The Journery....(1)

As the group looks through the gate they see green grass and rolling hill sides. It's Beautiful! WizMick disappears through the gate and appears again standing in the sunshine on the other side. Jila passes through the gate just behind WizMick. It's kind of like going /between/ on dragonback but without the sensory deprivation. It is black for a second or two but you can feel the ground beneath your feet. She can also still feel her backpack and Pandora who is curled around her neck.

"Ok, got my daggers, rapier, and other assorted weapons, flute, lute, music, all weather cloak, boots, pack with bread, cheese, and other foods, and a little pack of medicinal herbs and stuff. Ok, I think I'm ready to go." says chryse.

Max walks over to Chryse and sniffs at her pack. "meow" (got anything in there for me?) "Maybe, Max, we'll see about that later ok?" Chryse replies.

"Hey Scorpio. How are you doing? glad to have you aboard." Chryse gave Scorpio a welcoming hug. "I think this'll be a fun adventure, Scorpio. We'll have a lot of fun, right Jila?"

Wiz takes a deep breath..."Are there no more who will follow?" using his best Sean Connery imatation, "the journey will be fraught (fraught???...this Connery thing can go too far) with dangerous choices!"

Wiz cups his hand to her face "Then I have more than enough" Wiz turns to Chryse & to Scorpidoc, "we will wait one more day for the others then leave"

Wiz stumbles over a sleeping Jil..."Jil we're all supposed to be together" Jil opens her eyes still not moving..."It's so beautiful here, the Earth Goddess must love this"

Wiz gazes into the sky..."Jil don't let if fool you there is always an element of danger in beauty. Even if it is only to make you lower your guard for an instant. This land has beauty and death, remember..." Wiz walks thru the gate.

"Geez, a person can't even take a quick nap in the sunshine lately without somebody tripping over them." she says to Chryse and Scorpi, then chuckles. "Ah, but he does have a way with words, doesn't he?"

As the three ladies wait for WizMick and the others to pass through the gate Chryse takes her flute out of her backpack and starts to play. The notes take on a quality of a butterfly flitting through the air. As the notes drift on the breeze they seem to swirl around and around, creating transparent images. Seeing the images, Pandora leaps into the air playing tag and dancing with the shapes as they come and go. Jila sighs and smiles watching the little fire-lizard's aerial acrobatics.

*I wonder," Jila's mind wanders to other times and places, "if I should tell Wiz that this won't be my first time dealing with Magic and other Realms? And that catnaps are the only way to get some rest on trips like these? Maybe I should ask somebody to give me a few lessons with this dagger on this trip.*

"By the way Chryse, I forgot to thank you for the use of the dagger. Maybe you or one of the others can show me how not to get myself hurt using it."

...humming "pop goes the weasel", when he noticed an interdimentional portal. IQ hadn't been in the ballroom for a while, so he wondered if he had missed anything. He then continued to the kitchen where he had originally been headed.

The plain on which the group was waiting was interupted by the sound of the dr. who theme song. A few seconds later a refridgerator appear, and out stepped IQ#2. He grabbed a leather sack with the words "In case of magical journey through other realms" written on it out of the fridge. He then closed the door, took out his car keys, and pushed a button on a small remote on his key chain. The fridge made a "Boop-Beep" sound and disappeared.

Wiz walks back thru the Blue Gate whistling "The Night They Drove Ol' Dixie Down"...Wiz shifts his ancestral sword "Tira" to a more comforatble spot on his back. And slinging a heavy knap sack onto his left shoulder, looking at the group with a wide grin "Ok folks, lets get this show on the road! I want to head North along the forest edge, when I was here last there were some villages located there."

Kay yells, running through the gate, after the others, just as they start taking off. They stop and turn, waiting for her to catch up to them. "Hi Scorpi!" she says, giving her daughter a hug. "Hi Jila, Chryse, IQ, Wiz." Giving the animals some attention, she all of a sudden turns to look back at the gate. Honey, her cocker spaniel is sitting, there waiting to be called. "Okay, Honey, come on. The other animals are going, so I guess it is okay." Honey comes dashing towards them, and when she catches up, she almost jumps straight into the arms of Scorpi, one of her favorite people. "What a beautiful place this is." said Kay looking around. "So, shall we continue on?"

