Veltek took advantage of Quarack's inability to act and sent a massive Energy Bolt frying him out of fear and life.  We held our breath, but the demon did not flee.  Instead he answered Veltek's action by withering the Energeticist with a terrible quaking Fear.  Veltek fell to the ground and curled up in terror.  The demon then raised it's four bladed arms and rushed toward Karek.  The Imp, who had remained silent until now, cast Telekinesis.  I managed to keep my footing despite being dragged across the stone floor and I was able to return a powerful Psychic Blast.  I hit the wall of the room and was left dazed - but I fared better than the Imp which had been incapacitated by my Empathic attack.  Still bleeding and shouting with rage, Forcellus rose and swung his sword madly at the hovering demons that renewed their attack.  He chopped down several and was ripped by others as they dashed in between his swings.  He could not hold out much longer.  I found my wits and looked to the Staff.  At that moment Karek and I shared the same thought.  Karek ran across the room, raised his staff and struck the black hole of the portal with it's swirling clouds.  The chamber was suddenly filled with blinding light.  In that same instant I saw recognition on the Demon's face of the choice that lie before him.  His conjurer now gone, he could remain here eternally as a God, or flee to the freedom of his own plane.  I took no chance on his decision but cast a Suggestion with all the Power that I could summon.  It was just enough.  In that moment, all of the etheric entities in the room swirled together with a great gust of wind and a deafening shriek and slipped into the vanishing Port.  The light spiked as the Portal vanished.  The room fell silent.  We were all dazed.  Karek stood facing the absent portal holding a stick of wood.  On the floor before him was the Fire Gem.  The Elemental Staff was no more, it's deed was done.  We dared not yet believe it.  We backed our way out of the ancient tunnels that led us to this chamber of nightmares and soon we stood in the cool night air facing the broad desolation of the dragon. We then truly believed that we and the Elemental Staff had done our work.  Looking up, we could see the sky filled with stars.

There would be no great victory march for us.  None was to be wished with so many dead.  And events that had transpired while we were busy combatting this deadly foe would prevent us from fully telling the tale for quite some time.  It would have to be enough that it was done, for there were other battles to fight, and this time our enemies were not etheric.

We stayed long enough in Morban to bring them back from despair, thought the autumn sunlight on same day as our arrival accomplished more than we could hope to do.  Hamellile remained deserted as we passed through. I was certain that the Raylan would emerge before long, but we could not wait.  We were too eager to declare our triumph before the crown.  It was not until we reached Giorda that we were told the grave news.  DOM had been attacked by the remote island kingdom of Moritania, and that our capital had been taken.  I could only imagine the state of our resistance after such a destructive season.  And late autumn snows were not far away which would prevent the provinces from providing much aid.  Clever timing on their part, I thought.  We decided to return incognito to the capital and assess the situation for ourselves.

Next: 10.0 THE MORITANIAN CAMPAIGN

True Sight revealed the truth of what we then saw.  Circling the room were small batlike demons with grinding sharp teeth.  On the ground before us lie four confused masses of translucent writhing flesh about the size of mastiffs.   In the center of the room the great demon Nehethban stood, in front of the yawning Portal.  Beside him stood a tired looking Quarack.  The imp was there too, crouched at the great demon's feet and staring straight at me.  I instinctively cast a Mind Bar.

The flying demons slammed into us first. I was hit hard in the chest with the head of one of the entities.  I fell onto the ground and grappled with it, cutting into it's back the edge of my blade.  It sunk it's teeth into my arm and the pain shot through me.  I managed to cast a Psi Blast on the creature and it squirmed and dropped away. Veltek blasted his attacker with an Energy Bolt, and it dropped.  Forcellus swung his blade at his and nearly cut it in half.  Karek waved the Staff at the gnashing beast flying at him and it and four others nearby immediately dropped shrieking to the ground. He then thrust the staff into the air and screamed and all of the other flying hellions did the same.  Karek and I stepped forward.  Forcellus and Veltek went suddenly stiff.  They looked suddenly stunned and confused.  The strange fleshy beasts on the floor were pulsating and were somehow affecting them.  Quarack loudly commanded the Demon to attack us, but the demon did nothing.  Quarack seemed out of his depth. I took the moment to quickly cast an Empathic Guardian which restored Forcellus and Veltek.  With a look of fierce anger, Quarack then cast a spell and suddenly there appeared a column of Elemental Fire before us.  But this conjured entity simply vanished in the same moment that it had appeared, unable to withstand the presence of the Elemental Staff.  "Fool!" roared the great demon at Quarack.  Meanwhile the Imp attempted an Enchantment on me.  I could see a horrible leering Ghast coming for me, but True Sight revealed the mere phantasm for what it was, and it was gone.  Forcellus hacked at a renewed attack by the remaining flying demons, he was bitten hard by one on the shoulder and dropped to one knee.  The demon then shouted a command and a glowing ripple emanated away from him, and as it passed each of us we were tested by a cold debilitating horror.  We all survived the attack, buoyed perhaps by the Elemental Staff.  Quarack was not so fortunate.  The Demon laughed as the Necromancer dropped to the floor and whimpered in an unimaginable terror.  The other entities paused in their attacks. "Kill this dog and I will go." the demon said in a resounding voice, pointing at Quarack.  My mind raced.  Quarack was no longer master here, but his attempt at commanding the entity revealed that he thought he was.  It then dawned on me that Quarack may have conjured the Elemental not to attack us, but to cower the Demon.  It was the Elemental Staff that allowed the Demon to best Quarack, for the Necromancer could no longer control Nehethban through the conjuration of elementals.  We had taken away his most powerful weapon.  No wonder the demon had not come for us.  He wanted us to come to where Quarack was.  To tilt the odds.  Their wrestling match had spiraled out of control and had plunged our world into darkness and I now fervently hoped that we would not follow Quarack and be trapped in endless battle with this terrible entity while our country slowly died.  But before I could comprehend of any effective plan, Veltek moved and the battle had begun.

