Chronicle - Zundar

Taking Stock

When the fighting was done and the defences secured, we all made our way to the courtyard in front of Lastar's Tower to take stock of the situation. There we were met by a weakened Lady Gwendolyn being attended to by the Castellan, and she announced "and so it begins" in her usual enigmatic way. Before discussing what was to be done, there were greetings and introductions to be made. I met with Merc and Morweth for the first time, and thanked them for their aid; it was sure that without the army they had gathered the defenders would never have been able to hold back the foe, even with the aid of the great Dracor Augustus. The dragon seemed happy to have helped us, and said that a friend of his would likely want to speak with us, a River Dragon called Si Ling.

Merc wished us to meet the leader of the Elven forces that had aided us, Elerienne, who the Lady Gwendolyn divined was at the Keep. As the Lady was tired and we wished to discuss what needed to be done next, we all retired to the Keep.

Elerienne was indeed at the Keep, and introductions were made. She wore a single pointed crown of platinum with a violet gem set at the front. She was beautiful in appearance, despite the recent bloodshed, although a little too slight for my tastes. Merc seemed taken with her, though, and I could see how she could win the hearts of men.

Merc made a bold statement that a marker had been set down here, and that no longer would evil be allowed to advance - we would fight for good in this land until it had been overcome. His commitment was appreciated, although he may have been a little over dramatic, perhaps because of the presence of the two ladies. The Lady Gwendolyn, though, was glad of his words and said that she was tired of being the sole bastian of light in these lands. In truth she was right, our people were weary of living under constant threat, a threat that seemed ever to get worse. Hintzu revealed the ring that we had recovered from Bolgar, a small but significant step on the way to defeating this evil. The Lady Gwendolyn was pleased, but was too tired to remain whilst we planned and took her leave with the Castellan.

Merc spoke to Lanzi, who had proved that he knew more than all of us of the threat that we faced. He asked how we could defeat the evil for good, so that it could not rise again as it had continued to do through the ages. Lanzi admitted that he did not know enough to give a full answer, but it was sure that to completely destroy the evil it would have to be beaten and finished on its own plane of existence, it could not be done on our plane

Lanzi then made a surprising announcement, that he had seen Elerienne before in a vision. He then described the vision to us. Elerienne presented Hintzu with the Key of Kagrash that Lanzi had seen in his vision, and also gave us a map of the Eastern lands to aid in our travels. She told us that there are stairs from the centre of Balem lakes that lead to Zundar, the hidden Dwarven hall. The key showed her the way to the door and also opened it. The Dwarves fashioned the realm to hide something, but we do not know what. We asked to hear more of here journey within, and she told of one room that had a pentagram with Dwarven runes around it, and light shimmered over one point of the pentagram. She threw herself into the light and ended up in a prison in a worse place, but was no longer pursued. When she finally made her way out into daylight again she was in the Iron Mountains.

This started a lengthy discussion about the lore that we had come across and how it fitted together. I will attempt to record it here, although the narrative may appear disjointed since our discussion tended to flit between subjects.

The Sarnim Stone was named after Lastar, as his full name was Lastar Sarnim. The shards of the Sarnim stone were scattered throughout the realms of Elves, Dwarfs and Men. Some, perhaps even all, of these shards affect those that hold them. Lastar created the Sarnim stone using the power of a crown and the elemental rings, and he also created a staff in which to wield the stone. Lastar broke the Sarnim stone with Orcus' wand. Unglak's father, a gnome, found a stone that was held by Balem as his treasure.

Elerienne held bad memories of Iki-moto and was initially suspicious of Hintzu, but she accepted that he was different. The power that the combined rings grants the wearer could change a man, as they did Iki-moto, so we must all be watchful and supportive of Hintzu as he gathers the rings. In Odin's name I would rather strike him down than allow such power to be put to evil purpose.

Guerin is not the only Lich in history. Another Lich killed Bavarik and his sword was broken into three piece, which were recovered. Three swords were used in the 3rd Age by Men, Elves and Dwarves to battle a winged demon, and it is likely that each sword was made from a piece of Bavarik's original sword. We also learned that Rantor is dead but not dead, and could be a Dracolich.

