Autumn 1372

Elric just stared at the leaping blue flame emanating from her armor, first in fear, then in awe. This was really happening. The Arm of Valor, lost artifact of Myth Drannor... they were finding the pieces...

A howl of shock from the north reminded him the arm wasn't whole yet... and if things didn't go well, they MAY just be handing another part to their enemies!

As he took the mask back he pulled her in closer for a kiss. The plan had fallen apart completely. Two of their own were down, and he wasn't sure if she'd be getting them back on their feet or following him into battle. His own course was less confusing. The nagas could not be allowed to escape!

His eyes jolted as a lingering spark passed between their lips and laughed as he whispered in her ear. "So much for plans huh? I've got to stop them... Don't be too long! You'll miss all the fun!" With a chuckle he leaped forward and into the glade.

Tugging the mask back on, the last thing he saw were two more Bone Naga's unhooking themselves from the wagon and the still living naga glancing his way too. This is going to be amazing... or it's going to be stupid. The half-elf thought to himself as he hit the ground near them, rolling to his feet and racing blindly toward their last position.

One other image had caught his eye. The hobgoblin grinning wickedly at him with a gauntlet ablaze in blue fire...

A grin of his own spread across his face as he felt the familiar wash of a spell that didn't take hold. The grin was knocked from his lips as the second one did. Teeth gritted in pain, he decided it was another bolt of lightning. He felt it tear through his shoulder scorching the skin around it.

From the sounds of it the dwarf was coming behind him and the creatures were trying to surround him. He felt the static in the air as the living naga tried to blast him with another lightning... but something went wrong... again.

The ground under his feet heaved and swayed. Suddenly he could feel something all around him.. soft, pliant... the confusion around him was evident and even his enemies failed to take advantage of the mishap. The Hobgoblin realized what was going on first and came swinging in with it's new toy.

The half-elf spun low and kicked out. He felt the gauntlet swing past it head, and the power he felt emanating made him glad he wasn't just a hair slower. His kick went wide and brushed up against one of the mysterious objects. Concerned he ripped the mask of to see what was what... The truth was something he couldn't have guessed in a million years.

Bubbles.

Large plump bubbles were all around him. He didn't know what they were, but then neither did the snake creatures. Vulnerable again to their magic he spun into a dazzling display of moves. Swinging and kicking in every direction, those nearest to him barely heard the strange word "Kil ral."

Despite the threat from the snake wizards... the gauntlet was the important thing. He pressed the attack, slashing with his sword and always trying to keep a big scary bubble between him and the casters, he cut a deep gash across the hobgoblin's chest. It answered with a strike of it's own, and THIS one found the mark.

Sparks flew across his vision as he spun in the air and crashed heavy to the ground. The world spun around him as he quickly regained his feet. He'd been in fights before.. but he'd never been struck that hard with a fist... Not by Kaber... Not even by the Dwarf he'd inherited the Wraps from...

"Oh sure!" She called out as she watched Elric going bounding off into danger. "You wait until I'm wearing my plate and then you decide you want to race! Such a cheat!"

Turning back to assess the situation, the grin slipped from her face. Jorelon stumbled out from behind the trees, clutching his side with one hand while the shield in the other dragged across the ground. He was not doing well...

The whole situation was a priest's nightmare. One warrior throwing himself in the midst of four enemies, three of them potent undead casters, while far behind him were two very injured party members who might not live through another lightning bolt thrown in their direction and on top of that, casting a healing spell might kill them just as easily as heal them!

Best way to keep everyone alive, she decided, was to finish off the threat as quickly as possible and then take them all somewhere safe to heal them up. When she saw Kaldric start running up the path toward the glade, that made her decision all the easier!

Ashara quickly produced another of the precious healing potions and placed it in Jorelon's hand. With a nod of understanding he waved her on. "Go help, sister... I'll be a few steps behind."

"Stay off the path if you can, Jorelon. Stay safe!"

At that, the priestess spun around and took off toward the glade. Sounds of battle had begun to the north accompanied by the crackle of multiple bolts of lightning and she picked up her pace, praying that Elric was alright. Praying that the mask had blocked all the magic!

Even in spite of the circumstance, a small smile turned up the corners of Ashara's lips as she ran on. Her father had been right those years ago... Before CoRD's journey began, before Cyric's Curse, before the wedding... Whether it had been to aid him or protect him or simply to join him in a little mischief, she'd been chasing after this man all her life.

At the time, Ebbard intended on warning his daughter of the what he felt was a dangerous pattern but Ashara enjoyed the pursuit and with any luck, she'd be doing exactly that for many years to come!

The world blurred into a bright, swirling haze for long breaths after the potion's consumption. The muffled sounds of thunder resonated in his ears, pounding at his brain with the blunt force of a mace head. Kaldric squeezed his eyes shut, opened them, then repeated the process a few more times to clear away the lingering sluggishness and regain a modicum of clarity. A sharp, prickly pain needled at his ribs like the claws of a kneading kitten, and a dull pressure weighed heavily on his chest, as though his diaphragm were being constricted by a miniature boa. It took him a long moment to remember a battle was in progress!

When finally the mage isolated strength enough to rise, he noticed the arcing blue light crackling about the Arm piece worn by Ashara. A quick glance at the distant battlefield revealed the half-elf flying backwards after being struck by a similarly glowing gauntlet, and even in his dazed condition Kaldric recognized the significance in that.

With coherent thought struggling to navigate the cobwebs of his mind, the Veil Initiate knew better than to attempt a complex weaving, so he settled for simple. Slowly setting one foot in front of the other to get back into the fight, he extended a hand out before him and whispered a quick incantation. Five bolts of flickering colors sprang from his palm and speedily flew the tens-of-yards to pummel the hobgoblin wearing the magical gauntlet.

Watching the humanoid threat fall dead to the field gave him a brief feeling of accomplishment anyway . . .

