Veltek attempted to recast his Light spell, but nothing happened.  I thought at the time that something was Dispelling, but I later realized that the Light spell was functioning as normal, but we could not see it - because we were the subjects of a spiritual Darkness.  Had I known that at the time, I would have berated myself for not bringing along a Shaman as well as a Kineticist.  We could see the light from the Orb because of the spiritual nature of the Elemental Staff.  It was, in effect, a spiritual Light greater that the opposing spiritual Darkness.  But only barely.

We made it past the door and into the hallway.  We encountered nothing.  We walked in close formation over the elemental symbols.  The doors from the cavern were wide open.  I could sense our groups collective fear heighten - we had not opened them this wide, and there was no wind inside the cavern that might have moved them.  We were not alone.  Outside the doors we could see only darkness.  As we approached the opening, it grew even colder.  I could sense several presences using Environment Empathy.  We could hear unintelligible murmurs and a low moaning.  For a moment we stood just inside the door, unwilling to mover.  Realizing that it would be up to him, Turmond raised the staff ahead of him and screamed "go away!" as he stepped into the darkness.  We followed him so closely that I stepped on his heel at one point.  Dark entities swarmed around us and chilled us to the bone, but did not yet touch us.  At one point a death mask appeared no further than an inch from my face.  A rotting skull lit with a ghoulish internal light.  It so shocked me that I attempted to flee, but Forcellus grabbed my arm and shouted "it wants to scare us into separating."  He was right.  It's only weapon against the Staff was to scatter us for easy disposal separately.  Realizing this, we all slowed our pace.  Turmond shook the staff at an area of darkness and it retreated.  I was terrified, but Turmond quickly made a game of it.  "Take THAT you bastards!" he shouted as he swung the staff at one dark apparition then another.  Soon we were alone, and at the entrance of the cavern.  We were deathly weary, but we certainly could not rest, so we began our descent down the steep trail.

It took us two days to make it back to the bleak town of Morban.  Our horses were nowhere to be found, so we walked the entire way.  We must have looked like outlaw peasants as we entered the city.  The innkeeper hurried us off to a room, perhaps to remove us from view of the customers he seemed not to have.  We slept off and on for two days.  During that time I did get chances to study the parchments and what I discovered depressed me greatly.  While it did not specify the place where we were to get the item sanctioned by the Water element, it did describe two areas that were places of power dedicated to that element.  The first one was apparently deep under the ocean, in the home of the Sahag.  We were not going there without developing gills.  The other, however, was probably just as remote and impossible, and that was in a lost city in the deserts of the Khaniz barrens.

On the final night of our stay we argued about our course of action.  Forcellus thought that we should just confront the problem and use the staff against it as-is.  I countered that we would need the completed staff to even locate the epicenter of the problem.  That resulted in arguments about triangulation vs. time.  Turmond appeared to accept any path that would be quickest, and Veltek naturally wanted to discover the lost city.  So, once again, they looked at me.  I thought awhile then said; "We will all need light clothing."

Next: Over Land and Sea

There could be no mistaking.  The glowing sphere before us was an orb of Fire.  I conducted a Vibroturgy on it to be sure.  The intention that I sensed was that it be used to both fuel it's own protection, and remain ready for use as a Fire power gem.  Usable only for Energetics, as such, it could be used to represent Fire in our Staff of Elements.  I must confess that I felt overwhelming relief that we had suceeded.  I remember being embarrassed when the others congratulated me, but in truth I basked in it.  My triumph was short-lived however, because I had no idea of how to proceed from here.  And now, the others' expectation that I did know grew exponentially.  My inept attempt to marry the staff to the gem moments later once again reaffirmed (at least to me) that I was a bumbling idiot wandering in the dark.  First I attempted to take the staff.  The Fire gem, even unattached shot me a Energy Storm that would have probably killed me if Veltek had not been prepared to Ground it.  We knew then, that only Turmond could carry the staff as long as the Fire Orb was around.  I had Turmond touch the staff to the Gem.  Nothing happened.  "Perhaps we must simply carry the two together."  Turmond gave a miserable look.  I could tell that he was beginning to realize that the role he had accepted would be larger than he anticipated.  "Great" he said.  "I should just paint a target on myself."  At least his customary sarcasm had not left him.

Thank heavens for Veltek.  His mood never seemed to wander away from youthful enthusiasm and curiosity.  Where Forcellus was alternately coldly serious and caring, and Turmond sarcastic and playful, Veltek seemed only to be full of wonder at all times.  "I think we need to take the time to read some of these scrolls" he said.  "The front door is still open" countered Turmond "who knows what devil will wander in."  "We need to take that chance" insisted Veltek.  They looked at me.  I must confess that I wanted off this mountain as soon as possible, but I could see the wisdom of Veltek's request.  As it turned out, he was completely right.  I agreed with him and we gave ourselves as close to an hour as we could determine. 

It was not until near the close of that hour that we came upon an ancient series of fragile parchments that spoke of the Elemental Staff.  They were written in two languages, Grimdon, and Fuegon.  I am only somewhat fluent in either, but I managed.  I learned the following:  To complete the staff, it must be assembled in the presence of the Water Element.  Water was the glue that would allow it to come together.  Without that, it would not reach it's full power.  And in fact, until that happened, the wielder would be regarded as an unbalanced entity.  It also provided a warning in this regard, which I chose to downplay for the moment, and that is that the wielder will be somewhat attractive to "natural balancing" by outside elemental forces.  I supposed that the outside forces would probably be spearheaded by the Water element.  This traditionally meant Shamanics or Necromancy as they are generally Water based.  Slowly it dawned on my slow brain, the Imp was not simply an anomaly that set upon a family, and then us.  It was sent.  And sent to slow us - or stop us.  Someone was aware of what we were doing.

