* The Evenor temple--though it looks more like an overgrown ruin than a place of worship--actually houses a human priest of the wild god Verloren and three of his acolytes. The open-aired central hall hosts a young bloodwood, its lowest branches well over twelve feet from the mossy carpet that's replaced whatever stone flooring once lay underfoot. * It is in the common area of this temple that the recruits of the Order of the Dragonsaint now hold an audience with the priest Marcus. Goodman Mavis is asleep in a cell, and Colonel Glass has taken personal responsibility for his continued capture. The midday hours have burned away while the recruits slept off the weariness of their earlier, day-long mission. * Now, the sun sinks low into the sky as the recruits are being briefed on what Marcus was able to learn about the curse from Goodman Mavis. Judging by the urgency in his voice and the downturned wrinkles on his sunburned face, this next mission will be a night operation. Nobody said that it was easy being a soldier! As Colonel Glass must have already mentioned by now, the curse affecting Goodman Mavis appears to be a type of fleshcrafting technique pioneered by the Serpent. We don't know if it's curable, but so far Verloren has not deemed our plight as overly disruptive to the natural disorder. * Marcus runs a weathered hand through his long, but thinning brown hair and sighs. There is one nearby who might be able to help us, but he seldom comes in to Evenor and he generally prefers to be left in peace. Verloren smiles on those who help themselves, as they say, so I have asked Colonel Glass to send you to seek this man's help. * Klizurk rubs her head along one section of the silvered crest with her right claw, clearly thinking. "So we are to seek out this one who may be able to assist. I don't suppose you have any more important information regarding this mission?" * Marcus nods, waving his hands before him in a slow, calming motion as if to placate an irritable bear. I don't intend to send you out blind. There's a townsman who keeps regular contact with our... friend. He knows the way, and can guide you there. Then we shall return with his help, or we shall not return at all! Think this out a little. If we don't find him because he no longer is in this area, or no longer exists, we would be of better use to the order returning in short order. * LaughingBear nods calmly. "You speak as though you are very unsure of this contact. Should we be concerned about him? Is there anything else you can tell us about him?" Is there a missive or some sort of gift or anything we should be bringing to him? His name is Tomas, and... young Tom has grown on the old runesmith. Maybe because they share a given name. Tomas the Elder is a runesmith, apparently of some repute. Colonel Glass says that Tomas should be friendly to your Order, and young Tom swears by the runesmith's good intentions, but... Verloren has not been too fond of runesmithing in the past, and I share my god's mistrust. "I see. Where is this Tom?" I believe that if you have Young Tom with you, and you impress the upon Tomas the importance of finding a cure or a vaccine for this curse, that he will help us in our time of need. * LaughingBear nods. Why are you troubled about runesmithing? Young Tom will be waiting for you in front of the Lonesome Tankard. Although I could hit the place with a pinecone from the temple grounds, the child thinks I don't like his doddering old friend, and won't come within arm's reach of this place. * Dral1 shrugs. "Must be a human thing." * LaughingBear nods. "Right. We'll go find him." Verloren has been... troubled by runesmithing in the past, friend dral. I would tell you the tale, but perhaps in less urgent times. * Marcus nods, clearly relieved. "I appreciate your help, young soldiers, and look forward to your return." "Well, then let's be off." * Klizurk bows. "We will do our best, as always, sir." * LaughingBear follows suit and bows before heading out. * Dral2 nods. "Thank you for your hospitality." He bows. * Fash bows and leaves. * Dral1 hops happily out of the ruins. * Marcus returns the recruits' farewell, and turns his attention to temple business as they leave. Meanwhile, Young Tom is readily visible between the temple's columns as he hops from foot to foot outside the Lonesome Tankard's front door. A few townsfolk muss up the child's hair or scold him for wasting time as they come and go. * Fash waves in greeting to Tom. * LaughingBear waves to the child as he approaches. "Hello, you must be 'Young Tom.'" Hello. * Dral1 waves personably at the boy. * Young Tom nods eagerly, apparently not terribly interested in manners. "Let's hurry! I just know Tom will help us, but I'm not to be out past dark without an adult, and even then mum don't like it. She sure don't like this, that's for sure..." I'm pretty sure one of us qualifies as an adult. * Klizurk chuckles. * LaughingBear