EL SID
El Sid sat back, ignoring muscles tired from walking several miles to backtrack and approach the farmhouse from the road.
"So, what's over by the river? I'm surprised there aren't any roads in that direction."
The grizzled farmer, Rengen, looked at him suspiciously and sneered with blunt fangs. "Ya'll be payin' for food and shelter, not for stories 'bout stuff that don't concern ya."
El Sid raised his eyebrows. "Idle curiosity, I assure you. More Brandy?" The man looked mollified and took another mug of the strong Trollish alcohol. "So you were saying something about stories concerning the river?"
The man opened his mouth, looked confused for a moment, shut it with a snap, narrowed his eyes, then sighed and shook his head. "Stories there be. Stories and more." He settled more comfortably into his seat and took another slug from his mug. His wife, a stout woman with a permanent glare stepped forward as if to stop him, took one look at the Sid, shivered, and slunk out of the dining room. The man, looking for his pipe, missed the exchange, and when he looked up El Sid was holding out a pouch. "Thank ye." He stuffed a generous wad of tabac into the mouth of the clay pipe, lit it off a sputtering candle in the middle of the table, and puffed for a moment.
"This be a small town now, but my dad read me a history of the place, and it be much more before the Galagulk war." El Sid didn't bother to point out that no one with any sense would call a handful of farms a town.
"The second Orc-Human war?"
The man nodded. "'Cording to this book, Galagulk and his crowd be out of Chelto, or the mountains there at least. A small clan, to be sure, but Urakai, they be like lemmings. One starts the charge, and the other clans follow." El Sid did his best to ignore the man's clear Urakai lineage. He clearly counted himself human. "Valen's Point, they called us then, 'cause we be the farthest upriver they could get the warships."
El Sid broke in for a moment. "What about the Tarren River?"
The man looked at him in irritation and the fangs glimmered a bit in the candle light. "Tarrun, Tarrun, ye damn Kandayan. Tarrun be Urakai for red. The Urakai took everything up to the Tarrun in the first war. They said on the final day of fighting in the first war, the river ran so thick with blood it killed all the fish for a year." El Sid nodded in supplication. Human blood, obviously, since Urakai ran more to a greenish tinge. Maybe Rengen wasn't all that human at that...
Rengen looked into his mug. "Anyway, Galagulk came out of Chelto, 'sept they called it Barad Halgur, First Stronghold. It looked like a small set of raids, the standard kind of stuff, but then other tribes started showing up, and then there we were, in the next war without even knowin' it was getting to be a war. We lost, lost big 'cause there just was no way 'o knowing. The warships, they came, but by then the walls were down, and there be fighting in the town. The Urakai leapt on them from the bridges, and many a ship burned to the waterline that night. The rest let loose, there just wasn't any way to kill Urakai without holding back, and there wasn't much of a town left after that."
El Sid nodded quietly. "But why not rebuild? The river, if it held warships back then, would certainly support water traffic now. It might put you back on the map."
"I be not finished. The big magics, they did destroy much, but they cannot destroy all. There was plenty of hand to hand. My great-great-granddaddy be one of them that fought, street to street, with the Urakai. But there were too many, and the humans fell."
"So the Urakai took the town?"
"Nay. That be the problem. In the morning, not a soul was left alive inside the walls of the town, which stretched across the river, not human or Urakai."
El Sid frowned. "They all killed one another?"
"Nay. Something else." The man stared into the distance. "My great-great-granddaddy wrote that book. He said... he said he saw men, men of such strength and speed they were unstoppable. But they killed anything in their path. Man, beast, Urakai, anything that moved. After the fall of Funda Kai, and we took back Pranan, there were stories... stories of people and Urakai disappearin' around the river, stories of things that looked like men but bleed lantern oil when cut. Now, no one goes there any more. It be a deadly place."
El Sid replied thoughtfully. "Amen."
In the morning, he bid the farmer good fortune in finding honorable combat (having been briefed by Fuji concerning Kanday etiquette in such circumstances) and headed out. A half mile down the road, Krinn and Fuji joined him, stepping out of a clump of brush.
"Good morning" said the Sid cheerfully, ignoring the glowers from both of the others. "I had a most interesting conversation last evening."
"While we sat in dirt outside!" exclaimed Fuji crossly. He didn't bother to add the sneaking out of the farm's central complex once it was obvious the farmer was on the up and up, walking down the road in the dark, and sleeping in the clump of brush they had just vacated. The only thing that had made it bearable was the weather, which had turned a touch cool but dry.
"Yes, yes, but we did discuss all that, right? I'm pretty good at wheedling information out of the peasants, and it makes sense to minimize the chance that anyone spots us. One person is hardly likely to be taken for part of a gang, while three... well, it minimized any potential problems. In any case, I think we are close to done. Lunch at two or three of the other farms along here to confirm what I've heard, and we can head back to debrief the others. I know you both appreciate the fact that a woman traveling alone would raise comments, while Fuji's lack of familiarity with the language could be a problem, so I'm afraid I'll have to be go between again, but I'll try to grab a few rolls for you when I leave each place...."
