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From: Fraser MacKenzie <[e-mail]>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.archives
Subject: STORY: Fate's Fellowship - Ch 4:The Saga Begins
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Date: 10 Jul 1995 14:56:35 -0400
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Enjoy!

Fraser MacKenzie
http://www.achilles.net:80/~fraserm

                                                          \|/
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__________________|       Fraser MacKenzie      |_____oo0_(_)_0oo____
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

   The characters contained in these writings and the writings themselves
   are copyright 1995 by Fraser MacKenzie.  Any resemblance to any persons
   or characters either real or fictional is utterly coincidental.  Copying
   and/or distribution of these tales is permissible only under the sole
   condition that no part of them will be used or sold for profit and that
   they will not be altered in any way.

   I wish to thank Eric Lindsey, Seng Ann Mah, Ron Trimmer, Max
   Bullock, Charlotte Ashley, Tom DeSanctus, Bob Grob, Michael Clair
   Haflidi Jonsson, and Drew Lahaise for their immense input without
   which, there would be no story at all. ;)

   Enjoy!

                                  Fraser MacKenzie
                                  [e-mail]


   Note: You can FTP the chapters of Fate's Fellowship as they come
   out from ftp.achilles.net in the directory pub/users/fraserm or
   access them from my home page at http://www.achilles.net:80/~fraserm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Introducing the characters:

  Name      Race     Type       Experience
~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~     ~~~~~~~~~~
Tenbar   Human      Warrior     1
E'tharn  Elven      Warrior     1
Kelemvor Human      Spellcaster 1
Ssylth   Human      Spellcaster 1
Ginafae  Elven      Spellcaster 1
Crowe    Half-Elven Thief       1




                             Fate's Fellowship
                                 Chapter 4
                              The Saga Begins




As E'tharn stands at the gate outside the roadway leading up to the mansion,
trying to decide what to do, a figure approaches from the west.  It is a human
male, apparently in his mid 30's, whom he does not recognize.  The human male
stands about 5'8" and is very burly.  He appears almost lupine, with an unkempt
mane of grizzled hair and an equally grizzled thick beard.  His eyes, brown as
the bark of an old oak, looks out from beneath shaggy brows, and over a broad,
flat nose.  He wears a tunic and breeches, with a leather hunter's jerkin over
his broad frame.  His clothing seems weather beaten and faded with age,
threadbare in some places.

Tenbar looks the elf over.  Seemingly very large for a wood elf, he has striking
ice blue eyes and silver hair.  His walk is that of a practiced warrior and
hunter and he always seems to be on edge, as if waiting for an attack at any
time.  He wears brown and green clothing and he has a bow in his hand and a
quiver of arrows on his back as well as a longsword at his side.

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

Movement outside the window catches Crowe's eye and he moves to investigate.
Standing just outside the gate to the mansion grounds is a tall figure
clad in brown and green.  Though it is difficult to tell from this
distance, he appears to be an elf, with silver hair and a long sword at
his side.  He seems to be looking around the gate.  Abruptly, he casts his
eyes up toward the mansion.  Crowe moves back into the shadows as the elf
pushes open the gate he left unlocked and enters the yard.

Moving back to the room with the canvas, Crowe leaves the double doors open
to provide him with a view of the entrance.  He thens go to the northwest
corner where the patch of webs cover a piece of cavas draped over a skeleton.
Lifting the canvas Crowe sees the skeleton has been here for some time.  Scraps
of rotten cloth cling to the bones and a book lies open beside it on the floor.
As he pulls out his dagger to punch an eye hole in the canvas, a black shape
scurries out of the nearby webs toward his foot.   As the shape gets closer,
he can see that it is a large spider.

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

Tenbar stops short a few paces away and looks the elf up and down.  He places
a hand on the pommel of his broadsword, though the weapon remains sheathed.
After a minute or two, he moves towards the elf looking at the gate in front of
him and the undone chain around it.  Seeming to wait for something, when it
doesn't happen he speaks.

