Board Story - The story

[Golden Lion 86]

The group then finished off the remaining raiders and returned to that cottage. The survivors returned from the woods to examine the aftermath of the battle. In the meantime, Rethne and Kitty regained consciousness, sore from their encounter with the ruffian captain. Sytze was hit with an arrow, and Duncan had cuts on his face. Salem was uninjured, but exhausted from casting spells. Phraen came in, with an arm in his jaws. Kitty looked at him and laughed, but quickly stopped, because it was hurting her ribs. Stanislav smiled, then fell to the ground. He had several arrows in him, and there were cuts on his face and a large bruise on his head, under his helmet. He pulled himself to a wall and shared what remained of his chocolate with his friends, except for Phraen. He explained that Chocolate had a toxic effect on dogs and he did not want to see Phraen hurt. Finally, he spoke:

"The standard." He said, breathing heavily. "Did any of you notice the emblem on the standard?"
"Yes," Salem said. "It was a white Dragon inside a blue diamond."
"That's right." Stanislav replied. "This is the emblem of the band that attacked my village."
"Weren't you three?" Kitty asked. "How do you remember?"
"Some things cannot be forgotten!" Stanislav answered. "Ask the villagers to look for survivors among the raiders. I want answers!"
"You are not the leader of the group, child!" Rethne exclaimed. "You are the youngest, and as such, should speak the least."
"I... I apologize." Stanislav said once he realized what he'd done. "I meant no disrespect. I am just curious about the raiders. I want to know who sent them."
"No harm done," Salem said. "Right, Rethne?" He looked at her sternly.
"I suppose," She said, with a degree of irritation. "But watch your tone, kid. I don't take kindly to newborns giving orders!"

Salem went outside and asked the villagers to look for survivors among the bandits. Within ten minutes, they found a young woman of about 25, and brought her to the cottage. The laid her down and left, thanking the group for saving them. Stanislav struggled to his feet and lifted the lady off the floor and sat her up. She was in bad shape, and would not stay alive for long.

"Who sent you?" Stanislav asked. "Who?!"
"I.. I... will not tell you, filthy slave!" She said with a struggle.
"What did you say?" Stanislav asked with anger, but realized that attacking the lady now would be cruel. "Why did you call me a slave?"
"I was there, thirteen years ago," She said. "When we destroyed your village. I will not tell you my master's name. He paid me too well." She began to cackle, but could not do so for long. She grabbed her chest and coughed. She then proceeded to breathe heavily, and finally, expired as blood filled her lungs and came out of her mouth. Stanislav let go of the woman as she slipped to the floor. He gathered what strength he had and broke a nearby table with his fist.

"Damn!" He cried. "Nothing!"
"We will find the ones responsible, Stanislav," Kitty said, putting her hand on Stanislav's shoulder. "I promise. Now come, I must heal you all."
"Agreed." Sytze said. "I will go find some herbs to alleviate our wounds."
"I will make it a little colder in here, to refresh us." Salem said. He waved his hand at the ceiling, and frost soon covered it. Little ice particles hung in the air, making it cool and fresh. Stanislav breathed more easily, and his wounds seemed to ache less. He turned to Kitty.
"How did you do what you did earlier?" He asked. "I mean the way you turned into a cat-person."
"All druids learn the art of shapeshifting." Kitty answered. "An older, more experienced druid could transform fully into a leopard, but I am young, so my transformation was only partial."
"Can this technique be learned?" Stanislav asked. "Would I be able to learn it?"
"With time and practice, perhaps." Kitty said with a smile. "Perhaps."

Suddenly, Sytze came back in with herbs. He set them on the floor and told the party that the villagers had asked for the group's help in rebuilding the village.

"The Impudence!" Rethne cried. "How much are they offering? Because they need to double that to get my aid!"
"As if anyone needs your skinny, puny little body to lift things, Rethne!" Stanislav said with noticeable impatience. "You think only of yourself. I, personally, would love to help. It costs me nothing but time and energy, but to these people, it means everything. The choice is clear!"
"I agree," Salem said. "But we must not tarry. We still need to find the treasure cache before others do."
"To work then, my friends!" Sytze said. "We have a lot to do!"

The group walked out of the cottge, and into the inn, where a few surviving beds accomodated them for the night.

[Yeltsu]

Having helped the villagers rebuild their homes, the group said farewell and continued on their way to Marith.

As they walked around a turn, they came upon a peculiar sight:
6 lively clad gnomes were sitting outside a cart, playing with various instruments, while chatting happily with each other.
Salem went forward
“Greetings merry men, my name is Salem and these are my companions, Kitty, Duncan, Stanislav, Sytze and Rethne, who are you if I may ask?”
One of the gnomes sprang up and bowed
“We are the band of the Merry Miscreants!” the gnome said
“My name is Basil, these are my cousins, Bill, Bud, Brad, Baldwin, and Bink”
“We are traveling bards, seeking fame and fortune” Bill said
“We have just toured Marith, and are on our way to Taren” Bud continued
“But we saw this lovely place, and decided to camp” Brad bowed again
“Would you like to see our show?” Baldwin asked
“Well, we should rea------“Salem started
“Excellent, excellent, we’ll begin preparations immediately” Baldwin interrupted
As Baldwin, Bud and Brad disappeared into the cart, Basil asked:
“And where are you headed then, big folks?”
Before anyone could answer, Stanislav replied
“We are hunting for treasure, that’s right; we’ve heard of some caves called Bal’n------“he began
“Shut up you ignorant brute!” Rethne yelled “I don’t trust these measly misfits and neither should you!”
Stanislav stepped backwards, obviously embarrassed by Rethne’s sudden outburst
“Now let’s get out of here before something happens” Rethne continued
“Rethne is right” Salem said “We must be wary of what we say in the presence of strangers”
“Whoa, easy there, my fiery lady” Basil said “no need for insults or hostilities, we are just a couple of gnomes, what could we possibly do to you great big adventurers?”
Just as Rethne was about to sling her litany of curses at the gnome, Bud, Brad and Baldwin appeared in front of the cart and began to chant, the other gnomes quickly joined in as well.

Duncan could sense that something was wrong about this, but he felt so incredibly tired. He looked around and saw his other companions falling to the ground, drowsing away. He tried to cry out, but was unable to muster the strength, and quickly fell to the ground as well.

