The Chronicles of Kulgar Hakonson

AFTERMATH (PART 1) AFTERMATH (PART 2) TUNICIANS IN REL MORD DISCORD CHAPTER 15: SEEDS OF DISCONTENT PICKING UP THE PIECES SCARTUU! SPITE & RESPITE

Kulgar Tharrison Walc Circh Othello Strystynne Merrill

Aftermath (Part 1) [Wednesday 05 August 1998] [p450-451]

09 Jan 08 (CY 584): Late Morning cont: Overcast (foreboding clouds). Servant girls begin bringing food and wine into the inn room where the party is recovering.  Kul and Othello carefully remove Walc's armor, while Thar leaves to head home and check on Circh and the others at the house. He passes a young man [the leech] in the hallway outside the room. The young leech enters and Kul directs him over to Walc. As he begins to treat Walc, Merrill begins to recover her senses. She immediately begins to help the leech, who appears to be very inexperienced.

While crossing through the city, Thar encounters a group of five mounted men, just outside of the central square, who have apparently just arrived in the city. One is a Nyrondian messenger returning with the latest news of the war. The messenger inquires about the damage to the city and the King's well-being. Thar briefly explains the recent events, but admits that he doesn't know if the King survived the disaster. The messenger has come to deliver the news that Dyvers is under siege! An enemy army is marching upon Greyhawk. "If Greyhawk falls," he says, "then all is lost."

Thar eventually arrives at home. He finds that everyone is fine and the house has suffered only very minor damage following the earthquake. He is joined by Circh, Berlundtul, Dalfholt, and Gram, and the house servants quickly prepare everything for their immediate departure. Thar explains everything to the others enroute. Circh asks if the party will be leaving the city immediately...noting that Tharrison would make the wise decision, while Kulgar would probably resist and stubbornly hang around for more [hmmph!]. Thar agrees that they should leave as soon as possible. He decides to make a side trip to the family physician's house on the way back, but arrives to find Taquore's home extremely busy and is initially told by the physician himself to wait his turn. However, after learning Thar's identity (as a member of the Perith family) Taquore agrees to follow immediately.

Meanwhile, back at the inn, the young leech finally finishes with Walc and asks Kulgar if he needs treatment. Kul tells him that he's done enough and suggests that he go back outside to help the other victims, but grabs a few of the man's bandages as he passes by. The leech gets to door, but then turns and mentions something about a fee...Kul (who has very little money and even less patience by now) only glares at him and the man slinks out through the door. Kul then bandages his own wounds and then proceeds to drink wine and eat.

Thar and company eventually arrive at the inn and pass the unhappy leech in the hall as they enter the room. Taquore immediately moves to Walc's side and begins to assess the damage. He carefully unwraps one of Merrill's bandages on Walc's arm and notes her use of Garla Weed on the wound. "Very clever", he remarks. As Taquore and Merrill tend to Walc, Thar speaks quietly with Strys. He compliments her on her success during the gnoll battle. She smiles. "I was so scared", she admits.

After finishing with Walc, Taquore and Merrill speak. Taquore again mentions her creative (yet unconventional) use of Garla Weed and Merrill explains that it is all she had with her. Merrill then treats her own (minor) wounds as Taquore talks with Thar. They discuss Thar's brother, Siserhel, who is off on a trading excursion in the area of the Bandit Kingdoms. Money is never mentioned, as the Perith estate will be "billed" later for Taquore's services. The physician finally leaves and Kulgar, who has been keeping his distance, drinking wine in the corner, finally relaxes a bit. He doesn't trust leeches...or physicians either, for that matter.

Evening: The party agrees to divide into three separate rooms. Kul, Merrill, and Othello stay in first room with Walc, while Thar, Circh, and Strys move to another room just next door. Berlundtul and Dalfholt will occupy a third room. Everyone finally turns in to get some much needed rest.

10 Jan 08: Pre-Dawn: [Kul's 26th birthday] Kul is awakened by Walc's groaning and muttering. He lights a candle as Merrill and Othello rush to Walc's side. Merrill observes that Walc is very feverish, so Kul opens a window to let in the cold winter air. While Merrill tries to treat Walc, Kul realizes that he cannot understand any of Walc's mutterings. He seems to be speaking in his native tongue of Lulean. Kul looks closer and finally notices that Walc is no longer wearing the enchanted silver pendant given to him by Sohaulavv, the Host of Sulward on 16 Dec 08. It must have been lost during the disaster! Kul points out the absence of the pendant to Othello and then walks to the window to gaze outside. It is overcast and very dark...no way to search tonight. He resolves to find the pendant for Walc in the morning at first light and tries to go back to sleep.

Morning: Kul raps upon Thar's door and then enters. He explains the situation to Thar, Circh, and Strys and suggests that they all go out searching for the missing pendant. They prepare to leave and also enlist the aid of Othello and Berlundtul. Merrill and Dalfholt will both remain at the inn to care for Walc. Kul indicates to Berlundtul to bring an article of Walc's clothing. Berlundtul returns with an extra boot and Kul lets Gram sniff the boot hoping that the dog will be able to use Walc's scent to locate the lost pendant.

The search party leaves and backtracks along the same route that Thar followed when they left the collapsed council chamber. They first investigate the scene of the gnoll battle, but find nothing. They then move on to the square and proceed to spread out. There are city guards stationed all around the perimeter of the square and a guard immediately approaches Kul to ask what he's doing. Kul identifies himself as one of the "dragon-slayers" and explains his purpose truthfully, but only refers to the pendant as an "item of personal value". As the guard begins to explain that no-one is allowed within the square, another guard approaches. After learning of Kul's identity, the second guard sides with Kul. The two guards, of apparently equal rank, begin to argue and Kul begins to get a little irritated.

Meanwhile, as Kul unwittingly acts as a diversion, the others keep on searching. Thar sees Circh pick up something. She briefly inspects it, but then discards it and moves on. Thar, however, decides that it deserves closer inspection, so he casually strolls to the spot. A third guard has now arrived on the scene and berates the other two for not carrying out their duties. He seems to be some kind of sergeant or officer. As the sergeant turns to Kul and informs him that he must move on, Kul sees from the corner of his eye that Thar has picked something up and stashed it in his bag. He gambles that Thar has found the pendant and decides to obey the guard's order. Kul calls Gram to his side and then whispers to a worried looking Berlundtul that he thinks they may have found what they came for.

The party regroups and hastily leaves the square. Finally, away from the square, Thar reveals the item. It is fused and mutilated, but it is most definitely the silver pendant. Some very distinguishing marks remain on it's surface and the overall general shape identifies it as the genuine article. Thar carefully bends the fused chain and puts the pendant around his neck. He talks to Kul in common, but the pendant appears to have lost it's magical powers. Oh-oh!

Aftermath (Part 2) [Thursday 20 August 1998] [p452-453] ["Lefty" Fraz broke his right hand playing frisbee on 16 Aug 98.] ["Gimpy" Steve is still recovering from an operation on his foot.]

10 Jan 08 cont: Thar gives the ruined silver pendant to Berlundtul on the way back to the Wagon Wheel Inn. The party soon arrives at the inn and climbs the stairs to check on Walc. As before, he is awake but completely insensible. He remains feverish and continues to mumble and groan.

Thar & Kul decide to seek out Lianar, the elven sheriff that they met in the council chamber on 09 Jan 08. Thar, in particular, wants to ask the elf about the three legendary staves (Prism, Mirror, and Lens), as described by Tboshe on 29 Oct 08. He asks the innkeeper about Lianar. The innkeeper has never heard of him, but explains that he would probably be a guest with the local nobility in one of three villages outside of the town: Pereterd, Pererad, or Peredith.

Thar finds Circh and informs her of the plan to search for Lianar. A baffled Circh asks the "why" of every detail. Tharrison's answers are a little too brief for her liking and when he asks if she would like to come along she declines, sounding annoyed. Strys decides to tag along and asks if Circh is always that angry. Kul jokes that Circh appears to be in a good mood today! Gram joins them as they descend the stairs and exit the inn. They decide to take their horses since there may be a lot of ground to cover.

Thar & Kul decide to start in the village of Pereterd and the party rides across town (avoiding the ruined square) towards the gate. They soon come upon a city guardsman and Thar dismounts to ask him about Lianar. The friendly guard doesn't know him by name, but remembers seeing an elf coming and going from the village of Pererad. The guard also reveals that the King of Nyrond survived the disaster unharmed.

Ride onward through city. The streets are cluttered with rubble and many covered bodies. The party approaches the gate to find many soldiers guarding the entrance. A soldier asks Thar if he is planning to return. Thar answers yes and the soldier asks his name. Thar answers again and the soldiers then let the party pass. [GM's note: The guards are being very selective of who re-enters the city. This guard would have recognized the group upon their return and allowed re-entry. Security has been increased at the gates since the disaster.]

On road, the party comes upon the first manor of Pererad. The grounds surrounding the manor are covered by about a foot of snow. The party approaches and are hailed by three guards. They seem friendly enough, but are obviously cold as they are stamping their feet and moving about in their attempts to remain warm. Thar asks if an elven sheriff happens to be a guest at the manor, but they know nothing.

Continue on to next manor: Two guards here. Thar asks if the lord of this manor is entertaining visiting dignitaries for the Council of Nations. "Who are you?", is the first guard's terse reply . Thar identifies himself and explains that he is searching for an elven sheriff who is visiting Rel Mord. The guard then asks if Lord Otasmir is expecting them and Thar explains that he is not expected and reiterates that he is searching for the elven sheriff. As Thar is speaking, the second guard leans closer to the first and points out Thar's apparent elven features. He surmises that Thar must be an associate of the elf. The second guard explains that this is the house of lord merchant Otasmir and confirms that Lianar is indeed staying here. He escorts the party to the house where he knocks on the door. A servant answers and, after a brief explanation, the party is welcomed in. The servant asks that Gram remain outside, however.

After a brief wait, Lianar enters and greets Thar & Kul warmly. He looks fine and is apparently unhurt. He is aware of the latest news of Dyvers and Greyhawk. Lianar leads them to a more comfortable room where the conversation continues. Thar begins in Common, but soon switches to Elven as he describes the legendary staves and asks about scholars who may have more info. Lianar names two scholars in the Silverwood, Shol-plela and Shol-shilin ("shol" is elven title for scholar) who may know more about the staves. During all this, Kul samples wine while Strys, fascinated by the elven language, listens intently. A little too intently, perhaps, as she is leaning her head between them and glancing back and forth from elf to half-elf during the exchange. Thar notes that Lianar is somewhat uncomfortable with Strys' rather strange behavior, so he gently pulls her back to his side.

