[05/31/2009, continued] In the Valley . . .

17 June 11374 - The RoachKings had teleported into the Lost Valley in Dr. Hu's SEDAN.  They had battled a Styracosaurus & met a tribe of primitive humans (Homo Ergaster.) Their destination was the Kronis Falls on the far side of the valley, but along the way, they encountered other prehistoric creatures, including a Giganotosaurus.  On a major detour from their intended destination, they encountered Bankoran stormtroopers and a village of raptor-men called Saurians.  At the Saurian village, the RKs had another encounter with Bankoran stormtroopers.  A couple days later, they continued their quest to the Kronis Falls . . .

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[8/1/09]  The Huntress was amazed that all of the RoachKings had not only survived their encounter with the dirges, but hadn't even lost any possessions.  As the other RKs approached, she told Shady, "You really must speak with Tribal Mother."  (Once again, the Language spell was making an interpretation of a name/title, translating the spoken word "Hysterica" as "tribal mother" or more literally, "tribal womb.")

The RKs followed the Huntress the remaining short distance to her village.  Once there, most of the RKs waited just outside the village while Shady & Kendril entered the small collection of hexagonal huts with the Huntress.  Unlike any of the other tribal villages they had seen in the Lost Valley, the RKs did not see any men or any children in this village.  Out of respect, Shady & Kendril stood back as the Huntress approached the small group of women having a tense discussion around the bonfire at the center of the village (as Salád had seen earlier through his Fire Scrying Orb.)  After a short conversation with the tribal leader (during which all the women in the group looked over at the 2 RKs with varying degrees of contempt, curiosity and anxiety,) the Huntress waved Shady & Kendril forward and introduced them to Hysterica.  The Tribal Mother bid them hello and said that the Huntress had told her they had come to view the beauty of the Kronis Falls.  However, she made it clear that she suspected they had some other purpose here.  Shady told her that they were merely travelers who wished to see the falls, and that they would not be any trouble.  She asked how long they intended to stay and when Shady replied that they were merely passing through, she told him that she hoped they would not be a bother since she and her tribe were in the midst of a crisis and did not have the time to be their guides.  Shady assured her that they did not need any guides.

By this time, Dr. Hu had approached the group and Shady introduced him to Hysterica.  Having overheard her remarks, the Doctor asked what sort of crisis the Didacts were facing and he said that he and the RoachKings might even be able to help solve the problem.  Shady agreed and said that the RKs were excellent problem solvers.  Hysterica told them that there were strange occurrences happening all over the valley and that she felt obligated to put a stop to it.  She also said that she now had the added burden of trying to figure out if the RKs were the cause of the problem, or perhaps even an effect of these strange events.  Shady said that the RKs had seen some pretty strange things in the valley, but she replied that what might seem strange to him was probably normal for this valley.  When she asked exactly what he meant, Shady mentioned the dirges and told her that they wouldn't have to worry about those particular bugs again, as they had banished them to another world.  She seemed a little concerned that he meant they had banished the dirges to the realm of the gods, but he assured her that wasn't the case.  Shady then deferred to Dr. Hu and the Doctor reminded him of their very first encounter here in the Lost Valley.  Brak (leader of the Wolf Clan) had said that his people had never seen a creature like the Styracosaurus until recent months; his clan normally hunted antelope, reindeer & the occasional mammoth.   Hysterica confirmed that her scouts had noticed incidents like that all over the valley - creatures from one zone crossing over into other zones where they normally would never go.  She called these incidents "crossovers" and she said that she believed them to be a symptom of a general breakdown in the balance of the valley.  She was reassured to learn that these crossovers were occurring before the RKs arrived in the valley.  To her, this meant that they were not the cause.

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Although Hysterica's demeanor was one of preoccupation & even slight contempt, it was softened somewhat by a healthy dose of curiosity, especially about Shady (who was in truesilver form with 4 arms, a tail, forked feet & shadow wings.)  Since she appeared so apprehensive about his appearance, Shady decided to shift back into normal elven form.  At that point, he noticed that she seemed particularly interested in his & Kendril's ears.  He then resumed his truesilver form with 4 arms, etc., and Hysteria told him that she was bothered by his frequent changes in appearance.  He apologized and said that changing forms was a part of his chaotic nature.  She informed him that this was quite unsettling to someone who was used to things staying the same for millennia. 

