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Thryn came out of the shadows, knowing staying there was stupid.
"That Hakeshar, can read minds i can feel it({OOC in my finger, i can feel it in me toes(Sorry im in a good mood))}best me careful.
Why do you want to know all of this Mage?"

Not knowing what those red eyes were, faisal foolishly asks:

Also could you get rid of that pathetic blimp over your head with the red eyes.
It is ugly looking and giving me a headache.
Child that is a hakeshar, a power full being,(too powerfull if you ask me ,Thryn thought to himself)Damn, and it can read minds.

@Rail: His offer?
BTW, I have no problems with you speaking for my characters, especially Void, as long as you don’t mess up But I haven’t a complaint this time, so good job.
*****

The blast stopped, and Virdel took a few deep breaths, and returned, albeit shakily, to his feet. By now, his long white hair had fallen over his face, and he brushed it somewhat out of his vision, looking back to Magus. "Faithful pet, no? Does it get treats for fighting for you?" Virdel grinned again. "Now, before I answer any question for you, where are my weapons." Virdel's expression quickly turned from amusement to impatience.

Virdel’s assertion of not only Thryn, but yet another person in the room hangs in the air.

Magus replies to his latter statement, ignoring the revelation for now. “Unlike you, drow, people do things for me out of respect, not just profit. It’s called friendship; a foreign concept to you, I’m sure,” Magus retorts with a frown, completely ignoring Virdel’s mental offer. People like Virdel disgusted him. Such arrogant boastfulness quickly got on his nerves. Unfortunately, it was a common trait amongst the fools he was forced to deal with on a daily basis, not least among them the Cowled Wizards. Still unaccustomed to shielding his psionics after a decade of being relatively secluded, his disgust is felt by everyone in the room.

-You’re projecting again.- Void reminds him.

Magus sighs inwardly. He had to remain focused. He had to control the powers, not let them run wild.

He continues. “As for your weapons, do not be foolish. Until you prove your trustworthiness, you’ll get no favors from me. And as of now, I’m afraid you have a long way to go.” This time his voice is cold and emotionless, revealing nothing, and mirroring his expression. Magus turns away from Virdel, dismissing him for the moment. He had no desire for verbal sparring presently.

“You mentioned that Lazal’s power grew as the battle progressed.” Magus says, addressing Xandax and Faisal, his features still a stone mask. “The reason was he was merely toying with you. I had a glimpse of his powers. For whatever reason, concealment perhaps, or maybe just his amusement, he was only revealing but a fraction of his power. He could have razed the tavern if the mood struck him. Consider yourself fortunate that it did not.”

“The protections he erected were not divine, I can assure you of that. Most likely just a common protection spell. He doesn’t seem the type to strain himself unduly.” Magus lets the implications of that sink in.

"Why do you want to know all of this, Mage?" Faisal asks, breaking the silence. “Also, could you get rid of that pathetic blimp over your head with the red eyes. It is ugly looking and giving me a headache.”

Speak for yourself, worm. comes a sinister, spidery thought.

-Void, try not to antagonize our guests, except, perhaps, for that overconfident drow. He, like most of his kind, would benefit from a little pride reduction.- Magus tells the hakeashar telepathically. Void’s eyes flare eagerly at the permission, no request, to torment the uppity little mortal.

Thryn steps out of the shadows. “That hakeshar can read minds, I can feel it. Best be careful,” he says solemnly.

Correct, little elf. The voice in his mind is like a whisper. A faint feeling of amusement is woven into the words.

“Yes, he is a hakeashar, and my familiar. Though Void is a creature of darkness, like our drow here, judge not by heritage alone.” Virdel, mentally snorting, catches the double meaning in his words. “And like me, he is adept in the art of psionics.”

Magus then addresses the first question. “As I said before, I wish to keep the current guild war from getting out of hand. Lazal is only one of many players in this deadly game of chess. Perhaps he isn’t even the most powerful. Regardless, one must know his enemies, lest they catch him unaware. And, as I understand, none of you have reason to be fond of this man. One of my goals is to find out what he’s up to, and stop him if necessary. I already know from other contacts that he has ties with the Cowled Wizards. They fear him, as would be expected.”

