Campaign log: Report to Great Priest Ixanama

[Stomoxys]

Ælios ended the conversation, saying that Ninos would return soon and they had to empty Nillet's lungs. Grogg, Hylda, and Wolfram returned to the hold and Grogg began smoking crow's toes. Nuur-Karif would help Ælios again, while I took up position in the hallway to watch. Nillet was still lying on their side on the table and Ælios took a device from their chest. It looked like a glass jar with a tube extending from one side and a bladder attached on the other. The tube was carefully inserted into Nillet's respiratory tract. When it was deep enough, Ælios began squeezing the bladder which created suction in the tube. At first, nothing seemed to happen, but then a mixture of slime and blood began trickling out of the tube.

Ælios kept pumping until they had extracted about a deciliter of liquid. It did not look like much, but Ælios said it was a lot and it could have killed Nillet if not removed. Afterwards, they wanted to extract some blood from Nillet. They did this by pricking them in the arm with a needle and then attaching another bladder. When they were satisfied, they placed a bandage on the cut and placed both the blood sample and the jar in their chest.

After they had packed up their things, Ælios again proposed that they could take the patients and try to extract the needle in exchange for the clay tokens. They told us to think about it and then went into Korro's cabin.

Wolfram wondered about what had set off the alarm. They said that they could cast the ritual again and try to trick Ælios into its radius, but Nuur-Karif proposed the much simpler plan of simply asking. I listened at the door while they talked. Ælios admitted that something in their chest could have triggered the alarm. However, they were unwilling to say what it was, only that it was not dangerous.

Nuur-Karif returned to the hold and told us what Ælios had said. Wolfram insisted that whatever was in the chest was bad and did not want to hand over the patients or the tokens, fearing that Ælios was some kind of necromancer. Nuur-Karif said they would pray on the matter and retreated to their cabin.

They had just closed the door when we heard Ninos return up above. They were carrying a pile of furs from various animals. Grogg was thoroughly intoxicated by the crow's toes and fondled them with deep fascination. The idea of wrapping oneself in the skins of dead mammals is a bit disturbing, but it is better than freezing to death. Hopefully, Grogg will be able to stitch something together.

Ælios came out and asked me to get Nuur-Karif and Wolfram to move Nillet into Korro's cabin. It was a bit odd that wanted me to find Nuur-Karif instead of just asking me to help carry, but I had no particular desire to carry the comatose apeoid, so I told Nuur-Karif and Nillet was moved.

There was not much to do, so I retreated to my hammock in the bow. However, I did not get much rest. Grogg began to sniff around in the hold and then came to the bow and began smelling me. I asked them what was going on and they said something about smelling enemies of horses. They were clearly under the influence of the crow's toes, so I did not put much stock in what they were saying. I should note that horses tend to be scared by my presence.

I curled up in the bed again, while Grogg continued to sniff around and eventually returned to the hold. Soon after, I heard a door crash open in the stern of the ship. When I arrived, it turned out Grogg had forced their way into Korro's cabin. Ælios was sitting on a stool in the middle of the cabin and were in the middle of using a spell while signalling for Grogg to leave. Grogg payed them no heed and stomped around in the cabin, smelling everything.

When I approached, Grogg began smelling me again and they appeared to like the smell as they followed when I slowly backed away. I manouvred us both out of the cabin and closed the door behind us. Back in the hold, Grogg began to sniff Wolfram as well and claimed they also smelled like an enemy of horses. Apparently, something in Korro's cabin did as well. Wolfram was instantly suspicious and wanted Grogg to go back and investigate. I ran to Nuur-Karif's cabin and got the spirit ring. However, when I returned back, we heard someone moving above us and Grogg muttered something about dragon worshipers, apparently having forgotten everything about the enemies of the horse. They fetched their club, but did not look like they intended to use it, so I returned to the bow.

Before I could get back in the hammock, Ninos was knocking on the grate and said that there had been a delivery. I went back to the hold and Wolfram and Ninos came down from deck with a small chest and two large sacks. The sacks contained hairs from mammals known as sheep. These creatures have a thick coat of densely curled hairs called wool that the apeoids shear and use to produce textiles. My cloaks are made of this material and are quite warm. In the chests were some tools I assumed were supposed to be used for the wool as well as two large knives for Wolfram.

Hylda had joined Grogg and they were both smoking crow's toes. I showed them the wool and they looked fascinated, but were busy smoking. They would probably be occupied for hours, so I went to the galley to fetch some apples and found Ninos. I asked if they knew of a good way to learn their language, but they only suggested that I found someone willing to teach me. Apples are called allos in their language, though.

Returning to the bow, I was once again disturbed. This time it was Grogg calling. When I got back to the hold, they did not say what they wanted, but told me to sit between them and the wool bag. I suspect there was something about the smell again. I did not have to sit for long though. Hylda asked Grogg to tell them a story and they once again regaled Hylda with the story of Gromgar. This got them both so distracted that I could retreat to the bow. From my hammock, I could hear them acting out the tale, but for once they were not mating.

[Stomoxys]

When darkness fell, I returned to the hold to read the stars. Grogg and Hylda were sitting on the grate in the middle, looking up at the sky through the grid above. When I asked, Grogg said they were looking at Amna, while Hylda muttered something about horse stars. Wolfram was sitting in the back, but I noticed there was a whittled wooden bear standing on top of their totem.

I decided to study my own aura since I was under the stars. It was clear and bright and very different from the mammalian auras I had seen. When I did the ritual myself, I could not really see the reflection of Sebak. Perhaps it was still there, but if so, it was hidden under other layers. I suppose it would make sense that a reflection of Sebak would be more visible when Wolfram is calling upon Amna in their rituals. While my aura looked complete and as it should, I got a strange impression that there was parts of it that could be added to. I do not know how this should take place, but I had the impression it would not happen without my consent.

Amna was almost full and I sat down next to Hylda to study the stars. They were very still and Wolfram wondered naively if we had averted what was going to happen on the day of judgement. This was not the case, the stars were bracing for the coming storm and I told Wolfram as much. Grogg wondered if Wolfram could swim in case the dragons sank the ship.

I took a trip up on deck to get a better view. The stillness affected the entire sky and even The Nine were demure in their dance. I considered sitting down to study the sky, but decided against it. I would be too visible from the harbour if I began to shine, so I quietly returned to the hold.

From the hold, my view of the sky was limited, so I decided to try to find out something about Byblos. Wolfram wanted to know if there was a demon in the city and I thought this could be an interesting question. The advantage of the hold was that I was shielded from prying eyes, so I began to dance and let the threads freely light up my skin. Grogg, Hylda, and Wolfram sat around while I danced. However, I was not really able to find any threads that could be combined into a vision. Instead, it felt like a futile search until I suddenly got a clear answer, yes and no.

Wolfram complained about the ambiguity of the answer, but I think it probably contained more information than a simple yes or no answer. I do not know what it means though. Perhaps a part of a demon is in the city. This could mean the fragment in Wolfram's demon bear, or perhaps the question does not make much sense for entities like demons. Hopefully more will be revealed.