And then, almost upon cue, Veltek's light spell vanished and the chamber grew as cold as ice.  The glow of the Fire Gem suddenly grew and lit the darkness with an orange light.  The Staff also gave off a dull silvery glow.  Forcellus drew his sword, I scooped up the parchments with as much care as possible.  Turmond awkwardly held the staff and Orb as we all walked toward the exit.

Next: The Long Journey

Beyond the incapacitated Forcellus I saw Turmond, who had backed away on my command.  I noticed that his feet were still on the symbol of Air.  "Are you alright?"  I asked him.  "Shouldn't I be?" he answered.  I was never so happy to hear his customary sarcasm. I walked back, and Turmond walked forward.  I was about to yell for him to stop, but he seemed so unaffected.  I was curious to see how far he would get.  "What's up with him?" said Turmond, pointing to Forcellus, who was now using exaggerated hand gestures to get his vehement but unintelligible point across to us.  It struck me as funny.  It was the stress of the situation, perhaps, but I began laughing and I could not stop.  My Mind Bar vanished as I lost concentration in my hysteria.  Helplessly wracked with spasms of laughter, I could not stop nor think of anything else.

At some point I stopped laughing.  I was on the floor, and I ached.  Standing back from me was Turmond, staring at me in horror.  I turned to look down the hall toward Forcellus and Veltek.  Veltek was standing where I left him, on the border between Air and Earth, also staring at me in shock.  Forcellus still looked like a fish taking in air, his face and expression of uncomprehending incredulity.  It was no longer funny.  "Are YOU alright?" asked Turmond cautiously, holding up his staff.  "Sorry if I hurt you, but you came at me" he admitted.  I recalled doing no such thing.  I slowly stood up.  He had hit me, that was sure.  It was at that moment that I noticed the slight glow emanating from the staff.  I suddenly felt completely stupid.  I raised my Mind Bar again.  "Come with me" I said as I turned and walked toward Forcellus.  "No chance" he said.  "No, it's alright.  I get it now.  This is only a trial if you are not supposed to be here.  We are supposed to be here, but we did not know that."  Turmond still eyed me suspiciously.  I knew that I was not making sense.  "You are the bearer of the Elemental Staff, and so are resistant to the trial.  I doubt that any of this will affect you."  "So how will you get through?" he asked me.  "You have already made that possible" I answered.  Then went on "you already brought me through.  I bet that I came back the moment you wielded the staff at me, didn't I?"  I could tell by his expression that I had.  "Come and do the same for the others."  He held the staff and approached first Forcellus, then Veltek.  They both came around almost immediately.  They had no clue that they were under.  Even Forcellus could not recall what thoughts he had fervently tried to communicate.  Finally back together we proceeded down the path, this time with Turmond in the lead holding out the staff.  The Water element loomed before us.  With great trepidation he stepped in.  Nothing happened.  At the end of the hall was an ornately carved double door.  Veltek reported that there were no wards.  The doors were not locked.  We were on a roll.  And we had discovered new respect for that wooden stave. 

We opened the doors.  The room was full of objects and furniture.  Crude maps, scrolls, drawings, jars containing herbs and various animal parts, and all manner of other things.  As I entered I grew exited beyond imagination.  I could spend years looking through it all, but knew I would not have the time now.  "Over here!" shouted Veltek who had likewise been bowled over by the discovery. I quickly crossed to room to him.  "This radiates Power" he said, pointing to a wrapped bundle.  I must have looked nervous because he said "It's safe".  I carefully peeled back the wrapping, exposing a glowing red sphere.

Next: The Orb of Fire

We found ourselves in a grand hallway leading into the darkness.  We wanted to distance ourselves from the door.  "Can we close it?" asked Turmond, trying not so sound fearful.  Only if you are prepared to… " Turmond cut Veltek off with "leave it then."  We slowly began to walk down the hall, Veltek in the lead, his light illuminating our way.  The the corridor was not wider than ten feet.  It was festooned with various markings and symbols most of which I did not recognize, but beneath our feet were symbols of Fire.

We kept our eyes on Veltek, hoping that he would stop us before any danger.  Turmond kept stopping and pointing.  "No" Veltek kept saying to him until he became annoyed.  "I will let you know" he snapped.    Suddenly, Veltek stopped.  For several seconds he did not move nor speak.  Forcellus was behind him.  "What is it?" he asked.  No answer.  Veltek stood stock still.  Something was wrong.  I cast a Telempathy.  He had not a thought in his head.  "Everyone stay where you are" I said.  I cast a Mind Bar on myself, and walked up to him.  It was then that I noticed that the symbol on the floor had changed.  It now showed symbols of the Air element.  With excitement I suddenly knew what was happening.  Or at least I hoped that I knew.  This must have to do with the Elemental Pact.  No where else in ancient times would Fire and Air be mixed in the same location.  I began silently pleading to the Elemental Gods that I be right.  This would mean that the door was a trial of Fire.  We probably could not have proceeded without an Energeticist.  This could mean that Veltek was now in the throes of a Empathic challenge from the Air element.  He might remain there forever without help.  The same fate might greet anyone without the protection of a Mind Bar.  "Move backwards" I called out to the others.  Turmond moved, but Forcellus, who was directly behind Veltek did not.  He had apparently succumbed as well.  The Air element is not as susceptible to Earth's Power draw, but this trial still should have been dissipated to some degree over time.  It was doubtful that Alcazar had the skill to reinforce it, and I would be surprised not to have known about a Raylan accompanying him on his journeys.  My fear swelled, perhaps someone else was keeping it up. I preferred to believe that this meant that the Fire gem was here and active, supplying the Power.  After all, there must be something here to protect.

