Zarkov Chapter 6

After a too-long shower and a too-short sleep, we rose to face the day. Of course, day in the Coscarla is only slightly less dark, a perpetual gloom hangs around like a fog.

We tossed Draylock’s office for clues, finding precious little. There was a note with a scrawled reference to Lili Arbest, Saul’s sister, so we made plans to visit with her for information. Sadly, none of us had remembered that we had planned that very thing back in the Interrogator’s briefing room. I felt like a FNG for a moment, but I let it pass and put my mind back on the mission, as we all met back in room 3, which Sila and Venus were using.

“We would be best served dividing our labors”, Ignace began.

“Second”, Barick said.

“I’ll head back to the Union Hall, see if I can drag up more info”, I said.

“Barick, perhaps you could check around for some other leads in the stacks?” Sila suggested.

“I’m on it”, he replied.

“We will talk with Lili”, Venus added, including Sila and Ignace with a glance.

“Alright then, let’s hit it. Vox if there’s trouble. We’ll meet back here.” I said. I shrugged on the heavy overcoat and headed out into the gloom of the Coscarla, making my way to the Union Hall.

As I walked, I got that itchy feeling between my shoulder blades. The feeling has served me well through the years, and I stopped dead. I scanned the street, looking around me with an eye to detail. I saw nothing. Still, when I resumed my walk, I did so warily.

I made my way to the Union Hall and into the bar at a brisk pace. Many of the same faces were here, professional drinkers racing their livers to the grave. I sat on the same barstool, and the tender brought over the same ale I’d ordered before. A good memory can be an asset for a bartender.

“You must be a tough one”, he said. I raised one eyebrow, a bit taken aback but waiting for him to continue. “Heard what you did to ol’ Draylock’s boys. Heard it from Luntz, actually. He wants to meet you.”

“Man’s quick”, I said.

“He keeps his ears open, that one. And always willing to pay for muscle.”

“Man’s smart”, I said. When I get a good theme, I stick with it.

“He keeps an office of sorts here”, the bartender continued. “It’s the door around back, doesn’t connect to the rest of the building. Knock five then three.” I couldn’t suppress a snort and a grin. “I know”, he said, “Luntz likes his pictdramas.”

“Tell him I’ll roll around later today” I replied. Then I finished my ale and I left.

I had a few hours to burn. I didn’t want to go straight to Luntz, as I didn’t want us to seem like a gang of overeager simps. I strolled the market for a while, taking in the sights and sounds. I’ve visited livelier intensive care wards.

I had some time to think about things. I knew that the Coscarla was dying, and would be another faceless underhive in maybe two decades. I knew that somebody had altered Saul Arbest, and not for the better. I knew that we’d seen a strange creature, human in shape, that we couldn’t find. I knew that I didn’t know near enough. I’d have to rely on the whole team to put it all together.

I decided that enough time had passed, and made my way back to the Union Hall to speak with Luntz. I made my way to the back door, and tapped the code out on it, shaking my head the while.

When the door opened, I was met by a one-two punch of odor and ugly. The stubjack that manned the door looked like he’d gone ten rounds with an ork and lost, and he smelled like said ork’s armpit.

“Whaddyer want?” he said, and I suffered the affront of his halitosis.

“I’m here for Luntz. He’s expecting me. I’m with the crew that aced Draylock’s half-wits.”

He took a step back, letting me enter. “Hey boss!” he yelled, “Got’s a visitor!” Hell, he talked like an ork, too.

The man I assumed was Luntz came into the room like a rolling fog. He looked like he’d been augmented with some vat-grown muscle, as his arms were about as big around as my thighs. The plug of a lho-stick protruded from his lips, unlit, and a stubble clung to his jaw and the top of his head. He was wearing old fatigues, likely surplus or lifted from a shipment.

“I’m Luntz. Thanks for showin’.” He stuck a massive hand out, and I shook it.

“Thanks for the invite.” I lifted my chin a bit. “It’s your place, your show. What can I do for you?”

“Direct.” He nodded his approval. “I like that.” His voice issued out of him like a bass drum dragged over gravel.

I answered with a slight grin, and said nothing.

“You seem a capable crew. I heard what you did to Draylock’s boys, and they were some hard bastards, through and through. I do things here that could use a capable crew.” He looked at me expectantly. He wanted me to ask. So I did.

“What kind of things?”

“I keep things running here. Try to hold off the dark a bit. Yeah, we move narco goods, but people here need ‘em to get by, yeah?” This was a pitch he’d practiced. “Sometimes a bit of muscle’s just the trick. You’re more than a bit of muscle, and I like that.”

“Sounds worth talking about,” I replied, just to keep him going.

“Well, here’s the thing. I want to find out what all you’re good at. You up for a test?”

I shrugged. “Sure.”

He looked me over, and I watched him decide to buy in. “Alright. Got a job needs doing. You’ll find me generous if it gets done. There’s a queen bitch over at the Alms House I want dropped like a habit. Keeps herself to herself, but went sour on some trade with me. You take her down, you pass.”

“You want this pro bono?” I let a bit of an edge creep into my voice.

“No, man, nothin’ like that. You drop her, it’s worth a cool five hundred.” That was real money to the Coscarla. I let myself look impressed.

“All right, I’ll check with the team.”

“Do that. While you’re at it, you come across a friend of mine named Saul, you let me know. Went missing a bit ago.” I kept my face still, even though I recognized the name.

He turned and left, quite unlike a man holding court in the backrooms of a bar. There was nothing left for me to say, so I said it. I left, heading back to the hostel. I wasn’t sure if it would be worth our time to run an errand for a narc-runner. It was certainly distasteful. But sometimes you crawl through a bit of muck to reach an objective.

Zarkov Chapter 5

I made my way out of the building, nodding once to the portly hostel keeper on my way through the lobby. He looked me up and down in a way that made me wonder if he grappled same-sex. I dismissed the thought as I strode out into the dim light of the Coscarla.

