Kianne's Journal - Archive

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[03/29/2003]

I'm sitting here, in seclusion in the woods, with pen in hand, but I don't know where to start. I don't know if my hand will be steady enough to write. I can look out the window and see the pretty trees, the beautiful flowers, but will it all pass away tomorrow?

What have I done?

On the day of reckoning, it was supposed to be a simple task of ending this once and for all. Of ridding this world of Soth. Not easy, but simple on its surface. Well, we accomplished this much, but at what price?

It began innocently enough, as we all gathered and prepared to set out. (Balinor showed us a pack he had been saving, stuffed full of red cloaks and sashes collected from members of the Order of Sin. We sat in a circle around the pack the courtyard with scissors and chopped them all up into bandages for use that night.) We visited Lord British's castle where he, Dupré, and Nystul were all gathered to wish us well. Then we went to the Rune Library and Gated to the snow orc fort, where we made our way back to the stables.

Soth was there to greet us; as I had anticipated, once he had said his piece and challenged us to reach him through the tunnels (clearing out his "old experiments" on the way), he unlocked the gate and allowed us into the Twisted Tunnels. Andrella and I were the first ones through and we tried to keep up with Soth as he fled down the hallway, but the undead creatures were too plentiful and we lost him in the mess. We rejoined the others and began to methodologically fight our way through.

Soth's "experiments" were even more varied than I had yet seen; in addition to the usual assortment of undead were possessed healers, guards, and other humans, along with spirits of slain Sin members, infernal harrows, maulers, and of course dracoliches. At first, we ran into a bit of trouble at times because everyone kept splitting up and running off in different directions. After a bit of this, though, we got our act together and began working more as a team, and then even the tough creatures went down with much less hassle.

Finally, we came to the room we had found before, the laboratory. Soth was there waiting for us. Several in our party tried to charge him, only to run into an invisible barrier that had been stretched across the hallway right at the entrance to the room.

Soth stood calmly, confident in his barrier, and asked us if we had our ancient weapons, and were armed and ready. He sounded really eager to die, and it didn't make any sense. The ancient weapons clearly had something to do with it--did he have some purpose he wanted them for, and therefore was counting on us to "provide" the weapons for him? I kept my sword sheathed and my hand on my bow. At this point, going along with what Soth wanted was pretty much the last thing I was about to do.

I also recall that Soth mentioned that we faced certain death, and offered to allow any of us to turn back if we desired. I wonder, I so wonder, what he would have done if I had taken him up on the offer. I should have... I shouldn't have even gone...

Soth spent a good amount of time talking with us, tossing barbs back and forth with Connor about being "one of us" so many years ago, and now look what we had become (much better off than what he had become, we said) and such. It really seemed to me, and others in our group, as if Soth was merely stalling.

"Well, I am thinking..." he said, when we accused him of such.

"Don't hurt yourself," Sygil snapped. The wits were really flying this night.

Soth went on as if he hadn't heard, "Once I release the barrier, you will all rush in."

"That's the idea," we assured him.

"Well, I hate to ruin this," Soth mused, "but I don't want to kill you all." I nearly scoffed. What was it with this guy? "So back off and let me dispel the barrier," he finished.

"And then we rush in?" I couldn't help but respond sarcastically.

"Let us do this with the shreds of honor that you have left," Soth said, ignoring our retorts that he was the one without honor. "Since I am the one outnumbered."

"You have a point, but it's your own fault," I grumbled. "You invited us!" But, we nevertheless did as he requested, sort of. We were basically all grouped together in front of the invisible barrier. So we all took about two steps back.

Andrella spoke up at that point that we were standing our ground. "We'll wait here and no farther," she declared. "Remove the barrier and let's get this over with."

Soth seemed to consider for a moment. "I am going to have to do this my way then," he said finally. "Lights out." And he chanted a spell.

Instantly the room was plunged into darkness so black, I could barely see the feeble circles of light being cast by the candelabras in the corners of the room. And it wasn't just me--I heard others around me let out cries of surprise and then start chanting In Lor.¹ I was fumbling blindly in my pack for a Night Sight potion when suddenly I felt a disorienting lurch. I stumbled, my fingers losing their grip on my pack as the world seemed to twist around me.

Abruptly I could see again, but as I blinked and refocused, I saw that everything was amiss. I was now standing in the center of the room, facing the other members of RBW, and my body felt cold and clumsy to me. I lifted a hand to look at it, and it was black-skinned, the fingers wrinkled and claw-like. Around me billowed a tattered rust-colored hooded robe.

The barrier seemed to be gone, because Sygil suddenly plunged through where it had once been, racing directly toward me with his ancient sword lifted high. "Now!" someone shouted as everyone realized the barrier was down, and mayhem broke forth as they all charged forward.

Toward me.

I realized instantly what had happened, although I know not how it did. Somehow, in some way, Soth had switched bodies with me. I now stood, as him, where he had been standing. And even now, my own friends and allies were running toward me with the intent of death in their eyes.

"Ahhhhhh!" I shrieked as the realization set in. Even my voice sounded like Soth's. Before I could do more, I was suddenly being beset with spells and ancient blades were slicing into my--Soth's--body. Oddly, it didn't really hurt as much as I would have expected it to. But it was quite distracting, and for the life of me, I couldn't seem to get my brain to function and say anything intelligent. "Hey!" I yelled, not trying to fight back. I twisted and managed to escape the group, and, still disoriented and shocked by what had happened, I did what came reflexively. Trying to put some distance between myself and those ancient weapons, and buy myself some time, I cut loose and ran.

"Guys! Wait!" I called hopelessly as I did so, all the while shouting furiously at myself to say something coherent. "He--!" But my words were cut off by the bite of another ancient weapon as someone caught up to me. I ran out of space to flee as I was faced with the cold hard wall of the other side of the room. Before I could even think, I was surrounded again, being pummeled from all sides. I felt even the great strength of Soth's body dwindling, and though I knew Soth was a powerful mage, and that with this body I should be able to cast spells even of the eighth circle, I couldn't even concentrate enough to try to grab a spell book, much less chant something like Paralyze (actually, with this many people, it would have to have been Paralyze Field, but I digress). There was nothing I could do.

"It's Kianne!!" I shouted. "Stop!"

And then I was dead.

I actually reappeared as a ghost, floating over the corpse of Soth. This took me a little by surprise, so much so that I started calling desperately to the others, even though I knew, somewhere in the back of my mind, that they couldn't understand my wailing ghost speech. I had to make them comprehend that they had to attack "Kianne," not me. They had to stop her--him--before Soth got away...

Just about then, Sygil looked around. "Where is Kianne?" he asked, and the others did the same. "Ki!?" they shouted, but my stolen body was nowhere to be seen.

"OooOoO ooOoOo," I gasped out, frantic.

"Need a rez, Soth?" Tyranex jeered, and somebody actually cast Resurrection on me. I found myself, weak and cold as ice, back in Soth's body. Almost immediately, someone started casting attack spells at me, apparently trying to kill me off again. This was the first and last time in my life that I was thankful that Soth had such high magic resistance. The spells barely tingled on me, but they did make it hard to speak. "Wait!" I got out, throwing my hands up. Andrella echoed the word, and Connor also instructed his comrades to hold.

Quickly, before my chance was lost, I opened my mouth. "He's me now!" was what came forth, and I grated out a cry of frustration at my inability to articulate.

Andrella frowned at me. "What??"

I looked at her desperately. "It's me! Kianne! Soth swapped bodies with me!"

Everyone stared at me, stunned. "Kianne?" they chimed in total disbelief.

I know they said more, but I didn't hear; another wave of disorientation swept over me without warning, and I think I blacked out. When I could see again, I realized only moments had past, but I was a ghost again. I was standing in the wrong spot as well, several steps away from Soth's body, which was now collapsed as a dead corpse once again on the ground.

At the time, I'd thought that whatever spell Soth had used had worn off, and that Soth and I had returned to our correct bodies. Looking back, however, I think it was simply an issue of Soth's body being too foreign to me. As near as I can figure, my spirit was unable to inhabit it for very long, and tore free once it was strained to the limit.

At any rate, even though I was a ghost, I could lift my incorporeal hands and see that they were once again normal human female hands. Simultaneously, the others in the room turned and saw me, and gasped out instantly, "Kianne!?"

Someone raised me, again, and I found myself standing, covered with a white death robe, in my own body. "I'm back to me again..."

"Use the code word," Balinor said to me. I think I've mentioned that, when Soth first started creating clones of RBW members, Connor had designated a word as being what we would use to identify friend from fake. I won't write it here, just in case, but I said the word to them, and they were convinced.

I reached immediately for my pack, wanting to see if my items where there. I was greeted with an empty bag, holding nothing but my bow and the few other items that always stay at my side. "He took everything I was carrying..."

Sygil handed me a chainmail tunic, which I gratefully put on. Meanwhile, Andrella's face paled as a realization occurred to her. "Kianne!" she let out. "The stone! Check your spot!!"

I stared at her, then in blind panic I fumbled for my rune book to Recall to my house, where I could access my bank box. I had no reagents, though, so I flipped pages frantically, trying to find the one where I could use a charge from the book itself.

Before I could, Andrella handed me a bag of holding--mine had gone to Soth along with most of the rest of my items--and I dropped the rune book from numb fingers as I snatched up the bag. Invoking its magic, I quickly opened my bank box. Of course, only I could see it materialize into the air. And only I could see the gaping empty space smack dab in the middle of the magical chest.

"It's gone!" I shrieked. "No!!"

And then I heard it ringing through my head, that hideous voice that had taunted me so much so many years before. "Hello, everyone!" called the Guardian.

"We have to get to the Yew Crypts!" I yelled, frantic beyond the ability to think. "We have to stop the Black Gate from opening!" I already had my rune book open as I was speaking, and I quickly used a charge to transport myself to the crypts.

I arrived just south of the door and immediately plunged into the crypts, racing by the black wisps within without trying to fight them. I had nothing on me but my bow and the chainmail Sygil had given me, and at any rate, I was too desperate to reach my goal to waste the time. Ignoring the pain from the blows that they cast upon me as I streaked past, I made my way to the circle of stones.

It was there, the barrier once blocking the way into the room gone, and in the center of the circle glowed a black moongate. I was steps from the room when I was finally brought down by the black wisps. But the others arrived in short order, and Andrella got me back on my feet. We piled into the room, looking in despair at the Black Gate. There was no sign of the Guardian.

"Kianne!" Andrella pointed out my own corpse, wearing all of my gear and swathed in a mess of blood, lying on the ground just in front of the Black Gate. Apparently, Soth had been killed by the very creature he had unloosed on the land. Hurriedly, I snatched my items off the corpse and tossed them in a haphazard mess into my bag as we heard cries over the global telepathy.

