My book-A.F.

[scifibarbie]

Bear was waiting for me at the docks in Sandinia. I was shocked to see him to be honest! But I was so happe he was there!

He told me he received an anonymous letter saying to meet me at the docks. He was actually worried at first. Then realized it was gonna be okay since it was a squirrel that dropped the letter at his feet.

During our trip back, he told me all that had happened to him. That a vampire had decided to use him as its vessel to gain teh ashes of La'Forran. It sounded familiar, but i didnt put it together all at once at first. He said she had been threatening miss hannas unborn baby if he didnt do what she wanted.

Then I realized...Miss Hannas pregnant! I was so happy for her! That was wonderful news.

Afterwards we got word that Miss Hanna was at the arena in Vehl. Turns out he had been in hiding for awhile, but somehow they discovered where she was staying on Dregar.

They had found one of the places where the ashes were held. But it was protected by a pure white light. That would destroy anything that touched it! We went to a temple of aeridin since they were the ones instrumental in destroying him the first time. The healer was pretty ticked at us. He said we shouldnt do anything, that the ashes were too dangerous. then he got really upset when he found out that the guardian of the urn was destroyed by bears group when they first found it.

It wasnt his fault, I dont know the details, but I guess it was a misunderstanding or something and they had to destroy Mais (the guard) or they would have been killed by it!

Well...the healer fellow was pretty ticked, but he did tell us only someone that was utterly pure and good could hope to pass thru the light. We figured out that a summoned Deva was utterly good and pure. SO we high tailed it back to the cave but we were too late! I guess the vampy sent her minions and had discovered the secret. The urn was gone, and a cleric of folian was lying there. His summoned deva lying dead next to him!

Turns out she threatened his family if he didnt help. And not realizing what it was she was after he went along. At least when he did realize what was going on, he tried to fight back. But she was too strong and defeated and left, only having one of her minions fall in teh fight.

I think the worst part of it is now, is that bear feels like its his fault. Especially since the vamp left him a couple thank you scrolls taunting him.

Im gonna have to do something to cheer him up first chance we get.

[scifibarbie]

So funny...after searching for the bard who was to play in Orcs Watch all those months ago. I finally catch up to him after I return. Cauldil Goldleaf is his name.

He told the story of 8 human spellswords (at least i think they were human) who left to find a mysterious gate in the blackfeather mountains.

I guess the story takes place in 1123 on dregar, starting at Point Dart shortly after the fall of the king of boyer. There was a lot of chaos and anarchy due to the untimely death of lord of the kingdom of boyer. Diamaniar i think is who it was.

Anyway, many villages where suffering from the same problems. Bandits, looters, suffering and chaos unchecked. Well, these 8 spellswords decided to take matters into their own hands and try to set things right.

The most interesting thing, was that it seems Point Dart used to have an academy that taught fighters who had the potential, to be spellswords! I guess it was a pretty impressive place. I almost wonder if it still exists...or at least maybe possible ruins or something. Maybe i could go and find some old tomes or something.

After the fall of the kings, these 8 (who were the heads of the academy it seems) decided to form a secret group called the Covenant of Form. The 8 were teachers and counselors to the kings, and lords of the lands.

After awhile, the 8 heard of a magical treasure deep within the blackfeather mountians that could supposedly grant someone whatever their hearts desired. So the 8 set out to find this great magical treasure to help end the suffering of the land, restoring order and peace.

After making their way into the mountains, they waited for 3 days and 3 nights. It was during hte 3rd night that a magical gate appeared before them. Summoning their courage the 8 entered teh gateway. THey had all thought they were working to the same goal, but in the gate, madness took them! They began to fight one against the other.

The bard said that there were a coupleof different endings to the story of 8 spellswords. The first one he said, was that after much toil the 8 found the end of the path and what they were seeking, but that it was not what they had expected. Another ending is that they never reached their goal, but now guard the end of the path to prevent others from finding what they could not.
In the end he said, no one knows for sure what happened to the 8, except that so far, any who has ever sought them out has never returned.