"A right friendly fella, ent ya? Tell yers what, I'll tell ye what I'm doin'
'ere if yer'll tell me what yer doin' here. Fair exchange, eh? Then we'll know
if we're to draw swords on each odder, or help each odder in."  He finishes this
with a sly grin and then waits for the elf's response.

The elf looks the man up and down before replying somewhat hesitantly, "I
followed a couple of people up here that I think are responsible for the murder
of a friend and the burning of his shop.  Might I inquire as to why you are
here?"

The burly man spends a moment, thinking on his response. Then, he steps forward
and, with great deliberation, holds his hands forward, to show that he has no
intention of attacking the elf.  "If this friend of yourn be Alkus, the
Alchemist, then I think we both be here fer the same reason. I did not know
Alkus, but I saw his shop burn last night, and I heard that the Death Cult
finally got their dagger in 'im."  He pauses and considers for another moment.
"I heard tell that these here ruins could be a meetin' place fer the Death Cult.
I been sent by someone who had hisself been wronged by this bastards to see what
I could find here."

The elf thinks for a second and then steps forward hands to show that he means
no harm and then says "Yes, Alkus was my friend and unfortunately chose to
tell me nothing the day before his death so I was unable to help him.  I
found this on his body before the city guards came and took him away."

Slowly withdrawing a silver dagger from his pack, the elf hands it to the
man.  As the man accepts the dagger he says,  "I make it a point to know the
name o' the man I'm workin' with. Me name's Tenbar Bolwarr'n, if it means owt
to ye."

After waiting for Tenbar to examine the knife, the elf replies, "By the way.
My name is E'tharn TallOak but you can call me E'tharn.  I was wondering if
you knew of anyone that could divine or tell us where this knife came from?
Also, I think that we should not stand around here for too much longer.  We
could be seen and that would ruin the surprise.  Let's go in."

E'tharn asks for the knife back and Tenbar hands it to him hilt first. E'tharn
quickly puts it into his backpack.

Deciding to investigate the mansion together, they open the gate and enter the
grounds.  Moving up the stone roadway, they conduct a quick search of the area.
The four acres or so are thick with weeds and untended shrubbery.  At the back
of the house they find a well that drops 30 ft to a pool of water.  Also behind
the house, at the bottom of the hill on the narrow strip of sandy beach, is the
remains of a decaying boat dock.  The mansion itself is a fairly large two story
structure.  Several of the windows have been knocked out and it is in general
disrepair.

Moving to the front entrance, Tenbar and E'tharn find the door ajar and hear
the sounds of someone moving about inside.  The door opens into a dusty 20x30
entrance hall.  There is a set of double doors in the middle of the north
wall and a 5-foot wide corridor leading east from the northeast corner of
the chamber.  There is nothing in the room except dust and a trail of blood
leading into the 5ft wide hallway exiting the entrance hall to the east.

Through the open double doors in the north, they see a battered and broken
table and the remains of six chairs strewn about the center of a 30x40 room.
In the northeast corner of that room is a door leading east.  In the northwest
corner is a large patch of webs covering a piece of canvas that is partially
draped over a skeleton.  Moving about, agitatedly, in front of the canvas is a
tall half-elf.  He is wearing a white jerkin and baggy black pantaloons,
beneath a long black hooded cape.  He has long black hair tied back with a
leather band and wears a long sword.  He holds a dagger in his hand which he
throws at something on the floor, before drawing another.  Looking down, E'tharn
and Tenbar both see something black scuttling about at his feet.  As they look
on, another black shape scurries out of the webs toward the stranger.

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

As the spider scurries across the floor in Crowe's direction, he draws a dagger
and throws.  Unfortunately, he misses, but manages to make a quick sidestep as
the creature springs at him.  With a quick look toward the entrance, he sees
_two_ figures enter the mansion; the elf he saw from the window before is now
accompanied by a human.  However, he has little time to give them a closer look,
for out of the corner of his eye he sees a second black shape emerge from the
webs and move toward him.