"Help!" Dupré's voice called. "The Guardian is hereeeee...!" Nystul's chimed in. "Lord British!!" came another cry.

"No!!" I grated out. In another of my frantic, desperate hurries, I tried to dig out the rune that I knew I had to Lord British's castle. But Andrella was one step ahead of me, and she formed a gate. Horrified, we all piled through and raced across the drawbridge and into the castle.

The place was empty. The Guardian had already been and come and gone, with only one guard corpse remaining as mute testament. The world seemed to screech to a halt around me as I stared at the empty throne room. And then the Guardian spoke again, calling for me by name. By name. He knew me, and that could only mean--that means this is the same Guardian that I fought so hard to stop, before...

Smugly, the Guardian added, "Kianne, if you dare, meet me at Northwind."

"CURSE YOU!" I shouted telepathically with all my might. "I won't let you get away with this!!" And, once again, blindly I Recalled.

I landed at my house, which is my Northwind rune, and quickly ran south to the keep. The Guardian was there, just coming up north. He was smaller than I would have imagined, but still a frightening size; a creature of demon-like appearance, with red skin, leathery wings, and that same horrible face that had stuck itself through my computer screen so long ago and blathered at me. The face that lives in my nightmares.

Others gathered around me as we faced the monstrosity that, as the Wisps had warned, would be the end of Britannia. "You won't destroy this land!" I cried out, wrapping my fingers around the handle of my ancient katana and hefting it into my hand. It had never felt so sure, so true.

The Guardian laughed, that laugh that sends chills down my spine. "I already have!" he chortled. "British, and Dupré, and Nystul... all gone!"

"No!" I retorted. Others were pulling out their ancient weapons as well. "Not yet! Not ever!"

We threw ourselves forward, toward what would be our certain doom, and without a thought for ourselves, attacked with our ancient weapons. The Guardian's body shook from the blows, and pain and suffering wracked him. "What the hell!?" he bellowed.

"Surround him!!" Andrella cried, and we tried to do just that, but somehow, the Guardian managed to break free from our circle and wing his way to the south. We chased after him, up and down cobblestone paths, across lawns, around buildings. In the end, we lost him, and were left running crisscrosses all over Northwind, trying to find him again.

"Where are you, you coward!?" I shouted, angry beyond reason.

Finally his voice spoke to us again telepathically. "You are strong indeed," he acknowledged. "Nevertheless, I have who I came for. I have time on my side, and in time you will all fall. One by one... I can wait eternity."

Apparently, he didn't realize that so could we--Connor, Sygil, and I at the very least were immortal, and there may be others in our group who are as well.

"This land will not grow without a king," the Guardian taunted. "It will die slowly, making it easier for me to take."

"Lord British!" I cried out in despair. "Dupré! Nystul!"

"Guardian! Have you killed them!?" Andrella called telepathically.

"In time, they will die," he responded. "You will all die. I can open and close the Black Gate at will. So I depart for now. I will return when you all are aged and dead."

"The Black Gate!" I let out. "He'll use it to return to his land! I have to go back! I have to find Lord British and the others!" I pulled out my rune book. I already knew that I would jump through the Black Gate after the Guardian if I had to. I therefore had no idea if I would ever return. It seemed so distant a concern at the moment. Up against the Guardian, my chances were slim, but I had to try. It was, however, a sacrifice I could demand of no other but myself.

But then Connor turned to me. "I can help if you will have me."

"And I," Sygil chimed in.

I smiled faintly at them. "Thank you," I said with heartfelt gratitude.

Andrella pulled out her own rune book. "Then to the crypts!" she announced, and Gated. And I realized they were all going to come. Everyone...

We piled through, and once again made our way through the crypts to the room with the Black Gate. But once we got there, we saw that the pulsing moongate had shrunk back down to a tiny ripple of energy.

"The Black Gate is closed," someone mentioned, but I barely heard. I threw myself at the spot where the gate had been, but I went through the swirling dark energy as if it wasn't there, and collapsed in a sobbing heap on the other side.

"No!!"

They were gone--the Guardian had taken them back through the Black Gate, and we couldn't even follow. "I've failed them," I gasped out. "I've failed them all..."

"No, Kianne." My friends encircled me. "It is not your fault," Andrella went on. "You cannot blame yourself--for if you do, the Guardian wins."

I stared at her. "Andrella! The Guardian is here! You can't comprehend...!"

"I can!" she replied. "But it's not your fault. The Guardian wants us to stand around crying because we have no king! But we are stronger than that. We'll govern this land in Lord British's absence."

I got to my feet. "But.." I started, when a new voice appeared tentatively over the global telepathy.

"Lady Andrella, can you hear me?" it asked. "It's Caton. Please meet at the throne room."

"Caton!" she gasped. "Lord British's guard! He's alive!"

She Gated again, and we all went back to the castle. The guard was waiting for us inside the throne room, and explained to us the horrible events of how the Guardian had come. He had killed the other guard that had been in the throne room, taken Lord British, Dupré, and Nystul, and even crushed the serpent staff. "What will we do now?" Caton asked in anguish.

Connor stepped forward. "Tell the guards to continue their duties, for the king is nae dead," he responded.

"We need a temporary king," Andrella mentioned again, as she had before.

"A regent," Connor agreed. "Someone to stand in until the time of British's return." Then he turned to me. "Kianne will make a fine regent."

I just stared at him, dumbstruck. "Me!?"

"Aye!" Sygil chimed in. Pretty much everyone agreed but Tyranex, who was still complaining that this wouldn't have happened if we hadn't banished Blackthorn.

I couldn't believe it. Here I had gotten them all in this mess, and they wanted me to be the regent? "Connor, you should," I protested. "You are the guildmaster."

"Bah, I am no king." he responded.

Andrella spoke up, "Nae, Kianne, you are the one Lord British, Dupré, and Nystul looked up to. You are deserving of this. They trusted your judgment most."

Now I stared at her. "My..." I echoed, then shook my head. "Andrella! My judgment was obviously misplaced!"

"No," she said calmly. "Do not speak that way. You did everything in your power and you held your end of the bargain. This last action was unexpected! Soth was clever. Something we will never be fooled by again."

I sighed. "If I hadn't have come this would never have happened. We knew he was up to something..."

"Ki," Connor broke in. "It is easy to cast blame... And even easier to pass judgment upon past errors. The hardest part is always the reforging of the broken blade..."

I sighed again. "I know that, but..."

"This is your task and one you will have much help in," Connor told me. "We have faith in you lass. Ye have never failed in any way... Now lass, what would ye have us do?"

Sygil and Walter and others around me pledged their support, and I couldn't help but smile through the tears that were threatening to fall. "I'll need Andrella and you, and everyone. I can't do this alone."

"Of course!" they agreed, and we discussed for a bit the condition of Lord British's court. As near as I could tell, we'd lost Lord British, Dupré, and Nystul, and one guard, but the rest of the kingdom was intact. Andrella went to speak with the Magincia council, and I finally had to break away from the others.

"I need to be alone for a little while. I'm sorry."

I went back to my house, and opened my bank box to get my key. (I'd kept the doors locked since learning that Blackthorn, Banion, and Tyranex wanted "something" of mine... It seemed so far in the past and inconsequential now...) The empty space in the middle of the chest looked so forlorn. Quickly I shut the box and went inside, finally letting the tears fall as I gazed at the little statue of Dupré. How could I have let them all down so badly?

Andrella came back and found me inside my house, gazing out the window. "Andrella," I said as she came in. My gaze was still facing the window, but it was blind, unseeing. "I can't do it. I can't lead a kingdom. I led a small group, true, but not this..." I shook my head. "I can't...I can't fail in this way, and then take up the throne."

"Kianne, you should calm yourself," she said to me, but I think calm was beyond me. I turned.

"I need your help," I told her. "You know these lands the best. And you know how to lead."

"Kianne, you are my best friend in these lands," Andrella smiled. "I will do anything I can to help you. To guide you."

I took a breath. I had already decided what needed to be done, but how to do it? "It should have been you. I don't know what they were thinking, choosing me..."

"Bah," she said. I think we all picked it up from Sygil. "Stop your nonsense. People have faith in you. Even though the stone was taken. Even though the Guardian came."

I let out an exasperated sound. "But that's the worst thing that could have happened!"

She nodded. "Exactly what I'm saying.. The worst thing possible happened. And we still have faith in you."

I just stared at her, speechless for a moment. "Why?" I asked finally.

"Because we know it was not your fault," she said. "Just as you should know this."

I sighed. "I didn't mean for it to happen, I know, but..."

"But nothing!" Andrella asked pointedly, "Did you hand the stone over??"

"Never," I responded.

"Did you greet the Guardian with open arms?"

"I greeted him with my ancient katana."

Andrella laughed. "See?" Then she went on seriously, "My point is Kianne, that through all of what happened, we know you are a good person. And we know that you are the only person that could have held onto the stone as long as you did."

I faced the window, the one with Guthnor's rose sitting in front, for a long moment. "Andrella," I said in a quiet voice. "Am I shirking responsibility? Or doing the right thing?"

She sounded confused. "By what?"

I turned back to her. "I want you to be the regent. I want you to take the lead." I saw her hesitate, and went on, "I need to focus all of my energy on finding Dupré, and Lord British. And anyway you are the best for the task."

She nodded. "If it makes you feel better I will take command. However," she added sternly, "I do not want to be called 'Princess'... or 'Queen,' or 'my liege'--or anything. And I will not wear a dress!"

I burst out laughing despite myself.

"Andrella," I finally said. "Thank you. And... Well, I have to say it. I'm sorry."

She smiled. "There is no need for it. Come now. Let us speak to the others."

We left then, and met with the rest of RBW and allies at the Great Hall. Andrella explained that the Magincia council was aware of the situation and was willing to accept whichever regent we chose. We explained that Andrella had been nominated, and she was stepping up to the command. It wouldn't affect RBW much, I figured. She would just have even more responsibilities taking care of the rest of the kingdom.

Once that was over, we divided between us the gold and items we had gotten from the Twisted Tunnels. I attended only because I knew I had to. I picked up a staff of resurrection and life, which I knew would help my companions in the trials to come.

Afterward, I fled to the solidarity of the forests and the edge of the sea. Soth was gone, and the blight was lifted from the land. Even now the trees were regaining their leaves, and flowers seemed to be blooming in celebration. I stood on a cliff looking out over the sea. Sometimes, it seemed like I had gotten past this crushing weight of guilt on my shoulders. And other times, it came back full force. Will I ever be able to function normally again?