I walked up to Veltek.  I could feel a vague external presence, but I dare not release the Mind Bar to find out.  I simply took hold of Veltek and walked him across the symbols of Air.  He stumbled forward as if sleepwalking.  The next looming symbol was of Earth.  My gut tightened.  Why had I not brought a Kineticist!  Veltek exhaled hard as we approach the Earthen symbol.  He became all words, describing his experience in a catharsis of emotional babble.  "Stay where you are" I yelled to him.  My fears were realized as I took a step toward the Earthen Symbol, there might as well have been a solid wall in front of me.  I could see ahead, but could not move forward.  I knew then with a vast sinking feeling that we would never make it past the trial of Earth.  I looked back down the hall and saw Forcellus.  He appeared to be a bit better off.  He looked back at me, silently mouthing words in exaggeration as if speaking to one who cannot hear.  He would not be moving on his own either.

Next: Two Vital Discoveries

For a moment we all lie unmoving, expecting our imp assailant to reappear.  But he did not.  We rose and surveyed our surroundings.  We were on the broad flat shelf of the desolation.  The mountains summit was still hundreds of feet up, but we had reached our destination.  At the back of this platform there was a yawning cave entrance.  This was the lair of Rakis, the legendary dragon of the followers of Fuegon, or so the story goes.  Alcazar had mentioned in his journal that he had spent time here.  I think the grandness of the place suited his temperament.  What he did here he never mentioned.  I hoped that he had stored his Fire gem here.

We were happy to leave the outside as we entered the cavern.  Veltek cast a Light spell as the minimal light outside had now left us.  The ceiling was high.  We followed the right wall to maintain our bearings.  The rest of the cave was a black expanse.  We walked for several minutes, Forcellus in the lead with sword drawn, followed by Veltek and his light, myself, then Turmond bringing up the rear also with drawn sword.  I had pulled the short bow from my pack, now finally able to use it as no more climbing or overland hiking was necessary.

Suddenly Veltek's light revealed a large door set in the rock wall.  The cave continued on, but we stopped.  "That is Alcazar's mark" I said.  It was set into the center of the door.  Forcellus went to check the door.  "Stop!" yelled Veltek.  "Don't touch it!"  We looked at him.  "There are wards on this door."  We discussed our options.  We decided to continue on and see if there was another entrance.  We were all terrified but Forcellus and Turmond pretended not to be.  The right wall soon began curving us undeniably back out of the cave and we realized the end had been a great circular chamber; the lair of the dragon.  We all heaved a sigh of relief that there was no great beast here.  But we knew that we would have to confront the door.  Alcazar had been a great and powerful Energeticist.  If he determined to keep people out of his sanctum, he would have done it well.  But according to Veltek, "over time, the Earth element will consume Energetics and weaken it.  I may be able to Ground what remains."  We went back and stood around the door. Forcellus would unlock it, if possible, and Veltek would cast a Ground.  Turmond and I would stand ready - he with his sword and I with my short bow.

The door was reinforced with metal.  It had a latch and a lock. "Why don't you all stand back" said Forcellus.  "Won't make a difference" said Veltek.  He explained that we would all suffer the shock upon entrance no matter when we entered after that.  With a look like he regretted having revealed his fear, Forcellus suddenly grabbed the door and tried the latch.  His speed took Veltek off-guard, Forcellus screamed in pain as a blue flash of lightning hit his hand, but was suddenly extinguished with a word from the surprised Veltek.  "Can we work together please!" he shouted to Forcellus.  Forcellus held onto the door.  "It's locked" he said.  It took several castings of Ground and the set of lockpicks that Forcellus had yet to use, but in the end the door was open.  "I should mention" said Veltek with reluctance, "the ward as we enter the threshold will be larger, and will hurt.  I can help, but you are going to feel it."  Forcellus seemed to want it over with "Let's just do this" he said.  We all ran in.  The pain was excruciating.  Blue forks of Energetics combed across us as we entered.  I felt on fire.  Mercifully, it ended as soon as it began.  We all lie on the floor, breathing hard.  We were in.