With the hobgoblin dead and the gauntlet lying there non-threateningly the half-elf turned his attention to the other enemies. Specifically the still alive monstrous snake creature. The familiar sound of plate mail behind him told him the undead ones would soon have another problem to deal with. Ashara had already shown how little a threat they posed with the first one. The living one was a different matter.

Sword slashed thrice against dark skin in rapid succession. Elric pressed the attack. Hard.

BE GONE!!!! a voice erupted in his mind. I was here first!! Take your minions and live!

The half-elf staggered a moment, surprise evident of the strange voice, and barely slapped aside a wicked barbed tail. He didn't know what it was... but he assumed venomous. Seemed everything around here was venomous...

"Not an option... Sorry!" he said aloud. Though there was a certain amount of untruth in the statement. Any creature of this sort manipulating undead... he wasn't very sorry. He tried desperately to focus out the image around him. Dozens of new holes dug at seemingly random places throughout the beautiful glade they'd spent their first wondrous night here... Rage wasn't his friend. Clear concise thought was... but no... he wasn't sorry at all.

The scene in the glade was chaotic. Amid the ravaged carpet of once pristine grasses, shimmering bubbles drifted lazily skyward in the area of the battle. Two undead naga and their master, an enormous purple snake with a head that looked disturbingly humanoid, had surrounded Elric and were moving in for another go at him. Nearby lay the freshly dead body of the hobgoblin her husband had spoken of, wearing a gauntlet blazing with the same blue fire as the piece she wore.

The gauntlet... Ashara could feel the magnetic pull toward it as the rerebrace tugged her toward its sibling. How many centuries had they been apart now?

A brief glance at the warrior revealed that the mask hadn't done its job completely. A large, scorched hole in the shoulder of Elric's shirt stood as evidence of the lightning bolt that had made it through the protections, and he was no longer wearing the mask!

Ashara rushed in to help but the bone nagas were preparing another attack and she realized she wouldn't make it to them in time to bring Dawnspeaker into play before they took their shots at him. Magical energies were gathering inside the mouth of one of the undead, but without the usual rituals of casting, she couldn't tell what it was about to unleash upon the half elf. The other was rearing back to bite him. Between the tentacles and the multiple lightning bolts, Elric was already wounded and she wasn't content to simply hope they wouldn't hurt him too badly...

Durlan rushed by her and as a precaution, Ashara made note that Kaldric and Jorelon were a good distance away before lifting the holy mace in the direction of the bone nagas and raising her voice in a familiar sequence of divine words.

At the conclusion of her request, between the two abominations, a ten-foot globe of brilliant sunlight bloomed. The holy light of Lathander scorched the evilly enchanted bones of the nagas and rippled over their frame, temporarily disturbing the magics that held them together. They reeled back in confusion forgetting for the moment the half elf they'd been commanded to destroy and buying Ashara more time to reach the fray.

"Not too late I hope!" She exclaimed over the din as she charged in, twirling Dawnspeaker in her hand. "And look! You saved these two for me... How thoughtful!"

It was true that violence seemed to go hand in hand with adventuring job, but Ashara never enjoyed taking life if there was any other choice. Taking unlife however... That was an entirely different matter! It was with an almost gleeful grin that she approached the undead from behind ready to redead them before they could make any more trouble in this beautiful place!

"You're just in time!!" Elric answered with a laugh. Something about her arrival being heralded by a shining dawn amused him immensely. Spinning around and a kick hop, put him back in line with Ashara and they fell into their well practiced routines. Shield, mace, sword and fists worked in unison as the enemies circled around them.

Elric heard the dwarf crash into one of the confused bone nagas and he cringed as he heard bones splintering under the weight of the mighty ax. Between the dwarf and his wife he had little fear of the undead still around them. Still that didn't stop him from taking advantage of an opening when he saw one. Slashing hard at the ringmaster he saw a dazed bone naga swinging blindly. With it's partner entangled in dwarf, he slashed hard at it's skull and sent it spinning to the ground even more dazed. With perfect grace the spinning slash brought him back in line with the real threat... The Dark Naga.

He knew it still had spells left, but the fact that it didn't use them concerned the half-elf something fierce. He kicked hard at the underside of the human-like chin and slashed hard at the eternal neck.

His sword scored hit after hit, but the thing was just too blasted squirmy. The serpentine body coiled and absorbed most of the force of his hits, but he kept pressing in. Suddenly he felt a sharp pierce in his side and saw the dark naga grin wickedly. He knew then that his fear of barbed tail containing venom was correct, and he felt the world start to spin.

For a moment he lost his rhythm. The dance stopped and he fell to his knees. The corners of his vision blurred and started to go dark. All he wanted to do was sleep. After all.. it HAD been a rough day... The naga chose not to finish him then and there... obviously it trusted in its poison, and was more concerned about the non-poisoned enemies. Elric saw it turn it's attention to Ashara's unprotected back. The back he was supposed to be guarding!!

The tail struck again and the naga's grin disappeared in shock. Inches before the barbed tail struck home and claimed a second target, a familiar sword interposed itself and swatted the tail harmlessly to the side.

"Uh uh..." An angry but still awake Elric said aloud. Blinking he shook off the rest of the lethargy. "We're not done yet..."

Ashara was surprised at how easily it came...

After months and months of practice against imaginary foes, her body and mind slipped seamlessly into the familiar patterns her warrior husband had taught her. A blending of two styles of combat. Where he extended himself for an attack, she was there to cover that opening with a shield or deflect an attack off her mithril plates. When she was pressed on multiple sides, he was there with a foot or fist or sword to block or even to pull her just out of reach of the attack. Knowing they'd be heading out on the road together, the Everdawns had begun practicing these things even before the siege at Evereska had been lifted, but there hadn't been much cause to use it thus far. A few bandits along the caravan trails. A poorly executed ambush by a group of orcs looking for easy pickings before the wagons stopped rolling through the northern roads. A handful of undead amid the dunes of the Anauroch. Threats that were put down before they'd truly began. This was the first time they'd really had the opportunity to put all that training into practice.

