THE STORY | Captain The First Patriarch (10/17/00 12:05:02 pm) Reply A fresh beginning -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Portalling into the unknown I sifted through my thoughts trying to figure out what had gone wrong. The portal should've taken me to a point close to the quadora inn but it was nowhere to be seen. In fact I could state that this lush green landscape was unlike any I had ever seen before. I turned looking at the shimmering gate that had brought me here but I was too intrigued by this alien landscape to consider returning to my palace for long. Whose lands were these? What mind had created this? I concentrated trying to figure out the nature of the magic that maintained these lands. The shock nearly threw me of my feet and sudden fear flooded my body. "No... this cannot be." Taking a couple of steps back to make some room I casted a couple of angels to take up the task of guarding me but as soon as the creatures appeared they disintegrated in a flurry of dust swirling through the sky. I tried again with the same results and then I frantically started casting all sorts of spells just to find one that did work. No such luck... wherever I was I had no power here whatsoever. What world was this that did not contain any magic itself and negated all attempts to use it? Closing my eyes for a brief moment I drew in the warm humid air of the surrounding landscape that was enveloped by an eerie silence that indicated the absence of creatures of any kind. Taking a slow look around me I noticed that I was standing on an almost perfectly circular clearing in the middle of a forest filled with oddly shaped trees too wondrous to be created by human minds let alone one of the elder races. My portal seemed solidly fixed upon a large rock which was covered in thick layers of green and blue moss which seemed to stretch endlessly towards the woodwork at the end of the clearing. With no magic and no sword at my side I thought it to be too dangerous to venture forth into the gloom that was the forest. Reluctantly I stepped back through the portal ending up in the familiar surroundings of my quarters. I tested my magical powers and was relieved at having them back and before I left the room to summon the council I posted 2 guards at the portal to ensure that everything that might be on the other side stood on the other side. My mind seemed uneasy with the thought of leaving a portal open to who knew where in the middle of my own castle but my logic sector had risen a good point in stating that once that portal was closed it seemed unlikely that I would ever be able to return there. And I would return... the phenomena of a world without magic was simply unheard of within Terra and letting an opportunity pass to explore it to the fullest would not only be foolish but also an act of ignorance that I could never forgive myself. No... I would gather a few strong people I trusted and together we would take a look at this odd new world... 'Exploring the unknown inherited dangers that none could imagine, but wasn't it just as dangerous to let the unknown remain unknown?' 0 8 D Reply Re: Qadora's story corner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 0 8-D feels a bit nervous about this. Shadow already had some mystic influence on him here on Terra, without wielding any magic, some strange scent of manipulation he didn't entirely understand. The eradication core of his soul warns him, not to trust, not to venture where his powers were naught against hers, but the portal is tempting, inevitable. So if fighting the Tarakians wasn't actually the great conflict of Raguar - if the holy symbol wasn't recovered and ANU-ANU wasn't set free from the planes of ZhDuhl, maybe it was his meant path to enter the portal. The grinning mage equipped his studded armor and sheathed the holy sword which had taken the place of the ancient battle-axe. As he aproached the Captain's quarters he couldn't help wondering whether he was really coming for smiting infidels or for the mere company of Shadow... _ __ ___0 8-D___ __ _ _ __ascended lord of flames__ _ Shadowlynx Reply Shadow comes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Upon hearing the news of Captain's strange discovery, Shadow left the qadora and sought him out. She had no real possessions but her own clothing, a money purse, a necklace with a crystal no-one could identify, and the cape which Capt had yet to reclaim. She knew it was time to move on from this place, forever in the search for who she was. Perhaps one day she would be more than a shadow. The idea of a world without magic, without fear of spells or of the odd, frightening creatures which spells summoned, appealed to her. Shadow understood how such a world would seem odd to the mages but as her gift of healing was hereditary, she would naturally carry it with her in Terra or otherwise. In fact, when she realized that those who were able to heal on Terra might not be able to help themselves in this new land her mind was made up. Shadow went immediately to Captain's office, her mind and her soul burning with questions about this new place. Her eyes were now fierce with determination. She had never realised that the charming stranger she had helped