----------------------------------------------------------------------
----- Chapter 20: A Guardian Attacks - But what is it guarding ? -----
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The party is now moving away from the room with the crystal wall, with
Falrun in the lead, closely followed by Dithion and Shade. All goes
well for a while, until ....

(Silver:)
Moving out down the second tunnel, Silver will stay back with the main
group.  Occasionally, she will touch the rock walls of the tunnel, and
then look with distaste at her now damp, grimy hand.

(Falrun:)
Everyone hears Falrun scream loudly, "Help!  I think it's a Gargoyle!
It's attacking!", followed by the sounds of battle.

(Keilan:)
As Falrun cries out, Keilan puts a hand on Arlon's shoulder, "Let me
guess.  One needs a magicked weapon to harm a gargoyle, no?"

(Arlon:)
"Well, look at it this way - it will be a pleasant surprise when we
meet something that doesn't...I hope."

Arlon will then move up near Dithion and Falrun and be ready with a
spell.

(Tatiana:)
The scream from someone up ahead was heard "Gargoyles".

When Keilan said sarcastically to Arlon "A magical blade is probably
need too. Huh?"  Tatiana's shoulders slumped "Yep!  but only one of a
minor enchantment is necessary.  Not that that does me any good
either."

(Dithion:)
You all hear Dithion yell in pain .... And then you hear him yell,
"Die foul beast!"  followed by the sound of wood slamming against
stone...the noise resounds through the chamber.

(Shade:)
While he runs to help his friends the bard sighs between his teeth
"What a foul place is this, lucky us we have not been attacked while
we were resting..."  Then quizzically to himself "I still do not
understand how it could manage to survive such a long time all alone
down here..."  The drow unsheathes his blades and joins in with
Soulcrusher to kill the Gargoyle.

(Silver:)
On hearing Falrun and Dithion scream in warning and in pain, Silver
will quickly, but nervously, look around, and then move both staves so
she is holding them together in the crook of one arm. She will then
move forward to see better how she can help her friends.

(Keilan:)
Keilan slips his arm from its sling and hefts his staff (which to the
astute looks curiously identical to the staff Arlon was wielding).
"Once more it seems our trouble-finding duo has come through."  Keilan
moves off down the passageway toward the light of Dithion's club (that
is our light source?)

(Tatiana:)
"Let's at least go check it out.  I can at least record the events for
history even if I can't do much else." Tatiana followed the group to
the next room.

"Hope they're not gargoyle golems.  Much stronger magic is needed
then.  But I don't understand how a gargoyle could survive this long
inside a cavern unless it was mechanical or preserved.  That or this
cavern has access to the outside as well?"  she commented as she
continued on to help the warriors.




While some of the party rush to help Dithion and Falrun, the battle
continues ....

(Dithion:)
The sounds of a full pitched battle continue on....thumps, bumps, and
grunts.  Dithion shouts, "By Des!  I'm blinded!"  Followed by another
resounding crash.

(Falrun:)
Seeing the rest of the party rushing to their aid, Falrun hangs back
from the creature and pulls his rope out.  He then attempts to lasso
the creature, entangling it and buying time for the rest of the group.

(DM:)
Although Dithion and Falrun were surprised by the sudden attack by the
statue-like creature, they gather their wits fast, while others are
running forward to deal with this new threat. Still a bit woozy from
the first attack, Falrun and Dithion strike only after the attack by
the stone-creature.

It rams its head in Dithion's groin, and claws his sides. One claw and
one horn from it's head rake the chainmail, but fail to penetrate it.
The other two attacks, unfortunately are successful. Dithion staggers
back with a bleeding hole on his left side, and gashes on his right
arm (3 + 6 hpd), but still manages to get off a two handed swing on
the creature's head after it retracted it from the attack and leered
maliciously at Dithion.  Dithion's club lands squarely between the
creature's horns, and it staggers back as well, only to get tripped by
an attentive Falrun. The creature lands with a heavy thud, and quickly
scrambles to get back up.

(Shade:)
An icy cold glare in his eyes, Shade engages the Margoyle (it's not a
Gargoyle) "You're gonna die today, beast" - he says callously - "let's
dance."