chuckles. "I like the young one's enthusiasm." I am certain your parental figure can be talked to rationally, and she will see things our way. * The child has a shaggy mop of straw-colored hair that obscures his eyes, but quite enough to hide the wonder in his eyes. It's obvious that most of Evenor's residents are humans, and the recruits of the Order are anything but. Young Tom opens his mouth and then shuts it in the manner of a child who was warned many times not to blab about how different other folks look, and then shoots the 'rational' dral a look of extreme doubt. If you say so, mister dral. * Young Tom practically skips eastward, toward the edge of town and in the same direction as Goodman Mavis' farm. "We'll follow the road a ways. We can make good time if we hurry, come on!" Lead the way, I shouldn't have trouble following. "Oh, well Dral are very trustworthy. Believe me." * LaughingBear follows the child at a brisk jog, as his short legs carry him at about the same speed as the child (presumably). * Dral1 looks confused. * Dral1 shrugs after a moment and follows along. * Fash rushes along to follow the child. * Dral2 follows Young Tom. "Keep close now, young sapling. Do not go too far ahead." * The child slows his pace a bit, and looks up at the second dral. "How close?" * Klizurk keeps eyes out for nasties and follows along. * Dral1 reins his own progress in. * Dral1 blinks and turns back to look at Dral2. "Do not order me about like that!" Not more than four strides of the Dral. Five would be much too far. * Dral2 looks at Dral and chuckles. "You should stay close too." Nonsense! I am quite competent, and you are not Master. * Dral2 frowns. "I have offended, brother. You are indeed quite capable." He quickly bows his head as he walks. * Young Tom hesitates, and then nods. He tries to keep a relatively swift pace in spite of his escort. At some point along the walk he starts chatting about how his dad came back from the lumber mill and didn't catch the curse, but his mum was so worried that she made him take a job on the river instead. He hasn't seen his dad in months, and his mum is just as worried now as she was before. The curse is less likely to strike those working on the river? * Klizurk stage-whispers to Tom. "No, it's not you. The Dral do tend to be rather strange." ~_^ * Fash offers the boy her sympathies. * Young Tom watches the north side of the road as he walks. "Well, mum said it's worst in the mills and the farms, and a riverboat ain't neither of those things..." He gives Klizurk a little wide-eyed smile, and then "steals" a glance at each of the dral. * LaughingBear nods. "I'm sorry to hear about your father's disappearance. Hopefully he comes back soon." * Young Tom seems to be comforted by the sympathies of the Order, but sometimes it's hard to tell what children really feel, especially human ones. "Oh!" He points at a centuries-worn mile marker on the north side of the road ahead. "That's the marker. Runesmith Tom taught me a rune to mark the path, and I drew it on that rock, see?" Very good! * Dral1 is now known as NinjaDebugger * NinjaDebugger is now known as Dral1 * Fash examines the rune. * LaughingBear studies the rune. * Dral1 acts as though he doesn't particularly care. * Dral2 looks intrigued. "Interesting. I'm sure Runesmith Tom has taught you many things." Nice work, young one. * As indicated, the marker in question has a crude rune carved into it. There doesn't seem to be anything special about it, really. In fact, it looks rather a lot like one of the basic military symbols that Colonel Glass taught the new recruits: a line with an "arrowhead" zigzag at one end and a circle at the other. The symbol basically means "Order soldiers or camp are located in the direction of the circle." * The circle is pointed more or less southward, toward the river and, eventually, the deeper forest of bloodwood trees known as the Lerin Sangua. * LaughingBear, if unimpressed, does not show it. * Klizurk is clearly not very impressed, but is happy to praise the work regardless. * Dral1 paces nervously as everybody stops to look at the silly rune. * A farmland of some kind sits beyond a fence to the north, but fir and pine trees grow sparsely to the south. * LaughingBear abruptly jumps to alertness and faces the direction of the movement he spotted. "Something's out there." "There is movement in the trees." Please be careful, young one. * Fash prepares her bow. which way? * LaughingBear adjusts his grip on his spear to a defensive position. "That way." He points. * Fash points toward the movement. * Young Tom looks around anxiously, and then focuses on the direction indicated. "Something like people or something like cursed ones?" * Klizurk takes her shield off and readies it, looking for enemy targets. * Dral1 turns in the direction Laughy and Fash point and dashes off. Dral! * Dral1 calls out in a rapidly diminishing voice, "I'll be back!" "Yelling