Editing Epic - Twenty-Four Years Later (section)

==New Minnerwe==

We were taken to their chief's building and waited in a well appointed room. After a short wait we met Makhansu, the leader of these people. He seemed to welcome anyone that could fight against their foes and bring back resources useful to them, and was particularly interested in Fulgar's Way and its link to Shang-Ti's truth. He also admired my armour and weapons, something that seemed highly valued by the people here. Fulgar agreed to an exhibition fight to show his knowledge of the Way with one of their fighters, which he lost although I suspect he was being polite - even though his opponent was clearly a good fighter.

We spent some time learning the ways of these people and joining them on raiding parties, proving our worth to them in the process. Even Garuk was accepted after the initial suspicion had worn off, although he was still made fun of by some of the children. Fulgar's shapeshifting also drew attention, although they were more impressed by this than fearful. We also did what we could to teach them of the Gods, and many battlefields were dedicated to Huang-Ti and Shang-Ti. Sometimes the Gods did seem to favour us in battle, so we knew that they were still with us no matter how much time had passed. I also made a point of giving the Runestone to Fulgar; he was the very embodiment of Shang-Ti's Way and it did have healing powers when used correctly, and as my people no longer seemed to exist, at least here, it was right that it should be his.

After several weeks some interesting news reached us of a captured Githzerai on a ship heading towards the city, so we set off with some guides to find out more. We had to travel overnight, but reached it the next day in time to intervene if it was possible. It was a large, three-masted galleon but had few sails set so it was moving quite slowly up the river. We were really not sure whether we could attack something on the water effectively, and we had a heated and lengthy discussion about whether it was possible or worth it. In the end what tipped us towards trying it was that we caught a glimpse of a white tiger in a cage... could it be Khat?!

Fulgar blessed us with Shang-Ti's protection and our guides used their archery skills to kill the pilot, leaving the vessel unguided. Garuk summoned a fog to shield us from archers as we approached, although sadly one of our guides was killed by a stray shot through the fog. Garuk used his powers to levitate, holding me up, and then Fulgar ran across the water pulling us behind him. Truly we were blessed by the Gods! A warning horn sounded as we reached the ship and started to climb. Fulgar reached the top easily and snarled angrily at those on deck, smashing one off the back of the boat with a stunning blow. There wasn't much space, though, as the defenders pressed onto the stern so we were struggling to join him.

Fulgar killed two more before I managed to force my way onto the deck, and we were all taking damage from arrow fire or sword blows. Garuk took too many blows and fell into the water, unconscious, and Fulgar quickly dived in after him, dragging his head above the water behind the ship where the archers couldn't target them. I killed two of my attackers, obviously becoming the target now, while Fulgar used Shang-Ti's runestone to heal Garuk's wounds. He was completely refreshed and woke with a start, grabbing hold of the ship before it could pull away.

They both began the climb to join me again, and Garuk conjured a hypnotic pattern around the archers farther up the deck as he reached the top. I was having no real trouble killing the fighters, but the archers were taking a toll and I had been badly hurt. Garuk conjured some kind of cloud onto deck next, still targeting the archer. I killed two more of the defenders and some of the archers lost their nerve, jumping into the water terrified. I ran up to the remaining archers before I realised that they were not really in control of themselves, instead just staring into space.

We waited a few minutes, unopposed now, for the dweomer to disperse, making sure that the rest of the sailors that had been mesmerised fled when they came around. Fulgar eating their captain's arm in front of their faces probably helped to convince them that this was the best course of action. We then freed Khat, for it was indeed her, and Grimbol (the Githzerai). They quickly summarised some of the history for us; they had fought a war twelve years ago but had been defeated, and Cron was now in a secret place away from the river, the city having been lost in the war. The Githyanki ruled with the Kharash as law bringers, as we had already discovered, and the old calendar and worship of the Gods had been lost.

We steered the ship into the bank, deliberately grounding it, and salvaged what we could whilst keeping watch for other river traffic. What we could not carry we tried to stash some distance from the river for others to collect, although when we saw that another ship was approaching we left anything remaining and set fire to the vessel to deny it to the foe. We returned quite laden, with the help of our released friends, to the settlement of Minnerwe and were given permission to admit the newcomers for an audience with Makhansu.

The total haul (I note it here in case any of it became important as we learned more of this new world) was:

7 scrolls (Garuk)<br>
Two golden metal jugs - they would refill with wine over the course of a day, bound to be popular at feasts<br>
An Ioun Stone of Wisdom (Fulgar)<br>
Four earthernware pots of keoghtoms (we shared)<br>
A phial of fizzing white liquid - Super Heroism (Batu)<br>
A potion of Speed (Batu)<br>
A phial of thick purple liquid - Neutralise Poison (Garuk)<br>
Effigies of the old Gods in silvery precious metal - the whole pantheon in an ivory case (Fulgar arranged for these to be set beside the effigies of stone, and for the mason to work on them)<br>
Golden metal braces with metalwork and plates to fit the hands, which would allow the wearer to climb as if a skilled climber (equivalent level rogue)<br>
A bag of climbing equipment - silk rope 25', pitons, hammer<br>
<br>
Two pouches of gems (about twenty stones in total)<br>
A tiara in silvery metal - not magical<br>
A chunky golden necklace with gems - not magical<br>
Two bracelets - not magical<br>
Four horns with silver ends patterned - not magical<br>
<br>
There were also the following of note, left with the stash of useful materials:
Five brocage tapestries<br>
Two large gold-bound mirrors