The Chaos Gods

 The Chaos Gods

     Iriisii has been called back to the Antithesis Existence to investigate rumors of an archeological find. Her agents there are highly concerned for several reasons that they make known to her in the request they sent to her.  She is in conference with her advisors aboard her Krang going over the missive and its contents.

     Iriisii: "I know most of you know little of what went on in the Antithesis Existence, its history, or practically anything about it. But I need you to see the possible connections to several things here in our Existence. I had no idea of this until this request reached me and I read the information contained within. I am not going to go over everything, what I want to concentrate on is where it concerns this Existence. Specifically, among other things in it, it may give us answers as to the true origins of the 'Blind Dreamer' and 'The Father', whose 'Son' has kept sending those corrupted assassins after me."

     The uproar over her words threatens to drown out the 'General Quarters Alarm' that begins ringing. Thankfully, Reaper towards it directly into Iriisii's mind, anticipating just such a situation. She blocks the sound in the conference room and listens to what Reaper has for her.

     Reaper: "Mother, we have received a call for help from a battle damaged fleet ahead of our present course. They appear to be of no design we have previously encountered and no other ships around them, hidden or otherwise. Request permission to contact then and offer assistance."

     Iriisii: "Go ahead, I want to listen in though. I might know who they are if I can hear and/or see them."

     Reaper: "Agreed, patching you through, responding to distress call now. 'Emperor's Fury' this is the 'Dovahkiin Krang'. What is the nature of your distress? What aid do you require?"

     Emperor's Fury: "Thank the God-Emperor's spirit, I thought we were done for. We have ships heavily damaged, do you know where we can get repairs? Also many wounded, some critically. We have a few ships that need evacuation before their engines blow, can you help with any of this?"

     Iriisii: "Reaper, I have met some of theirs before, in the deep caverns below Irem, the City of Pillars. Connect me to them, please."

     Reaper: "Please hold for just a second, connecting you to the 'Dovahkiin' Iriisii Starborn, Commander of the Krang."

     Iriisii: "Gentlemen, Although we have never officially met, I have encountered some among one of your warrior orders. I stand ready to assist in any way I can. If you will mark your most damaged ships, we can stabilize the damage and bring them into berths by tractor beam. I will have healing teams standing by to take care of the critically injured, please take them to those most in need. We can handle the rest in our 'sickbay' sites. We can also afford you repairs to your ships as well."

     Emperor's Fury: "Thank you, Commander Starborn, we will begin marking the most damaged for you now."

     A blaring claxon on the 'Emperor's Fury' begins its alarm sequence.

     Telemetry: "Phase portal opening behind us! Chaos ships entering. Captain, what are your orders?"

     Before the Captain can send orders out to the fleet, a massive ship enters space behind the fleet. Immediately it releases small fighter craft that begin to target the weakest of the damaged fleet.

     Iriisii: "Reaper! Deploy skirmishers, send them to protect the fleet from the fighters. Ready the Dreadnaughts to intercept that monstrosity. Put me on the first one ready to go, I will take the 'Command Seat'!"

     Reaper: "Porting you to the 'Dovahkiin's Blade', powering up engines now, crew at 'battlestations'."

     Iriisii: "Awaken the Krang to full power, defenses on full, orbital platforms ready for combat, use tractor beams to start pulling in the most heavily damaged, get them out of harms way."

     The Krang's towers begin corruscating as the brown dwarf star's corona is withdrawn, revealing the Krang in all of its deadly glory. A defensive shield is raised that completely surrounds the brown dwarf star. As soon as Iriisii is ported to the 'Dovahkiin's Blade', she reaches the 'Bridge' and makes her way to its Command Chair. As the Executive Officer relinquishes the chair, he calls out.

     XO: "Goddess on the Bridge, in Command of Dreadnaught."

     No one on the bridge makes a move to turn away from their stations and acknowledge her, but all are keenly aware of her presence. They all know that this is what all the hours of training and drills they have endured are for. And not a single being on this Dreadnaught intends to disappoint her.