I asked him the name of the 8 spellswords, this is what he told me.
The 3 brothers Moltav were:
Gregory...the oldest, shayne the second and remden was the youngest.
These were the 3 originally from POint Dart

The other five were:
Peter & Jacob, they were from towns in the southern part of the kingdom of Boyer. Though little else is known of them.
Lurrual is from wilows weep
Lucus and Alloewisous were from the northernmost part of Boyer. Their town could be found if you followed the River of Shards but he wasnt sure if the town was even on any maps.

After teh story, I was able to talk to Cauldil. I asked him about the blackfeather mountains and he gave me a map! It was marked where he had been in his search for the gate.

Then this fellow named fryyr started talking. He said he saw the gate once. He showed us where he saw it and it was near where one of hte bards marks was! He said when he saw it, orn and ausir (the moons) where both in the sky. Though he wasnt sure if that had anything to do with it.

I think I might go try to find more information about those spellswords. And maybe even the academy in Point Dart!

[scifibarbie]

Im still kinda confused about what has happened to me. I just know I havent been the same since.

A vampire attacked and bit me!

I was working in the shop and this woman wanted to know about longswords. So I told her I would be right with her, she then jumped the counter and assaulted me!

I couldnt even touch her! Next thing I know, everythings kinda fuzzy nad I thought I heard bear...then pain.

I just know i felt searing pain! I cried out but it kept spilling all over and thru me. Someone was making me drink liquid fire! I kept calling out for it to stop...

I later found out from bear, I had been bitten by a vampire. And miss sala had tried to help keep me from becoming infected with the vampire disease. They had tried to get me to drink some silver buckle beer because of the silver in it, hoping that would help stop the disease before it took root.

Im not sure if it worked...Ive been feeling pretty weak lately, and a bit off.

[scifibarbie]

Im not sure what to write down.

I was bitten by a vampire, then i was cured. I remember the attack. I remember waking in alot of pain and being very tired.

adn then its lost. I have no memories from the last 2 days. Except that dad, miss tegan, izzy, hunty and my bear were surrounding me outside of vehl.

Bear told me I was almost completely turned. The the priests of Deliar locked me up after trying to purge the disease from my flesh.

Bear found the vampire somehow and got my cure. I guess the vampire was so powerful she could release me from teh curse, since i hadnt been completely changed.

I owe him so much. I know i will never be able to repay him. I feel like such a burden to him sometimes. But i know he loves me and would tell me im being foolish.

[scifibarbie]

I was finally able to begin my search for Point Dart. I had a map of Dregar that I purchased from some merchant in Prantz. It was obviously biased towards the expanding kingdom of Rael. No Big surprise there.

I personally though it was a but to optimistic. Though it was also rather unsettling to see. At least the general locations of the major towns and cities and overall descriptions seemed sound.

Im glad I had some friends along, as it was a long trip. We found it extremely difficult to find Point Dart by land. I had almost given up hope when Bear and I were able to discover a path after having had to help miss ferrit find and rescue a woman who was the wife of the cleric that destroyed La'Forran. After talking with her, she told us the mountain paths had been destroyed by landslides and earthquakes. That the town was still there, but that the paths by land were gone. She pointed us to a small goat path and said head that way.

We later returned with a few friends and began the arduous journey to Point Dart. After a about a week in th mountains we finally began our descent to the coast. I think i was as relieved as everyone else when we came over a ridge and looked down on the small port town.

It was a small but bustling port. We made our way intoteh merchants district thinking this would be the best place to start our search. Most of the people we talked to had never heard of the story of 8, let alone knew of any spellsword academy in the area. After awhile we met an old merchant named Viktor, he looked to be about 70 or eighty years old. He told us a slightly differnt story of when the 3 spellswords left. He said that they left quietly inthe night, saying farewell to their families.