I was still there when Sygil found me.

I don't clearly remember the entire conversation; I know I cried for a bit more, and he handed me a piece of cloth to use as a handkerchief. However, one thing he told me stood out in my memory.

"Sygil," I'd said to him, gazing out over the sea. "I promised to protect the rock. I said this wouldn't happen." I was the Avatar. Honor had once been my strongest trait. And now? "What does that make me?"

"Human," he responded instantly, and shocked a laugh out of me.

"Like the rest of us," he went on. "Immortal, but still human." He grinned. "Look at it this way... Being immortal has many sides. Like a barrel. On one side, one has much time to grieve for those lost. On another side, one has much time to plan and right things."

"We just have longer to regret our mistakes?" I chuckled. I'm not really used to being immortal yet--I am really very young still, as immortals go. Sygil had fought through World War II on our home world, he had once told me, and Connor...well, Connor's history is longer than Britannia is wide.

Speaking of Connor, Sygil showed him our spot, and he joined us for a bit. He, also, mentioned something that stuck in my memory. "All things change lass," he reminded me. "Your heritage demands that you do nae let the change do anything to you."

Connor Mcleod: You know lass, I wonder how in the world ye keep ye clothing on. Connor Mcleod: I canna keep any--it's always being ripped to shreds in battle. Kianne: I carry spare tunics.

"I'm not used to it. I'm not as old as you, Connor." I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Goodbye is something that you will have to get used to lass," he reminded me. And it was something that, conceptually, I know. Living with other immortals, I have heard stories of those who had married mortal humans, then watched them age and die, while the immortal stayed the same. But this has not yet happened to me--I've never been married, and I haven't really spent large amounts of time with mortals. I had left LOK for that reason, to avoid the change, and also to be with Connor and other immortals. Of course, I have seen change, but the number of years has not been as great for me as of yet to really embed the concept into my being.

"I can't take a change that happened like this," I sighed, shaking my head. "I can't abandon them. I can't."

"We won't," Sygil promised.

Finally, through my grief and tears, they brought me to understand something else. If I had been any other member of RBW, watching this going on, I would have been sad but not shattered. My anger and sadness would have done nothing but strengthen my resolve. It is this terrible feeling of failure that is dragging at my feet now. But I can't let it defeat me. And I won't. Though tears may flow at times, I won't allow it to stop me from doing whatever possible to right this.

Sitting here now, alone with my thoughts, I have drawn up a sketchy idea of what we can do. We know that the Guardian took his captives to his world, through the Black Gate, but so far, none of us knows how to open the gate. I never thought I would ever be trying to open the Black Gate, but I am. I want to go through it and save them--even if it means facing the Guardian on his home turf. (I have seen his world in a dream--no, a nightmare--and it is hideous. But if it is what must be done, so be it.) Still, I'm not about to just wait around until the Guardian decides to open the Black Gate again of his own free will. No, there must be a way for us to open it. Without Nystul, we will have to find some other way to gain the knowledge we need.

I have decided to join Sygil in his plans to visit each of the eight Shrines of Virtue. With any luck, they will give us a Quest. With a Quest we could visit the Codex of Ultimate Wisdom--assuming it exists on this world--and I'm sure that will know what to do. Failing that, I will try to fashion a whistle which we can use to call the Wisps. At the very least, the Wisps should hopefully know how to open the Black Gate, and even if they don't, they are a pan-dimensional being. They can see even into the Guardian's realm, and they will know where Lord British and the others are.

I will see Dupré again. I promise this. I lost him once before, I lost all of my companions and the Britannia I loved. But I lost them then by doing what had to be done--stopping the Guardian's advance into that world. Here, I have lost them by failing to do what I had done in the past. And I will not let this rest. I have come to love this Britannia as much as the last. We will free Lord British, and Dupré, and Nystul. And we will destroy the Black Gate. Again.

This is one vow I will not break.

---

[04/05/2003]

It has been a week since I have seen civilization, or spoken to anyone until today. The past week I isolated myself, writing in my journal and spending hours searching, and thinking.

Today, Sygil and I visited the first shrine for our self-appointed task. We went to the Shrine of Sacrifice. Even though Sygil has prepared a rune book of the shrines, we decided to go on horseback. The journey took us most of the morning and into the afternoon. When we reached the shrine, we went to it on foot and meditated for some time using the mantra of Sacrifice.

The shrine spoke to neither of us, but I did get a bit of a feeling of well-being from the visit. I said to Sygil that hopefully once we had visited all eight shrines, we might obtain a Quest.

When we were outside the shrine, Sygil mentioned to me, "Oh, I meant to say: congratulations on the position."

I looked at him blankly. "Position?"

"Haven't you seen the announcement Andrella sent out?" he asked, but I explained to him that I had not been to Northwind or any other town for that matter since the night the Guardian came.

Sygil pursed his lips. "Well. You might want to read it." He got on his horse, and added, "I needed to go to Britain anyway. Shall we take a break and go together?"

I started to protest, to say I wasn't yet ready to face people again. But I realized that, actually, I wasn't feeling nearly so depressed as I had before. Perhaps it was the Shrine of Sacrifice, or maybe it was just the time I had spent with Sygil on the way here.

So I agreed, and he made a moongate to Britain, near the castle. We went in to see the posting that Andrella had written, but before we got there, Sygil suddenly made a surprised sound. "Naleh!" he called, and approached a woman wearing a tamer's robe. Turns out she was an old friend of his, and they spent some time talking. I felt much more like my usual self as I joined the conversation, and together we all went back to Northwind to give her a tour.

We were in Skara Brae, showing her the stones in the Councilor's Guild, when Andrella found us. I was in much better spirits and greeted her warmly, then asked her with a bit of guilt how the kingdom was fairing. I had given her the task of regent and then run off.

"All is well," she responded with a smile. "Except for one thing."

"Oh?" I asked, not apathetic but instead genuinely interested.

"I am in need of a Historian," Andrella said.

"A Historian?" I echoed. From the look on his face, Sygil seemed to already know where this was going.

"That is what it is called, but Dupré knew more than just the lands," Andrella replied musingly.

"Dupré was the Historian..?" I asked in surprise.

"Well, he was many things," Andrella chuckled, and I found myself smiling wistfully at that. "However," she went on, "he knew the most about Britannia and the other realms. As do you. And I feel that you fit the part. You have much knowledge, just as Dupré did."

I blinked, realizing now what Sygil had been referring to. "You wish me to take Dupré's place?" I asked almost numbly.

"You would be stepping in for him," Andrella explained. "A regent, just as I."

I considered that. "I am honored Andrella, but..."

As if anticipating what I would say, she interrupted me. "No, I will hear no arguments." Her voice was stern, but I could see the twinkle in her eye. And I couldn't help but laugh.

Sygil came forward. "Lady Kianne. I am sure Dupré would want it this way."

"You said that if I needed your help, to ask," Andrella reminded me. "I only took the position of regent as a request from you. You owe me," she winked with a grin.

I laughed again. "True, true. I appreciate it, by the way."

"Aye, I know," she said.

We talked a bit more about the position. As I had suspected, Andrella had made an official announcement requesting that I take the duty, but I had yet to see the parchment. She had also offered the title of Royal Mage to Navien. I chuckled and told her that I had almost made the same appointment, before I had passed off the duty of regent to her.

"I'm sorry I've been a little behind things," I mentioned a little sheepishly at this point. "I haven't been back to Northwind since...well, you know." I grimaced.

Andrella looked at me. "I wanted to talk to you about that, as well." Then she glanced around. "We should find a comfortable place to talk."

Sygil spoke up saying he wanted to go with Naleh to find her a horse, and the two excused themselves. Andrella looked back to me after we had bid them farewell. "Tavern?"

I felt a sudden wash of emotion. "That reminds me of Dupré."

"Aye, it does," she said, but I put a smile on my face and agreed that a tavern was fine. I even joked that I needed some tavern practice if I was to take Dupré's place. So we walked to the tavern in Skara Brae and sat at a table in the corner. Andrella chose ale, but I nursed a glass of wine.

"What I wanted to speak to you about was the situation," Andrella started. "I know that you feel drained."

Drained. An interesting choice of word, but as I thought about it silently, I decided it was a pretty good fit. All this past week, I had kept forcing myself to move forward, to continue to try to find some way to locate Lord British and the others, despite the tears that kept wanting to come back no matter how hard I tried to shove them away. It was like...I was going to keep going until I hit a wall.

"You aren't quite...well...yourself," Andrella finished, and I nodded in sheepish agreement. I was perfectly aware of this, but it wasn't something I could seem to find a solution to.

"I'm sorry, Andrella," I said shakily, pushing the wine aside. "I just can't help but feel I let them down, somehow..."

"You should never feel that you let anyone down," she assured me. "As I said before: You were the absolute best person to hold the stone. You weren't turned by evil, or swayed with gold, or any of that rot." I smiled faintly, gratefully. She smiled back, then went on, "You were and still are true to yourself, and to RBW, and to your friends."

I took a breath. "It just seems, in the end...look where we are."

"So what will you do about it?" she asked pointedly. "Sulk, cry? That is not you, Kianne. You are strong. Independent. And stubborn."

I burst out laughing, and she smiled. "No," I said. "I've been trying to find a way to find them. To, heaven forbid, reopen the Black Gate."

"Well..." Andrella responded thoughtfully. "I think you are moving too fast."

"Too fast?" I echoed.

"In my humble opinion, what needs to be done first is to smite the evil here in our own land. To take charge. This is the time we must stand strong."

"But what about Lord British and the others?" I heard myself asking. "We don't know where they are, or if they are suffering..."

"That is true," she agreed. "But they are strong. And we haven't enough numbers to take the Guardian down. We haven't enough to defend and protect. I feel that is our first goal. And Sygil," she smiled, "being first sergeant of Delta--well, that's his job."

I chuckled, but agreed. "True, there is no wisdom in blindly throwing ourselves through the Black Gate, not without being prepared."

"You cannot stop being you and stop doing what needs to be done," she reminded me. "Otherwise the Guardian will have won."

"It will be hard though, to think of other things than finding them." It was alien to me as well--most of the time I had been on Britannia, I had been there for a specific purpose, a quest, and I had been able to devote all of my time to that. Having other responsibilities besides that task was so odd to me. I shook my head. "It's hard to go into the castle now."

"Aye, it hurts a little right now," Andrella agreed. "But turn that pain into strength."

"It certainly did when we faced the Guardian," I found myself saying. "I wasn't afraid. I was just...angry." I toyed with the wine glass. "Funny, after all these years, I expected to be terrified."

