I looked at the creatures, they vaguely looked like dogs, but rather peculiarly I noticed that they smelled horrible. They'd only been dead a few minutes and I could smell the telltale signs of rotten meat. I fought myself not to vomit on the corpses and desecrate them further. We all wordlessly hopped back into the cart and found ourselves on the road once again. I was amazed as I stared at the cart, not a cracked timber on the thing. I marveled at how the wood was miraculously healed due to liberal use of the mending spell. Bondrewd moved quickly, but the canyon walls were unstable with more boulders coming down on us. Some of them hit him but the magnificent beast shrugged them off one after another. I gripped the sides of the cart tightly as I feared becoming buried like the wurm. As we crawled out of that wretched hole the sounds of the forest returned. I realized that the entire time the canyon was quiet as a funeral house at night. I shook my head, shaking the bells as I cleared the thought from my mind. The sun began to sink below the trees as the air began to cool with the lengthening of the shadows. I watched the birds return to their nests as I realized the woods were almost black as pitch. I felt a feeling that this wasn't natural for this part of the world.

"I see that these woods are getting much darker than most of us can see unaided, I think it's best to stop here for the night." The others agreed as we pulled off the road, unhitched Bondrewd and set up camp. The rations consisted of hardtack, cheese, and dried fruit. I drank a lot of water to get the hardtack down. It was as bland as it was hard. Syafitri approached me and asked me to help him train. I agreed as I grabbed the Staff of Fortunes. I beat him mercilessly until he cried out. I stopped and he went to bed. I approached Bondrewd and began to speak with him, I regaled him with speeches from leaders of Sembia. I didn't do well, consistently forgetting what came next. The embarassment continued for the four hours that I'd agreed to stay awake for.

I slept deeply on my bedroll. I was considerably lucky since it wasn't raining, I had to make a note to stop by a store and buy one. My dreams were vivid. I found myself inside my childhood home in Sembia. The house was a large cottage surrounded by the Faladur Vineyard. I felt the wind on my skin, the sun shining down on me. My father stood in front speaking to one of the servants.

"I told you, you need to leave it in the casket longer. Otherwise it's not getting that deep red color that Faladur wine is known for. Are you trying to bankrupt me?" He yelled. His face was red with anger as he threw the offending bottle into the vineyard. I turned away from him and toward the stables. Butternut was still standing in her stall, she shook her head as I approached and backed away. I looked to my right and saw Wilhelm. His long blonde hair trailed down his back, fine features of his face framed by his beautiful hair. His face was a mask of anger as he approached me. He was younger, but he was already much taller than me. I ran from him as fast as I could. He didn't need to run fast and caught me by my shoulders. His eyes were gems of black obsidian on his pale face, still twisted in anger. He opened his mouth and it was like the void was calling me. His scream was like the screams of the damned as I felt the coldness of his hatred. I woke up with a start, mouth dry and covered in sweat. When I awoke, the sun was cresting over the trees.

I quickly redressed and gathered my things. The wind blew gently with the trees rattling their leaves. The songbirds now sang us a good morning song. Bondrewd was rehitched with no issues. Rather the horse seemed excited to get back on the trail. We set off on the trail, the cart bumping along the path that's little more than a dirt trail. I stared up and looked into the canopy of the forest. It was so thick that sunlight barely passed through. I didn't notice in the night that the forest floor didn't have any plantlife. Not so much as a berry bush or weed.

"I don't want to alarm you all, but there's something following us. I didn't get a glimpse of it, but I think it's bipedal. It's also keeping pace with us without a problem."

I looked around and didn't see anything, but I did get the feeling that something was following us. Huasir handed me a grenade with two notes. He pointed to the one in my right hand that said "Chucklenuts".

"This one activates the grenade." He said with a hushed voice. The note in my left hand said "Chuck". I examined the grenade, it was a rough object. A small metal sphere with a button on top. I could guess that this may be another trigger for it. I silently put the device into my pack. Zane looked around and then disappeared. The cart kept plodding along the path.

There was a loud explosion that rocked the forest as the cart stopped. We all jumped from the cart and into the forest towards the source of the sound. As we closed the distance, I could hear the sound of screams and confusion, as well as Zane's unmistakeable cackle.

"I guess that's the signal." Syafitri said.

We ran into a clearing filled with burned trees and 9 burned corpses. Zane waved his hands and another fireball appeared from his hands. He bathed everyone but the acolyte and the bandit leader in the hellish fireball. As the fireball flew out, Zane put his fingers to his temple and the man in tattered and bloody robes was pushed out of the way of the oncoming fireball. The fire encompassed all the bandits save for the leader and burned them all to ash. I waved my hands at the man as he regarded me disdainfully. I tried to cast fast friends, but he shrugged it off. I couldn't believe my eyes as I began to wave my hands again. I casted Bane on the man as he was now surrounded by a purple aura. He screamed loudly and charged towards Zane. His battle axe was hefted high into the air and came down with a wet sound as Zane's blood sprayed into the air.

Huasir stepped up, flicking his pistol into its musket form. He took aim and shot the bandit leader in the knee. He howled like a wounded wolf and stared daggers at Huasir. I could see chunks of bone on the dirt.

Corvo stepped up and slapped the Bandit leader with his sword whip. It wrapped around the Bandit leader and immobilized him. He swung again and struck the bandit leader, blood now thoroughly coating the man's thick beard. Fulgur ran to the bandit leader and started to bite his ankles. He brought him down and started to bite his calves. Syafitri ran toward the bound barbarian with his scythe. He sliced quickly and cleanly. He cut everything from the joint onward. The blood spray that came from the bandit was almost surreal as it coated nearly every surface in a 10 foot circle. I saw the sword whip slip down as the man's body fell to pieces like a glass figurine. I looked over to the old man on the ground and ran over. He was splayed out against a tree. As I got closer, I could hear him weeping, one eye was almost completely swollen shut. One ankle was absolutely shattered. I looked at the man and felt pity. His hands and feet were both bound in thick chains. They glowed with a magical sheen, something arcane struck me about the manacles. I put that out of my mind as I put my hands on him. His whole body was covered in a thin yellow aura as his bones reset.

"Who are you?" The man asked, his eyes filled with worry.

"My name is Otto, and my friends are adventurers. We were travelling and your...party... was following us. We're not fond of hangers on, so we had to dispose the others. Mostly with fire, the other guy as you can see here was cut to bits." The man stood up. He was two inches shorter than me at five-six.

"Thank you, for everything. They beat me perpetually." He said with a bit of stuttering.

"Who are you?" I asked him.

"My name is Alexander." He said to me.

I nodded my head and called to Zane across the clearing.

"Come take a look at these manacles. I think this is up your alley."

Zane strolled over to look at the manacles.

"These cuffs are anti-magic cuffs. Why did they put them on you?" Corvo asked the captured acolyte.

"I'm not the biggest man, they wanted me to track you. We'd been doing so for the last three days." I turned my head and looked over to Syafitri as he ruffled through the Bandit's armor. He retrieved a key from the dead man's ruined armor. He fitted the key into the manacle. There was a slight click as the manacles fell away. The man touched his wrists and then pushed his hood off. Instead of being an old man, he was rather quite young. He had a shock of well kept bleach blonde hair, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. It shocked me more than I'd anticipated.

"What did you do before you were captured?" I asked him. He looked me in the eye as he answered.

"I'm an apothecary. I specialize in medicinal herbs, magical healing, and a few other things." I nodded my head as Zane abruptly spoke up.

"Do you know Call Lightning?" The apothecary nodded his head. I could see his eager smile pierce through the gloom of the forest.

"Do you also know Conjure Animals?" The wizard asked as well. The weary apothecary nodded his head.

