Where is Arkkades?

Dido, lost in her own thoughts of her mysterious past, took quite a while to recognize that someone else was also lost...whether in thought or dream, she could not tell. Arkkades was acting strangely. Like he was ever normal, she thought. Grinning, she recalled first meeting Arkkades. She'd taken a liking to him because of his oddity. Like her, he was unique.

She watched Arkkades make the rounds of the camp. When he came to her and touched her shoulder, she got up to follow him. Trotting behind him, she wondered if he was planning something. She stopped short in surprise when he dissipated into thin air.

Dido stared blankly around, sure that Arkkades was just out of her line of sight. She realized a few minutes later that he had disappeared completely. For how long, she couldn't guess and hoped that he would be back soon. Although not the easiest to look at, he was still a comforting presence and the only link to Vorosh and the Others who had commanded them to banish Orannis.

We can't do it without him, she thought desperately.

"Arkkades...where are you?" She whispered into the blackness. Only silence answered her.

Awakening

The sensation was excruciating and elating simultaneously. Muscles that hadn't moved in eons now twitched with ferocity, veins that had not held blood now ran freely. Arcaddes was feeling life return to his body... and it was a bittersweet hell.

His eyes, now revived, were not prepared in any way for the sudden flood of light.

It filled everything. Every crack and crevice of the space and time around him, and every part of him. It was blinding, nearly incomprehensible, but then...

...slowly...

it faded.

Just enough.

"Ah. Good to know I've still got it."

To reveal a man in armor made of yellow and white gold.

With a blazing sun emblem on it. Pelor.

Or, something of Pelor. He watched Arcaddes for a long moment, then took two steps forward. The were impossible steps. Pelor had seemed a few hundred feet away at first, and suddenly he was there. "Pick yourself up," he said. "We need to have a talk."

Arcaddes said nothing. Despite the fire it created in his restoring body, he raised to his feet and squinted.

"Painful, isn't it?" Pelor began a slow circle around Arcaddes. "Mortality. Never really understood it. I mean, you might argue that I was a mortal once but... well, once you ascend it becomes... something else to you."

Arcaddes steeled himself, and hoped this wasn't going to get too wordy for too long.

He was wrong.

"Anyway, we're not here to talk about me, are we? We're here to talk about you. The not-so-faithful servant of Darigaaz." Annoyance crossed Arcaddes spotty, now bleeding face. Pelor smiled. "Stings, doesn't it? Both the feeling and the fact that a restored undead body doesn't completely restore. Oh, careful!" Pelor pointed to the white hot light-ground, where blood was beginning to pool from the various gashes and missing parts of Arcaddes' body.

"Come on, Pelor, stop screwing around with him."

Garl Glittergold and Yondalla stood, watching the proceedings with their own brand of annoyance. It was Yondalla who had spoken. "We are messengers, Arcaddes of Darigaaz."

He couldn't quite stand it. Arcaddes allowed a raspy chuckle. "'Of Darigaaz?'"

She stepped forward, and when she touched him it brought a moment of real peace. It radiated from her.

And... hunger. For food. It was strange.

She smiled.

"Your peoples believe we have abandoned them," she said. Pelor grunted in disapproval. She ignored him. "We have not. But our power is weak in comparison, and we could not pretend in the face of the return of the Old Ones."

"And we could not hope to defeat Orannis," Glittergold finished.

"We do not need to explain anything to him," Pelor said.

Yondalla looked up at him sharply. "Yes, we do. We are fickle in their eyes. Beings of fear. We have ruled with arrogance, pretending, when such darkness was out there, waiting. Not even Lolth, in all her cunning and malevolence is a match for Orannis." Her warm gaze returned to Arcaddes, who swore he saw pools of light somewhere in the depths of her eyes. Briefly, he appreciated Halflings. But only briefly. "We three are agents of Darigaaz-"

"For now," said Pelor. He sniffed, looking away. "Until they leave again. Then we will, of course, resume our places."