The conversation continues as they discuss the gnoll battle. Both question how a stray band of gnolls could possibly have approached and infiltrated the city without being spotted or, apparently, leaving any tracks or other evidence of their passing outside of the city. Lianar admits that he was not involved in the gnoll battle (though he did participate in the dragon battle when Walc rallied the nearby council members) and can only report what he has heard from others. The gnoll battle seems to have been confined to just a small area of the city, although Thar and Kul may never actually be certain of this. Thar also mentions that Kulgar was largely responsible for spearheading the defense against the gnoll attack.

As they conclude their conversation, Thar mentions Walc's condition, but also states that he expects that Walc will recover in time, as he is in the care of some very capable folks. Lianar is very surprised and concerned by this news. The party bids farewell to the elf and leaves.

Outside, overcast. As the party mounts up and rides back toward the city, Strys repeats an elven sentence ("Do you find it unusual that an army of gnolls entered the city of Rel Mord unnoticed?") that she heard during the conversation. Kul rolls his eyes, while Thar is silently amused and surprised. He asks if she knows the meaning of the sentence and she admits that she understands only a small part of it. Thar attempts to explain the translation to her. He then fills in Kul about the gnoll discussion and explains that Lianar provided some info about elven scholars.

The party returns again to the inn where they join Circh in the common room. Thar orders a mead for Strys and four ales for the rest of the group (two for Kul). Strys tries the mead, but doesn't like it much, so Thar switches it with Kul's second ale. Kul and Thar decide that the time has come for a group meeting to discuss their next plan of action. They all pick up their drinks and head for the stairs.

Tunicians in Rel Mord [Friday 23 October 1998] [p454-458] [The GM discovers a notation indicating that the first game year was actually 576.]

10 Jan 08 cont: Kul, Thar, Circh and Strys enter the room. Kul calls together a group meeting. Thar suggests that introductions are in order, so Kul hastily introduces Merrill to Othello and Strys.

Kul begins by asking Merrill how and why she came all the way here alone. Merrill explains that she saw Kul in a vision in a pond near her home. She then rode from home for seven months on horseback to warn Kul of the danger. Kul and Thar are somewhat dumbfounded that she could ride so far through such a war-torn land. Kul explains to her that she has really come into the middle of things here. He suggests that she and Circh flee to a safe haven. Circh eyes him carefully and silently, her eyes narrowing, but she does not respond.

The meeting continues as Kul recites what he remembers of the Host's readings ["The Four Winds"] back on 16 Dec 08. Much discussion of Disciples, Slayers, Iuz and where to go next follows. How is it that one becomes a Slayer, Kul wonders? He remembers their brief conversations with Bargoa and Bubo-Oto. Kul wonders aloud how Strys could have come to be a Slayer. Kul believed that to become a Slayer, one must have defeated Magic, Mystical, and Mundane opponents, but Strys is obviously very young and inexperienced. Did she really go through all of that? Strys, who is actually not paying very close attention to the conversation, is quite taken aback by Kul's direct questions. She obviously has no idea why or how she has become a Slayer. Thar attempts to explain his and Kulgar's understanding of what it takes to become a slayer. They ask Merrill what she knows about Slayers and she explains that a Slayer is a person who will never be at a disadvantage in battle. She further explains that a Slayer appears whenever one is needed. They are apparently "created" to maintain a balance between the powers of good and evil. Kul is still not quite satisfied by these vague answers. Perhaps Slayers are created by an act of divine intervention.

Thar asks Merrill if she is willing to help them in their cause. Kul rolls his eyes and groans as he poses the question. She agrees to help and Thar begins by asking her about the Prism Staff. However, before they get very far a loud crash is heard from downstairs. Kul immediately draws Uthael and moves towards the door, passing Thar as the half-elf moves towards the window. Looking out over the front of the inn, Thar sees a young man [Skaen] in chainmail being thrown outward from the front door of the building. He also notices a nargison whip flying from the man's hand. To everyone's surprise, Thar suddenly leaps out of the window!

Strys cries out in alarm, "Sarnai!", the elfin word for mentor or teacher. Circh opens the door to the hall and Kul runs right through, headed downstairs, sword in hand.

Thar lands and rolls with Asterlain in hand. A large, hulking, tunician with a unibrow emerges from the inn. "Unibrow" is half-bald and clean-shaven. He wields a double-edged, modified sword. Thar strikes "Unibrow" square in the forehead [critical] and the tunician is thrown off his feet, landing on his back.

Kul, meanwhile, enters the common room and finds a tunician holding the innkeeper, Rimish, roughly by his tunic. Kul orders the tunician to release the man. The tunician pushes the innkeeper away, knocking him to the floor and then, in one smooth motion, he turns towards Kul and swiftly fires a small chakram at the barbarian. Kul is nicked by the chakram [2 points] and then leaps at the man striking him with Uthael [12].

Thar walks towards the inn and strikes "Unibrow" in the temple, killing the tunician as he walks over him. He enters the building and asks Kul if he needs help. Kul replies with a curt "No", so Thar stands by. The young nargison guard has recovered and followed Thar into the inn. Thar perceives that the young guard, apparently a corporal, is rather green. The guard yells to the tunician, "Hey! If you're going to pick a fight, you'd better be prepared to finish it!",  but he then decides to follows Thar's example and also stands by as the fight continues.

"Chakram" attacks Kul with a dagger in each hand. Kul ducks, but receives a dagger in the neck. The weapon fails to penetrate the skin, though, and remains lodged in Kul's leather collar. Just then, Circh enters the room with shortsword in hand and screams as she sees a dagger sticking out from Kul's neck. She charges forward just as Kul thrusts with Uthael [14] and then leaps back. He crashes into Circh, who in turn falls backwards into Strys who has descended the stairs right behind her. The two women go down in a heap, while Kul easily remains on his feet.

Kul steps forward and hacks at "Chakram" again striking him [10], but the tunician drops to one knee and nicks Kul in the inner thigh with a dagger. "Chakram" tries to flip Kul over, but the barbarian jumps upwards onto the bar counter. He pulls the dagger loose from his collar and as "Chakram" rises Kul kicks him in the jaw sending him down to the floor.

Circh and Strys untangle themselves and the patrons that have remained in the room applaud Thar and Kul's victory. It seems that they are not too fond of the tunicians. Rimish is still on the floor. Kul tells him to get up and jumps down from the bar. Thar retrieves "Unibrow's" weapon and cuts loose a pouch from his belt.

Kul takes many daggers and chakrams from "Chakram" and gives the collection to Thar. Circh approaches Kul, frantic over what she thinks is a severe neck wound. Kul tells her to calm down...he is fine. The dagger never penetrated his skin. He suggests that she stay out of the way, as he generally needs a lot of room to move around during these situations. She retorts that he is too big and they argue back and forth for a bit.

Meanwhile, Thar talks in code with the young guard. His name is Skaen. He is only passing through searching for a ferry to T.R. 907. The tunicians followed him in and started trouble. Thar gently suggests that he should conceal his whip and Skaen responds by shifting it out of view beneath his cloak.

Thar looks in "Unibrow's" pouch and discovers about 50 sp. He gives the entire pouch of coins to the innkeeper for his damages and troubles. Rimish is quite grateful and claims to have a short memory, meaning he will cover up their involvement if any questions are asked about the incident.

Skaen asks Thar his name and straightens with respect after hearing Thar's response. Thar asks him not to repeat it to anyone, though. Thar is basically AWOL since fleeing from the ambush at T.R. 071 and would prefer to keep his whereabouts secret for now.

Thar finishes off "Chakram", who has been lying on the floor unconscious, and the party again makes their way back upstairs. Thar passes Strys as he enters the room and she asks him about Skaen's search for a ferry. Apparently, she understood part of Thar and Skaen's coded conversation. Thar is very surprised by this, though he manages not to show it. He suggests that they disuss the matter later and they both enter the room.

In the room, Kul examines the contents of "Chakram's" sack. He finds three metal flasks, two rags, a dagger, and a pouch of coins.

The three flasks:
Two tall silver flasks sealed with wax.
One hammered tin flask sealed with cork, but no wax. It appears to contain oil.
The pouch contains 7 gp, 62 sp, and 19 cp.

Meanwhile, Kul examines the legendary artifacts [attempting to detect magic upon them].

Crown: non magic [42] silver with gold trim ornamentation.
Scepter: non magic [90] mace shaped silver scepter with gold trim.

After completing the reading, she mentions that the poem sounds better if read aloud in the original Grohmish and, at Kul and Thar's request, she reads it again in the original language. However, Thar and Kul can make no connection between the poem and the operation of the staff. Merrill examines the staff also. She holds the staff, inhales deeply through her nose and then concentrates as she exhales through her nose. This time her eyes remain closed. Her conclusion, to Thar and Kul's surprise, is that the staff is normal. There appears to be no magical power contained within it. Kul and Thar continue to theorize about it's supposed power...perhaps the three legendary staves (Prism, Mirror, and Lens) must be used in unison somehow (maybe to focus and direct a ray of light?) for their power to be realized.

They see through the window that four city guards have arrived. Through the thin floorboards they hear fragments of the guard's conversation with Rimish. The innkeeper explains that the now dead tunicians caused some trouble, picking on a patron. Two passing swordsmen stepped in and killed the tunicians. Rimish keeps his word, covering up Kul and Thar's involvement, as do the few patrons that witnessed the fight. The guards, for their part, don't seem too broken up about two dead tunicians. They finally leave [about 20 mins later] after gabbing a bit with Rimish.

Thar takes the scroll back from Merrill. He surreptitiously holds the staff and recites the poem. Circh and Kul both become very nervous. Circh quickly exits the room, while Kul edges towards the door, unsettled by all this sorcery and worried about the potentially dangerous results of Thar's actions. Thar finishes before Kul can exit, but nothing happens. He finally returns the scroll into it's compartment and then puts the staff away into his bag. Both he and Kul remained stymied as to the operation and purpose of the Prism Staff.

It is now, late afternoon, so Kul suggests that Merrill and Othello take a break and get some food, since they have been looking after Walc constantly. Merrill goes downstairs, but Othello insists on staying and even refuses Kul's offer to send up food. Kul decides to get some food himself and heads downstairs.

Thar and Strys discuss the nargison guard's cant. Strys somehow understood that Skaen was searching for a ferry, though she actually doesn't understand how. She apparently has an interesting talent of picking up languages. Thar explains to her the purpose of the guard's secret code. He tells her that she is a very remarkable person. He is determined to build up her self-confidence.

Meanwhile, Kul enters the common room and Rimish fills him in on his conversation with the city guards. Kul thanks him for his discretion. He asks for food and receives two bowls of venison stew, on the house. He also asks that a couple more bowls be sent up to Thar and Strys. The barmaid soon delivers two bowls of the stew to Thar, all courtesy of the innkeeper.