Mei-Lai holds the Ring of Air.

Si Ling, the River Dragon, is a Blue Dragon that lives in the South, not far beyond Naga. She is older than Dracor.

After retiring for the night, we woke refreshed and began to equip ourselves for another journey. Merc took me into the forest with him to commune with his God, Freya. By Odin's beard, I have never seen the like! My faith is strong, but I had never thought to set eyes upon my Lord - yet we were visited by Freyr seemingly in person before us! He told us that "What Gelmir wore for us in times of old was taken as a trophy by the serpent of red." We were then granted a vision. We saw a fat priest and a cloaked, shrivelled man standing over the body of a man in a grey cloak that had been struck down by a dragon. The dragon breathed fire at them, and the priest shielded them both before they turn and flee. Pulled back by the dragon, the priest's backpack was ripped off and a crown with four points and red gems set in it fell to the ground. The dragon killed the men and took the crown to its hoard. The vision ended, Freyr told us that what we had seen was Gelmir's prize. He also bade us take heart, as not all is for ill. Merc questioned Freyr about Lanzi's vision and the hidden Dwarven hall, but was told only that "Zundar is hidden to us all." Merc was also told that Freya looks upon Elerienne now, and has tasks for her.

Hintzu challenged a monk at the monastery in Sutur so that he might advance his skills and prove himself in battle. It was a close fight, but Hintzu bested the man and has been accepted by the order as a skilled unarmed warrior. Training and meditation within the monastery honed his skills and he emerged more formidable than ever before.

I asked the Castellan for permission to be released from his service in order to accompany the party on their continued adventures. I felt that I had glimpsed just a small part of the good deeds that needed to be done, and their purpose was far greater than the defence of Sutur, or even the lands around it. Our quest was no less than the banishment of evil from all the lands of this world; Odin guided me onto this path and I must follow it to its conclusion. The good Castellan did not try to stay me, as he knew my words rang true.

Dragon's Flight

We were agreed that we would have to journey to Zundar in search of more information, hopefully what we found would give us guidance on how best to proceed from there. Dracor agreed to carry us to the Balem Lakes, which would save us many days in travel, and a wicker travel cage was constructed to allow us to rest on the way.

We first flew over Malek, then Kaled Zem and the Old Forest and from there East towards Balem. This journey took 3 days and was spent in bad weather for the most part. As we flew East on the fourth day, the weather had improved somewhat and an autumnal scene of forest and mountains cheered us with its beauty. This good cheer was short lived, however, as a great sense of foreboding grew amongst us. A terrible, unnatural cry could be heard on the wind coming from the North, from out of the badlands. A black flying beast came from the North, shrouded from our eyes in a dark cloud. Dracor quickened his pace, and we were thrown about in our travelling cage as his great wings beat harder.

Despite Dracor's efforts, we were quickly enveloped in the black cloud that proved to be hot and foul smelling. Dracor warned us that the beast was upon us, and dived low to gather speed. He insisted that we should get off and hide ourselves, allowing him to draw the creature South. There was much argument at this suggestion, as many did not wish to abandon our new friend so quickly and would have prefered to stand and fight. Dracor argued that he would have a better chance at outrunning the foe if he did not have to carry us, and that it would be folly to face such a foe without proper preparation. Eventually, and reluctantly, it was agreed that we would be dropped off. We alighted, jumping quickly down and cutting the cage from his back. Merc blessed Dracor in a blaze of golden light, and Lanzi uttered an incantation that hastened the dragon's movements beyond his natural abilities. With a leap and a powerful downdraft from his wings he disappeared into the mist.

We found ourselves alone, shrouded in fog or cloud in a bitter wind. Shivering, we found it impossible to find our bearings; in the chase we had travelled some distance and knew only that we were in the general area of Balem. As protection against the cold, and the threat of discovery by whatever pursued us, Lanzi called into being a magical hut that was warm and sheltered whilst invisible from the outside. This conjuration came just in time, as the creature flew low over our position. It took the form of a dragon, but only its bones were visible and it was clear that this was a Dracolith. Upon its back was an evil, horrible oriental man. He wore a crown and wielded a sword that glowed red. Was this Tuar Chan? Whoever it was, a feeling of dread swept through us as they passed over and we dare not move until they were long gone.

