Twilight's Children

Session 7, 1/2/04-1/4/04

Meanwhile, Elsewhere and Elsewhen...
Nova Vaasa, BC 730, Vir Stannum sits in a jail cell reading Gustav's journal. A guard comes in to bring him food and says that many people try to sneak out but Vir's the "only one who's been able to 'slip in'". He slides a plate through the door for Vir, who ignores it. The guard reaches in to take the plate away and the scraping of the plate on the floor seems to remind Vir of something. With unimaginable speed, he jumps up and grabs the guard's arm, pulling it into the cell with a sickening crunch as the guard slams into the door of the cell. With a flick of his wrist, Vir has a dagger in his hand, which he uses to start carving the wooden plate... "It won't be long now," he mutters.

Sunday, June 4th, BC 707
Harmonia, Kartakass
Samuel takes off without even saying goodbye. He proceeds north from town over the toll drawbridge. (And pays his two gold, one for passage and one for not knowing the oath of Harmonia). After a bit, he comes across a wagon blocking the road. Trying to go around it, he is hailed by a voice and stops to talk to Madame Eva. Eva tells Samuel that the Wizard King Azalin Rex is present here, looking to pick up a 'trinket' that's going to be 'unearthed' soon. After some additional impolite exchanges (including Samuel calling Eva an old hag), Samuel turns around and heads back to town. He has to pay another two gold to get over the bridge.

The others talk with the innkeeper, who brings them boiled beets. They find that they've woken up in the "Longhorn Inn." They ask him if he saw them last night. Apparently, they came in last night, asked for three rooms and paid. They remember none of this.

Leif starts writing a letter to his mother, not knowing yet how this letter will get to its intended destination:

"Dear Sharon, I know this will be hard to understand and accept. Actually, I just need you to accept and not necessarily understand because I'm not quite sure if I understand myself. This is your future son, Leif. Leif Shadowlands, son of Conrad and Sharon, my dearest mother. I told you this would be hard to understand. I hope that maybe some things that I found to be only between us, dearest mama, will help you to accept. .... [He tells her what he knows about Belenus, Barovia, Connor, the healing chalice, the stone that takes away pain, etc, hoping to convince her to listen. He tells her she should eat lots of vegetables and rest while pregnant, ... To be careful a certain times etc etc.]" He seals it with the very edge of the Belenus pin.

Kerri asks the innkeeper about messengers. He says they might find someone in Skald, a large town to the north, along The Road to Harmony (the opposite direction of Sithicus). She also asks about banks, at Duffy's request, and while there is nothing to compare to his native Borca, there might be something in the wealthy neighborhood, located on the South Hill of Harmonia. They head back to the mapmaker to buy a map of Skald he was working on, but he's not close to done. Sometime around here, Ludovic thinks the word "rope" for no apparent reason.

Back at the side of inn, where Duffy was saddling up the horses, the party decides to leave for Skald, rather than exploring South Hill, where Duffy wants to go, hoping to find a bank to deposit some money for his future self. But Samuel shows up, ignoring Leif, and takes Kerri off to the side to discuss something. In private, he tells her that the reason they've been brought back in time is to find and kill Azalin Rex, a powerful wizard. He says he's trusting her because he needs help getting information (something he can't really do on his own) and since Dr. Van Richten trusts her, he guesses he will too. He tells her not to tell anyone else, and that she shouldn't disappoint the doctor by showing his trust was misplaced. As the two start to come back to the group, the group overhears, "but it will be hard." Kerri comes back sounding a little distracted and rushed.

Taige wants to go to Invidia to warn Bakholis of the Witch of Loupet. Kerri goes back to the inn to ask where one might find magicians or illusionists but the innkeeper warns her not to hang out with that sort. Because they speak in Vaasi, which the rest of the group doesn't know, the group also doesn't know yet that she's looking for King Azalin Rex. However, the ghost of Taige does speak Vaasi and when he hears Kerri ask about Azalin, Taige exclaims, "What is she doing? She's going to get us killed!" The innkeeper says that if she's looking for people of note, they might stay South Hill or the Meistersinger's Mansion, if they are truly important.

