Chronicle - Minas Aarda

Minas Aarda Infiltrating the Ancient Dwarven Halls

We spent some time in Sutur tending our wounds and repairing our equipment. Lanzi made plans for his tower, Hintzu learnt more about the Ring of Fire that he carried and we all purchased some basic mountaineering kit in case we found ourselves on the side of a freezing mountain again. We had found out much in our trip to Zundar, but one significant piece of knowledge was missing from what we had seen; the Dwarf that had accompanied Iki-Moko when he entered Minas Aarda was not known to us. We decided that we would visit Minas Aarda in an attempt to find out more about what had happened there.

We had now seen pentagrams in more than one Dwarven stronghold, and it seemed that a network of portals existed between them all. Here in Sutur was another pentagram, but this portal could not be accessed from the others, which is why Sutur had not been taken by the enemy from within. We could now use this pentagram to aid our cause as it could carry us to Minas Aarda without the need for days of travel.

One by one we stepped through, weapons at the ready, and emerged into a small room bathed in a dark green glow from a gem suspended above the pentagram we had used to get there. On one wall was a carving similar to the one we had already seen, but without the underground scenes of Iki-Moko and the unknown Dwarf. This time, though, the evil banner was aflame and a Dwarf was depicted holding a sword aloft (we believe to be Rakos).

Opposite this carving was another of a ring of gold with a green gem set into it. Beneath this was the symbol of the house of Hamar, and beneath that a great battle scene surrounded by mountains. As part of this scene a Dwarf was depicted holding up his hand with a ring upon it, and fissures were opening beneath the enemy causing them to fall to their deaths. Behind the mountains were sheets of flame, to the left with the allied troops was the symbol of a tree and to the right with the enemy forces were gathered wolves.

The gemstone above us could not be moved, and caused Si-Ti-Qa pain when he tried. Our way forward consisted of a choice of two passages, one to the West and one to the East. We went first to the East down a short passage to an arched entrance. We had little time to see what was beyond, as we were set upon by two headed giants as we made to enter. I don't know what was worse - the sight of gigantic clubs being swung at us or the stench of their unwashed bodies. Fortunately they did not attempt to bite us, as I believe that we would have died from infection had they done so. Using a scroll to call upon Odin to vanquish this foe, we were blessed with a barrier of flashing blades to cut through the giants and prevent them from reaching us. Only one was able to close with us after this barrier was in place, and it did not survive long. Two-headed giant.

With our backs safe for the time being, we investigated the Western passage. A door opened onto spiral stairs leading down into darkness. Proceeding down we found that the air grew increasingly humid and the stairs became slippery beneath our feet. We eventually emerged into another room, dimly illuminated through a stained glass window in the Western wall. The floor was wet and covered in rotting vegetation, and algae and running water covered the walls in places. A doorway opened onto more stairs on the far side of the room, and we began to edge our way to them on the driest parts of the floor.

We could have continued safely at this point, but the party didn't want to miss anything and it was possible that the algae was covering up information or even an alternative exit. Hintzu started to investigate the worst of the algae, but as he did so the plant matter on the floor began to move. Arm like appendages attempted to grab Hintzu, and it was all he could do to beat them off. Whilst we responded to this threat, another was emerging unseen behind Lanzi. With a cry he was pulled down into the water and enveloped by plant matter. Fortunately he had dweomer enough to extricate himself and appeared inches in front of me, wet but intact.

Hintzu tried to use his new knowledge of the Ring of Fire to burn the creatures, but the flames had little effect on them and their relentless attacks continued. Lanzi was grapped again and pulled down a second time; this time I was close and swung at the creature as it attacked. Unfortunately I slipped on the wet floor and my swing went off target, hitting Lanzi rather than the creature that had him. Putting aside my weapon, I tried to free Lanzi with my hands. He was able to escape again using his dweomer, though, which left me as the target of the thing's next attack and it was my turn to be pulled down. The plant stuff pinned my limbs so that I could not struggle and then began to fill my mouth and nose, stopping me from drawing breath. Luckily I did not have to suffer for long before my limbs were cut free by Merc and Hintzu and I was able to wrench myself away from the dying creature.

The fight had been won, but we had all sustained wounds and I called on Odin to heal the worst of them, including the wound that Lanzi had received by my own hand. We hurried down the next stairwell, not sure whether the creatures could grow back from the mess we had left behind. Unfortunately, in our haste we had forgotten our caution. Part of the stairs were missing and a pit with spikes awaited the unwary. Merc was leading the party, and could not stop himself from falling when his foot met no resistance. His armour saved him from the spikes, but the fall injured him. With Odin's blessing it was a simple matter to patch Merc up and, having found the pit, a simple matter to cross using rope for safety. We continued more cautiously.

A door at the bottom lead into a large room with two large monstrous creatures within in front of a statue. They were similar to the legendary Hydra, but with a huge gaping maw in their torso that the eight heads surrounded. They lashed out at Merc with their heads, but Hintzu used his ring to conjure a wall of flame that they fled from. We were far from safe, though, as the evil things spat acid at us. Our clothes and skin burnt under the corrosive assault, and I passed out with pain. Lanzi apparently performed a daring manoeuver, teleporting past the wall of flame and sending a fireball at the creatures. He was right to think that fire would hurt them, but they did not die and he had exposed himself dangerously. Fortunately, Merc and Hintzu were able to finish them off after the fireball weakened them and Lanzi was saved. I was eventually awakened by Merc, who had used his ring of regeneration to aid my recovery. I had come close to death, and again we had sustained many injuries.

Now that we had time to take in our surroundings, we were able to study the statue. It showed Thor striking at an anvil wereupon three broken pieces of a sword were arranged. The haft of the sculpted weapon looked similar to the haft of a sword that Merc had recovered. Above Thor was the symbol of the ring with the green gem that we had seen earlier, and on the wall behind the statue was a great carving of Odin's eye. On the wall next to the statue was a depiction of Ragnarak as seen from a dragon's eye view. Loki was releasing Fenris and Thor was looking up, swinging his hammer at the dragon. Odin and the rest of the Gods were fighting the Giants in front of Asgard.

Behind the statue we found that Thor's cloak had been sculpted into a bridge that lead to a door above floor level. Hintzu discoverd that the door was linked to a falling block trap, but he was able to disengage the mechanism. Deciding that Odin's eye was a good omen, we decided to climb to this door and follow the low stairs beyond as they took us further down.

At the foot of the stairs we found a small room with a blue circle on the floor. A scene on the left hand wall had been created with dweomer and changed its form as we entered; what was before just a forest scene came alive before our eyes. We saw a forest glade with a waterfall as seen from the water. On the left hand bank a young half elf with short blonde hair and blue eyes entered. He had long and short swords, although they were sheathed, and a bow on his back. He wore studded leather armour and his legs were muddy. He took a cautious look around the glade and then crouched to drink from the water. He then pulls a light green gem from the water, examines it and smiles. Then he sat down and took out a flute and began to play. At this point the image blurred and the scene began again, repeating over and over.

The circle on the floor had the symbol of an open book at its centre. The symbols of all the Dwarven houses surrounded this central image. We speculated that the book represents the Codicil that Lanzi has a part of, and it might be that the book was divided between the Dwarven houses. Blue is the colour of Odin, so this book could be used for good.

A corridor, lined with unlit torches, lead onwards. In the ceiling of the corridor was carved the underside of a dragon with legs but no wings visible. The corridor turned sharply right and ended in a door. This door opened on to more stairs leading down. At the foot of these stairs was a larger room where four giant cyclopes were sat around a fire cooking a body of some kind. Lanzi let fly with a fireball right in the middle of the group, however this seemed only to enrage the giants and they snatched up weapons to attack with. I stepped forward, hoping to dodge their oversize clubs, but I was too slow and a mighty blow lifted me off my feet and back up the stairs. By the time I hit the floor I was unconscious and did not recover for some time, and with the aid of Merc's healing skills. One of the vicious Cyclopes that we encountered.

The party had withdrawn behind the door, partly to aid me and partly to avoid fighting the cyclopes directly. Lanzi and Hintzu fired arrow and spell into the foe from behind cover, whilst the enemy threw large rocks back. Although Lanzi was hit by one rock, his dweomer eventually put paid to the creatures. When I was able to walk again we made our way down into the room.

The large area that the cyclopes had inhabited ended in a single door. There was some discussion as to whether we should press on or turn back. I was the most badly wounded and could not realistically fight again, although as long as Merc and Hintzu were able to prevent opponents from passing them I could still lend aid through the grace of Odin. I argued that we had not yet found the information that we came to discover, and that to leave now would require a return trip that could potentially be even more dangerous. It was eventually agreed that we would press on, but that Lanzi and I would stay back to avoid being attacked at the outset of any fighting.