I turned onto the main avenue, knowing that I’d have to pass through the market to get to the Union Hall. There is a press in a hive city, a constant hum of humanity going about its business that can put the uninitiated ill at ease. Here, in the Coscarla Segment, that press was absent. In its place was a hollowness.

Though I could see hundreds of people going about their lives, the dim light and loneliness of the place seemed to paint the scene as a giant lie, as if these people were only the shadows of a dying Segment. In truth, they were.

My walk took me past burned out habstacks and abandoned dwellings; those who could afford to relocate had already done so. None were left here but the destitute and the very stubborn.

The market was heavy with desperation. Vendors hawked ragged clothes, unidentifiable meats, substandard guns and ammo, and nutrient slime likely vat-harvested somewhere downhive. There was nothing untouched by the soot of the Coscarla; once-bright canopies, now blackened, lay slumped over tables like carrion birds spreading their wings over a carcass. I weaved my way through the lines of stalls quickly, approximating the hurried gait of the locals.

I finally made it to the Union Hall, a gathering place for the workers of the Coscarla who still had jobs. This was the available recreation for most, and as in more downtrodden places than I cared to count, the bar was the most popular destination within it.

The Union bar was dim, a large room with game tables and a massive slab of plascrete forming the actual bar. A steel mirror hung behind the bar, surrounded by bottles of liquor. About half the bottles were commercial, about half were homebrewed. I resolved to avoid the homebrew, as you never really know what local ingredients are present, nor which of those will be toxic or blinding.

The bartender was a short plug of a man with too few teeth and too little hair. He asked what I was drinking, and I pointed to a commercial ale and ducked my head like any other dreg would after a hard shift. I was largely ignored, hunched over on my stool as I was, which was fine by me. I used the mirror to scan the room every so often, taking in the same crowd I’d seen in a thousand other bars…the faces changed, but the crowd never did.

I’d been on the barstool for about ten minutes when two faces I knew entered the bar, Venus and Barick walking in and taking a place at a table. They leaned in and talked to each other, and the lone waitress stopped and got a drink order from them. I watched Barick in the mirror as he looked around the room, a slow scan that took in the whole room and all those in it.

Barick stood then, walking to another table occupied by the prettiest girl in the room. She was about a five, but her chest was an eight. I saw Barick motion the waitress over, and he bought her a drink. Great, I thought with no small amount of sarcasm, I get to watch a master interrogator at work.

Their conversation was too quiet for me to hear over the bar noise, and I kept my attention moving around the room thanks to the big mirror. So I noticed when one of the workers threw down his darts and started a beeline for Barick’s table. A few of his buddies tagged along with him, and in moments they’d made a semicircle around the table.

The boyfriend must have been a heavy laborer, as his forearms were massive. He spit his words out from behind a long bush of a beard.

“Exactly what the frak do ya think yer doing, tourist?”

“Just having a drink, friend”, Barick replied. I barely managed not to wince, as I twisted slightly on the barstool for a quick intervention if needed.

“I’m not yer friend, and that’s my woman. You lookin’ to eat some teeth?” The workers were leaning in now, eager for a fight.

“She’s a fine lady, and I apologize. I should have known she’d belong to somebody”, Barick said, a salesman’s smile stamped on his face. “Let me buy you guys a drink.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Venus twisting her pendant, which I’d learned meant some interesting things would be following soon. That necklace is her psy-focus, she’d told me, a tool some psykers use to “tune in” before using their unique gifts. The workers started to back off a bit, a free drink a fitting apology to those who hadn’t been affronted in the first place. The boyfriend, however, wasn’t ready to let it go.

“Don’t buy me shit, boy. Stand up and get yer due”, the burly worker said. It looked like the balloon was going to go up, and I started to slide off my stool. Then I saw Venus go stiff, the burly boyfriend similarly rigid for a moment. She’d done something, but I didn’t know what.

Suddenly, the worker staggered into his friends, eyes wide, muttering the Supplication of the Emperor’s Grace over and over. I slid back onto my stool, unnoticed, as Barick addressed the workers.

“What’s wrong with your friend?” he asked. They all looked bewildered, and helped him into a chair. He continued to pray.

Barick looked to me, and I made a discrete “get lost” gesture. He nodded once, already breaking eye contact. “Well, I hope he’s OK boys. You all have a good night, and enjoy that drink on me.” He laid some money on the waitress’ tray and made his way out the door. Venus stayed, looking very interested in her drink. So much for the master interrogator.

I decided to see if I could have any better luck, and even though it’s a cliché on more than ten thousand worlds, I waved the bartender over to pump him for information.

I slurred my speech slightly, and endured the barman’s halitosis for ten minutes of boring conversation. I learned that Saul, the deceased, used to frequent this bar, and that the numbers of patrons were dwindling. I learned that people tended to stay off the streets at night; there were rumors of attacks at night, but the barman thought people were just leaving the Coscarla. The only real nugget of information the bartender dropped was that there was a decent drug trade going on, and that if I was really looking for a good time I should get in touch with a ganger named Luntz.

I slid off the stool, eager to head back to the hostel. Venus saw me rise and headed out the door before me, maintaining the illusion that we weren’t together. She joined me on the opposite side of the market, and we walked back together, sharing a bit of a laugh at Barick’s expense.

Venus and I walked into room 3 arm-in-arm, both smiling. Everyone was there, and I greeted Barick teasingly. “Hey, there’s Loverboy!” He glared at me, but he knew I was just taking the frak.

“Well did you do any better?” he asked.

“As a matter of fact, yes” I replied.

“Well what did you find out?” he asked. I told them.

Likewise, Sila and Ignace had used their time well. They’d found a mountain of information about the region, the crime rates, and more. There seemed to be a string of missing person reports, none solved by the local enforcers. Sila had also found reference in a buried report to a heretical group called the Logicians, but the report was sketchy at best. Still, it was the only local reference to any true heresy, so we put it in the list of possible clues, of which we had few.

