"We can follow, but to what end, I can keep hidden from him."

Mora waves to Ninian, "Follow me." She sets out to follow the strange man. Only as they come over a rise, she stops in horror, Badon was on fire.

"Oh goddess, Noooooooo!" She grabs hold of Ninian's hand and sets off in a run.

The woman smirked at you, almost laughing. Suddenly however, her whole body jerks. Hoisting the bag on her shoulder, she slowly begins walking towards the inn. Down below, you hear a faint ring, as the door opens. Some footsteps come up the stairs, and soon, your door opens.

The woman's eyes - now only one colour, her pupils not visible - speaks in a monotonic voice.

"Why yes, I am tired. Thank you for noticing. I would like to take a nap. Here are your belongings." And she carefully places the bag down, which contain:

-------------------

Selunine:

5x Potion of cure light wounds
Spell Book
Scrying Shard

Trillion:

Wand of Cure Moderate Wounds
Silk and Velvet Mantle with Moonstones
Silver Comb with Moonstones

-------------------

After she empties her bag, she walks over to one of the beds, and lies down, closing her eyes.

Ninian lets out a small yelp as you begin to run, and has a bit of trouble keeping up, but she is still able to keep a fairly close distance to you.

As you exit the forest, you see the true horror which is Badon. The city's walls are decimated, if not non existent, with smoke rising from where they used to be. The buildings near the fringe of the city were scorched. Bodies lay on the ground, but not still.

You could hear several screams originating from the city, and the three bodies closest to you slowly began to stand. They began pulling their skin off, and when they had nearly picked off all of it, they picked up the weapons on the ground. Some remnants of flesh still clung to the bones as they donned their weapons, facing you and still screaming a ghastly wail. Their gleaming white bones shone in the sun.

Beside you, Ninian glares at the skeletons standing before you, and you think you actually hear a growl come from her.

Kandar stood staring at the horns and scars not wanting to be rude his eyes shifted to the floor. He wasn't sure he cpould trust this young man so kandar told him "well i was just wandering the local surroundings and suddenly a snake attacked me seemingly from nowhere and a minute later i was completely blinded so i went towards the noise coming from this town. Where am i by the way?"

Hoping the man would answer him quickly and then he could inquire about those ghastly horns and scars was he a demon?

DAMN IT, DAMN IT ALL. My horses were stabled here, could the possibly still be there? Achilles thinks of the though of them being gone, could it possibly Linus trying to slow him down. He will pay with blood.

I don't have time for this Achilles says, BAM GOES THE WH- Ring of Chameleon Power is what he uses as he tries to sneak back to the entrance he came from, possibly those two women outside town could aid him.

Trillion looked at the woman who was now laying in her bed, contemplating several trains of thought at once. This intrusion into their room and the theft of their goods had had Trillion reminded of the fact that not all people were honest and trustworthy.

Turning to Selunine she observes, "It seems that I must take better precautions from here on. Now, what do you suggest we do with her."

Trillion picked out her items from the things the thief had purloined from their respective pack she recognized a spellbook and turns to Selunine. "Wizardess?" she asked. "I knew you did magic but was not sure wht kind. I am a sorceress but that sort of cinches what you are," Trillion observes as she pointed to the spellbook.

Selunine looked at Trillion for a moment as she picked up her spell book. The fey elf traced a hand along the book before opening it. Her eyes traced the eldritch runes as she flipped through the parchment pages. She had almost lost everything, and that she would not allow. Whispering an inaudible arcane word she placed the spell book into one of the many secret pockets hidden in her belt. Gathering her remaining stolen belongings she returned the shard and potions to one of the other belt pockets. Her eyes fell on the small woman that lay on one of the beds. Part of her burned with rage at the violation, but the icy calm remained. Selunine returned her gaze to Trillion.

"If the girl is nothing more than a thief she can be dealt with easily," Selunine addressed Trillion while keeping her eyes on the woman in the bed. "However there is a strangeness to this hamlet, and things may not be what they seem. Let us see what information can be gleaned, shall we?" Focusing her attention on the little thief the enchantress wove a new charm. Arcane words left her lips and her lithe hands deftly traced the gestures as the inner light of her eyes once again shone brighter.

Turning her glowing violet gaze to Trillion, Selunine speaks again, "If she wakes restrain her." The elf returned her gaze to girl on the bed and kneeled before her peering into the face of the sleeping thief.

(OOC: casts Detect Thoughts - focusing her attention on the thief)

Trillion wondered what spell she was casting and she sat next to the girl on the bed ready to restrain her if needed. So quite unashamed she used spellcraft to try to identify the spell.

