Chapter 1: The Players Assemble

         Gazing deep into the swirling mists of a large cauldron, distant images fade into view. Images of airships advancing throughout the world, their operators intent on destroying all magic they see. Images of elves living all too peacefully in their wooded homes. Images of walking bodies awaiting death. A hooded figure stares breathlessly at the images as he contemplates his next move with the patience only learned from a millenium of experience. These creatures are a boil upon the world and must be destroyed. Still, they are not the only enemy to worry about and allies are few in this world. It is best not to spread oneself too thin.
         As he continues to ponder the images, the mists swirl to reveal a drama unveiling within the sewers of a nearby town. He shakes his head in annoyance. This will delay my plans it seems, he thinks to himself. Very well, no need to wait now. It is time to move before it becomes lost. He waves a hand over the mists and begins to prepare a message for the people of the town. Perhaps this can be done diplomatically...

* * *

         A nobleman sits upon the throne of his keep. Past mistakes weigh heavily upon his conscience even as he toils tirelessly to correct them. A robed figure enters the hall, the sounds of soldiers training for combat echoing from the other side of the door. As the figure closes the door behind him, he says, "Lord Caladus, we have yet to hear word from those men we sent. It has been three weeks now. Shall we send more?"
         "Don't worry Arden, Keshrin is not easy to find when she doesn't want to be found. I am sure the men are probably fine. We should focus our resources on finding the others. Have our diviners found anything yet?"
         "No my lord. However there appear to be some dark omens surrounding Pommeville. They say something terrible is about to happen there."
         "Of course it is," Lord Calladus mutters with a groan. "It is probably him isnt it."
         "So it seems my lord."
         "Great...That is where we sent them and that is where we hope they will find Keshrin. Well in that case, send some of our men there at once. If they die, it is of little consequence, but Keshrin must be found before He makes his move. If He gets her, all is lost."
         "As you wish my lord."

