blackstonekeep.com

He knew where he was; he was in a gardin, back in his elven estate. But instead of the beautiul, green trees and flowers he had once known, there were either chasms of darkness or there were whithered branches. He looked around and realized that this effect didn't just touch his garden, but it touched his whole city! The forest, his home as he had known it, was dead!

"My son...." Elendel heard something say behind him. He turned around, expecting to see his father, but instead saw a walking corpse. His father's flesh had rotted away. Where eyes once were were pits of darkness. Where thick, brown hair had been was now only a few white tendrels of hair. His father took a few steps closer. "Why did you betray us, Elendel...? Why did you leave us...?" The thing asked. Elendel screamed and tried to run away, but his feet were planted to the ground. The thing that was his father reached out to touch him. As the undead hand made contact, Elendel felt his flesh burning. The searing pain brought only darkness, and surprisingly, life.

Elendel sat up quickly. He was back in the old temple.

"Are you okay?" Kellion asked.

"Yes....I- I'm fine," Elendel said. Kellion was about to ask something else, but Elendel cut him off. "Where's my bow?"

Kellion handed it to him. Elendel slowly stood up, and quickly said, "Lets continue." He was trying to act like everything was alright. And it was, wasn't it? It had been a dream. It was only a dream....

They had many more encounters, but Elendel made sure he was never flanked. Elendel noticed that with the stone in his bow, the arrow it fired seemed to crumble the exoskeleton of the spider, like a warhammer or a mace would. Elendel would have to keep an eye out for more stones of this nature.

Eventually they entered a small room of some kind, with a glowing red symbol on the floor. "What is this place?" Kellion wondered.

"It must've been some sort of sacrificial chamber," Elendel guessed. He could imagine the sacrifice being brought to the the center of the circle, and then the priest would raise a dagger and...

"Come on, Elendel!" Kellion called. He was already in the next room. Elendel quickly caught up to him.

Farther into the dungeon, Elendel was about to open a door when Kellion stopped him. "Shh!" Kellion hissed, and put his forefinger in front of his lips. "Do you hear that?"

Sure enough, there was a hissing behind the door. "What is it?" Elendel asked.

Kellion thought for a moment. "I don't know." Elendel smirked. Well that really helped!

"Come on," Elendel said. "We've got to go in there. The word of power calls!" Without further delay, Elendel grasped the handle and pushed the door open with his shoulder. Then he put his bow up to aim at whatever was in there.

At first there was noting in there, except a stone slab. Then some sort of creature peaked its head around the corner. It seemed to hiss, and then it lifted its head and web came out of its fingers. Elendel let an arrow loose, which was lost in the web. Kellion rushed past Elendel to take a swipe at the creature.

By now web was everywhere. It was on the floor, on the walls, and on the two adventurers. Elendel untangled himself in time to shoot two arrows at the creature, before Kellion chopped the thing's head off right the shoulders.

The web eventually seemed to stick to itself in knots around the room, allowing the adventurers to move around more freely. Dusting off the panel, Kellion read what it said. //OOC: I'm not sure if driller would enjoy me posting the riddle on the forum, and so, I will not//

"What does that mean?" Elendel asked.

Kellion thought for a moment before he answered, "I don't know." And then he repeated the riddle.

Elendel glanced back at the door behind them. "Maybe we might find the answer down there."

Kellion glanced at the door. He took another look at the stone, then he nodded. "Allright, lets go."

Elendel opened the door and when down into the dephs of darkness before him. The two adventurers were now in some sort of huge cavern. Elendel knew where they were instantly. "We have to get out of here," Elendel said with urgency.

Kellion looked at him with a questioning look. "Why?"

"This is the underdark," Elendel said. "Home to the drow. Surely you've heard of them?"

Kellion nodded his head a bit. Elendel went on. "Its also home to many other creatures. Quickly," Elendel pulled out a portal scroll. "We must leave!"

Kellion nodded. "Allright then, lets get out of here."

Elendel read the portal scroll, and the portal appeared. He let Kellion go through first, and then he quickly retreated through the column of light.

It was beginning to feel like an everyday affair, Kellion thought to himself. Walking in and out of these mystical portals like it was a natural order of business! He shuddered, thinking of his experience with magic.

He walked into the room, his head down. If he had been a puppy, his tail would be between his legs. His father had scolded him for skipping his class, and he knew that the uptight mage would give him even worse treatment.

He had resigned himself to his fate, but he didn't have to like it. As he looked up, he was surprised that the mage was not alone. His elder brother was looking over a tome with the wizard, and they both looked quite intent in their study.