I was so excited! He said the academy was here! I immediately asked him about the location of the place. It was then that my hopes were dashed...He said it had been closed for about 100 years or so, and that the building had been demolished some 20 years ago.

As the day was getting long, he directed us to the towns hall of records. IT was much larger than we had thought. I suppose we should have expected this, seeing as how the port town has been around for hundreds of years.

At least we know the location of the town now. To save time for our future visits, I asked to what ports we could use to gain a ship to the town. Im not sure if some of who wish to try and find the 8 will be able to make the journey over mountains.

[scifibarbie]

Bear and I finally got some alone time together.

The last few weeks have been so insane for the both of us. I was nearly turned into a vampire, we went in search of point dart, a fairy needed our help to liberate his tribe, Miss Ferrit got wind of a the cleric who destroyed the devil man so many years ago...

It was finally nice to be able to go to our favorite quiet spot, do some fishing and be able to spend some nice quality time together.

Bear told me finally about the time I had lost. About what had happened to me, and how he was able to convince Veirdra or whatever her name was, to release me.

I felt so bad for Bear. He said when the clerics of Deliar tried to slow the progression of the disease...they were shocked at how fast it was consuming me. That they werent sure if they could stop it. He said during that time was one of the worst moments of his life. He said I was screaming in agony, thrashing around like an animal.

Afterwards, they left me in the care of the healers...and he went in search of the vampire. One way or the other, she was gonna release me. Im glad he convinced her.

We talked for hours. Sometimes about silly and inane things, sometimes about more serious matters affecting us both, sometimes just sitting close to each other in silence just watching the fire and listening to the sounds of the wood.

It was on the second night that Bear told me the story of what had happened to me. He told me he loved me so much, he didnt know what he would have done if I had turned. I asked him..I asked him what he would he would have done if i had been turned. He told me he would have done what was needed. I could tell that question had been gnawing at him, how i would react...I was glad that it bothered him so much..Not to be cruel, just that..I felt really glad he would not have let me go on like that.

I just felt like I loved him more than ever when he told me that. That he would do anything to save me. I just hope I could be as strong for him if he ever needed me.

We spent that night in each others arms. I dont know how it happened..but it was wonderful. We shared so much that night...

[scifibarbie]

Its my turn on watch and im glad things are quiet. So much has happened over the last week. Im not even sure where to begin.

Well, there was another gathering at the Stagger Inn in Orcs Watch. We had heard the bard was gonna play there once more, but he didnt turn up.

So those of us who were there talked alot about his story and decided to try nad discover more information. I of course was already on it. I told them what i had discovered and that I though we should return to Point Dart to try and get more information.

I am so glad we did. In the hall of records, Tobias found a small childrens book that was beautifully illustrated. Master Grohin really enjoyed reading it. It turns out the book was the map! The pictures matched vistas of the places we needed to find to locate the gate. And now, we are very close to it. We are camping under the stars which are shining more brightly than I remember ever seeing them glow.

In the Hall of Records, we also discovered the whereabouts of the granddaughter of Shayne Maltov. the youngest of the 3 brothers. We located her home just west of point dart and paid her a visit. Im glad we did, she was a fountain for information! She told us about her grandfather story, and though she never met the man, her father had told her everything.

We spoke, and told her I was a spellsword, like her grandfather. She seemed happy that I was hoping to take up her grandfathers cause and hopefully help restore the spellswords. She gave me a wonderful gif. Her grandfathers journal! I havent had much ime to look at it, save to see that the pages are empty. But I think there is more to it than meets the eye. I am hoping I will be able to discover how ot make the pages reveal their knowledge to me in the future. Master Grohin seems to think that it contains something important regarding our quest. Perhaps he is right, but so far..nothing has been revealed.