(Dithion:)
Dithion staggers back a bit.  He doesn't look good...you see that the
light from the club reveals that his face is completely covered in
bright red blood...his upper face looks to be severely mangled, strips
of his flesh seem to hang loose.

His upper chest is also covered in blood...his chainmail hangs a
bloody wreck on his frame.  His right side is exposed, revealing skin
and more torn flesh under the rent armor.  A garish wound exudes more
blood, although it seems to be mixed with other liquids.  His upper
right leg, and both his thighs are also soaked with blood.

He draws his arm across his face, "Aaarrghh!"  smearing his own blood
away, along his arm and face.  He blinks his eyes rapidly, and seeing
the monster down...he lifts his club and charges the beast, swinging
downward with all his might.  "DES!!!!"

(Silver:)
Silver moves forward slowly, still cautious, worrying about Dithion
shouting that he is now blind, but then suddenly remembers something,
slapping her forehead in exasperation "What a fool ! I am sorry, Tier"
and then runs forward, dodging between the others running forward and
one of the tunnel walls, crouching low so as not to get in the way.

As she nears Dithion, she will call to him, in a loud voice "Dithion,
down on the floor !  NOW !" Pausing for a fraction to see that he
does, she will dive down next to him, says sternly "Wait, I will
help". She will look directly into his eyes and say urgently "Can you
see me, Dithion ?"

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Aye, the blood is in my eyes!  Damn the beast to
Hades."

(Silver:)
Seeing that Dithion has not actually been blinded, she touches the
unicorn-head of Tier's staff to Dithion's forehead, muttering a
strangely arcane word.

During all this, Silver has paid no real attention to the attackers,
hoping Mielikki ( and the others 8-) ) will protect her.

(DM:)
While the whole group runs forward, and the Margoyle attempts to get
on his feet again, an enraged (and heavily wounded) Dithion manages to
get off one more swing with his club before he collapses from shock
and exhaustion/trauma. While Silver rushes to Dithion and uses her
staff, speaking arcane syllables, Dithion's wounds visibly heal
somewhat (heal 15hp).

(Silver:)
After seeing the wound on Dithion's head close and heal without trace,
and the other wounds stop bleeding, Silver will wipe away the blood
that remains on Dithion's face, smearing him and her cotton robe. She
is searching for any sign of other wounds around his head. Seeing
none, she will caress the unicorn-head and mutter, slightly in awe,
"Thank you, Tier".

(Arlon:)
As Arlon moves up the tunnel he sees Dithion knock the Margoyle down.
He will stop and begin to cast a spell: "Stay down and rest rocky one.
Here, I'll help you."  Arlon then fires a volley of magic missiles at
the beast.

(DM:)
Then five streams of energy streak forth from Arlon's outstretched
hand, striking the stone creature successively. The first hit drops
the Margoyle back to the ground, and by the time the last one slams
into the prone body, the glowing red eyes begin to dull and fade.  The
Margoyle does not move anymore....

(Silver:)
She will flinch back, arm across her face as Arlon's magical energies
blast into the creature, to leave it lying motionless.

(Arlon:)
"I wish the daemons would have listened to me like that."

(Shade:)
"Well" - mutters the drow with a shrug and sheathing his unused swords
- "I told you that you were going to die today."

Shade looks worriedly at Dithion, but when he sees that Silver is
tending him he turns to look for secret passages in the cave.

(Silver:)
"Are you still hurt, Dithion ?" she asks as he gets up onto his feet.

(Dithion:)
Dithion gets up.  "Ow, I ache.  That damned thing."  He feels his
head, and says, "I wonder if this will scar.  Oh well."

Dithion then goes over, and clubs the beast a couple times.  He turns
and says, "Just making sure it's dead, sorry if the violence offended
any of you."

(Arlon:)
Turning to Falrun, he says "We must be getting close to something,
these things usually aren't the wandering type.  Be extra careful as
you scout."

OOC: Is there anything more here than just a tunnel, is it an enlarged
     area ?

(DM:)
The area where the Margoyle was hiding was a natural cave, dimensions
about 10 by 20 meters roughly, ovoid in shape. No other tunnels branch
off of it, at first glance you do not see anything interesting here...

(Arlon:)
Arlon will search around a bit, looking for anything interesting.

(Falrun:)
Upon taking Arlon's advice, Falrun will carefully search the area
looking for secret doors/compartments, traps, and valuables.