It was eye-opening for the young priestess. Action and reaction, no time to doubt your move...you just move letting your instincts guide you and implicitly trusting the one at your back!

And there was one other surprise that Ashara hadn't anticipated. Always in combat, she would have to...ignore or mentally block out the images she was constantly bombarded with by the Sacred Guardian spell. Elric was always in some danger while he was fighting and if the priestess was at the back healing or dealing with a different opponent, she had to focus on her task at hand. This was different. Instead of concentrating on blocking out those images, she let them freely flash before her eyes and realized that she could rely on instincts and sight to see where the attacks against Elric were coming from!

This was why, after her husband had blocked the dark naga's venomous spine aimed for her back, that Ashara was able to drop her arm and swing the shield out wide to intercept the bony barb darting in toward his ribs. An ear splitting screech accompanied the chill of the undead stinger as it etched steel. Apparently the bone nagas were coming around...

But so was Dawnspeaker. The holy mace finished its arc, obliterating the skull of the offending naga that had already been ravaged by axe and blade and light, but she didn't stop there. Under Elric's patient tutelage, the eager student had become quite adept at wielding her weapon of choice.

Continuing the circular momentum, Ashara adjusted her stance and spun the mace back up over her shoulder to come crushing down onto the spine of the second naga, who leaped forward with fangs bared only to find a half elven foot shoved up into it's jaw to deflect the attack.

One final strike with Lathander's mace and he joined his companion in true death.

Kaldric saw the two bone nagas shattered by the powerful blows of Ashara's mace, leaving only the living naga alone on the field. Admittedly, he knew little about these monsters, as most of his knowledge encompassed planar beings and more common forms of undead, but its ability with spellcasting meant it could turn the tide of battle quickly, and so needed to be dealt with in like fashion.

Still walking leisurely toward the glade, the mage plucked a small piece of flint from the sleeve of his robe with one hand while unstopping a small vial with the other. He dipped the flint into the oil, wetting only the tip of it, and rattled off a few arcane words. Hearing those words roll off his tongue so elegantly after the failed attempt only a few moments ago caused the hint of a smirk to play at the corner of his lips. The power of the Weave welled up within him, and he warmed a little at the sweet and gentle hug given him by his wife as the energy built. When the power arcana grew strong enough, he flicked the oil-tipped flint toward the dark naga tens-of-yards away.

The flint burst into a fiery lance that propelled through the air with tremendous speed and broke into two separate missiles with only a dozen yards left to cover. The naga weaved to flee the flaming arrows' paths, but their magical flight arced to follow, piercing the monster just below its fang-toothed face. Fire exploded around it in a brief flash that licked its face and scorched its scales, then extinguished from lack of a good source by which to take hold.

A crossbow bolt flew past into the distance and Elric was concerned about Jorelon. That shot wasn't even close! Of course the last time he saw him was right after the tentacles, so in hindsight.. it was a good sign that he could even work the crossbow.

Speaking of lucky to be around, the two burning spears heralded that Kaldric was feeling better too. Despite the smugness the mage had displayed before, the half-elf was glad to know it. They had a lot of work to do, and this was only the beginning.

The Naga was looking in bad shape as the last of the flames flickered off into the air about it. Suddenly he heard a pop. Then another. And another after that. The bubbles that surrounded their battlefield were popping, and whatever was inside them, was very... very flammable.

"DOWN!!!" He yelled loudly as he grabbed Ashara's armor and pulled her hard to the ground and tried to shield their heads as best he could. The heat passed over him and he felt the flames lick his back. Within moments the heat, the light, and the bubbles were all gone.

"All right... " Came a gruff voice. "That's enough a' THAT!!" As Elric glanced up he noticed the still smoking dwarf dive at the stunned Naga. He turned his head just in time to avoid the splash of gore as the mithril axe cut clean through meat and bone. The lifeless head and about half it's body fell silent to the ground.

"Is that it?!?" Durlan bellowed at the holy glade, empty now save for allies and corpses. "Is that all ye got?!?!"

"Everyone ok?" Elric asked as leaned up and brushed some loose hair from Ashara's face. He didn't take his eyes off her, but still addressed the group. "Everyone still with us?"

After recovering from the shock of quite suddenly finding herself thrown to the ground, Ashara smiled up at her husband with a warmth that had nothing to do with the minor fireball that had just gone off overhead. She'd sensed the danger via the Sacred Guardian spell but Elric, as always, had reacted much faster.

"Amin naa tereva, Aratoamin... Uuma dela ten'amin! <I'm fine, Aratoamin... Don't worry for me!>" She wasn't sure whether she should cry with relief that the chaotic battle was over or laugh that the overprotective half elf, all scorch marks, blood and bruises, was hovering over her to ensure she was alright.

"It's good that you leaped in when you did. We wouldn't all have made it through another one of those lightning bolts..."

Though her breathing was still slightly labored from combat, Ashara's hazel eyes danced with enthusiasm.

"And even though you cheat at racing, I'm glad you saved a couple for me...that was amazing!" She spoke in an excited whisper. "Even more fun than practice! You make an incredible tura you know, though it seems I will need to become a better student..."

The priestess reached up to lay her hand against the fresh puncture wound on his side, courtesy of the dark naga. "I shouldn't have missed that," she winced. "I guess this means we'll need to practice that much harder!"

Grinning at the prospect, Ashara pulled herself up to a sitting position and leaned in for a kiss before taking a proper look around the glade. Her countenance slipped just a little.

The naga and hobgoblin had not only carelessly dug random holes around the area, but there were drag marks from the heavily laden chests that now rested in the cart and it looked as if some of the patches of soft blue moss had been kicked over and trampled. How glad she was they'd seen the temple before this had been done to it!

"By the Dawn, what a mess..."