* * *

         An elven woman sits alone in a sparse inn room. Faint sparks rain from her blue blade as she sharpens it with a whetstone, the filth of the sewer still fresh on her clothes. The vampire she killed in the sewer was only a spawn. Something created it and it seemed to have a mission. She gazes at a vial sitting next to her on a table. What were you trying to do little one? Who sent you? There is a knock on the door followed by the cry of, "Room service!"
         Blade at the ready, she approaches the door and opens it slightly. A young woman smiles and asks, "Do you need me to tidy up ma'am?"
         "No, that is alright, but if you could just wait a moment I have some clothes that require washing."
         "Yes ma'am."
         Closing the door, she quickly changes into her spare clothes then hands the dirty clothes to the woman and asks, "Can you recommend me a good apothecary?"
         The maid makes a face as the stench of the clothes assaults her nostrils and muck coats her hands. "U-um... yes of course ma'am. Nilo's down the street. He makes the best potions in town." "Perhaps he could make something to burn these with..." she mumbles to herself.
         The woman nods and gives a gold piece to the maid. "Thank you for your help."
         The elven woman leaves her room and heads out to the apothecary. It isn't long before she sees the hanging mortar-shaped sign which reads "Apothecary". A dangling bell rings gently as she opens the door. Inside, a man and a woman chat at the counter.
         The man is obviously a customer, though he appears to be dressed as a performer. The woman is a neatly groomed half-elf with pale skin, white hair and blue eyes. A copper headband adorns her forehead. She and the customer stop talking as she approaches the elven woman at the door. "Good day and welcome to our shop. Can I assist you?"
         The elven woman says, "Hello miss, I was wondering if I could have a substance analyzed."
         The half-elven clerk nods, "Let me get the shop owner." She then wanders to the back and explains to Nilo the situation.
         The old man doesn't look up from his work, delicate as it is. "I see, well I am currently busy with this potion Alassra, do you think you could take a look at it?"
         Alassra nods and says "Yes..." before going back out to the front and saying, "I can check it for you..."
         The elven woman holds out a vial of some vile looking fluid. The liquid swirls and changes colors ranging from a deep black to a glowing green. "Thanks."
         Alassra tries not to make any faces as she reviews it. Meanwhile, the customer watches the elf with interest. As the elf hands the vial to Alassra, he makes note of a ring on her finger. An oddly familiar crest is engraved upon it. He thinks for a while before realizing where he had seen it before. It was the crest of Ankev the Lich. He makes a mental note to let Captain Rhames know that an agent of Ankev brought this fluid in.
         Alassra analyzes the fluid and while she has never seen anything like it, it is clearly magical in nature. Testing it upon a rat appears to have no effect, though her training leads her to believe it may have a delayed effect. She returns the remainder of the fluid and relays what she has learned to the elven woman.
         The woman nods and says, "You may keep it for a while if you think it may turn up better results. Someone was threatening to pour this into the city's water supply and I want to know why."
         Alassra nods, "Of course, I will ask Nilo to review this as well."
         "Thank you. How long do you expect it will take?"
         "Perhaps 1 to 2 days."
         "Very well. Do you need anything from me before I go?"
         "You said someone was intending to put this in the water supply, what can you tell me about them?"
         "Not much. It was a vampire. Very young one. Seemed to be working under orders though I do not know from who. He will not be a problem anymore."
         "If there is nothing else, I will come back tomorrow then." She turns and walks out the door.
         As the door swings shut, the customer glances at Alassra and says, "So then. Vampires. In our little town. Poisoning the well. Sounds like the beginning to some book."
         "It does doesn't it Gyron? It's curious that one," she responds, "Her ring..." Alassra ponders for a moment.
         "The lich's seal," Gyron says almost to himself, "I'll have to tell the captain."
         The lich in question, Ankev, has recently emerged in Moonshade, one of the magical capitals of the world. There he quickly reduced most of the population to undead minions. Those who were not turned have either fled or become servants of the dark lord. He is an evil creature. The stuff of legends that parents tell to their children to scare them at night. Unfortunately he is all too real.
         Alassra says, "It's still curious that his follower willingly brought us something to study and divuldged information..."
          As the two are talking, through the window, they notice the captain walk past the shop, accompanied by a couple of adventurers. They appear to be carrying the bodies of three guardsmen.
         Gyron pokes his head out the door. "Hey, Captain!"
         The captain waves a hand dismissively, buckling under the weight a little, "I'm a little busy at the moment. Unless you plan on helping me carry these men back I dont want to hear it."
         "Yes, well I suppose I could. Though you have to believe me when I tell you this is really important."
         The captain grunts a bit, "I am sure it is. It always is, but it can wait until we have these men back. Come on man, help me lift."
         "Oh captain, my captain!" Gyron sighs and helps lift the stinky, dirty, and very unhygenic corpse though as he gets close he notices the bodies are more unhygenic than he was expecting. They look and smell as if they spent some time soaking in things best not mentioned in polite company. The captain and adventurers match.
         "Sewer?" asks Gyron, already knowing the answer, "If not, you should really take your colone back to the person you bought it from."
         The captain nods grimly, "I hate this job sometimes."
         "What killed them?" Gyron asks as he trys to look for tell tale vampire fang marks on the bodies while helping to carry one.
         The captain nods back to the adventurers and says, "Those two killed this one, the other two were killed by something else while we were going down to retrieve the body." The body the captain is carrying looks like he was stabbed and slashed to death, the other two look like their lifeforce was drained from their bodies, which are dried out like mummies. No fang marks though.
         "Ah hah. I bet I have an idea what killed these two. Just a guess, mind you."
         "Whats that?"
         "Well, they look like they had the life drained out of them. So my guess, something undead."
         "She looked pretty alive to me."
         "She?" Gyron sighs a bit. "Was she a blonde elf with a glowing blue sword?"
         "No, she looked human with red hair and wings. Oh and no clothes unless you count a stick she was holding."
         "Huh. I guess there really are no coincidences. Nude redheads in the sewers. Maybe I should go down there more often."
         "I wouldnt recommend it."
         "Well have I got a yarn for you. You should come back to the shop to talk with us when you get a chance. You'll want the details from Alassra."
         As Gyron says this, they get back to the guardhouse and drop off the bodies. As the captain puts down his victim Gyron recognizes the body as Harold Rhames, the Captain's son. The captain nods and says, "Alright alright. I'll hear it in a bit."
         "I'll wait for you there, sir."
         Gyron, a little embarassed, leaves the guard house as the healers come to take a look at the bodies. He heads back into the apothecary and says, "Alassra, what do we know about the captain's son?"
         She ponders a moment, "He is a member of the guard, isn't he? Missing from what I hear."
         "Was. The captain was just dragging his body through the streets. So, maybe we shouldn't mention his son at all. Though the other two adventurers were supposedly his son's killers. The bodies they were carrying looked to be drained to death by a naked red head with a stick."
         "Naked red head with a stick? Like a... Nymph?"
         Gyron shrugs and says, "I doubt it. Anyway the captain will be coming here to talk about what we just saw."
         Gyron waits around the apothecary with Alassra as she continues to test the mysterious fluid. Later that afternoon she hasn't found anything new about the vial itself, but the rat's eyes have turned a sickly yellow. It appears healthy otherwise. the door opens and in comes the captain. He looks obviously fairly bad off and not really in the mood for bad news. He walks over to Gyron and says, "Alright, so what is this about? I am not in the mood for nonsense mind you."
         Gyron says, "How about vampires poisoning the well?"
         "Whats this now?" The captain replies.
         "Well this elven woman came in here asking for Alassra to check out this vial of stuff. She says a vampire was trying to throw it into the city's water. Oh, and she was an agent of the lich. Or just enjoyed wearing his crest on her ring."
         "The lich. You mean Ankev? One of His agents is here dusting vampires?" The captain almost laughs. Almost.
         "Yep. And she'll be back here tomorrow for the potion."
         "I dont suppose you got a name for this vampire slaying lich lover?"
         Alassra shakes her head but says, "She was a blonde elf with a glowing blue sword."
         The captain ponders for a moment and says, "Sounds an aweful lot like some lady in the sewers those other boys were mentioning... Anyway when she gets back here, you hold onto her for me will ya? I have some questions I need to be asking her."
          "Okay," Alassra nods.
          "Aye, sir," Gyron salutes.
          "Is there anything else then?"
          "No, sir," replies Gyron.
          "Then if ye'll excuse me, I have a son to be burying." He turns and leaves.
          "My condolences, sir."
          The captain nods and waves dismissively. The door swings shut.
          "What a day," Gyron says to Alassra, "Are you going to be running more tests on that potion?"
          "I'm working through the list of tests. The rat is looking worse though." she points to the creature.
          Nilo comes out from the back, having finished up whatever potion he was brewing. He taps a rat cage a few times then glances at the vial of green-black fluid Alassra is working on. "Any luck finding out what this is Alassra?"
          She shrugs, "The rat has yellow eyes... that's what I have so far."
          Nilo nods and says, "You can go on home then. I'll close up the shop and keep an eye on this little fellow tonight."
          Alassra nods at Nilo, "Thank you...I'll be in early tomorrow to check on him."
          Gyron says, "I think I'm going to go try and earn some silver in a pub or two and keep my ear out for any more interesting news. Wake me up when you go to work tomorrow. I'll come wait with you until that woman shows up again."
          Nilo chuckles and says, "You know Gyron, you spend enough time here, I am wondering if I should put you to work."
          "Oh no, I don't need a normal job like that. It's watch business. I assure you."
          "Alright, though if you are interested, I could use another hand to help catch up with all the work that piles up while you go off on your adventures with Alassra here. Especially organizing all of the interesting reagents you two always seem to find."
          "Ah, well maybe I'll help you out tomorrow while I wait. Good eve."
          "Ah, yes. Dont let me slow you two down, have a good night!"
          Alassra finishes her last test for the evening and then, ensuring her area is clean, leaves. "Good night Nilo," she says as she heads out.
          "Good night Alassra!"
          Gyron and Alassra head down to the Cloak and Dagger Inn. The Inn is near the adventurers guild so it is a popular place for adventurers to stop by, unwind and tell stories of their recent exploits. Gyron soon sees the adventurers who had been carrying the guardsmen earlier. They don't seem to be from town though as they have visitor weapons permits. He pulls up a seat near them and starts a conversation, "Evening, gents. Rough day?"
          One of the adventurers is a human, fully decked out in platemail. He doesn't talk much and seems more focused on polishing grime out of his armor than anything else. The other is a half orc. He has a couple of axes holstered as well as a bow. He seems far more animated and belts out, "Rough week! You have NO idea!"
          "You guys find the captain's son in the sewers?"
          "Yeah we did, but we were tricked!"
          "Isnt that right Takashi?" The human nods.
          "Tricked? By who?"
          "Oh thats a REALLY long story. You see there was this guy who was attacked by a wererat and he said that he would pay us if we brought back the heart of the wererat because he needed it to get cured. So we say alright! We will do this for you! So he says well you need silver weapons. But we dont have silver weapons I says. So he says well there is a weapons shop just around the corner, why dont you go by some?"
          "Uh huh," Gyron nods.
          The half-orc continues, barely noticing that Gyron had said a word, "So I says, alright and go to the shop with the fella. He steps behind the counter and says, how can I help ya? So we buy silver weapons from the fella and head down into the sewers after the wererat that bit him, and we meet this nice elf lady with a sparkly sword."
          "Was it blue?" Gyron interrupts.
          The half-orc, lost in his story takes a few seconds to register that a question was asked of him. "She helps us kill some zombie kobolds and- yeah it was blue with sparks flying off of it when she swung it. So she says shes looking for something down there and figures that we will get killed by ourselves. Can you believe she tells US that? Anyways so we keep wandering around down there and come to this place with a bunch of rats. Hundreds of the buggers of all sizes. Some as big as my wolf!"
          "I hate rats," Gyron comments.
          "I know! Me too! So the lady waves her hands and BOOM fire everywhere! Luckily Takashi here has a ring that protects him from the fire so he walks through the burning fire, but my wolf is charred to death."
          "Wow. What a bitch."
          "Thats what I was saying! Anyways so Takashi sees some pool with green glowing stuff in it on the other side of the fire and the fire dies down enough for us to join him. Some REALLY big rats are swimming in it. They attack us but we were victorious! So on the other side of the room is this door, and it bursts open and out comes this critter like you've never seen! Its standing up like a man, but a face hair and tail like a rat. It comes charging out at us and nearly bites us, but luckily we had silver weapons so it fell beneath us!"
          "So that would be the were rat," says Gyron.
          "That it was! So then the darn thing turns into a man! We cut out his heart and bring it back to the fella who hired us. Takashi was feeling a bit sick at that point and so the fella says his name is Larrick and he can fix Takashi up real good. So he takes Takashi back to this room and locks the door, sayin he's gonna treat Takashi. But I knew something was up, so I smash through the door and find poor Takashi tied up and about to be eaten by another wererat! The critter runs upstairs and I cut him free. We chase after him, but he has traps everywhere you see and the whole place burns down!"
          Gyron watches the half-orc, following every word, "Wow. And so you didn't even get paid."
          "Not at all! We never did find the wererat either, but did get some burns for our trouble. Seems he was making a profit selling silver weapons to adventurers to kill people he had infected. So then the captain shows up and turns out the fella whose heart we cut out was his kid!"
          "Oooh... I bet he was mad."
          "You bet he was mad. Of course we didnt KNOW he was the captain's kid. We thought we did a good job and handed the captain the fella's silver sword, which the captain INSTANTLY recognized and demanded that we tell him where we got it."
          Takashi taps the half-orc and says, "You forgot something."
          The half-orc says, "Huh? I dont think so..."
          Takashi says, "The vampire bit."
          The half-orc says, "But that doesnt really have anything to do with the story..."
          Gyron raises an eyebrow, "But who doesn't want to hear about vampires?"
          Takashi shrugs and goes back to polishing his armor.
          The half-orc says, "Well anyways, the elf girl, her name's Keshrin by the way, she was looking for a vampire in the sewer, which is why she was down there. So before we went back with the heart, we decided to help her with her vampire."
          Gyron gasps, "You fought a vampire as well? This is shaping up to one hell of a tale."
          "Sort of, it wasnt much of a fight really. We managed to track down the creature to some underground water source. He was holding some sort of greenish blackish vial of stuff. So we come in and he says, 'Come any closer and I will drop this into the city's water!'" The half orc stands on his chair and motions with his mug while talking in a deep voice to indicate the vampire."So Keshrin says to me to distract the vampire while she tries to do some magic mumbo jumbo. So anyway it works and she gets her spell off without the vampire noticing."
          Takashi says, "You are forgetting something again."
          The half-orc says, "No I'm not."
          Takashi says, "You arent saying how you distracted him."
          The half orc sighs and says, "So anyways I sort of... danced. So it was a fine manly dance and the vampire was distracted and the spell went off, freezing him in his place."
          Gyron smirks, "Mm-hm. So was it a stately waltz? Maybe a bit of a tango?"
          "It was a jig alright?! ANYWAY! So we defeated him, he turned to gas and we retrieved the vial before tracking him back to his lair, staking him, stuffing his mouth with holy wafers and cutting off his head. Keshrin thanked us for our help and- ah.... Takashi... we forgot something again. She was the whole reason we came here to begin with!"
          Takashi groans.
          "She was?" Gyron asks, "I thought you came here to kill a were rat?"
          "Yeah yeah, you see, we came to town because this fella in a castle that we met wanted us to find her. We just happened to meet Larrick and his wererat problem on the way. We were so focused on doing that that we forgot we were trying to find Keshrin! And she disappeared after we were done with the vampire! Something about not really liking to talk with the local authority."
          "Why did this guy in the castle want her?"
          "Well I dont know that I should be saying this, but he's trying to get something she has. A fallu something. Do you remember what it was called Takashi?"
          Takashi shakes his head.
          "Anyways, its supposed to be real important to some lich guy because it, along with seven other things, holds his life or something."
          Gyron nods with interest, "That does sound important."
          "So the guy in the castle, what was his name again.... Lord Calladus. He's trying to gather them all up so he can destroy them."
          Gyron glances casually at Alassra who has been listening intently, "Sounds like a good way to make enemies."
          The half-orc seems to realize how sidetracked he was getting and says, "Like I said, it was a long story."
          "But a grand one," Gyron says as he lifts a mug with approval, "Wererats, vampires, and a mysterious red head. A making of a classic, to be sure."
          "Isnt it though? Takashi and I are full of them... redhead?" The half-orc glances at Gyron curiously, "Who said anything about her? We haven't gotten to that part yet. Are you reading my mind? Are you a spy or something?"
          "I was the guy who helped you drag the bodies back through the street. The captain said she was nude? Could be a classic with a bit of a boddice ripper thrown in."
          The half-orc nods in recognition, "Oh right, now I remember you. Yeah. That was when we went back to get the body."
          "So you saw the rats, killed them, then the glowing pool, then the were rat, then the vampire, then the other were rat, then burning down the weapon dealer... Is that the right order?"
          "Well the weapon dealer WAS the other wererat, but yeah. See we felt really bad for killing the captain's son and he yelled at us pretty good, so we went back to the sewer with the captain and two of his men to go get the body. So this time we took a better look at the glowing pool, since we werent busy being attacked or chasing vampires, and we saw this 6 fingered hand engraved at the bottom. It was what was causing the glowing."
          "Six fingers? Weird."
          "It was engraved onto some sorta... lid or something. So Takashi and I pry the thing up and POOF! The water is gone and the lid is gone and theres some naked redhead with wings holding a stick."
          "Well, that sounds like some treasure."
          "I don't know about that. She motions to a couple of the guards and they walk over. The captain tells them to stop but they don't. She kisses them and they sorta... melt. Like everything was gettin sucked out of them. She tossed their dead bodies aside like they was toys and then smiles sayin, 'Ah! Thats better!'"
          "Okay, maybe she's not such a treasure."
          "So she says to us that her name's Samone and that she'll give us the stick shes guarding if we kill the captain. We start thinkin hey, maybe this is one of those fallu things, but we cant kill the captain. So she waves a hand and he starts attacking us! So we figure he's under some spell and attack the lady instead, using a wand of magic missile!" The half-orc holds out a wand and points it while making 'zap' noises.
          "Impressive," Gyron takes a sip from his mug.
          "So she gets all disappointed and disappears with the stick and the captain returns to normal. I think we need that stick, but I dunno how we'll find her..."
          Takashi says, "I think it was just a stick."
          Gyron nods, "Might have been. Just to trick you."
          The half-orc shakes his head and shouts, "No way! It had to be special! Who leaves something like that to guard a stick?"
          "After that you came up and that's when I found you guys?"
          "Yep." Thunder crashes outside as it begins to rain.
          "Well, that was a great story. Let me buy you two a round." Gyron tosses a few coins onto the table. "This rain makes me think we're better off at home."
          "Thanks! Whats your name fella?"
          "Gareth. I'm going to head out, good evening to you all. Good luck with that elf lass."
          "Nice ta meet ya Gareth, I'm Athlon!"
          Gyron waves back to the pair as he heads out back to his home, the fresh rain already pouring down quite heavily.