As the hour was late, I bid everyone a good night, and turned in. We all knew it would be a full day tomorrow, and we were right. Doubly so, since our day actually started late that night.

I woke from sleep like surfacing after a dive, my every sense telling me something was wrong. As my eyes snapped open, I realized I wasn’t alone in the room. In the dim light, I could see two figures, the nearest holding a knife. I came out of the bed like I was fired from a bow, my fingers closing on the laspistol under my pillow. I leveled the business end at the intruders.

“Now let’s all just be very still”, I said, and rubbed sleep out of my eyes with my off hand. I bit back a yawn and glared at the two scummers.

I could hear the sounds of scuffling throughout the other rooms around us. Just then, my mirror wobbled and shattered, and I hoped that meant that Venus had just done something with her powers. The knife wielder still looked confident, but the other scum had pissed himself when the mirror went crazy.

“Lay down and put your hands behind your head.” Pissboy did. Knifeboy didn’t. He lunged at me, and I shot him in the face, and told the other to stay put. He whimpered, but complied, and I hurriedly donned my belt, holstering the pistol.

“Report!” I yelled into the hallway. A chorus of “Clear” answered me, along with the sound of pounding feet. I leaned into the hall to see Draylock, the hostelkeeper, making for the stairs. “Runner!” I yelled, and I ran after him. He had a good lead, but I had a feeling I’d done more running in my lifetime than he had.

I trailed him by maybe 15 meters as I exited the building, and I kicked into a slightly higher gear. I was stricken by the darkness, the night cycle here was punctuated by very few light sources, and some of those were merely promethium torches.

I had gained a meter or two on Draylock, and I could see him beginning to tire, heaving for breath. It would only be a matter of time. I was shocked, and nearly fell, when he was tackled from the side by a large, rag-wrapped thing with red eyes. It moved silently, making no sounds. What I could see of its flesh was sickly green, and though it looked human I instinctively knew that it wasn’t anymore, if it ever had been.

By reflex I stopped and drew my laspistol, the front sight coming to rest on the thing just as it twisted Draylock’s head 180 degrees with a sickening snap. The trigger pull came just as naturally, and a hole appeared in its torso. It seemed not to notice, and I took an involuntary step backwards as its red eyes locked on to me like two targeting lasers.

I squeezed the trigger again, and I was dimly aware of the sound of pounding feet behind me. I heard Barick curse, and knew he had seen the thing. We fired at it again, and it fled, ripping up a sewer cover and diving into the muck below. It had ignored our shots, making no sound at all. It had hefted the cover as if it were a box lid. I was more than a little worried about whatever it was, but we had to follow it.

Barick, Ignace, Venus, and I climbed down into the sewers, Ignace using the modified auspex to try to track the thing down. We spent an hour slogging through muck better left untouched, and came no closer to finding it. We decided our time would be better spent taking a long shower and cleaning our gear, so we climbed back up out of the drainage system, and returned to the hostel.

Sila had questioned the scum I’d caught, and was told that Draylock would invite the gang in to rob guests from time to time for a cut of the take. He’d picked the wrong guests this time, and paid for it with his life. I felt no pity whatsoever, though I was still disturbed by the zombie thing we’d seen. I had no idea how disturbing things could get.

Zarkov Chapter 4

This entry in Zarkov’s adventures is from another of the introductory modules, Edge of Darkness. In our campaign, we continued from this into original material, and it proved a fantastic springboard for doing so. Enjoy now the second tale of Inquisitor Jonas’ Acolytes.

The briefing had begun to drag, and I leaned back in my chair as the medicae-interrogator’s voice droned on. My mind wandered from the lab and the lights, and the body on the cold metal slab.

Our journey out from Sepheris Secundus had been an absolute ordeal; it began with a week long session of debriefings, mind scans, and medicae probing to be certain we had truly come through the Shatters unscathed. We all passed, our hearts and bodies still pure and free of taint, even after exposure to what Inquisitor Jonas called a “warp stone”.

Now we found ourselves on the big gray marble known as Scintilla, the seat of government for the entire Calixis Sector. Hive Sibellus, Scintilla’s largest city, sprawls some eight thousand kilometers in width, hugging the coastline as it reaches some five kilometers into the sky at points. It’s one of the largest hive cities you will see in the sector, with billions of people toiling at any hour on the clock. It was here we had been sent.

We were in a high hive spire, sitting with a Senior Medicae-Interrogator as we received our mission brief. The medicae stood over the body of one Saul Arbest, who lay there with his insides open to the harsh lights. The medicae wore blue robes, and was attended by three servo-skulls. His shaved head gleamed, reflecting the bright lights of the lab. His white gloves sported various fluids as he gestured with them.

“This is what did him in”, the medicae continued, holding up a milky-white organ that obviously wasn’t a normal part of someone’s guts. “Judging by the damage to his vocal chords, he was not anesthetized for its introduction. Note how it lay against the spine, and the tendrils it inserted into the nervous system.” He pointed out the slimy tentacles with a wooden pointer.

I watched Venus as her face turned pale, and lay a hand on her shoulder to reassure her. She smiled thinly in thanks.

“So its function is control or influence”, stated Ignace.

“Just so.” The bald head bobbed once, a reward for an attentive student. “And more than that, it is heresy, at best. At worst, it is xenos in nature. This we have not ascertained.”

“So he was a heretic?” Barick asked. He leaned forward slightly as he asked, his black Arbites armor refusing to reflect the light.

The medicae-interrogator answered as if giving a lecture. “We do not know. He was a worker until some sixty days ago, when he was released from his indenture. As many have been in the Coscarla segment. The place is, in a word, run down. He has no prior arrest record, and was reported missing thirty-two days ago by his sister, Lili. She remains, to the best of our knowledge, in the same habstack she shared with her brother.”

“What’s our method”, I asked. I was still reclined in the chair, hands behind my head.

“This”, the interrogator responded, “is to be a shadow work. As you shall be seeking secrets in the lower hive, you shall have a cover identity that brings rather less attention than blazing guns and a Rosette of the Holy Ordos.” His lips twitched into a passable smile.