So far her excursion into the real world was proving to be quite interesting. She knew from her studies that such things that had happened so far had ranged from normal to unusual. The tour of the brass building was interesting the huge wave that had crashed on shore destroying Selunine's ship was unusual, the thief was not expected, but not too unusual. The unusual was what suddenly stuck her. Most unusual. Trillion had wished she had gone back to examine the ship to see if there were any magical residues.

While Selunine continued on her chosen path of action, Trillion analyzed what she knew and now had time to think about it in depth. Her quick conclusion was that the wave was ill intended for sure and the more she thought about it the surer she was..

Mora looked over to Ninian, "I've got to check on my family. We live a bit north of the town though both my parents work in town...I hope...."

What had happened, what sort of magics had been released to cause the she could see. Mora of the town and what had happened to the people. Those that she could see were grotesquely ripping chunks of flesh of themselves off their skeletons and moving about with jerky motions.

Morae clamped down on all her wild thoughts, worry would be of no help. She got hold of Ninian and headed north into the woods

The Village on the Way to Badon
Selunine peers into the young girls mind... after a few seconds, she could tell that there were thoughts present... and after a few more seconds, you realize that there are more than two minds in this head. One simple... well, relatively speaking. The second on the other hand seems to overwhelm you, knocking you back as you try to peer inside. You feel your magic leave you in a violent matter, that leaves you stunned for a few seconds.

Trillion, having successfully identified what spell Selunine was using, realized what must have happened. There must have been an incredibly powerful mind inside the girls head... either her own or another, but it had a far superior intellect to Selunine's. It had caused a magical rebound, and had stolen her magic, stunning her temporarily.

After Selunine was able to move again, the young girl began to stir, though not awaken. It seemed as though she was out for the night. However, as she stirred, her face seemed to melt, and pale, turning back into the form of the innkeeper who had given you the room for the night.

The rest of the night passed smoothly. When morning came, the innkeeper lay before you, still asleep. Around midday, she wakes. After being filled in on what happens, she swears to have no recollection whatsoever of the past night. Apologizing profusely, and agreeing to have the stay on the house, she returns to her post at the front desk. Your coach master joins you again, and you head out toward Badon.

The first day passes uneventfully, with standard travel as you have experienced for the past fortnight. When you set up camp, you guess that the next day will place you in Badon about nightfall.

However, with the sunrise, as your coach master is just rousing himself, you notice a bright light in the sky, directly above Badon. You can hear nothing, nor see anything but this bright light. Slowly it descends towards Badon, disappearing from view for a few seconds... then a massive pillar of fire takes its place, covering all of Badon, some of the sea, and much of the surrounding countryside. It disappears as soon as it appeared, but it does not take it's effects with it, as a massive pillar of smoke takes its place. Badon has been attacked, but by what, you are unsure.

Outside Badon
Morasennarion pulled on Ninian's arm, to pull her into the forest to so that Mora could look for her family, but Ninian spoke up before they left.

"No. We aren't going to move. Your family, if they're alive - and I really hope they are - are better off being where they are now. I'm sure they can defend themselves. But these things... the dead shouldn't walk. This is evil magic. And evil magic needs to be taken away."

Ninian, obviously with no weapons on her, stands in the face of the skeletons. Obviously, she assessed her situation. "Um... but I don't have any weapons, and I don't know any magic. Um... could you take care of them? I can help... in a small way. Plus, that man left after the blast, and I don't see him anywhere! He could be trapped inside the city. We have to do something!"

One of the skeletons, now fully aware of it's surroundings, begins lurching towards Ninian in a mindless march, as though it craves the taste of blood.

Badon
Achilles noticed that he was outnumbered. Whispering a secret word that Taori had taught him long ago, he activates his ring, disguising himself as a necromancer. The skeletons stop briefly, and turn their head sideways, parallel to the ground. Then, they turn them 180 degrees the other way. Righting their heads, they stop, and lower their arms. Looking at you with empty eyes, and bits of stray flesh on their bones.

However, as soon as you attempt to sneak out, they raise their arms and lurch toward you again, swinging at you. However, your training permits you to easily evade their mindless swings. Even though you are easily dodging all of their attacks though, there are too many to just walk through outside the city, as more seem to pour out from what looks like alleyways, and old buildings.

(OoC: Important Rolls: Skeletons attacks: 19, 14, 6, 7, 8, 16, 15.)

Unknown City
"Hmph. Man, snakes are rare around here. And I've yet to meet a simple snake that's bite makes you blind, though I'll admit I haven't been out much. I'm too busy. As for where we are, this is the city of Eva. You are currently inside the church of Lastai. You and I are the only ones - nobody goes to church in this godless town any more. But I keep the faith."