Wolfram wanted to know more immediately and I suggested they could join me in the dance as the star bear. They enthusiastically agreed and Grogg were also willing. I warned them that it would be difficult to find more information by asking the same question. After a bit of discussion, we agreed that we should find out if Pakk and Groman were still alive.

Wolfram gave a short prayer to the bear on their pole and started transforming. I was still tired from my energy use and the dancing, so I rested for half an hour. I used this time to tie threads in knots that would follow the star threads between the horns and spikes of the star bear. I did not think it would help with the ritual, but it was an interesting challenge and the results looked funny.

Before we started, I instructed Grogg that this time, their movements would be much more individual and they had to take inspiration from the stars above. I repeated the instructions to the star bear, but it was unclear if they understood. Since they knew the dance, I did not expect it to be an issue though.

With both the star bear and Grogg to tap for energy, it should be possible to use more energy and perform a more powerful ritual. It would take all night though, so I was a bit concerned that I would not be able to maintain the energies and the physical moves for the whole duration. There was also the issue of finishing before Ajaw rose above the horizon, so I decided to make the rituals more subdued than I would have liked to. I will save that for a later night, away from the city.

As expected, the dancing bear began its dance intuitively. The tips of its horns began to glow like last time it danced. In addition, some of the threads I had attached began to glow. I will have to study some other time why some were glowing and others were not.

Grogg's dancing were less coordinated and they were violently jerking their arm around. At first I was worried if the crow's toes were making them hallucinate that they were in a fight, but upon closer inspection, it turned out they were dancing their own dance. Something was inspiring them at least.

The ritual continued throughout the night with Grogg and the star bear dancing their peculiar dances. I lead them as best I could and found that it was surprisingly easy, as if the shining star light were guiding us all. At one point, Hylda peeked out from their cabin. When they saw what we doing, they turned around and closed the door behind them. Late at night, or early in the morning, Ninos emerged from their cabin, but went to the galley without commenting. At this point, the ritual was beginning to intensify, so I put them out of my mind.

I had gathered more energy than ever before and were able to search the heavens for traces and fragments much more thoroughly before. Before me, a crisp vision was slowly emerging. At the same time, I felt that I was pushing my body to the limits. Gritting my teeth, I poured all my efforts into gathering the final threads.

The last threads slipped into place and I had a complete image, but unlike previously where I had the vision before me, I fell into the image. In a dreamlike state, I saw Pakk and Groman. They were walking in a land surrounded by death all around. As they walked, the death around them got more and more intense, but still they continued. This went on for days or weeks or months or years. I have no idea how long it took, but it felt like a very long time. Eventually, the death intensified around them and were threatening to take them. This made them flee and they fled for an unknown duration of time. Finally, they reached somewhere without death and saw Ajaw appear above the horizon.

I opened my eyes and were lying on my back in the hold of the ship. Above me, I could see the light of Ajaw had reached the mast of the ship and I was sure Pakk and Groman were watching Ajaw rise at that very moment.

Trying to sit up, I felt dead tired. In addition, my whole body hurt with a strange burning sensation. According to Grogg and Wolfram, I had sat with glowing eyes after the ritual had ended for almost half an hour until the last star disappeared from the sky and then I had passed out. I gave them a brief summary of my vision before I stumbled to the galley to pick up some apples and then climbed up in the hammock.

The vision confirmed that Pakk and Groman are alive and out of immediate danger. I wonder where they have been though. The crypt they had been in would certainly be full of death, but it seemed like they had been wandering for a long time. Could they had gone south from the crypt into the lands of the dead. Either way, I am glad we did not send Kra to find them. Perhaps Nuur-Karif would have some perspectives on all the death. I decided to ask them when I woke up again.

[Stomoxys]

I slept for a long time and did not wake up before lunch. On my way to the galley, I walked past Nuur-Karif who was kneeling in front of Ælios' door. After getting some food, I returned to them and told them about the vision. The talk of death got them interested, but they did not know anything immediately relevant. They said they would pray on the matter though and got up to get to their room. Wolfram had asked them to keep a watch on Ælios, but now that Wolfram was awake, they could do it themselves. Grogg went past saying they would keep watch for dragons.

A few minutes later, Ninos showed up. They had been in the city and reported that Nuur-Karif, or rather Platykon, was wanted. Oddly enough, Korro's and Nillet's descriptions had also been distributed, but the rest of us were not considered as important. The city guards had not gotten our descriptions at least. Wolfram and Grogg should be easily recognizable, and at least the apeoid couple saw me clearly. It is also interesting that it was Platykon and not Nuur-Karif that was wanted. They had been disguised at the time of the attack on Elanos's escort, but they did not go near Elanos' wagon until after Wolfram had butchered the elf. The rest of the escort had been dealt with and Nuur-Karif said their spirits had been sent to Ashtar. Perhaps there were other witnesses. Platykon was also seen at The Golden Arrow and at the Ashtar temple, but I found it odd that the city guards were not given Nuur-Karif's description as well. It was less strange that Korro and Nillet were wanted. If what Korro said about the consequences if they died was true, Tivito would presumably like to keep them under control.

When asked, Ninos said that the rest of us might be able to walk through the city unmolested. They would not recommend it though, as it would be a silly risk to take. Grogg should be fine on deck as long as they stayed away from the gunwale. They had bribed the harbour authorities sufficiently to keep any prying guards at a distance.

Wolfram objected that The Cities of the Prince were less primitive than Arland, citing a lack of slavery. The apeoids in The Cities of the Prince appear to be less starved and miserable, but it is only a level of degrees. Most of the them appeared to be just as ignorant as the Arlanders. Ninos pointed out that there were less social differences between the apeoids in the lands controlled by Aldera and in the wetlands, they were supposed to be equal. However, they expected an autocrat to arise eventually.

The wetlands got Wolfram to think of were we were planning to go next, and wanted to know where they could find books about old cities. I gestured for them to not tell Ninos where we were going, as it was not something Nulius or Mir needed to know, but Wolfram continued. It turns out, books from before the last cataclysm in Arland have mostly been burned and the few left are heavily guarded. Thankfully, this dissuaded Wolfram from continuing to babble.

Instead they began to question Ninos on where they came from and Ninos revealed they had trained in Elmas. Elmas is marked as being somewhere to the west of our map and is the capital of the western empire. Ninos estimated that it was eight to ten times the size of Byblos. This would make it rival some of the cities in The Homeland, which is quite impressive. I shudder at the thought of that many apeoids concentrated in one area though.

When they were in the west, Mir had lead the armies of Elmas and invaded what Ninos called rebel provinces. In reality, these were independent polities that had not been controlled by Elmas for generations. Saying this explicitly could land you in trouble though.

I asked Ninos how big the area controlled by Elmas was and they claimed it was about twice as large as Arland from north to south, but it was four to five times larger than the distance from Guling to Natanal in the east-west direction. I find it hard to believe that the apeoids would be able to manage such a vast realm effectively and wonder how much of that area is "rebel provinces". Ninos refused to give me a map, claiming they were state secrets.

Probably to allay my scepticism, Ninos pointed out the dismal state of the propaganda apparatus and intelligence services in Arland. They dismissed the schemes of the nobles as silly games and their attempts at swaying the population laughable. Having read the drivel, I can only concur, though it seems to work on the peasants. Judging from the fact that we have been able to operate more or less freely, their assessment of the intelligence services appear to be correct as well.

