ADVENTURERS TALES

	Well, it has indeed been a most interesting, and painful few days since 
my last entry.  I am sure you are curious, for dear reader, if you have read this 
far in my ramblings, you are either curious, or insane.  I prefer to believe the 
former.

	Now, Fallfast had found us a place on shore to camp, and so we hauled in 
for the night.  As is our habit, we checked out the area most completely before 
committing ourselves to stay there.  The site itself was well enough, fresh water,
good cover and plenty of berries and such.  What we also discerned, was that 
others had used this site before us, and very recently.  We discerned many other 
things as well.  We found that better than a dozen persons had camped here, and 
that they had tried to cover any signs of their presence.
	As we examined the area and uncovered each clue, I was struck by the 
change a few years has wrought.  It was not that many years ago when, lost in the 
woods, we were starving and suffering frostbite.  We surely would have died in 
those vast woods had not the scholarly monks of Oghma found us, and taken us 
under their roof for the winter.   Now, it is we who know each plant and rock, 
and the habits of game and the uses to which all these things can be put.  Never 
again shall we be in danger of becoming lost or starving in the wilderness.  Now 
it is we, who are wise enough in the ways of the woods to uncover that which an 
enemy has tried to cover.  I was most proud of our group then.  And just as I 
was about to comment on this, we found  the most telling of clues; the tracks of 
several large wolves.  These tracks were in a straight line, one wolf after the 
next.  Now, in winter when there is snow, wolves will travel in this fashion, but 
not in autumn.  Shali, who is studied in tactics and things of a military nature, 
and also has the dubious honor of being from Kathor, identified the departed 
campers instantly... Flensers.  Now dear reader, I do not know what time or 
kingdom you inhabit, but in this time and place I inhabit, there is a war.
	Flensers are one of the most cunning, and foul-minded issuances from 
Kathor.  Flensers are were-wolves.  They travel in packs of a dozen or more. 
All Flensers are expert warriors and rangers, and often times they are mages as 
well.  Flensers issue forth from Kathor in the fall and travel great distances by 
night in their wolf-form.  When they come across a town or village, they 
slaughter all its inhabitants and burn the fields and crops.  The goal of the 
flensers is to cause the farmers such fear that they will not till their fields. 
And those farmers fields that are tilled, will be burned by the flensers, and 
thusly will the Northern Empire be starved into surrendering, for an army without
food, is no army at all.  And a city without food, is a city in revolt and chaos. 
Such is the speed and endurance of a pack of Flensers that they can create much 
havoc in an area, and be long gone by the time any concerted force arrives to 
deal with them.
	We talked then with Moughrim and Fallfast.  We are of a mind to give 
chase to these Flensers,  for if allowed to roam unchecked, they will surely kill 
hundreds of innocent farmers and children, and destroy untold acres of crops.  
Even though we are not officially listed in the war, we still hate Kathor, Shali 
most of all.  However, Moughrim and Fallfast have schedules to keep and 
suchlike.  After a bit, it was agreed that Fallfast and Moughrim would wait two 
days for us, and if we had not returned by then, they would set off, assuming we 
were dead.
	We set off almost at once, for we had had little to do in the 
preceding days but sharpen our weapons, oil our leather and otherwise make sure 
all our gear was in trim.  We were well pleased to be off on what promised to be 
an overland journey... and for a good cause no less!

	Some six or so hours after we set off, we got our first taste of how 
devious a flenser pack can be.  Brianna was leading us, as she has night vision 
that is equal that of Merlaine, and is a damn good ranger as well.  She missed 
the trap completely, so well had our quarry hidden it.  All in all it is a simple 
trap, if expensive.  You dig a hole some two feet deep and as round as a 
grapefruit.  In this hole you place a grenado filled with greek fire, and on top 
of that, you place a second grenado filled with methane.  You top the whole nasty 
thing with a rock that has one jagged edge and one flat.  The jagged edge you 
gently rest on top of the methane grenado, leaving the flat exposed.  Then you 
cover it with leaves and such.  When someone who is pursuing you, as we were the 
flensers, steps on this rock, the result is impressive.  There is a loud 
concussion, which can be heard for miles, and everyone within a few feet of the 
device is splattered with burning greek fire, thrown a goodly distance by the 
explosion of the methane grenado.  So, your opponent is now doused with greek 
fire, as is the forest surrounding them, and they have announced their exact 
location to all within hearing range, which must be many miles on a quiet 
night.