(Keilan:)
Keilan looks around the small cave.  "Where did this thing come from?"

(Silver:)
Silver will move into the main cave with the rest of the party, edging
carefully around the Margoyle as she passes it's body. She will stand
near the entrance to the cave as the others search it.

OOC: She will be looking slowly, but casually around the cave, but
     also regularly looking back up the tunnel from which we arrived,
     and at the (dead) Margoyle.



The search by some of the party goes on for a while, until suddenly ....

(Falrun:)
Falrun calls out to the group, "Hey, I found something over here!"
Anyone coming over to look will find Falrun examining a pile of rocks
that at first glance appears real but then after a closer look you
realize that they are fake and deliberately set up.

(Arlon:)
"Excellent, I thought there would be something here."

(Falrun:)
Upon reaching the rocks Falrun cautions, "It looks like they're
trapped.  I'll see if I can disarm it."  Falrun then sets about the
task of disarming whatever mechanism he may have found.  "You may want
to step back for a minute.  I don't know what will happen if I'm not
successful."

(Arlon:)
Arlon will move down the tunnel a bit.  "Call if you need help, Falrun."

(Falrun:)
"By the way, does somebody have a pair of gloves I can borrow in case
these rocks have poison on them?  Or does one of you have a cure
poison spell handy?"

(Silver:)
"You could borrow my gauntlets, but they take a bit of getting used
to, and I don't think they're suited to such intricate work."

(Keilan:)
If no one else is forthcoming with a pair of gloves for the wily
Falrun, Keilan will take the pair of gloves tucked in his belt and
hand them to the elf. "These are enchanted, but not against your
tomfoolery so be careful not to harm them."

(Shade:)
"Take these, Falrun" - says Shade removing his leather gloves - "I
think you won't mind my tattoo."

(Falrun:)
The elf graciously accepts the human's offered gloves and puts them
on.  Flexing his fingers he says, "Ah, a perfect fit.  Thank you Shade
for also offering your gloves but these will do nicely.  Now if
everyone feels comfortable standing where they are, I will attempt to
disarm this devious trap." (Please have medical aid standing by.)

Falrun then turns to the rocks, flexes his fingers one more time, and
approaches the pile of rocks.

After examining the trap for a moment Falrun turns back to the group
and says, "It looks like I'll need a little help with this.  Shade,
would you mind giving me a hand for a moment?"  Assuming Shade is
willing to help, Falrun will direct him to hold the top rock firmly on
top of the pile while Falrun begins to take rocks out from around the
pile.  After a moment of this, a canister is revealed in the pile.
Falrun then grabs the canister and taking the rock from Shade, he
lifts them both out and carries them to the closest wall of the cave.

(Silver:)
Initially watching both the activities in the tunnel and the rest of
the party in the cave, Silver soon becomes engrossed in watching
Falrun's activities. She clears her mind, in case she needs to call on
Mielikki again. Seeing Falrun emerge with both the rock and canister,
she breathes a genuine sigh of relief and says "Oh well done, Falrun!"

(Falrun:)
He then wedges the canister and rock in between the wall of the cave
and a large rock on the floor of the cave.

(Silver:)
As he places it down and then stands, she says "Are you sure that's
safe now ?"

(Falrun:)
He then brushes off his hands and says, "That should about do it.
Now, let's see what was being protected by that trap.  And thank you
Shade for your help."

After approaching the pile of rocks, Falrun takes off the gloves and
hands them back to Keilan saying, "Thank you for the use of your
gloves.  I am grateful." Then he walks back to the pile and begins to
rummage through it.

(Silver:)
Silver stands still close to the cave entrance, unless everyone else
moves over to have a look at the pile of rocks Falrun discovered, in
which case she will go over as well.

(Arlon:)
Arlon will huddle around with the rest of the group and watch as
Falrun roots around.



A pile of treasure is revealed !! ....

(DM:)
Okay, Falrun and Shade will clear the stone pile, and it will reveal
the following. A skull and some bones and some jewelry and a baton.
The skull appears old.  Very old. It also looks decidedly human. You
would guess it is definitely of an era before the settlers came. What
with the weird environment here underground, you do not know how
well-preserved it is compared to its age, further study/research will
have to be done to determine that.

