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Teroril stood in front of D'aroth, he said something in Celestial, and he transformed into an angel-like creature. He still had the blue hair, but he now had only white eyes, and silver-glowing skin.

"I'm taking you with me", he looked over at the others "Come with me, we can solve this easier if you trust me"

Teroril said something in Celestial: *Open before me, and show me the path to Tyr*

Another circuair movement with his hands captured D'aroth inside a sphere.

A portal opened, and Teroril dragged D'aroth through it

Bs wavered for a moment as the strange new being took the demon. He considered following, but the day had been long as it was, and he was still not sure what to make of what had just passed. His years of captivity had done much to make him distrustful, and he could not lightly shake off his misgivings now.

He felt again the odd sensation of his new 'memories' and felt that once he had time to sort through them, hopefully they would be able to make some sense. Certain images had struck him deeply, But it seemed that the violence with which they had been planted had left his ind somewhat unfocused.

He sighed wearilly as he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. He was still exceedingly curious as to this new person, but the portal reminded him too much of the chamber for him to be able to chance it.

He wiped his blade clean before resheathing it and turning back for the keep. He had a lot to untangle, and decided that it would best be sorted over a mug.

Gwalchmai shook his head to clear the cobwebs after T’lainya restored him. He was getting a little tired of performing these rituals – not so much tired of the rituals, but tired of being the focus of attack. He wasn’t even sure that he had been conducting the rituals correctly. He certainly didn’t feel much rejoicing at the end of the Noontide ritual though he was supposed to. He shuddered to think what new nasty beasts the Shadow Master was going to throw at them at the Dusk Ritual. Mentioning his fears to Yshania as they started to walk back toward the keep she agreed, and suggested that they come up with a more cohesive plan for defense at dusk.

It seemed like dusk was approaching faster than usual, even considering the short winter days. As he peered down the path of mown brush that Yshania had conveniently created with her Globe of Blades, he could see the keep. A part of the eastern wall had collapsed during the Dawn Ritual, and the hole made the keep look scared or deformed. Gwalchmai sighed. The keep felt less like home and more like a battleground these days. Perhaps when all this is done he should consider visiting with Conrad and his old druid grove for a time.

Looking at the keep, he guessed that the western tower would be the appropriate location for the final ritual. No ground or underground-based attacks would be possible there. The Shadow Master would have to rely on gated creatures, portals, or even flying beasts. Unless the Shadow Master chose to engage the conflict himself. Gwalchmai despaired at the thought – none of them could hope to defeat an individual of his power in direct combat! But that begged the question: Why hadn’t the Shadow Master already intervened directly to stop the rituals? Perhaps the rituals were not having the desired affect and the ancient power was not being taken from him? Perhaps he is busy with preparations with the Avatar of Moander and that they may already be too late to stop the Abomination? Or perhaps he is somehow distracted or engaged? It was hard to fathom the machinations of the Shadow Master. Suddenly, incongruously, Gwalchmai wondered what had happened to the small halfling warrior woman with the winning smile? He hadn’t seen her since last night.

T’lainya was calling everyone together and asking where the new comers had got to. Gwalchmai made to join the group when he felt something wet on his hand. He looked down to see a lynx and a wolverine playfully licking his hand. He scratched them behind the ears, but a low whistle caused them to scamper away. He recognized the animals as summoned creatures, but was surprised that they did not immediately disappear in the familiar flash of being un-summoned. He sighed in jealousy. His own spirit animals never stuck around long enough for him to develop any kind of attachment. Maybe he should get a dog or something he thought. “You can never have too many animals around. If I were a mage, I could have a familiar. Seems druids deserve animal familiars more than most,” but that was beside the point….

He watched the two animals run, thinking that Vivien would like to meet them, but she was busy talking with T’lainya. His eyes widened as he saw the animals dive into a large sphere of utter blackness. He thought he had imagined that great black ball! Yet clearly, it was there, and whoever was inside had helped in the battle, and had also conjured the two animals helpers. Gwalchmai saw Thantor and Jennabard approach the black sphere, but they seemed more inquisitive than cautious. That certain vein on Thantor’s head was throbbing, indicating a telepathic communication. “Well, if they need help, they’ll call.”

Nippy saw the celestial figure disappear through the portal. The intense magic riveted through the clearing. It was almost like the portal shimmered. It's blue white colour was of stark contrast to the green of the surrounding area of the keep.

Lightning bolts arced across the passage and Nippy resolved himself to his fate. If the Gods called, who was he to argue.

Before he began moving to the portal Bloodstalker left the group. Perhaps he was tired? He would have to question him later.

