Cy 4850 Juniand 18^th – 19^th

As day breaks lord Snuffnir prepares to leave, The nobleman thanks Malethrax for his help and decides to head into Rosengrad and relative safety. "There are those who believe I have committed treason," he says, "so I shall put distance between me and them…but many thanks, Malethrax, your help saved my life and I will never forget it."

As the nobleman departs Nyrond, the dark priest of Malakar, works with stone magic to fortify the building (an ex-brothel) where he and his companions now dwell. His aim is to create a secret chamber underground along with an escape tunnel that they can use in times of difficulty. The project – even with his sorcery – will take days so he concentrates on creating a hidden chamber first.

The party – with the exception of the martial artist Danat Peres – are mainly sorcerous. Three of them (Malethrax, Osmedrain and Hujal) possess familiars (Find Familiar) and these act as lookouts and hidden eyes at the perimeter of their land. Hujal and Osmedrain have hawks whilst the Nadir sorcerer has a rat called Skurm. Early that evening it is the hawks that spot movement. Their masters are quick to alert the party and they watch as thirty to forty men wander across their land and head straight for them.

A ragged bunch they are dirty, unkempt and possess a wide variety of weapons, many stolen from the dead of previous fights. Outlaws. Malethrax stands in the doorway and the outlaw leader, Amitrar, greets him pleasantly. "We look for food and perhaps shelter for the night," he says.

As the thooligans prepare to roast a pig for their guests the outlaws gather in the courtyard to enjoy Malethrax’s hospitality. They eat and the talk is pleasant, the party are wary of the outlaws but Amitrar is a strong leader and explains that his band are from the White Woods to the north. "We come south to gather provisions periodically," he says, "the Woods offer us sanctuary but lately the Rosen patrols are getting more frequent."

The outlaws retire to the barn where Hujal’s familiar Skurm the Rat spies. Despite some outlaws wanting to attack their hosts Amitrar forbids it. The party post guards that night and sleep is not easy to find. But it is as the outlaws leave that Danat Perez’s keen eyes register something is different about them that morning…they have aged! Last night their hair and beards were black and red but as they trudge away east there is grey in them. Malethrax sends his hawk to watch them and he too notices that their movements are slower the closer to noon they get.

They shudder as they speculate what might have visited them in the night…outlaws? Ghosts? Undead? Malethrax recalls the hawk and the mystery is left unsolved.

The next visitors arrive an hour after noon. A Rosen border patrol consisting of a young captain called Sparrish and ten veteran troops ill at ease with the youngsters company. The brash youth speaks with Malethrax. "I am searching for a woman by the name of Meela," he says, "she is supposed to have passed this way but no-one hereabouts has seen her. May I search your home?"

"Be my guest," Malethrax says confidently.

For the next hour the soldiers pair off and search the outbuildings, stables, barn and even the main house. Malethrax is confident that they will find nothing largely due to his druid friend Osmedrain who seems adept at covering tracks. Sparrish seems unconvinced that they have nothing to hide but without evidence he turns and leaves.

Six hours pass and the summer evening light fades gradually. The hawk familiars spot another visitor. A heavily armoured knight and his squire lead a lame horse towards the house of Malethrax. He introduces himself as Gilabert – a Talkhand human – and his squire is called Rogert (also from Talkhand). The priest Nyrond is uneasy in the presence of the knight (he suspects Gilabert to be a religious warrior of another faith) – Gilabert is equally uneasy with the priest so, at supper, the priest removes himself from sight and goes to his shrine to prey.

Gilabert is grateful to Osmedrain the druid who tends to the horses leg injury with sorcery, within a couple of spells the horse is cured. Danat Perez then makes a startling discovery as he talks to the squire alone in the kitchen. The squire is in fact a young girl, the daughter of a Talkhand Jarik priest captured by Rosen marauders. Gilabert is aligned to the Jarik priesthood, a religion charged with dispensing justice and balance throughout Grayhawk.

Nyrond gathers his companions. The Malakarian priest suggests that the knight represents an opportunity to do the work of his dark god, an opportunity to sacrifice the girl and dedicate her soul to Malakar himself. With Rosen trackers following Gilabert the party decide to wait until they arrive…

At dusk the hawks of Osmedrain and Malethrax spot twelve Rosen soldiers moving in on the house of Malethrax. Gilabert takes a huge two handed greatsword from his horse and bids them all to stay and protect the girl…little does he know that the four men within have no intention of letting her go!

Gilabert – in a composite of chainmail and plate armour – rushes into the courtyard to face the Rosen soldiers head on. A consummate swordsman he disembowels the first and beheads a second within a blink of an eye. He becomes a one man battering ram as two more Rosens die at his feet, the greatsword moves with the speed of a rapier in his expert hands.

But treachery lies behind him…

Osmedrain, Hujal and Malethrax are on the roof (obscured from view by a phantasm the Menelothian has cast). With grim determination they prepare to attack the knight from above and behind as the Rosens struggle with the swordsman from the front. Malethrax sends an arrow crashing through his helmet and an explosion of blood showers Gilabert’s armour. In that instance the knight knows he is doomed. Hujal – the Nadir sorcerer – throws balls of energy into the steel-clad knight and despite terrible wounds Gilabert fights on.

Two more Rosens fall to him as the great warrior struggles with the archer / sorcerers above. It is Osmedrain – the druid – who launches the killing shaft. A second arrow to the head punctures Gilabert’s eye and the knight falls dead to the soft earth. Four Rosens remain and they approach Hujal and Danat Peres grateful for their intervention. The Nadir sorcerer has no intention of stopping. He flicks a Web spell to ensnare the Rosens and Danat carefully…one by one…slits their throats.

Osmedrain and Malethrax casts spells to clear the area, every blade of blood-stained glass, every piece of evidence to show there has been a fight is hidden by the use of Stone shape spells and careful cleansing.

Meanwhile, in the hidden chamber beneath the house, the evil priest Nyrond – accompanied by the craven Nadir sorcerer Hujal – come to the girl (the Jarik priest’s daughter). All hope dies in her eyes when she sees the knife of Asgar, the cruel sacrificial dagger hefted by Nyrond. "I will have her before you priest," Hujal says. Nyrond smiles grimly. "I can wait," he says with an expression of pure evil. The girl’s screams are heard by no-one…there is no knight to save her…before long Nyrond holds her beating heart in his hand and laughs cruelly. "For you my lord!"

As the last remnant of the fight is cleared horses once again come into the courtyard. The young Drenai captain, Sparrish, and his ten guards have returned. A naturally curious young man he greets Malethrax less than formally…he rudely declares that Malethrax has something to hide. "I will take this place apart stone by stone!" he states.

Malethrax is calm however, a fact that annoys the young captain even more. "I have nothing to hide," the Menelothian says.

The atmosphere darkens like an impending storm. The sense of danger is thick in the air and the party prepares for what they believe to be an inevitable fight. When violence occurs it is as swift as it is startling. A burly veteran guard sat directly to the right of Sparrish flicks out a hand with astonishing speed. A dagger plunges into the young man’s throat and Sparrish falls, wide-eyed with horror. He is dead before he hits the ground.

"I am Drusor Luckwarden," the killer says calmly. "We apologise for his insolence Malethrax. I take it you can see that his body is never found…it would look bad if it was." Malethrax smiles and winks at the veteran. "You can be certain he will never be found."

Drusor leads his men away from the scene and the party relaxes…

In the floor of the hidden chamber, lay in a pool of the girl’s blood and gore, is Gilabert’s greatsword. It gives off a subdued glow in the darkness, as if it is a visual lament to her passing…

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