     Iriisii is still on comm link with Reaper and the Emperor's Fury, "Navigation, get us between the fleet and that 'thing' masking as a ship, go through the thick of the fighting, at least we can help take the pressure off of them until the other Dreadnaughts join us. Reaper, slingshot us onto our set course."

     Reaper: "Gravitic Slingshot in five, four, three, two, one, execute!"

     The 'Dovahkiin's Blade is grabbed by a carefully crafted and controlled gravity pulse erupting outside the Krang's shielding. It grabs the dreadnaught and pulls it toward itself even as the dreadnaught prepares to slip by and be slung toward the ensuing battle at breakneck speed. Were the kinetic inhibitors not already online, the acceleration would have been strong enough to slam everyone aboard into the wall facing the rear of the ship. As it is, only the barest pull toward that point is felt, as the ship races into the oncoming battle.

     It only takes a matter of seconds before they are inside of the small fighter craft cloud from the monstrous ship. The Dreadnaught's 'close quarters' gun batteries open fire tearing holes in the fighters' formation. The Krang's skirmishers start arriving and take full advantage of the dreadnaught's effect. While on the lead fleet ship, the captain watches what is happening with a close and very appreciative eye.

     Captain: "Exec, do you see what she is doing? If only we could have had her with us when we first faced that 'thing' out there. All praise to the spirit of the God-Emperor of Man that we found her in time, and that she is on our side."

     

     Harvester Mothership: "You are not like these of the so-called 'Empire of Man'. We have no quarrel with you. Why do you attack us and defend them from us?"

     Iriisii: "They had already asked for my help with their wounded crew and damaged ships and I accepted. This placed them under the protection of my wings, and so when you appeared and immediately attacked, I was and am bound by Celestial Law to protect them against any who seek harm to them. If you wish to continue this until your destruction, you may do so. Or you can cease hostilities and return to where you came from."

     Harvester Mothership: "We do not recognise your Celestial Law or your ability to destroy us. We have been fighting their kind for hundreds of thousands of cycles. We will not stop until we have consumed them all. Their ships and their crews are ours to do with as we please, such is our way and forever will be. Step aside or suffer their fate."

     Iriisii: "All that you have told me is that I face you now or I face you later, for eventually I would reach that Existence that gave birth to you. You would ignore my Heralds, as they proclaim the coming of the Jihad of Truth. And so then I would have no choice but to grind you into the dust with the full might of my Celestial Army. What you see here is as a speck of dust in intergalactic space when compared to my army. If you should somehow survive this day, you will one day see me again. And on that day you will know fear, when my ships blot out the stars from your sight."

     Harvester Mothership: "We are the Harvesters! All who come upon us fear us. We fear no one, for no one is strong enough to defeat or destroy us. We strip entire worlds of their lifeforms to feed us, their resources that we can continue to grow and feed even more. It is why we exist, why we were born, why we crawled out of the muck and out into the stars. To take our rightful place as 'Harvesters'."

     Iriisii: "You may be as you say in your home Existence, but now you are in mine. And I am Empress of the Kinja Pan Galactic Empire, Empress of the Yautja Empire, possessor of the Tar-Aiym Krang and four of their Dreadnaughts, possessor of all five of the Timeless Fortresses of the Ageless Ones, Scion of the Draconic Divines, Mother of All Dragons, Dragon of War, 'WAR', First of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, and Imperatrix of Dreams."

     With that said she stands and unfurls her wings, "I give you one final chance to turn away or face me in battle!"

     Harvester Mothership: "We, the Harvesters of Nurgle, turn away from no one!"

     Iriisii: "Captain, if any of your ships still can fire weapons, concentrate their fire on a single point of their shields. The rest run for my Krang."

     Empire of Man Captain: "All ships, if you can still fight, concentrate fire on a single point of the enemy's shields, everyone else make a run for the Krang, and may the spirit of the God-Emperor be with all of you. FIRE ALL WEAPONS!"

