Kanimaeli - Spirit of Air

A New Quest

I was briefly hopeful… if this obelisk could open a path to a realm of Earth, then it should be able to open a path to a realm of Air as well, right? Could we go home now?! Xlotl did not seem so sure; he shared some more information on his mission here. Lord Aergarnion had sent him to secure Antiva, the “life-giver”, which we had sort of done (although it was still split in two). But he had also been tasked to restore Kanimaeli, the “Spirit of the Air”. More worryingly, Lord Aergarnion had collapsed before Xlotl left, and when Xlotl had tried to help he had a vision of chaos. Without Antiva and Kanimaeli in the temple, it was possible that the flow of energy that sustained Lord Aergarnion’s realm (and the other elemental Realms) had been broken. Taking Antiva to the Air realm might help in the short term but would inevitably lead to war with the other elementals – better to return and restore the stones if we could.

Xlotl pulled a scroll out of thin air, but as he did so Pi started to dissolve! Xlotl tried to stuff it back away quickly, which did slow down the effect, but Pi was still drifting apart into motes of light. Antinniera tried to get hold of him to help, but there was a flash and the same thing started to happen to her! I rushed over, wanting to help as well, but Xlotl warned me not to touch them – there was too much energy surrounding them. Pi seemed fascinated by what was happening to him and walked towards us… we both backed off and shouted at him to stay back until we knew what was happening!

Pi stepped back, so far back in fact that he stepped off the platform completely. Miraculously, the Air embraced him, and he didn’t fall – this was a blessing! Xlotl took out his scroll again, and as he did so Pi immediately exploded into millions of shards of light that shot into wherever Xlotl had taken the scroll from. Antinneira went the same way moments later – they had both been transported to somewhere else, although for what reason we didn’t know. Xlotl started reading the scroll he had retrieved, and I could see the air starting to swirl around him as he did so. I lifted the platform slowly up into the Air about six feet, and the Air was swirling in an ordered way about him as he continued reading and chanting. Eventually Xlotl heard a voice that said: “you bring us Life”? It seemed that an Air spirit had answered his call, but that it wanted feeding! Xlotl made it clear that he wasn’t willing to feed it life but asked it more about Kanimaeli. The spirit’s answers made it clear to Xlotl that the “stone of Air” we had seen taken from the temple was Kanimaeli, and the spirit described it as the “path home, leading to our Lord Aergarnion”, Kanimaeli was “the door”.

Xlotl lost his connection with the Air spirit, and I lifted us up more rapidly to reach the top of the black pillar. We transferred over to the other platform, not concerned now with the pillar as it was dormant again, and I lifted us back to the chamber above. There was a sense of doom up there still, and I noted that the Air was flowing down gently, trying to get away from something. We were both exhausted, physically and mentally, so I lowered us back down to the level of the water and the other side passage. We rested there, and even managed to get a decent amount of sleep, until we were both woken by sounds up above us.

The voices sounded Saloroc in nature, and we could see light reflected in the chamber above. Xlotl turned himself invisible and slid on to the platform, causing it to sway slightly. The movement was obviously noticed, as excited jabbering could be heard above, but at least they couldn’t see him. I was wary that they were likely to just drop the stone cap down on top of use, so I shouted up to them: “are there were any servants of Lord Admir up there”?

Inevitably they wanted to know who I was, but didn’t really listen to the response. They had apparently decided that anything from the pit was evil and should stay in it, so they were going to seal it anyway! I rushed to raise the platform as quickly as I could, and thankfully the cap was so large and heavy that they hadn’t even got it moving as we neared the top. They abandoned that, and instead three of them jumped down onto the platform with swords drawn. Suddenly the rope holding the platform started to unravel - Xlotl had bitten into it! One foe quickly reversed his approach and started to climb out, while I managed to dodge the attacks of the other two and climb out myself. A sword did rake my back as I pulled myself out, but I made it just before Xlotl bit into the rope again and it started to give completely.

I shouted that they should listen to reason, but another Saloroc near the entrance lunges at me, trying to force me back over the edge. I dodged to one side, though, and couldn’t resist as he lost his balance beside me… I grabbed his belt and collar and just swung, using his momentum to “help” him into the pit. I cheekily said: “let me help you find the gift of Air”, followed with calling down “you’re welcome” as he, the platform, and the two others that were on it went crashing down the shaft. There were two Saloroc still in the room, though, and they didn’t look happy!

I stepped away from the edge, not wanting to go the same way, and sliced across the throat of the nearest foe with Storm. He clutched at his throat and tumbled into the hole, blood spraying as he fell. Xlotl appeared near the entrance, looking up the corridor, and sent a mental blast towards some more Saloroc that had heard the cries of the others. This seemed to enrage them further, but one did stop and looked very confused. I charged at the last one in the room, cutting into him with both fans before he could react. He fell dead, laying balanced on the rim of the hole but not falling. I tried to nudge him over the edge, but was interrupted by another Saloroc that had run into the room from the corridor. There was another just behind him, eyes wide and spitting mad, but he went for Xlotl instead. He held a sword, but had also grabbed a bow that he was using as a makeshift club. Xlotl suffered under his furious assault and was not looking healthy!

I struck one blow, but it wasn’t enough to drop my assailant. I was worried about Xlotl, though. He had managed to bite his foe, but had only scratched him. There was a bit of a dance after that, while we all dodged and deflected blows, but I finally managed to strike my foe and send them falling into the pit. I noticed that the body still perched on the edge was being slowly desiccated – it seemed the Air spirit had received a gift of life after all! I ran over to help Xlotl, just in time to see him struck with the bow; thankfully it was more of an accidental bonk than a forceful blow, so he was still conscious when I arrived. I reached out a hand and willed energy into him, healing the worst of his wounds.

Xlotl had already lunged at his attacker, and this time connected well. He ripped free, leaving a deep gouge and the Saloroc dropped. Finally we were alone and could take a minute. I needed to perform my daily mediation exercises, and Xlotl needed time to do something similar. Xlotl agreed to keep watch first, so I set out some incense and got it burning with my fire stick before running through my basic forms and refocusing my ki. Xlotl searched the remaining bodies, finding and drinking a potion to heal more of his wounds, then went into the corridor to watch the confused Saloroc. Eventually the Saloroc started to regain his senses, and Xlotl flapped his wings, drawing up to his full height screaming: “Stay back, stay back”! He settled again, but remained alert, saying: “leave us alone; we came here as friends but you tried to kill us”.

It did seem that he made an impression, as the Saloroc looked terrified! He asked about the others, and Xlotl explained that they were dead, saying: “they attacked us and suffered the consequence; leave us”. The Saloroc seemed torn, unwilling to leave but also unwilling to approach. Xlotl asked why they had come here, to which he replied: “we live here”! Xlotl questioned this, as we had found Dua’rev when we came, and was glad to hear that the Dua'rev were “all gone now, thank Admir”. Eventually it was just a stalemate of both watching each other, with Xlotl even saying: “you stay over there and I'll stay over here”. The Saloroc was slumped on the stairs, just watching.

After a pause, Xlotl asked: “why did you attack us”? The response was: “everything in the pit is evil”! Well yeah, that’s why we were trying to get out. Apparently “no-one comes out sane” and it was “sealed for a reason”. Are sane? Depends on your perspective, I guess. After that it just descended into needling banter, although this seemed to relax the Saloroc, as if he was used to this kind of interaction. Once I had finished my exercises, I swapped places with Xlotl. This confused the Saloroc further, of course, but he didn’t get any different answers and eventually just waved his hand at me and wandered off. I waited for Xlotl, but did go as far as the top of the stairs to see if anything had changed. There was dead Air and the stink of death down the corridor on the left, and more dead Air on the right as well, which I knew was a dead end.

When Xlotl joined me, about half an hour later, we moved up to investigate the passage on the right. In the dark, it was as if the passage just turned into a void of nothingness as far as I could tell. No Air moved for me to see any more, but Xltol was able to clearly see the eight-pointed star in the wall at the end, which I had seen previously. He placed Antiva in the centre of the star, despite my reservations about the apparent alignment with Earth, and then there was a flash of energy shooting out to the eight points. This left the two symbols highlighted and visible (Life and Earth), and then the wall crumbled to dust! The air beyond that was still dead, so I stumbled back to the room I knew was at the end of the main corridor, grabbing some oil and a torch from the tables there. I located one of the lanterns that were on the walls and used the oil to relight it so that I could see.

We moved up the revealed passage, finding a room with a stone sarcophagus inside, which was decorated with murals. The one facing me depicted a void centrally with humanoid shapes stretched out from it, as if being drawn into the void. The end on the right showed an ash cloud spewing from a volcano, although there was no sign of Fire. On the opposite side was a dusty, lifeless desert. The top contained an eight-pointed star, but with no visible symbology.

As I was looking more closely at this, a crack of noise startled me as a split rent the lid of the sarcophagus in two down the centre.

I ran back to the room entrance, seeing Xlotl back off as well, then peered back into the room to see what was happening. The two parts of the stone lid were thrown asunder and a terrifying, gaunt figure with glowing eyes wearing ornate robes sat up. As I watched, he started to levitate above the sarcophagus, hovering whilst mumbling under his breath. I decided that this wasn’t something we wanted to be around, and turned to flee, frankly terrified. Xlotl was right behind me, and there was an ominous silence as the mumbling stopped when we were about halfway down the corridor. I used the air to move swiftly towards the end, but instead ran straight into an invisible barrier across the entrance. We were trapped!

I checked high and low, but there were no gaps we could squeeze through. I jogged back to Xlotl, who had stopped at my warning. He was levitating what looked like a Pegasus feather in front of him, but I felt heaviness in my heart as I knew there was nothing we could do. I called out: “what do you want with us”?

A booming reply came back: "must we converse like peasants; will you not approach"?

Xlotl replied: "You seem strange and threatening to us, why would we wish to converse with you"? There was no answer.

Resigned to our fate, I called out: “I will come and speak”.

This time there was a reply: “approach; do not worry, I am not afraid". Yeah, I didn't for a moment think that HE was the one that would be afraid! When I stepped back into the room, I found him at least stood on the ground instead of floating in the air. I introduced myself, noticing that Xlotl had moved up behind me as well. He said that he was Artemus, the Lord Pavant. That didn’t mean anything to me, but he did recognise that Antiva was favoured by Lord Admir, one of the three true divinities of Creation. He was dismissive of all others that would call themselves Gods, calling them pretenders, and seemed to think little of Lord Aergarnion. He was keen that we kept Antiva away from him, though, so he might have some weakness.

He said that he was grateful to us for freeing him, however unwittingly. He had been trapped a long time ago due to what he called “a disagreement”. Agents of the three true divinities had worked together to trap him, it seemed, and now he saw an opportunity due to their waning influence. In return for our assistance, he asked what we sought as a boon. This thing reeked of evil to me, and I quickly said that all I desired was my freedom and my life. Xlotl was more interested in what he might learn, asking about the other stones and the stone of Air in particular. Artemus replied that we already knew how to find the stones we sought – using the compass. He also, somehow, imparted the knowledge of how to use the compass properly to Xlotl. By using a pure element (the purer the better), applied to the compass, it would be activated and guide us… assuming we had the will to control it.

Xlotl asked for more, which I thought foolish of such a creature, but he desired protection for us all rather than just himself so he perhaps wasn’t just after power. He wanted the means to resist damage from the elements he was opposed to: Earth and Fire. Artemus conjured spheres of pure Earth and Fire in his hands and then pressed them together, clearly working hard to force them to combine, until there was a ball of magma. This glowed with energy, first red, then orange, then gold and finally bright white such that we couldn’t look directly at it. When the light faded enough to see again, he was holding a small marble, burning with fire. He somehow fused that to a simple gold band, such that could be worn on a finger. He threw it towards Xlotl, who took control of it. He said that it would protect the wearer and those around them. Later Xlotl asked for a thread so that he could wear it around his neck.

That was the end of our “audience” it seemed – he “had a world to rule” and we “had the remains of our lives to lead” and he bid us go. I didn’t need telling twice, I was happy to go! As I walked with haste down the corridor, I suddenly heard his voice in my head. He said that I was wise to seek only freedom, and therefore he gifted me with knowledge. I suddenly understood the history of the fans my father gave me, somewhat in awe of what I had been carrying and using without knowing what they could do or how they had come to be. It was humbling, but I still wanted to get away from that place as quickly as possible!

Once we were back in the main corridor I felt a little calmer, and we steeled ourselves to try and gather as much information as we could before returning to the surface. Despite the stench and feeling of Death, we explored the other corridor we had bypassed so far. The air here did seem more normal, which was reassuring, and there was even a trace of pure elemental Air. This intrigued me, and I quickened my pace towards the corner ahead. The stone was worn and pitted, which didn’t match the other corridors the Dua'rev had used; perhaps they did not come this way? Beyond the corner, the corridor continued to wind left and right with now visible moisture on the walls. At the end it opened into a room with dusty earth filling cracks between stone flagstones on the floor. Within the corridor, elemental Air intermingled with stale air and Xlotl literally tasted the water on the walls and said that it was pure, even though old.

Within the room there were a number of stone sarcophagi, and as we approached and saw more of the room it looked like there were over a dozen of them, with four opposite the entrance we approached from. All were missing their lids, and they looked like they had exploded outwards by the rubble and dust surrounding them. Some had their sides buckled inwards as well, and there was a layer of mud within at least some of them.

I called into the room: “hello, spirit of the Air, are you there”?

I got an immediate response: “death within, death without, death to all”!

Xlotl joined the conversation, asking what it was that brought death, and the response was: "I do"! Xlotl asked if that meant Death, even to those of Air, to which the reply was simply “Death to all”! Nice.

Xlotl pressed the issue: “why do you seek death, not all Air does”? It said that it had been asleep so long, but the Life-Giver had awakened it. Xlotl then called out in the language of Water, and he said that he received a similar response, as Water was also hungry.

Xlotl produced the Pegasus feather again, speaking words imbued with power, saying that the spirits would not harm either of us, that they would be forced away. I felt a sense of awe as power emanated from the feather, backing away involuntarily. I watched as Xlotl stepped into the room; he saw a whirling wind on the far side, where the Air spirit seemed to have been forced back, but as he kept moving forward, we sensed movement in the stone floor heading towards him. He quickly left and I moved back down the corridor to give him space. We suspected another stone worm, but thankfully it did not follow as we backtracked.

We returned all the way to the door that led to where we had found the Dua’rev artists when we first entered. The door was closed, but not secured and we opened it easily. There were four Saloroc within the room, who it seemed had been relaxed, at least until we entered! We recognised one – he was the individual that watched as we rested near the entrance to the pit.