Andrella nodded. "Aye, exactly my point. But first you need to regain your confidence."

It was such a simple statement, but for some reason, it hit me like a freight train. (I don't know why I just wrote that; nobody in Britannia will understand the reference.) In a sudden moment of utter clarity, I realized that she had just hit the root of the problem with that one single sentence. It wasn't, as I had thought, my tears or my guilt that was holding me back. After all, sadness, anger, yea, even fear, all of these served only to push me to fight harder, to search more diligently. All of that was not the problem, I understood then. The problem was my shattered confidence. Even though I kept going on as I always had, trying to find a solution, somewhere inside I no longer believed in myself, or trusted myself to be able to get the job done.

As I sat there gazing at the table thinking about this, Andrella added quietly, "One thing that you really need to understand is that not even Lord British himself could have stopped the Guardian or kept the stone any safer than you did."

I stared at her. I hadn't thought about it, but it was true. With all of Lord British's power--and he is quite powerful, although few actually realize this as he does not use power without due reason--he had been unable to stop the Guardian. How could I expect to have done something even he could not do?

Finally, I managed to speak again. "Thank you, Andrella," I told her with heart-felt sincerity. "I understand what you are saying. I'm just sorry it happened."

"Aye, so am I," she agreed. "But that doesn't stop me from facing the world and trying to keep my chin up. Which is what you need to do." She smiled at me. "I have a lot of confidence in you. And I've never lost it."

I considered her words. "And...take Dupré's place?" I finished for her. It was quite a thought. "Those will be tough shoes to fill."

"Nay, Ki," Andrella responded. "You two were so much alike already, it was scary."

I laughed. "Except for the love of taverns," I giggled, looking at the bottle of wine that was still mostly full.

She laughed as well. "So then it is settled? You will hold Dupré's title?"

I found myself smiling. I felt as if a large weight had been lifted from my shoulders. "Aye, Andrella. I will do it for you. And for Lord British and Dupré. And...well," I realized, "for everyone."

Andrella let out a sigh of relief. "Whew...good then! I wasn't sure if I could talk you into it."

I laughed a little. "Your stubbornness versus mine, huh?" I winked. We chuckled over that, and idly I pulled out my dagger and the wood I had been carving with on and off all week. "Well, you were right. I do owe you."

"I was only teasing about that."

"I know," I assured her, whittling away slivers of wood absently. "But I said I would help in any way I could, and anyway it wasn't fair for me to just pass off all the responsibility and take off." I noticed her questioning gaze on what I was doing and added in explanation, "I just can't seem to duplicate that whistle. I can carve bows and arrows, but flutes are beyond me." I chuckled. "I'll keep trying though. Keeps my hands occupied at least."

"If nothing else," she mentioned, "you'll have to go to another land and capture an elf. Or ask for a favor."

I looked up at her. "Andrella, you are going to give me ideas again!" And she burst out laughing.

I whittled a little more, looking thoughtfully at my dagger blade. "I would ask an Emp²," I mentioned, "but I haven't seen any around here. I guess they don't exist on this Britannia. Also," I added, "I have searched for the entrance to Dawn. But I can't find it." Dawn is the hidden town of elves where, as Dupré had told me, Iolo, Gwenno, and Tseremed have been trapped for some time since the entrance was mysteriously sealed. I have no idea if it was Soth's corruption of the land that had blocked the mystic entrance, or if it was the Guardian's growing presence or something else, but I wanted to find out if I could.

"I'm not certain of its whereabouts," Andrella mused.

I shrugged. "Well, it was a really long time ago, but I seem to recall it was south of the castle. But..." I sighed. "Well, things have changed. And moved. Not everything on this Britannia is in the same place as the one I knew. For example, the Britain moongate is in completely the wrong spot. Other things have moved around as well." I let out another sigh and made a shrugging gesture with the wood and dagger. "So, what can I say? I have no idea where Dawn is...and Dupré can't tell me now."

"Maybe one day we could go exploring," Andrella smiled, and I returned the smile.

"I would like that," I responded. "But it would take several days. We would have to do it at dawn each day." She blinked, then responded with a joke about not being a morning person, and we both laughed.

Finally, feeling much better with a lighter heart, I put down the dagger and wood--which looked more like an arrow shaft at the moment than a flute--onto the table. "Thanks, Andrella," I smiled at her. "I'll try to be more social from now on." I grinned, and she laughed. "Just don't mind me if I whittle a lot."

She chuckled, then grew serious as a thought seemed to cross her mind. "Hmm. While I have you here... What do you know about the Black Sword?"

I blinked. The only sword I knew of that fit that name...well, that was ages ago. "The Black Sword? You don't mean that daemon sword, do you?" She nodded, and I leaned back thoughtfully. "The one with Arcadion in it? I haven't seen it in a long time."

"What do you know about it?" she asked me again.

I thought about that ebony yet silvery blade, and tried to collect the details in my mind into coherent words. "It was made of blackrock and some other metal, but I can't remember what." I sighed a little at the loss of all of the notes that I had taken during those quests. "And in the hilt was a gem, in which was entrapped a daemon."

"There is an old man named Erethian that I had heard about," Andrella told me.

I nodded at the memory. "Aye... Erethian. He was the one trying to forge it."

Andrella went on thoughtfully, "Rumors have it that he lives on an island in the Lost Lands. They also say that he is in possession of the very powerful blackrock sword."

I blinked at her. "He yet lives?"

"Apparently he's still alive in this world," Andrella nodded.

I thought about that. "Another...difference from the alternate universe, I guess," I agreed, but I wasn't quite sure what to make of this. What has happened here regarding him, and what has not? Did he manage to complete the sword himself? Does his sword have Arcadion in it?

I mentioned to Andrella that I had seen him on the Isle of Fire, not in the Lost Lands, so clearly finding him again would not be so easy as to simply relive another Britannia's history. I asked her if she knew what island, but she didn't. All she had heard was a rumor, apparently. We both agreed we would need to ask around some more about this, see if we could discover the location.

"If we did get our hands on this sword..." Andrella mused. "I wonder who would wield it?"

I grimaced at the memory of the sword. "It is an evil blade. Not because of the sword itself, but because of the gem. Whoever wields it would have to be someone who could not be swayed by the daemon trapped within--the daemon who wishes to be freed and wreck havoc on the world."

Andrella nodded. "I would want to entrust it to you. You are very loyal." She smiled and didn't have to remind me about what she had said earlier about the golden rock.

I smiled faintly back at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Andrella. I have to admit though... Although the sword was powerful, I was uneasy to use it." I paused, considering. "We need to look into this no matter what, though," I said gravely. "Erethian was wanting to restore Exodus, so he could study it, the old fool. We definitely don't need to see Exodus again."

Andrella nodded in agreement, and we were interrupted when Navien and Sygil called questioningly to her over the telepathy. "I guess we should meet up with them again?" she asked, and I nodded.

We went back to Northwind, where was I surprised to see that the moongate we had used to the Twisted Tunnels was still there. I mentioned this to Andrella, asking her if Soth's "experiments" were still roaming his hideout. She didn't know, so I said I would check and jumped through the gate.

I had planned to merely look through the doorway into the halls, then immediately leave. However, I was greeted with such an empty silence that curiosity got the better of me. I moved into the tunnels, blocking out bad memories of my last visit here, and looked around at the utterly empty hallways. Getting on my ethereal mount, I rode all the way to Soth's workspace, and found what was left of his lab lying empty and neglected. There were no undead, and there was no sign Soth had been here since his destruction at the hands of the Guardian. Apparently, he was finally truly dead and gone.

Absently, I walked up to his journal, the one where he had written about the golems of RBW members. Turning pages, I discovered he had indeed written a bit more beyond what I had last seen. He mentioned that he had given up on trying to get another RBW cloak, as the task was becoming too impossible. Instead, he wrote, he was going to turn his studies in another direction...possession.

I felt cold again, and wondered idly if I would have done anything different had I read this journal before that fateful night. Probably not, I grimaced. We had encountered possessed guards and healers and such, but they had been mindless, so much so that it seemed to me more like they were simply undead rather than...something more. Grimly, I realized I still probably would never have imagined that Soth would have the ability to literally switch bodies with me. For all of my preparations and care in trying to keep the stone out of his hands, this was the one action that simply never occurred to me.

Let it go, whispered a voice in my mind, and with decisive finality, I closed the journal.

I encountered Andrella and Navien in the halls on my way back out. We had a short discussion about the tunnels--I mentioned to Navien that if he wanted to pursue necromancy, there was a nice stocked lab behind me, although I still can't quite figure out why necromancy intrigues him so much to begin with. Andrella also commented, realizing from seeing the three of us standing together, that we needed matching dress armor, something fancy and ridiculous to wear to ceremonies and such. I laughed and told her I was fine with that as long as I did not have to wear a skirt. Luckily, she and I are of like minds in that regard...and of course, Navien is as well, although he wasn't female long enough to really count. Ha ha!

We left the tunnels without looking back, and spent a bit of time chatting about trivial things with Sygil and Naleh. It felt good to be among friends again. Andrella was right. I was the Avatar once. I will strive to become Avatar-like again, restore my confidence and go about this in the way I always have. I have never quested alone, and I have never abandoned my companions.

Today I have decided to start a new parchment, separate from this journal, for notes about my quests. That way I can keep the notes with me, and add to them as I learn new information. I've already written a fair-sized list of avenues to investigate. It feels good to look at the list and see that there are so many concrete leads to work with. It will take some time, but eventually we will find and free Lord British and the others. I know this because my quests usually take time, so I am not deterred. I have a starting point, and I have my companions. And together we will find a way to prevail.

---

[04/12/2003]

Well, now, things are getting interesting.

Soth is still alive.

When he first dared to show his face again about two weeks after the opening of the Black Gate, I thought it was just somebody playing a practical joke in very poor taste, dressing up and pretending to be Soth. But no, I soon discovered, it is really him.

He seems to still be missing a lot of his power--something even he will admit readily, which given the size of his ego is saying quite a bit--but he's still Soth, and he's still undead. Yet the trees are still green, and the flowers yet bloom, so apparently whatever blight he had once caused on the land is still cured despite his continued presence here. My guess is that without his full powers, he does not cause such a curse on his environment. This doesn't mean, however, that he has turned over a new leaf, to use a bad pun. Still...he may not be quite the threat to us that he once was.

Had I realized instantly that it was truly Soth, I might have run him through on the spot. But, as I said, I at first thought it was a bad joke, and by the time I understood the truth...well, let's just say things had gotten very strange by then.

