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Kanela's Diary, Volume Four.
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We went back down the mountain, and collected Jasad and his crew. He was very happy to be getting off the mountain, and I was even happier that T'Heros didn't decide to kill them. They had seen the light and storm, but were unconvinced by our explanation. The monastery had been up there for ever, he couldn't get his head around its destruction. Neither could we.
The prophecy that had haunted us for nearly one hundred years now seems to have been fulfilled. We all had suspected its resolution was near. I quote from Broudzos:
"Our visions and divinations have revealed little save that there will be a resolution to the curse, a three-fingered man, a storm gathering around a barren pinnacle of stone and a great explosion of scarlet light that will freeze all it touches. Behind it all is the scent of cinnamon and the demons of a thousand worlds...."
Well, trash my shorts if it wasn't so.
As we went back down, T'Heros and I spoke, and my position was reinstated. My reason for resigning was lying decapitated in a shallow grave up the hill. In the end it had to have been him or me, and no-one had wanted him. And so another brother passed on. Or was it two?
We reached the second guard post, and managed to sneak Rasa out with our unit. No-one was killed. We needed the practice. Our triumphant return to Merah was marred slightly by the paucity of our entourage. We marched them all to the top of the hill, and never saw them again. T'Heros took me along with him to explain our report to Notkah. I tried to put our activities in a good light, but my heart wasn't in it, really. He went off to talk to his god, and Aurora and Loyismos must have cut a deal, because he was willing to accept our apologies and cash. I could, with a clear conscience, voice our regret at the carnage. I gave Notkah 230 Emas out of my own pocket as a down payment and expression of goodwill. We agreed to design the new monastery together (no triangles).
The winter passed, Notkah and I enjoyed ourselves tremendously arguing back and forth over uncounted cups of tea - he may rule a city, but some of his thoughts, I mean, stained glass?
During the winter, T'Heros decided that as well as the two brothers who were learning, we would be well served by a professional medic. Most of the doctors had cushy jobs, looking after the wealthy and flatulent. Any others had been recruited for the southern front. Still, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Soon after, a bloke called Penggoda offered his services. Apart from a disturbing enthusiasm for dissecting anything that moved, he looked all right. He was obviously well-to-do, and enjoyed life to the full.
Rapeezo checked him out, and found why he was in such a hurry to flee. Something to do with examining his more attractive lady clients too thoroughly. Using this information, we got his services for a fraction of the going rate.
Over the next few months, the only events of interest were religious festivals. Lunak has made a request that I note these down. We had our traditional "Ohros the Pale day", and I donated a small piece of spam to the proceedings. I turned up for the bare minimum of the massively dull service.
There was another religious thing, where the Sergeant shagged a new record number of people during the celebrations.
I gave Vreeo my true name, and officially became her new apprentice. My first task was to go back to the woods near Pasar and get two kejang eggs. I took Lumpius, and Jahac - the brothers started to call him "Nursemaid" - he was exceptional in his speciality as a bodyguard. We had no trouble, as I wasn't interested in an adventure, I scouted very carefully, flying through the woods without my body, an exhilarating feeling.
On my return T'Heros was delighted with the eggs, but said that since I was Vreeo's apprentice, I was no longer Engineer! I was shocked, then furious, and, with some backing from the other senior staff, suggested that the Brigade being without an Engineer as we planned to travel into the wilderness was somewhat foolish. To expect me to do the job for nothing was insulting, and to hope I would train Rasa whilst being a mere soldier in the ranks was laughable. He hadn't thought it through. Same old same old.
It was agreed that once Rasa was ready, I would give up my position to him. He was eager to learn, and quick witted. I started him on my books of basic engineering, paying particular attention to siege work, and bodging quick fixes to the everyday little problems that beset our group. He started to take the more minor tasks off my hands, which allowed him to prove himself to the brothers, and gave me more leeway to concentrate on my new tasks.
