that seemed to be going on all around us.  Yet when we jumped out of our 
sleeping sacks, weapons a-ready, not a warrior could we see.  Around us however, the 
sounds of screaming and weapon on weapon continued.  We were startled nearly out 
of our skins by the appearance of an old man, standing right near where Merlaine 
had made her bed for the night.  This old man was swinging a claymore and yelling 
terrible oaths at an enemy that we could hear, but not see.  After a brief fight, 
his invisible opponent got the better of him, and with a sob the old man collapsed 
onto the moist ground, and vanished.   Around us now was silence, no sounds of battle, 
no screams or sobs of the wounded and dieing, and no night time woodland noises 
either.  It was as if a moment of silence was being held to mark the old man's passing.
Soon thereafter, the crickets started up again and the night time woods resumed its 
normal state.
	As we wondered aloud to each other about this occurrence, we looked to Moughrim, 
who was unusually silent on this matter.  When pressed, he said that it was most probably 
a ghost.  We pressed him further, for to our minds, he was the expert on the subject of 
undead and such.   He told us that ghosts are not really a sentient form of undead, they 
are merely Òpsychoactive residueÓ caused by some traumatic experience or some task of 
great importance left undone in life.   We asked Moughrim if he could contact this ghost 
to see what, if anything, we could do to put its spirit at rest.
	Moughrim explained to us that there were potential pitfalls involved in dealing 
with ghosts, for in dealing with them, a connection is made between you and the ghost 
and sometimes that connection is very hard to break.  After a bit Moughrim relented and 
bade us stand guard while he performed the ritual required.
	Moughrim performed the ritual, what with all the drawing of lines and black 
candles and all that he required, and after over an hour of chanting, the visage of 
the old man with the axe appeared, and swung the weapon right at Moughrim!  The axe 
passed harmlessly through Moughrim, who raised his hands and said Òpeace, we are not 
enemies and mean you no harm.Ó  At that the ghost just glared at Moughrim, weapon 
still at the ready.   Now, to make a long story short, after an hour or more conversation 
with this spirit, we determined that he was part of a merchants caravan.  This caravan 
had been carrying him and his two sons and daughter, along with other travelers and a 
fair amount of goods, when it had been attacked by goblins.  After a valiant battle, 
the goblins won out, and killed him and all the other warriors, and took his daughter 
away, along with all the treasure.
	The old man knows his daughter is dead, her ghost haunts this area as well.  
What keeps his spirit uneasy, is that his wife still lives and never learned what 
befell the caravan with her family.  But most especially, that she never got the 
wedding ring that he had been carrying for her after having it repaired by a jewel 
smith in a distant town.  That ring has been in the family for generations, and if 
his wife cannot have her family, he would at least like to get the ring back to her.  
Until the ring is back in her possession, his spirit will not rest.
	Well, we tried to find his ring.  After getting a good description of it, 
Merlaine tried her Arrow of Location spell, with no luck.  The ring, wherever it is, 
is more than forty or so miles from this place.  Nor could we find any signs of 
goblins in the area, even after a careful search.  The only other thing we could 
think to do, was to make it a point to look at any jewelry sellers in whatever towns 
we happen to pass through.  The ghost than began to berate us for summoning it, and 
not being able to help it at all.  Moughrim seemed anxious to be away, and so said 
that he would mention this ghost and the ring to his guild, and perhaps they could 
come up with some way to recover the ring.  Moughrim then let his ritual end, and 
the ghost vanished.
	We were beginning to pack our stuff for the days journey, when Bob came 
across several small graves as he was looking through the woods near our camp.  He 
asked Moughrim if we could use this site as a place from which to enter the lands 
of the Dead.  Moughrim said no, the graves were but shallow ones, and to use them, 
we would have to disinter the body, and that would be disrespectful, and thus ruin 
the ritual before it started.  But Bob was persistent, and came up with an area 
between two of the graves, but still in the area of them, that could accommodate 
a hole six feet deep and eight or so feet long without disturbing any of the graves.  
When asked again if a grave sized pit dug in this area would serve, Moughrim said 
that it might, but it would be much harder for him to perform the ritual.  After 
much discussion, it was agreed that we would try to access the Paths of the Dead 
again.  Without further fan fare, we finished packing the horses, and then broke 
out the shovels.
