"And what do you know of what is real and what is illusion, brother?" came a voice.

Lothar was unable to tell which direction it came from. The voice did not belong to his true brother Bob nor either of his brothers-in-law Mini Me and Luto, yet was oddly familiar. "Who else would call me brother?" he asked himself, "And why do I know the voice and not be able to recognize it? I know I do not have a second brother, who else is there?"

"What's the matter, noble warrior?" came a familiar woman's voice, again without direction, "Don't you know who we are? Don't you recognize us?"

Lothar again looked about, trying to ignore the pain of his flesh melting. "Who is taunting me?" he ventured, "Why can I not move? Why can I not see you?"

"So he has found his tongue at last," came the male's voice, "but he still doesn't know what questions are pertinent."

"That's so typical of them. Perhaps we were wrong to seek out this one."

"You don't answer me, you taunt me still. Why should I ask a pertinent question?" As he asked this question, the flames suddenly vanished and he was provided with a moment of relief. This did not last long, however, as he now found himself immersed to the neck in water. The salty water of a cavern spring to be precise. The unbelievable pain that he endured while his body was on fire now returned to him in a scream of intense agony, as his entire being searched for an escape from the abrasive effect of the water on his skinless self.

"Finally, a question worth answering, if only to keep your attention to what matters."

"What your brother means to say is simple, so why is your attention on your pain?"

"I will say what I mean to say, and to answer your question, you must ask another pertinent question."

"Wonderful." Lothar thought to himself, "These two play mind games and word riddles with me while I can barely think through the pain."

"You have no more questions, brother?"

"Why is it necessary for me to be in so much pain?"

"A lesson."

"Lesson?" again thinking to himself, "Did not expect that. What have I done to warrant a lesson? Unless this was not a punishment lesson, but a lesson I can learn from for future use. What lesson can I learn from this pain though?"

"You must learn to see beyond your limitations." came the woman's voice.

Lothar's eyes snapped open. His sheets were covered with sweat. As he knew it was, it was only a dream. This was not the thought that was repeating itself in his head, however. "A diversion." he stated.

"What?" asked Leah, who had woken to his words.

"The attacks were a diversion. I must call a council meeting in the morning." He could still feel his body's pain.
 

The Guild Tower of Ordo Sylvanus, west of Trinsic

"I am glad you could all make it on short notice." Lothar said. Not only were Aeolus, Bob, Leah, Tess, Gilgamesh, Katy and Calistarius present, but myself, Mini Me, Genjuro and Sailor Mars were also on hand. "I need your help once again. As you are aware, many of us recently were part of a defensive force against invading armies threatening many areas of Sosaria." Some of us nodded in agreement as Lothar continued. "I believe these were merely a diversion. I will need your help now to discover what it was that our attention was diverted from, and perhaps later to confront this, if appropriate."

A look of profound worry was set on most of the meeting minds, even as Mini Me ventured "Have you had another dream, brother?"

"Last night I had one... I was surrounded by fire, my body was not bound yet I could not move. There were two voices, a man's and a woman's, taunting me. As the fire drew nearer, I could feel my skin burn. When I asked why they would not answer my questions, they said they would only answer relevant questions. Then the fire vanished, but relief did not come as my burnt flesh was submersed in stinging saltwater. When I asked about the pain, they said it was a lesson... that I had to see beyond my limitations. The pain in my dream was diverting my attention away from the speakers, just as the attacks on our cities have diverted our attention away from something else."

"You don't think..." Mini started.

"Oh, but I do think a powerful mage is involved, although I must admit he's not behind the grand scheme. It may not be Kwan Li, perhaps one of his disciples."

"What makes you so certain?"

"I believe he orchestrated the invasion of Skara Brae and the initial invasion of Yew, at the behest of another power. Brigands and mages have always been at their disposal, theirs to command as they pleased with even total losses appearing to be acceptable in their view, as long as the goal was achieved. He then could have polymorphed into an Ophidian Matriarch and gathered an attack force under his control, directed towards Yew. You yourself have found evidence at Kwan's first lair concerning research into the Ophidians and Terathans societies. It is not unreasonable that one or more of his disciples has been able to expand that knowledge, even learning the language and blending into their own population."

"Not unreasonable, but unlikely. Especially without some purpose that they could accept."

"I agree, but we do know one thing that motivated Kwan, and probably motivates his successors."

"Power." said Aeolus. Yes, Aeolus knew firsthand Kwan's desire for power. It once took the combined efforts of Lothar, Leah and Bob to save him from Li's clutches. All in the name of power.

"But who could offer that much power to persuade them to risk so much?" asked Mini.

"Tamers?" offered Calistarius. We all knew these beast handlers flaunted their power, often to the chagrin of more respected citizens. And they did profit in the slaying of the all those Ophidians and Daemons.

"No, I seriously doubt it." replied Mini. "That is not the type of power that interests these mages."

"Agreed." Aeolus said. "What about the so called queen of evil, Minax?"