	It is a good thing that VasquezŐs spells of fireproofing were still good, 
or we would have been in serious trouble.  As it was, we picked Bri up from where 
the explosion had flung her, and Bob healed the wounds she had been dealt by the 
explosion and flying debris.  We made sure the forest would not catch afire, and 
then proceeded on, annoyed and even more resolute in our purpose.
	After but a few more hours (for we had traveled through the night, hoping 
to catch the flensers camping during the daylight) , we noticed that the normal 
predawn  bird song was absent.  We assumed ( correctly as it turned out) that 
this was where the flensers, alerted by the explosion, had set up their ambush 
for their pursuers.  We had Bob and Merlaine cast spells of unseen, and Bri 
spells of witchsight on the whole of our party.  Then we advanced slowly, two by 
two, weapons at the ready, using rocks and trees as cover, for the ground was 
rich in rocks, but scarce in underbrush or tall grasses.  After a bit, we thought 
we may have been mistaken, for we encountered nothing, and were not attacked.
	It was Bob and BriŐs turn to advance, and so while we covered with bow or 
spell, Bob dashed forward into the cover of a large boulder, to discover that the 
cover was already occupied!  Bob skidded to a halt barely inches from three dire 
wolves, laying in wait behind the boulder!  While Bob could see the Direwolves, 
they obviously could not see him, as they had not moved.   Someone obviously 
could see Bob however, for in the next instant the tree a foot to his right 
exploded, showering him and the few surrounding feet..which did not include the 
wolves, with greek fire.  This greek fire was instantly followed by a volley of 
arrows, three of which struck home and three of which struck the tree.  Over the 
sudden din and confusion, we could clearly hear a voice shouting commands, in 
Kathorian.
	Bob was badly wounded, though not stunned by the arrows that struck him, 
and he managed to roll to the other side of the boulder just as the three dire 
wolves burst forth and headed in our direction.  From our right side, three more 
dire wolves appeared and headed towards us. We of course dove for cover, and took 
a brief moment to asses the situation, and listened for ShaliŐs commands.
	Nor were we disappointed.  After a moment ( during which the dire wolves 
covered a frightening distance) Shali yelled that the wolves could still not see 
us, and were being guided by their commander, who could.  This shouted command 
brought a huge bolt of magical power, followed by half a dozen arrows, down upon 
Shali's head.  It is a good thing she was behind a tree, and so managed to avoid 
all the arrows, for whomever had cast the powerbolt was a powerful enchanter, and 
his bolt knocked her arse over tea kettle and stunned her.
	So, no more info would be forth coming from Shali for a while.  I looked 
around, saw Bri and Merlaine, both in a heavy trance working hard on a spell, and 
saw the six direwolves headed our way... said a brief prayer to Clanggedin, whom 
I really don't worship anyway, but as far as I know, he watches over the Halls of 
the Dead, and chose my spot.  I advanced, greataxe at the ready, while Merlaine 
and Brianna's spells went off, to good effect.  Merlaine had spotted the enemy 
commander, and so launched a sleep spell in his direction.  We all heard her 
whoop of delight as the leader of the Flenser pack, fell off the rock that was 
his perch and hit the ground, still asleep.  Brianna launched a web of starlight 
at the direwolves advancing on Bob, managing to snare two of the three in the 
faintly glowing strands.  The wolves that Brianna entangled instantly began to 
howl and thrash as if they were on fire, while the third continued toward Bob.  
The archers that had been with the leader held their arrows ready, as they could 
not see any of us, yet.
	These flensers were well trained.  The three wolves near me formed a line 
and advanced rapidly towards Brianna and Merlaine, whom they had targeted by 
seeing where the web of starlight had come from.  When they were about half way 
there, they ran into me.  It was quite a thrill to see the surprise on their 
faces, for as they sped past, I lashed my axe in a wide arc, catching two of them 
with deep wounds along their flanks.  The third heard their yelps and turn around.
	The wolf that Brianna had not snared found Bob, slamming into him by 
sheerest luck as he charged  around, looking for a target.  The instant Bob's 
unseen spell was ruined, the archers let loose.  In a mere instant, Bob was more 
dead than alive, pierced through with several arrows.
	Of the battle that followed, I know only snippets; for the two wounded 
wolves turned on me.  I held them at bay as long as I could, sweeping about with 
my great axe, hitting them more often than not.  but while one was avoiding my 
blow, the other would nip me from behind and attempt to drag me down.  Several 
times they charged me, and did not stop to avoid my axe, as they hoped to bear 
me down through brute force.  All they got for their efforts were several bad 
gashes.
	Of the rest of the battle I know this.  Shali recovered from her stunning 
quickly, and she put up a Wall of thorns to provide Bob cover from the deadly 
arrow fire.  Shali then rushed to where Bob was being badly mauled by the 
attacking wolf.  Brianna for her part kept up concentration on her Web of 
Starlight, as each second it burned deeper into the wolves in its mesh.  Merlaine 
fired off another of her sleep spells, and a powerbolt or two.  This got the 
archers who were on top of the distant rock to come down, and advance on us with 
sword and shield.  There were six of them, and I was sore worried for my 
companions, as I was still engaged with my two furred attackers.
	Vasquez, for her part, launched several Fireball spells at the archers as 
they were retreating from their rock, and then several more at them as they 
advanced upon our position.  When she had no more time for spell work, she picked 
