Fading Realms

 Episode Name:  Fading Realms

   Written By:  Belgarath

         Cast:  Belgarath, Cristobal, Cross, Gwen Poole, Lanie, 
                Shamash and Zero.

  Produced By:  Starfleet

  Directed By:  Belgarath

     Aired On:  Tue Apr 13 23:02:43 2004

     Stardate:  54018.6

Time: Tue Apr 13 15:40:24 2004

Stardate: 54017.9

The pair of Bynars are chirping to one another in their native tongue. Once everyone has gathered, One says, "Welcome to Fading Realms, the first book of the Remtkaran Chronicles. Remember to announce your intention to use a spell, or else the computer would not recognize your attempt. Any questions before we begin?"

Cristobal shakes his head no. Fingering the hilt of the sword at his side, he adopts a sort of scowling look that he apparently feels is in-character.

. o O Cristobal thinks "I shouldn't have shaved this morning. Barbarians don't shave."

Cross looks to the familiar pair after making sure that a sword is created for him. He shakes his head, having checked over the character information before creating his costume. "I'm ready when everyone else is." He comments, drawing the blade to feel the balance in his hand.

Lanie, still fighting the urge to play with her elfin ears, shakes her head. Though she's tempted to ask if she looks like a Vulcan in these ears.

Poole leans against the length of white oak she had replicated and looks amongst the others. "No questions."

Shamash leans on his staff, trying to get a feeling for his role, his low voice vibrating with a dark timbre "None, my child"

Zero says, "Very well. If your character survives and you decide to play in book two of the Chronicles, then your character would increase in levels, making battling and spell casting easier for you."
One: "We hope that you enjoy Fading Realms." With a smile, One and Zero turn to leave.

Zero steps out of the holodeck.

Zero has left.

The holodeck dims to blackness, then slowly brightens to reveal a vast landscape flying by at high speeds underneath. The terrain changes from ocean to grasslands to forests to mountains to deserts to swamps and more. All the while, a deep-voiced narration says, "The vast continent of Remtkara was a realm of change. Civilizations rise and civilizations fall; generations die, and new ones are born to replace them. But such is no longer; things are not as they were before. But unbeknownst to all, a new power is arising, seeping its way into the lands, threatening to end all that is life in the world. It is but a matter of time that the world will fall. Yet, not all is lost. There is one who senses the encroaching darkness, and he has reached out to the minds of the promising in hopes that they can stop this new threat..."

Everything goes dark again and the zooming continent disappears from sight, to be replaced with a forest setting. In a clearing among the trees stands a stone cottage with a thatched roof. A small stream flows gently a short distance from the cottage. The wooden door to the building creaks open, and out steps an agéd man garbed in a white robe and carrying an oak staff. His long hair and beard are as colorless as his clothes, but his eyes retain a lively glimmer. "Ah, yes, yes, I see you've made it," he says, nodding his head and seating himself on a large, mossy rock. "You're the first ones to get here. Good, very good. Please, take a seat," he gestures to the grassy clearing.

Cristobal adjusts the sword and scabbard and lazily plops down onto the grass, laying on his side, head propped up by a hand resting on his elbow.

Poole takes those few steps over to the man and glances around for a nice patch of grass, using her staff to ease herself to the ground. She looks to the others, settling her gaze on Lanie briefly. With her eyebrow perked and pointy ears, she looks awfully Vulcan.

. o O Cristobal thinks "Heh. The cadet looks like a funny little Romulan"

Cross takes a moment to adjust to the speed that they arrive within the forest. He takes a moment to look around, looking at the plants and the birds that might be sitting before turning to the aged man. He bows his head from the neck before stepping forward to find a nice patch to sit upon.

Lanie picks up the hem of her voluminous cloak - /why/ did she pick this outfit again? It's just begging to be tripped over. - and steps toward the group, moving to sit down on the ground as well. She crosses her legs, laying her staff down in the grass next to her, eyes on the old man. "And who else are you expecting?" she asks him.

Shamash walks though the grass, every other of his steps set of by a small thud of his staff. He inclines his head to the man, "The Mothers greetings.", he offers. "I am called Horim, the forest druid. How do you wish to be addresed, Wise One?" After waiting for an answer he seeks out a spot to settle down, caressing the grass as he does so.

The old man nods to Lanie, indicating that he would get to that. Then, smiling at Shamash, he says to everyone, "My name is Elizar. You may have heard of me, or you might not have. What you need to know is that a yet unseen darkness pervades the land. It waits patiently, biding its time for when men, elves, dwarves, and orc alike are weakened and it is strengthened. Even now it prepares for its ascension to power, for I have long sensed, at the very fringes of my consciousness, its coming. So I have summoned you and many others. You may not have known why, but you had an urge to come to this place, because I have called you. It is imperative that you help me, lest everything in this world be cast into the darkness. It has already begun. In the north. I can feel the draining of the lifesource of the earth. I did not realize it when it first began with the famine, then came the disease that lays to waste all that grows from the earth. The northern realms are fading, dying from something foul. And right in the center of affected regions is the town of Ravencrest." He pauses and looks around quickly, as if noticing something is not right.

Nathan the Barbarian leaps to his feet and draws his sword. Maybe it's not necessary, but if there's something around that requires stabbing, Nathan wants to be ready.

Poole listens to the Old Man, expression growing suitably grim. But then, as he looks around, her eyes narrow and she listens. "What is that?" She asks and glances behind her. Apparently, Elves have British accents.

With the man's comment, Cross slowly stands, placing a hand upon the pommel of his sword. His eyes study the forest while he mumbles lowly to the computer for a moment. He blinks and looks up. "The forest creatures. They are fleeing." He draws his sword, the metal hissing out. "Something is coming."

Not /all/ elves. At least, maybe it's the non-elf half of Lanie that doesn't. "What significance does Ravencrest have that might be the reason for it to be the center? And what can we do? You summoned us here, but... why?" The blonde mage girl is quite the inquisitive one it seems.

Shamash smiles to Lanie as he prompts Elizar into going on. He momentarily glances at those who have risen from their places but does not feel compelled to do so at this time.

Elizar does not answer, for out from behind the trees at the edge of the clearing, five monstrous canines resembling wolves appear. Their gray fur is wild, and a line of horns stick out from its spine. The teeth are jagged and protrude from their mouths, and they growl in a low tone. But the most interesting of sights is not the five wolves, but rather a sixth wolf, twice the size of the others. There is a green tinge to its fur, and the eyes glow green.

. o O Cristobal thinks "Do barbarians eat wolves? I probably don't really need to find out."