It was a good thing that Lanzi and I stood back, because when the door opened all Hel broke loose. The corridor beyond was packed with armoured warriors waiting to attack. They charged forward and were met by the steel of Merc and Hintzu. Spells flew from both sides, and clouds of nauseating gas enveloped everyone. Some of the enemy turned on each other, or stood in a daze, my prayer to Odin was answered when the very armour that some of them wore turned white hot and burned them. Others were frozen by more dweomer. A fireball exploded in the room, but miraculously we escaped serious harm. An exchange of archery fire took place as bodies burnt in the doorway. A wall of fire was conjured to force the enemy back, and there was a brief lull in the fight. One of the charging warriors that greeted us as we opened the door.

We had two of the enemy as prisoners, unconscious but alive; I said that I would stay and guard them as I could not fight on. I blessed Merc and Hintzu for the coming battle, and they charged down the corridor. Sounds of battle carried to me and it was clear that they were fighting a great number of foes. Lanzi cautiously advanced to see whether his dweomer would be needed, despite his wounds, to find that the Gith had withdrawn further in the face of Merc and Hintzu's onslaught. Mindful of the state of the party, Hintzu locked both doors so that we could regroup. Lanzi called them back - he had been thinking of the route we were taking and was uneasy, certain that we had missed something. Certainly we were finding the going hard and had little to show for our endeavours so far. Lanzi used his dweomer to seal the door behind us and we began to retrace our steps. Falling Back

Our priorities were to withdraw to the statue of Thor and to call for aid from our allies. Lanzi used Si-Ti-Qa to send a message to Morwath, their Druidic friend requesting aid. In sending Si-Ti-Qa forth in this way, Lanzi's very soul was wrenched and he fell into unconsciousness. I could barely walk due to my wounds, and now Lanzi had to be carried. Hintzu helped me whilst Merc carried Lanzi and we began to slowly move onwards. We managed to reach the stairs to the dragon-carved passage when Si-Ti-Qa reappeared and he breathed a purple mist into Lanzi's mouth that seemed to revive him. The message had been sent, imploring Morwath to seek out the Lady Gwendolyn at Sutur so that he might bring aid to us in this place.

Despite the pain of the last message, Lanzi then set about sending another! He may be a bit timid when it comes to a stand up fight, but his courage shows itself in other ways! He is brave, or a fool, or possibly both. No matter, he used the same means to send another message to the Lady Gwendolyn to forewarn her of Morwath's coming so that he would not be dismissed out of hand; he again lost consciousness as a result.

It was then, as we neared the room with the statue, that we first heard the sounds of pursuit. Hintzu ran ahead to disable the trap that he had set after we passed this way the first time, whilst Merc guarded the rear of the party. Thankfully, Lanzi recovered thanks to Si-Ti-Qa returning after successfully delivering the second message. Merc and Hintzu held their ground, with Lanzi readying a scroll, whilst I crawled up the last stairs to the statue ahead. A flaming arrow struck the base of the stairs, causing stinging smoke to billow up the passage - they were upon us!

An arrow hit Lanzi and another two deflected off my armoured back as I crawled up. Just as I had almost reached safety, another arrow forced its way into my shoulder, but not badly thank Odin. Lanzi let loose an arc of wild lightning down the corridor behind us. Shrieks of pain could be heard, but it was answered by more arrows. Merc was shielding us now, though, and many of the arrows were deflected away. A return bolt of lightning came cracking towards us , but sputtered and faded against Merc's shield. Lanzi ran past me into the safety of the next room, jumping down and making his way around the great statue before him.

The door in the far corner of the room opened, and Lanzi thought for a moment that we were surrounded, but it was Morwath - he had answered the call for help and had come to our aid! He looked injured already, but thankfully had found us quickly. Overjoyed, but exhausted, Lanzi fell into his arms. Meanwhile, Hintzu grabbed me and pulled me through into the same room and I carefully lowered myself down to the floor, resting against the wall after doing so. Magic missiles raced towards Merc, who had backed up the stairs, but they had no effect on him. Morweth used a scroll to heal Lanzi, who was then able to return to defend the entrance behind the statue.

Lanzi cried "get away from the stairs"! I rolled away, and the others jumped down. A fireball engulfed the door in flames, and it exploded into burning splinters. Merc jumped back up onto the bridge and shouted at everyone to fall back. As the Gith advanced they triggered the trap that Hintzu had re-set to catch them. A great block fell from the ceiling, forcing the Gith back, but it also caught Merc as it fell; he was thrown to the ground and badly injured. The bridge was destroyed, but now the block itself gave them a platform on which to enter! The door was consumed in Lanzi's fireball.

At this point Morwath reached me and was able to heal some of my wounds, so I was able to rejoin the fray! Hintzu had got himself a good vantage point and started to loose arrows into the front rank of Gith, killing one before they even saw the new threat. As the Gith advanced anew, Lanzi used his dweomer to create a grease-like goo atop the stone block. With this unexpected barrier several Gith slipped and fell hard to the ground at the feet of Merc, who had recovered sufficently to fight. One died before it could even get to its feet.

I offered up a prayer to Odin, asking for his blessing in this battle and for him to turn his disfavour upon our foes. I could feel my God's gaze upon us, and we fought with renewed vigour. Morweth, who apparently melds the power of nature and the elements to his own purpose, caused thick thorny briars to grow from within the corridor that the Gith were advancing along. Within a few moments the passage was choked with the plants, tearing at anything that moved and slowing the Gith advance considerably.

Now we had an advantage, as Hintzu thinned their ranks whilst they were in the passage and then Merc and I struck them as they fell or jumped down from the stone block. The tide turned, though, when a fireball streaked in to the room and engulfed both us and the Gith that were fighting us. They took the brunt of it and died in the process, but we were hurt. We began falling back but Lanzi, unaware of our decision, ran forward to lend his dweomer to the defence. After some time in calculation, he caused some of the stone in the passage filled with Gith to disintegrate, presenting them with another obstacle to overcome before reaching us.

As we fell back at our own speeds light became an issue, so I pulled out the gem that had received Odin's gift of light to illuminate our passage. It was too late to conceal our intentions, so we might as well see what we were doing! Morwath and I fell back to the exit, but the others were caught in combat with a few Gith that had escaped Lanzi's last obstacle. Another spell was thrown at us, but Lanzi was able to absorb it with the strange rod that he carried so we escaped whatever effect it would have had.

Looking back over the field, I saw what looked like Merc's hand stretched out on the floor behind the statue. Fearing that he had fallen, I ran back into danger and found a Gith standing over Merc's bloody body. I shouted a warning and thankfully Hintzu was close enough to respond; he killed the Gith quickly whilst Morwath hurried to aid Merc.

At this point the remaining Gith inexplicably turned and ran back they way they had come, allowing Morwath to dress Merc's wounds and administer healing. It turns out that Morwath, like Lanzi, is able to use his mind to battle with such creatures and had caused them to flee the field. Mercifully we were now able to make our way back to our entry point without further interruption, although we were never in any doubt that the danger had not passed. The True Minas Aarda

Lanzi was insistent that we had missed something in this room, and that the exits we could see were no more than a diversion. Merc took out an item with powerful dweomer that allowed him to see the room in a way that our own eyes could not fathom. He identified an area of the wall with the depiction of the Dwarf with Rakos before the Minas that was not as it first seemed. Reaching out to it, Merc found that his hand passed right through the wall and by touch he discovered a panel that could be depressed. As he pushed, the outline of the Dwarf cracked and formed the outline of a door with his eyes glowing bright green - we had discovered a secret way in.

As the door opened we heard a voice speak the words:

From Hama'Las to Minas Aarda descend

All those that know Lastar as a friend

Beyond the door we could see a narrow, low passageway descending with blue/green lanterns lighting the way in a warm glow. A pool of green light at the bottom revealed a large carving of a book, above which was a carving of a ring with a green gem; it was the gem that was giving off the light. On the floor in front of this was a large double blue circle with the symbols of all the Dwarven Houses excepting Hamar's House.

The lights extinguished themselves as we passed, and the door sealed behind us. Soon we were stood in just the glow of the green gem, pondering how we might proceed. There appeared to be runes on the carved book, but when we concentrated on them they seemed to move before our eyes and proved unintelligible. However, when Lanzi consulted his Codicil, the book and the runes fixed upon the History of the 1st Age and we could read it clearly. We stood in the green glow from the gem above.

At this point Morwath recounted to us a vision that he had seen; his memory having been triggered by the green glow around us. He had seen the Gith within halls bathed in green marked with the symbol of the house of Hamar, and amongst them was a Gith Noble who carried a gem that could be a shard of the Sarnim Stone.