Crowe throws another dagger at the spider near his feet only to miss again.
Seconds later, he hears two sharp 'twangs' followed by two thuds, as a couple of
arrows fly from the entrance hall to hit the spider moving from the webs.  It
falls to the ground unmoving.  The one on the floor beneath him springs again.
This time he is not quick enough to avoid it and he feels a sharp pain as it's
mandibles pierce his leather armor and bite into his flesh.  With a cry, he
draws a third dagger and swipes it off his leg.  It lands a few feet away, but
quickly scuttles back towards him.

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

E'tharn looks at Tenbar and softly whispers, "What do you think?  Is it a trap?
I will go in first and attack if you wish or you can and I will cover your
back."

Seeing a second spider emerging from the webs to move toward the stranger,
Tenbar draws his bow and fires.  Loosing two arrows, in quick succession, both
strike the arachnid and it falls to the ground unmoving.  In the meantime, the
spider at the stranger's feet springs to land on his thigh.  With a cry of pain,
he draws another dagger and swipes it off his leg.  It lands a few feet away,
but quickly scuttles back toward him.

As Tenbar readies another arrow, E'tharn quickly strides to the half-elf's
side, long sword drawn.  With a swift blow, he cuts down at the spider,
effectively slicing it's body in two.  Making sure that no more of the creatures
remain in the webs, he then turns back to the stranger, sword at the ready, as
Tenbar calls out "Move not a sinew of your sinew, nor a vein of your vein, nor
a hair of your head, or I shall send ye oaken darts enough to sew you to the
walls o' this place. Tell us, who are ye and what are ye doin' here, and none
o' your lip, for I am an impatient man with an impatient bow..."

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

The sound of footsteps brings the elf to Crowe's side, long sword drawn.  He
cuts down at the spider and effectively slices it's body in two.  Afterward, he
looks up at Crowe, raising his sword in a defensive posture.

>From the doorway, Crowe hears the voice of the human call out that he shouldn't
move or he will be shot where he stands.  Looking in the human males direction,
Crowe sees that the man has a lopsided grin on his face and holds a short bow
trained on him.

The human's appearance is almost lupine, with an unkempt mane of grizzled hair
and an equally grizzled and equally thick beard.  He stands about 5'8" tall and
is very burly.  His eyes, brown as the bark of an old oak, looks out from
beneath shaggy brows, and over a broad flat nose.  He is wearing a servicable
tunic and breeches, and a leather hunter's jerkin over his broad frame.  His
clothing seems weather beaten and faded with age, threadbare in some places.  He
appears to be somewhere in his mid 30's.

The elf is as Crowe saw before, tall with striking ice blue eyes and silver
hair.  His stance is that of a practiced warrior and hunter, almost on edge as
if waiting for an attack.  He wears brown and green clothing and holds a drawn
long sword.

The wound on Crowe's leg where the spider bit him is throbbing some and seems
to be starting to swell, but is not too bad.  The spider seems to have had no
effective poison.

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

Looking back and forth at Tenbar and E'tharn, somewhat suspiciously, the
half-elf replies "My name is Crowe.  I have only recently come to this city and
thought I'd give it a look around.  As I was exploring this old house I was
attacked by these spiders.  I thank you for your help, but who are you and what
are you doing here?"

E'tharn detects a noise behind the closed door to the east.  Tenbar keeps his
bow trained on Crowe, as E'tharn moves over to the door and tries the handle,
sword at the ready.  At first the door refuses to budge, but with a sharp pull
he manages to get it open.  Standing just inside is the petite figure of a
female elf.  She is very short, just under 4' tall, with silver hair and black
eyes.  She has a slim, but firm build, and is very pretty.  Her white skin is
flawless.  She is dressed in purple and green with a blue cape and wears a large
belt pack around her waist.  She is holding a quarter staff in front of her
defensively.

Upon seeing the three males, she seems to relax, lowering her staff.  In a sweet
melodic voice she says "Oh, thank you.  Have you come for me?  Please, if it is
not too much trouble, I'd like to leave this place and eat."