"Sure.... here's one. It's not too big though, but it has a good edge. Be careful with it." says Chryse as she hands over a small 6 inch dagger with a carven ivory hilt.

"Don't worry about it, Kay, I guess in most places it would be worth something, but where I got that, it's purely functional and not worth much. The really elaborate stuff you can't even use. This one was pretty cheap since it only had the carvings, but the carvings give it a good grip." laughed Chryse.

As the gang waited for Jila to come back, they took stock of their provisions and had decided that needed more. Just then, Jila came back with a large sack and a grin on her face.

"Hi, I wrote a note for everyone, and then I thought we could probably use some more supplies, so I grabbed some more food, a few weapons and some weather-proof cloaks for all of us."

Thanking Jila for her foresight and consideration. They formed up with Chryse on the right and Jila on the left and the rest of the group in the middle. And started on their way to Philadelphia land.

this new place I found, It is kinda like an underground cave but you can find all sorts of pretty stones" Scorpio said with a grin. " It is along the way, I"ll show you, if Mr Wiz has enough strength that is?"

Wiz turns to Scopidoc "Mr. Wiz...child I'm a litttle over 400 & and in the prime of life, and that's nothing for a descendant of Gharn Dhu. Oh, yes a direct descendant of the greatest druidic wizard in Celtic history!"

Wiz turns to the others "I'm sorry but the cave will have to wait, I have in my knap sack something that must be returned to Philadelphia. I know I led you to believe that it was to be a sight seeing journey but this has to be done. I cannot tell you exactly what it is yet, you'll have to trust me on this!"

"I'll use the crystal to move us farther into the forest it & my power are limited. Most of our journey will have to be done the old fashion way (Wiz looks at Scorpydoc)"

Wiz stared into the Blue Crystal and the group was moved deeper into the forest along a old path. Everyone was eyeing the scrubs and thickets around them, directly in front was gnarled oak with bristling thorns surrounding its base.

Wiz stared. "This wasn't here before...an oak in the middle of the path and the thickets are way thicker. Does anyone feel or smell it...sort of...I think there is dark socery at work here."

Wiz walked a few paces forward and stopped in front of the oak. "Look at this." Wiz pointed to a vine writhing up from the underbrush at the base of the oak, moving upwards and thickening as it wrapped itself around the old oak.

Wiz says slowly "I don't think the last thing we want to do is stand still. Chryse scout ahead aways see if the path is clear, we'll move slowly thru the brush behind you."

as a touch of fear wraps itself around her heart. In a blink Pandora appears directly in front of Jila, her eyes swirling yellow. Jila puts her arm straight out, palm up, and Pandora lands on it lightly.

"I need you to wait a minute." Jila says, taking a few deep breaths trying to calm her fears. "Look at Pandora's eyes. Yellow means fear. Now she's either picking it up from me or there's something she's afraid of, or afraid will happen, here." Jila takes a couple more breaths, concentrating on flying dragonback (nothing is more calming to her than that). And then the little thoughts came *As much as I do Love adventuring, there isn't a safer way to travel than to have Ragnar with his battle axe in the group. And Rae, with Her magics. Oh stop it! Deal with what you've got.*

Jila opens her eyes and takes one more deep breath. *I Can do this. I can survive this thing again.* Then she looks at Pandora. Pandora's eye color is swirling even faster now. "Well, it's not me doing it. We've got to make a plan Now before we Even try going beyond that tree."

"how about this? I will go ahead with my sword and cut a path. Jila, you and Kay follow behind me and keep a look out for things coming in from the sides. The rest of you stay close behind and watch behind. Can Pandora stay in the back to provide cover for the others, Jila?" asks Chryse.

"Wiz, can JaeLithe be of help too? And Max can be in front with me. Cat senses will be good for warning us of danger. Honey should stay with Scorpio. I don't think she can handle this." suggests Chryse.

Wiz pulls Tira from its sheath its blade shimmering with the fine look of honest steel. "Alright, JaeLithe will fly ahead with you Chryse, and I'll have Max scout with you also."