On the First Day of the Fourteenth Moon we picked up sticks and moved west towards the uninhabited wilderness that was the Hutan Mata. T'Heros wasn't keen on leaving Merah without a link to keep an eye on them, so Vreeo sought out Thrasos, an ex-brother who had married a local girl and settled down in Merah. They were old rivals, as Thrasos had made a rival beer whilst in the Brigade, and had now set up as a landlord on the island we used to occupy. His beer had always been better - he really cared about the taste. Vreeo set up a link with him, as she had with the Rangers.
"Sir's" report on the lands we were entering was bleak. The lands were uninhabited, except by occasional travelers, mostly riding kavala. There were many ruins, but no villages. The vegetation was very varied scrub. There were many large, dangerous creatures about. He had seen giant wasps, giant scorpions and snakes. The forest on the western and northern borders was not accessible to wagons, nor even to people. It felt evil, and unfriendly, like a watching enemy. Even the kemes recruits he had taken with him, who lived not far north of this land, did not want to go into that forest. They said the "Dark Old Forest Gods" were waiting there.
We traveled for four days, then rested for a day. The forward scouts on the rest day took either Vreeo or me along to spot magical things ahead. Sure enough, on Vreeo's first foray, she noticed the glint of metal from a large number of weapons. On investigating further, they found a company of cavalry setting up for the night. We had seen no-one for many days, so this was suspicious. They numbered more than us, were well equipped with standard equipment, obviously not made in Merah, and were very well organized. Their camp had good watchtowers, but no trench or barricade. Their site had a distinctly triangular arrangement, which made us suspicious. I passed all this on to T'Heros, and Vreeo cast a spell to see where they had come from. She tracked their journey back, and found that they had originated in the northern mountains near an old monastery we used to know.
They had been chasing after us, so we attacked. The battle went poorly to begin with, as they were well trained and reacted very quickly. They slept in their armour! Their commander turned our to be a two-headed Yelani sorceror. He was huge and powerful, tearing apart those that opposed him, and spitting a burning poison. I was forced to run from it after it cast a spell, and Vika and Lunak were severely hurt. Lunak managed to call a holy fire that burnt into its chest. We were winning, but slowly, when I teamed up with Vreeo and we cast an illusion of sunfire that linked with Aurora's flame to blow apart its chest. Once it was defeated, its soldiers fell apart, and we mopped them up relatively easily.
Twenty of us were wounded, and eight had died, seven of whom had encountered the Yelani. Just goes to prove that attack is more dangerous than defence. Granted, if we'd waited, then the Yelani would have created some powerful spell to hurt us. Of our dead, four were recruits, and four brothers. It is sadly time for the part of this job that I like least. The brothers who were killed were as follows:
Asin, known as "Salty", was originally a sailor from Pembelian. He joined us during our endless dull ceremonial duties in Merah. He lived up to his image as an old sea-dog, playing on the cliché for all it was worth. He never managed to convince me that boats were not horrible and untrustworthy, though.
Apeereea, or "Kid" had been with us forever. He must have been well over fifty, and had joined young, hence the name. He remembered the burning of the Twin Cities, and he always said that they had deserved it, but he'd kept very quiet during the years in Merah, as he wanted no further arguments with the followers of Loyismos, whom he followed. The events at the monastery had broken his heart. He was from the south, but not Galadiahos, I don't think.
Helona was always called "Tortoise". He wore the heaviest armour of any brother, and his wheezing and puffing when marching in full kit was ridiculous. He was another southerner, I don't remember when he joined, before Merah, I think, but I do remember that his massive armour had kept him alive against the outlander barbarian incursions the year before. We'd dug him out from under seven bodies after their attempt on Scholar's Island. Sadly, it hadn't been enough against the Yelani creature.
Maaf was incredibly clumsy. Her patented "Sorry!" became her nickname. She was only young, having joined as one of the nomads we recruited over the last year or so. She had a good heart, and an ironic grin as she tripped into yet another disaster.
They were all my brothers. They are named here so that you who follow will know their names, and hold their memories dear.