Kul eats his stew and overhears Circh and Merrill talking about him. Circh is apparently venting her frustration at Kul's earlier words, when he suggested that she and Merrill should leave to find a safe haven. Merrill believes that Kul is only concerned for them and suggests that Circh talk to him about it. After a while, Circh rises and walks across the room. However, instead of approaching Kul, she heads to the door and leaves the inn. Kul is concerned....he wants everyone to stay nearby and doesn't like the thought of folks wandering around unescorted. He asks Merrill where Circh is going, but she doesn't know.

Kul returns upstairs somewhat exasperated. He looks out through the window for Circh, but she is nowhere in sight. Footprints in the snow show her direction, though. Thar leaves to find Circh. He follows her prints only a short way down the street and soon finds her drinking in the common room of the Inn of the Lady's Slipper. Circh buys him a drink and they have a heart to heart discussion about Kul. She vents her frustrations. Why must Kul be so difficult? She wonders why Thar and Merrill are Kul's blood brother and sister, but she is not. She's known Kul a long time, but she feels left out. She wonders why Kul seems to exclude her and begins to cry. Thar tries to explain what he believes is Kul's point of view to her. He points out that it is not realistically possible for Kul to be her brother and her romantic interest at the same time. Therefore, if she were to become his sister, that would preclude any possible romanticism of their relationship. He also expresses that critical events seem to center around Kul. Sometimes, the best that the rest of them can do is simply stand by him and help in any way they can.

Thar sympathizes with Circh's situation, as he too feels left out. He attempts to further explain Kul's motivations. Thar states that he thinks that they may not be coming back from this adventure, and he believes that Kul, sharing this feeling, just wanted to ensure that Circh remained alive. Circh can't believe her ears! Thar and Kul can't seriously be entering into this thinking that they might not return! She notes that she is not sure that she would like to live in a world where she might not ever see them again. Thar is actually very touched to hear this, though he keeps this to himself. In response, Thar tries to express his perception of his own and Circh's place within the group, and the contributions that they bring to the events unfolding around them.

"Strys is a Slayer," he expains. "Young, but a Slayer none-the-less. Kulgar, in addition to being a Slayer, is very likely one of the greatest warriors to walk the land in at least a few generations. Othello, in addition to being a Slayer, has spiritual connections, and powers that we cannot understand. Walc, in addition to being a Slayer, has a god on his side. Merrill is a witch. She can see things from afar, and she can affect things in ways that we cannot understand. Circh, you and I are just people. We are not Slayers. We have no connections to the supernatural. We are just people. And we're going into a fray that clearly lies beyond the realm of "just people". That's why I say that there is a fair likelihood that we may not return from this, and I suspect that Kulgar sees that too. He was only trying to see to it that you continue to live."

Circh recovers a bit and Thar suggests that they return to the Wagon Wheel. She gives him a kiss on the jaw and Thar hugs her warmly. They walk back towards the inn. Thar leads her the long way so that they can talk of other things. He purposely steers the conversation toward lighter subjects in an attempt to lighten her mood. His plan seems to work well. Of course it helps that Circh is already somewhat inebriated. The half-elf listens as Circh talks a bit about her time in Greyhawkand Crossport. They also discuss Strys. Thar explains that Strys has been both mentally and physically abused since she was a young child. She may be a Slayer, but because of her young age and lack of experience, she is not as capable as Circh is. Strys will need quite a bit of help, and Thar intends to do what he can to make sure that she survives. Circh teases Thar a bit about Strys's obvious devotion to the half-elf guard. They arrive back at the the Wagon Wheel and enter. They order ale and join Strys at a table in a dark corner of the room. Circh is quite drunk now.

Meanwhile, Kul approaches Merrill, who has returned to the room and is once again looking after Walc. He apologizes to her for his words earlier and explains that he is very concerned for her safety. She has put herself at great risk by coming all the way out here. Merrill responds by saying, "You were in danger. Of course I would help you - you are my blood-brother". She further explains that she is not offended by his words and is touched by his concern. Kul is actually a bit surprised by how seriously she seems to take their blood-relationship. He realizes then that she most likely has no other family besides himself. During their brief conversation, he notices that she wears around her neck a leather thong and tied to this thong is a braided lock of hair. Woven into this lock of hair are beads, feathers, dried flowers, herbs and grains.  The thong is just long enough that the lock of braided hair rests over her heart. Kul remembers seeing this thong when he and Thar last met her on their way out to Olna in search of Walc. He wonders now as to the significance of it. Could it be his hair that is tied to the thong?

Discord [Friday 30 October 1998] [p459-464]

11 Jan 08: Morning: Cloudy and snowing. Kul and Thar decide to run some errands while they wait for Walc to recover. They first stop at a nearby tailor's shop. The tailor happens to have some clothes to fit Kul; a thick, brown cotton tunic, one pair of black pants, and one pair of brown pants. Kul haggles a bit with the tailor and spends 51 sp. They then decide to mount up and ride out to the Perith house, where Thar picks up some parchment and ink. They then return to the Wagon Wheel Inn.

Thar sits and writes a series of notes to his mentor, Colonel Selewict. The single letter on each note indicates the order of the notes and also who they are from (Wilton).
 

Kul orders food for the both of them. Kul eats his meal while Thar is busy writing and then goes upstairs to check on Walc's condition.

Upon entering the room, he finds that Walc is awake and drinking herbal tea, though he is still laying on his belly. Merrill is still here caring for him. Othello is sleeping in the corner. Kul talks with Walc. He doesn't seem remember much of the disaster, though. Kul tells him that the pendant has been ruined, but Walc has no memory of the pendant either.

Kul leaves Walc to finish his tea and returns to the common room. Thar is done writing and is eating his meal. Kul orders ale for the both of them. Strys and Merrill arrive and join them. Kul asks Merrill about her horse. The horse was apparently left just outside of the central square. Kul surmises that it is probably lost now.

Afternoon: Skaen enters the inn and approaches the group. He greets Thar and Thar replies with, "Sit". The two guards speak in code. To the others present they seem to be talking about the costs of all the damages in the city and the long financial recovery ahead. Skaen actually explains that the ferryman, Hiwside, has been missing since the disaster. (A nargison ferryman is typically a guard trained in whip, but usually doesn't carry one.) He will now be forced to travel overland to Mithat to secure his passage southward to the isles. Thar quickly writes a letter of passage and seals it with his Perith family ring seal. He instructs Skaen to bring this letter to the Perith house in Rel Mord. The letter will allow Skaen to travel to Sulward by Perith ship. Thar also gives him the pack of papers. Thar tells the young guard to deliver the papers to Colonel Selewict. If he is unable to deliver them himself, he must disseminate them so that they will reach Selewict. Thar explains that he will be very put out if the papers do not get to the Colonel. Skaen accepts his mission and leaves.

Thar and Strys chat a bit. Thar asks if Strys was able to understand any of the guard's cant during the conversation with Skaen, but Strys admits that she was not paying attention. The converstaion shifts and Strys remarks at how warm it must be on her isle. Thar realizes that Strys needs some warmer clothes, so they plan to go out to the tailor shop again. But first, Kul and Thar drink another round. Just before leaving they hear a loud bump from upstairs. They decide to ignore it and rise to leave. Merrill decides to stay behind.

Kul, Thar and Strys exit the inn. About six inches of snow has accumulated on the ground. They return to the tailor's shop where Strys picks out a rabbit fur cloak, a pair of boots, and 2 tunics, all in masculine colors. The total comes to 357 sp. Thar tries to talk the tailor down to 340 and they finally agree on 342. Strys thanks Thar, referring to him as "Sarnai" again. Kul overhears this and thinks that it is the elfin version of "Tharrison". The barbarian exits before Thar is given the chance to explain, so the half-elf just shrugs off the misunderstanding.

Thar wants to search for the missing ferryman, but they first return to the inn so Strys can drop off her extra tunic. Strys disappears into the inn and Kul suggests to Thar that she should be carrying weapons and wearing her armor, as this has proven to be a somewhat dangerous city. As they both enter the inn, they can hear Circh's angry voice from upstairs yelling, "Don't you touch me!" Thar immediately climbs the stairs to investigate and Kul follows. Thar reaches the top of the stairs and finds Strys standing with her new clothes still in her arms, staring into the room. Through the open door he sees the chaotic scene within.

Circh is standing with her fists clenched. Walc is standing, supported by Berlundtul. Othello, positioned between Dalfholt and Circh, is facing Circh trying to calm her down. Circh points her finger in Merrill's face, yelling at Merrill. Merrill says cooly, "Don't point at me like that." Berlundtul, meanwhile, is attempting to get Walc to lie down and rest. The whole situation is only made worse by the fact that Othello doesn't speak any Baklunish, while Merrill, Walc and the two squires don't speak any Oeridian.

Thar enters the room as Walc tries to calm Circh down. The half-elf slams the door behind him leaving Strys out in the hall and Kul on the stairs. Thar intends to turn Circh and guide her towards the door. He hopes to usher her from the room when Kul opens the door from other side. Circh struggles as Thar takes her by the shoulders. She continues to yell at Merrill, "Look snowflake, I don't know what wind blew you in here, but we don't need your voodoo, and if you get in my way again, I'll melt you!"

Thar easily turns her and says, "Come with me, I need your help." Circh continues to struggle, but Thar succeeds in getting her to the door. Just then, Kul opens the door to find Thar and Circh right in front of him. Kul percieves that Circh and Merrill are at odds and quickly stands aside, allowing Thar and Circh to exit.