Any other boy may have counted his luck and left right then, but Kellion was no ordinary boy. He knew he was going to be punished and was not about to leave and wait for another time. It was going to be at a time of his choosing. On his terms.

He cleared his throat. The two continued to read, either not hearing or ignoring young Kellion. He looked around the room and saw a small table with books and a small vase sitting on its small surface. He reached over and quickly knocked the vase onto the floor. It shattered into a million little pieces and a spray of dust went flying all over a bearskin rug laying near the door. It immediately vaporized into nothing. Kel smiled to himself as the mage and his brother both jumped, startled by the sudden sound.

The mage's face turned from statled shock to rage as he saw Kellion standing next to the door. "What in the nine HELLS are you doing boy?!?" The wizard was instantly at the boy's side, grabbing the nape of his neck and shoving him onto the floor. "Do you know what you just did? DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOU JUST DID?"

Kellion's face had been pressed into the stone floor, but his flesh felt a furry surface. He noticed that he was not actually fully touching the floor, but was a few inches above it.

"You just destroyed a vase that was FULL of Dust of Disappearance!" The magic user was now yelling at the top of his lungs. "That was... That was..." He was now trembling. "There was over a hundred thousand gold worth of dust in that vase, and YOU... JUST... DESTROYED IT!"

Kel smiled, and turned his face from the invisible rug to the wizard. "I didn't destroy it. This bear sure won't have to ever worry about predators again, though, huh?"

The mage made a small gesture with his hand and a ray of blue cascaded from him to Kellion. The boy was instantly covered in frost, and fell to the ground frozen as if he had been thown into the snow naked during the dead of winter.

"Mage Denton?!?" Kellion's brother shouted at the wizard and started toward the spellcaster. "You can't do that!"

"I'll do whatever I want, mageling!" The wizard turned on Kellion's brother and cast another spell. A greenish wraithlike hand appeared out of nowhere and wrapped around Kellion's brother, holding him tight. "As I have been teaching you, wizards are BEYOND the petty rules that society holds. Once you have mastered your art you can do whatever you want!"

At that moment, the doors burst open. Two guards rushed inside, swords drawn. They looked in confusion at the wizard, then looked toward Kellion laying on the floor covered in white frost, and finally at the other boy clenched by a large ethereal fist. They both paled and ran from the room.

The wizard paid them no heed and knelt next to Kellion. "So, what kind of punishment will serve you best, I wonder?" Kellion was shivering madly. "Perhaps some sort of ghastly disease? Gracing your father's castle as a statue? Hmmmm... So many decisions." The mage walked over to the table he had been studying at and started going through the books on an adjoining bookshelf.

"Ah HA!" he pulled a smaller tome out of the bookshelf, sat it on the desk and turned immediately to a bookmarked page. "I think this may just do the trick." He ripped the page out of the book and walked back to the boy, who was still shivering on the floor.

"One of my proudest accomplishments!" The mage waved his hand at the page he had torn from the book. "I created a book that is full of scrolls for various spells. All I have to do is tear out the one I want, read the glyphs and abracadabra! Instant spell!"

Despite the chills, Kellion began to sweat. Even he was not prepared for this sort of rage.

"This spell will cause a disease most foul, young Norrington," The mage snickered. "One from which, I am sorry, but even the highest cleric will be unable to cure!" He began to read the scroll, each word deliberately leaving his tongue. As he read, the page started to glow.

Suddenly, the door again burst open and a man clothed in a monastic robe walked into the room. The wizard was intent on the spell and did not release his focus.

The man at the door pointed at the wizard and spoke a single word, "SILENCE!!!"

Instantly, Kellion could hear nothing. It was like the time he had stood next to a cannon as it went off and his ears had been useless for minutes after.

The wizard's scroll instantly stopped glowing and crumbled to dust. He looked up and saw the man who had entered and a look of utter contempt contorted his features, he started speaking, but Kel could hear nothing. He could tell, however, that the wizard was shouting because spittle left his mouth and fell onto Kel, melting away some of the frost.

The man in the priestly habit crossed his arms, looked over to Kel's brother and said something else. The fist instantly dissapated. He walked over to Kellion and laid his hands on the frozen boy. Kellion instantly felt warmth flow through his body, and he felt much better than he had even minutes before. He previously had suffered a few cuts and bruises from being roughly thrown to the floor, but now even those were gone.

The wizard was still shouting, but nothing was coming out. The robed figure waved his hand and the sound of the mage instantly returned. Kellion wondered why the priest had done such a thing.