When she saw Kalric come strolling, badly wounded but alive, up the path into the glade and Jorelon stumble out from the trees with an untapped healing potion in hand, she realized her comment could have easily fit the battered state of herself and her companions.

Elric slowly rose to his feet and offered Ashara a helping hand. The devastation was bad, and his heart sunk when he thought of how it looked before. A large patchwork of burns added to the holes, but the digging was what annoyed him the most. He gave her a strong hug as the others caught up.

"Not much like last time, huh?" he whispered in her ear. Seeing one of the holes nearby he grinned and winked at her. Hopping over to the hole he swept his foot out pushed the majority of the dirt back in the hole and stomped it flat.

"Y'know...." He said with a smile. "Considering the way nature runs rampant here... I'm sure it'll be back to normal in no time... Especially if we help it out a bit."

"This what we came for??" came the deep growl of a singed dwarf. A quick chop of his axe and the gauntlet rolled away. Picking it up he unceremoniously shook it for a moment till the grisly remnants fell to the ground with a plop. The two armor pieces had ceased glowing, but any who looked at the craftsmanship knew they belonged together.

"Here ye go." the dwarf said dismissively tossing the gauntlet to Ashara. "Ye got the first piece.. Ye can wear the rest...

"So what's the plan..." he asked as he watched the half-elf trying to restore what he could of the shrine... "Headin' back home, or campin' here...."

Ashara moved over to a section of brutalized moss and knelt down next to it, setting the gauntlet to the side while she did what she could to repair...or at least lessen the damage.

"We have a few hours of daylight left if we want to head back to the Dawnspire," she said in response to the dwarf's question, "but we made quite a ruckus down there with those scorpion constructs and may have drawn the attention of some interested parties. If we return today, we should think about taking the eastern road."

Truth be told, the priestess wouldn't have minded spending a couple days here... The idea of taking as much time as needed to heal the glade was quite appealing to her, but there were simply more pressing matters to attend to, and Elric was right. They would do what they could with whatever time they had now, but this holy place had gotten along just fine on its own for a very, very long while.

Running her fingers over the soft, spongy carpet, she smiled softly. No, this was not much like last time... Ashara looked up to find Elric watching her with a grin that said he knew where her thoughts had been led, and after flushing a deep crimson she picked up the gauntlet and stood.

"Right, well..." She fumbled over her words, clearing her throat to buy a moment to collect herself. "Either way, we're all going to need some healing. The mythal boundary is just outside of the glade to the north there, so if you could all accompany me as we discuss our next move? It shouldn't take long..."

Ashara had no desire to muck around the with fickle Mythal any longer today. No more tentacles or exploding bubbles or spontaneous disrobing... This was like putting a mental patient in charge of the Weave! What would happen next?? Cattle falling from the sky? The strangest part was how little trouble they had with it before arriving at the Dawnspire!

Elric hopped up and brushed the loose dirt on his pants. "Right let's do it then." He quickly gathered up his own loose articles and turned toward the boundary of the City of Song.

"What I would suggest... Is just staying up here if we can... It seems every minute we travel is another chance at grisly death... and if West is where we need to go... there's no sense backtracking to the south if we don't need to."

He turned to the others and tried to gauge their interest. "Ashara has a warding that we've been using to get a good nights sleep... but even if that doesn't work, there's enough of us here to work a decent watch system," He grinned over at Ashara. "For a change..."

"I ain't got nuthin' I need to be going to the Dawnspire for..." Durlan stated confidently. "Nights round here get pretty ugly... but shouldn't be anythin' we can't handle..."

Without a word, Elric led the way back the same way they had arrived. Before long, he felt the familiar tingle as they passed the border of the mythal. He shivered involuntarily as chills went down his spine. When he turned he saw Jorelon standing a few paces behind them chewing his lip nervously.

"Actually... " they young priest said quietly. "I actually think I'll stay on this side... I haven't used all my own spells today, and I'll stay far enough back to avoid any backlash... but..." he shook his head slowly. "It's best not to leave..."

"Why..... Ohhhh...." Elric was struck by sudden understanding. "Have you been caged by the Mythal too?"

"Leashed might be a better word." he said with a wry grin. "I haven't been here long enough to turn to dust or anything... but I'd rather not risk a few extra years if I can avoid it...

"Besides.. there's still the blueglow moss over here if the magic doesn't want to work... I'd hate to lose my infravision too..."

Just outside the Mythal, the priestess found herself standing nearly on top of the spot where they'd found the bones of Sub prior Baerant Telcharr only three days previous. This time she was able to smile. Alaecathra had spoken with heartfelt passion at the man's funeral. Loved and respected, the brave brother certainly lived a long life filled with adventure, and now he'd gone to his glorious reward! Ashara hoped for much the same.

She could understand Jorelon's reluctance to allow those Mythal-tethered years to slip away from him. Life and youth were precious commodities! When the priestess left Impresk for the road in 1370, she'd been three months younger than Elric. Today...as things stood, she was four years older. The loss of those years still stung a bit, but she hoped to get that aging reversed. At some point!

It hadn't registered at the time, but upon exiting the magic dead area around Gemblaunt, Jorelon seemed to have regained the years he'd lost. As if the area had simply suspended the powers of the mythal instead of canceling them out. She still had her infravision too! Granted, had the Abbess gone down there, she would have turned to dust as readily as the sub prior had, and Ashara was quite sure that wouldn't reverse itself.

"So it was the moss healing our wounds! Scars too?" The priestess blinked in surprised and took hold of her gem studded medallion as she approached Kaldric to begin her castings.

Jorelon had retreated into the Mythal about forty feet to start work on patching himself up. Just in case something else went wrong!

"Yep! Scars too," he nodded. "It's even been known to regenerate limbs, repair organs...cure disease... Some say it can even grant a little protection from certain magics. Then of course there's the infravision!"