Next: Of Blood and Chaos

We were at first certain that the beast had actually appeared to us, but the presence of the imp rattled me.  What part was true and what was false?  There was no mistaking that whatever is was - had run from us.  If it could have destroyed us, it probably would have.  We were now alone on the wide plateau.  We decided to continue on and try to seek the Portal within the temple that Biteki had mentioned might be here.  Surely the demon would put up a last stand if we attempted to destroy his only means of returning to his own plane.  We had to hope that this world was merely a diversion for the beast - but not intended as it's new permanent home.   

Had the beast destroyed Quarack?  Or was that an illusion for our benefit?  As we stood before the Temple entrance, I made a motion across my throat and said "Quarack - dead?"  Karek looked at me and shook his head.  He waved his hand over his face.  I read his thoughts to say "just an illusion."  From now on - we could only really trust the sight of the wielder, for the staff gave him True Sight.  I would empathically screen my vision though his henceforth.  His thoughts on our encounter empathically washed over me.  What we had experienced was real enough, although many of the undead were lesser demons gated in by the beast, not risen corpses.  the Imp did appear, and Quarack did speak, but his death was a grisly demonstration only, lest we think we were combatting only the will of a mere mortal.  "He lives" Karek said.

The metal door once again greeted us.  It was partially open as we had left it.  Either the Ward was down or the Staff absorbed the blast because we passed without incident.  We once again entered the the hallway of the elements.  The presence of the completed staff apparently meant that we did not have to repeat the elemental trials.  We walked down the hallway to Alcazar's room without incident.  Opening the doors to the room we saw the familiar objects and furniture.  I scanned the walls looking for hidden passages, but saw nothing.  But Karek did.  He said that a small dark hallway led out of the room from the southwest corner.  I closed my eyes.  To my surprise I could clearly see the secret hallway.  Suddenly I thought of Biteki's "leap of faith."  "Close your eyes" I said to the others.  "You will still be able to see through your closed eyelids."  They looked at me with alarm.  "Believe it - and it will work."  Veltek, ever curious, was the first to attempt - and confirm.  "I see the hallway!" he exclaimed with his eyes closed.  "Amazing" said Forcellus as he too was convinced.  "We are better off proceeding with less of our own senses." I said, attempting to open my eyes and confirm my inability to perform this feat without deprivation.  We all discovered very quickly that besides Karek, who held the staff, we could not see the door normally.  I then discovered that if I leaned on my own personal Power reserves, I could perceive both the illusion and the reality.  I had in that moment acquired True Sight.  For the others, they resolved to close their eyes and call upon the Staff to show them the hidden path into the Portal.

Two realities then unfolded before me.  One a terrifying vision of death and impossible odds, and the other merely a dank passageway through an ancient temple.  When the two descriptions met in one coherent reality, I knew that we had arrived at the portal.

It was a large chamber, filled with red light.  In the center was the black hole that we had seen on the desolation.  The swirling grey smoke was also there surrounding it.  As we stepped into the room, the final maelstrom began.

Next: A Deathly Confrontation

We were followed.  Faceless phantoms in the darkness accumulated as we strode on.  Thrashing though the woods around us they followed as closely as the Staff would allow.  We could feel their hunger, their desire to pull us down.  We knew that without the protection of the Staff, we would be joining them.  We were exhausted, but there was no remedy.  Karek was hoarse with shouting - disbanding the masses that gathered in front of us as we pushed on up the now steep incline.  It seemed as if all of those killed by the darkness had rose up and ventured here to try and stop us from fulfilling our quest.  If they were enchantments, then they were good ones.

When we finally arrived at the broad plateau of the desolation of the dragon, it was filled with the groping, rabid dead.  Racing toward us from Alcazar's entrance to the Temple was the dismembered black skeletal head with the malevolent glowing eyes.  It stopped, suspended above the mass of undead.  For a split second there was silence, and then a horrible keening began as the crowd raced toward us.  Karek swung the Staff before us as we stood with our backs to the precipice that we had just ascended.  The Fire gem exploded in fury leaving a streak of fire light as it moved from side to side cleaving the decaying bodies as it moved.  Fetid body parts flew through the air as the staff mowed down the howling hordes.  With ebbing energy Karek swung the staff, I and Forcellus chopped at groping arms, me with my short blade, Forcellus bringing up the rear with his great sword.  Veltek spent his Power on Gale Force which served to sweep away the fallen dead allowing us to proceed slowly across the expanse of the desolation, our feet ankle deep in gore.  When we reached what we appeared to be the center, the black skull and all of the undead simply disappeared.  In it's place there appeared what looked like a black hole surrounded by a swirling grey-black smoke.  The hole grew larger, and the smoke filled the desolation.  Then a light suddenly appeared in the hole and rapidly approached us.  It coalesced  into the form of a glowing giant horned beast with four arms each holding a sword.  It stood at least twenty foot high and hissing gasses issued from it's mouth.  I had never seen anything quite so horrifying.  Seated on it's shoulder was the green imp ginning at us.  I had to tell myself that this was also an illusion, though I knew that it was not.  We all stood frozen for a second, then an oddly disconnected voice roared out of the beast covering the sound of the swirling and hissing gasses that surrounded us "cast aside that stick and you will be spared death as I have been." it said.  It was a strange request under the circumstances, and it was spoken in broken Domish.  Karek returned the shout in Zorbeshi, translated; "But you are not alive, Quarack.  You are a puppet of this creature.  You have lost your honor and soiled the honor of your ancestors.  If you want this staff, come and take it."