late one night was in fact the leader of a guild and perhaps play an integral part in the discovery of her homeland. BUT Shadow dared not dwell too much on that idea, lest disappointment find her once again. Shadow smiled to herself. She thought perhaps if everyone was thrown together in this new land, Captain might be even busier than before. Or perhaps they might finally have a chance to talk. Shadow knew one thing. She would find out. Captain The First Reply Re: Shadow comes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What use would a diplomat be in this new world? Reduced to a mortal without my magic I wondered if it was wise for me to add myself to the party. The weapons training I had received for long periods had faded a bit and I had spent the last couple of days training once more. I had to force myself not to try and use magic and it was more difficult then I had anticipated. What happened if I died there? All magic was drawn into the void but everything that wasn't simply ceased to exist. Suddenly I envied Shadow for her innate healing abilities who had seemed eager to sign up. I was quite certain that 0 8-D himself had his own reasons for signing up. Only Factor seemed reluctant for now but I would wait for his decision to either join or not join. After all the portal seemed stable and he could always come after us later. I had taken 0 8-D and shadow for a look at this new world and both had wandered around for a while saying absolutely nothing. I knew 0 8-D was trying to cast a spell... and even I felt like it had to work. I would give them a day or two to prepare for a longer quest... scouts had reported nothing but forest ahead and I was determined to break through this endless wood no matter the time it took. A small base camp had been quickly established on the other side and was constantly guarded by a couple of knights. Trying to bring along any creatures that were controlled by magic had led to nothing except chaos... the two angels had simply ceased to exist and the gorrila's had run amok before being killed by the knights. A small party... anything more would be of no use to us and dangerous at best. We would see what this world brought, but I had a bad feeling about it all. I hoped it was just based on the fact that I could not cast spells there although my logic sector seemed to disagree. "Make your preparations... We will stay in the base camp for at least another while till we receive word from factor. I suggest we use this time to the best of our abilities." Seneschal FACTOR Reply: FACTORS Arival -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- after factor heared from captains expedition he was eager to come, but difficult and busy times lay ahead of him. but as fast as he could he finished his bussiness and huried to the portal. When he was halfway he began to think.. what do i think i am doing, going to a land with no magic, without even some tools I will be dead in minutes. Factor turned around quickly and ran to the docks. He took a small boat and began to row along the coastline, after a while he arrived at a magnificant ship, three sturdy masts stood to the sky, defying gravity and wind. When he entered a whistle was heared,"captain on board" the shipmate called. It was long ago factor entered his home, his ship, his proud, the flagship of the old qadoran fleet, The goç'qun warrior. "mates, I will be going for a while, please bring me my venture items". Long ago it was that Factor strawled trough the forests, he was a wanderer but had found his peace at the ocean, here he could travel and always be home at the same time. But still some things he had kept from his past, now he would need them. His friends came out from the cabin and handed him a large backpak and a sturdy shining sword,when you looked more carefully you could read'Darundil áçul' crafted on the lemmet. These two words where difficult to read and some people where not able to read them at all, This was very awkward since you even seemed to think a strange light was shining out from them. Factor turned around and walked around the goç'qun warrior, giving his man orders and goodbye's At least I should use my magic powers now, before I can't use them at all, factor thought and opened a portal to the docks. When factor reached the portal the other members where already waiting"ah, at last!" captain spoke " thought you would be too busy chasing some nice looking ladys!"factor looked offended "like usual.." he spoke " Just lets get on with it! I brought in some things that would become very handy. For instance a compass, food, my survival gear, knives and some ropes and offcoarse my friend Darundil áçul, so hope i got it all!". yeah, yeah, i know my english isn't very good, Also I always have a problem with making sentences who really fit, I always jump from one thing to another.. I am also very bussy with school and I will be on holiday next week, so I can't be very active... shut up cap!! I heared you!! factor quickly shouted and turned to captain who was heared murmering "so what". SENESCHAL FACTOR ~Focus of the Living Leadership Core~ 0 8 D Reply Nightguard -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The chilly wind in the dead leaves was the only sound