The StormWatch Chronicles As seen through the eyes of Drano Battlehammer Part 11 Update: 12/05/1998 to drano November 30, 596 And now, to continue the story. . . . Koryon and his daughter headed for Myrr - capitol city of the Sarr. The rest of us went back to Ravenholt under the presumption that we'd all meet there for some reveling and pleasantries. Somewhere along the way, some of us got separated. I arrived with Borax to find the cabin largely unoccupied. Later news would tell that the others had gone to save Kestryn - a member of the town protectorate, Anvil - from some greater being of the elemental plane named Skane. The members survived the ordeal by a very narrow margin. Gabriel met with me and told this tale in greater detail - Skane and his minions were performing a ritual that would cause the death of Kestryn and give this Skane control over time, itself. A great battle took place in which Nork led a valiant charge only to be stopped inches from the ritual caster's body. While the mage laughed at their plight, and his minions barraged them bodily, the team members rallied under the leadership of Cynesra. She threw a cure spell that seemed to weave between enemies, friends and clashing weapons, hitting Nork and restoring him to consciousness. The enraged warrior leaped up and struck down the ritual caster with only seconds to go before the completion of the ritual. The failed ritual caused Skane to fly into pieces - each piece, a different element. The way I tell it now doesn't do it justice, I'm sure. I just cannot recall the details as well as if I was there. Anyway, Borax and I waited in the cabin until the others arrived. Soon, the team was united once again . . . only this time, things were different. If you recall, I told the tale of how we fought Primus the Lizard-Lord earlier this year. He set into motion a string of events that caused a sort of "shock-wave" of anti-magic to emit from a location centered in Ravenholt. This "wave" rolled out across the town and nearby duchies, swallowing any magic in it's path and shattering most mundane objects. The result of this "explosion" was an area devoid of magic items, spellbooks, weapons armor, and just about everything except organic material (like clothing). The time of null-magic was a t hand, and the wave hit us just as we entered the town of Ravenholt. The shock wave utterly destroyed everything containing magic except spellbooks. I have a theory that, due to the organic nature of the composition of a book, the anti-magic shock wave only had a minor effect on them. What was left, was a bunch of pages that were salvaged into partial books. My complete earth spellbook was reduced to roughly one fifth the size it once was - and I lost most of the healing spells below the ninth circle of power. Fortunately, I was not without some iota of power, for my newly acquired training under Chastity gave me the ability to wield ninth circle magic, and one of those spells was the highly powerful "Gift of Life", which was, remarkably, one of the spells left in my book. The members of StormWatch looked at each other in the candlelit room of the cabin. Their faces taut with concern on how to handle the problem of being without weapons and a full compliment of spells, not to mention the lack of magic items. A few of us, Nork and I, had been trained in the use of any one-handed weapons. So he and I went to the woods and fashioned ourselves some serviceable clubs. We planned to use the few things at our disposal to purchase or take what we needed from marauding monsters. Goblins and Orcs, sensing Ravenholt to be weak, or perhaps just curious about the explosion, came to town in the hopes of easy prey. What they were to discover, however, was a group of adventurers who didn't know the term "lay-down." As the nasties attacked the town, we took out some stragglers. Quickly taking a few of their leaders weapons - crude short swords, mostly - we equipped the warriors of our group. A very good thing we did, because the nightlife around Ravenholt is none-too friendly and we were soon to be separated and under pressure. A traveler from another plane showed up - this one actually didn't want to kill everything in sight - Lord Rack, he was called. He explained that the planes of Tyrra (which we live on) and Kerath were converging, forming a sort of elemental nexus. He (Lord Rack) was actually the one causing the nexus; somehow it would free his wife from confinement. This seemed all fine and well, except the open elemental nexus would cause severe repercussions. Skane, in his many forms would be able to try to put himself back together. The town was presented a dilemma. They needed to save Lord Rack's wife and stop this Skane character simultaneously. A plan