* * *

         Rain pounds down from the night sky, occasionally punctuated by a blast of lightning. Most people are safely in their beds right now and have no idea the storm is even happening. Within Nilo's apothecary is a different story. A single rat twitches in agony, squealing at the top of its little lungs. The sounds awaken Nilo who slowly gets up from his bed and slips on some slippers before heading downstairs to his shop. In a small cage labelled "Test subject" a rat contained within screams and slams into the bars, in obvious pain. Nilo gazes at the creature with great pity and says, "What is this fluid doing to you little one?"
         Before he finishes the question, the rat suddenly falls deathly still. Nilo sighs and examines the creature to see if it is still alive. Tapping the cage a few times and blowing on the rat shows no reaction. It is clear that whatever the green fluid it had ingested had killed it, and not very peacefully. The old man opens the cage and gingerly retrieves the rat. Gently stroking its head, he whispers, "Poor thing. Let's see what exactly happened to you shall we?"
         A brief flash of lightning illuminates the shop as Nilo places the rat upon a table and retrieves a sharp knife. Rolling the creature onto its back, the old man's trained hands make an incision down the tiny chest, revealing the organs within. It is immeadiately apparent that the heart has exploded. The tiny organ is missing, with little pieces of it spread throughout the body, many of which appear to have somehow punctured other organs in the process. As Nilo makes these observations, suddenly the creature spasms and bites the old man on the hand. "Fiddlesticks!" the old man exclaims as he grips his hand, blood leaking from the surprisingly large wound. The rat rolls around onto its feet and skitters off, leaving a pile of entrails behind it.
         "What in blazes just happened? There is no way it could have run off like that!"
         The old man searches for the missing rat for a few minutes before finally giving up and wrapping his hand in gauze. "Must be some sort of post mortem twitch response..." the old man says to himself quite unconvincingly. "Well where ever it went it won't get far. It can wait until morning."