Arlon who was looking closely, suddenly starts at the sight of the
baton, walks to it and grabs it with reverence, holding it up to the
light cast forth by Dithion's club. Arlon recognizes the baton
obviously, and seems amazed by it. As though he has seen a ghost.
Kaeyar and Dithion also recognize the item, and look at it with a
start as though to deny reality.

Suddenly Tatiana stoops to the pile of bones, and looks at the
jewelry. She seems to recognize something too. She gently picks up one
of the rings, set with an intricate pattern of rubies. "Oh my..." Are
the only words she can manage....

(Silver:)
Silver stands at the entrance to the cave, while the others cluster
around the dismantled pile of rocks. Suddenly, Arlon holds a baton up
high, to gasps from most of the party, and Tatiana seems amazed at her
find as well. Silver looks around and says in a low voice to Keilan
(who seems to be the only other one not delving in the treasure pile)
"Keil, are these things real ? You and I both know of creatures that
lay traps within traps to catch the unwary ...."

(Keilan:)
Keilan could only raise an eyebrow at Silver's inquiry, but after a
few moments replies to her, "I do not think that is the case today.
Odd that there should be enough to startle so many, though."

(Silver:)
Silver, too, will move to where she can catch a glimpse of what is
lying there.

(Shade:)
Shade looks away from the items and closes his eyes "What do you see
friends? Why are you so astonished?"

(Tatiana:)
"By the Gods!" She exclaims. "Shade! take a look at this!  Do you
recognize it!"  "This is over 2000 years old!"

"This ring belonged to one of the heroes of the Core-Wars.  They were
fought about 2000 years ago, about the same time that the Empire was
shattered into little kingdoms." "Some of the heroes from that war left
in disgust to found a new Eden.  I guess they landed here"

She spun in place with giddy excitement.  "OOoooh" she groaned with
regret as her side reminded her she was still hurt.

OOC: At 20 out of 38

She furrowed her brow in frustration at her side, but continued on
with her tale.  "Most of the mages during that time died due to the
war.  Massive amounts of magical knowledge was lost."

(Falrun:)
While everyone is inspecting the new treasure, Falrun will be looking
around the rest of the cave for anything that might have been missed
and he will also be keeping an eye on the entrance to this cave.

After a while he will say, "Can't this stuff be examined later?  These
tunnels are starting to wear on my nerves also.  I would like to be
out of here as soon as we can be."  With that said, he will stand by
the cave entrance impatiently waiting for the rest of the party to
gather their things and be ready to go.



As a bit of background, the knowledge of the Fireball spell has been
lost in this world ..

(Arlon:)
Still looking at the wand: "This wand represents a magic that has not
been seen for over 2 millennia.  The knowledge of how to make this item
was basically lost and even the spell that it duplicates is unheard of
now.  This is an INCREDIBLE find.  It has the power to shorten battles
with numerous foes .. quickly.  It unleashes the spell FIREBALL!  I
wish we could speak with this person, the things he would be able to
tell us..."  Arlon's eyes sort of glaze over at this moment.  Still
glazed over he whispers "Mendahl"

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Mayhaps we can study it and reproduce it. That would
truly be a great feat"

(Tatiana:)
"That rod that Arlon carries is probably just a minor sample of the
lost lore to be found on this continent."

A serious look crossed her face.  "If these natives are the
descendants of the Core-war immigrants, they might still retain some
of the lost knowledge?"  she speculated.

She looked at the ring then to the party "May I wear it for a while?"
she asked hopefully.

(Shade:)
"_FIREBALL_?? - he swallow hard - you really mean that magic is here
again?  That's great!  The war against the natives will have a very
sharp turn toward the settler's victory if we can have this kind of
spell at hand."

He grins "And we'll be rich and famous too...."

(Silver:)
"Fireball !" Silver gasps. "Oh No ! Surely that evil knowledge is best
buried where none can find it !"  she says with dismay. "The damage
that can be wrought with such power in a forest is ... unspeakable !"

"There was good reason then, to bury it here. Oh Mielikki ! Will my
name be listed among those that brought such destruction back into
your realm ?"

She then moves, shoulders slumped, to stand next to Falrun, looking up
at him briefly as she arrives.