     The weapons fire strikes the Harvester Mothership, even as the shields absorb the power of the strikes, they are adjusted until they strike a single point. Then the other three Dreadnaughts line up around the fleet and add their meson particle beam cannon fire to the single point barrage. Iriisii has by now moved her ship in the midst of the fleet, lining up her shot.

     Iriisii: "Activate kinetic rail gun, load it with the phased yllrelium rods, fire at will, three shots."

     Weapons Officer: "Firing shot one, firing shot two, firing shot three. Three shots away."

     Iriisii: "All my ships, ready to raise and interlock shields to protect this fleet!"

     She then moves to a special pedestal with two plinths at arms length apart. Placing her hands inside two carved holes with each having a turnable bar inside. She grasps those bars and then as she turns them, "RAISE SHIELDS!" As the shields come up and interlock, she pours her own power into the shields her ship has raised, turning them into an anchor, feeding power to the other three ships' shields.

     Then the first kinetic lance hits the Harvester Mothership's shields and obliterates them. The second and third lances strike the Mothership unimpeded, digging their way deep, until one hits the drive containment field. As it strikes that field the lance transfers all its energy into the field, burning out the field coils, and killing the drive. The third lance comes behind the second and hits the drive itself. The resultant explosion is brighter and hotter than the surface of any star for just a fraction of a second. The skirmishers followed their intensive training and all made it behind the shields just before the strikes hit. The Mothership's fighters were not so lucky and vaporized as the nova field caught them and incinerated them.

     As what just happened registers on the crews of the damaged fleet, you could swear their cheering could be  heard from one ship to the next. Iriisii removes her hands from the plinths, a thin trail of smoke rising slowly from the hand holes, before the ships' air ventilation whisks it away. She then makes her way back to the Command Chair, sits and addresses the Captain.

     Iriisii: "We can now make our way to the Krang in safety, we will follow you to ensure no one gets left behind and also take care of anything that should show up before all of you are safely aboard."

     

     On the opposite side of the transit portal, three Harvester Motherships sit, waiting on word from the one that followed their quarry through the portal.

     Harvester Mothership #1: "How long must we wait before we decide on an action to take?"

     Harvester Mothership #2: "We either wait for word from our kin, or until the Overlord in the Gardens of Nurgle tells us what he wishes us to do. You are free to decide on your own course of action, but what will you tell the Overlord when he asks you to explain your decision?"

     Harvester Mothership #3: This is getting us nowhere, the last report held that the fleet was severely damaged. If our brother did not run into trouble on the other side, he should have returned by now with victorious news."

     Harvester Mothership #2: "And if he needs our assistance? If you go and are not here to assist him, what then? You know what the Overlord will do to you!"

     Harvester Mothership #3: "I know what he will do if we do nothing but sit here and use that as an excuse not to get on with the tasks he has given us!"

     Harvester Mothership #1: "One can go to Nurgle, report the current situation, and ask what he wishes for us to do. One of us can send a probe across and see what it can relay to us as to what is either happening there or has already concluded."

     Harvester Mothership #2: "And what of the third? What would they do in this?"

     Harvester Mothership #1: "They can either sit here and wait, go with our brother to Nurgle, or slip across, launch a probe, then come back with the probe's data."

     Harvester Mothership #3: "I will go across, if our brother needs help then I will help him and share in the reward from Nurgle. If he is gone or destroyed then I can return with the news and report that to Nurgle. At least I will have done something and will have less to fear in reprisal from the Chaos Gods."

     The Harvester Mothership #3 slips through the transit portal and the others decide to wait until they have word from him as to their brother's fate. A few minutes later the portal opens again and as the Harvester Mothership #3 comes screaming through, a bright flash of light occurs and the resulting fireball takes all three out at once. As the debris from the three Harvester Motherships floats away from the now closed transit point, quiet returns to this portion of the 'Weave' and the Chaos God called Nurgle waits in his Garden Realm for word that now will never come.

