Trefalgr\'s Secret...

[Ravenmaster]

Dandor replies to Rantal, \"The Haziknon is an amulet within which abides one of many demonstones.  Now, although these demonstones are plentiful, they are very rare within our world.  They can be described as the essence of a greater demon. Like the creature\'s heart.  If the stone is destroyed, the demon will vanish from existence.  Now, you may wonder why a demon would risk its stone to someone else\'s possession. Although this is a very dangerous act for the demon, it can imbue him with immense power.  I have not examined the properties of the Haziknon itself, but I suspect the amulet surrounding the stone acts as a medium for broadcasting the demon\'s power over a large area.  The demon De\'oke had the potential to build a large army and gain vast amounts of power and wealth from this deal, at the risk of his own existence.  Now that his existence is threatened, he is using his army. I suspect many of these demons are the polluted souls of those who lived in its reign. \"  Dandor pauses for a moment and looks up.  The sillhouette of his Pterosaur hangs in the air above. He pulls a small medalion from his tunic and blows into it.  The pterosaur begins to lower itself. \"If you\'ll excuse me, I must check something.  I\'ll return by nightfall, at the latest.  If anything happens and you need me, blow this.\" He takes the medallion from his neck and hands it to Rantal. \"Now it\'s not magical, so don\'t expect an instant reply, but Tlemoth will hear it.\"  When the Pterosaur is a few feet from Dandor, he grabs ahold of the creature\'s head and heaves himself up.  He soars upward into the air and out of view.  The horse he had been riding continues at the same pace, happy about its now lack of burden.

Zahtek looks up and says, \"Great. Now we\'re going to be attacked.  Those demons were just waiting for him to--\"  He loses his balance and falls off his horse onto his back.  A moment later he stands up, screams a couple explitives, and runs after his horse.  The others get a hearty laugh and he climbs back on his horse.  The four adventurers and five horses continue on their way to Letranech.

[Kinoss]

After a long while of riding their horses Kinoss pulls out a map and scans it for a brief while. \"There seems to be a small village just up ahead by the name of Nemorea, Im getting a little hungry maybe we could find a tavern in this village to eat in.\" Said Kinoss. \"I think you all are trustworthy with what my journey is, considering that you have told me of the great one we partake in currently. I have journeyed far and have mapped out many lands but the one thing I search for is the herb called lamaia. The reason for my desperate searches is to help my poor daughter who is fallen ill to a rare sickness. This herb is the only cure for her disease. There remains only one land that I have not yet visited and I have heard rumors of a plant that lies therein that is said to have amazing curative powers. I believe this plant I have heard rumors of is the same one I seek,\" Kinoss then let out a heavy sigh, \"I must get there as soon as I can, so I will leave your party soon and head that direction when the time comes that our paths separate. Until then I will help you to the best of my abilities. Oh, look! There it is, the town of Nemorea.\"

[Ravenmaster]

As they approach the town, Zahtek says, \"We must not waste time here.  Nemorea is much too small to protect us from a demon invasion.  As long as we are here we endanger the lives of all the civilians.  They are gaurded by nothing more than a loose militia.  If we eat here, we still must make it to Letranech by nightfall.\" They ride into town and stop at the local inn, the Broken Mug.  They tie up thier horses and three enter the inn.  Zahtek walks away in another direction, unnoticed.  

[Trefalgr]

On the inside of the tavern, Trefalgr approaches the bar. He motions to the barkeeper and orders an ale. Trefalgr proceeds to ask if and where a general store would be.
\"Yeah we got that. Head to the corner and you\'ll be in the square. It\'ll be along the north edge of it. The blacksmith will be along the eastern side,\" the barkeeper says with obvious country flare.
\"Thank you.\" Trefalgr tips up his mug of ale and lays it back on the bar. He drops a coin on the bar next to his mug and gets up. He walks over to Kinoss, who is studying a group in the corner playing a game of Truak. Trefalgr stops and takes up watching the strange game.
The game consisted of three players all being dealt nine tally chips with values ranging from -2 to 12. Out of these chips four are taken out of each players hand, two chosen by the player, two chosen by the player\'s neighbors. The discarded chips are then placed into a pile, shuffled and placed in the middle. The three players then are able to take two chips and discard one. The players try to get as close to 48 as possible without going over. Also getting an sequence is accepted. A sequence containing -1 is the best possible hand.
Trefalgr recognizes the game, but doesn\'t take as much interest in it as his friend.
Trefalgr taps Kinoss on the shoulder. \"I am going to run to the general store and blacksmith. I\'ll meet the two of you back at the horses once I am done.\" Trefalgr haults in realization. \"Speaking of the \'two\' of you, where has Zahtek gone?\"