After a few more moments of staring at their ears (while trying not to be too obvious about it,) she asked if the 2 RoachKings were perhaps descendants of the "Narpets."  This name rang a bell with both Shady & Kendril, since the Narpets are the subject of stories told to all elven children.  As a wild wood elf, Shady grew up believing the Narpets to be a myth, but gray elves like Kendril believe there is some measure of truth to the tales of these forebears of the elven races.  They are said to be a "missing link" between the pure spirit beings of the elven gods and the flesh & bone elves of today - elven demi-gods of a sort.  With this in mind, Shady told Hysterica that, if she was referring to the same Narpets he knew of from legends, then he believed they were in fact descended from them.

At this point, Hysterica invited the 2 RKs & Dr. Hu to join her in her hut.  Once there, she introduced them to a woman she called "Renovia" (although the Language spell translated it as "Healer.")  She was quite old and frail (something the RKs had not seen in any of the other women in the village) and when she cackled some nonsense about the sky being green this morning, Shady read her surface thoughts and determined that she was quite feeble of mind.  Hysterica then proceeded to tell them about Renovia:  Until a few months ago, she was as young and vibrant as any other Didact.  As the tribal healer, she always went to the temple of the Zeitgeist on the solstices & equinoxes to receive wisdom, whereas Hysterica always went to the temple on every full moon.  When Renovia went to the temple on the spring equinox (nearly 3 months ago,) she did not return for some time and when Hysterica went looking for her, she found her like this.  Hysterica had no idea how it had happened, but she sought answers from the Zeitgeist on the following 2 full moons. 

Hysterica then brought out 2 small stone tablets and laid them on the table in front of the RKs.  She said that on the previous 2 full moons, she had received these tablets from the "Dispenser of the PEZ" (a Language-spell translation of the phrase she actually used, which included an acronym for "Profeticum Enigmaticus Zeitgeistis," or "Prophecies of the Enigmatic Zeitgeist.")  She explained that this was always the way in which she received the wisdom of the Zeitgeist - a stone tablet inscribed with an ambiguous verse that she then interprets.  The 2 tablets on the table were inscribed with some runes, which Kendril quickly deciphered.

Shady & Kendril were humbled by the idea that they might actually meet the mythic elven demi-gods and they immediately agreed.  Shady once again took on normal elven form.  They followed Hysterica down the slope from the village to a grove of ancient trees in the wetlands not far away.   They stood back in reverence as she approached a tree that had to be one of the oldest in the world and began to perform a ritual chant.  After about half an hour, they began to see a beautiful glow building in the trunk of the tree.  Soon, 2 glowing shapes could be seen emerging from the tree and they coalesced into the forms of a male and female Narpet.  Hysterica then motioned for the 2 elven RoachKings to approach.  When they did, the Narpets smiled and sighed, "Ah, our children . . . and perhaps even grandchildren.   It warms our hearts to see you here."  Shady felt like he had never felt before - humbled by a being greater than himself - and he bowed in reverence and said, "If I had only known of your presence here, I would have been here long ago."  The Narpets continued, "Hysterica is concerned that you may pose a threat to her tribe and this valley."  They turned to Hysterica and said, "We can assure you that they are no more a threat to you than we are.  Simply tell them what you need and they will do everything in their power to help you."  Hysterica smiled and thanked the Narpets for their wisdom.  The Narpets then returned to their tree and the beautiful glow returned, then faded as they once again became one with the tree.  Shady asked Kendril to leave a rune stick of teleportation at the location and they hurried back to the Didact village with Hysterica.

Upon returning to the village and to her hut, Hysterica told the RKs that she believed the "door" referenced in the inscription on the second PEZ was in fact the "Zeitgeit" (or "Time Gate") located at the temple of the Zeitgeist in the grotto at the bottom of the Kronis Falls.  Furthermore, assuming this to be the case, she said that the "keys" would be the 2 ancient artifacts called the "Hand of Lerxst" and the "Hand of Pratt" - also known as the "Hands of Time."  She then explained that her current dilemma was two-fold.  First, opening the gate required both keys and only one of them was still in the possession of the Didacts.  She said that the Hand of Lerxst had been stolen 2,112 years ago by someone from the outside.  Secondly, she told the RKs that even if she could somehow get back the Hand of Lerxst, she still could not obtain the Hand of Pratt because only one person knew how to get to it - Renovia, who was now feeble of body & mind and could not retrieve it or even tell anyone else how. 