* * *

          An older gentleman takes a long puff from a pipe as he examines some documents set before him. His white hair is trimmed short and stretches down into a neatly maintained beard. Despite his age, he is in very fit shape, with no hint of the belly which usually comes to high ranking military officers who neglect their training. The desk he is sitting at is fairly neat, with little on it to cause clutter. Two pencils, neatly arranged, and a name plate which reads "General Humphrey Carlisle". He glances up from the report, removing a monacle from his eye. "Let's see... Clarence Thatcher is it?"
          Sitting across from the general is a far younger man, perhaps in his early to mid 20's. His hair is short, brown, curly and kept neatly trimmed. Unlike the man sitting across from him, this young man has a clean shaven face and the sort of jolly lips which seem to smile no matter what. "Yes sir," he responds.
          "And you say that this town... Northbank. It not only provided resistance to our troops, but also single-handedly took out one of our ships and two entire platoons?"
          "Yes sir." "What's more, you say that the resistance came not from the entire town, but some elite group of approximately four men?"
          "Yes sir."
          "I see. And what is the situation in this Northbank now?"
          "A man and woman, both wizards, have taken up leadership and are training the citizens as we speak sir. Their names are Dar Malson and Kitta Duroff sir. While our initial attack and subsequent occupation of the city met with little resistance, it appears that would not be the case should we attack again sir."
          The general rubs his temples slowly, the whole affair giving him a headache. "Since our initial movement into the Eluvian continent, we have found little in the way of resistance. Most cities have very primative weaponry at best. No flight capability. No fire arms. Just swords, bows, and this strange power the locals call magic." The general makes a face as though simply saying the word causes some foul taste to fill his mouth. "The locals appear to be highly susceptible to this magic and those who wield it hold considerable power. Still, it is merely some simple mind trick which may work well on the locals, but to the strong, educated mind of a Victorian, such parlor tricks simply give way like an airship passing through a cloud. Still... even clouds can become storms which destroy cities as we have seen demonstrated by the Moonshade incident."
          The general pauses for a moment, glancing at a map of the area. A direct attack on Moonshade had ended in disaster, with three major battleships falling in the process. Attempting to make a base out of the smaller town of Northbank had ended in similar failure. Perhaps it was time to change tactics. The general takes a long drag from his pipe then points to the map with the mouthpiece of his pipe, "This Caer Calladus, it has troops you say."
          "Yes sir. They appear to be making movements towards Pommeville. They should be there in a day or two sir."
          "Do they possess magic?"
          "The leader does, as does his advisor, but neither of them is leaving the keep at the moment sir. The troops currently on the move do have a few low ranking priests with them sir."
          "Then they are of little concern. What is the relationship between Pommeville and Moonshade like?"
          "They were friendly under the previous rulership but seem to be wary now sir. Since Ankev took over leadership of Moonshade, the people of Pommeville seem to be frightened. While they wish to be left alone, they fear that they may have to ally with Ankev to avoid a war sir."
          "Well we can't have that. Bringing down Ankev must be our top priority. You have done well soldier. You have learned several of their languages and have a keen insight into their culture and ways of thinking. I am promoting you to captain. Congratulations."
          "Thank you sir," Clarence barely manages to keep his calm as the good news sinks in: a captain at 23. No small feat.
          "I am giving you a battleship and 2 platoons of men to fill it. Two bombers will accompany you. You are to go to Pommeville and gain the trust of the local government at all costs. It is a large city and I do not want them allying with Ankev. Keep in mind your main objective is to keep them from doing that. I am outfitting your ship with heavy ordinance. Should diplomacy fail, I want you to ensure that they do not ever have a chance to rise against us. Understood?"
          "Yes sir."
          "Very well. You leave in the morning. How long do you expect to take getting there?"
          "Two to three days sir."
          "Very well. Succeed here and I see a bright future ahead of you soldier."
          "Thank you sir."
          "Get some rest. You are dismissed."

* * *

         Somewhere deep underground, a single hooded figure roves through the underdark. Few would dare move through the dark and dangerous caves with a small army, much less alone. Still, he is unconcerned by the dangers of his surroundings as he approaches the drow city of Il'Aluk. It had been centuries since he had last come to visit this city and, surprisingly, it was still standing. The drow have a way of letting their in-fighting get the better of them. If only they would focus their energies outward, they might rule all, but they spend so much time killing each other to increase their own personal power and ranking that few drow cities ever manage to last as long as Il'Aluk. The figure approaches the gate where two drow guards bar his way. "State your name and purpose."
         It has been a long time since he has heard anyone speak the drow tongue. It is not all that dissimilar from elven really. Though it does tend to sound more like obscenities and orders than the elven tongue does. Body language is also far more emphasized. "Take me to the Matron mother."
         The guards start to laugh, but their laughter is cut short as the figure quickly reaches out and grasps the throat of one of the guards. He instantly crumples to the ground, unmoving. "Take me to the Matron mother. Now."
         The second guard, doing his best to show no fear in the face of this stranger nods and politely says, "One moment sir. May I have your name please?"
         "Ankev."
         The guard hurries into the gate and finds his captain. She is a quiet but intimidating creature with long silver hair tied into a neat single braid. She is wearing full plate mail, perfectly customized for her body to allow the best mobility such armor could allow. Hanging around her neck is a spider shaped holy symbol to her goddess Lolth. "Captain Ousssek. A stranger who calls himself Ankev wishes to see Matron Mother Hannah. He is very insistent captain."
         "Let's see if she is busy shall we?" The captain turns to a mirror and waves her hand. Her reflection gives way to swirls of smoke for a few moments which eventually take form, showing an old drow woman in full spider silk. Her posture and form are still strong and healthy as one half her age, though her hair has taken on a white hue so pale one might think it could be visible even in the blackest darkness. "What is it Phaerryne? It had better be important. I was just dealing with one of my handmaidens." As she says this there is a scream of pain behind her. She turns and says, "I am trying to talk here. Show some manners little girl!" The Matron Mother moves her hands as she mutters a quick incantation. The screaming is immeadiately cut short. She turns back to the captain and says, "Now what is it you wanted?"
         "There is an Ankev at the gate Matron Mother. He insists on seeing you personally."
         The Matron Mother scratches her cheek thoughtfully. "Ankev... now there is a name I haven't heard in a long long time. Go ahead and send him in."
         The captain nods and says, "At once Matron Mother," as the image fades and returns to her own. It is rare that the Matron Mother allows strangers to visit, so the fact that she seems to not only recognize this stranger but is in fact inviting him in shows that he is obviously someone important. The captain turns to the guard and says, "Well you heard her, let him in!"
         The guard quickly rushes back out to Ankev and says, "Sorry to keep you waiting. The Matron Mother will see you now."
         The guard opens the gate for Ankev and the captain approaches him. "Welcome to Il'Aluk Lord Ankev. I am Captain Phaerryne Ousssek. I will take you to see the Matron Mother right away. Is there anything else you wish while we journey there?"
         "No."
         The captain nods politely and says, "Then follow me please." She then leads Ankev through the main gate of Il'Aluk. The city itself is carved into a cave wall overhanging a very large underground river. The only entrance into the city is through the main gate which sits before a large bridge that spans the width of the river. The bridge itself is a masterpiece of engineering and magic, more than capable of supporting any merchant traffic into the area. It is also capable of withdrawing into the city when needed for defense. After crossing the bridge, the pair wander through the dark streets of the city, soon arriving at the palace of the Matron Mother. Two priestesses guard the front door, crossbows at the ready should they be necessary. "This is Lord Ankev," the captain calls out, "The Matron Mother is expecting him."
          The guards nod, as they too were expecting the visitors. The captain turns about and leave as Ankev is escorted into the palace. Soon he arrives in a main greeting hall where the Matron Mother lounges comfortably upon a throne while snacking on a bowl of fresh mushrooms. "Ah, Ankev. It really is you then."
         The hooded figure nods slowly.
         "I had thought my captain was hallucinating when she mentioned that you were at my gate. I believe you met my mother the last time you came to my city. I was not even born yet. Still... she told me much about you. She was rather fond of you from the tales she told."
          "As was I of her Matron Mother. We were great allies once upon a time."
          "So you were. So you were. It is interesting to see that you are still alive. I was told the High Elves of Llayath had destroyed you."
         "Not destroyed, merely imprisoned. As you can see I have managed to free myself. I have taken over Moonshade."
         "So the stories are true. You managed to take over one of the greatest centers of magic the upper world has put together. How very intriguing. So what do you want of me?"
         "Revenge for me, power and glory for you."
          "I see... And what exactly is your plan for this?"
          "Oh that is simple. But first we need to make a little stop in Pommeville..."