As we rested in our sanctuary the fog began to lift and eventually we could make out Balem Lakes in the distance, some two leagues off. The terrain in between was rocky and undulating, and the mountains rose into the clouds to one side. On our other side was a scree slope leading down to more gentle slopes. We skidded down the slope, intending to make our way towards the lakes by an easier route. Once we had gathered at the bottom we found that we could not see the lakes anymore. After some discussion it was suggested that we use the key that Elerienne had given us as a guide, if it showed her the way then it might do the same for us. Sure enough, the key seemed to act like a compass - it pointed in a specific direction when allowed to. Unfortunately, the direction it pointed in was back up the slope that we had just come down! Putting aside our disappointment, we climbed the difficult slope following the key's guidance. After some time we came across a faint path leading to the right, and the key directed us along this path.

Cold Mountain

We followed the path and after some distance we came across stairs hewn out of the rock leading up to our left. We could not see where they lead becuase of the cloud, but after an hour's climb it seemed to our aching legs that they lead to the heavens themselves! During the next half an hour the stairs narrowed and the air got progressively colder. The stairs veered to the left and got steeper, and we eventually came to the snowline. It was only the exertion of climbing that was keeping us warm. The stairs were now slippery with snow and ice, and a precipitous drop fell away to our right whilst a steep cliff rose to the left. The stairs continued to wind steeply upwards until the cliff on the left started to flatten off into a small plateau.

As we climbed to the level of this plateau we were set upon by beasts, having intruded into their territory. Although small, these golden furred creatures proved to be formidable opponents, having eight legs each and what appeared to be solid copper claws and teeth. One of them rushed forward and clamped itself to Lanzi's leg, raking him with its many claws, whilst the other fought with Merc at the front. We were restricted by the drop beside us, but this did not seem to bother Hintzu; fearlessly he leapt right over Merc to attack the creature from behind - fortunately he kept his footing despite the treacerous conditions. His attack, combined with Mercs, finished off the animal and allowed us to concentrate on the other. Once it was despatched we took a moment to tend to our wounds.

Lanzi then decided that he wanted the pelt of one to turn into a cloak at some point. This caused much argument, as Merc did not think it was appropriate to spoil a creature in this way - after all they had only been protecting their territory and had not been evil creatures. I felt that it would be inadvisable, as any delay would expose us to the cold more than necessary. Lanzi, though, would not be deterred and set about skinning one of the animals. As soon as he was done we set off again, following the stairs up, but noticably colder than we had been before.

We climbed for another hour, the stairs getting no easier to traverse. Then we heard that accursed cry of the Dracolith again, all dropping flat instinctively with fear. After a few moments silence we rose to continue with some haste. Our progress was blocked a little later with a shear cliff in front of us. The key directed us straight up, but there was no easy way to progress.

Hintzu was the best climber amongst us, and set off up the cliff face using a gem of brightness to help him find handholds. He took with him a rope of climbing and a normal rope joined together, which he attached to the top of the cliff. He then climbed back down to us, at one point losing his grip in the cold and falling, but using the rope of climbing to stop himself. By this time we were really feeling the cold, exposed as we were on a narrow ledge. I called on Odin to grant me a flame, using it to warm hands in anticipation of the climb to come. Meanwhile, Merc used the ropes to climb to the top and then started to pull Lanzi up, attached to the end.