Lanie, oblivious to the wolves for the moment, adds, "And some of us have other responsibilities of great importance." In other words, they're needed to go help the training department in a little while. The growling gets her attention and she slowly turns, letting out a quiet whistle. Despite herself, her eyes flicker toward Poole for a second and then back toward Elizar. "Friends of yours?" she asks in a little voice. Even as she speaks, her left hand lowers toward the staff next to her in a sloooow motion.

Pausing a moment to take stock of the wolves, Nathan the Barbarian shrugs at the others before letting out a guttural yell and charging at the nearest wolf, sword in hand.

. o O Lanie thinks "One. Two. Three. Big one-- Great, Mr. Testosterone's at it again. What if they're supposed to /help/ us?"

Cross turns sharply as the wolves come stalking out of the forest. After a pause, he shakes his head, bringing his sword up. "I do not know these foul creatures." As the Barbarian goes charging off. He rushes off to help the new comrade. "I sure hope you can heal, Druid."

Poole doesn't rise to her feet, instead shifting into a kneeling position and laying her staff down between her and the monsters. "Water magic... water from the stream nearby, fly as frozen arrows into the wolves." Lets see how this magic thing works.

Shamash raises from the grass in a fluid motion as the babarian starts to attack the wolves. He mumbles "What an unprovoked act of agression." then shakes his head and utters "Bless Magic" before starting the appropriate gestures. Well, the spell only affects those not already in melee combat.. so, shame on those who rush ahead.

<CONTEST> Cross contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

With a sharp bark from the largest in the pack, the five smaller wolves lunge forth, each leaping at one of the players, trying to bring them down to the ground. The green wolf, meanwhile, stays near the fringes of the clearing, making its way toward Elizar.

"Certainly not," Elizar answers Lanie.

Nathan the Barbarian swings the mighty blade in an downward blow. The charging wolf is struck a solid blow, dark blood spurting from a large gash in the creatures side. It snarls in pain. Nathan snarls back.

Lanie's fingers latch onto the staff and she pulls it with her as she rises in a quick motion, the other hand held out. "Illusionary magic-- uh... uhm, bigger glowy red wolf!...?" She trails off, sounding a bit uncertain and her eyes wince closed a little as she casts the spell in hopes it helps distract the other wolves so the brutes can attack.

Heading into the midst of the pack, Cross keeps his sword up, watching the movement of the closest Wolf. He keeps his guard up before waiting the right moment to swing his blade hard into the animal. With a yelp, He knew he has wounded the animal. "Heel." Was that to Nathan or to the Wolf?

"Please work, please work, please work," Poole chants under her breath as the spell continues and a wolf breaks from the pack and comes for her. She almost breaks from the spell to reach for the weapon underneath her cloak, but pauses when she hears a whistling... like steam from a kettle and not too far off. It's followed by another sound, like an arrow screaming in flight. The steam forms into gleamingly long ice crystals as it flies across the field and impale the wolf making an attempt on her life.

. o O Lanie thinks "Gee, why not pick abilities that are a little /more/ useless, Katie?"

Shamash concludes his casting with a satisfied smile as a faint glow around most of the players and around Elizar indicates the success of his spell. Free now for his next action, he determines that the time is too short to get out his sling in time, so he just shifts his stance to face the inevitable, starting to spin his quarterstaff and shout "Shillelagh Magic" to transform his plain staff into a magical weapon.

The two wolves that engaged Cristobal and Cross yelp in pain, but they get over their whimpering and snarl back. One tries to bite off Cross' head while the other aims for Cristobal's legs. The wolf with sharp pieces of ice sticking out of its side thuds violently to the ground. It breathes heavily, but is not quite dead yet, and manages to drag itself up, though it clearly would not be offering very much in terms of a fight. The one heading for Lanie stops dead in its tracks as a man-sized wolf, glowing crimson red, appears between it and Lanie. The one leaping at Shamash lands on top of Shamash, as he makes no attempt to move from his position. The green wolf charges at Elizar.

<CONTEST> Cross contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Cristobal leaps upwards as the wolf attempts to bite his legs. He aims the point of the sword downward, and as he falls, drives the point of the sword right through the skull of the wolf.

Wow. Lookit /that/. Lanie pauses only a second to view her handiwork before pointing toward Elizar's attacker. "ATTACK!" she calls out in command. She'd likely have ordered it toward Shamash if she had noticed him, but she doesn't. For the moment, all her attention is on the big green wolf, it's target, and her own wolfy creation.

<CONTEST> Gwen Poole contests her Primitive Weaponry (Dagger) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Cross quickly dives out of the way of the snapping mouth of the Wolf, before bring down the killing blow upon the animal. He turns and looks to the leader as he comes for the old man. "No!" He yells out before he charges after the larger Wolf, trying to slice at it's back legs with his sword.

Poole's brows go up and her eyes go wide as she witnesses the extent of her frosty attack on the wolf. For a second there is a flash of pity in her eyes. Something about hurting wolves doesn't seem right. Then, with determination, she pushes awkwardly to her feet and draws her short blade, and buries it in the wolf's chest.

. o O Gwen Poole thinks "These aren't real wolves. Real wolves wouldn't do this. These aren't real wolves."

Shamash oofs as the wolf brushes through the twirling staff and lands on him, forcing Shamash to fall rather unceremoniously on his back. What to do now when a slobbering canine is going to your throat and you have no way of reaching another weapon? Go with the ones the Mother gave you and start to brawl. So he tries to either fend off of suffocate the animal by going for his troat.

GAME: Shamash spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Shamash (claiming advantage) contests his Unarmed Combat skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

The old man and the green wolf battle it out while the illusionary wolf attacks the green one. However, save for an initial uncertainty, the green wolf ignores the red one after the red one starts passing through solid objects without affecting anything. The hideous, green creature is whomped by an invisible force coming from Elizar's extended hand, but it manages to dig its huge fangs into the old man before Cross makes it there in time. It shakes its head from side to side, worsening the mortal wound to the old man, before dropping him from its jaws and turning its attention to Cross. The wolf going after Lanie, now no longer hindered by her glowing red canine, growls and jumps at Lanie. As for the one on top of Shamash, it is having a hard time breathing and tries to wriggle out of Shamash's grasp. Unable to do so, it brings a clawed paw up in preparation to slash the druid.

Nathan the Barbarian hops off of the now-dead wolf, and peers over at the fight involving the green one. Taking a moment to judge the distance, Nathan takes a step towards the wolf and hurls his sword at the great beast's head.

Lanie fights the urge to run. Hopefully she helped distract the green wolf long enough for the old guy to take advantage of it. She closes her eyes as tightly as she can and calls out, "ILLUSIONARY MAGIC! Cast invisibility!"