	It took all of us the better part of the day to dig the hole, for it had 
to be at least six feet deep, and then one side had to be sloped to accommodate 
the horses.  As evening neared, Moughrim looked at our work and muttered something 
under his breath, then descended into the pit to start his ritual.  An hour later, 
he emerged with an amazed expression on his features.  ÒI didn't think it would 
work, but it seems that it has, the Paths of the Dead are open to us.Ó  Since we 
were all ready, we filed into the pit.  Moughrim warned us that the place we were 
arriving would be a bit cramped, and Shali should make sure she had the horses 
well bound, and so they were.
	This trip through the Lands of the Dead was very much like the last.  It 
was bleak, with  the cold that sapped the strength from inside a person, and a 
desolate landscape of never changing ash dunes and gray clouded skies.  After 
what seemed like many hours, if not days, we entered the cave which seemed always 
to be our destination.
	The place we emerged however, was very different.  As I stepped through 
the blackness, I was immediately pressed upon all sides by our horses, and Bob 
and all my other companions.  The place we had come out in was a cellar, and 
not a very big one.    The walls were of smooth stone, and the entire room could 
not have been 15 feet square.  We were packed so tightly we could scarcely move, 
and I began to worry about our air supply.  Moughrim bade me make some light, 
and so I did... not that I could see much besides the side of a horse which was 
smashing my helmet into my nose.  But the light helped Moughrim, who climbed 
and clambered over the horses, and Shali and Brianna, eventually finding a small 
stair.  After climbing to the top of this short flight of stairs, Moughrim 
knocked upon the door.
	After an exchange in a language I do not recognize, the door was opened 
and a very surprised man dressed in  silks gazed down upon us, blinked twice, 
and called one of his servants over.  When the servant arrived, the gentleman 
said "Emil, go tell cook there will be eight more for dinner, and then have 
the stable hands come in and give these folks a hand getting their horses out 
of my cellar."  With that, this man, who introduced himself as Vaal, began 
helping us out of the cellar.
	It turns out that Vaal and Moughrim are friends, both studied 
necromancy, but Vaal went out into the world to seek his fortune while 
Moughrim stayed at the Collage, pursuing a more academic life.  As us 
and our animals were extricating ourselves from VaalÕs cellar, Moughrim 
apologized to him for arriving like this, and then proceeded to explain 
the reasons and situations in which we found ourselves.  Moughrim explained 
that the small shrine Vaal kept in his cellar to his dead father and mother 
was the only place of the honored dead that Moughrim could think of that 
might even possible be within five hundred miles of the graves with the 
cantankerous ghost.  Moughrim also said he would pay for and help clean up 
the damage the horses had done to the shrine.
	Well, it took us several hours to get sorted out, our animals out 
of the cellar and kitchen and into proper stables, and ourselves cleaned up 
and dressed in cloths that were not stained with mud and blood and other, 
less pleasant substances.  By that time, VaalÕs servants had prepared a 
wonderful dinner of roast pheasant and lemon grass, with plenty of good 
wine.  Alas, no ale as Vaal did not much like that brew, but the wine was 
excellent.
	We talked long into the night, or at any rate, Vaal and Moughrim 
talked long into the night, we merely drank the wine, ate good food and 
listened.  Vaal said that he would introduce us to someone whom he thought 
might be of help to us in our quest to get to the Collage of Necromancy by 
Samhain, but that it would be a few days before this person could arrive.  
Until then, Vaal made us his guests, and bade us rest up from our travels, 
which is exactly what we did.  We took advantage of the time to rest, talk, 
tend our animals... why, I even got to cast my hawk and work a bit with my 
owl!  Moughrim spent much of the time practicing spells he had not used in 
years.  All the while, we were anxious, for if this person whom Vaal was 
going to have us meet was not able to help us, then we would have wasted 
precious time.  But wait we would, for Vaal assured us that word about us 
had spread.  We were accused of desecrating a temple, attacking a Priestess 
and stealing a body for purposes of Black Magic.  A death sentence for sure, 
and Vaal told us that there was a 3000 gold piece bounty on our heads, dead 
or alive.
	After four days, Vaal invited us to dinner as usual, and when we 
arrived, he introduced us one Mr. Fallfast Underfoot.  Fallfast had done 
some work for Vaal in the past, and so Vaal figured he may be able to help 
us in our present troubles.  Fallfast was a hobbit, and so stood only some 
four feet in height; he dressed in voluminous purple cloak and red silk shirt.  
Wherever he went, Fallfast carried a walking stick of ebonwood with a rat's 
head made of silver with rubies for eyes.  He said that this stick was a 
symbol of the Halfling Rat catchers Guild, but would say no more on the 
subject.