(OoC: Assuming you inquire about his horns and scars.)

The man laughs. "Haha, you know, I get that a lot, though people usually ask it while screaming and running away. I'm not dangerous... really. I'm what most people call a Tiefling. I'm from the outer planes. I assure you, I'm harmless. In fact, more helpful than anything... to anyone who either accepts the faith, or needs it before they do. As for the scars... I've got more than this underneath my garments. I used to be a crusader, and a fighter. Back when this place actually had any ideas like that, that is. But now, I'm a simple keeper of the faith." His eyes narrow, gazing at you, peering into your soul. "Are you godless, or do you have faith, man? And why are you here? You don't seem like one of the normal inhabitants of this city... haven't seen you around when I gaze out my window."

Mora stares at the girl, "I have no magic, I usually fight with my hands and feet. Thank goodness I brought a sword, because the old man said their was a dragon in the cave."

She pauses weighing the consequences. "Ok I will go in far enough to find the man."

She draws out her sword and moves forward with caution. "Stay behind me."

Mora moves quickly, yet cautiously. She is hoping some people saved were not so changed, by whatever fell magics were used to cause this terrible change to the inhabitants. Using her exotic training as a ninja, she focused on herself and Ninian and flowed into the city ready to fight if needed.

Achilles thinks of what he can do. He looks around his environment, maybe find some he can knock down to land on a group or block an alley or something. Maybe a wall to climb and exit town. Maybe rooftops to climb and jump from roof to roof. If all else fails Maybe he'll use an alchemist fire are the group blocking him if he needs to get by. If not use a fuzzy ball of joy, his favorite. Though he still wonders how the hell he got that whale. He named it Steve within that ten minutes. (Want me to list my options?) So if he can't find a nice little thing to use or jump on, bag of tricks it is.

Selunine awakens from her meditative reverie some time before dawn. The events of the past few days reeling through her head. She had not been gone long from the Misty Isle, but already events were stirring. Pulling the orb found at the shipwreck out from one her belt pockets she studied its smooth surface for a time. Perhaps in her hand she held the key to returning to her homeland. In time she would discover its secrets, but for now she would focus on the road ahead.

Selunine returned the orb to the safety of a hidden pocket in her belt. Following the thievery of the previous night and the near loss of her spellbook she had moved all of her possessions in the security of the magical pockets hidden in her belt, pockets that could only be opened with a word only she knew. Selunine looked up into the starlit nights sky and went over again the past night. There was a strangeness to that small town, something was not right there. Another mind had possessed the innkeepers mind that night. When she had peered into the then thief's mind the unknown mind not only noticed her presence, but expelled her and ripped the spells magic from her. Whatever the other mind had been it was very powerful, she was an Aos Si wizard and it still managed to overpower her. Had she not still been reeling from the attack when they left she would have remained to investigate. She was grateful for Trillion's help, she was beginning to trust her.

As the first light of dawn trickled into the sky a searing light exploded in the sky above the city of Badon. Selunine jumped to her feet as flames erupt over the city and the surrounding countryside. The port city was under attack. Turning from the rising smoke her violet eyes sought out Trillion as she pulled the crystal scrying shard from her belt.

Quickly Kandaar fumbles around taking the hat off of his head showing the tiefling what he was he was planetouched too. Kandar needed more innformation on what he had heard in the old inn so he decided to trust this tiefling he seemed worthy enough and so he told him of the few assasins, a dragon named taori, dragon island being raised and finally of the city of alimar asking if he had seen or heard anything of value about this in his crusades. He also asked for directions to Alimar and told him to ignore roads jus the exact direction.

Trillion helped Selunine up after she was thrown physically from where she had been. She helped her to the other bed and got

"Do you need healing?" ahw skes concerned for the young woman and then hands her a cup of water. She gave Selunine some time to recover her aplomb, and waited for her to respond.

She did bind the woman on the bed later was surprise later when she turned into the innkeeper, The Innkeeper own denial of what happened to effect this change was unknown to that person. Trillion believe that was possible but not necessarily the truth of the situation. That the innkeeper was the perpetrator was not very likely. Now was this a clever mage thief who had cravd the things taken which were all magical in nature and use, or was.

Trillion stood and walked to the window to gaze out in though the window even a she looked about.

If Selunine explained to Trillion about the mind that threw her out

"Selunine, I am trying to figure out why this ruse of using the innkeeper disguise to steal some very particular items allmost magical except for my mask and comb that are simple valuable. The question though is who or what did this and for what reason. I do not think monetary gain was this incident's sole purpose.