He shouted: “it's them, the ones from the Death pit”! I tried to explain that Artemus had arisen, and was behind us, so we should all flee. They seemed to recognise the name and circled their hearts as if making a protective ward – his legend lived on here, it seemed. They were not about to let us leave, though, even if it meant leaving us in captivity. We had no choice but to defend ourselves.

One shouted: "back, back evil one"! He swung his sword wildly at me, although it was easy to dodge aside. Xlotl attacked with his mind, but this just seemed to enrage two of them. He was attacked by two but managed to snap his fangs into the closest one. He reached for the other with his coiled tail but couldn’t grasp him. The two nearest me were wild with rage, throwing themselves at me with no care for their own safety, and both died quickly as the fans of my ancestors bit into their throats. Xlotl took a hit, though, and did not look well! He managed to bite one attacker, but the other struck him and he collapsed to the ground just as I reached his side – too late!

I quickly cut the weakened one down, and instead of launching straight into another attack I confronted the last one with words. It was the same individual from before, and I shouted that we should stop fighting – there were greater evils that we needed to escape and warn the world about. He hesitated, then demanded that I call on Lord Admir to judge me if I truly was not evil.

If it meant peace, then I would happily do so and I spoke loudly: “Admir judge me”!

It was strange; I definitely felt a presence as if someone (or something) turned its attention to me, but after a few seconds with nothing happening the Saloroc lowered his sword slightly and admitted that perhaps there was some truth in what I said. I confided that I had felt Admir for a moment, to which he replied: “of course, he is everywhere”!

It seemed the fight was over, thankfully, and the Saloroc turned to leave, urging me to follow. I wasn’t going without helping Xlotl, though! My new, uneasy, ally misinterpreted my intent at first, thinking that I wanted to give Xlotl a clean death! Once I explained that I thought I could save his life, he looked a little disgusted but passed me a potion that I forced down Xlotl’s neck. Sure enough, as I had hoped, it was enough to revive him. Now we could leave together, and the Saloroc said: “we must flee, now”!

As I tended to Xlotl, the Saloroc made a quick exit. It seemed odd that the supposed followers of Lord Admir, creator of all life, cared so little for the lives of others. One of the Saloroc bodies was starting to smoulder as Xlotl searched for more of their healing potions, finding two that were nearly empty and glugging them both down. I retrieved the lantern I had dropped earlier, noticing that the corpse it was near was now getting very hot. We went back through the door we had entered by, Xlotl now more confident that we could face the elementals we had encountered earlier. As I closed the door, I noticed that the corpse had burst into flames – the first we had seen in this Realm!

Elements and the Path to Death

We passed the junction that led to Artemus’ tomb, which was noticeably devoid of life. It wasn’t like the sense of Death from the corridor we intended to follow; there was just nothing there. We returned to the room with the multiple sarcophagi and Xlotl called out from the entrance, although I didn’t know what he said as it was in the tongue of Elemental Water. He received a reply, though, and apparently the water spirit knew of Xlotl through its old spirit, but it was a new spirit as the “spirit that was no longer flows”. Randomly, Xlotl asked me if I had any live fish! It seemed that the spirit was hungry, seeking food for energy, but I hadn’t packed any fish and they wouldn’t have survived this long if I had!

The water spirit knew patience, though, and would wait. The Air spirit was quite different – it was impatient and wanted to kill and feed! It thought nothing of me, but I explained that Xlotl was a powerful member of Lord Aergarnion’s court and convinced it to be wary of us. Xlotl helpfully suggested that I could lure the Earth spirit out, and that the Air spirit could perhaps feed on that when it inevitably attacked us. I went through the correct movements to shape the Air in the form of Protection of the East, using it as a barrier to deflect attacks as I walked into the room. Once I was about ten feet in, I noticed the stone rippling as one of the worms approached. It opened its maw below me, as expected, but it was much faster than I had anticipated, and it ripped at my leg as I just about managed to jump free before the jaws closed.

Xlotl moved up to support me, biting down into its still-visible jaws in a weird snake-to-worm mouth-on-mouth thing. His fangs jarred against the hard stone but did seem to have an impact. He then attacked with his mind, and that definitely did something because the worm froze, its jaws still visible just out of the stone but no longer moving. I watched warily as Xlotl moved farther into the room, exploring the far end where we couldn't see before. There were another couple of sarcophagi that were buckled in, one of the mostly intact sarcophagi had the Water resting within it, one was empty, and the last had faint traces of energy, dark in nature, with ash inside. There was an opening to the left that seemed to transition from dressed stone to hewn stone.

I looked at one of the buckled sarcophagi that was near me, asking the Air spirit about it, and it said that the great nothingness had taken from it – a void or vacuum of some sort? Was that when we released Artemus? Xlotl found a tendril of mud snapping at him from a sarcophagus that still had traces of energy, but stayed out of its reach. He also saw a deep nothing in the wall on his right, circular but set slightly within the floor. I joined him, and found that he was staring at it without moving, and when I looked to see what was so fascinating I found myself mesmerised, losing any sense of time or place. I was snapped out of it when I felt something drawing life from me from behind me – it was the Air spirit whipping at me hungrily. I instinctively send a thunderburst out, pushing the spirit back slightly, but also pushing Xlotl hard towards the void circle! It did at least bring him back to his senses.

In my defensive reaction, I shouted “leave us the fuck alone! Back away”! The spirit did back off, but said “but you were gone”. As I fully regained my senses, I apologised - the spirit was right to wake us. Xlotl was not too happy about the rough treatment my thunderburst had given him, though. We were both happy to move away from the black circle, though, noting that it wasn’t the first we had seen – in fact there had been one in the temple we first arrived in when we left Lord Aergarnion. As my lantern light played over the empty sarcophagus, we noticed that there was an eight-pointed star lightly engraved within the base, although we didn’t know what the significance of that was.

We approached the opening on the left, seeing that it opened up fairly quickly into a hewn cave with pillars of rock still within. A miasma of Death still pervaded the place, but otherwise the air seemed normal. The rock within the pillars seemed different, darker than the rest, but to be honest I don't know much about rock so I couldn’t say more than that. Xlotl did take a look and concluded that it would have been harder to carve because it harder than other rock. I moved forwards into the room and started to flow around to the left, avoiding the irregular columns, but Xlotl noticed a bright spot of energy in the floor in the entrance to a passage beyond the room to our right.

I kept flowing around the wall until I neared the other exit, bringing some light to the passage. It was clear that what Xlotl had seen was a symbol within the floor – it was the symbol of Death! It was shaped from a flawless single piece of black diamond, some ten feet large – Xlotl found it incredible! Yeah, incredibly dangerous, I thought. Xlotl flicked his tongue over it, sensing power within the flawless gem, and noticed some small points of moving energy within it. Thankfully he was able to retract his head and return to the room – I thought Tingus was going to take him when he stuck his head into the darkness! My light did not penetrate beyond the symbol. I was definitely not keen on going to Death, so we returned to the room where we fought the Saloroc and then back into the corridor beyond that.

The End of the Dua'Rev

We passed the stairs we had entered by earlier, and continued through winding corridors that would have been easy to defend against archer and wielders of dweomer. We came to a room with a light source ahead, which flickered like flames. I was wary, so I walked forward carefully to peek around the corner. Sure enough, there was a small figure of Fire flowing around a Dua'rev corpse that was combusting under him, with two other charred remains nearby. There was also the charred remains of a worm, suggesting it had fed well. The rest of the room was mainly empty, although there was a makeshift armoury against the wall on the right with various weapons arrayed there.

I tried to talk sense with the Fire spirit, using Common Elemental, but it was too hungry to placate. It said that his Lord (Igsol presumably) had created him here and that he must feed! It sounded like he just had no idea how he had come to be here. He flowed towards me and I was nearly enveloped in flames, feeling for the first time the protection of Xlotl’s gift from Aretmus as the flames flowed off me without catching fire. I struck with the Air, disrupting him somewhat, but then Xlotl dumped a mass of Water straight onto him. There was an explosion of steam, which scalded me badly, but the light of the Fire spirit went out. We did try to warn him. A small pool of liquid remained, but there was no longer any Fire.

Xlotl moved forward to inspect the remains of the dead, noticing that there were two more bodies slumped against a closed door at the far left end of the room. I followed, hoping to find something that might dress some of my wounds. The remains of the worm were crumbling to dust, and the nearest bodies had been drained of all sense of life. One was more lightly armoured than the others, and they had a flask that looked like the healing drafts we had seen so far, so I gulped down about half of it and felt somewhat better.

Xlotl investigated a backpack that this Dua'rev had been wearing, although it looked like a strap had been cut and the pack dragged out from under him as if we were not the first to investigate. He did find a shiny steel pick wrapped in a shirt, but it was repulsive to me and clearly of Earth. Still we kept it - if nothing else it could be traded for something more useful.

The other two bodies were of a finely dressed warrior, although his weapons were missing, and a shaman. The shaman had a stone symbol of Earth around his neck, but it had been recently cracked according to Xlotl. I leant the body forward and saw a narrow, waxed bag with a leather folio inside just behind him. Xlotl floated the folio out, catching the papers as they fell loose, and collected it together to keep and study. He also noticed some fine bracers on the warrior; they were polished steel, so I was wary of the influence of Earth, but they were not as repugnant as the pick. They were inlaid with gold, one showing a bow and the other arrows. We wondered whether Antinniera would be able to make use of them, and kept them wrapped for her. Fortune smiled on us again, as I found another healing draft. I finished the first I had found and kept this one, now feeling much better.

The door they had been slumped beside opened easily, revealing a well-appointed sleeping quarters. There were bunks on each side and a writing desk against the far wall with writing materials. The left side of the room was in utter disarray, having been searched thoroughly, and a small chest had been smashed open and emptied on the floor. There was a mahogany stick with a gold band laying in front of it, looking damaged. Two plain gold rings that looked oddly corroded lay not far from that. A golden circlet with a black diamond mounted in front lay next to them. BY contrast, the right side of the room was in perfect order, with a small chest under the writing desk on that side made of dark wood and iron bound. There were two more chests under the bed and a footlocker at its base.

I walked forward, down the centre, and felt a strong revulsion from the right. Perhaps it was protected by Earth? I moved away from it, but warned Xlotl about the protection. When I focused, I could see that the Air was in agony within the right side of the room, which made sense if it was infused with Earth-related power. The desk had drawers in a bureau style, two on each side on left and right. I topped up my writing materials, paper and ink, and Xlotl found a map of the tunnels, although we seemed to have explored farther than those that had drawn it. The chest below the desk had a brass lock, and Xlotl thought it wise to seek out the key if we could.

I managed to fight my sense of revulsion to reach the bed and dragged the chests out to where we could reach them from the better Air. Xlotl found a key, which I then used on the chest below the desk. Although it clicked, we were cautious and Xlotl backed off whilst I moved to one side before opening it. It was a good job we did, because when the lid opened it exploded with crystal needles! Xlotl was largely unhurt, but I was peppered with them. I spent some time picking shards of crystals out of my skin before taking a swig of the healing draft I'd found.

There was a phial inside the chest containing an orange liquid, a small velvet pouch, and a broken glass phial with a puddle of green liquid where the shards had broken it. Inside the pouch was a gold ring with an oblong cut lapis lazuli set crossways upon it. Xlotl realised that the gold was very pure, and the stone very carefully shaped with many flat surfaces to make what looked like a plain shape.

Xlotl inspected and manipulated the wand on the floor, but it crumbled to dust just leaving a pitted gold band behind. All the items seemed to be drained of energy. Only the circlet was in good condition, although the stone it had held was cracked and fell out in pieces when Xlotl shook it. The circlet itself was fine and intricate, despite the loss of the stone, but when Xlotl tried it on he quickly dropped it to the floor. It had the same taint of Earth, so I wrapped it with the pick for others to appraise.

The two other chests were full of gold and silver, more than I had ever seen! I suppose it made sense that creatures of Earth would value such minerals enough to hoard them. I took a little for any trading I might need to so, and Xlotl seemed to take quite a lot - still impressed with the quality of the gold. The footlocker was mostly full of clothes, although I did find a sphere of granite at the bottom. I nudged it into bag with other Earth stuff in case it was valuable or important, and then finally left the Earth-infused area, feeling great relief as the normal Air surrounded me.

With nothing else to do here, we backtracked to the stairs up and returned to the worm pillar room. There was a stone door in the corner we had bypassed before, and we investigated that first. Inside was a room with shelving reaching from floor to ceiling on the right as we entered. The shelves were laden with glass jars that were stoppered with cork. There were so many that there might even have been a hundred of them, and they all contained soil, dirt, and dust. The colours were all different, and all seemed to represent different Earth materials of some kind. There was almost a pattern, if you looked at the colour gradient, although two at the bottom right didn't seem to fit at all.

Neither of us knew what the significant of the Earth was, so we decided just to leave it and return to the cells through the guard post. We found one of Illiana's folk, an Elvrathamat, in the first cell. He was slumped against the wall, although he did stir as I shouted but didn't get up. There was another in the next cell, female this time, but we thought her probably dead. The next cell was empty, and an entrance on the left opened into a torture chamber with various nasty looking implements within it that made for fairly gruesome viewing.

The fourth cell had a closed stable door and some moisture on the floor, as if water had been spilled recently. We could hear movement and breathing from the last cell, which had bars like the first three. There were two dogs within, and they barked at us. They looked quite nasty, and then I noticed that the barred door wasn't locked in any way! One was jumping up at the bars, which caused the door to swing slightly, then the other caught a bar in its mouth and pulled it open! The other dog launched itself at me, but then dropped to the floor with the other one as Xlotl attacked them with his mind. Thankfully I hadn't soiled my robes!

We went back to the stable door, and Xlotl opened the top, seeing the bottom half was mostly filled with water. Before we could investigate further, a voice called from the first cell: "Let me out, you bastards"! I replied, somewhat sarcastically: "that's a great way to get someone to let you out". He paused at that, replying: "you're not one of them, who are you"? I asked who he was, and he gave a name: Tar'anath. His Queen was Ilianna, at which Xlotl advised leaving him as she was a Queen of Lies. Tar'anath said that we had got it wrong - she was the Queen of Truth! We left him for now, though, as Xlotl investigated the water.