	After dinner was finished, Vaal brought out sweet tea and desserts, 
and then we got to talking about business.  Fallfast was a collector and 
transporter of "secret things."  To demonstrate this, every so often he 
would pull from his large cloak some vial or jar, and show the room its 
contents.  The most amusing thing he produced was the baby alligator 
"perfect for him that's not got a castle with a moat yet, but will have 
one in a few years!"  The baby 'gator wandered around the table, and 
decided that the only even vaguely edible thing there was the caviar, 
which it devoured in but a few bites. This earned Fallfast a stern glance 
from Vaal, and so the baby alligator was put back in its jar of water.  
Fallfast also produced the seeds of several plants, some rare orchids, 
and some of a more carnivorous variety.  He even brought forth one vial 
which he said contained the spores of the Scarlet Leech mushroom.  We have 
learned well to avoid that particular fungus, which is bright red in color, 
and grows in damp, near lightless conditions.
	Once Fallfast realized we would not buy any of his wares, we got 
down to talking about transport.  Fallfast said that he could get all of 
us, horses, animals and luggage secretly down the river to Nvym -Dar before 
Samhain, without attracting any attention... with a good current and a bit 
of luck.  And the price he would charge for this wondrous feat, was no less 
wondrous, just over 1,000 pieces of gold.
	After some talk and figuring, we realized that Fallfast's offer was 
probably the only way we were going to make it to the Necromancers Guild 
before our deadline.  Moughrim said he could throw in a hundred gold, perhaps 
a bit more.  Moughrim had spent almost all his monies in getting his robes 
and dagger delivered to him back at the inn.  After some more debating, and 
some more of VaalÕs excellent wine, we agreed to FallfastÕs price, although 
it would near bankrupt us.  Moughrim said that he was sure the Guild would 
pay us some money for our troubles, but he had no idea how much.  At least, 
we would most likely have something to live on after this adventure.  We made 
arrangements and shook hands on the deal over the last of our wine.  We were 
to meet Fallfast and his men at Vaal's docks in two days time.

	The day of the meeting came, and we bid our goodbyes to Vaal and 
headed down toward his private river dock.  As we approached, we could see 
a large barge heaped high with coal moored at the dock, Fallfast was standing 
high atop the pile, scanning the river.  Out in the river, several more 
barges , each heavy with coal, rode low in the river current.  We had made 
it down by the boathouse, and were just about to greet Fallfast, when the 
short river man gave a cry of alarm.  From the boathouse to my right, not even 
a hundred feet away five men came charging from around the corner of the 
building.  To our left, six more men were bearing down on us from around a 
storage warehouse.  All these men were well armed, with broadswords and 
claymores being the most common weapons amongst them.  In addition to their 
chain or leather armor; each carried a shield.  To the rear of the ones 
charging me was a huge man with ornate leather armor and a great axe, which 
he was swinging high over his head as he exhorted his men forward.
	Immediately Shali began to herd the animals onto the barge, for 
there was a small rim around the edge that was not full of coal.  Moughrim, 
with his leg still bad would have great difficulty boarding the barge, and 
so I took precious moments to lift him and throw his frail body onto the 
barge like a sack of grain.  I then turned and drew my own great axe, just 
in time to meet the charge of the men rushing down upon us.  Bob stood beside 
me, spear at the ready, trying to delay as long as possible getting onto the 
boat, and thus out of contact with the earth.  Vasquez, Brianna and Merlaine 
prepared to hold of the men attacking from the other direction.
	The fight was brief.  These men were good with their weapons, and at 
least one of them was a mage.   Their armor was much tougher than it looked 
at first, with the leather absorbing blows as would chain, and the chain was 
near impossible to breach.  What's more, their weapons gleamed with a slight 
sheen that told the practiced eye that they were magically augmented. The men 
attacking us tried to shield rush us and bear us to the ground, HA!  I guess 
they'll never try to shield rush a plate clad Mountain warrior again!  And Bob's 
long spear worked wonderfully at dissuading them from getting too close too fast.  
But still, on our side it was 3 of them to each one of us.  We took several 
wounds in the first seconds, and even though we gave them several horrific wounds 
ourselves, it was clear that we were going to delay them only, not stop them.
	On the other side of the battle, Shali had to jump into the fray before 
all the animals were on board the raft.  One of FallfastÕs men helped guide the 
rest of the horses on board. ShaliÕs dogs were on board as well, ordered by her to 
stay and guard the animals.  Fallfast proved a most underhanded adversary, for 
he removed a leather necklace he had been wearing, which was actually a sling.  