is not advisable." You'd better be! * Klizurk readies her sword. Should we go after him? * Dral2 looks shocked, then lets out a low grunt. "No, we need to care for the child. Perhaps we should find a safer place to wait, however." What would you consider a safer place? * LaughingBear casts a wary glance at their surroundings. * Dral2 looks around. "The farm, perhaps." I don't like the thought of leaving Dral behind. The other Dral, that is. He may not know where to find us if we leave. "I'll go after him. Anyone else?" * The farmhouse on the lands around here must be someplace ahead, because it isn't in sight on this stretch of road. * LaughingBear nods. "I'll help guard the young one." I'm guarding the young one. You go and see what the trouble is. * Klizurk was talking to Fash. Please be careful. * One of the trees ahead of the impulsive dral seems to grow a little bit fatter around the base as a human-shaped figure steps a little wide of its hiding place behind the trunk with a bow drawn and an arrow at the ready. The figure, which is either heavily clad in furs or actually fur-bearing itself, lets the arrow fly. The projectile stikes its target at a skew angle, deflecting off of Dral1's chain shirt and disappearing in the weeds behind the running warrior. * LaughingBear stands his ground and prepares to defend the child and his teammates if anything happens. * Dral2 brings his open hand up next to his leafy head. A small owl jumps onto one finger and is lifted high into the air. "Scout!" shouts the dral, as he points the bird toward the farmland. * Fash advances toward the brigand, bow raised and drawn. * Klizurk draws her sword and readies to counter a charge or approach by the enemies by one of her own. * Three more figures rise up from behind a long bluff near the tree, a bit farther from the charging dral than the first. One of them is another fur-covered humanoid with a bow, whose arrow flies more or less true, but glances off as its predecessor did. One of the remaining two is humanoid, but it calls out to the final member in some barking, canine language. That member, a stocky wolf or shaggy dog, bursts into a run toward the group on the road. * Dral1 dashes past the shaggy dog, doing a handless cartwheel past its biting jaws, and whips it from behind with the whippy chain full of spikes. Master says, if you are defeating your enemies, it's best to do it from behind! * The chain smashes into the hound's side, sending it tumbling into the weeds with a pained yelp. Good advice. * Another arrow whistles across Dral1's unprotected forearm, scoring a scratch as it continues into the grass near the road. Meanwhile, Dral2's avian companion wheels in the air over the field to the north. * LaughingBear stays on his guard and keeps his eye on the dog. * Dral2 glances between the bird and the fight. He keeps Young Tom close. * Fash sends an arrow towards the interlopers, striking one of the shadowy figures a solid blow. * The archer yelps, and snarls across the field at Fash. * Klizurk slings her shield over her back and sheathes her sword, pulling a bow and firing a shot at the form Fash fired at earlier, missing by a foot or so. * One of the remaining two assailants draws a bow of his own, and both fire arrows at the chain-wielding dral. Thus far the sapling has been fortunate enough to avoid a direct hit, but as close as these shots are coming his luck cannot hold. * Dral1 charges, trailing wisps of flame as he runs, all of which peter out before reaching the ground. What -doesn't- peter out is his chain, which blazes merrily even as it tries to rip new holes in an archer. * The end of the chain connects with the archer and sends him into the grass, twisting and howling with pain as his fur smolders. This close, it's obvious that the attackers actually have fur rather than simply wear it--they're gnolls. The archer's black lips pull back from its wolf-like muzzle as it trashes and snarls in the grass. * The first archer fires again at the dral, but perhaps its confidence is shaken because the next shot goes wide. * At this point, Dral2's airborn companion lets out a piercing cry from up the road, in the direction that the Order would have been traveling if Young Tom hadn't stopped to identify his rune. Dral, is that your bird? * Dral2 hears the bird's cry. "Something's on the northern road. I'll see if I can spot it." He sprints down the road. * Fash hits the archer with another well-placed arrow. * Klizurk takes aim again, and gets closer to her mark! Still misses, though. * Another arrow flies at Dral1, but only skitters across the links of his chain shirt. At this point, it appears that both the hunting hound and the first struck gnoll are out of the fight. * But Dral2 has run a good distance up the road; far enough to see two more of the gnolls running at speed toward him--and the rest of the recruits behind him--a shaggy hunting dog laping alongside them.