According to Ninos, there was no longer an emperor in the west. Instead, they had an office called consul that was elected by a council for a limited amount of time. In order to get a seat on the council, the apeoids naturally had to pay gold. The last emperor had been just before the apocalypse and Ninos said they were considered to be unstable and dangerous, hinting that they had been involved in the creation of the demons. In addition to the consul, there were also to vice consuls. If the vice consuls conspired together against the consul, they could force a vote in the council to have the consul removed. Another example of the strange ways the apeoids organize themselves.

Apparently, there used to be a tradition where the prince in The Cities of the Prince used to receive a female from the emperors family to breed with. This tradition had died with the empire's influence.

Since Guling is the only port in Arland going west, the Aldera were very rich, but good at hiding it. They were also hiding that Mir had lead armies in the west, as this required swearing an oath to "the emperor", which was against the law in Arland.

Ninos said they were in Byblos because there was something there that could enable Mir to control all traffic on the river. Ninos had not officially been told anything, however, they pointed out the lack of warships on the river. The only place I had seen ships armed for war is in the king's harbour. The ships there were much nimbler and more manouvrable than the barges and freight ships usually seen on the river and had many oars. In addition, they were armed with ballistas and boarding planks. If Nulius could commandeer the fleet, there would not be anyone to challenge their control of the river. At least if there were no dragons involved. Ninos instructions were simply to join up with the other ships on the day of judgement.

[Stomoxys]

Ninos was heading out again, so Wolfram asked them to get woodworking knives. Before I could hear the response, Grogg was shouting for me from the deck. When I got up, Hylda was basking in the sun, but Grogg was staring intensely towards the east and said they could sense Palo. I looked to the east, but I could only see a thin mist in the distance. The city walls made it hard to tell, but it could be the remains of Jori's ashes drifting in the air.

Grogg suddenly remembered that there was a dragon in the west as well. The sky was clear in that direction though. However, I did notice two birds flying low over the water, as if they were expecting a storm. There were also fewer birds than normal. I sat down to meditate.

After a while, Wolfram came up and reminded Grogg that they should ask Ælios to look at their arm. Grogg followed along down and Ælios agreed to take a look. After an examination, Ælios asked for Nuur-Karif and I said they were resting in their room. After listening for Ninos, they asked me to inform Nuur-Karif that there would be another lesson when Nuur-Karif woke up. I assumed Nuur-karif had only isolated themselves with Yana, so I knocked on the door and informed them. They immediately went to Ælios, but soon came out and told Ninos they needed medical equipment to treat Nillet's wound. Yana told Nuur-Karif to order a bathing tub as well, and Ninos was dispatched.

Nuur-Karif had no interest in anything that did not involve Yana, so they went back to their room immediately. I knocked on Ælios' door and told them Ninos was gone. They asked me to get the others and gather in Nuur-Karif's room. Nuur-Karif reluctantly let us in and Ælios' shared their theories on what had happened to Grogg's arm. They thought the lightning bolt would have killed most that were hit by it and Grogg was very lucky and tough to be alive. While it would be possible to repair the physical damage to the arm, they would not be able to connect it and bring it back under Grogg's control. However, there was another option that involved Kra.

Familiar's are strongly connected to their master, and Ælios seemed to think Grogg might be able to control their arm through Kra. They were strangely circumspect about the process, but became very enthusiastic when Grogg said Kra had helped them with sewing. This was apparently a sign that they were closely enough connected for the experiment to work.

The first step would be an operation on the arm to set the bones. In the meantime, they said Grogg should practice controlling Kra. Since Kra touched the needle, they had been hiding inside Grogg. Ælios suggested they should try to get Kra to appear. Grogg concentrated intensely for a few minutes before we heard cawing and I could see Kra flap around through the ring.

I went to the bow to rest a bit but, returned to the hold in the evening. Wolfram had spent their time whittling and the sole was covered in wood shavings and small bear idols. Ninos came back and handed a set of tools to Wolfram and then went to Nuur-Karif to discuss how to get the tub on board.

The view to the sky in the south was blocked by the palace, so I went into Wolfram's cabin and slipped into the water from the hatch. The harbour was quieting down for the night, but there were guards patrolling the walls around the king's harbour. None of them noticed me though and I made it into the canal separating Byblos' harbour from a small, muddy island in the river.

I drifted lazily in the canal, waiting for darkness to fall, when I spotted a group of soldiers and workers with several carts approaching the southern end of the canal. I let the currents carry me towards them and it turned out the carts were loaded with several thick chains. The workers began attaching the chains to massive iron rings attached to the bank of the river. Once attached, they began to span the chains across the canal. Nobody was supposed to enter or leave Byblos by ship during the day of judgement apparently. This would complicate Nulius' plan, but I expected they were aware of the issue. It was not exactly a subtle operation and Nulius' claimed to have infiltrated the palace.

It was getting dark, so I started to look for Kama and Taxini. Worryingly, I could not find them. They had disappeared before the dragons appeared in Ur as well, so it was not very surprising. I let my mind drift upwards towards the stars, but was rudely awoken by not being able to breath. I found myself under water, but the light of Amna was visible and I swam towards it. After a few strokes, I broke the surface and had not drifted far, so I could not have been out for long. On the river bank, two guards were looking out towards the canal and discussing something. I silently swam closer and one of them had seen a light out in the canal. Apparently, I had been taken by the stars and began to glow. Unfortunately, I could not remember any visions. I wonder if it is possible to practice staying afloat while unconscious.

Before swimming back to the ship, I checked on the chains. The ends were forged in place and it would take a considerable force or lots of time to get them loose. I suspect Grogg would be able to do it though.

Back at the ship, I went in the way I left and sneaked past Grogg and Hylda who were sleeping. Wolfram was still awake and I suggested trying to find Pakk and Gromann again. Now that they were no longer surrounded by death, they might be able to see the same stars as me. I danced in the hold and followed the threads from the stars through the grid above. I ended up in a vision were I was sitting in a wooden box and heard the sound of horses' hooves, as well as a sense of south and west. More west than south, and they were closer now than before.

A wooden box and horses would be consistent with a coach traveling and the direction would be consistent with Guling. Perhaps they were even traveling towards us. I had not gotten much indication of distance, so it would be hard to tell, but perhaps if I tried again the next night. After contemplating the vision, I went to bed.

[Stomoxys]

I slept soundly on the day of judgement, but woke up when I heard Ninos and Nuur-Karif talking. I informed Ninos of the chains, though I believe it was unnecessary. The others also started waking up and I went up on deck. The weather was still clear and the harbour was very quiet. That made sense, considering that no boat could enter or leave. To get a better overview, I climbed up in the mast. From there, I could see large crowds heading towards the square in front of the palace. I assumed that was were the executions were to take place.

I returned to the hold and told the others what I had seen. Nuur-Karif had meditated on my vision from the previous night and did not believe Pakk and Gromann had been in The Underworld. However, the forces they had been in contact with belonged in The Underworld and should be sent down there. I told them about my new vision and they said they would go and pray for strength. Whatever had surrounded Pakk and Gromann was powerful. In the meantime, Grogg headed for the deck, saying they wanted to keep a watch for dragons, so I joined them.