I cannot recall the exact words that then transpired, all was confusion and sounds muffled by the hissing winds, but it was plain that there were two entities before us, incorporated into the one creature.  "Kill them" I heard the entity I perceived to be Quarack say, but the creature did not move.  As Quarack grew more insistent, the large beast seemed to produce an angry hissing laugh.  Suddenly from inside his form flew out a small Zorbeshi man, who stumbled forward and fell in front of us.  "This…is…your…fate" he said, struggling and choking on his own words.  The beast then raised his hand and Quarack burst into fragments which scattered to the winds.  Crackling with hissing laughter, the demon beast then abruptly disappeared.

Next: The Demon Portal

Leaving Giorda we walked north west toward Buhween, the small village at the border of Hamelille.  There was no sunlight, even filtered through clouds.  The further we went, the darker it became.  Only the Staff lit our way.  No torch would now penetrate the total darkness.  And it was deathly cold.  The glowing Staff provided us a degree of comfort from the oppressive blanket that was slowly suffocating us.  There was no sound.  We passed dead animals.  Stepping over them as we progressed.  I began to fear for Hamelille.  Reaching Buhween did nothing to allay my fears, as the village was completely deserted.  Not a soul in sight.  We decided not to stop until we reached Hamellile.  We expected to be assaulted by demonic forces at any moment, but none came. 

We finally reached the edge of the Sacred Grove, and I was saddened but not shocked to see that the darkness had penetrated it also.  But to what extent?  We wearily plodded on headed for Hamell, the Great Tree.  It may have been a hallucination, but I was sure that the darkness lifted a bit as we approached the venerable one.  But there was no one around.  My people would seek the protection of the trees, I reasoned.  They would pass into the trees and become part of them - as they had so long ago after the Raylan Domination.  I so wanted to join them.  To feel the peace of the ages, the quiet, the communal, the serene. But such communion comes with a price.  You are removed from the world.  The progression of history passes you by.  Perhaps for many years.  Now standing before the great sleeping Hamell I knew that it would not speak to me.  No wisdom to be gained here.  It was far away.  Naralle too.  I am too involved with the humans to be a true Raylan.  I cannot let time and evolution be the arbiter of my fate.  I want to write history, not pass without a trace. And so we moved on toward Morban. 

Each step grew heavier, darker, colder.  Nothing lived.  In Morban, death was everywhere.  People lying in the street.  Slumped over tables in the Inn.  Even the rats were cold and stiff.  Why would this demon not come?  Then again, why should it?  It's will was triumphant.  We could liberate no one here - they were already dead.  Did we represent a threat?  It did not seem so. 

We were able to provision ourselves rather easily.  Dead men do not eat, and the cold food was well preserved.  We slept and ate always within the protective glare of the Elemental Staff.

We finally began our return to Mount Orgarath.  We had made it as far the campsite of the unfortunates when our first sign of contest finally appeared.  As we walked down the wooded path the glow of the staff suddenly revealed the black circle of the old campfire before us.  The three bodies were still there.  We attempted to sidestep them when Veltek let out a yell "the mother moved!" he said in horror.  We all looked.  All three bodies then stirred and sat up.  A million thoughts raced through my mind.  Had they been sleeping?  Entranced and now released by the Staff?  The light of the Staff then revealed the secret as they stood and moved toward us.  They were walking death.  The mother's face half eaten by some vile scavenger.  The children were the same.  Suddenly the older boy lunged at Veltek and then suffered the loud crack of an Energy bolt directed at him.  He only flinched at the powerful blast.  Karek raised the staff and screamed something in Khanizat, and at that moment the staff flared even more brightly and all three phantoms dropped lifelessly to the ground.

Next: The Gauntlet

We discovered that there were no horses to be had in Giorda.  Most had been ridden away by their owners, others had simply lay down and died. We took a room in the Inn to flee the cold and to discuss our strategy.

Our main topic was when to "unfurl our flag" as Forcellus put it.  Biteki had told us that merely carrying the Staff on Karek's back would not declare our presence.  We would need to wield it.  But when and where?  Did we want to declare the battle here and now?  With perhaps hosts of demons descending upon Giorda?  Did we want to visit Hamel and Naralle at Hamelille before the big battle?  I had envisioned the confrontation taking place on the road past Morban, to keep it localized to Forbesh.  I reasoned with myself that the demons should be confined to Forbesh, that they somehow would run amuck and slay others anywhere on the path to us.

But in truth, we had fallen victim to the same malaise as the others.  We began to fear that wielding the staff might not be enough.  That we might need an army as well.  Forcellus first wanted to go back to DOM to gather forces, then he wanted to get the Raylan, and finally he decided that more thought and brandy would do the trick.  Veltek wanted to locate another Power Gem so that he might store Power in it to use in the coming battle.  He became obsessed with needing more Power, and began attempting to place his Power into common items.  This had a debilitating effect as he was then rarely at full Power, and constantly worried about it.  I simply spent many hours sleeping "to rest up" for the coming battle.  Karek seemed to fare better than most of us, but as he looked to Veltek and I to initiate the proceedings, nothing was done.

On the morning of the third day, the innkeeper's wife died.  Karek was the first one to hear of it, and thankfully for all of us, it was the final stone needed to upset the balanced state of misery we were in.