There was something in there - a scaled, once rainbow-coloured fish but now muted. It responded to Xlotl's voice, saying that it wanted to get back to the river. We worried that it was too far for the poor thing, though, as we would have to carry it. The idea of it breathing Air was alien to it. I healed its wounds, which invigorated it, so at least it would have the best chance at surviving. I still had the waxed bag, which was designed to be waterproof, so we scooped it up with some water, leaving the contents with Xlotl. It was heavy, but I used the Air to help me carry it as quickly as I could to the water's edge in the broken tower that Xlotl had entered through. I tipped it quickly into the water, and it was already growing in size as it leapt out of the bag. It kept growing in the water, though, until it was alarmingly big, becoming a massive beast with tentacles. It was still grateful, thankfully, saying that we had the thanks of Lord Vannetherren, and that it was in our debt.

Reunion

As we left the Moathouse to return to solid ground, Pi and Antinniera appeared almost simultaneously from behind Xlotl's shoulder, tumbling as they did so. Antinniera landed perfectly, but Pi hit the ground face first. I helped Pi up, glad to see him again. He and Antinniera had both seen Admir this time, and had apparently been granted knowledge and power. Antinniera then went into a tirade of words about how we must not let the "dark one" escape and should keep Antiva away from him at all costs. Hmm... perhaps that message was a bit too late? Antinniera eventually realised that basically everything Lord Admir had said must not be allowed to happen... did. Yep, that about sums it up. Pi at least was able to heal our wounds, having been restored by his Lord, and also claimed that he knew how to restore Antiva to its whole self again. Xlotl was keen not to do that here, though, and set out eastwards into the woods.

It was an overcast cloudy day, early in the morning as far as we could tell, but much colder than we remembered. At first we thought that it was a chill wind blowing in from the east, but I realised that it was not the Air that brought the cold - it was a coldness that pervaded despite the wind. After a mile or so, we heard a really loud crack from behind us, in the direction of the Moathouse was. Actual cracks started to appear in the ground behind and around us, and we had to catch ourselves as the ground shifted. The cracks were thicker behind us and narrowed as they passed us by, coming close to each other up ahead.

Even the Air was avoiding the cracks, which was not a good sign! We needed to move, so I used the Air to carry me forward quickly. This meant that I was the first to see a mass of spiders erupt from the crack on our left. I hate spiders! Something else rose from the crack on the right - a large, fanged worm thing. At least it wasn't made of stone. Xlotl started flapping madly and rose above the ground, some ten feet up. Well, now I was jealous.

I had to get away before the spiders cut us off! I ran forward, leaping over the crack. I should have easily cleared it, but I felt a force trying to drag the life out of me and lost most of my momentum, barely making it over! Pi changed into a large hawk, flying straight at the spiders! Impressive to behold, but absolutely mad. Antinniera had the right idea, though, she summoned jets of fire and started burning the foul creatures, sweeping the fire in an arc in front of her. That I could approve of! I noticed that the flames turned into black smoke that dropped straight down into the crack as soon as they crossed the vertical plane where the edge was, though.

I called for Antinniera to get out from between the cracks, saying that I would use the Air to help her. Xlotl flew up farther, some forty feet above us, before starting to glide in my direction. Pi, as a hawk, ripped a spider to shreds in a diving attack, banking aggressively to avoid the crack before spiraling up to tree height. I used the air to lift Antinniera over the gap, which worked brilliantly... except that she crashed unconscious to the floor beside me!

Xlotl flew over at height without any ill effects, but now the spiders were seething towards me and Antinniera. Xlotl screeched in a language I didn't understand, and suddenly the Earth to exploded beneath the mass of hairy legs and shredded most of the vermin with shards of stone.

I used my mind to heal Antinneira, bringing her back to consciousness, but she still looked drained and unwell. I urged her to move away from danger, as Pi came screaming down in a dive onto one of the few remaining spiders, eviscerating it. Unfortunately there were new foes, as a half-dozen short creature that were not quite alive had emerged from the cracks farther behind us and were making their way towards us. There were still a few spiders left, and one reared as if to bite Xlotl, but recoiled just after it lunged forward. Something protected him.

Xlotl and Antinniera started moving away, but Pi was still fighting so I ran over and crushed one of the spiders with the Air. Pi pecked at one, but it was still moving. The worm we had seen had not left the crack, so we had been ignoring it, but now it used its body to form a bridge for the smaller creatures to cross and attack us. One smacked Pi with a bone cudgel, and he quickly took off to gain some height and stay out of harms way.

The creatures started to catch me, so I used the air to create a thunderclap that pushed them away, although one managed to keep its feet. Pi dived at one, using his talons to claw at it. I stood my ground, trying to give Antinniera time to escape, but two got past and she was knocked unconscious. Pi dived at another one, and managed to rip a large hole in its chest, but it still didn't stop. Xlotl launched ice at Antinniera's attacker, ripping its arm clean off, but again it ignored the wound and kept moving.

I smashed my fan into one, sending ribs flying, and took a blow in return. I then crossed both fans, striking its hips and head. The head went flying away, and its spine shattered so the torso collapsed. Even then its legs kept standing, though! Pi dived again, doing more damage, but it was clear that whatever force animated these creatures could not be stopped so easily. Xlotl produced Lord Aergarnion's feather, speaking with confidence that the power would be too much for them and ordering them to go back from whence they came. This did the trick - it drove them back and away, and he was even able to revive Antinniera.

Antinniera reacted with her usual gusto, running to my side to aid me and roaring in anger at the remaining foes. She swung her halberd with force, cutting straight through one of the foes... and the momentum carried the blade into me! I passed out with pain, only coming too when Pi aided me; he had landed and transformed back into his human form. The remains of the creatures ran, crawled, and even bit (yes, even the head was still moving) to get away from Xlotl, so the immediate danger was over. Antinniera seemed quite apologetic, so hopefully she would remember to be mindful of her swings in the future!

More of the cracks opened around us, and this time Pi fell as one opened up beneath him. As soon as his head was below the top he disappeared completely! Xlotl and I managed to stay on the right side of the new cracks, but Antinniera was trapped on the other side. The creatures fleeing from Xlotl jumped or tumbled into the nearest crack, but there was a new figure approaching from farther back, short but seemingly wielding dweomer of some kind. As we tried to get a better look at him, we saw double-headed dogs winking into existence around him, and correctly assumed that they were likely to be chasing us down!

I used the Air to run around some of the cracks to get closer to Antinniera, as I wanted to aid her to get to safety. I dug deep, drawing on my ki to create an updraft for her as she jumped. As before, her leap was affected as she crossed the crack and she felt some of her energy being drained. She did clear the crack but crashed to the floor again, although she was at least conscious this time! There was one more crack she needed to get over, and I had to circle around again to reach the right point. Meanwhile the dogs were running towards Xlotl.

As I tried to get around to rejoin Antinniera, the approaching figure sent missiles of dweomer thudding into her, and she passed out. Xlotl was distracted by the dogs, using his mind to defend himself against the three dogs loping towards him. Two collapsed after his first attack, skidding to a stop on the ground, and the last one fell as it tried to clear a crack, disappearing below the ground. The sole figure left seemed undeterred, though, and was still moving towards Antinniera, walking across the cracks as if there was nothing there at all. I kept up the fastest pace I could, trying to reach her before the foe.

Xlotl started flapping his wings and rose slowly into the Air. The figure seemed to notice him for the first time, and sent crystal shards streaking towards him. Thankfully, they shattered to dust as they hit Xlotl, leaving him unaffected. A glowing spear appeared in Xlotl's hand, and he hurled it at the figure, striking cleanly. Xlotl flew closer and threw another spear, striking again. While they duelled, I leapt over the crack to join Antinniera, reviving her with the last of the healing draught I had on me. I was surprised to find that she actually wanted to flee with me! I used the last of my ki reserves to create an updraft again and leapt across the nearest crack, looking back to make sure that Antinniera was following.

Xlotl was suddenly surrounded by a cloud of freezing dust, forcing him to quickly move out of the area and losing sight of the foe as he did so. Xlotl headed for Antinniera instead, using a scroll to heal her wounds, and urged us to keep running. We fled, only pausing for Xlotl to chant something – we did not see the effect of his words, though, and didn’t wait around so see if anything changed. We kept moving, making best speed away from the danger for perhaps a mile before we even dared slow down. We all needed to rest, though, so we found some cover in the forest and settled down. I used Calm to meditate and rest whilst staying aware of our surroundings, still slightly in awe of the power my inheritance contained. There was movement around us – several teams of rough-looking Saloroc passed fairly close, but we were not bothered. I went through my form practice in the morning as Xlotl spent some time meditating and studying a book of arcane knowledge and Antinniera tended to her weapons.

Once we were refreshed, we kept moving eastwards. Xlotl shared a vision he had seen of a tree being regrown within the old temple, with points of light giving it life that we thought represented the gems of power. The elemental gems were placed first, then life and death followed, and finally the two missing stones were also added. This reinforced the need to seek out the elemental gems in balance to return them without one becoming more powerful than others. If we were going to seek Air, which Antinniera believed we would find in the far east, then we would need to resupply. It could be weeks of travel, and I had certainly not equipped myself for a long journey – I was only supposed to be sampling the Air and returning to Lord Aerganion!

Antinniera knew Vesri best, a settlement to the north. The easiest way of reaching it was to keep heading east until we reached the road and then follow it north. We avoided more of the Saloroc patrols as we travelled, which was simple enough as they didn't seem to be searching for anything in particular. Xlotl turned himself invisible at some point, which made a lot of sense considering we were heading towards a village and I doubt that they were used to seeing giant flying snakes that wanted to do some shopping. We travelled into the night, knowing that we would have a long day ahead but wanting to force our body clocks back into a day and night rhythm after resting in daylight. It was still simple enough to find the road, and turning left we made good time without meeting any travellers.

Sometime around midnight we found that our vision suddenly changed, though, getting much worse. It was as if a transition happened at a certain point, as we could step back and return to normal but as soon as we stepped forwards again it would change in the same way. We decided that it was either a gate or an illusion, but if it was an illusion, it was too convincing for us to see through it. The Air after the transition was like a mausoleum, so I was wary of continuing. Instead, we moved off the road and waited until morning, hoping that either something would change or that we could make out more details with the daylight. We did hear some sounds from beyond the veil, something like the beating of leathery wings.

We could see more with the help of daylight, and it was clear in the morning that there was an obvious boundary at the point where our perception changed. The boundary ran roughly southwest / northeast and extended as far as we could see. We tried following it for half a day, hoping that we might be able to circle around it, but my midday it was clear that Vesri was lost. Antinniera was, understandably, not very happy that her entire life was in tatters and everyone she ever knew might be dead or worse. We could not see what could be done to help them, though, other than to restore the temple and bring life back to the Realm.

We returned to the road in sadness and followed it south instead. There was a town farther to the south than we had travelled – perhaps that was still unaffected? As before, we saw shapes moving in the trees, but nothing interrupted us on the road. We continued until late in the day and then, exhausted, settled down to rest. Again, I kept watch using Calm to meditate and refresh myself at the same time. During the night, the temperature dropped sharply and I noticed that there were several of the double-headed dogs slowly tracking us. I woke Antinniera after it was clear that they had found our scent and would discover us. Not wanting to wait until they were together, I charged the nearest one, screaming to alert anyone nearby.

My fans slashed into the dog’s neck, and one of its heads lolled lifelessly, but another dog bounded over, and its teeth scratched at my arm. Antinniera ran to help, smashing a head of the second dog and rendering that lifeless. We fought on, both connecting but not quite having the impact of our first blows. I was bitten nastily in the side, which staggered me slightly, but that gave me an opening and I cut the throats of both wounded dogs. There was another that had approached Antinniera from behind, and that bit her twice. She stood firm, though, and swung her halberd into it. As she did that, I flanked it and cut deep wounds with both fans. It dropped and the temperature almost immediately rose again, feeling quite warm in comparison.

Xlotl spoke from behind us, as a disembodied voice due to still being invisible, and warned that he could sense the ground shaking. Antinniera was keen to move away quickly, and we both moved south. We didn’t get far before a massive hole opened up in the ground, the earth falling away and eight cracks radiating from the centre. Pi appeared with it; his shoulders on the edge as if trying to climb out and calling out for help. He managed to crawl up onto firm ground before we could reach him, though.

There was a certain pattern to the radial cracks. If we took the one nearest to Xlotl as Air, then Pi would have emerged from Life/Chaos (assuming the orientation was as we had seen it before). The cracks aligned with Death and Earth were longer, which made sense given their influence was stronger here. We also noticed that the temperature had started to fall again. Were more of the foe coming? Yes. Yes, they were. We saw two large skeletal snake-like things rearing up out of the Death crack, and much smaller weird spider-like things crawled out of the Earth crack.

Pi and I met and hugged; I was glad to see him again! Did he kiss my cheek? I knew that some cultures did that. He was kind enough to heal some of my wounds, for which I was very grateful, and then gave Antinniera some assistance, although she was still insistent that we should leave, running to the south without us. The temperature was still dropping, and one of the skeletal snakes closed quickly on Pi, almost like an arrow being loosed and certainly not moving naturally. I rushed to help as a barbed tail skidded off Pi's armour, calling to Antinniera to ask if there was any chance she could burn some spiders before she left! I smashed a fan into the snake attacking Pi, breaking some bones but not stopping it. Xlotl tried to use his mind, but we saw no obvious effect... other than that he became visible again!

I shouted a warning that the skeletal snakes might just keep coming, so we should be prepared to run. Antinniera was a bit more direct, shouting: “we need to get out of here”! The second worm shot towards me, in the same manner as the first, like an arrow. Its tail caught me, painfully ripping at my flesh. Pi was starting to turn red again, shaking and striking out madly. A swing of his hammer smashed a snake’s head away… but then the head started to grow a new body, and the body started to grow a new head! Great; now there were three of them!

I struck at the new foe with both fans, but the bones were as hard as stone, and I couldn’t do any damage. Antinniera warned that something was approaching from the south – we were surrounded! I put my fans away and instead used the Air to send a thunderclap bursting out around me, causing the one that was still growing a head to collapse into an inanimate pile of bones. Pi started jumping up and down on them in his rage, but it was clear that they were too strong to break so easily. Instead, he grabbed hold of the tail that was growing from the head, twirled it around and threw it away from him a fair distance!

I was slashed by the tail of another snake, but then also bitten by a spider from behind! There was a sudden burning irritation in my leg, which was really hard to ignore. The snake seized the opportunity as I was distracted, and bit into me, causing me to pass out with pain. Pi splatted the spider that bit me, leaving just a smear on the ground, and Xlotl caused the snake that Pi had thrown to explode into shards of stony bone, completely obliterating it! Xlotl then started chanting, although it went on a bit. Pi was bitten by the snake thing as he fought the spiders, although his armour saved him from the worst of it. He splatted another spider, though, so that was something. Antinniera actually joined the combat, swiping straight through a spider with her halberd. Slightly overkill, but one less spider is always a good thing!