Note: Everyone has 2 skill rolls tell me what you are rolling against.
September 4th
Delrin stiffened, then moved cautiously and quietly with a arrow notched on his bowstring. A movement, and he swung up, pulled and fired in one smooth motion. The arrow went spinning off into a tree with a thunk. It caused a startled deer (that was in what would be called roughly the same direction only to the forgiving) to spring into the air and then vanish from the clump of grass it had been nibbling on with a flash of a white tail. Cookie, who was not very quiet or much of a woodsman, and so had been hanging back while Delrin tracked the animal, came up from behind him. "You good with tracking, you suck with bow."
"Thanks" answered Delrin, sarcastically.
"No problem" rumbled the troll. "What friends for, eh?"
Delrin grumbled, resheathing his bow and vowing to take some time with Krinn to get the hang of the weapon. They headed back to camp, where they found El Sid, Krinn, and Fuji had returned. Nearby was the carcass of a dead deer. Delrin looked at Glorm, who shrugged and said "Heart attack."
"Seems to happen quite often to large game animals around us" replied Derlin. Glorm just smiled.
Fuji and Krinn were wolfing down food while El Sid recanted the tail he had picked up from the farmer Rengen. "We stopped at two other places, and heard the same sort of thing with a lot less detail. One little detail Rengen didn't tell us was interesting; Rengen has lost a couple of sons along the river bank. Either that, or they ran away after telling their siblings that they were going to the ruins as a cover story. There have been a few expeditions into the town, mostly in-and-out types of raids. Not much was found, and the belief is that the Urakai took everything worth carrying between the second and fourth Orc-Human wars when they controlled the area.
The Don frowned and spoke again. "It seems unlikely that much can be left of any worth in the town, in that case."
Krinn then spoke up with a new thought. "It occurs to me that those ruins are probably pretty destroyed and picked over, but those war ships sank with some serious artillery on them. To bad we don't have that 12th level dredging spell my mom used to use to clean up our swimming hole. All it required was the use of a water elemental from the 6th circle..."
There was a brief silence as everyone pondered Krinn's idea. Finally the normally silent druid spoke up. "I think I have an idea. I have a spell to breath water for fifteen minutes. We can circle around the ruins to the north, and find a few sturdy trees on the river bank. If we tie a rope to the trees, I can swim down rive holding the rope towards to a point just below the bridge. It sounds like the ships were either docked, or near the shore. Once I get in position, I can make two 15 minute dives to see what I find. We can tie a bag to the end of the rope. I can lode any items I find into the bag to be pulled back by Cookie and Fuji when I am done. Half an hour is not long, but if it looks promising, I can try again the next day."
"I can cast a protection lightning on you Delrin," Krinn said. "That way, either you or I can lightning bolt into the water in case of trouble with river monsters..."
"Oh..." said Delrin nervously. "I really hadn't thought of the monster aspect."
"I'm sure there's nothing to be worried about. Not like the blood sucking pineapple sized leaches on Orbaal" said the Don, catching a high sign from El Sid.
The rest of the group focused on the Don as he started to spin a rather gruesome tale. In the meantime, El Sid touched Glorm lightly on the shoulder and the two of them moved off a distance for a more private conversation.
"Glorm, don't tell the others, but this could be a blessing in disguise. I am not overly fond of the undead, preferring the more recently dead lying at my feet, but with the Blackheart we may have an angle..."
"Aye, I think I get your drift. The sword is evil, born from death and killing. It may have a link to these unholy creatures. If we could command the undead, we could certainly find a way to use them to our advantage. What do you have in mind?"
"I thought one of us should take the sword in close to the ruins, and see what kind of response we get. If you are afraid, I will be happy to volunteer myself."
The last statement seemed to wound the dwarf. "What me afraid! I will do as you suggest, and carry the sword to the edge of the ruins. However, I have one request. I would like Rosebud to come with me; in case of trouble the rest of the group will have immediate warning. Also, I think I will visit in the late morning when the sun is high in the sky... Perhaps Delrin could even keep an eye on me with his bird spell."
"Not a problem, my short friend, not a problem" answered the Sid, smiling.
Sept 5th
Their luck was holding, thought Glorm. Not a cloud in the sky, and a bit warmer too, made for a pleasant day. He looked over the old Oaks, Maples, Larms and Pines and the tumbled black stone that had obviously been at one time a high wall. Now the few sections still standing were vine covered and barely recognizable. The place he was standing would have looked like a simple depression to anyone without the Dwarve's keen sense of stone and earth; he could see the faint square outlines that suggested that this had been, at one time, a cellar. He had picked this particular spot after Krinn had used a WIndWalk spell to fly over the ruins early in the morning. It was far from anything that looked dangerous, and was therefore a good place for an initial look-see.
He tried to image anything surviving not just the ravages of war, but of three hundred years of time as well. It seemed unlikely.
He abandoned that thought and focused on Blackheart. "Here, boy... here undead... come to Momma!" he thought at the sword. He had the expected result, the same he had gotten all morning... nothing.