"Will any of you be coming?" Asked Nippy. "I will await you on the other side. I detect no evil from this man so I will go..."

Thought raced through Nippy's mind as he stepped up to the portal. Would this man have any answers about the keep and it's attacks? Perhaps he could ask for an audience with Torm whilst he was on the ethereal plane and ask for help...

He stepped up to the portal. He breathed in some of the fresh garden air and put one foot through the hole. His stomach wrenched as he was transported to some other place...

When Nippy stepped through the portal he appered in a place where all the surroundings was white.

"Before you stands the greater being who will tell us what evil intetions D'aroth has" Teroril said.

A being with glittering blue skin, totally blue eyes, and blue hair stood before them.

"Why have you come to torment the lives of these lesser beings D'aroth" the being said...

::Feel free to write something in this dialogue, but nothing that afects me, and my personality!!!::

Yshania, Dragon Wench, Gwalchmai, and T'lainya walked in contemplative silence back to the keep. They had invited Thantor and Jenna, but Thantor had appeared a little distracted and offered to catch them up, Jenna decided to wait for him there.

Eventually Gwalchmai spoke of his concerns in respect of the Dusk ritual, she had to agree and offered her opinions to the group as to a possible way forward...

'The ritual will obviously be held to the west of the keep, I suggest we all prepare and head there together...since we don't know what to expect of the Shadow Master it will be difficult to predict what precautions to take, but if we work as a group...'

...she tailed off, awaiting their response. They could have so easily lost the Noontide battle had T'lainya, Thantor and Vivien not arrived when they did...her thoughts turned to the shadow in the clearing and she stopped and strained her eyes to look for Thantor. He appeared engaged in some kind of communication, but his stance was relaxed and unthreatened...maybe he was discussing tactics with Jennabard?

Beside her, Gwalchmai let out a deep sigh. She had not realised he had stopped with her 'Ysh, I am not sure whether I can go through with reciting the Dusk ritual' he said quietly...

'You have done so well, my friend' Yshania comforted, giving the druid a warm hug. 'But if this is how you feel, and you think I may be capable, I am happy to give it a go...though you will need to help me prepare'...he smiled sadly at her as T'lainya called the group together, they turned to catch up with the others....

Mysteria watched the newcomer disappear into a portal, dragging the demon with him. Relieved that she had no longer to see the demon's warped features, reminding her of her last magic mishap, she quietly disappeared into the undergrowth and quickly caught up with Bloodstalker.

Fang and herself fell in beside him and she was glad he didn't seem to mind. But then, he seemed lost in thought and she didn't really know if he'd seen her.

As they approached the keep, Mysteria noticed how far the sun had already made it's way across the sky, in fact strangely so. With that realization, hunger came and she quickened her step.

As she suddenly became aware of Bloodstalker giving her an odd look, she slowed down a bit and, suddenly anxious, asked:

"What is it? Did I ... Did I hurt you?", she swallowed hard.

Gwalchmai considered Yshania’s offer. These rituals were very draining, mostly because he was unused to interpreting and evoking the prayers of a dead god. He also hated the passive nature of his role; he’d rather be out there bashing mind flayers instead of having to stand with his hands up in the air. But then he remembered the cursed breath of Moander the Beholder had showered on him, and the drain on his mental faculties from the illithyd. The one who performs the ritual is in the most danger, and he would rather it be him than fair Yshania. Besides, Eldath would be proud that he chose the passive role.

“Thank you, no, my friend,” he said returning her hug. “I think I’m starting to get the hang of it anyway.” He fished the parchment out of the tome and checked to see what would be in store for the Dusk Ritual. His heart fell as he read the second step.

Dusk Ritual

1) Recite the Tenets of the Faith. They shall give thee strength until I come again.
2) Hold high thy children that they may longer see the Sun before it slips beyond this realm. The Sun shall give them courage against the fears of the Night.
3) Mourn as thou watch the sun give way to the night

" No, I am fine, just a little out of sorts," BS replied to Mysteria.

Seeing the doubt line her features, he smiled in an attempt to lighten the mood. "fighting drow, demons, and seeing strange beings passing in and out of portals, what more could a person ask for?"

He saw her relax a little, though he wondered if it would ever be any more reasonable to expect her to relax totally than it would himself. Still, her concern seems to have been lessened.

They walked on some distance in silence, BS going over the things that had happened. the battle, the images, and came to one conclusion. If he had been alone, likely he would have been dead. For the first time he felt like he was in the debt of others, and he wasn't sure how to feel about that.

Finally, he spoke again. "I want to thank you for your help. you and the others" The words seemed strange in his throat, and he could only hope he didn't sound as awkward as he felt. He was glad to see the keep just ahead.