----------------------------------------

He could see his mother again, she was looking down at him. His father was beside her.
They were smiling…
Suddenly his mother game him a kiss on the forehead, and they disappeared with a single word:

Wake…

----------------------------------------

He opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of Kitty. She told him that the gnomes had used their bard song abilities to put them to sleep. They had taken all their equipment and had ran away. Duncan looked to his side, it was true, Tsunetomo was gone, as was his other equipment
They walked over to join the others who were sitting in a circle around the remains of a campfire. They were all discussing what to do. Salem and Sytze meant that the best idea would be to travel to Marith, and look for traces there, Rethne didn’t agree, she felt that the gnomes would be too far gone to catch if they went to Marith. Stanislav was too furious to talk, having been defeated by a pack of cowardly gnomes seemed to be too much for him.
Duncan sat listening to the others when an idea popped up in his head.
“The caves, the gnomes have probably gone to the caves of Bal’nur! Who knows, they might have known of the location themselves, bards usually know old legends” Duncan said
“Yes that’s possible” Salem said “It’s probably the best idea we’ve had so far”
“But we don’t even know where the caves are!” Sytze exclaimed
“Yes, that’s true, we’ll have to find the caves as well” Kitty agreed

After a long pause, Rethne pulled a piece of paper out of a hidden pocket in her blouse.
“I know where the caves are” she said as she unfolded the paper, and revealed a map…

[Sytze]

“I say we head to the caves of Bal’nur”, Duncan suggested with an anxious expression on his face. “Chances are the gnomes traveled that way. Besides, even if they didn’t, we can still explore the caves, can’t we?”
Rethne, Kitty and Stanislav nodded in agreement. Only Salem wasn’t sure about going to Bal’nur. Without weapons, the journey could prove a dangerous undertaking.
“I suggest we move to Marith my friends, where we can re-supply ourselves. I’m sure my people will give or lend us weapons until we’ve found our own again. We’re also running low on…”
“…but that means we won’t be able to find the gnomes and our weapons easily!”, Rethne interrupted, almost screaming.
“Hold your tongue woman”, Stalinslav said, “and let Salem finish his words.”
“What!? You dare command me! I have almost had it with you, you filthy slave!” tensions rose and Rethne jumped up, pulling a dagger somewhere from her body so fast that none saw where it came from. When she was ready to thrust the dagger in the young Gladiators body, Duncan jumped between them.
“Stop this foolishness! I know everyone is upset because we fell for some silly Gnome tricks, but this is childish bickering and it is leading us nowhere! I suggest we vote about it.”
Rethne lowered her dagger and sighed. “Very well, let the majority decide then.”
“Stanislav?” Duncan said, fixing his eyes on the boy who was still a bit surprised by the small thief’s outburst.
“Whatever you say Duncan.”

While they were arguing about what to do, Kitty looked at Sytze. The archer hadn’t said a word yet and was apparently deep in thoughts. Phaere saw Kitty looking and raised his head.
<What do you think he’s brooding about Kitty?>
<I don’t know. He hasn’t said a word yet and obviously isn’t paying any attention to the ongoing discussion>
<Perhaps you could pull him from his current thoughts?>
<Considering our last encounter, I’m not sure that is such a good idea> Kitty replied.
<Ahh, don’t worry about that too much. He dislikes me, not you, remember?>
<I’m not sure Phaere…>

Suddenly Sytze stood up and started walking away from the group, leaving a fresh print on the long grass he sat on. He had heard enough of the discussion and had made up his mind. Initially, he agreed with Salem that it would be in the groups best interest to travel to Marith, but he changed his mind. He now wanted to get his weapons back, no matter the cost. His katana was a gift from his father when he and his old friend Ahrand had left their childhood village. The silver and red sword had engravings covering the entire blade and it was truly masterpiece of craftsmanship. His bow was of his own creation and he had spent countless of hours making it perfect for himself. And then there was his dagger; it was not a powerful weapon, nor a really beautiful one, but it was a gift from a village when Sytze and Ahrand killed a group of bandits assaulting the village. Both he and Ahrand had received a dagger as appreciation from the village and it reminded Sytze of his old friend and the journey’s they had made the last few years. His thoughts went back and Sytze’s throat became dry. He had to shake his memories away...

As he walked to the fresh footprints that the gnomes left behind, a voice reached his ears.
“What are you going to do, Sytze?” It was Salem. The sorcerer got up and starting walking towards the ranger.
“Gnome hunting” Sytze responded dryly, but with a sharp and determined voice.
“But we are just deciding what we’re going to do!” Duncan replied and he moved towards the elf and half-elf.
“I don’t care”, Sytze replied. “Your available options are us going to either Marith or Bal’nur. Neither gives absolute certainty that we will find the gnomes and that is unacceptable for me. I want my equipment back!” Sytze’s expression became darker and angrier. “Decide what you will do yourselves, but I’m going after those gnomes. Alone if I have to!”

<So he did pay attention to the discussion after all Kitty>
<It seems to be that way. What say you, Phaere, are we going with him, or do we wait and see what the party decides?>

Stanislav and Renthe also involved themselves in the ongoing discussion.
“Don’t you think you’re being self-centered here, Sytze?” Stanislav asked.
Anger boiled up inside the ranger, but he didn’t lash out to the gladiator. He had an innocent look on his face and his question was not intended as an insult.
“We all want our weapons back! How do you think how I feel now I lost my katana, Tsunetomo, to those gnomes. I have just as much reason to go gnome hunting as you. Yet I do what is best for the party and not what is best for me alone.” Duncan yelled.
“Getting our weapons back is in the best interest of he party,” Sytze responded calm “but these discussions only cost time and give the gnomes a larger head start. Decide what you do yourselves, but I’m off now that the tracks are still fresh. I expect to catch up with them around midnight.” And with that Sytze took off and started running.
“But what will you do when you will find them?” Salem shouted. “What if they enchant you again? They might kill you!”
Sytze stopped and faced Salem “That’s a risk I’m willing to take… I’ll think of something when I get there!”
He turned around and starting running again, within seconds he was out of sight. Absorbed by the green trees and bushes.
“I’m going with him”, Rethne replied “those gnomes need a lesson.” And she took off as well, leaving the rest of the group behind, uncertain about what to do. Follow Sytze, or vote between the two remaining options…