Morwath continued his description; he had seen a noble Gith with a 2-handed sword and a fire breathing steed leading an army. Guerin on a dragon steed, wearing a 7-pointed crown with blue gems, held a black bastard sword that glowed blue and purple. The Gith army occupied Minas Emras, although this was a good 5 years ago. Morwath also heard a song that went as follows.

Burning like the Sun of his God,

Essulin entered the hall of Aarda.

As silver as the stars of her realm,

Lucielle blessed that deep place.

Ythanos, son of Eomere,

With swollen heart and full of fervour,

Met kindly Shono Na whose sole

Possessions were cloth and lace.

With the smell of sweet flower

And mistletoe Haemrandir came,

And together met Grobdur and Gloun,

Crown and sword aflame.

Finding the images of Odin and Thor,

Against which they knew no ill would follow.

Ythanos tells Maiku's story once more,

In Aarda under the gleaming snow.

That of Law was given to cloth and lace.

That of life to Sylvan Star's embrace.

The hidden door barring our way was opened when we recited the allies of Lastar that met for the first council of Sutur in the 1st Age. We had finally entered the true halls of Minas Aarda!

We entered a room that was a vision of opulence; the walls and ceiling were encrusted with gold, silver and gems, all illuminated by burning braziers and only interrupted by the shadows from the pillars that formed a rough square in the centre of the room. Although slightly dazzled by this impressive sight, we could make out exits in the other walls. Opposite and to our left were steps that led upwards into the gloom, whilst on the right a shorter flight of stairs lead into a niche that was also in darkness compared to the room we stood in. Around the walls was a huge battle scene, whilst on the ceiling above us could be seen a depiction of angry wargs that appeared to jump out at us so lifelike was the painting. Also on the ceiling could be seen the Eye of Odin to our left, and flames to our right.

To our right, which we now believed to be the North could be seen the rampant horse symbol of Bavarik being held aloft from the gathered army of Elves and Men. To the West (opposite us) were gathered more forces for good under the leadership of Lastar. Behind us as we entered could be seen massed Dwarven forces with the symbols of Hamar, Balem and Maelus visible.

On our left (South) was depicted Dispater and his evil horde. Two large scenes that told a story ran from this wall to the next. The first showed Dispater killing Maedus and the Elf, Gelmir, who lay at Dispater's feet. A crown was being lifted and passed to Lastar. The other showed Lastar and Bavarik delivering the killing blows to Dispater in the very room we were standing in! This realisation sent a cold shiver down my spine as the momentous nature of the place sank in. Lastar was shown wearing all of the crowns and all of the rings in this scene.

The floor was black apart from the carefully painted images of souls flowing from left to right as we looked at it. The souls of Gelmir and Maedus could be seen looking up from the floor at us.

The party was tired and wounded, and now that we were in a place of relative safety it was agreed that we should rest and recuperate. I settled into quiet prayers to Odin, asking for his blessing in bestowing some modicum of his power upon my mortal body. Lanzi studied his books and rested. The others checked the area, stood guard and slept until we had fully recovered. For once we were not disturbed and we rose some time later feely mentally and physically refreshed. The Party Divided

We had agreed on a plan to follow the signs of Odin and Thor, as we felt that they would guide us safely through the Dwarven chambers, however the niche on the right had caught our attention and we decided to take a look before we carried on. This was to prove to be something of a mistake. The room we found was small and square with another great battle scene across the walls. Many Dwarves could be seen losing their lives; in the centre was the symbol of Hamar with another, unfamiliar, symbol below it.

File:Backnrune.jpg

By these runes was a Dwarf signalling the remainder of the Dwarven force towards a hill with a violet flower upon it. The Dwarf had the ring of Earth on his finger. In the centre of the room a tomb stood alone. Morwath was again reminded of a vision that he had seen that included the symbols seen in this room. In his vision the Gith Lord was being handed a shard, which glowed briefly. The Gith smiled and dismissed his minions.

As Merc approached the tomb, he could make out the inscription "Gadfor, Lord of Minas Aarda". Merc knelt down to examine the tomb more closely, and as he did so his hand brushed against the stone. Immediately, several brown-robed skeletal figures stepped out from the walls, their red eyes glowing hypnotically. Although they came no closer, when I looked back at the tomb Merc had vanished! I took hold of my holy symbol and brandished it at these things, invoking Odin's name to send them away, but to my dismay they were not affected. Hintzu and Lanzi advanced into the room, but the things did not react to their movements.

For some reason unfathomable to me, Hintzu decided that it would be a good idea to provoke a reaction from these creatures. He pulled a piece of chalk from a pouch or pocket and tossed it at the tomb. As it struck the tomb's lid, both Hintzu and Lanzi (along with Si-Ti-Qa) vanished as well! This time I had been watching, and yet they did not move at all - they just disappeared. I called out to them, but the only sound to be heard was the quiet click of the chalk falling to the floor. Morwath and I backed off; perhaps there was a way to bypass this defence we reasoned, and if the others had been imprisioned somehow then we had to stay free in order that we might reach them and bring them to safety.

We made our way over to the door we had originally selected as the best exit, beneath the Eye of Odin. It was marked with the rune of Hamar and the unfamiliar rune we had seen elsewhere in the room. There was no obvious mechanism with which to open the door, but we recounted the names of the council that had got us into the Minas in the first place and the door swung open noiselessly.

Beyond was a large room with stairs leading up from the centre of each of the other walls. In the centre of the room were two sarcophagi, which we resolved never to touch! On the left wall was laid out the lineage of the House of Hamar to the left of the exit, whilst on the other side of that wall was a depiction of a Minas being pulled down under the direction of Demogorgon. On the far left wall, Demogorgon was decapitating a Dwarf and taking a palantir, but a ring was rolling off the Dwarf's finger, apparently unnoticed by Demogorgon. On the far right was a lengthy inscription that read as follows.

The Abyss belched up its malevolent host

In those dark years we suffered the most.

And on Amras Aarda the challenge came,

Losing all to Demogorgon's evil reign.

Bavarik champions our cause,

Leading Men, Elves and Dwarves

In battle against this almighty foe;

All lost, complete is our woe.

Through the mountains of metal and stone

The host plunder, ripping flesh from bone.

Findor's land was first to suffer;

Broken, it was torn asunder.

A great opportunity seized:

The Wyrm not appeased,

Comes to Ashore with fire,

Turns Dor into a funeral pyre.

Denied the bridge of Calahar,

The host turned to the Marsh of Malor.

Taranack's victory at sea in Celin

Forces evil's retreat to begin.

To Olga and our noble House it turns,

Findor falls and Minas Aarda burns.

Mightly Hamar dies, his ring lost,

The Palantir was our main cost.

The floor was black, as before, and the sarcophagi were marked in Dwarven runes. The one on the left held Bragfor, whilst the one on the right held Gloun, and was additionally inscribed with "We will not forget your valour, though it brought your doom."

We were now uncertain as to how to proceed. We had seen no clues as to where our friends might have gone, and we did not know the right path to follow to reach our goal. We turned to our Gods for guidance; Morwath undertook to divine what might happen if we turned right here, and withdrew into himself, seemingly deep in concentration. Meanwhile, I offered up a prayer to Odin and cast my runestones to determine what might happen if we took the left path instead. My runes were clear; we would be reunited with at least one of our companions if we went left, but there would be danger involved. Morwath reported that the right path was the path we should take to come closer to our goal. I consulted the runes to determine whether to proceed to the left

We agreed, after a little debate, that we could not give up on our friends if there was a chance that we could be reunited, no matter how dangerous the path, so we turned our attention to the exit on the left. The stairs ended in a door that was sealed tight and we could not see a way to open it. Morwath took out an artefact that allowed him to examine the door in more detail, and found a small inscription that read "Amras Aarda", but there was still no way of opening the door. Reciting the council members no longer worked, probably because we were in a different part of the Minas. Morwath, though, had some power over the earth; he placed his hands on the stone of the door, and the stone began to move! Parting the stone as if he were tearing open a tapestry, Morwath formed a hole large enough for us to slip through to the other side.

We emerged into a narrow, sloping passage leading up. On the floor was another circle of Dwarven runes and on the door behind us was carved a large book, although there was no carving of a ring this time. At the top of this passage was another door, but this time with a red Dragon's head painted on our side. Lights had flared up as we entered, and this was clearly another entrance to the Minas behind us.

Again, we found that there was no obvious way to open the door. We tried a few phrases and lists, but to no avail. Morwath did not want to use his power over stone again, wishing instead to save it for sealing the breach we had made in the last door. Instead we put our combined weight against the door in an attempt to force it open. Straining hard we were able to break the door's seal and force it open to a point where we could get through.