"We three are here to tell you that there is yet hope, Arcaddes. The wheel is turning, perhaps towards its final days, but they are not all days of sadness. Do not lose hope, and do not lose heart. Darigaaz is proud of you, even if you cannot understand it."

"Darigaaz has forsaken me in this shell of undeath. I chose this path to be sure, but to what point or purpose? To see the Ancient Evil arise again? TO banish him AGAIN? TO HAVE HIM RETURN AGAIN?" Arcaddes' anger grew, power surged through him, indignation like had not felt in years. Who were these fools to educate him on his god? These children at play in their games when the ones who fashioned the world had returned, and he a servant...... once a servant, now a slave... a slave doomed to repeat the same tasks until the end of time.

Yondalla watched him closely for a second. Then, she stood and rejoined Garl. Pelor, for his part, remained seemingly uninterested. She smiled, and again it felt warm. Warm and hungry. "Yes," she said. "And you will fight for the freedom and the future of the planes. Again. Consider, Arcaddes of Darigaaz, that fighting for one freedom is fighting for all freedom - including your own."

"My own? There is no freedom from myself? I chose this life, Darigaaz made me this way, only he can end it, by taking it back..... I will never be mortal again, I know this, the only release is death" Arcaddes responded with resignation.

Yondalla smiled.

And then, there was the great thunder of what Arcaddes immediately recognized as a wing beat. The wind of it blew across them like a storm, and the light and the lesser gods dematerialized like sand. And all was dark. Dark and still; there was no ore pain, no hunger, no pulse, just silence and darkness.

Until two red eyes opened.

Arcaddes fell to the ground in deepest reverence. Even in the utter darkness there was no denying who it was before him.

Darigaaz.

"Greetings faithful servant"

Arcaddes remained prostrate before his deity fearful to move a muscle.

"Rise Arcaddes. It is time we spoke again. It has been to long. Speak freely to me, leaving nothing unsaid".

Arcaddes raised his eyes to his god. There was no dragon before him but what appeared to be a young man, strong, proud that glowed with inner power.

"Greetings my lord." Arcaddes thought long before he dared utter another syllable. Somthing was out of place, something not right. A factor that did not belong in this situation. Awareness fell upon Arcaddes like a crash of boulders. "How are you here? You and the other Ancients cannot enter the plane....unless".

"You are correct in your observation. I am here on this plane". From the folds of his robe Darigaaz produced a glowing orb. "I have made the sacrifice to come here and speak with you personally."

"This is the highest honor my lord. I am not worthy of this sacrifice. You take great risk being here my lord. To great...."

"I can handle myself Arcaddes".

"Of course my lord. What have you to say to your servant?"

"You forsaken me, Arcaddes"

"I have not".

"Haven't you? I have heard no prayers offered, no thanksgiving, no worship. You KNEW of my return, yet I have not heard your thoughts or voice lifted up to me. Your companions all lift their prayers in their moments of need, why haven't YOU?"

"What help can you send" Arcaddes snapped back, "You know better than I the implications of channeling divine energy through this corpse I have come to call myself".

Darigaaz looked upon his servant with pity, understanding coming into his eyes. "It is true, you cannot channel my direct power through your current being. It would destroy you in the end. Yet, that doesn't mean you cannot call upon me for aid. You spent almost your entire mortal life learning to harness my powers and eons of your Lichdom learning the arcane arts. You really think you, of all beings cannot learn to meld the two?"

"It cannot be done".

"Oh can't it. My former servant, your former master has learned the art, do you think so little of your power?"

"Acerak can do this? How?"

"The same way that you will Arcaddes. By lifting your voice to me once more, by seeking my aid when the need arises." Darigaaz strode forward and placed his four fingered hand onto Arcaddes breast. "And with this". He lifted the claw, his claw, from Aroudn Arcaddes neck. It shined brilliantly in the hand of its creator. "I have returned to you Arcaddes, now I ask you, will you return to me?"