up her already loaded crossbow and fired, scoring an impressive hit upon one of 
the advancing warriors.  So, even through none of the Flensers were down by the 
time they reach our position, several of them were wounded.
	Shali had to disengage herself from he battle with Bob's attacker and 
rush to help Shali and Vasquez.  Her distraction of Bob's opponent had given 
Bob's trollskin spell time to heal him enough so that he was now conscious.  
Bob's first act upon regaining the state of being functional, was to down his 
healing potion, which instantly removed many of the wounds he had suffered.  Then 
Bob, Brianna, Vasquez, Shali and Merlaine were pitted against the six Flensers in 
partial-plate armor;  shield and bastard sword ( with which they were expert)  at 
the ready, and the one in wolf form ( Note*  the wolf form of a Kathorian 
were-wolf is so much like a Dire wolf as to me almost indistinguishable, a 
mistake we had made early in this battle).
	The two wolves I was battling eventually got in a good bite, and I was 
dragged down under their massive fur-laden weight...gods how I hate the sound of 
teeth scraping on metal armor!  I resorted to punching them in their ugly maws, 
which actually hurt them now and again.  But their bites on me were many and 
deep, if not for BobŐs trollskin spell I should never have emerged from under 
that pile of dog-meat.
	After one particularly good punch, one of my attackers expired, which 
left me only the one, which was bad enough.  Eventually he too went down, 
succumbing to a bleeding gash I had inflicted earlier with my axe.  When I rose, 
barely able to stand, I saw that all my companions were sore wounded.  However, 
four of the warriors were down, and the other two looked none-so-good.  The 
remaining wolf was hanging back and nursing a wound on its leg.  I drew forth 
two battle axes and hurled them at one of the warriors, scoring a deep wound 
which stunned him, and allowed Merlaine to drive her scimitar deep into his 
belly, killing him.   This turned the tide, and the other warrior and wolf turned 
to flee.  The wolf however, fell prey to an arrow from Brianna's bow, and the 
warrior never made it beyond the range of Bob's spear... missile weapons work 
dandy when you are too exhausted to take another step.
	Bob had no energy left to cast his healing spell with, and so Shali got 
the honor of finishing off those of the enemy who were asleep or unconscious, 
except the leader; him we bound and gagged tightly.  A search of these miscreants 
revealed that they did not even stop to take treasure from the villages they 
destroyed, all they had was their armor and weapons, along with the odd packs 
they use to carry their belongings while in wolf-form.  The leader however, had 
an odd device; very much like a crossbow, but in place of the channel for the 
bolt, there is a large hollow tube of copper.  And the string, it is not thinned 
at the middle to fit the notch of a bolt, but rather widened into a small hammock 
like piece.  Vasquez, who is the mechanician amongst us, figures that it must be 
a device to throw grenados a goodly distance.  This theory is borne out by the 
fact that the leader had several wooden boxes near his person.  These boxes 
contained both greek fire and methane grenados, well packed in sawdust.
	It was easier to move us away from that place and camp than it was to 
drag the bodies away, so we moved.   After that, we collapsed, and ate, and 
napped and waited to regain the strength to cast spells.  After a time, Bob was 
rested enough to perform one of his healing spells, and so healed himself.  
Brianna has a spell with which she can heal, but it works only on herself,  
mores the pity.  However, after a good eight hours rest, we healed ourselves as 
best we could, and then made our way back to the barge where Moughrim and 
Fallfast were surely worried about us.
	Moughrim and Fallfast were indeed worried about us, and there was much 
happiness upon our return.  We stayed up late into the night telling the tale, 
which was probably not at all wise: for just before sunrise, the lookout cried 
that there were armed men on shore.  And indeed, when we roused ourselves on the 
ÔdeckÓ of the barge, nearly forty men, Northmen by the look of them, with their 
long hair and wild face tattoos, were on the shore, shouting something at us.  
Once a bit of translation was performed on my part, we discovered that they were 
mercenaries.  Barack the Bloody was their leader, and they had been hired by a 
coalition of several towns to hunt down the Flensers that had been plaguing the 
area.  Well, they were very happy indeed when we told them that the flensers were 
no longer a threat, and told them were they could find the bodies and remains of 
the battle.  There was of course, a bit of drinking and toasting and yet more 
telling of the tale of the fight.
     The next morning, Barack and his band moved on, and so did we.  Back into 
the coal-dusty tent, ah well.  We are told it shall not be long now till we reach 
our destination.
	Nor was Fallfast wrong in his telling.  Less than two weeks later we 
reached the town of Blackroot, which, according to Moughrim, was our destination.  
Then it was a matter of waiting a day for the weather to clear, and then 
journeying to a cemetery some two days away, in the remains of a small town.  
And then, thankfully, our last sojourn in the Lands of the dead took place.  It 
was as cold and dreary as the last, and thankfully, we encountered nothing in our 
journey.  Our destination was, when we emerged from the mausoleum, one of the 
most beautiful cemeteries I have ever seen.  A true garden it was, with exquisite 
statuary and fountains abounding.  A thousand different night blooming flowers 
added their ethreral hue and scents to this dark paradise.  But Moughrim said we 
had to make time, as eyes may be watching us.  And so, now time for hurrying 
rather than gawking around, or writing.



				By My Chilled and Overly-stiff Hand
				This 14th day of Octobre.
				The Year of our Lady 540

							Drashak Khea Milari