Soth asked me for my help. Yes, despite everything that had happened. He requested to speak with me in private, and led me to the nature walk in Northwind--curious choice. There, we had a very interesting conversation.

As we already knew, Blackthorn had summoned Soth to Britannia. As I understand it, based on what Soth told me, Soth is not--and was not, even at full power--capable of returning himself to his homeland from which he was summoned. Blackthorn had promised to return Soth home if Soth performed a specific task: obtaining the golden rock from me and opening the Black Gate. This, apparently, is the reason why Soth was working with Blackthorn and doing his bidding. He was cooperating on the basis of this promise of being allowed to go home after it was all over.

Now that Blackthorn is gone, Soth has no way home. He claims all he wants is to return to Krynn, his home world (where, he claims, he will be able to regain his full power; that thought doesn't encourage me). And he told me that he came to me because he knew that I have traveled to a number of different dimensions, including several versions of Britannia. If anyone could help him get to Krynn, he figured, it was me.

I have to admit I found it hideously ironic that he would be turning to me for help, after all that he did. I asked him in irritation why he had continued with his plot to get the golden rock even after Blackthorn was banished. He must have known, I pointed out, that he was trapped here, so why bother? He replied blithely that he was simply doing it to prove that he could. What a fool.

I probably wouldn't given him the time of the day, but then he said something interesting. He commented that during his explorations of Britannia, he had discovered certain things. He claimed to have found the Black Sword (and killed Erethian), found the entrance to Ambrosia, and also a place with lots of Gargoyles, although he had no idea where he was.

I don't know how much of this was true--he wouldn't even take out the Black Sword to prove he had it--but just the fact that he knew of these things led some credibility to his claims. I decided to take a calculated risk, and I told him about the Orb of the Moons.³ My hope was that if he was so good at finding other things (and no surprise why he wouldn't be--he can walk uncontested through all sorts of nests of evil, so it's hardly difficult for him to explore), he might be able to find the Orb as well. Of course, telling Soth about the Orb could possibly backfire, since I was giving him information that he didn't have before. However, I did manage to get him to promise to give me the Orb should he find it--which he agreed to do provided I helped him get back to Krynn in return. It didn't seem like all that bad of a deal to me.

Before he left I tried to get him to tell me where he had discovered the Black Sword, so that I could check and make sure Exodus wasn't about to activate. (The last thing we need is to have to worry about that thing...) He refused to tell me, though. "Why should I?" he asked. "You can't help me yet."

"Consider what it means that I would even help you at all," I snapped in irritation.

"Consider that you were a pain to me for too long."

"Likewise."

"We are even then."

We glared at each other.

He left without giving me any more information, so I rejoined Andrella, Sygil, and Navien, and told them what had taken place. Andrella didn't at all seem to mind the idea of helping Soth return to Krynn--as she put it, good riddance. She then brought up another idea. Perhaps we could bargain with Soth, and tell him that we would help him get home if he helped us save Lord British and the others. It sounded like a good plan to me, and I contributed even more incentive. The Lord British that I had known had always carried an Orb of the Moons on his person. Assuming this one also possessed an Orb, I figured he would allow us to borrow it, and we could return Soth home that way.

---

[04/19/2003]

It seemed like a good plan to me, but when we approached Soth about it today, he didn't like the idea. He was fine with opening the Black Gate for us so we could go through, but he didn't want to have anything to do with the Guardian. Turns out Soth is afraid of his power. Doesn't that just beat all? I asked him in frustration why he'd opened the Black Gate the first time, and allowed the Guardian into this world, if he was so scared of him. Soth replied that he hadn't realized then the scope of the Guardian's powers. I nearly fell over. "Well, I could have told you that!" I sighed in exasperation.

"As if I would have believed you," he responded dryly.

I exhaled, knowing full well it was true. What a mess.

While we were discussing such things, Soth mentioned that the Black Gate had been opened again, not long ago. We knew the Guardian could open the Gate now from his side, but what we hadn't known was that Soth was not only capable of opening the Gate, but he could also break the circle of golden rocks as well--thus preventing the Black Gate from being opened.

We went back and forth over whether we should even do so--Soth couldn't be sure that he could reopen the Black Gate again later once the circle was broken, since most of the circle had already been in place before he'd even been summoned, so he hadn't seen the beginning of the spell. And we would need to open the Gate again, once we were ready to save Lord British and the others. The chance that we might close forever our only doorway into the realm where our friends were trapped grated on me. Yet there seemed to be a greater risk leaving the rocks in place, as the Guardian might come through at any time.

Finally it was decided to break the spell and remove the rocks. We would all take one, we agreed; Soth wanted to hold a rock for himself so that we couldn't double-cross him, and of course we wanted at least one of the stones so that he could not double-cross us. It made logical sense.

We agreed to meet at the Yew Crypts. Soth sent Navien to fetch some necromancy reagents to use, so I guess that's why only Soth could perform the spell--it was necromancy, not normal Britannian magic. Soth and I arrived at the crypts first, and I stood staring at the rippling energy marking the closed Black Gate while Soth prepared the spells he would use to break the circle.

He paused consideringly at one point. "I need fresh blood," he spoke up suddenly, and before I could absorb those words, he had scored a deep gash across my arm with a dagger.

"Soth!" I yelped in exasperation, jumping back and clamping a hand over the wound as blood ran down my arm and dripped off my fingers.

"I need that blood," he explained again, as if I hadn't heard him the first time, and began gathering it.

I growled a little but didn't respond aside from letting out a long-suffering sigh. Would it have killed him to at least warn me first? Leaving him to do his thing, I bandaged up the wound, stopping the blood flow and cleaning off my arm.

The others arrived and Soth began his spells. Actually at first it didn't appear as though it was going to work; the stones remained solidly in place even after he'd finished. Finally, we tried gathering around them pushing on them with all our might while Soth cast the spell again, and at last we were able to dislodge them.

Soth took one of the stones as we'd agreed, and we divided the others among the rest of us. I had brought along my bag of holding in anticipation of being unable to carry the rock, but I had also emptied my backpack of most of my items, and rather to my surprise I was able to heft the rock this time. It was quite heavy, and I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to run far with it, but I could hold it. So I carried it back to my house and deposited it there. This time, I didn't put it in my bank box--I wasn't about to be caught flat-footed again. If Soth or anyone else wants to steal this stone from me, they are going to have to search for it.

---

[04/26/2003]

I'd searched multiple times for the location of Exodus, but so far no luck. Then, finally, I was able to get some more information out of Soth. He told me that he had found everything in Felucca. He'd discovered two moonstones among Blackthorn's things, one to Felucca and one back to Trammel, and so he'd used both to get there and back. I couldn't believe it. No wonder we hadn't been able to find anything! We never had managed to get into Blackthorn's personal chambers, and most of the Felucca and Trammel moonstones had been destroyed years ago, Andrella explained, after Lord British had decreed Felucca too dangerous for habitation. Turns out Minax is there--yes, Minax. I swear, if Mondain shows up...

On the other hand, Soth hasn't had any luck so far in finding the Orb of the Moons either. I was somewhat startled to discover that Lita was helping him search the other day, although Andrella didn't seem surprised at all.

Soth has taken up "residence" in the abandoned buildings in the center of the Hedge Maze. He keeps the door to one of the buildings sealed, but Navien managed to get into the tunnel using the old "Z" (Down) spell from his arcane spell book. He marked me a rune, so I go back there every once in a while to keep an eye on Soth. So far, I haven't found anything particularly interesting, but I'll keep watch.

It's funny, but Soth seems to have taken a level of liking toward Navien. Apparently because Navien is so interested in necromancy. Soth keeps summoning Navien to his place, but so far he hasn't told him anything we can use.

Oh, and Soth has finally taken out the Black Sword, proving for good that he does indeed possess it. I still don't know if the Arcadion in the hilt is the one that I knew, but there must be a daemon there, because Soth says the sword speaks to him. Soth had told me that the sword was apparently out of power; as a test, I asked him if he even knew how to power it back up again. "Sure, I kill things," he replied carelessly. "It told me so." And I sighed. I'd really been hoping he hadn't discovered how to invoke the Black Sword's powers, but unfortunately the two of them really are peas in a pod, so...

I still want to get the Black Sword away from him somehow, though. It's not that I envy him having it--goodness knows I was always wary to call upon its full power, myself--but I really don't want Soth to have any more power than he already has. Even at his currently diminished level, Soth is strong enough to be a trouble, and since he can raise himself if he falls, he is effectively immortal. Just what he needs, an instant-death sword to go along with the rest of his power. And if Soth ever takes it upon himself to free Arcadion from his gem prison, all havoc will break loose. Fortunately, I'm pretty sure Soth isn't that stupid--he would much rather prefer having Arcadion as his servant, I think, so I don't anticipate this happening at least.

One more thing of note... Soth has been relatively benign, no longer entirely at odds with us since his only goal now is to get home. He does brag a lot, talking about how much power he has and such, and he's extremely irritating to be around, but at least he isn't trying to kill us all the time or take our bodies anymore.

One conversation in particular did lodge itself in my memory. Soth was doing his usual complaining about how we are all weak and idiots, and claiming that we hadn't known what to do when the Guardian came. I snapped that we were the ones who had chased the Guardian away, not him. "You weren't there," I reminded him. "You were dead, remember? Serves you right..."

He looked at me. "You were dead, not me."

I rolled my eyes. "You were in my body, but you were the one who died there," I responded irritably. "I picked up the pieces afterward. And if you ever try that again..."

Soth didn't reply. He simply stepped forward and slapped me full in the face.

I was so surprised at that move that by the time my fist raised in an instinctual response to hit him back, he'd already moved back out of range. The others stared at Soth in surprise as I rubbed my face. "What are you, a girl!?" I exclaimed without forethought.

"You are weak," Soth complained at me. "I wish your body was powerful. Then none of this would have happened."

"What, to give you even more incentive to take it!?" I growled, then clenched my fists, warning him not to get close. "This is your fault, not mine. And I don't slap, I punch!"

Andrella had come to see what all the fuss was about, arriving just in time to see Soth's action. She laughed at my words. "You tell him!" Then she turned to Soth. "Kianne'll knock your block off, loser. And I'll be there to help her. So get out of here. I won't stand by and let anyone take this. Remove yourself from my sight now."

She pulled out her sword and shield, and I followed suit. I almost thought Soth would stand and fight us to prove how "cool" he was, but he left. Apparently, he doesn't much like his odds given he's missing much of his former power.

Andrella was right. I'll be glad when he's gone, even if it's just to another planet instead of six feet in the ground. As long as he's out of our hair, I couldn't be happier.