"Uhm, thanks ... I didn't really do much of help ..." , Mysteria seemed slightly embarrassed by Bloodstalkers words.

As they finally reached the keep, they saw the others heading in the same direction. As Mysteria was not really keen on answering questions on what had happened, she quickly entered the kitchen, still followed by Bloodstalker.

Once inside, she handed Bloodstalker a big mug of beer { }as he seemed to need it. Then she made about to prepare some pancakes. Not the smallish and rather thick sort normally served at breakfast but the big, thin variety, with a slightly crispy border. She started with the salty version, to be covered with ham, eggs, mushrooms ... They would make a real meal and for dessert, she'd do some sweet ones. Those were to be topped with whipped cream and strawberry, honey, marmelade, chocolate, syrup ... hmm, the water tan together in her mouth just thinking about it.

Meanwhile, Fang had diappeared for a while but soon came back with a rabbit in his mouth, already in his fluffy, white winter coating. Mysteria raised a brow at him, this was bound to draw comments.{ } But what could she do? He was a wild animal after all...

Turning the first pancake with an expert swing, she noticed that her magic already began to seep back and she sighed. Couldn't it just have stayed away a bit longer?

Harry sighed as Nippy all but threw himself through the stranger's portal, wondering if there was a intelligence requirement to be a monk/paladin or was it just pure fighting ability ( ), then set up a few traps and settled in to wait for his return.

Meanwhile back at the clearing…

Vivien’s eyes remained glazed as darkness began to creep through the meadow. Tree shadows began lengthening, then merging with other black fingers to form deep pools of moving darkness as breezes ruffled leaves and branches alike.

With a start, the woman in the clearing gave a gasp and took an unsteady step back from the creature in front of her. The dark pits drilling into her own no longer sought to fight for freedom, instead they almost held acceptance…and a sort of contentment..

Viv tried to steady herself, as she felt slightly shaky and light headed.

“Well, Flamey, to battle!” She said gesturing weekly while trying to stop her eyes from swimming.

The fire elemental stood without moving, and she realized that there was nothing for him to battle. With a start she saw she was alone in the clearing, and that both friends and foes were gone.

“ I wonder if other mages take as long as I apparently took to dominate summoned creatures.” She murmured into the dusk around her. The feelings and thoughts from the fire elemental had seemed so reasonable...wanting to be free, wanting to be home…that she had sent reassuring thoughts instead of trying to establish dominance. If not for him trying to control HER, she would have stayed in the meadow for much longer…trying to explain that it was just for a little bit and if he wouldn’t mind fighting some evils?

* * * *
Emerging into the keeps courtyard, she saw vague shapes in front of her, and she quickened her step hoping she was not too late to help with the next ritual. A short and furry shape bounded by on her right and she saws that wolf of Mysteria’s holding a still quivering rabbit in his mouth. She drew up short, almost burning herself on the flames from the elemental following her, and frowned at the animal deciding that the Keep would not be her destination.

Casting farsight, she realized the ritual was some bit of distance off, and with a resolute sigh and elemental in tow, she began the treck to join the others.

Nippy stood in awe at the scene in front of him. A heavenly creature held D'aroth captured and he was stood there, observing it all.


"Why have you come to torment the lives of these lesser beings D'aroth" the being said.

"It's none of your business fool!" The demon snarled and raged against his holder kicking out.

"Enough! We take him prisoner, leave him here. Nippy, you may leave, go, your friends need you in there battle..."

The being cast a spell and transported him, he ended up right next to Vivien and a Fire Elemental. She looked perplexed at him...

"Don't even ask..." Nippy shook his head and sighed. "So where are we going now Vivien?"

Having been up in the room he had taken for his own, The Lord Scape had taken off his armour and set his arms at rest upon the bed, taking the reforged version of the Hallowed Redeemer with him, letting it hang from his waist.
Learning from his past mistake, he kept the Chain and leather Haulbrek on him, the enchantments making it seemingly weigh nothing. Farscape made his way down the stairs to help himself to some bread and meat, only to find Bloodstalker and Mysteria going hard at it.... in the kitchen... Making food.
Choosing not to interupt anything, Farscape drew himself a tall glass of ale, grabbed a few loaves of bread he had made early in the day, and cut some cheese and beef from elsewhere in the kitchen.
Settling back by the fire, he lost himself in the flames, fresh food and tranquil atmosphere.
He stopped to ponder what happened to his friend Maharlika...

Drinking deeply, he tried to put the events of the last few hours out of his mind. All that had happened had set him on edge, and he needed time to calm down, to be able to let his mind clear again.