"..IS MY LABORATORY, CLERIC!" The wizard continued, obviously uncaring about the fact that the sound had just returned. "YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO BE HERE!"

"That is where you are wrong, Denton," The priest was very calm. "I have a duty to protect my lord's sons, I just had no idea it would have to be from you."

"He just destroyed one of my most valuable magical resources. I have a right to punish the insolent lad!"

"I think he has suffered enough punishment. So has his brother. What has he done to deserve your wrath?"

"He dared to interfere!"

"Well, good for him!" The priest laughed. "Maybe there's hope for that boy after all! But I suppose after this display he'll be just as intent to continue the study of this bunch of tomfoolry."

The cleric wrapped his arm around Kellion, turned and walked away. "You haven't heard the last of this cleric! I will have my recompense!" The wizard shook his hand at the retreating priest.

"I am sure you will, Denton. Eon will pay you back a hundred fold for your deeds or misdeeds."

Kellion sighed as he stepped out of the portal into the tavern's basement. That had been the start of his priestly tutelage, although nothing had ever stuck with the headstrong lad.

Elendel walked out of the portal moments later, and as he walked through Kel could swear he saw a large beast with hooked hands swiping at the other end of the portal.

Kellion shrugged and looked at the elf, who looked very drained.

"I am sorry, Kellion," Elendel shook his head quickly as if dislodging cobwebs. Considering their most recent adventure, that may have been true. "I must take a moment to meditate. I am going to go to that large tree and rest."

Again Kellion shrugged. "That's fine with me Elendel. I've had enough thinking, myself. I'm going out to do a bit of shopping. I'll meet you by the tree." Kellion walked quickly away up the stairs.

As he opened the door and walked through, Elendel could hear the clank of tankards and the rumbling of conversations. He yawned and followed after the human, looking forward to seeing the tree again.

Kellion went to the pawnshop, intent on selling some of the gear they had found in the shrine. He showed the items in question to Vogon, who shook his head. "I'm sorry adventurer, but I can only offer you 27 gold for that dagger."

"What do you mean? This dagger looks magical! I can see it glow in the dark! Normal knives don't do that..."

Vogon shook his head. "I can't be reselling something that you know nothing about. If you want to know its magical qualities, speak to that assistant of Foxmore's. He knows a few things about finding the traits of magical devices. Come back after you know and maybe the price will change."

Kel grumbled, but left the pawnshop and headed immediately for the tower. He spoke to the gangly assistant and paid a fee for the service and left the tower with more knowledge of the dagger and a few other items.

He returned to the pawnshop and Vogon this time offered a more reasonable price for the dagger. Kel took it and browsed the shop, finding a clean suit of armor. He sold his web and yellow ochre encrusted armor to Vogon and picked up a few other odds and ends, including a new wand for Elendel.

He walked to the tree and found Elendel sitting crosslegged under one of the tree's mighty branches. He was deep in meditation, and Kel decided against disturbing him.

He remembered the Warden's request for a quest and walked over to city hall. As he walked into the reception chamber, he noticed the Warden was taking a nap. The guards came to attention the moment Kellion entered and their shuffling metal caused the portly man at the desk to snort loudly and instantly awaken.

"Not very nice to disturb a man's nap, stranger!" The Warden wiped drool from his face and as he did so, Kel noticed that the piece of parchment the man had been working on was covered with a large pool of spittle which had made the ink run. Some of the ink was on the man's face, and Kel smiled.

"Well, if you're that into your work, Warden, I can understand why you might want a rest," Kel waved his hand at the piles of parchment. "Some might even say a man of your caliber might as well give up and just start wearing his work since he already eats drinks and sleeps the stuff."

One of the guards snickered, but quickly covered it with a cough.

"Yes, indeed. You are probably right about that." The warden yawned. "Now what can I do for you? Are you back for that job?"

"You're an astute leader, I see," Kell bowed. "I am indeed here for that quest. You had mentioned goblins?"

"Yes, yes, I had," The Warden frowned. "It appears, however, that the threat is a bit more than the last time we spoke. It was a relatively easy task before, but the stakes have risen a bit."

"You don't say? Well, with stakes going up I imagine the price has adjusted as well, correct?"

"Well..." The Warden hesitated. "I am not sure I have it in the budget for any additional expense..."

"That's fine, then," Kell started walking out. "Good luck with the goblins."

"Wait, wait!" the portly man started to rise from his chair, and as he did so, the chair fell backward and clattered to the floor. "Let's not be unreasonable here. I'm sure I can find a bit extra for your purse."