* * *

          The morning sun rises over Pommeville. Everything is wet and muddy from last night's rain storm, but that is of little concern to most this morning. Written in black, cloudlike letters is the following message, "Return the staff or else."
          Who sent this message? Why did they send it? What is this staff it mentions? What happens if they don't get it? These are the questions on everyone's minds and lips this morning.
         There is a slight feeling of panic in the air as Gyron and Alassra walk through the streets and finally get to the apothecary. "Oh boy," says Gyron, "My bet is the lich. Yours?"
          Alassra scratches her head, "A vampire? Either is a fifty fifty shot I suppose." Stepping inside, Nilo can be heard, working on something in the back. "Good morning Nilo" Alassra calls out.
          "Good morning Alassra!" he calls from the back room.
          "We were admiring the sky message on our way in," Alassra says as she goes to check on the rat.
          "Sky message?"
          "Yeah, some magic." says Gyron.
          Alassra nods in agreement saying, "Something about giving back a staff or else sort of thing." She finds the cage empty and asks, "Where has Sherman gone? Was Sherman here when you came in?"
          "Its the funniest thing that." Nilo comes out from the back room, he has a bandage on his hand and his eyes are a little yellow. "He died last night, poor thing's heart exploded. Literally. Little bits of it had punctured its other organs. So I was examining him when he bit me and ran off. Some post mortem twitch response I am sure. I haven't been able to find him since. Couldn't have gotten far though."
          "And now your eyes are yellow," says Gryon. "Which means... You are going to die soon. You didn't happen to figure out a cure, did you?"
          Nilo pauses and glances in a mirror,"Are they? I hadn't noticed. Troubling. But no, I haven't really had time to find a cure.
          "Well damn. Maybe a temple?"
          "Perhaps. If you happen to see our little friend somewhere, I am sure he has stopped moving by now."
          "He's loose? Damn again."
          Alassra asks, "Are you so sure he's actually dead? Not undead?"
          "There is no way he could still be living. I had cut him open at the time. As I said, his heart had exploded." Nilo says with a pause, "Still, as you say Gyron, perhaps a trip to the temple is an order."
          "Do you have money? Those greedy priests never do a good deed without payment."
          "I keep some funds handy in case I need a poison or disease cured. It always helps in this line of work. Still, as you say, it does require a heavy donation. I would be happy if you accompanied me for safety's sake alone."
         "Good. Let's go."
          Alassra nods, "Given the message in the sky this morning, I fear the town will be on high alert."
          Gyron says, "So much happening. But I'm less worried about that. I doubt it's something we can control. We've got to save our friend here then deal with that elf girl."
          Nilo nods and says, "Well, lets see... Aprodite's church is nearby, let's try there."
          Gyron grins, "You dog, you."
          Nilo chuckles and says, "Well, it does not hurt an old man's eyes to be tended to by a pretty face." He retrieves a heavy sack from a safe, grunting a bit as he does so. "Gyron, if you would be so kind? I was being quite literal about the donation being heavy and my back isn't what it used to be."
          "Oh my. Sure. Trusting me with your gold."
          Alassra shakes her head, "We need to keep our heads down and move as quickly as possible."
          Gyron lifts the heavy bag of gold and the three all head out to the temple. As they leave the apothecary, a single rat scurries through the door, unseen in their hurry. It slips out into the street and disappears. The three have other concerns than a single rat after all. They turn down a small side street, a couple of human thugs block the path. Knowing trouble when they see it, the three turn around to go the other way and see two others.
          Gyron sighs as one of them approaches and says, "Thats a mighty heavy looking bag yer carrying there. Got something in it for the Roland Street Company?"
          Gyron chants a quick incantation hoping to get through this without bloodshed. The talker's eyes glow blue for a moment then fade back to brown. He squints a bit as he shakes off the spell and says, "Aw, you shouldn'ta done that."
          Gyron grins. "Can't blame a guy for trying, can you? It's not like I'm trying to hurt you. I'd really like to be let on our way. It's a bit of an emergency, see. But of course you won't care. But, what you might care about is the plague. You care about the plague, right?"
          The leader points a blade at Gyron and says, "You shoulda thought of that before you started casting. Boys, lets teach these fine citizens a lesson. Maybe we could have some fun with the lass there afterwards." The other three men laugh and they attack.
          Alassra shakes her head as she prepares a spell, "You shouldn't have done that sir... " She turns to Gyron and Nilo and says, "I'd move back if I were you..."
          Gyron chants an incantation and soon six duplicates surround him. Meanwhile the thieves charge to attack. The front two use shortswords which uselessly cause Gyron's images to wink out. The rear two use crossbows, one of which hits an image, the other manages to hit Gyron, wounding him slightly. At this point Alassra completes a spell of her own, filling the street with flame and completely charring the two rear thieves.
          Alassra gives the two front thieves a look, "Would you like to be next?"
          The four remaining Gyrons clap and say, "I like when she does that. Don't you? It's so... oooh, spine chilling. Those elves do cold real well, don't you think?"
          The two remaining thugs glance at each other, then glance at the group. The leader says, "Tch. Not worth my time. Let's go." They then turn around and leave.
          Alassra frowns, "Pity. You'd do well not to cross my path again." As they run off, Alassra makes mental note to prepare any paperwork required for her spell usage.
          Nilo smiles and says, "I am so glad I brought you two along. I would probably be lying in a gutter now were it not for you. When we get to the temple I will pay to have that looked at Gyron."
          Gyron waves a hand, "No worries."
         "No no, I insist. It is the least I can do."
          Gyron hefts the gold sack once again and says, "Let's see to you first. Come on."
          Nilo nods and they leave the charred bodies behind. Soon they arrive at the temple of Aphrodite. There is no mistaking the temple as scantily clad priests and priestesses make their way in and out of the temple on whatever church business they may have. The group walks up the steps, helping Nilo along a bit as he seems to be a bit short of breath.
          A priestess approaches and says, "Welcome, love be with thee."
         "Little help here! We have an emergency! City business!" Gyron calls out.
          The priestess looks at Gyron and says, "Oh you poor dear, you look hurt. Shall I tend to you then?"
          "Not me, him. He's been bitten by an infectious rat. It was poisoned by a magic potion. It causes the heart to explode. Don't know if it's poison, disease, curse... He doesn't have much time."
          She glances at Nilo and says, "Oh... He is the one who needs care then? He doesnt look well. Come, bring him to my altar." She gestures to a nearby bed with holy symbols sewn into the sheets.
          Alassra fumbles in her sack to see if she grabbed what was left of the potion. Luckily she managed to remember to bring the potion along. The priestess takes it and examines it. She then chants some divinations over it. She tilts her head after one divination then says, "Well its not poison per se. It is magical however it doesn't seem to be a disease. Perhaps I might ask the goddess directly. One moment."
          She casts another incantation and her eyes go blank. "Beloved goddess Aphrodite, grant me wisdom. How might I treat this old man's afflictions?" As the priestess does her work, Gyron scolds Nilo, "Look at the trouble you cause old man... You better live through this so I can yell at you later." Alassra holds back a laugh as the priestess nods, "I see. Thank you goddess." Her eyes fade back into focus. "Wow... nasty stuff that. It is a good thing you had the potion for me. If I had tried to cast a spell to remove poison or disease, he would be dead now. I have never seen anything like it, but my goddess has instructed me with the proper ritual to remove the affliction."
          "Good," says Gyron, clearly relieved.
          The priestess hands the potion back to Alassra and says, "I suggest you destroy that. It would be disastrous in the wrong hands." She then goes over to the altar and begins to massage Nilo while chanting. After completing a couple of different incantations, Nilo's eyes return to normal. Nilo looks pretty happy.
Alassra bows slightly and says, "Our thanks for your assistance."
          The priestes waves her hand politely and says, "It is truely no trouble."
          "Um, may I have your name, priestess?"
          The priestess then turns to Gyron and says, "Ah yes, how rude of me. I am Agalia. Your friend will be fine now. Shall I tend to your wound?" She gestures to the cut on Gyron's shoulder."
          "Ah, sure. I suppose so."
          Agalia nods and massages the area around the wound as she chants in incantation. The cut quickly seals itself, leaving no trace behind.　She winks at Gyron, "That one is on the house."
          "Thank you. Um, you might want to spread the word about how to treat that whatever it was."
          "Treating that malady is not so easy. Only a handful of priests in the city have the kind of connection with their god to be able to do it, assuming they know the proper procedure. If that were to spread, there is little we could do for it. Even I would be unable to treat another case today."
          "Yes... That's not what I wanted to hear," Gyron says with a sigh, "You're beautiful, but full of bad news."
         Agalia smiles and says, "That is why I say destroy that before someone can use it."
          Alassra says, "I fear this is a small sample of a larger batch."
          "Alassra, my life is not fair. I wish to be put out of my missery. Here I sit on an altar of Aphrodite and I can't even enjoy it. My head is full of scenarios involving the undead plague of doom."
          Alassra shakes her head and continues to the priestess, "We were told this was to be put in the town water supply."
          "But please don't spread that around town," Gyron interrupts, "We have enough panic as it is. Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything of what is going on with the writing in the sky?" The priestess shakes her head sadly, "Unfortunately no. Our goddess tells us it is a message from our undead neighbor to the north, but we know little beyond that."
          "Hah," Gyron chuckles, "I called that one. But the confirmation is nice. Thanks. I suppose we'll need to tell the captain all about this."
          "That would be wise," the priestess replies, "If this is to be spread into the water supply as you said, it would be best that we have people guarding it."
          "By the way," mentions Gyron, "You said you were one of the few who could treat this? You wouldn't be the head of the temple, would you?"
          "We do not rank ourselves here," the priestess replies, "All are equal in the beloving eyes of Aprodite. Though if you mean am I the one with the greatest ability to channel her love, then yes."
          "Ah. Well, very nice to meet you, then. Perhaps you could tell me more about her love over dinner after all this chaos has died down?"
          The priestess smiles slightly, "Perhaps indeed."
          "Well, you can often find me hanging around Nilo's apothecary."
          "My duties rarely allow me to leave the temple, but perhaps I may come visit sometime."
          Gyron smiles, "I can come here for dinner, too. But for now I'm afraid I have some pressing guard business to attend to."
         　Agalia nods and says, "That is true. You should really tend to that as soon as possible. As I say, it would be disastrous if this were to get out."
         "Yes. Indeed," Gyron agrees before glancing at Nilo, "Come on, old man. Time to get you away from this lovely lady before your heart explodes for an entirely different reason."
         Nilo chuckles as he finishes paying off his donation to the church. The three leave the temple. "I will meet you at the shop," says Gyron as he heads off to the guardhouse while Alassra heads back to the apothecary. The guardhouse is a bustle of activity with the captain and guards trying to deal with panicked citizens who are wondering what the message is about.
          "Captain!" Gyron shouts out over the crowd, "Need you now!"
          The captain shouts back, "A little busy here. That stupid message has everyone's undies in a bunch."
          "That's great. I still need you. This is more important. And it'll probably get you answers to the writing. We need to go to Nilo's. We figured out the potion.
         The captain sighs and says, "Alright, everyone please go back to your homes. When we have more information we will have it announced publicly. We can't do our jobs while you all crowd around."
         A few guardsmen force the citizens back outside and they eventually disperse. Captain Rhames walks over to Gyron and says, "Alright this had better be good. Did you find that woman yet?"
         "She'll probably be there by the time we get there. But this is a true emergency to the whole city."
          "Alright, lets go then."
          Gyron talks as they walk, towards the apothecary "So that woman may have saved the city, through design or luck. But it's her master doing the writing. Vampires and an undead magic potion seems to point to him too."
          "Is that so? Well who is her master?"
          "The lich. You aren't really listening to me much are you captain."
          "Oh right... you did say that before didn't you... sorry there is just so much chaos going on right now it's hard to keep it all straight in my head.