“Apparently, though, none of you knows any more than I do about Lazal. Either that or you don’t care to tell me. No matter. Lazal is important, but not paramount. I have a task for each of you, if you care to accept. I need to find out what’s going on within the guilds themselves. I need spies, if you will. All of you but the drow are newcomers to Athkatla, which suits my purposes perfectly.”

Magus looks at Faisal and Xandax. “The Black Helm is my main concern. I have a few old friends in the Cowled Wizards and the Shadow Thieves. But the Black Helm has risen only recently, and I know little of them. I ask you two to join the guild, together or separately, and gather information. You are skilled fighters, so I’m sure gaining entrance would not be a problem.”

Next he turns to Thryn. “I would have you join the Shadow Thieves. Getting accepted will be a little more difficult, but nothing some guile and a show of skill wouldn’t solve.”

Magus’s gaze encompasses them all once more. “I don’t ask you necessarily to betray the guild you join. My current aim is assessing the situation, no more. Do your task well, and your reward shall be a fine one, indeed. If gold is your desire, I have plenty of that, though it is easy enough to come by in Athkatla. Perhaps more worth your effort is a few of the many magical trinkets I’ve created and acquired throughout my life. Finally, you’ll have gained an influential friend in a city where friends can be hard to come by. That in itself is something to think about.” Magus pauses.

“Any more questions? You don’t have to make your decision now, if you choose. I’ll be around the city, finding out what I can through other means. The offer will stand for a few more days, if you want to seek me out.”

Virdel wonders suspiciously what Magus is up to. Why had the mage brought him here to listen to this?
*****

@all: What do you guys think? I figured our little conversation was going nowhere fast, so I added a little mercenary appeal.

I regret that huge stretches of dialogue aren't exactly my strongpoint. Hopefully I didn't bore you all TOO much

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

[ 07-18-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

Virdel listened carefully to Magus's speech, and at the end, he sarcastically applauded. The all to familar grin crossed his face again as he tilted his head up to meet Magus, who was now looking at him, a look of annoyance in his face. "Pretty speech. But what in the nine hells does it have to do with me!" Virdel's words turn into a snarl as he finishes. "I don't even know why your "pet" attacked me earlier! All I wanted was to make sure those bloody Black Helm gaurds wouldn't report me to their captain. Obviously, because I didn't find them here, I found you, the entire orgainization knows about a Drow running loose in the city. That's not something that allows for an easy life style!" Virdel leaned against the fall, his anger and frustration finally subsided back to his more calm, and reasonable nature. He glanced to Magus, and saw the sly smile cross his face. Virdel then realized why Magus did not have Void kill him. Magus knew all along Virdel was not a source of problems. Virdel then realized at how much of a fool he had made himself out to be. "You are a cunning man, I'll grant you that. Perhaps I shall tell you, somewhat, of my invovlment with these Mages."

Virdel stood back up straight, and walked to the centre of the room. Magus just stood siliently, regarding the Drow as he moved, waiting for him to speak. "As you already pointed out, I did kill Tolgerias." Off, in the corner of his eye, he saw Rail shift a bit. He had hated Tolgerias, just as much as every other wizard in Athkatla, Magus being an exception. He had also been trying to kill Tolgerias for a few months now. Virdel smiled inwardly to himself, and continued. "I also witnessed one guard of the Black Helm eliminate a dozen or so Shadow Thieves, without breaking a sweat. It was his weapon, some sort of enchanted halberd I believe. I also spotted a person watching the fight, and followed him. A Theif I would a imagine. Followed him to an alley, but lost him shortly after." Magus did nothing but nod in response. He was getting exactly what he wanted out of Virdel, now that he had calmed down.

"Lastly, just earlier today, I would imagine anyway, I encountered a group of Shadow Theives fighting off a Pit Fiend, and doing a mighty poor job of it. I rushed in to help them. When it was killed, it was the oddest thing. They gathered up their dead and wounded, and begin to leave, when a massive fireball erupted from no where, and engulfed them all. They were murdered, by wizard. Thats all I know." Virdel turned to Magus again. "Now, my weapons."


@Rail: is it okay that I assumed you were out to get Tolgerias? I knew you hate mages, so I figured you'd be out for him. If there is anything wrong with it, I'll edit it.

@Magus: Please can I have my weapons back.. I'll be ever so good, and play nice with the other children from now on!