Sila ran a hand through her blonde hair absently. “So what are our objectives?”

The medicae placed the organ back on the slab, and walked to us, ticking off each objective on his fingers as he listed them. “First, find our heretic. We need to locate the source of this abomination. Second, retrieve samples if you can. Lastly, if possible, apprehend. If you find threads of a larger tapestry, then you are to report and await further instruction.”

“Let’s get to it, then” I said.

We were led to the next room, where some supplies had been set aside for us. Ignace took up an auspex, which we were told had been calibrated to detect the tissues of the organ. We were also given bulky overcoats and IDs that matched our cover as hammers for the Coblast Assay, along with a small stipend of throne gelt to use for bribes, payoffs, and the like. We gathered our gear, and set off for the Coscarla Segment an hour later.

Our ride downhive was only a few hours, as the rail system ran straight into the Coscarla. Once a busy manufacturing area, the Coscarla had fallen on hard times indeed when their house lord had fallen out of favor. Contracts had dried up, a set of riots and fires had occurred, and now the Segment was scraping by, trying to stave off complete failure like a grox beset by pack-hounds. It knows it doesn’t have many steps left before it goes down, but stubbornly, it takes the next one.

The rail station at Coscarla was filthy, dregs of humanity wandering like rats in a maze to and fro, each with their faces down as they trundled along at a hurried gait. It was a scene I’d walked through before, as war starts to approach a folk, and fear begins to rise. Something had these people spooked, and it hit us like the wave of stink from burned habs and unwashed bodies.

There is only one hostel in the Coscarla Segment, so we made our way there straight away. Barick took care of getting us rooms, and we hauled our gear up the stairs to get settled in. I tend to pack light, and only had a single duffel to wrestle with. I helped Venus with her gear, then went to my room.

For a downhive hostel, the place wasn’t bad. The room was relatively clean, the bed acceptable, and each room had its own lavatory, which can be a luxury. The place even had data feeds, a reflection of a time only a few short years ago when this had been a more prominent Segment.

I opened the closet, stowing spare clothes and racking both my lasgun and shotgun above the door, after driving a set of hooks into the inside of the front wall. It’s my experience that people don’t walk into a small closet, and they never look straight up, always at the back. It’s an old trick, but one that leaves my weapons ready and relatively safe from discovery at the same time. You just have to be sure to clean up the dust from putting in the hooks. People always look at the floor.

I’d brought all my hardware for this mission. In addition to my normal arms, I had my laspistol in its holster on my hip, and places on my harness for a short monosword and the big revolver I’d picked up at the Shatters. I left the harness and my flak armour in the duffel for now.

A soft knock on the door interrupted me, and I opened it with a hand on the butt of my pistol. Sila’s pretty face greeted me.

“Ignace and I are going to start records searches, if you need us we’ll be in room 3”, she said.

“Chase it down, girl”, I replied. Between them, they could probably find any information we needed, provided there had ever been a record of it. For the rest, there was good old leg work.

“Barick and Venus are going to the Union Hall to begin their snooping”, she said. She almost managed to hide the note of disapproval in her voice. I smiled in response. “They wanted you for backup.”

“Tell them I’ll meet them there”, I replied. “I’d rather we not all show up as a group.” With that, I shrugged on the big black overcoat with the subdued Coblast logo on one sleeve, and headed out the door. I gave a friendly wink to Sila on my way by, and stepped into the hallway.

Lum, Chap 4

We rise in the first light of the day. Ivy glares at Kouki, a hatred in her eyes for the priest evident. I do not know what has passed between them, but it cannot be good.

Relowen and I are introduced to Zem, another of Eldrin’s men. He is a shaman, and carries himself with the same surety that Revikh does. As he eats, he wastes no movement, wastes no words. These are elders of a sort, and Eldrin their chieftain.

I wonder, for a time, at the power these men wield. They are shepherds, we are their sheep. I think on this. How many sheep wear pieces of crystal? We have met three more thus far, and both of these men, Revikh and Zem, have this “divinite” with them as well. There is some larger thing I am now a part of, some machine like those of the gnomes, and I am surprised to find I am but one of the gears.

My thoughts are interrupted as Revikh tells us he will depart for a time, taking Kouki, Yumi, and Chiyo with him for some “test.” I wonder if he will watch them fight trolls.

There is a flash as they teleport away, and the rest of us ride on.

I look to Drakha, seeing the half elf’s new scales. She has become closer to the dragons, I can see. Relowen speaks to her.

“Thanks for the rescue. I certainly think you’ve proven yourself in my eyes.”

I am angered, and I speak. “You should work to prove yourself in her eyes, elf.”

“Fair enough”, he says.

We travel on, the road long. We speak amongst ourselves, discussing the battle with the vampires. We have not yet spoken much of our selves, our histories. They likely have little meaning in the riddle.

I cannot ignore the hatred I saw in Ivy’s eyes, and so I walk beside her. I look at her, so young, so small.

“You look to the priest with hate in your eyes, Ivy. Why is this so?”

She looks at me as if I have grown an extra head. “He is the reason for every bad thing in my life. He’s why my parents are gone!”

This makes no sense to me, but I am not smart. I nod once, to let her know I have heard her. But I am silent for a time as I think on what she has said. It comes to me, then, that what she says cannot be so, unless the priest hurled the great rock into the city and commanded dragons. As I know this to be Shayan’s work, I know that it is not the priest’s work.

“But, Ivy”, I begin. “That cannot be!” Drakha catches my eye then, and shakes her head. They have had this conversation already. Drakha tells me that this is a side effect of the torture Ivy and Kouki endured when they were captured, while Relowen and I were in the vampire’s keep.

***

The Speaker once told me that a small thing may lead to something large, a pebble makes a wave that reaches all edges of a pond. So it was this day, as we met a young lady on the road. Her clothes wore the dirt of the fields, and she looked distressed to us. We greet her.