Beyond the door we found a square room with stairs opposite and doors either side. The Eye of Odin was carved into the floor, along with the symbol of the House of Hamar. A green gem glowed above us in the ceiling, similar to the one in the hall we had originally entered. In the centre of the room were a number of Gith warriors facing the stairs. They might have heard us enter, but for the entrance of Hintzu. He was naked, with his belongings seemingly thrown over his shoulder in a sack. He had been in combat, as his injuries were plain to see, and quickly had to deflect an arrow loosed at him by the Gith that had been waiting in the room.

We were not going to let a few Gith get in the way of our reunion, and I called upon Odin's power to heat their armour to the point where it seared them and left them in agony. Meanwhile, Morwath caused thorny brambles to erupt into the room, preventing the Gith from fleeing easily. Hintzu returned fire, sending countless arrows into the foe. Morwath was able to pass easily through the thorns that he had summoned, and entered combat. Without the need for any more dweomer, and not wishing to brave the impressive barrier of thorns before me, I readied my sling. However, by the time I was ready to engage the remaining Gith had been killed and the area was secure. We were finally able to talk to Hintzu to find out what had happened, and why he was naked! Whilst he got dressed he recounted his tale, but warned of Gith pursuit. Hintzu's Dangerous Deceit

Hintzu, upon throwing the chalk at the tomb, had found himself in absolute darkness. He had a feeling that he wasn't safe, and chose to place himself in a catatonic state so to deceive any foes into thinking that he was dead, or at least unconscious. When he awoke, he found that he was being carried on a pole, with his hands and feet tied above him and several armoured creatures moving around him. He had been undressed and his possessions removed except, thankfully, for the ring on his finger.

Hoping that, as he was being moved, he was in an area without too many foes, Hintzu called upon the power of his ring to shoot flames out ahead of him. This had several effects; first he could see something of the area around him, second he caused damage to the creature carrying the front of the pole, and third it set his bindings alight, thus giving him a better chance to free himself. He could now see that he had Gith around him, and that one seemed to be carrying his possessions in a bag.

Having caught the Gith by surprise, Hintzu used his ring again - this time to cause a blinding pyrotechnics display to fill the corridor they were in and dazzle the enemy. This gave him the chance he needed to free himself and prepare for the inevitable combat. His first problem was that he was surrounded, so he summoned a ball of fire that he sent rolling to his front; this engulfed the nearest Gith, causing it to die in agony, and created a barrier that kept the others away whilst he dealt with those behind him. Hintzu conjured a ball of flame to divide his opponents.

The second problem was that he was naked and unarmed, although his skills as a monk mitigated this disadvantage somewhat. He used a martial arts move to stun the Gith carrying his possessions and then armed himself to take on the other two nearby. However, the number of foes was too many for him to beat them all without serious injury so he decided that the best plan was to fall back and reorientate himself. He dropped his weapon and delivered two more stunning blows to delay his opponents; then he gathered his possessions and ran forwards, sending the ball of flame ahead of him to clear a path.

Not far ahead he could see a sharp turn in the passage, so he extinguished the ball of flame before he ran into it, but unfortunately in so doing he also found himself without a light source. He reached the turn and paused briefly to put on the girdle that increases his strength. Having done so, he made his way to the left in the direction that the passage had turned. Almost immediately he stumbled, although not badly, as he found stairs leading downwards. Deciding that it was too dangerous to continue without light, he took out a torch and ignited it. Now able to see clearly, he hurried down the stairs, mindful that he could be pursued at any moment.

It was at the bottom of these stairs that Hintzu emerged into the room at much the same time as we had. He saw first the Gith that were firing at him with bows, but as we joined the fight his spirit lifted to know that he had rejoined friends. We were now unsure as to which way we should go to find the others. There were two doors in the room that we had not investigated, and we tried both to see whether there were any clues.

The right hand door was marked 'Amras Aarda', whilst the left was marked 'Hama'las'. Reasoning that our friends were likely to be somewhere in Hama'las, as Hintzu had been, we tried this door. We progressed a little way up some stairs, but heard sounds ahead of marching armoured troops - Gith most likely, so we hurried back. Mindful of the gap we had left in the defences of Minas Aarda, we returned to the door that had been holed by Morwath's skill. We made our way back through and Morwath sealed it behind us. We would have to find another way to rejoin our companions.

As we made our way cautiously back to the room with the two tombs in the centre, we were surprised and delighted to find that Merc was waiting for us! He was covered from head to foot in blood, and it was impossible to tell how badly injured he might be, but by his grin it appeared that the best part of it was Gith blood. We hurried forward and urged him to tell of his experience. Merc's Violent Vignette

Merc had appeared in a square room, apparently an armoury of some kind, with five Gith around him. Somewhere close by he could hear Gith singing, and by the sounds of it they were here in strength. Fortunately the Gith around Merc were not expecting his appearance, so he was able to get the drop on them. He quickly drank a potion that hasted his actions and began laying about him with formidable strokes from his weapons. Three Gith lay dead before any resistance could be mounted, and in the face of this ferocious assault the remaining two turned and fled, shouting an alarm as they went.

Merc exited through another door only to be confronted with more Gith. Merc reacted predictably and charged into combat, killing them all without too much trouble. More Gith came to reinforce those that had fallen, only to meet the same end as their comrades. Fighting his way forward, Merc found his way barred by a door, hastily closed by the Gith beyond.

Merc battered at the door, initially making good progress in breaking it down, however magic was used to hold the door against him and he had to work hard to make any more progress. Eventually he made a large enough gap to fight his way through into the room beyond. A fireball was fired at him, but his protective artifacts allowed him to shrug it off. The Gith were retreating ahead of him, but the one who had stayed to use his magic was quickly cut down by the vengeful Merc. He continued to advance, harrying the Gith as they fled down stairs, and eventually emerged into a large passage.

It quickly became apparent that the retreat had been an organised withdrawal to a place where they could defend in strength. In front of Merc were rank upon rank of ordered Gith warriors, spears and swords ready to repel any attack. Another fireball, as well as magic missles and normal arrows sped towards him, but again he was able to shrug off these attacks. Faced with overwhelming odds, Merc decided to withdraw and find another way, returning up the stairs he had come down.

Merc retraced his steps back up to take another route, heading back down again but this time hopefully away from danger. Eventually he emerged in a room with two doors, both with sigils above them, and a carving of Rakos on the floor. On the ceiling directly ahead of him was a carving of Odin's Eye, behind him were flames, to the left was a tree and to the right a wolf's blackened face. Beneath Odin's Eye on the wall was a depiction of a bridge with Dandrag trying to cross on the right whilst Elves and Men on the left defended it. Armoured boats with Sea Elves on board were shown on the water beneath the bridge. There were some Gith in the room, but they were no obstacle for Merc who by this time was covered in blood from his previous kills.

Suspecting that there was more to this room than was first apparent, Merc used his Gem of Seeing to examine the bridge scene. He found that the bridge could be moved and it opened to a short passage leading down. As he entered he heard the words "pass friend" spoken and the door sealed behind him. He came to another portal similar to the one that had originally allowed us into the Minas. The blackened face of Fenris, the Wolf

In order to ascertain the names he needed to repeat to pass, Merc communed with Freya. He repeated the names from Morwath's vision, brought back to his mind by the will of his patron, and this allowed him to enter the Minas once more.

Merc entered a large, ornate room. On the roof on his left were clouds being blown across a pinkish sky and beneath on the wall was shown a great army of Elves and Men. On the right wall was a vast tower of rock protruding from a mountain range that appeared to be aflame. Behind Merc was a scene of a bridge with water rising from below and striking the Tanar'ri on the bridge, whilst opposite was a wolf being baited at spear point by an Elf, a Man and a Dwarf. A chronological series of scenes ran around the room, beginning with a wolf running towards some trees, then becoming a man with a moustache missing two fingers; the man was then seen on his knees before a silver haired Elf holding two crowns (one five pointed with blue gems and the other seven pointed with green gems). The next scene showed a beautiful Elf pointing beyond a gathering of Elves to a suspended cage, this was followed by a scene with a man chained and jailed, and then an Elven queen sat on a throne with the two crowns and two shards on the ground before her. The last scene showed the gaunt man pulling apart his bonds, killing the Elves and taking the seven pointed crown.

Merc continued ahead and down a passage into another ornate room. On the ceiling of this room was a depiction of a dragon in Ragnarak being struck by Thor to the right of the centre. To the left Freya was firing arrows at Fenris on the other side. Above Merc, Odin was holding Loki by the throat. Around the roof was this script:

From the Misery of Amras Aarda came

The wolf of fiery eyes and darkened mane.