(Arlon:)
Arlon (looking a little surprised at Silver's words):
"Fireball?! Evil??  There is nothing evil about that knowledge, it is
all in how it is used, just like most things in nature.  Yes it can
cause great destruction; but so can many other things that we use.  It
can be frightening to think about what could happen; but we cannot
focus on one aspect of its use.  As you have said about Tier's staff,
I hope we use this item wisely.  Do not be afraid (he says this
reassuringly)"

OOC: Arlon is trying to be reassuring; he could have said more but he
     feels he needs to cut his speeches shorter due to previous
     problems.

(Falrun:)
Falrun is very intrigued by the talk of a new spell being found.
Although he doesn't understand magic very well, he does like to watch
to the sparks fly.

To Silver, "I don't think the discovery is such a bad thing in itself.
It is more in the way the spell is used that will prove whether this
is a detrimental or beneficial find.  Although it may be a destructive
spell, it can also be used to help defend as well as attack."

(Tatiana:)
She looked at Falrun with a stunned expression then too Arlon.  

(Dithion:)
Dithion says, "Hmm, maybe Silver is right.  Maybe we should destroy
that thing.  Only those who have trained for years normally can use
such magicks.  Such a weapon could give an apprentice the ability to
devastate armies."

(Tatiana:)
Before should could explain her reaction, Silver and Dithion spoke of
destroying the object.  A look of horror crossed her face at the
thought of destroying an artifact with such historical significance.

(Arlon:)
After Dithion raises his concerns, which really surprises Arlon more
than what Silver said, Arlon says "Hmmm .. this find has brought more
distress than I would have imagined.  We should discuss this later, it
is useless without the right command word anyway.  I would, however,
like to discuss it with Mendahl."

(Dithion:)
"If naught else, let us not tell anyone about it...  no one.  What do
the rest of you say?"

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana was devastated. Nearly shouting, she said "HOW CAN YOU SAY
THAT!"  "These finds are of historical significance and the whole
realms will take notice!  Why the leaders of this community will want
to know what was found down here immediately!  This has major
political ramifications.  Why this site will probably be off limits to
all after it is known.  This information cannot be hidden!"

(Shade:)
The bard shrugs "This spell has no soul of it's own, is neither
inherently evil nor inherently good: it's just a powerful weapon."  He
smiles warmly at Silver " A powerful weapon can be used to put an end
to a greater evil. If we had had this spell in our first battle in
defense of the village above, many innocent lives would not have met
their end in such an abrupt way."

Then in a more thoughtful way "Besides, if we, who are not the most
powerful heroes of the land, have discovered this thing, then it means
that it is going to be in the world again soon. I do think it is a
lucky event that _WE_ have done it before some evil power did. We can
give a powerful and wise mage, maybe Mendahl fits this description,
the chance to study a protection against this tool of destruction."

He smiles to everyone else "As you all have caught at this time my
opinion is to keep this thing and use it as wisely as possible."


(Arlon:)
OOC: Arlon has a big smile on his face as Tatiana gets 'emotional'
     about the discussion about the wand.

(Tatiana:)
"Everyone must know about this, and the exploration of these tunnels
come second in priority of getting this information out to the
public."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana was smiling at Arlon thinking she had swayed them all from the
course of ignorance when Dithion spoke up.

(Dithion:)
Dithion shrugs at Tatiana, and says, "Yes, you are right.  People will
take notice.  Let's, in fact, tell everyone so that this magic can be
made again. Then we can obliterate all the natives of this land, and
any who stand in our way easily.  Ah, the possibilities.  In fact,
maybe we should think about starting an empire."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana sneered at Dithion's flippant attitude.  Her eyes narrowed
with anger but she held her tongue.  Enough silly arguing had occurred
already.

(Dithion:)
Dithion then shrugs again, and walks away looking down the tunnel.

(Tatiana:)
His behaviour grated more than she could bear.  "You _insult_, what I
hold dear!"  she said, her voice dripping with barely controlled
anger.  "I do not take such insults lightly"

(Shade:)
The drow gently squeezes Tatiana shoulder "Ushh 'Ana, you should know
Dithion's attitude and take his words 'cum grano salis'" - he smiles -
"he is not evil, he can be kind and gentle, but his God pushes him
towards a 'let's have a try at anything attitude' (I'm not evil they
paint me this way ;). He will surely see that starting an Empire on
violence is not a good deed, there is no need for anger now."