Fallfast then put a vial of Scarlet Leech spores into the sling and hurled the 
deadly spores at the men attacking Shali, Bri and Merlaine.  The vial struck 
true, and covered the rear men with a reddish cloud of spores.  The battle 
continued on for some seconds before the spores, each one a tiny, carnivorous 
plant, began to have an effect.  The men who had been hit by the cloud began 
to withdraw from the battle, and then scratch at their exposed skin; one of 
them even withdrew a bit farther and began removing his armor.   A few seconds 
later, these men began screaming, as great bloody sores opened up where the 
spores had eaten through their skin, and gotten into their blood.  This 
distraction allowed Merlaine to withdraw from the front line of that side of 
the battle, and began spell casting.
	Moughrim too had recovered himself, and had been trying a spell for some 
time without getting it right.  Finally, on his third try, he got it right.  
All I have to say is, I sure am glad he likes us!  When he cast his spell at 
the men besetting Bob and I, there was a brief flicker of black and sulfurous 
flame, nothing more.  But in that brief instant, every single man in front of 
us screamed as his flesh charred and burned, and to a man, they fell to the 
wooden docks.  Not a second after that, Merlaine got her spell off, and the 
leader with the great axe, who had been urging his men on, fell asleep.  It was 
a blessing to him no doubt, as Moughrim's spell continued its effects, and the 
leader slept through his own horrible death, and those of his men.
	The attackers on the other side, facing Bri and Shali, saw the fate of 
their companions, then looked at those of them that were screaming and bloodying 
the water, and wisely turned and fled.  Fallfast launched another vial of Scarlet 
Leech spores after them, scoring a hit on the back of a retreating warrior.  
This seemed to make Fallfast very happy.
	The sudden death of  so many people almost overcame Merlaine, and she 
staggered back onto the barge where FallfastÕs men helped her.  The rest of us 
then boarded the barge as FallfastÕs men poled it out into the riverÕs current. 
	As he guided the barge away from the shore, Fallfast commented that he 
knew those men who attacked us.  They were bounty hunters, and not ones who 
worked cheap.  Our short river guide observed that we must have pissed of 
someone real important if we had both the Ishtaran guards and crack bounty 
hunters after us.  When we did not offer any additions to his comments, he 
lit a pipe and huffed as he saw to the guiding of his barge.  We drifted out 
to the middle of the river, where other barges loaded with coal were waiting.  
Once there, Fallfast extended a plank from our barge to another coal-loaded 
barge, or so it seemed at first.  Now that we were away from the small town, 
with its people and spying eyes, Fallfast revealed how he intended to smuggle 
us down river. 
	The barge to which the plank had been dropped was not, as it looked, 
loaded with coal.  It was but a huge tent of black canvas, to which had been 
sewn hundreds of lumps of coal, rather like a giant bead work tapestry.  From 
more that ten feet away, it could not be distinguished from a mound of coal so 
cunningly was it made.  Fallfast pulled back a flap of this tent-of-coal and 
ushered us into our new quarters.  While there was indeed room enough for us, 
our animals and all our belongings, there was no room to spare.  Everything, 
ourselves included was almost instantly covered with a thin layer of coal dust 
which seeped through the fabric, and Fallfast warned us not to try starting a 
fire, as it could well blow up the entire raft.
	Whenever we need to get out for air, we are forced to wear river man's 
cloths, and if we have not the skill to pole a barge, we must at least look 
like we are poling a barge.
	So, to put it politely, it was a miserable two weeks.  We were cramped, 
breathing air thick with coal dust which had us all coughing, and the only hot 
meal we got was in the evening, if we were lucky and a safe place was found to 
ground the barges on the banks of the river for the night.  Otherwise, we 
dropped anchor near the middle of the river, out of bow shot from either shore, 
and ate jerky and cold bread.  The only good thing about these nights spent on 
the river was that the watches were reduced, and so we all got a good night's 
sleep.
	During the day, I use my runewand to create a light that does not 
endanger the rafts, and by that light I carve a runestick or two, and then 
tend to the animals as best as I and Shali can.   Bob is miserable, and spends 
long hours looking longingly at the shore, and Vasquez is miserable as well, 
and I think she would even welcome the detonation of this barge and it's 
contents, if only to have fire for a brief instant. Ah, I must now cease my 
written ramblings, as Fallfast has called that we will be putting ashore, 
and as important as this journal is, a good walk in fresh air is even more so.

				By My Blackened and Filthy Hand
				This 28th day of Saptembre.
				The Year of our Lady 540

							Drashak Khea Milari