Magus looks at Faisal and Xandax. “The Black Helm is my main concern. I have a few old friends in the Cowled Wizards and the Shadow Thieves. But the Black Helm has risen only recently, and I know little of them. I ask you two to join the guild, together or separately, and gather information. You are skilled fighters, so I’m sure gaining entrance would not be a problem.”

Xandax thought for at while – then turned to Magus.
“Look me up tomorrow short after noon – you will have my decision then. I suspect you will have no problem finding people in this city, am I right?” Xandax grinned.

Then Xandax turned to Faisal. “I need to go equip myself, and need to ponder over what has happen – we will split up shortly, because I feel that you might need some soul-searching to, as regarding you cleric-role. Meet me a short time before noon in the Copper Coronet – if you can make it, is that okay with you?”

Xandax exited the temple, went down the stairs and onto the street. It was still dark – but getting lighter for the hour. There was a cool breeze – and it felt good to Xandax.
“I wonder if he is telling the truth – this Magus with his creature. And if he is – is his goals noble or just self-interest. He could easily sway the tides of this turmoil by openly supporting one of the groups – but then he might end up supporting something he doesn’t support.”

Xandax came to the conclusion that this mage actually didn’t like these groups, but since they were the powerbase in the city one could not remove them, well at least not some of them.

The city was starting to buzz with life as Xandax walked the city. It had been awhile since he had been in such a city. Addressing a nobleman and a couple of beggars about where to purchase equipment he found that this Bernard in the Copper Coronet indeed had plenty things, but one should try the Adventures Mart in Waukeens Promenade.

Entering the promenade it was dawn, but the shop wasen’t open yet so Xandax found a tavern to sit and wait for a while. His mind started to drift.
”I wonder if this mage could help my problem, he thought – I need something to vanquish a death, well possible death necromancer – he needs to be beyond resurrection”
Xandax left this tavern when the hour passed eight o’clock and went into the Adventures Mart.
An hour later Xandax emerged with a new set of full plate amour. But he had also made a good deal and purchased a ring of protection +2, now this will come in handy.

Xandax made his way towards the Copper Coronet and entered the place. He was not recognized by the barkeep.
Xandax sat down and thought “Yeah - I like it here – I might as well see what is up here, I’ll take Magus up on his offer.”
While Xandax waited for Faisal he began to polish his sword – it was bloodstain after the last couple of days – but the engraved “Ferox” seemed unstained.
At his foot his shield stood – also with an engraved name “Curator” – the shield had also saved his life plenty of time, especially with its magical resistances.

{OOC: @Magus: you are doing great - I had thought about how to advance the story, but came up blank }

@All-Don't leave me too far behind

*****

As soon as Kierran left the bartender, he began to think of what the bartender told him. “It looks like all is not well in this part of the city,” Kierran thought as he stepped out of the Copper Coronet. He allowed his mind to wander off for a while, as he stood alone on one of the dirty streets of the slums, “Two incidents…. both unrelated, and yet, both of them seem to involve powerful figures.” Remembering about the injuries sustained by the participants of the battle that nearly destroyed the Copper Coronet, Kierran wondered if they had gone to seek help at the nearby Temple of Ilmater. “Of course, they couldn’t have traveled far if what that bartender told me had any truth in it” he slapped his forehead with his right hand, “oh well, it doesn’t hurt to take a look…. after all, I have lots of time on to search for other clues to my being in this place.“ With that, he made his way to the Temple of Ilmater,

******

Kierran pounded his fist on the wooden door that held the entrance to the temple. A few minutes passed by before a soft voice could be heard from inside, “who seeks the blessing of Ilmater? “
“I am…..” Kierran paused a while before resuming, “ just a lowly beggar in need of shelter”
The door opened, revealing the features of a young priestess of Ilmater, “Do come in, Ilmater welcomes all in need with open arms”
Kierran thanked the priestess, feeling a little guilty that he had to deceive her. ”Best to remain anonymous until my questions are answered, “ thought Kierran as he pulled back his cloak,” perhaps I should ask her if she knew of the two fellows who were injured in the Copper Coronet fight”

[ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: Brink ]

Thryn snuck quietly out, in the shadows, he crept into the docks locking for a smith, he had heard of a "Cromwell" asking round he found him, "Dwarf"
"Aye?"
"Are you the famed cromwell?"
"Fammed, nay me lad yt i do be cromwell, what do you as of me?"
Thryn drew out Veneum
"That be a mighty sword, what be wrong with it me lad?"
"It needs repairs"
"Aye it seems so"
Thryn gave the dwarf a gem and wait for the handy work to be done

@Xandax: Thanks. BTW, how could the barkeep have forgotten you? You, with your little brawl, made his life a living hell. Alright, it already was a living hell, but you added insult to injury

@craig: Good thinking. Your failed backstab against Lazal would definitely have caused some damage to your blade.