to be heared. Not a bird sang, not a bat moved, even the pale moon had a deadly aura, as 0 8-D sat awake at the fire while the others slept. It took quite some effort from him to keep watching the surroundings, as two most tempting distractions lay bye: Shadow, sleeping with her breast gently rising and falling with her breath and the flickering flames of the campfire. Ascendancy might become stronger in him every day and ANU-ANU might be far greater than every hell's demon of flames, but the sight of a free firelight still made 0 8-D's heart go quicker. As he grew a little tired, he spoke a short prayer to ANU-ANU, begging for the power to stand the next hour, till it was time to wake the patriarch for his shift, but as he knelt down and focussed on the holy symbol of ANU-ANU deep within his memory, he felt uneasy suddenly. Something tried to warn him, something big, anscient. And concerned. Pain. Unbelievable pain, filling every corner of his body and his very soul. Captain I didn't get up for his shift. There was nobody there to wake him. Not a trace was left of the mighty grinning mage, but the small altar ANU-ANU's follower had built before the night set, and his blanket, lying untouched, placed on the ground pretty much, but not quite next to shadow's sleeping-spot. The captain reached for his equipment but found it missing, along with the weapons and those of the other's. _ __ ___0 8-D___ __ _ _ __ascended lord of flames__ _ Shadowlynx Reply Morning breaks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At the first light of dawn, Shadow's eyes flickered open. The camp was in disarray. "What's happening?" she asked, disturbed by the expression on the faces of those around her. "No weapons, no equipment and no O8D," was the response. It was clear that suspicions were aroused, most of them negative. If O8D had merely disappeared, then they had cause to worry, but the fact that their weapons and equipment were also missing was highly suspect. Shadow, at a loss, looked to Captain, then made a suggestion. "First we must eat," she said. "I know all these trees are strange but they are fruiting and I may be of some service to you here." Shadow perused the perimetre of the camping grounds, not willing to go much further than where she could still hear the sounds of those in the party. She touched the trees, shrubs and bushes and discovered their fruits, sorting out the components and useful nutrients. All the information came readily to her fingertips. She could not, of course, alter the plant material but she could read these cells as she could read any animal cell. Shadow called to the others, telling them which ones were edible. Though this was only a scouting trip, this disturbance could have major consequences. Once they had eaten, all eyes turned to Captain. Captain The First Reply Re: Morning breaks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Oh what fresh hell is this?" Where are those cursed knights who were supposed to guard the damn camp and most of all where had 08D gone. Well I was pretty sure he couldn't have taken all the equipment by himself so that was a definite source of concern. Factor had already gone back through the portal to fetch some new equipment and I had asked him to bring my battle axe along to replace the one that had dissapeared so untimely. Galan had reported that 08D couldn't be found in all of Terra so I assumed that wherever he was he had to be still on this world. "Fool, why had he run off like this? Left nothing behind but this shrine to his god." Then again, he might not have run off at all but had been taken instead. "Either way, he's gone now and we move out as soon as Factor brings the new equipment, with any luck 08D is heading towards the mountains." I looked at shadow nervously eying the forest and wondered what had caused these changes from the previous day where peaceful training had taken place. The portal back to my palace still seemed stable and I assumed that the magical anchor in my own lands sustained it here. Whilst looking at the blue shimmering portal I saw a huge package falling out of it followed by another and another after which Factor finally came through holding a large battle axe and another pack strapped to his back. Shadow and I looked rather peculiar at the packages and Factor standing grinning in the midst of them. "What's all that for?" Factor grinned "It's my survival pack and the stuff you asked for." "I'm guessing you brought a little more than an extra cloak along for the ride..." Shadow chuckled and for a brief second we all had forgotten about 08D's mysterious dissapearance. "We sort through this rubbish and then we head north, maybe 08D left some kind of trace, but the route stands. We head north." "Shouldn't we go looking for 08D instead?" "I see no reason to start searching the woods for eternity when the only plausible direction is north. If he's in the woods somewhere we won't find him anyway." "CAP LOOK!" I turned around to face the area where Factor was standing knee deep in packages and sacks. The damn portal was gone... dissapeared without ever showing a sign of weakness. Without knowing the exact locations of this world there was little chance that we would be found by our fellow