. o O Lanie thinks "I'm not here. I'm not here. I'm not here. You don't seeeeee me. Please don't see me."

Just. Don't. Let. Go. Shamash prepares to receive a beating, but he knows that letting go is definetely the wrong way of action, so better hang in there and try to protect his own throat by trying to change his grip and bringing himself out of the danger zone.

<CONTEST> Cross contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

GAME: Cristobal spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cristobal (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Impossible and Succeeds!

Poole chews her lip and says, "Earth magic... make stones pelt -that- wolf." She leaves her blade in the dead wolf and points at the one attacking Lanie.

. o O Lanie thinks "Wow. That boy sure knows how to handle his sword. No wonder he keeps a Klingon interested."

. o O Cristobal thinks "Someday, this move is going to prove useful outside the holodeck. I hope I get a medal that day."

The entire clearing warps as Lanie tries to turn everything invisible since her spell did not specify. The warping sputters out and everything returns to its normal, visible self. The earth next to Lanie suddenly erupts upward and collapses onto the wolf jumping at her, burying it under a large pile of earth and stone. Cross' attack misses, and fortunately for him, the miss causes him to swerve and just barely avoid Cristobal's flying sword, which sinks into the green wolf's skull. The creature goes limp, dead. The one on top of Shamash slashes his left arm, and holographic blood starts running as a projected forcefield causes a little bit of pain in Shamash's arm to tell him that he is injured there.

Cristobal calmly strolls over to the dead green wolf and pulls his sword out of the beast's cranium. Glancing at everyone else, he shrugs and says, "What?"

As the Green Wolf turns towards him, Cross swings his sword for the creature's head. Unfortunately, The head is bobbed out of the way, sending his swing wide. He looks up to the large animal. "Aww, Crap." He mutters out before he sees a glint of steel as it goes flying by. He watches as the wolf jerks before collaspes. He blows out a breath of air, relieved. "No wonder Cats are better."

Lanie's eyes crack open. She glances left. She glances right. She spies the wolf that was leaping at her and then looks over at each person in turn. With most eyes on Cristobal, she decides to make the departure she should have made a little while ago to meet her husband for dinner. Ah, the joys of being married to someone who just doesn't /get/ the joys of roleplaying in a holodeck. She quietly calls for the door to appear and then slips through it, grinning over her shoulder at the chaos left behind. They won't even notice her gone.

Lanie has left.

Poole stands in place, pulling in air as she watches her second spell work. Only after she's sure that wolf won't be causing any more problems, she bends slightly to retrieve her blade, wrenching it with a yank out of the wolf corpse.

Shamash winces as the wolf hurts him, though he still holds his grip on the wolfs esophagus, even managing to speak to the animal "Why do you attack me? I am friend to all woodland creatures. Get off me and we be in peace? Animal Friendship Magic."

The wolf stops trying to paw at Shamash, and instead moves off of him. Elizar is lying on the ground, bleeding profusely. His breathing is becoming labored.

Cristobal glances over at the 'dying' hologram and says, "Who was the one with the healing spells?" glancing over at the rest of the party.

Cross nods his head towards to Cristobal his thanks before following him towards the downed man. He frowns, but at the moment, there is nothing he can do.

"Flying icicles. Rock pelting.... Nope. No healing, alas," Poole says as she trundles over to where she left her staff, leaning against it once she's retrieved it.

Shamash rolls off the grass and goes up to his knees, he pets the wolf now - a strange sight - "There, much better, friend wolf, no harm done, okay? Just wait here for a moment and all will be good." He hurries over to Elizar, wincing as he tries to hold his arm steady, the wound still bleeding and drops down to his knees again as he reaches him, starting his next enchantement just after a silent glare to the Babarian. As he touches Elizar, he intones "Cure Light Wounds Magic.", and prepares to cast it repeatingly.

Cristobal arches an eyebrow and says, "That's a /light/ wound? I tend to think of 'light' wounds as ones like my wife gives me."

The wolf sits down on its haunches as it watches Shamash try to heal the old man. Elizar, struggling, says just above a whisper, "You must...get to...Ravencrest...and stop-" His eyes roll up, then glow white, and light starts flowing out of the orifices of his head, followed by his entire body glowing an intense white. The light quickly fades away, leaving behind only the clothes and the staff that the old man had.

Cross looks to Cristobal and then Poole before coughing at the comment. "Yeah...well." He looks down to Elizar. He remains silent as the hologram fades away. "Ravencrest." He looks around the forest. "Now which way is north.."

As Elizar fades away, Cristobal mutters, "/Told/ you that wasn't light." He glances at Cross and says, "You can tell which way north is by looking at how the moss grows on the rocks."

Shamash sighs and grows silent with a small prayer, raising once more with the help of Elizars staff that takes from the ground. He walks back to the wolf to proceed to both heal himself from the wolf bites as the wolf from his attempt to strangle him. To Christobal he says, "Everyone has to do with what he has available, Nathan."

The holodeck goes black and the narration continues, "The journey north took the four across vast grounds. After many weeks of traveling, they reach the outskirts of the town of Ravencrest." The holodeck brightens up again, showing a barren landscape with no trace of green at all. Not too far in the distance is the town, composed of two-storied, wooden buildings with thatching for roofs. It is nearly evening, and a lone human farmer is out in the dead fields surrounding the town, praying hard, it seems. Along the dirt road leading to the town are broken-down carts and other abandoned and useless items. The wolf is still there, waiting beside Shamash.

Nathan the Barbarian strides north along the road, looking scowly and such.

Cross trudges along the dirt road, surprised how dead the land was here. His eyes rove around before they land upon the farmer in the field.

Poole pauses as she looks to Cross and motions over towards the farmer. "Let's go bug him, eh? Perhaps he might have an idea of what it is we are seeking. The source that the old man spoke of."

Cross turns to Poole as she speaks up and nods. "Right, good idea." He answers. He shifts over to follow her to the farmer. As he moves, he watches the farmer, seeing how he was tending to his field. Didn't they use animals as power sources back then?

Shamash trails along the path, with the wolf quite friendly at his heels but not yet trained. He nods with a smile to Poole, any real life strife with her brushed aside in this holo-epic and starts to cross the distance to the farmer.

The farmer looks ragged. Upon approach, he jumps back, trips, and falls to the ground, stirring up a cloud of dust. He pushes himself backwards to increase the distance from the four, "Please! Don't hurt me! I've got nothing! Nothing!"

Nathan the Barbarian follows everyone else towards the farmer. Since the farmer probably won't require stabbing, Nathan's role in the situation won't be overly large, so he simply follows.