          Meanwhile, Alassra gets back to the shop with Nilo. Keshrin is waiting outside. "Maybe you should rest Nilo?"
          Nilo shakes his head and says, "No I am perfectly fine thanks." The elf asks, "Is everything alright?"
          Alassra turns and bows to the customer. "Our apologies we were not here when you arrived. That potion... has proven to be quite interesting and nearly killed Nilo or... well made him almost not among the living."
          Keshrin nods and says, "I see. May I have the rest back then?"
          Alassra pauses a moment, knowing that Gyron could be back with the captain soon. She says, "Let me go retrieve it." as she wanders to the back hoping to buy some time. Keshrin waits for a while. After it seems to be taking a little too long she asks, "Is everything alright back there?"
          Alassra grumbles, "Oh yes... fine, fine. I just need to review the notes and remember where I put it for safe keeping. Just another moment."
          Keshrin glances out the window and calls back, "Do you need help with anything?"
          Alassra shakes her head, "No, No... I'm fine."
          "You know if it is a bother I can come back later."
          "Are you taking the uber long way Gyron?" Alassra curses to herself. As if on cue, at about this time Gyron and the captain are arriving at the apothecary. Keshrin notices them through the window and says, "I will just come back later." and slips out the door.
          "There she is, captain!" Gyron calls out. "Looks like she's leaving."
          As Keshrin hears this, she picks up her pace from a simple walk in the opposite direction to a full sprint. Gyron and captain Rhames chase after her. The elf slips into a side alley. The pair follow and find her in the middle of an incantation. As she completes it, her feet lift off the ground and she begins to fly away. The captain attempts to grab the elf as she flees, but the weight of his platemail slows him down too much to get her in time. She flies out of reach, cursing a bit before flying out of sight.
          The captain sighs and says, "Well, we wont be getting her now. I suppose we might as well get back to the apothecary and hear what you have to say."
          Gyron and the captain step back into the apothecary. "So what is this you have to say about this servant of Ankev saving the city by accident?"
          Gyron relates the story from the bar as well as all they have found out about until now. Captain Rhames nods and says, "And you have this potion in your possession?"
          "Alasra does."
          He nods and says, "May I have it?"
          "Well... she wants it," says Alassra, "She was coming for it."
          "Do you think you could create something that looks similar but is otherwise harmless?" the captain asks, "I would rather see this batch destroyed, but we may need it as bait."
          Alassra ponders for a moment, "I could attempt that..."
          "I would appreciate it."
          As Alassra toddles off to the back to work on the replica, Gyron asks, "So captain, what do you want me to do?"
          "I am going to have declare a state of emergency and call all adventurers to search the city. I would appreciate if you came when the call is made. Other than that, keep an eye out for that elf."
          "Sure."
          The captain asks, "Is there anything else? I need to fill out some paperwork."
          "I guess not, sir. Sorry this wasn't more helpful."
          The captain nods and says, "We need to find out who that woman is, why she is here and what this blasted staff thing is about. Any information on those topics would be appreciated." He then turns and leaves.
          Alassra gets to work on making the copy. Nilo has trained her well and she manages to create a reasonable duplicate within an hour. At around this time, a pair of soldiers with an owl crest step into the apothecary. "Excuse me," one of them says as he holds up a parchment with a sketch of an elven woman on it, "Have you seen this woman?"
          Gyron instantly recognizes the crest as Athena's holy symbol. He replies, "Don't think so. Why? She in trouble with the temple?"
          "No, nothing like that. Are you sure? Her name is Keshrin. We have been trying to find her for some time."
          "How come? I can put word out on the street for you."
          "Our leige, Lord Calladus has ordered us to find her. We are not allowed to state why, but if you do find her, please do not alert her. She is rather difficult to follow."
          "I see. Thanks. Although I might have heard some new guys in town talking about her in the guild. The name sounds familiar. They did say she was an elven lady."
          "That is very helpful, who were these men?"
          "Oh, jeeze. A half orc and human. Human had a lot of armor. Name sounded foreign. Half orc might have been a ranger. Mentioned something about his pet wolf. I really don't have a head for names, sorry."
          The soldier groans and nods. "I think I know who you are talking about. They are in town then? Thank you that is very helpful."
          "They definately don't belong. They had permits for visitors."
          He nods and says, "Well there are a few of us searching the city. If you find out anything more, you can tell any of us. We are all dressed similarly so you should have no problem identifying us."
          "Sure thing."
          "Thank you again." The soldiers turn and leave.