was put into motion - a number of groups would collect some necessary objects of power from Kerath to save Rack's wife. These groups were comprised of different classes of people. One group was warriors, another was earth casters, one was celestials, while another was rogues, and the final group was spellsingers. Borax went to the aid of the earth casters as his secondary ability with a weapon made him desirable. Delahr took his young apprentice, Myrell and joined the celestial group. Gabriel and Nork were with the fighters. Koryon, Cynesra and myself went to Anvil Hall to meet with Baron Derek Northridge. He said something about having to travel to the Jade Empire. We offered to accompany him. Sitting in the common room, were Koryon, Cynesra, Forest-Lord E-Hawk, the Baron, Talon and Marsan of Anvil, and myself. The Baron told us that the Jade Empire was a little tricky to walk around in. I can't recall all the political permutations that he rattled off, but essentially, he just said, "Let me do the talking." Just then, with the cold night being staved off by the fire, a form coalesced in the room. It was an earth elemental - a being of rock who seemed angered by the sudden shift in the planes. It began to attack, but was easily outmatched by the prowess of the Forest-Lord and the Baron. The brief battle ended in the dispersion of the elemental, leaving behind a glowing dust on the floor. Talon, young and impetuous, reached down thinking the dust to be worth something. No sooner did he touch it, than he was rifted away, leaving the rest of us looking at empty air. Lord E-Hawk screamed his rage and touched the dust - he too, disappeared. Fearing for our companions, we also gathered up the dust and joined them in a sort of netherworld. We were floating in a water-like substance, but we could still breathe. I saw the Forest Lord comically throttling young Talon and saying, "Never, never, never pick up magic dust! How many times have I told you, never pick up the magic dust!" The rest of us chuckled but wondered how we would get out of this predicament. The watery place was not well lit and we saw only ourselves, floating free in nothing. There was no up and down, so we picked a general direction and headed that way - more propelling ourselves than walking. We saw a small light and as we approached it, we felt a gentle tugging. The tugging pulled us through the light into another world. The ground, walls and ceiling were all rock and stone. It was like being at home in the mountain. We stood on a large platform high in the air, looking out at other platforms of different sizes. On one nearby platform was a puzzle laid out on the ground - except all the pieces were missing. Closer scrutiny rewarded us with the pieces. They were scattered all over the small cave on the other platforms. Amidst all this, there were a few vines or tree roots (probably from some very old trees) hanging from the ceiling. We figured we could use these to swing across the platforms and gather the pieces. In our minds, we knew that completion of the puzzle would set us free. But it wasn't to be that easy. . . . The floor of the cavern was a good ways down. Down far enough to kill anyone who fell. But that wasn't the biggest problem. Rising out of the ground were earth elementals bigger than any I've ever seen. They didn't have legs; their lower bodies were just extensions of the floor so that they rose to the height of the platforms and attacked us with mindless ferocity. The group I was with, however, consisted of some of the more powerful people in Ravenholt. Cynesra, master-puzzler, set to the task of completing the puzzle. Talon and E-Hawk, perhaps the most acrobatic people on the face of Tyrra, hopped dexterously from platform to platform without the use of the vines. Baron Derek, Marsan, and Koryon, all accomplished warriors, held the large platform against attack while the acrobats gathered the pieces to the puzzle. I held my magics back, as I had only the most powerful of healing spells in my book. But I did have a few spells that would really hurt elementals. I gathered my energies and waited. I an elemental targeted me as its next victim, it would feel what earth magic could really do. Suddenly, and elemental rose up on our rear, attempting to get Cynesra who was bent over the puzzle in deep concentration. Koryon hammered it a few blows while E-Hawk circle around to the platform Cynesra was on to protect her. It turned quickly, and as Koryon dealt it its deathblow, it hit him hard enough to send him reeling. For a moment, time slowed down. I saw Koryon stagger back next to me, arms wind-milling to keep his balance as he teetered on the edge of the platform. Finally, with a look of despair and scream of terror, he