Shady asked Hysterica for a more detailed description of the Hand of Lerxst because he was beginning to believe that the RoachKings would have to find & recover the artifact for her.  However, as she described the rune-inscribed rod with a sculpted hand at one end and an orb at the other, Dr. Hu began to grin ever so slightly and to dig around in one of his bottomless pockets.  Within a few moments, he produced an item that miraculously fit the very description Hysterica had given.  She immediately let out a huge sigh and exclaimed, "The Hand of Lerxst!  How did you find it?"  The Doctor explained that this was one of the many time-related artifacts that he had gathered during his decades of research into the subject of Time Magics, etc.  About six years ago, he had financed an expedition to the ruins of the Temple of Fourgét in the Gusseaux Province of the Kingdom of Llofall.  Through an intermediary, he had hired a group from Terapin called the Omega Shadow Force, and they had retrieved the rod (known at the time as the "Hand of Nuada") from the ruins.  (Shady recognized the OSF as a group of mercenary adventurers who had once visited Pasadena Island.  They had come with a letter of recommendation from By-Tor's father, Redbeard, and they had contracted By-Tor's machine shop to mass-produce a unique articulated knife.)  Dr. Hu disclosed that he had collected many such objects and that he had brought most of them along on this expedition, just in case they turned out to be helpful or even necessary.  Now that he understood the significance of this find, he told Hysterica that he was quite happy to return the stolen item to her.  She was very thankful and told him that she and her entire tribe were forever in his debt.

As Hysterica then reiterated, this left just one problem: How could they retrieve the Hand of Pratt without Renovia's help.  She told the RKs that the artifact was securely hidden away in the "Cavern of the Keys" - a cave located about 600' up on the face of the cliff near the Kronis Falls.  With Renovia now feeble-minded, no one knew exactly where in the cavern to find the Hand of Pratt, although Hysterica said that there probably were safeguards in the cavern to protect it from another thief.  Shady, Kendril & Dr. Hu volunteered to fly up to the cavern and bring back the Hand of Pratt. 

The 2 RoachKings & Dr. Hu flew up to the cave entrance high on the cliff face and surveyed what they could see of the cavern.  Shady decided he could handle the cavern exploration himself, so Kendril & the Doctor stood watch at the cave entrance.  Upon entering the cave, Shady utilized an Invisible Wizard's Eye to scout ahead in the cavern and to probe the many fissures in the cavern walls.  He methodically advanced through the winding cavern until he came to an intersection.  He explored one direction for a short distance, then turned his Wizard's Eye the other way.  Just around the corner, the cavern dove downward into water. 

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Shady sent the Wizard's Eye through the water-filled passage for a short distance, then followed it, keeping it not too far ahead of himself.  Being in truesilver form, Shady couldn't exactly swim, but he flew through the water using shadow wings.  He probed several more fissures, which lead downward & fed out into the falls.  Then, he came to a fissure that lead upward and eventually emerged in the river that fed the falls.  A short distance past that fissure, the main path emerged into a wider cavern with a pool.  There, lying at the bottom of the pool, the Wizard's Eye spotted an object very similar to the Hand Of Lerxst, only shorter - the Hand of Pratt!  Shady moved forward to catch up to his invisible eye and discovered that when he passed the fissure leading up to the river above, his "Detect Magic" senses kicked in.  The water just ahead glowed with a diluted magical energy and when he moved into that section of the water, his metabolism slowed somewhat.  He focused his psionic body control powers to counteract the effect, but found that it became stronger as he moved forward.  By the time he entered the pool in the larger cavern, he was so fatigued that he had to consume some of Kendril's nourishing trail bars for energy.  Furthermore, he had to continue eating the trail bars just to be able to approach the Hand of Pratt.  However, just as he moved within reach of the artifact, his Wizard's Eye spotted something very large looming overhead, above the water.

As soon as his Wizard's Eye rose above the surface, Shady could see the strange creature that now hovered over his underwater position.  It looked like a large purple octopus floating in the air, except that it had a beak and only 6 tentacles.  Shady quickly drew his mana-powered pulsar pistols and flew up out of the water in a flurry of wild shots.  The creature was knocked back 5 or 6 feet by the blasts, but quickly recovered and lurched at Shady with 2 tentacles outreached to grab him.  Shady dodged the spiked appendages and quickly drew out his swords.  Initiating a combination of thrusting and slashing maneuvers, Shady stabbed deep into the monster's flesh, only to be jolted by yet another time-slowing effect when his sword came into physical contact with the creature.  He was once again fatigued by the need to focus his psionics and maintain his metabolic rate, but he completed his combination attack on the monster and left it floating in the pool below, surrounded by a large spill of its own blood.