* * *

         "So Horkas, what do you think you would do if you got back up to Pommeville?"
         The half-orc pauses from his scrubbing for a moment, his ugly brow beating down on the rest of his face as he considers the question. "Probably find me the first prostitute I could find and rock her until she passes out."
         The man questioning the half-orc could easily pass for human, though his pointed ears betray his elven lineage. Both men are wearing collars around their necks, slaves as they are. Unfortunately for the half-elf, his lineage has caused him to be something of a whipping boy for his drow owners. He laughs at Horkas' response and says, "You know, that is probably my second choice. First would be to stop by the Cloak and Dagger Inn, grab a fresh mead, and tell the folks there our story. Can you imagine? Being captured for 5 years by the drow and not only surviving but managing to escape to tell the tale? We would be legends!"
         Horkas shakes his head and gets back to scrubbing the floor. "Bah! Thats fool talk Marros! If one of them hears you talking like that, you will be lucky if you survive to talk like that again. Besides, with these collars on, you know we can't get very far. And even if we did get them off, how would we get out of the house without someone spotting us and catching us?"
         Marros grins and hums happily to himself as he polishes some silverware. Horkas squints suspiciously at Marros and asks, "Alright. What is it? Why are you acting so happy? Either that polish there is gettin to yer brain or your brain is thinkin thoughts it shouldn't."
         Marros grins even wider and says, "Do you love me?"
          "I swear if you pull out a ring, I will beat you to death with this brush." Horkas points his scrubbing brush at the half-elf, perfectly serious about his threat.
         Marros merely laughs and says, "Well what if I told you I have a plan to get us out of here?"
         "I'd say you are going to get us killed and I want nothing of it. You know how long it took us to get out of those fighting pits to land a cushy job like this? I am not going to throw that all away on some half-baked scheme of yours ya hear me?"
         "Ah but it is fully baked I assure you. I have everything worked out. Just listen." Marros grins and holds his fist up to his collar. There is a slight clicking noise and the collar opens up, allowing him to remove it.
         Horkas blinks and says, "How did you do that? You better put that back on before someone notices!"
         Marros chuckles and snaps the collar back together before revealing a key hidden in his hand. "I stole this from Mistress Asanna earlier. We can get out whenever we want."
         Horkas' eyes open wide as he hisses, "Put that away! You better put it back where you found it before someone finds you with it! You know that we won't get far even if we do have the collars off. They will just catch us and punish us."
         Marros tosses the key up and down a few times before slipping it away. "That would be true and you are right simply removing the collars and running would be a foolish plan, but I have a better one. You see, I overheard the Mistress talking. It seems the drow are preparing for war and all houses are being called on by the Matron Mother to attack Pommeville. That means the house will be empty and so will much of the city. That means we will have the perfect opportunity to slip away and sneak back up to the city!"
          "You are crazy, but that plan does sound fool enough to work. Tell you what, if somehow this does work, I'll come with you to that bar and back up yer story. If there's a bar left after the drow attack that is."
          "That is a bit concerning isn't it. Too bad we won't have a real opportunity to escape until it is too late to warn any-" The end of Marros' sentence is drowned out by the sound of a large explosion followed by someone shouting, "To arms! The house of T'Shani is under attack! The house of K'Wartz comes!"
         Marros grins and says, "Well if that isn't opportunity knocking, I don't know what is."

* * *

          Captain Rhames grumbles as he settles down in his office. He had ordered the civilians to get out of the guardhouse, but already they were returning, not 20 minutes after giving the order. "I really need to get a new job," he says to himself as he dips his quill into ink to fill out some paperwork. People are getting panicky and when they get panicky, bad things happen. Luckily for now most people don't know how bad it could have been, but this Keshrin is still on the loose and she is the only clue to explaining what is going on at the moment. The captain dips his quill into the ink once more, filling out his name on the form then adding his seal to it. "Hey! Boothe!" he calls out.
          A halfling guardsman slips into the room and asks, "Yes captain?"
          Captain Rhames holds out the form and says, "See that this message is delivered to the city right away please."
          The halfling takes the message, says "Right away sir," then runs off.
          "I hope this doesn't cause more panic," Captain Rhames says to himself, knowing full well that the chances of that are slim.