[werebeargoddess]

Kitty sat, thinking hard. She didn't want to leave her newfound friends, but she didn't want to leave Sytze on his own, especially if he had only Rethne for help. She had never really trusted the gnome, however trustworthy she seemed.
<You're worried that he'll get ambushed.> Phraen observed.
<Yes. I can't leave him out there. He's my friend. Friends don't abandon each other. But...>
<You don't want to leave the others, because you said you would help them>
<yes>
<Then do what you think is right. I won't stop you.>
<Alright. Here's what we'll do. At nightfall, when the others are asleep, we'll sneak out.>
<Kitty, what about the person who's on watch?>
<I don't know. I'll think of something.>

After a while, things began to settle down. Stanislav went in search for wood, Phraen went hunting. Kitty settled herself against a tree. Meanwhile, Duncan and Salem spoke in low, hurried whispers, and once or twice looked in Kitty's direction. Kitty wondered what they were talking about, but she didn't bother them. Slowly night fell. Stanislav and Phraen both returned. The remaining party members ate in silence. Kitty sighed inwardly as she ate. She hated leaving them in favor of looking for Sytze, but it was necessary. Once they were finished eating, they decided that Stanislav would keep watch, then Kitty, Duncan, and Salem turned in for the night. Kitty pretended to be asleep, though she was wide awake. After what seemed like hours, she could hear the slow breathing of Duncan and Salem, signalling that they were asleep. Carefully and quietly, Kitty got up. <Phraen? Let's go. I don't think anyone's going to notice us.>
She had nearly gotten to the edge of the clearing when a voice called out.
"Kitty?" called Stanislav, "Where are you going? Weren't you sleeping?"
Kitty paused. "I, uh... I've really got to use the privy. I'll be back in a bit, alright?"
"Ummm... okay. Be careful." Swiftly, Kitty snuck off, trying not to laugh at poor Stanislav.

It was getting near daybreak. Kitty and Phraen had been following Sytze's footprints for hours now, without any sign of the ranger. Every once and a while Phraen would break off from the path to search further, in cas Sytze was covering his trails. That was what he had been doing when he returned.
<There's a lake nearby, and what looks to be a temporary camp.> He informed her. <Want to go check it out?>
<Sure. I could use a rest anyway.>Swiftly, the two made their way to the lake. Sure enough, when they got there, there were obvious signs of a makeshift camp, without any sign of the owner. Kitty snorted angrily, but didn't say anything. Instead, she went down to the lake and started washing her face. She would have washed more than her face, but she didn't want to be startled. Phraen, on the other hand, jumped right into the lake with a happy howl. Kitty laughed as she was splashed with water. Presently, she could here two voices yelling and arguing. She couldn't tell who the voices were, or even where they were, but she thought one sounded like Rethne.
"Hello?" Kitty called out. "Sytze? Rethne? Is that you?"

[Golden Lion 86]

Kitty had gone off, and was gone for many minutes before Stanislav suspected that her faint smile was indicative of a deception. She'd gone off on her own before, and Stanislav suspected she might again. He believed her on her word, though, and stood guard for another 15 minutes before he knew he'd been deceived.

He woke up Duncan and told him about Kitty's departure. Duncan looked at Stanislav and laughed.
"Did you really expect Kitty to tell you she was going after Sytze?" Duncan said. "She know you care about her well-being, and did not want you to endanger yourself looking out for her."
"Still," Stanislav said. "There should be no deception between friends."
"In time, my young friend," Duncan said. "You will learn that even among friends, deception is sometimes necessary. Kitty only did what she did to keep you safe. There was no malice in her deception."
"Regardless," Stanislav said. "Now that I know what she is doing, I must go after her. I would ask that you keep watch in my stead."
"You need a weapon." Duncan said. "What will you do?"
"Not to worry!" Stanislav answered. "I have fashioned this crud staff out of a branch I found."
With that, he produced a staff that was as long as Stanislav was tall, and gave it a swing to demonstrate its power. Duncan nodded in approval, and bid Stanislav go and find Kitty. He knew the druid could handle herself well enough, with her cat-form ability, and Phraen at her side. However, Duncan felt even more confident that she'd be safer with the giant gladiator at her side.

Stanislav went off, and after about half an hour of tracking Kitty, he found her trying to mediate a dispute between Sytze and Rethne. Before he could get close enough to see what the dispute was about, they stopped, hearing his approach. Stanislav stepped out of the bushes and showed himself, hands in the air, and staff in his right hand. Rethne was tense, and prepared to throw a dagger at Stanislav, whether by impulse or by design, no one could tell. Kitty stayed her hand. As the only other woman in the group, Kitty had a special bond with Rethne, despite the assassin's cruel nature. Rethne considered the impact Stanislav's injury or death would have on her popularity with the rest of the group, and lowered her blade, this time.
"Foolish man!" Kitty said with a grin. "I thought I told you not to follow me!"
"You lied to me." Stanislav said. "You should have told me where you were going. I could have gone with you."
"I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" Kitty said, her smile lessening by the second. "I don't need to worry for you as well as for Sytze!"
"I can take care of myself too." Stanislav protested. "All the same, I would rather have traveled with you."
Kitty nodded. She understood the feelings brewing in the young gladiator, and smiled to herself. She also knew that Sytze's feelings were not too far off, and did all she could to keep from laughing at the situation.