Xlotl summoned a tower of water that then dropped onto the spider near Pi, forcing it into Pi's boot. It was squashed slightly, but not enough to kill it, and when Pi tried to kick it, he couldn’t connect well enough to have an impact. Xlotl tried to bite the last snake, but his teeth just slid off the hard bones, and the snake ignored him and slashed Pi’s side with its tail. Pi was still focused on the spider, somehow convinced that it was laughing at him, so he smashed his warhammer down on it, leaving practically no trace it had even existed, such was the force of the blow.

Xlotl bit the snake again, getting some purchase this time, and threw it sideways. As Pi found himself without an immediate target for a moment, he noticed my plight and tried to help me. He did stop some of the bleeding, but it wasn’t enough to revive me. To make matters worse, Antinniera was bitten by a spider and fell unconscious! Pi turned his attention to her, managing to revive her despite a spider doing its best to attack him as he did so. Xlotl was slashed by the skeletal snake’s tail, and in response he bit down on it again and tried to wrap his coils around it, but he couldn’t quite constrict it. Instead, he moved back and used his wings to buffet the snake. It didn’t like that much and dived into the earth out of sight.

Pi said some kind of prayer to Lord Admir and then told Antinniera that she was stronger and that he would fight alongside her. Antinneira kicked at a spider, and the impact was so hard that it split into bits as it flew away from her. There was only one of the things left, but Xlotl was struggling to pin it down. He did some damage but got bitten by it in return. It was at that point that some new arrivals appeared. Four Saloroc approached from the south, fanning out and regarding us cautiously. Their leader said: "drop your weapons and kit and we might let you live"! Pi turned and swiped at the last spider almost casually, bursting it open looking the Saloroc in the eyes. That seemed to make their leader less sure of himself. Pi then moved to my side and called on Lord Admir to heal my wounds, this time bringing me round.

Xlotl also said a prayer, and the Saloroc stepped back slightly. He started to apologise to Xlotl, which was strange, saying that they had just run towards the noise without knowing who we were. Xlotl offered him a trade, perhaps some of their healing drafts for gold? He summoned four stacks of five of the pure gold pieces we had discovered, one stack for each of them. Their leader took the gold and placed a full flask of healing down, looking warily at Xlotl as he did so. Xlotl wanted more, and ended up paying eighty coins for four flasks, which I thought was a good decision considering how battle weary we were.

We learned from the Saloroc that they had been turned away from the town to the south, which was guarded by human warriors and Water. They feared Death was coming, which we agreed was a reasonable concern! They offered some rations as we talked, which we gladly took. Eventually we parted ways, perhaps not as friends but at least with a mutual respect. Xlotl reminded me that I had some detestable Earth-infused items in my pack, which I was happy to pass to Pi as he seemed unbothered by their nature. I also gave the bracers engraved with arrows and a bow to Antinniera, hoping that she could make good use of them.

Antinniera asked Pi about Admir's first born, which he knew to be Antiva. Apparently Admir had told Antinniera that he sensed Antiva on her, perhaps because she had been controlled by it for some time?

More Dead Ends

It was in the early hours of the morning, so we decided it wasn't worth trying to get back to sleep and instead started our trek south on the road. After a couple of hours, we heard raised voices in a language we didn't recognise ahead and to the right. Everyone else decided that I should go and have a look! It was reassuring to know that they valued my friendly but cautious approach to meeting strangers.

As I moved forward, I could see that there was a group of Saloroc approaching quickly but cautiously in our rough direction. I tried to move with the Air to speed up without making too much noise, but when I stepped off the road to the right it caused the ground to crack open ahead of me for as much as seventy yards beyond my foot! I backed off, normally this time, and reported to the others what I had seen. We decided to wait and speak with them when they reached us. It was then we heard a deep bass growl rumbling from deep inside the forest, farther than the Saloroc had been. It was an ominous sound, and didn't bode well.

We kept to the east of the road, nervous about the noise, and watched as the Saloroc moved closer. They seemed to have been moving quickly for some time, and looked scared. I scanned forest around them but saw nothing immediately in pursuit. Xlotl moved down the road to greet them, and a waterskin appeared in front of him. Him called out in Common, and they responded, warning of a "big ugly thing" that was slow but formidable. They added that it was coming now, and that we should run, obviously confused as to why we hadn't started fleeing already.

Xlotl said that we sought sanctuary in the south, but the Saloroc leader warned that Tacturn is closed and they would certainly not let Xlotl in! Was that because he was a snake and not human, perhaps? He accepted the water, which is why he had paused to talk, but did not want to stay and fight. They certainly seemed vague on the details of what we might face, instead setting off at pace again. I wished them luck, but warned that Vesri had fallen. That made them swear, and they changed course slightly to head more eastward. The last one, slightly younger and more scared by the look of him, said to Xlotl: "please ask the "Kohnen" not to kill us"! Apparently the Kohnen were the Lords of Air. Pi offered him some tobacco and rations, urging him to stay strong, to which he replied: "Admir bless you".

We began moving south again... well, most of us did. Xlotl has stopped in the middle of the road and was chanting a prayer. I slowed and scanned the other side of the road for any threats; I heard another deep growl but couldn't see anything close to us. A minute or so passed and Xlotl was still just stood there chanting and writhing rhythmically. Then I caught my first glimpse of the threat - there were a couple of giant humanoid shapes moving towards the road, and it seemed that there were smaller things moving through the undergrowth around them as well. I warned the others, and Pi picked up a fallen leafy branch, walking over to Xlotl and sticking it into the ground beside him. He seemed proud that he had thought of a way of hiding him... even though it was blatantly obvious that something was there... and Pi was stood next to him in bright red and yellow armour!

I took a moment to sense the air, noticing that on the west side of the road the Air was disturbed and flowing chaotically towards us, but on our (east) side it was quite calm. The change was sudden, and aligned with the road, as if there were some kind of barrier we could not seee. Antinniera strode over to Xlotl, waving her halberd in front of him and saying that we needed to move! Pi, though, tried to placate her, saying that Xlotl was praying so we needed to leave him until he was finished.

I was wary now of shouting out loud, so I used my gifted knowledge of Storm to whisper a message to the others. I warned that the creatures' slow approach might change if they saw us, which seemed likely if nothing changed. I also mentioned that the Air was better on our side of the road. After another minute without any sign that Xlotl was going to stop, I sent a more urgent warning that the smaller creatures would be able to reach us soon and we should hurry up and leave!

Antinniera was clearly tired of waiting, and decided to loose an arrow at the foe instead! I felt that a more emphatic gesture to convey my thoughts was lacking, but simply covered my eyes briefly, anticipating what might happen next. Antinniera's arrow flew true, which was impressive, but didn't seem to have much impact on the giant. A second arrow thudded into it shortly afterwards, but there still didn't seem to be much impact.

There was, though, an explosion of movement in the brush ahead of the large ugly creature, so something was certainly coming quickly! Antinneira struck the large target with another arrow before the smaller things came into view, though. They looked like large beetles, about a foot high - although that was deceptive because they were half in and half out of the Earth. They were heading straight for Antinniera, but when they reached the road they stopped and started churning it up instead, eating into it.

Antinneira stepped forward and sent sheets of flame out in an arc in front of her, catching three of them and burning them badly, one cracked and stopped moving completely. Pi started speaking a strange language and waving his arm, then a large rock appeared in the air above one of the beetles and fell, splatting it and sending sludge and bits of legs flying out. I stepped with the Air again, hoping to open a crack where the beetles were, but instead a crack opened towards the big, fleshy creature that was getting closer. It stepped onto the crack and a moment later appeared right in front of me! Thankfully I had backed off to the east of the road again, and it turned north towards Antinniera instead.

There were still a couple of bugs churning up the road, eating into its apparent protection, and I darted forward again to engage them, cracking the shell of one but not stopping it. I also tried to make the big thing as light as air with Storm, but it didn't work - I would need more practice at that.

The big chonky lad (he was at least ten feet high and bloated, but perhaps once like a human?) kept going for Antinniera, quashing the smouldering fires her flames had left as he stepped near them. I forced three of the bugs back with a thunder burst of Air, destroying one of them, trying to protect the barrier that seemed to be keeping them on the other side. Antinniera ran back over the road, retrieving her halberd, so she was safe for the moment. Xlotl chanted another, thankfully shorter, prayer and a part of the big guy exploded out in fragments, shredding three bugs and leaving a nasty hole. Pi joined the fight, smacking a bug so hard that it was turned into a messy paste. The big guy kept moving, ignoring the hole in his body, and this time went for Pi.

Xlotl started to fly away as quickly as he could, lifting some thirty feet into the Air, and Pi backed off to the safety of the east side of the road. I was concerned that if we left the beetles to breach the road then the protection it afforded might end, so I rushed forward again and crushed the last bug with the Air beneath my fist. This spot was safe, for now at least, but there was another group just to the north of us.

Xlotl was unconcerned, though, shouting that we couldn't defend the road and should just head to Tacturn, gliding south away from us. I was less convinced... if we could stop this group then couldn't we stop the other? Xlotl thought there were likely to be many more, though, although I pointed out that if that were true then we might never reach the town. He was still disappearing south amongst the trees, though, and I was resignedly forced to follow and regroup with the others where he landed. There was no hope that the barrier, whatever it had been, would hold them now.

After we were together again, we decided that we needed to remake Antiva before more agents of Death approached. I dumped Morsantiva onto the ground, retrieving the rest of my things from around it and leaving it for Pi to deal with. Xlotl floated Versantiva from under his turban and held it in the Air nearby. Pi stepped forward and grasped both parts whilst saying a prayer to Lord Admir. He brought the parts together above his head, suddenly understanding them and how they fitted together. One was promoting life and the other decay, but the will of Admir brought the parts together and there was a bright burst of light as they fused together. When this was done, though, Pi noticed that there was a sliver of the gem missing, a thin segment that prevented Antiva from being whole again. Pi sensed that there were still two competing voices within the game, so they were certainly not yet whole, despite being joined physically.

Xlotl explained that he had been speaking with an Air spirit during his prolonged prayer. He had learned that the Kohnen were the Lords of Air in the east, and somewhere we definitely needed to visit. The Air was unable to cross to the west of the road, although I worried that things were about to change with the barrier. He also learned that the elemental spirits hated Antinniera and her people, and it was her people's priests that were stopping entry to Tacturn for non-humans.

We continued south anyway, at least aware that we were unlikely to be welcomed. After about an hour and a half we approached a stone bridge with a single human stood on the far side. He seemed to be waiting for us, and Antinniera recognised him as Xavius, a senior priest. He seemed like the chief bigot to me, speaking of elemental creatures as "sub-human", and even suggested that Antinniera could eat us rather than waste supplies from the town!

Xlotl tried addressing him, but was ignored. I suggested it was not worth his time; this Xavius seemed not to care for us, and I did not care for him! Xlotl just said that he was "very boring" and turned invisible, moving off the road. Meanwhile Xavius was offering to permit Antinniera entry if she offered one of us as a sacrifice! After a few moments, we noticed Xlotl outlined in a bright glow near to the water off to our left, just before he dived in. The priest made some movements with his hands, up and forward, which was a trigger for an attack.

Pi charged forward, but crumpled unconscious as soon as he stepped on the bridge! Archers started to engage us from the trees on the far side, and I only just got my fan out in time to deflect one... with Pi down, I was now the obvious target! I ducked behind a tree and started to whip the Air around to form the Protection of the East. Antinniera joined me, asking what I was doing but I was too focused to answer until I had finished. Xlotl launched a spear of dweomer towards the priest, striking him but without much impact.

Once I had the Air moving and could keep it going without too much focus, I explained to Antinniera that I was using the Air to protect me from arrows and would try to get Pi out. With my fans moving the Air as I advanced, I managed to reach Pi having only been clipped by one arrow and having deflected another; the rest failed to find their mark beyond the turbulent Air. I grabbed Pi's ankle and dragged him back into cover, arrows flying around me, and Xlotl swam away quickly once he saw we were safe.

Xlotl emerged from the river some way downstream, and we joined him once we had moved far enough back into cover. Thankfully, Pi came to without any intervention - whatever had caused him to pass out had been temporary. We kept moving, following an old path near the water that headed east. Perhaps this was once used to reach the old temple? Several hours passed without interruption, although we were aware that there were others moving in the forest... hopefully just Saloroc. The path started to veer right away from our easterly course, and we paused to talk about food.

The others seemed concerned that we were not carrying enough rations, although there were plenty of insects within the forest, so I hadn't noticed a problem with finding food. Apparently not everyone ate insects, although Pi certainly seemed to enjoy trying them. We took a break whilst Antinniera went hunting for "something more substantial", eventually returning with a small deer. I tried it, but it was too rich and heavy for my taste. The others seemed pleased, though. Why kill something when there was so much around that was alive just waiting to be picked up? Strange.

We continued after that for another few hours before the forest started to give way to more open plains. At the edge of the tree line we could see an open plain with what looked like a dead forest on the other side. There was still a track, though, and it was easy to follow without as much undergrowth. It seemed to lead straight towards the dead trees in the distance, but we carried on until we were about a mile from them and the light began to fade.

We settled down quite comfortably in the grass to rest. I was able to keep watch as was now normal, but Xlotl insisted on exploring the dead forest a little on his own. He returned at some pace before long, explaining that he had seen things flitting around in the dead trees... things he described as "flying spiders"! He, wisely, had decided not to stay long enough to encounter one properly.

When the light started to grow before dawn, I noticed a dust cloud blowing on the wind to the north, just outside the dead forest. It was several miles away, but definitely kicked up from the ground rather than carried with the wind. Other than this observation, it had been a peaceful night. Were we at a boundary, where there was less movement? Xlotl and Antinniera shared some of their arcane lore, and then decided that we should take some time here to learn about some of the artifacts recovered from the moathouse.

I kept the ring of lapis lazuli, which could apparently allow one to walk on water. Xlotl kept the crown, although he had not learned all of its secrets. He discarded the wand, though, as it was completely drained and useless. Pi's warhammer, much like him, could cause chaos; it was a good weapon, though, and he resolved to keep using it despite Antinniera not being able to discern all of its secrets. The circlet with the broken gem could summon an Earth elemental, but needed an intact soulstone to control it! Thankfully, the granite ball that Pi carried would give him the ability to control Earth elementals, so they worked well together. The shiny, steel pick was capable of parting elemental Earth, but not normal Earth so it would only be useful in very specific situations.