Thar and Circh pass a bewildered Strys, still standing in the hall, and descend. From the stairs, Circh spits angrily at Merrill. Some of the spit even makes it past Tharrison's shoulder. While descending, Circh breaks Thar's hold and tries to shove him with little effect. She finally decends and, after kicking a chair in the common room, marches straight towards the front door. Thar initially blocks her path, not wanting her wandering about the city hungover and angry, especially since she is wearing very little and it is steadily snowing out. Circh demands that Thar get out of her way, and he complies figuring that she needs to vent, and the inhuman cold outside may just do her some good after all. He opens the door and she exits. He follows her outside and listens to her rant and rave a bit. Apparently, Merrill told her to be quiet...Noticing at last that it is quite cold out, and that it's snowing, Circh tells Thar to give her his cloak and he complies. He asks her a simple question, and she suddenly drops to her knees and begins crying. Thar is beside himself. He was prepared for screaming, cursing, hitting, and spitting, but not crying. He tries to comfort her, but she pushes him away, so he lets her fight him a bit. After six unsuccessful attempts to console her, she finally gives in and falls into his arms sobbing. Two nearby city guards approach. They are freezing and bored by their post and are very curious. Thar cannot get rid of them.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Kul closes and blocks the door. He is determined to stop this petty bickering and get to the bottom of things. Walc and his squires are arguing loudly. "What the hell is going on?? demands Kul. Only Othello reacts to his bellowing. The bald monk approaches Kul, pointing out that this tactic will not work. Kul tells Othello to guard the door. He instructs the monk not to let Circh back into the room. Thar, yes. Circh, no. Kul percieves that Walc is the apparent cause of all this commotion. Everyone seems to be trying to get him to lie back down, yet he stubbornly refuses. The chaos is made worse by the fact that neither of his squires can speak a bit of Oeridian or Baklunish. Kul approaches Walc in the hopes of quietly talking some sense into him. Just then, Walc pushes Berlundtul away and begins to topple backwards towards a bed. Merrill steps forward to try to stop Walc from falling onto his not yet healed back, but Dalfholt accosts her, blocking her path. The squire actually grabs Merrill roughly by the arm and seems to threaten her a bit. Kul holds out his left hand toward Walc and Walc grabs Kul's arm, stabilizing himself. With his right hand, Kul grabs Dalfholt's collar by the back and pulls him away from Merrill. Dalfholt struggles while Kul backs Walc towards the bed. Kul lets Walc painfully down onto the bed, deciding that maybe Walc needs to experience how fragile he really is first hand. Merrill and Othello both rush forward, but Kul intercepts Merrill. Dalfholt continues to struggle in Kul's iron grip and accidentally wacks Merrill in the head. More yelling. Kul intends to remove Merrill from the line of fire. Still hanging on to Dalfholt, Kul ushers Merrill towards the door, asking her to wait outside for a few minutes. Merrill is not too happy about this request and voices her concern that if Walc moves around too much, he will undo all the work she has done. Kul suggests that maybe Walc needs to learn his lesson the hard way. Merrill finally gives in and rigidly exits the room. Strys can be seen still standing bewildered in hall. Meanwhile, Othello and Berlundtul finally get Walc onto his stomach.

Outside, Circh tells the city guards to get lost. They refuse to listen and she retreats back towards the Wagon Wheel, but passes it by. Thar walks with her, but as they walk by the inn, the sharp-eyed half-elf notices Merrill emerge from the building. She is dressed for travel, wearing her thick cloak and carrying what appears to be all of her bags and equipment. Thar is ambivalent about where he should be going. Circh obviously won't be leaving, but if he leaves her, even for a moment, to intercept Merrill, Circh will will likely be very unhappy about it. He decides to get Circh to a safe spot where she can sit and he can take a moment's leave. They enter the Inn of the Lady's Slipper. After quickly getting Circh settled in a chair, Thar exits and sprints through the snow after Merrill. She is not far, and he easily catches up and falls into step beside her. They walk a short distance in silence. Thar hopes that she just needs an ear, and he hopes that she will start ranting at him (but apparently, she doesn't rant very well).

There are tears in Merrill's eyes as they walk, and her face is flushed pink with anger. The brand upon her forehead is very red and more noticable than usual. Merrill heads straight towards the center square which has been off-limits since the disaster. Thar tries to warn her, but she ignores him. The same two bored city guards are in their path dead ahead. One of the guards tells them to stop, and Merrill finally does. She stares at the guard, drawing a breath in through her nose. Then after holding the breath a moment she says in a calm voice, "Excuse me".  The guard repeats her words in a hollow tone and steps aside.  The other guard begins to object and Merrill repeats the same actions upon him, with the same result. She passes and walks on a bit, until Thar finally convinces her to stop and explain. He asks her if she would help him understand what happened back there. Merrill explains that she overheard Walc and his squires arguing. She climbed the stairs and found a hungover Circh also arguing with them. Circh began getting physical with one of the squires and Othello stepped in. Merrill tried to settle down Walc, and Berlundtul became angry with her. Now, she apparently intends to leave. She states that she is clearly no longer needed here. Thar explains that both he and Kul do indeed need her. They discuss Circh. Merrill explains that Circh frustrates her. She is too difficult to get along with and is impossible to travel with. Thar agrees with her, and explains that if she agrees to stay, he will attempt to keep Circh out of her hair. Merrill agrees to wait a day before making a decision to leave. "You and Kulgar deserve that much", she states. "That's debatable," Thar replies, "but thank-you". He then breaks into a run back to the Lady's Slipper where he left Circh. He calls over his shoulder that he will see Merrill back at the Wagon Wheel later.

Meanwhile, back at the Wagon Wheel, Kul once again stands in front of the closed door. He is still holding Dalfholt in his iron grip, though. Walc, now lying on his belly, insists that Kul let go of Dalfholt. Kul finally releases the squire, who runs to Walc's side. Walc continues to yell at the squires. The squires, in turn, continue to fuss over him. At this point, Kul intends to only watch and let Walc and his squires work it out. However, Dalfholt suddenly turns on Kul. "Blah, blah, blah", Kul cannot understand his words and only glares at the squire, as if to say "What are you gonna do now, peon?" Dalfholt approaches Kul with one hand behind his back. As he draws closer, he draws a dagger.

Othello, kneeling by Walc's side, sees the dagger and launches himself into a somersault, tumbling directly toward Dalfholt. The monk lands a kick in the small of Dafholt?s back. The dagger flies from Dalfholt?s hand and the squire falls forward towards Kul. Kul grabs Dalfholt, breaking his fall, and sets him on his feet. Berlundtul charges angrily at Othello, but the monk moves smoothly out of the way and Berlundtul lands on his face. Kul now must ask Othello to wait outside. He opens the door and Othello exits the room. Strys is still standing in the hallway. Kul once again closes and blocks the door.

Thar runs toward the Wagon Wheel. He passes by the huddled city guards. The guards are surprised to see Thar sprint by. "Hey! Stop!" they yell, but Thar ignores them. They quickly give chase, but one guard falls behind after slipping in the snow. As Thar passes the Wagon Wheel he encounters Othello just coming out of the inn. Thar groans inwardly (not another one getting ready to leave!). He skids to a graceless stop just past the monk and quickly asks him to make sure Merrill returns to the inn. Othello agrees and asks if there is anything else that he can do. Thar answers no, but he doesn't have time to explain the details, as there is at least one guard close on his heels. He continues his sprint back to the Lady's Slipper. The pursuing guard reaches the Wagon Wheel and Othello intentionally collides with the guard, making it seem like an accident. They both fall to the ground and Othello manages to tangle his legs with the guard's, thereby delaying him even further. Thar arrives at the Lady's Slipper and finds Circh with her head in her hands.

Meanwhile, Walc yells at his squires to get out of the room. He is so worked up that his face is a dark red and he chokes violently while screaming at the pair. Kul opens the door again, inviting them to exit. They move reluctantly towards the door. On his way out, Dalfholt purposely shoulders Kul, so Kul retaliates by tripping him. Dalfholt ends up on his face. He glares at Kul. Berlundtul intercedes, telling Dalfholt to let it go. He then wags his finger angrily at Kul and says something. Berlundtul ushers Dalfholt through the open door and into the hall beyond where Strys is still standing, frozen in time. Kul closes the door and turns to Walc. Walc recovers from choking and begins sobbing.  He covers his face with one hand. He apologizes for the behavior of his squires. He explains that they will be punished for it and swears an oath that it will never happen again. Kul asks for Walc's help. The group appears to be falling apart and Kul needs Walc?s cooperation to help regain control. Walc makes a vow to help Kul. Kul gets him to promise to rest for two days, hoping that that will keep the others quiet. Kul rises. Walc apologizes again for the behavior of his squires. He reiterates his promise that they will be disiplined and that it will not happen again. Kul finally exits and finds Strys still standing in hall. "Which way did the squires go?" he asks. She simply points downstairs. Kul descends expecting to find a chaotic scene in the common room (after all, Circh, Merrill, Othello, and both squires have all just gone downstairs one after another). He is quite surprised to find the room quiet and empty, except for the innkeeper and the barmaid.
 

Picking up the Pieces [Wednesday 04 November 1998] [p465-467]

11 Jan 08: Afternoon cont: Kul briefly returns to the upstairs and tells Strys that she needs to wear her armor and carry her weapons. He also tells her to wait here at the inn. He goes outside where he finds two city guards admonishing Othello. Othello is rather submissive and apologetic to the guards. Merrill is standing at a distance from them and the squires are also standing nearby. The guards finally move along (in Thar's direction) and the squires also wander off in the same direction.

Kul approaches Merrill. He asks her if she is all right and she responds with a nod. Kul updates her as to Walc's condition. An awkward silence follows as Kul peers up and down the street wondering where Thar and Circh have disappeared to. Kul follows Merrill as she moves towards the door of the inn. He asks if she knows where Tharrison and Circh went and Merrill informs him that Thar ran up the street in the same direction as the guards. Kul decides that Thar and Circh are probably fine and turns to follow Merrill inside.

As Merrill opens the inn door, Kul is surprised to find Strys about to exit, all geared up with her cloak and weapons (but still no armor). "Where are you going?" asks Kul, somewhat surprised that she has apparently decided not to follow his advice about the armor or about waiting inside. She replies that she is going to search for Tharrison. Kul snorts and asks why. Does she think that Thar needs help? Kul tells her to go back in, but she defiantly refuses and leaves in search of the half-elf. Kul is completely fed up now! He certainly has no intention of chasing after her and is not interested in baby-sitting her either, so he lets her wander off and enters the inn.

Meanwhile, just down the street at the Inn of the Lady's Slipper, Thar speaks briefly with the innkeeper. He asks for a drink of tea for Circh, intending to sober her up a bit. He then sits down at her table where he promptly steals her ale and replaces it with the tea. He also orders two bowls of stew for them. She seems all ranted out now, so they have a more quiet discussion. Circh states, "Maybe Kul was right. Maybe I don't belong here." Thar asks her what happened back at the Wagon Wheel. Circh explains that she attempted to restore order and people started yelling at her, especially "that witch", Merrill. He then asks Circh why she doesn't like Merrill. "There's nothing to like about her." Circh responds. She continues to pick at her food bit by bit. Percieving that this conversation is not getting anywhere, Thar decides that a hot bath might do her some good. He gets directions to the public bathhouse and then manages to convince Circh to follow him outside.

Once at the bathhouse, Circh's disposition improves during the hot bath. Thar asks if he can speak frankly. Circh rolls her eyes and sinks into the water, but she agrees to listen. Thar reinforces, from their discussion of the previous night, that Circh is obviously insulted by Kul choosing Merrill as a blood-sister but not her. He then asks why she is not similarly angry with him (Thar) as he and Kul are also blood-siblings. In response, she asks Thar if he demanded to be Kul's blood-brother. Thar is confused by this response. She seems to be implying that Merrill got to be Kul's sister by demanding that it be so. Thar does not remember it this way, but can't quite recall the details, so he presses his point from a different venue. He suggests that perhaps the anger she directs at Merrill would be more appropriately directed at Kul, since it is he who ultimately decides who will be his blood relations.