*****

Magus nods in satisfaction, gesturing to Virdel for him to wait. When the other three have left, Magus turns his attention to the drow once again.

“One more thing.” Magus says cooly, calmly, his face a mask of serenity. Virdel’s drow intuition tingles, warning him of treachery. Well he wouldn’t go down without a fight...

“What do you know of Aegis?” The sudden question catches him off-guard.

*****

Rail begins to slip out, seeing that Magus apparently had nothing more to say to him.

-But he does. Wait til the drow leaves.-

-Sure thing, wispy.- Rail answers with a tight smile. It was fun watching Magus and the arrogant dark elf go at it anyway.

-Wait. Looks like we have another unexpected visitor.- Void interjects.

*****

“You’ll have to excuse our other guests,” the priestess apologizes, somewhat nervously, nodding to the meeting going on within the room. “But one doesn’t just tell Lord Magus to move.” A mage in shimmering silk-like robes was talking to...none other than a nefarious drow. Kierran frowns deeply, his hand reaching for the staff strapped across his back. He had wittled it from a large pole after the encounter last night.

Suddenly two red, glowing disembodied eyes appear right before him. The frightened priestess scampers away in terror, leaving Kierran alone.

-You will not interfere.- comes a dark, whispery voice in his mind. The apparition’s ruby eyes flare with an inner light.

*****

@all: Hopefully I’ll be able to post again later today.

[ 07-19-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

@All: Just letting everyone know that chapters one through four are now posted on [url="http://www.fanfiction.net"]www.fanfiction.net[/url] . There have abeen five reveiws, primarly good ones. Don't worry about have to explan anything to anyone if they have a problem, I can cover that, although I've tried to explain things as best I can.

@Fas+Craig: If you read your parts in the story, don't be alarmed if you find parts of it changed. I regret to do that, but I times, and no offense is meant by this, I found it hard to read, or understand. In order to make sure others don't have the same problem, and to just allow it to flow a little more easily (Doesn't matter how you post it, cause we're all having fun here. With other people though, that could be different) I took a little it of an editors perrogitive, and every now and then, added something in, took something, changed the tense (Just a friendly request to Fas, do you suppose you could post in past tense? It would make the editing a bit easier) or maybe changed wordings a bit. Nothing major. If you two have any qualms with it, just tell me.

@Magus: Without you, this story would be going along very slowly, especially the editing part, so this is just a thank you in advance.

@Rail: If your going to have an active part in the creation of this story, would you like some mention on the actual transcript?

Thats about it. I'll try to post later.

{OOC: @aegis: I know - I've been monitoring that site ever since you first told us 'bout it

Maybe you should in the introduction of the story/title make a note/point about this being a sort of roleplay so that people will overlook some of the errors that will happen
Just a thought. Otherwise we are getting somewhat better reviews that I had feared
}

{OOC past tense it is, and i have no problem with the whole thing at all. There is no need to defend yourself, like that
Post tonight hopefully!}

@Aegis: Lol. I think one of those reviewers got my character mixed up with someone else. I never knew there was a Magus in the Forgotten Realms. Perhaps he’s got the Forgotten Realms mixed up with Chrono Trigger.
Apparently they also don’t like us changing tenses on them. Maybe (emphasis on maybe ) I’ll do some experimenting with writing in the past tense.
BTW, thanks for the thanks. Clearing up confusion is one of my main priorities.

*****

Kierran backs up, brandishing his staff. What creature of evil is this?

-I am Void, mortal. And do not think that silly staff would protect you if you angered me-

A shadowy, cloud-like body takes shape below the glowing eyes, and Kierran believes the threat. Obviously, this is a creature of powerful magic. Most likely only potent magical weapons could harm the vaporeous monster.

