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11/28/2002 - date gamed
(372yp)
It is the 54th of Spring.
After an early morning breakfast of figs, sweet breads and apple juice. The Sru'haro threesome heads off to the White Market. The arena is quiet today as the combats were two days ago. At the gibbets were two people hanging that had their faces peeled back. There was a rumour that Death had been captured, but these two seem to indicate that someone is mistaken.
The heat is becoming severe and the guards on duty at the White Market look to be wilting in the heat. Sjer makes his way to Amatir's stall. Amatir is working away but is going slow because of the heat. He is a short squat man and greets Sjer. We start shooting the breeze with Amatir about the heat, the business, the coming afternoon. The name Jezeral comes up, but he doesn't seem to know anyone of that name. I order a pepper spray set that is delivered by means of a blowtube. It has 6 doses with it.
We then make our way to the racetrack, but as the heat has become very oppressive we stop at a restaurant on the water, a floating boat permanently moored called the RiversRefuge. The owner offers us ice drinks, but we decline, except for Afalar who orders icy fruit juices with a touch of brandy. Zali orders a beer and Sjer decides to sip some Raki. We sip for an hour or so. A conversation is overheard of one race in which a substitue horse will be brought in by the Valinar stable. We pay our 21 drops, 11 just for the ice and then exit the Ark of Delights and head to the racetrack. There is no fee today because of the heat.
We make our way in and sit to watch the first race. Sjer puts a blue drop on the number 6 horse. Zali puts 3 blue drops on the 11 horse, which is the new substitute horse which, alas, did not live up to Zali's hopes. After losing steadily all day long we wound our way back to the Sru'haro lodgings where Sjer collected his disguise kit and headed out with Afalar toward the new market.
Sjer and Afalar decide that Afalar will be disguised as Ralafa, a hunchbacked limping ugly s.o.b. with a horrible scar down one eye. We leave the estates and head to just south of the New Market. We stop and Sjer goes to work on the disguises. Once satisfied Ralafa and Crave'en start winding back to the main street in order to continue on to the New Market.
Before we even get to the main road however, we are accosted by 4 thugs who demand our purses and Crave'en's dagger. They refer to Ralafa in the most impolite of ways and demand our money or our skin. After a few pleasantries Ralafa decides to lead some of them away from Crave'en by scaling a wall just behind him. Three of the brigands follow while the leader closes in on Crave'en who, feeling not at all confident about the sanctity of his skin, tries to put a few of them to sleep. All four drop to the ground in peaceful slumber, which, thanks to a sharp knife and some fear liberally applied, they never wake up from. Ralafa takes their purses, but it doesn't amount to much.
Back at the Sru'haro holdings, Zali's sleep is disturbed by a dream that he is flying through the city, as though following something. His pursuit takes him through the city gates and outside the city. He comes to some broken down crumpled fortifications. There is only remnants left, but outside there is a morass encircling the ruins, a ring of boggy black sand which nothing grows in.
Suddenly the dream flashes back to when the castle stood whole. Then in slow motion this building crumples down while encircling the castle are shadowed cloaked figures. Then the sand around changed colour becoming black and something seems to reach forward and drop the castle to its current state.
Then in realtime there is an image of a four footed beast. It moves closer becoming a white dog with molted stripes that looks like a pit bull. Zali'haro feels that the group he belongs to are all in danger, but once they see the dog they feel safe. Then he awakens.
Meanwhile Crave'en and Ralafa continue their journey to the New Market. There is still a stifling lack of wind even though the temperature has dropped a bit from the day's high. They enter the New Market. Ralafa becomes aware that someone is following both him and Crave'en. Ralafa eludes the man and begins following him as he follows Crave'en. Crave'en, continuing unaware, locates Prupumara and waits until her stall is clear. As Crave'en waits, Ralafa is spotted once more by this fellow, so Ralafa leaves the area, loses his disguise, and Afalar comes back to try to find the man once more.
Crave'en enters the stall of Prupumara, a woman Crave'en believes to be a mere charlatan. She looks up as he enters and greets him. She is well into her middle age and speaks with a high warbling tongue which Crave'en believes is not her natural voice. He gives her two drops as a courtesy upon entering.
She says, "Ah, you should be very careful, they will harm you if they find you. Such a gift you have."