plummeted off the side. I saw a platform, many feet down, and, with only a split-second of hesitation, launched myself into mid-air. (now that I think of it, that was a really stupid thing to do) I fell with the speed of my take-off and grabbed Koryon's arms as our bodies plummeted to the other platform. We hit with bone-jarring force, but I scrabbled for a handhold and managed to keep both of us from falling to our doom. Quickly, I gave Koryon a healing spell and set about the task of getting back up to the others. The elementals, figuring us for dead, attacked the others. But they were able to hold them off while E- Hawk threw us a line. Back on the main platform, we assessed the situation as grim, but beatable as Cynesra hurriedly assembled the pieces. Across the cavern, Talon was gathering another piece of the puzzle, when an elemental grew out of the ground near him and struck him down. Thankfully he fell on the platform and not into the pit. Baron Derek and E-Hawk rushed to his aid shouting for a healer. With Cynesra tied up, that left only me. I nervously gauged the distance and realized I'd have to jump from platform to platform to get to him. Not the most dexterous of individuals, this would be a task in itself. In fact, now that I think on it, if I had been thinking at the time, I probably wouldn't have done it. But instinct and urgency took over, and I began leaping. I arrived on the platform in remarkably short time, and administered my last healing spell. Talon's eyes fluttered open, and he looked up at me. Then a funny thing happened. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile and he slowly uncurled his hand. In it was a puzzle piece, the last one we needed to complete the puzzle. I quickly hefted him to his feet and set about getting back to the others. Talon, much more nimble than I, covered the distance in short order and gave his piece to Cynesra. An elemental turned on me then. Seeing a weaponless dwarf perched high on a ledge, it saw an easy target and homed in for the kill. >From the corner of my eye, I spotted Baron Northridge attempting to get to me, but I knew he would be too late. I stood up and launched my spell. Bolts of elemental energy flew from my outstretched fingers into the rocky form of the oncoming elemental. It staggered and reeled but did not fall. Finally, feeling its fetid breath on my face, I threw what might be my final spell. Magical energies gathered around me and exploded from my hands in a fiery elemental storm. The thing shattered to pieces even as the Baron arrived on the nearby ledge. He held out his hand to me and helped me the rest of the way back to the others. Finally, the puzzle was completed, and a magical doorway opened in one wall. Where the puzzle was, a small bottle appeared. Inside was the essence of an earth elemental. We took it and quickly left to bring it back to Ravenholt and find out its purpose. Yeah . . . right! As we floated down the interplanar roadway, something reached out and grabbed us. It felt like a hand larger than a giant's, but gentle as a healer's soothing touch. It grabbed the lot of us and pulled us into. . . . A blurry castle gate. Very few stars lit the night sky, but they gave us enough illumination to tell we were entering a large castle. The Baron realized that we were in the Jade Empire. It all seemed like a dream; we floated more than walked, and if you weren't looking directly at something, it was out of focus and horribly faded. A voice spoke to us then and told a tale of tragedy and woe. We were, if we would, going to enter the minds of different individuals from this plane. We would have control over their immediate actions, but would be unable to resist their desires. For example, if the host body's desire was to attack someone, we couldn't stop it, only determine how to attack the individual. The voice said that it was to show us what had happened, so we could experience the lives of these others and understand. We conceded and soon felt our minds entering the bodies of others. Things, I've found, aren't always what they seem, though. My mind drifted, but I didn't retain my identity. I became this other person, the Shade, I recall his name to be. I forgot I was Drano Battlehammer and only remembered that I had a mission to accomplish. I was an assassin, and I'd been hired along with these other assassins - members of my guild - to kill a political figure of high standing. We'd plotted and planned for months, but this was finally the night. We would kill this noble and collect our reward. We busily prepared ourselves for the night when of a sudden. . . . . . . we were back in Ravenholt. Out in the fields, we were almost ready to do the job, but now I was in my Dwarven body with the mind of