“Do you belong to the mage over there?” Kierran asks. Fighting it would be pointless, and fleeing doesn’t look like an option right now.

-In a sense, perhaps- comes a whispers in his mind, raising more questions than it answered. -I see that you’re yet another fool to blunder into here. You don’t even know of Magus, much less have business with him. Yet you seek him, even though you don’t know it- the creature murmurs cryptically

-What was it talking about?- Kierran wonders in puzzlement.

-You are new to the city, human- the voice continues –But you did not come here of your own will. You search for answers. Some inner instinct, or destiny perhaps, draws you to Magus, who can help you discover the answers you seek- Its eyes shine brightly, staring deep into Kierran’s own.

Kierran is taken aback. How could this creature, this Void, know this about him? Only Fritz knew of the strange circumstances of his arrival in the city. Could Fritz have told others?

Suddenly, Kierran keenly feels the creature’s eyes staring at him. INTO him...

*****

@Rail: Feel free to interrupt Void’s “fun”

@Aegis: You can also intervene, though this post happens after, or perhaps while, you answer Magus’s question.

[ 07-20-2001: Message edited by: Magus ]

@Aegis: I wrote a brief explanation (as a review) to some of their comments about the story. Hope that helps a bit.

"I know enough about Aegis" came the snide remark to Magus's question. Virdel remained standing, looking right into the Mage, almost as if he was trying to stare him down. "I know he was adopted by the Radiant Heart at a young age, and I also know he was of great power in the art of magic, one to rival you even." Virdel smirked as he spoke, senseing Magus cringe slightly at that fact, although not noticably. "I also know he was trained by an outside source in the art of magic, without him realizing it. After hearing the tales of Athkatla's valiant rescue from Aegis by a band of people, led by yourself, I realized that you must've been the outside source."

Virdel stopped for a moment, and walked to a window that was allowing light to pour into the room. The Dawn light now encompassed the entire room, eliminating all shodaows, and making Void near-well undetectable. Virdel turned back to Magus. "Once I heard Aegis had taken the city, with the help of one Raistlin Majere, I realized you would be the only who could stop him. I was shocked when I found out there was a deeper meaning to your aid of the city. Lastly, I also know of his redeemption at the end, and how he was the actual saviour of Athkatla." Virdel finished his tale, and waited for a response from Magus.

"You know much, Drow." Magus replied calmly. If he was feeling anything about being reminded of his part with Aegis's development to power, and corruption, he did a good job of hiding it. "That tale has never ben told outside of myself, and three other surviving members of the party." Magus paused for a moment, then continued after choosing the proper wording. "I know Fallout would never tell anyone, especially a Drow, about that tale. I also trust Rail enough to not dilvulge that knowledge." He looked up. "You quite intuitive, young Drow. Perhaps you could help me in coming tulmolt."

Virdel didn't respond, he remained still, possibly pondering the offer. After a few minutes of thought, he had come to one conclusion. "Give me my weapons."

@Magus: Magus was actually a character from Dragon Lance. He was up there in power, right with Fistandantilus, and Raistlin. The story of Magus was actually the one which formed the Staff of Magus from the obsidion box. He collected the pieces of the box, assembled them, and wished for a weapon that could defeat a dragon that was terrorizing his homeland. I beleive that's how it went.

{OOC:

Originally posted by Magus:
[QB<snip>Apparently they also don’t like us changing tenses on them. Maybe (emphasis on maybe ) I’ll do some experimenting with writing in the past tense.<snip>[/QB]

Well I don't think I ever can stick to one tense I've always shifted as I saw fit - guess that's annoying

}

OOC {I have tried to put everything in past tense as well as making it as clear as possible, bringing it to 3 pages in word. Hope it isn’t too much to read!
Oh yes I will explain what the symbol is later on when I meet with the old cleric.)

==========================================================
*Hmm… we need to join the Black Helm, it doesn’t sound all that bad. * thought Faisal.

“Ok Xandax we will meet up at noon in front of what is left of the Copper Coronet” replied Faisal grimly remember the fight of the pervious night.

With that Xandax left the room and Faisal took the side door in search for the old cleric.

Faisal stopped a cleric outside the room and asked: “Do you have any idea where Ribald is?”