Poole follows slowly after the others, taking her time and using her staff to support her. She keeps her ears perked for anything unusual.

After a motion for the wolf to stay back, Shamash goes to his knees to help the farmer back up onto his legs. "Please, friend, we mean you no harm. Do not be afraid", comes the soothing tounge of the Druid.

Cross raises a hand, the flat of his palm to the man. "We mean you no harm." He offers as he approaches. He looks to the field. "I can imagine the wheat growing high here with much hard work."

"Who...who are you people?" the farmer asks, wild-eyed. He then looks at Cross. "There's been no wheat growing here for a long time. We've nothing to offer. Please don't take what little we have left." He drops to his knees and clasps his hands together, "Please!"

Cristobal mutters, "I can't imagine Quadrotriticale growing here with all the Engineers in the fleet." Realizing he has slipped out of character here, he goes back to scowly silence.

The farmer looks puzzled at what Cristobal says, but looks back at Cross with the same begging expression.

Cross shakes his head before he checks to see if he has anything to offer to the farmer instead. "No, we don't want what you have." He looks to Cristobal. "Like I said, with hard work." He says with a smile before turning back. "What has you so scared, good farmer?"

"Friend", Shamash starts anew, "We will not take your food away. Just answer a few questions of us. No harm will come to you..." He tries again to help the farmer back onto his feet, he himself currently also on his knees.

The farmer noticeably calms down and allows Shamash to help him up. "What...what is there to answer?"

. o O Cristobal thinks "The questions you blockhead. *pause* Great, I'm demeaning a hologram..."

Cristobal stays silent, glancing around the unproductive farm with an expression of faint distaste.

Shamash points to Cross with an open palm, "What Friend Michael here asked might be a good start: What has you so scared?"

Poole draws to a stop once she's within a few meters of the farmer. She looks earnestly at the farmer, as if willing him to spill some information.

The farmer looks from face to face. His voice still a bit jittery, he says, "You're...you're strangers here. No one comes here anymore, unless they are here to raid what little we have left."

"Can we be of possible assistance to you, then," Poole asks.

Cross nods his head, agreeing with Poole's question, but remains silent.

Shaking his head, the farmer says, "I don't see how anyone can help us..."

"Could you help us into town then?..." Poole asks of the farmer. "Perhaps introduce us to the town leader?... I am sure there is something we could do."

Shamash sighs at this fatalistic answer, "Then, my Goodman of the plow, you might tell us what you know about the town of Ravencrest? What of the populance?"

The farmer looks from one to the other as the group speaks, still looking a little uncertain of these strangers. He shakes his head, "I dare not... It's...it's just that nothing will grow here any more. Why won't it grow? Why?" He drops to his knees again, grabbing a handful of dirt and he starts sobbing.

Nathan the Barbarian offers some advice, "You could find some nice tasty animals and eat those y'know."

"We have none left," the farmer in a muffled voice as his hands are now covering his face. "None. None..."

"We cannot undo what has been done here without more information," Poole states, looking between the three men of the party. "Perhaps we should head into town."

Cristobal says, "I mean. Go out and hunt and..." He grunts, "Never mind, I guess."

. o O Cristobal thinks "Probably forgot to plant seeds."

Cross looks in the direction of the town. "Maybe we can find out what's plaguing your land." He reaches for the man, patting him on his shoulder.

The farmer looks up, tears streaking down his cheek. "Oh, will you?" He grabs onto Cross' hands, "We will be forever indebted to you if you can!"

Cross smiles to man, shaking his head. "There is no need for debts. Could tell us what to expect in town?" He says before offering some of his rations from their journey up. There is always rations, isn't there. Even starfleet ration packs taste bad.

Shamash lets his gaze wander around the area, expression sad as he sees how the lifesource has been drained of the earth, wasting the land. He inclines his head to Poole once. "It seems we can not find what we are looking for out here, Friend Gw..", he stumbles out of his role, just long enough to realize his mistake, but continues smoothly with a turn back to the farmer "..en. Goodman, you can think of nothing odd that we will face..." he trails off as Cross beats him to the question.

. o O Cristobal thinks "I'm not sure exactly where the story is going Cross, but I don't think it's here."

Cristobal scowls impatiently back at the road they came from.

. o O Shamash thinks "oh sh*t. Poole will have my head after this."

Poole smiles slyly at Shamash. "You should call me that more often." And then she turns, glancing in the direction of town and narrowing her gaze, using that elfy sight of hers to try and spot anything obviously odd.

The farmer wipes away his tears with a dirty sleeve, eyeing the food hungrily. He holds on to them like gold once offered it. He shakes his head again, "I...I don't know. It's just Ravencrest, my home. Although...I heard word of something odd going on...but...that's all."

. o O Cristobal thinks "I'm sure this fellow spends a lot of time dealing with the sources of unspeakable evil and all, but let's get on with it!"

Poole murmurs something under her breath to the computer. Something about magnification. The equivalent to Elven sight. And then she looks again.

"Define odd? What have you been told?" Cross asks as he gives the man the food. He looks back to the three and smirk at the conversation before looking back to the farmer.

The holographic image directly in front of Poole changes to show her an enlarged view of the town. A few people are milling about, and the town seems a little dead for the number of buildings it has, but otherwise, everything appears normal.

"Why are we wasting our time with this soil-tiller?" snaps Nathan the Barbarian, "Let us be on our way so that we may find the source of this blight and that I may slay it!"

Continuing to shake his head, the farmer says, "Just that some strange folks have been coming here. That's all I know, I swear."

The farmer looks over at Cristobal, fear again in his eyes.

Poole murmurs to have the computer turn it off, then glances aside at Nathan. "Patience human," she says in a cool, calm and collected voice. She starts on her way towards the town. "Every town has a tavern or a pub. More information will lie therein."

Cross turns to look to the Barbarian. "I grew up as a "Soil-tiller...,"" He comments before adding. "Gr'laH." He turns back to the farmer. "Can you tell us about these strange folk. My friend here might be able to "talk" with them."

The farmer looks back at Cross, eyes still wide. "I don't know anymore. That's the honest truth."

Nathan the Barbarian glances at Cross for a moment before saying to the farmer, "It's been absolutely lovely chatting with you, but we really must be going now." With that, Cristobal grabs the back of Cross's shirt and attempts to physically drag him towards the town. "Come on dammit," he chastises, "I have to go back on shift in six hours."

Shamash hides his suprise at Pooles response by turning back to the farmer, patting the good man "Do not worry yourself, Goodman. And thank you for your hospitality." He turns back to the group, prepared to continue their journey into the city proper.