Sytze and Rethne, all the while, stopped their argument, and stopped glaring at each other to follow Kitty and Stanislav's discussion. When this was finished, they resumed on a search for the gnomes. Rethne had found a Gold coin with a gnome's hair stuck to it with dried ale. She knew they were on the right track, and after an hour of tracking, they found the gnomes' waggon, stopped and its roof open. The gnomes were dividing their wealth, confident that no one pursued them. Stanislav saw this and rage took him. He prepared to charge the gnomes and knowck them unconscious, but Sytze held him back. The warrior had a tough time keeping the giant gladiator under control, so Kitty, with her newfound power over Stanislav, put her hand on his shoulder, making sure to slip her fingers past one of the plates. Immediately, Stanislav stopped and looked back. Kitty stood there, looking at him, and then she laughed, delighted by her display of charm magic. Stanislav understood the ruse, and smiled. Then, Rethne stepped up throught the bushes and looked at the gnomes. As fast as lightning, she drew six daggers and threw them one by one. Each gnome was struck in th back of the neck, and died instantly. Rethne then rushed to the gnomes and picked up their gold and all the equipment she'd lost. Sytze and Kitty followed, albeit reluctantly. Stanislav stood there, his mouth gaping in disbelief. Finally, he spoke.
"You wretched assassin," he said. "You murdered them!"
"Huh?" Rethne asked. "What? Who cares? They signed their death warrants the moment they double-crossed me."
"But they could have been reasoned with!" Stanislav protested. "Perhaps they needed the wealth for a cause of some kind!"
"The noblest cause of them all." Kitty said. "Feeding their pockets. Rethne was right. It was a merciful death, so no harm was done. We will bury them in the gnomish tradition, and be done with it."
"What?" Stanislav said. He was accustomed to Kitty's kind nature, and did not expect such a cold-hearted proclamation. However, Druids were not as reluctant to kill as Rangers, their counterparts in the natural balance. Rangers preferred to rehabilitate wrongdoers, while Druids preferred to execute them. "But theft is not a reason to kill. They could have killed us but did not! Why should we kill them?"
"Listen, boy," Rethne said. "What's done is done, for good or for evil, so stop whining and collect your gladii!"
Stanislav was nauseated at the sight. He turned aroud and sprinted towards the camp, surrendering his supper to the grass in the process. He reached Duncan, and asked him to wake Salem. Salem woke up grudgingly, and looked up at Stanislav. The gladiator's face was distressed as he recounted the evening's events. Duncan was a warrior, but even he only killed when necessary. Salem frowned on killing, in general, so they all agreed to go and confront Rethne about her course of action. When they arrived to the clearing where the gnomes had fallen, they found Rethne, Kitty, Sytze and Phraen engaged in combat with human bandits. Without delay, the three friends rushed into battle.

[Sytze]

As Sytze saw the young Gladiator sprinting towards to bushes, he walked to the gnomes. Blood coloured the grass and their bodies lay lifeless next to each other. For some strange reason it was a peaceful pose. Rethne had done her job well, perhaps too well and that scared him. She had killed the six without hesitation or reservation and he did not like it. We should sort things out soon, Sytze thought and he started looking for his trusted weapons.

A few minutes went by and still Stanislav wasn’t back.
‘Any of you two know where our young gladiator went off to?’ Sytze asked, not really looking at either of the two women.
‘No idea, but who cares anyway? Rethne responded with a sneer.
Sytze wanted to open his mouth and respond to her remark, but thought different of it and pretended to ignore her. A discussion was something he wasn’t in the mood for right now anyway. When he looked at Kitty, however, he saw anger in her eyes and feared the worst. She spoke, but to his surprise not to Rethne, but to him.
‘He went off to get Duncan and Salem.’
‘That’s a great idea!’ Sytze responded sarcastic. ‘We could’ve better carried the weapons with us, instead of them coming our way. Now we have to wait here the entire day.’
‘He couldn’t stand the smell and look of these gnomes, plus..’ and Kitty lowered her voice, ‘I think he couldn’t stand having Rethne around him for the moment.’
Sytze sighed. ‘Fine, let us get every weapon and move out of this graveyard. We’ll set up camp over there.’ He pointed to a small place behind the gnome’s wagon. There was a tree standing in the middle of the open space and it was split into two parts. This was probably caused by lightning, because there wasn’t a leaf growing on the tree anymore.
He picked up every weapon he could find and saw Kitty and Rethne doing the same. They walked to the open space and threw the weapons on one pile. While Kitty ordered Phaere to hunt for food and the Halfling began sorting their weapons, Sytze gathered wood for a campfire. Not that a fire was needed right now, it was in the middle of the day, but he was hungry. He hadn’t eaten for almost two days and neither had Rethne. Hopefully Phaere will bring enough with him to stop this annoying twisting in my stomach. He thought to himself. If not, then I can always go hunting myself.

When Sytze came back, Rethne had sorted the weapons and Kitty was busy with her hair. Women, he thought and couldn’t help but smile a little. As the day went by, Phaere returned with a few conies. It was more than sufficient for the three travellers and their animal companion. Rethne made a delicious meal out of them with a few herbs she found in the surroundings and the rest of the day the three spent time by telling stories, maintaining their weapons and eating. When they finished their last meal, Sytze folded his arms behind his head and stared at the sky. It was a beautiful day. Small, white clouds passed by slowly, clearly visible by the sheer blue sky. He closed his eyes and drifted off. It had been an uneasy night and he hadn’t slept yet…

[Sytze]

It was dark when Sytze woke up. He let out a loud yawn and opened his eyes. He saw Kitty sitting next to Phaere, apparently keeping watch, and Rethne lying on the ground. Her legs folded as she slept on her side. Sytze stood up and walked to Kitty. She didn’t have much sleep either last night and had trouble keeping her eyes open.
‘Why don’t you take a nap as well, Kitty? I’ll keep watch for now.’
The young woman looked up to him and without saying anything, she walked to the tree where he slept just a few minutes ago. Just before she closed her eyes, she thanked the young ranger and wished him good night. Sytze sat himself down on a large rock near the campfire and sighed, this could be the beginning of a very long night.

After a few hours keeping watch, Sytze suddenly heard twigs breaking somewhere away from the camp. He stood up and scouted the surroundings, hoping to catch another sound, or the source of it. His eyes were fixed on the trees to his right and after a couple of seconds he heard a voice coming from the forest. Whatever it was, it closing in on their sleeping place…
He cleared the place of the smouldering fire and grabbed his bow and quiver, but when he wanted to put it on his back, he noticed he didn’t have any arrows. Great! He cursed at himself. I should’ve checked my arrow supply before falling asleep! Well, time for plan B then. Walking to the place where Rethne had stashed their weapons, he took his black cape and swung it over his back. The hood he threw over his head so that it blocked a large portion of his upper face, blackening the rest. He then picked up his silver katana with the red and black handle and engravings in his right hand and his dagger in his left hand. Swinging it in a circle a couple of times, he kept them crossed under his cape and sneaked towards the cause of the sounds. Almost entering he darkness of the forest, he turned and looked at Phaere.
‘Wake them if it gets too dangerous’ he whispered.
The wolf stood up and let out a small howl, as if it understood what the young man had just said. With that, Sytze turned around quickly and vanished in the woods, swallowed by the darkness.