I managed to acquire some more gold, and other valuables, but Vreeo got the prize pick: a magical text in the Yelani language. This turned out to be a contract not a million miles away from the one that T'Heros had nearly signed. She then helped me find out more about some magic items. The wooden coins we both possessed held pieces of a soul torn to shreds to link them magically. We could use them to see through the coins, which could prove to be useful.
Meanwhile, Vika had got some information out of our captives, and some slaves we had found chained in the camp. It appeared that they had been slaughtered occasionally by our enemies for fresh meat. The army had been Menguliti tribesmen, and had signed their souls into servitude with a contract broadly similar to one we had been offered. Once the contract had been signed, they had been completely controlled by their employer, and had become cannibals.
We freed the slaves, who had been muted by removing their tongues, and allowed them to leave with the survivors of the army. Oddly, we heard lots and lots of screams soon after.
The next day, we discovered why a healer was so important, all our wounded were in remarkably good shape, and most shocking of all - "Tortoise" was alive! Penggoda had found a pulse, and had worked through the night. Helona was still severely injured, and had lost his left hand, but he owed his life to our new employee. All that armour proved its efficacy again, and all he needed was a hook for his hand, and a lot of rest. Excellent news.
On the Seventh Day of this Fourteenth Month, we were resting after the battle, celebrating our brother's recovery from death, when the forward scouts reported ruins to our south. Local recruits said that they were triangular, haunted and nasty. They were called "Istara Hantu" in Vorras, which roughly translates as "The Palace of Evil Spirits"
Lunak prayed for guidance to Aurora. He was shown a battle between vast armies. Thousands of soldiers fought on either side, and he saw thousands of brothers lying dead in the mud. Then he saw that this was merely a small corner of a war that continued further off.
"THIS IS WHAT MAY HAPPEN IF YOU ENTER THE RUINS UNWISELY, OR FOOLISHLY IGNORE THEM."
T'Heros then decided to carry on and ignore them. "They are probably too big for us now." There were a few raised eyebrows around the campfire at that decision, I can tell you. Still, what's done is done, so we would just have to live with the decisions he made. That was his job, after all, and no-one else wanted it. It is always easier to complain with hindsight, than make the tough decisions at the time.
Some days later, he was worried about setting up a big camp for the Twelfth Day. It was apparently "Bad God Day". By this time we had reached an old track, with an escarpment and cliffs ahead. We set up a camp the day before, near the track, and set double watches on this night of the dark of the moon.
During the night, the surgeon heard noises of the ground being disturbed. He alerted the Sergeant, who disturbed everyone else in her own sweet way. We had all learned to obey first, and I even saw T'Heros and Vreeo rushing out of their tents, though Vreeo was berating Penggoda mightily.
As we awoke, we found the ground outside the camp collapsing, and giant ants came boiling out of these hidden traps. A detachment of cavalry, sent outside the stockade, fell into a hole and an ambush. Their kavala were dragged below ground into one of the tunnels, and so were two brothers.
The creatures that attacked were five feet long, standing three to four feet tall. They were blindingly quick, and fast with it. Their armoured carapaces deflected all arrows, and defeated most melee attacks. Vreeo sped up everyone's reflexes, and I got my boys to soak the earth where they were emerging with oil. We then lit this, and boy, did they burn!
There were too many of them, and they kept on appearing from new holes, so we were forced into a fighting withdrawal from the camp. Out in the open the kedros had great fun stomping on the creatures. Once we had gone some way from the stockade, we could see that all their attacks were coming from the south, and so our ability to hold a line improved significantly. By now we had lost six brothers, thankfully not including Tortoise, who had been dragged to safety by the General.
We now stood with our backs to the great forest, its malevolent aura threatening us all. The attack by the ants looked to be tailing off, but then we noticed that they were being forced on to our trail by something external. We were forced to back slowly into the forest edge, step by step. A bloody red light pulsed in the shadows deeper within the trees, it then grew in intensity, and started to move towards us. We had to get out of the forest, and the kedros allowed us to battle back towards the camp.