Arcaddes pondered this proposition. The offer of such power, such proximity to his deity. "What would you have your servant do?"

"Kill him"

"What?"

"I want you to ensure this is the last time we face Orannis. You and the others will finish what we and our former champions could not. You, with the strength of the other champions, will destroy Orannis, Arcaddes".

"Yes, my lord." Arcaddes pondered his next questions carefully. Fearful of the prospects but hopeful for the answers. "How can this be done"?

Darigaaz held up the Orb. "You know what this contains don't you?"

"Your divine essence."

"Correct. You know that Orannis is coming here, to the plane. He must create one of these to manifest here. You, Arcaddes must find it, secure it safely, and then when Orannis is trapped here on this plane, in a mortal body, you and the others shall destroy him, along with his sadistic World Born Dead"

"Yes, master.... and if we should fail?"

"The plane would be lost, but you already knew that. You want to know what happens to you?"

"Yes."

"You and the souls of the other champions will be safe in our keeping."

"With the others as well." Arcaddes stated assuredly.

Darigaaz stood solemnly, a confused and saddened expression on his face. "They are not with us, Arcaddes."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that their souls never made it to us Arcaddes. Our best hypothesis is that they were consumed in the battle, with the Banishment.".

"NO! Thier souls are not gone forever. I cannot believe this."

"We know nothing for certain.".

"Well then I will find the answers. I must know"

"I shall accompany you, but not here. I am returning now to the others. Save journey, my friend."

"You as well master."

His surroundings emerged again from the blackness. Cavern walls and cave formations surrounded him once more. His companions came into focus, each of them busy with their preperations. Occasionally they would shoot awkward glances at him.

"How long have I just been standing here like this", he wondered to himself. He shook hiself to regain his focus and made his way to Gnaomi.

"Hello little one. May I see one of your gems, perhaps"

Gnaomi looked at him skeptically. Slowly she reached into her pouch and produced the first gem her fingers could clasp. She handed it to Arcaddes, unsure whether he would simply inspect it, turn it into a bunch of flowers, or have it explode in her face. Arcaddes took the gem from her.He studied it carefully, marvelling over the richness of the color, the complexity of the design.

"This is a valueable gem indeed. I would hold onto this if I were you. You may have need of it someday." He handed back the gem and with a nod of his head walked away. She watched him walk as she dropped the gem back into her pouch. Arcaddes walked on past all of his companions, nodding to each in turn, a reassuring nod of hope. Most of them nodded back and then went back to their preperations. He walked to Dido and patted her on the shoulder as he walked by. She rose and followed behind him, seeing what plans he would concoct.

He continued to walk on, and with a prayer to Darigaaz, began to fade away; and was gone.

FORSAKEN?

Excitement had gotten the better of him. Arcaddes took a moment to clearly plan his next steps. His first task, informing his companions of his plan.
He watched them still with their preparations. He saw them praying to their gods, beseeching them for powers they did not even know they could ascertain; but they had hope and that was something. It had come to this point, so quickly, to quickly. They had no time to prepare, nothing. A score of nights ago they were at their homes, amongst their kin and friends, now they stood upon the brink of destruction. In a score of nights they had seen horrors of ancient times. In a score of nights the world around them had been turned around and now they were being asked to battle the most of ancient of evils.
"It wasn't fair.... it doesn't make sense.... why"?
So many questions ran through Arcaddes head as he continued to watch his companions. To many questions and no answers. The darkest night ever known was about to fall on the surface world.
"Do they even know what it will be like? Do I?"
Confusion and doubt continued the assault on Arcaddes' mind. Could he really go through with his plan? Did they have the time? Would it even be worth it? Would there be anything there?
Swirling thoughts, emptiness.
"I am forsaken"
*THUMP*
The thought hit like a bolt to his heart. He was alone, forsaken in his undeath.
"This was the life I chose, to fight an unconquerable enemy, to watch compatriots die while I live on to see who gets picked next.... to try again and again, to stop Him"
Arcaddes fell to the ground, losing all strength in his despair. He was alone, always alone. He had been forsaken.
*THUMP**THUMP*
Another hit, another pulse of despair....
*THUMP**THUMP**THUMP*
The pulses became tangible, painful. Arcaddes didn't know what was happening. He felt his body growing hot, felt things moving right under the surface of the skin. He could feel it building..
*THUMP**THUMP**THUMP**THUMP**THUMP-THUMP*
...his HEART! It was beating