Thar decides to change tactics and topics a bit. He speculates that the Disciples are able to spy on the group, since they have apparently sent humanoids against the group on two separate occasions so far. He wonders aloud if there might be a way to combat this advantage. Thar is actually hoping that Circh will consider that the group needs the help of someone who knows the ways of magic and that she will also conclude specifically that Merrill is needed in the group for this purpose. He decides that it would be better if she were to conclude this all by herself. If he had to actually suggest it to her, then his tactic might not work. However, Circh's response is not what he was aiming for and they soon change topics again.

Thar asks her what her plans are. Circh mentions that she would like to return to Crossport. She speculates again that Kul may be right, that perhaps she doesn't belong here. Thar suggests that she talk with Kul about their problems. Circh replies that she has tried, but that Kulgar is, well, he's Kulgar and he's very difficult to talk to. Circh reluctantly promises to try to talk to Kul. Thar is quite happy to have extracted this promise from her and quickly ushers her from the bath. They exit and make their way back to the Wagon Wheel Inn.

Meanwhile, Kul, quite exasperated, has entered the Wagon Wheel and ordered three ales. He sits near the hearth and awaits his drinks. The innkeeper and the serving wench notice that Kul is somewhat angry. Rimish pours the ales and the usually flirtatious wench delivers them to Kul's table in silence. They leave him to brood with his dark barbarian thoughts.

Merrill and Othello also have come inside. Merrill heads upstairs to check on Walc, while Othello joins Kul, seating himself across from the barbarian. The monk is still cold and wet from his recent tumble in the snow. Othello calmly states his concerns. In order for this journey to be successful, he believes that the Slayers must "act with one act, think with one thought"?.

Kul slams down his tankard, splashing half of his ale all over the place as he somewhat over-zealously agrees with the monk. He wonders why it is that, among the four Slayers, only he and Othello are able to see things this way. Kul is very aggrivated. He states his displeasure with Walc, who he sees as stubborn and self-righteous, and then complains about Strys, who clearly is only going to do whatever Tharrison tells her to do. He surmises that if Thar were to jump off of a bridge she would blindly (and stupidly) follow. Othello attempts to explain that Strys is still young and that she obviously trusts Thar. He suggests that perhaps that is what she needs from Kul also. Kul angrily states that she should be home baking cookies with her mommy. He orders three more ales.

Merrill returns and Kul asks Othello to leave, so he can talk to Merrill in private. Othello graciously excuses himself and goes upstairs. Kul asks Merrill about the incident upstairs and she explains. Kul drinks his ales as they sit in silence for a bit. Finally Merrill asks what Kul sees in Circh. Kul is caught off guard by the question and verbally stumbles a bit as he tries to explain what likes about Circh. He finally spits out that he likes that Circh is tough and headstrong.

Just as these words leave Kul's mouth, Thar and Circh enter. Kul briefly explains Walc's condition to Thar and informs him that Strys has wandered off. Thar, silently annoyed, takes his cloak back from Circh and prepares to go out searching for Strys. He sees a grand opportunity for Circh and Kul to talk alone and asks Merrill to join him. Merrill hesitantly agrees to go along and goes upstairs to retrieve her cloak. In the meantime, Thar passes one of Kul's tankards of ale over to Circh and shoots her a meaningful look. Circh rolls her eyes and reluctantly agrees to his silent suggestion. Thar tells Kul to make her keep her promise. Kul grunts, somewhat bewildered by these strange instructions. What?s that half-elf up to he wonders? And why does he need Merrill to go along with him? Thar gives Circh another meaningful glance and she puts a little more energy into her agreement this time. Merrill returns with her cloak. Thar, for a third time, looks meaningfully at Circh, but she is staring into her tankard. He knocks loudly on the table to get her attention. She yells at him to get out and, satisfied, he finally leaves with Merrill. Once outside though, he realizes that he does not know which way Strys has gone, so he sticks his head back inside and quickly asks. Kul simply points the way and Thar leaves again.

Kul and Circh's conversation begins rather awkwardly. Kul explains that he is only concerned for her safety, and that he believes that they may not survive this mission. Circh replies that Tharrison also made a similar remark and Kul points out that it is somewhat of an unspoken subject.

The conversation turns to Merrill. Circh actually apologizes for the things she said to Merrill, but Kul decides that he's not going to let her off the hook that easily. He suggests that she should apologize to Merrill herself, not him and Circh chokes on her ale. She remarks that she knows how Kul feels about Merrill, but she lets the sentence linger a bit. Kul is a bit confused. He asks what she means. He is beginning to perceive for the first time that Circh is uncomfortable with his relationship with Merrill. Could she be jealous? He stumbles through a couple of barely coherent sentences, attempting to explain the difference between his feelings for her and Merrill, before finally saying, "You know how I feel about you, Circh...I still love you." Circh looks up at Kul and she seems very vulnerable to him. She holds her breath, and the moment seems to lasts for an eternity.

Outside, Thar looks at the abundance of tracks in the snow and spots an errant set of rather small tracks that go around to the back of the Wagon Wheel. He follows them and enters the inn's stable, but finds only the stableboy wrapped in a blanket. The stableboy indicates that a boy with a facial scar and page haircut recently came and left. Thar knows he is referring to Strys, who is often mistaken for a boy. He and Merrill follow a set of horseprints westward towards the waterfront.

On the way, Thar fills Merrill in as to the happenings in Sulward, speaking in Baklunish which is the only language Merrill speaks. He reiterates that the Disciples appear to be able to see where the group is and what they are up to. He then asks Merrill if she would be able to keep the Disciples from scrying on the group, but Merrill replies that she cannot. She explains that her power is limited to "charms and enchantments". These are considered as lesser/lower magicks. She knows little in the way of the greater/higher magicks. She then further explains that "...there might be a way to hide from a wizard's scrying.  I know not of one.  If there were such a spell that would enable a person - say myself - to hide from such scrying, then I would have to constantly maintain the 'hiding spell' in order to remain hidden. Once the hiding spell ends, I am no longer hidden, and I am once again subject to be scryed upon." She pauses and after a moment's thought adds, "Such a spell would be inefficient. It would require constant concentration and energy. The caster would be drained maintaining such protection." She shakes her head. "I know not how else one could protect themself against a scrying spell. Once a spell is cast, there is no way to stop it." Thar apologizes for continuing to ask her so many questions. He explains that they are not intended to put her on the spot, but that he is asking mostly out of ignorance and a need to explore all of the resources that are available within the group.

Thar continues to follow the horseprints as they talk. He finds that they lead straight to a waterfront inn called the Water Table. Around the back of the inn is a stable where he finds one of his light war-horses stabled. They enter and find Strys sitting at a table. There is also another tunician in here, smoking a pipe. Thar ignores "Pipesmoker", (though he does intend to keep an eye on him) and moves towards Strys' table. Strys has an expression of one that has been caught and is ashamed of her actions. The tunician watches them silently, smoking his pipe. Thar and Merrill's conversation continues as they sit down at Strys' table. Thar explains to Merrill that he has tried to point out to Circh that her anger is inappropriately directed at Merrill. He has attempted to get Circh to direct her anger towards a more valid target (Kulgar). Merrill says, "Thank-you." and Thar replies, "You deserve at least that much." Merrill smiles, "That's debatable, but thank-you."

Thar turns towards Strys and asks, "How are you?" Strys struggles with her reply since they are still speaking Baklunish. She doesn't know if she can go back to the other inn. She explains that she doesn't want to travel with "those people" anymore. They fight too much and she doesn't want to travel with folks that fight amongst themselves. "Pipesmoker" continues to puff on his pipe and watch as they talk. Strys continues to struggle with the language, so she switches abruptly to Suloice. When she asks why they were speaking in Baklunish, Thar explains that it was for Merrill's benefit. Thar asks Strys if she is aware of the tunician across the room. Strys answers no and stiffens up. She doesn't want to stay here now. Thar suggests that she doesn't have the choice to leave the group. She apparently does not understand the consequences and disagrees, claiming that she does have a choice. Thar points out that her choice to leave will affect the survival of Eastern Oerik's civilizations. Strys slumps, clearly overwhelmed by this statement. Thar suggests that they continue the conversation on the way back to the Wagon Wheel. They all rise and move towards the door. On his way to the door, Thar decides to flash a view of his nargison whip to "Pipesmoker". He brushes his cloak back a bit, making it seem accidental. "Pipesmoker" perks up as he notices the weapon. Once outside, Thar, Strys and Merrill stop at the inn's stable where Strys talks quietly to the stableboy and retrieves the horse that she arrived on. She instructs him to disregard her earlier message, but tells him to keep the coins. The stableboy appears concerned and asks if she is all right. She replies that she is and exits with Thar and Merrill.

Scartuu! [Wednesday 11 November 1998] [p468-472]

11 Jan 08 cont: Evening: Kul has just declared his love for Circh. He explains that he will understand if she does not feel the same way. He doesn't want to come between her and Tharrison and thereby ruin the friendship that they all have. Circh comes around the table and softly says, "Let me show you how I feel..." Kul follows her upstairs where she leads him into her room.

Once in private, Circh attempts to explain how, five years ago [p104], she left the party in Rol and went off to be alone in Sonda because she was confused between her feelings for Kul and Thar [as previously explained during "Castle Oberdine" on p254]. She further explains that she has always cared deeply for Kul and draws closer to him as if to kiss him. At that moment, a very bright light shining in through the closed shutters suddenly interrupts them. They also hear terrible grinding and squealing sounds followed by several loud metallic clunks (somewhat like several portcullises closing in succession).

Meanwhile, Thar, Merrill and Strys walk back towards the Wagon Wheel Inn. They are leading the horse that Strys had taken from the Wagon Wheel's stable. Strys explains that she does not like the [+1] chainmail armor that Thar provided her with. She would like to get different armor when she has enough money. Thar agrees, but stops as he witnesses a strange sight up ahead.

A circle of snow in the middle of the street appears to be melting concentrically at an extremely accelerated rate. Merrill has also stopped, but Strys has apparently not noticed the phenomenon ahead, so Thar grabs her by the cloak, drawing her to a  halt. The threesome watch as some kind of strange portal opens above the melting snow. A huge, eighteen foot centaur emerges from the portal. The huge centaur appears to be constructed entirely of iron plates riveted together. The metal plates are covered with etched runes of protection. The machine has an unjointed jaw with a flickering flame inside the mouth and the outside edges of the mouth are caked with soot. Two intense beams of light emit from the golem's eye sockets.