“Are you all right?” Drakha asks.

The lady nearly cries, telling us that her escort has become lost to her. “He has gone to ask questions of a druid he knows, and has not returned. We were headed for Sumter to see my parents.” The words spill out of her, like a cup tipped over.

“Do you know where this druid is?” Relowen asks her.

“No”, she replies. “He said he would return in two hours, though. So it must be close.”

Ivy looks around at us. “Well, go with us, I guess.”

Relowen offers his hand to the lady. “Ride my horse, I am light. It will be no burden.”

“Truly”, I say. “His horse doesn’t know it’s being ridden.” She favors me with a grin.

We ride on, and arrive at her village of Sumter. She offers us silver, but we decline, even Ivy. We need no reward. Zem, the shaman, nods his head in approval.

We go to the village’s inn, and Zem takes his leave from us to meditate. He tells us that there is a wrongness about the place, and he must look within for an answer. Relowen leaves us as well, to speak with others in the town. I order ale and dinner, sitting with Ivy and Drakha.

It is not long before Relowen returns to us, telling us he thinks the druid has gone missing, and that the area has an odd feel to him as well. A ranger and a shaman both, then. I loosen my axe a bit in the straps on my pack.

“We should check on this druid.” Relowen says, a pleading in his eyes. I look to Drakha, and she assures him that we will, when morning’s light shines. It is then that Zem descends the stair, a serious look upon his face. He pulls a chair to our table, and waves the serving wench over.

“Something is very wrong here. Be ready for a fight. One hangs near us like a spring storm.” Zem looks at each of us in turn, perhaps judging our readiness. I meet his gaze with hard eyes, I am no stranger to a fight.

As we talk and plan, the night settles in. In time, we each seek rest.

***

Dawn breaks to the sound of screams in the road. Relowen and I have slept in the common room, and we burst through the door quickly. On the road, we see what seem to be humanoid plants, and Zem facing them in the road, calling down lightning. Some villagers lie broken in the road, dead. Relowen and I share a glance, we are not sure how the shaman made it past us without our waking.

The plants are many. We charge, and I cut one down with my axe; it is a plant-mantis-needled thing that bleeds sap as I hack it in two. Drakha joins the fight moments later, and her fiery breath is deadly indeed, making one a pyre in the street.

I dodge and weave, twisting to avoid needled branches. I do not call the rage, nor do I call the beast within. These are not a challenge for us, but a morning exercise. I cut another down, clearing some space for Zem to work his magicks. We water the plants with a rain of strikes, arrows, and lightning, and finish them in short time.

I turn to see Ivy trotting up to us. “I couldn’t get my boots on”, she says in a huff.

“I will guard the dead villagers until they are taken to their final resting place”, Relowen says. I look at him for a time.

“You do that”, I say. “I will have breakfast.”

I leave Relowen and Zem to examine the plant creatures, and return to the inn to fill my stomach for the long day ahead. Ivy joins me, as does Drakha. Eventually, Zem and Relowen do as well.

Relowen tells us the basis of the creatures are natural, but have been twisted. He says that he will track them. I speak, a tone of humor in my voice.

“You are going to track plants through a forest? You will have my respect elf.”

We do not wait long, and set out quickly. Between the two of us, Relowen and I manage to find a trail, following dropped needles and bruised undergrowth. It is perhaps only an hour before we notice another plant creature in the path.

“Is this what we fought?” Ivy asks. I make an after-you flourish and say to her “Be my guest.” Relowen kills it with a single arrow, and before Ivy and I can glare at him, we realize that there are many now, and they have ambushed us quite well. Ivy destroys one with a line of power, and I charge into another, rending it into mulch.

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I see three standing together, and hold my arms wide. “Come feel the bite of my axe!” I scream to them, and they oblige, rushing me. I focus on them, dodging their strikes and cutting when I can.

Behind me, I hear Drakha’s fiery breath, and Ivy yelp in surprise. One of my foes is shattered by lightning, and I take advantage of the opening to cut another down. A purple bolt of power strikes the last, and I finish it with a quick backhand.

I turn back to the group, a wide grin on my face. I see plant bodies lying about, like new-mown hay. We are fast becoming like a hunting party, able to work together well.

Relowen and I look to the spoor, and realize that there is no way to discern a path, there are needles all about. We decide to continue in the same direction for a time, leaving marks here to return to and strike new direction if needed.

We are only minutes away from the battle site when I stop. My nose tells me that there is rotten meat nearby. I have not stopped quickly enough, though, as the ground trembles and a great plant rises above us, a massive maw and long vines ready to assault us. There is no meat, it is a hunting plant. I smile. This will be a true fight!

I begin to advance, wary of it. My axe is ready. I am not as ready; it moves with the speed of lightning, and the vines grab me before I can move. Such speed! I struggle against the vines, but still the plant holds me. The others strike it, yet still it holds me.

The maw of the thing looms large, and I surge against it with all my strength, but it is for naught. Suddenly, I can no longer feel my limbs. It has used some sort of venom on me, and I can only watch as the world becomes dark and disgustingly wet as the great maw closes around me.

I can only guess at how long I am in the darkness, how close I come to drawing my last breath. Suddenly, there is light, and Drakha pulls me from my slimy prison. She touches me, her hands aglow, and suddenly I can move and feel.

“It will be many days before I eat a salad”, I say. The others laugh, and I join them with a grin as I roll in the dust to remove what acid remains on my clothing and skin. Relowen makes some joke about a dog, and Drakha smacks the back of his head.

***

We search from that point out, and hours later come to a clearing. Within this clearing, there is a shrine, and a body lays upon it, likely the druid. Relowen runs blindly into the clearing, foolishly. The largest, most vile plant I’ve ever seen rises above us, breaking earth and ripping trees in its fury to punish us for our trespass.

I call the beast to me, and the rage takes me as well. Ivy leads my charge with a bolt of power, but it is not affected in the slightest. One great vine swats at me as if I were a bug, and it is the hardest I have ever been hit before. I feel ribs snap and I stagger, punch drunk. It hits me a second time, and I see stars in the middle of the day.