The ants had got all they wanted. I think Lunak prayed to Aurora to protect us from the forest and the spells affecting the ant's nest. We knew then, when we got together, that the brothers who had been taken were still alive. They had to be rescued, so we charged down the tunnel. Vreeo's spell on our reflexes was an enormous help, and we were able to battle the soldier ants guarding the way. There were simply too many ants, though, so after a short fight we had to withdraw and think again.
It was decided that Vreeo would see what could be found through the link to Pseera, one of the ants' victims, and about as unsavoury a brother as we had. He had no sense of personal hygiene, and was frequently found guarding our gates wherever we set down. His odour and personal habits were enough to put off all but the most determined visitor. His name amongst the brothers was "Vermin".
Vreeo found out where they were held. They were unconscious, and bound. The scouts found several openings into the tunnel system, then more, as they found the trick of their camouflage. I then flew my spirit down the tunnels to recce the area for an assault and rescue. We distracted them with a diversionary attack, and Vika led me and others down a new tunnel (hard digging there) into the cavern holding. We got to them, and recovered them with major assistance from Penggoda, who had found a cure for the ant's venom. Only Vermin was severely hurt, and took weeks to recover enough for even light duties.
Lunak had had to do some sort of deal with the spirit of the forest, to protect the injured brothers where they lay in the ants' cavern. He was warned that there would be a price for allowing them to live. Another god pissed off with us, never mind, eh?
We left the area as quickly as possible, and were able to avoid further encounters with nasty ants and such like. We were very low on food, as the attack had wiped out most of our supplies, leaving Rapeezo in a terrible strop, so some tried to eat the burnt ant flesh we had. Everyone pronounced it delicious, with a fine, delicate flavour. Only Penggoda suffered, but he made up for this by suffering enormously. Mighty were his shits, and embarrassing. They definitely put a crimp in his existence as the camp shag monster. I'll grant he was more civilized about it than that, but the phrase describes his predations accurately.
He was extremely unhappy when all the brothers and recruits giggled behind his back, or indeed, to his face. Even Vermin and Tortoise couldn't keep straight faces when he checked up on them in the hospital tent. To be fair to him, though, he never let his personal embarrassment stop him fulfilling his duties.
We had to stop for a week or two and forage to improve the supply situation. I was relegated to camp whilst others traipsed hither and thither, finding food (almost everyone), shits and a profound lack of female companionship (Penggoda) or ghosts of dead Rakhokalia eating your soul (Vika and Vreeo). Vreeo came back looking very unhappy and wilted. She had been caught by the ghosts, and had to be saved by Vika in an exhibition of riding more appropriate for the circus.
T'Heros led a group back there some days later, and came back with two skulls haunted by the souls of their previous demonic inhabitants. They had been given to him by our new employer, who turned out to be a dead demonic lord. Our task was to go and find two cities in the forest, and use the skulls to enslave their kings. For this we got - money? No! We got the right to walk upon the earth further to the west, if only we could get past the ghosts and monsters. Needless to say, Rapeezo had not been present when the deal was struck, and was less than impressed with the agreement.
We had discovered more information from various sources about the ghosts that blocked our way:
Our job was now laid out in more detail, following a conversation held between Vreeo, myself, and the spirits of the demons that lived in the metallic skulls:
We traveled north, and found a route that led toward the north. To reach the road to the two cities, we had to go through the forest, and it was still unhappy with us. It demanded a sacrifice of a sentient creature. Lunak and T'Heros agonized long and hard, but eventually made a difficult decision. During that night, the guards were most disturbed by a red unearthly glow that moved towards our camp through the forest. It passed us by, luckily, and the next day, we passed through the edge of the forest very carefully, and reached the road, which traveled north-south. At the southern tip, it opened into the dry parched ground, and seemed to be covered with mounds, like those we had encountered before.
It seemed that the forest was stopped from spreading further by the unnatural dryness of the land. It had obviously been more well watered in the past, but now a curse, or some such, prevented enough water reaching the plants. The cut off between deep forest and barren arid scrub was bizarre.