Cross is forcibly dragged in the direction of town before he gets his own feet under him. "I'm coming, I'm coming. You can let go now."

. o O Shamash thinks "Whaa? I should call her that more often?"

Cristobal grumbles, "Do that again and we'll have Shamash put a leash on you..."

The farmer watches the group leave before nibbling at his rations. It is night by the time the group reaches the town. All of the windows are shut tight, and were it not for the full moon, it would be a very dark town that night. All is quiet.

Poole glances this way and that as the group proceeds into town. "You can /taste/ the evil in the air, can't you? Something stinks here and I don't think it's necessarily the townspeople."

Well, it might be a trifle too soon for things like that, but it is one of the things Shamash considers worth the upkeep and tries to specify Pools general taste of evil by a muttered "Detect Evil Magic" as he momentarily stops to invoke the spell.

Cross looks to Cristobal to comment before deciding to just drop it, smiling as they head in the direction of the town. As they arrive, he keeps an eye out, slowly looking around. He keeps a hand upon his sword, ready to draw it at a moments notice. He nods in agreement with Poole before he stops as he Shamash tries his spell.

. o O Cristobal thinks "Well why don't we just send Cross out to interrogate each one of them in turn..."

Nathan is again the picture of Barbarian-like scowliness.

Two furtive figures move through the shadows, carrying something in a large bag. A body, perhaps? They head down a sidestreet, trying to be as quiet as possible. Shamash also sees red auras emanating from the two.

Naturally, Shamash shares the information about the tinge of evil emanating from the duo with his comrades, glancing with a mix of expectation and dread to Nathan, wondering if he will go barging in once more.

Poole eyes the two men and then whispers to her comrades, "Follow them."

Hey, he's only following orders. Nathan the Barbarian removes the sword from his scabbard with a low, steely sound, and proceeds rapidly down the sidestreet after the two men. He does make one concession to stealth by not actually shouting a battle-cry.

Cross turns his head in the direction of the two figures, simply nodding in agreement. He watches as Nathan takes off and moves to follow along, continuing to give him back up like he did before.

<CONTEST> Gwen Poole contests her Stealth (Shadowing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Cross contests his Stealth (Shadowing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Stealth (Shadowing) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Succeeds!

Shamash looks after his party members, knowing his own limits, he waits some time before proceeding, trailing after his own group and preparing for worse once again, beginning the enchantment to bless the party once more.

The group follows the two figures down the sidestreet to a doorless, stone entrance that turns into a flight of stairs going down into darkness.

Poole glances between the men and whispers, "Evil goes underground. Who'd have thunk it?"

. o O Cristobal thinks "I will not make any RRT jokes here."

Shamash trails along with Wolf and, if they do not proceed too quickly down the stairs, eventually catches up with the rest of the group again.

Cristobal says, "Anybody got a torch?"

Cross's head slowly turns to look at Poole and comment, giving a smirk before turning back to look to Cristobal, finding it better not to get in his way.

"It's the exact opposite of my strongest element... but... let's see," Poole says, "Fire magic... ball of flame, to light our way. Dimly." And she adds a bit of fancy hand-waving.

A dim ball of fire appears in front of Poole.

Cristobal shrugs and says, "That works."

The stairs lead down a short ways before turning into three tunnels going left, forward, and right. Sound is coming from the forward tunnel, and the flickering of fire can be seen reflecting off of the distant wall.

Shamash relaxes as there is no need - yet - for another blessing. He looks over to Poole, nodding approvingly to her with another smile, he steps over to the entrance, peers down the stairs and intones, just to be on the safe side here, "Detect Snares & Pits Magic" after a moment of meditation.

The computer responds quietly in Shamash's ear, "Invalid spell."

While they worked on a light source and checked the spells, Cross keeps an eye out for any trouble that might be coming there way.

"Shall we?" Poole asks with a vague smile before heading down into the deepening darkness somewhere in the middle of the party. And then there's three paths. So she asks the obvious question in a whisper, "Which way?..."

Shamash mutters something under his breath and chooses the second best to Detect Snares: walk behind someone else for the time being. At the crossroads, he looks down each pathway, pausing in between long enough for the detect evil spell to work.

Cristobal points to the various tunnels and murmurs, "Eeney Meeney Miney Moe..."

Cross follows along until they reach the intersection. He looks down to the Wolf that has been followed them since the beginning of the program. "You know which way, boy?" He whispers softly to it.

The wolf looks up at Cross, then dashes down the center tunnel.

Shamash chuckles softly as he sees his companion runs off without him, "Well, that is the path that leads to where the evil is - even though its emanations are very faint. - I say we take the middle tunnel."

Poole nods in agreement and looks expectantly to Cross and Cristobal. Okay Meatshields, do your job.

Cristobal glances expectantly at Cross. He's your dog. You go first.

Cristobal shrugs and says, "Oh fine," and takes the lead down the center tunnel.

Cross catches the looks from Cristobal and Poole before sighing out. He draws his sword before heading down the tunnel after the dog. He wonders if holographic heaven is filled with Orion women?

Wolf is crouched low, peeking around the corner of the tunnel, where there is a massive mausoleum. The room is huge, and the walls are filled with cavities where the deceased are laid to rest. Torches attached to the walls inbetween the cavities provides lighting to the place. Half a dozen townspeople are collected near the center of the room, oggling at a large, illusory image of a hooded man at the opposite end of the room from where the tunnel exits. Near the front of the room is a bed of stone with an exquisitely-dressed man standing near it, his jet-black hair that flows straight down past his shoulders contrasts greatly with his pale skin. His back is to the group, as he too is facing the large illusion in front of him. A couple of large, green wolves are sitting by his side.

Shamash is quite content in walking down the tunnel behind the swordwielders, using the time to contemplate and prepares "Bless Magic" this time ahead of any actual combat. As it is his turn to come around the corner of the tunnel, he glances with his detect evil vision over the people gathered there.

Cristobal arches an eyebrow at the image, remaining hidden in the tunnel, for the moment, until it becomes clear who needs to be stabbed.

Poole directs their little light to douse itself, so as not to reveal their presence. She watches the goingson in the room with sharp eyes.

The holodeck changes the image in front of Shamash's eyes slightly to show a glittering effect coming over the group, indicating that his Bless spell is successful.

Arriving at the corner, Cross kneels down beside the wolf, scratching it behind the ear. He gives it praise silently. He turns to look to the others to see if they have a plan.

"What is your progress, Trevian?" the hooded illusion boomed.

"I am about to begin the final absorption, my lord," the well-dressed man near the front says. "After tonight, the draining of the earth will be completed, and these lands will be forever dead. The flow will be permanently disrupted from the north."