I have also made an arrangement with the keeper of records in point dart. Thanks to miss sala and master grohin, I have arranged for the keeper to search out all the old documents he has regarding the old academy. He is unsure of what he may actually possess. But he has a whole sotre of records that he has been trying to get organized. Hopefully he will be able to find an astute assistant to aid him. He seemed rather happy with teh arrangement as he has also expressed an interest in the old academy.

Well...one more check around the perimeter, then its time to wake up Miss Argali for her turn on watch.

I think im gonna untie this silly rope dad tie dme with nad put it on him. See how he likes it! Sheesh, how embarassing! Im trained as a scout, anbd pretty good one too! He made me so mad when he did that. He wanted me to stay behind everyone nad jsut shoot arrows. Its my job to be a scout! Grr..

Aside from that, Im gald he and bear are here. Ive never been on an adventure with dad before and i think this is a good start. I think hes warming up to bear also. Jsut a feeling.

[scifibarbie]

It has been some adventure in the blackfeather mountains.

Dad and I area completely knackered to say the least. I think Bear will be in hibernation for the next couple of weeks too!

After camping out for a day or so waing out the rain and fending off stupid giants, the sky finally broke enough for us to move to teh valleys indicated on the map. We had to choose one of the 2 places marked with x's casue where we ended up was halfway between the 2. Most of us were pulled to where the fryyr fellow and teh bard had made lots of x's. It turns out it was the right choice!

After waiting several hours for the sun to set, the clouds broke and the moons appeared in the sky, and the gate appeared in front of us! We quickly entered since we figured it wouldnt last long, at least until morning at any rate. It would flicker in and out as clouds passed over the moons so we knew we had to hurry.

The place we went to was a like an old untended forest. The paths were trapped so we had t o be careful, but the weeds came up to our chests, and the vines were hanging nearly to the ground. We eventually found ourselves in a huge cavern! So many trees and plants, my nose was almost overwhelmed their were so many!

We found a wall covered in vines that had a riddle. It took us awhile but we finally figured it out. It was asking us to identify several trees, but the names were plays on words. Miss Sala was the one who figured it out. Shes pretty smart. We got a few answers wrong and when we did the vines and trees would attack us! Im glad we were more right than wrong.

One our companions named Toby was itching to chop down a yew tree standing alone on a ledge. At first he didnt do anything to it, just in case it was part of the riddle we had to solve. As soon as we figured out the riddle though, and started to pass thru the wall he decided to hack it down. It got really mad at him and they got into it, the tree and toby that is! I tried to help at first, but he was arguing with mr storold and I somehow got in the middle of it. He got really mean and nasty and told me to sod off so I left him. Fine if he was gonna be a jerk. Then later he gets mad cause no one came to help him with the tree. Well..we did at first but then he got all nasty to us. And those that passed thru before he was attacked couldnt get back thru anyways. He needs to learn to be nicer to people.

Afterwards we found a magic wall that killed you when you touched it...Miss Sala and master Grohin had their work cut out for them then, until we figured it out. We all had to hold hands and be unitd in order to pass thru. Toby was a real jerk about it, being all mad that we didnt help him when he needed it. Well, he needs to be nicer and people will help him. It was kinda nerve wracking when we all held hands and started to pass thru the gate...we all were crackling and sparking!

Once we passed thru the gate we came upon a yellow and blue portal. The yellow one seemed to be blocked and after much deliberation we entered the blue portal. It was a really strange looking area...Like it was supported by thin columns of stone that fell into forever. The portal back was blocked, adn there were eight stones surrounding it. The seemed ot require a crystal key of some sort, so we set off to see what was here. We fought 8 guardians, adn I woudl have sworn they were once spellswords...just the way they fought, and how they weave was focused around them and thru their weapons.

Each guardian had a shard we discovered, after defeating them. In the back of the whole hall, there was this strange ovally looking thing just lying on the ground. Tobi grabbed it thinking it might be important, and we made our way back. After inserting the crystals we were immediately returned to where we started..facing the yellow and blue portals. Tobi was right (i guess he noticed the keyhole thinger), i completely missed it when i looked at the door. The yellow door needed this ovally looking thing to unlock it!