     Back on the Dreadnaughts, approaching the Krang.

     Iriisii: "Weapons Officer, report."

     Weapons Officer: "Targeting computer locked onto another blip from the transit portal. The lock lasted just long enough to launch another kinetic lance at it before it disappeared back across."

     Iriisii: "Did you hit it?

     Weapons Officer: "Computer says it was a 'hit' with 92 percent probability. Wait, a new computation is coming through. Energy readings before the closure indicate the blip and two, maybe three more on the far side were caught in the blast. None had their shields up so there is a 90 percent chance all three were completely destroyed."

     Iriisii: "I will ask the Captain if he knew exactly how many were chasing him. In any case, good shot catching them off guard."

     Iriisii: "Captain, I must ask a question of you concerning those who were chasing you."

     Captain: "You saved what was left of my fleet, you may ask whatever you will."

     Iriisii: "How many of those 'Motherships' were chasing you? I ask because one showed itself for a brief second or two after the battle. My Weapons Officer fired a kinetic missile and hit it before the portal closed."

     Captain: "I see, there were four that we were fighting before we had to turn and run. You destroyed one in the first battle, and now a second has been accounted for, that should leave two more."

     Iriisii: "I believe we can put those two to rest as well. Telemetry has reviewed the data from the battle. The last one that showed itself was hit on the other side of the portal while it was still open and closing. None of them had shields up and the resultant detonation of the target drive destroyed all three."

     The look of relief on the Captain's face was all that Iriisii needed to see to know she did the right thing. She gives him her medical staffs' report on his wounded and their prognosis for recovery. Then discusses the repairs needed to make his fleet space worthy again. After this she asks him to sit and talk to her about those he called 'Chaos Gods'.

     Captain: "There is not much I know about them, our scholars and historians know much more. Our tech-priests know more of them than I do as well."

     Iriisii: "For now, just tell me what you know. I would want to have my database searched for any possible matches to your information. For some odd reason I feel there is a correlation to a matter I still have to deal with in my Existential Space that they may have a bearing concerning them. Thus anything I can learn may help me if my feeling pans out."

     The Captain then spends the better part of the next four hours telling her all that he knows, been told, fact, rumor, fiction, speculation, laying the groundwork for the Krang, as well as Iriisii's Ancestral Memories to sift through all they know to find any similarities. As the few that are found are fed to her as the Captain keeps relating more. She makes some startling and enlightening connections between what the Captain is telling her and some possible answers to some particularly plaguing problems.

     Iriisii: "Is there any possibility of my being able to speak with any of those who know more of these Chaos Gods?"

     Captain: "If I can get back into contact with my superiors, I can relay your request. It will of course be up to those higher than me to give their permission. If the right people are asked it should be no problem in recompense for what you have done for us. As always in dealing with any hierarchy there are formalities that must be obeyed. But again, there are paths to anything if you want it badly enough."

     Iriisii: "Very true, Captain. I personally try to see that I do not institute such among my own people, I find it stifles things when done so."

     Captain: "I can agree with that."

     Iriisii: "Captain, have you ever heard of the words, 'Blind Dreamer', in relation to anything concerning these Chaos Gods?"

     The Captain thinks, attempts to say something before retreating from what he wished to say. Finally he speaks about it.

     Captain: "Somewhere it rings a bell in my mind, an off chance remark I overheard some time ago as I was passing by some senior tech-priests."

     Iriisii: "Can you remember what it was that was said? It could be of especial importance to me."

     Captain: "They said that, let me recall it from memory", his voice changes as the words flow, "Prime dataflow, the Adeptus Masters say signs have been seen of the one called the 'Blind Dreamer' moving. But 'he' is not moving anywhere near space we inhabit or are exploring. It is very concerning to those higher up, for 'he' is considered among the most dangerous of the Chaos Gods"..."Concise deduction, if you are right, it is very concerning indeed. All records of 'him' are restricted in the deep vaults of the Imperial Scriptorium. of which only a handful have access. How are we to do our duty if we cannot gain access to the information we need?"..."Alternative deduction, we do not have the capacity to understand the actions and motivations of one such as 'he'. To attempt such without proper safeguards would be to risk insanity and damnation."..."First Order query, what safeguards could withstand contact with such a being?"..."Declaration, the Holy Blessing of the God-Emperor of Man himself, and he has not stirred in over ten thousand years."

