Hi, Reneel again. No, I’m afraid Nikko isn’t any better yet and I will have to continue to add to the journal myself. I am sure that Echi would be glad to do it instead, and I find his writing to be entertaining, but without Nikko’s cooperation, that can’t happen either. I guess you’re stuck with me for the time being.

With Arliss’ daily allowance of divine magic nearly depleated, we were forced to retreat back out of the Drow lair without finishing our exploration. As far as we knew, we’d killed them all and could have finished this exploratory venture with a few more minute’s effort and return back to the dragon’s lair to rest, but it was too dangerous so we left. Nikko used a wall of stone to wall-in the door where it has been sealed before by the Ancient Order of Stonewalkers.

We settled down in that room and began our usual post-battle rituals of tending to the wounds that remained, preparing food and drink to give our bodies the energy needed to aid in the healing process, and passing around the spoils of the battle so everyone could test the heft and feel of any items. An item that caught my eye, or rather two items, where the twin scimitars that one of the Drow heroes had used. I am untrained in the art of two-weapon fighting, but the weapons were extremely well-maid and felt good in my hands. I passed the blades on to Marqes, who was sprawled on the stone floor with this head resting on his bedroll and composing limericks about Saint Cuthbert. He took the swords, glanced at them for half a second, then passed them on to Sly. The thief was squatting on the floor in his favorite posture, arms resting on his knees and gaze focused somewhere far away.

Sly ran his hands appreciatively over the blades for a moment, then asked Nikko about their properties. Nikko got up and walked over to the thief, took one of the scimitars and starting looking up and down its length, from tang to tip. After three minutes or so of study, he gave the sword back to Sly and informed that, while both swords were impressively magical, with edges that would never dull or nick, and a razor-fine field of force that could slice through armor better than the finest steel. Neither of the swords was as formidable as the one Sly already carried though. The thief carries a small blade in his left hand and claims that two heavy blades are too difficult to weild together. Apparently the Drow didn’t think so, but what do I know?

After all of the weapons and gems had been looked through, the scimitars were left in the pile along with the other unclaimed loot that would be stashed in a sack and hauled around until it could be sold or it was needed by someone in the group. I pulled out my longsword and asked Nikko how it compared to the twin scimitars. He glanced at the sword in my hand, grunted and told me the scimitars were better. I asked if anyone minded if I carried the two curved blades. Nobody did, although Sly looked at me for a long minute, something completely unreadable in his eyes.

I lashed the black-laquered scabbards onto the back of my harness so that the pommels of both blades jutted out over my right shoulder. The harness was one of my many affectations that imitated something one of the others did–in this case Jerdiah. Properly rigged, a good battle harness could put every weapon and resource in a position where it could be readily retrieved in battle. I didn’t know what it would be like to fight with two swords. I supposed you could use the second like you’d use a shield for blocking another blade, but it would be less useful against a spear and pointless when being shot at.

I walked over and squatted next to Talon who was meditating. His eyes were closed and his lips moved, but he didn’t make a sound. I waited patiently for him to finish and amused myself by practicing some mathematics lessons on the dusty floor. My tutors would be furious with me when I returned, but it is difficult to keep my studies up with no instruction, no reference material and little time to devote to lessons that don’t involve killing. Eventually, the archer finished and opened his eyes.

"Will you tell me about rangers who choose the path of the tooth Talon?" I asked.

He looked down at his foot and started relacing the leather bindings that secured his boot. "Well lad," he said after a time, "as I have told you before, it is not the path that I chose, but I am quite familiar with it. Every ranger must be adept with blade and bow, but we must also follow the path that we have been blessed by the Gods to have our greatest ability in. For me and most of my brethren, that is the path of the feather. Both paths were taught to us by the elves millenia ago, and their teachings have been passed down from father to son and master to apprentice since that time."

Talon stood and unsheated his sword and dagger. "I have known dozens of rangers who chose the path of the tooth. Most are like our friend Sly, in that they practice the art are of bait and hook." With that, the ranger gestured me to stand and wagged his sword at me. No sooner did I have it in my hand than he came at me with his blade in a vicious overhand swing. Without thinking, I raised the scimitar and blocked. Talon took one step toward me and backed me against the wall behind me, where we stood almost nose-to-nose.

"You did what almost any swordsman would do," he said, straining his sword against mine, "and if you had a shield like most, it would now be locked between us now, keeping your left side safe. But what of your right?" I looked down at my right side, and there was Talon’s longknife with the point resting in my chain shirt, just beneath my ribs. "My sword is the bait, and my knife is the hook, you see?"