the Shade. The problem was, this Shade person didn't know how to use anything but a two-handed club. I knew I could find one in our cabin, so with the agreement of the others, we headed off our different ways to equip ourselves and meet back near Anvil Hall. It was so strange! I, Drano, saw the physical forms of Cynesra, Koryon, the Baron, E-Hawk, and the others, but the mind of the Shade superimposed images of the other assassins onto them. Images I'm sure only the minds of the assassins could see. We went quickly to the cabin and began equipping ourselves. We changed into black garb, and acquired the weapons we would need. In the process, however, we woke Chastity. She looked up with sleepy eyes and asked, "What are you guys doing?" "Nothing," we curtly replied. "All is well - go back to sleep." "But Cynesra," Chastity mewed, "why are you dressing that way? And Drano, you don't know how to use a two-handed club!" "It's nothing," we said. "We're just gonna have some fun." I don't think the explanation worked, but she let it slide, figuring on alerting others after we'd left. But she wasn't our concern - the noble was. We rushed to the rear of Anvil Hall, where we ran into Kestryn, a long- time associate of Cynesra. She looked at Cynesra sideways and asked, "Cynesra, is there something the matter? You don't seem yourself." "It's nothing," Cynesra replied with a brief smile. But the explanation didn't satisfy Kestryn, and after some persisting inquires, I spoke, "It's NOTHING! She's fine. Please excuse us!" Kestryn's hand went to her sword as she backed carefully away, and I was worried we'd have to kill her - no, the Shade was worried he'd have to kill her. But to her credit, she backed away and left. We peered around the side of the Hall and saw her barreling down the road to get help, probably thinking we were all possessed. So, finding this an unsafe location to gather, we headed out into the fields again. Soon the Baron and E-Hawk joined us and we traveled to a road that would intercept the noble and his bodyguards. The minds of the assassins took over again and I ceased to be Drano. The large, powerful human form flexed his muscles and gripped the large club in his gloved hands. I, The Shade peered into the darkness as we crept down the path into the forest. The Shadow, the Knife, and the others quickly skirted around a passing merchant, our booted feet making only a whisper of noise on the fallen leaves of autumn, carpeting the path. We heard a commotion behind us, those wenches, Kestryn and Chastity had gathered the members of StormWatch and Anvil to go after us and were hot on our trail. The merchant told them that he hadn't seen a soul all night and they thankfully left us alone. Just up ahead, our eyes picked out the shadowy forms of the noble. We tried to hide in the brush so as to pounce on them, but a scout picked us out and hailed, "Who goes there?" We gave up the subtle approach and joined battle in earnest. Throwing gasses, spells, and wielding swords, we fought the bodyguards. They were accomplished warriors, though, moreso than we expected, and the battle was pretty much even. I paralyzed one of the bodyguards with a thrown poison, and proceeded to hack her down. The others seemed to be doing well, but we didn't account for the powerful spellcasters on their side. They got me with a fiery dragon-breath spell, and as I lay smoking in a heap, my fading vision watched the others get routed. Then, as death descended upon me, my eyes blinked open, and I was Drano Battlehammer. I lay in the leaves on a forest floor, dressed oddly and wielding a two-handed club. Another dwarf named Brendel was helping me to my feet. The realization of what had happened came crashing down, and I apologized profusely. He smiled and stated simply, "It wasn't you, we weren't ourselves." What was I thinking, I can't even use a club this big! But the Shade could. Baron Northridge thanked us and said he thought whatever service he needed to do for the Jade Empire was complete. We staggered back to Ravenholt shaking cobwebs from our heads, and hoping we'd never have to go through that again! I woke the next morning, the only one in the cabin. The others must be off doing whatever it is people do, I thought. I got dressed, grabbed my club, and headed to the common room that we share with the people of the Barony of Eastwyck. As I stood there, deciding what to do, the Baroness Ganth came out from their side of the cabin, and offered me a cup of mulled cider. The warm brew went down well, and she spoke to me of nothing in particular for a short time. It felt odd, I have to admit, for a human noble to speak to a Dwarven commoner like myself, much less offer me a drink. As it turned out, she didn't have anything