Ashara's mouth turned down in a little pout when she realized she'd lost it by stepping outside the boundary. "Awww...."
"An easy fix," he chuckled. "All you've gotta do is sleep on the stuff and you're likely to wake up with it tomorrow morning. Provided we aren't too disturbed tonight!"

Jorelon continued as Ashara began magically mending the mage's crushed ribs. Those tentacles had not been kind... "It generally flourishes under the Mythal, but we don't have many patches of the blueglow moss around the Dawnspire. With the Dawnstone there though, it's not as essential. Out here in the field!? It's invaluable!"

As Ashara worked through the familiar gestures and prayers for the various Healing magics outside the Mythal, her fellow Morninglord was going through his inside it. Just as she finished a Heal and wincing through a shadow of the pain from all those lightning bolts Elric absorbed, the world erupted in chaos around them! Again...

Suddenly all manner of loose objects in a wide radius around Jorelon began to dart through the air! Rocks, sticks, clumps of sod dug up by the dead hobgoblin... The dead hobgoblin... Everything not nailed down became a missile weapon! Even one of the chests of gold crashed into a tree, bursting the lock and sending a cloud of flying coins into the air, only adding to the whirlwind of pain.

After a few moments of dodging and ducking, everything that had just gone airborne fell unceremoniously to the ground. Somehow there were no serious injuries. Only a few scratches here and there.

"Umm...sorry!" Jorelon looked over sheepishly, while Durlan grumbled and pulled the pine cones from his much-maltreated beard.

"At least it wasn't tentacles!" Ashara laughed, and finished up the rest of the healing without incident. "Now lets see about this Inner Sanctum... You may want to give me a wide berth for this one!"

Fishing out the materials needed for the complex spell, she handed the Haversack to her husband and moved into the glade. A tiny bit of trepidation tightened her jaw as Ashara began marking out the twenty foot perimeter of the powerful ward.

Things seemed to be going so well...

Upon finishing the spell, all control of the magic was wrested from her grasp, and the ground around her began heaving and undulating beneath her feet! Ashara scrambled back to her companions and looked on with wide eyes as something large started rising!.

A small stone chimney was the first to present itself, followed by the grass-thatched roof upon which it sat. Slowly, shockingly, a large cottage emerged from the ground! Logs of the same red maple trees that were found along the boarders of the glade, made up the walls of the structure, within which were set two shuttered windows on each side. There were even window boxes filled with blueglow moss that hung on the sills beneath the glass panes.

Ashara blinked. Twice.

She pointed a finger toward the Secure Shelter and turned to the others with an incredulous look on her face. "Did you see? Is that?

"Huh..."

The door of the cabin was opened as if in welcome invitation. Within, Ashara could distinctly see a small fireplace, a table with five chairs, a writing desk...and bunk beds... Stumbling over words was suddenly no longer an issue for the young woman.

Tagging Elric's shoulder, she laughed aloud and bolted for the cottage. "I call top bunk!!"

"Leave a Lower one fer ME!!!" the dwarf answered loudly as he headed toward the spell-summoned shelter. "No self-respectin' dwarf sleeps in the sky!!!"

Elric laughed so hard he had to grip his side and feared falling over. "This is not the ward i was talking about..." He said wiping tears from his eyes and heading into the house.

Inside was nice... Rustic, but nice... Enough bunks for 8 people, a fireplace... definitely cozier than the wards he was used to.

"Apparently Kaldric's wife is feeling apologetic for the earlier smiting!" Jorelon suggested with a wink.

"No doubt..." The half-elf agreed dropping the Haversack on a table. Only to see it immediately whisked up by some unseen force and carefully placed on a shelf. One eyebrow raised up in curious amusement.

"Nice... Not only do we get a house... We get a [i]Haunted one[i]... "

"Aww now, he's not a haunt!" Ashara grinned as she hoisted herself up onto the top bunk and flopped down onto the mattress with her hands clasped behind her head. "It's an Unseen Servant that comes with the cottage. Very useful! See, watch!"

The priestess shifted to one side, propping her head up with a hand. "Mr. Servant," she called out, "could you please bring me that Haversack?"

Without a sound the pack was lifted from the shelf it had been resting upon and floated through the air to her waiting grasp.

"Thank you!" She reached in and removed a small fold of leather with a few mundane tools and scraps inside before instructing the magical force further. "Now, Mr. Servant, the half elf's shirt has a few scorched holes in it. Please gently remove the shirt and mend it up with these," she held out the fold of leather, which was promptly borne aloft. "Thanks again!"

Stifling a giggle, Ashara lay back down on her bunk then reached up to rap her knuckles against the hardwood beam just over her head that stretched the width of the cottage. "You've outdone yourself this time," she whispered to the tempestuous Mythal. "Thanks for this!"

It wasn't that she necessarily believed that the Mythal could be wounded by their words. That it could feel... But somehow Kaldric had managed to live for ten long years in this place, and as a wizard...a wizard who had no fear of casting within these boundaries, considering today's events alone, it seemed a VERY long life indeed!

Speaking aloud again, she addressed her companions. "Secure as this Shelter might be from your everyday threats, I'm not sure that it's necessarily demon proof and I know for certain that it's not dragon proof! The doors and shutters will be Wizard Locked when they're closed, the chimney has a grate over the opening, and there is an Alarm spell cast over each of these portals when we're ready for that. In spite of all this, we may still want to consider taking watches."

Elric nodded in agreement. Watches were something he usually favored. Alone, they had the ward that had guarded them from the wyverns only a few short miles from where they stood now... but it had taken the half-elf many... many months to trust the ward as implicitly as he did now. The idea of just sleeping, even next to his new wife, when surrounded by assassins, bandits, cyricists and who knew what else... it went against so much of his ever-alert Turo's training. Without the ward, he had no issues with a watch system.

He felt a tug as the invisible servant began pulling his shirt from. Stifling a laugh he helped pull the shirt off and watched it start to float away. With a grin he held firm and watched it stretch taut. Having some idea where the mysterious thing was he whispered a new set of commands to be completed after the mending was done. Then sat back in a chair and grinned mischievously up at his wife.