"Well, that's a bit more reasonable indeed!" Kel turned back to the Warden, walked up to the desk and punded it with his fist, a large goofy smile on his face. "So, about these goblins...."

"Yes, well, as I said, they were posing a bit of a threat upon the road north of the keep," The Warden wiped his forhead, which had beaded up in sweat. "They had been attacking merchants and newly arrived adventurers."

"Yes, my elven friend and I found a wagon that had been destroyed," Kel again smiled at the ink smeared over the man's fat cheek. "There were tracks leading into a nearby tunnel."

"And you've just identified the problem, mercenary," Kel flinched a bit at the use of that word, but then realized it was a bit fitting. "The goblins seemed to have given up on preying on the weak and instead attacked our mines."

"There were over twenty good men in those mines," the Warden continued. "They haven't been heard from since the goblins decided to make that mine their new hovel. I want you to go in there and disperse those miserable creatures! Bring me the head of their leader for proof."

"Why does it always have to be some kind of gross representation of our completing a quest?" Kel frowned. "Couldn't we just bring a signet ring, or a few of the leader's hairs? Maybe we could bring a document and have him sign it?"

The warden laughed, taking Kel's serious request as a joke. "No, no, no," He stopped laughing when he saw that Kel was frowning. "It has to be the head. We will be putting it on a pike at the north gate for all the other goblins to see."

Kel sighed. "Someone should teach goblins to read," He turned his back and walked out of the city hall, heading back to the great tree to meet Elendel and start their new quest.

She had worked endlessly on it, taking care of every stitch, making sure each was perfect. The thread was smooth with no bristles. For years she worked on it, her delicate fingers blistered and pierced by the needle, and her blood itself had been a part of it.

Once the cloak had taken shape and was completed materially, she worked on the enchantments. Some enchantments required rare ingredients, that were hard for even her to aquire. Sometimes her husband would find her on the floor unconscious; she had passed out from working on the enchantments.

She imagined her son's smile when she would hand it to him, his joy and happiness would shine like sunlight. But when she gave it to him, he simply frowned at it and stated "Its red, the color of blood."

She looked at him questioningly. Why had her son associated blood with pain? "Or the color of a rose," she replied. He threw it aside and said, "Thanks, Mom." And then he shut himself up in his room. This was when she began to give up on her son.

It was like the time when he was just a small elf. She took him out into the garden to see the flowers. The roses were in bloom. She cut one and gave it to him. He could see the beauty of the redness of the rose. He grabbed it around the stem and cut himself. He cried as his blood poured out. She tried to assure him that it was okay. Blood wasn't so bad, after all, it was needed to sustain life. In fact, in a way, it was life. But this made him scream louder, as he watched his life trickle away....

Elendel found the cloak in his pack after his tattered, woolen cloak had been snatched away from a thief. He smirked at the cloak. His mother had given it to him long ago, claiming to have made it herself. He hated the color though. It brought out bad memories and bad visions. Visions of red fire, burning forests. Visions of the red flags that the humans neighboring the elven lands took so much pride in. Visions of bodies on the ground, leaving puddles of blood on the ground, pools that would gather on the ground, dripping what had once been life, and leaving only death....

He shook his head, dispelling these thoughts. The storm on the horizon had arrived, and with it came wind and rain. He needed a cloak. As soon as he threw it over his shoulder, he felt that much drier. Through the rain he could see a shape, that he could barely discern as Kellion. His armor was now black, as was his cloak. He wondered what had brought these changes about, when Kellion told him, "Well, I talked to the warden, and we've been hired on the quest we turned down earlier."

Elendel nodded. They walked toward the city gate without much conversation. When Elendel realized that his cloak shielded him completely from the rain, he felt himself grow a little happier. His mood seemed to lighten, and when they reached the gate he broke into a run and shouted, "Up, my friend! Hurry up! We have goblins to slay!"

He laughed, feeling elated. Elven heroes had been made killing goblins and orcs. Today he felt like he had what it took to become a legend.

When they reached Blackstone road, the undead were still out in force. "We may have found the source of the undead problem, but they're sure continuing to come out of the woodwork," Kel sliced a zombie in half with his sword and continued to walk down the path.

As they passed the crypt, a woman warrior was busy battling three zombies. She sidesteped one blow, deflected a stream of vomit with her shield and sliced a third zombie's head off. She made quick work of the remaining two. Kel whistled in appreciation.

"That is some impressive swordwork!" Kel nodded his approval. "I'm not sure if even I could match some of those moves."

The woman blushed and sheathed her blade. As another zombie advanced upon them, Elendel placed a well aimed arrow inbetween its eyes.