Samuel orders two bottles of Meeklebrau. Duffy overhears the prices and decides to make some money by burying some bottles and letting them age. Ludovic follows suit. After some thought, Leif caves in and buys some too, just in case his letter doesn't get delivered and he still needs the money to go to Nidala. Kerri takes the group through town, still trying to find out about Azalin for Samuel without alerting the rest of the group. Near the town's large amphitheatre, Ludovic hears a beautiful voice, but ignores it.

In an alleyway, Leif confronts Kerri and Samuel, trying to understand why they need to be in Harmonia. He wants to get to the messenger service in Skald as soon as possible, fearing that their time in the past would soon vanish. Samuel says they have to find and kill Azalin Rex. An argument ensues. Samuel threatens Ludovic for doubting that this is their purpose here. Leif and Samuel argue, and Samuel takes his glove off to touch Leif's face. Leif doesn't react to his strangely cold flesh, which Samuel secretly notes with surprise. Aggravated at Samuel, who isn't really giving Leif a good reason, Leif finally yells, "I need a reason to be here!" Samuel seems about to say something, but at that very moment, they see a lady in a hood hustling by and a man chasing after, saying "you have defied me for the last time, Akriel!"

Leif forgets what he was saying to Samuel and runs immediately to the lady's aid. Two pony-sized wolves seem to be protecting the man, who is whipping the lady. Leif tries to raise his staff in front of the man to prevent him from raising his arm again but gets bit by one of the pony-sized wolves, which pulls him to the ground. The man with the whip walks over Leif, and as he does, Leif hits him in the nuts as hard as he can. But it doesn't seem to bother the guy with the whip.

The group draws their weapons and the fight with the huge wolves begins. Leif tries to mount one ponywolf to whack it from behind but fails to mount him properly, and embarrasses himself a bit in front of Kerri and the mystery lady. Duffy and Ludovic head after the mystery man, but he eludes them. Leif manages to calm one wolf a bit, but Samuel continues to attack it until Leif yells to him to stop. Leif talks to the ponywolf and it says that "master" (the guy with the whip), said to kill the group. Unable to convince the wolf to disobey orders, the group ends up killing both ponywolves.

They approach the lady on the ground and she exclaims, "I'll be your wife, ok, don't hurt me!" They calm her down and talk to her, finding that the man with the whip, named Jacob, was a wandering bard, with a violent temper. He wanders the nearby woods, according to Akriel. Kerri asks Akriel about a statue near the amphitheatre and she says it is "The Bard," apparently a local folk hero.

They go back to the inn to talk, at about 12:37 in the afternoon, and Akriel shares her story. Out of fear, she promised to marry Jacob the woodsman/bard, but loves another, Dr. Heinrich Dominiani, who lives in Gundarak and cures people's mental ills. Jacob knows about Heinrich and she was beaten by Jacob for meeting one of Heinrich's servants. Akriel's father is a wealthy dealer in real estate and politics and likes Jacob better. Heinrich asked for a labor to prove himself, and her father said to find something by midsummer's night (August 5th) worth more than the power and wealth of a marriage to Jacob and he will let Akriel go to Heinrich. Akriel saw a vision in a dream that gave her an idea. Perhaps "The Crown of Soldiers", a family heirloom, powerful with sorcery, will do. Hearing this, Samuel immediately says, "We'll help you," a move that seems very unusual for him and surprises nearly everyone.

The crown belonged to Akriel's ancestor Kieran, a soldier and hero, from 100 years ago, who lost the crown in a hall of the undead. Akriel thinks she's cursed because when she tries to visit Heinrich, she falls asleep in the middle of the road with heavy sleep and wakes at home. She tells the party to meet her at a disrespectable inn in Skald where her father won't expect her, "The Old Kartakan Inn."

So the decision is made, and the group is going to Skald! Ludovic and Taige notice a catapult on top of cliff near town. Taige is impressed with the foresight of its builders, because it can be turned to fire on the town. Kerri treats Samuel for his wounds. She feels his cold flesh and gets creeped out. Samuel explains what happened to him, but tells Kerri not to tell the others about it. They pay their tolls, crossing the drawbridge. Samuel has to pay an extra platinum for using the bridge three times in the same day. Duffy stays back to learn the Harmonian oath to get 1gp discount on the toll, and catches up with the group soon after. Night falls, as the group travels through The Redwood Forest. Leif hunts for rabbit for dinner, and they camp for the night. Ludovic thinks the word "wood" for some reason.