"So... Where we headin' next anyway?" The dwarf asked oblivious to what was going on between the Everdawns. Jorelon produced a map and spread it on the table.

"Here's what's been suggested. We're up here at the Lover's Glade... We're pretty sure Shaundakul's Throne is a correct guess." He pointed to a location near the northwest of the map. It's not TOO far from where we're at..."

"What about the others?" Durlan questioned again.

"Well... Here's the Windsong Tower.. or at least what's remaining of it..." The priest had trouble disguising the doubt in his voice. "Six Tyryl towers were over to the south... There's not much left of it though... In fact, we passed fairly close to the ruins of it on our way up here.. but if the arm is going to do that fire thing when we get close... it should have done something there..."

"So the throne next?" Elric asked still grinning in anticipation.

"That would be my recommendation... 'Where six are one'... and 'Where song lives' are still pretty open to interpretation. Maybe getting the next piece will give us more clues?" The Lathandarian simply shrugged helplessly.

"I've been thinking about the locations some myself," Kaldric spoke up, "and it seems there's a pattern there that may eliminate my earlier theories."

The Veil Initiate advanced to where Jorelon had placed the map and studied the city's layout with a transfixed stare. "The two structures we're rather sure about are both temples---or holy places, at the least," he corrected himself, thinking of the glade they even now rested in. "While the Windsong Tower would have been the ideal location to store an artifact of such significant power, I'm not so sure that's the decision they made. Our best bet would be to check out this structure," Kaldric pointed to a massive building due west of their current staging point, positioned right in the crux of where the northern border of the ruin angled ninety degrees. "This is the House of Song, an Oghman temple that was renowned as a depository for music of all kinds in Myth Drannor. It fits the theme of holy houses, and matches the clue of 'Where song lives.'"

Silence interrupted for a long moment as his eyes scrutinized the map. He grimaced then, and shook his head with obvious frustration. "The other still makes little sense to me as to where it could be. There are two temples I can recall that worshiped multiple deities, and both are next to the Westfields. The Scholars' Hope is here," he indicated a smaller structure just northeast of the Westfields, "but it venerated only four gods: Dugmaren Brightmantle, Oghma, Deneir, and Corellan Larethian---and all of them were venerated separately, not as one." He shifted his finger to a small building to the southeast part of the fields. "The second is here: The High Axes Hall. To the best of my knowledge, every dwarven deity was worshiped there, which adds up to a number greater than six.

"So, admittedly, I'm still at a loss as to what that last portion of the riddle might be talking about."

Ashara lay there quietly, keeping one narrowed eye on the suspiciously merry half elf as she listened to the conversation.

She'd read of Shaundakul's Throne in her studies, though only in name, and it held a good deal of interest for her. Piece of the Arm or no!

Venerated by explorers and travelers, a fair number of half elves and at least acknowledged by many who suffered from acute wanderlust, the Rider of the Winds was once an Intermediate Power with his main temple based here in Myth Drannor. Once the city fell to darkness he was all but forgotten...reduced to the status of a Demipower until after the Time of Troubles where he picked up some followers during that nasty business with Waukeen.

Shaundakul was an old deity. He predated even the Dawn Cataclysm, when the Dark Goddess' underhanded machinations so heinously twisted Lathander's glorious vision for the pantheon...

The morninglord clenched her jaw tightly, resisting the urge to spit or scream at the very thought of Shar. Of all the damage...all the death caused in her name.

May her black heart be revealed in the brilliance of the Dawn...her cherished secrets becoming the scorn of all, so that she herself may feel the pain and loss of all those she'd caused to suffer since the beginning of time!!

It was Kaldric's mention of the House of Song that snapped her out of her moment of fury.

"Wait, what? Musical depository?" Ashara swung her legs back over the bunk and hopped down to the floor with a loud clank of her plate mail. "The temple of Oghma...'Where song lives'! Brilliant! And that's here?" She tapped her finger at the spot where the mage had indicated a moment ago.

Jorelon nodded with eyebrows raised. "Certainly sits better than the Windsong Tower possibility and we'll actually reach Oghma's temple before we will Shaundakul's, so I see no reason why we shouldn't start there!"

The priestess' mind began buzzing with thoughts of a long lost trove of musical works. It wouldn't have been the first they'd found, and doubtfully the oldest, but she knew exactly how much a single song rediscovered in Myth Drannor would mean to her husband. It would be a wonderful birthday gift!

This journey had become much more than a sight-seeing trip though, she reminded herself, picking up the magical gauntlet from where she'd placed it beside her on the top bunk. The Dawnspire itself was at stake and finding the pieces of the Arm would come first and foremost. But...you know...if there were scrolls just lying around...

She pulled herself back to the matter at hand. "It could be that there will be further clues, as you mentioned Jorelon, like the ones we found in this one," indicating the rerebrace she was wearing. "Something to help us with that final piece of the puzzle..."

Lifting the gauntlet level to her eyes she turned it about, looking for some kind of tiny secret compartment as they'd found in the first piece. Nothing. "But I don't see anything on this one and it would make sense that one piece would be the key to all the others.

"Then again..."

Ashara turned her head toward the doorway and looked out into the glade as she continued. "If the naga came here purposefully to find the gauntlet, then perhaps there's some evidence of how it knew to look here. Maybe of whom it could be working with!" Lips pressed together as another idea presented itself. "Maybe the gauntlet wasn't the first piece it found..."

With a resolute expression stamped firmly upon her features, Ashara took her handy carving knife and headed toward door, past the desk where Elric's shirt was still being stitched up and into the glade where not far away lay the body of the dark naga.

Waterdeep, Dagadar, Calimport and...well Caradoon to be honest, had inured the young woman to most forms of ick, and she was no novice to having her hands inside people for healing or animals while dressing one for a meal. Still, she couldn't remember a time when she had to gut an adversary to see what he carried with him! Thank the Dawn that Durlan had cut off its disturbingly humanoid head!