Tenbar swings around with his bow and points it at the newcomer, then back at
the man who calls himself Crowe. "Awright... I reckons I've had enough o'
surprises fer today. Come inside, lass, and tell us what yer doin' here. You
too, Crowe," he adds, cocking a wary eye on the half-elf. "I don' fer one moment
believe yer 'lookin' about the ol' ruins fer adventure' story. Nay. I wusner
born yesterday, eh?"

Talking freely to the other three, Crowe explains, "I was sent here by an ally
I have made in the Thieve's Guild here.  I too am searching for an explanation
to the high number of deaths caused by the supposed Cult of Death."

Ginafae looks nervously at Crowe and Tenbar, and smiles at E'tharn. "It's nice
to meet you all, really." she starts, and looks at the ground, slightly
embarrased. " I'm not really here for any noble reason I'm afraid, I was just
exploring when I got shut up in here. I've heard talk of the Cult of Death you
all seem to have heard of, and I'd like to help you on your search for friends
and foes, if you don't mind terribly. I've a little magic to offer, though I've
much to learn."

E'tharn bows to Ginafae, obviously struck dumb by her beauty, and answers "My
name is E'tharn and I am a scout by trade.  I will gladly help you in any way.
Your wish is my command and I live only to serve you."

After bowing to Ginafae, he turns to Crowe and says "I am pleased to make your
acquaintance.  I have only been in this city for about four days now.  I am here
because an acquaintance that I met while in the city was murdered last night.
His name was Alkus and he had a shop down in the city.  I ran into the building
to save him but I was too late!  I tracked the killers to this mansion and I am
looking to avenge him.   I originally came to this city to find adventure and on
my way I ran into two trainee mages being attacked by orcs.  After killing some
of the orcs and scaring off the rest, I helped them to make camp and then
entered the city.  They are searching for their master, a lady named Lycira
Modrake, a mage by trade, and their friend Zanzibar Longstaff, a student like
themselves.  She has found out that their is an evil wizard in the area that is
a longtime enemy of Lycira's who may have prompted her masters disappearance.  I
felt that the Death Cult would be a good cover for the evil wizard as he was
into weird mutations and other nasty stuff with humanoids so I asked around the
city.  I also wanted some sleep poison for my arrows which is where I met Alkus.
I had left my bow and arrows in the care of Marcus, the Cooper's son, when I
went into the fire at Alkus's shop and he was not outside when I carried the
body of Alkus out."

After he has heard their explanations, Tenbar introduces himself. "Folks call
me Tenbar Bolwarr'n, an' it looks t'me that we might be here fer more 'n less
the same reasons, eh. I'll tell what I knows. I heard tell that this ol'
mansion could be the hidin' place o' the Cult o' Death. I got me own reasons
fer goin' after the darkling folks o' this cult: they made me a wanted man in
this town, and I'm tryin' t' clear me good name. I came 'cross Er'tharn here
outside: he lost a good friend to the Cult, and we decided to search this ol'
place together."

Tenbar then puts away his bow and draws his broadsword. "Let's look about, but
be careful... 'Tis broad daylight, but I wouldna put it past the cult t' have
a few surprises fer unwanted visitors, eh?"

After introductions are made and the group talks for a while, they decide to
go ahead and investigate these two rooms they are in.  The first appears to be
a dining room with the battered and broken remains of a table and six chairs
strewn about in the center of the room.  In the northwest corner is the patch of
webs covering a piece of canvas draped over a skeleton.  With no evidence of
more spiders they tear down the webs, but find nothing in them.  Lifting the
canvas they see the skeleton has been here for some time.  Scraps of rotten
cloth cling to the bones and a book lies open beside it's hand on the floor.

Tenbar moves to the skeleton and picks up the book lying by it's hand.  Seeing
words written on the pages he passes the book to E'tharn for a look and says,
"C'n ye plunder this? I ain't a learnt man... never got the time nor need to
learn them letters."  The elf first allows Crowe to examine the text for traps.
When he finds none, E'tharn takes it again and begins thumbing through the
pages.