Startled, Crave'en says, "What, what gift do you mean. Come, this is not why I came. I seek information, not mystic visions."
But, she continuies, "It is coming from the side of the Paraj. It is white and dances on four feet. Why do you you concern yourself with snakes when this is so near to you?"
Crave'en looks decidedly uncomfortable. "You are not what I thought you were."
She looks keenly at him, "Ah, but you are what I see you to be. The snake was gone long ago when I was but a child. The shadows stalked them and The Hand, their rivals. From this fair city of the water they fled. The snake and the circle of the shadow water were driven from the city. This image and this snake were once foes, but together you think they are... . Why do you seek what was destroyed, unless you believe they come again. I was but a child when this happened."
Crave'en mentions the note and the name Jezeral.
"So they have returned to the city," she says, "to control the underbellies. Small they are right now with a benefactor, someone in power, but someone who does not have power. Someone who works for the center power. Outside the city they hold something. Seek the ruins, seek the ruins. Black glass that shifts like water."
Feeling very uncertain and a little duped, Crave'en gives Prupumara a purple drop.
There follows a complex game of cat and mouse as Crave'en leaves the stall of the mystic and is followed by the man. Afalar follows Crave'en and tries to spot the man he knows must be still watching Crave'en. Even when boats become involved nothing can be seen by Afalar. Eventually, Crave'en, still unaware of the chase, loses his disguise. We arrive back to where Zali awaits, he then tells us of his dream. We manage to connect the dots. Zali's dream of ruins and sand, Sjer's vision from Amatir, and Afalar's idea of the old sect of Chal trying to get back in power.
We then sit around trying to figure a plan of action. We decide to go investigate the ruins this very night so the directions will be fresh in Zali's mind.
Guided by Zali's memory we ride for 4 hours on a direct route to the ruins he saw in his dreams.
The area we are approaching is a low sunken valley with trees and vegetation, but in the middle it is very barren. The track leading to the middle becomes less maintained as if the centre of the valley is shunned or at the least abandoned. We ride back to the nearest farm which lies 1 and 1/2 hours ride from the ruins.
Afalar asks that they look after our horses for a couple of days. And then we head out towards the ruins on foot. As we finish up breakfast we see a familiar figure on foot with a staff. We can't identify him, but we know we've seen him before. Afalar tries to catch up with him by running ahead.
As he neared the man the man disappeared off the path.
We decide to run past where he was and then jump off the path and then hide and see if the man appears.
He doesn't, but Afalar hears a noise even further off the path. We give chase, but he appears to be a more skilled woodsmen than we. We lose him twice, but always the sound gives him away. Sjer realizes he can be no help here and runs ahead to cut off the fellow if he happens to sneak by. Afalar, feeling that the fellow hasn't moved stays put and searches the area. Finally Sjer sees the man and points him out to Afalar who engages. Zali'haro and Sjer begin moving towards the conflict, but the man's staff whirls in a blaze and he strikes Afalar three quick hard blows in the blink of an eye. Afalar folds to the ground, but Zali arrives to prevent any further attacks on Afalar. There followed a hot battle between Zali'haro and the man with the staff, at first it seemed that Zali would go the way of Afalar so quick were the man's attacks and delivered with such power. Sjer arrived in time to give Zali aid of a mystic nature. After that the man only landed one blow, although the speed of his attacks never diminished. Sjer put 4 darts into their adversary, but in truth it was the might of Zali'haro's blows that wore down the fellow. Blood was flowing freely from 4 strong cuts when the man turned and ran. Ran is not perhaps the best word as the fellow seemed to cover ground like a racehorse. In the blink of an eye he was over 100' away from us. Why Sjer cast those last two darts is perhaps more a matter of astonishment than ferocity. He certainly never expected to hit such a fast target so far away. But, as Chal would have it, one of the darts hit the man's running backside. The blow was feeble, to be sure, but, coupled with past damage from Zali's sword, it was enough to drop him.
The bleeding from Afalar's wounds and the staff wielder's wounds had both stopped bleeding on their own. All that could be done then was to wait. So with our newly defeated foe securely trussed up, Zali and Sjer waited for time to waken Afalar. But, as fate would have it, the eyes that opened first were not Afalar's.
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