Next: The Sanctum

The first stone hit Forcellus.  Not hard enough to render him senseless, but enough to bring a cry of pain.  We were trudging slowly up the steep trail that would soon crest in the desolation.  We did expect opposition to our march given the events of the previous nights, but we did not expect a barrage of stones.  We all sought cover as we could.  The trail had been rocky with no trees.  Both Forcellus and Turmond had small shields tied to their packs.  They hastily broke them out.  We cowered together as best we could on the nearly vertical path and used the shields to deflect the pelting which rapidly increased to a hail. Forcellus yelled "There are at least four of them judging from the angle and amount."  The enemy was on the summit, perhaps peering down at our progress.  It occurred to me that perhaps it was only the one imp using Mass Telekinesis.  Forcellus had a nasty gash on the side of his head that was dripping blood.  I cursed my stupidity for not bringing a Kineticist along.  Forcellus seemed a bit woozy, but said aloud "We will have to go up.  We will use the shields as much as possible.  He looked at me "you and Veltek should probably remain here."  "Not a chance" said Veltek quickly, "I can fry them once I locate them."  I yelled that I also could stop an attacker if I could make mental contact.  I knew that it might only be the one imp, and that any single attack by us would probably interrupt the stone shower.  And so, on a ready, steady, go - we began the quickest climb we could manage to close the distance.
Rocks, then dirt and twigs rained down.  As Forcellus reached the summit he was greeted by a flying grapple.  The attacker seemed to be sacrificing himself to take Forcellus, and probably us, over the brink.  Luckily his timing was poor.  Forcellus moved quickly to the side.  The attacker fell over Forcellus' extended leg and landed hard on the rocky edge of the summit.  Turmond brought his sword up, but the man Levitated from his prone position and flew to the left stopping some twenty feet away.  The stone barrage had stopped during this action, so at least we only had one Kineticist against us. Looking around we saw the imp less than thirty feet away.  The other assailant, a large and dirty human rose from the ground, his gaze full of rage and madness.  I could sense that his thoughts were only partially his own and that he was resisting that control, but he lost the mental battle and once again rushed Forcellus.  Suddenly I could feel myself being Disengaged from the ground, I knew that in the next moment I would be cast into a fatal flight.  I attempted to grasp the imp's mind and perform a Suggestion, but could not make it past its Mind Bar.  Veltek, however, was untouched and cast an Energy Storm at the creature.  Bolts of Energetics cracked around the imp and it screamed in pain.  I was once again on solid ground.  I could hear Forcellus grunt as he brought his sword into the belly of his own assailant.  Out of the corner of my eye I saw Turmond finish the job by nearly cutting off the head of the poor wretch.  But the battle was not over.  Our attack had brought Veltek and I close enough together for an attempt by the imp to cast Mass Telekinesis.  We would be used as balls in a game of bowls to sweep all of us over the edge.  As the force took us, we held on to whatever we found around us.  I simply could not resist the spell and slid backwards plowing into Forcellus.  Veltek managed to hold on, and as both Forcellus and I clawed the landing with our fingers to slow down, Veltek cast another massive Energy Storm at the imp.  We stopped just at the edge of the precipice as the creature vanished without a trace.

Next: The Trial of Fire

Now assembled outside of the cabin, weary and coughing, we lit two torches and scanned the roof for the evil-doer.  There was no one.  Forcellus and Turmond ran around the cabin and into the woods beyond.  Nothing.  We looked for an easy access to the roof, there was none.  At least not with a bundle of twigs and branches.  I voiced my suspicion of "Kinesis", but it seemed unlikely that the mad inhabitant of this cabin would possess such a skill.  He would have had to have studied with the Grimdun, or at DOM University.  Or perhaps he was a Grimdon, but not if the daughter was his.  It was a mystery.  And one we would not solve that night.  None of us had gotten much sleep, and it was too dark to march, so we bedded down near the cabin and set a watch, something we should have done the night before but inexplicably did not. 

I had barely begun to sleep when I heard a cry from Veltek who was sleeping next to me.  I started awake and saw him sitting up clutching his shoulder.  Forcellus had taken the first watch and he was now staring at Veltek.  "What was it?" he asked.  "Someone hit me on the shoulder."  "Who?" I asked stupidly.  "How the blazes should I know? I was asleep"  We both then looked at Forcellus.  "I was looking outside of the camp, not at us" he said irritably.  The fatigue was showing on Forcellus.  I caught a slightly suspicious look that he shot toward me.  Did he think that I hit Veltek?  "I heard a thump" announced Turmond, his voice rising in volume as he continued to speak.  "But I heard nothing else.  I was awake, who could sleep with all this going on?"  I started to think that perhaps our invader also possessed Invisibility or Etherealness making him an Enchanter or a Transmuter as well as a Kineticist.  But if he was that powerful, why not just attack us?  Or maybe this was caused naturally, by a falling pine cone.  I looked at the others, it would not take much now to send them all over the edge.  "Everyone take a breath."  I said.  "We knew that this was not going to be easy, and we are all tired.  Veltek, did you check to see that something did not fall out of a tree?"  From the look on his face I guessed that he hadn't.  He scrambled over to where he had slept, and produced the probable culprit.  It was a rather large rock.  Naturally this sort of thing does not fall from trees.  It might have been there already, but we all knew without saying that it had been thrown.  We also realized that dawn had begun.  There was a slight lightening of the eternal overcast.  We decided that the best thing that we could do is to get this ordeal over with as quickly as possible.

Our march was beset by obstacles.  A covered hole nearly broke my foot, a branch fell on Turmond and knocked him senseless for a bit.  Someone was definitely trying to prevent us from reaching our destination.  At midday, we were climbing steadily up a series of rocks when I finally caught a glimpse of what I took to be our antagonist.  It was not a human at all.  It was a small green creature with tiny wings.  It leered at me, and then disappeared behind a distant rock when I stared at it.  "Did you see that?" I shouted.  Forcellus stopped the others.  "No, what is it?" he inquired.  "I think we are being harassed by an imp."  Forcellus looked at me as if I had two heads.  "Let's move on," he said, as if I had been merely complaining about the march. "The going will get easier soon" he added and turned to resume climbing.  As he did, II saw him give a sly glance to Turmond as if to say "the Raylan will be the next raging lunatic."  I decided not to pursue it further.  I would just keep up my guard.