"Come on, Zane. The man's obviously tired, let's just let him go already." Zane put his hand up to me as the apothecary showed him Conjure Animals.

I looked at the small man.

"I think we should all give him a ration. That way he doesn't starve to death on his way home." The rest of the party agreed.

"Where do you live, and do you have a business card?" Syafitri asked.

"I don't live in a town on the map. It's a small town named Bright Flower." It took us a minute as we all thought and remembered that the village was named Bright Flower.

"That's quite the coincidence. We just came from there, we're headed to the capital now." I said with delight. Alex looked over to Kazimir and the dead man and spat on the corpse.

"I wanted to see him suffer, I'm glad he did."

Corvo approached Alexander and asked if he'd seen any dragons. The druid shook his head and Corvo turned away. I grabbed him by his shoulder.

"Wait a minute, let's give him a ration each that way he doesn't starve to death." The small druid laughed and produced ten golden berries. I dug into my pockets and retrieved 10 silver pieces, putting them into the druid's free hand before I took a berry.

It was delicious. Tasting like salted roasted meats and father's Faladur wine. I still don't understand how they tasted like that. He looked at me, then at the rest of us.

"Thank you for your kindness. Come visit me at my shop, you're certainly worthy of a discount." I gave a flourishing bow and saw him turn into a dire wolf. He started to walk in a direction other than the path.

"He's going in the wrong direction." Corvo said.

"He's probably going the way the crow flies. Get there quicker." I replied. We all turned to the dismembered corpse.

"Why were you following us?"

"You looked strong. I thought you might have some good gear." The dead head groaned.

"He's telling the truth," Corvo said.

"Do you have a camp?" Zane asked, authority in his voice.

"Yes." The head answered reluctantly.

"Where is it?" Zane asked.

The head gritted its teeth as it tried to hold its tongue.

"10 miles...west." I looked at Zane as he thought of another question.

"Who do you serve?" The head's milky eyes looked up at him.

"Not the King. He doesn't do anything for the poverty."

"How many men are still at the camp?"

"30." The head answered, promptly returning to lifelessness.

"What should we do with this head?" Corvo asked.

"I think it's best we let Bondrewd eat the body." I add.

"I can feed it to him, like I'm giving a treat." Korus added.

"NO, I wouldn't advise that. Just put it on the pile and let Bondrewd eat it." I said as I physically pulled him back. I turned around to see Bondrewd behind us, ears fully perked up and lips salivating as it descended upon the pile. I turned around to avoid seeing Bondrewd devour. Most of us headed back to the cart except for Zane and Corvo. I don't know what Bondrewd did, but both Corvo and Zane were pale. Corvo said something to the horse, and with the sound of cracking bone and muscle I saw a dreadful expression from Bondrewd as if neighed something back to Corvo, leaving his face completely devoid of color.

"I think it's best as Bondrewd's master, that I should tell you-"

"NO!" The rest of us resoundingly responded.

"I don't want to know, and if you tell me, I'm going to hit you with a fireball." Zane said.

"If you tell me, I'm going to leave you for dead on the side of the road." I said to the man towering above me.

"Just don't." Corvo said.

Korus stared at all of us before climbing onto the cart. We continued onward in silence until we reached another clearing in the forest. The sun had dipped down below the trees again, leaving the forest in a pitch blackness. I volunteered for first watch again. I beat Syafitri for an hour to help him train his toughness. It continued and he walked away limping and cursing. I approached Bondrewd and started reciting the speeches again. I don't know if it was the feeling of being watched, or if it was the thought of what we were going to do that bothered me more. I tripped on my words and stumbled over the rhythm of the speech. Another hour passed and I was relieved by Korus. I laid in my bedroll and went to sleep. It was a fitful sleep without dreams.

I'd been asleep for a few hours when I heard a particular grumbling that startled me from my slumber. I couldn't at first tell, but it was an argument. The specifics I was too disoriented to tell about. I heard Ena's voice and Korus as well, I sat up and noticed the cart wasn't moving. Even with his massive suit of armor, I could tell that Ena had done something to disturb him, or rather upset him.

"What's all this?" I asked, slurring my words slightly. The mead from earlier hadn't yet worked its way out of my system. The pair ignored me as they continued arguing. That's when I saw Ena make her first, and last, mistake. She put her hand on the massive horse's haunch as if she meant to climb upon the beast.

"No! Don't touch it!" I yelled, but it was too late. Almost as quick as a flash the horse's left rear hoof whipped out, hitting her across the face. The shock was audible as well as the sound of sudden bone crunching as I saw her head roll on the ground. I caught a flash of something I'd not seen before. A pair of foxes ears were firmly attached to her head. Almost as quick, the giant horse that Korus had named Bondrewd, stood over her. I couldn't read its thoughts but I know the sight of malice in something's eyes as it looked down at her corpse. The beast's jaw widened to widths I'd never previously seen before as it scooped up her body. Korus extended his arms to avoid further casualties but Bondrewd maintained eye contact with all of us. It was as much a display of power as it was a warning. It chewed slowly and I heard the crunch of bone and the squelching of flesh as it continued. Then it swallowed. I held my mouth agape as I watched it approach the head next, cart dutifully following the massive beast as it hefted one giant foot up and kicked the head. I'd watched for a good minute as it disappeared from my sight.

"I told the stupid girl to leave the damned horse alone." I said as much to myself as anyone listening. Korus put his arms down and returned to Bondrewd. Without any further word, we all settled back into the cart and went back to sleep.

Less than 4 hours later, I was awoken by rays of sunlight stabbing my eyes through my blanket. I took the blanket off my head to see a rather curious sight. It was as if time itself was stopped. Bird and other forest animals were stopped in their tracks. I saw at first a portal of bright green, the color of young leaves in the spring. It grew from the size of a pinprick to one the size of a door. Then I heard something a voice, or rather many speaking at once.

"So, this is where I must leave you Zane. If you would kindly follow me." Then I saw a man a few inches taller than I step through the portal. He wore the most basic of robes and long flowing hair of a reddish hue. He was followed by a smaller man with eyes of gold.

"Hello there," The gold eyed man said to us as he saw us. The smaller man motioned for the bigger one to join us.

"This is where I must leave you, Zane. After all, I can't do everything myself." The gold eyed man approached Bondrewd and stuck his hand into the horse. It writhed beneath him, attempting to escape as he fished in its belly searching for something. He pulled his hand out with the remnants of Ena's wand. It was shattered into many pieces.

"Shame," He said as he pocketed the remnants. There was a quick flash of green light and for an instant I felt a fog of my mind. Then he retrieved a bronze colored disk from his robes and handed it to the red haired man. I stared at the man and felt as if I was staring at something that should not exist. I'm a fool by trade, but a foolish man I'm not entirely. I chose to use humanity's best weapon in such cases and ignored him. He jumped through the portal and time returned to its natural state. We all climbed back into the carriage, but Bondrewd wouldn't move. I hopped off the cart and approached the horse. I casted Tongues on the horse to convince him to help us get to the capital.

"I realize that what just happened wasn't anything that you're used to, but we need to get to the capital. It's important, and when we get to the capital, we can kill more people and feed them to you. If we don't find anyone to feed you with, I'll buy you a steak." The horse shook its head and beckoned me to get back in the cart.

The ride to the capital was much longer than I anticipated. A week later, we'd left the gently rolling hills of the meadows and valley. We'd entered a more mountainous terrain with sparse grasses and treacherous drops.

The wagon slowed to a crawl as we passed by a canyon more massive than anything I'd ever seen before. The horse bellowed something that I couldn't understand and Korus turned around.