     The Captain comes out of his self induced recall trance, "that is all that I heard. I hope it is enough."

     Iriisii: "It is a starting point. The main sticking point would be gaining the 'Blessing of the God-Emperor', a bit difficult if he has not stirred in ten thousand years. But I also know of alternatives available to me that would not even be known to your people."

     Captain: "Then you know of 'him'?"

     Iriisii: "I have had altercations with some of the more powerful of his underlings. He has extended his desire for me to see him in his place of abode, to which I have repeatedly refused. He even sent his 'Messenger' to 'fetch' me and present me to 'him'. His action cost him 'his' 'Messenger'. I am certain 'he' did not take kindly to that, although I cannot say for certain that 'he' did not anticipate that action on my part, thus increasing 'his' desire for me. It may be possible to gain access to the material on 'him' held there, if I can show the information I hold is different from what is stored there."

     Captain: "You have had no direct dealings with 'him' then?"

     Iriisii: "I am not feeble minded, Captain, nor without powerful allies of my own. I know walking into his presence without the strongest of protective wards is tantamount to giving oneself to him, mind, body, and soul. And I am not certain just what kinds of wards would work against him or for how long. Because of the decided lack of viable information on 'him' I have no intention of putting myself in such a position, but on one thing I am certain. As I keep climbing the Celestial Ladder upward, there will come a time when he cannot touch me. Therefore in order to enact his plans concerning me, 'he' must do something before I reach that point, or it all comes to naught.

     But I digress, I need to go back to looking at a situation that I was discussing with my advisors before we picked up your distress call. I would like for you to attend as well, it just may have some bearing on what we just talked about. If so, it may help you in navigating the path to getting access to the Scriptorium.".

     Captain: "I am ready when you are."

     Back in the conference room and slowly settling back into the conversation they were having before being interrupted.

     Iriisii: "As I said, there is information in this missive from an archeological dig in the Antithesis Existence that may shed light on the origin of the 'Blind Dreamer' as well as exactly who this other entity is whose 'son' has been sending those rotting assassins after me. I asked the Captain to listen in as it may also help him to gain access for me to where his people have certain records concerning the 'Blind Dreamer'. I need to find out as much as I can in order to know what or if there is any way to deal with 'him' directly without playing into 'his' hands.

     The missive states that they found a statue buried inside a lava tube of an extinct volcano. It looked to have been exposed in an internal rockslide caused by a quake. It was surrounded by iconic star shaped stones with the symbol of a flaming pillar in the center."

     Iriisii places one of hers on the table to be passed around.

     Iriisii: "Exactly like this one, that I acquired a number of years ago in my travels. As I am sure some of you realize these have been identified with certain members of the Gods of Eld. It seems there are fine differences that mark which one created any particular stone."

     Yennefer: "Was there anything else found in that tube?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, interestingly enough there was."

     Iriisii activates a holo-projector and an image of a ruby red gem forms above the table top.

     Iriisii: "This was also found. It is not a ruby, even though it looks exactly like one. I have seen some similar to this one when I went to the Courts of Chaos to assist Arioch with a problem he was having with much smaller 'rubies' being sold to his people. They were ensorcelled to capture the new owners minds and direct them to the 'traders' ships, where they were chained beneath the decks. Most were to be slave labor, while some others would become food for the 'traders' on the trip. The ones I intercepted were bound for a moon close to Vaermina's Oblivion Realm where the 'rubies' were mined. They had special ones left behind that contained 'hunters' that were to be let loose when the 'traders' were far enough away. The 'hunters' would then make certain there would be no survivors to tell tales of what happened."