members from the magical planes and we would simply have to figure out a way to get back on our own. "The situation turned more grim... arm yourselves, our next mistake could be our last." 0 8 D Reply Disturbing the order -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The party couldn't see the dark eyes through the dense wall of trees, but the eyes could all too well see them and turned grim. It hadn't been easy to clean these woods from the other stupid animals. It had been quite a LOT of work actually to find the last little worms hiding and some of the rangers had delivered quite a fight before the inevitable was upon them. The eyes hadn't the slightest doubt that these funny animals would soon join the fate of the other primitive water-based creatures before. But the code said he couldn't engage now. His own code it was, still patterns are important. No order, no patterns - could as well allow life then! The eyes turned and faded, all that the party sensed was a releasing sound in the forests. At least there seemed to be some bird or something in there. Their hearts grew lighter. The grinner collapsed in the continuous effort to produce any noise. He just wanted to sleep now. _ __ ___0 8-D___ __ _ _ __ascended lord of flames__ _ windy21 Reply Enemy Within -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The candles flickered as a strange gust of wind blew into the room. The dark mage closed the ancient tome he was reading, sat back in his chair and relaxed. The wind grew stronger and an image started to form, solidifying into a man draped in a dark cloak. The newcomer bowed down to the mage. "What have you to report?" the mage boomed out. "As you expected, my lord. The great captain fell for it." he chuckled. "He wont be coming back for a long time, maybe never if that creature does its work well. It has done well so far." The dark mage stood up violently and his chair toppled. Struggling to keep his temper in check, he pointed a finger at the newcomer. "You were expected to persuade Galan to join them too! And why is that mysterious woman accompanying them! There are too many glitches in this plan. I will have your head if anything goes wrong...." "Galan is an old man, it was captain's mistake to leave the land in his charge. You will have your land as promised, great lord." "It will be a grave mistake to underestimate him. Though old, he is a wise mage with great powers." "Indeed? Or are you still nettled by your defeat at his hands years ago?" "Insolent fool!" the mage chanted some arcane words and the man was lifted and slammed onto the far wall. His face contorted in agony, he struggled to rise. The mage sauntered towards him, grabbed his hair and lifted his face up. "Always remember who the master is. Now get lost before the old man suspects anything." "y..y..ess..m-my lord..." Retodon8 Reply Retodon8 visits the new world -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A little earlier, back on Terra Retodon8 walked through the FotL halls, contemplating. "I wonder what Captain I and his party are doing now. It's too bad there's no way to communicate through the portal so we could be updated on the new on the strange ... planet? Was it even a planet? Nobody seemed to have any plausible theories so far. Magic doesn't seem to even exist over there. Then again, how come Captain's Angels did appear, if just for a split second? Would it be possible that some sort of even greater magic outlawed the magic known on Terra, which included the most powerful spells I'd ever seen cast, or were the images of the Angels just that, images that never really existed in corporeal form, and ..." Suddenly Retodon8 got startled as something flew by him. "What was THAT?" In the dark hallway it was hard to see, but it must've been a FotL Mage, as the guild protection spells did their work well, and no enemy had ever succeeded in breaching the security and safety of the guild. The mage seemed to be heavily packed, which was a wonderous thing for a mage to do. Retodon8 didn't know much about weaponry, but surely he recognised an axe of some sort glistening in the little light there was in the dark corner he now stood in. He then had to think about the party again, and realised someone must have returned to bring more supplies. FACTOR's office! That's where he come from. Surely Captain I would've decided it better for him to stay wherever he was himself, so he must've sent FACTOR instead. Retodon8 was getting pretty curious about the happenings there now, and walked to his quarters. After taking of his robe and having some water to drink he sat down at his desk. "A note!" He recognised Shadow's handwriting immediately and raced through it the writing. She requested him to join them on their quest. Now he was sure, he would follow them afterall! "I might've decided not to study Terra magic to protect myself, but that isn't a bad thing, especially not in a place like where I'm going to, where there is no such thing as magic anyway. Though he wasn't well-skilled in the ways of hand to hand combat, nor was able to utilise heavier weaponry that well, he knew he survived a few fights on his own already, some of which some didn't seem to offer him a chance of victory