Monday, June 5th, BC 707
Road to Harmony, Kartakass
Morning breaks, and they ride off. At noon, they pass a small building, "The Halfway House." Kerri and Samuel walk in, and see a bard inside, singing about a sorcerer and a lost artifact. They learn that Akriel spent a few days there several days ago. Ludovic and Taige see various animals (such as rabbits and deer) that no one else is able to see. Ludovic tries unsuccessfully to catch one. Night falls and the group sleeps, taking turns to watch.

Tuesday, June 6th, BC 707
Skald, Kartakass
At midmorning, the group reaches the outskirts of Skald. Several beggars reach their hands out, and some of the group members give them money, while others push through the throng. They are warned by the Skald guards against causing trouble in town, lest they be fined. They learn of a messenger service in upper Skald.

On their way there, they pass a small temple with the symbol of a lute. A priest of Ezra is yelling out that the end is near, that the Great Upheaval is nigh. The priest, Warden Petru, speaks Balok and has had little effect on the Vaasi-speaking, Ancestral Choir-worshipping Kartakans, but takes some time to talk and preach to the party. Leif and Duffy know that this Great Upheaval occured near the time of their births, and Borca and Barovia's neighbor to north, G'henna, disappeared and is now the Shadow Rift. Leif recognizes the anchorite as a younger version of Toret Petru from his hometown. Leif asks of him the great favor to deliver a message to someone he doesn't know yet. Handing him the letter to his mother, Leif also donates 50 gp to his cause.

Ludovic sees a cat that no one else sees, rubbing against his legs. He picks it up, provoking odd looks until it scampers away. At the post, Duffy considers sending some money to a bank in Borca, but balks at the steep price. Leif a sends backup message to his mother, care of the captain of the guard in Port-a-Lucine. With their urgent business done, the group goes to the "Old Kartakan Inn" to meet Akriel. It is a beautiful sight at the base of two twin waterfalls. They arrange rooms for two nights, from the old clerk. Coral, a nice lady who is the group's server, gives them dinner. Kukri gets chicken since Leif learned that Kukri's favorite food is those "things with feathers (that are hard to catch)".

In the early evening, they go to the nearby clocktower with Duffy but the tours are over for day. The group plans to come back for the tour in the morning, and goes to sleep at the inn.

Wednesday, June 7th, BC 707
Skald, Kartakass
While Duffy is at the clocktower, the others walk around town. Samuel drinks some Meeklebrau and when Kerri looks at him it looks like he has blood on his face. As he wipes it off, Ludovic notices that his skin where he's wiped is a pale blue color. Ludovic buys some rope and a wooden spoon, thinking that his strange unbidden thoughts might be a sign of something he needs. At the clocktower, Duffy is told that the clocktower is broken, and that the clockmaker Monzone, who built it, lives in town. On the hatch of the clockworks, he notices the distinctive mark of Gustav Malvoni!

Duffy catches up with the rest of group in town and takes them to visit "Monzone." They find Monzone's shop with the familiar symbol of Gustav on the sign. A man with a bushy mustache (in his 60's) stands behind the counter, a younger Gustav! At first he is friendly, and Duffy chats with him, trying to bring the conversation to guns, but Gustav continues to claim he is only a clockmaker. When Duffy mentions The Engineer, Gustav becomes hostile. He shouts, "You're with Talos, aren't you?" pulling a gun out. When the group denies it, he calls them liars, just like Talos, who "took all my tales and turned them into lies." After some further attempts to calm him, he points the pistol at his own head and admits that he did "figure it out" but that "it" is only in his head, so they should back off before he takes his secret to the grave. When Duffy tries to cross the counter to save him, he fires upward and the shop fills with smoke. When it clears, he's gone. They hop the counter and search, finding a book titled "Talos" on the bookcase, which, when pulled, reveals a secret stairway behind the bookshelf. The group heads down after Gustav, but a trap on the last stair brings down the tunnel, filling it with rocks. Outside, they find a small shed that once held the rocks. With a bit of digging, they slip through into the tunnel. But the tunnel ends at the river, where Leif finds the fresh impression of a canoe in the dirt. Realizing Gustav is beyond reach, they return to search the store, finding some engineering books, and a strange wooden ball with letters carved in it.