I scream out in pain and rage, calling out to my ancestors, and I crash my axe into the body of the beast with all of my might, and perhaps some of theirs as well. I am dimly aware of the battle around me, of magicks striking the thing, but all I can be sure of is my axe as I drive it again into the thing. Suddenly, it falls to the ground, though I cannot be sure what has finished it. The forest spins around me, and suddenly the canopy above me fills my vision. I am on my back, fighting to draw breath.

Zem and Drakha work for a time over me, and I feel the warmth of their power flowing into me. I think that Relowen may have buried the druid. Zem tells us that we had found the root of the evil here; that the wind already blew cleaner. I am glad of this, as my body needs rest. We make our weary way back to the village, and share the news with the people there.

This night, I will sleep long and hard, and trust to the others to wake me if I am needed. I am sore, and need the rest. It will be a long path to Wroat.

Lum, Chap 3

A flash awakens me in the night. I roll to my feet, morningstar in hand, ready to do battle. I need not have bothered, as I see Revikh standing before us. His eyes are dark in the firelight; he looks as if he has not slept since we met. Standing with him are a priest, a monk, and a small girl in dark clothes…a rogue, perhaps?

My mind is slow this night, and we talk little. Introductions, names, not much else are shared. Revikh points out that they are like us, and asks us…nearly begs us…to travel together. We do not waste many words when we realize that they also bear the riddle of crystal. We travel, to Wroat.

We split up when we reach the town, and Relowen joins me to talk amongst the warriors and such in taverns, seeking news. We hear of strange things, gnolls perhaps, in the forest nearby. We travel, the seven of us, to seek and learn. We should have waited to the next morning.

We do, in fact, find gnolls. And we wage war with them. But something, some swift and terrible thing, some winged thing takes Ivy. Away, into the night. I run after her, and the priest flies with magicks, and Relowen runs with me. It is not long before we lose sight of her, but we run on, hoping to catch up with the wings in the darkness. It is not the wisest choice this warrior has ever made, but the Rage clouds my mind, and I wish only to crush whatever has taken one of my companions.

We run long into the night, until we must rest. My eyes must have closed for a time, as I am awakened by something moving closeby. I stand, ready to fight, the ivory Morningstar in my hand. I see the deathly pale visages of our foes, 8 by my count. They are wan, thin, but powerful. They smile to reveal fangs. I smile to answer them, and call the Beast within.

The vampires begin to slash at us, their claws cutting deep furrows into the flesh of my arms. I crush, I smash, and realize that I have put down two of them, and left more aflame by the magick of my weapon. I hear a cry, and look to my right to see Relowen fall under the weight of his foes, but I am too hard pressed to help him. I double my efforts, fighting as hard as I ever have, beyond pain, beyond reason. But they are many, as are my wounds. I smash another, but feel a dull impact on the side of my head.

All goes dark, and I feel as light as air for a moment. Then I know nothing more.

I do not know how much time has gone by when my eyes open. I can tell it has been long, as my throat and lips are dry. I feel weak, drained. My wounds are bandaged, but not otherwise treated. I am in pain.

I look over at Relowen, seeing that he is chained to the wall, as am I. He looks worse than I feel, his hair plastered to his head by dried blood, his face bruised. I twist against the wall and feel a sharp prick in my thigh…I look down to see the crystal knife, my riddle, sitting at my hip as if it were sheathed there…but the sheath, the belt, is gone. Its magick holds it there, another question in the riddle.

“Elf” I say.

“Mmmmf” he replies. He raises his head, opens his eyes, slowly.

“Are you alright?”

“Not even remotely”, he says.

I tug at the chains, and Relowen notices. “What are you doing?” he asks.

I glare at him, the answer obvious. He pulls at his chains, but has no more success than I. My heart catches in my throat then, my eyes wide, as I feel the crystal pulse, sending a wave of power into me.

“What is wrong?” Relowen asks, worry on his face. I answer him by ripping the chains apart, lengths still dangling from my wrists. I then break Relowen free, pulling his chains asunder as if they were made of sticks.

I feel stronger than I ever have, and for me, that is saying something. I grasp the door of our cell, and give a mighty heave. It resists me for only a moment, and I toss it against the wall of our cell. Relowen raises an eyebrow, but I have no answers. I merely pat the dagger at my hip, and motion to the hallway. Relowen leads on, and we travel the dark hallway to a staircase.

Another pulse swells within me, and I kick the door asunder. We are met by two vampires, and I call the Beast. My fingernails become claws, wicked and sharp. I long for vengeance against my captors, and I move to attack the nearest vampire. I leave a deep set of furrows across its throat, but it staggers away from my next strike.

Before I can close the distance, the door across the room comes crashing in, and two lines of black power envelop the vampires we face. They become man-sized clouds of ash, and I am shocked to find Revikh standing before us, bleeding from a dozen wounds.

He twists the gem on one of his rings, then touches himself, and I watch his wounds close. He repeats this with Relowen and I, and my thirst dissipates as my body is healed by powerful magicks. It is painful at first, then strangely soothing. We gather our captured gear, and prepare to attempt our escape.

“Revikh.” I say. He looks to me. I say nothing more, extending my hand to him. He grasps it.

“Thank you for acting with honor.” He nods, and then I feel magicks stir again. We suddenly stand in the great hall of a keep, which I guess is the same building we have been kept in.

A rich, deep voice speaks from behind us. “Leaving so soon?”

“Your hospitality is less than perfect” I reply. I turn slowly to see a vampire in regal robes, with perhaps 20 of his underlings nearby. This is not going to go well, and my hand grips the handle of my morningstar. If I am to die, I will make my death a good one.

“How long have you continued to live?” I ask.

“That is a rude question” he replies. I begin to reply, stalling for time, but Relowen interrupts.

“What are you, a woman?” The elf grins at his quip, but he has tipped the vampire too far. It raises one hand, and signals its minions to attack.