Suddenly we found ourselves plunged into a thick fog at the bottom of the cliff, whilst at the top Merc was surrounded by grey Stork-like birds. Whistling and hooting, the birds dived at Merc and Lanzi, stabbing with black, needle-like beaks. Merc could not fight effectively whilst holding Lanzi, so he used a scroll to summon a Fire Elemental to protect him. At the bottom we did not know what was happening, but could tell from the noise above that a fight of some kind had started, and the sudden way the fog appeared suggested that it was not natural. I called upon Odin's power to destroy the water around us, thus removing the fog and allowing us to see the danger. Lanzi was in a predicament, being unable to fight or defend himself without risking falling to his death; his dweomer is strong, though, and he was able to teleport himself straight to the top of the cliff, appearing just a little off the ground and landing safely. With both groups now able to fight effectively the birds suffered losses and dispersed into the gloom.

We were able to regroup at the top without being molested whilst we climbed, and found ourselves on a wider ledge leading off to the right. Still following the key we set off up this new path, which twisted to the left climbing steeply upwards. After yet another hour's trek the key suddenly veered to point at the rockface beside us. Allowing the key to touch the rock, we located the lock and a silvery trace of a door appeared around it. The runes above the door read "The Hidden Source", meaning 'Zundar' in Dwarvish. We had found our destination at last.

Halls of Zundar

The key opened the door easily, and we entered a now familiar scene of Dwarven skeletons and discarded weapons scattered around a once opulent hall. The Dwarves' equipment bore the mark of Balem. The ceiling was domed and covered in gold gilt, whilst the floor was smooth beneath the debris. Carvings adorned the walls.

To the North was Loki wearing a black komodo, drinking wine and holding a dagger dripping blood. At his feet was a mountain range with the symbol of Emras under the mountains. To the East was an off-white wolf snarling from the wall, unchained. To the South was Odin looking with disdain at Loki with his arm around Lastar's shoulder. To the West the Sun was rising behind an oak tree, beneath which was scribbled some Elven script:

For all it is worth, a stone it remains, Cold, black and with lifeless veins; A priceless gift from Unglak we hear, A terrible torment and misery we fear.

The answer to our Elven prayers Dragged from the depths and evil lairs; What use is rock when wood's alight? What use riches against a Devil's might?

Gelmir

On the floor was a large carving of a violet rose. The centre was bright violet, and someone had scratched an inscription there that read:

First fire, for Rantor has shown me its power And with it I will burn that pallid flower I have seen the webs Marilliath doth weave But without the Ring she can no longer deceive.

Then water, hidden under the Dragon's Tower. Artefacts were not meant to be bartered for power, With their Ring I will cause Dor's doom And use it to drown their petty bloom.

Earth will be next with Lei Kung's aid, And the worshippers of light will be repaid. Hamar's house will not keep darkness out For Dwarven greed makes them less devout.

Led through darkness by Dwarven hand, The Dark Wolf's death I will command. Finally, the very air you breathe, Will be mine to do with as I please.

Iki-Moko

Looking for a way forward, we could just make out a door in the Eastern wall that would have been all but invisible if not for the fact that it was slightly ajar. Beyond this door a short corridor lead to another room where we disturbed a lair of huge two-headed trolls that charged at us with feral ferocity. Backing into the corridor to restrict their advance, Lanzi launched a fireball at them. Whilst this enraged the trolls it did not seem to slow them down! We fought them at the entrance to the previous hall, and just managed to hold them there. Then one of the foul creatures managed to bite into Merc's shoulder, and to our horror he turned to stone before our eyes!

This loss gave the trolls an opening, and one surged past our defences towards Lanzi. Lanzi launched another fireball into the press of trolls we were fighting - a selfless act that turned the tide of the battle in our favour. However, the scream of shock and horror he gave as the other troll closed on him suggested that he might not have realised the danger he was in. In a moment Lanzi too had been petrified. Fortunately, Hintzu was able to despatch this last troll, allowing us to consider how we could help the two unfortunate statues.

After a period of bewilderment, we were able to use Merc's ring of regeneration to bring life back to their flesh, and before long they had made a full recovery.

Cautiously, we advanced into the room where the trolls had been lurking. There was treasure, bones, half eaten bodies and other bits of meat all over the room, and it had obviously been the lair of the creatures for some time. A damaged tapestry hung from the wall opposite the entrance that depicted a meeting of Dwarves with Lastar. Lastar was at one end, with a dwarf bearing the symbol of Balem opposite him. The houses represented, clockwise from Lastar, were Ishtur, Olga, Maedus, Balem, Dor, Hamar and Emras (as shown in the sketch below).