I nodded enthusiastically. Talon stood back a step, then sheathed his knife, He took the scimitar from my hand and gave me his longsword, then pulled the other scimitar from its scabbard on my back. "I have known but two who used two swords, as this is a difficult path and requires more devotion." He began whirling the two swords in syncrhonized figure eights, creating a wall of blades that showed no apparent opening for anyone not brandishing a spear or other long arm. "Come at me," he said.

I thrust toward his belly, hoping to avoid the whirling blades, but an instant later the longsword was grounded and held by the left scimitar and the other lay on my left shoulder, the edge resting against my neck. "I lack the skill to use this effectively in battle, but a master of fangs is a formidable opponent, as you should now begin to understand."

I nodded my head and took the scimitars back, then proceeded to practice the forms with both blades, trying to adapt my style to the radically different rythym of moving both blades in a way that achieved the objective without leaving me vulnerable or putting me off balance. Soon, my left arm felt weak. It would take a lot of practice to be able fight even as well as I normally would with sword and shield, to say nothing of the massive defensive advantage I would be sacrificing without a shield. But seeing Talon perform the dance of two blades had fired my imagination, and I was determined to learn it.

---

The Ancient Order of Busy Bodies

"Keep your nose out of my business or I’ll cut it off and use it for bait." — Nix

We had just settled down after a fine meal provided by Arliss’s magic when an odd-looking fellow stepped out of the wall next to the blocked door. Everyone scrambled and two seconds later there were a collection of blades and other weapons held at the ready. The man appeared older than the stone in this place with a long, white beard and hair, what was left of it. His large nose held up a pair of square spectacles. He wore robes of brocaded spider silk in dark green with a massive amount of silver stitching.

He looked at us over his spectacles, not in the least alarmed at our response. In his left hand was a marble inlaid scroll case, which he promptly opened and pulled forth a scroll-skin. He unfurled it without flourish and squinted at it, then looked at the door with the stone conjured in it. He referred back to the scroll, then looked up at us. "Who is responsible for breaking the seal on this door?" he asked in a gruff voice.

"Uh… us?" Elijah said, clearly befuddled by the old man.

"Well then… ah… I represent the Ancient Order of Stonewalkers. Did you not see the warning embedded in this doorway that you should not breach the seal?"

"Certainly we saw it," said Jeridiah confidently, "but the warning was obviously very old and our quest was urgent, so we took caution and proceeded anyway."

"Be that as it may," the old man responded, "it is not permitted to break a seal established by the Stonwalkers regardless of its antiquity. However, as this seal was expired some centuries ago, no punitive measures will be enforced at this time. I will warn you now thought that, should any of you be found guilty of having broken another seal, we will not be so lenient."

The silence was tangible for the next minute or so while the Stonewalker rolled the scroll back up and replaced it in its tube. He then tucked it into his robe and said, "Good cycle to you gentlemen." He walked directly into the wall behind him and was gone.

"Whatever," said Marqes, settling back down.

"Ancient Order of Horses Asses more like," quipped Elijah.

"It would be nice to be able to walk through walls like that," mused Sly.

"Good way to get yourself fletched," said Talon, replacing the three arrows he’d nocked on his bowstring when the fellow popped out.

---

The Drow of Dun Kinnis, Part Two

"Every spellcaster has a trick to keep the cavemen away. When facing one, you must simply neutralize that trick and let the cavemen take care of the rest." — Soltavian

After sleeping, we rose and prepared to further explore the Drow enclave. Nobody seemed overly concerned, but the talk was of caution, because of there were any Drow remaining, they would be prepared for us.

Jeridiah smashed a hole in the wall of stone that Nikko had conjured, then summoned a light and guided it through the hole. Something big exploded on the other side, and a tongue of flame rushed out of the hole. Everyone ducked. We all smelled the acrid scent of burning black. "That worked out well enough," Marqes commented.

The hammer-wielding elf knocked down the remainder of the door. We waited for the smoke to disperse before proceeding. We walked down the slanted hallway to the door at the end. The Drow would have heard the explosion, and now we knew there were more, so Sly listened carefully at the door and examined it painstakingly for traps. He found none. He turned to us and pointed the fingers on his left hand to the left. Just then, Nikko whispered a word of power and we all felt the effect of haste flow over us. My heartbeat quickened.

Sly threw open the door and Jeridiah immediately charged through and to the left. Marqes went through close behind him and promptly turned right. Nikko cursed expansively. The rest of us pushed through and Nikko turned to the right and cast. A large patch of black tentacles formed, centered on the far corner where Marqes was battling a Drow warrior and a dryder.