I must now sadly note down that one of the recruits died the night before we crossed the forest's edge. He had been with us for nearly a year, but was obviously never going to make it as a brother. His abilities were limited, and his personality was nauseating. His name was Munafic, "Hypocrite". He must have walked into the forest during the night, when emptying his bladder. T'Heros was careful never to mention his passing.
The road we reached was vast. It measured 60 feet across, and seemed to have been paved in the distant past. The forest was regularly chopped back up to 60 feet above the ground. These branches looked to be years old, yet had been severed with a single cut, as if by giant scissors.
That night we were disturbed by a huge creature. A giant humanoid 60 feet tall, with a mouth like a beetle, with scissoring mandibles. It was removing any branches, and looked with dismay upon our palisade and tower. Vreeo spoke to it in "lingua immanis", the old language of the sorcerors, and the tongue we used to chat with the demon heads. Only Vreeo and I spoke it, and the creature could understand. We agreed to remove the "trees", and it went on its way, happy.
The next day, T'Heros sent a group to check out the route ahead. Amongst the scouts were Vreeo, Vika and me. Vreeo concentrated on a spell to keep us hidden, and I was called on to find the way after the trees were found to be clouding our minds as we followed the road. I cast a spell that allowed us to continue!
On the second morning, we started to hear the sounds of battle, and moved onward more cautiously. We reached a large clearing, with three roads going into the forest. We assumed one led to each of the cities, and we entered from the third. Each of the three roads had three tents in a triangle at the entrance. The other two were well maintained, but those near us were ruins. The others showed symbols: a column of mist, and one of smoke.
Between these tents a fight raged between Yelani, Cobra-headed creatures, other things I did not recognize and demons of every shape. All sorts of things fought in a sort of joust, with few, if any deaths, but magic and poison galore. They were fearsome combatants, but woefully disorganized. Vika reckoned the Brigade could have a good chance of success. There were no obvious leaders, and 100's fought on each side.
We agreed that going further would leave us open to discovery, so we had a quick look for loot before leaving. I found an ivory wand, with no obvious magical power, but little else. Then disaster struck. Vreeo saw something pretty, and was bitten by a venomous snake as she reached for it. The poison was obviously powerful, as she started to collapse immediately. She cast a spell to strengthen her and we ran for cover. Luckily, we weren't noticed after Vreeo's spell stopped hiding us.
Vreeo was weakening fast, and I suggested she contact the base for advice from the Doc before she went unconscious. He told us to run back toward the stockade as quickly as we could. Vreeo again cast a very long-acting endurance-enhancing spell, and we rode onwards. Vreeo looked white as a sheet, and had to ride behind Vika so that we weren't slowed down.
Meanwhile, at the camp, Lunak, T'Heros and Penggoda were desperately searching for the herbs needed to brew a potential cure. The doctor warned them though, that it was unlikely that anything could be done for her. Some of the necessary ingredients were only available in the depths of the forest. A kedros was demanded as payment for some dried herbs. It is a measure of how much Vreeo is valued that this payment was met without much argument. Once the herbs were exchanged, Penggoda mixed and brewed as quickly as he could, then rushed off with a crew of brothers to meet us along the road.
We met in the dark of the evening, and we were so happy to see Penggoda. Vreeo would have been dead long since, if her spell had not been keeping her going. The brew was fed down her throat, and some got into her, but she vomited up most of it. It was only her lack of energy that kept some down. She continued to look awful, lying unconscious in the dirt. We moved back towards camp, with Penggoda staying with Vreeo at all times.
When we reached the camp, Vreeo was placed in the hospital tent, and was kept under close watch by Gigitan, one of our medics. The doctor, Priest and T'Heros went off to brew more anti venom potion. It took hours, and before we knew it morning had broken. Penggoda was looking almost as ill as Vreeo by now, and each failed attempt ate into the supply of vital herbs, and crushed any hope we still had.