They arrive back at inn, just in time for dinner, as darkness falls. Two tables over, they notice the bard from The Halfway House sitting and talking in Vaasi. When he crosses his legs, Leif glimpses Kerri's whip on his belt, under his long coat. The group talks to him, finding that he is Andres Duvall, of Darkon. He got his whip from the elves of Darkon. After a bit of talking, he pricks a finger on the whip and licks it, saying "to drink is to know." A man in a black cloak abruptly pushes by from another table and hustles Andres into a curtained alcove, saying "Fool, come with me." The man looks Darkonian, his black hair is slicked back. Behind curtains, they overhear that the Darkonian's name is probably Valric and Duvall says something about an "immortal." Valric says, "this is what you are looking for" and emerges from the curtains. As he leaves the inn, Ludovic sees that he is glowing with magic. Samuel follows, and Duffy and Ludovic follow Samuel. Losing sight of him in the woods, they see his human tracks end in wolf tracks. Then deeper in the woods, the wolf tracks end abruptly, and Ludovic sees a magical glow off on the horizon. Duffy tells the enraged Samuel that, "Wise men choose their battles, as do we." Kerri explains to Leif that her whip was left to her by her father, and that Andres's whip has an identical scratch on the handle. But her father's name was Albert. By now Andres has returned to his table and is reading a small piece of paper which he stows in a pocket. Kerri does a little dance in the dining room, to fascinate Andres Duvall long enough to get the paper from him. She hands it to the equally fascinated Leif, who reads it and gives it back to her at the next free moment. Kerri returns the note to Andres's pocket. Afterwards, Andres Duvall leaves, saying that he will return since he's staying at this inn. (This is later known to be a lie!)

The rest of the party returns and Leif repeats the contents of the note: "In the house of Daegon, the sorcerer born, through life, unlife, unliving shall scorn."

Thursday, June 8th, BC 707
Skald, Kartakass
At midnight, as most of the party is about to be in a deep sleep, Samuel, sitting up in the common room as has been his habit, sees a lady with brown curly hair try to open Duffy's door. He confronts her, and she apparently had the wrong door and goes into her room next door.

Leif hears breathing under his bed.

He leaps out of bed, grabbing his staff, and looks under the bed, ready to attack, but sees nothing. Hearing the commotion, Samuel arrives and they wake the rest of the group, as a wolfman-like creature leaps from Kerri's wardrobe. They fight off the beast as it mysteriously sneaks from room to room as if by magic. Samuel finds the secret passage it used and smashes into it, dropping downstairs into a bloodsoaked secret room. Kerri, weaponless, grabs an iron poker from the cold fireplace which seems to burn the creature as if it were red-hot. Once the thing is dead, Duffy decapitates it to be sure and pulls a tooth for his collection. Downstairs, Samuel finds another killing room, and pulls a lever, which activates a trapdoor in the ceiling, and a bed pivots upside down, dropping a very frightened young lady with brown curly hair into his arms.

Outraged, the party finds the old innkeeper, who says in hushed tones, "Narrulve" when they show him the head of the werewolf thing. He claims to know nothing of the secret passages, and that the inn's owner, Mr. Lukas, will have to be questioned when he returns. Checking on the other guests, suspicions are raised when Andres Duvall is not in inn at this time. When asked what a Narrulve is, he tells a story that all children in Kartakass know: " Grandfather Wolf told the forest to show him where Grandfather Boar was. Forest parted to show Wolf the Boar. Wolf saw some lambs and forgot about Boar. He ate all the lambs and sheep. Arrows stung him ("iron teeth through the air") and he saw mankind. After healing himself, Wolf disguised himself as a sheep and tricked man but not for long because man knew not to expect violence from sheep. So he followed one man, killed him, and peeled the man's skin off and disguised himself as man. Now he could kill other sheep and men as he pleased because men know to expect violence from other men."

Ludovic uses his magic to talk to the dead wolfwere thing. He asks, "Who sent you?" which is answered, "On behalf of no one. I came here for meat." Seeing nothing more trustworthy to be learned, they go back to bed at nearly four in the morning.