"Bondrewd asked if anyone wanted to get off and take a look at the canyon." He said. I looked at the canyon and opted not to leave the cart. The others however did leave the cart to look at a single monument next to it. The plaque that they'd read had detailed the creation of the World Scar, the canyon. It was created when a champion of Bahamut had fought against two adult red dragons. We'd spent the next hour regailing each other of various tales of dragons that we'd heard from others. The going was slow along the narrow paths along the World Scar, Bondrewd was very careful to prevent a misstep. We continued onwards and the wagon was able to approach the the bottom of the World Scar. I saw multiple white crystals embedded into the canyon. The smallest ones looked to fit into the palm of my hand and the largest seems to be larger than a man. I halted the cart and jumped out to grab one. Syafitri jumped out to join me, and collected a few of them for his own. I felt the electric tingling shooting through my hand causing my fingers to twitch.

"Can you grab me a few crystals, Otto?" Huasir asked, his scaly fingers clutching his cloak closely.

"Sure, they're a bit tingly but I'm fine. I'll grab you a few." I said with a smile. I filled Huasir's bag with the crystals and carefully gave them back to avoid breaking them, mindful of my own. Corvo also jumped out to grab crystals and I opted to help. As we gathered the crystals there was a terrible quaking of the ground. The earth split beneath Bondrewd and the horse made a terrible scream as it and the cart was wrenched apart, the horse ran away as the cart was launched into the earth. It flew about 20 feet into the air as a horrible abomination burst from the earth. The wurm had multiple appendages with claw like ends. Its flesh quivered in the open air as we were now faced with its presence. Zane waved his hands and then a large fireball burst out from his motions at the abomination. It hit well, but the beast shrugged it off. Huasir ran toward the beast and swung his sword. He swung mightily, but the creature didn't hesitate to reach out to Korus and bathed him with a splash of acid. Corvo ran towards the creature and attacked. His drake added lightning to the attack and he swung mightily. The hit resounded throughout the canyon. I ran close to wurm, flanking it on the right side and cast Thunder Wave. The wurm shuddered as the thunder rocked it. Syafitri ran toward the creature and slashed into the wurm with his bone scythe. It roared wildly as he cut through it. As he slashed, I saw cuts forming in his own skin as his clothes and armor were now covered in the creature's blood. The wurm's wounds started to weep a mix of acid and bile as it spat up the contents of its stomach. Korus released Bondrewd's reigns as he started to walk to the creature. He grabbed his large club and wound up to attack. He swung it upwards at the wurm's head and with a thunderous blow, the wurm was pushed out of the ground from its tunnel. It flew upwards about 40 feet through the air and crashed into the wall. It landed with a sickening thud as its tail coiled around it like a dying snake. As a coup de grace, at least five massive boulders fell upon the wurm crushing it beneath their weight. Corvo stared at the wurm and got an idea. He cleaned off a small boulder with some of the water from his water skin and crushed a small crystal into a powder. Then he proceeded to snort the line of powdered crystal. His nose was bleeding profusely as he leaned on the boulder. Blood dripped like a thick waterfall and he wiped it away.

"I'm going to get lightning resistance someday, I just need to keep trying." Corvo proclaimed.

"Has he always been this suicidal or is that a new one?" Zane, the newcomer asked.

"I'm not sure, I tend to ignore about half of what he normally says." I added. Syafitri approached the cart and rolled it over. He started to fix the cart's broken boards. I could hear the sounds of yelping and yipping of dogs get closer to us. The first mutant crawled over the rocks, its lithe body was lean with gnarled muscles. It ran at us as Huasir pulled his pistol and shot it. It dropped like a sack of weights as more ran to us. Corvo's drake attacked the next one and ripped its throat out. It bled out in front of us, back legs twitching as it died. Zane stepped up, waving his hands once again and a fireball shot out into the pack. 7 of them burned to a crisp, with one dodging his blast. The last dog ran towards Huasir, as it did so Syafitri slashed it with his scythe. He cut it straight down the center, leaving it a flinching mess.

Kazimir followed through the door and returned moments later was now in possession of a massive hammer made of alabaster colored wood. It was pretty in its own right, but not the most beautiful to look upon. Not long after he was transported to the middle of the room, an ugly cocophany of sounds was now assaulting our ears. We looked upon each other as we made our way to the mouth of the cave. We were certain we weren't alone. We all rushed to the mouth of the cave and saw a figure standing by the fire. I couldn't tell anything about it, but I could tell it was roughly a humanoid with a normal, rather short for a humanoid. They were staring at the fire, best as I could tell, entranced by it. Huasir stared at it, the dim light gleaming in his dark lizard eyes.

"She's been branded as well." Huasir called out to us.

"The more the merrier!" I shouted as a response before coming out to the fire.

"M-my name is Huasir." The lizard grumbled. She smiled and introduced herself as Ena. It was a strange name, but not too strange.

"My name's Otto, pleased to meet you!" I said as cheery as can be, the bells on my cap bouncing in response. She smiled as she extended her hand and I shook it. Struck me as not the kind of person to be wandering caves, but I didn't opt to think about it too much. Huasir sat on the ground and produced a worn dagger in his scaly hands, expertly working a small piece of wood. Korus and Corvo sat next to the fire, the flames reflecting in their heavy armor. She turned to us all and introduced herself as Ena of House Lionheart.

Seeing another noble in our group, I took her by the hand.

"Come here, I've just got to show you these torches. They're most unlike any you've ever seen before. They burn, and they don't." I said as I led her to the massive cavern. I stopped in the middle and we just stared at the torch. It burned brightly as if it had the purest pitch, but none of the wood was burned.

"If we can take these, and tie them in a line to a swallow, we could take them to the castle for sale. Of course it may just burn a peasant hut or two down, but that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make." She looked horrified. Part of me found her discomfort pleasing, funny.

"I'm not willing to make THAT sacrifice. What of the peasants?" She said, astounded. I smiled at her as I waved her off.

"They're very resilient creatures. Next to the cockroaches that is. Of course, that said the two creatures seem to go hand in hand." Ena looked like she wanted to scream, eyes horrified. I fought myself to not laugh in her face as I continued this little prank.

"They're people! Not cockroaches." I rolled my eyes.

"Sure, they're humans, but not like us. They're filthy creatures and should you ever find yourself in one's home, you'll find that they exist in a very different state than you'd ever believe. You wouldn't be the first noble child to hold such delusions, need to see it for yourself to believe it."

"Yes, grandma." I was confused.

"I'm not your grandmother." Confusion now replacing the hilarity of the situation.

"I wasn't talking to you." She said as she began marching towards the door at the end of the cavern. I watched her open the door and disappear into the inky blackness behind the door. I shook my head as I sat down against the wall, as pulled my cards out. Another game of solitaire, and we may very well leave this damned wet place. A few minutes later the others came out of the cave and we started to tumble back towards town. Huasir produced a board made of dark and light wood in a checker pattern.

"Anyone wanna play some dragon chess?" The lizard said.

"Well, I wouldn't mind playing your game, if you could teach me." I said. I tried as best as I could to keep up with his moves, but he was a much better player than I was. He gave me a bit of advice to console me, but I wasn't feeling up to trying again. Lady Tymora was not smiling upon my efforts for games. Especially since I had 4 hands of poker and lost terribly at all of them. That pale cleric is a shoein for cards. I'm going to have to take him to the tavern with me. As the cart plodded along, I had quite an idea. To hold a concert to cover our expenses for the night.