"Thanks for the compliment," her eyes scanned their surroundings, obviously used to looking for trouble. "I'd better not dally, though. It's been a pleasure meeting you." She saluted, and walked quickly back down the road toward the keep.

Elendel watched her walk away. "That is a fine looking woman," the elf stared intently. "Elven woman are seldom so bold as to wage battle."

"Well, that woman certainly is fine," Kel shrugged. "Too bad she's busy. I would have loved to take her on an expedition..."

Within a few minutes they reached the site of the merchant's slaughter. The wagon had stopped burning, but the rain had stopped the fires until all that remained were a few smouldering embers. Kel stopped and examined a corpse. "This is it. The tracks lead over there," Kel pointed at a nearby cave entrance. "Are you sure this is it Elendel?"

The elf nodded. "I'm pretty sure."

"Only one way to find out," Kel stood up from his examination of the corpse, drew his sword, adjusted his shield and walked into the cave, Elendel following close behind.

"Why does it always have to be downwards," Kel grumbled as they walked into a new chamber. To their right were a cluster of huts, and the two went to investigate.

"It looks like the goblins mean to stay," Kel tapped one of the huts with his sword and a plank fell off, creating an echoing clatter.

"It looks like they put them up very quickly," Elendel looked nervous at the large noise.

From out of the shadows, they came. A hoard of goblins and worgs, shouting at the intruders. Kel shouted a warcry and ran towards the throng, sword raised.

When he reached the first goblin, his sword flashed, slicing the goblin diagonally then chopping into the worg behind. The first goblin's eyes went wide as its body sickeningly slid apart.

Elendel dispached another goblin with a well placed shot and Kel moved for the gap that was left and spun onto a worg rider and attempted to pull the goblin from its mount.

As he did so, a goblin weilding two swords struck at Kel, hitting his armor with a resounding clang. Kel turned in fury and hit at the goblin, who danced out of the way of a certain death.

At the same moment, the worg rider hit Kel on the helmet with a well placed blow, and Kel grunted in pain.

Amazingly, the large man continued to fight. Elendel remained near one of the hovels shooting arrows into the crowd. The goblin with the two swords cried out in main and dropped one of his weapons as an arrow struck its lower arm. Kel took the opportunity to swipe off that goblin's remaining sword arm with a mighty blow.

At that point, the remaining goblins hesitated, obviously underestimating the two warriors. The second of hesitation was all that Kel and Elendel needed and they took that moment to finish of the four remaining goblins.

As Kel wiped his bloody sword off on a goblin's tunic, he all of a sudden turned his head toward Elendel. "Oh no! I just remembered... I forgot to pray to Eon this morning!" Kel sheathed his sword and began looking around the chamber frantically. "I can probably just pray now, and maybe Eon will be appeased. I hope I haven't doomed us both!"

"Maybe we should look for a safer place to do this," Elendel stated, but noticed that Kel had dropped to his knees near a chamber wall and was now muttering his prayers. "Or I can just cover you..."

Another goblin stuck its head around a corner and Elendel sent an aroow its way. He missed, as the goblin quickly jumped back, but the goblin went running into the dark. Elendel knew it would only be moments before more goblins came to attack. Why is it this human is so adamant about prayer, Elendel thought as he scanned the exits to the chamber looking for goblins.

Kel stood, finishing his prayers and again examined the goblin's huts. "Well, no sense in leaving these hovels standing," A standing torch was burning next to the largest structure, obviously home to a shaman or important tribe member. Kel drew his sword and hacked off the top of the torch, and as it fell to the side of the shoddy structure, flames licked up its side and it was quickly consumed in flames. Elendel started coughing.

"We had better find a way to go down further," the elf stated. "I'm sure it won't take long for this smoke to spread through this entire level!"

They followed mine tracks further into the mine. Both adventurers moved as quickly as possible as the smoke wrapped around them, permeating every surface. Kel had pulled his cloak over his mouth, and steadily coughed into it. He looked over at Elendel and noticed the elf's eyes watering freely.

As they entered a larger chamber, two goblins were speaking in their gutteral language, coughing in between words. Kel lowered his cloak, drew his sword and killed them both before they noticed his presence. Behind them, a mine cart laid on its side, behind it a path down.

"Elendel, here's the exit!"

As they entered the next level, Elednel wiped at his eyes with his bright red cloak, its color matching his bloodshot eyes. "This is much more pleasant!"

Kel laughed. "Saying this level is more pleasant is funny considering the coal dust all over the place. Not to mention the stalking monsters, I'd say this mine is as far from pleasant as you can get!"