The sight of this tapestry started some discussion about the significance of the houses and some of the lore we were still trying to work out. It was clear that there were colours associated with the Dwarven houses, and these seemed to match the colours of the Rainbow, but we had yet to determine the significance of these colours.

Red - Ishtur Orange - Olga/Maedus Yellow - Olga/Maedus Green - Hamar Blue - Emras Indigo - Dor Violet - Balem

Eagerly, we continued on down a corridor in the far corner of the room. After turning to the right, this corridor passed through a carved archway into the base of an old tower. The ceiling was out of view above, but the tower was in a state of disrepair; the stairs that had once wound upwards now lay in ruins around the floor, amongst all manner of other debris. Opposite where we had entered from were a number of arrow slits from two to six foot above the ground. An interesting mural had been painted on the wall to our right, and a door was set into the left hand wall.

The mural showed Thor to the left (South) looking tearful and clouds in the shape of a hunting pack of wolves over a low Sun to the West. A mountain range was to the South and the rest of the mural showed Dwarves embarking on ships, presumably to sail to the Western lands. Underneath this was a tale told in pictures chronologically from left to right. On the far left was the head of a red dragon, then an elderly Dwarf bearing the symbol of Dor was passing a ring and a pouch to a younger Dwarf, further to the right the same younger Dwarf was passing only a pouch to an even younger Dwarf, who then got onto a ship to sail to the West.

While I was studying this scene, a cry came up that a foe was upon us. Turning quickly and readying my weapon I was faced with a terrible sight. A winged beast had swept into the room from an opening above us; at first I thought it to be a dragon, but then saw that it had a head of a lion and a metallic black bull beside it's dragon head and was smaller than a dragon would be.

Fire roared from the dragon head, engulfing Lanzi in flames. I swear that if there is a magical fire in all the land then Lanzi will find a way to walk into it, such is his luck with the element. I hear that he is commissioning a tower to be built for him in Sutur - I must mention to the architect that any fireplace should be sufficiently guarded to prevent accidents. Unfortunately this was the last I saw of this battle, as the bull head snorted out a noxious gas that enveloped me. Choking, I felt my limbs stiffen and lock and then fell into blackness.

I was revived after the battle and told that I had been turned to stone by the fumes I breathed in. The same ring that revived my companions earlier had done the same for me, thank Odin. The beast had been brought down by Hintzu and Merc, and Lanzi had survived his latest toasting, albeit with the loss of yet more of his possessions.

Mindful of Lanzi's loss, Hintzu remembered that we had not checked the last room for anything of value, and went off to do so. I passed a scarab of protection to Lanzi to help him in future battles; he was not as well protected as the rest of us and his dweomer was of much use to us, so it would not bode well if we did not look out for him. Hintzu returned having found a few items, one of which was a potion of fire resistance - a little too late now! Another item that was unusual was a carved ebony flt, and Lanzi scried that it would turn into a flying steed with the right command.

Having done all we could to recuperate, we readied ourselves and opened the door that lead to the South. Unexpectedly, we found only a small room that smelt and looked like a midden after the Winternights feast. On the East wall was a great carving of a tower, with the symbol of Hamar upon it, besieged by Elves, Men and Dwarves. The men fought under a banner with a rampant horse, whilst on the tower was a red flag with a black wolf. Beneath the tower, on the left was depicted a dwarf leading a man in a black kimono (Iki-Moko we believe) into a labyrinth, presumably a secret way into the tower. To the right of this, the same two figures were depicted confronting a tall man with a gaunt face and moustache, dressed in black. He was recoiling from them as Iki-Moko cut off two of his fingers, and two rings (with light blue and green gems) and a sword (Rakos?) were falling to the ground. A third scene was to the right of this, showing the dwarf opening a chest with his right hand and pulling out a dark, glowing shard with his left. This dwarf was not known to us, but seemed to be from the house of Hamar. The carving may well depict the corruption of Iki-Moko, due to the shard.