     Dettlaff: "What were these 'hunters' trapped in the gems?"

     Iriisii looks at Dettlaff squarely before quietly saying, "They were 'Fly-The-Lights."

     Dettlaff's face goes pale, "Like that one under that mountain..."

     Iriisii nods her head. Dettlaff needs no further confirmation. Yennefer also feels her knees weaken, having been there with Iriisii and Dettlaff. Watching as Iriisii fought it and ultimately sliced the underside of its body open in mid-leap as Iriisii slid underneath it, the cavern floor slick with the blood and entrails of the vampires they had killed.

     Iriisii: "Now, back to the gem. The image looks like it is turning but it actually is remaining quite still. It is the facets phasing in and out of our Existence that makes it look like that. There are exactly one hundred facets exposed in our Existence at any second in time. I once saw a smaller one, a dodecahedron, I believe it was called. It was kept on a small fishing island off of the southwestern point of Solstheim on Nirn. I went there looking for one of the 'Black Books' of Hermaeus Mora. I slept next to it in the priest's hut. The dreams I had that night still sometimes haunt me. Some of the places I dreamed about I have since found and experienced, others I still have not found and I hope not to ever find them. What I wonder and dread at the same time is what would I see if I slept near that one", pointing at the holo image floating above the table.

     Captain: "These 'traders' you mentioned, the ones with the smaller versions of those 'rubies', just who are they exactly?"

     Iriisii: "They are called the Tcho Tcho people. They live atop the Plateau of Leng, bordered by the Vale of Pnoth below, a place where no sun or moon ever shines its light into. A place where the Dholes crawl, forever crawl on top of the bones of sacrifices cast down by the Tcho Tcho above, or adventurers seeking riches and fame, finding only terrible fear and death, as they are eaten alive.

     I am one of the few ever known to have escaped that place, and I did so through a small crack in the wall that led me into the Lost Caverns of Pandemonium, where the winds scream with the cries of the souls of those devoured by the Dholes...I am sorry, I cannot go on."

     Kthanid rises and steps behind her, placing his hands atop her shoulders.

     Kthanid: "Please, you need suffer those memories no longer, let me take then from you, Daughter of my Line."

     Iriisii: "No, I must say no. As long as someone remembers and can tell the tale. Maybe that will stop another innocent from finding themself trapped there. For stepping foot there is no fate I would wish upon even my worst enemy, much less a friend or family."

     Kthanid: "As you wish, my Daughter, if ever you would reconsider, my offer will stand."

     Iriisii: "Thank you, Father. Perhaps if the burden grows too great to bear, we will see which is the greater, the Dholes of the Vale of Pnoth or the Sand Wyrms of Shai-Hulu'ud. May his passing cleanse the Vale."

     The 'Hand of Blood' detail that follows her wherever she goes aboard the Krang, bow their heads and repeat her blessing of the Father of the Desert. For a split second, she can feel the clean, crisp, desert heat reflecting from the sand dunes, and the distant roar of a 'Grandfather of the Desert'. By this sign she and the other nomads know Shai-Hulu'ud has heard his Daughter and accepts her plea to him. The Captain wonders what the words she spoke meant, even as he brushes a few errant grains of sand from his tunic.

     Yennefer: "Alright then, where do we go from here?"

     Iriisii: "The Antithesis Existence, I need to go and see this 'dig' for myself. Maybe I can glean something the others have missed. At the least I want to examine that gem, see what I can learn from it."

     Captain: "What is this 'Antithesis Existence'?"

     Iriisii: "You might know of it by another name, the 'Antimatter Universe'. Although it is comprised of many universes, as is our own."

     Captain: "The 'Antimatter Universe'?! But how can you go there..."