The Former Champions

Orcanos

Alora

Mithinas

Ehlnea

Balnarak

Shalen

A Plan Forms

Hunkering down in the shadows, he prepared himself for the task ahead. His powers were useless here, except as an offensive measure.
"I cannot help them. Damn this curse"
Arcaddes looked to his hands, once smooth and young now they were bony, skin wrapped tightly around the fingers, frail..... these were the hands of a monster, a killer, not a healer. He looked to his party. Little Dido, hair glowing faintly, Thorn.. strong, proud, able, embracing his new found faith with great dedication. He looked at Arturus, noble to the end; Gnaomi, small, diminutive, but with great strength of character; Rhys, still confused but willing to go through to the end. He thought of little Magnolia back with the priestess. Her powers were remarkable, so potent. All of them, experts in what it is they did. He looked at his hands again, he could see the tendons and muscles twitch as he balled them into fists. He was no expert, he was a forgotten soul.
"This is the life I chose, for what purpose? Just to have Orannis come again. How could they really stop him? Even his former companions, seasoned clerics, nearly demigods, champions of the Ancients could only Banish him. What use was it to try and do that again..... he would only return. He always returns....."
Arcaddes jerked his head up and looked at the Desmodu soldiers. They were dying, not a single one had been spared the horror of having to slay a love one that had been stricken with Lycanthropy. Their clerics had been made useless, once again, by the coming of Orannis.
"Always it is him, always, he destroys, devours, until their is nothing left. He can only take, only consume."
Arcaddes felt a growing sorrow rise again, a sorrow that had died millenia ago. He remembered his former companions. He remembered Orcanos the Mighty, beautiful Shalen, Balnarak the Great, Mithinas and her unusual sense of humor, Alora the Wise and Ehlnea, whose ambition knew no bounds. They were all benevolent, all wonderful companions, all lost.
"And only I remain. I should have died with them. I should be watching these events beside the Ancients, looking down on the new champion in my place, wishing them well".
They were gone, his friends, his compatriots, all were now living in peace and content.
No...... not all......
There was one still here on this plane, one who had somehow made it back from apparent destruction.
ACERAK....
Yes he had returned. Once the most powerful servant of Darigaaz, Acerak had turned his allegiance to Orannis. His fear of old age and death had driven him mad, mad enough to make a pact with the Dark One, he chose Lichdom in service to Orannis to avoid death and peace with Darigaaz. It was his conversion that set the events of the first war into place. Acerak began a search for the most powerful Liches in Faerun to bring into Orannis' service. He found 6, 6 souls to oppose the other 6 champions of the Ancients. They would be outnumbered, outmatched, until the Champions made a decision, to elect a new champion, one brought to faith by Acerak himself.
"They were foolish to choose me".
Anger began to build within him as he remembered his former master, Acerak. He had found Arcaddes as an orphan in the village of Mount Haven Foots. He had provided for him, taught him the ways of Darigaaz, taught him to pray, to cast clerical magics, to essentially be a follower of the Ancients; and then he left. He had offered one chance to come with him, and when Arcaddes refused he was nearly killed. Only the interference of Orcanos and Alora had saved him.

Arcaddes shook the recollections from his mind. His companions had been granted the peace they deserved, their eternal souls at last at rest....