Ginafae looks curiously over the skeleton, obviously never having seen a dead
body before.  After fully searching the body she turns to Tenbar and E'tharn and
jumps up to glance over their shoulders. " Well, gentlemen, should you need any
assistance, I offer. I'll be in the next room." she says after attempting to see
this mysterious book and failing miserably.

E'tharn noticing Ginafae's interest, begins to read aloud, and the rest of the
group moves to search the two rooms.

E'tharn comments that many of the books pages are worn and their contents
obliterated by age.  There are however, enough left for him to see that it is
a journal of some kind.  He finds the following scribbled notes on several
different pages.  Noting the current date of 11/28/1221 he says that the journal
is about five years old.  Due to Ginafae's interest, E'tharn reads the entries
that he can make out, aloud.

+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+
|                                                                          |
|Date 5/8 1216  (the current date is 11/28/1221)                           |
|No sign of the apparition tonight.  Previous spectral activity may have   |
|been singular episode or result of townspeople's overactive imagination.  |
|Will continue to observe.                                                 |
|                                                                          |
|Date 5/12 1216                                                            |
|Heard the footsteps again.  When go to investigate no evidence of         |
|corporeal origin.  Must assume reports of supernatural activity were      |
|accurate.  Have yet to witness visible manifestation, but now have        |
|enough evidence to warrant continued investigation.                       |
|                                                                          |
|Date 5/22 1216                                                            |
|The voices are growing louder, can almost make out the words.  Seem to    |
|move from room to room, but end in labratory with moan that shakes the    |
|entire house.                                                             |
|                                                                          |
|Date 5/27 1216                                                            |
|Finally, saw first visible manifestation.  Outline of man-like form       |
|holding a candle. Most exciting!  Apparition descended stairs to library. |
|Did not seem to notice me.  Went to bookshelf and actually retrieved text |
|as if reading.  After time moved to labratory where vanished with         |
|blinding flash and repeat of moan.  Assume this is reenactment of death   |
|horizon.                                                                  |
|                                                                          |
|Date 6/6 1216                                                             |
|The power of this spirit is not to be believed!  It is clear I have       |
|underestimated the force of it's haunting.  In all my years of study I    |
|have not seen manifestations of this magnitude.  It was able to levitate  |
|every object in the room while maintaining visible form.  It is as I      |
|expected the former owner of the house.  I shall attempt contact with the |
|next sighting.                                                            |
|                                                                          |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------------+

He says that there are several more, minor reports of floating objects and
strange sounds but these are the few that stand out and are enough to give
everybody the picture.

The door to the east leads to a kitchen.  The room is dirty and dusty with
patches of harmless mold everywhere.  A fireplace on the east wall is
half-filled with old ashes.  In the northeast corner is a barrel about one-third
full of rotten kindling.  Several broken bottles are littered around the floor
in front of the fireplace.

In the kitchen Tenbar and Crowe move to the barrel with the kindling.  Thinking
it might cover a trap door, they move the barrel, but the floor beneath is
solid.  Inside the large container is just what they see, rotted kindling.

Ginafae, meanwhile searches the fireplace.  Raking among the ashes she finds
bits of glass and bone but nothing of major interest.  Everybody then turns to
searching the cabinets and turn up a variety of kitchen utensils, rusted and
covered with mold.  There is really nothing of much interest in the either of
these rooms.

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

Moving through the gate and up the roadway to the front entrance, Kelemvor and
Ssylth find the door ajar and hear the sounds of movement from inside.
Cautiously pushing the door open they see a dusty 20x30 entrance hall.  There is
a 5-foot wide corridor leading east from the northeast corner of the chamber.
In the center of the north wall is a set of open double doors leading to a
30x40 room.