I had managed to get myself down the stairs of the Inn that morning for a breakfast that would not appear.  I passed Karek who had a determined look on his face.  "She's dead" he said as he crossed to the stairs and bounded up.  At that moment I experienced the low point of my life.  I was a failure and I knew it.  I wallowed in it.  I sat right down on the floor, and was overcome by sadness.  Meanwhile, in his room, Karek had retrieved the staff.  "Everyone up!" He shouted in Khanizat from his open door - and then he uncovered the staff.  The Fire gem glowed with a nearly blinding light.  Karek marched downstairs with it, holding it out before him.  "We begin!" he shouted in Domish.  Seeing the light of the staff, my malaise vanished in an instant.  It was like a thin paint that crumbled away.  How foolish I  had been.  How easily the darkness had taken us.  With such facility had it robbed us of confidence in the Elemental construct before us.  How vain we were that we believed that we could determine the time and place and not trust the combined Power of the Elements.  By the look on the faces of Forcellus and Veltek, I could see that they too saw the truth laid out clearly before them.  "Just wield it" I had told Karek in Neriz.  That should have remained my advice all along.  Forcellus quickly gathered provisions from the Innkeepers stock.  "I am sorry for your terrible loss" I said to the innkeeper.  And with renewed confidence I said "this dark entity has caused enough pain.  It shall now be defeated." 

Within the hour, we were on the road toward Hamelille, Morban and then Mount Orgarath - come what may.

Next: A City of Death

We very quickly realized that the Staff would Apport us only to locations where it had been previously when it was fully assembled, or to locations that Karek had been at some point in his life.  The latter apparently a perk of the actual wielder.  It would not return to it's humble origins when merely a collection of parts.  Biteki described "Transmogrification" to us - that the Staff was no longer a collection of items - it was something else now.  It had actually become the ancient item.  "It's reality is altered." he said with a wink as he looked at me.  "It captured the demon here, not in Forbesh."

And so, the closest that we could get to the darkness in a practical way was Ekos Zorbesh.  We covered the staff and Karek carried it on his back as we boarded a ship bound for Gandus.  Arriving there we had to spend three times the normal charge to engage a ship to take us to DOM.  No one wanted to travel there.  Most regarded us as crazy for wanting to.

The passage from Gandus was rough.  A howling gale most of the way added days to the trip.  We had decided that we would not spend any time in the City of DOM.  We did not want to force a confrontation with the demon in a populated area.  Though I must admit that an army of Domish elite would have been welcome in dealing with "followers".

The darkness had expanded.  As we sailed through the Strait of Isban closing in on DOM, we were met very early by the now familiar dark clouds.  Fortan and Isban were also now under the malaise.  The blackness now nearly covered the entire continent.  The temperature dropped rapidly as we drew closer.  I knew that this meant an entire season of crops would be destroyed.  There would be famine among the peasantry this winter. 

The mood at the docks where we were dropped off early in the morning were as dark as the sky.  Our captain of ship would not spend one additional minute in port, but set sail for the return trip to Gandus immediately.  It took the greater part of that day to locate a boat to take us to Giorda.  I finally had to reveal that I was Tirian and on the King's business to force the owner to take me further into the ink than he was willing to go for mere money.  And even then, Forcellus had to lay hand on sword momentarily to prove my point.

On the passage to Giorda, no one spoke a word.  Our captain looked as if in a trance, with dead eyes.  We all were feeling it.  It was a hopelessness beyond comparison.  A nameless terror that was impossible to resist.  It sapped your strength.  You only wanted to sleep, to escape - but unable to gather the presence of mind to run.  We went through the motions.  We left the boat.  The captain made no move to immediately sail away but listlessly stared at us from the deck as we walked off into the dark town.  He may still be there staring into nothingness.  The town was more of the same.  It seemed like the dead of winter.  No one was on the streets.  We made our way to the inn.  It was open, but deserted.  "Anyone home" I shouted, but there was no immediate answer.  Instead, I heard faint sobbing.  Forcellus walked past the ale barrels and into the back.  There he found the innkeeper, sitting on the floor holding a sobbing woman.  "I'll be back" he stated.  She continued crying.  "We can wait" said Forcellus.  "It does not matter" he said.  She has been crying at nothing for two weeks."  I began to realize just how deadly the darkness had become.  Apparently she was lucky.  There were those in town that simply went to sleep and lacked the ambition to actually rise again.  Or even breathe again.

Next: Demonic Desolation

"The ancient relics of the Age of Magic are all stolen.  Soon they will be scattered to the winds" said Biteki ominously.  "They are like the seeds of destructive plants long ago eradicated.  Your darkness may merely be the first sign of the coming danger."  It was a cheery conversation.  I hoped then that he was wrong.  He was right of course, but life does go on, and all happiness was not henceforth withdrawn from the world.  However I shall not tell this tale out of sequence.