Awaking in the late morning, they head downstairs for breakfast. An old man says "your pretty is at the bar" and drops a pewter wolf key on their table. In the curtained area of the bar, they find a keyhole, which the key fits. It leads to small 5 X 10 room, with only another keyhole. The key fits again, and leads to Akriel in a small room.

She has found the location of Kieran's last stand in her father's library. It is to the southeast, east of Harmonia, near the Bluetspur wastes. In a cave. When asked, she recognizes the name Daegon as the one who made the crown or wore it early on. Samuel suspects Valric might want it for Azalin Rex. Akriel asks that if they find the crown, to get it to Heinrich. They will find him by taking the Gundar road to a fork in the road. The lesser road leads to the forest valley where Dr. Dominiani's keep is. They ask for her father's name and she tells them he is known as Harkon of the woods. It will take two days on the road and then three days in the wilderness to reach the x on the map. After breakfast, they leave at noon.

Friday, June 9th - Monday, June 12th, BC 707
The Rood to Harmony and the Wilds of Kartakass
The trip to the cave is mostly uneventful, except that every three days or so, Duffy wakes up feeling slightly weak. Kukri learns to defend a person on command. The travelers notice that their wounds from the wolf creature healed much faster than normal (about three times as fast).

One of these days Samuel gets a bit tipsy on Meeklebrau and tries to approach Kukri, who freaks out. Samuel mutters "stupid mutt", which Leif hears and gets angry about. Swinging his staff quickly with the end an inch away from Samuel's face, he growls, "Don't ever say that again."

Along the way, the group finds out that "King Azalin Rex" is really "The Wizard King Azalin Rex," and become quite irate about Samuel leaving out the wizard part. Taige worries that saying his name out loud would draw his attention, so Samuel repeats the name several times a minute for several minutes hoping it would help them find him.

On the night of the 12th, Samuel notices a rustling by Duffy's belongings, but they find nothing there.

Tuesday, June 13th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
Duffy wakes up weak again, on the day the party arrives within range of the "x" on the map. The land is getting rocky, cracked, and desolate. There are few shrubs, and the land is barren, with no signs of life. As they approach, they hear a strange drumming sound in the distance.

They find an alcove in the cliff face, and notice manacled bodies on posts at the top of the ridgeline. Inside the alcove, they are attacked by a gruesome tree covered in human heads. The heads prove to be easily killed, but during the battle, Samuel and Leif got spit at and bit. Samuel discovers seven places where there is some sort of seed in his wounds from the tree. Kerri digs out six of them for him, but cannot free the final one. Leif got hit with one seed in the shoulder, but shrugs it off. When Kerri insists on taking a look at Leif's shoulder, he flexes his muscles before taking off his shirt to show her.

When further exploring the surroundings, the party is attacked by a skeleton riding a huge skeletal lizard and four hideous creatures that attempt to eat their faces. Having charged up the hill to kill the skeleton, Samuel leaps off the 40 foot cliff to help kill the face-eaters. Leif gets bit in face, leaving what might be a cool looking scar.

While Duffy and Ludovic chop down the remains of the tree to stop the awful drumming sound coming from within, Leif and Samuel scout ahead. They find a long hall-like area in the alcove, covered with assorted bones, which ends in a cul-de-sac containing a staked down human skeleton and two caves. In frustration, Samuel kicks the head off the skeleton, and when Leif picks up it up, his hands ache with a strange and sudden pain. Samuel later smashes the skull when Leif isn't looking.

Ludovic buries the manacled bodies as night falls earlier than expected. They camp in the alcove and during Ludovic's watch, Taige unsuccessfully tries to get him to leave. Samuel goes off on his own to slay more skeletons all night long. The chalice is passed around as the group prepares to enter the caves in the morning.

Wednesday, June 14th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
Around dawn, Samuel returns a bit bruised. He is hesitant at first but eventually drinks from the chalice. Heading toward the caves, Kukri doesn't like the smell. Leif doesn't want to make Kukri uncomfortable and tells him to defend the horses. The group takes the right cave entrance first.