Kazimir was able to help quite a bit with a few supporting spells. Corvo decided to join me on stage as we played our mandolins. Minor illusion was able to produce a drum beat to help the performance quite easily. It went splendidly. The music swelled to a crescendo combined with the overall roar of the crowd. The village guard formed a line in front of the crier's stage to prevent the crowd from bumrushing us. I jumped into the crowd as the song came to an end. The feeling was immense as I felt them hold me up, their chants. I jumped from the crowd to head back to the stage, as I did so I stuck out my tongue waving it to and fro. Many women fainted as I did so. I picked two of the women from the crowd, but more joined. First four, then six. Finally 8. The each grabbed a limb and carried me to the tavern, to a suitably large room. As we crossed the threshold to the tavern, we were stop by the wide eyed barkeep.

"You're not all-" He exclaimed. He was cut off by the women's giggles. We did much that night that I couldn't dictate here, nor would I wish to remember. However, night was not long enough for the women as they continued the activities. The morning after was quite the ordeal, with the ladies wishing to continue for the next few hours. I fought as I could, begged and with the help of Corvo and his Cape of Many Fashions, I was able to escape the cackling group. My body was hardly able to move as we made it back to the tavern. Even with a bout or two of Cure Wounds, I was able to return to normal. Bernard and his wife made a stew, the heavy bags beneath their eyes told more of a tale than they ever could.

"Seven hours. It lasted seven hours." He grumbled. I reached into Kazimir's alms bucket and thrust a fist full of silver to him. We'd managed to acquire 2,000 silver. Huasir opted not to take his 400 silver, but rather a paltry sum of 100 silver. Leaving for the other 4 of us a nice addition of 175 silver. It took us 3 hours to gather ourselves and our things. I climbed into the cart, unrolling the bedroll and laying down. I ignored the snickering of the others behind me as I slept.

The morning sun stabbed spears into my eyes, I pulled myself up, my body felt refreshed as I gathered my equipment. I looked around the camp and saw everyone getting up, everyone except the giant dragonborn. The rest of my comrades approached the giant lizard and placed their hand on his arm to roll him over.

"He's cold and dead." I stared at the giant form on the bedroll.

"Kai is what!" Corvo shouted in disbelief. The others tried to find a cause of his death, and as they did so I played my mandolin to aid them in discovery. The Drakemaster and the drake began to tear apart the camp to find a clue.

"Kai is dead, and his brand is crossed out. There seems to be a necromancer in town, he's already killed one of us. We need to be on guard, and from now on, we need to maintain a watch at night while sleeping." Korus said while looking at the body.

"His body's been looted as well, all his weapons are gone." Corvo, the drakemaster, said in his same grumbly manner.

"There's some chicken scratch on this window sill here. Might be useful." Syafitri said in his brogue accent. He then took a piece of parchment and a a piece of charcoal. Then he rubbed the charcoal over the parchment and a copy of the scratches were now onto the parchment. I looked at the scratchings and couldn't make heads or tails of it. I can't quite see how that'll help us.

The tavern door opened with a great flurry of noise and saw Bernard standing shirtless in the doorway.

Korus approached the brawny man and put a massive hand on his shoulder.

"Tell your wife that one of our party members has died." I approached Bernard and added my piece.

"There seems to be some dark sorceries at foot here." I added to the stunned barman. Corvo looked at the paper and threw a haymaker at the wall. The entire building shook as he breathed out what it meant.

"Death has claimed his due." He held his fist as he said those words.

Bernard looked at the ground, his eyes held a look of terror as he said, "I hope you'll forgive me, but we're going to have to close the tavern for the rest of the day." He hurried toward the back room of the bar. I heard some muffled noises as he came out with a clean shirt on.

"If you please, accompany me to the guard's barracks to let them know about this." I followed the barkeep to the barracks. The sun just began to crest over the horizon as we approached the squat building. I heard the call of the birds as we entered the building. It truly was a beautiful morning. The lights were still dark inside the barracks. We approached the hut in front of the barracks. A tired guard confronted us.

"Halt, state your business."

"We're here to give testimony about the death of our friend. He died last night in the tavern."

"Aww shit, why does everything happen at the END of my shift. Here, take these and fill out your testimonies." We all stared at him as he produced multiple scrolls and ink wells. Then the guard retreated to a small door that led to the barracks. We all wrote as neatly and succinctly as possible, with Bernard writing the least among us. Then less than ten minutes later the guard came back with three equally sleepy guards.

"Alright, what's all this about someone dying?" One of the guards asked.

"Yes, our friend died during the night. We think it's murder. We woke up, and he was dead."

"Ah, he woke up dead." My right eye twitched as I fought myself to not correct the guard. The guards turned on a dime towards the tavern. Bernard approached us and shook our hands.

"I want to let you all know that you're all welcome back in my bar, hopefully when you come back, it'll be under better circumstances." Bernard also turned and paced back to the tavern. Then the 3 others with me walked into the distance, mumbling something about a grave. I may be an embarassment, but I'm not going to dig a hole.

I followed them to the gravesite and oversaw the work. Then a few minutes later we were approached by the three guards from earlier.

"Ah, diggin' the hole yourselves?" The lead guard said, staring at the modest hole.

"It was cheaper than paying the coroner." I said quickly.

"What's a coroner?" One of the other guards asked.

"It's someone who deals with dead bodies." I said.

"Oh I know, that's part of a buildin' isn't it?" The third guard asks.

"Just say yes," Huasir hissed at me.

"No, the peasant needs to learn people words. The coroner, is someone who deals with the dead. Preparing them for the funeral and burying them." The guards stared at me, flabbergasted. The original guard that we met suddenly appeared and beckoned the other guards back to the barracks. We completed the makeshift funeral and proceeded with the quest that we were sent on by Lady Selune. I turned to look at the winding dirt path.

"Does anyone know where we can find a cart and horse?" Syafitri asked.

"I can summon a horse, so we've got that covered." Korus added. We walked toward a lonely farm in the middle of the forest.

"I want to see about buying your cart."

"You want to buy my rickety old cart?" The farmhand asked, his threadbare clothes blew in the breeze. He looked rather young, aged by stress and work.

"Yes, sir. We'd like to buy it for transport. You look like you need the money." The farmhand glared at Syafitri for a minute as Syafitri realized what he'd done.

"As a farmboy myself, I'm well aware as to how much it costs to run a farm." The farmhand stared at Syafitri and frowned.

"Show me your hands." He said as he grabbed Syafitri's hands and felt their calluses. The farmhand nodded and calmed down a bit.

"I'll be able to sell it to you for 15 silver." Syafitri tossed the farmhand two gold and inspected the cart. Huasir approached the cart and casted mending. I watched the rickety cart suddenly become much more strengthened and renewed.

"If I had some scrap metal, I could reinforce this cart, make it better." Korus mumbled.

"Do you have any scrap metal to sell?" Syafitri asked the farmhand. The farmhand rubbed his chin and walked to an old man leaning on a fencepost overseeing his crops. I watched them talk, and then the man smack the farmhand in the back of his head. The farmhand rubbed his head as he walked back to us.

"The old man isn't going to like this, but we have some scrap metal to help you with. We'll give it to you for free since you paid so well for the cart." I watched Huasir approach the collapsed roofing of an old grain silo and cast mending on it. Almost immediately the pitted and rusted metal was restored to a shiny plate. I watched him approach the farmhand and hand him a pendant. I didn't see the pendant in its entirety, but the farmhand put it into his pocket. The sun now showed over the rooftops of the houses and bore down on us. I climbed into the cart as Korus summoned his steed and strapped it to the cart. As the cart began to roll, I retrieved my cards from the pack as I waved them in one hand.

"Anyone up for some poker?" I asked the group. Syafitri and Corvo took me up on it. Syafitri took up the game rather quickly and managed to beat me with a straight royal flush. I was astounded. I'd never seen it happen. On our next round, Corvo managed to get a straight flush. Tymora has surely not seen to my luck. Must be because nothing was bet. After that last round the horse finally arrived. It was MASSIVE. I'd never seen something so big, and the cart looked like a child's wagon compared to a war horse. The path was relatively clear of stones, but due to the reinforcements we didn't even feel it. The horse wasn't even at a trot as it seemed that we passed quickly. The scenery was like any that you'd find in the country, the wind was pleasant as I looked around. I saw the right side seem to get progressively taller. We continued along this giant hill until the horse came to a stop.

