[coronatiger]

19th of Rama, year 412 (continued)

Suddenly, we seemed to be sitting around a campfire, somehow looking down on ourselves fighting the spirits in slow motion. There were two visions lying on top of each other: When I focused on Grogg, I could see him in a dark, stone-walled crypt, but when I looked at myself, I saw the inn. Given the opportunity to communicate, Xipil asked Wolfram to protect Grogg, who couldn’t see the spirits harassing him.

Grogg informed us that when he took a good drag from the water pipe, the illusion disappeared. I asked if the rest of us should follow his move. Grogg thought it would be good for me, but I thought he was referring to getting high, not unraveling the illusion. Xipil pointed out that he wouldn’t be able to see spirits anymore, although he would relish the chance to reapply poison to his blade.

I took the snakes in the illusion, the ones shooting out of my scimitar when I manifested spirits, as a sign that You were with me even in this darkness. I agreed with Xipil that we should wait to use the water pipe until we dealt with the spirits around us. It wouldn’t make sense to turn our backs to enemies.

Back in the inn, Wolfram trampled a couple of spirits, moving towards where he believed Grogg to be. I manifested two of the spirits surrounding Xipil and me, and again snakes seemed to slither all over them. “Praise Ashtar!” I exclaimed. Xipil cut into one of them, and while blood sprayed from the wound, the man remained standing. The spirits sensed that I was the dangerous one and focused their attacks on me, leaving Xipil alone. I dodged one of them, but another surged through me, giving me the chills.

Wolfram bit another spirit and stomped on it, banishing it from this world. I rammed my scimitar through the neck of the manifested woman, sending her on, but I missed the bleeding man, who Xipil took care of in short order. Wolfram continued biting and kicking wildly, and dealt with two more spirits. This fight wouldn’t have gone half as well, had Lunari been here instead. I couldn’t help but thinking of Wolfram as Lunari’s replacement, but the truth of the matter is, I would rather have both of them here.

I had no time for wishful thinking, though, and manifested another pair of spirits. In the illusion, it was hard to keep track, but I thought these were the last near Xipil and me. The wraith called out an order: “Leave them! They’re not worth it!” The two snake-riddled figures tried to crawl away, but Xipil and I skewered them.

The spirits around Wolfram scattered, and he took off after one of them, just as the wraith invoked, “Vakn, Darvan, og ta skuggen min frå meg!” Perhaps it was the enchantment on this place that made it sound foreign to my ears, but I still understood the meaning of the wraith’s utterance: “Wake, Darvan, and take my shadow away from me!”

The large door at the back of the common room blew apart. I feared that the demon had been released, but learned later that Grogg had bashed in the door, I just couldn’t see him from within the illusion. Free from the spirits harassing us, Xipil and I ran towards the water pipe, and I yelled for Wolfram to come, too. The invocation continued: “Ta sansane mine, vis meg røyndommen din, øydelegg for meg!” It meant, “Take my senses, show me your reality, foil me!”

Xipil and I arrived at the water pipe. It had several mouth pieces, so we could both use it at once. It was made from gold and diamonds, and I thought it smelled like Yana. I inhaled deeply and felt refreshed. Xipil pulled in smoke, too. The inn disappeared and was replaced with the dark stone chamber I had seen around Grogg from the campfire. A mirror stood where the water pipe had been. A large stone door lay broken at the back of the room, and beyond it, I could hear Wolfram’s growling, and the sound of fighting. Running towards the battle, I was glad to see a familiar long knife in my right hand in place of the illusionary scimitar. More importantly, I had my teeth and tongue back. Xipil dashed after me, and reminded me that Darvan was the demon of trickery and shadows.

Grogg and Wolfram were in the circular back room. An open sarcophagus stood in the center, and there were several spirits, mostly along the walls. Wolfram trampled one of them just as Xipil and I entered. Grogg exclaimed, “Kraa, Lunari, help me destroy this abomination!” He was standing by the sarcophagus with his maul raised. Wolfram bit another spirit, but then did a strange maneuver that left him open for attack. Grogg smashed whatever lay inside the sarcophagus.

None of the spirits stood out as the wraith, so I moved towards the closest to manifest it. I stabbed, but missed. Xipil followed me. A horrible whisper assaulted my ears, and Grogg’s shadow detached from him and stood up, becoming a Grogg-shaped, translucent fog. I attacked the spirit again, and this time I struck, turning it physical. Xipil cut it, and it collapsed.

Grogg just looked around, but his shadow rushed one of the spirits near Wolfram, slamming it to the ground. I ran up to the next spirit along the wall, and swept my knife through it, forgetting to follow the rhythm of my power. The spirit, sensing danger, tried to flee.