Voices of men reached Sytze’s ears. He stood behind a small bush, just large enough to cover his body and watched to group of men walk by. They were whispering. When the first couple of men came within Sytze’s hearing range, he heard them talk about an ambush. Apparently the three friends and their loot had been spotted by a bandit in the afternoon and it would seem he brought some of his friends with him. Sytze lowered his body and looked at the men. In the moonlight he could clearly see how they looked like. They wore torn clothes, some had scars on their head and others missed an ear or even an eye. Their weaponry ranged from bow and arrow, to longsword and hammers. He couldn’t precisely tell how many there were, for he heard more voices than he saw bandits. Sytze focussed on the group and wondered what to do. The bandits had obvious trouble finding the resting place of the other two women and he was now happy he didn’t wake his two companions. Should he have alarmed them, the noise would certainly have attracted the bandits and they would’ve been in a perfect ambush place. He watched the bandits and saw them moving away from his former camp. Just when Sytze was about to sigh of relief, he heard another voice telling the bandit group to turn left. One of the men had recognised this place…
No! He yelled to himself. This cannot be!

A couple of bandits had passed by, when Sytze jumped out of the bushes. In the moonlight he could see the surprised faces of the fighters and immediately he struck a bandit with his katana in the belly, causing the man to fall over in pain with an agonised look on his face. He then ripped his katana out, twirled around and hit another bandit with his dagger in the back. A small thumb could be heard when the dagger penetrated the flesh and hit the bone. In his eye corner, he saw a sword coming, but turned just in time to evade it. In a reaction the furious bandit tried to stab him with a dagger he carried in his other hand, but Sytze parried it, let the man trip and drove his katana into to back of the laying bandit. He stood up, twirled his blades rapidly and grabbed them so that they were pointing in a different direction. His weapons were now, instead of pointing to the front with the sharp ends of the blade to the inside, largely behind his back with the cutting edges to the outside. In a fight with many opponents, or when the fighting went very fast, he always twisted his blades. Although the force behind his blows was small this way, his speed increased and he was more deadly.

Bandits moved in one by one and the fighting frenzy started. From all sides swords, arrows and other blunt weapons came flying in. In the darkness of the night, Sytze kept moving, twirling and evading blows, his cape swinging with every move and his blades sparkling with blood in the moonlight. The bandits were obviously not strong and very capable warriors, but what they lacked in technique, they made up in sheer numbers. All this, just for three adventurers? He thought and dodged another blow, jumped backwards, deflected a second blow and drove his katana trough the side of a third bandit. He then grabbed a thin tree, twirled around it and struck another bandit in the chest.

After a couple minutes of fighting with such speed, Sytze stated to get tired. His agility and speed decreased and his strikes were not so ferocious anymore. He moved back, towards the camp, hoping for help from his companions, for he knew he wouldn’t last long at this rate of fighting. When he was almost there, Phaere suddenly leapt out of the bushes and snapped the neck of one of the bandits. His friends were already aware of the threat of combat!. Kitty came rushing in wielding her scimitar, while chanting a spell. Hope grew in Sytze’s heart and he moved towards a warrior wielding two weapons at the same time. When the warrior almost reached Sytze, a loud crack was heard and the man fell, blood coming out of his mouth. Behind him, Rethne held a dagger in each of her hands, covered in blood. Suddenly a huge lightning bold thundered down from the sky and hit two bandits, leaving nothing but ashes and melted steel. Kitty had finished her spell and had called on lightning.
However, there were still enough bandits and the battle raged on. In time, the companions were driven back to the place where they had just spent the day eating in peace.
‘We have to flee from this place!’ Kitty yelled. ‘There are too many of them, we can’t handle them all!’
‘Never!’ Rethne screamed back. ‘I’m not fleeing from this worthless rabble!’
The two women looked at Sytze, but got no response. The young warrior was too busy dodging blows and dishing out damage to notice anything of the screaming.

Kitty started to cast another spell, but just before she finished it, she heard yelling from her left.
<Not more bandits? We can’t handle them all!>
<Nay my friend, don’t you recognise the sounds?>
Kitty looked up and to her surprise she saw Salem, Duncan and Stanislav charging in. Light came radiating from the sorcerer and when he pushed his arms in front of him, a huge red ball was shot from his hands. It reached a group of bandits and exploded, throwing three bandits of their feet. Meanwhile, Stanislav was wrecking havoc on a few fighters with his staff and Duncan moved to the pile of weapons to grab his trusted katana. He moved as quickly as he could towards Sytze, who was twirling around with his blades, and joined him in the fighting. When the Kensai came rushing in, Sytze took a few steps back and let Duncan work his magic on the remaining bandits. By now Duncan’s speed and skill outclassed that of Sytze by far and he was afraid to only be in the kensai’s way. The ranger was too tired of the endless fighting and too injured to play any real role in the remaining combat.
Sytze staggered back, holding his arm in which he was just severely cut and looked to his left. There he saw Salem preparing another spell. Salem moved his arms in strange directions in front of his face and his hands began to glow. Pointing them at a man shooting arrows at Phaere, a strange orb was suddenly shot, leaving the bandit disintegrated. With that, the remaining bandits tried to flee, but Rethne, Duncan and Phaere finished most of them before they could even move into the coverage of trees. The fight was won, but had taken its toll. Phaere, as well as Sytze, was heavily scarred, while Rethne and Kitty were out of breath. Kitty had depleted all of her spells and wouldn’t be able to cast until the next day…

[werebeargoddess]

Kitty sank down against a tree. She was worn and tired. She didn't think that she could travel, even if she wanted. And from the looks of it, nor could any of the others. Of all of them, though, Sytze looked the worst. She wanted to heal him, but she was out of spells. At this point, if she tried to heal him, indeed, if she tried to heal anyone, then it might kill her. She sighed, then thinking that nobody was watching, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

When she awoke, it looked to be mid-morning. Looking around, she saw that the others were already awake. Rethne was working on her weapons, probably cleaning them. Duncan and Salem were deep in conversation. Sytze seemed to be asleep. Good, thought Kitty, He looked pretty injured yesterday. Kitty couldn't tell what Stanislav was doing; but as soon as he realized that she was awake and watching him, he hurried over to her.