"There's an entrance here, friends." Korus said as he pointed to a small opening in the rock face. I could see a small fire within the cave. I looked at the mouth of the cave, and didn't see anything. The small drake darted into the cave and I heard a rumbling from inside. I heard the same rumbling echoed by Corvo. We all tumbled off the cart into the cave. The cave was smaller than I anticipated, it was full of stalagmites and stalagtites. The fire I saw from outside was sitting on a bed of sediment. I couldn't see any evidence of anyone else being here. Then I heard the sound of the rumbling once again, deeper into the cave. Once again, Corvo echoed the sounds and proceeded further into the cave. There was a loud crack of stone breaking as I rushed into the room. I saw a brightly lit cavern as we all pushed into the new space. It had many basic iron chandeliers along the ceiling with candles that never seemed to run down and torches along the wall with no scorchmarks on the wood. I marveled at these seemingly never ending light emanating from these devices. We saw a small wooden door at the other end of the room. I couldn't seem to make out where the hinges began and where the stone ended. Korus took point as he opened it and walked through. Fulgur, the drake ran through first with Corvo following. The door moved quickly as it shut in our faces. I watched the others attempt to pry the door open, but refrained from doing so myself. I opted to sit against a wall and write my journal entries for the day. The door didn't open, but I heard the roar of a dragon from my left hand side. I jumped as I saw Corvo with a new sword and a shit eating grin. I finished writing and put my journal away. Syafitri gently opened the door and walked away shaking his head. Then in less than a minute later, Huasir opened the door and walked through it. I took out my cards again and started a game of Solitaire to pass the time. I matched up the last pair of cards as I glanced over to see Huasir holding an ivory and gold gilded musket with some sort of wheel on the side. I'd never seen such a peculiar rifle before. It looked almost like the the statues of past kings that I'd see in the Imperial Court. I looked back to the door to see Korus walk through it. I shuffled the deck again to deal myself another hand for another game of Solitaire. Once again as I finished my game of Solitaire, Korus was back with a puzzled look on his face. He held a massive golden blade with a giant crossguard. He pressed a small button on the pommel and the entire thing morphed into a club. I rubbed my eyes as I watched, astonishment now becoming prevalent on my face. He stepped aside and started to swing. The sword/club sounded heavy. It smacked the wall with a thunderous echo. I looked at the other party members and they seemed to either not be paying attention or admiring their own weapons. I stared at the new weapon that Korus had and watched him swing at the wall once again. I heard the door close, but didn't turn my head to look at who was going through.

Syafitri now stood in the middle of the cavern holding a silver scythe decorated with skulls and also found himself the new owner of a traumatized look. It looked almost innocuous, like any farm scythe, but for some reason I couldn't take my eyes from it. I thought I heard voices emanating from it but shook my head and there were no more sounds. At last it was my turn to enter the door. As I crossed the threshold I found myself surrounded by oppressing darkness with torches lining a wall. I followed the torches until at last they stopped, as I stepped into the inky blackness I felt a dark presence grab me. As if I were traveling through a veil. I looked into the distance and saw a beautiful woman with golden armor and a beautiful crown that sat upon her raven hair. She smiled as she saw me and I approached. I bowed in front of her and she put a hand on my arm and whispered into my ear.

"Rise to your feet." On my other shoulder I felt the icy cold of a thousand winters with a raspy command whispered into my left ear.

"Grovel, worm!" The voice commanded. I ignored it stood proud. Her eyes were mesmerizing, but there was business to attend to.

"You are Lady Tymora, I presume?" She smiled, her full lips parted to reveal gleaming white teeth as she laughed.

"I am indeed, Otto. My faithful servant." I smiled back, but noticed that her demeanor seemed to change all at once.

"Thank you, My Lady." Her smile began to fade as I felt the icy cold feeling I'd felt before.

"Otto, there's a game we must play. What will you wager?" She said, her words tantalizing.

"Everything, My Lady." She was taken aback. Was it the first time one of her servants would wager everything, including their very being? She smiled once again and put her hands on my face, one to each cheek.

"Well then, I will wager this." She produced a gorgeous quarter staff. Half of it was gold with the other half a cold, dark energy. I took it in both hands and as I did I found myself in the chamber with the rest of the party. I found myself with a quiet feeling that the game had only just begun.

It was a month since I found myself with an implacable urge to wander, especially convenient since I was no longer employed by King Uthrar I. King Uthrar II was less humorous than his father. Losing a position in court like that made my family disregard me even more. That didn't stop me, but the urge to wander found me in a little village of some pissant little kingdom that I couldn't normally be bothered to stop and use the outhouse in. It drew me to it. Less than a week later I found myself playing in their rundown little tavern for Brenard and his wife. That was until I noticed the Cloaked Stranger. I didn't need to see his whole face to know that the look he now gave me was bad. He left to use the outhouse and I saw fit to make my exit. The villagers had come to enjoy my little strummings and were quite annoyed at my departure. I walked quickly, but the FEELING of someone following me was just too much to bear. I dipped into what I thought was an empty house and was surprised when I was confronted with a middle aged peasant woman stirring a pot. Her dark brown eyes widened and she screamed a hideous shriek, then she threw the spoon full of something that I could only in my drunkest imagination call a stew. I deftly sidestepped the object and rushed to comfort the woman, to provide an excuse as to why I was there.

"My good madam, my name is Darius Var Artra and I am the ROYAL home inspector for the village. Your home has been chosen through a random selection for an inspection. I realize this does come as quite a surprise and my outfit is....unconventional. Forgive me, I was attending a costume party and was called rather quickly so I came as quickly as possible. Most homeowners do tend to go to the tavern to wait the few hours while I complete my inspection." The woman looked confused.

"I ain't never heard o' that." She said quizzicly.

"If you'd like some more information, I'd advise speaking with the Ealdorman, he'll be more than capable of explaining how you were chosen. Although I do warn you it can be rather tedious. As a thank you, you may go to the tavern and put a drink or two on my tab." The woman's brow furled as she thought about my words. She picked the spoon up from the dirty floor, taking it to a small wooden bucket filled with water. I heard the sound of water rushing around as she washed the spoon. She hefted the heavy iron pot off the hook and set it down. Then after a few moments, she untied her apron and walked out the door. I hurried quickly to change my clothes to something more suitable to a common peasant. Part of me felt indignant about the disguise knowing that if my mother could see me now I'd be disowned. Another part of me felt that this was a better idea than to walk around as a court jester. As I was donning my costume, the bottom of my foot started to burn as if I'd stepped on a hot coal and I let out a scream myself. The pain subsided almost as quickly. I dressed quickly and headed out. I walked steadily, but my foot now burned with a dull pain, but I followed the crowd to try to lose my new follower. I hadn't anticipated the resources of my new followers as I was accosted by a drake the size of a large dog. I heard the most terrible roar as the crowd fell away and all of a sudden I was surrounded by giants. I started to shake and use my stick for support. The damned pain that had plagued me for the last few minutes was all of a sudden gone as I now found myself accosted by these giants.

"What can old man Cassius do for you?" I said, mimicking an ancient voice to the best of my ability.

"Cut the act, I know you're not who you say you are." One of them in elaborate armor said to me. Another approached and looked me up and down as I did my best to avoid his gaze.

"That's not a real limp ya got there." He said with a brogue accent.

"I'll have you know, I fought in the wars 25 years ago."