In that room, both of them see a battered and broken table and the remains of
six chairs strewn about the center of the floor.  In the northeast corner of
it is a door leading east and lying on the floor in the northwest corner is a
skeleton.  Moving about the room are four figures.  As Kelemvor pushes the door
open, they look in his direction with a start, raising their weapons.  Both he
and Ssylth see the following individuals:

There is a tall wood elf with striking ice blue eyes and silver hair.  His
stance is that of a practiced warrior and hunter, almost on edge as if waiting
for an attack.  He wears brown and green clothing and holds a drawn long sword.
He matches the description Genna gave Ssylth of E'tharn Talloak.

A few feet behind him stands a tall, lean muscled half-elf.  He is wearing a
white jerkin and baggy black pantaloons beneath a long black hooded cape.  There
is a red medallion around his neck.  He has long black hair tied back with a
strip of leather.  A long sword hangs at his side and he holds a dagger in one
hand.  They can see the flash of his bright green eyes from where they are.  He
seems to be favoring a wound on his leg and appears nervous.

They also see a human male holding a bow pointed in their direction.  His
appearance is almost lupine, with an unkempt mane of grizzled hair and an
equally grizzled beard.  He stands about 5'8" tall and is very burly.  His eyes,
brown as the bark of an old oak, looks out from beneath shaggy brows, and over
a broad flat nose.  He is wearing a serviceable tunic and breeches, and a
leather hunter's jerkin over his broad frame.  His clothing seems weather beaten
and faded with age, threadbare in some places.  He appears to be somewhere in
his mid 30's.

Finally, they see the petite figure of a female elf.  She is very short, just
under 4' tall, with silver hair and black eyes.  She has a slim, but firm
build, and is very pretty.  Her white skin is flawless.  She is dressed in
purple and green with a blue cape and wears a large belt pack around her
waist.  She is holding a quarter staff in front of her defensively.

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

Suddenly a sound from the entrance hall attracts everybodies attention.  With
a start everyone brings thier weapons to the ready as they look in that
direction to see the door to the mansion slowly swing open.  Standing framed
in the light are two figures:

The first is a man standing just over 6ft tall, wearing a large black
cloak.  He also wears black pants, calf-high black leather boots, and a
dull grey flannel shirt.  He has a rather plain appearance with dull brown
hair and brown eyes.  In his hand, he holds a large scythe with a silver
blade and a gnarled oaken handle.  About his body, he has two pouches and
many jars hanging from his belt.

Standing beside him the group sees a frail bodied male teenager, maybe eighteen
years old.  He is a couple inches shorter than most humans, though they can tell
he has not finished growing yet and may put on more height with age.  He is
dressed in what looks to be average cloth pants, a grey shirt that seems to be
a few sizes too big for him, and a pair of sift boots.  The group notices that
although the clothes are in good shape, they are not made of very expensive
material.  They are probably just well taken care of.  By the look of his face,
the young man has spent more time in a library than in the real world.
Adventuring for him up to now has probably consisted of rushing to return an
overdue book.  He  has blond hair and blue eyes and is carrying a couple
daggers, some pouches on his side, and a backpack.  He does not appear to be
carrying much equipment, and they get the impression that he could not carry
more.

E'tharn steps forward with sword drawn and says, "Who are you and what are you
doing here?"

The man dressed in black, holding the scythe, says "My name is Kelemvor and
this is Ssylth.  Do not be alarmed.  We mean you no harm."  Kelemvor opens
his arms in a peaceful gesture.

The young man then continues, "Greetings all, I take it you are E'tharn by the
description I was given by my two students Genna and Goldenmeadow, so I will
assume that you are not members of the black cult.  I would also feel better if
you would put down your weapons, since we are no match for you.  I am Ssylth
from Modrake's Isle."

At this, E'tharn relaxes visibly and sheathes his sword.

"Clues and rumors have lead us to this place.  We are searching for Lycira."
continues Kelemvor, and then quickly asks, "What do you know of this place?
Have you searched any of the other rooms?"

E'tharn sheathes his weapons and says, "Tenbar and I have not searched any
rooms, and from what I can discern neither have Ginafae or Crowe.  I think that
we all should start to search for the labratory.  By the way, how do you come to
be searching for Lycira?  Do you know the names of others that may also be
searching for her?"