Stanislav sat down next to her, handing her some food.

"You looked tired," He told Kitty as she ate. Kitty nodded for him to continue as she ate.

"It's a good thing you got some sleep," he continued, "You and Sytze both looked as though you would faint."

He was silent for a bit, then said, "The others and I have been talking, but we wanted to wait for your and Sytze's opinions before we decided to do anything else. Rethne wanted to wake the two of you, but Salem wouldn't let her. She was pretty annoyed." Stanislav smiled; so did Kitty. So much had happened since she had first joined the group, that she wasn't scared of him, or even, really, of any of the other men in the group; not the way she had been before.

"But anyway," said Stanislav, "We were talking about continuing to the Bal'nur caves. Now that we have out weapons, we won't have much trouble. What do you think?"

Kitty considered this. At the start, she had never considered coming this far with them But now... Now they were so much closer, the six of them. Except perhaps Rethne. But when she really thought about it, she wanted to travel with them. She wanted to help them find this treasure. She liked being with them. They were her friends, and she felt she owed it to them that she help them. She nodded. "Yes, I think we should," she told him.

Stanislav nodded, and stood up. "All we need to do now is wait for Sytze,"
he told her.

He was about to leave when Kitty grabbed his hand, stopping him.

"Stanislav, wait." Stanislav stopped and looked at her, sightly suprised.

"Stanislav- I just want to say, thanks. Out of everyone, you've been the kindest to me, even though you've had the most reason not to. And I-I appreciate that." Kitty shook her head, trying to put what she felt into words.

"I - I haven't had that many friends. Ever since my village was destroyed, the only friend that I've really had was Phraen. But you- you've been the closest thing I've had to a human friend in a long, long time. And I thank you for that."

Kitty finshed, and looked at Stanislav. He was thinking hard, but she couldn't read what he was thinking. All at once, he smiled, sat down again, and put his arm around Kitty, startling her.

"Then I am much honored, Druid One," he said, as she laughed.

[Yeltsu]

Authors note: Check Duncan's background here post #10

The group walked through the thick forest floor with Sytze and Rethne leading the way with the map. The rest of the group came after them, Duncan made up the rear. The group had decided to travel to the caves of Bal’nur after all.
After the battle with the bandits, the group’s spirits were high. They had discovered that together they made a great team, and they had become good friends as well.

Rethne’s map showed that the caves would be at the end of the forest, by the foot of a great mountain. They were now nearing caves, and although they had the map, they still would have to search for the entrance which would be hidden.

Once they reached the mountainside they started searching for the entrance, but without any luck. They sat down after a while to take a break and discuss what to do.
As they were talking things over, Salem suddenly stood up.
“Listen!” he said while looking about “We are not alone”
Duncan stood up as well, listening…
“What is it?” Stanislav whispered concerned
“I can hear them well now” Duncan said
“Hear what Duncan? Kitty wondered
“Ogres, Goblins and Orcs” he said, “A lot of them”
“I’ll go take a look” Sytze said “Wait here”

After a few minutes he returned
“There are a whole lot of them, many more than we can handle, we need to find the entrance fast and get out of here”
The group got up quickly and resumed their work of finding the entrance; Sytze stood guard with his bow in case anyone should see them.
After a few minutes of searching, Kitty spotted something unnatural about a bush by the cliff. She gently moved the bush aside, revealing an opening in the cliffside.
She summoned the others, who quietly congratulated her on the find. As they walked into the cave, Sytze spotted a scout patrol of goblins not far away. He readied an arrow, while telling the others about the threat.
Suddenly one the goblins spotted the group and called out.
Sytze quickly killed the scouts with his arrows, but the damage was done, the enemy knew they were here…

Duncan was the last into the cave. He tried to cover the entrance with the bush as best he could.
Just as he finished, a giant ogre came thrashing through, its eyes read with bloodlust and combat glee. Duncan drew his katana while moving backwards from the beast. The ogre pulled out a huge iron club and advanced on Duncan.
As Duncan parried the first blow of the creature, he felt the immense strength behind the blow. The ogre struck again, but Duncan was able to dodge the blow. The next blow came too fast and Duncan was smashed into the cave wall. Feeling victorious, the ogre picked Duncan up by the throat and started tightening the grip. Duncan fought desperately against the strangling hold on his throat. He stiffed his index and middle finger and stuck them in the creature’s eye. The beast roared in pain, but it did not let go, instead it tightened its grip. Losing consciousness, Duncan felt a strange stirring within him; he could feel some wild power rising up within him, building up a tremendous force. He opened his eyes and trembled with the incredible force that was taking hold of him. His head was filled with excruciating pain from the lack of oxygen and the terrible power that was surging through him. He felt himself losing hold of reality…

Just as he felt himself slipping into darkness, he sensed a release of the wild magic within him; he heard an enormous explosion which seemed to shake the very foundations of the earth. He fell to the ground, free of the ogre’s grip and slipping into unconsciousness.