Shady had to consume another trail bar just to have the energy to psionically keep his metabolism from slowing to a stop when he dived into the water and grabbed the Hand of Pratt.  Once he had the artifact, he flew out of the cavern, easily finding his way back to the entrance without going through the water again.  All together, it took Shady only about 2 or 3 minutes to re-emerge from the cavern with the Hand of Pratt.  The 3 quickly flew back to Hysterica and gave her the artifact, making her quite happy that she now had the means to open the Zeitgeit. 

After a long discussion with Hysterica on the nature & context of the clues offered on the 2 PEZ tablets, the RKs settled in for a night of rest & recuperation from the long journey across the valley.  Some of them slept, some meditated, some made magical preparations.

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[8/2/09]  18 June - As the sun rose over the Lost Valley, the RoachKings completed their last-minute preparations - Salád polymorphed into his usual hawk-winged form & became invisible, Shady maintained his truesilver, 4-armed form with tail & shadow wings, and Kendril renewed all the Temperature Tolerance & Magic Breathing spells on those who needed them to survive the heat & the sulfur-rich atmosphere here.  [Casting all those spells must have made him very tired, which is probably why he didn't participate much in the melees.]  Some of the village women offered the RKs small hide pouches, which they hung around their necks on leathery straps.  Each pouch contained a small portion of pure sand; the women explained that this was the common offering for one who seeks the wisdom of the Zeitgeist.  The RKs then took off down the path to the Grotto of the Zeitgeist Temple along with Hysterica & Dr. Hu.

At the bottom of the 1000' sheer cliff portion of the Kronis Falls, the water struck a steep incline, then streamed diagonally down that slope for about 100 yards before flowing over one final stone shelf and into a shallow pond about 100' in diameter.  This was the location of the Temple of the Zeitgeist.  When they arrived there, the RKs  visually surveyed the area while the Doctor drew out one of his odd gizmos & started scanning.  Under the shelf & behind the 25' waterfall was a grotto enclosing roughly a third of the pond.  On the opposite side, the water flowed out of the pond, feeding the Kronis River.  Directly under the waterfall, the RKs saw a pedestal, upon which stood a sculpture with a rectangular base & a strange-looking head on the top.  Although the waterfall obscured it somewhat, they could just make out 3 ancient symbols inscribed on the front of the sculpture's base and Kendril's Language spell allowed him to easily translate these symbols as the initials "P - E - Z."  They also noticed indentations on the sides of the base that looked as if they were perfectly shaped for the Hands of Lerxst & Pratt.  Hysterica informed them that the Hands of Time were kept in these receptacles at one time in the distant past, when they did not have to fear their theft.   Forming a semi-circle around this central pedestal were several shorter pedestals, their 2'-diameter flat tops visible just below the surface of the water.  Looking a little closer, the RKs could see that there were more of these shorter pedestals in the grotto behind the waterfall, apparently forming a complete circle around the sculpture.  Salád made the observation that the layout of the temple resembled a clock face with its circle of 12 points, an analogy made even stronger when one considered the 2 "hands," one longer than the other.

Of course, the RoachKings were anxious to get on with things and they pressed Hysterica on how to open the Time Gate, but she cautioned them that the appropriate respect had to be shown first, then all would be revealed to them.  The RKs stood back & observed as she waded into the water where the river flowed out of the pond.  She then approached the ring of short pedestals and stepped up onto the first one she came to.  She bowed & recited a short prayer to the "wise & ever present Zeitgeist," then took a small pouch of sand from her pack and tossed it into the water near the sculpture.  Once she had completed this brief religious rite, she motioned them to join her.  When Shady, Salád & Dr. Hu approached her, she told them that they could each ask for wisdom from the Zeitgeist and receive a tablet from the Dispenser of the PEZ. 