Concentrating on the matter at hand, I asked "Where might one find this demon?"  I assumed that he would say "in the center of the darkness", and so I added "and where in the darkness is the center?  It's borders seems to fluctuate."  "The demon could be anywhere." said Biteki.  "But there are a few places that it might desire to visit.  Even if only to enact revenge.  Of course those responsible for it's Geas are long gone, but the demon may wish to defile the scene of the crime.  If you will forgive my analogy from before - he may wish to rewrite the story of the place, a new final chapter."  "To dance on their graves" Forcellus eagerly added.  An entirely apt description that I also heard a Grimdun use once.  "If so, where would these places be?" I asked.  Biteki looked thoughtful, then answered.  "It depends on where, when and by whom he was originally summoned.  If by Morbreth, he might be in Halifax.  If by Zokesh, he could be in Deniz or perhaps Forbesh as that is where Zokesh summoned demons into the Temple of Fuegon."  The last one made sense, though recalling our trip to Forbesh filled me with renewed dread.  "We were there" I said, describing the Dragon's Lair on Mount Orgarath.  "There were entities there.  We were not able to banish them."  "The Staff was not complete then" said Biteki.  "And in any case you were not given Nehethban's full attention, or you would probably not have survived.  You met up with part of his entourage, perhaps.  The great demon himself would have probably gone to the ancient Portal there - where he was originally summoned."  "We saw no portal" I said.  "There was only a hallway and a room".  Biteki studied my face and then asked.  "Was there any enchantment?  A female, perhaps that appeared to you?"  "No" i answered.  "There was the green imp" Veltek offered.  "That would do it" Biteki surmised.  "The imp could not disguise the Power stone, but he could prevent you from seeing doors."  I recalled the darkness and the nightmare that was our progression through the Temple and I could well believe it.  Biteki went on "The Imp will not be able to fool you now that the Water element has given your staff True Sight.  It is clear that you must return to Forbesh.  Imps do not appear on their own.  You were very close."  I wondered if the Staff could Apport us into Alcazar's room in the temple, but Biteki voiced a competing plan.  "You may not need to do battle in the Temple" he said. "The Staff is not what summoned him, but it was most likely what was used to imprison him in the Alak-ans.  It will be a powerful beacon to Nehethban once he becomes aware of it's presence.  The demon will know that he needs to defeat it."   "What if he simply runs from it?" I asked.  Veltek added "and wouldn't he WANT to be banished?"  "Perhaps" said Biteki "but I doubt it.  He is free and clearly the most powerful entity in the world at the moment.  He will want to take advantage of that.  I am sure that he will not accept the shame of running.  Go and begin to banish his darkness - he and his followers are sure to come to try to stop you."  I wondered what "his followers" would mean.

Next: Back in Harm's Way

We were seated in comfortable room that contained a hearth and a small glowing fire.  It was somewhat damp and cool in the caverns of Zenabesh.  We in the Kundun Pass high up in the mountains to the north of the Khaniz Barrens, but it seemed now that we were deep in the center of the world.  We had asked Biteki the Zenabeshi about the break-in, and he described it to us in some detail.  It had occurred some thirty years ago - and still complete repairs had not yet been effected.  "The Necromancer Quarak and his Ezmeri Had woman Alaika and a Jasou Kineticist named Jakanal broke into this stronghold attempting to steal the Alak-ans.  They had first presented themselves as students seeking knowledge.  We see so few visitors that we welcomed them.  We had secretly hoped that we could convince them to join us in our work, our numbers had dwindled over the years.  But they had their own plans.  An army appeared under their command of some fifty men.  They defeated the ancient Wards with their combined talents and entered the inner Sanctum of Holding.  There something went wrong with their plans.  They began to tear at each other.  Greed led them here, and greed does not stop at the doorstep.  When presented with vast spoils, how is one to choose who-gets-what?  Jakanal, The Jasou apparently had the answer.  He had secretly arranged an army of his own.  He stalled Quarack to allow them time to march on Zenabesh.  When they arrived they handily defeated Quarack's army.  In his efforts to destroy Jakanal during the battle, Quarack used his Necromantic skill to release certain Demons that were held captive in Zenabesh.  I do not think he was prepared for the strength of these demons.  And especially not for the one that we call 'Nehethban" (death-bringer) though it's actual name is not known.  It is said to have been held captive in the Alak-ans since the Morbrethi Necromancers put him there over ten thousand years ago.  How Quarak imagined that Nehethban would serve him or help him to protect his hated prison could only be Quarack's own delusion.  At first we had hoped that Quarack had managed to banish.  But I now believe that the darkness is the north must be Nehethban's work."

So we had a demon to hunt.  Would the Elemental Staff be up to such a task?  "It must be" said Biteki.  For it is our only hope.  The world no longer contains powerful Morbrethi Necomancers.  We are like children compared to the practitioners of the ancient magics."  This was sobering news.  But I had other questions.  Why is there an unpeneterable darkness in the room we Apported into?  And if our magic does not work in that room, why were we able to Apport in?  "I have an explanation, but it requires a leap of faith.  The universe is comprised of stories.  Stories that define reality for all of us.  If we believe something, then on some level it becomes true.  It is real for us.  If we all believe it, then it becomes true for many.  Great gems of Power are capable of holding stories.  One of those stories is the belief that a Gem of Power can hold stories, you see?"  "Not really" I admitted.  "It is a leap of faith.  The Alak-ans contains a description of reality that is different from ours.  It has described even the space around it.  Let us say that under it's rules, certain magic is allowed, and certain magic is not."  "Like a selective Ground spell?" I said, referring to the Enegetics spell.  "Yes, but it is not a spell.  It is simply a description of reality."  "And this reality persists in the room even thirty years after the gem is removed?" I asked incredulously.  "And even if I don't believe it?" "It is a very powerful stone." he said.

Next: The Path of the Demon

Latakas was correct.  Karek did have visions.  Too many visions, and too confused to make a clear choice.  Lacking any context, his mind tried to attach the fleeting images to places that he had known.  As he and I had shared few of those places, we produced no direction that meant anything to either of us.  But we did agree that returning through the Antarans would be a bad idea, so in the end we simply chose one of the images that flashed through his mind that seemed the darkest and most foreboding, reasoning that it might be the home of the darkness.  And so, as Latakas has instructed us, we all stood near Karek while he held the staff aloft, and as he concentrated on the image in his mind - he shouted "aka" (meaning "we go" in Khanizat) and to our mixed surprise, we went.

We suddenly found ourselves in an inky blackness.  Veltek attempted to cast a Light, but failed.  "Your magic will not work here" a voice called out from the darkness in accented Domish.  He then apparently repeated his message in Zorbeshi, then Khanizat.  "Where are we" I spoke, "and who are you?"  "Follow my voice" he said.  No light can enter this place.  There is a spiritual Darkness here."  We slowly walked toward the man's voice.  We were in a large room of some kind.  At every step I imagined a precipice before me.  Or some lunging beast.  I began to hallucinate, my eyes flashing lights before me.  The voice remained our only beacon.  "You are in the halls of the Zenabesh" the voice continued.  "Light will be possible very soon."