***

She was lucky, and it didn't take long at all to find the naga's internal 'backpack', likely because it was stretched to capacity! After carefully cleaning off the items, the priestess brought them inside the cottage and set them gently in the corner for the others to peruse. Two crystal vials, a silver flask, two scroll cases, and two footman's maces.

"Well, I didn't find any other pieces of our quarry or even evidence of why the naga might have known to dig here..." Ashara walked back over beside her bunk and started unbuckling the heavy mithril plates of her armor. "Maybe it was just here for the gold and got lucky. Judging from what he was carrying inside him though, I'm not going to say that checking wasn't worth the effort!"

Elric's eyes bulged as she displayed the newest treasure horde. "Yeah... Definitely worth the effort... Scrolls... potions... all good stuff..."

"But nuthin' about the 'Six is one' clue." Durlan muttered.

"Nope. But that was a long shot anyway... " The half-elf refused to be disappointed. 'Where Song Lives.' 'The House of Song'... That just FELT right.

His nose crinkled a little as he came across a disturbing thought. "I'm sorry I left my mandolin back at the Dawnspire... Maybe we'll get lucky and I can find another one just lying around."

Jorelon raised his eyebrows incredulously. "That seems unlikely... and music could well bring a horde of angry monsters towards us..."

Elric chuckled a bit... "True... though we HAVE already stumbled across a harp... So a Mandolin isn't unheard of... as for bringing the monsters down on us... One: They seem to be coming anyways... and Two... To be able to play on same stage as the bards of legend... to Play in Myth Drannor... Ohhhh, I may be willing to fight a few monsters for THAT privilege!" He laughed aloud and winked at Ashara. "I've even got a special song or two in mind..."

"It would certainly be worth a little risk if the opportunity presents itself," she nodded enthusiastically to Jorelon. "You've just got to hear 'The Throat Punching of a Dragon', but as for the other one Elric is referring to..." Ashara turned a playful smirk to the half elf, calling his bluff. "Honestly, I'm not sure he remembers all the lyrics. I can't remember the last time he's gotten past verse two!"

Grinning, the priestess finished removing the mithril plates and the chain of her armor and set it carefully against the wall. Everything hurt. She was used to spending all day in heavy armor...that was nothing new, but she'd never had to run long distances in it while half carrying her husband! And that was only the first part of the day! She'd also not expected to be crushed by a giant mechanical scorpion, be assaulted by her own Silence spell, or be electrocuted by undead snakes. Ashara imagined the others were in similar states of weariness! Ahh a life of adventuring... Never gets dull!

"As to the 'Six is one' thing," she said, walking back over to the table upon which the map of the city was displayed, "if I recall, Kaldric also suggested the possibility of the Sixstar? That point where six roads all meet?"

It was easy enough to spot the appropraite place near the central, western side of the city. Well west of Castle Cormanthor, which she felt was entirely for the best!

"We could check out the House of Song first and then head west along the northernmost road to visit Shaundakul's Throne after that. If we skirt along the edges of the city we could work our way to the western side and take a peek around the Windsong Tower and Sixstar area. If the final piece is close, the others will let us know!"

About that time the Unseen Servant finished with his mending of Elric's shirt and after folding it neatly, set it to rest on the writing desk.

She heard a creak as her husband readjusted his seat in anticipation, rocking on the back legs of his chair, but unaware of the plot against her the priestess continued on.

"There is one place along the way I wouldn't mind visiting if we get the chance and it's not too much of a risk..." She tapped gently at the place on the map near the northwest corner of the city that the lorespirit had indicated two days ago. "This is House Hawksong. We have a friend in Evereska, a priest of Corellon, and I'd love to... AHH!"

A loud, shocked yelp issued from the young woman after feeling a sharp jab at her back. Whirling around, Ashara saw...nothing.

Nothing that is but a smug half elf, rocking back in his chair with his hands laced behind his head!

Many more jabs followed. Unseen hands peppered her body with tiny points of pressure that didn't hurt so much as tickle tremendously! She stumbled backwards, knocking over an empty chair and shrieking with laughter as her companions at the table leaped to their feet thinking something was wrong.

"Stop, stop, stop!" Ashara shouted to the invisible force once she caught her breath, and it did so immediately.

Tears that had been streaming down her face were hastily wiped away from her cheeks which were stained bright scarlet from embarrassment, while Elric was trying desperately not to fall out of his chair from hysterics... With moderate success.

"Mr. Servant." She ordered in a flat voice. "I'd like you to clean and polish my armor please. Take your time. I want to see the Dawn shining in it by morning."

With the magical force no longer between her and the offending half elf, Ashara made a show of being quite vexed and strode purposefully over to her husband. She stood over him and leaned in, resting her hand on the wall behind him to whisper into his ear.

"Lle naa herenya lye naa n'ereb, Melamin, nan' uuma nowa amin demaduva sina! Amin feithaya... <You are fortunate we are not alone, my love, but don't think I'll forget this! I can wait...>" The threat hung there ominously for a moment.

"Saifinia lakwena <A cunning joke>," she chuckled softly, continuing in a low voice that teased the rim of his pointed ear, "nan' i'ento luume' lle dethola a' lirilla camea no' amin, uma ikotane yassen i'camea lle harya. <but the next time you choose to lay hands on me, do so with the hands you possess.>"

Elric chuckled softly. "Lle sane i'noa tuulo amin dol, Mela en' coiamin..." <You took the idea from my head, Love of my life...> His eyes were dancing with poorly contained mirth. He knew she was serious, but he also knew she wasn't that serious. He knew there would be retribution when he least expected it... He knew that before he had even given the order.

He was looking forward to it.