Cristobal decides that one needs killing.

"Good," the figure boomed again. "Serve me well, and you will be rewarded greatly. Now, begin the procedure." The image fades out.

Trevian waves someone over to him, and the two men from earlier come out of a crevice, still carrying the large bag. They lay it gently on the stone slab, and pull the bag back to reveal an unmoving, lovely young lady. They then drag out another bag and dump out the dirt in it onto the floor.

. o O Cristobal thinks "Umm, perhaps now would be a good time..."

"Awaken," Trevian says in a soft, almost cooing voice as he passes a hand over the young woman's face. Her eyelids go up, and she is quickly seized with fear, but seems unable to flee.

Cristobal glances at the others, murmuring quietly, "I think I'll attack now."

"Stand," the man says in the same tone as before. She smoothly transitions into a sitting position by simply bending at her waist, and then she slips off of the slab and stands, entranced.

Cross arches a brow at seeing what was in the bag. He looks to Shamash and the walking stick that he got from the old man. "You think that does anything?" He mouths quietly. He looks to Cristobal and nods. "I've got your back." He looks to Wolf. "Protect the girl."

Shamash nods to Cross at his display of thanks then stands still, coming to the quick conclusion that the procedure must not be completed. He uses what little time he has to prepare the melee fighters for some extra protection, going to Nathan first as he judges him to be the more skittish one, he touches him, murmuring "Protection From Evil Magic"

The wolf looks at Cross, then at Shamash, inquiring its true master.

The computer quitely says in Shamash's ear, "Invalid spell."

"Now would be good," Poole says with a head bob. "Water magic.... Summon a water elemental to fight the bad guys. Make him big and scary. And also wet."

Cristobal nods to the others and, not waiting for further spellcraft, heads for the dark-haired man and the unbound townspeople. Perhaps a bit oddly, instead of charging and howling, he simply strides towards them as if he hadn't a care in the world. With a big sword in his hand.

Trevian steps in front of her, cups one hand gently on her cheek, and puts his mouth up to her neck. She looks as if she is in pain, but does not move from her position.

The townspeople notice Cristobal coming at them, and they are all armed. Out comes the weapons, and they form a line between the intruder and Trevian.

Cristobal seems entirely unconcerned by the line, and continues walks straight towards Trevian, smirking slightly. When he approaches the line, he swings his sword in a wide arc towards the nearest townperson.

Shamash curses under his breath as he is foiled yet again by a design flaw and he is left with no defensive spells he can think of, leans down to Wolf, "I don't want to force you against your packmates, but any help you offer willingly is appreciated, Friend Wolf." He pets the animal once before raising again, trying once more for a different spell. "Farie Fire Magic", he intones, tracing the outline of Trevian first, before adding one creature after the other.

Cross follows Cristobal, standing a distance away. He lets the Barbarian be the plow. If the man is good at it, let him do his job. He has his sword ready to attack the first person that threatens either of them.

With a loud bang, a portal to an aquatic realm bursts open in front of Poole, and a gush of water spews out of it, soaking everyone around her and sending them sprawling to the ground.

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

GAME: Cristobal spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cristobal (claiming advantage) contests his Intellect (Perception) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

With Cross and Cristobal waltzing through the room, ~everyone around Poole~ might come down to Shamash and Wolf. The latter might have been already gone, but the former just takes a dive for the pool, ending up on his back again. He takes some time to pull himself back onto his feet, trying the spell again that was so unceremoniously interrupted before.

Trevian pulls back from the woman's neck, and one can see two small puncture wounds on her neck as well as a little bit of blood dribbling down. "Stop them!" he shouts.

The barbarian cleaves the first townsman but does not notice the bowman. An arrow zips across the room and into Cristobal's left shoulder. Fake blood and a minute amount of pain indicates that he is injured there. The aquatic portal closes with another bang, and the water that came rushing out of it begins to coalesce.

"Sorry," Poole says softly, gripping her staff to keep from going down. "That was wet.... but I don't see big or scary...." Then she eyes the coalescing form. "Ooo... Hey! Smash them!" She points at the townsmen.

. o O Cristobal glances at the bite-marks on the woman's neck and thinks, "Ah, whatshisname is a vampire." A pause. "I wonder what time Churas is home tonOW!" His thought is interrupted by the brief pain.

Wolf shakes the water off itself even as the water elemental begins forming a body.

After Cristobal makes his way into the townspeople, Cross diverts away from to start swing his sword into them, helping to stop them from attacking the others. He grips on his sword is tight as he goes for the nearest person.

"Farie Fire Magic", Shamash intones for the second time, outlining Trevian again first before going through the other people doing battle.

GAME: Cross spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cross (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

A pale light begins outlining Trevian, but once done, no one else is affected by the Faerie Fire.

"Ow!" says Cristobal, frowning at the arrow embedded in him. Glancing at the bowman, Nathan the Barbarian says, "Cross, go get the archer, I'll take care of the rest of them," as he swings the sword again.

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

The water elemental finishes forming itself.

"Hey, /Waterboy/," Poole calls, not that she really needs to get the thing's attention. "Get /him/," she points at Trevian. "Smash him good."

"You two!" shouts Trevian, pointing at the green wolves. "Attack!"

The elemental begins moving forward in a straight path. Cristobal happens to be in its way, but it does not appear like it plans to step around him.

The two wolves begin to morph, turning into 8-foot tall, bipedal creatures, much like a canine version of a minotaur. Their eyes glow bright green and they let out a ghastly howl.

Cross's sword cuts down one of the townsman with his swing. Hearing Cristobal's command, he quickly looks around for the archer who had taken the pot shot. He flips his sword, charging straight to strike him down with furious vengence.

Shamash watches the archer and addresses Poole from the side even as he prepares the next Farie Fire, "Friend, you would not know the Magic Missile perchance to help out our comrade in need?" His attempt to cast is however immediately canceled as he hears Trevian speak up again, instead he goes to what has helped before, "Striders of the woods, wolves, I mean no harm..." then trails off as these wolves are probably imune to his feeble Animal Friendship spell. Instead he points to the nearest wolf, booming "Command Magic: SLEEP!"

Nathan the Barbarian's great swing of his blade cuts another swatch through the enemy, this time cutting its way through the torso of two of his adversaries.

The familiar voice whispers into Shamash's ear, "Invalid spell."

<CONTEST> Cross contests his Dodge skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Succeeds!

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Coordination skill vs a difficulty of Challenging and Fails!

Splash! The water elemental walks right into Cristobal from behind and knocks him down.