We began to move forward to inspect the carving more closely, but as we did so the ground began to shift under our feet and tentacles began to erupt from the filth. It seemed that we had disturbed the creature that fed on the detritus in the room. Knowing that Lanzi was vulnerable, I physically lifted him up and bundled him through the door to safety, despite his protestations. Recovering his dignity, he let fly with some magically conjured missiles into what seemed to be the body of the beast. Hintzu and Merc hacked at what remained until it stopped moving.

Abandoning the putrid remains, we retreated into the trolls' lair to rest. However, as we tried to get some sleep we were set upon by giant beetle with great horns that seemed intent on eating whatever they could, including our party! After a fireball from Lanzi and much fighting we were able to kill them, but it was hard work penetrating their hard carapaces. Although we tried again to rest, it was not to be. Creatures started to rise straight from the floor into our midst! Although we were able to despatch them quickly, it was clear that it was not safe to rest here.

With no way to rest and no way to proceed, we were confused as to what we could do. Then it was suggested that we use the key that had guided us here, and that it might reveal a hidden way. This proved to be the case, as it lead us to a doorway that we could never have found without it so well was it hidden. The key also opened the door so that we could proceed within.

As we advanced we were met with a discharge of lightning that, thankfully, was reflected by a magical artifact or it would have blasted us all. Emerging from the gloom ahead was a huge snake-like creature with a long jawed head and scales that were many shades of blue. It half slithered, half walked using many legs to propel itself towards us. In a sudden attack it's jaws opened wider than seemed possible, and snapped down around Mers, swallowing him whole! This enraged the rest of us, who set about attacking the thing, but it proved hardy and even seemed to ignore the effects of Lanzi's dweomer.

The beast seemed uncomfortable with its last meal, though, and cried out in pain even when we did not strike it. Merc was fighting the beast from within! I wondered what hellish experience it must be to be still living whilst being digested by such a creature, but soon regretted my musing as the thing snapped down at me and I found myself forced down its gullet. Despite the searing pain, I kept my wits (and my eyes closed) and lashed out with my weapon as best I could. Fortunately, and with Odin's grace, fate smiled on us and Merc managed to penetrate the belly of this wyrm, sending us both sliding out in a wash of its stomach juices. Once we had found our feet, and drawn a relieved breath, we discovered that the monster had fallen on Hintzu in its death throes, and we helped him out from under its mass. We were all exhausted but alive, barely, and that is once experience that I never wish to repeat.

Now that we finally had time to take in our surroundings, we found that we were in a large room with carvings on the West and South walls. There was a pentagram here before another door that drew Lanzi's attention in particular. In the centre of the floor was carved and painted a large, partially opened violet rose with Balem's symbol in the very centre.

On the South wall was a carving of a mountain range embossed with the symbol of Zem. Armies of Elves, Men and Dwarves were gathered at the base of the mountains around a Minas in the centre, atop which was a great winged demon with the symbol of Demogorgan beside it. Amongst the allies were the symbols of Findor and Bavarik (a boat on a light blue background with a crescent moon). Chiselled in later, and not by a Dwarven hand, was the figure of a hunched evil creature with wings and scales leaving the battle scene to one side; it was clutching a four pointed crown set with green gems.

On the West wall was a carving of another mountain scene, this time with Ishtur's symbol. A human figure with a dark cloak and moustache was on one knee, lifting a six pointed crown with indigo gems. Above and to the left of the mountains was a constellation of stars in the shape of wolves climbing into the sky. To the right could be seen Elves firing arrows at the wolves.

Lanzi called out a warning - there was a face visible in the pentagram. The face was very gaunt with a wispy moustache and was wearing a six pointed crown with indigo gems. Then the image wavered, almost as if we were looking into water, and salamander-like creature emerged to attack. It was severely outnumbered and was quickly killed, but we decided that we should press on before more started to enter via the portal.