Next: The Lair of the Dragon

At the time, the trek up mount Orgarath was the bleakest trip I had yet taken in my life.  There would be darker ones, but after this one I would be better girded for such dread and despair.  It was late afternoon when we set off.  I had a thought that we should probably rest at this camp for the night before heading uphill, but none of us could stomach sleeping in the place where so much recent carnage occurred.  We followed what must have been the same trail that the campers had come from, and we all expected to see the father at any moment.  Turmond and Forcellus both walked with drawn swords.  The path wound through the woods going ever upwards.  Even in the low light we could periodically catch glimpses of the mountain above us through the trees.

The cabin caught us by surprise.  We rounded a corner and there it was.  There was a clearing beyond it that looked like it might have been tilled soil at one point.   We all stopped.  There was smoke coming from the crude stone chimney.  Perhaps this was not the home of our campers.  We cautiously approached the door, which we discovered was open a crack.  There was a boulder partially in the doorway which blocked the door from closing.  Forcellus knocked on the door with his sword hilt.  "Anyone here?" he inquired loudly.  There was no answer.  Forcellus and Turmond moved the boulder a bit and fully opened the door.  Aside from the glow of a fire at the hearth the cabin was dark.  Someone had been here after the camp disaster.  Forcellus entered the cabin and shortly reported that there was no one in it.  We discussed spending the night there and agreed that if there were a madman wandering about, we were better off in the cabin than on the ground somewhere outside of it.
So we all trooped in.  We discovered a few candles and lit them.  Aside from a layer of dirt and soot on everything, the cabin gave no indication of any disfunction.  It looked like the cabin of a happy family.  There were small homemade dolls.  Were were pretty sure that we were indeed in the cabin of the unfortunate family.  Environment Empathy confirmed this, but also confirmed the presence of distress and despair.  We built up the fire and reluctantly bedded down for the night.

At some point maybe an hour later, I awoke with a start.  there was a great deal of smoke in the room.  Alarmed, I jumped up and looked for fire, and found none.  The smoke was apparently pouring from the hearth.  The chimney had become blocked.  From the cover of soot we had discovered earlier I should have suspected a problem, but the fire had drawn well when we stoked it so I had assumed it was fine.  The cloud of smoke was thick at the ceiling so I crouched and roused the others.  We ran to open the door.  And even though it opened inward and had no obstruction, it would not budge.  Suddenly there was a change in the smoke, it began to rise a bit.  The chimney was open!  We all momentarily turned and looked toward it.  There was a rumbling sound and down crashed branches and a substantial log.  Someone was on the roof dropping these down.  Then the chimney closed again.  It seems our madman was attempting to asphyxiate us.  It took Forcellus and Turmond using their swords to pry open the door.  It was being held by unknown forces.  I suspected Kinesis of some kind.  Forcellus squeezed out.  We all suddenly realized why the boulder was there.  We were not the only ones to have received this treatment.

Next: Our Green Nemesis

Needing a bit of cheer, we stopped off at a tavern in the center of town.  We found rooms for the night in an empty inn.  We quickly came to discover that there was no cheer to be found in Morban.  We all felt that our quest was probably a waste of time and the townspeople we came in contact with seemed to wordlessly echo that sentiment.  The ones that did speak seemed to treat the darkness as a homegrown moral failing.  They railed against their own ancestors for deserting Fuegon and other old deities.  But mostly, they did not speak of anthing.  There few in the tavern that night were a depressing lot.  But then again so were we. I suppose I should have attempted to provide some levity or solace - but I could not bring myself to it and in the end we simply crawled off to bed.
The next morning we retrieved our horses from the stable and set off.  We were a dispirited group.  Young Turmond alone seemed to posses some degree of hope, it was he who roused us in the morning and called for the horses.  But perhaps it was not hope, but simply a youthful sense of adventure.  Forcellus was grim, but resolute.  Veltek and I were both lost in undeclared thought.  I did not ask him - and he was uncompelled to ask me.   We rode in silence.  Forcellus took the lead and we followed.
I imagined that the road north and then west led us further into the darkness.  I could not really tell, it just felt that way.  At what must have been midday, we were moving through a pine forest in the foothills of Forbesh.  Forcellus called out "stop!"  I could smell the dead remains of a fire.  He must have found a camp.  He dismounted, then we all did.  There was a clearing ahead and I had a pang of fear that brigands might accost us here.  That fear was strengthened when I heard an urgent exclamation of surprise first from Forcellus.

I cast an Environment Empathy.  I felt fear in the air.  And violent anger, sadness and also despair.  Arriving at the clearing, I took the first step toward understanding.  The camp was still laid out for sleeping.  Four bedrolls, an old fire, some provisions and three dead bodies.  "Orog?" Turmond asked, breathing hard and pulling his sword.  "I doubt it" said Forcellus.  "There are still provisions".  "Nor brigands for the same reason."  I walked into the center of the clearing, then to each corpse.  This had been a family.  There was a  mother and two children, one an older boy and the other a little girl.