"Oh... cripes," Poole says as she eyes the wolvetaurs. She gulps and straightens, brandishing her staff in front of her. The Elemental is on his way, for good or ill, so she has no orders for it... other than to cringe when it knocks Cristobal over.

"Bloody useless spellcasters!" yells Nathan the Barbarian as he attempts to scramble to his feet.

Trevian quickly takes one of the woman's hands and places her index finger up to his mouth, which he bites down on. Again, an expression of pain shows on the young woman's face. As he takes the finger out of his mouth, blood is now coming from it, and he holds her hand out over the pile of earth.

Shamash curses under his breath as his composure to keep in character is strained. "I am running out of options heeereee...."

As Cross charges towards the Archer, he sees the man is ready with his weapon drawn. He quickly dives to the side as the arrow is released, missing him with the shot. He brings his weapon and himself around quickly to swing his weapon hard at the attacker. "You missed." He says with a low growl.

The staff in Shamash's hand begins to vibrate.

<CONTEST> Cross (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

GAME: Cristobal spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cristobal (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Succeeds!

The water elemental pounds on the first "wolvetaur" with a fist of water, knocking it back a little, but the second creature jumps in and slashes at the elemental with its huge, clawed paws, sending water splashing everywhere.

"I said I was sorry," Poole yells back, muttering under her breath. "Fire Magic... Magic missiles of flame, weave and dodge across the room to smack the blood sucker in the head." She indicates Trevian for good measure, giving him the finger.

A single drop of blood goes from her finger down to the dirt, and the entire mound slowly turns red from just that one drop. The pale man then takes out an orb, with lights and fog coalescing and swirling inside, and places it on the pile of red dirt. He quickly mutters something in a foreign tongue.

Cristobal slips on the water again, which manages to help him out as a stab with the townsperson's pike misses him as he does. From his spot on the wet floor (Blame Poole) he stabs his attacker in the gut.

But when all fails, go back to the basics, so Shamash removes from his belt the sling in order to be able to do some ranged damage. Knowing that his aim will be far from true, he tries to shoot his pebbles into an area of the room where the danger of hitting his comrades is minimal. Another look to Poole, a grim nod of approval, and he goes twirling off pebbles.

Three lances of fire flare to life above Poole, then shoot forward, dodging and swerving to get out of the way of everyone except for their target, Trevian. The first one fizzles out before even getting halfway across the room, the second smacks into a wall blows up, jostling some bones, and the third one just missed the man by inches, crashing into the far wall and blowing up.

Being so close and already having spent his shot, The archer is easily cut down by Cross's blade as it slams into the man's stomach. He makes sure he is down before quickly turning to look around. Seeing the chaos that is the room, he makes his way towards Trevian. Once he is down, hopefully everything else will stop. He makes his way towards the man's back to run him through.

The water elemental sends a blast of water into its canine attacker at point blank range, sending it flying back. But by now, the first wolvetaur is back on its feet and jumps at the elemental, causing the column of water to coming splashing down.

"The staff," Poole asks of Shamash, dropping her own to hold her hands out for the one the Druid picked up from the Old One.

<CONTEST> Shamash contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sling) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Fails!

Trevian, standing back up after placing the glowing orb down into the dirt and saying his spell, looks at the oncoming Cross, holds a hand out, and says something in an archaic language.

Seeing that Trevian sees him and his casting a spell upon him, Cross has no choice but to charge straight at him to break his concentration and his spell. He swings high with his sword.

As he has expected, Shamash is not good with the sling and fails to hit even the biggest target, and the pebble goes flying past the morphed wolf. Only then does he notice that Elizars staff started to vibrate. Having no idea what caused it, and having had a negative reaction to the staffs magic before, he hands it over to Poole, before trying his luck with the sling once more. He adds in a tense tone: "Maybe you figure out what is causing it, Friend Gwen"

The water elemental tries to reform, but the wolvetaur on it continues slashing away, preventing it from doing so.

Cristobal jumps to his feet. Seeing Trevian has gotten a good deal farther in Cristobal's ritual than he's comfortable with, he frowns. Noting a lack of anything wooden in his hand, he shrugs and heft's the dead townsman's pike. Nodding at the wooden haft behind the metal point, he takes a few running steps forward, taking note of Trevian's turn to engage Cross, and hurls it like a javelin aimed at the center of Trevian's chest.

GAME: Cristobal spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cristobal (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Javelin) skill vs a difficulty of Impossible and Succeeds!

"Perhaps I can... perhaps you can try to stop the big wolves?" Poole suggests and starts to toddle into the main room finally, choosing her path through the carnage. Cristobal and Cross' actions don't halt her movement.

Cross looks to himself for a moment, being temporarily being distracted as he feels a tingling sensations over his body. He looks up to see one of the townsman coming for him, trying to protect Trevian from him. He quicky arches his sword arm to catch the man and to slash him with his weapon.

The pike soars straight for Trevian's heart, but one of the two townsmen who carried the woman in jumps in front of the projectile and takes the full force of it.

. o O Cristobal thinks "Jerk."

Meanwhile, the second wolvetaur is recovering and getting back on its feet. It looks around for a prey.

<CONTEST> Cross (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Trevian snarls and then looks at Cristobal, extending his hand out at the other fighter.

A strange, hollow sound emanates from all around.

Shamash clears his mind of ill thoughts, reaching for his belt to come out with a morsel of food again. Meditating a moment longer, he opens his eyes once more, smiling at all of the Mothers creations. He looks to the other Wolf and begins the enchantment of "Animal Friendship Magic" after a few soothing words of trust.

Cristobal walks towards Trevian, finding he has to strain to make any headway at all. Forcing his mouth open, he calls, "Cross, cut off his head!" still struggling to walk towards the vampire.

Poole eyes that second wolvetaur and brandishes Elizar's Staff. "Begone. Begone or be destroyed!" she commands, and drives the bottom of the staff down to the floor of the room, using the noise to emphasize her words. She knows she can't get to Trevian or the rest of the fight without dealing with the wolvetaurs first.

The computer whispers into Shamash's ear, "The target is too far away."

With the townsman downed, Cross turns quickly back towards Trevian as he hears Cristobal's shout. He grits his teeth before he runs the short distance left between him and the Dark one and before bringing the sword up, aiming for it's head.

WHOOSH! Energy bursts forth from Elizar's staff, going straight out of its top and into the ceiling. The blast indents the ceiling, sending pebble-sized bits of debris and dust raining down on Poole.

. o O Cristobal thinks "I think I speak for everyone on the station when I say thank God she doesn't have magic power..."

Trevian grabs the young woman next to him and throws her at Cross.