He opened his eyes and saw Kitty with a worried look on her face.
“Wha- What happened?” he asked weakly
“I don’t know, we heard a blast, and when we looked back the ogre was nothing tiny pieces, and the cave entrance was blocked by a rubble of boulders” she answered
“We found you unconscious but unharmed” she continued
“Stanislav carried you back here” she said and looked up at the gladiator who had a worried look on his face.
“Where’s here?” Duncan whispered, still sore from the ogre’s grip.
“Look for yourself” she said and helped him sit up
“We are found the treasure” she smiled
They were in a small room, apparently of dwarven origin. On the walls hung all sorts of weapons, and armor, and on the floor stood several large chests.
When the rest of the group saw that he was up they came over with worried expressions, all except Rethne who was trying to pick the lock of one of the chests.
“I’m all right” Duncan said as he staggered to his feet.
“You sure?” Stanislav asked worried.
“Y- Yes, in fact I feel remarkably well” he replied, just as surprised as everyone else.
“That’s incredible, that blast completely destroyed that huge ogre” Kitty said
“What was that anyway? Sytze asked
“I have only seen such destruction once” Salem said “That was when one of my teachers showed me his strongest spell, it was called comet.”
“But could one of our enemies have cast that spell?” Stanislav asked
“No, that’s a very potent spell, only a few arch-mages know it” Salem replied “there is no way that any of those beasts would be able to cast a spell like that”
“They didn’t either” Duncan said “I think I cast it,”
“What?!” the group asked almost as one
“That cannot be?” Kitty asked “You’re no wizard”
“No, it might be true” Salem interrupted “Tell me Duncan, who was your parents?”
“Well, my father was a barbarian warrior, and my mother was an elven sorceress” he replied
“I see, Duncan my friend, I know what you are” Salem said with a smile
“What do you mean?” Duncan asked worried
“You are a wild mage, one with the wild uncontrollable magic surging through their veins” Salem said “You were lucky with that spell, you could’ve just as well summoned a flock of furry rabbits instead” everybody smiled at this thought.
“All right you berks!” Rethne interrupted “Enough of this happy family chat, after this sod blasted the entrance, we’re kinda stuck in here!”
“Relax feisty one” Stanislav said “We’ll get out of here; there must be another exit somewhere”
Rethne only mumbled some unintelligible curse and went back to picking the locks of the chests…

“By the way Duncan” Stanislav said “I found this when I picked you up, looks like some large egg. You were holding on to it” Stanislav showed Duncan a large egg. It was the size of a man’s head and was completely white.
“Looks like your magic summoned something as well” laughed Salem
“I just wonder what it is” Duncan said as he picked up a cloth bag and put the egg in and went to look at the treasure with the rest of the group…

[Sytze]

Sytze stood in the corner of the treasure room leaning against the wall with his arms and legs crossed. He was deep in thoughts. His bow lay in front of him, with an arrow just near it. The ranger had his head turned to the ground and because he still had his cape on, his eyes were blocked from sight. The rest of the group was busy checking the treasure room out. It was fairly weird that they found it so easy, without being harmed in any way. Too easy actually, but perhaps that was Rethne’s doing. On the way through the dark tunnels, which were only visible because of a spell from Salem, she had found and disabled many traps that would’ve otherwise turned any man into a sad, broken pile of flesh and bones. The few enemies that they had encountered were taking out by Sytze's trusted bow before they could even reach one of the friends.
When the party had reached the treasure room, everyone’s mouth fell wide open of amazement. Even his own. The floor was littered with gold pieces and chests. One more beautiful crafted than the other. Cold, red and silver tapestries coloured the ceiling, giving the room an even more mystical look when the light touched it. Weapons and armour of all kinds could be found hanging on the wall. Especially Stanislav seemed to appreciate that. The last couple of the days the boy had done nothing but complain about his metal armour. Well, armour, it were more a bunch of metal plates strapped together by some self-made ropes, so his complaining was pretty much well-founded. The young gladiator had looked around the room with such enthusiasm, that Sytze had to hold his laugh when Stanislav had finally found a prefect fit. Rethne had done nothing but walk from one chest to another, hoping to get hold of the most expensive stuff available. While doing so, she had a gleam in her eyes and she obviously enjoyed herself. Salem, on the other hand, was busy looking for scrolls and other magic items. Having the highest lore of the group, together with Rethne, they sorted everything of value. Kitty and Phraere were eyeing the ceiling. The young woman couldn’t keep her eyes of the beautiful tapestries and their magnificent symbols. Duncan, like Sytze, paid almost no attention to the valuables around. He was busier trying to recall his recent encounter and how on earth he got this strange egg. Every now and then he scratched his head, feeling the sore bump on his head.

‘This is just great.’ Sytze mumbled under his hood.
‘What is great?’ Duncan asked, as he walked towards Sytze, abandoning his own thoughts for the moment.
‘Us sitting here. You blew up the only exit that we knew about and we have no idea if there’s another exit.’
‘Or entrance!’ Stanislav interrupted dryly. The gladiator had just taken on his new armour and had picked up the discussion between the two warriors.
Sytze rolled with his eyes under his hood, before he took it off.
‘Yes, or entrance, Stanislav. Regardless, even if we find another exit…’ and Sytze looked at the gladiator ‘…or entrance, we got half an army of orcs, goblins and ogres waiting outside. What is that anyway with those creatures? They seem to roam these lands with more numbers each time we encounter them.’
‘Stop being so negative’ Rethne replied, while picking a lock of a huge wooden chest. ‘You really have a touch for lifting the mood, don’t ya?
‘I’ll say’ Stalem said in agreement with Rethne. ‘I’m sure we’ll find an exit sooner or later.’
Sytze sighed and pushed himself off the wall. He picked up his arrow, put it in his quiver and hung his bow at his back.
‘Well, unless we find another ogre, let our friend Duncan here go to battle with it and then pray he will blow an exit for us with a comet spell, I’m not sure how much time we’ll spent here. Especially now our little thief is so preoccupied with all these shiny things here.’ And Sytze pointed at Rethne. Hearing Sytze’s remark, Kitty had to hold a hand for her mouth in order not to burst out in laughing.
‘Very funny,’ Duncan replied sarcastic, but with a grin on his face. He quickly shifted the subject of discussion ‘Say, why don’t you pick up any equipment? There’s enough choice here and most weapons or armour are quite enchanted.’
‘True,’ Salem interrupted. ‘First class equipment is what the former dwarf inhabitants made here.’
‘That may be so,’ Sytze said, ‘but I’ve got my own equipment and they serve me just fine. Besides, I don’t think I’ll be able to find a better katana or bow for me anyway.’
Sytze stopped talking for a moment and turned to Duncan.
‘Would you trade your katana for any other weapon here?’
‘Err, not really.’ Duncan replied
‘But there’s other stuff than bows or katanas in this place. How about an amulet, or this dagger?
Salem picked up a dagger and held it in the sky. The dagger was made of gold and had little green and blue emeralds engraved in its handle. The top of the dagger did not end straight, but more in a curve and the end had a red glow, as if it was poisoned. When Rethne saw the blade, she quickly jumped towards Salem and grabbed the dagger out of his hand, leaving him staring baffled at his empty hands.
‘It seems that dagger is spoken for.’ The sorcerer replied when realising he didn’t hold the magic item in his hands.
‘I say we head out of these caves while we still got the energy.’ Duncan suggested suddenly.
‘Agreed. Take any valuables you want, or need, with you and lets get going. I’m not sure how long we’ll be walking around in this dungeon, but I prefer to start looking while I’m still young, awake and not that hungry.’ Sytze replied. ‘Besides, I’d rather be outside in the forest, than walking around in this dusty, dark and small place. Even if that means fighting against ogres and risking a comet on our head from Duncan.'
‘Ones again, very funny.’ The kensai said, this time without a grin on his face.
‘I’m sorry, Duncan. I couldn’t resist.’ responded Sytze with a smile. And with that, he eyed his friends to see if they were all ready. Everyone was packing their bags, except for Kitty, who was staring at some strange necklace…