Inside, they find a defiled symbol of Belenus, painted like a skull in blood. There is also an inscription of Draconic runes, which Ludovic translates. They tell the tale of a woman promised beauty and immortality by the Mists, and given a crown to seal the bargain.

Further inside, in an area covered in black mist, white misty hands take the magic Kukri, Kerri's Mournesworth dagger and Samuel's staff. Samuel reluctantly starts using a dagger in one hand and a fire poker (which the group still has from the inn) in the other.

In a large cavern, there are two 10-foot flaming skeletal things and one huge one across a bone bridge in the center of a chasm of green mist. Determined to find the crown, the party charges in to fight the two fiery skeletal guards. One guard is thrown into the green mist, but no one ever hears a thunk at the bottom. The other throws his fireball and almost wipes Leif, Kerri, and Ludovic out. Leif and Ludovic walk away lucky and are only scorched just a little. Kerri is heavily burned.

Kerri falls as the fire engulfs her. In what seems like slow motion, Leif shouts "Nooooo!" and runs toward the fallen Kerri. Along the way, a tear falls but quickly evaporates from the recent heat. Leif finds her not breathing and looks desperately for the bottle that helped Nikko. If anyone had tried to stop Leif at that moment from giving her the quintessence, as Samuel prepared to do, Leif would have fought him. But he finds that the vial had cracked under her in the fall and is seeping into her clothes. Suddenly, a breath fills her chest.

Samuel takes off his glove and touches Kerri's face, checking for the cold of undeath, but she feels alive and well, for now, although she is horribly scarred. Leif disguises a hug with the appearance of solely picking her up to rest against the wall.

After a little rest, the group trudges on to the big center skeleton. Kerri carefully stays in the back, and Samuel takes her poker (so now he has one in each hand). They go up the huge spiral bone stairs in the skeleton's chest. In the skeleton's head, they find, behind a curtain, a lady named Radaga tied to skeletal chair. She claims that a witch put her there, and begs them to free her.

Leif pokes at the "window" formed by the glowing left eye of the big skull. When the group seems unsure whether to free Radaga, she rises up, encased in the skeleton chair like armor and chants, "Look upon me, and fear my gaze!" The group feels an air of oppression fill the skull room, but it disappears when Ludovic dispells the magic curse. Leif says, "Look upon me and fear my staff" and gives her a blow to the skeletal armor. Duffy and Samuel help him smash the skeletal armor, while the battered Kerri finds safety behind a table and sings a song of inspiration.

Radaga tries to chant again and says to the broken skeleton, "Foolish creature, rise and fight." Leif, readying his staff, says "Foolish creature, go back to where you fell and stay fallen!" and swings his staff to shatter him. The group fights the witch valiantly and she is beaten. As she lays dying she says "but I was promised immortality!" To be sure, the group decapitates her. Ludovic finds her magic staff and picks it up, getting a shock in the process. Searching the body yields bone splint mail and bracers with bones. Samuel takes the bracers, but when Ludovic tells him they are magical he throws them onto the floor. Leif takes the bracers and Duffy takes the mail. The huge skeleton starts to crumble. The group escapes just as the skull falls into the mist. While they rest once more in the cave, Kerri digs the last seed out of Samuel's arm. It looks like it was growing in there. Thankfully, they will never know what it may have done if left untreated.

Thursday, June 15th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
About midday, after resting the night, Kerri turns herself into a faerie, and carries the group's magic items safely above the black mist. The white hands grab for the relics but can't reach. Down another branch of the cave, they find an emaciated girl chained to a stone slab. Easily dispatching the zombie and skeleton guards, they find that she is still barely alive. She claims to be a local girl name Clara, who was captured by the witch three days ago from the woods near Harmonia. Duffy tests her story by asking her to recite the oath of Harmonia. When she does, they free her, finding another defiled Belenus symbol behind where her head lay.

They take Clara to safety and leave her with the horses. Unfortunately, a white mist still clings to her spine, attaching her to the slab. Kukri is still there and agrees to watch her.

Entering the left cave, they see a statue of an old lady in the witch's clothes. In her hands is a human skull and a walking stick. Samuel smashes the statue, and they see that the human skull had a hinge and contained a small bat, which is now dead.