Kel looked further down the passage and saw multiple mine cart tacks. The direction to the next level seemed to be quite a confusing one.

"Which way do we go?" Elendel looked at each passage in sequence.

"I think we should do as we did in the catacombs and follow the walls," Kel noticed a passage that appeared to have a more recent track. "This track seems to be newly constructed. I'm sure that has to be the way to get further into the mine."

Elendel nodded, and the two followed the path. The echoing sounds of crackling fire and shouts of goblins were all around them. As they came into a branching path, goblins ran at them out of side passages. Kel noticed one waving his arms about and intoing some sort of chant. A spell-caster!

"Elendel! A mage! Cover me!" Kel rushed the mage, but not before a ray of light flowed from the goblin to the warrior, engulfing him fully. "Egads! What did you just do to me, you little runt?"

Elendel was attacked by multiple goblins, and quickly slung his bow behind his back and pulled the wand and started sending magical missles sailing at the beasts.

Kel noticed his sword had become very heavy. He struggled to raise the blade and tripped under its weight. From some stroke of luck, he fell, blade first toward the goblin mage skewering it.

Kel instantly felt a tingling sensation throughout his body, and his strength flowed back. He withdrew his sword from the dead goblin, and turned to the living ones, slashing away.

Elendel was struggling with a word rider, which was shrugging off the missles. Kel strode behind it and slashed at the goblin's saddle, sending it falling off of the worg. Elendel swiftly readied his bow and an arrow immediately hit the struggling goblin. Kel sept toward the worg and finished it off.

The duo stood, both breathing heavily. Between breaths, Kel managed to speak. "I HATE mages."

"You were lucky, Kel," Elendel said. "That was merely a shaman, and their magical powers are quite limited. If it were a true wizard, we may have been in trouble. As it was that was a difficult battle."

"Indeed, I have seen..." Kel stopped in mid-sentence. An elf with magically glowing orbs circling his body was running at them down a tunnel they had just come from. Without stopping, the mysterious elf ran down the passage in front of them and disappeared around a corner.

"What the?!?" Kel swore. "Nine Hells, this is a strange land!"

When they entered the next level, it seemed that all the paths lead in the same direction, so they walked down one of the paths.

"How do you think that elf made it through all the smoke," Kel wondered aloud. "Maybe he wrapped his cloak around his face like I did."

"Or maybe he's half-dragon," Elendel said, eyes wide.

Kel laughed. "Well, that WOULD explain it, I suppose."

As they turned the corner, the mysterious adventurer was just pulling his large sword out of a quickly dying goblin. He turned to Kel and Elendel as if expecting them.

"Greetings," he said, bowing extravagantly. "It is not often you meet someone friendly in such places."

"I was thinking the same thing," Kel stated and removed his helm so he could see the elf better. "In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I had just seen you kill some goblins, I was suspecting you may be aligned with them."

The elf laughed. "That is funny! Of course I'm not with them. I AM an elf, after all," He sheathed his sword. "but I am also half-dragon, so I'm a bit foreign to everyone it seems."

"I KNEW it!" Elendel seemed excited. "We were wondering how you had made it through all the smoke. I am Elendel Wood. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Elendel walked up to the adventurer, who lifted his hand slightly. Elendel took the offered hand and kissed one of the rings he wore, did a slight bow and stood up straigt again smiling.

Kel frowned, helmet under one arm and shield on the other. He did not move. "And I'm Kel. Pardon me if I don't kiss your hand."

Again the adventurer laughed. "Do not worry, my friend. It is an old elven custom and I would never expect you to follow suit. I am Malystryx."

Elendel's jaw dropped. "That is indeed a draconic name!"

Malystryx nodded. "We should proceed. I know the way, if you would like to join me, I am off to destroy the leader of these goblin tribes."

"We are on the same path, then," Kel put his helmet back on and drew his sword. "Let's go make this goblin tribe leaderless."

viobane wrote:When they entered the next level, it seemed that all the paths lead in the same direction, so they walked down one of the paths.

"How do you think that elf made it through all the smoke," Kel wondered aloud. "Maybe he wrapped his cloak around his face like I did."

"Or maybe he's half-dragon," Elendel said, eyes wide.

Kel laughed. "Well, that WOULD explain it, I suppose."

As they turned the corner, the mysterious adventurer was just pulling his large sword out of a quickly dying goblin. He turned to Kel and Elendel as if expecting them.

"Greetings," he said, bowing extravagantly. "It is not often you meet someone friendly in such places."