whatsoever. With some companions he would surely manage to stay alive. Thinking about whether or not he made the right choice, wondering if Captain I wouldn't just send him right back he started packing, fetching all the experimental, mechanical gadgetry lying on the table and taking some small weapons from the closet. He put on a lightweight armour that would at least protect him from a stray arrow or a knife's thrust ... he hoped. Over that he put on his robe while running through the halls. Arriving at the portal he noticed it seemed to be flickering a tiny bit, hardly even noticable to the bare eye. This was something new to him, but he didn't realise it to be as important as it was and ignored it. The guards didn't seem to pay much attention to the portal either, as they'd been watching it for some time now. Eventually everybody gets used to the wonderous sight a portal is, even if it does lead to unchartered territory. Retodon8 hesitated. Was this really the right thing to do? "Though I'm not a Mage myself I've grown used to magic." Other mages used magic all the time, and it was ... well ... normal. The portal swirled and twisted, and looking at it made him dizzy. Still, it wasn't any different from a normal one, except for the sound it started making now. It was a weird, frizzling sound, which didn't sound much like anything he heard before. He wouldn't even have heard it if he wasn't right next to it, staring at it, hoping against better judgement he could somehow see through it. "I can't just stand around here! What do I have to lose anyway?" Just as he decided he'd enter the portal to see where the rest had gone, the portal collapsed! "What??? Where did it go?" Blinking once, twice ... The portal really was gone. The guards were just as startled as he was, and looked at eachother, and then gave Retodon8 a questioning look. "Don't look at me!" he said, "I had nothing to do with it!". "Could Captain I have closed the portal? I'm sure with his power he could've, but would he?" He couldn't think of a reason for him to close the portal so abruptly, but then again, he had no idea what was happening at the other side before it closed. For all he know there was an army trying to go through. Captain I might've decided it was more important to close the portal to protect FotL than to have a sure way to get back. "Well, so much for that idea!" he thought, and immediately realised the party somewhere out there was in a lot more trouble than he was. I'm sure they will manage without me. After all, they had already gone through the portal, they didn't even expect me to follow, except maybe for Shadow." Though he knew Captain I was a force to be reckoned with when it came to magic he also realised that most probably wouldn't help him out this time. "How will they return?" He inquired one of the guards about FACTOR. They informed him: FACTOR did make it through the portal, carrying goods of some kind. Retodon8 stayed at the room where the portal had been mere seconds ago as curiosity had got the better hand on him. "What to do now?" he thought, and one of the guards raised his shoulders. He wondered if he spoke his thoughts out loud, as he realised the other guard asked the same thing he did instead. He then told the guards that now that Captain I and FACTOR were gone, the best thing to do was to alert the Judicators himself. "I'll go and tell the Judicators what just happened, so they can hold a meeting, for whatever good that will do." Walking out the doorway, he started thinking. Over time he learnt that a standard portal was much more reliable than a mere doorway. Doorways, wood ones, stone ones, magically enforced ones would all crumble if enough damage was done to them, whereas a magical portal wouldn't fall apart by physical damage, as it didn't have any physical properties. That is at least the way he understood the Mages' explanations. All the portals he'd seen so far were closed again by their own creators, or in some rarer cases by other Mages, but they never closed by themselves. This portal could've been tempered with somehow! Would it be possible for another Mage, someone, or something else to change portals without being noticed. A flash! Behind him! Retodon8 turned around and saw the shimmering he'd been watching for a while earlier again. Racing back to the room he saw the portal had indeed returned ... but for how long? Entering the room he heard the faint sound again ... a sound he didn't like at all now that he knew it meant bad news. He told the 2 guards to alert the Judicators of the recent happenings immediately, and jumped through the portal. He didn't even think, he wasn't even curious anymore, he just did. The next thing he knew was that he was lying on his stomach, slowly regaining consciousness. "Where am I?" was the only logical thing to think, and the only thing he _could_ think. Standing up he noticed he had been lying in some grassy field. In the distance there were some strange kind of trees, and looking the other way he saw a range of mountains. "Is this even the same place Captain I talked about?" he thought, "I don't see any proof of him ever having been here, though the landscape looks like what he told about. Who knows how long I've been out, who