of dire import to say, just idle chatter on a cold day in November. Nice of her though. . . . Chastity came to the cabin and asked me if I would like to join her and Malace - a powerful earth caster from Eastwyck - up at the Tavern by the fire. I heartily agreed and we were soon toasting our toes by the warm fire in the Voltan Bear Tavern. Now why two Sarr (cat-people), with all their fur, would enjoy a warm fire, I don't know. But they were fine company and my appreciation and respect for the Sarr race grows every passing moment. Malace told us a tale of a race of people called the Munchkins. Apparently, certain members of this race are cannibals and they will eat each other if not carefully observed. He said the "chocolate" ones were the first to go because they're so sweet. How horrible! Then, after a while, the only ones left are the "plain" ones - they are the masters of their race. He didn't explain, though, how they procreated . . . I'll have to ask. . . . After a pleasant afternoon of relaxing by the fire with the two cats, I went back to the cabin to see if the others had arrived yet. Not finding anyone, I went off to the woods to do some hunting and soul-searching. With a nice meal in my belly and flask of ale in hand, I thought about recent happenings and my place in the grand scheme of things. What with the big-boom, and the seat of death being filled, all the lost souls on Tyrra had finally gone to rest. All except Northstar. But we knew he was to go within the week. I had been to a funeral for a young lad from Dragonshire, and Delahr was to take the body of our friend Northstar, and bury him at sea. With this in mind, I penned a dirge to sing at his funeral: Here I am, lost in a wind `Round in circles sailing. Like a ship that never comes in Standing by myself. Sing a sad song for a good lad Sing a sad song for me A sad song, for the sailor A thousand miles from the sea. "I would sing that at his funeral," I thought. "Perhaps I should also set down these words...", and with a swig from my bottle I penned the words to a song called, "The Day the Magic Died." Feeling pretty good, I rubbed my nose and headed back to town. The others might be looking for me. That night, with nothing better to do, Nork, Cynesra, her friend Tristemere, War-Dog, and I went to the tavern to share a toast with Northstar before his inevitable demise. We broke out many bottles of fine wine and invited all the others in the tavern to share in the toast to our friend and companion at arms. We wished him well wherever the "other side" takes him. I remembered the many times I'd picked him up on a battlefield with a healing spell, and chuckled. One of my favorite phrases was, "Down again, eh?" In my eyes, at least, he was and will always be, a member of StormWatch. With the toast concluded, the Voltan Bear Tavern held it's monthly talent contest. Anyone who wanted to, could step up and perform for the others. The Tavern would put up ten gold pieces for prize money. Count Gareth and two others would judge, partially by crowd approval, who was best, and the awards for first, second, and third place were awarded five, three, and two gold pieces respectively. At the end, a gypsy woman named Emerald would get up and dance. A large number of performers got up and each one sang a song. They were all quite good, and each tale had a meaning. The vocalists were quite extraordinary by human standards, and not bad by Dwarven standards. Northstar got up and sang a song of beer - a large round of applause by the crowd for that one! I heartily approved of his choice, and the sailor sang it with gusto that would put some dwarves to shame. Then, War-Dog got up. A spell-singer, he weaved a spell with his voice, that mesmerized his audience. At the end, the crowd roared its appreciation and applauded their respect loudly. I sat and pondered. No singer was I, and far from a teller of tales. I couldn't carry a tune like the War-Dog, but I thought there might be no better time to tell the tale I wished to impart on these people. So when the announcer asked if there was anyone else in the room who wished to perform, I harumphed myself up from my seat and approached. Bones creaking, I sat down in a chair, facing the tavern-goers, and began to relate my tale. In a bold baritone, I sang out - "A long, long, time ago. . . ." Now dwarves live a little longer than humans, and as such, our patience tends to be a little greater than theirs. Especially when it comes to songs. Why, I remember Flint Ironforge composed an ode that took four-and-a-half hours to perform. But his song writing skills are far superior to mine. Anyway, I finished the first verse and chorus, and the crowd seemed to go crazy. It was possibly the first time in my life when