(Silver:)
She smiles gently at Shade's advice to Tatiana to take Dithion's words
'cum grano salis'.

(Shade:)
He takes her hand and kisses it gently "C'mon 'Ana, we are all more
than a little shaken, don't jump at shadows now."

(Dithion:)
Dithion turns toward Tat and says, "I meant no personal insult."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana began to relax as it appeared Dithion was about to apologize.

(Dithion:)
"I do however realize what something like *that* can do.  I have
family who would use it to destroy any who got in their way,
regardless of who suffered.  I know they are not alone in the
world...there are many who would use such easy power evilly.  However,
I care not.  Tell whoever you please.  Make the world sit up and take
notice...that is a road that you have to take yourself.  I will be no
part of it, myself, though.  I don't want any part of that journey.
Don't take it personally, though, because I don't.  And if your honor
has been insulted so easily, then forgive me.  I did not realize how
easily you were hurt...that was not my intent.  Finally, if you cannot
take what I said 'lightly' then don't. However, if you must seek
retribution, allow me or Silver to heal you first."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana's expression changed slowly as she realized that not only was
Dithion not apologizing, but first diverging into an excuse for why
his rude behaviour was acceptable, then insulting her as he mocked her
once again. Then he tried to push off his insults with the excuse that
they were meaningless idle comments and it didn't matter to him.  Fury
boiled again as she clenched her jaws in frustration.

"If you care so little, then just SHUT UP!  Your condescending
attitude is unbecoming.  And I will not accept anything from one who
respects my feelings so little.  I have never resorted to insulting
the way one thinks or feels the way you just have!  Questioned it
maybe, but never have I belittled someone. Only a little man resorts
to such tactics, no matter how big the stick he carries!"

Her eyes held cold anger as she turned to move to the far end of the
group from Dithion.

OOC: At some point during this the ring she had picked up is now on
     her finger

(Keilan:)
Keilan replies to Tatiana's outburst: "Dithion and Silver are right.
Such magics do little but kill.  I am no sage on mystical powers, but
I know a sword makes an ineffective tool for creation.  Unfortunately
we are certainly not going to be the only ones to travel these
tunnels.  Others will come and will likely find similar secrets as
these unless we can destroy them all before we return.  I doubt that
is possible."

"I do not understand why it is you wish to bring this to the world
above.  Let the peaceful thing sleep without this knowledge, for it
will be a rude and troublesome awakening."

(Arlon:)
OOC: And I thought Keilan and I were having a bad time relating !

(Keilan:)
As Tatiana continues her outburst, Keilan looks toward Arlon with a
questioning nod to Tatiana.

(Silver:)
Silver barely suppresses a chuckle when she sees Keilan look at Arlon
with that questioning nod toward Tatiana.

(Arlon:)
Arlon moves next to Tatiana, he sees Keilan's gesture, then gives a
slight look into the air as if to say - you may not like what I'm
about to say.

"We each have our own philosophies, feelings and scopes; these have
brought friction before and will probably again.  Yes Shade, many
lives could have been spared if we had this at our disposal during
that night. Some would say that would not justify its use.  Perhaps
they're right, perhaps we should destroy it ... after we destroy
(looks to Dithion) your club, belt and arm-bands; (looks to Keilan)
your staff, gloves and ring and (looks to Silver) Tier Breche's staff.
A man you hold to have greater wisdom than yourself, then see his
staff and ask why are death and life together on the same staff."

(Silver:)
Silver turns from where she stands by Falrun, and responds to Arlon,
"You are right, I shall contemplate long and hard on my use of Tier's
staff. And my gloves. I shall ask for guidance later."

(Arlon:)
"As Keilan has said a tool can be used as a weapon, and nature can be
used for good or evil."

(Silver:)
Silver says to no-one in particular, as if remembering something from
long ago "Ahh. The great cycles of life and death, good and evil. The
dance of the Gods. The clarity of a drop of rain. The folly of a wise
and righteous man. All things relate." Silver then looks slightly
embarrassed for having interrupted Arlon when he was in mid-speech.