About an hour later, Nuur-Karif came up from the hold and said Ælios was looking for Grogg. We all went down and Ælios wondered if Grogg had been practicing communicating with Kra. I looked at Kra through the ring and Ælios also wanted to see. They got very excited, especially when Grogg got Kra to help them sew. I had seen it before without the ring and it was not obvious that Kra was doing anything, but through the ring, it was clear that Kra was helping with holding the cloth and the thread with their beak.

Grogg said they were willing to go through with the operation, but if Kra was hurt, they would spend the rest of their life seeking vengeance on Ælios. Ælios hurriedly explained that they were only going to operate to fix the physical damage in Grogg's arm. The rest, Grogg and Kra would have to do on their own. They hoped they could do the operation that very evening, assuming we got back to their office on Nulius' ship.

Grogg wondered what Ælios wanted as payment and they suggested the clay jars. The contents of one of them could explode, as we had already seen, while the tokens in the other jars held animal spirits. I wonder why Tivito would drag a jar with animal spirits around. Perhaps as some kind of energy storage.

I asked what they had learned about Nillet and Korro. They were now certain that they shared a connection and their spirits had been partially blended together. This could be used to let the spirits wander between bodies. They asked us to get Wolfram, since Wolfram was the one most likely to have some objection to the treatment they were planning.

When Wolfram arrived, Ælios explained that the patients had been tortured to death and the spirits had been ready to leave their bodies. However, something had kept the spirits from departing and had mixed them up in the process. They believed they could repair the spirits, but it required keeping their bodies alive long enough to study them. To do this, they proposed transferring Nillet's spirit from the needle into Korro's body. The idea that the attraction between the spirits would bind them stronger together than to the needle. This would require keeping Korro's body alive through means Wolfram might not approve of. Wolfram said they were suspicious and claimed it involved forcing of spirits. Ælios compared it to holding and amputation patient still under an operation and pointed out that the alternative was to keep Nillet's spirit in the needle for an undetermined amount of time, which got an angry snort from Grogg.

Wolfram was still suspicious and wanted to know what Nuur-Karif thought. Nuur-Karif had returned to their cabin and we went and knocked. Before we could discuss letting Ælios do what they wanted, Grogg said that they could attach Nillet's spirit to their body with the needle. This sounded like something Grogg had dreamed up under the influence of crow's toes, but Wolfram thought it was a splendid idea. Nuur-Karif was also enthusiastic and asked for the ring and so we could do it immediately. I asked what they needed the ring for, but they only said they felt weak for the time being, giving no explanation.

Wolfram wanted to use a magic ritual to keep the spirits contained if something went wrong, but admitted that it was far from assured. I pointed out that while it would be interesting to see the results of the harebrained experiment, the timing was lousy as the dragons could arrive at any time and there was no reason to not wait. Nuur-Karif insisted we had to do it immediately and said we might loose Nillet and the needle in the chaos when the dragons attacked. That was true, but the odds were not any better if Grogg were possessed and went on a rampage or something similar happened.

I got them to at least ask Ælios' opinion before they started. Ælios thought it was a terrible idea and strongly advised against it. They were also surprised that Wolfram would approve of something that so obviously involved using force against spirits. They were not familiar with the capricious nature of Tiri follower's ideology.

Ælios believed that Nillet's and Korro's blood had been mixed in the process of mixing their spirits. This made it impossible to destroy the spirits separately, one would have to do it simultaneously. For some reason, Wolfram wanted to mix their blood even more, but Ælios pointed out that this would only make things worse and might destroy their bodies. When Ælios asked Grogg to explain exactly what they wanted to do, they only got an unintelligible mutter in response.

Despite the the experiment being an obviously bad idea, Wolfram went to draw a circle. To speed it up, I helped them with the drawings. The symbols mostly involve depictions of bears, but there were also other drawings and symbols reminiscent of the dwarven runes.

By the time we were done, Ninos had returned and we cold hear them talking with Ælios above. Wolfram started chanting and performed their ritual, but when they were done, they told us it only reached about a meter away from their pole. In addition, if the pole fell over or the circle was erased, the spell would be broken.

Ninos and Ælios came down in the hold and Ninos said there had been a change in the plans. They had thought we would stay on the ship and sail with the other ships when they left. However, it had turned out we were going to abandon the ship and had to make it to the fleet inside the king's harbour. There were plans in place and they wondered when we could leave. We had to be there before Ajaw reached the horizon. Ælios said it was not optimal, but the patients were physically in better shape than last time and should survive the transportation. A cart would be very useful though. The others still wanted to experiment with the patients, so we told Ninos we could be ready in two hours.

Grogg and Wolfram went to fetch the patients and piled them around the totem. Due to the small area covered by the spell, they had to be curled up under the ropes keeping the totem standing. Nuur-Karif prepared their knives with the spirit poison and I noticed there were only a few drops left. When Wolfram put Nillet in place, they suddenly cried out in pain. They had been careless and the end of the needle had slipped into the crack between their glove and the arm of their chain mail. The place it had touched their skin had a red burn mark.

I asked Grogg were Kra was and they decided it was too dangerous for the raven, instructing them to stay with Ælios. They then wanted me to pour star water on the needle, but this experiment was silly enough already and I refused. Instead, I moved my things up on deck and took up position in the hallway to the galley. If things went horribly wrong, I wanted a clear escape route.

[Stomoxys]

Grogg sat down next to Nillet and Nuur-Karif sat down on the opposite side. The troll's hand hovered over the needle for a while but they suddenly changed their mind and got up to fetch their maul. They claimed they needed inspiration. Nuur-Karif apparently interpreted this as meaning that Grogg had to get angry and asked if Nillet was a dragon worshiper.

Grogg grabbed hold of the needle and their arm started shaking. With a violent jerk, they pulled the needle out of Nillet's arm. Holding the needle looked like it caused them great pain and they began banging the deck so hard I thought the boards would break. Several of the ropes holding the totem were torn loose in the process, but the totem remained standing.

Nillet lay crumpled up next to the totem. Suddenly their eyes snapped open. Grogg tried to say something, but Nillet interrupted them with a piercing shriek. Interestingly, it sounded almost like they had two voices, reminding me a bit of Madan the night they were possessed by Tuza. Nillet's screams were not quite as twisted though. It almost sounded like Korro's voice was mixed in.

Wolfram shouted for me to look at Nillet's aura, but I had already started twisting the strings. Their aura was back and looked almost normal. However, similar to Korro's, it appeared to have a strange discolouring.

Grogg lurched forward and stabbed at Nillet with the needle. However, Nillet jumped away and grabbed hold of Korro. This brought them closer to Nuur-Karif who was fingering their knife and were itching to start stabbing. Grogg struck again and succeeded at stabbing the needle in Nillet's hand. Nillet looked completely unaffected and began tugging on Korro, alternating between pleading for Korro to wake up and screaming at Grogg that they could not kill them. It was unclear if they meant that Grogg must not kill them, or would not be able to.