I cast Vibroturgy on each victim.  The facts of the tragedy became clearer, though not yet the reasons.  All three had been possessed by fear initiated by someone they trusted.  Perhaps the father, whose bedroll read only confusion, panic and hopelessness.  The daughters death had been terrifying, but mercifully quick.  The son seemed to have tried to defend himself, but to no avail.  The mother had not died at the hands of her presumed husband, but by her own hand.  Well beyond her fear, she had been overcome by sadness and despair.  Forcellus and Turmond corroborated the sad tale with their tracking skills and also announced that the man had run off in the direction that we were headed.  Not a cheery thought.  We returned to the horses and attempted to mount, but the beasts simply refused to go further.  They had endured all they were willing to.  By our very crude calculations, we felt we had only a few hours before the horses would have been useless anyway.  We would be ascending Mount Orgarath to find the presumed dragon's lair.  So we took what provisions we though we would need.  Tied the horses to long tethers and marched into the blackness toward a dubious end and a crazed murderer.

Next: Mount Orgarath

My best hope for finding an orb of Fire was with a practitioner of the Fuegon faith.  But even when the ancient Rayla had made the first staff, Fuegon had been long gone.  Perhaps they found a relic or some other source.  If only Alcazar were still alive.  The great mage of Keldrun Fane had listed in his journal an "orb dedicated to Fire" as part of his belongings, yet no such orb was ever found at the DOM University, where all of his artifacts were held.  Perhaps he only possessed a gem capable of holding Energetics.  Energetics is born of the Fire element.  There exists several of those.  My telepathic amulet being one.  But the ancient Rayla sought an alliance of the elements, so there had to be some form of agreement between Avatars dedicated to the four elemental faiths.  That meant that we needed the Fire orb of an agreeable Avatar. I hoped that this would not mean a trip to an Orog shaman.  I could not imagine them ever agreeing to part with such a stone if they possessed one.

In the DOM University library I had been jumping from book to book, when I happened upon a few scribbled notes in the margins of a rather sketchy history of the Fuegon faith.  The notes were written by Alcazar!  My heart had began pounding as I realized that he was commenting on the legendary Temple of Fuegon, a place lost in antiquity.  At one point the history described a stronghold of dragons.  And in a barely discernible scribble, Alcazar had written "Forbesh."  I knew then where we had to go to that province.  There is a huge table of stone in the mountains of Forbesh.  I had seen it high above us during our DOM Triplo march.  I commented at the time that it would make a magnificent dragon's lair, especially as there was a large cavern at it's back.  It was enormous.  I also recalled the dragon worked into the crest of Forbesh.  I began to fantasize about finding the lost Temple of Fuegon.  I told myself that hunting down my fantasy could quite possibly result in a fantastic dead end.  But I had to try.

I knew the trail north from Hamellile.  I had been hunting down royal regalia on it not that long ago (at least by Raylan standards).  It led to the west of  Glamellile, and then north to Forbesh.  We rode on horseback, riding through river valleys and fording the many small creeks that ran southeast eventually merging and rolling into the Dorcer Sea. The darkness outside of Hamellile had increased measurably since the few days of our arrival in Hamellile.  And it was cold.  Even more oppressive was an indescribable gloom which hung in the air.  It became impossible to think of anything that might bring cheer or a laugh.  And it was quiet.  Deathly quiet.  No birds in the afternoon, no crickets in the evening.  It was impossible to tell what time of day it was.  I imagine it was evening when we reached the city of Morban, but it was so dark that it could easily have been midnight.  We had been making slow progress, as our horses were extremely skittish, and we could barely see to make our way.  We entered the south city gate (one of two in Morban).  We were not hailed in any way.  We did not expect to be, we sent no message and we rode in simple garb, and on humble mounts.  Morban sits upon a hillside overlooking a large lake directly to the north.  It is a mainly a mining town, but it's position at the largest mountain pass between east and west also made it a trading destination.  But there were few people in the streets as we rode through.  We decided not to visit the castle.  We might be either entertained or detained for good or ill, but in any case we would lose valuable time.  Or at least I hoped we would make it valuable.

Next: The Unfortunate Travelers

We had hoped that Turmond would be overjoyed to march into the darkness on an adventure.  We had not even considered that the young man would turn us down.  After nearly abandoning our request due to his reluctance, we discovered the reason.  It was not for a lack of interest, but out of concern that his mother would be alone on the small farm that had been his home for all of his nineteen years.  When we assured him that she would be looked after, and even travel to meet the King, he agreed to join us.  We were naive and did not truly realize what we were asking of him or of his mother.  It is something that I live with.  But this tale is best told in order.

We were not surprised when Turmond affirmed that he had indeed found a staff,  yet we were still amazed that the prophecy had played out so cleanly.  We suddenly felt relief that powers beyond our own were at work.  That somehow we were fated to succeed.  It took away a little of the pressure.  For awhile.

After a brief stop in the capital, we headed for Hamellile once again. And once again as a party of four.  Forcellus took Turmond under his protection, though the strong lad needed little.  He would prove invaluable for his hunting skills, not as much for actual hunting, as we carried some provisions, but for avoiding trouble which always plagued a road trip in those days.  And he could smell a Troc a mile away.  Forcellus extended his meagre skill at the sword, and Turmond was an eager pupil.  Especially since he had been given a new blade in DOM.  He learned fast. 

The boat trip to Giorda was calm, but we could not help but notice that the darkness had deepened.  There would be no summer this year.  By the time we reached the relief of Hamellile, we had all been reduced to a brooding silence, a dark blanket of malaise had been laid over our hearts which was only mended in the presence of the Grove.