---

[05/02/2003]

We've received word from Navien that Soth claims he can create facet moonstones, to travel to Felucca. Navien says he requires 1000 of each of the necromancy reagents. I've jotted them down here:

daemon bone, wyrm hearts, executioner caps, bones, newt eyes, dragon blood, bat wings, dead wood, fertile dirt, brimstone, pumice, volcanic ash, pig iron, bloodspawn, serpent scales, blackmoor, obsidian, blood

The serpent scales and bones will probably be easiest. I'm not sure what the last entry, "blood," signifies exactly, but I assume it could be any blood, not like dragon blood specifically. Of course if Soth slashes me for blood again without even a by-your-leave, I think I'll take his head off and use it for a necromancy ingredient...

Something else interesting happened today. A voice I had never before heard spoke up over the global telepathy asking if there was someone he might speak to regarding this land. I responded and we arranged to meet in Skara Brae. However, he wasn't at all what I was expecting.

The visitor was in the form of an eagle, and introduced himself as Lord Valkoris, King of the Beasts. I think Raven nearly had a heart attack, but I had seen enough in the Shadowland already that I was able to take this in stride. What did surprise me, however, was that I did not get a sense of evil from Valkoris. Rather, he was practically radiating goodness. Well, now, I thought, this was curious. The king of the beasts is one with a kind heart? I think, perhaps, his is a different position than the one Thugnor and Guthnor had held, but I haven't yet had a chance to ask.

At any rate, Valkoris explained that his kingdom was having problems with a vile creature named Soth. Oh yes, Soth. Valkoris asked us for help in finding a way of ridding the land of Soth. Well, I explained readily to him that we were trying to do the same thing, although since so far killing Soth hadn't accomplished anything, we were left with trying to send him off to another world instead. Valkoris offered that he and his people would aid us in any way they could. I mentioned our hunt for the facet moonstones to him, and he promised to send scouts to search for them. Perhaps if we can locate a stone, it will be faster than finding the reagents to make them...

Valkoris asked to see where we lived, so I Gated to Northwind and showed him around. Valkoris kept shifting forms while we were walking. He explained that it was a curse--while he had the power to study a new creature and then assume its form, he was unable to fully control the ability. So, sometimes he simply changed form without warning. He also explained that he had yet to master the human form. He had seen humans around, but didn't yet understand them. He's just beginning to grasp the concept of items; when he saw the display of serpent shields, for example, he thought they were plates. I showed him mine and explained it was like a shell, for protection. I also tried to explain a few other things, such as the clothing we wear. It was pleasant. He is a very honorable person, and quite inquisitive.

I showed him the nature trails and the pond, but as the blight hasn't yet lifted from a few pockets of Britannia, the trees were not as pretty there. Even so, I offered to Valkoris that his people could live in Northwind if necessary, until we are able to be rid of Soth.

While we were discussing this, Valkoris suddenly shifted form to look like me. Well, not identically, but the general form of the body was there, and his hair style was the same. (I guess I should say "her" now?) I was amazed, and he was pleased that he had finally achieved the form. He wasn't at all embarrassed that he was stark naked, but he did comment that he had not quite accomplished the same sort of "plumage" that I had. I cheerfully handed him my tunic, and he understood as he put it on. "Ah, this is the wearing of items you spoke of," he marveled.

We went to meet with Connor then, who had just gotten back from who knows where. Valkoris explained his plight, managing to copy the human male form from Connor while doing so. Connor asked him where his home was. "Let me guess," the ranger said. "The middle of the maze?"

"You know of the place?" Valkoris asked, and Connor replied that he had been there recently to kill the undead there. He also put forth the same offer that I had, for Valkoris's people to stay in Northwind if needed.

Connor was unable to stay long; once he had left, Valkoris asked if we could go to the Hedge Maze. I made another Gate there, explaining to him about Recall runes and magic as I went. We found many undead there, but luckily only low-level ones such as zombies, skeletons, and an occasional spectre. Valkoris and I dispatched them; Valkoris seems to be more powerful than the animals he mimics, although he thinks he does gain or lose strength depending on his form.

We stayed for a little while, but the undead kept reappearing almost as fast as we could fell them. Finally we gave up and returned to Northwind, realizing we were getting nowhere. No one but Soth will be able to live in the Hedge Maze until this is cleared up...

---

[05/03/2003]

Today, with Valkoris in mind, I went to the Hedge Maze and cleared out the undead again. It might not be permanent right now, but at least I could keep their numbers down. Amusingly, not more than five minutes after I had left and Recalled back to my house, Soth spoke up suddenly over the global telepathy, "Who was at my house?"

I couldn't resist. "I always have to clean up after you, Soth," I replied.

Soth growled at me in annoyance, then, to my surprise, told me to come back. I have to admit my curiosity was sparked, so I returned. I found him inside the main building, near the table. "Sit down," he offered with a wicked grin.

I eyed him, then chose the chair farthest from him. Soth sat down as well, and we had a rather interesting sort of conversation. In between the usual jabs that he always makes (I have to be honest here and say I was throwing them right back at him as well), he asked me if I had noticed the moons. They are out of whack, and the gate to Dawn doesn't open anymore. I had known this, thanks to Dupré, but I was surprised Soth was concerned with such things. As it turns out, I guess Soth used to obtain necromancy ingredients in Dawn, and between that and the elven wine, was probably the only reason why he cared.

I found it curious that when I mentioned the blight that had once been over the land, causing the trees and other plants to lose their leaves, Soth denied having anything to do with it. It seemed awfully darn coincidental that as soon as Soth was killed by the Guardian, the life came back to the land, but Soth was pretty adamant that he neither had that sort of power over nature, nor cared to.

Soth also mentioned that he had returned to the Yew Crypts to get his coffin. "And do you know what?" he asked. "Gargoyles and daemons were wandering around the crypts."

I blinked in surprise.

"Do you have any idea why?" he asked.

I had to shake my head, but my mind was already churning. "Daemons and...gargoyles?" The combination seemed odd to me. But then, I reminded myself, I was thinking of the gargoyles like what had been on the old Britannia. Here, they seemed to be mindless monsters. So it was possible, I suppose.

"There is no way the Black Gate can open now, right?" Soth asked me.

"You would know that better than me," I responded.

He looked at me. "Would I?"

I gave a sigh of impatience. "You were the one who knew how to open it. But yes, I assume without the stones, it can't be opened."

Soth shrugged. "I followed Blackthorn's instructions." Then he added thoughtfully, "You should try to find him."

I blinked. "Find Blackthorn?"

"That would be ideal. He had many answers."

Answers. I'm sure. Honestly I think Blackthorn was faking it half the time, and I didn't really relish the idea of having him back. "He's been banished forever," I pointed out, and didn't bother adding that since Lord British had overseen the banishment, I had no idea how to undo the deed, even if I had been willing to.

"I wish I could be banished," Soth grumbled, surprising me again.

"You've got to be kidding," was all I could gasp.

Soth didn't look like he was joking. "This place is terrible. Especially with Dawn closed."

I felt like falling face-first onto the table. Why hadn't he told us this a few weeks ago!? "You could have jumped through the Black Gate," I growled. "Or just come to us and let us banish you. We'd have been happy to I'm sure."

Soth didn't look like he'd gotten past the comment about the Black Gate. "Do you think I am that stupid?" he asked, but before I could answer, he was dismissing it. "Well, I have a plan anyway."

"A plan for what?" I queried.

"A plan to get me out of here."

"I've got to hear this," I chuckled.

Soth shrugged again. "If I can't find the Orb of Moons, I'll make one."

I started. "Make one? How do you figure doing that?" I tapped a finger on the table thoughtfully. "Besides, with the moons out of whack, who knows if it'd even work..."

"There is an ancient tome," Soth explained. "It details how to make one." He shrugged. "Navien is helping me." I'd figured as much. "And where the crap is Sygil?" he added suddenly. "So I can get rid of this stupid sword."

I wished he'd stop making me stare in surprise. "You want to get rid of it?"

He explained that the Black Sword was being pushy and obnoxious, and he wanted nothing to do with it. I considered pointing out that nothing else can be expected when you have a sword with a daemon in the hilt, but by then Soth was already going on and stating that Arcadion had asked for Sygil by name.

This surprised me too, and I began to realize that perhaps this sword was from Sygil's version of Britannia. I knew I would have to speak to him about this. If Sygil had forged this sword, and if he could get it from Soth...

The conversation was interrupted when Soth suddenly got a strange expression on his face, as if he was focusing his concentration elsewhere. Then, without explanation, he abruptly jumped up and raced out of the house. "Come out you fool!" he yelled as he looked around the grounds. "I know you are near!"

I had followed him out of the building. "Who is it, Soth?"

"That cloaked man," he replied distractedly, and my eyes grew wide.

"Here?" I gasped, but Soth was already moving off, searching around the building. I jumped on my ethereal horse and began crisscrossing the land. Finally I stumbled over the cloaked figure hidden in a small glen of trees not far from the house. "You!" I let out as the man fell back, his hand moving to make sure his hooded cloak was secure. "Who are you?"

The figure ran, and I chased him, catching up to him in time to hear him chanting "Kal Ort Por!"

"Wait!" I called, but too late. Before I could grab him, he'd vanished.

I let out an exasperated sigh. This hadn't been the first time I'd seen this same cloaked figure. In fact, I recall seeing him once outside the old Shadow Castle, a long time ago. Long before Blackthorn had been banished, in fact. I hadn't really thought anything of it then, just that it was odd that I'd caught a glimpse of man wearing a hooded robe who vanished a few seconds later and hadn't been seen for a long time since. However, in the past couple of days, I've seen him at least twice. Out of curiosity I've been chasing him every time I've seen him, although this was the closest I had come to him.

Soth came back around, still searching, and I told him the man had escaped.

"You saw him?" he asked, and I nodded, explaining that I had chased him down here and he'd Recalled away. As I did so, I was struck with a sudden ironic sensation of being out here sort-of working together with Soth. There is nothing like a common adversary between two hated enemies to make for strange situations.

"I knew it was him," Soth grumbled in irritation. "I could sense him."

Here, now, I realized I might finally get some answers. "Who is he?"

Soth looked at me. "Does it matter?"

I blinked, then felt myself growing suspicious. "Well, it'd help in figuring out what he was doing here," I pointed out. When Soth didn't reply right away, my eyes narrowed and I began to realize that maybe this was a question to which Soth already had the answer. "What was he doing here?" I asked slowly.

"He was watching us," Soth responded simply. I frowned, and when I asked why, he added, "He probably knows what I am doing."