     Iriisii: "Without total and complete destruction once touching it? I have learned how to construct 'Quantum Gates' that allow for the conversion of our mass as it passes into that Existence. Its physical rules otherwise are close to our own although there are some differences. I have spent time there, acquired allies and friends. In fact, one of the people on the 'dig site' is one of mine, T'Kerus by name. He is like Olaf, one of my Elite Shadow Warriors. I now see the wisdom I had to place him with the team going to research that site. It was he who forwarded this report to me, that we are now acting upon.

     I will need to think for a bit about who to take, some must have had prior experience there. Anyone else must be aware that the orders of any of us who have been there before, must be followed immediately and to the letter. I cannot stress this enough. It is a different and dangerous place, deceptively similar to our own."

     Iriisii adjourns the meeting and most move on to other tasks. The ones that remain, she feels are the ones that she needs to take with her. The Captain is one of them and although her first thought is to leave him here, she reconsiders. The more he knows of what is going on, the more likely he can help her gain access to the Scriptorium. And she thinks she will find more answers in there as well.

     

     Iriisii: "We will be transporting directly to the world called Traxer where the dig site is located. I want to land near one of the towns there to gain some knowledge of what is going on there. We will need to know in order to imitate the townsfolk good enough not to attract attention, or at least be able to deal with it in a way not to unduly escalate the trouble. Some of these places just being a strange face is enough to draw trouble, then you need to be able to project being dangerous enough that they will prefer to leave you be rather than provoke you.          

     With that said, if you are deliberately provoked, respond appropriately to the location. What I mean is while in the Antithesis, violence is far more probable a response than here. But you do not want to go against superior numbers unless it is necessary and justifiable. If I am with you take your cue from me, if not then assess the flavor of the air around you and react accordingly. And above all stick together, do not allow yourselves to be seen as divided."

     They step out from the portal onto solid ground. The local vegetation is a bit strange in shape and color but at least does not seem to be wanting to grab and devour anyone. They place themselves in the traveling order already decided on before they left the Krang. They deliberately arrived close to a well traveled road but far enough off of it to not be seen. They make their way carefully, staying under cover of brush until they could get on the road without anyone seeing them come from the brush. A couple of hours walk sees them approach a fair sized town, fair sized for this world anyway, of about a thousand souls, slaves included making up about half the population. 

     Iriisii: "Let me do the talking unless you are directly spoken to. Remember your cover stories, and that we are part of a merc company hired by my sister, who is in charge of the dig site at that extinct volcano you can see over there to the west. We are passing through town on our way to the site, wanting to pick up a few things before finishing up the journey. As far as why we are walking, we sold our mounts in the last town and will be picking up new ones at the dig site. Oh, and keep one hand on your weapons, that will let the thieves know not to approach you. If anyone looks like they are going to get close enough to brush up against you, glare at them until they back away. Start to draw your weapon if they do not back off.

     And this is especially true if you are targeted by any of the whores. You will find yourself stripped of gold before you can blink your eyes. And do not for the love of the Gods wander off. You will catch a blade in the back even faster than losing your gold. Your weapons and armor are worth more than many of these will see in their lifetimes. I know I am not telling you anything you do not already know, it is just that things here are at least twice as desperate if not three times. That means they are not afraid to take chances, even if it means they get killed for it. They expect it, and so act accordingly to that belief. And unfortunately that goes for the children as well. They are small, fast, and carry poisoned shivs. They will misdirect you, mob you, and turn you into a poisoned pincushion, before you know what happened. If you have to draw your weapon, use it, no matter what, use it. That is what any merc here would do, and we must stay in character."

     As they approach the town gates, the peasants step aside for them to move on to the guards. The guards look them up and down, not only their weapons and armor, but their demeanor. The feeling of menace around them and the dedication they show to Iriisii points to her being the leader. This makes her and this band doubly dangerous in the guards eyes, for damn few women run around with weapons unless they know how to use them. And for one to hold the command of these warriors, means she earned it on the battlefield and not on her back. Only a handful are that good, and every one are in high demand for their skills. They also do not discount the one armed with a staff. A female mage can be far more deadly and dangerous than a male, and this one, with this band, must be a battlemage. What they are traveling to face against, these guards want no part of, so they allow them to pass without question.