(Arlon:)
He says this next part with all the passion of the elves ...
"Have some of you not dwelled with evil, have it surround you and
infiltrate where you live.  I have and now so do you, because we are
almost surrounded by it now.  I grew up with it surrounding my
family's small village.  Orcs, goblins, ogres were commonplace and
dealing with them was almost a daily chore.  Evil destroys and worse
twists, defiles and corrupts what is around it.  Wherever I am I will
fight it; because it will never give up.  As Shade has said, it is
improbable that this is the only 'artifact' of its kind here.  We are
in evil's playground, what I have witnessed previous to here was puny
in comparison.  If this was a perfect world and evil did not exist I
might have agreed to destroy it; but we are not; so I cannot."

(Silver:)
Silver responds once more to Arlon, "But if this *were* a perfect
world, then we would not *need* to destroy it. And I would trust any
of us here to show the wisdom necessary to use it properly. It is the
legacy we leave for others I worry about."

(Arlon:)
"If you destroy this then you destroy more than it.  Each of us could
have the potential to do far worse than this.  If you destroy this you
might as well destroy yourself for the same reason."

He then says quietly, "Let's move on."

OOC: I said a lot more than I thought and I was going to say more; but
     it may have turned into a book.  Hmmm, maybe I do have the
     passion of the Elves :)

(Dithion:)
Dithion just shakes his head at Arlon's speech, and then says,
"Indeed, let us move on."

Dithion Ulderan says no more, but moves down the corridor.

(Silver:)
"For now, as we all agree, let's move on."

But before we move on, Silver will say "So what *was* in that pile -
apart from the ring and the wand ? I never actually got to see it all.
Do any of you know who the bones and skull belonged to ? Do we take
them out of here to give them a proper departure ?"

OOC: Just want to know who's actually carrying what.

(Falrun:)
While listening to the exchanges in the party Falrun starts to realize
the enormity of the situation that is unfolding.  As he stands waiting
he begins to get more and more uneasy as he realizes the implications
and what some people might be able to do with such a weapon and what
that really means to him.

He does not add anything to the conversation, he merely stands by with
a look of dread and doom on his face.

(Tatiana:)
OOC: Just to make this clear.  Tatiana is angry.  I'm just
     role-playing.  So long as you don't insult me, you can say
     anything you like to Tatiana!  I like the diversity of this
     group!

(Dithion:)
OOC: Don't worry Joe, I won't insult you.  : ) I also like the
     diversity of this group...it's great, and makes for great role
     playing.

(Dithion:)
Dithion shrugs and goes to the other side of the cavern.

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana was silent for along time in thought

* Tuft? *    * TUFT! *     

* WHAT! * Tuft finally thought back * You messed up my kill! I almost
had that wily mouse when you interrupted my concentration *

* Sorry !?! Tuft, We've made a fabulous discovery down here.  And I
need you to go to Mendahl.  Bring him to the Tunnels.  Convince him
that we have found lost magic from the Core-Wars *

* After I catch that mouse! *

* Please do it now!  It's important! *

* Oooohh Alright, But he might be a little upset being woken up so
late.  Wizards don't keep the same hours we do.*

* I think this is important enough to interrupt him *

(Arlon:)
Still smiling, he says "Don't worry Tatiana, I will speak to Mendahl
the first chance I get.  There are several things that I need to
discuss with him.  I think we should continue our exploration before
seeing him though.  He is .. ah .. generally preoccupied at night
(with a slight smile toward Shade) and it would probably be best if we
could give him a full report of these tunnels.  If you like you could
go with me, I would be honoured to have you along (he gives a wink)."

OOC: Arlon thinks what Tatiana said was great and it may show a
     little. Oh I based my response to Tatiana without using the
     knowledge of her talking to Tuft.  It seemed she was anxious to
     go now.

(Silver:)
After Tatiana finishes makes her feelings known on the Wand, Silver
goes close to her, and goes to touch her, but Tatiana's anger makes
her shrink back slightly, so Silver just stands close and says in an
earnest, but level tone "Tatiana, believe me when I say I understand
your thirst for knowledge, and the immeasurable delight you have in
finding this object." A slight pause to stress that Silver really
means what she is saying, although is finding it difficult to get the
right words.