"Why would that interest him?" I asked, beginning to feel frustrated in how difficult it is to drag answers of any substance out of Soth.

He refused to make it easier on me. "You know as much as I do," he said simply.

I sighed, heavily doubting that.

Soth commented thoughtfully, "I can sense him when he is near. His power is overwhelming. It's not like anyone else."

I considered that. "But someone of that power..." I shook my head. I can't sense it as well as Soth, but when I had been close to the cloaked man, I had picked up something. "And it felt like...evil power somehow. There was a lot of Dark in him."

Soth nodded. "A dark aura."

"Evil," I repeated, and shook my head. "That's why I want to find out who he is. Because we need to be able to stop him."

Soth looked at me again. "Do not face him," he warned. "Do not challenge him. He will easily kill you."

"He ran away from me," I pointed out.

"That is true, but only because he probably does not want to fight yet."

"Yet?"

Soth looked impatient. "He wants us alive, can't you tell?"

I studied him. "Soth, who is it? You sound like you know of him."

"I don't know, Kianne," he responded (have I mentioned that I hate hearing him say my name?). "But I know he is more powerful then anyone I have faced."

I felt a slow smirk creeping across my face. "Even the Guardian?" Despite the danger, I am still amused by the fact that Soth had been too scared to face the Guardian. I think it's because of his high-and-mighty attitude. For him to be scared of anyone strikes me as humorous. Realistically, it should probably frighten me, since anyone who scares Soth is probably quite powerful, but since I can't change that fact in any case, I suppose I may as well be amused by it.

"The Guardian is powerful," Soth agreed, "but this man is evil incarnate."

I shuddered. So is the Guardian. This isn't good.

"If he wanted us dead," Soth went on, "we would be dead." He shrugged. "Whoever it is should not be dealt with yet, until we find out more."

I didn't mention that I am planning to continue to chase the cloaked man every time I see him, despite Soth's warning. If he wants to kill me, he'll kill me--hardly an issue, since I've been killed by Soth many times as well. It's more important to me that I learn more about him. So in that aspect, I found I agreed with Soth.

Soth went on, "I can only say that the other day, I know he came when I created my first facet stone."

I was surprised again. "You've created a stone to Felucca?"

"After realizing that I can't find any more," Soth explained, "and reading some of Blackthorn's notes, I created one. And then he showed up." He gestured toward where the cloaked man had disappeared.

My mind was already past that. "Do you still have it?"

He shook his head. "I used it. I've been to Fel twice now." That's how he refers to Felucca. He shortens the name to "Fel."

I made an exasperated sound. "Soth, we need that stone! We have to check on Exodus, among other things."

He laughed at me. "You couldn't survive there. You're too weak."

I growled. So we were back on this again. "We'll go as a group. Together we are stronger."

"Did you ever think that is wrong?" he asked blithely. "With new adventurers who hardly know how to carry a sword, you only become weaker."

"Well, we are training them to make them stronger." I shrugged, then demanded pointedly, "Weren't you doing the same thing?" Soth has been seen with a new cadet or two, trying to find recruits for his "guild" no doubt, but I don't think he's actually taken on any members.

Soth suddenly looked thoughtful. "Training. Hmm..." I found myself growing uneasy. Soth turned and declared suddenly, "I will discuss it at our meeting."

I blinked. "Our meeting?"

"Yes, my meeting with the captains of RBW. Andrella, Connor, and others. Don't worry," he smirked. "Navien is taking care of gathering everyone." He paused again and then commented, "You would do good to help that lad. I almost have a soft spot for him except there is one problem..."

"You have no heart?" I tried.

"He is a wimp," Soth finished.

I let out an exasperated sigh. "Soth, nearly everyone is a wimp to you. I'm sick of hearing about it."

He shrugged. "I can't stop saying it. It's always true."

I finally lost my patience and exploded. "For crying out loud, Soth! What do you expect me to do, turn myself undead so I'll be powerful? Give me a break."

"No, no," Soth assured.

"Then stop harping on it," I growled.

He did, at least for the moment. Instead he smiled. "Anyway, you gave me a grand idea."

I rolled my eyes. "I hate to think what your ideas are."

"Well, it is obvious you can't do anything..."

"And you can?"

Soth chuckled darkly. "Oh I can..."

I sighed again. "Wonderful. Joy."

Soth turned. "Well, I need to get to work. I will be at the duel pits tonight. I need everyone there. We can start then."

Without waiting for a response, he walked back into his house.

I was half tempted to follow him and make a nuisance of myself, but finally I sighed and Recalled away.

Shortly after I returned to Northwind, I stumbled across Andrella. So I quickly took the opportunity to tell her about Valkoris, since I hadn't spoken to her since I'd met the lord of the beasts. I also mentioned my conversation with Soth, and told her about the brief encounter with the cloaked man.

Andrella hmmed. "He's been around a while too... You know," she commented, "I feel kind of silly saying this now, but I could have sworn the cloaked man was Blackthorn. I must not be right if he's still around."

I blinked in surprise. "Blackthorn? You thought he was Blackthorn?"

"Aye, for some strange reason I thought it was."

I thought over that slowly. "I hadn't considered that... But you know... Soth kept talking about him like he knew of him somehow. So it does make a certain amount of sense." I shook my head. Could Blackthorn be back in Britannia? I wouldn't put it past him--it was, after all, a possibility I had been concerned about. Still, something didn't match up. "But...Blackthorn wasn't that powerful...was he?"

"No, not that I know of," Andrella responded. "But at first I hadn't a clue that he was a pompous windbag, like I know now." She snickered.

"And he's not evil incarnate. Or at least I didn't think so. But..." I sighed and shook my head.

We talked a bit more, then we had to leave to meet for the event tonight. This night was the Duel Pits tournament. I think Andrella scheduled it as a way to both have fun as well as get in a little bit of combat practice. This time I didn't make any attempts to just be a bystander. That hadn't worked the first time, after all.

When we arrived at the Pits, Soth was there as promised. He started to jump in and take command, but we finally managed to whack that idea out of him--quite literally, since he finally gave up on it after Andrella killed him. Once some semblance of order had returned, Andrella explained the rules. The tournament would be done in elimination rounds. Soth immediately tried to pair himself up against Andrella, probably to get revenge, but she refused to allow it. She paired him with Avatar instead, paired Juno and Asandir, and that left me matched up with Andrella.

"I go first," Soth spoke up, moving toward Avatar, but again Andrella broke in.

"You go last," she snapped, and asked Asandir and Juno to go first. She paused to explain the rules ("Rule number one: Don't listen to Soth") and then the match was on. Juno won the battle, but Asandir took it in good spirits.

"I will kill Juno now," Soth offered, stepping forward. The rest of us immediately turned in unison and told him to knock it off.

So Soth shrugged and decided to analyze the fight instead. "You didn't use great skill. You only took advantage of his weakness," he scoffed at Juno. "You are a wimp."

We all snapped at Soth to shut up again.

It was Andrella and I next. She grinned and put away the katana of life drain that she'd gotten off that Order of Sin member so long ago. "Okay, I'll use a regular katana," she winked, pulling one out.

I grinned good naturedly and readied my bow. "I might live a few seconds longer," I giggled.

But to my surprise, the battle was much more even than I had anticipated. I had thought that I would need to keep my distance, but with just a normal katana, not magical in any way, Andrella was having difficulty doing damage, even with her great skill. And while I was doing a bit more damage because the only weapons I had on me were magical (I tried my bow for a bit, then switched to my orc viking sword, and finally my pretty silver katana which ironically had been a gift from Andrella), I couldn't do enough damage fast enough to outweigh Andrella's healing ability. We were at an impasse.

"Hmm, maybe I shouldn't have used a normal katana," Andrella commented as our swords and shields clanged and clashed, and we both giggled.

"Oh, go ahead and use the life drain," I invited.

"You know the better warriors when they've time to talk in combat," Asandir laughed.

"Do not overestimate them," Soth commented dryly. "They are just messing around."

"You mean 'under,' right Soth?" I prompted.

He didn't respond to that. "Fight!" Soth called to us instead. "No mercy!!"

"Shut up, Soth," Andrella responded.

"No more talking! Fight!!" he urged. "I want to see blood!"

"Go away, Soth," I snapped.

Andrella snickered, then asked me if I was wearing invincible armor. "I didn't think I was!" I laughed.

She finally pulled out her katana of life drain, and I have to admit I've never been on the receiving end of it. The first blow made me stagger, and at the same time, Andrella's few wounds sealed up instantly as the blade transferred healing energy back to her. I instinctively scrambled back, grabbing my bow and firing at her from a distance, trying to keep away from that blade. "Ow, that hurts!" I giggled.

For a few more moments we moved and danced around the arena space, battling. I was hitting Andrella a bit harder with my bow, aiming more carefully to compensate for the drastically increased damage she was doing with her katana. We were again at a stalemate, but in the opposite direction: now both of us were equally hurting.

"Oops, out of bandages," she giggled suddenly. I fired another shot. Maybe this was my chance.

But she managed to get in one last blow with her katana, and I hadn't had time to fully heal from the previous ones. The world went black, and then I was being restored by the Duel Pit's mystical aura.

"Phew," I said, and grinned. The others cheered.

"Sorry, Ki," Andrella apologized, but I waved her away.

"Stunning," Soth commented dryly. "Kianne was taking it easy. She doesn't have the heart to fight."

"Right," I responded without looking at him. "You don't even have a heart, Soth, so what do you know?"

Soth ignored me and continued analyzing the fight. "Andrella has the heart of a lion. She eats people with no courage."

"Soth, you bore me. Shut up," Andrella said for probably the tenth time that day. "Avatar, you're up."

"Back away," Soth declared. "Let me show you a real fight."

But then he immediately said to wait, that he wasn't ready. After very slowly drinking some elven wine and getting out his spell book, the battle finally started. It was like a spark in a forest. Soth put up a couple of Fire Fields and at least four Paralyze Fields, trapping Avatar within. I decided to do my own fight analysis.

"I see. Soth paralyzes his pray so that he can't hit back."

All of the rest of us had to back away or risk losing our eyebrows to the fire being flung around. Even so, one of Soth's Energy Bolts went off course and hit Andrella.

"Oops," he said.

"'Oops'!?" she repeated. "Hit me again and it's over, punk."

The battle went on; to be honest, I'm not sure how exactly Avatar survived all of the opening fireworks. But he did, and at one point, Soth actually had the audacity to say "wait" again. And then the next thing I know, he's pulling out his nightmare, Baltzeth. He must have been keeping the mount as a statue in his pack. The horse immediately joined the fray, and the chaos continued. What was especially low was that Soth had been the one who had insisted that no one use any mounts during the tournament.