Both Wolfram and Nuur-Karif looked like they were ready to throw themselves at Nillet, while Nillet got up on their feet and tried to drag Korro away. Grogg got hold of the needle again and managed to pull it out. With their precious needle back, they lost interest in Nillet. Even though their arm kept trembling uncontrollably, they gave the needle a lick. Luckily, they managed to do it without pricking themselves.

Nillet got increasingly desperate as their energy began to ebb. I wondered about their wound, especially if Wolfram began a wrestling match, but Ælios must have expertly stitched Nillet together. At least I could not see any blood. Nuur-Karif seemed to have gotten their knife hand under control, so I shouted for them to try to calm Nillet.

I looked for Ælios, but only saw Ninos look down on us from the deck. I shouted that the patient needed some of Ælios' calming medication. They disappeared from the hatch, but Ælios came running a few seconds later and demanded to know what was going on. None of the others felt like answering, but I told them that Nillet had an aura again.

Grogg had finally had enough of the pain and jammed the needle into one of the chests. Ælios ordered Grogg and Wolfram to carry a patient each to Ælios' cabin, while Nuur-Karif and I were told to bring the chest with the needle. Nillet was still moaning and struggling, but they were now so weak that Wolfram could easily restrain them long enough for Ælios to restrain their limbs with cuffs.

I inspected Grogg's arm to see what damage the needle had done. From the fingers that held the needle, a discolouring had spread to their hand and down their arm. It almost looked like burns and some of the scales on their skin had begun to flake off. However, unlike a burn, the damage seemed to have spread along the veins, like a poison. If the wound acted like a burn, it would not cause any permanent damage. We should monitor the situation though. Wolfram's burn were similar, but their contact had been much briefer, so they should be fine.

Nuur-Karif emerged from Ælios' cabin and told Grogg and Wolfram to empty two chests while they began rummaging through the various chests until they found some sheets. They then began padding the chests with the sheets and explained that Korro and Nillet would be placed in the chests and that Ninos was ready to go. Ælios had managed to calm down Nillet and they appeared to be sleeping. Wolfram was instructed to cut the needle from the chest, but keep a plug of wood around it to make it easier to handle.

With the patients and the needle secured, we climbed up on deck with the cargo. Ninos signaled that we should wait for ten minutes. While the rest of us had dressed in the sailor's clothes we came in, Grogg and Wolfram were in full armour, so I hoped we were not going far. Two of the guards helped us carry the chests down the pier and an open wagon similar to the one we arrived in came rolling down the harbour towards us. It stopped just long enough for us to load the chests and ourselves on board before it continued west.

The wagon made its way towards the palace walls through the quiet streets. We kept to the back streets, but I was happy when we stopped in an alley after perhaps 10 minutes and Ninos instructed us to unload the cart. We got the crates off the wagon as quickly as Ælios would allow while Ninos went ahead and scouted around a corner.

They soon returned and said there was a trouble. There was a shop about a 100 meters down the street that was our destination. However, there were three royal guards stationed in front of it that were not supposed to be there. Wolfram drew their sword and was ready to rush in and start killing, but I stopped them and suggested a more subtle approach. If Platykon was as wanted as Ninos claimed, an illusion of Platykon wandering down the streets should get the guards' attention.

The others agreed and I sneaked over to the next alley. Once in position, I conjured up an image of the elf. If I concentrate, I can get the image to move, but by carefully arranging the threads, I could get the image to move on its' own. I set it up to walk towards the guards and then start running away once it got near the position of the guards. As it wandered down the alley and into the street, I started walking back to the others. Shouts and the sound of a horn soon erupted from the street.

Nuur-Karif was gone when I reached the others. It turned out only two of the guards had run after Platykon while one remained and Nuur-Karif had gone to deal with them. The guard was male, so Nuur-Karif should be able to mesmerize them with their body, but when I looked around the corner, Nuur-Karif was plunging their dagger into the guards throat. At least it should sate Nuur-Karif for a while.

I told the others to hurry and we grabbed the crates and ran to Nuur-Karif. They had collected the guards' blood on themselves and were completely drenched, but at least there were no obvious blood stains on the ground. Ninos tossed Nuur-Karif a set of keys and the crates, the guard's corpse and we piled inside. Wolfram grabbed the corpse and hid it behind a counter after looting its pockets while Ninos locked the door and then removed a mat from the floor. Underneath the mat was a trapdoor that led down into a small basement.

Ninos began pushing away a shelf in the basement, revealing a hidden subterranean passage and gestured for us to follow. The crates were rocked considerably when Grogg and Wolfram manouvred them down the ladder, but Ælios did not complain too much. When everyone were down, I nudged the carpet back over the trapdoor so it would be concealed again and we entered the passage. After the shelf slid back into place, we were in total darkness, but Ninos lit a lantern and I found the Shimmer Coin in my pouch.

We marched into the darkness and soon felt the now familiar smell of sewage. The brickwork looked similar to the tunnel we took when we visited Nulius and my suspicions were soon confirmed when we found ourselves in a familiar corridor.

[Stomoxys]

This time the gate in the grated room were open and two of Nulius' soldiers were waiting for us. Next to the wall, two apeoids with the uniforms of the royal guard were bound with sacks over their head. One of them made some muffled sounds when they heard us, but were silenced by one of soldiers, while the other soldier whistled a signal. Nulius emerged from the staircase soon after and greeted us. After a brief exchange, they gave us clear instructions that if we wanted to come along any further, we had to follow their orders. We agreed and they made an about turn and marched up the stairs with us behind.

At the top of the stairs, we were instructed to wait a bit while a guard checked that everything was clear. When they signaled, we emerged into the king's harbour right next to the smallest of Nulius's ships. To our right, I could see daylight shining in through the great gates while to the left Nulius' two other ships were in the same position as last time. There were less lanterns than last time I was there, so the innermost parts of the roofed harbour were covered in darkness. Across the water, a partial wall separated us from the western dock. Metal bars would make it difficult for an apeoid to climb across and I saw no passage that led to the other side, but I thought I would be able to slip through. The warships Ninos had talked about were visible through the bars.

Straight ahead of us, a large cargo hatch stood open in the side of the ship and we were motioned to enter. As soon as we were in, someone closed the hatch. Ælios and Nulius immediately engaged in a heated discussion in their own language while Nuur-Karif asked for water to clean their garb. However, they soon realized that it was a lost cause and found some new clothes instead. Nulius and Ælios finished their discussion and Nulius left. Nuur-Karif wondered if there was anywhere we could sleep, but Ælios told us not to unpack because we would soon move to another ship.

This ship looked similar to the one we had been on, but somewhat larger. Another difference was that the hatch above the main hold was solid, not a grid. I explored the ship, but found that all the hatches up to deck were locked. The others lay down to rest, while I wandered back to the galley were I found Ælios, Ninos and a note attached to the wall. It was written in the western language, so I got Ælios to help me translate. The symbols used in the west that looked like letters used in the Ar language were more or less the same. However, a number of them were completely different and there were some additional ones that did not have an equivalent in Arland. Ælios also confirmed that the language is very similar to Litin and should be understandable for someone who speaks Litin. The note itself was not very interesting. It simply listed a large number of rules the soldiers were supposed to follow. The most important being that they were strictly forbidden from interacting with the locals and were to stay below deck as much as possible.