I went and tried a very risky thing. I knew that a similar attempt had blotted out Sicknote's mind, but Vreeo was fading fast, and I didn't want a new job yet. So I tried to gain the magic of blessings. I won't bore you with the details of my battle for domination within my own mind, but I had to call on help from Aurora before it was over. She came to my aid immediately, and left me with the comment:
"YOU ONLY HAVE TO ASK FOR MY HELP."
I thank the goddess here, and hope she understands why I called only as a last resort. To do otherwise would be to belittle her.
My blessings upon Vreeo and Penggoda allowed him to eventually force a cure to expunge the poison. He had to use Vreeo's still to concentrate the potion, leaving the still clean, and Vreeo's alcohol production at a standstill.
The crew were all in extremely fine spirits after Vreeo's brush with death. We met together over the next few days in the command tent. Travel would have to wait until Vreeo was better, and that would take weeks.
T'Heros decreed that Jahac was to be a permanent bodyguard for the Sorceror. He was to be with her at all times, unless she ordered him out when a spell was being cast. We all thought this was wise, and even Vreeo didn't argue too strongly. It suited his talents, and proved his nickname appropriate - "Nursemaid" indeed.
Vreeo and I then brought up the lack of an overall plan. We wanted to know where we were going, and more importantly why. T'Heros tried not to make a definitive choice, but Vreeo pushed hard.
Everyone with any position had a say, and the discussion left us with two strong choices:
To found a city, or homeland OR to continue being a mercenary company wandering the world.
It was believed that the curse was now broken, so settling down had a chance of success.
We voted by secret ballot, and this vital vote decided that our wandering days were nearly over. Not all were happy with the decision, but we all delighted in a decision having been made.
A second vote welcomed Penggoda into the family. In fact, he was voted in first, and was allowed to chose our future with his new brothers. So, another brother, and a vital new decision. A red letter day, indeed. I think everyone saw his value to the Brigade, and his willingness to go the extra mile to save a brother. He was voted in unanimously. We now had a doctor as a brother, and two medics as well. It certainly strengthened the Brigade.
I just hope he doesn't try to create a new officer's post any time soon. After the last fuck-up, I doubt it would go down too well.
We had considerable time to kill, whilst Vreeo was slowly recovering. T'Heros decided that he needed to see the battle up the road for himself. He took me, Setrika and some brothers to guard us. I was effectively company sorceror whilst Vreeo was out of it.
Lunak was also with us, and he said that the forest was actively hostile to travelers on the road. Some curse, and the "trimmer" were keeping the road intact.
T'Heros, Setrika and I snuck forward to watch the battle for most of a day. The cobra-headed people were called "Fesero" according to T'Heros.
At nightfall, the mood became much more intense and serious. The guards at the two other roads were much more aware, and were obviously expecting trouble. Two thirds of each side rode off up the roads, towards the sites of the two cities, or so we supposed.
Setrika then got her nightsight enhanced (by me!), and snuck off to see if she could get up a road and see what lay beyond this clearing. She had to be very careful to avoid the forest's edge. I could feel its hunger for death, and its hatred of any people that invaded the forest's lands.
She returned before dawn, and reported that she had seen fires in the forest, and the sounds of battle in the dark. The fight seemed to have been actually within the forest itself.
Next morning, just after dawn, the two armies returned. They looked as if the fight during the night had wounded some, and they seemed to have a sullen look. Both armies trooped into their largest tents, and noises started to erupt from both. I cast a spell to see sorcery, once no-one was looking, and then told the other two of my visions. Powerful magic filled the two tents, spilling out and filling the northern area of the clearing with glittering energy. Two giant spectral arms reached down into the tents from the clouds above, one of mist and one of fiery smoke. The arms appeared to be manipulating puppets inside the tents - I wish I could have seen inside!