To the ruins of Minas Aarda he turned

and met with the Demon Prince he learned,

Of the return to the Prime of that which smashed

The White Star and with it our hopes dashed.

Granted a gift of dwarven gold and elven stone,

Promised in exchange dominion over all, alone.

With that Ring Aarda was rebuilt for Ill,

Demon Prince and Dark Wolf would kill

All that kept them from Lastar's Hoard

And together over all folk would lord,

In name and act of evil vast

The Darkest time of Aarda passed.

Around the walls were a series of scenes, starting with an oriental human wearing bits of mail kneeling before a shrine in a glade beside a river. He was then seen kneeling at the river taking a shard from the water. Then the same man was seen, but much older, lying on a bed and passing the shard to a younger male oriental. Next that man, a little older, was shown kneeling before a Dwarf with the symbol who was then shown ordering other Dwarves to follow the man. Then there was a battle scene with a Sea Elf (Tarranik, whose symbol was ) plunging a sword into a Balrog alongside Findor and a human with a rampant horse symbol and the symbol who wore a double pointed crown with orange gems. In the next scene the same Dwarf was seen taking a ring from the defeated Balrog, which was light blue in colour. An older oriental man was pulling a gem from the Balrog's chest, but in the next scene the man was seen peppered with arrows whilst leaning against a wall and presenting two shards to a female oriental. In the next scene, set in mountainous terrain, the women was surrendering to a gaunt wispy moustached man whilst surrounded by Tanar'ri. Then the woman was seen dying in the arms of a younger man with a rampant horse symbol (Ythanos, son of Eomere, whose symbol was ).

Continuing down, Merc finally emerged in the chamber with the two tombs where he met us coming the other way.

Having shared our experiences so far, it was clear that Lanzi had also been teleported to another location, probably above us in Hama'Las somewhere. We were all keen to see the party complete again, so we set about thinking of a way to find Lanzi. Morwath was able to use the power of his mind to sense a general direction that he could found in, and this was the best guide we had so we set off to follow his guidance.

As we climbed, retracing Mercs steps and seeing some of the ornate halls that he had already passed through, Merc became reluctant to continue. He argued that the Gith army were above us and that our mission was more important than one missing person who might well have found his way back to the Amras as he and Hintzu had. Morwath's sense, though, was that Lanzi was still above us and was eventually able to convince Merc to continue upwards for now, but to be wary of any Gith threat.

As we climbed further we came across a room that none of us had seen before. The Eye of Odin was carved above more steps leading upwards, to our right was the symbol of a tree, to the left a wolf's head and behind us flames. On the floor was depicted a council. A male Elf with dark hair, standing by Odin and with the symbol (Essulin of Vikrain) was at the head of the council. To his right sat Shono Na, the oriental human monk with the symbol , who was being given a shard that we believed to have lawful alignment. To Essulin's left was Lucielle, the silver haired female Elf with the symbol , who was being given a different shard that we believed to have good alignment. Also present were Ythanos, Gilrun (Dwarf from Hama'Las, holder of Rakos, symbol ), Haemrandir (male Half Elf from Numenorea, symbol ) and Grobdur (Dwarf of Fangor Rodrus, from the House of Maedus, wearing a three pointed crown with yellow gems, symbol ).

We continued to follow the path of Odin, and ascended the next stairs to emerge into a very large room. To our left was a scene showing a naked man being beheaded. To the right was Iki-Moto in a black Kimono wearing a two pointed crown and all four rings. Opposite us we could see three figures being hanged; Gloun was in the middle, Shono Na to the right and the black haired Elf that headed the council in the previous room was on the left. Beside them Iki-Moto was gloating and he had a two pointed crown, a shard and the sword, Rakos. The location looked like Sutur, but the walls were being assailed all around. Coming over the wall by the tower, Ythanos was jumping down into the courtyard. Iki-Moto was looking victorious. At his side was a plump human, bound and on his knees, with the Eye of Odin visible on his clothing. Next to him was a Half Elf with this symbol by him.

Continuing ahead, we entered a smaller room with no decoration. Suspicious, Merc took a closer look and discovered a hidden door on the right. We were able to open the door by reciting the 4th Age Dwarven Lords. It appeared that each level of the Minas corresponded to an Age, and we had ascended to the 4th Age here. A now familiar entry corridor was beyond the door, sloping up to another door with oriental swords carved on the back. This proved to be the clue to opening the door, and after a little thoughtful discussion the recital of the House of Minawara caused the door to open.

Unfortunately for us, there was a Gith army marching past the door as we opened it! Suddenly, without warning, a fireball erupted in the centre of the surprised Gith and we heard Lanzi's voice shouting to us to keep the door open - we were close to being reunited!

Although there was clearly no time to hear Lanzi's tale at this point, I include it here for the sake of the narrative. Lanzi's Explosive Escape

Lanzi had appeared in a dark room with the sounds and smells of Gith all around him. He immediately turned himself invisible and attempted to hide, feeling his way to a corner. He heard a blast on a horn, and then an incantation nearby. The invisibility protecting him had been disspelled and he found himself confronting many Gith warriors. In desparation, he pulled the Ebony Fly from a pouch and commanded it to transform into a flying beast. Mounting it quickly, as the Gith attacked, he flew over their heads towards a passage beyond.

The fly sustained many wounds but shielded Lanzi from the worst of the attacks, allowing him to reach the passage in safety. Unfortunately there were more Gith beyond and he was surrounded. He commanded the fly to return to its ebony form and then used his mental powers to dimension door beyong the foes blocking his way. Not wanting to be pursued so closely, he turned and used his rod to discharge an electrical blast back the way he had come, catching most of his opponents in the crackling light. However this did more to enrage them than it did to slow them down, so he was forced to protect himself once more, this time with a number of mirror images to confuse the enemy.

Still not wanting to run with such a force at his back, Lanzi then let fly with a fireball into the already hurt Gith. This time most of them stayed down. Seizing the opportunity, Lanzi turned and fled down a flight of stairs. Finding a door in a small room at the bottom, he used his chime to unlock it and then sealed it behind him with a wizard lock.

With the immediate threat removed, Lanzi then proceeded down some more stairs with more caution. Finding another door at the bottom, he listened carefully and could hear the sounds of marching troops beyond. He waited patiently until it seemed that the troops had passed before unlocking the door, but could still hear some activity beyond.

Sprining through, he let off a spell that produced a myriad of rainbow colours, hypnotising the Gith that had been standing casually beyond. As they began wistfully following the spell, however, the other Gith that had been halted in the wide corridor took an interest in Lanzi's appearance! He started firing magic missles and lightning into them, but there were too many to hold back and he was forced to retreat back through the door. Running back to the door he had previously locked, he made his way through and then cast another mirror image whilst he decided what to do next - he was surrounded again!

Coming up with a cunning plan, Lanzi used his dweomer to disguise himself as a Gith and made his way quickly up the stairs to meet the enemy. Although they were suspicious of the mirror images, Lanzi was able to fool them into thinking that he was a Gith magic user that had been silenced and that they should proceed downstairs to find the human wizard that they had been fighting (there was much gesticulating with his hands).

Cancelling his other spells, but keeping his disguise intact, Lanzi made his way past them and down a different flight of stairs. As he went he passed more and more Gith, and it was clear that there was a vast army here. Eventually he came to a decorated room, with the Eye of Odin opposite him on the ceiling. To his right was a tree with the golden Sun behind it, to the left Fenris was seen above more stairs leading down, whilst behind him was a red dragon's head. On the wall to the right was a carving of three vertical swords, with the symbols of Tarranik, Balem and an unfamiliar one (). The central sword, with the symbol of Balem, was clearly Rakos. Two gems and a light blue ring were also carved into the wall, and there was a green gem in the ceiling. On the floor was a circle with Dwarven runes surrounding a symbol of a book in the centre.

As Lanzi stood taking in the room, a large Gith dressed in black, shimmering robes and with purple hair entered from the stairs to the left. He was flanked by two well armed bodyguards. Lanzi felt a great terror grip his heart and he sank to his knees, unable to move. The imposing Gith crossed to the carvings and ran his hands over the carving of Rakos, muttering an incantation. Whatever he was intending did not seem to work, though, and his mood was foul. He kicked Lanzi, not suspecting that he was anything other than a lower ranking Gith, and dispatched another minion somewhere before trying another spell on the carved wall, one that also did not work. Lanzi crawled away into a corner, but continued to watch what was happening - all that he could do with the terror stopping his limbs from responding. The large Gith in black robes

After a little time, the minion that the Gith had dispatched returned with a pouch. The large Gith took the pouch and produced a rod from within his robes. He pushed the pouch against the wall and started to use some dweomer, but there was a loud crack and he was thrown back away from the wall. At this the Gith turned in disgust and walked up the stairs out of the room. Some double-headed giants followed him, and they were followed by some female Gith - unarmoured and wearing flowing blue robes, but armed with long and short swords at their side.