Crossing over a pair of slippery bone bridges, they arrive in a chamber containing the object of their quest, a glittering crown on a pedestal. Ludovic confirms that the crown is glowing blindingly with magical power. Duffy senses a trap, but can't disarm it. The rest of the party waits in the previous rooms while Ludovic uses a spectral hand to hook a fishhook into the pillow below the crown. Ludovic runs back toward the previous room as Samuel pulls the fish line and the trap is sprung, causing the ceiling to collapse. Ludovic barely makes it out as Samuel tries to rush out with the crown but can't due to the falling rocks. Samuel is forced to run to the front of the room (near the pedestal the crown was on) to prevent being crushed.

Ludovic loses his footing on the slippery bone bridge and starts to fall. Kerri, still as a faerie, flies toward him, and grabs him but slowly slips downward as the wings can't carry both. Ludovic hands her one end of a rope, and she flies up and over the other side of the bone bridge. In the meantime, Leif, with a rope securely around his waist, ties the other end of rope to Duffy's waist. Duffy jumps off the ledge toward Ludovic and catches him in midair. Kerri drops down on the other side of the second bone bridge as a counterweight. So they're all just hanging around. Here's a picture:

Samuel, however, is still stuck in the collapsed cave. The crown seems to be a fake, as it was dented in the collapse. Searching the pedestal where the crown was, he finds a hole underneath which he crawls down, getting covered with slime. He emerges at the bottom of the pit to see Ludovic, Duffy, and Kerri suspended below the green mist above a bed of bones. Everyone climbs down safely. Ludovic finds a bunch of gold, a mace and magic silver short sword among the bed of bones. Samuel takes the mace and gives Kerri back her poker.

Samuel shows the party the "crown," folded in half twice proving it to be fake, tin painted with gold. The jewels are merely glass. Ludovic verifies that the magic glow is gone. They continue further into the cave, where Samuel slides down another slimy tunnel into a small room with eight skeletons. Duffy slides down the tunnel to help, and they slay them easily. Leif and Kerri stay behind to secure the rope. Ludovic follows Samuel and Duffy. Duffy finds a keyhole and picks the lock revealing another secret room. Inside the secret room is a bas-relief of a skeleton, engraved with the runes, "Place your life in my hands and I will show you the way." Samuel places a drop of blood into each hand. An archway appears and Samuel goes in, finding himself in a place filled with mist. He wanders around and finds another archway, which leads to a room with four doors. In the center is the upper half of a skeleton holding the crown, held by four chains above another pit.

Ludovic arrives as Samuel is searching the room. Duffy goes back up the tunnel where Kerri and Leif are waiting. He tells them of the rooms and the blood gate and stays behind with Kerri while Leif goes down the tunnel enters the gate. He sees Ludovic and Samuel there. Samuel climbs across one of the chains and, surprisingly, the skeleton just hands him the crown. Samuel holds it out over the pit around the disk and considers dropping it. No one says anything, and Samuel takes it and puts his arm through the crown to hold it as he climbs back. They take the crown and head back, fighting skeletons again when they try to exit. Duffy and Kerri go down the tunnel to check on the others, they all meet up by the tunnel. But now the exit is blocked by a wall of bone with four holes in vertical line. An inscription on the wall reads:

Coin and bone hand and stone
Open this forbidden zone
Placed in proper holes in wall
In proper order or I take them all

The group figures out the puzzle, and Duffy is confident enough in the solution to risk his hand as the final key. Suddenly, they all black out, and wake up outside the two caves where the headless skeleton is still staked. The caves entrances have collapsed. Worried that they might be back in the present, they check on Clara. They find her back at the campsite, now without the mist draining her strength, calmly petting Kukri.

Friday, June 16th, BC 707
Arkalias Hills, Kartakass
Clara says that a day has passed, so they haven't really slept at all. Sometime during their time in the cave, the 16th of June dawned and they emerged at about three in the afternoon.

Now the battered, tired, and worn heroes have completed the first part of their quest in the past, but must decide what to do with both the crown and the girl. Can they trust such a powerful artifact to a man as heartless as Akriel's father? Can they find Clara's village? Can they trust her? Will the wizard-king Azalin Rex come looking for them? And just why are they in the past, anyway? The answers will come soon, but they will not be easy answers to hear...