Turmond stared in amazement at the Raylan's suspended city.  We had little time for touring however and we all found ourselves in front of the great tree within the hour.  Hamell was oddly sluggish in thought.  He confided to me that he would soon be of little help.  "I feel a slumber coming on" I heard in my mind.  I concentrated on our candidate, and Hamel's empathic answer was to bring him close.  Naralle, who was also present, felt this request as well. "Does he understand the undertaking?" Naralle asked  "Yes, he is aware, and he will permit a Mind Meld."  Thre three of us walked closer to the tree.  "Hold your staff out" Naralle told him.  We then stepped a few paces back, leaving the nervous Turmond on his own.  We knew that when his head tilted back suddenly that Hamell was searching his mind.  Then suddenly, the staff began to glow bright.  Turmond seemed not to take notice and did not move.  It grew so bright that we could not stare at it and could only look away.  When the emanating light dimmed, we looked back.  The staff had been reborn.  It was now straight and long.  At the tip there was a widening and an indentation.  I thought it must be where the Orb of Fire would be placed.  Though how, I had no idea, nor did I know of where a Fire Gem might easily be found.  Turmond seemed impressed with his new staff, even if he could not recall how he obtained it.  In my exuberance I felt the need to thank Hamell, but with his duty dispatched, the great tree had sunk into a deep and impenetrable slumber.

Next: The Quest for the Orb of Fire

Turmond was only twelve when he found the unimposing stick that would end up becoming a symbol of power and glory.  He had been out in the wood.  He had brought along his fathers old sword as he often did.  On these occasions he became a mighty warrior seeking to destroy Mortan enemies.  Morta is the province to the east of Isban.  There had been many battles fought between the two provinces in the not too distant past, but none during Turmond's short lifetime.  Still, a young man needed an enemy, even if imaginary.

The mountainous regions of Morta were home to many wild things.  It was unlikely however, that young Turmond would run into anything dangerous despite his hope that he would.  But today a young Troc eager for a prize would make Turmond's dreams come true.

Uhoc had laid a trap near the narrow trail that eventually led to Morta.  He had hoped that some human or other tasty creature would show up and take his bait. He had heard the loud exclamations of Turmond, challenging his imaginary foes.  He had peered at the youth through the trees and his beady eyes had seen no bow and arrow. Though he feared the whoosh of the humans' rusted blade, he feared an arrow even more.  He then quietly retreated and placed himself just past his trap, a hastily concealed shallow pit.  He would play the part of a stag or boar, rattling foliage behind his trap.  Uhoc hoped that the human would approach him and trip into the concealed pit, giving him the chance to grab the youth and strangle him before the sword could do it's work.  But Turmond had always had a keen sense in the wood.  Amongst his loud exclamations of "You die Mortan dog" he had heard the large creature creeping away.  It was skulking away very carefully he surmised. And instead of continuing on the trail, he decided to just as quietly, follow the creature.  He abruptly stopped the minute he knew what the creature was.  The smell of a Troc is unmistakeable.

Turmond had only run into Troc once before, when hunting them with his father and his two uncles.  When they discovered a nest of them, he was told to stay back. The men began their butchery, making quick work of all but the one that hit his father on the head with a muddy club, scattering his brains in an instant.  Turmond had instantly been transported back to that moment.  He had vowed that if he ever again got into this situation that he would marshall his courage and take his vengeance, but instead his youthful fear got the better of him.  He turned and began to run.  Smelling his fear, the Troc lit out after him.  Turmond had a lead, but caught a root with his foot and landed hard.  His sword clattered just out of reach as the Troc stopped above him.  His heart pounding, Turmond frantically grasped the first thing his hand found, and swung the large twig up at the Troc.  It struck the gangly creature on the nose and gave Turmond a chance to stretch and retrieve his sword.  The Troc then chose the wrong moment to leap upon the boy and the creature impaled himself, his own weight supplying ample force to pierce his gut.  Wailing in agony, the creature forgot Turmond. Covered in Troc blood, Turmond extricated himself from the creature that partially covered him.  He pulled hard at his sword and it came from the creature with a coating of gore.  He brought up the weapon and thinking of his father, crashed it down hard.  The Troc was silenced.  Turmond walked home, his body shaking.  He soon realized that he had not let go of the stick that saved his life.   He later carved this stick into a short staff, which he would carry with him on his travels.  It was of oak, but it was not exactly straight nor would the grain ensure any great degree of strength.  But it would serve.

Next: The Approval of Air

The City of Isban bears no landmarks from their Zorbeshi origins.  Indeed very few of the inhabitants even know that their forbears fled the wars of the southern deserts to seek refuge in this colder land.  They were now Domish in every way.  The only relic of the past, were a few, rarely observed holidays.  The one most observed was "Kanak", which fortuitously occurred only a few days after our arrival in Isban. No one that we encountered could tell us the origins of Kanak, which oddly was a celebration of dogs.  On that day, every dog was called Kanak, which meant "queen" according to the locals.  I speak some Deniz-Zorbeshi, and that is not the word for Queen, but no matter.  It was apparent that little excuse was necessary for a celebration in Isban.