While Xlotl and Antinniera were studying the items, Pi and I investigated the source of the dust to the north. There was a line of hills ahead, and we passed within a hundred yards of the dead forest, but after four hours of travelling we could see that there was a faily well-trodden path that followed the line of the hills. It ran roughly northwest to southeast, and it was clear that something large or fast-moving (or a group) had passed along the track when I saw the dust.

Hunted

We returned to report back and hear what the others had discovered, but now we needed to stay for the remainder of the day and rest overnight. Once more, I kept watch as the sun set and the others settled down. It was only an hour later, though, when I heard sounds approaching from the north like barking canines. There were a dozen, perhaps more, and there was an excited note to the barking so I thought they might be following our scent. I woke the others, anticipating trouble... well, except for Xlotl as he was invisible and not moving!

As the creatures started getting closer we could see that they were small humanoids, and had a loose line stretched from west to east advancing on us chaotically. I called out in Common Elemental, but there was no response, so I tried just Common. There were a few isolated voices in response, but their cries of "we're coming" and "we're going to eat you" were hardly reassuring! Xlotl had woken at some point and now spoke, making me jump, likening the creatures to the ones we encountered in the old temple under the control of the Saloroc.

There were lots of them out there, but Antinniera was not intimidated and ran forward screaming like a banshee! Well we certainly had their attention, and she was quickly surrounded by the small creatures trying to stab her with rusty daggers. They seemed to be struggling, though; perhaps they were as surprised as we were by the sudden charge? Pi stepped forward and somehow caused a pile of horrible stinking meat to appear! Well, that reeked! I hoped the creatures found it slightly less revolting than I did. I moved forward, trying to scare them off by asking where their masters were, and warning that they didn't want to fight us as we were their betters. They obviously felt that there were enough of them to overpower us, though, as it made no impression on them.

Xlotl used dweomer to better effect, saying that we were their friends, and had even created food for them. Some, perhaps half a dozen, did stop and cocked their heads at Xlotl quizzically. I tapped one sharply on its head with Storm, shouting "stop it!" I was trying to subdue them, and was surprisingly successful as it fell unconscious with just a single tap!Antinniera swung her halberd over the heads of the horde trying to surround her, perhaps trying to intimidate them as well, but there were still more coming from the darkness. I shouted "this is what happens when you don't listen", caving one's head in with another blow from Storm.

Pi joined the fight, and as his hammer connected with a foe there was a massive shock that ripped through the ground and out from the impact. I felt it even though I was twenty yards away, one foe was pulverized and another mortally wounded, whilst one staggered backwards in pain. Even Antinniera was hurt by it, putting her off her own swing. Xlotl was farther back and unaffected, and he used his mind to stop four foes in their tracks. I had been surrounded, but was able to strike one down.

Pi kept swinging, thankfully not with quite the same impact, although he nearly destroyed one foe with a crushing blow. He was stabbed in the side, but shrugged it off. Antinniera cut straight through one, then a second, and accidentally killed the creature I had knocked unconscious earlier. There was a lot of momentum in her blow!

There was another group moving about in the north, but I couldn’t see much in the darkness, it was controlled by someone, though, as we heard a horn sound from their direction. The sound wasn’t that deep, but it carried well in the darkness; we wouldn’t be able to stay here for long! Antinniera was surrounded again and seemed to suffer more than the rest of us as several daggers made small cuts – individually weak but starting to add up. I was still trying to encourage the ones nearest me to take more interest in the food rather than us, shouting that they should “go eat”. I knocked another one out with a sharp blow to the head, saying “Back! Stop it!"

Antinniera swung her halberd again, cutting clean through two of them in one swing, finally embedding the blade in a third and killing them too! Pi smashed one's head in with a powerful blow as well, both holding our left flank securely. Unfortunately, the violence did seem to affect some of the creatures that had been enamoured to Xlotl, snapping them out of their momentary pause. I knocked another one out, still telling them to stop, but it was clear that trying to avoid too much violence wasn’t going to work. Antinniera was hit multiple times again as more creatures filled the gaps she was creating, although Pi smashed one of them down.

Xlotl warned of more threats to the north as two horns answered the initial signal – we really needed to leave but were too heavily engaged. Antinniera cut through just about every foe near her with two big swings of her halberd, and she was surrounded by bodies of the fallen. Pi swung and there was another shake of the ground as the creature he struck exploded into bits of goo! The effect was so strong that it even hurt Pi, and I was glad that I was some distance away on our right flank.

I tried shouting into the darkness to call off the dog creatures, as we were for Admir, but there was no response. I shouted to the others that we needed to get out of there, caving in the skull of another foe as I did so, but wary that the pile of food Pi had created was now gone and more would soon be on me. Pi had cleared his foes out now, and Antinniera backed off to help Xlotl, cutting one foe in half from top to bottom. I was in danger of being overwhelmed, so I used a thunderburst to force them back and get away. The force of the Air was catastrophic for most of the creatures, though, with four almost exploding as the pressure broke their bodies, one staggering back and collapsing, and another staggering slightly while looking shocked. I didn’t wait to see what they did, though, I just ran for it!

There were many more foes visible just to the north now, certainly too many to stay and fight. I was intercepted by one as I ran, its blade just turned away by the feathers in my cloak. Pi ran up to the last one bothering Xlotl and smashed it into the ground with a single swing. I managed to twist and cut the throat of the one that intercepted me and carry on my run, avoiding having to worry about Pi’s hammer if he came to help me! I was scratched by one foe rushing up behind me, but it wasn’t too bad. Antinniera was there to deal with them, thankfully, cleaving the foe in two again!

We all started running south, away from the masses we could now see were closing in on us. I used the Air to move quickly away, which did work but I noticed that there was a weak force to the east trying to draw strength from the Air I was using. We kept moving south for about an hour at best speed, managing to pull slowly ahead of the army behind us. Pi transformed into a massive owl so that he could watch our back in the darkness. I was able to catch glimpses of what he saw when I concentrated, and there was a three-mile wide front of clumps of the dog creatures being driven south by Saloroc. They stretched into the forest to the west, but avoided the dead forest to the east by at least a hundred yards. He also saw flashes of fire many miles to the east.

Eventually we reached the river, which we heard before we could see it as the flow was quite quick here, going from west to east. Pi appeared and dropped a rabbit as an offering in front of Xlotl, who gulped it down quickly! He flew off again to the south, but quickly returned looking very agitated! I got closer to him and reached into his mind, seeing some of what he had seen.

There was a line of hills that rose sharply straight from the south bank of the river, and they were dotted with more of the dog creatures and Saloroc. They seemed to be waiting in cover, presumably to ambush us as we tried to escape our pursuers. It was clear that the river was the only way to escape. Antinniera gave her book of spells to Xlotl to hide away to keep it safe from water damage, and then dived into the water! Xlotl was comfortable in the water, obviously, and Pi could fly above it. I made use of the lapis lazuli ring, which was amazing; the Air cushioned beneath my feet and I was able to move freely on the surface of the water, comfortable and dry.

We moved quickly to the east, and thankfully the dead forest didn't close to the river for some distance beyond the boundary with the plain behind us. There was a point about six or seven miles farther on, though, where the river ran in the shadow of the dead trees. Pi glided down and landed seamlessly on my shoulder to warn us, although communication was difficult - we would have to agree some sort of code. We landed on the north bank for a few minutes to consider our options, wary that there was light in the sky now and the sun would soon be visible.

Pi went to scout south as we moved down river until we were a few hundred yards from the dead trees. Apparently he had a sense of unease as he flew up, but also a sense that there was food there! We crossed to the southern bank, reasoning that it would be harder to spot us there, but waited for Xlotl to investigate the water ahead. It was clear to Xlotl that the Water didn't like the line of the forest, and he noticed that the flow tended to move Xlotl towards the south bank. There was a natural buffering effect, though, where he sensed that the water was hemming in the forest with a point of equilibrium roughly in the middle of the river. Although the water hurried past that choke point, it slowly opened up again further to the east as the forest retreated.

While Xlotl was gone, I reached out to sense the Air, noting that the source of Air here was from the south east and that there was a dead zone to the north east, which made sense. To our south, south west and west the Air was lively but flowing gently east to west. It seemed the forest was disrupting the expected flow from east to west based just on the elements. Xlotl returned quickly to say that he had found a way forward, and all we had to do was hug the south bank as we progressed. We flowed with the water, noting a sense of foreboding as we got close to the dead trees, but felt safer as we progressed.

We were tired now though, having pressed on through the whole night. As the river rounded a corner we saw the Water open up into a huge lake. We were in full daylight now, and could see a familiar island climbing out of the water on the horizon, with a structure that we presumed was the old temple upon it. There was smoke rising from the island from different places, with fiery shapes moving in the Air. The dead forest was still to our north, stretching as far as we could see, and the hills lined the shore to the south. There was a spit of land nearby, though, that was flatter and offered a position we could defend while we rested.

Fire Island

The others quickly dropped off to sleep, exhausted as we were, while I enjoyed the restorative effect of Calm wafting over me as I kept watch. We were not disturbed, though, and were able to rest fully before discussing our next steps. We wanted to reach the temple on the island and decided that we would approach directly across the Water. Pi changed his form into a massive crocodile, and Antinniera was able to sit across his back and ride him as he swam. Xlotl, of course, was perfectly happy within the Water, and thanks to the ring we had found I was able to walk above it on a cushion of Air. Xlotl did comment that the Water was quite warm, unusually so, and seemed devoid of life.

We started at a good pace, and after crossing about a third of the way, perhaps five miles, Xlotl reported that the Water was definitely being warmed from below. There was still no sign of life, and because the Water was warmer as he went deeper it suggested that the heat was coming from the Earth below and not from within the Water itself. He also noticed a sulphurous tint to the taste of the Water, deciding to continue the journey on the surface to avoid it.

Ten minutes or so later, even we could smell the sulphur as it started to permeate the Air as well, and by the time we were two-thirds of the way across I could tell that the Air was being forced away from the island, leaving behind a thick miasma despite being mostly clear to our vision. The Air remaining was breathable despite not smelling or tasting very good, so we were not in immediate danger at least. As we approached the island, we could see at least one shape of flames moving within the trees on the island above us. Xlotl decided that we should carry on rather than try to skirt around the miasma, not knowing whether it extended around the entire island or was localised.

Drawing nearer, we could see that there were cliffs a few hundred feet high at this edge of the island, although the point we were heading for looked climbable as it extended farther into the Water than the rest of the shoreline. There were multiple fiery shapes visible, now, and we got the sense that they were moving towards the cliffs from out of the trees. The angle up to the top of the cliffs was making it hard to see in detail, but it was as if there were flames dancing on top of the cliffs.

When we were within a mile or so from the cliffs, we could see bubbles rising at the edge of the water with thick, greasy Air that mingled with the movement of Air coming down the cliff and away. Antinniera, anticipating an encounter with creatures of Fire, placed a crown on her head, which immediately burst into flames. Whilst that was impressive, it also ignited the sulphurous Air surrounding us, and an explosion shot out from the crown with concussive force!

Xlotl and Pi were engulfed in flames. With a quick motion, I jerked the ring off my finger and fell into the water, the cool liquid washing over me and reducing the pain slightly. Antinneira, though damaged by the flames, seemed unaffected by the flames around the crown on her head. Xlotl had dived under the surface, leaving us both struggling to stay afloat, her halberd in particular making it difficult for her to swim.

The flames were gone as quickly as they had appeared, so I put the ring back on and rose to the surface, bubbles of air surrounding me. I walked over to help Antinneira, taking her halberd so she could focus on swimming and searching for arrows. Xlotl surfaced again, and he allowed her to climb onto his back once more. She had removed the crown, worried about the reaction it caused, but was encouraged by Xlotl to keep in on as it might help to calm the Fire elementals.

We reached the shore as three flame creatures approached, although still some way off. Xlotl disappeared, which was nothing unusual at this point, and Pi returned to human form to make it easier for us to climb. Both the weather and the ground were warm; I had lost my sandals in the water and set my mind to endure the heat on my soles. As we reached the top of the cliffs, we saw that the three flaming creatures were actually great eagle-like creatures with flaming wings. Two circled above while one landed in front of Antinneira, its flames dying down as it furled its wings.

The creature seemed impressed when Antinneira mentioned Antiva. It was worried we were after the Fire stone, Corrign, and the rest of the Herandhil (stones of power). Pi showed him the stone, and his wings flared as he took some energy from it. The creature said we could call him Ilga, although that was not his true name, was annoyingly arrogant. He believed that Air should serve Fire and wanted to see Antiva returned to the temple. He became aggressive when Pi suggested he would not surrender the stone that easily.

I moved to protect Pi, but the creature was fast and dived at him. Another creature swooped down to attack Antinneira, while the third stayed overhead. Pi managed to escap the talons, but Antinneira was badly hurt. Xlotl created a column of water that fell on us all, which clearly affected the fire creatures more than us as we just got a bit wet. Something dropped onto the back of the creature attacking Pi, perhaps something that he summoned, and it caused the bird to screech in pain.

Antinneira fought back, skewering one wing and rendering the creature unable to fly. I moved to heal her, knitting her wounds, but one of the foes clapped its wings and sent a fiery explosion towards us. Antinneira ignored it, but I had to focus my ki to move the elemental energy away, still getting somewhat singed. The leader of the creatures climbed higher, wheeling around above us.

Feeling a snake's touch, I realized Xlotl had blessed me. Antinneira, enraged, smashed her halberd into the grounded creature's wing and body, extinguishing its flame. She held her halberd above her head, shouting at the leader in an elemental Fire language. I had no idea what she was saying, but it seemed like a challenge of some sort. Pi also goaded the leader, starting to turn red and shake in one of his rages. Fog started to billow around Pi and, despite him swiping at it angrily, it quickly obscured him from view, both from above and from where we stood on the ground.

More water rained on the leader, causing it to fly farther away in discomfort. The other creature screeched loudly towards the east but kept its distance. Xlotl warned of multiple sources of fire moving towards us from the east, and they seemed to be what the birds were screeching at – perhaps issuing orders?

I called out to see if Pi was okay, circling to see if he had emerged on the other side. Meanwhile, he walked out to Antinneira behind me, still out of my sight. He was still in a rage and ran off to the north as I began circling back to the south. The fire that was moving in the east disappeared from sight, which was worrying – we didn’t think that they had just left us!

Jeannette, the woman in Xlotl's vision, was an agent of the Creator.