The centaur golem advances about five steps, making an awful screeching noise as it moves. It is so heavy that the ground trembles with every step it takes. It quickly scans the surrounding area, sweeping its searchlight eyes across the street, but then stops as it locates the Wagon Wheel Inn.  Thar notices that the searchlights fix directly on the window of the room that he shares with Circh and Strys.

The golem suddenly raises a huge fist and brings it down upon the inn. The massive blow takes out part of the roof and the wall where the window was, and leaves a gaping hole in the floor of the second level. Inside, Kul tries to pull Circh along as he leaps aside. They are separated, though, and Circh falls into the hole in the floor. She is able to grab onto the edge and hang on. Kul quickly hauls her up and drags her towards the door.

Meanwhile, Thar swiftly forms a plan. He needs some rope though, so he jumps onto the horse that he had been leading and rides around to the stables.

Kul and Circh emerge into the upper hallway and Kul shoves her towards the stairs, telling her to get out through the back door. He enters Walc's room. Othello is at the window, just closing the shutters. Walc asks what is happening, but Kul doesn't bother to explain. He asks if Walc can get up and walk, telling him to grab his swords. Walc stands, retrieves the two weapons and begins to move toward the door. Othello tries to help him, but just then the golem's fist comes crashing through the room, creating another giant hole in the floor. Walc falls though the hole, along with the bed and a chest. Without hesitation, Kul leaps down through the hole onto the bed. He helps Walc up and they move quickly toward the back door. Othello comes down stairs and joins them.

Thar enters the stables, dismounts and quickly finds the rope. Just then, Circh frantically comes bursting in through the kitchen door. Thar tells her to get the horses and runs back out to the front of the inn. He manages to lasso one of the golem's front legs. He then runs around beneath the machine, attempting to wrap the rope around its two front legs, hoping to eventually trip it up.

Othello follows Kul and Walc into the stables, Strys suddenly enters from outside. She explains briefly that Thar is out front. Kul barks out orders (in Common, oops!), "Circh, Walc and Strys, take horses and get out! Othello, come with me!" Kul exits, drawing Gashintain. [Walc has apparently misunderstood his instructions, though, and follows Kul after leaving the golden blade of St. Edric with Circh.]

Meanwhile, out front, the golem steps forward and attempts to kick Thar with a rear hoof. Thar manages to avoid the attack. The half-elf spots a row of six fully armed figures emerging from the portal. They are orcs. He continues to run around the golem wrapping the rope around its legs.

Kul emerges into the street and quickly takes in the situation. He confidently charges at the golem, expecting Gashintain to slice and dice the mechanical monster to pieces. He closes in and easily strikes the golem in the rear leg. To the barbarian's surprise, the diamond-blade doesn't cut through, but only appears to scratch the surface.

Othello and Walc both come around the corner. Walc stops and kneels to say a prayer before charging into battle. He asks his god, Eiadion, to bless his blade, Hollebrundt, and let it be an instrument of god's justice.

Thar makes another pass as Kul strikes the golem again. The sword clangs off the metal again, with apparently little result. Kul strikes yet again, this time on a leg joint, but with seemingly no more effect than before. Othello engages and strikes the golem's ribcage with his two jo-sticks. Clang! Clang! The jo-sticks seem to bounce off harmlessly. Walc charges forward and strikes the front of the golem. Hollebrundt also clangs off the metal with seemingly no effect. The golem misses Kul with its rear hoof, but then clobbers him with a fist [20]. The barbarian is sent flying across the street and then slides into a snowbank in front of a wall. Strys, once again disregarding Kul's orders, emerges into the street.

Thar yells out for everyone to head for the wharves. He decides that their best chance lies in luring the machine to the Duntide River and somehow getting it into the water. He repeats his order in Baklunish and lets go of the rope, retreating towards Merrill's positon. Kul extracts himself from the mound of snow, reiterates Thar's orders, and also heads towards Merrill. Kul joins Merrill and they move up the street away from the golem. Walc, however, disregards the orders and continues to attack. Thar and Kul yell at him. Strys runs over to Walc and grabs his arm pulling him along. Walc seems torn between standing to fight and following the group. He growls in frustration as he finally retreats toward Kul and Thar. The golem turns and brings its front hoofs together, therby allowing the rope to slide off. It follows Walc and Strys closely, advancing about three steps before rearing up to attack. Strys yells, "Scartuu!" [this means "scatter!" in her native island language of Guarnine] and shoves Walc aside. Walc falls off to one side, rolling painfully on his still unhealed back as the golem tries to crush them with both front hooves. Strys ducks and rolls and the golem misses them both. More orcs can be seen marching through the portal. They are six abreast, several rows deep and carry a pair of standards.

Thar tells Kul to keep going, and calls for Othello follow him. They charge back towards the golem. Thar runs into the sweeping eye-beams of the golem, trying to distract the machine's attention from Strys and Walc. He yells to Walc to keep moving and Walc starts moving towards Kul.

Strys is still laying on her back under the machine. Thar yells for her to roll out of the way and she manages to get back up and move away from the beast. The golem suddenly strikes out with one front hoof, deflecting Thar to one side. The half-elf rolls and then swiftly regains his feet. He begins backing up the street towards Kul and Merrill. Walc runs up one side of the street while Strys and Othello flee on the opposite side. Thar runs up the middle. Kul paces himself, so as not to outrun, the group. He is somewhat doubtful that this plan will work, but realizes that if they can lead the machine to the wharves and get it into the river, then they might be able to stop it.

The golem suddenly lashes out and Walc is struck. He strikes a wall and then skids across the snow covered street. Thar yells to Kul to grab a torch and then fishes the wand of illumination from his bag of holding. He gives the command, "temptation" and the wand begins to glow, leaving distracting trails of light as Thar weaves across road in front of the golem. Kul passes the Inn of the Lady's Slipper and grabs a torch from the front of the building. He and Merrill take a left turn around the corner of the inn, heading west toward the river. Walc, Strys & Othello also take the corner with the golem close behind. Thar attempts to draw the machine straight ahead north, but the golem seems committed to following the three Slayers and ignores the half-elf. It clips the Lady's Slipper, crushing the corner of the inn as it takes the turn.

Thar realizes that the golem will not be distracted from the three Slayers directly in front of it, so he runs back towards them. As he closes in he sees a red glow emitting from the golem's mouth. Strys also sees this over her shoulder. Thar attempts to scatter the three as a rolling tongue of flame comes forth from the machine's mouth. He quickly shoves Othello aside and pushes Walc down into the snow. Strys dives and rolls into the snow. They all take minor damage [4 each] from the flames. Kul charges back and hits the machine with Gashintain, trying to distract it. "Keep going!" he yells. The golem barely misses the barbarian as it slams its fist into the ground.

Thar puts away the wand and pulls out the Phoenix Staff. He speaks the command, "flarmo", activating the cold-shield. The half-elf is enveloped in flames as he strikes the golem with the staff. Kul misses on first attack, and then succeeds in driving Gashintain up into the golem's belly! He is then struck [9] and lets go of the sword, leaving it lodged in the machine's underside.

Thar strikes twice with the staff as Kul moves back into position, grabbing the sword hilt. He pushes Gashintain in further and begins moving the sword back and forth. There seems to be some resistance as the sword pushes up against the unseen things inside the golem (perhaps gears and other mechanical parts), but Kul cannot get enough leverage to really use the sword effectivly. He is suddenly hit by a hoof [11], and tumbles out of position. Thar is struck [19] also, but the fire that envelopes the half-elf explodes in a pyrotechnic display running up the golem's arm. When the smoke clears, Thar can see that the arm is
well scorched.

Thar hits again and then backs off. He sees four horsemen approaching from the west. They are apparently part of the city garrison. Kul breaks off his attack, leaving Gashintainlodged in the golem's belly. A brief exchange between Thar and Kul follows. They agree that the golem seems to be focusing on the Slayers, so if the other Slayers can get far enough ahead of it, Kul should be able to lead the machine towards the river. However, the golem is too fast to outrun, so they decide that Kul must get a horse so that he can stay ahead of it. Kul runs towards the horsemen while Thar tries again to distract the machine.

One horse begins to panic as the guardsmen rein up. Kul charges towards them and pulls a man from his horse. The barbarian quickly jumps onto the mount and turns toward the wharves. Meanwhile, the golem ignores Thar and begins chasing after Kul.
As it charges forward the ground shakes and the snow loosens and falls from the rooftops. Thar extinguishes the Phoenix Staff's flame, and runs towards the horsemen. The other horses panic and scatter as the golem runs by after Kul. Thar is able to grab a rider and pull him from his steed. The half-elf mounts up and follows the machine.

Kul takes a sharp right, headed north, and purposely slows up a bit so that the golem will see and follow him. The charging golem has no problem finding the Slayer, but cannot make the sharp turn. It jumps up into the air as if trying to leap over the buildings in its path. The machine's underbelly clips the top of a low building, sending a spray of snow and wood everywhere! It's legs puncture through the walls and it finally comes to a halt after smashing into a second building. Kul briefly slows his mount so that the golem will see him. The spotlights soon fall on him and he furiously starts his horse running again. The golem emerges out onto the street and follows him. The ground shakes in a terrifying manner with every beat of its enormous hooves. Shutters on nearby buildings rattle - some open with people looking out to witness the unfolding event. Snow is shaken from the angled rooftops and spills into the streets. Kulgar charges along with curtains of snow falling on either side of him. Thar passes the side street and decides to continue straight to the next intersection, heading west towards the river.

Kul takes two lefts, turning west and then south, and emerges again onto the main street. He immediately turns west and rides one block towards the river. The golem smashes into buildings at every turn, but is still catching up a bit.

Kul takes his next right, leading the golem through another north-west-south loop as Thar again rides straight through, searching the street ahead for Walc, Strys, Othello and Merrill. They are nowhere in sight, though. Instead, he sees many riders approaching. It is a company of the city guards. They rein up as he closes in. Over the grinding and smashing sounds of the golem, Thar quickly explains and points down the street. The guards look and see the huge golem coming around a turn. It is still right behind Kul and seems to be catching up fast despite smashing into buidings at every turn. Thar is just able to tell them of the orcs before they scatter and retreat. Thar rides one block forward, but still sees no sign of the others. He looks back for Kul.

After advancing another block towards the river, Kul takes another sharp right leading the golem through yet another north-west-south loop. He expects it to be right behind him as he again emerges onto the main street. Suddenly, the front of the corner building on his right explodes, sending dust, debri and snow flying everywhere! Kul is barely able to change direction as the golem comes crashing through the building, diving as if trying to tackle its prey. The golem has apparently anticipated Kul's turn (proving that it is also somewhat intelligent!) and has tried to cut him off. The machine's momentum carries it into the buildings across the street and Kul manages to escape harm as he continues straight through the intersection instead of taking his usual right turn.