It was decided that Salád would go first, so he flew over to the strange sculpture.  This closer vantage point allowed him to see that the sculpted head was hinged in the back.  He also noticed that it was not the slightest bit worn by the constant flow of water over it for millennia.  "Not affected by time," he remarked to himself and to the others listening through the RK telepathic link.  He looked the sculpture over to determine the best way to take hold of it.  He eventually decided to use the antenna-looking rod as a handle.  When he tilted the head back, a rune-inscribed stone tablet magically appeared underneath it & slid forward; Salád grabbed it.  What he didn't notice was the pulse of energy that zapped Hysterica at that very moment, leaving the Didact leader frozen in temporal stasis on the pedestal behind him. 

Of course, Dr. Hu had been scanning the area at the time, so he was the first to identify the energy pulse as a wave of temporal manna originating from the sculpture.  Shady had seen the energy wash over Hysterica and his Detect Magic sense had told him that it was quite magical in nature.  With the Didact leader now incapacitated, the RKs realized that they would have to figure out for themselves how to open the Time Gate.  Shady & Salád agreed on the general idea that they each should take one of the Hands of Time and stand on one of the pedestals in an arrangement that would represent a specific time.  However, they didn't know what time, nor did they have any idea which pedestal represented 12 o'clock.

Salád turned his attention back to the PEZ tablet he had received.  Flying over to Kendril, he asked the elven Rune Mage to cast a Language spell on him so that he could read the inscription, which said, "Like a righteous inspiration, Overlooked in haste; Like a teardrop in the ocean, A diamond in the waste."  The RKs discussed the possible implications of the verse, deciding that it referred to the misinterpretation of a previous clue.  Reconsidering the inscriptions on Hysterica's first 2 PEZ tablets, they contemplated the possibility that the line about "what your fate might have in store" could actually refer to a more literal translation of the word "fate," meaning "death."  With this reasoning, they decided that the 2nd clue might be interpreted as saying that if they "use the keys" to "unlock the door," they might be tempting their own demise.  However, they concluded that whenever the RoachKings were told that a particular course would lead to certain death, they always unflinchingly charged forward along that path.  Accordingly, they would continue with their goal of opening the Time Gate. 

Shady was next to receive a PEZ tablet and his contained the verse, "From the point on the compass to magnetic north, The point of a needle moving back and forth, From the point of entry until the candle is burned, The point of departure is not to return; Anything can happen."  At first, this clue seemed a little "pointless" to Salád, but the RKs thought it might refer to several different things, including their entry into the Time Gate, the time between then & end of their lives, the Time Gate being a one-way portal, and/or the uncertainty of the path that lay ahead of them.  When Dr. Hu received his tablet, it read, "Freeze this moment a little bit longer, Make each sensation a little bit stronger; Experience slips away; Time stand still."  Both Shady & Salád had clear ideas about how to interpret this clue, believing that the overall context was about focusing on the here & now, the present.  Still, the second-to-last line of the verse concerned Salád quite a bit, convincing him that the Time Gate might have an experience-draining effect on those who passed through it. 

At this point, the RoachKings came to the conclusion that the PEZ tablets weren't providing any usable information on how to proceed, so they decided to investigate the grotto behind the waterfall (which they had not yet entered out of respect for Hysterica.)  Once inside the cave, they immediately noticed a 40'-wide section of the back wall that was covered with what looked like semi-opaque glass.  Shady could see immediately that it was quite magical.  Dr. Hu scanned the surface and stated that it was in fact made of water, but that it was temporally frozen (like Hysterica.)  Accordingly, the Doctor's readings showed that it radiated a strong residual field of temporal manna.  The RKs surmised that this must be the "Zeitgeit" - the Time Gate.  Now all they had to do was figure out the right time-combination to open it, so they investigated further.

Etched into the stone on either side of the presumed Time Gate were 2 long inscriptions, which the RoachKings quickly translated as the first & last verses of an ancient song about the Fountain of Lamneth.  It began with the lines, "I am born, I am me, I am new, I am free," and ended with the lines, "I'm together, I'm apart, I'm forever at the start; Still . . . I am."  Upon closer inspection of the Gate itself, the RKs noticed another inscription on the stone wall behind the time-frozen water, but it was barely visible and too distorted to read clearly.  As they discussed possible ways of accessing the inscription, Dr. Hu continued to scan the Gate's energy signature, seemingly oblivious to their quandary.  After a few minutes, the Doctor seemed to suddenly realize what the RKs were up against & he offered a solution, obviously annoyed at himself for not thinking of it sooner.  He briefly muttered to himself about re-calibrating his scanning device so that, instead of performing a complicated analysis of the manna field, it could easily enhance a simple visual image.  Within moments, he had made the necessary adjustments to the settings on his gadget, re-scanned the Gate, and activated yet another function of the device.  When he showed the display to the RKs, it revealed an enhanced image of the inscription, which was now clear enough to translate as the phrase, "Winding like an ancient river, the time is now again."  Needless to say, the RoachKings were quite frustrated that this apparently added nothing to their search for a way to open the Time Gate.