[Wormtail_]

Rantal recieved the medallion and hung it around his neck while Dandor left the group. He then turned and joined the main party, which had just decided to enter a nearby village to get refreshments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Once he entered the town and tethered his horse next to the other three, he decided to head to the tavern to get some food, and even more food  to package just in case. He ordered a drink and some salad, and decided to package some loaves of bread.

Once Rantal left the tavern, he heard Trefalgr say where he was going to Kinoss and himself. Rantal then heard the sudden exclamation of where Zahtek had gone. He said, \"I would think he would be back soon enough. As long as he doesn\'t get himself into any kind of trouble, we would be fine. We might need to either have someone look for him or just hope he turns up. What do you think?\" This last question was directed at all of the group members present.

[Aruneko]

Seated nearby, a tall dermorian angled his head slightly at hearing Trefalgr\'s questioning voice: \"Where has Zahtek gone?\"  The elf waited a while for a good time to slip into the conversation.  He wore a dark green hooded cloak over his other garments, with the exception of a quiver which was filled to the brim with many kinds of arrows until it slightly resembled a pincushion.  His clothes were weatherstained and greyed from long use, but the short sword tucked under his belt was still bright and clean.  He set his longbow against the table as he listened to the Lemur reassure the rest of the group and then ask, \"What do you think?\"  After a murmur of consent from the group, the dermorian rose from his seat.  \"Forgive me for eaves dropping, but I must ask what exactly your missing friend spoke of on the path.\"  The group recognized him as a passerby they had seen as they approached Nemorea.  \"I heard him mention something about a  horde of demons,\" the elf said in a low tone. \"It seems to me that you may have some interesting tales to tell.\"

[Kinoss]

Kinoss finally comes to his sences and replies with a question as if he wasn\'t paying attention to anything else. \"What? Sorry, I was in deep thought. Hey, where did Zahtek go to? And who are you?\" Kinoss replies with and embarresed look as if everyone is about to laugh.

[Wormtail_]

Rantal looked around in surprise as the hooded figure suddenly joined the conversation. His surprise diminished to hopeless amusement as Kinoss suddenly seemed to pop out of some daydream he appeared to be having. He decided to answer both sets of questions by the hooded figure and Kinoss. \"... Well then, Kinoss, we were just discussing Zahtek\'s dissapearence, so you\'re not alone in wondering where he is. As for who this person here, we would like to know that as well. Now, who are you, sir? You seem like someone we may be able to trust as you told us openly you were eavesdropping as any ordinary spy would just walk away casually. Anyhow, I\'m not the one whose had any dangerous encounters with demons. We would, however, like to know about you first. It seems that you might have some interesting tales as well.\" Rantal, who currently had his longbow strapped to his back, fingered his staff nervously.

[Trefalgr]

\"Well, I guess I have time to tell you the story seeings how Zahtek may not be back for a while.\"
Trefalgr pulls up a chair across from Aruneko and proceeds to give him an overveiw about the events of last night. Aruneko listened with great intrest as Trefaglr described the battle with the demons.
\"Why were those demons attacking a tavern in the middle of nowhere,\" Aruneko interupted. I would think they were after something or someone.\"
Trefalgr lowers his vocie to little more than a wisper. \"You are correct. They were seeking something. I carry a powerful artifact of the kingdom of Luura. It is the demon amulet, Haziknon. I have been charged with it\'s destruction. And last night the one that seeks it sent his demon warriors to retrive it.\"
As Trefalgr told Aruneko about the situation, another group sitting at a near by table got up and approached them. There were four of them, three of them looked dirty, the fourth looked big and dirty.
\"Hey, you!\" One of the group yelled in Trefalgr\'s direction. \"We overheard you sayin\' you are carryin\' some sort of artifact. Well, we\'re gunna take that from ya.\"
\"What makes you think it will be that simple,\" Trefalgr says with a note of confidence.
\"Well, because Booga always makes situations like this simple,\" says the bandit as he motions towards the much larger one. Booga steps forward and pulls a large ax off of his back and lifts it high above his head. Trefalgr was quick to react. He unsheaths his longsword and swings it at the bandit\'s ax cutting the handle in half. The ax head falls to the floor as the bandit hualt in awe at the skill of the attack.
\"Maybe you should keep it. We don\'t need it that much anyway.\" And with that the four bandits bolted out the door.
Trefalgr resheaths his sword and sits back down at the table.
\"What was saying? Oh yes, about the Haziknon. My travellers and I would appeaciate any assistance you can give.\"