"Max you go with Jila and Kay." Max looking up at Wiz "Meeeooow" (The things you get me into, remember it's only nine lives!...How did I ever get stuck with a Wizard that's always getting into trouble? Just don't trip over your feet and cut yourself with the sword.)

"Remember it's not a fight we want, just out of this forest and please take care" Wiz strokes JaeLithes' head "Go with Chyse..." The little dragon gently touches Wiz's cheek then flys to Chryse.

So the group lines themselves up and starts around the huge tree, Max walking just ahead and to the right of Chryse, Jila and Kay next, Scorpi (carrying Honey) with IQ#2, and Mouse and WizMick guarding the rear.

Pandora, her eyes still swirling yellow, flyes nervously back and forth over the heads of the group. As Pandora returns to the back of the group JaeLithe pounces on Pandora's back and grabs hold.

<<Look hatchling>> JaeLithe says sternly to Pandora <<The only way you are going to be helpful here is to stay with me and keep an eye on what's going on behind.>>

One single image flashes from Pandora's mind to JaeLithe's, the reason for her fear. Jila, Wiz, and the others lay face down in the grass. They are all unconcious.

The animals are not affected by what got to the humans. Max is going back and forth trying to figure it out. Honey, stands guard, growling low in her throat. No one is going to get near her humans. The firelizards hear Mouse behind them, and fly to alert her. Not knowing what they are trying to tell her, she follows them to the the unconscious Scoobs. "Oh my." She said, kneeling down to make sure they are okay. "What have we gotten into now? It's okay Honey. It's me, Mouse. Lets see what we can do to help them." She said, stroking Honey's head to stop the growling in her throat. Honey wags her tail slightly in relief. Still worried though, she looks at Mouse to see what she is going to do to make her people stand back up.

Pandora and JaeLithe fly high overhead to see if they can spot whatever it is that Max is so concerned about. Unfortunately all they can see is the grass being violently pushed over in a kind of rectangular shape that advances toward the group. Swooping down, the two aerialist return to their human friends and let them know what they see.

*What do we do?* Jila hopes that the look on her face conveys this message to Wiz as she doesn't want to shout, or even whisper, for fear that whatever is there will know about the group. That is, if they don't already.

"ok, that's not good. I suggest we get off the path, away from that frelling tree, and hide in the bushes together. JaeLithe and Pandora can keep a watch out, " says Chryse.

Wiz still a little groggy from the psychic blast that leveled them turns to Scorpi..."I'm not sure what'll work let me see if I can tell what it is."

"Ahh..." Wiz drops to his knees in pain, the others rush to over to him. JaeLithe swoops down to him with a scream, Max darts over to his side. Chryse asks "What is it Wiz?" Her eyes constanyly gazing over to the path & tree.

Wiz taking deep breaths speaks as if the words are being pulled from him. "I've seen what it is out there in the shadows...it's a sending from Akron."

"Akron...Akron?, Wiz is your head on straight? Akron is the second dullest town in the world next to NoWhere, South Dakota" The others look at Wiz as if he's lost his marbles.

"NO! NO! Not the Akron you know today, it was built on the site of an older city. It was called Acheron of the Purple Towers it was old before Atlantis sunk beneath the waves. It was a city of dark wizardry, many a man and women died screaming on the demon altars there."

Wiz staggers to his feet, "This journey may be more important than we think. The route we'll have to take to Philadelphia is going to be a dangerous one. Someone or something does not want us to get to Philadephia"

Wiz looks at the group. "This isn't the journey I thought of when we first started out, it seems a geas has been laid on me to complete it though. If you would like to return I think I can open the gate again. I understand if you want to go back, this is not the journey you thought it would be."

down abruptly. The psychic blast it seems has done more to weaken him than he thought. *Breathe* he orders himself *Just breathe* Max walks around in front of Wiz, stands on his hind paws, and puts his front paws on Wiz' chest.

The rest of the group have gotten themselves to what they think is a safe distance away from the huge tree. Jila scratches Pandora's nose ridge and neck, and speaks to her calmly.

"You've got to fly watch." Jila says "I need your eyes in the air in case something comes again." Pandora almost visibly shakes with fear. The blast and the man's reaction was quite a lot for her young mind. But fly and watch she will do for those that she has come to know and love. Pandora leaps into the air, spreads her wings, and climbs the air currents until she's at tree top level. She glides through the air checking as far as she can.