Now, how to find a staff wielder?  Veltek had a confidence (in me) that I did not share.  Forcellus, I believe, had no such faith, but he pretended to for my sake.  Towering over the Isban men, Forcelus was an intimidating presence.  I could feel that the Isbans were staying clear of us partially for that reason.  But Forcellus Blaad was as kind and thoughtful as he was deadly.

The evening before our trip, I had gone on a Shamanic Journey.  I desperately wanted some sort of direction.  My vision presaged our visit, and I saw dogs, or rather wolves.  They chased me at one point, and in the end only one reached me.  I was not sure how this would translate, but upon arriving I determined that the one man who reached out to us, would be our candidate.  Best I could do.

Unfortunately, the first person that approached us was Duke Telak Isban.  The Duke was a man of some sixty years.  Hardly a fit candidate.  "Welcome your Eminence" He said to me.  A title that has followed me for many years, but that I will always be uncomfortable with.  "Please enjoy our festivities" he went on.  The Duke apparently relished his festivals, and did not apologize for conducting one in a world increasingly enveloped in darkness.  In the end, we had to beg our leave to look for our candidate.  The duke apparently assigned us a lackey to serve us during our stay.  We asked the man, whose name was Turmond to take into the oldest part of the city.  My thinking was that our candidate would be as close to the original culture of the city as possible, and cling to any vestige of old Isban.  We marched through most of the city.  We must have been viewed as tourists, or fools.  The latter was the truth.  I had no idea what I was doing.  Veltek and Forcellus were kind.  Neither called me on it.  Despairing, I took us to the Duke's palace.  Perhaps we should have the Duke just assign someone.  Perhaps in his family line.

"You shall share our feast" the Duke announced as we were welcomed into his great hall.  "You honor our humble celebration" he went on.  We thanked him.  "I see that you have added one to your number" he said, motioning to Turmond.  "Yes, thank you." I said  "He has proven very valuable."  The Duke looked at me curiously.  "Thank you for lending him to us." I explained.  "I sent no one" said the Duke eyeing the young man.  All of us looking at him now, Turmond finally spoke "I just wanted to meet a Raylan.  And especially the great Tirian.  I am sorry if I took advantage of your mistaking."  Thinking now about my sore legs that had covered miles of the city, I could not help but laugh at my own pomposity.  We had found our man within ten minutes of our arrival!

Next: The Staff of the Elements

We arrived back in the capital fifteen days after we had left.  Morale was at a low ebb in the city and I was not a welcome sight.  None of us were.  By now everyone knew we were seeking a solution and as light had not returned, we were marked as failures.  In council, we related our findings to the King.  I recommended that we find the fabled elemental staff to combat the darkness, which I identified as an evil entity.  I was jeered.  "Where is this entity?" they asked.  I could not answer, for I still had no real idea.  "The staff will help us find it" is all that I could say.  "Where is this staff?" they queried, with undisguised sarcasm.  "Well," I continued, "it may lie in the fabled Catacombs of Zenabesh, where it was probably placed millenia ago".  "A MILLENNIA ago?" shot back the King.  "Nine millennia ago, sire."  The King looked at me with what must have been hatred.  The rest of the council either followed his lead or stifled derisive laughter.  The King stood and pounded the council table "By the Esamic blood-and-bile I will have everyone's head in this room if we do not find a cure to this darkness that does not take us back nine thousand years!"  Everyone fell silent.  No one had an answer, so no one spoke.  No one spoke about it the next day either when the bad news arrived that the Porthan Grand Duke had gathered his councilors and abruptly sailed out of DOM in protest of their ignored colonies in Uranta.

When we met again, the King informed me that Karsh would remain at his side.  I would miss his company, he so reminded me of Lythe.  But I knew that the King needed his son to help deflect criticism of our elusive cure and to deal with the Porthan situation, so I did not protest.   He also sanctioned me to do whatever I thought best about the darkness.

I endlessly studied every bit of information that I could locate.  There is no record of the Staffs eventual disposition.  I assume it was placed into the Zenabesh catacombs.  If this repository had been discovered and broken into, however, then it would be doubtful that we would be able to recover it.  My search revealed another possibility, that another Elemental Staff could be constructed.  A description of the staff has existed since ancient times that described the process;

"A stave of earth shall of and by innocence be found and then reborn before Air.  It shall them be transmuted before Water with fire and then once again be the servant and receptacle of Earth."

This description is supremely vague.  I would hate to have to bake bread from such a recipe.   The special lettering describing the elements in certain words (but not others) meant that both Avatars of the elements and elemental ingredients were to be involved. Thus, my translation is: "A wooden staff is accidentally found by a chaste human (or grimdon).  The staff is then brought before the Avatar of Air (Naralle) to be "reborn" (not sure about this one).  The staff is then brought before the Avatar of Water and there the staff is transmuted, adding some object of Fire (a Power object?)  The staff is then complete, and is usable by the human/grimdon [earth] wielder. Alcazar wrote that using a grimdon would probably have skewed the staff too far toward earth seeing as it is powered by the Alak-Ans, the great earth object.  He mused that the ancient Rayla probably used an Isban man due to his Fire-Water lineage.  He thought that this would perfectly balance the elemental mix.  Who am I to argue.  So I need to find a chaste Isban man that just happened to find a staff.  Then I have to find an orb of Fire, and an Avatar of Water.  All before the Dominion sinks into the abyss.  By his obvious impatience I know Veltek is coming.

Next: The Young Man

This map depicts the colonies of Uranta, including the short-lived colony of New Portha.