We eventually exited through an open doorway.  Normal darkness greeted us instantly as if we had walked through a curtain.  We had entered another large room.  As Karek exited the darkness, the Elemental staff instantly blazed with light and our host appeared before us.  He was a small, intelligent looking human man.  The room that we were now standing in was a circular cave with several doorways positioned around the circle equally distant from each other.  Evidence of neglect (or destruction) was everywhere.  Chunks of wood scattered about seemed to have been the doors themselves, as none of the doorways were blocked.

"It is true then" said the small man as he stared at the glowing staff "The staff has returned."  "Yes" I said.  "And we it's wielders.  Who are you?"  "Forgive my lack of hospitality" he said with a small bow.  "My name is Biteki.  I am of the order of the Zenabesh.  You stand in the halls of the city that bears the same name.  As you can see, we have suffered a great attack.  Our ancient and sacred strongholds haves been violated, and our honorable charge defeated.  Many of us are dead.  Those that remain have now rededicated their lives to the recovery of the ancient relics that we were charged with protecting, and of strengthening the fortress of Zenabesh against future attacks.  I am afraid that we had grown complacent.  We and the world will pay dearly for our lack of vigilance."  This man called Biteki continued in this fashion for some time.  It was an admission of guilt, given to us as if we held the keys to his redemption.  Apparently we represented the world to him, and he sought absolution from all of us.  We allowed him to vent, but in the end, urgency forced us to cut him off.  "We have much work to do" I said, "and that is all the time we have for introspection.  We must now act."  "Of course" he said with passion - relieved that we did not exclude him from the task.  To reinforce this (for I did like the man) I said "We will need your help.  We have questions that you may be able to answer."

Next: Of Demons and the Alak-ans

I know nothing about consecration.  As an Avatar of Air, I am a poor specimen.  My life has been spent promoting the union of elements, not Air specifically, and so, as the pink Shamanic glow followed us and we walked to what must have been a ceremonial font, I silently worried.  I resolved to once again grovel before our host and ask.  But again he did not allow me.  He preempted my asking by providing an answer, but not before I worried myself sick. He first guided Karek in the placing of the staff and the Fire gem into the font.  "My words will now unite the staff".  He then said, and then looked at me.  "You performed your consecration when you took on this task.  When you risked your life to keep it alive, and when you cast your fate into the hands of the elements and stepped into that boat to journey here.  Earth has carried it here, and has already given one life to insure it's arrival."  Fire has already consecrated the gem.  You used sanctioned Energetics from it, and its consecration  is implicit if the gem now unites through Transmutation.  He then turned to the font and looking down at the staff, spoke "I consecrate this staff with the element of Water.  I agree, along with Air, Fire and Earth to serve it's purpose.  Let it now be our common voice and arm."  And with those final words, the water in the font began to glow so bright that we had to look away.  Looking back we saw that the staff had risen out of the water and was suspended in mid-air.  Looking at it in wonder, no one moved.  It had changed.  The wooden staff no longer looked like a simple stick, it was a glowing weapon of perfect proportions crowned by the gem of Fire which was now perfectly attached to it.

Latakas turned to Karek.  "Only an Earthen Man sworn in their heart to uphold the Elemental Pact may weild the staff.  If you are not prepared to take this quest upon you, then let it pass to another.  For if you attempt to use in against the union, then it will destroy you as it would any other impediment."  It seemed that Karek aged in that moment.  To his credit he did not instantly reach for the staff.  He let the full weight of the responsibility sink in.  He looked at each of us in turn.  For the first time, we were able to talk to him and be fully understood.   I described the nature of the elements and of Esaam and of the unity of all things.  We explained the effects of the darkness in the north, it's probable cause, and what needed to be done.  Karek then said "My father told me when I was young that I had a calling by the ancients of our tribe.  I did not understand that.  But perhaps this is what I was feeling all along.  My father was right."  He stood and looked at the staff.  "I will, in all humility, take this quest".  Latakas then motioned toward the staff and Karek walked to it, reached up and grasped it.  His eyes grew wide as he held it.  "You will see visions"  Latakas said.  "They are places that the staff recognizes.  Places of power.  Places that the staff has been before.  The staff can Apport you and your party to those locations."  "How will I know which to choose" asked Karek.  "He can help you" he said, motioning toward me.  "He can see what is in your mind.  Perhaps together you can make a choice.  Or you can cross back to Neriz and proceed one foot after the other.  The staff does not care.  Let your hearts lead you."

I realized that further questions would only cost valuable time.  We had already spent too much time away from the darkness.  It was time to begin.

Next: Into the Darkness

We succumbed to the darkness.  We accepted seeming death so unexpectedly, and without even the smallest struggle.  Yet somehow, that dread did not trump my trust of the Sahag that guided us.  The blackness slowly turned to a deep blue.  By the slowly waving black tendrils nearby and then the presence of colorless fish swimming curiously alongside, I knew that we were indeed under water.  Yet we were not wet, and breathing was not a problem.  This added to the dreamlike state in which we proceeded.  Our boat glided gently forward through this silent realm, the only reminder of our old reality.  We were soon among the Sahag.  Hundreds of the creatures were visible in the dim glow surrounding what appeared as an underwater city.  Looking up I could only see a darkening canopy of water.  We have Apported somehow I thought.  We cannot be in Khanize any longer.  We continued on, moving slowly past curious observers, heading to a destination we could not even imagine.