The young lad replied, “He is sleeping and does not wish to be disturbed”

Faisal thoughtful for a moment replied “Ah well when he wakes up please tell him that Faisal was wishing to speak with him.”

“Will do that,” said the lad.

“Also do you know where I can get something to eat, haven’t had much in the past 2 days,” said Faisal.

“If you follow me, the rest of the clerics are preparing breakfast in the outer chamber, it is not much though” replied the young cleric leading the way.

“Anything would be a feast after the past two days without food,” said Faisal following the young lad.

Faisal left the temple after having breakfast with the clerics, which was a truly excellent meal. It was a beautiful day, the sun had risen and Faisal guessed it was nearly 8 in the morning. He walked for an hour or 2 before he got to the dock district where he stopped and tried to remember;

*What was that place I heard of where you can buy good equipment? Wakeens walkway or was it…*

Faisal’s thoughts were shattered as a person called out “Good day kind sir!”

“What, ah good morrow kind lady” replied Faisal, that is all he could manage as the lady was stunning to say the least. Extremely tongue tied and wondering what to say Faisal just stops and stares for a moment before regaining his composure.

“You seemed puzzled for a moment could I help you in any way? Asked the young beautiful lady.

“Well I was looking for somewhere I can purchase some equipment, like armor etc”, replied Faisal matter-of-factly.

The young lady brightly smiled and started walking towards a stall near the temple’s east side, “Well I have some wares which you might like, and I can identify stuff for you as well”.

Faisal heard the last part and excitedly followed the beautiful lady, as she might be able to identify any of the ruins on his shield or sword.

Arriving at her stall, the lass pulled out a pair of boots and a amulet on the flat wooden top.

Faisal sighed very dismayed to see only 2 items.

The lady noticed this, and said quickly “Well the two items are rare and magical, the first, the pair of boots are called the boots of silence, these boots will let you traverse any surface with complete and utter silence. It is makes sneaking up on people easier than killing a kobold. Plus it looks like you need new boots.” Looking down at his feet, which had what appeared to be boots.

“Ah well…” stammers Faisal extremely embarrassed.

“No matter,” replied the lady and continued on “this amulet is extremely rare, it bears very lucky for any of those who wear it, and also it allows the person to memorize extra cleric spells.”

*Pretty convenient a lucky amulet that provides cleric spells as well, * thought Faisal very suspicious.

But taking one look at the woman, Faisal forgot these thoughts and asked ready to buy “How much would all this cost and how much do you charge for identifying ruins and items?”

“50 for the identification, 100 for the amulet and 400 for the boots” replied the lady matter-of-factly.

Faisal quickly rummaged through his coin pouch to see how much he had with him. He had taken a large amount of coin with him before he left the farm, but on his way through Amn, he had come across a couple of pouches on the path, with nobody around, Faisal had picked them up. He had been extremely happy with his good luck, but now he wished there was no such as luck at all, as he had only bad luck as of late.

“Hades, I don’t have enough and I need most of it for my stay in Amn” replied Faisal disappointed.

“How much do you have?” inquired the woman.

“500 in total,” Faisal decided quickly and adds, “I will take the boots, and could you identify any of the ruins on my shield or sword?”

“The boots it is, but are you sure you don’t have any more money for the amulet?” appealed the female.

“No more coins at all,” replied Faisal while he longed for the amulet, but he knew that he had no more money, plus identifying the ruins was much more important.

“Fine lets make a deal,” said the lass, “you pay me 500 for all the items and what I can identify for free.”

“Yes, yes I agree, you have a deal” replied Faisal impatiently and quickly passed the sword and shield to the woman. The woman looked over the sword and handed it back to Faisal shaking her head. But when she examined the shield, she took a couple of minutes to look over all the ruins and asked: “What do you know about these 4 ruins?”

Faisal said, “Well I only know that I am immune to certain spells like confusion, hold person and chaos. But don’t know what else.”

“Well this one ruin gives you the ability to memorize one extra cleric spell for each level. And this other one that is very hard to make out, but I think it gives the shield the ability to repel spells but it is limited to a 50/50 chance. You like playing with your luck eh?”

“No I don’t like playing with my luck,” replied Faisal curtly, “ and thank you very much for identifying the ruins for free at that.”