"Unless.... yes yes, I could, but not here, I would need, yes, that should do it"

Dido's Beginning

This post is for Michael & Stu:

Dido Silvana's background is as follows:

Dido was captured from her mountainside halfling village when she was very, very small. She was taken under the ground by the fey, who adopted her as one of the royal children. Her eyes, which had been green, changed to brown (all brown, no whites or irises), and her hair, which had been brown, changed to silvery white (glows in the dark). She grew slowly because of the fey realm's magic and although she looks like she is in her 20's, she is really a few hundred years old. Her halfling village has disappeared and her family are long gone. She is alone in the world. The fey royal family regretted having to deposit her in a forest but she was too grown and prone to wander. So, they released her into the forest and erased her memory. Even though she doesn't remember life before the forest, Dido hates the dark. She has a strong urge to do something but doesn't know what it is. She would like to settle down in peace and quiet at some point and puzzle out her beginnings, but she's stuck in the middle of a cosmic battle. She is often confused.

Do you guys need to know anything else?

SURVIVAL AND DISCOVERY

He hid in the shadows. He eyed the merchant with every bit of focus hunger could muster. He feared the growling of his stomach would give him away.

"Focus... need food, just focus"

He started his approach, skulking as best as he could through the shadows. He approached the vendor's cart. He reached ever so slowly to pluck the bread from its place. Just a quick grab and he would bolt away. He had planned it out several times in his mind, he knew the routine.

It hadn't always been like this. There used to be food on the table every night. Then his family took the trip to this town. There were "opportunities here" is what his father had told him. Yet this small town held nothing of value in his eyes. Boasting only a handful of families and one inn, this place was not promising.

It had gone well in the village of Mount Haven Foots. It offered freedom for a young boy. Mountains and caves to explore, meadows to run and nap in, it was a small piece of freedom, after you got past the obvious discomforts that come from being so far from civilization.

It was that distance that had taken his parents from him. He had been out exploring the mountains to the east. Everywhere, as far as he could see, there was nothing but uncharted forests, unexplored terrain, and it would be him that would conquer these places. He began to wander away from the village of Mount Haven Foots.

Dido's Blog!

Hey everybody!

Just in case you are interested...I started a blog just for Dido, kind of a journal entry thing to get to know her character better.

If you'd like to read, it's didosilvana.blogspot.com

I'm looking forward to the next game, this is a lot of fun!!

Glimpses of the Past

It was if the air itself were made of ringing. A loud, engulfing tone bounced between every particle of the fabric of reality in that moment. It was a sound that infiltrated the spirit.

The roar of response shook the ground, flinging dirt and chunks of rock everywhere. But the warriors stood their ground. It must ring true.

The ringing was everywhere. It was everything. The air vibrated around them, in them, through them.

The light flared out then, bright and blinding. Their faces felt scorched before they were fully engulfed.

And Arcaddes was alone. He could feel the bonds of mortality slipping away from him as his spirit left his body, the mortal coil melting into the consuming light.

Freedom.

Success. The quest had been a success.

Arcaddes knew, somehow, that there were no survivors. That his compatriots were also bathed in the lights of their own gods. They had given everything in the faith to the Ancients. Darigaaz, his god, would be pleased, and finally Arcaddes could be at rest.

He gave himself fully to the light, then. To the presence of his god, and his long deserved rest.

A tremor ran up his perceived spine... an uncomfortable sensation he could only describe as sorrow.

Darigaaz was displeased...

DM PREVIEW

The Beast Master.....

DM PREVIEW III: "DESMODU"

The General made his way through the camp. Dejected was the Common word for what he was seeing, he believed. The Common Tongue was incredibly alien to him, but he had been required to learn it as a youngster. Before he had mastered the use of his native language and sonar, he had become rather adept at the common tongue. It was precise in its own way, but not nearly so complicated as his people’s usual form of communicating.

In Common, the hew-mahn’s butchered his name. Half of it they couldn’t even replicate. So when they nicknamed him “Goliath,” he had decided to just let it stick. Over time, he had come to like it.