"Aru.... Manka amin merna i'nat ume eithel... Amin lave, ta ume amin intye, nan.... I'tuar demade ilya i'quelinin yammen" <Besides... If I want something done well... I suppose it tried I guess, but...The servant missed all the best places!">

He wrapped his arms around her, fingers teasingly walking along her back. Not for the first time, he regretted acquiring their new group. Good people all... but the idea of having the magical cabin to themselves held a lot of appeal.

A look of concern crossed his face as his wandering hands came across a knot in a place it didn't belong. The resulting flinch only confirmed his suspicions. Made sense. His own body was sore all over. The mortal body was never meant to be broken and healed.... torn and healed... cut and healed... burned and electrocuted... and healed, so much in one day.

"Need a little help there?" The half-elf offered still grinning from his little game.

The mage smirked at the lovers' play, despite himself. "Sounds like we have our course---what we know if it anyhow." He tore prismatic eyes from the map, but kept them on the floor as he wandered to the far corner of the hut. Let them play, he admonished the irritation that welled up in him. Let them enjoy each other for a time.

With a yawn to ward off his growing exhaustion, Kaldric settled down onto the floor in a cross-legged sitting position. Long ago, the Veil Initiate had embedded a trio of spells to memory that he could recall whenever he desired after a time of meditation. The toughest part was forgetting the spell already in his head to make room for those committed deeper in his consciousness. He knew an incantation that brought into being an invisible hound to act as a guard dog which would work perfectly for their current environs, and would provide each of them with an honest night's rest without worry, if they chose to accept it.

Somehow, he doubted that would be the case; not with this crew. The lovers were good folk from what he had deciphered about them, but they had seen too much in their past travels in the world to trust. Few understood the intricacies of such devotion, even among the faithful ironically enough, so Kaldric hardly blamed them for it. Their accusations and fears expressed before the Naga fight had shown him the futility of trying to make sense of it. People set in their ways rarely listen to reason.

The mage chuckled as he identified that train of thought with his own mindset before rolling his shoulders back and falling into a shallow, meditative state.

Comfortably settled onto Elric's lap, Ashara was slowly reduced to a puddle of goo under his skillful ministrations. The playful prank, as was always the case, was immediately forgiven with but a touch. Forgiven perhaps...but it was not forgotten. Recompense would be made. Oh yes...

She was looking forward to it.

Jorelon and Durlan each went about their own preparations before nightfall. The priest, chewing on some trail rations, was going over some of the finer details of the route they would be taking tomorrow, committing possible escape routes and places to take cover to memory just in case. The dwarf, grumbling out of one side of his mouth and chawing some jerky on the other, was trying to tame his poor abused beard which still resembled some sort of poodle stuck to his chin after the lightning from the scorpions and nagas.

After a few minutes, Ashara peeked one eye open to see that darkness was descending upon the ruins. The window boxes full of blueglow moss were beginning to do as their name implied. In spite of the comfort of the cottage, part of her regretted not having the moss patches to sleep on tonight, since Jorelon was still pretty wounded even though he'd treated the injuries he could with herbs and bandages. He especially could use a good night's rest. All of them would be sore tomorrow after the events of this day, though adrenaline could do remarkable things and travelling through demon infested ruins really got the the heart pumping!

The priestess rose after a sigh and stretch of satisfaction and spun an empty chair around behind Elric, eager to return the favor. There were was no lack of tension in the half elf's back and shoulders either. Even without the threat of turning into a demon, the molydeus had caused more damage than she'd ever seen her husband take. And he'd taken A LOT!! Worst of all, the monster was still out there... Honestly she wondered if that was the cause of his tension or hers!

"I'll take third watch," she spoke aloud to their companions, as she gently pressed the heel of her palm to the left of his spine and slid it up to his shoulder. Ashara had no doubt there would be pain there. That shoulder had nearly been severed by a giant axe earlier that day and though the Heal spell had done its job, the newly fused muscles and bones would be sore for a couple days after that kind of maltreatment.

"Jorelon, I can wake you for fourth so you can get some good rest in and the rest of you can fight over first and second watches." Ashara smiled as she worked, planting a quick kiss at the back of Elric's neck. She had no intention of waking her brother at the beginning of his watch. Maybe just at the end of it so he could see the sky slowly lightening. She wouldn't deny him that.

Elric looked over to the trancing mage and grinned. What was it about mages and 'watches'... Looking over at Durlan he grinned. "Kaldric looks out, so I guess the first two are us. Any preference?"

"Not particularly..." the dwarf answered staring out into the darkness. "You've had yerself a day of it... If yer tired get some sleep. I'll stay up fer the first..."

"Bahh... I've had wors... aahhhh... Ooooohh.... " He flinched as Ashara worked a particularly stubburn knot loose. In hindsight... He wasn't entirely certain that was true. Quickly he amended himself. "Ok... maybe not worse... but equally bad. Still.. if you want first, I'll not argue it." Truth was, he was used to the later shifts and of course, if Ashara was on the third... then he'd be able to wake her when necessary. Ideas started forming in his mind...

"You seem nervous Durlan. See anything?" Jorelon asked quietly. The dwarf just shook his head, still staring into the night.

"Nah... but I'm feelin' a bit exposed out here." He nearly had the beard laying flat again, but Elric had a hard time looking his way without cracking a grin. He valued life too much to SAY anything... but the fluffy beard would be the talk of years to come...

"House is nice and all... but anything passin' this ways gonna know it wasn't here yesterday.."

"Doors are locked... window's sealed." Elric offered but the dwarf wasn't hearing him.

"Even if they can't get in... They know we're here..." he continue. "Personally I prefer campsites they may be able to walk past... Come the mornin' we'd best be on our guard..." The half-elf nodded in agreement.


********************************************************

Outside watching eyes had indeed noticed the new structure in sacred glade. It knew a secure shelter when it saw one and as sensitive ears listened to the snippets of conversation inside it tried to determine what it was dealing with. Random Mythal effect... Highly powerful mage... Quietly it settled in to watch. It wanted to know more about these people before it chose to act....[justify][left]