"No you weren't, there hasn't been a war for as long as I've lived." The brogue man said. Without saying a word, one of the men tackled me and pried my left shoe off to see what they were looking for. Two of the tallest picked me up by my ankles and headed toward the tavern and approached the counter.

"Your food is getting cold," Bernard said to the men, taking time to lean down to look me in the eye.

"Weren't you just here?" He asked.

"Oh you know, I liked the service so much that I thought I'd give it another go. Service really turned my world upside down." I said with enough sarcasm dripping from my words to drown a horse. The two men brought me to the small bedroom and tossed me onto the bed.

"Alright, which house was it? You know what, I don't want to know. Just tell your bosses that I didn't go quietly. I don't plan to." The men crowded into the room as I saw a particularly tall dragonborn standing in front of the door.

"Move it, scaleback!" I said as I attempted to bolt for the door. The dragonborn struck me with his massive fists and my head started to spin. The other man with the drake stepped from behind him. He looked down upon me, both from his physical height and what I could assume was him believing himself superior.

"How long have you had that brand?" He asked, his voice low and grumbling.

"I don't know, I only realized that I had such a mark about 5 minutes ago." I shot back. The dragonborn moved once again and a smaller, much paler man stepped out from behind him.

"We're not trying to murder the poor man, we're trying to interrogate him." The man said, his voice softer than most men.

"He antagonized us!" Another man, wearing a worn cloak said as he stepped out from behind the dragonborn. I recognized him almost immediately as the would-be assassin.

He stared me down as the dragonborn moved once again, this time the figure that popped out was the bartender's wife, Alexis. She was a small woman with bright red hair. Her skin was like porcelain and in her petite hands there was a piece of parchment. The assassin turned toward her as she began to speak.

"E-excuse me, sirs, but there was a man who delivered this for you. I didn't get a good look at him, but he was as dark as ink and silent as the night." She pushed the sheet towards the assassin as he gingerly took it from her and began to read it aloud.

"When the moon is full

And your hearts are bright

Come together as friends

Under the full moons light

With hearts combined

And swords together

Your fates entwined

For a magical endeavor

Heroes of Light

And tales of old

Weave between you

Your songs of gold

To fall or to fail

With the widow's wail

Our new heroes rise

To tell their tale" The men around me bore quizzical faces as they pondered the meaning of it.

"Maybe the individual parts meant something?"

"It doesn't make sense, but it does remind me of some other moon cults I've faced in the past," the drake's master brooded.

"Maybe it's some sort of ritual?" The pale one asked. We gathered within the town square and I sat on the criar's box. I strummed a jaunty tune with the drake master as the moon came overhead and started to shine even more brightly. It became clear that we weren't the only performers in the square as it became clear of a woman's singing. A singular beam of moonlight formed the shape of a beautiful and effervescent woman. She looked upon us all and a singular tear slid down her cheek. It landed between the cobblestones that made up the court, from the crag a beautifully pale moon lily grew out of the crack.

"Whether by night or by day, a new threat has come to this realm. Moreso than that we've faced before. My sister's champion seeks to destroy this realm. Go my friends and use the powers within you to fight them for the good of the peoples of these lands." She said with a small, sorrowful smile. She looked up at the moon and gave a brighter smile than the one she just gave us.

"I'm afraid my time is short. Approx 3 miles east in a cave, you'll find your answers, but you'll also find more questions that I cannot answer. My time here is short, and this song cannot keep me here forever." I watched her touch the pale priest, and stared lovingly into his eyes. I squinted to maintain my view of her. I could see her mouth move, but I couldn't hear her. She seemed weightless as she floated to the armored up paladin and gently removed his helmet. Once again I saw her mouth move, but couldn't hear her. I couldn't tell if it was a failing of my hearing or if her words were not meant for my ears. She approached the massive dragonborn and touched his face with her elegant fingers. She floated to the assassin and caressed his face as well. She silently approached me, and I stood up, noticing that I was for once taller than her. She stared into me and chuckled.

"Try not to be so hard on others, yourself included. There's more to you than you know, so live up to that." She said, her voice was as smooth as cream and silk from the forgotten realms. I felt the goosepimples on my arm rise as she began to sing once again. I couldn't understand the lyrics, but I could understand the sorrow of the singer. I felt something fall in my chest as I felt an overwhelming sadness.

"I'm confused, why did I not get touched by the moon goddess?" The farmer asked in his same broguish accent. I ignored him as I stared up into the inky sky at the stars. Thoughts raced through my mind as I thought about what just happened. It was almost imperceptible as I realized that the sounds of the night returned in full.

"We know what we've got to do, so let's grab our things and head out." The giant dragonborn said.

"I just realized, but we're travelling together and no one's introduced themselves to me."

“Life is not about what's fair. It's about who hunts and is hunted.” The voice rang out from above us. Light burned my eyes as the bag was taken off and I saw an old man with a black turtleneck staring smugly at me from behind a wood podium. On each of his flanks stood a pair of guards holding an MP-5 in their hand. On his left flank stood a man who looked to be thirty. Tears streamed down his face as the old man turned his gaze toward him. He smiled as he stared at him.

“I don't mean this metaphorically. You have one goal while you're here. Find the other seven contestants, and kill them all before daybreak. Once you've done that, I can promise you a reward of seventy million dollars will be wired to your bank account, tax free. If you fail, however, and there's more than one person still alive by dawn then I'll show you what consequences will await.” The old man faced us as he picked up a kukri from beneath the podium. The other man cried harder as he started to beg. If he spoke English I couldn't tell. As he lifted his hands to defend himself I could only see two nubs protruding from his arms where hands had once been. They were still bloody as the old man brought the knife down. I heard a sickening crack as the blade broke bone. The old man raised the knife again. The man’s cries became wails of pain. I looked away at the last minute but I could hear the sound of wet crunching as the knife bit deeply. I looked at the old man again as he held the knife triumphantly in the air. Blood dripped from the blade to the ebony wooden handle and then onto the fringes of his sleeves. I felt a pit in my stomach as I was brought up from my knees. The ropes they tied my hands with were cut loose as another security guard, dressed in the same green polo and black slacks handed me a knife. I'd never held one in real life before as I felt its weight in my hand. The serrated back gave me a sickening feeling as I touched it, thinking what I'd have to do. The guard pointed me to the forest and motioned for me to go. The air was thick with humidity and so hot. It felt like being wrapped in a wet blanket as I pushed my lungs to breathe this wretched air. I knew my goal wouldn't be simple.

Everyone wanted to survive. Everyone needed to kill. The moon was almost at its highest point when I entered, so I knew I didn't have much time. I stopped to listen to the sounds of the woods, and sure enough I heard the sounds of twigs snapping. It wasn't too far from me. Less than a hundred yards. I walked quickly, taking care to avoid the twigs my prey so carelessly stepped on, until I saw him. I sat and watched as he hacked vines and small trees from his way. Using all his energy to do so. I felt like a leopard hunting an unaware monkey as I closed the gap. He was bigger than me by almost a whole foot and seemed to be dressed in a uniform, but it was too dark to see what it was. When I was within touching distance, I stabbed him in the back. Just below the shoulder blade and through the ribs. I could hear the soft grunt he made before he fell onto the forest floor, lifeless. I wiped the blade off on his uniform as I continued the hunt. One down, six to go. Not all of them would be so careless. I brushed the thought from my head as I continued along.

I walked for some time before I heard it. The sound of crunching twigs behind me. I turned around to see a shining blade ark past me and end up buried in a tree. I turned toward the direction it came from to see a petite woman staring at me. Clearly she was in shock that her ambush had failed. I moved first. I hit her with a left hand punch to the jaw as I brought my knife up. I moved quicker than she did and stabbed her in the gut. Her eyes stared at me as the light left them.