Well..weve been sitting in this next room thru the yellow door for awhile now. Theres a pillar, an arch and the platform where we appeared. There really hasnt been to many markings to try nad figure this riddle out. After awhile we realized that we were supposed to turn from hte moons somehow...we kinda thought this meant the light, nad so master grohin blew out the candles. Well...we were completely surrounded in darkness and attacked by shades of some sort! We finally got the light relit and the shades disappeared. Now that we know that doesnt work we are trying to figure out something else.

The pictures were of a person walking away from the light...kind of backwards though...I wonder...
-----

We are out..and we set free teh 8 that came before us. I cant say much more as we made a promise. Still..the I feel like I lost more than i gained and Im not sure why.

[scifibarbie]

I met mr Jin again. Im always glad to see him.

We met by chance outside of Prantz, when I was on my way to gather chestnuts. We ended up talking and traveling to together for awhile.

After awhile, he said he wanted to show me something...He had me sneak past a bunch of satyrs near vale and we ended up in a secret grove!

He told me this was very near a temple to the longstrider. It was in the middle of the forest, deep inside it actually. We found a clearing, and he started asking me about alot of stuff Id never really told anyone before.

He knew about my scar...he said he could sense it from along time ago when we first met! All I ever remember was it got pretty itchy and irritated when he was around. I told him about it think, but never how i got it!

He told me a story about the longstrider and the wolfs. I think I surprised him when i took over the story in some places without his asking. He asked how i knew the story and I told him of the pack I used to run with back in my old village where i grew up. I told him of the time when i first met the pack, and how the trolls had attacked them..how later on I would be visited by some of the pack and how it always seemed they were looking out for me.

He told me more of how the longstrider was the guardian of the paths of the forest, how he protected all within the forests, He told me how he had been called, and the all that had happened to him to lead him to teh longstrider.

After awhile, he took me into teh temple, it was a small neat grove, and introduced me to one of the priests there. they guy was pretty nice and we chatted and had some nice cold water from a stream nearby.

After awhile, mr jin told me he thought the longstrider had called out to me, chosen me, but that i had to accept him. He asked me if I felt if it was right and I was ready for this. I told him for some reason the longstrider felt right to me..but i wasnt sure. I wasnt sure about alot of things..and this seemed so important I..I grew afraid of the answer i think. He said I needed to make the choice, and that I would know when and if it was right.

In the end we left and parted ways. I wandered for along time in the wood...I had alot on my mind.

[scifibarbie]

Idont know how i get mixed up in all this stuff!

I was heading back from stone a few days ago when i saw a bunch of frineds gathered near the docks in mariners hold. There was this rough and tough dwarf who was recruiting help for Red Bear from hurm to go in seach of some sword or something.

I guess it was an important artifact that the red bear had been looking for this thing for many years. The dwarf, he was first mate i guess, chartered us a ship to go to some place out in the middle of the oceans! He said wed know if wed found what we were looking for when we got there. So cryptic..sheesh.

Well...we found this small island with lots of wrecks all around it. There was a siren singing and that lived there, I guess i musta been zapped by her cause i really dont remember much from the time i heard this song until the time i was on teh island!

there was a small temple on the island, na teh sea hag, shed been singing actually, was kinda rude at first. But then she took a liking to our bard and the two were sitting and getting all smoochy (not really, but i liketo tease him about it) while we were trying to figure out how to enter a temple the hag said was nearby.

We finally did. It was a temple to Shindelaria and it was huge!! The archaic (i think she was the temples head priest) asked why we were there and what business we had with them. Me being me, and remembing the story uncle Kyle told me about how he helped free the avatar of shindi along time ago spoke right up. I introduced myself and said i was the niece (well its sorta true) of mr Kyle. She knew who he was right away, and she actually ended up being pretty polite to me after that!