Shady & Salád thought they might be missing something in this last inscription, so they showed the phrase to Kendril, who made a critical linguistic observation.  The Rune Mage pointed out that some of the letters in this ancient written language were also used for numbers.  In fact, he told them the letters N, O & W could also be interpreted as the number 420.  The RoachKings now believed they had the correct time-combination to use with the Hands of Time to open the Zeitgeit.   And they seemed to be on a roll because Shady now had an idea about which pedestal represented 12 o'clock.  Thinking back to a line from the clue on his PEZ tablet, he was now confident that the top of the "clock face" was the pedestal at magnetic north.  His absolute sense of direction allowed him to quickly determine which pedestal that was and the RKs now believed they were ready to open the Time Gate.

Intuitively acting on their previous plan, Shady & Salád each took one of the Hands of Time in preparation to step up onto the appropriate pedestals.  However, they both realized at the same moment that both the hands of a clock are in the same position at 4:20, meaning that both the Hands of Time would have to be on the same pedestal.  Shady immediately volunteered to take both Hands of Time and step onto the pedestal to Hysterica's left.

Dr. Hu then spoke up, pointing out that there was no real evidence that anyone had to be on the pedestal with the Hands of Time.  Considering what had happened to Hysterica, he suggested that it might not be such a good idea to place oneself in such a position, especially not knowing for sure if they were right about the placement of the Hands.  The RKs agreed, and even decided to try once more to revive the Didact leader before going forward with their plan.  At least that would give them the opportunity to verify whether or not they were right.  After discussing ways of possibly reviving Hysterica, they decided that the time-stopping effect might be related to the fact that she was standing on one of the short pedestals.  To test this theory, Shady flew up & grabbed her by the shoulders with his forked feet, easily lifting her into the air.  However, this had no effect and she remained in stasis, so Shady put her back on the "3 o'clock" pedestal.  With no other good ideas on how to revive her, they decided to move forward with their revised plan.  The Doctor & Salád placed themselves on either side of the Gate, ready for whatever might come through when it was opened.  Shady hovered over the "4 o'clock" pedestal and By-Tor & Draken flew into the temple area to join him. 

After giving everyone notice, Shady dropped both the Hands of Time on the pedestal.  The Gate immediately began to shimmer with spectral colors and the time-frozen water began to flow, rippling down the vertical surface of the grotto wall.  Still scanning with his gadget, the Doctor announced that the temporal manna level of the Gate had just gone off the scale.  A moment later, a 20'-tall being stepped out of the gate.  His visage constantly shifted between multiple temporal phases, giving the impression that he was in several places at once.  In the brief instants when the RKs did get a half-decent look at him, he appeared to be a simple warrior with a horned helmet, shin guards& a huge sword.  Still, for some unknown reason, he seemed eerily familiar to the RoachKings.  The Doctor began a full scan of the entity.  By-Tor immediately flew toward the giant fighter at full speed, his path taking him directly through the waterfall.  Draken prepared a bolt of cosmic energy, but stayed his hand & reminded everyone that the warrior had not yet attacked them.  By-Tor slowed his flight to a halt & hovering just inside the waterfall, and in a gesture of good will, said "Hello,"  The giant warrior appeared to look straight at By-Tor (although it was difficult to tell exactly where he was looking) and he seemed to become enraged at the sight of him.  With a tone of angry recognition in his voice, the fighter shouted, "You!  I knew you would come here in time!"  His booming voice echoed throughout the grotto, although it wasn't clear how much of it was natural echo & how much was a side effect of his phase-shifting nature.