Lanzi had regained contol of himself, and now found himself alone. He made his way downstairs at first, finding a storeroom with foodstuffs and basic supplies, but the exit was guarded and he was not able to proceed, despite his disguise. Returning to the decorated room he found the exits guarded here as well, and what was more there were reinforcements arriving that would soon fill the room. Not wanting to be forced to join the Gith, and not sure when his disguise would fail him, Lanzi made himself invisible before they arrived and pressed himself into a corner away from the entrances.

It was at this point that the rest of us opened the door into the room that he was hiding in, to find the Gith in front of us. We were to fight together once more against the Gith foe. Reunited

Lanzi caused a fireball to erupt in the centre of the Gith troops passing through the room. Taking advantage of the sudden confusion, Merc rushed forward and attempted to force the nearest Gith back away from the door. They stood firm, however, and he started to parry and cut too keep them under pressure. I called upon Odin to aid us in the fight - we would need his blessing to defeat such an overwhelming force. Meanwhile, Morwath called more thorny branches to sprout into the room to create a barrier that would slow any Gith trying to reach the door; maybe we could escape from this after all!

A thunderous blast of sound erupted from our right, where Lanzi was hiding, and swept all but one of the Gith before us away to the left. Unfortunately, it also swept Merc away, as he was locked in combat with them at the time. With the doorway now clear, Hintzu easily dispatched the last Gith with a flurry of well placed arrows. We would have to be quick, though - we could see the Gith fighting their way through the wall of thorns to reach us.

Their progress was made even more difficult when Morwath hurled a flame into the thorns, which caught and spread quickly until the whole room was ablaze and many of the Gith were seen to fall to the floor in agony. I called upon Odin to grant we sanctuary so that I could heal my friends without interruption and started to tend to the worst of the wounds.

Merc had made his way back to the doorway, but looked a little dazed and did not respond to our voices of warning as a Gith, still burning, emerged from the flames behind him. Morwath threw another flame from his hand, striking this new foe directly in the chest and causing him to gently fall backwards. He did not rise again.

No new threats were apparent, so we withdrew into the passage and sealed the door behind us. We were safe - or so we thought. It was at this point, as we continued to heal each other, that Lanzi told us his tale. We then decided to continue on our original path inside the Minas and took a flight of stairs down. It was good that we were being cautious now, as the stairs were trapped - stone blocks fell from the ceiling to smash against the steps and were then pulled up into the ceiling again by some ingenious device. We were able to weave our way between these hazards, though, to reach the room beyond.

We were in another entrance chamber. We could hear a faint horn blast from the Gith army outside, probably wondering where the next attack would come from by now! On our right was the concealed entrance door, and written on it was 'Brayfor, Litmeg' with the symbols of Hama'las and Roderus. We did not wish to leave the Minas, so we retraced our steps back to the hall with the 5th Age decoration and turned our attention to the spiral stairs on our left.

The stairs were an illusion! Hidden beyond them was a door that took us into another hallway. Above the doorway we entered through were carved flames rising from the wall, opposite us we could see the Eye of Odin, to our left was the face of a wolf and to the right an Elf (Frey). On the wall to our right was a tapestry showing a mountain range with a forest below it, opposite was a Dwarf army being lead by a Dwarf bearing the symbol of Baradun under the banner of Thor. On the wall behind us were depicted the armies of Demogorgon, and to our left their baggage train was being decimated by the Dwarves. On the floor was a scene showing Baradun being cleaved in two by Demogorgon whilst Brolgun looked on - the Sun was behind them and Men were shown riding into battle against the forces of evil, who were being reinforced.

As we explored the room we heard a great crash echoing down the halls, but apparently from our left. We decided to make haste and ran to a flight of stairs leading up beneath the Eye of Odin, opposite where we entered. The stairs doubled back on themselves as they rose, and we entered a large well-lit room directly above the one we had just come from. Standing warily in the centre of the room were half a dozen armed Dwarves, watching our entrance with interest. Beside them were two of their colleagues, unfortunately they had been slain and it appeared as if we had interrupted an embalming ceremony or funeral of some kind. A group of Dwarves stood in the centre of the room

Although the Dwarves were clearly the focus of our attention, the chamber that they occupied was also of some interest. On the ceiling to our left were shown wolves leaping from the edge of Bifrost Bridge, whilst to our right Elves were loosing arrows at them. Opposite was Thor, charging towards the fight, whilst behind us were the now familiar flames. On the wall opposite we could see Brolgun swinging his axe and wading through an army of Tanar'ri bearing the mark of Orcus, and beside him was a female Dwarf with the symbol of Zem - the scene shown as if being witnessed from the top of a mountain. To our right was a tower with the symbol of Maedus shown being taken by the allies and Orcus' wand symbol being torn from its top; visible in this scene were Brolgun, a Half Elf mage with the symbol and two other Dwarves that we did not recognise, one with the symbol wearing a three pointed crown, and the other with the symbol . To our left was a scene showing Orcus, with his wand, being confronted by Brolgun, the Half Elf and two samurai. Behind us was the Half Elf (again) fighting a great Balrog - in this fight the Half Elf had a dark blue ring, but was missing a finger.

The Dwarves seemed exhausted, but had their weapons readied. It was clear that they had been defending the Minas from the Gith invasion that we had encountered, but if these were the only Dwarves left then they had fought a losing battle. After reassuring them that we were not enemies, three of the Dwarves introduced themselves as brothers of the House of Hamar - Barash, Lord of Hama'Las, Grimnar, Lord of Aarda, and Crumnar. They had indeed been fighting a guerrilla action against the besieging Gith army, and they did not know where any of their comrades were, if there were any left alive.

Another Dwarf stepped forward to introduce himself. He was dressed in a light blue cloak without any visible armour beneath it; he had long dark hair that flowed into his beard beneath clear blue eyes. He was Helmfor of the House of Zem, and introduced Furgor, Lord of Kaled Zem, and Carnak, Lord of Minas Emras. Helmfor was now Lord of the House of Zem, as the figure he had been tending to was Nashg and had been slain in battle with the Gith invaders. Helmfor was agitated and cursed the fact that his noble House was no more. He insisted that we must leave before it was too late.

At once discussion was joined as to the best escape route. The Gith had come from Hama'Las and held all the portals in that realm, so returning there was ruled out straightaway. Apparently an undead man on a black dragon covered the roof, so there could be no easy escape in that direction. It was agreed that we would head for a Dwarven portal at one of the entrance chambers to the Minas; the Dwarves could activate the portal once we got there, and there were many to choose from should we encounter the foe blocking our route. We were to head for the lowest level, reasoning that the defences were strongest there and the Gith were more likely to break in at the higher levels.

Our plan of action decided upon, we made our way hastily down the stairs to the room below. Our new companions explained the decoration as we passed - this room depicted the Battle of Ereador in the Fifth Age where Brolgun took up the throne after Baradun was killed. As we passed through this room towards the secret door opposite, we heard the sounds of pursuit from the side - the Gith had breached the Minas!

We ran for the exit and sealed it behind us, hopefully the Gith would not notice the concealed exit and would not be able to pursue us. The Dwarves were making good headway and continued ahead of us on the agreed route. I was struggling; the armour that had served me so well in our many battles was now a hindrance and it was clear that I could not keep up the pace. Lanzi and Morwath stayed by the sealed door to guard our rear, whilst Hintzu picked me up bodily and began to run with me! His strength was greater than his unassuming manner suggested. I thought back to the fight that he had won in the monastery in Sutur and for the first time felt pity for his opponent who had suffered the full force of his blows.

My mind was brought back to the present with a crash. It sounded as if the Gith had made another entry behind us, and a roar could be heard to our side. We had to make haste! Passing through the room depicting the Battle of Bardun (so the Dwarves would tell us later), we continued our flight through the fourth age level of the Minas. Lanzi was now the slowest, and Merc delayed to ensure his safety. The Gith were gaining on us, and began to emerge at the top of the stairs we were passing.

Merc shouted for us to continue and then threw himself quite literally at the front line of Gith, sending them clattering down the stairs and taking those behind with them. Lanzi stopped, clearly out of breath, but then uttered something under his breath and leapt forwards an incredible distance - it seemed that he intended to keep up by some use of dweomer. Upon seeing this, a look of realisation came across Morwath's face and then he too was jumping incredible distances, keeping pace with Lanzi.