"But *I* have only experienced power as a gift from Mielikki. It is a
gift to me alone - I cannot pass it to anyone else, nor have it taken
forcibly from me; but it can be withdrawn at any time if my behaviour
becomes warped or evil. Dithion knows this more than anyone else
here."

"But that is why I am concerned about using Tier's staff, and even
more so about the wand, since if we give it up to Mendahl, then fine.
I believe I have cause to trust him. But who comes after him ?"

Seeing how Tatiana still tenses with pent-up fury, Silver looks at her
pleadingly, saying gently "And ... I can see how such an ancient
artifact thrills you so, and how it hints at other things ... but I
speak from fear of the evil and lust for power that lies at the heart
of all mortals."

And she finishes with "But, we cannot destroy it, and we cannot leave
it here, now there is no guardian to protect it, so we must take it
with us." She adds, thoughtfully, "But perhaps you could work out why
the creators of this thing brought it with them, and then why it was
hidden and guarded here."

(Tatiana:)
With a little reflection she speaks again a bit calmer "Of course, if
there is more to be found, then this discovery is all the more
important."

She made a decision "If we are careful, we should investigate the
tunnels more carefully.  But I for one will not hold my tongue."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana seemed to relax a bit as Silver and Arlon spoke to her.
Finally the fury she had subsided to a low smolder for Dithion's
insults.  To the others she was polite but quiet and she reflected on
what they had found.

"I didn't say they were good or evil, I'm not in any position to make
such a judgment.  It's my opinion the person is the vehicle for evil
to be spread, but I'm no fool to think that items can't have the taint
of evil themselves."

"No, All I was trying to say was this is history here.  And the lost
knowledge here can be brought to bear on our problems in a responsible
manner."

"I didn't think I attacked anyone personally," she said looking at
Dithion.

"If it came across that way, I apologize, for that was not my intent.
But what I got back in return _was_ personally insulting."

She shook her head in resignation and let the subject drop.

(Arlon:)
"Well Tatiana, we should have that campfire date soon after we leave
here.  This little trek has produced many memories for both of us."

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana smiled much more warmly than she had in a while, and nodded
her agreement.

(Arlon:)
Regarding the outburst by Tatiana, Arlon says to her "It's ok to let
your feelings show.  Don't be too hard on Dithion, it seems some bad
memory has surfaced and probably all of us have something we would
like to forget.  Everything will work out." he says with a reassuring
smile.

(Tatiana:)
Tatiana looked to Arlon and thoughtfully commented in a soft voice but
loud enough for all to hear. "I've let my feeling be known on the
subject.  People are entitled to their opinions.  I've apologized for
any indiscretion on my part, because none was intended.  But if I
don't get one from Dithion with some sincerity, then I'll have to
assume he intended his personal insults"

"The past molds us, and cannot be forgotten.  But that is no excuse
for poor behaviour.  It might explain it, but doesn't excuse it!  And
yes things do have a way of working things out.  I just hope it works
out okay in the end."

(Silver:)
"Let's carry on and see what else is down here, and get back above
once more." And with a nod and a slight smile to Dithion, Silver moves
back to Falrun by the entrance.

"What else besides the Wand and the pretty ring Tatiana is wearing was
under the pile of rocks, Falrun ? And is that canister safe where it
is over there ?"

(Falrun:)
"The canister should be fine there as long as nobody disturbs it.
I'm not sure if everything was taken from the pile. After the wand was
discovered I was kind of pushed out of the way."

(Tatiana:)
As the others started to walk out of the room, Tatiana stopped next to
the rock hiding the trapped canister.  She scratched into the floor
with her sword tip a bardic rune for DANGER and an arrow pointing to
the rock.

(DM:)
On the other stuff, there was some more 'regular' gold and silver
jewelry lying amidst the bones.

(Falrun:)
To the rest of the party, "Do we all wish to continue exploring down
here or should we take a break?  We still have much to explore, but we
also have discovered much.  What is the consensus of the group?"

(Shade:)
"My vote is for going on and trying to conclude our task ASAP."

(Arlon:)
"Yes, you're right Falrun - we can study this stuff later.  It will
require much time anyway.  Lets move on and see what other secrets are
here. "By all means, lets continue."

(Falrun:)
If no one has any objections, and all are ready to continue, Falrun
will once again lead the party at about 30-50' ahead.