Fire exploded around Xlotl, but he seemed unbothered by it, protected in some way. A bird dove quickly at Pi, grabbing his shoulder, but Pi managed to swing his hammer and knocked the talons away. I used a fan to blow air into the path of the creature, slowing its escape, and Antinneira loosed arrows at it quickly, doing some damage before it was able to recover and climb away. Pi was still furious, and shouted some choice obscenities at it, but stood his ground.

I plucked some feathers from the corpse still sat on the ground. There was no ash, which was strange, but the feathers were metallic and a strange greasy liquid seemed to coat them. Xlotl joined me to inspect the creature, and I noticed that he was badly wounded so I used my mind to heal what I could. Leaving the creature, I approached Pi just in time to see him shout at a rock and throw it skyward. The birds were far too high for that to have any impact, though.

He seemed to snap out of his rage when I called to him, and I gave him a couple of the feathers I had gathered, which he seemed grateful for. He stuck one in his helmet and offered healing, which I accepted gratefully. Antinneira continued chasing the birds, despite them being hundreds of feet up by then. Xlotl told her to stop and asked us to close up, ready to advance together.

Antinneira stomped her feet and called him a spoilsport, but ultimately complied. We were still wary of an invisible threat, and I could see a concentration of heat disturbing the air that tracked our movements slowly. We headed north until they were closer and then Xlotl conjured more rain and told us to run!

We headed loosely northeast and veered towards the temple, managing to outpace the threat on the ground although still being tracked by the birds above. We reached the edge of a sparse, dead forest and ventured inside. We saw small fires in the distance, but there was no obvious smoke or fire near to us. Smoke rose above the temple up ahead, though, clearly visible as it stood on cliffs above us.

Xlotl suddenly shouted a warning, and a moment later a group of Saloroc erupted from the trees around us. Xlotl and I tried to placate them, saying that we were not a threat, but they were on us and swinging before we could even get the words out. Antinneira and Pi decided to escalate straight to violence, killing two with their first blows. I tried surrounding Antinneira in fog, calling for peace even as I was dodging swinging swords, and Xlotl did the same backed up with the force of a prayer.

We finally managed to calm everyone down, though Antinneira was not happy as she was sorely wounded. I healed one of the Saloroc in good faith, which seemed to go down well, and Xlotl offered them food. The reaction to this, though, was to warn that it was not safe here. Danger was all around, and they would rather head somewhere a little safer. When we spoke of visiting the temple their leader shook his head, warning that the big fire was there and we should stay away.

Xlotl managed to convince their leader that he needed to visit the temple to worship the gods, and when he indicated that Antinniera and I were to be sacrifices to appease the gods it seemed to placate him. In fact he seemed to take a bit too much pleasure in the suggestion that we would be “messy sacrifices”! Pi was playing the role of executioner, so it was believable at least. Xlotl then had to explain why he offered Antinniera a healing draft, saying that he needed her to reach the temple alive before he could sacrifice her. I hoped that he was just play acting to get their cooperation. It was hard to read a snake’s face!

As we set off towards the temple, Xlotl suggested that we find somewhere to rest. The band’s leader spoke of a cave, a place of spiritual darkness known as "Oroc” – a name they also used for themselves (so not “Saloroc” after all; they had dropped the “spawn of” and just gone with “holy darkness”). The Oroc led us by a winding route to avoid threats, always on edge but clearly knowing what they were doing, and eventually brought us to a cave entrance safely.

Inside the narrow entrance, we moved laterally along a narrow fissure and emerged into a large cave with wider fissures on the far side. The Oroc leader assured us that we could rest safely here for a time, but warned that it was not a permanent sanctuary. Xlotl and Antinniera set about purifying some of the items that we didn’t fully understand yet, and I kept watch while idly wafting Calm to enter a meditative state. Pi was poking around and looking at various things like he’d never seen a rock before, although he settled down eventually. After many hours of preparation, Xlotl and Antinniera used dweomer to learn more about the items they had prepared. Xlotl had a potion of fire resistance, which might well prove useful, and Antinniera's crown would provide extra protection against fire attacks for the wearer. Pi's hammer could be enhanced with different materials, including the wielder's own blood if they were willing to sacrifice it! Antinniera's bracers, rather predictably given the symbology on them, improved her archery skills.

After melting some gold coins into the hammer, giving it extra protective powers, the rest of our party went to sleep. I felt quite well rested by then and took some time to study the Air within the cave. It was unusually excited, charged with energy from above. It was more than just the presence of fire – there was a purer sense of power filtering down. At one point I made my way back to the entrance and looked out at the sky again, having felt quite confined by being encased in Earth for so long. I kept the visit short, as I had a duty to the others, but I felt better for feeling the Air outside again.

When our various morning rituals were complete, we examined the fissure that the Oroc had indicated would lead to the plateau above. It looked like an easy climb, being narrow enough to use the sides to support our weight. It seemed I was the most comfortable with climbing, so I went first and hooked some rope with a grappling hook into my belt so it could assist others to climb. Xlotl followed first, although he was invisible so I’m not sure how he managed to use the rope if he was still in his snake form. Once he reached a ledge that I had stopped at before the rope ran out, I carried on to the top and let him use the rope to finish the climb. Once he was safely up, I returned halfway and let down the rope to the others. Antinniera climbed next, but right before reaching me her foot slipped and she started to fall. I heard her quickly chanting words of power, and she arrested her fall just before hitting the floor below! She had become almost weightless, and then found it a simple matter to guide herself up the rocky fissure to the top without any more assistance.

Pi was the last, but as I looked down at him he started to transform again. Extra legs erupted from his sides and his eyes multiplied, hairs growing all over his body until he had changed into a giant spider! In this form he started to climb effortlessly, and I climbed up and away as quickly as I could. It wasn’t fast enough, though, as he brushed past me about twenty yards from the top, sending a shiver through my body at the unnatural contact.

As Pi emerged out of the fissure at the top, the others didn’t recognise him, and Xlotl reacted defensively by causing the rock to explode beneath the spider, shards biting into its flesh… Pi’s flesh! Bits of rubble rattling down the rocky fissure, bouncing around me, and I realised what must have happened. I concentrated and sent a message to Xlotl so that he knew that the spider was actually Pi and he should try not to harm it! Xlotl was thankfully able to stop Antinniera before she tried to skewer Pi with her halberd, and we were able to reconvene without further incident.

We made our way to the next section of cliff, finding a shallower part to climb that would not need ropes (or spiders for that matter, but Pi seemed to be enjoying the new form, scuttling around far more than he needed to). We sent Spider Pi up first to scout ahead, the rest of us following behind more slowly. We reached the top without incident and set off again towards the find set of cliffs. As I ran forward, though, there was a booming sound as if the ground was hollow, and suddenly, beetles erupted from the ground a little way off, their wings bursting into flames as they took to the Air.

Xlotl tried conjuring some rain to cool them, but they kept coming and he started to back off. Pi skittered into a hollow near the cliff edge, but emerged back in his human form, jogging over to join Xlotl. Antinniera had put her crown back on, and started speaking a language the rest of us didn’t understand, gesticulating and standing between the bugs and Xlotl.

Xlotl was, wisely, running away by this point, with Pi just behind him. The bugs swarmed around Antinniera, but didn’t seem to harm her at all. Perhaps she was their new queen? Four of the swarm had broken off towards me, though, and as they closed in I used the Air to push them back with a thunderburst. It worked, but only temporarily, and they soon returned. I tried the same form again, but this time only one was affected, although it did fall to the ground with its flames extinguished. The rest were right around my head, though, and the heat from the fires was beginning to get painful. I managed to swat one with Storm, sending it to the floor like the first one that died, and Pi did the same to one that had taken an interest in Xlotl.

Seeing my discomfort, Pi came running towards me screaming like a psycho, managed to miss his swing but his momentum was such that he ended up running into me. As his hammer connected with me, there was a concussive force and I passed out. He did manage to kill the rest of the bugs in the area, though!

I awoke again to find Pi pouring a healing draft down my neck, but I also saw one of the bugs about to attack him from behind! I jumped up and moved to defend him as he concentrated on healing most of my wounds… perhaps with a modicum of guilt? A whirling Dust Devil had appeared, summoned it seemed by Xlotl, and it drove the bug back from Pi. I followed up, striking it down with a blow from Calm and leaving us without any immediate threats.

Whilst we had been fighting, Antinniera had manged to draw off the bulk of the swarm, and now she made it clear to them that she just wanted them all to fuck off! Taking the hint, they quickly buried themselves back in the Earth and all was quiet once more. But this was not to last!

A tear in the world appeared next to each of us, ragged and tapering to a point at the top, standing about seven to eight feet tall. Through it, we could see a barren, dusty red-tinged land. From each tear emerged a pair of dark elves, clearly targeting us individually. The first one lunged at me with two daggers, glistening ominously, while the second tried to grab and drag me through the portal.

Xlotl managed to escape the grasp of his assailant, but was stabbed in the process. I was also stabbed and thrown to the floor beside the portal, but I slipped out of the grasp before I could be hauled through. Pi got stabbed as well, and he was forced through the portal. Antinniera, although stabbed, shrugged off the grapple and forced her attacker down to the floor through brute strength.

Xlotl attempted to use his mind to fend off the attackers but it appeared his assault wasn't strong enough. I managed to grab my fans to fight back with, and looked up just in time to see a hawk with rainbow wings shoot out from the portal where Pi had disappeared, flying at speed towards the cliffs. Antinniera unleashed translucent blue flames from her hands, cutting through the dark elves’ armor and killing them both. Perhaps the flaming crown she wore enhanced the dweomer she used? With my fans back in my hands, I went on the offensive, landing a blow on one of the foe.

The portal that Pi had been pulled through vanished, as did the one near the dust devil. The portal near Antinniera also closed - probably because she had killed both of the ambushers, and she was left alone. The other dark elves dropped their daggers and attacked with their bare hands, obviously focused on getting at least one of us through to the other realm. One of them slammed me into the ground, banging my head and stunning me. Antinniera saw that and rushed to help, but she was some distance away.

Xlotl wrapped himself around one of the dark elves, but they managed to force their way out before he could properly constrict them. I was dragged through a portal before Antinniera could stop it, although she stabbed the other foe with her halberd, doing significant damage.

I found myself on a dusty red plain with hills in the distance. More dark elves were nearby, and I was still restrained. I had recovered from banging my head, though, and with a desperate effort, I managed to twist and wriggle free. I used my Kahkohneyinn training to roll and tumble back through the portal, flipping back to my feet with the final move.

Xlotl's scales were making it difficult for his attacker to get a grip, and the other foe he faced was distracted by the dust devil, slashing at it and diminishing its form. The dark elf nearest to Antinniera stepped back into the portal as it shimmered and then closed completely. I retrieved my fans and ran to help Xlotl, trying to punch his attacker, but I was unable to land it cleanly. Xlotl's attacker stepped back, grabbing his fellow and pulling him back through the portal. Antinniera was still in her battle rage, and thrust her halberd into him as he was dragged back, but we couldn't see the result as the portal shimmered and closed behind him. We were alone once again, and now we actually had time to catch our breath.

We looked towards the cliffs, trying to see what had happened to Pi and saw that a milky, sharp dome was covering what we had previously seen of the temple. Was this some kind of defensive barrier, or had another realm interfered with the temple? There were more immediate concerns, and I healed the worst of Antinniera's wounds while Xlotl investigated the bodies that she had left smoking slightly in the dust. He discovered a couple of green marble-shaped stones with black flecks moving inside them, and a potion, all of which he kept to examine later.

We discussed whether there might be a way in to the temple underground, and decided to investigate the point where the cliffs came together just south of us for any caves or fissures. Tracking along the cliffs we reached a cleft below a high point, but instead of an entrance point we just found a part of the stone where intense heat radiated from inside the cliff face. The hottest spot was about four feet above the surface, about four or five feet tall and fifteen across, but we could feel the heat even over fifty yards away so I had no desire to get much closer.

Xlotl considered the heat for some time, and whether to approach, thinking that this might have once been a forge of life, a volcano no less. Perhaps this was the fabled cradle of creation, then? He thought that replacing the stones in the right order might re-energise the forge, bringing life back to all the realms. If only Fire energy was flowing here then it might explain the transformation of the place, as well as the heat here. But Fire wanted to go South, so if we were to release the lava then it might flow to its rightful place.

Who had the means to move Earth and therefore release the lava? Pi, obviously, who had been nowhere to be seen since our last encounter! I used Storm to send messages with the wind, back to the scene of our last battle and also to the top of the cliffs overlooking it. I said that we were seeking Pi's help to release the Fire and to meet us at the point where the cliffs joined southwest of the temple. We waited a few minutes, and then an Air spirit approached us, speaking in a way that made it clear it had heard the message. It said: "He waits above, champion of his God; he waits with his God, the champions must choose." Once the message had been delivered it moved on, not wanting to stay in one place for too long.

It seemed we would have to climb to the temple after all, so we headed back to the slope we had originally aimed for, scrambling up to the next level relatively easily. This tier was similar to the last, but the cliffs ahead of us were near vertical. The dome around the temple was clearly visible, and had a sharply defined edge, but nothing inside could be seen.

We decided to head east, as the cliffs were too vertical for everyone to climb safely, and approached the point where the path we had originally taken out of the temple led east. As the cliff sloped down towards our level, Xlotl told us to wait and turned invisible to scout ahead. He saw a group of kobolds and Saloroc handlers milling around near the dome up the path, but was able to make his way along the cliff edge and approach the misty dome unobserved.

A Champion's Choice

As he reached into it, he saw (whether it was real or a vision was not clear) three symbols floating: a hammer, a sword, and a star within a circle. He had to make a choice. Not that we knew this at the time. We waited for half an hour with no sign (or sound) of Xlotl returning. Growing impatient, we decided to head back but just as I turned around I caught a flash of a rainbow hawk in the sky to the south. Glancing back, I saw it flash over the cliffs, and when I looked to see what reaction there had been, it was clear that Pi (I assumed) was distracting the horde.

Antinniera and I exchanged a quick look - we had to choose between running above or climbing from below. We preferred to climb, but needed to hurry. We made best speed along the base of the cliff until we were just north of the temple. Antinniera used dweomer to make us as light as a feather, and we quickly hauled ourselves up the cliff to the top. As we rolled over the edge onto flat ground, I heard the twang of bows and watched the hawk dive away, expertly dodging the arrow fire.