The two arms then withdrew - almost as one, and each tent had a beam of pure white light connecting it to the sky above. These lights then spread to a more diffuse beam, and each moved to the battlefield. The two sets of warriors then went to fight - and what a fight! The intensity was much more fierce than what we had seen before. Some grudges from the night before, perhaps? The beams were still there, over the battle, but I got the feeling that they were simply observing, and seemed to have lost interest.
We headed back towards camp, picking up the others on the way. Lunak reported that the forest had been more active that night than he had seen before, and it had severely disturbed the kavala. This seemed to tie in with Setrika's findings.
We headed back to the rest of our lot, and found quite a spectacle. Vika had been left in charge, with orders to find out what she could about the ghost-ridden mounds that blocked our exit to the south.
Well, she found out some: these mounds were haunted; the ghosts were tricky and could mess with your mind; Aurora comes to help more readily than her own god; the forest hated the ghosts and obliterated them if they approached it; Penggoda is stupid, and doesn't take orders (Dreamy had to knock him out and drag him away from a danger he couldn't oppose, and had been ordered to leave).
We returned, and immediately saw the other problem that no-one had seen fit to report. Rapeezo and Vika were having a battle of wills, which had left Vika sleeping under the skies, as her tent had been shredded to supply supplemental rope to the Sergeant for her investigations.
Vika seemed to be taking her frustrations out on Penggoda for his lapse of discipline. He was pulling his wagon back to camp almost single-handedly, after his metakeenos had been killed by the ghosts - there was undoubtedly a thrilling story that would explain all that had happened, but I could only pick up a few snippets of the facts. Everyone was keen to push it under the carpet, and try to forget it all.
Penggoda reported that the animals killed by the ghosts had had all the life drained out of them, although they showed no physical injury. They looked like mummified corpses, left to dry in the desert for a hundred years. Still, better them than me.
That night, Vika, now sans bedroll as well, had been offered a place in the doctor's bed (what he really needed to research was a libido supressant) when his tent unexpectedly collapsed. This gave the guards an interesting view, but tended to put Penggoda off his rhythm. Our sergeant is a lusty type, who takes what she wants, and the doctor's civilized pussyfooting about irritated her no end. He seemed obsessed with playing the cello to "get her in the mood", but all it did was upset her, and wake Vreeo. The sorceror likes her sleep, as we all know to our cost, so waking her in the night is something that puts a shiver down the spine of the most fearless brother. She stormed over to the doc's tent, shouting that he should shut up, and put that instrument away before she destroyed it. He ordered the guards to restrain her, and take her away! They laughed in his face, as did Vreeo, luckily enough. It could have got very messy, and it was the second time in as many days that Penggoda showed his lack of experience at surviving as a brother. Time will tell.
The next day, Lunak tried to talk to the forest. He found out some detail about its enmity with the road dwellers, and the ghosts, and we came up with the idea that we might be able to strike a deal to allow us free passage through the woods, in exchange for breaking a curse that restricted its freedom. It looked good at first sight, as we needed allies, but it needed much more research before a contract was struck.
The next day, Vreeo was feeling better. Not completely well, but healthy enough to return to duty. The investigation into the road curse began with a further attempt by Lunak to put roots down in the road bed. We upended a few of the stockade posts, to give him broken up earth to start on. It started well enough, but then a flash of awesome power blew him out of the ground to lie burning on the roadbed. He was unconscious, and Penggoda hadn't a clue what to do with him in this form, as a half tree, half person. Apparently all one or the other is easier.
T'Heros picked him up, as it became obvious that the problem was too severe for our doctor, and took him to the forest's edge. He talked to the trees, and they listened to him! The forest spirit healed our pagoth. Nothing else around here could have - unless we had called upon the good offices of Aurora, and I suspect Stutter's warnings about devaluing her potency had been recognized.
I then opened my senses to see what could be seen. I won't go into the details, but here are some conclusions that Vreeo and I arrived at over the next few days:
The information led us to a talk with the forest again. Lunak yet again showed his timidity, and it was only the influence of Vika's bullying that pushed through a deal. The forest understood payment for payment, not a deal for mutual benefit. It did not want to be our friend, it just wanted us to do some things and payment to be agreed.