I will not die here, now. I am filled with rage, as the vampires charge Relowen and I. Revikh disappears, then reappears near the Vampire King, and they strike at each other with powerful magicks. As I stand ground, and begin to swat vampire claws away from me, I hear the great keep door being blasted by something powerful. This day is not the best day, but it may be the last day of my song.

The door falls, and I am ready for the worst. But surprise is mine, as it is Drakha and our companions who have broken the great keep door! The priest, Kouki, moves into the room and calls upon his god to turn undead. I see smoke rise from some of the vampires, but their king is unaffected, and moves with amazing quickness to strike the priest down. He falls like a puppet with its strings cut.

Revikh intercepts the vampire king, and they are hidden from view by the powers of their magicks as they strike at each other furiously. I watch for a moment as the monk grabs Kouki, pulling him away. He appears to be dead. I crush another vampire in front of me, ending its unnatural life, and spin to strike the one behind me.

It sidesteps my strike, and tears into my arm. I feel the pain, and I am driven to strike harder in my rage. Kouki and the monk return to the fight, surprising me. I would have sworn the priest’s death song had come. Relowen flees to the other side of the room, leaving me pinned on the wrong side of a wall of vampires. I will have words with him if I survive, and let him know he is a girl.

Drakha shouts to me to help Revikh, and I see that the vampire king has dragged him nearly out of the room. I cannot move to him, though, as 2 vampires are busy tearing into my flesh. Suddenly, Kouki is beside me. I hear Revikh scream, and this frightens me more than any vampire can. Whatever can make a power like his scream, is nothing I want to experience. I smash one of the vampires into oblivion, and Ivy casts her deathly magicks at the king.

The world goes dark, and I feel myself fall, the weight of my wounds pulling me down into darkness. I feel a light in that darkness, spreading within me. It washes away my pain, and I can rise again. My rage has left me, but Kouki’s touch has healed the worst of my wounds. I waste no time, unleashing all my hate in a vicious backhand, smashing the last vampire that had hurt me, crushing its head between morning star and bricks. I leave its black blood splattered on the wall like a halo.

Revikh and a man I do not know fight the vampire king, and I move to join as well, though it may cost my life. My strikes bounce off the vampire, and it ignores me as a seal ignores the cold. I can do no more than distract it, but I do so with all my might. A thousand thousand biting flies may bring down an aurochs.

The next minute goes by me in a blur of flame and magick, as we fight to bring the vampire low. Just when I allow myself to hope we will defeat it, it disappears and a flock of bats is there, flying away from us, mocking us in its retreat. The keep begins to quake and rumble, and we have only time for shocked and frightened glances at each other as we all sprint to escape, dodging falling stone and erupting flame. Rather than die with honor, this evil creature sacrifices its home in a final attempt to destroy us as it flees into the night in a hundred directions.

We escape, but only just. Some of us are wounded terribly, and healing magicks are cast. It has been a horrible day, but we all still draw breath, while most of our foes do not…and that makes the day good in my eyes.

Lum, Chap 2

A few days of travel have passed. Revikh has angered me, he has no honor. Leaving us to fight, while he rests and watches and acts like a noble in a slum. Among the Tribes he would be taught a lesson, likely with a boot to his backside.

It is not long into another day before we hear yipping and barking from the woodline. There we see gnolls. They are not many, so we will kill them.

I call the beast to me, and charge to meet my dog-faced foe. I swing the ivory morning star, its magic fire ignites. I feel the crunch of a smashing skull, see the gnoll’s face distort and the life leave its eyes as it falls. Rel shoots his bow, but misses bad. He hits trees. I crush the rib cage of another gnoll, and see a purple light blast one to dust. It is Ivy, and her power.

The elf misses again, as I smash another skull. Drakha breathes the flame of the dragon at the last. We have no time to rest, as a large pack of gnolls comes to view, emerging from the woods. Maybe 40, maybe 50 gnolls stand ready. Fun!

I stand my ground, rage in my veins. I lay about me, killing with each strike that lands. Purple lines of power pick foes from my back, as Ivy adds her magicks to the fight. Arrows fly into Drakha’s foes, Relowen has remembered how to shoot as he begins to find targets among the horde. Drakha breathes flame again, and gnolls flee.

More fall to us, to my weapon. I roar in their faces, enjoying their fear. Lum crushes, smashes! I call out to my ancestors! The gnolls flee into the forest, and my rage carries me after them. I take two from behind, their heads lolling around on broken necks. Then arrows strike me, hurting me, clearing my head. My left arm hangs at my side, two arrows sticking from it.

I take cover, hearing my companions behind me. I hold my hand up to stop them, and we see many, many gnoll archers and warriors. We withdraw, and so do the gnolls. It is best for both of us, as I see an arrow sunk deep into my thigh. My rage had blinded me to the pain, and it rushes through my nerves now like a wave. We regroup, and Drakha works healing magics on the worst of our wounds. I take many wounds when the rage calls.

We take what little valuables the gnolls possess, and move on. It is late day when we come to a village. We ask about provisions.

These villagers have no honor! Farmer thinks Lum is a fool! A gold coin for five potatoes? Treachery! “Is potato THIS big”, I ask, holding hands out like carrying a baby. “No” the villager says. I glower at him, and flex my muscles.

“Then more potatoes” I say. He gives me eight potatoes.

We make camp, and I hunt. I enjoy the hunt, the stalk. It is not long before I return with a boar, and begin stripping it for meat. There will be bacon in the morning.

I am awakened from sleep in the night. Fire! Pain! I roll, making sure I am not still burning. I look up, seeing skeletons approaching. One is a mage, and throws fireballs. He is the one that awoke me, and I will make him pay. My rage comes without me seeking it, and I charge.

My first strikes find only air, in my rage I have misjudged my foes. The skeletons are more nimble than I thought. It takes only moments to find my stride, and I begin to smash. I take chunks of bone from my foe with each swing. I do not feel pain, but I know that I am being cut by their swords, that I am bleeding.