* * *

          It is afternoon and throughout the city, town criers are all giving the same announcement. "Hear ye! Hear ye! By order of Captain James Rhames, in accordance to Pommeville law, all able-bodied weapon and spell permit carrying citizens are ordered to report to the guardhouse immeadiately. Those who do not report to duty will lose their permit and may be imprisoned. Weapon and spell permit carrying visitors to our city are also required to report for duty, however if they so choose, they may leave the city limits, sans permits..."
          Alassra and Gyron are in the apothecary as usual. As they hear the announcment, they get ready to leave. "I am heading out to the guardhouse Nilo!" Alassra calls out from the door.
          Nilo waves and says, "Of course, of course. You go do what you have to do."
          "Thank you Nilo. I do hate leaving you short handed." Alassra turns and makes a quick mental checklist to make sure she is not forgetting anything. Once satisfied, she hurries to the guardhouse with Gyron.
          Ten minutes later they arrive at the guardhouse. Many have already assembled (most of which were previously relaxing at the Cloak and Dagger Inn across the street). Many more are still coming. Captain Rhames is standing atop a podium. "Everyone get closer now, there will be lots coming and everyone needs to hear this!" He shouts from the top of the podium. While few could manage to look professional standing on instead of behind a podium, he is managing magnificently. Once the number of people approaching seems to slow down, he begins talking. "Alright, listen carefully everyone. We have ourselves a situation. You all know of course about the writing in the sky, well it seems its a warning from Ankev." There is a bit of murmering amongst the crowd.
          "What's more, he may possibly be responsible for an attempted poisoning of our city's poison supply. Since we currently have no idea what this staff is that he is looking for, we can assume an attack in the near future." As he is talking, there is a shout from atop the guardhouse. The crowd looks up to see Athlon and Takashi standing there. "Oy! Up here!" Athlon shouts as Takashi stands silently. "I think I know what the staff is!"
          Captain Rhames grumbles and rubs his temples as he glances up at the pair. He shouts up and says, "Alright, what is it? Before you say anything I want you to know that it is a crime to spread false rumors."
          Athlon shakes his head and says, "No no, this is about the other night. You were there. You know that lady that we saw in the sewers?"
          The captain nods and says, "What of it?" The crowd simply watches in silence, their heads going back and forth between the speakers as if they were players in a tennis match.
          "Well, she had a stick didn't she? It is probably the one he is looking for! Oh and I did some research about her, I think I know what she is too!"
          "Well out with it then!" the captain shouts back up to them.
          "Takashi and I think she's a succubus!" The crowd starts murmuring again.
          The captain sighs and says, "Alright everyone, calm down. Calm down. I doubt our fair city has any sort of demon problem, but all the same, we should try and find this lass if she is still in the city. The last time she was seen, she was naked with red hair, wings and a stick in her hand. We can probably assume she won't be naked if you find her, but she is still a dangerous character to deal with. She must be found. Also, some of you folks may have seen some guys wandering around town asking about an elven lass. I need to have a chat with the same one so if you could direct her my way that would be excellent.
          "So, I have three orders for you all. Find the supposed succubus especially her alleged stick, find the elf, and prepare for possible attack. That is all!"
          The crowd all starts trying to shout questions to the captain but he waves them away. "Sorry fellas, but that is about all the information I have for you all. Get going. Oh and you might want to get in groups, if we do have a succubus on our hands, she will be a dangerous beasty."
          Alassra quickly excuses herself and heads off alone to the shop, wanting to avoid the mass exodus as much as possible. About halfway there, she notices a young child sitting on the side of the street, clutching his body tightly and crying miserably. Alassra hesitates but walks over to see what may be the problem. "Excuse me... do you need help?"
          He sniffles, "It hurts! I want my mommy!" He then screams louder, clutching his chest for a moment before suddenly becoming silent, his face buried in his arms.
          "Where is your Mommy?" Alassra asks.
          He doesn't answer.
          Alassra steps closer to the boy. His ragged clothes and generally filthy appearance make it obvious that he is probably a street urchin. "Do you have somewhere to go?" She asks.
          He doesn't respond.
          "Are you hungry?"
          He still doesn't respond.
          Alassra glances about to see if there is a guard nearby, but all of them are still at the meeting. Finally, she holds out her hand, "Why don't you come with me?"
          The boy suddenly jolts up, glaring at Alassra with yellow eyes for a split second before biting her hand! Shocked, Alassra pulls her hand away, which is now bleeding. She turns away and runs back to the shop. The boy leaps to his feet and chases after her, attempting to bite her again. As she gets to the apothecary door, he is hot on her heels, snarling the whole way.
          Alassra turns around in front of the door and whispers a quick incantation at the little boy. Unfortunately, it has no effect as he leaps at her! Dudging aside, she luckily manages to avoid the bite this time. He seems to have no fear whatsoever as he snarls and gnashes at Alassra. Though he is small, she is barely able to keep him away from biting her.
          Alassra slips through the apothecary door in an attempt to escape, but he follows, attempting to take a bite out of her arm in the process. She manages to yank her arm away in time and shove the door shut, slamming down on his upper torso. Stuck in the door, he growls and gnashes in her direction.
          Nilo says, "Back so soo-" then pauses mid question as he notices the wild, yellow-eyed boy in the door.
          Alassra releases the door and readies her staff as the boy charges at her. She jams the wood deep into his mouth, striking him in the face as well. He barely seems to notice.
          She swings again, but this time he manages to bite down on her fingers, sinking down to the bone. She quickly kicks him back and strikes him in the head with her staff again. It seems to hurt him about as much as a pillow would. Alassra sighs and says, "I guess you leave me with no choice." She lowers her staff to prepare an incantation. With her defenses down, he easily takes a bite out of her arm. Clenching her teeth, Alassra manages to finish the incantation despite the pain, sending three bolts of magical energy into the boy and knocking him off of her arm. He hits the ground, unmoving. Alassra moves to the body to check for a pulse. There is none.
          Nilo gasps, "What is going on?! You are hurt!"
          As the adrenaline slowly drains from her body, the realization of what has just happened hits Alassra. She holds back fearful tears as she says, "I have been bit... he had yellow eyes."
          Nilo gasps as he looks at Alassra's bleeding hands and arms. "What? We must have you treated at once! Quickly, let's wrap this boy up to make sure he doesn't bite anyone else!"
          Alassra hurries to find some cloth as she says, "I think he's dead..."
          "And I thought that rat was dead! Hurry now!"
          Alassra quickly finds a large cloth shipping sack and some rope. Using the rope and cloth sack, she quickly binds the boy, making sure he cannot move. Nilo says, "Good, now we must hurry to the temple!"
          The two rush off to the temple of Aphrodite. There are many priests and priestesses about, but they notice priestess Agalia among them, treating a man with a broken arm. She prays over the arm, holy energy coating it the whole while. Soon it is as good as new. She looks up and notices the pair, "Oh hello again!" She says as she finishes up her chant. She looks slightly embarassed as she says, "I am sorry, what was your name again?"
          "I am Alassra and this is Nilo."
          "Ah yes that's right. Sorry it has been a busy day." She glances at Alassra's arm and says, "My my. What did all that?"
          Alassra quickly explains about the boy and how he had yellow eyes much like the rat that had bitten Nilo earlier. The priestess winces a bit and says, "I am sorry, really I am, but like I said, I can only treat that once today. I simply don't have enough energy to do it again. Tell you what," she pauses and grabs a quill, ink and parchment from a nearby desk. Scribbling a quick message onto the parchment, she says, "Take this to the temple of Hades. Give it to one of the acolytes and say it is from Agalia for Dimitri. Thats about all I can do for you, sorry."
          Alassra nods, "I understand. Thank you for your time."
          "Not at all. Good luck!"
          Alassra bows politely and waves before turning with Nilo to go to the temple of Hades. It is about a 20 minute walk from the temple of Aphrodite to the temple of Hades, a route which passes the apothecary along the way. As they pass by, Gyron is waiting outside and notices the pair passing. "What is going on?" He asks.
          Nilo says, "No time for words now, we must make haste to the temple of Hades."
          Gyron nods and accompanies the pair. The temple of Hades is very different from the temple of Aphrodite. Gone are all the happy people in skimpy white clothing. Instead, everyone here is quite grim and serious, wearing all black of course. The temple itself is surrounded by a graveyard with marvelous tombs dedicated to powerful dead families. The oppressive air almost seems to silence the busy city around it.
          As they approach the temple an acolyte greets (though perhaps "greet" is too strong of a word) Alassra and Nilo at the entrance, his face as dead expressionless as stone. "May I help you?"
          Alassra quickly hands over the note she had recieved from the priestess of Aphrodite. "This is for Dimitri from Agalia."
          The acolyte glances it over and nods. "Wait here."
          Soon he returns and says, "Father Petrov will see you. Follow me." Without waiting, the acolyte turns away and walks into the temple. After walking through some halls, the acolyte leads everyone down a dark set of stairs which end in a strong iron door. The acolyte turns to the group and says, "You are to treat Lord Petrov with the utmost respect. This means you speak only when spoken to, you leave only when dismissed, and, most important of all, you do not bring any lights into this room. This room is Father Petrov's sanctum. It is not to be violated by light. When I open this door, you will step inside and wait until I close the door. Once it is fully closed, you may then open the inner door and meet Father Petrov."
          The acolyte once again doesn't wait for a responce. He simply opens the door and ushers everyone in. He then closes the door behind them, leaving the three in a small, dark hall with a door on either side. The darkness is increadible. Even Alassra's sensitive elven eyes can find no hint of light. Running their hands along the wall, the three make their way to the opposite door and after some fumbling, manage to open it. If possible, the following room seems to be even darker. It is as if the darkness within the following room is swallowing any memories of light from the previous hall. There is a slight chill to the air, though all is still and silent once the echoes of the closing door subside. One can almost hear flecks of dust falling to the ground. Finally, from within the darkness, a voice calls out. "So Agalia sent you. She must like you or she would have never sent you to me directly. I can provide the series of rituals detailed in this letter which will cure you. However you seem low on funds. The reagents and energy required do not come cheaply, nor are you a member of my temple. Tell me, what have you to offer?"


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