"Yeah but I think we can handle it." Jila tries to be optimistic. "Chryse, you come from a Realm of magic. You have magics that you can use. And look what the three of us accomplished in Kaldorre." Jila looks at Kay and Mouse in turn.

"I know, I know." Jila sighs. "I still haven't gotten the hang of using that sword, and all we really have among us are different size daggers. But if none of the others walks through that gate when Wiz opens it again......."

"Maybe we should see if anybody comes through before we decide that one." Jila says "I think I may have something though." Jila's scowls a bit as she thinks. "Wiz said that I should use my power to warn us if something should approach again. Do you suppose that, like Kaldorre, we all may have gained some kind of magic when we crossed through the gate?"

#1 had used the bag to store all of the magic gear he had recieved while with at the mantion. #2 found what he was looking for. He pulled his arms out of the bag to reveal he was holding...

With sweat pouring down his brow Wiz creates the last rune in his mind and wills it to his crystal. A blue shimmering starts...the gate is open. Wiz gets slowly to his feet and tenatively starts walking back to the group. "Max I really thought I could do it, with all the others here to shield my mind with their thoughts of a happy exciting journey. I thought I could slip past the guardian..."

Wiz reaches the others, placing Tira point first in the ground to lean on. "I need to tell you all something, I wasn't quite honest with you. I have in my sack a Heart Stone it's a key to lock the evil in Acheron. I was using the trip to Philadelphia to try and reach the present Akron to place it on the Goddesses altar to close the ancient gates. I deceived you, I am sorry and the gate is open for your safe return."

Wiz heaved a heavy sigh, "I'm afraid so. I won't think any less of you if you decide to go back. I really wasn't expecting to run into anything this dangerous. I thought I could hide my mind among yours and be camoflagued that way. And I don't know if I can protect all of you as well."

The other scoobs looked at each other. "I would like to find out if we've gotten any special powers by being here, like we did in Kaldorre, " said Jila, "then, I think I'll decide."

Mouse answered them, "We had an adventure in a place called Kaldorre. We all had gained special powers there because we had somehow become the warriors of an ancient prophecy to bring peace and justice to that land."

"But, we usually also had Ragnar and Rae with us. So we had viking muscle and PK skills on our side. 6thy was a special agent too, human, though, and Sunny also has PK training. Spyral was our angel and supply repository... no one exactly knows what he has in that wing of his.... and we usually have a slightly larger group. So we are a bit short handed and I'm really the only one who knows how to use a sword properly here." said Chryse

Kaybe answered her daughter, "She's trying to find out what her powers are. The only way to find out is to try something that you can't ordinarily do. It may take a while." And she also wandered off a safe distance to try and figure out her power. Mouse went off in another direction. Chryse went off in yet another direction and tripped over a rock.

"hey, don't swear at me, I'm just a rock, it's not my fault you can't watch wear you are going.... some elf, can't even watch her own feet.... and you are supposed to be a race of good trackers? hrmph I don't think so." said the rock.

Mouse concentrated on herself and tried to listen to her surroundings. If she had a power, she sure wanted to find it, and quick! But as usual, her mind started wandering.

*Jeez it's hot.* she thought. Luckily a cool breeze went throught the tree leaves above her head and cooled her a bit. *I wonder what else is in IQ's bag?*

A exclamation cut trough the silence - it sounded like IQ! Mouse ran back to see what the matter was and found IQ staring at his bag on the ground. "It MOVED! Without me! " he said pointing to the bag. Then it moved again. Towards her. As if in relpy to her wishes.

Wiz stares at the sky his emotions bouncing back and forth, "Will they stay and trust me or do the smart thing and go back?" Wiz muses to himself. "The single power that this land will give them also diminshes mine. I'll only have a portion of what I could control and of course Tira!"

"Meow" (What am I chipped beef, there isn't a Tomcat in the neighborhood that doesn't fear me) Max's tail starts wagging briskly! "Meeoow" (I come from a long line of feline warriors...)

She stands in the middle of an open area, her arms straight out from her sides, her palms facing outwards, and her fingers spread. She could FEEL the magic in the air. It was INCREDIBLE!!