"That makes sense." Lothar agreed. "Who knows more about how to entice one infatuated with the pursuit of power than one who has dedicated her entire life and being to that purpose? Power for the sake of power."

"But what could she achieve by such a distraction?" reasoned Mini. "She's still unable to venture into this realm."

Lothar and Bob looked at each other with instant understanding. "Illneshar." they said in unison.

"We will need to investigate further." Lothar announced. "Genjuro, I will need you and my brother to continue to explore the new lands while my wife and I continue our watch here, starting with that damnable Mages' tower. The rest are free to explore the new lands or stand in readiness should problems arise." Tess and Aeolus quickly volunteered to help explore the new lands.
 

The Tower of the Insane Mages, deep under Serpent's Hold

Leah was first through my gate, as Lothar had decided to recall to the other side of the tower to cover more ground at the same time. The Princess quickly dispatched the three mages who greeted our arrival with only minimal help from me. She was eager for more and said "This side's vacant, let's see what my husband has found."

Lothar's thoughts were similar and we met on the bridge adjoining the two structures. "What's going on?" I asked, "I thought this place was normally busier than this."

"It usually is." he replied, "They may have lost too many of their number during the invasion."

"I think not." came a disturbing voice from out of the shadows. "My master will have his day, as will I, if not in this life, then the next."

"And who are you, another Kwan wanna-be?" Leah asked sarcastically.

"If you must know, I am called Azareal, Master of the Flame. And you, woman with the sharp tongue, you shall now find out why. Kal Vas Flam!"

As the flames worked their magical assault on Leah, a veteran of this sort of conflict, I uttered "Two can play this game. Vas Ort Flam... Kal Vas Flam." But my attack rebounded off his person and came back to attack me. I was assaulted by my own spells and was almost killed in my attack. Meanwhile, Leah, still glowing from that first powerful attack, was able to advance into physical combat with Azareal, but Lothar was kept at bay by a small group of mages intent on keeping him out of the battle between the dark mage lord and his wife.

"Your tongue is more dangerous than your toy sword." he taunted us. "And you, what a pitiful excuse for a mage you are. Why did you come here, to die?"

Lothar had dispensed two of the lesser mages already, but for each one he dropped, another would materialize beside him, eager to test himself against the paladin. As for Azareal, I had never seen anybody able to discard Leah's assaults with such arrogant ease, almost as if he had trained specifically for this fight. For every thrust she made, this mage would seem to effortlessly dodge or spin away from.

During one of her attacks, he produced a cloth wrap from under his robe and, spinning it around her kryss, was able to snatch the weapon out of her grasp, sending it over the bridge into the deep chasm below. The movement brought the two combatants closer and he took advantage of the momentum, burying his right knee into her midsection. At the same time, his right arm raised high in the air and he said "Vas Ort Flam," his right elbow emphasizing the last word by finding Leah high in the back just below her neck, spilling her to the ground. Leah would have none of this, however, and reacted by spinning as she fell and landing a vicious kick to the Adam's Apple, causing him to fall backwards onto his posterior, one hand nursing his throat.. As she rolled to her feet, she was rocked by an explosion strong enough to dismount me even at my distance almost ten yards away.

Looking to my right, Lothar and the mages around him had all been knocked over by the shock wave also. The first to get to his feet, he began a charge to this mage lord, who had uttered another spell as the explosion went off. An energy wall suddenly appeared before Lothar, who braced himself behind his shield for the impact, apparently in an attempt to breach the barrier as he would not have time to stop before hitting it anyway. A flash of light later, Lothar was sent backwards a couple of yards, his boots sliding in protest. He vented his frustration by turning on one of the mages getting to his feet behind him, catching him in the jaw with the butt end of his sword before shoving him backwards with his shield onto another mage recovering behind him.

As I had now recovered from my early mistake, I tested a different spell "Por Ort Grav." Azareal smiled as lightning blasted his body but didn't even appear to affect him. Something in the way he smiled convinced me it was just an act, however, and I decided to test his ability to redirect fire again. "Kal Vas Flam."

Just as he was engulfed by the flames, Azareal dodged another of Leah's thrusts and leapt towards me. Although not strong enough to hurt him badly, my attack did manage to infuriate him and cause him to come after me instead of Leah.  A mistake he would soon realize as the Princess drove her shiny new kryss through his lower back and up through his front, emerging just below his ribs. Turning him around by her weapon, she took her dagger from its sheath and buried it up through his chin into his brain. As he crumpled to the ground, she kicked him on the bridge of the nose and said "In your next life, finish what you start."

The mages fighting Lothar, realizing now that they were doomed, turned to run, almost falling over the bodies of their departed brethren in their haste to get away. With the energy wall dissipating, Leah and I began to give chase, but Lothar calmly stopped us. "It is not necessary. We have what we came for, confirmation once again of their involvement. We were expected."
 