I felt the approval of a large number of people. They hooted and hollered. I beamed and turned to the tavern keeper, Boris, and said, "Gee, should I stop here?" He said, "Why, is there more?" "Oh yeah," I smiled. "By all means, continue then!" he said, almost in disbelief. I sang on, telling how the magic had gone away and we had fought Primus. The crowd was really excited and quickly grabbed hold of the chorus so that, by the final refrain, the whole audience was singing, "Bye, bye, kiss the magic good-bye! We cast our spells, oh so well but now that well has run dry! Those good ol' boys, they drink their whiskey and sigh, singin' this could be the day that I die. This could be the day that I die! Singin' this could be the day I die!'" The crowd stood up cheering, the Count said, "I think we have a winner," and I beamed happily as I walked back to my seat. I overheard Emerald the gypsy refusing to "go on after that," though I personally feel a dancing girl is better than a singing dwarf any day of the week. At the end, the Count added ten gold to the prize money and the War-Dog and I both walked out with a little more than when we went in. Continued on the following page. . . . Back at the cabin, I was ready to turn in. With only a club and a few spells in my book, I didn't feel very useful in a fight. But just as I was to turn in, Gabriel and Nork grabbed me and said they needed my assistance. Squire Bailiwick of Eastwyck was heading a mission into a nearby ruin to get Skane's "mage name" - a name of power that could be used to thwart him. The other healers of our team were either indisposed, or asleep, so at three in the morning, we went off to aid the Squire. The castle wasn't heavily guarded. Mostly, we were harassed by bats. At one point, we had to battle two golems - inanimate constructs made of stone that looked and fought like men. Gabriel's and Nork's blades made quick work of them, though, and I just did my best to stay out of the way. We soon entered a chamber in the ruins where we found a table. On the table, was a piece of parchment with a riddle. Nork, Gabriel, and I sat our butts down and waited while the squire and her team of puzzlers worked on the riddle. I thought, "This just might take some time. . . ." While we sat, we talked and ate rations from our packs. A good warrior always has rations for just such extended waits as this. They gave me some words of praise and asked how I felt. I mentioned that I felt very useless at the moment, without my full compliment of spells or my sword and shield. They replied that I was very useful - especially with a life spell. I chuckled, then, and said, "I feel more like a magic item than a living, breathing person." I was quickly chastised, and they offered to induct me into a club of theirs. I thought, "How odd! A club with a dwarf, elf, and human!" They called it the "Troublemakers" club and said that there were a few others in it. I recall a certain knight's name mentioned. I'm not sure this club is a good thing, but it feels good to be a part of something. They then proceeded to show me some of the benefits of membership. Kestryn's and Squire Bailiwick's smiles told me they didn't mind a bit. They finally figured out the riddle, and a mystical portal opened up, showing Skane's mage-name. "Shalaroth", I recall. It would be used to put an end to him once and for all. We retired to the cabin for a night's rest before the ordeal tomorrow - saving Lord Rack's wife, beating Skane, and closing the nexus. The next day was sunny and slightly warmer than the last. We gathered outside with the other townsfolk. Apparently, it would take everyone to stop Skane, get Rack's wife and close the nexus.. Bishop and Tempus had arrived from out of town and, along with Tristemere, would help us do the hard part, beat Skane, himself. While assorted members of the town surrounded the nexus, from which elementals would be attacking, a group of twelve would enter the nexus and bring back Lord Rack's wife. The members of StormWatch would then enter the nexus, each with a piece of elemental essence gathered the previous day from multiple adventures, and place them in Skane's stronghold. When, this was done, Skane's death would be final - no regeneration on his home plane. We prepared for the journey. It was Gabriel, Nork, Bishop, Tempus, Delahr, Chastity, Tristemere, War- Dog, three strangers, and myself. I was given the piece of elemental earth, given my affinity for it. Kestryn and Cynesra went up to the nexus, Kestryn stuck her elemental sword into the swirling cloud as Cynesra shouted Skane's name, "Shalaroth, Shalaroth, Shalaroth!!! Come get some!" Then all hell broke loose. Fire elementals poured forth from the nexus attacking everything in sight. Behind