To the left, Jeridiah was fighting a group of dryders. Elijah charged into the fray and one of the spider-elfs fell and was still. Black spider good got all over the elf and paladin. Jeridiah dropped another one, then that corner exploded in fire. It was like a fireball but louder and more destructive. Bits of dead dryder were blown down the hallway toward us. Back at the other corner, Marqes slew the dryder and was locked in combat with the warrior. He seemed to move through the tentacles without effort.

Nikko turned and fired a ray at the warrior that was fighting Marqes. The Drow cursed but maintained his assault. He was getting some good shots in on the dwarf, and I hoped that Arliss would attend to him, but when I looked around he was focusing on Jeridiah who, as usual, was already badly injured. We went around the corner as all of the dryders were dead. When we turned the corner, Jeridiah, Elijah and Sly had already run past the side room and were rounding the corner around the back, where we hadn’t yet been. 

We heard shouting up there as they disappeared from sight. Jeridiah’s voice echoed back something about an invisible caster. For whatever reason, Nikko dumped a large glitterdust spell up on the far corner, and to my wonderment and surprise, a flying shape appeared near the ceiling of the hall, outlined in sparkling particles. That must be the caster that the paladin was going on about. Suddenly, Elijah came flying out from around the corner and smote a terrible blow to the flying mage. He landed back on the floor an instant later. I’d seen him do that before.

Nikko shouted and a blue glow formed around the mage, then winked out. I don’t know what it’s called, but Nikko explained to me once that this spell will prevent someone from teleporting or blinking away. The sound of swords banging against each other came from that direction. A shimmering came over the not-quite-invisible caster and then there was a whole crowd of them, all identical. 

Arliss cast something at the mage, but there was a crackling sound that means the spell didn’t work. Elijah barked a magic word, and flames shot from his fingers toward the mage. One by one, the extras winked out, and then the real mage came crashing down to lay twitching at the elf’s feet.

We ran up the next corner. I could still hear distant fight from the hall behind me, which indicated that Marqes was still busy. There were dead dryders on the floor, and a massive wall of web on the inside of the back hall. Sly was down too, but Jeridiah put his hands on the thief and soon he was clambering back to his feet. Another wave of flames arced from Elijahs hand into the webs, and soon they were burning fiercely.

I heard a distant scream, then Marqes’s shout of triumph. Soon the dwarf came running around the corner ahead and joined us. Within moments, the web had burned completely away and a large room, sixty feet on a side was exposed. There was a lot of smoking junk on the floor, but bright blades and unburned shields were also scattered about. They would be magic to have resisted the heat of the burning webs.

We waited a few minutes, then went about collecting up any useful items from the slain. I gathered up the dryder bows and their arrows as they would be useful for arming our companions back at the dragon’s lair. There was also a good sword and shield from the warrior that Marqes slew, and from the mage, Nikko took an impressively large spellbook. Even that failed to cheer him as he lashed it to the underside of his pack. I worry about my friend.

On the floor of the room with the webs, we rescued a profusion of what Elijah calls "simple weapons" and shields. Each was magic, but of the least powerful and most common kind. There were short swords, axes and hammers among the loot. Toward the back of the room was a stairway down. We gathered up the magical items and proceeded.

At the bottom of the short stairway was another room, equally large, but quite splendid in its appointments. On the far side was an alter to Llolth, encrusted with gemstones. There was a chest full of water tokens next to a luxurious bed, a fine carving of Llolth, if you like that kind of thing, and some beautiful jewelry. We loaded up the portable items and left the bulky things be. Arliss draped two finely made blankets over my left shoulder.

While we were collecting the loot, Nikko was studying the alter to the demon goddess. "There is magic here," he said, his voice unemotional, "It appears to be divination, but something underlies it. The weave of it suggests travel-magic. Perhaps it is a portal. In any case, the magic comes from the gems, and we must leave them if we wish to try to determine where it might go."

Sly whistled from where he was busy examining a large iron door. We all went to see what he’d found. He tapped his finger on a sliding panel in the door, obviously made to spy on whatever was on the other side. We all got quiet, and he slowly slid the pannel aside and peeked through. After a moment, he quietly slide it back shut.

"There is a very large cavern on the other side," he explained, "Nearby, there seems to be a town full of Duergars and Minotaurs, all going about their business."