We approached the mist, but wary of some kind of transition between worlds, we held hands so that we would enter together. As soon as we stepped forward, though, it was as if we were alone. The symbols of a hammer, sword, and orb floated in the thick mist before us, just as they had for Xlotl. I could barely see my own hand and there was no sign of Antinniera. This felt like a religious choice, but with only the most ancient of Gods to choose from. I didn’t favor either the Maker or the Unmaker, so I really only had one option; I reached out to the orb, intending to touch it.

The symbol moved towards me until I was engulfed within it and I head a voice in my head say: "welcome, champion." Oh shit, I thought, I'm a champion now? I wasn't sure this was a good thing. Meanwhile, quite separately, Antinniera was having quite a different interaction. She always seemed to lean toward the unpredictable, and decided to choose at random, reaching out to the Hammer. One could not choose the path of Order by chance, though, and as soon as she did so it became the symbol of the Sword. Although wary, she eventually reached out to touch it and then was engulfed as I had been, receiving the same message in her mind.

Part of the message I received was unique for me, though; the voice said: "the Unmaker is dominant, and balance is required or our observations will be biased. Support the Maker while the others oppose him. Bring order, for now, but do not be the one who decides the fate of the world, or I will be forced to observe you." I'm not sure how "observe you" is a threat, although it was a bit creepy, but the words made sense - this place was out of balance.

Suddenly the mist and symbology was gone, and I could see normally. The rainbow hawk (Pi) appeared in front of me, although still flapping hard to climb, and Antinniera was next to me once more. She was excited about what she had seen and chosen, and it was clear that she had favored the Unmaker and chaos. I called out to Pi, but my voice was drowned out by the deep chime of a resonant bell, and the horde that was still just outside the east of the temple, turned to look back.

Having noticed that the horde seemed to be looking at us, I turned to ask Antinniera if we should run, half expecting her to charge at them. At the same time I heard Xlotl's voice (he was still invisible) saying: "what are you still doing here? Run! You’re going to be chased." Well that was reassuring! The Saloroc blew a horn, and the horde started moving towards us as we ran forward towards the walls. I called at Pi to join us on the wall, hoping he heard me this time.

Antinniera sprinted past me, reaching the base of the wall first, and Pi screeched down in a dive towards me, landing on the ground just ahead of me. Antinniera climbed up using the plants covering the wall for purchase, and I did the same after Pi settled on my shoulder. We reached the top quickly, seeing nothing but the dilapidated temple within its courtyard inside. I noted that the gateway to the east was open, so we were likely to be joined inside fairly quickly.

Antinniera hadn't stopped, swinging over the other side and quickly climbing down, so I followed her although I was a bit clumsy with a large hawk on my shoulder! I was still worried that the gates were open, with nothing to stop the pursuit, but then Xlotl screamed from somewhere above us: "Up and at them, friends, hold the east gate"! He also called on the undergrowth to rise up and grasp at the foes, helping to block the gate and catching the first few dog-like creatures that tried to enter. Once he did that, he became visible in the Air ahead of us. I ran to join him, emboldened by the foes being held.

Xlotl kept moving towards the temple entrance, and Antinniera ran forward to join us from the undergrowth she had sought cover in. Xlotl noticed some Saloroc climbing the walls to the north, and they were calling back down to whoever was below in their coarse language. More shouting could be heard from beyond the gateway, so we knew that they were being told to pursue us. Pi flew up to get a better view from above, while I ran below, also heading for the temple doors.

The stone doors were clean and unblemished, which didn't fit at all with the rest of the temple. A hammer symbol was on the left, a sword on the right, and an orb spanned both doors in the centre. Xlotl tried pushing on the left door, but it didn't budge. The dog creatures were starting to cross the wall to the north, and Saloroc had climbed the walls to the east. The Saloroc were calling down behind them, and we knew that we didn’t have much time until they were upon us. They also had bows, and I was struck by two arrows and scraped by a third. Barely able to keep my feet, I used my mind to heal myself before the pain became overwhelming. The pain eased instantly, but I was forced to slow down and only just reached the door with the others.

Pi landed hurriedly, transforming into his human form - I noted that it still included his bright yellow and red armor. Xlotl stepped away for a moment, chanting, and the stone wall exploded below one of the Saloroc, the shards slicing into him. Arrows were still flying, and I was struck again. We were about to be mobbed if we didn’t act quickly, and I ran to the door shouting at Antinniera to push on the sword, desperate to get in and out of immediate danger.

Pi tried to help, healing some of my wounds, and shouted at the attackers to stop or face Admir's wrath. One of the Saloroc responded with a defiant "Fuck Admir"! Desperately, we pushed on the door, and I foolishly tried pushing on the orb. I shifted my focus to "support the order" (the hammer) quickly, as that balanced the party better, as Pi summoned a stone and dropped it on a Saloroc, knocking him back - he fell off the wall backwards with a cry. With arrows and now swords aimed at us, we pushed together for the first time and the doors finally swung open.

We stepped inside. Well, I sort of fell inside, not able to keep my feet anymore, but thankfully the foes were repelled by an invisible barrier at the threshold and the doors swung closed behind us. Inside was in a worse state of repair than we remembered, but at least there were no visible foes.

The dark void still sat at the far end of the raised platform, but as we watched it shimmered and turned white. Pi began chanting, although a sudden rush of air toward the far end forced us to brace ourselves. Xlotl shifted slightly as he moved his coils around, but managed to stop himself.

The sun moved rapidly across the sky and then we were plunged into darkness. The Air was leaving the room so quickly that everything became a blur to me, and I admit that I felt panic set in as I realized we were losing the Air! The Air became so thin that I could barely breathe, but just as suddenly the flow of air reversed and an arctic blast filled the room, the temperature dropping rapidly.

Four figures flipped through the portal, twirling in the air, and landed solidly in front of the white circle. They were about four feet tall, each holding a knife and wearing a belt, with multicolored shining spheres in their other hand. Antinniera removed her crown, in case the flames were seen as a threat, but still shouted at them to stand back, notching and half-drawing an arrow to emphasize her words. Pi rooted around in his pack and pulled out fur gloves, taking a moment to put them on, while Xlotl chanted some words but didn’t move.

I moved through a form, shaping the wind around me for protection, although it was somewhat disrupted by the strength of the wind. Despite the rapidly dropping temperature, I was relieved to have Air back with us. I tried greeting the "guardians of the elements", asking whether they would mind easing the wind slightly, but received no response.

They seemed excited that the temple was "open", declaring it was theirs now! But their tone shifted quickly to fear, saying: "He is coming! Going to kill us!" Xlotl shouted that Artemis was coming too, which did seem to worry them even if it was an outrageous bluff. Antinniera asked Pi to light her arrow, which he did; what was she planning to burn now?! More of the creatures followed behind the first and eventually a dozen advanced on us.

Antinniera fired her arrow into some detritus on the north side of the temple, following that up with a second until a small fire started and she moved forward towards it. I moved up on the south side, but the wind was making it hard going. Pi advanced with me, and I tried to get in front of him to use the Air around us for defense. Xlotl flew up into the Air, riding the storm with his wings out to lift him, such that he barely had to beat them at all.

A tall, broad human figure ducked through the portal at that point. He was about six and a half feet tall, wore red clothes trimmed with furs, and fresh blood stained his garb. He had clawed hands, and it looked like the claws were literally driven into the flesh. He shouted: "Feed me... bring me their flesh!" The smaller creatures responded by moving forward quickly, and Antinniera used dweomer to make fire explode from the flames near her, lancing through one of them and leaving it dead and smoldering on the floor. I noticed she had returned her crown to her head, having decided that we were going to have to fight.

One of the foe closed on Antinniera, throwing two of the shiny balls at her. One struck her side, and the other missed, but both exploded sending shards of metal flying out. I suffered a similar fate as more closed on us, so I decided to run into melee range because it seemed safer! I cut one down and hurt a second with my fans, then Pi moved up next to me and finished the injured foe off with a powerful hammer blow. Xlotl threw conjured spears from above, killing another. More spheres exploded around us, though, and both Antinniera and I passed out.

Xlotl kept throwing conjured spears, killing another one, as Pi moved to help Antinniera. More of the balls exploded around Pi, but his armour was at least keeping most of the metal shards from harming him. I was being dragged off to be eaten, though, with two more creatures hurrying to help carry my body! Pi reached Antinniera and managed to heal the worst of her wounds, though she still didn't look great. It was left to Xlotl to save me, throwing more spears and killing two of those moving me, slowing their progress.

Pi spent more time healing Antinniera, and as her strength returned she leapt up, screaming her thanks to Pi, and ran forward. Something shot from her crown, and the far end of the room exploded in a massive blast of fire. The big guy tried to dive away, but the power of the flames, enhanced by Antinniera's crown, was too great and he lay twitching for a few moments before dying from the burns.

Xlotl dived down and bit one of the creatures carrying me, wrapping his coils around him. The last three foes looked at the smoldering body of what might have been their leader, then the big snake next to them, and decided to just run for the portal. Everyone let them go, instead concentrating on searching the bodies for something that might aid me. They did find plenty of exploding spheres, but only the large human-looking foe had carried anything else of value.

The thing that got Pi's attention was a bag that was bigger on the inside than the outside, and which thankfully contained healing supplies. I'm sure my soul was on its way to wherever death takes it when they applied an ointment that jerked me back to consciousness in the room!

The full contents of the bag and what the person had been wearing were:

A bag of holding (250 lbs) - the bag itself, which I kept

A 6' gnarled wooden staff - this became Pi's staff of curing

A 1.5' slender wand made of white wood with a band of gold - which Xlotl claimed as a wand of frost

A pouch of 16 small blood red rubies (shared)

A red cloak - a cloak of protection against cold

Fur-lined boots - boots of the north

It was still extremely cold, so we took the furs and started stoking the fire, sitting close for warmth. Xlotl and Antinniera investigated the portal while Pi and I huddled by the fire. They found a gaping hole leading to a snowy wasteland, which was clearly where the attackers had come from. I heard a voice in my head saying: "The choice must be made. The temple must be aligned." which I relayed to the others, presumably one of the major deities had to be chosen for the temple to be dedicated to. On the plus side, Antinniera did find the missing shard of Antiva and was able to pick it up without harm.

We debated for a long time about how and who to consecrate the temple to. Eventually, Pi conceded that consecration to the Maker would be temporarily acceptable, given that the choice could be changed in the future. As soon as he conceded this point, the temple began to remake itself without us having to do anything. The portal returned to a glossy black again and the temperature started to rise.

Now we knew that we had a safe haven protected by the Maker, and we were finally able to rest. Once we were ready to continue our journey we gathered by the doors, unsure of how much time had passed and what we might find outside. Xlotl turned invisible in anticipation of trouble, and then pushed the doors open. Just outside stood a flaming, armoured figure standing motionless before us. When I say he was flaming, I mean that he seemed to consist of flames, not simply being covered in flames. His breastplate bore an impressive 8-pointed design, glowing with an inner fire, and he towered over us at some ten feet tall. He was a sight to behold!

I greeted the figure, but he showed no interest in me. His only concern was to speak with the Lord of this place. Xlotl appeared, deciding that he needed to speak without pretense. The flaming figure addressed Xlotl as the "Water Lord", inquiring if he was the master of this domain. Xlotl answered that he was not, but served as a conduit for the Creator. The figure acknowledged this with a nod and introduced himself as Hinoshi, Lord of the Fire Lands. He said that the restoration of "The Sanctuary" had changed everything, and that he sought refuge within its walls with Xlotl's blessing.

Hinoshi carried with him Korrim, the Fire Stone, a massive ruby. He intended to hold onto it until the others returned so that the stones could be set correctly back in the temple. He also noted that Antinniera wore his crown! Though the crown was his, he said that he would allow "the slave" to wear it for a while, as it amused him, but reminded us that all were equal in The Sanctuary. He also cautioned us that the "Oroc", beings of Darkness, had been summoned from the depths by their master.

Xlotl stepped back inside to try and commune with the temple's spirit so that Hinoshi would be welcome, but the connection eluded him. He spoke out loud instead, asking that Hinoshi be given sanctuary by the Creator. Hinoshi, looking somewhat hesitant for the first time, entered through the doors. His flames became subdued as he did so, but he seemed content and expressed gratitude to Xlotl for the sanctuary.

Leaving The Sanctuary

Stepping outside the temple walls, we found charred remains of the dog-faced creatures and Saloroc littering the ground... there must have been hundreds of them! The devastation was in stark contrast to the beautiful summer's day, which was quite pleasant. We headed down the path we had first used when we left the realm of Aergarnion, but I sensed that the Air was charged and had a sense of impending conflict. I drew my fans and called a warning to the others, and Pi transformed into an eagle and flew up to get a better view. He alerted us that there was movement within the trees in all directions, so there were a lot of creatures out there.

The forest around us was dead and charred, so we at least had a clear view of the nearest movement, at this stage about a mile away. We decided to head for the narrowest point to reach the water, which was to the southeast. Jumping off the temple cliffs, I called on the Air to carry us gently to the forest floor, and we set off knowing that we would likely engage with whatever was out there after just a half-mile or so. That would leave another half-mile to fight through to reach the cliffs above the water.

As we drew nearer, a group of Saloroc-like humanoids blew a warning horn. I shouted for them to let us pass, insisting that nobody needed to get hurt, but their response was clear - they intended to fight. Antinniera loosed an arrow, a warning shot that flew well over their heads. Xlotl took to the Air to join Pi, while the enemy fanned out ahead of us. They stepped forward towards us, but were clearly finding it difficult to approach closer. We could see other groups converging cautiously toward us amongst the trees.

Antinniera ran forward, switching to her halberd, and I kept pace, the Air propelling me swiftly. I also brushed Antinniera with Calm to shield her from bow fire. The foe stood their ground, drawing short, heavy scimitars that looked as heavy as they did sharp; they were ugly weapons. Xlotl climbed higher, chanting and conjuring ice missiles, which he hurled at the enemy. The missiles grew in size as they flew, striking and killing one outright!

As Xlotl banked around, he launched another projectile that found its mark. Two enemies attempted to strike Antinniera, but she was too quick. I cut down one trying to flank her, as it had already been wounded by Xlotl, and Pi smashed another's brains out. Antinniera felled yet another, leaving only one from the initial group still standing.

Moving forward, I saw Xlotl sweeping to my right up high and I heard Antinniera following behind me. Pi screamed at the last foe beside him, threatening him with death if he dared attack. The frightened enemy wet himself as Pi charged toward the next group shouting, "Come and get me!" Their response was equally ferocious, so they seemed unperturbed.