We entered a cavern at the base of a gigantic underwater mountain, passing through the pyramid-shaped entrance.  The boat carrying us then rose, and suddenly emerged from the water and stopped.   We gaped at what appeared to be a grand hall,  It was illuminated by the rock that enclosed it.  A blue glow that expanded our range of sight and gave us cause for astonishment at the immense size of the room.  The boat had stopped at what appeared to be a dock, and our boatman leapt from the boat and beaconed us to follow.  He led us to the far end of the great hall where there stood a sahag adorned with an ornate costume made from what appeared to be the quills and spines of some sea creature.  He was surrounded by a globe of pinkish light.  As we approached, I noticed that he did not seem to be surprised to see us.  Indeed he motioned for us to come closer and to sit near him.

"Welcome Lords" he said, speaking in the common tongue of DOM.  "I am Latakas, Avatar of Hadulon god of the eastern seas.  This is not a dream, although it may seem like one.  We are in what you would call the sea of the Marepise, far from your point of entry.  But we actually converse and meet within the Shamanic realm so that we may better understand one another."  I began forming my questions, but as I did so he preempted me, seeming to answer as I though of them.  "I know why you are here" he said.  "It has been a very long time since the Elemental Staff was wielded.  We had thought that it had passed from the memory of the terrestrials.  And yet I see that it has not.  That you seek the unity of elements at this time bodes both ill and well.  We are reluctant to test the power of the elements lest it prove diminished over time and not up to the task, yet this reticence is dwarfed by our eagerness to prove the strength of our beliefs and ancient union.  And so we welcome the assembly and sanction it."

"We have lost our wielder and have sought another" I cautiously admitted.  "And you have chosen well" he answered reassuringly.  "This Earthen man is a Khanizat.  An Earthen man also of Water and Fire.  What is more, the elements have chosen and brought him to you."
There was a pause then as I wondered if there needed to be a ceremony of some kind to bring the staff to life.  Latakas looked at me and smiled (at least I imagined a smile, Sahag expressions are hard for me to decode).  "Apparently some of the terrestrial memory of the staff has passed" he said with a touch of pride.  I allowed him this moment of superiority which he enjoyed for only a passing moment.  "The Earthen wielder must bathe the staff and the Fire Gem in water consecrated by an Avatar of Water and of Air."

Next: The Elemental Staff is Reborn

With Karek's eyes averted, the Ereki leader took the opportunity to level the first strike.  He brought down his arm down toward Karek's head, but Karek dodged his blow at the last minute by dropping to the ground.  There he grabbed the staff.  The crowd then attacked.  Forcellus cleared a path by swinging his monstrous blade, but there were too many upon him to repeat the swing until Veltek levelled the odds with an Energy Storm.  I stabbed and madly dodged whatever came at me.  When Karek stood it looked as if he was going to stow the staff again.  I screamed "no!" and stuck out my arm as if to say "wield it!  Damn it, hold it out and wield it!"  Something then finally  connected within him.  I glimpsed it on his face before a leering Ereki nearly decapitated me.  He shouted and thrust the staff into the air, daring anyone to defy his authority.  It was as if a torch had been lit.  Energy shot out from the staff and the Ereki Leader was fried instantly.  Several others were singed and fell back.  The staff now glowed with a reddish light.  The remaining Ereki that were still able to move bolted from the room squealing and clacking in fear.

I suddenly felt a wave of damp air.  A faint smell of brine.  No one else could feel it so I cast my Empathic Tracking.  Amplified by the emergent staff I believed that I could determine the direction to the source of that dampness, and that it was nearby.  We lost no more time but proceeded further into the depths.  I sensed Ereki in many of the burrows we passed in this complex labyrinth, but none approached us.  Eventually the source of the damp was revealed to us in another cavernous hall which held an underground lake stretching into the darkness beyond Veltek's Light spell.  We really needed to go beyond this, but how?  Swim?  Doubts began to creep back in.  From now on, thinking should come secondary.  "Wield it" I said motioning with my arm.  "Let's give it the strength of our will."  Karek needed no more needling.  I don't know if he understood what I meant.  He probably assumed that we were confronting another enemy, which was as well because we were.  We were confronting our own ignorance.  We needed to rely on something greater than we could muster on our own.  We needed the knowledge of those who made this staff possible.  He once again raised the staff into the air and shouted.  Nothing happened, at first.  Then we noticed a ripple in the water.  Visions of water monsters invaded my brain, but I was not prepared for what I did see.  Unmistakably, the outline of a longboat appeared in the darkness.  There was a figure in the boat.  How and where he came from was unfathomable.  Had we entered another world?  Was there indeed a lost civilization down here buried in the desert?

The boat and it's Sahag pilot came within the glow of Veltek's Light.  Were the Sahag the fabled Antarans?   He seemed not to be afraid, and seemed to know that we needed passage.  He motioned for us to get into the boat.  After what we had been through, we dared not show fear.  Karek alone momentarily balked at the concept, it was apparent that he had never before been on a boat.  But he crawled on and we slowly departed from the shore.  We moved in silence, propelled by I know not what, for no one was rowing.  I fell into a Shamanic state, and everything thereafter seemed a dream.  The Sahag began speaking to us in Domish, but to my surprise Karek seemed to understand us as well.  The Sahag told us that his master knew of our quest.  He told us not to be alarmed, that all would be well.  We believed him even as the boat sank beneath the dark water.

Next: The Avatar of Hadulon

Instinctively we put our backs to each other and faced our antagonists.  Too many of the Ereki had covered the entrance to allow a backward retreat.  Forcellus held out his long sword and Karek was slowly swirling his zinga blades in anticipation of the dicing he was to dish out.  Veltek was geared up for an Energy Bolt.  My short bow was useless in these quarters even if I had time to string it, so I pulled out my dagger.