     Iriisii nods her head to the guards as they pass by and one speaks quietly to a young lad employed by them as a runner. He takes off at full stride heading to the local thieves guild to pass word to avoid this group if they wish to live another day. Word travels fast and as they enter the market place, they are allowed to move where they wish with no one attempting a little bit of thievery. They can feel the eyes on them, from the ones openly looking as well as the ones hidden. Whispers and rumors as to who they are, where are they going, how soon will they be gone so things return to normal. All these questions and more are being asked behind doors and windows. More than one silently make their way to boltholes, secret tunnels, and hidden gates, trying to get out of town in case they came for them.

     She stops them at a vegetable and fruit vendor, making selections from the displayed wares. She mentally tallies up the fair market price, adds a bit extra to it, and pays with gold coinage she still had from her last visit. She hands the sack back behind her without even looking, knowing someone will grab it. The action is not lost on the vendor or those nearby.

     Iriisii: "Do you know of the history of that volcano off in the distance there?"

     Vendor: "All I know is stories from the past, it has been quiet since my great grandfather's time."

     Iriisii: "Good to know, what kinds of things happened from the stories that you heard growing up?"

     The vendor proceeds to tell her the stories he had heard, stressing they were just stories and no one left was old enough to have witnessed anything. Once he was done she gave him a few more gold pieces.

     Vendor: "Are you bound for that place, by chance?"

     Iriisii: "My sister, sent for me to come and help her. Said she needed someone to protect something she found."

     Vendor: "I thought you looked like someone I had seen recently. I remember the party that went up there. Some were concerned something might wake but it has been quiet all the same. Be careful though, no one knows exactly what may be buried in there."

     Iriisii: "I know what you are saying, some things are better left sleeping."

     Vendor: "Aye, you understand, the luck of the Gods to you then."

     Iriisii: "And to you good sir. She starts to move on, stops and thinks a second, reaches under the cloak around her armor. As she pulls out a 'starstone' on a leather thong, she looks at it and hands it to the vendor.

     Iriisii: "Here, if anything should by chance awaken, this will keep you and yours alive long enough to get to safety. Just do not wait around if you feel something awry, leave then and do not look back."

     Vendor: "You have had experience with such then?"

     Iriisii: "Yes, I have. That helped me then, now it is time to pass it to another, I have other means to protect myself now."

     Vendor: "Bless you, I will do as you say."

     The vendor takes the 'starstone' amulet in his hands and suddenly looks up to Iriisii and whispers, "You are a child of the Forever Gods! They who stood against the Chaos Gods so long ago all knowledge of it is almost forgotten."

     Iriisii: "Tell me what you know of them.

     Vendor: "I know almost nothing, but there is still one last priest of theirs. He tends a shrine between here and the volcano. There is a small trail that leads off to the right about halfway. Follow it until it opens into a clearing, the shrine is in its center, the edges of the clearing have ancient trees standing as sentinels guarding it."

     Iriisii takes the 'starstone' amulet in her hands, bites a thumb to bring a single drop of blood that she rubs along the image of a fiery pillar. It glows for an instant before fading. Returning it to the vendor, "If you cannot get out of town in time, place this at the threshold of your home. It will keep anything that wishes harm to you and your family from entering therein. May you know the favor of the Elder Ones."

     The vendor bows his head to Iriisii as she places her palms on either side and intones, "May my Father, Shai-Hulu'ud watch over you and yours. May his passing cleanse your way forward in life."

     They both feel the warmth of the desert as the sun sets and the moon begins its rise. The soft wind blows across the dunes and the light rustle of sand can be heard as it flows across the desert floor. They hear the Lady of the Desert, "As my hallowed Sister has asked of our Father, so shall you be blessed this day. Our Father's children shall protect you and yours from what may come from this day forth. Be watchful and know when danger threatens her blessing will protect."