After about an hour, someone came marching up the gangplank. It was Nulius followed by two guards. After exchanging a few words with Ælios, they told us that we were now under Ælios' command and were not to cause any incidents. Nulius did not seem all too pleased, but some guards were ordered to help us carry the crates and we marched off to the innermost ship. It was the largest were I had visited Nulius the first time. This time, we entered through the side and then down a level until Ælios led us to a cabin they said were their office. On our way, Ninos took the opportunity to slip away.

The cabin looked like a mix of a library and a laboratory and must have taken almost half the aft deck. Every bit of the walls were covered by shelves that were crammed full of books and strange equipment. Three large work tables dominated the room. The floor were also full of books, manuscripts and various devices and Ælios made a great fuss that nobody step on anything. Behind the laboratory was a much smaller cabin that acted as writing and sleeping room. It had a small window with glass that faced west away from the quay.

Nulius had refused to invite us on board their ship, so we had to stay in Ælios' quarters and there would not be enough floor space for everyone to lie down and sleep. I suggested that we get hammocks, which Ælios thought was a good idea and ordered guards stationed outside to fetch them. They then told us to open the crates and place each of the patients on a work bench. Once in place, Ælios secured them with leather straps and muttered mostly to themselves if we really needed to take the needle with us. They only got an angry snort from Grogg in response.

When they were satisfied that the patients would remain in place, Ælios turned to us and announced that they wanted to begin with Grogg. This would require sedating Grogg and they suggested using three times the dose of a human. This sounded reasonable and Ælios fetched a jar with something that looked like lumps of sugar. They then placed three of the lumps into the bladder of an animal and closed it tightly. The bladder began to expand, as if some gas was released and Grogg were ordered to lay down on the last bench.

Grogg complied and Ælios secured them with a leather strap across the chest. I doubt it would contain the troll if they tried to break free, but that would hopefully not be put to the test. Ælios told Grogg to breath in from the bladder and think nice thoughts, but Grogg wanted their trollnip. Ælios was curious, so I fetched it, but they decided that it was not wise to combine with what was in the bladder. They then attached the bladder over Grogg's nose and mouth and produced a large needle. If Grogg felt the needle, they should signal with their good hand. The first jab got a thumb up in response, but by the second jab, Grogg was unconscious. Ælios then loosened the straps holding the bladder in place so that some air would make it in.

Before they began, Ælios warned us that the operation would be a grizzly sight. They had a wide array of wicked looking tools and Yana immediately retreated to the bedroom and closed the door while Wolfram backed into a corner where they would not have a direct view. Hylda held their ground out of loyalty to Grogg while Nuur-Karif and I remained and offered to help Ælios. They accepted and instructed us to wash thoroughly.

Grogg's operation was much more extensive than Nillet's and Ælios had to dig in to the bone. A knife wound of the same magnitude would probably lead to massive haemorrhage, but Ælios carefully avoided any vein and arteries as they gently pried the tissues apart. The bones had broken several places and Ælios had to force them into the right position and then lock them in place using bone splints and metal nails. Nuur-Karif and I assisted by lifting the heavy arm and holding it at the right angles. In the middle of the operation, some guards arrived with a crate of hammocks and extra clothes. Ælios ignored them, muttering for Nuur-Karif to handle it.

After the last bone was thrust into place, Ælios instructed Nuur-Karif to begin mixing plaster with water in a big tub. I wondered what they would need it for, but kept quiet and held Grogg's arm in place while Ælios began stitching together the muscles and sinews inside. It was a slow process that took almost as long as it took to cut their way in. The hardest part was stitching the skin back together at the end, but Ælios carefully inserted their needle between Grogg's scales and managed to close the wounds.

At the final step of the operation, the wounded arm was rubbed with a cream from one of Ælios' many jars. It smelled of herbs and I believe the fat came from some kind of animal. When the entire arm was thoroughly anointed, Ælios told Nuur-Karif to bring the tub with plaster. They then made a cast around the entire arm and large parts of Grogg's upper body. The cast was reinforced with wooden planks. While the cast cured, Ælios explained that this would keep the bones in the right position while they healed. Finally, the cast was wrapped in bandages to protect it from dirt and moisture.

The operation was now over and Ælios removed the bladder from Grogg's face. They looked a bit anxious and said they thought it might have been a bit much, but Grogg should be fine. Nuur-Karif took a deep sniff from the bladder and looked like they were about to faint for a moment. I took a more careful whiff to try to identify what it contained. It did not smell like any root or flower I had smelled before and I suspect the substance had been heavily processed.

There had been a casket of wine in the crate the guards brought and Ælios wanted to celebrate a successful operation. Hylda thought it was a shame to celebrate without Grogg and got permission to try to wake Grogg. It took a few minutes, but eventually their insistent pleas got a gurgling response. Grogg looked like they were heavily impaired, but Hylda managed to coax them up into a sitting position. Ælios brought some kind of infusion that Hylda poured into Grogg's mouth and they succeeded in swallowing most of it. Afterwards, Grogg appeared to quicken a bit and managed to speak a word or two. Sufficient to get a caw from Kra. In all, the operation took three hours.

[Stomoxys]

Ælios conferred with Nuur-Karif on how to proceed with the patients. They would prefer to postpone operating on them, but if the needle were to disappear, it would be a disaster. Partially due to the damage we had done, they would like to keep the patients and the needle around for several months, but they believed they could separate them in a few days. I pointed out that the needle was useless in its current state, but Grogg made it clear they wanted the needle back as soon as possible.

The surgeon excused themselves and said they had to see to their patients. Oddly enough, they hanged up bags filled with liquids next to the workbenches. The bags were connected to tubes that ended in needles that they inserted into the veins of the patients. I suppose this would result in a constant injection, but I wondered how they would avoid infections or inadvertently poisoning the patients.

While Ælios worked, Ninos came by with a message from Nulius. They wanted to know who would be considered fighting and who would be considered valuable cargo. I told them to consider me fighting, as it might give me the opportunity to get out of the room and Wolfram and Grogg agreed. Nuur-Karif hesitated a moment, but after a look from Yana, they decided to be cargo, as did the rest.

Ninos left and promised to send us some food. A few minutes later, I felt the boat moving slightly and I ran to the window. The window was about three meters above the water and it would be difficult to get out unnoticed. The middle ship, behind ours, had started to move. Beyond the ships, I could see the gates and it was still daylight outside. While I was looking, our ship moved a bit again and it soon became clear that the apeoids were turning the ships around so their bows would face the exit. It was a tight squeeze, but the harbour was large enough across to accommodate Nulius' flagship.

Food arrived and things seemed to calm down a bit outside as the ships slowly slid back to the quay. I could now see the quay, but the few apeoids there were all Nulius' soldiers. Looking around in the bedroom, I found two books written in the language of Arland. They were written by someone called Daria and one was about the noble families while the other discussed medical knowledge in Arland. Ælios had given us strict instructions to not touch anything, but they grudgingly allowed me to read these books and I picked up the medical book.