Well, we told what we were after and why. It was then she told us that what we sought must never again be returned to to the world. She seemed pretty upset. She said it had to do with a terrible moment in the past, some centuries ago. She said she woudlnt speak of it openly, since its tale was only known to the high priestesses it was such a horrible thing. She told us generally about it, how a pirate named Jothrum had conquered the oceans and made war upon all that sailed the seas. Inthe end he captured and put to death and his body severed and taken to the far distant reaches of the seas!

She said she would send us to a grotto were all the knowledge we sought coudl be found. I never breathed underwater before! That was really weird, but kinda neat too! From a small undersea temple we entered the grotto, there was air in there actually, but it was terribly cold...worse than Krashin!

We found this pillar in the middle of one of the small caves along our path. It told the story of Jothram. It seems he started out as a small time thug and cutpurse, but somehow he ended up making a deal with Mist herself, or so it was said. Afterwards, he untied the pirates and raped and pillaged the oceans until none were safe who traveled the seas! How the waters would calm, and the winds be in his favor whenever he appeared, and his enemies would founder in sudden storms and squalls.

In the end, it was a priestess of Mist who sowed his undoing. She made a deal with many merchant houses and set a trap for Jothram. There was to be ahuge shipment of gold leaving some small port in secret. Jothram took the bait, and was set up by a huge fleet of ships..he was finally caught!

He was judged guilty, and the priest of Mist who set him up decreed his punishment. To be quartered by ship and his body sent to the far reaches of the seas. He was lashed, one limb per ship...and then the 5 ships set sail in 5 differnt directions. And that was the end of Jothram.

the part of the legend that we were concerned with was the sword of jothram. Supposedly if one were to gather all teh parts of Jothram, then he would be resurrected and the horrors he brought upon the world would return! Sounds like another person im dealing with right now...

The shindies seem to think the sword is the actual key to Jothrams power and that the person who wielded the sword of Jothram could unite all the pirates of the world under one banner. That he would repeat Jothrams 45 years of terror on the high seas! It sfunny..though..the words on the pillar also said one of good character could unite all the pirates of the sea under one banner, but would be a noble and benevolent leader of seafarers.

Well..obviously this has sparked alot of debate amongst us all! We have a shindi bard with us, and a misty bard..always a good combination Nothing but icicles between those two. Me..I just wanted to see this sword. If its as powerful an artifact as it sounds like..I really have my reservations about returning it tothe world. But, I also realize that if we could find its location, then even if we left it here..others would eventually come and take it. I felt it best to recover the thing and truly see if it held sway over mens hearts..or if it was merely a rusted sword. I guess it must hold some sway, cause hardy and mr lex are constantly arguing over it. Who is gonna take it, are they gonna leave it or giveit red bear.

I think the worst of it came down when i found this book. It turned to dust in my hands, but one page survived..it had a bunch of lines on it, with blotches at various intervals. Chiara said it represented notes, like music. the bookcase it came from had skel heads all around it taht made a terrible racket when i took the book initially, an there was a large drawer with keys on it. Push a key and give the wrong note...and someone was turned into mummy! Poor Yvale got it twice! I guess lady luck didnt like her that day.

well..teh other part was some hag trapped behind a magical barrier. Turns out she had the key ( amusical note i guess) and hardragh got that from her. Well..Chiara decided to destroy the sheet music i let her see. And that jsut started a whole nother mess. Jaigs though he was being funny by pressing the random key on the keypad thinger...Thats how poor Yvale got it the second time!

After awhile, since chiara obviously wasnt going to be of any help. They guys decided to try and push the bookcase out of the way. After awhile they managed to do it! We went into a small grotto where there was a hole in the ground and pedestal with saltwater on. They were both emitting really strong magical energy..complete opposites..abjurative and evocoative magics...they were in a state of war it seemed. It was a tough riddle to figure out thats for sure!

//to be continued

[scifibarbie]

I did it...I finally made the choice. It was so simple..I dont know what i was afraid of. Though, I wish the circumstances were different.