“It was a good business deal that is all, I make 500 coppers and you get what you want, now good day to you as I have other pressing business” replied the lady.

A crash sounded from behind Faisal, catching him off guard. Faisal turns to see the disturbance with his sword in his hand. But there is no sign of what crashed or what caused the crash. Faisal happy that nothing was wrong turns to the beautiful lady wondering if she was busy later on during the day. But to his annoyance she had disappeared. But his items were on the wooden board as well as his shield, which had some symbol on it, which was not there before. Extremely confused Faisal decided it is best to see the old cleric about this and see what he thought about those voices.

Looking up at the sun, Faisal reckoned it was close to noon and should be heading to the copper coronet, to see Xandax. He picked up the amulet and shield gingerly and realized that both the shield and amulet had the same sign engraved on them. Faisal quickly put on the boots and decided to see if they worked.

Faisal ran from the dock district to where the copper coronet once stood. He arrived at the ruins and saw that Xandax sat at one of the tables and was shining his sword. *Best time to try out these boots*

Faisal took the direct approach behind Xandax, he traversed a pile of broken wood, and however he made no sound what so ever, as if he hadn’t even stepped on the wood at all. Faisal took this is a good sign and ran the rest of the distance and he did not make a single sound. Faisal came up behind and lightly tapped Xandax on the shoulder, Xandax startled from deep thought turns around…

===========================================================

Somebody tapping him on the shoulder pulled Xandax from his thoughts – it was Faisal.
“Oh – so you’ve returned” Xandax said – “what’s with the happy grin” Xandax noticed Faisal looking pleased with himself.
”I’ve just made an excellent deal – from a very beautiful woman” he replied
“Hmm – don’t think I want to know what you’ve been up to” Xandax grinned back sheeting his weapon.

“Have you found your deity yet?” Xandax asked.
“Ehh – not yet, I still need to talk to one of the priests called Ribald”
“Have you given any thought to Magus’ offer, to help investigate for him” Xandax asked while he thought to himself “ Investigate – hmm, spy is a better word”
“I think it would be a good opportunity for you to raise a fair amount of gold to help your family with” Xandax continued.

“When are you going to speak to this priest of yours? – When you are finished with him, we can worry about finding Magus” Xandax said. “Or him finding us” he thought to himself.
“I’ll be waiting for you here – when you are ready to proceed with this Black Helm business. Or would you rather we did it the other way around – and return to the temple later?”
Xandax picked up his shield and started polishing it.

Thryn walks in to the CC, hidden, he snaeks up to Faisal(in the same manner as Faisel did to Xandax) "Lets stop playing games and start planning how to gey into these guilds"

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Faisal startled "Ah its you, good to see you joined us".

"Well, i think i will take magus up on his offer, as i need the money bad and i spent most of it on the boots and this amulet."

Faisal thoughtful for a moment, then continues " I think i would like to meet Magus before i go to the cleric, so we all in or what?"

Faisal turned to Xandax and asked "Also did you hear me come up to you from behind?, These boots are called the boots of silence, i can traverse any surface without making a sound. Plus nice armor is that all you bought?"
=============================================

“Actually I didn’t hear you at all – I just thought it was because I didn’t pay attention.” Xandax replied to Faisal’ question.

“I’m ready to see Magus, so we can find out where these Helm-people’ headquarters is located, so we can join them.”

Ferchen waited patiently by the door to her temporary home by the cities main gates. She had expected Virdel to have come back in the morning, in order to receive his next job. Where was he? He had never dissappeared for this long with out telling her. She leaned against the frame of the door, running her fingers up and down the flechting of an arrow, a small habit she picked up on the field. The cold morning air was comfortable on her skin, so she didn't mind waiting outside, but she was deeply worried from Virdel's dissappearance. She raised her hand slightly, and motioned for one of her Ranger aids to come to her.

Without looking up, and she began to address the Ranger. "I want you to find Virdel. I don't like the fact he is missing." The other Ranger nodded, and began out the door. Ferchen stopped him momentarly. "Give him this," she removed her pendant, and tossed it to the man. "It will tell him your genuine. Don't cause any trouble" The Ranger then darted off into the early morning, and down twisting streets of Athkatla. Ferchen watched from the door, before placing the arrow back in her quiver, and turning inside.

*****