The writer appeared to be an apeoid from the west that had traveled in Arland. In their book, they compared medical techniques in Arland with those in the west. However, they used many technical terms, so I was not immediately able to make much sense of it. The writer was as usual convinced of the superiority of the west, but it was unclear when the book was written. The date was written as 328 DB. If their dates are similar to Arland's, this would refer to the 328th 'year' since DB, where DB is some abbreviation in the western language. I suppose the lengths of the cycles would average out over the long term, but it keeps surprising me how the apeoids can use such an inaccurate dating system.

I was about to ask Ælios about the dating system when I heard noises outside. Returning to the window, I realized they came from the western side of the harbour. Since the ship had turned, I could no longer see what was going there, but it sounded like muffled banging of wood against wood and metal as well as the occasional grunt. Given what happened next, I suspect it was Nulius' soldiers assaulting the royal guards as quietly as possible.

Except for the door we had come in, all the entrances to the rest of the palace complex I could see were raised above the quay and were only accessible by stairs running along the walls. One of the doors slammed open and an officer of the royal guard came running out on the platform in front of the door. They shouted that no authorization had been given, but before they could finish, their body was pierced by three crossbow bolts coming from our ship. Someone behind the officer ordered an attack, but two of Nulius's soldiers ran up the stairs and through the door, slamming it shut behind themselves.

After a few minutes, the door opened and the two soldiers emerged, dragging an unconscious apeoid between them. The apeoid was dropped down to the quay were two other soldiers grabbed them and rolled them into the harbour. The two soldiers at the top of the stairs were replaced by two new soldiers also dragging a fallen foe. Nulius' soldiers must have been stationed other places in the palace than just the harbour. In total, seven lifeless apeoids were dumped into the harbour. The four soldiers left through the door again, while two others began cleaning up the blood. A few minutes later, a similar process happened at a door further into the harbour, though it was too dark to see clearly what was going on. Ælios commented drily that we were presumably safe since there was so much precious cargo in the room.

There seemed to be a lot of activity going on by the gates. However, the apeoids there were not carrying lights and it was getting darker outside, so it was hard to tell. The soldiers that had left returned and ran down the stairs, keeping a close look behind them. A plank and a rope was extended from the first ship and the soldiers began to climb aboard, walking on the plank while a soldier on the quay kept the rope taut for support. At the same time, the gates began to open. When the gates were open, more soldiers came running and climbed aboard as the lead ship were pushed away from the quay.

The process repeated for the ship right in front of us and finally, the last soldiers climbed aboard our ship and we began to move. It was a slow, tense process when the ships were pushed out using long staffs. I prepared to dodge away from the window in case royal guards with crossbows appeared, but nothing happened as we drifted past the gates and were out in the open. Compared to the dark harbour, the evening light of Ajaw was dazzlingly bright.

The two ships in front had taken up position to our starboard, shielding us from the rest of the harbour. On each of them, the deck was full of soldiers hiding under the gunwale armed with crossbows. I was more interested in the horizon, however. In the east, a dark shadow seemed to reach out, with tendrils reaching up over the city walls. While I could not see west, I had the impression that a red hue was emanating from the horizon.

[Stomoxys]

I shouted for Grogg that the dragons were approaching and got an angry grunt in response. The shadows did not seem to move rapidly and there were no signs of Kama and Taxini yet. I relayed this information, but Grogg answered that there was a strange smell. I sniffed the air and there was indeed a strange, citrusy smell in the air. I could not identify which fruit it was and there was a strange character to the smell, as if the fruits were being steamed. The smell did not seem to come from any particular direction either.

Grogg shouted "Bear, good smell", presumably at Wolfram, but Wolfram struggled with understanding the addled troll, so I shouted that the bears had a good sense of smell. I could not see what was going on in the laboratory, but I heard the grunts and pops consistent with Wolfram transforming. Disturbingly, Grogg also started making strange sounds.

I asked Nuur-Karif go and see what was going on. They took up position in the doorway and said Wolfram was transforming, while Grogg was sitting confused on the floor. Wolfram had begun sniffing the door, but Grogg came shambling out of the laboratory towards me. Before they reached me, however, they turned back and Nuur-Karif said they sat down again.

Wolfram must have turned back into a human because they were asking what Grogg was doing and were followed up by Hylda. They did not get any intelligible response, but I could hear banging from the laboratory. This was answered by a strange banging that seemed to come from the whole cabin.

Something strange was definitely going on and Grogg began rambling about shadow knocking while continuing to bang on the sole. The last time something happened with Grogg's shadow was in Darwan's tomb, so I shouted to Wolfram that this could be a demon. If Wolfram responded, they were drowned out by a new knocking that shook the entire cabin. This only encouraged Grogg further and they continued pounding the sole, so I abandoned my post in the window to go to the laboratory.

I had barely turned around before the window slammed shut behind me. While Wolfram yelled at Grogg to stop, I managed to push open the hatches covering the window and looked into a golden desert landscape bathed in the sun of Ajaw. At the same time, I heard the door from the laboratory to the hallway bang open and Wolfram shout something about a figure outside.

Grogg were rambling on in the other room and it sounded like they were talking to someone. I ran towards the doorway past Nuur-Karif and Yana and heard the window slam shut again behind me. In the laboratory, a large human just as big as Wolfram was standing over Grogg. They were holding a large barrel over one shoulder and a curved sword in the other hand. Their dress were similar to the apeoids in the port we passed through when we left The Homeland.

I hurried and twisted the threads so I could see any sources of energies. The sight that greeted me was spectacular, with every surface in the room shimmering with all the colours of the rainbow. Only the large human appeared unchanged. Instead, a voice whispered in my head "I am Darwan". While the colours were beautiful, their twists and twirls were dazzling and I stood there just staring for several seconds.

Darwan said they did not know who else they could go to, but someone had taken their sibling. Gathering myself, I asked if they meant Volkir. The demon did not recognize the name, but confirmed that their sibling was associated with storms and winds. Unleashing demons seems to be our specialty, so we agreed and Darwan said they could lead us to their sibling. They could not guarantee they could get us back though, and if we killed anyone but pirates, bandits attacking ships at sea, we did so at our own risk. Importantly, we had to walk perpendicular to the wind.

We nodded our agreement and Darwan turned into sand in front of us. Looking around, we were no longer in Ælios' laboratory on the ship, but in a small stone building. The floor beneath us was sand, but there were doors in the same positions as in the laboratory. Were Ælios had been seated, an old apeoid sat and read frantically in several large tomes. Looking over their shoulder, I could only see unintelligible squiggles in the book. Wolfram asked the apeoid what they were doing, but got a brusque "do not disturb" in response.

I realized that Wolfram were no longer Wolfram. Instead, they were a very dark, almost black human. Their armour was gone and they were only wearing loose fitting trousers, but they had at least as many weapons as usual. Grogg had turned into the red troll again, but I noticed that their maul was unchanged. I had become the striped jaguar again with a spear and bow this time. I had prepared my bow and my knives, so I wondered what would happen if I had to use the spear.

The effect of the spell subsided and I noticed there were no signs of Nuur-Karif, but Grogg seemed to have lost the effects of the drugs. Their shadow was gone though, and mine and Wolfram's shadows were strangely twisted.

The dragons were approaching, so we should not dawdle. I opened the door that used to lead to the hallway and saw sand dunes stretch out in front of me. A powerful wind was blowing across the sand dunes, but somewhere up ahead, a fire was dancing.

