Tobias Acaran/Parting Shots

(Name misspellings are meant. Tobias barely knew the people he was with.)

...I don't even know the name of the town. But it was the worst looking dump I'd ever seen. A fuckin' nightmare. Rats the size of cats, bugs the size of horses - not a live body in sight. Flies everywhere. Stunk worse than anyplace I could or want to remember. I told Paige to meet us on the hill on the edge of town where the map said there was a monestary. She had dinner waiting for us when we got there. We may be half-Mistian, but there's enough of our pop in us that she made a damn good meal.

I wish Belant hadn't seen those bats, though. We were in the open and we knew it. When those bats came out of the ground, I knew there was a cave nearby, and where there was a cave, there was good shelter. So I had everyone pack up and go exploring. Great idea at the time - everyone had heard about the crazy lord that lived up here and before he went loony, stashed his family fortune - and most of his lordship's around here. Finding it would have taken care of a mystery for Matt - and set Solphin and I up for a long time to come, where she could live her life as she wanted.

We found the entrance about midday. It look like the rain had washed it open a couple of days before. New cave, beared exploring. I told Paige to stay put while the rest of us went to check it out. We made some torches to save on the glow orbs and headed in. We ended up in a sloping passage that went downward for a while, and we followed it. Pretty soon, we heard the sound of rushing water. We went on a little more and it got louder and louder until the tunnel leveled off and we were in this big ditch, or underground river or something. Avantez said something about it being the flow from Providence and laughed like he made a joke. I didn't get it, but I could tell the others were getting nervous, so I told him to shut up and we moved on.

We lost Jenson crossing the.. whatever it was. It was only waist deep, but he slipped and went under. There wasn't a yell or nothin'. He was just there one moment and gone the next. He had one of the glow orbs and most of the spell components.

We tried calling out for him for a good ten minutes. Finally, we knew we had to move on. We went on along the passage on the other side. It went up a bit then levelled off. We walked for a bit. Hard to tell how far - underground makes stuff strange like that. None of us were pacing it off - after Jenson, everyone, myself included, was pretty spooked. We came to a bunch of other passages that went off to the right and left. Then we came to these little rooms full of piles of bones. Providence, there must have been everyone that ever died on Mists down here. I never saw that many bones in all my life. I could hear Belant praying behind me, she was really spooked. Then she she stopped, and her eyes got as wide as saucers. We could all hear it then. It was a low moaning sound. I swore at it, saying it was just the wind, but Belant couldn't take it. She lost it and broke and ran. I don't know where - down one of the tunnels. By the time I could regroup to tell her to stop, it was too late - I had no chance of finding her. She had the other glow orb - even if I wanted to chase her, I wouldn't have been able to go far. Figured she would find her way out eventually after she came to her senses.

We lit the remaining torches and went on. Couple.. maybe ten minutes later, we heard a scream. I never heard a sound like that come from a human throat, but it must have been Belant. I couldn't say anything.. I knew that Avantez was still with me and we had to move on.

After a while, I figured we couldn't just stand there til the torches burned out, we had to go on. So we did. It seemed like hours, but maybe it was just only a few minutes. A couple of times, I think we went in circles over the same ground, at least all the bones looked the same - but I'm not sure. We finally came to a place where there was a faint light coming from the passage off to the right. We went down it and came to a large room.

It looked like a chapel or something. There were torches and candles burning, so somebody else must have been living down there or visited once in a while.

Then we saw them.

They were still in their mage robes - like some twisted honor guard. They were dead. Had been dead for some time. Couldn't tell how long, to be honest. Anywhere from a few months to a year, best guess.

There was a raised altar or something at the far end of the room. There was a body lying on it. he looked like a lord or something, dressed nicer than the rest. Dressed to the nines to come and die. Looked like he was praying when he was killed, at that. Up on the altar, there was all this gold and shiny gems and shit - just lying around in piles as if it had just been hauled in and dumped. Anyway, in the middle of this altar was this old picture. It was dark and hard to make out, but it looked like someone tried to paint a picture of Providence. The frame was gold and had jewels all over it. I bent down to get a closer look at it. I saw a gold cup - one of those chalice things on the ground. When I touched it, I heard Avantez scream, worse than Bental. I jumped up and the body was moving! Providence as my witness, the body rose up and started casting. Avantez collapsed. I looked around and all those dead mages were moving too! I didn't see anything else. Avantez was dead. His eyes were all rolled up and he was just gone. I didn't have much in spell components, so I ran. Didn't see anything else, I just ran. I rememeber running and running and somehow came across the ditch again. Whatever that thing was, it was hot on my ass, I could hear it's screams. I was finally able to lose it in the tunnels.. but now I know what I need to do. This thing.. person.. can't get out. I'm pretty lost, and don't have any light or any way out.

When I couldn't run anymore - I stopped. Laid open most of left arm while I was running - but I was still clenching that cup in my hand. Funny how panic makes you do werid things like that.

Feels like I've been walking for days. I don't have the faintest idea of where I am in these tunnels or how to get out. Low on spell supplies to show my way. I've been splitting the whiskey between my arm and me.

Found a spot to sit and write this. Arm hurt, head's spinning, eyes can't focus very well.

I managed to get a hold of a friendly badger. I gave it the instructions on who to give my book and torc to. And sent it on it's way. Took the last of her blood to do that. Guess she won't be breaking any more oaths to do that. I have enough left in me to get off the spell I need to. Head hurts like hell. It's going to be or it - or most likely both of us.

Solphin - I loved ya. I may have been an ass to you, but there was never any doubt that I had a heart for you. Sorry I'm not sending the flask you gave me back with this - I needed the whiskey inside - for me more than a spell.

Cynara - I sent you something. Take care of it. Make sure it's used honestly.

Matthew - thank you for being my supporter when noone else was. Take care of yourself, cousin.

I can hear it coming. I'll see you on the other side.

By My Hand,
Tobias Anslett Branridge Acaran
Former Lord of Moria
Master Earth Elementalist