knows what happened to me then ..." Suddenly he realised he was lucky, everything and nothing could've happened to him on this strange world, yet he was alive, and he still had all his possessions. "The portal!!! Where is the portal?" The portal was nowhere to be found, and Retodon8 started to feel miserable. Looking around once more, he wondered which way he'd go. He couldn't stay here ... -------- Retodon8 To achieve Perfection one has to achieve Nothing. Seneschal FACTOR Reply the newlands -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The portal... damn the thing just dissapeared.. factor looked stunned and sat down in agony on one of the packs laying around him. "damned cap! At least I got some of my stuff over here, otherwise I really would be stressed right now". why did 0 8-D leave? it was perfectly clear he liked shadow, why should he leave her with us so suddenly and just take of? he can't be far away.. factor seemed to be talking to himself, but then he reacted like he got an answer. He opened one of his packs and took out a small cage, he put his hand in and took out a beautifull bird, it was a seagull and around its neck was a silver necklace wth a large golden symbol crafted on it. It was a small ship with 3 stars shining above it. Factor quietly whispered some things to the gull and it quickly took off flying into the forest. "Now lets get this thing going, theres nothing to be seen anymore here". Captain walked over to factor and took up one of the bags that factor brought .."wow, what did you put in here, did you fill this bag with rocks?" captain asked.., Factor looked up and quickly grasped the bagg out of caps hands " eehh, just some stuff, I'll carry it!" Captain raised his shoulders and took up another bag. "where did you put my battle axe?"captain asked.."pff you mean that heavy peace of slow moving iron, i layed it down over there" factor didn't like axes, too slow and not very gracious, he more liked a long sturdy sword in his hands, but now 0 8-D took Darundil áçul he had nothing left. 'Darundil áçul' was Factors only sword and he had never needed or wanted another. "I will find you my friend" Factor whispered when the party took off into the forest. SENESCHAL FACTOR ~Focus of the Living Leadership Core~ Shadowlynx Reply Into the unknown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Shadow looked out toward the forest then back to where the portal had once been. A thrill of fear passed across her heart like adark cloud and she hoped nobody noticed. 'I survived in Terra by myself,' she murmured softly. 'Surely I can survive here. On Terra I was alone. At least here I have company.' Shadow glanced fondly at Captain who seemed to be studying the visible terrain, then at Factor. At the sight of him pretending not to struggle with the weight of his gear, she grinned. "Factor, you gave me the impression that you were once a wanderer! How do you expect to bring all of this with you? You must leave something behind." Factor's face seemed to blanche at the very thought. "I'll carry it." He insisted firmly and Shadow merely shrugged. "We'll move north." Captain stated and with a quick glance in the other direction added, "unless you consider yourself a mountain goat." The mountains he referred to were steep and snow capped. They stood majestically against the pale blue of the early morning sky like sentinals of the southern landscape. "Is it possible that someone could follow?" Shadow asked, though she already knew the answer. "MY portal here was purely accidental," Captain answered her anyway, perhaps trying to solidify the facts in his own mind. "It's unlikely that any mage could follow even if they wished to. These co-ordinates are completely unknown." A soft, fresh breeze sprang up from the north-east that lifted Shadow's soul. Suddenly the forest awoke. Birds sang to one another. Lizards scurried beneath the litter on the ground. Seeds dropped from the trees and branches bent and swayed under thre weight of animals. It was as though someone had struck a match and set the forest ablaze with life. For many minutes, Factor, Captain and Shadow could do nothing but stare at the forest around them and at each other. "What just happened?" Factor finally asked. "I don't know." Shadow responded and looked to Captain who shrugged uncomfortably. "We'd best be on our guard," he suggested. "I'll be much happier when some of the mysteries of this place are known." Shadow helped the others collect the gear and spied a dagger amongst Factor's belongings. She picked it up and examined it, turning it over and over in her hands. It was the most beautiful piece of craftsmanship she had ever seen. Factor noticed. "You like that huh?" he commented, coming to stand beside her. "Indeed. It's lovely." "Then you may have it." Factor said generously. "You'll need something to protect yourself with." "Thank-you!" Shadow responded, surprised by the gift. She didn't know whether to hug him, shake his hand, or whether a mere thanks was enough. She decided against it. Shadow looked briefly to where the portal had once been and wandered over to a large tree nearby. While Captain and Factor moved into the forest, she used the dagger to carve an arrow into the bark