Thar loses sight of Kul in the huge snow-cloud. He sees the golem clamber out of the mess and disappear down the side street. Assuming that the machine is resuming its pursuit, Thar rides south on a parallel course with the golem.

Kul rides one block south and then turns west toward the river again, but the wharves still are not in sight, so he takes another sharp right headed back north toward the main street, deciding that he must keep weaving to stay ahead of the rampaging machine. He and Thar pass in opposite directions! Thar yells to the barabrian that the others should be about at the wharves by now. "Get to the wharves!" he adds, as they ride off in separate directions. Thar loops around and emerges back onto the main steet. He then turns west and rides straight towards the river as fast as he can.

Kul emerges onto the main steet and turns west again, towards the river. He rides two blocks, thinking that the golem is, perhaps, paralleling him and trying to get ahead of him again. Kul tries to confuse it by taking his next right, headed north, but the plan works too well. He can hear the golem slow down as it searches for him. Kul is forced to slow down and let the machine catch up a bit. The golem enters an intersection behind Kul and scans the side streets. As soon as it spots him, Kul furiously spurs his horse to running again. He turns west and then rides straight on towards the river again. The golem charges around the corner. It is a couple of blocks behind him, but he knows it can catch up to him very quickly. Kul rides on a few blocks and then starts weaving south and west through the intersections, back towards the main street and the river.

Meanwhile, Thar reaches the waterfront and finds the others breathless and recovering near the Water Table Inn. He quickly explains the plan (in Oeridian and then in Baklunish) and instructs them to get out of the way. He wants Kulgar to be the only Slayer in sight, so that the machine will (hopefully) follow the barbarian blindly into the river. He gives his cloak to the half-naked Walc, placing it over the paladin's chest instead of his back and then gathers them on the side of the inn closest to the city, leaving his horse there with them also. He then positions himself out of view on the side of the inn closest to the water.

Kul hits the main street, turns west, and spurs his horse frantically towards the waterfront. The golem is close behind him. Thar retrieves an extra nargison whip from his bag and stands ready. He intends on trying to snag Gashintain out of the machine's belly as it passes by. A longshot, but worth a try.

Kul charges into the waterfront area straight at the docks ahead, not slowing down a bit. Using his horsemanship skills he hops up into a crouch upon the back of the horse, preparing to leap off at the last minute. The golem follows directly behind him, right past the Water Table. Thar lashes out with the whip, attempting to snag the hilt of Gashintain, but the whip is wrenched from his hands and twists through the air, landing on the ground some twenty feet from the half-elf.

As Kul's horse leaps off of the dock, the golem lets out a burst of flame. Kul leaps aside off of the mount and the unfortunate beast is incinerated before it even hits the water. Kul is singed by the flame, and leaving a trail of smoke behind him, falls into the river fully armored. The dock collapses as the giant centaur golem tramples over it and the whole machine, with Gashintain still lodged in its underside, crashes into the river with an enormous splash!

Spite and Respite [Friday 20 November 1998] [p473]

11 Jan 08 cont: Nighttime: Snowing lightly. People are running out of the surrounding buildings to find out what has happened. Thar sees that "Pipesmoker" is among those coming out of the Water Table Inn. Kulgar surfaces and swims over to the side of a nearby small warship while Thar runs over to the dock, grabbing the nargison whip on his way. Thar finds a rope nearby and throws one end to Kul. The barbarian grabs the rope and Thar pulls him toward the dock. Walc holds out his hand to Kul, but the stubborn barbarian scoffs at it and attempts to climb out of the water on his own. As Kul hoists himself onto the dock, Thar sees the golem's eye-lights moving under the water! The golem's hand suddenly reaches up out of the river and grabs Kul. The machine rises partway from water, holding Kul in air, exposing its humanoid torso.

Kul yells for "the sword" and Walc responds quickly by tossing up , Hollebrundt, his [+2] broadsword. The golem moves its hand upward a bit, however, and the sword bounces off of the metal hand and back down to the dock. Kul yells for Gashintain this time, but Walc tosses Hollebrundt up again and this time Kul manages to grab the sword.

Meanwhile, Thar is beside himself. He asks Merrill if she has anything that can help them, but she only looks at him somewhat helplessly. The half-elf leaps up onto the warship to search for any large scale weapons that may be of use. He finds nothing useful, though, and quickly leaps back down onto the dock.

The golem pulls Kul close to its face and Kul hears a gurgling sound from within the machine's chest. Suddenly, the golem spits water (instead of flame) into the Slayer's face. Kul stabs Hollebrundt into the golem's neck plates. Steam escapes from the wound. Kul can hear a clicking noise from inside the golem as its flame generating mechanism relights.

The golem is still only partway out of the water, leaving it's neck area within reach of a man, so Thar charges forward and strikes the neck plates with his [+2] daggers (on the bracers of defense). He hits only once, however, and jams his hand backwards in the process. More steam escapes from the new wound. The golem climbs up out of the water and Kul stabs again, twice, just as the machine is preparing to roast him. Hollebrundt penetrates the golem's neck and the rivets holding the iron plating together begin to rattle and then pop off as streams of steam blast outward from the holes. The head of the golem blows off violently in a burst of flames and steam, leaving a trail of chain links, cogs and twisted scraps of metal behind it.

Kul is blasted from the golem's grip, and Hollebrundt is forced from his hand as he falls to the ground below. The golem's knees begin to buckle and it begins to fall forward. Thar moves quickly under the machine and grabs Gashintain. A volcano of flame continues to blast forth from the golem's open neck as it falls down towards Kul, who is lying dazed on the dock [2 HP]. Walc runs over to help Kul. He dives under the falling behemoth and once again rolls painfully onto his back as he pulls Kul out of danger. The golem crashes to the ground and flame continues to blast forth, igniting the side of the Water Table Inn.
 

Interlude

The Circle of Disciples is chanting loudly. In the center is Beosele, a Disciple with a protruding beard. Beosele suddenly clutches his head and falls backwards, writhing and convulsing. The other Disciples double over, also clutching their heads. "What has happened!" screams Ericaan, his hands wrapped tightly around his head. Beosele, lying prone on the ground, is writhing on his back while kicking and screeching horrendously. His hands claw at his temples as blood spurts from his nose and mouth. Gorjii is lying on the ground with blood streaming from his nose.  He turns his head towards Beosele and shouts, "Beosele!  What have you done to us!  Were you so stupid as to bond with that golem?" Ericaan is able to pull himself to his knees.  A thick string of blood hangs from his chin. "Beosele, you bonded with the golem?  You forced your own spirit into that automation in order to animate it?" Gorjii snarls, baring blood-stained teeth.  "Beosele!  You know what happens when a bond is broken!  The destruction of the automation is the destruction of its controller!  Death, Beosele!  Death!" "The only reason you live now" screams Ericaan, "is because of the channeling of the Circle!  We channeled our powers to you so that you could control that bonded monstrosity of yours - and when you so recklessly allowed it to be destroyed by the Slayers, the death you should have died alone was absorbed by us - the Circle!  We all shared the death you did not die!" Alendinor, shrieks "Our work!  All our work!  Beosele!  We will be months recovering from your carelessness!" Beosele continues to scream hoarsely and convulse within the center of the circle as he claws at his face.

Rel Mord:  Kul stands and staggers towards a building. He leans on the wall and yells to Thar to "get the sword...Get Gashintain". Thar and Merrill are both on the other side of the fallen behemoth. Thar leaps up onto the golem's back and climbs across its metallic body to Kul's side, leaving Merrill behind in the process. He approaches Kul and calls for Othello and Strys to join them. As the two Slayers approach, Thar hands Gashintain to Kul and tells them to stay together. The half-elf picks up his cloak (which Walc had dropped near the Water Table Inn earlier) and mounts up on the horse. He rides off back towards the Wagon Wheel Inn.

As he rides through the city streets Thar sees that people are searching through the rubble for survivors and injured folk. He approaches the Inn of the Lady's Slipper, but finds the street ahead blocked by a company of twenty-four orcs. The orcs carry a tall standard depicting both the symbols of Iuz and their orcish clan. Three skulls adorn the top of the standard: one human, one elven and one dwarven. Thar notices that the orcs now seem rather disorientated and less focused than earlier when they were marching through the mysterious portal. Thar dismounts and charges at the humanoids with Asterlain in hand. The orc leader yells out commands to the company and the soldiers maintain their formation. The pike orcs lower their weapons at the charging half-elf. Thar deftly avoids the polearms and moves in for close combat. He misses on several consecutive attacks and is struck once [1 point]. The orcs have moved into formation around him with the spear orcs closest, the pike orcs behind them, and the sword orcs hanging back. Frustrated, Thar begins aiming for the orc's heads and finally strikes twice, crushing two orcish spearmen skulls. He maneuvers towards the wall of a building to cut down on the number of opponents surrounding him. The sword wielding orcs close in as Thar kills a pike orc and reaches the wall. The orc leader yells for the orcs to maintain formation and the orcs reposition into a semi-circle around the half-elf. Six spear orcs and the five remaining pike orcs surround him. Twelve sword orcs are on the outerflanks, behind the pike orcs. Three of the sword orcs are busy chasing down Thar's horse. The leader positions himself just behind the pike orcs. Thar spins Asterlain and successfully defends against five thrusting pike attacks. A spear penetrates his defense and becomes snagged in his cloak. Thar continues to spin the whip, dislodging the spear and killing two spear orcs. He is then hit by a pike [6] as he smashes the head of a sword orc. The semi-circle of orcs shifts as Thar moves along the wall. Thar avoids several attacks and two sword orcs join the semi-circle, filling the gap left by the fallen spear orcs. Thar swiftly kills the two new arrivals.

The orc leader is frothing at the mouth and screaming. The orcs are obviously baffled and frustrated by the nargison whip. Thar avoids a series of poor attacks as the orcs clumsily strike the ground and a wall with their spears. Thar kills another pike orc and counts only four pikes left in their ranks. The leader screams in frustration, "No! No! No!  No!!"  He yells orders at the spear orcs and they quickly fall back and cast their spears at the half-elf. Thar is struck only once [3] by the flying spears. The pikemen fall back as nine sword orcs rush in at the half-elf. Only the leader and one other orc (now atop the horse) stay back. Thar kills one charging orc and then manages to avoid all of the attacks. He then misses with Asterlain. The orcs start trying to grab at Thar and the half-elf continues to spin Asterlain striking and breaking a few orcish fingers. Thar misses twice and tries to move, but the orcs refuse to give ground. The leader calls the mounted orc over and pulls him off of the horse. He then mounts up and continues to yell orders to the soldiers. Thar is struck [1] and then kills a sword orc (only 7 left). The leader suddenly yells "retreat" (in orcish, of course) and rides away towards the waterfront. The remaining pikemen drop their weapons and flee. Thar kills two sword orcs as they fall back and flee after their leader. Thar has defeated 13 orcs in all. He is actually disappointed by the battle, but glad to be through with them, as he is now free to go look for Circh.