Bursting into the next room we were confronted by four dragon-like creatures, but wingless and with six legs. Merc blew into a horn that sent a resounding blast vibrating through my spine, but my heart lifted as Norse warriors appeared to stand beside us to meet this new threat. My heart quickly sank again, as when the creatures turned their baleful eyes on these newcomers they began to turn to stone. 'Tis a wonder that these halls are not full of statues, the number of creatures that seem to turn everything they meet to stone. The Gods only know how anything survives long enough to be eaten. The beasts were hit by an icy storm, summoned by Lanzi, which gave us time to avert our eyes to avoid being petrified. Attacking was difficult without being able to look at your target, and some of Hintzu's arrows came uncomfortably close! Deciding to try a new approach, I took a draft of growth potion and drew the large hammer from my pack. Whether the sight of a giant sized priest of Odin dishearted them I do not know, but we were able to overcome them soon afterwards.

A creature had appeared in the room behind us, and we quickly shut the door, Hintzu locking it to slow any pursuit. Meanwhile, Lanzi had discovered something amongst the loot that the creatures had been guarding. It looked like a large mirror, but apparently contained some strong dweomer. He spent some time determining its use and announced that it was a portal to other planes that we could use to escape. Muttering some incantation, the mirror surface became as liquid would look in a bowl. Lanzi called for us all to follow him into the mirror, and I did so immediately. However, Merc had delayed to ensure that we were safe and eventually Hintzu grabbed him and ran into the mirror a few seconds behind us.

The Plane of Air

Those few seconds proved to be significant, as we were now separated. We had entered the Plane of Air, a place that I had not experienced before. I felt like I was falling through the air, but that there was no ground beneath me to fall towards. Lanzi tried to explain how to control my movement as I fell in seemingly random directions for a while, but eventually I had the knack of staying in one place (mainly). Now we found ourselves in a predicament. We had arrived using the mirror as a portal, but of course the mirror had been left behind. None of us had any way of creating a portal back to the Prime Material Plane, and even if we had we were separated and had no way of finding each other!

Apparently Merc and Hintzu were in a similar position, although slightly less disorientated as me. Merc summoned a Dust Devil, a denizen of this Plane, but the creature was so limited in intelligence that it could do nothing useful to help them. Meanwhile, Lanzi also summoned a creature, although he did so without warning me so that I was terrified by the thing that appeared next to us, magnificent though it was. It had a horse-like body with a unicorn's horn and a face that looked alert and intelligent, with deep violet eyes, and it was covered all over with bright golden scales. It spoke to us without speaking, the words entering my mind directly, with a melodious voice that was comforting whilst disconcerting all at the same time.

Lanzi and the Ki-rin, as it is apparently called, started to discuss how we could find our friends and get out of this place. As I had nothing to add to the discussion, my experience being limited to being on the ground for the most part, I thought to have a drink of mead. To my horror, the wineskin I had brought was empty! Then realisation dawned on me; when I had dispersed the fog back on the mountainside I had removed all water from the area - including that which was in the mead. What a waste! Not only were we stuck on some Gods forsaken endless sky-land, but there was nothing to drink and, most likely, no taverns to be found! Truely Hel itself could not be much worse - at least the poor souls there have goat's urine to quench their thirst!

Finally, Lanzi worked out a way to proceed. He used some great dweomer to divine the position of our friends, and gave haste to the Ki-rin, who had agreed to carry us there. Finally, we were making some progress. Unbeknown to us, Merc had used his magical shield and other artifacts to commune with a dragon and requested aid. So we were both travelling through the Plane of Air by the will of our allies. Fortunately, with the hasted Ki-rin's speed, we were able to intercept Merc and Hintzu in their flight and we were reunited at last.

Now that we were together again it was, apparently, a simple matter for our latest allies to return us to our own Plane. Before long we were standing once more before Lastar's Tower in Sutur. Oh, what a great feeling to have earth beneath my feet again. We had survived our latest adventure and gained much knowledge that would prove useful in our adventures to come. It would take us some time to recuperate before we could travel again, though, as we had all suffered much in the Halls of Zundar.

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