"I was thinking the same thing," Kel stated and removed his helm so he could see the elf better. "In fact, if it weren't for the fact that I had just seen you kill some goblins, I was suspecting you may be aligned with them."

The elf laughed. "That is funny! Of course I'm not with them. I AM an elf, after all," He sheathed his sword. "but I am also half-dragon, so I'm a bit foreign to everyone it seems."

"I KNEW it!" Elendel seemed excited. "We were wondering how you had made it through all the smoke. I am Elendel Wood. It is a pleasure to meet you!"

Elendel walked up to the adventurer, who lifted his hand slightly. Elendel took the offered hand and kissed one of the rings he wore, did a slight bow and stood up straigt again smiling.

Kel frowned, helmet under one arm and shield on the other. He did not move. "And I'm Kel. Pardon me if I don't kiss your hand."

Again the adventurer laughed. "Do not worry, my friend. It is an old elven custom and I would never expect you to follow suit. I am Malystryx."

Elendel's jaw dropped. "That is indeed a draconic name!"

Malystryx nodded. "We should proceed. I know the way, if you would like to join me, I am off to destroy the leader of these goblin tribes."

"We are on the same path, then," Kel put his helmet back on and drew his sword. "Let's go make this goblin tribe leaderless."

The scene plays out in many ways, and unfortunately the two adventurers cannot agree on how the meeting with the half-dragon, Malystryx occured. They agree on the major things, but the things that were said, Elendel maintains, were different. This is Elendel's side of the story.

They came to small chamber with 2 tracks leading in different directions. They followed the ones going left, and met no resistance. But eventually they came upon a group of goblins.

Kellion charged them with his sword drawn. Elendel took out an archer, and took a few steps closer to the fight before letting another arrow loose. Just as Kellion dispatched the last goblin, 2 worg riders, a goblin shaman, 2 worgs, and 3 goblins rounded the corner in a well placed ambush.

Elendel fired arrows as fast as he could, but when the fight grew closer, he dropped his bow, figuring he could do more with a handaxe and a shortsword. He was wrong. He was untrained in melee combat and it showed. In anger, he threw the handaxe at a worg, and thrust his shortsword into the belly of a goblin, but not before the goblin had done damage to Elendel with his own handaxe.

Elendel quickly ran to where he had dropped his bow on the ground and picked it up. As soon as he picked it up the arrows began to fly.

Much blood was spilled, in those few minutes, and it wasn't just goblin blood. Kellion took a few of the shaman's spells, which drained his strength. Elendel took a few hits himself, but the amount of arrows he had lost in the fight was a bigger concern of his.

Just as the adventurers were about to descend more, an elf wielding a shield and a bastard sword ran by, without the slightest word. The two adventurers began to ask question. Who was he? Was he an enemy, or an ally? How did he get past the fire they had set up above?

Kellion guessed that he had covered his face with his cloak. Elendel joked that he might've been a half-dragon, but then he realized that there was some logic in what he had said. Elendel had felt power emanating from him, and in this place, rarities such as half-dragons weren't so rare.

They continued on, and came upon the biggest chamber that they had come to so far. Elendel tried to spy the top, from which water dripped.

"Greetings," a voice said from the shadows. It was the elf they had seen earlier.

"Greetings...." Kellion replied. He seemed uneasy about the half-dragon. Whose side was he on?

"Greetings, half-dragon," Elendel blurted out. Then he realized what he had said. "I mean-! Uhh....sir..."

The elf laughed. "You are not wrong, lad. I do have dragon blood in me."

Elendel laughed. "I was right!" he said, even though he had said it only as a joke earlier. "There was no other way you could get past the fire we had set up above."

"Aye," Kellion said. "That was quite the bonfire we made."

"We set some goblin huts aflame," Elendel explained.

Kellion then narrowed his gaze. "So...." he began casually, and then he launched into his question. "Whose side are you on, the goblins, or ours?"

"Well, I am certainly no ally of the goblins," the elf said. "I am Malystryx, it is a pleasure and an honor to meet you."

"Hmm....sounds draconic," Elendel commented. "I am Elendel Wood. Likewise," he put in casually. He had never met a half-dragon before, and he was still a little suspicious. His dragon blood explained the power he felt in him, but it seemed like there was something else....

"Kellion Norrington," Kellion said.

"Ah, looks like we have company," Malystryx said, then he rushed towards a goblin shaman across the chamber.