following their direction. She knew it was a potentially dangerous thing to do. However she figured, on the slim chance someone from FotL may find this world again, they would see the signal and know where to go. Shadow dared not touch the tree to read the damage signals it would be sending, equivalent to pain. Instead, she carved the arrow until she was satisfied with its visibility and hurried after the others into the forest. Captain The First Reply Re: Into the unknown -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Slow moving piece of iron? I'll have you know that I could easily slice you in twain with it. At least with the axe we will have the possibility to move forward in a more or less straight line." "And you will leave a clear path to follow..." That thought hadn't occured to me and I leaned against the nearest tree for a while. "If the portal re-opens our people will be able to follow us quickly... any threat present in these lands will probably know these lands better than we and will be able to track us anyway." Factor shrugged an uncomfortable look on his face lumbering with the weight of his bag. I looked around for one of the creatures we heard all around us and spotted a faint outline of something in the trees. "Factor look in that big bag of yours for a crossbow and shoot that thing down." Factor grinned and rumaged in his bags for a while before taking out an impressive crossbow. He slowly locked the bolt took aim and fired. Nothing... no scream no movement, nothing. "You missed." "I never miss... I'm going up there to check it out." With that he threw his bag on the ground and with impressive agility scaled the wet slimy tree. "?" "Well?" I and shadow looked up almost unable to see Factor through the dense leaves. "It's not real!" "what do you mean it's not real?" "It's just a stinking illusion... it looks like a critter it sounds like a critter hell it even smells like a critter but it just isn't real." 'Illogical' My logic sector didn't provide me with a useful comment but I had to agree. No magic and yet there were illusions around, apparently the Forest was as lively as it seemed the first day. Something or someone was trying to confuse us and from what I saw that someone was certainly doing an excellent job. We pauzed discussing the matter for what seemed hours but didn't reach a conclusion... through the forest leaves I could see night coming and I decided that we had best find a suitable camping location. Maybe something tried to delay us? Maybe we weren't supposed to reach the northern mountains? But why use illusions instead of something that could actually harm us. 'Delay and confuse... something is likely to be planning something or is already executing a plan, otherwise these tactics would be of no use.' 5 miles into the forest... we hadn't come further and I had hoped to go at least 20 a day. Muttering to myself I walked around looking for a place to lie down but with the moss covering the ground and the roots sticking out just about everywhere any place seemed as good as the next. "I'll take first watch... I need time to think." 0 8 D Reply Somewhere not far away -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dark eyes watched amused, as Factor tried to fight a non-existant animal. So, these mammals were primitive, that was obvious from the first second on, but they were so ENTIRELY underevoluted that their senses still told them what they wanted to see. Sidcorrespondance between reality and observation. This must obviously be the cause for these creature's wrecked sense for order, the eye's bearer figured. They were beginning to spend a night in his lands. Well that's what he had expected. Another night and they would clearly match the rule's conditions for intruders. The eyes flickered with delight as the brain behind them focussed on the lovely event THAT would cause. Some moralic debri in the brain protested "It's necessary, but not pleasant!" The thought was banished. Maintaining the order WAS pleasant. This debri causing internal chaos. It was imediatly destroyed. 0 8-D sat at a richly loaded table and discussed matters with his host that the other's would have found all too interesting. He still didn't like to see the captain's weapon at this guy's belt. Maybe it helped, but it wasn't really right. Baloran had his gratefull wraiths devour the spys he had sent to the Patriarch's borders. They had told all they knew and he couldn't risk sending the same persons twice, they were of no use to him. Never trust a spy! He told his aprentice to fetch the dark amphore from the cellar and advised him to be carefull as hell not to spill a single drop. He really had reason to feast today... The world was being a terribly nice place since last week, the day that he had gotten his slim fingers on the anscient spellbook of corruption, but the breakdown of the patriarch's gate was about more than fate could have ever granted him. Lady luck didn't smile on him, no she sat on his lap with hardly any clothing and whispered sweet things in his ear. It was days like this when he sometimes wished he had a heart to enjoy that. The time of action was close! Enjoy! _ __ ___0 8-D___ __ _ _ __ascended lord of flames__ pg1 pg2 pg3 pg4 pg5 pg6 pg7 |