“For what it's worth, I'm truly sorry.” I whispered to her as I twisted the blade. The blood was inky black in the moonlight. After what felt like a minute, she dropped to the ground and I pulled my knife from her almost like a macabre version of the sword in the stone before I wiped the blade on her clothes and continued on with my little adventure. I tried not to think about her eyes as I proceeded. She'd been the one who tried to ambush me, kill me. I defended myself. What about the man? The thought bounced around in my head like a DVD screensaver. She was lucky, I figured. Not everyone got to see the face of who killed them. To know who they died for. Who did they die for? The thought rang out accusingly. I tried to think what the correct answer to that question would be. No answer that I could think of seemed right. It seemed that without hesitation I just took the knife and permission to kill and abandoned all morals. No. Here morals didn't matter. The first casualty of war is innocence. The voice reminded me. I ignored it as I traipsed onward. The moon hung low in the sky with the echoes of dawn haunting the other side. I walked further looking for the others. I walked until I reached a large tree almost as wide as I was tall. I reached out to touch it as I heard leaves rustle above me. I looked up to see the pale face of a man above me. He jumped from the branches, knife in hand as he roared a vicious scream.

“I DON'T WANT TO DIE!” He shouted as he came down, knife in hand. His aim was slightly off and instead of hitting my neck, his knife was lodged in the lower part of my right arm. The pain was like nothing I'd ever experienced. It was both hot and cold at the same time as blood poured profusely from my arm. I looked at him as I switched the knife to my left hand. His eyes were wild with rage and bloodlust. He jerked to pull the knife from me and I jerked back in kind. I slashed him across the face and blood flowed freely across his cheek. I made a feint to the left and as he dodged right I was able to push the blade through his neck. He clawed at it like a ravening beast before he fell to the ground. Dawn was now on us as I heard the sounds of footsteps and shouting. Guards had rushed to me in a matter of minutes with the old man, in a dark blue turtleneck this time, following behind. His wispy gray hair fluttered in the slight breeze as he stared at me and looked at the dead man.

“There can only be one. Congratulations.” He said as he spat on the corpse.

He motioned for me to follow him as a pair of guards set their rifles down and picked up the corpse. Now that I was close to the old man, I could see that he was a very frail figure. His shrunken stature made him stand almost a full five feet tall and his sweater seemed to cover his frail body but I could see by his movements that he was nothing more than a bag of bones. He looked over to me and narrowed his steely gray eyes.

“While we get our accomodations ready for tonight's ceremony, I'd like to tell you a story. About myself and this island.”

“I don't really care, I just wanna go home.” The old man glared at me. I felt a cold pressure at the base of my neck as his eyes turned away.

“My name is Clinton Moghrie, and I'm one of the wealthiest people in the world. When I was twenty-five, I didn't have that. In fact, I worked for a failing bank at the time and I was sent to talk to a prospective client. Needless to say the plane I was on didn't make it. In fact, it went down just two nautical miles from shore of this island.” He said as he pointed to the east.

“Yeah, I remember now, they found you on this island about a week after the plane was lost. You were the only survivor. New Oz Airlines flight 171.” I said, interrupting the man.

“That's right, but that's not the important part of the story. I wasn't originally the only survivor. There were eight of us, just like your group. When I landed on the island I heard a voice speaking in a long forgotten language and it told me to kill the others, just like I told you. This island is home to a god as forgotten as its language, a remnant of a world before ours. There was a time before Creation. Before Jehovah made the universe, another entity lived. It was not a god. No, it was something that's existed in the shadows of Creation since before Mankind was even a stray thought in Jehovah's mind. After Creation and the Fall, this thing lurked in the shadows and built a cult around itself. It gathered power, watched and waited. It has a name, one descended from its forgotten language. It calls itself Yolbaoth. Every year around September we organize The Hunt.” He said, his eyes boring straight into my soul.

“Who are ‘we’ and why is The Hunt so important to this thing.” The old man started chuckling and hit himself in the forehead.

“We are the Members of the Forgotten Order. The Hunt is important to Yolbaoth because it allows him to gain more power. In return for us doing this and creating another acolyte, which would be you in this case. It grants us wealth and success.”

So you kill people for money?”

“No, in a successful Hunt, the acolyte kills people for our success. In an unsuccessful one, we hunt them down and kill them all. Yolbaoth needs the Hunt because it cannot leave this island. You can think of this place as the Island that God Forgot. Jehovah doesn't exist here. A portion of His domain that not even He has control over.” He said with a slight smirk.

“I don't think that's right. There's nowhere you can hide in this universe and not be accessible to God. I want to get out of here.” I said, feeling cold dread creeping into the back of my throat. The old man stared at me and gestured to a white yacht.

“Pity you won't stay for dinner.” He said before he started laughing. I jumped onto the boat as the engines came to life. On the far horizon above the setting sun were a bank of thick black clouds. I watched the island start to get smaller as a massive wave crashed by us. From where we were it was easily 30 feet and growing. By the time it hit the island, it stood as tall as a skyscraper. Even from nearly a mile away I could hear the sounds of screams as the water crashed onto the island. The event took merely seconds but felt much longer and by the time it was finished, there wasn't a trace of the island except for shards of wood and bits of scattered trash.

Stanley was not an ordinary balloon. Most balloons couldn't think, feel, smell, or hear. Most of them preferred to keep their eyes closed and bobble along with the wind.

Not Stanley. Stanley opened his eyes and saw the colorful carnival that he now found himself. He could see the bright colors of various banners and attractions. How beautiful they were when he looked at them against the azure sky. He could smell the wonderfully sweet smell of kettle corn made for all to enjoy. Most of all was the music that he enjoyed. The bells and whistles of rides, the screams of delight from the children who passed. Stanley wished to be free so he could enjoy it all and his wish was granted when a round-faced girl with buck teeth bought him for the price of one whole quarter. He was delighted as he fluttered against her hair. He was now able to see more of the carnival he was born into. (This is a sample, not the complete story.)

A Balloon Named Stanley, Children's books, 5-10 yrs, 520 words, Jack Riley (Pseudonym), The world needs to be a bright place for children.,Stanley was not an ordinary balloon. , A parable about a balloon who wished for freedom got what he wanted and regretted it. Then asked a stranger for help and it backfired., children, A writer who wanted to branch out to children's literature., Prose, High School Graduate, None professional but over 10 years as a hobby, Experimental, reading/writing/playing games, Falls City NE, 29 years.

Sometimes I sit at my desk after work and stare at the city lights. I see the people walking around living their lives. Where'd I go wrong? How'd I end up here? Wasn't I made for better? Common questions racing through their minds and mine. The only thing we have in common is that we don't feel we belong. Every day I put my hands on the keys and try to type. I pour my soul into the paper and it remains blank. A reminder of potential squandered. Is each blank page an opportunity or just time wasted? I don't know. Night after night I sit and wait. Watch and listen. Write and dream but the page remains blank. I wish I could dream but that means I close my eyes. Close your eyes and find the world's passed you by. Now I sit at my desk and stare at the city's lights.