Elendel and Kellion ran to catch up. Elendel's boots were lightweight, with little traction, so that an elf like him could feel the ground beneath him, leave little tracks, and run without the extra weight of padding. But, as mentioned before, they had little traction. Elendel's feet seemed to barely touch the stone floor beneath them, but when Elendel stepped came to a part of the floor that was slippery from the water that dripped up above, he slipped. He slid across the floor on his back, and before he knew it, he was hurled into a pit.

He felt his coak tug his neck, and then, gasping for breath, he briefly recalled an unpleasant childhood experience.


His family's garden was beautiful, perhaps one of the most beautiful in the land. It was maintained not only by elven hands, but by an old druid employed by his family. His name was Delowyn. Elendel hated him. The druid was mean, old, and had a huge wart on his chin. The druid had yelled at Elendel for trying to paint some roses green, and Elendel, seeking a little revenge, had planned a prank for him.

In the bushes he watched, as the druid began to water the flowers, but the liquid that came out of it was red as blood. Elendel laughed from the bushes, and the druid, outraged, gave chase.

Elendel continued to laugh mockingly as he looked back while he was running to see the look on the druid's face. He turned around just in time to see the blur of the garden well, blocking his path.

He couldn't avoid the well, and he couldn't stop, because water that Elendel had dumped out of the watering pot on the cobblestone pathway. As a result, he went tumbling in.

The water was freezing. Elendel surfaced and tried to tread water. He called for help, but the druid laughed and walked away.

Elendel treaded water for half an hour, but he had never swam before, and he knew he wouldn't be able to keep it up much longer. The water was cold; he couldn't feel his limbs. Out of desperation, he clawed the walls in an attempt to find a hand-hold. He scraped and scraped until his fingernails were ripped off, but his effort was rewarded. In the dark, he had found a spot where a stone was missing. It was noon now, and he could almost see the sun behind the tree branches above him. The sun outlined the well, and pointed out other holes in the wall. He thanked Lia and began his ascent....

Miraculously, Elendel's cloak had caught on a hook at the end of the rope. The hook hadn't even torn Elendel's cloak. He thanked Lia as he had many years ago in the well, and he grapped the rope above him, and he unhooked his cloak. Then he climbed upward. It was slow progress, but it was progress. He hoped his companions had not left him for dead....

As soon as the half-dragon rushed for the goblin, Kel followed suit, not wanting to be outdone. They both converged on the goblin, but Malystyx's blade was faster, cleanly ending the goblin's life.

Kel seethed inside at the loss of personal pride, and started scanning for another goblin in order to let off some of his anger. Then he stopped... Something was out of place. He looked to his right and saw the elf-dragon, who was now sheathing his sword. He looked across the chamber to where they had been before, then it dawned on him. Elendel was nowhere to be seen.

"ELENDEL?!?" Kel yelled, not caring about the possiblity that any nearby monsters would be alerted to their presence. "Damn it, elf, where did you go?"

Malystyx walked calmly over to Kel and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kel turned quickly, sword at the ready. "Woah, woah there. I'm not a goblin," he held both hands up in a calming gesture. "It seems your friend has decided to go off hunting on his own."

"No, that's not something Elendel would do," Kel hesitated, sword still raised at the elf-dragon, then sheathed his sword slowly and again scanned the chamber. "The last time this happened, I thought he had joined the ranks of the undead."

Kel walked across the room and noticed a large hole which appeared to be some sort of well. He looked into its impenetrable darkness. He cupped one hand to his mouth and yelled, "ELENDEL? Hold on there. I'll get something to help hoist you back up!"

Malystyx came to Kel's side, also looking into the darkness. "I'm pretty sure he's not down there, friend."

Kel shook his head stubbornly. "How would you know?"

"My darkvision can pick up heat signatures, and there are none in the well."

"But are they ever wrong?"

"Well, sometimes, but..."

"But, nothing," Kel noticed a rope with a bucket attached to it nearby. Obviously the goblins had used this as a public watering hole. As he grabed the rope, he noticed some skid marks in the mud nearby the upended bucket. Elendel's boots had probably made those tracks. Kel threw one end of the rope to Malystyx. "Take this side of the rope and hold on tightly."

Kel threw the end with the bucket into the well, he heard the bucket break off the end of the rope and go skittering down the hole. He hoped it wasn't too late.

"Elendel, here's a rope, grab on and we'll pull you out," Kel peered into the hole and thought he could see something. He felt a slight tug on the rope. "Thank EON!" Kel muttered.

Slowly, Elendel pulled himself out of the well. As he made it to the surface, Kel grabbed him by the arms and hauled him the rest of the way up. He gave the elf a slight hug and stepped back, glaring angrily at the half-dragon. "Well, I guess dragon vision has a few flaws, after all!"