*Is this what they mean by 'feeling the Force'? This must be what Wiz meant when he said to use my power to warn the group if anything should show up.* Jila closes her eyes and let's the feeling totally surround her. *Now to figure out how to shut it down until I need it. This could be extremely distracting.*

"Others?" Wiz asks. He's getting tired, his powers are lessening, and he's not real with it at the moment (Sorry Wiz, lol). "Oh, Spyral, Rae, and the others. What about them? They're safe in the Mansion."

"I think what Jila means," Mouse picks up the thought, "is if they realize where we are, will they have the ability to come through from the Mansion side."

"Well....." Wiz says with a sigh "it seems that with all of you gaining magical powers that mine is diminishing. When I shut this gate it shuts on both sides because there's no way for me to maintain it without draining myself more. If my magic was at full capacity keeping the gate open on one side would only require minimum thought."

Wiz watches as the Ladies and IQ smile and nod in turn. Scorpi nods slightly slower than the rest, with a hint of worry in her smile, until she catches her mother's eye.

at Wiz, Kay says "We won't go back Wiz. We are Scoobs, and we are here for each other. You need us, and we are going. Most of our missions are to fight evil, and this is certainly something we don't back up from. So, we are here with you." Smiling at Wiz, Kay looks at her daughter. "Do you feel anything that makes you think of what your power will be?" Scorpi looking a little nervous, said " I think I will wait to find my power", and then in her courageous manner, she grinns at Kay. "Maybe it will be just the right surprise in the right situation. What do you do, mom?"

Kay remembered how her power to hold life still had come in handy on more than one occasion. "Let's see if this still works." Thinking to hold the situation and to stop time, Kay extends her hand. Everything around her freezes in motion. Scorpi runs to catch Mouse from falling as she was taking a step when Kay stopped everything. Grinning, Kay went over and touched Mouse, and then Jila to see if she could control who and what froze. They both had motion again, and laughed when they saw the rest. "Well," said Kay, I'm a little rusty, but, I guess I didn't lose my power." She then, waved her hand again, and everyone and everything was moving again.

"Mouse? Frell..." Rae appears from between the trees, carrying Raegun. Her clothes are torn and dirty, her hair disheveled. "Guys? Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Then what are we waiting for? Lock and load, ladies and gents! These are the things of which legends are weaved, and we shall prove ourselves equal to the tasks or perish in a manner so gruesome that future bards will shudder to tell the tale."

Wis stands dusting himself off looks at the group facing him, "Thank you, it means alot to me to know that I have your help and strength. This is what "The Scoobs" are about the fight for truth, justice and the right to be wrong." Wiz shakes his head as the others just sort of stare at him "Give me a break I was on a roll with my speech"

"We need to get moving...fast! My crystal won't be of any use for awhile. I won't be able to draw on any of gifts to strengthen it. The crystal is sealed to me and if you joined with me...well, I don't know what would happen!"

"Chryse, will you and Rae take the lead? Let's get out of this forest and see if we can skirt around to the north. I know of a tavern in that area where some interesting beings & people stop by. We might be able to get some information as to what's ahead!"

Wiz turns and stares at the portal as it fades from sight, he turns to the others "No matter what I promise that portal will be opened when we need it!"

placing her left hand on WizMick's right arm. "The rest of us aren't as good with magic and weapons as you, Rae, and Chryse, but we'll carry our own weight."

At that moment a sharp tingle of magical current runs the circle of their arms. Startled, Wiz takes a step back, looking at Jila in amused surprise. Jila closes her eyes and cringes. Then, opening her eyes she sees Wiz start to grin.

"Oops." Jila blushes wildly. "um...uh...geez...I...." Jila stammers trying hard to find words of explanation. "Gods, I'm sorry about that. It.. slipped?"

Jila blushes an even brighter shade of pink. Seeing Jila's discomfort, and guessing what just happened, Rae walks up to the two and takes Jila by the arm.

"Don't worry about her Wiz," Rae grins "She's harmless." Rae pulls Jila along with her as the group heads out once again. "I think." Rae calls over her shoulder to Wiz, then winks at Jila, letting go of Jila's arm. "We need to get this magic of yours under control, old girl, or it's not going to be of much use. And while I'm thinking about it," Rae turns to Chryse "we're going to Have to give them some lessons on how to use these daggers of yours."