them came Skane's first form - that of a huge fire elemental. The town fought bravely while the first twelve went after Rack's wife. We weren't sure what to do - we couldn't enter the fight, as we had to reserve ourselves for the battle on Skane's plane. But we couldn't just stand by and watch the elementals slaughter people. So reluctantly, we went to their aid. Fortunately, thought the fight was brutal, it was quick. Kestryn thrust her elemental sword into Skane's dying form and ended that form's existence. The wife-rescuers came back then, successfully, and helped as Skane came through with a batch of water elementals. We hurried through the waiting nexus. On the other side stood a huge keep. To keep the matter brief, we fought our way through a horde of elementals to a room wherein were some large boxes into which we place the elemental essences. All the while we were harried by the creatures coming through the walls and barraging us with all manner of raw elemental power. I stood my ground over the boxes as others placed their essences inside, protecting the healers. The warriors surged around us and in a surprisingly short time, we had finished and headed out. We arrived back in Ravenholt to a nightmarish sight. There were bodies all over the field, piled up around the nexus. The elementals of earth were now on the field and outnumbered the standing defenders of Ravenholt. It was then that StormWatch lived up to its namesake and like a hurricane, we took the field, battering aside the reaching claws of elementals and administering curatives to the town healers. They, in turn, healed the warriors, and the battle turned back in our favor. Kestryn buried her sword in Skane's earth elemental form, and then the battle really began! His next form was really powerful. The element of life. Their blows withered the limbs of those they hit, and people went down all over the field, only to be healed quickly by the ranks of Ravenholt's healers. I found Koryon then, face-down in the dirt, his life's-blood flowing from his limbs. I used my last healing spell on him, bringing his wounds closed and light back to his eyes. He leapt up with quick thanks, and reentered the battle, only to be cut down again by the powerful blows of another elemental creature. I cursed and began applying simple first-aid. It might not heal him, but it would keep him from dying. The mighty fighter's of Ravenholt had dispersed Skane once again. Then he came out in his most horrible of forms. The element of Death. His minions were throwing raw elemental death all over, and where it hit, a townsperson fell. I dodged one, myself, as I threw an elemental storm back - the fire once again flowing from my hands. I then followed Gabriel and Nork as they harried the "Death Skane." Knowing a blow from him meant death, I was determined to use my life spell on one of them. Just then, a form fighting Skane fell in front of me. It was the form of Sir Grimm, a noble of Ravenholt and all-around-swell-guy. I crouched down, concentrated, and cast as Chastity had taught me. I felt his escaping life force, and grabbed hold. It flowed through me and back into his body. His eyelids fluttered, he looked up, and smiling said, "Whew! That was a close one!" The rest of the mighty warriors of Ravenholt soon bested Skane, and with his final death, the nexus closed, and Ravenholt was, once again, safe. * * * We retired to the cabin to pack our things. Tempus said he'd be leaving to go visit his mom and might not be coming back. . . . He gave Borax and I some of his money, stating he wouldn't need it where he was going. This gave me pause, and I asked to accompany him. "Tomorrow, I'll meet you outside town, and we'll go", he said. I told Delahr I'd not be attending Northstar's funeral, for though he was important to me, the living who needed help were moreso. He understood and wished me well. Tristemere had also asked me to accompany her to meet a spectre, but I had to decline that as well. Tempus, a man who had taught me much, confided in me, and took me in when I came to Ravenholt was in need. The next morning, I woke, saw the others off, and went to meet Tempus. Noon came and went, and then the sun was setting. It was then that I realized he had left me. Like Koryon had done earlier this year, Tempus had left me in a roadside tavern. Now I would miss Northstar's funeral, Tristemere's encounter with a friendly spectre, and most of all, Tempus himself. BAH! Foolish humans! Deceitful, conniving, "I can do it all by myself, humans!" With a slam, I put my mug down, paid the barkeep, and left. "I'm going back to the mountains! Maybe people here don't want my help or need me, but I know the Dwarven King will!" With that, I am off to the Dwarven mountains. . . .