[werebeargoddess]

Kitty looked closely at the necklace. There was something oddly familiar about it. She knew she had seen it from somewhere... but where? Perhaps she had seen it on her travels, or in her village, beore it was destroyed. But where? Silently, she mindcalled over to Phraen.

<Do you recognise this?> She asked, holding the necklace out to Phraen. Cautiously, the wolf sniffed it, and sneezed.
<Not really. I know I've smelled something like it before, though.>
<Oh? And what would that be?> Kitty was becoming curious.
<Humph. It kinda smells like a mixture of Stanislav after rolling in dirt and sweat, and Salem after casting a spell. You might want to ask them about it.>

Kitty nodded, and walked hesitantly over to Salem. He was talking to Duncan, and the two stopped talking as she came over. She still feared them a little; and was nowhere near as comfortable with either of them as she was with Stanislav, or even Sytze. They looked at her questioningly, completely unaware of her fear. She started to shake unconsiously, though neither of them noticed. Stop being silly, she told herself. They're your friends. They're not going to do anything to you. Will they? She shook out the thought, and looked at Salem.
"Do you recognise this?" she asked him. Salem took the necklace from her, and looked at it closely, frowning. Kitty tried desperately to quell her fear. The way Duncan kept staring at her wasn't helping at all. After a while, Salem handed her back the necklace saying,
"Nope. I haven't seen anything like it. But it's definately magical. When we have more time, I might have more time to study it for you. But now we've got to get out of here."

Kitty nodded her thanks, and went to pack her things up. It didn't take long, because she didn't have much. She could see Rethne watching the necklace covetously, but Kitty put it safely around her neck before she could do anything. Once she had her things together, the group left the treasure room. There had been a fork in the passages; the group took the second path, knowing the first would take them back to the blocked entrance. It wasn't long before Kitty was quite firmly lost. At least some of the others seemed to have some semblance of direction, for nobody argued.
" I don't like it," Sytze muttered to her. Kitty started; she hadn't heard the ranger come up beside her. Sytze smiled apoligetically.
"Sorry I scared you. I've noticed that you scare pretty easily."
Sytze shook his head. "Like I said, I don't like it hear. It just doesn't feel right. But it's got to be harder for you, seeing as you are a druid, and revel in the balance."
Kitty sighed. "Yeah. I don't like it here either," Kitty admitted. "It's just so- so stuffy in here. Like it's really old, and can't o anything. I don't want to be in these caves, when I could be outside, actually doing something." Kitty laughed shortly, then continued, "But I have to admit, Sytze. I'm kinda glad that we're both here, because I know that then, I'm not the only one who has a connecton with the Balance, and that I'm not the only one who feels is uncomfortable in caves"
Sytze laughed, and said, "That makes two of us."

Then Syzte stopped, and Kitty, seeing this, stopped as well. The others, realizing that the two of them weren't right behind them, turned and came back. Sytze walked to the front of the group, turned to Kitty, and said,
"Kitty, don't you have a light spell?"
Kitty nodded, and started to cast it. When she was done casting, Sytze gestured for her to follow, and started to inspect the ground and walls as Kittý's spell illuminated the area. When he was done, the two walked back to the group.

"We've got to be careful," announced Sytze. "There's a large group of..." but whatever else Sytze wanted to say, he couldn't, because he was struck from behind. As he fell to the ground, Kitty twirled. She started to draw her weapon, but it was too late. Goblins, and what looked to be bugbears, were upon them Before Kitty could draw her scimater, one of them swiped at her. Kitty felt intense pain in her left arm. As she blacked out, however, the strange amulet around her neck started to glow...

[Golden Lion 86]

Kitty fell, and the amulet around her neck started to glow. Its yellow gemstone flashed and faded to black. Suddenly, her body started to glow, and a column of golden light appeared underneath her, stretching to a height of ten feet. Kitty floated up the column, and as it faded, she landed on her feet. She opened her eyes, and they glowed with the same golden light as her amulet.

"An amulet of second-wind!" cried salem. "Of course! The gemstone used was dreadfully familiar. Now we know."
"Indeed." Kitty said. "My head doesn't even hurt." she smiled.
"Glad to have you back!" Stanislav said as he drew his gladii.

Duncan drew his own blade and charged the goblins, who numbered five dozen. Stanislav joined him, as did Kitty, with newfound strength. Rethne faded into the shadows and headed for the exit, where a dozen bugbears, large, strong, and well-armed, entered the cave. Salem began to cast a fire spell, to try and subdue the bugbears before they did any harm.

Duncan beheaded several goblins with a swing of his sword, and continued along his path to the bugbears. Stanislav bludgeoned the goblins with his fists and knees, and plowed through them like a cargo wagon. He also wanted to get to the bugbears before they got to the more fragile members of the party.

Salem cast a flame arrow at one of the bugbears, and he was struck in the neck and incinerated. He began to cast another spell, and raised his hands. At that moment, an arrow pierced his hand, and he winced in pain. The spell fizzled, and Salem backed away, toward a wall. Duncan saw this and changed his course to slay the archer group, leaving the bugbears to Stanislav. Rethne, in the meantime, appeared from the ceiling and jumped on one of the bugbears, thrusting her blade into its neck. The bugbear was mortally wounded, but it would not go down without a fight. Grabbing her sword arm with unnatural speed, he pulled her off his back. A crack was heard, probably a fracture in her forearm. R