"Oh, so everyone had to get off their horses because it was cheating?" I prompted from where I was watching.

"Soth, you're such a wimp!" Andrella agreed. "Cheater!"

"He's not a wimp, he's lame," I commented.

Avatar went down shortly thereafter. Once he was back on his feet, Andrella announced that Soth had been disqualified. When he asked why, she said it was because he cheated, and he'd attacked other people as well, when she'd specifically said the battles were one-on-one.

"Okay, one on one then!" he retorted, and cast a Flame Strike at Andrella.

He must have forgotten the power of her katana though; I didn't even have to help her, because she took Soth down by herself. I cheered for Andrella, then grinned. "Okay. Next?"

"Okay, fine," Soth growled.

"Hmm," Andrella pondered. "I guess me and Juno? Or does Avatar get another shot?"

"Me and Kianne," Soth volunteered.

"Shut up, Soth," Andrella said for the eleventh or twelfth time (I've lost count). "You lost. And you're out."

"This is outrageous," Soth complained. "Do I at least get a prize?"

"For what? Cheating?" I asked him with a smirk.

"You should fight your best, no matter about honor."

"I fight my best with my honor," I countered. "So there."

"I see that," Soth agreed dryly. "You lost, Kianne."

I just shrugged. "Aye. Andrella is strong. And I'm a wimp right? It's what you keep saying."

"Shut up," Soth grumbled, which was a reversal. Hearing him saying it to us instead of the other way around was rather amusing all in itself.

Avatar spoke up then. "I say we re-duel."

Soth looked at him. "You dare?"

"Since it was unfair to use mounts..." Avatar shrugged. "I'm willing to look past it. So I say we do over."

Soth pulled out his spell book. "Let's go. I will give you one strike."

Avatar cast Paralyze, then followed it up with a Flame Strike, and Soth went down like cordwood...leaving the rest of us goggling in surprise at how quickly the fight had ended.

Everyone cheered Avatar as Soth stood up again. "Nice strike," I joined in, and smirked.

Soth glared vengefully at us.

We moved back into the main arena, still poking fun at Soth, and making him glower some more. "Okay, Juno and Avatar," Andrella announced. "Winner goes against me."

When the battle started, Avatar used another Paralyze/Flame Strike combo. But Juno survived this, albeit just barely. The battle ended fairly quickly nevertheless, but I couldn't resist commenting, "Ooo, Juno survived what killed Soth."

Andrella laughed. "Good point, Ki!" she winked, and even Juno grinned at it.

Soth glared even more.

We ignored him and went on with the tournament. It was Avatar against Andrella, and though he tried his same trick on her as well, she was an experienced warrior and broke the paralyze almost before he could even get the Flame Strike off. She and her katana reached him quickly, interrupting his second Flame Strike and buying her more time to heal. Avatar tried to resort to Lightning spells, but Andrella had too much of a foothold, and the battle was over a few seconds later.

We cheered Andrella's victory, and she chuckled. "I thought you had me."

It was very even, we agreed. It could have gone either way. But Andrella had won fair and square, and no one complained. We were all in high spirits, except for Soth, who was still glaring and grumbling.

"Now it's to the pond with some good food and fireworks!" Andrella spoke up, and we all cheered again.

Soth went with us to the pond, which surprised me a little. He reached the pond first and went into the fenced enclosure, closing and latching the gate behind him even though we were only a few steps behind.

"Nice manners," Avatar commented to me as if Soth couldn't hear him.

"Aye," I responded in the same way. "Maybe somebody will push him into the pond. It'd be funny."

Soth just as casually cast a summoning spell, and suddenly I was face-to-face with an Apparition.

"Ack!" I gasped and pulled out my bow. Avatar joined in, and when the others arrived, they all helped take it down. Soth, of course, just stood there watching. And when we'd bested the creature, he even had the audacity to analyze the battle again.

"Good going," he commented. "Nice reflexes. That was a test," he explained when I shot him a look.

"Uh huh," I responded.

"Here, let me test my Flame Strike out again," Avatar offered. Andrella snickered. Meanwhile I was examining the loot on the corpse.

"A thousand gold. Not bad for a summon."

Soth stepped forward. "That's mine."

"No way," I retorted. "We killed it."

Juno set up the food on the picnic tables beside the pond, and Andrella passed out fireworks wands to everyone but Soth, who rather surprised me by saying he wanted one. We ate and drank and had a good time with the fireworks wands, and then Andrella gave out the prizes. I didn't ask what the others received, but I was given a gem of entrapment, like what had been used on Lilith. I carefully wrapped it up and tucked it away in my pack.

"I know who I want to use this on," I snickered.

"What is it?" Soth asked me.

"It's a gem of entrapment, Soth." I gave him a wicked grin. "You said you wanted to be banished, right?"

He looked at me as if he was just daring me to try it. "That won't work."

I knew better than to try, but it was a funny thought none the less.

Sygil arrived while we were chatting, and Soth stood in the way of the gate opening even when it was patently clear that Sygil wanted to come through...and then played innocent when we all complained at him. A few minutes later, I noticed Valkoris approaching, so I left the pond enclosure to meet him, and greeted him warmly.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Soth coming up from behind me. Uh oh, I thought. This was going to be explosive.

And it was. Valkoris shouted "Evil one!" and turned himself into the form of a dragon. Everyone scrambled back as Soth eyed the dragon before him.

"What is this?" he snapped, and the two exchanged a rather fiery confrontation. Valkoris growled at Soth for corrupting the land, and Soth suddenly commented, "I know you. You're the one who sent those dragons to my house. Well, I killed them."

"Tis sad. I'd hoped they'd make a meal of you," Valkoris returned, and breathed some fire in Soth's direction. We all backed away further. "Begone, you wretched being."

Soth didn't look particularly concerned, but maybe it was a front. I'd imagine it's hard to not be a little concerned when there is dragon flame licking at your boots. "I will," he agreed. "But you had better watch your back. I am going to kill everything I see."

And then he left.

We spoke more with Valkoris, but when Soth asked (or rather, demanded) Sygil come to his house (alone), I excused myself from Valkoris and the others, and took Sygil away in private. Once we were alone, I explained to him about the Black Sword.

As it turns out, Sygil never forged the Black Sword on his world (which leaves me to wonder how this one got forged, and why it knew to ask for Sygil by name), but he agreed to try to get it from Soth if he could.

I wish I'd told him to stay away from it.

As it turns out, the Black Sword is much different on this world than I could have ever anticipated. (It makes me wonder what good knowledge of other realms does me if it's always wrong...) The Black Sword that I forged was harmless by itself, and its Arcadion was more annoying than dangerous because his confinement prevented him from doing anything untoward. This world's Arcadion... Well, I'm getting ahead of myself.

The rest of us spoke with Valkoris while Sygil was gone, and I took him to see the nature trails. This morning when I'd gotten up, I'd noticed that the trees in Northwind had finally regained their leaves. And now birds and other wildlife were slowly starting to make homes here.

During this time, I had a sudden inspiration and asked Valkoris if he was capable of speaking with Wisps. He said that he was, in most cases. Some of the Wisps are just drones, he explained, like sensory agents without communication channels, and so they never speak. Still, I asked him if he would try to act as a mediator for us, and help us communicate with the Wisps. He agreed to do so, which will be good, because I never did manage to duplicate that whistle.

Valkoris finally asked if we could gate to Soth's house again. He wanted to see if his newly acquired dragon form would be capable of taking out the undead creatures there by himself. Since I have a rune to the Hedge Maze already, I Gated there, and we went through.

Soth and Sygil were with a black mage named Gilitia in the underground rooms that Navien had gotten into earlier. The entrance door was unlocked this time, so we were able to enter without magic. I overheard Soth commenting "Don't show them this place" and was a little smug when we walked right in.

Once inside, Valkoris turned into a dragon again, and Soth Recalled away. We went outside a bit to fight some of the undead, but Sygil announced that he had...news.

Soth had given him the Black Sword, as he'd said he'd wanted to do. But what he'd failed to mention beforehand were the consequences. Sygil explained to us that it would not allow itself to be dropped, and it had an evil aura that seemed to be rubbing off on Sygil the longer he carried it. He said he'd tried to put it down, and it had simply sprung back into his hand. I shook my head as I listened. "The Black Sword isn't supposed to do that!" I protested in distress.

So now Sygil is strapped with a truly evil blade that is corrupting him by sheer association. He says he will stand strong, but I don't know how long it will last. We are going to have to find a way to destroy the Black Sword, and get it out of danger for good. Curse Soth, he knew this was going to happen...

When I was alone with Sygil in his house, I called to Arcadion and tried to speak with him. But he didn't respond. Apparently, the daemon in this sword does not talk, or at least not to us. He makes ominous wordless sounds from time to time, but has never spoken a word that we have heard. I don't know if Soth alone was able to speak with him, or if Soth was just making it all up as an excuse to give the sword--and its curse--to Sygil. Not that Soth would have to worry about an evil aura, so I'm still not entirely sure why he wanted to give the sword up. Perhaps it was more of an issue of harming us, than directly helping himself.

We did have the meeting with Soth later that night. He told us about the facet moonstones, which Navien had already explained to us, and also mentioned again that Minax rules Felucca. And she's trying to restore Exodus. Joy. Not only that, but he claims that Minax has access to Trammel facet stones, which would allow her to send evil beings here, to our plane.

Luckily--or, perhaps, unluckily--Soth seems fine with the idea of helping us get to Felucca to stop Minax. Apparently, he is convinced she has an Orb of the Moons, so he wants to get it from her. So, we're back to gathering those necromancy reagents, to get to Felucca. Whether Minax has the Orb of the Moons or not, we have to put a stop to Exodus before it's activated.

Also, Soth told us about the "idea" he'd had earlier. Turns out, he's decided he can "help" us by summoning a bunch of undead for us to fight, as practice. I think I reminded him that we've been doing this since Blackthorn brought Soth to Britannia, but Soth seemed convinced his idea was a good one. Andrella agreed to such training sessions as long as she was able to establish certain rules for them. We haven't set a date for such an exercise yet though....

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¹ In Lor is the magical incantation for the spell Light, which allows one to see in darkness as if it were daylight.

² Emps are small creatures in Ultima 7, which are capable of speaking to Wisps. Trellek was an Emp.

³ The Orb of the Moons is introduced in Ultima 6 and is the Avatar's main method of transportation. It creates red moongates to select destinations. Lord British has one as well, and rumor has it that it is how he travels from Earth to Britannia and back, as like the Avatar he is originally from Earth.

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