It started out as a decent enough day...I had jsut gotten off the boat from lore in katherian. I hate going to that slaver city, but i was heading past teh bloody gate to do some fishing at the lake of glass.

All of a sudden this woman appeared out of nowhere crying and being all hysterical! Turns out she had just discovered her husband and son had been mauled to death. She wanted us to seek out the creature responsible and put it to death! I felt terrible for her, but i wasnt sure finding a creature that may have been defending itself from hunters necessarily warranted its death. Still..best to make sure the creature wouldnt harm any others.

She took me and a small group to see a farmer Sagert who it turns out discovered the bodies. After meeting with hte farmer we convinced him to show us where the bodies were found. He was not too keen on it, he said he saw the tracks of the creature, and the bodies...he said they had been slashed..throwing blood 20 feet or more into the air! With tracks the likes of which he had never seen, and so far apart he didnt know what kind of creature could have done that!

A few in our group who had been paying attention to matters like this of late, immediately thought that a dragon may be the cause. In which case, we neede to check it out. What with those dragon nappers out causing trouble, and the rumors of dragons being corrupted by some disease. We needed to make sure this dragon was alright and why it was attacking random farmers.

Miss Sasha said there was a blue living in the woods nearby and we should check to see if it was that one. The blue was living pretty deep in the woods, and after a while, we could smell the swamps nearby.

We came upon a tribe of trolls...their guards attacked us on sight of course, and we made short work of them, It was then that teh tribal cheif came to talk to us! that was a surprise to say the least! Well..he gave us safe passage to the dragons lair so long as we wouldnt harm any more of his tribe. He told us that the dragon only required that teh trolls leave the animals in its domain alone, prolly so they wouldnt eat all its food! And that it required tribute of shinies every once in awhile. He said that the last group that went to deliver the shinies hadnt returned. They feared the dragon was angry with them for some reason and had attacked teh delivery boys.

Well...we found out what happened..

I had never seen a bear so large as the one i saw that day! I had heard of bears like that..legendary dires...From a distance you could see it tower above the trees, its breath caused the trees to bend, and its steps to shake the earth!

As we got closer...we coudl tell something was wrong..the smell on the air was off..and the bear was acting like it was sick. As we got closer...my heart sank into my feet...

Its beautiful hide was calloused and diseased and leathery..the fur was patchy and falling off. Its eyes were red with fear and anger, and had a thick green ooze coming from them. It smell was horrid...we heard it roar and my heart quailed...it couldnt tell if it was crying out in pain or anger! Like a beast that is wounded and cannot stop the pain.

Yvale..she tried to calm it...to try and see what had happened...I ..i couldnt..I knew in my heart it was mad with disease and pain. I stood frozen to the earth. It stomped her into the ground then threw her body against a boulder. She crumpled to the ground in a heap.

We were all stunned..no one knew what to do against such a beast. It was then. It was then that i knew what must be done. My heart cried out in agony as i moved forward. I whispered a silent prayer to the longstrider to help me end the suffering of this great bear. To put down the aberration it had become.

We fought the beast long and hard. Its pain giving its rage an unyielding fury. In the end, we had the victory, but it felt so hollow, so empty.

Afterwards..something came over me. I dont know why, but I felt i needed to release the bears spirit. I wanted to cut its heart out and wash it in the stream nearby, to cleanse it of the poison that had corrupted it. The others wanted to study it, take samples for the clerics..I didnt have a problem with this, take what they need..just let me cleanse the heart of this great creature. I fought them long and hard..I got into a heated argument with Miss Sasha. My blood was boiling so bad...and then Brian had to stick his 2 coppers into the mix. The jerk. How could he be so cold and heartless.

In the end we burned the body of the bear so no other creatures could be infected by whatever had harmed the bear.

In the end, we found the lair of the dragon empty. There was a dragon there..but it was an illusion. The blue was no where to be found.