Jila sighs and walks along hoping that the blush has faded from her face. She's not going to live that one down for a while. (Mental note: Don't touch either of the guys until you can figure out how Not to do that again. <blush>)

Wiz still shaking his head smiles down at Max "This trip won't be a bundle of laughs but I feel good about it." Max stops to groom a paw "Meeoow" (Beware the power of the sorcerers you have to face...and beware of uninvited guests) Max trots off towards the others. "What did he mean by that?" Wiz stares at receding Max, JaeLithe curls her neck around Wiz's and peers over his left shoulder. {{{He loves you but he is a cat. No one knows how they think}}}

Wiz calls ahead to the others, "If we make the tavern tonight, the first ales are on me!" Wiz feels a tug on his pants' leg "MEEOOWW!" (AND...) "And cream for Max. Geez Max, you really can sneak up on a person."

The group finds the road quickly and Wiz points them in the proper direction. Rae asks Raegun to set for a continuous scan of the area so that she can concentrate on Jila's first magic lessons. The first lesson being "keeping your magic to yourself" Rae says with a grin. Jila can feel her skin grow warm again.

"First," Rae tells Jila, "relax, don't think about anything. You'll start 'seeing' things differently in a minute. Well, not really differently, just not the same as it should look. Everything will take on a faint aura."

As they walk, Jila let's her eyes roam from this to that, the rocks, the grass, the trees. *Rae's right.* She thinks as she begins to notice the change in things. *It all looks rather shimmery*

"Now," Rae says "start pulling it back. You are connected to everything you see at this moment. Limit what you want to 'see'. Start thinking about what you're doing and bring what you can sense down to a small circle around you. It's helpful if you can picture yourself encased in a globe."

While Jila walks she concentrates on this picture, everything she can see inside a huge shimmering globe. The globe gets smaller and smaller until it holds her companions, and then smaller still until it contains only herself.

In the meantime, they have passed only a few people on the road. Which is a good thing because every now and then a rock or a tree will say "Hello" to Chryse, or ask her to please watch where she's walking. Mouse is getting used to her telekenetic ability by plucking apples, nuts, or leaves off nearby trees, and playing 'Keep Away' with Pandora. The 'Keep Away' is easier of course, picking specific things of trees is a more delicate procedure unless she's just batting them out of the tree. Scorpi questions her mom about how to tell when magic abilities appear, and #2 gives his scientific side some time to collect leaves from the local flora to check out along the way.

"Have you got it?" Rae asks quickly checking Raegun's scanner then sliding him back around to her back. "Are you concentrating the magic on yourself alone?"

"You've got to know Jila." Rae scowls "You could have blown WizMick right off his feet back there. If you can't control this you could hurt somebody."

"Yes." Rae nods. "I'm the only one here that you can't hurt if you haven't got it under control, and this is the only way I can check to see if you really can control it."

The rest of the group stops around them, and with a worried look Jila takes Rae's hands in her own. And nothing happens. Jila feels nothing, which means Rae doesn't either.

The group starts off again and in a short time they come upon a smallish town. One building is Very well lit and the sounds of loud conversations pours out the door.

"There it is." Wiz says as the group enters the village, and points the the brightly lit building. "There's the tavern right there. As I said, the first ales are on me." WizMick watches Pandora flying above the group's heads. "How's her training going Jila?"

"Because most of the people in this tavern aren't going to take to kindly to an untrained fire-lizard." He explains. "If she can't stay sitting or laying down while we're in there she'll be better off staying outside."

"Hell, I do it all the time..." Rae mutters, leading the group to a corner booth. "No, really, the tryptophins make it a little easier to control your energies. It's why I'm such a sucker for a tall latte." Rae winks and sits down in the back of the booth. "I'll show you some more meditations later on: after the others go to sleep."

"Two big glasses of warm milk." Rae says. "And one for Jila." She reaches into an inner pocket and pulls out a small leather pouch. She pulls out a pinch of brown powder and sniffs it thoughtfully."