The magic of Relowen’s arrows takes the caster down, moments before I finally smash my foe. They are powerful skeletons, only six of them giving us a challenge worthy of the Silver One.

I step to assist Drakha, crushing, smashing. Ivy and Rel take down the archers, leaving just two foes. I strike with all my might, crushing a spine into powder. One remains, and Relowen kills it before I can smash it. I take a moment to catch my breath, releasing the rage.

There are no more skeletons, and so I return to sleep. The morning comes with bacon, and I eat heartily of it. We decide to travel on.

It is not long before we are met again by Revikh. I demand he answer for his treachery, abandoning us to fend for ourselves after demanding we follow him blindly. He does not, smug and sneering. I charge him, intent on kicking him in his nethers. He uses foul wizardry to halt me and lay me low. He then summons gryphons through some magic device to carry us further on our journey. He is a smug bastard.

I have not flown before. It is good fun, though I grip tightly. I also have not been teleported much, but only moments after landing, we teleport from the mage city to a great fortress floating in the desert. Revikh tells us we will finally have answers, and for this I am happy.

We meet Revikh’s master, Eldrin. He is a scholar, and tells us our crystal items, our riddles, are Divinite. He tells us we faced a demigod, a servant of evil. I demand to know more, but am cut off by cries of an attack on the fortress. The fortress is suddenly besieged by dragons and foot soldiers. Powerful magic to move an army.

We must flee, and the evil one, named Shayan, he leads this army. We leave the defenders of the fortress to their work, and move to escape. We are attacked by invisible foes, someone shouts that they are hellcats, and immune to fire. I pull my greataxe off my pack, and begin to chop about, seeking my foes. One of the defending mages casts some spell to reveal them, but pays for it with his life.

Surrounded, we fight hard. Ivy’s magic, my axe, Rel’s blades, Drakha’s morning star. The battle is hard, and we must fight quickly, there are dragons about. I tear one apart with my axe, see that 2 more have been felled by my companions. Rel falls to the ground on my left as Ivy drops another cat with her magics. Drakha and I step into the last hellcat, chopping hard, and Ivy finishes it. I help Rel up; we move to continue our flight.

A great blast of sound calls my attention, and my jaw drops as Eldrin banishes Shayan somehow. We deal in great power, pawns on the board are we. The kings are mighty. We are given some supplies by Eldrin, and sent on our way to the capital. Among the items he has given us are curious bracelets of magic, if we speak his name into them, he will hear what we say to him. He tells us to summon him if Shayan finds us.

I think about my path. It is no small task to solve this riddle, no small fight we wage.

Lum, Chap 1

It is morning. The dawn light gathers before the rise of the sun to shine on us. I rise, and look about the camp. There are four of us. The fifth is nowhere to be found, that honorless goatlover Revikh.

My eyes meet Relowan’s. He is an elf, small but nimble. Two swords hang on his hips, one long and one short; his bow is in hand. He loves the bow, but it does not love him as much yet. It is a fickle lover, sometimes it does not sing his song. But I can see he will be its master yet. They call him a ranger, and he is good on the hunt. We nod to each other, no words exchanged. I raise an eyebrow, he shakes his head. He has not seen Revikh either.

I turn my head to the left as I begin my morning stretch, and my eyes rest on Drakha’s sleeping form. She is a dragon priest, and I respect her. A half elf, her skin and hair are gold. She wears the hide of a dragon as her breastplate, but it is not silver, so I am pleased by this.

I look to the right, letting sleep fall away from those muscles in turn. I look at Ivy, bundled up like a child. She is a child. Only 16, and only a few inches over 5 feet. She is a warlock, and will have great power…but she needs wisdom; she is so young. I do not know if I like her. She is feisty, but thinks of Ivy first. But then, we have not traveled together long. These two are not bothersome to me for their magic, ours is a tribe that has known magic long.

It is the riddle that binds us, and it is the riddle that brought us together. We were in Fairhaven only days ago. Seeking, each of us, though seeking different things. Ivy her parents, me a riddle…but all of us have something of crystal upon us.

Then the sky crashed down. A great stone fell from the air, smashing the palace into so much dust. The ground shook, and even my strength could not hold against the heaving. I fell, but was not hurt. To the palace I ran, though I could not tell you why. I simply felt the need, much like when the rage takes me.

I wonder if I should have resisted, as I found myself facing death, five times over. Dragons, black and red and blue, surrounded me and others. There was a great, dark winged man. Another man appeared in magic, and bid us defend ourselves. The dragon attacked, and this magic man fought with us…the dark man disappeared.

It was a difficult fight at best. I saw Drakha spit fire, and felt her magical energy softening the blows I received. I saw Ivy shoot lines of dark magic at the dragons. I saw Relowen shoot arrows into the dragons. But mostly, I saw the maw of the black dragon attempting to devour me.

I raged, and the Beast came to my call. I struck with my morningstar, carved from a tusk. It is also magicked with flame. It is my mightiest weapon, and against the face of the dragon I did strike, with all my strength. I endured its claws, I felt its acid breath take flesh from my arm. Drakha, though I did not yet know her name, healed me, her magics making my arm new. Still, I fought not just a dragon, but the pain of the wounds it gave me. I made it feel my pain, too.

When the dragon was dead, I ripped a tooth from its head for my necklace. I will carry its strength and cunning with me, a foe I have felled. I yelled out to my ancestors, screaming my victory and letting my rage go.

Revikh, the man of magic, bid us to follow. We talked but little, and followed him away from the city into the wilds. That was days ago.

Last night, we were attacked by trolls. We beat the trolls down, burning them with our fire to stop them from regrowing parts. They wore crystal collars, and so they are a new part of the riddle. Something sent them after us.

Revikh was nowhere to be found. The coward left us. I will have words with him, and those words will be short. My fists may speak, or perhaps the Beast.

But for now, that must be put aside. It is time to eat, and to move on.

Picture created by Heromachine