Regardless, the RKs didn't have time to ponder that point because the giant fighter immediately raised his left hand and released a beam of prismatic energy at By-Tor.  The thrusters on his battlesuit allowed By-Tor to evade the energy beam, but that left Shadowstorm directly in its path.  Luckily, Shady also avoided being struck by the strange prismatic energy.  Salád, hovering invisibly on the right side of the Gate, projected an illusory image of himself coming through the waterfall alongside By-Tor, out in front of the warrior.  Dr. Hu was busy fiddling with his gadget, scanning the giant warrior.

Draken called out to the fighter,"Please Great Warrior, hold your attack," but he refused, saying, "I will not relent!  You are the cause of my current crisis, the root of my dilemma!"  At that point, the RoachKings knew there would be no peaceful resolution to this encounter & they proceeded with their attacks.  Draken loosed his cosmic energy bolt, but the giant fighter dodged it with almost no effort at all, primarily because it was nearly impossible to get a good fix on his specific location.  Shady telepathically suggested to the other RKs that this being probably was the "other" they had heard about, and Salád reminded everyone that Hysterica had referred to him as "either god or demon."  Shady quickly drew weapons with all 4 of his hands - a sword, a knife & 2 pulsar pistols.  Moving forward to join By-Tor, he fired 2 wild shots with the pulsars, to no effect.  Once again, the warrior dodged the attack so easily, Shady was left wondering if he was even aiming at the right place.  By-Tor resumed his approach toward the giant warrior.  Draken asked how the RKs had caused his current problem and the fighter replied, "You did it in conjunction with Pereg, beyond the Point of Know Return."  Draken wondered what the giant fighter was talking about.  Salád directed his projected image to start waving his arms & a wand, as if preparing to cast a spell; he wanted the image to be an obvious target for the warrior.  Meanwhile, Dr. Hu seemed excited by his scanner readings, expressing his amazement at the presence of a being of pure temporal energy.

Salád's efforts apparently paid off as the giant warrior leveled his second prismatic energy blast at the illusionist's projected image, which easily dodged the beam.  Shady took a second to aim his pulsar pistols.  By-Tor turned and called out, "Let's rush him," Draken moved forward to follow By-Tor's lead but by this time, most of the RKs had telepathically agreed that physical attacks probably wouldn't be effective against this entity.  Draken decided instead to prepare an Utter Dome, quickly estimating the cosmic power necessary to enclose By-Tor & Shady with it.  Meanwhile, Salád's projected image moved forward and continued to wave its arms & wand.

The fighter aimed his next prismatic energy beam at Shadowstorm, who easily dodged the beam.  Although this caused Shady to lose concentration on aiming his pistols, he still fired 2 more unaimed pulsar blasts, which the giant fighter once again effortlessly avoided.  Just then, Draken created a 15'-radius golden Utter Dome, enclosing Shady & By-Tor along with himself.  Salád continued to direct his projected image to pose a threat to the warrior, but the RKs were quickly running out of ideas on how to deal with this temporal energy being.  That's when Shady came up with the idea of blasting the stone ceiling, causing it to cave in on the giant warrior.  Draken & By-Tor liked the idea and agreed to lend their firepower to the attempt.

The fighter now seemed to ignore Salád's projected image and he couldn't help but take note of the protective golden dome that now covered the other 3 RoachKings in front of him.   He turned to Dr. Hu and rushed at him (leaving a trail of 4 or 5 phased images of himself,) but the Doctor acrobatically leapt out of his path, dodging the giant fighter's attempt to grapple with him.  By-Tor drew his new pulsar pistol and Draken prepared a cosmic energy bolt, ready to join Shady in blasting the grotto's stone ceiling above the warrior.  The Doctor flew out of the grotto, clearing the way for them to start blasting, but Salád then flew over to the giant warrior, so they held their fire.  Salád was determined to blind the fighter with a Flash of Light.

The giant fighter quickly turned to follow Dr. Hu as he flew out of the cave, and he came face-to-face with Salád DaJaro.  Although the illusionist was invisible, the warrior obviously saw him clearly and for some unknown reason, he was taken aback for a moment.  His facial expression (or at least what Salád could see of it) seemed to soften slightly and he spoke slowly, saying, "Oh . . . you," as if Salád was not among those who had aroused his anger.  With an inexplicable feeling of melancholy that bordered on sympathy for the entity, Salád simply said, "Sorry, Old One," and unleashed a triple-bright Flash of Light in the giant warrior's face, blinding him at least for the moment.  It was all the opportunity the RKs needed.  Salád knew the plan & fluttered backward a few feet after casting his spell.  Shady, By-Tor & Draken opened fire on the ceiling above the fighter, caving in enough stone to nearly knock him off his feet.  He would never recover.