(playfully, of course) in accordance with her instructions. "Well, okay..." she admitts, powdering Mouse's milk. "So it's not EXACTLY Nestle's. They make it on this quaint little planet in Orion's belt. They age each bean for six years, out in the suns--"

Then she orders some liquids and bowls for the animals. As Honey sits there waiting, with her backside wagging, Kay wondered if any of the magic in the group extended to understanding cocker spaniels. It would be very interesting to find out Honey's favorite food and drink.

Looking around, she noticed that Jila seemed a little nervous yet, but, relieved that she was able to control her powerful magic. The group in general seemed to be in good

"I was just thinking," Kay responded. "All seems well at this moment, but, so many times that has seemed the case, when all chaos unfolded within seconds. I was actually laughing at myself for watching everyone in this room, and automatically wondering who it was going to be that brought us trouble."

Says Chryse, after taking a sip of the hot chocolate. "We can rough it Wiz, but if the small luxuries can be brought with us, why go without? Thanks Rae, that's really good."

"It looks big enough to have rooms. I'll ask if we can get 3 of them, " replies Chryse. She gets up and speaks to the tavern keeper at the bar. Coming back with a pitcher of milk and a pitcher of cider, she annouces, "yup, they have room for us. They even have hot baths we can take." A cheer goes up from the Scoobs. "They are also bringing out a good deal of food for us. I arranged it so we won't have to pay for a thing."

Laughing Chryse answered, "Just to be a bard tonight. They don't get much entertainment around here. After I finish eating, I'll start singing and playing. He's already sending word around about me. Toral expects the tavern to be packed by the time I'm ready."

After a few minutes, the promised food arrives... and it's a lot of food! Everyone digs in and there are even dishes that Max, Honey, Jaelithe, and Pandora enjoy. Roasted beef, lamb stew, cooked greens, dark brown bread, roasted fish, meat pies, and a few other less identifiable but throughly delicious food is served to them. Dessert turns out to be a fresh strawberry pie.

at a couple of lines about a Luxan, and quickly takes the next available opportunity to leave. Hey, at least she'll be first in line for the hot water that way. "Catch me later, Jila." Rae mutters as she sneaks away.

In the secluded bathroom, she pours several pots of boiling water into the large tub and adds a few drops each of her favorite scented oils. Sighing at the prospect of the first relaxing bath she's had in weeks, she sinks into the tub up to her nose. She only opens her eyes long enough to notice Pandora hovering around.

Wiz calls Martinus the owner of the tavern over, he's a big burly sort of a man more like a warrior than a tavern owner. "Martinus, have you heard of any strange events going on in the area lately?"

Martinus pouring Wiz another drink of October Ale (the finest in the house) "Well, M'Lord you know how this farmers tell tales about things they don't understand. But there are stories of missing cattle and howling noises in the night"

Looking nervously around Martinus leans close to Wiz, "I think Acheron moves again, I just feel it in my bones. It feels like a cloud hangs over everything...little things fights between long time friends, accidents, just little things that seem to add to something else."

"Thank you, Martinus...don't worry your patrons will have a good night. If the beginning songs are an indication the only things your guests will have to worry about is lighter purses as toss coins to our ministral"

"Yeah, just TRY and carry on a reasonable conversation with you." Rae sighs and clambers out of the tub, wrapping herself into a towel. "Raegun, how's things in the tap-room?"

"Really? In a bar?" Rae sighs and pulls on a clean gown. "Um, let's go see what's got Pandora worried. Stay here, love." Rae tells Pandora gently.

Wiz looks around at the other members of the party and the tavern guests. All are listening to Chryse perform, happy in the Bardic spell she weaves with her songs.

"Well, it might be easier to see ahead surrounded by these good people and their emotions." Wiz frowns and tries a few Magic Runic verses to see the surrounding land. He scarely starts when he begins to feel an imimical magic force gathering around him. Wiz strains, sweat starting from his brow, but the web of magic holds him tight. He stops his spells and relaxes shaking his head.

Something seems to lance through Wiz, a sharp pain causing his muscles to knot and his heart to pound like a drum. JaeLithe sends out a mental scream...Max wraps his paws tightly around Wiz's leg. Wiz croaks out a spell,