The deal gave us permission to travel through the forest, for one circle of the moon, as payment for our information on the curse on the roads. We were not to harm the trees any more than a small animal would, if we did, the deal was null and void. We organized a recce of the cities to the north, and an expedition to the south, to look for Kemuliaan.
Someone suggested that the best way to approach the Lords to the north was as a sorcerous queen and her troops. We could then possibly do a deal to take the two sorceror-kings and their troops to attack Kemuliaan. We had evidence of the Lord Berbisadaran's enmity in the form of two skulls. Vreeo was detailed to start work on the illusions to pull this off. Vreeo riding a kedros would look very impressive, no doubt. It was a fine idea, but unfortunately I cannot remember who came up with it. Sorry, someone, but your chance at immortality has gone.
T'Heros, Lunak, Sleepy, Schemer and others went to investigate the two cities in the forest.
The Sergeant, Fangs, Hack, Sir and I went west through the forest, then south into the desert to see what we could of the way ahead, and trace a route for the rest of us later.
Two rangers, one ex-ranger, a combat medic and a sorcerous engineer. A dangerous little group, indeed. We went south out of the forest, and after two days we reached a road, just as night was falling. We set up camp away from the road, and lay down to sleep. During the night, I was woken to find that we had been discovered. By the nameless envoy that had given us the skulls.
He started to challenge us and demanded that we leave the area and return to the duties we had been given. He tried to intimidate us, and especially the Sergeant, but that lady was not impressed. He grew to thirty feet in height, and moved forward brandishing eight giant swords:
"Oh dear, it looks like you need to be taught a lesson."
He breathed acidic poison on Vika, who collapsed, cut by a massive blow. The other three moved forward, but I had to stay back, and cast spells to keep them going. We started to cut him down, but Hack got injured, and had to keep going or else we would all have died. My disturbed sleep had weakened my ability to cast magic - I now understood Vreeo's demand for peace and quiet during the night.
The envoy stepped back - our concerted attack had surprised and beaten it back. It turned to flee, and Vika was disposed to let it go. The rest of us were less keen, so we had selective deafness, chased him down, and killed him - Hurrah!
The body dissolved into a pool of poisonous ichor, and we retired to lick our wounds. It was a good idea to bring along Fangs, as he managed to patch us all up better than we could have managed on our own. Vika made a miraculous recovery overnight, as per usual, leaving Hack as our only injured. He gave Vika a really dirty look. It was decided to send him back to the camp, along with the head of the Envoy. I didn't want him getting better whilst we travel led on.
Isn't it bizarre how big scary monsters have a hidden sensitive side? The demon's body had some loot worth considerable amounts - but why was he carrying a precious, fragile pottery urn? Or the shards of another, even more delicate vase carefully wrapped in paper? Well, we'll never know now.........
We left Hack going north, and moved onward. The air got drier and drier, and we began to have real worries about bringing the whole troop through this land. The "big curse" had destroyed any fertility that the land possessed, and we'd lose people if we had to travel to Kemuliaan. After a few days of very hot travel, we had to turn back, as the forest treaty was running down. We went north along one of the roads, and about two days' travel from the forest's edge, we saw dust ahead of us. A patrol was approaching, so we went east and tried to remain hidden. No luck, they caught our trail, and chased us long and hard.
We ran through the night, and by just after dawn, the edge of the forest was visible. We ran into it like children to their mother. Another huge demon led a group of Yelani soldiers - one-heads all. It bellowed at the edge of the forest, and said that we wouldn't be able to hide forever. They began to turn away, when Vika, that moronic loudmouth, piped up. She challenged him, acting like a kid in the schoolyard, pissing him off to such an extent that he turned towards the trees again in a rage. If the forest was harmed, then out treaty with the forest's dark gods was forfeit, and all our plans were screwed. Oh, and we'd be dead, as well. All this from the unnecessary childish taunts of our own loud-mouthed fuck wit, Vika.
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