Hintzu set me down and turned to join Merc in covering our retreat. I was a little more refreshed now and set off after the Dwarves, intent on not losing sight of them in case we ended up separated. Lanzi stopped as we left the room and urged Merc and Hintzu to get behind him so that he could use his dweomer. In seconds a wall of force sprang into existence, blocking the passage behind us and giving us a chance to lengthen our lead.

With this advantage, we were able to run down through the levels to reach the twin sarcophagus room, whereupon we knew that we had almost reached our goal. Our route was to the left, but we could hear sounds of pursuit to our right and the echoing boom of an explosion to our front. We might have to fight after all! The Dwarves were in the golden room below us, and we regrouped by the entrance to hold off the foe. Lanzi just made it to us as the first Gith emerged, increasing their pace as they set eyes upon us. Merc called upon Freya to slow their charge, and the room filled with conjured caltrops that sank deeply into the feet of the Gith. Lanzi added to their discomfort by greasing the floor with his dweomer, causing more than one to fall on the spiked caltrops around them. Morwath added the final touch, calling forth more thorns to fill the room behind us. The few Gith that managed to reach us were cut down swiftly by Merc and Hintzu. Caltrops covered the floor.

Realising that we were relatively safe for now, Lanzi hurried down to the Dwarves and urged them to activate the portal that was just a short passage away. I positioned myself between the two groups, ready to call our companions away as soon as our escape route was open. The Dwarves opened the door and made their way up the passage, chanting to open the final door beyond. As it cracked open the Dwarves slowed their pace and cursed - standing in the room beyond was the Gith Lord that Lanzi had encountered earlier!

Fortunately we had surprised him, and the Dwarves took the opportunity to charge forward. I ran behind them, passing Lanzi and shouting a warning to Merc that we were now fighting on two fronts. Lanzi was using his dweomer again, and I saw a glowing sword appear ahead and begin to make cuts at the Gith Lord. He staggered back as Lanzi uttered more words of power, and whatever he had been planning for us was interrupted. The Lord was not alone, and he had both his bodyguards as well as many minions.

Crossbow bolts hammered into the Gith, fired by the second line of Dwarves, and a fireball exploded in their midst. Perhaps we could turn the tables on them. The flames began to rise, filling the room and burning many of the Gith. The Gith Lord, however, did not seem affected and was ignoring the sword that was attempting to press more attacks home. I called upon Odin to silence those in the room ahead, hoping to prevent a magical riposte that could do us serious damage whilst in the narrow passage. The attempt did not work, though, and an icy blast ripped through our ranks causing ice to form on our weapons and armour. The pain was only just bearable, but Lanzi managed to get his spell off just before being hit.

The Dwarves swapped ranks, the battered front rank falling back to cover their comrades with crossbows. Lanzi loosed magic missles at the Gith Lord, but to no effect. One missile did hit home, though - Merc had joined the fight and his aim with a bow was true. I called upon Odin's favour once more to silence our foe, knowing that any more icy blasts could finish us. As I did so, a rainbow coloured display of light wound its way down towards us and past us along the passage beyond. I shook my head and turned my attention back to the battle, but Lanzi seemed enthralled and turned to follow the display, walking back down the passage.

More arrows smacked into the Gith Lord, hurting him badly now. Desperation turned into exhultation as the supposedly mighty foe turned and ran from us! Merc was beside me now and looked hurt, so I gave him Odin's blessing to heal some of his wounds, but I could not do much for him. Knowing Merc he would probably give chase anyway, but what of Lanzi, how could we protect him if we went on?

Merc decided that the Gith Lord was too important to allow to escape, especially as we knew that he held a shard of the Sarnim Stone, and we were ordered to give chase. Morwath sprinted ahead, with me following to provide light, but there was a closed door ahead that would not open. Hintzu overtook us as we approached it, not slowing his pace, and slammed into the door. In a flash of light and oddly coloured sparks the door was shattered and pushed aside.

In the room beyond our target was standing facing the door; a female Gith stood behind him with her arms outstretched looking as if she had just worked some dweomer. There were four Gith guarding the door, and more were marching across the room from a stairwell on the right to a door on the left. The Gith Lord had a huge sword drawn, almost 7' long, and looked fully recovered, ready for a fight. The sword had a twisted image of a rampant horse on the blade, as if it had been forged from part of another sword, and the pommel had a half black shrunken skull embedded in it. Merc let loose an arrow and it found its mark, but it was shrugged off - he had been healed!

The Gith Lord ran forward, ignoring his minions, and swept the foul sword in a powerful arc that decapitated Morwath with one blow! With the back stroke he dealt Hintzu a mighty blow that sent him staggering back and seemed to grow even healthier, the arrow falling from his chest as his skin reknitted. At this point I was standing in the area that I had silenced earlier, and I hurried forward so that I could call upon Odin to aid my friends, or what was left of them. Merc also charged forward, yelling 'For Bavarik!', to take Morwath's place.

Both Merc and Hintzu used all their martial skill to land blow upon blow on the Gith Lord, working in concert to prevent him from avoiding their weapons. Their heroic efforts paid off, as the Gith Lord fell - his sword falling from his grasp. The Dwarves let up a great cheer at the sight of the foe who had caused them such misery finalling falling in battle.

Merc dragged the body back into the corridor, shouting for Hintzu to gather the blade to avoid the enemy reclaiming it. Hintzu pulled the hilt of the weapon back, sliding it down the corridor, but felt a nasty jolt when he touched it that opened a minor laceration on his hand. He shouted back to us to beware the sword as it felt evil to his touch. The Gith that had been guarding the door were demoralised by their leader's death and made a hasty retreat through the other exits, and a new horn note was sounded, hopefully informing the rest of their army of the news. The Dwarves jogged from behind us to secure the exits.

Meanwhile Lanzi had recovered his wits and was making his way back towards us. Gith were trying to cut him off, but at the sound of the horn they started to withdraw leaving only one that was determined to make his kill. Lanzi defended himself with a Mirror Image spell, giving the Gith an array of targets to deal with. Hintzu, though, seeing that there was no longer a threat in our vicinity had made his way back to look for Lanzi, and came across the combat. Again he did not check his advance, but barrelled into the Gith sending it crashing to the ground. Lanzi made to stamp on its head, but snagged his foot in his robe and it was all he could do to stay upright. Hintzu picked the Gith up bodily and threw it towards the far stairs, urging Lanzi to rejoin the party. Lanzi wanted to stay and finish his opponent, but when Hintzu told him what had happened to Morwath he was shocked and agreed to leave.

I grabbed Morwath, and his head, and started to make my way back down the corridor. Not heeding Hintzu's warning, Merc attempted to pick up the evil sword that lay in the corridor, but as soon as he touched it he fell to the ground unconscious, the blood draining from his face. Now standing with two bodies beside me, I shouted to Crumnor for aid. Two of the Dwarves turned back to help me, whilst another shouted back that the Gith were fleeing so fast that they had left their baggage.

Hintzu returned, with Lanzi following, and Lanzi was shocked to see the bodies laying at my feet. We all warned Lanzi not to touch the evil sword that had caused such carnage. The Dwarves reported that it seemed safe for the time being, and that they had secured the Gith baggage. Hintzu went to investigate the horde, whilst Merc slowly recovered due to his magical ring. When he did recover he held a discussion with the Dwarves, and they made it clear that they now intended to stay in the Minas and locate their missing bretheren.

Whilst this was happening, Lanzi was agitatedly searching for Si-Ti-Qa, looking through the Gith Lord's possessions, then running up and down corridors and finally searching through the baggage for anything that might be trapping Si-Ti-Qa inside. There were stacks of chests and boxes to go through, and it took the combined efforts of Hintzu and the Dwarves to divide the useless supplies from the coins and the items of interest. Whilst this was being done I communed with Odin to recover some of his blessing, and Lanzi wailed and despaired until a few items that might contain Si-Ti-Qa came to light.

Merc was sufficently recovered now to turn his attention to Morwath, and his head was laid in place and the ring of regeneration placed on his finger. With Morwath attended to, Merc studied the sword again. To our surprise it was able to speak to us, and told Merc to leave it alone when he came near to it. Merc decided to commune with Freya to seek guidance. When he did so he was told that 'what was once for good is now lost, what was made for our God is now for Hel; there is no way to recover it. The Ring of Regeneration that has saved so many lives

Immediately after this, Merc experienced a vision. Merc was standing on the bank of an enormous river and the wide bridge before him spanned it with six large arches. The bridge was decorated with parapets and each arch had a tall column above it with a statue at the top. Beyond the bridge was a garden in blossom and the road split to pass around it. There were a number of expensive buildings beyond this surrounding a central square, and he could see a columned building decorated with the Eye of Odin. Docks lined the river and boats were moored, apparently transports for the wealthy, and bearing the symbols of Tannarack and Me Lai. In a split second, the boats were gone and the bridge holed. Some of the buildings were aflame, and Merc's army was fighting the Gith to hold the bridge. He could make out his Captain, Caladhor, fighting in the centre of the bridge, and he seemed to be looking directly at Merc asking for aid. Merc was enveloped by a sphere of glowing light and his wounds all disappeared in a matter of seconds, he apparently had found new purpose and quickly outlined what he had seen and decided that we must go to their aid. Morwath was well on his way to recovery and things were finally looking up for the party.