Ssylth replies, "I do not know of any other people looking for Lycira, but I
would assume given her stature that there are many other people out looking
for her.  As for the mansion, since we all just got here, I suggest we look
around and see what is here.  Maybe we can find out some information about the
cult."

Ssylth, the young man, steps forward and begins talking.  "I am a mage from
Modrake's Academy.  I graduated just a few weeks ago.  As events happen, Lycira
Modrake was on her way to the city of Burkden with one of my fellow students,
named Zanzibar Longstaff, when they disappeared without a trace. Not long
thereafter two undergraduates, a girl named Genna and an elf named Goldenmeadow,
whose training I was supervising, secretly left the isle to go search for Lycira
and Zanzibar.  Being my responsibility, my mentor sent me after them.  I am
supposed to find the two younguns and send them back, which I might add, I have
already done, and then continue the investigation into Lycira's disappearance.
On my arrival in Burkden, I learned of my students and from them of E'tharn, but
I was unable to locate you in the town.  My students told me of the mansion, so
we headed up here to investigate.  Last night I met up with Kelemvor and after
telling him this same story agreed to help me investigate."

"Ssylth, I am please that Genna and GoldenMeadow are all right and that you
have come to help.  With them safely out of harms way, we can now go about
finding Lycira and Zanzibar and securing their release.  I say we start the
search!", exclaims E'tharn.

E'tharn sighs as he realizes that once again, he is going to have to explain
everything that has happened to him in the past two weeks.  He takes a
deep breath and says,  "I am pleased to make your acquaintance.  I have only
been in this city for about four days now.  I am here because an acquaintance
that I met while in the city was murdered last night.  His name was Alkus and
he had a shop down in the city.  I ran into the building to save him but I was
too late!  I tracked the killers to this mansion and I am looking to avenge
him.   I originally came to this city to find adventure and on my way I ran
into two trainee mages being attacked by orcs.  After killing some of the orcs
and scaring off the rest, I help them to make camp and then enter the city.
They are searching for their master, a lady named Lycira Modrake, a mage by
trade, and their friend Zanzibar Longstaff, a student like themselves.  She
has found out that their is an evil wizard in the area that is a longtime enemy
of Lycira's who may have prompted her masters disappearance.  I felt that the
Death Cult would be a good cover for the evil wizard as he is into weird
mutations and stuff with humanoids, and asked around the city.  I wanted some
sleep poison for my arrows which is where I met Alkus.  I have left my bow and
arrows in the care of Marcus, the Cooper's son, when I went into the fire at
Alkus's shop and he was not outside when I carried the body of Alkus out.",
E'tharn finishes breathlessly.

After everyone has had their say, Ginafae steps forward and introduces herself.
" My name is Ginafae Tinuviel, I too just met these adventurers, I was
exploring this building when I got shut up in the other room." she points past
them into the room from which she came. " Are you joining us?" she asks.

"I believe that it would be safer to stick together.", replies Kelemvor.
After a brief moment, he walks over to the skeleton and says, "Has this
skeleton been animated?" as he hits the skeleton with the end of his scythe.
When nobody seems to know Kelemvor says, "I must attend to it."

After introductions are made, and as the group discusses how everyone came to
be here, the man in the black cloak with the scythe moves into the dining
room to examine the skeleton.  Everyone watches as he bends over the remains,
removes the head with a deft stroke from his blade and proceeds to break up the
rest of the bones.  He then takes out a vial and sprinkles a portion of the
liquid it contains over the remains.  Afterwards, he sits down and begins
painting flames on the skull with some kind of red dye.  An unusual display, but
the rest of group figures hey, to each his own.

He stops for a brief moment as he realizes that everybody else is staring at
him and says, "I heard that some in this death cult use a skull with red flames
as a symbol.  If we run into trouble, I might be able to buy us some time by
flashing this thing.  I will cleanse the skeleton so that they will have a
hard time animating it." It takes him about five minutes to finish with what
he is doing.  He then puts the skull in a pouch at his waist and announces that
he is ready to go.