Some of the enemy closed in, striking me, but I retaliated with a hit of my own. Surrounded, I called upon the power of Calm to protect me, sprinting out of the melee as their swords struck only Air where I had been. Xlotl launched more spears, leaving the nearest foe staggering, and Pi's hammer left another barely alive. Xlotl finally landed, with one of the foe chasing after him. Xlotl hurled another spear at the aggressor, killing him just as he was about to swing his sword.

Pi found himself surrounded, but his armor was holding and he seemed to be enjoying himself. Antinniera dispatched another enemy, spilling his guts with a sweeping hack. Pi's swing smashed one to the ground but he couldn't follow through into the others. I called down a thunderburst of Air, pushing back two of the foes around me and injuring them all. Xlotl struck one with dweomer, leaving him barely standing, and Pi finished another. Both Pi and I suffered strikes from their heavy weapons, though.

I cut down one enemy and tried to run, but I was struck again. Pi picked off another with his hammer, rage glowing in his eyes, as Xlotl targeted a new group that was approaching from ahead. All of the enemy continued to close in, and Pi was still some distance behind us... and we were only about halfway to the cliffs.

As I healed some of my wounds, Xlotl soared into the air and unleashed more dweomer upon the enemies, managing to take down one of the nearby foes. Below, Pi was a whirlwind of fury, his hammer crashing down on one unfortunate creature, leaving them twitching on the ground. His armour deflected the attacks of others, while I barely managed to deflect a blow aimed at me before being struck heavily again. Antinniera was being pursued from behind, but whirled around and expertly cut down her attacker.

Antinniera and Xlotl kept moving forward, while I summoned another thunderburst of Air to cover my advance. One enemy stood firm, however, and struck me as I tried to get away. Pi downed another foe, too engrossed in the fight to advance, or possibly even notice that he was alone. Antinniera dispatched another enemy with ease, but I was in desperate need of aid. I whipped the Air around me for protection and moved forward slowly, calling out to Antinniera for help. The bitch ignored me, though, seemingly content to see who managed to survive to reach the cliffs ahead.

Pi felled another opponent, leaving just one facing him. Panting, Pi apparently told him that it had been a jolly good fight, but he'd decided to let him go. He half swung his hammer, but pulled back and just told him to fuck off. This didn't seem to have the desired effect, though, as the creature attempted to stab him! It scraped harmlessly off his armour, so he was about to enter a world of pain.

The remaining foes in the woods nearby seemed momentarily confused, unsure of what was happening. In my mind, I heard Xlotl's voice — he had healing, and I desperately needed some healing. Perhaps he had told Antinniera to continue fighting so that he could come to my aid? Perhaps I had judged her too rashly. I knew that they had a connection.

As Xlotl flew closer, I looked back to see one of the enemies striking a fellow with the flat of his sword, shouting at him and apparently urging him to attack us. Was this their leader? Could defeating him turn the tide? Despite Xlotl throwing a flask of healing down at me, I made a snap decision to throw caution to the wind and instead charged at their leader. I summoned all my inner ki to land an elemental strike with the Air. The foe doubled over and stumbled back but didn't fall!

One of the foe shouted: "Ruk oret"! The cry was echoed by a few others, and the leader roared as he squared up to face me. I roared back, sensing that this was some kind of ritual challenge. He moved first, but his heavy weapon was his undoing, as I was able to step in and strike before he could land the blow. He fell, and I deliberately stood over his body, demanding to know who was their leader now. The nearest foe, which was the one that the leader had struck, simply pointed at the body and said: "He dead, is you now". I asked, my Common almost as broken as theirs: "who big leader"? He said: "Ret"? Then shrugged his shoulders. I told him that we had no food for them, and they should go. I allowed them to pick up their weapons, which they had dropped in surrender, as they seemed to be no threat now. I knew just how close we had been to being overwhelmed, but tried not to show it!

Xlotl brought me the healing draft that he had dropped earlier, for which I was grateful, and Pi rejoined us having pulverised the poor sod that dared to stab him when he gave him the chance to run. He had stood alone, undefeated, and raised his hammer aloft in salute to dedicate the victory to Lord Admir. I found more healing draft on the leader's body, so I gave a full flask to Xlotl in thanks and kept one for myself.

We were finally able to gather on the cliffs without fear of being attacked... at least for the moment. The water below was clear of boats, although campfires visible in the hills on the far shore suggested that we would not be alone once we had crossed. High overhead to the east, a small black dot — a flying creature of some kind — caught my eye. Was Air watching? This could be a good omen!

Xlotl was the first to jump, floating down using his wings until he entered the water, which he said seemed devoid of animal life but was warm and fresh. Pi transformed into a bearded vulture, which was quite pretty! Once again I was jealous of his ability to take to the Air so easily. Antinniera and I jumped, and I used a cushion of Air to slow our fall. As we neared the water, though, we stopped falling entirely! The Air seemed reluctant to approach the water and the strength of the repulsion was strong enough to hold us above the surface. I asked Xlotl if there was something wrong with the water, and he admitted it did taste a bit gritty. It seemed that there was Earth in the water, which explained the repulsion.

We were able to journey as before, Antinniera riding on Xlotl, Pi aloft, and I walked above the surface using the ring's pwoer. As we continued, the water grew grittier, eventually becoming discolored due to the amount of Earth in it. It seemed centered on us, so I used Calm to protect myself from evil, nervous of a potential attack. Pi, with his better view from above, warned of danger approaching - the Earth was closing in on me within the Water! I drew close to Antinniera, calling on Air through Calm to protect her as well. Xlotl froze some of water, allowing Antinniera to stand on it and ready her weapon.

The water thickened with mud, making me even more nervous. I punched down with an elemental strike, disrupting the Earth where the Air struck, but it quickly began to thicken again. Xlotl beat his wings and leapt out of the water, climbing quickly to about forty-five feet, and both he and Pi circled above us. I called on Calm to protect me from evil once again. I also tried to step on the ice to join Antinniera, but it was so slippery that I feared falling into the water. Her boots allowed her to keep her footing, but I decided I was better off nearby but over the water.

I say water, but it was now clearly mud and there were even a few bits starting to protrude above the surface. Pi passed overhead while Xlotl kept his distance, and both saw a mouth begin to form underneath me while arms started reaching out towards me. Pi reacted in his usual, unpredictable way - by summoning a bone and having a little snack! Antinniera wanted me to stay still so the creature would take a form that she could strike at, whilst Xlotl urged me to move back towards him. I didn't fancy waiting for it to swallow me, so I punched down with the Air once more then ran across the surface with it spreading out and following me again.

I saw a wave growing to my left, so I veered towards it, intending to jump over and let the wave strike the creature following me. The wave, though, grew in size alarmingly quickly and despite jumping higher than normal the top slammed into me and I blacked out. The mud started to surround my body, although Pi dived down and healed the worst of my wounds. It was not enough to revive me, though!

Xlotl turned sharply, dropping towards me and produced a flask of healing liquid from his hidden space. He poured it all down my neck, and I awoke spluttering, half submerged in the muddy water! Just as I was getting my bearings, an avian creature appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me with one taloned foot, lifting me away from the water, although struggling to climb with my weight suspended below by the straps of my backpack.

A fiery bolt flew past us both, apparently from Antinniera. The creature called me a traitor, saying that I would answer for my crime of consorting with the enemy. I assumed he meant Antinniera - the flaming crown did tend to make an impression. I asked who I would answer to, and was told it was Queen of the Storm. It was all just a misunderstanding, of course, and I triedy to warn Xlotl not to hurt them - we should be able to resolve this peacefully. Xlotl did pass the message on to Antinniera, so I hoped that we could talk.

It sadly wasn't to be. Xlotl hung on to me, unwilling to allow us to be separated, and they did not take that well. A fight broke out, with bow fire exchanged, and one flew down and struck Antinniera with a sword so solidly that she collapsed! I was free at this point, so I ran to help her, allowing my mind to take energy from me to revive her. I also whipped the Air around me to protect myself, trying to calm things down in vain.

At one point they decided to leave, but Antinniera was not one to let an attack go unpunished and cut into her foe's back. That started it off again, and the injured avian fell to the water heavily. Apparently it had succumbed to Xlotl's poison after he bit it, which he seemed quite pleased about. I went to its aid, healing its wounds but unable to draw out the poison. Xlotl assured us that it wasn't fatal, though, if we could keep him above the water. Pi responded, diving into the water and becoming a large crocodile, lifting the avian on his back and carrying it towards Antinniera.

Xlotl blasted another with his mind, rendering them unconscious as well, and the others hauled the first one onto the floating ice that Antinniera was stood upon. The last of the foe rose up, drawing its bow again, and I quickly used Calm to cover the others in fog. Xlotl rescued the second avian as I used Calm once more, this time to deflect the arrows that were loosed at me. Antinniera disarmed the foes that Xlotl deposited with her, and there was a moment of calm that gave us time to think.

Xlotl wisely pointed out that the avians had been trying to carry me to the west - away from the domain of Air, which is why he didn't trust them. Was nothing here as it seemed?!

As the others worked to push the ice out of the fog, I heard avian shouts demanding that we leave their kin or face death. I relayed the message to my companions, suggesting politely that we weren’t really in a position to keep fighting given that the foe had a height advantage and bows and arrows. In fact, Antinniera seemed to have taken a liking to one of their bows, keeping it for herself. Pi, ever observant of the natural world around us, noticed a swirl of iridescent fish in the waters below, he snapped at them and they withdrew, but otherwise seemed harmless for now. They did seem to be keeping the mud away, though, so for that I was grateful.

Another warning was shouted from above, and Pi reacted quickly, grabbing one of the avian creatures in his jaws and hauling it into the water. Amazingly, the fish swam up and took turns to bat their heads against the body, keeping it from sinking. Xlotl had produced a scroll from somewhere but seeing that the avian was being kept on the surface he returned it and instead shouted up to the avians that they could have their fallen back. He also told them to deliver a message to their Queen… leave us alone! He then turned his attention to the fish, conversing with them in the elemental tongue of Water. Apparently they were guardians of this place, and gave him assurances that they would drive away the mud and keep everything safe – all were welcome in the Sanctuary. They did ask if he could keep the “demon” (Pi) from attacking them, though. They also thought of Antinniera as a prisoner, referring to her as a “Princess of Fire” due to the crown she wore.

With the unconscious avians dropped off and the fish keeping the mud monster at bay, we were able to cross safely to the southern shore. Hills at the shoreline limited our visibility, but also kept us hidden from the creatures we knew occupied the area, so we decided to stay close to the shore and rest. I meditated as the others attempted to sleep, although Xlotl turned invisible first for extra security. As dusk set in, I could see the fish glowing in the water, and they seemed to be taking turns swimming to the shore and throwing small fish at us, presumably as an offering of food. I wasn’t sure what to do with the fish, but I thanked them and gathered the offerings together, placing them in an empty waterskin and adding some water to keep them fresh for the night. I noticed some movement on the hill above us during the night, with some torches visible, but nothing came too close for comfort.

In the morning, Xlotl was quite excited about eating the fish whole. I tried one but found it quite distasteful and decided not to have any more. The next day passed without incident, and we followed the shoreline east and then struck out between the hills farther east when we had followed the water as far as we could. By the end of the day we had reached the edge of the hills, seeing a vast plain before us with a mountain range visible far in the distance.

We decided to rest. Pi transformed into a black panther with yellow markings and stalked off into the night, and it was only the Air moving that let me know where he was. It wasn't long into the night when I noticed lights approaching, though, and as they drew closer it was clear they were accompanied by dogs (or something like them). I woke Xlotl first, then Antinniera, warning her of the danger. As I looked back at the lights, trying to judge if they would come close to us, I was suddenly aware of a bright light nearby - Antinniera had donned the crown, causing it to burst into flames! Panicking slightly, I ran towards the distant lights and screamed in Common that the Fire Lord had arrived - run and save yourselves!

I was unable to sustain the run for long whilst shouting that loudly, so I screamed and dropped to the ground. I wasn’t convinced that my performance would make any difference, especially as the Oroc (at least that's probably what they were) could just drive the dogs ahead of them to test us. Pi remained close, so I gave him the last fish which had got stuck in my waterskin earlier. He purred deeply, which was strangely soothing, and as I glanced back I saw that Antinniera had removed the crown, extinguishing the flames. She was moving uphill, so I just laid low and watched as the lights kept approaching.

Pi loped forward and I followed, keeping pace with the aid of Air. Xlotl told us to hold our position, though, while he scouted ahead. Antinniera, running east shouted back to ask why we were heading towards them when we were supposed to be going east. That actually made sense, at least if you ignored the fact that she was the one that got their attention in the first place! We caught our breath for a moment as Xlotl confirmed the pursuers looked like Oroc with their dogs, and then headed towards Antinniera. We were able to regroup and move off east in the darkness whilst staying ahead of any pursuit, and after a couple of hours we had shaken them off.

Eastern Plain

We rested again, this time undisturbed, and in the morning we started across the great plain. Something was still flying above us and as noon approached I suggested perhaps trying to communicate with it. I used Storm to send a message flying up above us: "Air friend, we seek the Lord of Air in the east. Can you bear a message or meet? We come from Sanctuary and seek balance." The message seemed to have been heard, as the creature disappeared from sight! We were left a little disappointed, but perhaps the Queen of Storms and the Lord of Air here were not aligned.

As dusk approached, a stiff breeze came from the east. Far from a welcome, though, I could sense that the Air was afraid and fleeing from something! I shouted a warning and stood ready, but nothing manifested. Perhaps we were still some way from what it feared. We rested again before continuing, and despite my wariness nothing disturbed us.

In the morning it was still, but we kept going anyway and increasingly saw creatures of the Air around us and to the east. I found this reassuring, although underfoot it was less welcoming. The ground became sparse, sandy, and bone-dry. Xlotl created less water than usual when he refilled our waterskins, so there was certainly an absence of elemental Water here. Pi tried to create some, and ended up summoning a glistening perfect crystal goblet of cool, clear water... which he drank without hesitation!

Xlotl decided to try a different approach, attempting to create a spring within the ground. The result was far from what he intended, though. The ground cracked, and an angry wind rushed out quickly. Born aloft, winged scorpion creatures emerged from the ground and laboured into the Air. Antinniera shouted at Xlotl, "What have you done?" and moved back. I called to everyone to keep heading east and moved past the cracks as quickly as I could. Antinniera responded but was attacked by a couple of scorpions, one of which stung her!

I ran to help, cutting one down with Storm, and on the far side Pi smashed one to goo with his hammer. More creatures seemed to be coming, though, and Xlotl didn't seem confident that they would ever stop! I cut another one down, and Antinniera sensibly moved farther east. Pi was engaged again, swinging through one creature easily but missing the second.