But he had not seen the manfolk in a long time. Nor any above the surface. No Desmodu had ventured into a man village in eons upon eons, but some of the mountain men knew they existed. Other mens called them crazy, which amused Goliath in its own way.

It was the only source of amusement he could think of. Many of his soldiers were wounded, and all of them were exhausted. They were making their way back towards their home village, deep in the under-earth, but were being harassed by what Goliath and his chief cleric had surmised were Werebats. Nasty creatures, they had attacked fiercely and suddenly several times. They had been repelled, but with each new attack it was with far less efficiency. They were gone before they turned, so Goliath did not know who his true enemy was, and worse they had bitten some of his own, forcing him to kill them before the evil took hold.

They were close. So close! But Goliath knew it was a fight he had to completely finish before they got too close to home. If the Werebats found his settlement, generations of sacrifice, diligence and work might be lost.

Along with the entire world of men, elves and all creatures.

DM PREVIEW II

The Cloister of Trials

*Guys, I'm not sure if this is all in the correct order, so if you think of something I need to switch or if I forgot something, leave a comment and I'll do some re-writing. Thanks!

-

After escaping the Grey Render, Dido and her companions began exploring a hallway that hopefully would provide them with an exit.

They soon came to a large door and while trying to figure out where the mechanism to open it was, Arturus got a handful - literally - of spikes. Dido and Gnaomi checked for traps and discovered that the door had several pockets of spikes which had to be wound. They warned the others before pushing the mechanism that would let the spikes loose. Spikes flew down the tunnel and thankfully no one was hurt. Dido then poked her dagger through a spike hole and found another trap - acid. The disintegrated remains of the dagger were dropped on the floor, to Dido's regret at its loss.

Dido and Gnaomi soon found out how to disable this trap and did not find any others to waste their time. They pushed on the door, with the help of the other, larger members of the party and encountered a room that at first seemed empty, but when Rhys, Thorn, and Arturus decided to investigate, torches lit up and fire demons appeared.

Dido hung back in the doorway and watched the goings-on with much trepidation.

After a while she decided to make an entrance. "Vorosh, help me," she said. Two fire demons smiled down at her evilly and she kept praying to her copper god as she took out her short sword. Time after time, she dealt blows only to see no effect on the fire demons. She prayed again. And again. When she had almost given up hope, she felt Vorosh come to her aid and split the demons in half. Others experienced their gods coming to the rescue and the demons were routed. The whole party breathed a collective sigh of relief and entered the next hallway, still unsure of what was going on and where they were.

Dido was also the last to enter the next room - which was set up like a chess game. "Great," moaned Dido. As far as she knew, she wasn't good at chess. She took the first move and knocked over the castle. Instantly, she was transported to the doorway behind the chess pieces. She watched, helplessly, as the others tried to figure out how to survive the game. There were a few close calls, but eventually the game was finished and the adventurers began walking down another hallway.

This hallway was different. No torches lined the walls, and several times, different members of the party saw shadows flitting here and there. A quiet laugh caused Dido to gulp down her fear and pull her cloak tighter around her. In the dark, her hair had a soft, silver glow, which she quickly hid under her hood. She didn't want the ghouls or whatever they were to notice. When they reached a huge door, an evil laugh erupted from the other side of it. Dido began trembling. No one had heard anything so evil. They entered without running into traps and the laughter increased into a maniacal cackle. Darkness spread like water throughout the room, although when it came near the torches, it cleared a path.

Once the party realized what the torches did, they began an exploration of the first part of the room, to discover several raised daises. Gas began seeping into the chamber and Dido was one of the first to jump on one of the daises, although Thorn had been careless when touching the walls of the dais and had gotten a decaying arm for his pains.

Dido started praying again.

The evil laugh subsided and started whispering their names.

"Little Dido...and how are the fairy folk?" Dido's eyebrows drew together in a puzzled sort of frown. What did the voice mean? The voice crept around to everyone, taunting them, showing them that it was in control.