Thar runs through the snow and around the corner past the Lady's Slipper to the Wagon Wheel. He finally arrives at the inn. Rimish, with a large gash in his forehead,  is outside being tended to. Thar quickly searches through the debri, grabbing any familiar bags and sacks (including Kul's backpack and the traveling bags of Circh, Othello, Strys, and Merrill). He then moves through the stables and eventually finds hoofprints leading down a back path where all of the group's horses (except Walc's warhorse, Immelschtipp, which Circh has apparently taken) are tethered together to a post. He finds more hoofprints leading away and prepares to follow them. He ties the horses into a line and follows the prints through the streets to the southwest gate. The gate is closed, but a small door within it is open. There are two guards standing watch over the open portal. A sergeant suddenly appears and orders the door closed. The guards close up the door as Thar approaches. Thar asks about Circh and a guard confirms that she did pass through only a short time ago [about 15 or 20 mins]. Thar explains that he needs to catch up with her and asks if he may pass through. The guards refuse at first, but the sergeant recognizes Thar as one of the Perith sons and orders them to let him pass. Thar tethers four of the horses (Strys' black and white piebald, Hortalger, plus Kul's, Circh's and Othello's mounts) inside the gate and leads his own, Shadow, through the opened door. Once through the gate, he mounts Shadow and follows the warhorse's hoofprints southwest.

Meanwhile, back at the waterfront, a fifteen foot column of flame continues to blast forth from the golem's open neck. Kul, still leaning on the building, looks around and calls for Merrill, but she is nowhere in sight. Othello leads Kul across a side street towards another inn. Kul pauses at the front door and calls for Merrill again. He refuses to seek out shelter until he knows that Merrill is also alive and well. Merrill appears from around a corner and Kul finally enters the building. Othello, Strys and Merrill all follow him in.

Kul finds that he can't raise his right arm to sheath Gashintain on his back, so he rests the sword on a table and sits down in a chair. Merrill and Othello unstrap and remove Kul's wet armor and Merrill lifts Kul's tunic to inspect his wounds. He's a mess. There is a huge red welt [indicating a couple of broken ribs] under his right arm. He is also very weak and lightheaded. Kul looks around, but sees only Merrill and Othello through his tunnelvision. He sees Merrill reach into her bag and this action seems to trigger a memory...He he reaches into his own wet sack and pulls out one of the silver flasks obtained from "Chakram". Kul shows the flask to Merrill, asking if she can determine its contents (hoping dimly that it is some kind of healing potion). Merrill is concentrating on grinding up the last of her garla weed and shrugs off the request. She instead tells him not to move around. He slumps back in the chair with the flask dangling at his side and asks loudly for ale several times, but everyone seems to either not understand or ignore his request. Finally, Othello hands Kul a wineskin and Kul grins broadly. "I hope there's wine in there..." he states, before taking a swig from the skin. He recieves only a mouthful of water, though, and angrily hurls the skin across the room. "Ale!  I want some ale, dammit!" He shouts. Merrill tells him to stop moving around so much, but he continues to yell for ale. She finally applies the garla weed to his wounds. It burns a bit, but he does feel the healing effect [24 points]. Ahhhhh!  Kul is feeling a bit better now (though he still has the broken ribs). Strys approaches him gingerly with a tankard of ale, "Here is your ale." To Merrill's horror, Kul stands and reaches out for the ale. Merrill suddenly pushes Strys' hand away, diverting the ale away from Kul's grasp and spilling a portion of it on the floor. "Don't give him that!" She orders. Kul looks at her disappointed, "What's wrong? Is it poisoned or something?"  He doesn't understand her reaction at all. She tells him to sit down again, but Kul stubbornly tells her that he'll sit down only when he gets an ale. He steps toward Strys (who shrinks back, clearly intimdated) and takes the ale from her. Hmph! Maybe the girl is useful afterall, he muses. He finally sits down again and takes a healthy swig of the watered down brew. The sound of the flame billowing from the neck of the golem can still be heard from outside.

Walc enters the inn and asks how Kul is. Kul eyes him cooly and remarks, "I'm alive". Strys helps Walc to sit down. Kul shows the silver flask to Merrill again, asking if she can tell what it contains. Merrill finally takes the flask, but remarks that she cannot determine the contents without opening it. Kul tells her to go ahead and open it then, and she proceeds to peel off the wax seal. Kul watches Strys who is studying Walc's very injured back. Othello suggests to Kul that they should get moving back to the other inn. Kul agrees, but looks back to Merrill...he's still waiting for her determination of the flask's contents. After tasting and testing, Merrill informs him, in wonderment, that the liquid within seems to be a very potent healing potion (containing garla weed). Kul grins, "Good, let's have it." He takes the flask from Merrill and after brief consideration, downs half of it (he decides that if he can conserve the potion he can give some to Walc and still have some left over for Thar [Extra Heal potions generally can be divided into thirds]). The half potion seems to have no effect (it burns like whiskey), so Kul downs rest of it. After a moment his body begins to shake and he first feels a burning sensation (like the garla weed) throughout his body and then a numb-tingling sensation in his ribs and right knee (his injured knee!). Kul suddenly falls to his hands and knees as the potion's effect surges throughout his body, healing all of his internal and external wounds. He feels a "pop" in his knee as it heals and also feels his broken ribs pop back into place. Merrill drops down to his side, concerned, "Are you alright?" Kul looks at her, his lips curling upward into a smile, "I'm fine!" He stands and rises to his full height, flexing his muscles. All his wounds are fully healed [117 HP] (including his bad knee!). He is amazed. "I feel great!" he states loudly.

Kul looks over to Walc and then reaches into his bag. He knows that if the Company of the Slayers is going to continue onward and accomplish their goal, he's got to get Walc back in shape. He pulls out the other silver flask and breaks the seal. He takes a quick sniff of the contents. It smells exactly like the first one. Holding it towards Walc, Kul says, "Drink this, Walc...it will help you, believe me!" Kul lifts his arm and slaps his ribs to show that they are fully healed. Walc takes the flask from Kul and looks at it, considering it for a moment. He then raises the flask in a toast and downs it in one gulp. He suddenly buckles over and all present can see the burns on his back gradually heal over. When he lifts his head again his eyes are lit up and he is grinning broadly. Walc stands and stretches his back, testing it out. Kul marches over to the hearth and picks up his armor and begins strapping it on. Strys, upon seeing Walc's back heal over, suddenly pulls her own shirt off, revealing her naked torso to all present. Craning her long neck, she looks back over her shoulder at the fresh burns on her upper back. Kul notices old whipping scars covering her lower back. He suggests that they get moving and Strys hurriedly puts her shirt back on. Kul picks up Gashintain and sheathes the diamond-bladed sword onto his back. Walc watches this and then also picks up Hollebrundt and sheathes it. Walc moves towards the door, but suddenly shivers. He is fully healed, but still half-naked and barefoot, wearing only breeches, but no shirt. He and Kul looks around the room, but there is nothing here for him to wear. Merrill steps forward and explains that she can help him. She casts a charm on Walc to protect him from the cold. Kul marches out through the door, calling for the others to follow.

The group follows Kul outside, where they see that the column of flame is still blowing from the golem, burning the Water Table Inn across the street. Townsfolk are desperately throwing snow onto the flame with little effect. The snow melts into steam immediatley. Some folk are trying to combat the inn fire with snow also. Kul watches briefly, but decides that there is little that they can do to help. He leads the group back towards the Wagon Wheel. As they walk, Merrill calls for Kul to slow down...apparently he's going too fast. Kul explains (as he continues on) that when the golem attacked he saw orcs marching through the city streets. Thar may be in need of help and Circh was also left alone back at the inn. Kul asks her what the problem is...can't she keep up? She explains that she (and the others) can't seem to keep up with him now and he realizes that he has forgotten how fast he can move without the limp. He reluctantly slows down, deciding to try to keep the group together, at least until they get back to the Wagon Wheel. They arrive at the Lady's Slipper and find dead orcs scattered all about. Guards are here collecting the bodies and ushering folks along. Kul tries to ask about a half-elf, but the guards only tell him to move along. Kul and the group turn the corner and Kul picks up his pace to Wagon Wheel. He looks for and calls out to Thar and Circh, but there is no sign of them anywhere. He recovers his fur cloak, saddle bags and hand axe from the wreckage. The group arrives and starts picking through the rubble looking for their stuff. Many of their bags are missing. Walc collects his stuff and then begins collecting the pieces of his field plate armor. Kul ducks through the inn to the stables. There are no horses and no Circh or Thar. He runs back inside, gets a burning log from the fireplace, and then runs back through the stables and begins searching the ground outside. He finds lots of horseprints, all apparently leading in one direction. After studying the prints, he finds Thar's familiar boot print mixed among them. He ducks his head back into the common room to see that Merrill, Othello and Strys all seem to be helping Walc collect his armor pieces while Walc himself is beginning to get the pieces strapped on. This could take a while. Kul relates his plan in Baklunish...he intends to follow the prints and indicates that they should also follow when they are able.

Kul dons his cloak and, slinging his saddlebags over his left shoulder, leaves the Wagon Wheel, following the many horseprints as fast as he can using the burning log for light. Townsfolk are milling about in the streets, wondering what has happened. Smoke and the glow of a fire can be seen in the direction of the waterfront and the curious folk begin moving in that direction to investigate. Kul gets to the southwest gate and immediately finds four familiar horses tied near the gate. He approaches the two guards and asks about Thar. The guards inform him of Thar's passing, but won't let him pass, explaining that they have been ordered to keep the door closed. Kul tries explaining that he is a friend of the Perith family and one guard mentions that the Periths are very rich. Kul gets the hint and agrees. He then asks how much it will cost him to pass through the gate. The guard suggests a donation of three silver and the other guard adds, "each". Kul fishes into his still wet sack and pulls out 8 sp. He hands it to the guard and says, "Split it up...we'll need to come back through when we return." The guard agrees and unlocks the door. Kul moves through the portal and follows the horseprints as fast as he can towards a nearby village. 

AFTERMATH (PART 1) AFTERMATH (PART 2) TUNICIANS IN REL MORD DISCORD

PICKING UP THE PIECES SCARTUU! SPITE & RESPITE