The Ereki eyed us greedily, but did not immediately attack.  "Let's see if they will let us out" said Forcellus and we inched toward the door.  They surged toward us and we stopped.  I had entertained the notion that they feared us, but they were merely waiting.  Another Ereki entered the hall the others giving way to him.  Apparently their leader, he began clacking orders.  It seemed that he was already doling out pieces of us to the deserving.  Why wait until our moisture was scattered before knowing whom could devour whom?

The leader glared at Karek.  It was hard to decipher expression on these creatures, but it looked as if the leader recognized Karek.  Or at least recognized the zinga blades of the Poonabesh and gave them respect.  I then noticed that the Ereki were carrying weapons.  Odd pieces of exoskeleton from their own kind.  I had though them part of their bodies at first.  The leader slashed the air in front of him and did an odd dance.  The others all backed away hugging the walls.  So, our deaths would provide amusement before nutrition.  Karek recognized the challenge offered by the leader, and swirled his zinga blades in a dazzling show of skill, the weapons a blur as they diced the air before them.  I considered the next possibilities, all of which seemed dire.  If he lost, we would be set upon and eaten.  If he won, we would be then set upon and eaten.  They could not run away in defeat, we were in their home, and Karek's blades could not mince everyone.  Veltek could probably astound them with an Energy Bolt, but enough to make them leave us alone, or would it only spur them to action?  If they feared the staff, they might give the wielder passage.  "Can they hold it?" Veltek added in Ezmeri.  Karek then acted incorrectly on what he thought Veltek had intended.  He abruptly halted his "zingen", sheathing his blades.  A cackling of what must have been laughter rippled through the room, declaring him a coward.  Using slow movements, Karek then drew out the unimposing staff.  In his mind, Karek was insulting the leader by demoting himself to an inferior weapon.  If he then bested him, he would be seen as even more powerful by the leader's minions.  Veltek had intended only a holding contest, wanting the crowd  to think that only their leader had the power to command the sacred and magical relic.  I thought that Karek needed to use this hard fought-for weapon and prove it's strength as more than a ward against demons.  But as he stood there with it, for that brief second, I worried that it was not yet complete, and might only delay our deaths for a few entertaining seconds. 

The leader of the Ereki dropped his weapon in a grand show of parity.  The crowd clicked it's approval.  If they had had money, you would have heard it being wagered.  Then Karek suddenly dropped the staff, playing his own mad game.  The staff had dropped near an over-eager spectator, who in reaction quickly reached out to grab it.  The staff crackled and suddenly the poor Ereki was jolted, screaming, half into the air as a forked bolt of energy cracked across his length frying him.  No one was more shocked than Karek who turned to look.  For the briefest second no sound was heard, then the real melee began.

Next: Strange Waters

At noon the next day we arrived at a pile of stones that Karek said was the city.  I was vastly disappointed, expecting a shimmering city in a hidden valley of sand.  Arriving at some key location, Karek dismounted and approached a collection of stones.  He pointed and I could then see a small dark hole leading down between two rock outcroppings.  It was partially filled with sand.  I could see the tracks of many bipedal creatures all around.  "Ereki?" I said pointing to the tracks.  Karek explained as best he could that the Ereki were nocturnal. 

We tied our mounts loosely to a rock in the shade and down we went, Veltek casting a Light.  If there is one thing that I do not particularly line, it is crawling into dark holes like a Grimdon.  But I would not show it.  We indeed had to crawl at times, and at times slide down the sand to uncertain landings.  We had a near encounter with a few skefen (large scorpions) which did not help my disposition.  Karek took up the lead, followed by Veltek, then I.  Forcellus was in the rear watching our backs and providing an anchor for the rope that we attached each other.

It soon became apparent that we were travelling through remains of a subterranean city.  We would leave the narrow cavern and enter an actual room.  We would then cross it and exit a doorway that led back into the narrow cave.  The Ereki had apparently burrowed the passages.  Finally after about half an hour of walking we found ourselves in another small tunnel, but this time it grew larger as we went.  We were suddenly presented with the end of the tunnel and a heavy but worn wooden door which looked mightily out of place.  We stopped.  Karek motioned toward it and said "Ereki." His face looked serious, as if we should be concerned.  Forcellus drew his sword and I tried to pull the staff.  When I did so, I received a rather nasty shock from Veltek, or rather from the Fire orb which I had him stow in his pack.  I dropped the staff.  Not knowing what had happened, and not assuming that this stick of wood had anything to do with it, Karek bent down and retrieved the staff, handing to me.  I could feel energy as I reached toward it. Veltek stopped me.  We all looked at Karek.  It was already powerful enough here to determine who would wield it.  Forcellus looked a bit perturbed, and reached out also to take it, but received the same shock.  I tried to explain; "Karek's people were worshippers of a Fire-Water goddess as were the ancestors of Turmond.  Karek is probably the only one of us who will be able to hold it here."  We explained this as best we could to Karek, who looked somewhat disappointed that we seemed to be encouraging him to wield a wooden staff against the Ereki rather than his dual zinga blades.  I showed him that he could stow it, and use his blades if he wished, which he did.

Karek opened the door, which required a bit of strength.  Veltek illuminated the dark interior revealing a large room like a great hall.  There were wall carvings visible depicting fire and wolves.  There were four other entrances into this large hall, and they were likewise dark.  We looked to Karek for direction.  His blank look back made me realize that he was looking at us for the same.  After all, he had brought us to the lost city.  Now what?

I decided that another Shamanic Journey was needed. What particularly was I looking for?  Was there anything here?  I went inside, with Veltek and his light.  The others followed.  We all moved as quietly as possible.  We had barely all entered when suddenly movement was everywhere.  Large insect-like bipedal creatures poured into the hall from the four dark side entrances.  We were ambushed.

Next: The Stand Off