Just then, the door behind us opened and Nuur-Karif's illusion form was standing there. I quickly explained what Darwan had told us and that we had to move. Nuur-Karif wondered if Yana was safe and Wolfram wondered about their baggage. I said that it would be safest on the ship. In case we did not make it back, we would simply have to follow the river. A fleet of ships is not easy to hide and we had no way of finding our things in the illusion either way. Checking in the illusions trouser pockets, I found the shimmer coin. It was still shining clearly and it disturbed the illusions around it.

We began walking towards the fire, perpendicular to the wind. I scouted ahead and after a few minutes I reached an oasis in the desert. There was a rock pool built up around the source and a small fire next to it. It seemed like the wind was churning in circles around the fire.

When the others caught up, Darwan was suddenly there, staring into the fire. We approached them carefully and they started as if they had not noticed us. They wondered if we were ready and said we were just as mortal in the illusion as in reality. When we indicated we were ready, they said they would show us the way and turned into sand. Suddenly, the wind, blew from behind us at full force.

To our left, I could barely see a large building through the blowing sand. To our right at about the same distance was something that looked like an harbour. At least I thought I saw the masts of ships. I asked Grogg if they could smell anything and they said they smelt ocean from the right, while the scent of hookah drifted from the left.

[Stomoxys]

There were no obvious direction to pick, but Grogg liked the smell of the hookah so we picked left. The mirror that had trapped Darwan had also been a hookah, so perhaps we could find the item that trapped Volkir.

We only walked for a few minutes before we reached a steep slope that was about 10 meters high. Our tracks disappeared almost immediately in the wind, but we could still see the fire behind us. Ahead of us, a double set of stairs zigzagged up the slope, starting together and diverged before converging again at the top of the slope. On top of the hill, a palace with two rounded domes loomed over us.

On top of the stairs, two figures were patrolling back and forth. They looked like they were well drilled and Wolfram began fondling their weapons, but I suggested we try diplomacy first. Nuur-Karif agreed and led the way up the stair to the right. On top, one of the guard confronted us and said only those attending the sentencing were allowed. Nuur-Karif responded that we were there for the sentencing and the guards stepped aside.

The palace was the size of a small temple and were surrounded by a garden smelling of citrus. The front door were flanked by columns and creaked open when Nuur-Karif pushed them. While we could not see anything yet, I think we all got the feeling that there was a large crowd inside. Wolfram froze up for a second, but followed us in.

We were greeted by the sounds of a large crowd, whistling and booing. The door led into a gallery overlooking a gigantic room, too large to see all from the outside. The room seemed too large to fit in the building. Down on the ground, thousands of apeoids were thronged together around a dais in the center of the room.

Walking up to the balustrade, we could see the dais more clearly and the figures on top of it. There were five apeoids, a chopping block and several heads on the ground. Next to the chopping block was a large apeoid with an axe, clearly the reason for the debodied heads. Two of the other figures were dressed in robes and looked like some kind of priests or scholars. The last two were kneeling, one of them was a female dressed in dark clothes and the other a male in light clothes. I immediately recognized them as Audria and Illoro, even though they did not look like themselves.

The executioner shouted out that the scholars should decide the trial, but one of the scholars said the condemned could decide among themselves since they were so eager to die for some miserable wretch.

Nuur-Karif told Grogg to make them a path through the crowds and I followed, but Wolfram remained at the balustrade. A stair led down to the ground floor and Grogg accelerated to ramming speed down the stairs. Apeoids jumped or were shoved out of the way so Nuur-Karif and I had to run to keep up. I asked Nuur-Karif if they wanted me to change their appearance and we stopped briefly to cast an illusion. I tried to conjure up a version of Nuur-Karif's illusion with opulent clothing and a radiant visage. Instead of what I envisaged, Nuur-Karif appeared as themselves before me. They were satisfied though. I wonder if Darwan's images are broken by star light. That would explain the disturbance around the shimmer coin and Nuur-Karif's lacking illusion.

While this was going on, Illoro and Audria had started arguing about which of them were to die. Illoro was ranting about betraying their temple, worshiping comets and leading the wretch into a league with the undying, while Audria claimed they had used their position to manipulate the wretch into the league and everything was their fault. They were both eager to die it seemed. The crowd was shouting and screaming around us and I noticed they were closing ranks behind us.

Grogg continued their charge while the executioner announced that the crowd had to decide. The screams of the crowd intensified as we made our way, but just as we reached the dais, the executioner shouted for silence. Only the true judge cold judge they said and pointed at Nuur-Karif.

The crowd evaporated and we climbed up on the dais in silence. There were no stairs, so we had to shimmy up in the awkward silence. Nuur-Karif knelt down to pray while Illoro and Audria were each whispering that Nuur-Karif should pick them. I whispered they should pick the executioner and I noticed Nuur-Karif's hands clutched their knives tightly.

Nuur-Karif gor back on their feet, denouncing the process as corrupt and sentencing the executioner to death. The crowd was suddenly back, screaming louder then ever. The sight of that many apeoids baying for blood was quite disturbing, even though I knew they were an illusion.

The priests were also back and laughed at Nuur-Karif while the executioner tried to shoo us off the dais. Grogg responded by charging at the executioner while Nuur-Karif stabbed one of the priests in the throat. Seeing that we resorted to violence as usual, I stabbed at the other priest with my spear, spraying blood everywhere, but they remained on their feet. Suddenly, they had a scroll in their hand and were reading out a sentence over me. I struck at the scroll with my spear, but they managed to rotate out of the way. In the process, they rammed their arm onto the spear, leaving it a bloody ruin. Still, they managed to raise the scroll above their head and rip it in two. I felt something hit me in the back of my head and staggered forward, but managed to remain standing. The priest did not fare so well. They crumbled in front of me with blood leaking from their eyes and ears. Perhaps Ratanu is capable of passing reasonable sentences after all.

The priest Nuur-Karif had stabbed had crumbled on the ground while the executioner's face had been smashed in and Nuur-Karif were putting them out of their misery. Audria and Illoro had not moved from their spots, but Audria were sitting on their knees in deep prayer while Illoro was stretching their arms upwards, muttering unintelligibly. The crowd was gone.

Nuur-Karif tried and failed to get a response from Iloro and Audria, while Wolfram shouted from the balustrade that we had to get moving. I considered for a second to try to use the coin to see who had just died, but the others jumped down from the dais and I followed. As soon as we reached the ground, the dais and the corpses turned into sand and blew away. The floor beneath us were now covered in sand and the room were much smaller, fitting the outside of the building.

Outside, the wind was blowing, but the guards and the citrus garden were gone. We climbed down the stairs, picking the other stair from the one we climbed up, and walked perpendicular to the wind back to the fire.

The oasis was the same as last time and Darwan was waiting. However, there were less wood left and some of the logs were now just glowing embers. Darwan said that there was not much firewood left and we had to hurry up with no more deviations. After delivering their ambiguous message, they turned into sand again.

We surveyed our surroundings again. The harbour was still were we had seen it, but behind us, the palace had turned into a tower. Above the tower, stars were dancing, but it was hard to see them, like Wolfram's totem. I tried to reach out, but found nothing.