"Dumbass," muttered Dido. The voice stopped and a disapproving silence reigned.

"I will tell you a tale," said the voice, soft, cunning, loathsomely evil. "of the Mighty Orannis..." Dido sighed and folded her arms. "Great." She said. "A history lesson." Dido always became grumpy when faced with fear. A light appeared and a hideous Lich approached the daises. "No doubt you wonder how the dragon gods came to be here after the disappearance of your own gods...the dragon gods are much, much older and have been forgotten for millenia..."

He spun a tale of 8 dragon gods, of one who rebelled, and was flung into space, while the 7 other gods removed themselves from the earthly planes so that he could not be brought back. "Seven champions drove him away, but we are going to bring him back!" The Lich began his maniacal laughter once more. "And anyway, none of you are a tenth of what the old champions were..." Dido mouthed off at this point and promptly lost her voice. She had to content herself with thinking curses instead of spitting them out.

"Each of you now has a choice," purred the Lich - "you can keep your dragon gods, whom you know nothing about, and die...or you can live and become one of my army. We will bring Orannis back together and his return will be GLORIOUS!" More laughter followed. Dido glowered at the Lich. "What is your choice?" He turned to one, and then the other, and although they all had different reasons for refusing his offer, all of them went up in flames. He came to Dido, one of the last ones. "What will it be, little Dido? Will you join us?" Dido shrugged and pointed to her throat. He motioned with his hand and her voice returned. "Well," she said, appearing to think hard on the offer, "I don't really know Vorosh that well but he's so much more handsome than you that I think I'll choose hi..." Before she could finish, he snapped his fingers and Dido was engulfed in flames.

"That's weird," she muttered. Dido, encased in flames, was not burning. She saw the rest of the adventurers make the same decision as she, and when they were all in flames, an enormous stone dragon erupted from one side of the wall. The Lich, the dragon, and a horde of undead, cackling, went through the wall and disappeared.

After they had all left, the flames stopped. Dido stepped off the dais and glanced around to make sure everyone was alright. A Lich came through the doorway they had not entered and they faced him warily. "Hello," said Arkadies. "I see you've made it through the Cloister of trials. May I make a suggestion that you offer up some thanksgiving to your dragon saviors before we continue?" The dragon statues appeared and each member of the party spent some time offering up thanks. Dido reached up to touch Vorosh's claw and murmured a grateful prayer. Gnaomi took out her tools and began shaping a necklace as an offering for her deity.

After this was done, they all turned back to Arkadies. Dido was full of questions. Maybe he knew about the other Lich's reference to "fairy folk" - what could it mean? They soon learned that Arkadies had gladly given up life to wait millenia for the next champions to arrive so that he could guide them on their quest to stop Orannis. He told Dido when she asked about the fairies, "All will be revealed in time." Although his mind seemed to be a little out of wack, Dido found herself trusting him and actually taking a liking to him. Like her, he was a little out of the ordinary.

Arkadies asked for their weapons and while Rhys and Thorn were quite hesitant, she gladly gave up her sword and offered her crossbow as well when she saw what he was doing. He blessed their weapons with divine capabilities and enabled them with powers so that they would be able to face the undead.

He also told them that to banish Orannis, the would have to find the pieces of dragon scale that had been crafted into a bell that had been used to fling him into space the first time. "We will finish it this time," said Arkadies.

Since Gnaomi's and Dido's gods were the twin dragons, copper and brass, they received the ability to transfer thoughts to each other when holding their weapons. After this was done, they found themselves on the side of a mountain, the evening light playing across the grey stone. Arkadies looked up and as Dido looked in the direction his dead eyes were turned, she noticed a small spot in the sky. Several others also noticed it and were told by Arkadies that now they must hurry. "That is Orannis," he said quietly, "coming to destroy the world." The adventurers, along with Arkadies, began walking. Dido glanced at Gnaomi and smiled encouragingly.

DM preview