-Excerpt from Codex: Mini Me
Lost lands of Illneshar

Genjuro was quiet in the new lands, eyes questing to each side ahead of us as Aeolus rode tall on his steed beside me a few paces behind the warrior. "This guy really has a hatred for rats." Aeo explained to me. "It's something you have to see to believe, but even then I don't understand why." I could see Genjuro's body was betraying signs of excitement. "We're heading towards one of their strongholds now." Genjuro stopped suddenly, his body tense. Looking beyond him, Aeolus whispered "That's no Ratman."

Genjuro finally spoke. "Strength and Honor." He strode forward, his katana and shield at the ready. Following him and Aeolus into the clearing, I could see now why they were so concerned, for before us stood an abomination of nature, a being man-like in appearance but composed entirely of blood. As we entered his territory, this monstrosity not so much turned as it shapeshifted its appearance in the direction of our intrusion before advancing toward us.

"By the Gods." I gasped.

"Rel Sanct." answered Aeolus, blessing Genjuro before he made contact. "Best not to rely on the Gods in this land." he continued, as Genjuro and the Blood Elemental locked into combat. "Kal Vas Flam. Better to rely on your friends. Vas Ort Flam. I trust you'll be fast on the heals. Corp Por. I'll take care of the poisons. An Nox."

Elsewhere in Illneshar, Crackhead Bob and Tess Soaringeagle were following some tracks they had discovered in the wilderness. "These belong to a Lich," Bob said in the wild eloquence that he was now beginning to speak with as he pointed at one set of tracks "notice the bare Ooman feet and the walking cane to one side." Tess nodded in agreement, an accurate assessment. "But these two," pointing at the larger pair of prints, "I cannot place. Too small to be Troll, but definitely Oomanoid."

Tess studied the tracks for a second before suggesting "Could be Lizard or Ratmen, they both flourish in this area also."

Continuing forward, Bob argued "Maybe, but these tracks suggest they were walking together. The undead Ooman mage would not walk in the company of those." Ahead of them, they suddenly heard an explosion followed by a howl of pain. Both rushed onward.

Tess was the first to emerge through the dense vegetation and rushed to the aid of the troubled warrior, readying a bandage as he approached. As Bob entered the clearing, he quickly surmised the situation. Genjuro was reeling in combat against.. gasp.. a Blood Elemental. A red Gargoyle's body was burning as it lay face down in the direction of Aeolus, who was being chased by a laughing Lich Lord. A Stone Gargoyle had Mini Me by the arm and was also laughing hysterically. Tess was almost to Genjuro now.

Out of instinct, Bob brought up his bow and readied his shot. He needed to be quick, but accurate. He could end Mini's life with one missed arrow. He drew the arrow back fully, this shot would carry the full power of the bow. As Tess reached Genjuro and began applying medical aid, Bob released a beautiful shot that embedded itself in the Gargoyle's right wing and shoulder, causing it to scream in agony and release the bald mage, who seized the opportunity. "Corp Por." The energy bolt drove the Gargoyle backwards, closer to the Lich.

Aeolus took advantage of their vicinity. "Vas Ort Grav." Lightning arced high from his hands, landing on the Lich Lord before changing direction and engulfing the Stone Gargoyle prior to grounding out. Both were momentarily stunned.

I caught on to the game. "Flam Kal Des Ylem." A fireball shot from each of my outstretched hands, striking both targets. The Lich had had enough of this, rudely shoving the Gargoyle back towards me. But as it turned to bear down on Aeolus, an arrow found him square in the side of his head, cocking it to one side as he stood for a moment, then fell lifeless for the last time. The Gargoyle never saw the energy bolt that came from Aeolus as it vaporized.

Meanwhile, Genjuro was not faring as well. Even with the timely aid of Tess, his failing body was providing the Blood with more and more opportunities to inflict damage, draining him of life with each successful attack. This monster had absorbed so much of his blood that he was finding it difficult to even stand, let alone defend himself or counterattack. Tess was now doing most of the counterattack while helping to save his life. Presently Bob joined in the melee. "You don't look well." he said.

Genjuro grimaced through the pain and numbness. "Strength and Honor, my friends." With renewed vigor, he redoubled his efforts to best this formidable opponent. The Blood Elemental, beginning to reel in the assault of so many adversaries, decided it would make a break for it, keeping what blood it had already taken with it.

The five of us thought otherwise. As the three warriors produced and readied their bows and Aeolus began a flamestrike incantation, I assisted with another combination. "Vas Ort Flam.. Vas Flam."

The Blood, already weakened by its long bout with Genjuro, finally fell to our combined assault, arrows laying amidst a pool of blood. Tess stood over it, one hand on his hip, the other on his mighty axe. "What stench!" he exclaimed.

As Bob started to gather wood for a fire, intent on camping here shortly, I intervened. "Genjuro is in much pain, we should start back so that he may rest comfortably."

"I'll be fine." he argued as he began to walk towards the pile of wood Bob had started. He collapsed before he finished three paces.