He found himself watching Mysteria as she was busy preparing pancakes. Normal everyday actions like that tended to fascinate him. It spoke to him of a kind of life that he had never experienced, the normal everyday existence that had been denied him. He watched with more appreciation than he figured most people would feel. He had never been exposed to such things, the only food he knew how to prepare was what he had hunted himself, and that in surroundings that didn't remotly resemble the warm comfort of the kitchen.

He wondered about this woman. He had figured that she held some power, especially after she had informed them of her situstion, but he hadn't suspected how raw or uninhibited it could be till it had erupted in the battle. He remembered the way she had asked if she had hurt him, it must be a hard thing to live with.

He made up his mind to try and talk to her. He took another sip from his mug as he considered how to start the conversation.

"Don't even ask…so where are we going now Vivien?"

The voice seemed to be coming from a large, scary evil eye that had had appeared suddenly in front of her very eyes. It was huge and seemed to be watching her every move, which caused her to emit a wheezy gasp.

When the ‘frozen in fright’ feeling wore off, she screamed wondering what sort of foul creature was just a huge eye that seemed to know people’s names. An eyeolder? A watcher? A peeping tom? She had heard of that name before, and a huge eye seemed to be the sort of thing a peeping tom would be.

But…that voice “so where are we going now”…it had been awfully familiar.

Adjusting her eyes from their far off view of Yshania and Dragonwench involved in some sort of dancing…or arm waving…or fighting she couldn’t quite tell…she realized Nippy stood before her.

“Am I glad to see you! We are off to help the others with the dusk ritual” She beamed at him in relief.

“Ah…and where are the others?” Nippy asked glancing around them cautiously.

“Why, there!” Viv said pointing directly through several trees and one large rock.

She squinted towards the others.

“ They seem to be doing some sort of dance? Or waving their arms? Maybe fighting? Who knows what they’re up to without needed back up like us.“

As the two began their journey, Viv gave a questioning view at Nippy’s familiar features, watching the light from the fire elemental cast deep shadows around his eyes and turn his skin into a coppery hue. Maybe now would be a good time to discuss the move she’d made up?

“So ummm…Nippy…. I was wondering if you’d heard of ‘Ninja Cat’ she said while scrambling through some bushes.

She thought she heard a snort behind her, but hoped it was a snort of surprise at her knowing such a deadly move.

"The Ninja Cat?!?" Nippy almost stopped in his tracks. "How did you learn that? Only a master may learn that! I see you must have been practising some moves, maybe I can refine your skills after some dinner tonight?" Nippy bounded ahead of Vivien and smiled warmly at her.

With renewed energy in her stride at the hope of getting training from an actual master, Viv ran through her creation several times to get herself ready for the practice. Images of the 'jump' followed by perfect movements of wildly flailing arms played in her head with a pattern all her own.

She was careful, of course, to keep all thoughts of THE MOVE just to that, thoughts. The evil trees looming around seemed just the type to catch an unwary leg upon kicking or hand upon flailing.

They soon came upon their friends, Nippy standing in a slightly defensive position ahead and she saw the welcome site of the others. With a glance behind her, the view of flamey reassured her as he brought up the rear, small smoke fires trailing in his wake. But, returning her eyes to the others, she saw that something was...wrong.

T'lainya and Gwalchmai were whispering furiously to each other while DragonWench and Yshania apparently ....wrestled. Viv wondered if they were getting ready for mud wrestling and leaving her out yet again.

"What are you all doing?" She asked with some surprise as she tried to make out their friends in the darkness.

LMAO!

Acknowledging Gwalchmai's sage and considered reply, Yshania accepted that she was in most ways too unstable to enact such an important ritual...that perhaps the fury would take her - as it had before - and have her spinning her blades into a bush whacking frenzy. She smiled at her druid friend, and promised she would practise what she knew, not necessarily what she thought may work...

As she turned to catch up with the others...sudden realisation dawned that they had not completed the noontide ritual! They had not rejoiced!!! D) in a desperate frenzy to conlude, she began to leap and throw herself around...such was her dancing fervour, T'lainya, Dragon Wench and Gwalchmai were stunned enough to believe this druid had lost any balance she may have - at any time ever - professed to hold. D) In her determination to ignore the fact that her half elven heritage had insisted on not bequeathing her any elven grace, she closed her mental eye to the image of herself prancing around the (overgrowing!) lawns before the keep - and openly begged her companions to revel...

With much concern, Gwalchmai and T'lainya discussed which form of domination spell would be most appropriate...whilst Dragon Wench behaved practically and attempted to wrestle her leaping friend to the ground...the resulting view must have given the Shadow Master a mixture of pleasure....and immense concern as to who - exactly - were these people?