We have encountered Duergars before, often as slaves, and they seem to be normal folk in this place. They are a dark dwarven race, and seem about evenly split between evil and not. 

"Okay then," Marqes said, his voice full of enthusiasm, "Let’s go make some converts!"

---

The Village of Tooman Gar

"Trust her for a single task, and then trust her no more." — Ghost at the Well at Marris Glenn

We had no idea what kind of greeting we might get when we went through the iron door, so cooler heads prevailed and we rested to regain our strength before going through. I practiced my forms for hours until I was exhausted, then lay down to sleep for a bit. 

Jeridiah pulled the large door open. The hinges squealed loudly, and everyone in the town beyond that I could see stopped and looked, then darted behind buildings or whatever cover was available. We walked out, weapons in hand, but behaving in as innocuous a manner as possible under the circumstance. "We come in peace," Marqes shouted, his voice booming.

After a few minutes, people started poking their heads out, and soon a crowd gathered and began moving toward us. At the head was a young, black dwarven girl. I heard my companions breath give a sharp intake, and then Arliss murmered, "Everbright Lighthammer."

The mob came to a halt a few paces off. The minotaurs looked vaguely menacing, but didn’t appear aggressive and none brandished weapons. A Duergar fellow with a long, black beard stepped forward and put his hand on the girl’s shoulder. "Greeting travelers," he said, plainly not sure of our intent but determined not to show fear, "Welcome to Tooman Gar, our humble village. I must say that you are the first to come from that gate who are not Drow."

Jeridiah sheathed his greatsword and stepped forward. "We are no friends of the Drow," the paladin said in his serviceable undercommon, "In fact, we have killed them to the last vile man of them, but we mean you no harm if you do no harm to us."

The black dwarf shrugged. "We have no love for the Drow, though we sometimes send our best warriors to help them in their war against the goblins. We trade with them on occasion, but we do not depend on their coin. I am surprised that you would come here at this time though, as we have been ordered to keep to our homes in anticipation of a visit from one of Greyvose nobles, Merdenheim."

Jeridiah looked back at the rest of us, then turned to face the villagers. "Whatever the Drow have told you, they lied. The champions you have sent to fight did not die fighting goblins." The paladin walked back to the gate and hefted the a large sack from inside the alter room, then returned. He dumped the contents out onto the ground. The axes, hammers, swords and shield spilled out upon the ground.

"What treachery is this," shouted a voice from the crowd. They rushed to the pile and took the items into their hands, turning them over and looking at them carefully while a great tumult of shouts and wails rang out .

The black dwarf stood, a shield in his hands. "This is terrible news for Tooman Gar. All of our best men betrayed by the foul elves and killed for their water. They are welcome here no more," he pronounced, angrily, "but you may come in and rest, if that is your wish, but I would recommend you leave before the Knight of Shadows arrives, as the Drow are his favorites, and it will not go well for you if he finds you here."

Jeridiah thanked him, and we picked up our packs and proceeded into the town. The young dwarf girl approached us and drew us off to the side. "I am Everbright Lighthammer. Are you here to free us?" she asked, her eyes gleaming as she looked up at us.

"Free you from what, child," Arliss asked.

"Well I suppose we don’t need freeing from the Drow anymore, but still we are slaves to the dark lord Merdenheim and his vassals. He is coming, you know, and he’ll be plenty pissed when he finds out that you’ve killed his elves. His lover is an elf you know. No accounting for taste I suppose. He’s coming to get a gem from the Drow, a gem of power, and he’s going to be hopping mad that you’ve already stolen it. You do have it, right? Can I see it. Nevermind, it isn’t important. But I know a way that you can sneak into the gateyard and ambush him if you want. If I show you, what’ll you give me? Huh?"

"Slow down little one," Arliss responded, taken aback by her rapid-fire monolouge, "We’d like to hear all about it, and I promise you will be well-rewarded for your information. But for now, take us somewhere that we can talk without being overheard, and we’ll see what you’ve got to offer."

She took us to the inn, the only inn for the village, and led us to a private room in back, chattering the entire way. Soon we had a feel for the basic politics and sentiment of the village. The minotaurs were peaceful, and had no interest in rebellion against Greyvose as they were generally treated well-enough by any visiting dignitaries from Great Falls. But the dwarves were subjugated and treated like slaves. There were many of their number who were unhappy to the point of revolt. We asked for and received several names of dwarves who might be willing to help in plotting an ambush. We gave the girl a handful of water tokens, and when she left, agreed that we’d gotten from her all that we could trust from her, assuming that we could recruit some allies that could show us the secret way.