“The wind blew heavily that night as I stargazed on the deck. It was cold and full of salt, I could taste it on my lips, when the first explosion rang out. Smoke belched from the port side of the ship as it pitched 35 degrees to the opposite side. This would be the beginning of my adventure, or rather misfortune with the Princess Lorelei. My chair began sliding toward the gilded railing that lined the side of the ship as the second explosion bellowed. I didn't see where it had come from, but it did for a minute level the ship out. I heard the screams of the other passengers as they ran to me on the bow. They were screaming something about the stern being gone. It didn't leave me much time to think as I heard the metal of the ship groaning. A third and fourth explosion roared loudly as the ship began to list once more, 45 degrees to starboard. There were more screams as people began to be thrown overboard. One after another their screams ended with a splash into the cold, dark Atlantic ocean. My chair was starting to slide toward the railing, the legs of the wooden deck chair dragging on the planks making an awful scree sound as they did so. I instinctively reached out my hands to brace for the impact against the rail. I hit the rails with a resounding thud as I looked down at the unfortunate souls who couldn't catch themselves. Those who couldn't swim sank below the surface, only to reemerge from the depths and bob along the waves. Their corpses made for macabre life preservers to those desperate enough. The moonlight danced on the waves that now carried the dead. I was scared stiff as I continued to watch and listen. I knew that I would join them in only a matter of time. I gripped the railing as hard as I could to stand up. I turned slightly to my left and picked up the deck chair. I folded it up and hefted it overboard to attempt to help one of the drowning unfortunates. I couldn't see if it did help them because almost as soon as I did so the entire ship shuddered. I looked down to see the only blackness of the hungry ocean rising up to claim me. I started to climb the railing. One thought raced through my head at the time. If I could release the lifeboats, I'll be saved. I lifted my left foot onto the railing and started to climb toward the bridge. The lights inside flickered, but I could see no one manning the wheel. I was about to halfway to the bridge when the ship’s PA system came to life.

“By order of the Captain, all passengers and crew are to make their way to the lifeboats and prepare for evacuation. I repeat. Make your way to the lifeboats and prepare for evacuation.” I hadn't heard that voice before, but I knew that they were not the captain. At least not the original one. I would know because I had dinner with him just a few hours before the first bomb went off. I made my way to the bridge, I grabbed the metal stairs like a set of monkey bars. I was now hanging on with all my might. The lifeboats were still not close, but I had to try. I wouldn't end up bobbing in the waves like an apple. I put one hand in front of the other to continue. I held on for dear life to the stairs, and then the railing. When that finally ran out, I lunged for one of the portholes. They were only about 12 inches across, but the glass was recessed fat enough for my hands to grab on. I felt the shop shudder again as it rolled onto its side. The screaming mostly died down, but I could occasionally see a pair of ghastly pale hands beating on the glass of the portholes, doing what they could to get another breath. I tried not to pay attention as I walked to the nearest lifeboat. The lines that allowed the boat to swing freely were now tangled like a spiderweb. I used my hands to beat on the emergency release. I hit it three times, mighty blows each time until it finally gave way. I held onto the boat tightly as it slid off the side of the ship, leaving a long streak of white paint on the ship’s black hull. The little boat landed with a resounding plop in the ocean. I feared that it would break into splinters as it landed, but to my surprise it stayed intact. I retrieved a pair of paddles from below the seats as I started to look for other survivors. The ones I saw earlier were now bobbing lifelessly alongside the deck chair I'd thrown overboard a few minutes ago. My heart sank as I rowed. I couldn't tell where I was going, but I knew that I had to get away from the ship. I turned around to see the last half of it sink below the waves. The remaining lights in the windows flickered and died as the ship sank silently into the blackness. Any delusions of being fit for the sailor’s life that I had vanished on the open ocean. I paddled as hard as I could to where I thought land was but by the third hour I was exhausted. I grabbed my suit jacket tight to keep warm. The wind howled fiercely as I huddled down into the boat with waves beating against the sides to remind me that if I wasn't careful, I too would be bobbing.

I don't know how many hours I spent in the dinghy, but I watched with glee as the sun lazily crested over the horizon. It was with the sunlight that my glee became absolute terror as I realized that I wasn't too far from the ship. The debris and bodies stretched as far as I could see as I began to paddle harder. Eventually with the sun high in the sky, my muscles screamed at me not to continue. I felt the insidious thirst begin to creep up on me as I desperately looked under the seats for a water bottle. I found two of them and five granola bars. They weren't the best meals, but it would definitely be better than nothing. I twisted the cap off of the first water bottle and drank heartily. I drank half of it before I realized how important it was now. I paddled as much as I could against the waves. Hoping against hope that I could spot land before my meager rations ran out. However as the sun ran its course across the sky I was no nearer to my goal that I was home. My arms were stiff from the rowing and the skin on my hands, arms, neck, and face was burnt to a solid red. I could feel the gnawing pains of my belly as it howled for more food, something I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get it. The sun began to sink below the horizon as I stood up. I looked around to where the ship has sunk and marveled. Aside from the occasional stray body and bit of debris, it was like no one has ever passed here. I felt my heart sink as I came to the realization that that could very well be me. I sat down in the bottom of the boat, holding my knees to my chest as the cool air started to blow over the water. I shut my eyes tightly as I drifted off to sleep.

I found myself in the ship’s dining room, sitting across from the captain. I grabbed a silver spoon to prepare for the first course. It was creamy shrimp and crab bisque. I gently pushed the spoon into it, watching as the metal sunk below the surface. I brought the spoon up to my mouth and tasted only salt and the sickly sweet taste of rotting corpses. I spat out the soup, most of it landing on the table in front of me, but some landed on the front of the captain’s jacket. The Captain easily stood at six feet tall. His thinning blonde hair occasionally peaked out from under his massive white captain hat. He looked at me with his big blue eyes.

‘Is there something wrong with the soup?’ He asked with a smile.

‘Yes, there's something wrong with the damned soup,’ I said exasperatedly, staring into the bowl, ‘it tastes like shit.’ The Captain clicked his tongue as I looked up. This time I didn't see the man with the farmer’s tan and big blue eyes. Instead I saw a bloated corpse with milky white eyes. His jacket was rumpled and soaking wet.

‘Aww, our chefs worked diligently to prepare a dish you'd love.’ He said with water spilling from his mouth and soiling the fine linen table cloth. I stood up, shocked at what I saw.

‘Sir, is there a problem?’ The waiter said. I turned around and saw the waiter too had milky white eyes. Most of his face was bone now with his teeth and jawbones being picked clean. I backed up, horrified until I hit the wall. I tried to run but at every turn there was another. Each one in a different state of bloat and decay. I awoke with a start to see the sun once again creating the horizon. My heart raced as I stood up and stretched my legs. The sun beat down on me mercilessly as I continued rowing. The thirst was now omnipresent as I polished off the last bottle of water. I stared longingly into the ocean as I rowed. Its presence seemed to mock my new plight for survival. Days passed, one after another. I spotted it in the east. The little speck of land that would be my salvation. The island wasn't large, I'd reckon it was a mile long strip of land with a dense jungle that resided on it. I pointed the small boat toward it. I rowed with all my waning strength toward this small beacon of hope until at last, the prow cut through the wet sand. I stood up and gingerly climbed from the boat. Where there were trees, there had to be water. I grabbed the two water bottles from the bottom of the boat and trekked into the jungle. Neither the heat nor the hunger I felt bothered me, just the sensation of needing water so terribly. I walked until I broke through the trees on the other side of the island and found no fresh water. I felt my heart sink into my stomach until I saw a boat. Your boat.” I finished relaying the tale to the captain of the small fishing vessel. He was a large man, built like a barrel and smoked one of those old fashioned corn cob pipes. He smiled at me and blew out a puff of smoke.

“Your name, what did you say it was again?” He asked, his voice sounding like tumbling gravel as he spoke.

My name is Edward Welles, sir.” The Captain took another puff of his pipe and blew the blue-gray smoke into the air.

“You know, the sea doesn't give up her dead easily. That's why she wants you so bad.” He said with a small smile growing on his face. I watched the smile grow and as his blackened teeth were revealed under his great white mustache.

“I never did ask, what's your name?” I said, a feeling of fear growing.

“My name's Charon. Although, most folks in your position just call me Captain.”