Lanzi took a closer look at the items of interest that had been separated from the rest of the baggage, and used his dweomer to learn more about them. One item that stood out without the need for dweomer was an elaborately decorated breastplate that Lanzi confirmed was Silmar's breastplate, and was rightly claimed by Merc. The shard of the Sarnim Stone that we had seen the Gith Lord carrying had been recovered from his body and Merc divined that it was chaotic in nature, but neither good nor evil. It was agreed that Lanzi should carry this, as he was least likely to be affected by this shard. I asked Odin for guidance on the shard that was carried by Morwath, and I learnt that it was imbued with an ordered but evil nature, and I returned it swiftly to Morwath.

Lanzi presented me with a stout rod that apparently could be used to smite creatures as if it were a mace, and with the right command could do a great deal of damage. I resolved to try this at the next opportunity, should I be unfortunate enough to enter combat (an all too frequent occurrance since I joined this party, but a necessary one). There was also a candle that could increase my ability to channel Odin's power when it was lighted, and even call upon his aid directly if such an occasion should be warranted. I carefully put away such a mighty artefact. Many scrolls were found, and they were divided appropriately between Morwath, Lanzi and I.

Lanzi's spirits lifted somewhat when he found an apparently empty bottle that was actually used to imprison creatures - he spoke the command word to release whatever was inside, and thankfully the creature that appeared was Si-Ti-Qa! He seemed unharmed, but was very unhappy about his enforced separation from Lanzi. Lanzi, on the other hand, was overjoyed at their reunion. We were all relieved that Lanzi's attention would turn once again to our quest.

With Lanzi now responding to Merc's leadership again, we sought his guidance on the evil sword that had caused such destruction earlier. He used the scabbard, retrieved from the Gith Lord, to sheathe and pick up the weapon safely, berating it and throwing off any influence that the malevolent intelligence within might try to put over him. However, he was unable to suggest any course of action that might make it safe or destroy it. It was a powerful source of evil, though, and Merc was unwilling to abandon it in case it might fall once again into enemy hands.

Remembering the candle that I had just retrieved from the Gith baggage, I suggested that I might call directly upon Odin to aid in the removal of such evil from our world. As no one else had any suggestions, I proceeded to light the candle and begin the incantations that would bring my Lord Odin's attention to our plight. As I completed the ceremony, a section of the wall shimmered and the voices of the Gods were heard in the corridor. I was awed to hear Odin's voice so directly as he commanded another speaker to go to answer the summons for help. A tall humanoid figure stepped through the gateway into our world, and we all fell to our knees in supplication. The figure was a beautifully dressed Elf with the bright burning orb of the Sun hanging around his neck, and I recognised him from Merc's commune in the forest outside Sutur as Frey himself - we were in the presence of a God!

He acknowledged Merc first, as he was a worshipper of Freya, and then took in the rest of us. His voice was forceful but benevolent as he asked why we had summoned assistance. Merc and I spoke of our desire to rid the world of this evil sword, that it might be beyond evil's reach. He recognised the work of Hel within it, and Merc said that he believed that the thing robbed people of their souls, preventing them from crossing the Bifrost Bridge. Frey was concerned by this, as he was by Hel's meddling with our world once more, and agreed to take the sword to Odin that he might decide what to do with it. With a call to the portal of 'I am returning' he bid us well and vanished, leaving no trace that he had been there but taking the sword as far from the hands of evil as it could go. Everyone was impressed with my ability to call on the Gods, but in truth it was the power of the blessed candle that had allowed such a fear, and it had been completely consumed in the process.

Merc was keen to go to the aid of his army, having seen their peril in his vision, but Lanzi insisted that we speak to the Dwarves to learn as much as we could before leaving. Merc agreed and asked them why Aarda was so often fought over. They replied that it had been the beacon of light since the First Age, through the palantirs. It held sway over Hama'Las and Amras Aarda, although there was no treasure there as there was at Zundar. One White Council had met at Aarda, making it the headquarters of good forces for a time. It was rebuilt by Gloun after Eomere's armies laid siege to Aarda for nine years. Gloun led the force that took it back, a great victory in 940 (Fourth Age?) for good. Iki-Moko was led into Aarda from within whilst Eomere tried to gain access from without. Gloun suceeded in gaining access from within, but Iki-Moko was a traitor who eventually ended Gloun's life. Iki-Moko took a gem of strife and mischief from Aarda to Sutur, but was later driven from Sutur, and the Dwarves did not know what had happened to him thereafter.

Grumnar was suspicious of our questions, and wanted to know why we asked such things and what we were doing in Aarda. The last time such questions were asked, Gloun ended up in a noose. We assured him that we were for good, and that we offered council were we could, although we were not fully representative in such things. Grumnar admitted that few Elves had fought alongside the Dwarves recently, and discussions of the lore we knew continued.

Apparently Rakos was taken on the death of Gloun, but what happened to it after that they did not know. Balor was the Balrog seen in the Third Age (855-865), and its symbol was the flaming whip - seen above the armies of the Tanari'i. Taneth was the Sea Elf son of Tarranack who weilded the sword of Agan. Hangar wielded Rakos. Iynrahir (not sure of spelling) was the Half Elf son of Bavarik. Garag was given the Ring of Air around that time. Also in the Third Age, Namura picked up a shard whilst tending to a woodland shrine. Yosho-Ishi received a shard and met with Garag. All the sword bearers were there at the end of Balor. At Nega, Mariku received a shard, but later lost it. Balor was a Balrog, a foul demon of fire and shadow.

In the Fith Age, Curial (a Priest of Odin and part of the White Council) was killed by Iki-Moko. Crucially, we then deduced that Iki-Moko had fled to the Western lands and changed his name to Malor. Similarly, Dor-Draug had changed his name to Guerin. Dor-Draug had been dominated by Iki-Moko, though, and was now a Lich. We were fighting the same foes now as had been fought through the last few Ages!

Hintzu was still feeling drained by the evil sword's influence and I used one of the scrolls we had found to ease his spirit's torment. Odin's power had truely touched us and we had held firm against the invading foe. There were many threats to be faced still, though. The Dwarves asked for aid in retaking Minas Emras, which had fallen in the North, and asked us to take council at Sutur. Merc's army was in need of help at Calahar. Morwath wished to journey to the Vikriain in bird form to seek aid from fellow Druids.

Merc decided that we would first travel to Calahar to aid his army in the defence of the town. We made our way back to the top of the Minas, where we originally met the Dwarves, with the intention of flying from the roof. We had two methods of flying, an ebony fly and a pegasus statue, both of which took the form of steeds when commanded.

Out on the rooftop we found a huge pentagram in the centre, with a pedestal at one side that was dipped in the centre, as if to hold a sphere of some kind. Two pillars rose high into the air at the opposite side of the pentagram to the pedestal. It was just before dawn and the air was icy cold, our breath visible as steaming clouds. Above us the stars were still visible and the sky was clear, the Moon almost full. A cliff face rose to one side, whilst the other sides dropped away in a dizzyingly precipitous drop. Below us we could just make out broad stairs leading down and they were choked with the retreating Gith army, which wound its way to the South.

Whilst this view was impressive, our attention was taken by a dragon-like creature circling above us, dark brown with a scorpion stinger on its tail. Its bright red eyes fixed on us and it swooped to attack, reaching down with its only two legs in an attempt to pluck us off the open rooftop. Hintzu quickly loosed arrows at the thing as it dived and landed some solid hits. He must have caused it some distress, because it failed to connect with any of us and succeeded only in becoming a target for Merc's weapons. It tried to escape into the air, badly wounded, but Hintzu was able to finish it off with more arrows before it could get clear. It's body tumbled down to the rocky outcrops below, and was broken apart with the impact.

lanzi tried approaching the pentagram with the Codicil open to see whether it could aid in the use of the device, but there was no response so we continued with the original plan. The steeds were dutifully summoned, although I had to call on Odin once more to make us light enough to continue. After this minor inconvenience we set off South, flying down the side of the ridge past the Gith army and then dropping close to the ground so that we could land if we were step upon by more flying creatures.