He thought for a moment, then decided. He would move to the wall, and that was it. There was no way he was going to move into the city. Unless he could see a really big gem from the wall, of course... that went without saying.
He scrambled up an incline and over a log, moved cautiously to one of the few remaining sections of wall standing in the area. Beyond it, he could hear the gentle tinkle of the river, but he saw only more vegetation, and the corner of what may have been a building at one point.
He grabbed a vine, tugged, and satisfied that it would hold, used it to climb to the top of the shattered city wall. Inside, trees, vines, and brush ran rampant, with only sparse areas of flat black stone marking a street or a pile of rubble standing as tombstone for what must once have been a impressive building. Nothing moved inside. The river glinted in the noontime sun, moving lazily past what had to be the buttress of a bridge that Delrin had spotted.
He waited perhaps half an hour, briefly considered a short run into the town, then decided there was a difference between greedy and stupid. He tugged until he found another well rooted vine and was preparing to lower himself down the ledge when someone spoke, almost causing him to lose his balance and fall.
"This is not your place" he heard again, and, having regained his balance, he saw a man... well, more of a boy, really... standing on a section of wall below him. Thin arms and legs, albeit wiry, wearing a scruffy tunic of tattered cotton that might once have been white, thin blond hair and eyes so dark they seemed all pupil. No obvious weapons. The section of wall the boy was standing on was about ten feet off the ground, and Glorm wondered how he could have gotten there without Glorm noticing.
"And who's place be it?" he asked, clutching the sword more tightly.
"Just a place, a timeless place of entropy and attrition." The boy cocked his head. "And you, you are something new in a place with nothing new. You are not a man, not a Urakai, not a halfbreed. Not a Chen Kunda, not a Troll." He looked at Glorm, and the still, placid face grew almost petulant. "You interest me. Come."
Glorm cocked his head and replied "I be very comfortable here. Do you come from the farms that be nearby?"
The boy closed his eyes, brows furrowed in thought. "Farms. There are no farms, just brick and stone and trees and the black life. Things are what they are, what they were, what they will be, and that is not farms."
Glorm asked quickly "Ahhhh, the black life. I've heard of this, but please tell me more."
The boy opened his eyes again and looked at Glorm strangely. "It is purpose, and life, and power, and more. Quicksilver and Belladonna, grace and dried bones, ancient dust from a battle lost. You want to know more? Come, and I will show you. Come."
Glorm put his hand on the hilt of Blackheartand concentrated on a reaction of any kind while concentrating on the man/boy. Nothing.
"Are there more of your kind here?" he asked.
"My kind? More and less. Kind is a funny word, and you are a funny man. Come."
"Do you serve anyone, or only the Black Life?"
"The black life is not to serve, but in service. The black wolf of Tendut is the master, the black life the proxy for his commands. We who carry the black life carry the word and the will and the mind of Morgart. Come"
"Can you teach me the black life?"
"The black life is not to teach, it is to be, to assimilate, to absorb. Come, and you will see the power and the glory and the pain."
"Are you human?"
"I am the black life, I am human, I am the word and the will and the mind of Morgart. I grow tired of these questions. Come."
"If I come with you, will you vouch for my saftey and my life, returning me to this place alive and unharmed?"
The boy frowned. "No more questions. Time is nothing, but nothing is valuable when there is no time. Come now."
Glorm listened to the man/boy's words. Being new to this language, Glorm had enough trouble under normal circumstances, but this creature talked in one riddle after another. Glorm was considering following the man/boy to find out more when he said "The black life is not to serve, but in service. The black wolf of Tendut is the master, the black life the proxy for his commands. We who carry the black life carry the word and the will and the mind of Morgart." Glorm was worried enough serving the Blackheart; he did not need a second master. Silently he wispered a prayer to the Black heart...
"I am sorry, I cannot come with you now. Tell Morgart I will try and seek him in Tandut before the Winter is over. Is there an easy way for me to contact Morgart in Tandut?"
The boy just looked at him.
All of the sudden Glorm had the feeling he wasn't in the best of all spots to defend himself. He couldn't climb down without using both hands, which meant Blackheart couldn't be draw quickly. A jump fromt this hieght would be tricky. On the whole the man/boy made him more than a little nervous. He had his reputation to uphold, so without warning he muttered "ta ta my young friend" and he dove off the wall at a slight angle doing a half flip in mid air. One advantage of being a dwarf was no one expected him to be nimble and quick. Glorm hoped this time any small hesitation would aid him. He had a sinking feeling he might need all the help he could get. Glorm twisted as he fell, looked down, saw luck was staying with him. Directly below was soft earth and grass, not brush or stones that could trip him up. He continued the roll, hit legs first, absorbing some of the impact, let his weight carry him backwards where his back absorbed the rest. He kept enough momentum to roll up onto his shoulders, added a hand spring, and drew Blackheart while flipping in the air, landing on his feed with the sword en pointe as Fuji had shown him.
He saw nothing. The boy... or thing... was gone as if it had never been.