[Ravenmaster]

Some shouts are heard outside and a minute later Zahtek runs into the inn.  
\"Some men just rode off with four of our horses!  One of them was a big fatso, and he\'s on my horse! Poor thing.  I tried to stop em, but it\'s hard to outrun four terrified horses.  Now what are we going to do?  In any event, we\'d best be leaving.  We must make it to Letranech tonight.\"

[Aruneko]

\"Thank you for your trust,\" says Aruneko, \"...and forgive me for not introducing myself.  I am Aruneko, an experienced hunter.\"  He silently listens to Trefalgr\'s story and suddenly interrupts, questioning the purpose of the attack.  \"I would think they were after something or someone.\"  After a short explanation and a brief interruption from a couple of thugs, Trefalgr\'s story comes to an end.  \"My travellers and I would appreciate any assistance you can give.\"  Aruneko begins to reply but is cut short by Zahtek\'s yell.  Aruneko stands and announces, \"Then I will come with you to Letranech, if you will allow it.  Demons always make good foes.\" He turns to Zahtek, \"I assume you are Zahtek.  My name is Aruneko.  After a short discussion with your companions, I think I will join you on your quest.  I am sure you have no objections?\"

[Wormtail_]

\"I don\'t have any objections to you joining us, sir. The more the merrier, as they say, although I\'m not sure who \'they\' are. Now, as our horses have been stolen from those thugs, which I presume are the ones that threatened us here, we must either follow them, which is nearly impossible, them being on mounts and us on foot, or we send someone of whom is swift in the air to follow them. Or we leave our horses at the mercy of the thugs and continue our quest immediatley. By the way, Dandor has given me something to summon him whenever trouble arose and we needed him. Should we summon him?\" Rantal was jumpy with nervousness, and he secretly preferred that the conversation have taken place in a private area, but that was in the past, and now was now. Rantal waited nervously for the other\'s responses.

[Trefalgr]

\"Zahtek is right, we must be on our way. I hope you have all you need with you, Aruneko, because we cannot wait for anymore preperation, what with our loss of horses. Hopefully we will find our horses but that is the least of our concerns. We leave now.\" With that Trefalgr heads towards the door where Zahtek stands. Trefalgr stops as he passes Zahtek and lowers his voice. \"Zahtek I appeatiate all your help, but if your intentions to aid me are true, do not leave me wondering where you have gone. Next time, I will presume you are gone. If you need to go somewhere, tell me. I cannot be left waiting, time is running out for me.\" Trefalgr regains his pace and walks out the door.

[Kinoss]

Kinoss then rises to from his chair, swings his pack around his back, and says to Rantal, \"I think we shouldn\'t bother Dandor with a simple problem such as this, friend. I\'m sure you will get the chance to use Dandor\'s gift soon though.\" Once Kinoss gets outside the tavern he removes his pack and throws it to the side. He opens up his wings and fly to the top of the tavern to see where the thugs have gone. \"They head the the south! It seems that they have also stopped to bask in their illusions of success. It would take little time at all to reclaim our horses and teach these villans the art of true battle! heh heh!\" Kinoss shouted from the roof top.

[Aruneko]

Aruneko grabs his longbow from the table and his backpack from the floor before following everyone else out of the tavern.  \"I am ready,\" he says to Trefalgr, \"I\'ll catch up with you as soon as I retrieve my horse from the stables.\"  With that Aruneko walked deeper into town and out of sight.