GAME: Cross spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cross (claiming advantage) contests his Coordination (Reaction) skill vs a difficulty of Moderate and Succeeds!

Foiled yet again, but Druids are also melee fighters, even if Shamash is not, so he removes the Scimitar from his belt and goes on in as a last resort to deal out some damage.

Poole cries out, startled. But as she realizes what happened, she starts to grin, face coated in dust. It's not the most pleasant of grins. The Grinch's grin was honey sweet compared to this. "Be-gone or be de/stroyed/!" She orders again and swings the staff at the nearest wolvetaur.

WHOOSH! Another burst of energy bursts forth from the staff and into the wolf that is slashing at the water elemental. The wolf flies backwards and crashes into the back wall, crumpling into a heap to the floor.

What appears like glowing fog floats from out of the walls and ground and into the orb, making it shine brighter.

Cross's shifts the sword into one hand as the girl is thrown at him, leaving a hand free to snatch her up into his arms. "I have you. Don't worry, you'll be safe and sound." He reassures her before deciding to throw something back at the Dark One. In this case, his sword. Putting all his strength into it, He thows his weapon at Trevian.

Cristobal continues to struggle forwards, looking exceedingly annoyed at his lack of progress.

<CONTEST> Cross (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Difficult and Fails!

Shamash was approaching one of the wolves as another force hits the creature back to the wall. More than just slightly stunned at finding his opponent gone, he takes a quick glance around, one wolf, one elegant dressed dark one. Hey, the odds are improving, so he goes for the biggy.

. o O Cristobal thinks "This. Is. Annoying."

. o O Cristobal feels annoyed.

Poole's features look a tad warped as she watches the wolvetaur fly backwards and into the back wall. "Come on Waterboy," she shouts, encouraging her elemental to recover its strength and form, before she stares at the final wolvetaur. "Same as your friend. Begone, or die." The staff is brandished.

Trevian flees as the other wolvetaur steps up just in time to snatch Cross' sword out of the air and bend it in two with its bare hands. A grinding of stone, and Trevian disappears into a passageway.

Nathan the Barbarian calls out, "Gwen, destroy the orb before it destroys the land!"

GAME: Shamash spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Shamash (claiming advantage) contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Routine and Fails!

Shamash's befriended wolf whimpers near the tunnel.

Poole nods and moves forward, aiming the staff at the orb in order to strike it.

The orb grows increasingly intense as it sucks in more of the weird fog. The staff in Poole's hand continues to vibrate.

Another grinding noise, and the passageway seals shut after Trevian's exit.

With his weapon gone and destroyed, Cross scoops up the girl to carry her back towards the hallway they entered to at least find someplace as a shelter. He moves to try to avoid danger as best as he can as he carries her.

The wolvetaur that crashed into the wall morphs back into a wolf, but it continues to lay there, barely moving.

Poole chews her lip, standing over the orb. She raises the staff up, holding it with a two-handed grip, then drives it down with all her strength into the orb.

Cristobal suddenly lurches forward as Trevian departs. Shrugging, he attacks the only remaining animate enemy, the second green wolvetaur, much as he did the one that killed Elizar, by hurling his sword at the creature's head.

Shamash charges for Trevian just as the man decides to make a quick exit, leaving the Druid striking down on empty air. Right. Now what? Might not be a bad idea trying to befriend a packmate of Wolf so that the two could go running around. He returns his weapon to his belt, clearing once more his mind of ill thoughts.

GAME: Cristobal spends a courage point.

<CONTEST> Cristobal contests his Primitive Weaponry (Sword) skill vs a difficulty of Impossible and Succeeds!

WHOOS-KABOOM! The orb shatters and a giant shockwave emanates from it, tossing everyone back.

The mausoleum becomes unstable and rumbles.

Nathan the Barbarian stops to admire his sword's flight into the skull of the wolvetaur, so is bowled over by the force of the explosion. "Time to go," he says, and heads first for the dead wolvetaur, retrieving his sword, and then for the tunnel by which they entered.

Poole oofs and doesn't fight the shockwave, trusting the holodeck to keep her and the baby safe. She falls back onto her butt and stays there until she's reasonably safe she can get up against without falling down. "Best... staff... ever...." she mutters as she hugs the thing to her chest. Then she drags herself to her feet and starts unsteadily for the exit.

Shamash moves to the wolf laying in the corner and lifts it up, murmuring in a quiet tone to him as he retrieves the animal from this dark room. As he passes Poole, he can not fail to smile to her as she praises his staff "Thank you for your kind words."

As the shockwave from the explosion ripples out, Cross turns quickly to shelter the girl from the blast. Holographic or not, he reacts like he knows in such a situation. He is slammed by the blast and they both go tumbling to the ground.

Cross gets to his feet as the room starts to crumble and shake. "Come on, Miss." He mumbles as he throws her over a shoulder and runs as fast as he can to get them both out.

The group runs out of the underground mausoleum and back to the surface, where Wolf is already waiting, looking inquiringly at the green wolf Shamash is carrying, then snarling at it. The green wolf suddenly erupts into a green flame and disappears, and Wolf quiets back down.

Grass starts growing underneath each person's foot.

There is a commotion throughout the town as the townspeople try to figure out what just happened.

Poole leans into the staff and gazes down at her feet, taking a moment to breath and regain some composure after the underground confrontation.

The mausoleum collapses loudly, throwing dust out into the street.

Shamash blinks once or twice, but judges that this isn't the time to comtemplate vanishing wolves. Instead he bends slightly down to his companion and pats his flank, "go on out.." He picks up Pooles staff on the way out to exchange them once they are out of the rubble.

The wolf looks confused, but lops off, pausing to look back at Shamash.

"So. This was the north spot.... who wants to bet its going on in the east, west, and south, too?" Poole asks no one in particular, finding a nice building to rest her back against. REPORTS: Comments added to report 80 by Park.

Cross looks down to see the grass that is starting to grow under their feet. He smiles. "I do believe that did it." He looks to the girl before setting her in a nearby doorway to rest in before walking back to the group.

Nathan the Barbarian glances around at the townspeople and grouses, "So is anyone going to thank us or what?"

Shamash rests his back against a wall as well. "We won the first battle, but Trevian roams free... I wager, it won't be the last time we will see his visage." He just glances at Nathan and shakes his head silently at his words.

"And so the north was saved from this new evil," says the disembodied narrator as the townspeople begin coming out of their homes. "And the land revived from this attack. Yet, this would not be enough to stop the tide of darkness spreading across the land. There will be a time when the other parts of the world are threatened, and there will evil once again be fought, for this is the Chronicles of Remtkara..." Everything fades back, then returns to the regular holodeck grid.