The RoachKings took the initiative and fired again.  This time, Draken's cosmic energy bolt struck a natural fissure in the rock and caved off a massive chunk of stone.  The giant fighter was knocked unconscious and pounded to the ground.  Salád withdrew even further to avoid being hit by the falling rock.  For the next 6 seconds, the RKs pummeled the stone ceiling with pulsar blasts & bolts of cosmic energy, all from the safety of Draken's protective golden dome.  When the dust had cleared, the waterfall above them was slightly rerouted by the cave in they had caused and the warrior was buried in a huge pile of rubble that blocked a third of the Time Gate.

A moment later, another giant warrior emerged from the Zeitgeit, but this one seemed far more friendly than the last.  Upon his arrival, Hysterica immediately came back to life.  At first, all she saw was the damage to the waterfall and she shouted at the RoachKings, "Oh no, what have you done to the temple?"  She then saw the giant entity standing at the Gate and she somehow recognized him, even though she had never seen a physical manifestation of her deity.  She bowed reverently & said, "Oh wise & ever present Zeitgeist, I am humbled by your presence and ask that you bless the Didacts.  I am forever your servant."  The Zeitgeist gestured to Hysterica and said, "Balance has been restored to the valley.  The Didacts will indeed continue to receive my blessing."

At that point, Salád took the small pouch of sand he had received earlier from one of the Didacts and he tossed it into the water inside the temple circle.   A moment later, the Zeitgeist addressed all the RoachKings, saying, "You have done well here today and you will be blessed for your actions."  He then turned to Dr. Hu and said, "You are now much closer to reaching your goal."  Surveying the scene, he gestured at the pile of rubble where the "other" fighter had once stood and said, "He refused to step aside when his time had come.  I am the true Spirit of this Age."  Encouraged & ever-curious, the Doctor asked if he would now be able to find the Fountain of Lamneth.   The Zeitgeist replied, "Yes, but know this:  That journey for all of you only begins here," and he gestured at the Gate behind him.  Salád asked if he could elaborate on the nature of the Fountain of Lamneth and he replied, "The journey to the Fountain is one of self-discovery and it is often quite different for each person."  He added, "The source of the Fountain is my own source as well."  In conclusion, he told everyone, "All is back as it should be."  He then bid Hysterica goodbye for now, turned and re-entered the Time Gate.

The RoachKings felt a little guilty for leaving Hysterica's temple in such a mess, and besides, By-Tor wanted to search the smashed warrior, so he & Draken started removing all the rubble.  By-Tor carried out the large boulders & Draken moved the smaller debris using apportation.  When the last of the rock had been cleared, the RKs discovered that nothing remained of the first giant fighter.  He simply was no more. 

With nothing more to do here, the RoachKings turned their attention to the Time Gate.  They were now ready to pass through it and find the Fountain of Lamneth.  Hysterica, eager to get back to her village and check on Renovia, respectfully asked the RKs to enter the Gate as soon as possible.  The RKs understood her impatience and agreed to move quickly.  They made a few last-minute preparations and Salád reminded them of his belief that the Gate would have an experience-draining effect on them.  Hysterica bid a farewell to the 'Kings and wished them luck. 

The RoachKings then lined up side-by-side at the Time Gate and stepped through together.

 

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

With his free hand, Draken grabbed for the rope he had untied from himself a few seconds ago, but he couldn't get hold of it amid the violent heaving of the deck below his feet.  Shadowstorm (even though he was lucky to still be alert) cut himself free of the foremast using his maine-gauche.   Salád sheathed his scimitar and began preparing a spell - a simple audio illusion.  Doctor Hu, having searched through his pockets with both hands for a couple seconds, produced a wand of some sort and began waving it in Draken's direction.  Draken's rapier began to shimmer and glow with magic as the Doctor's wand enchanted it.  The kraken made an attempt to regain his grip on the ship, but By-Tor continued his successful evasive maneuvers. Shady drew his rapier, all the while fighting back the pain just to stay conscious & fighting the pitching deck of the ship just to keep his footing.  Draken, deftly fighting the same battle with the deck to remain upright, finally grabbed hold of the rope, making it much easier for him to stay on his feet from then on.  Salád tried to cast a simple audio illusion spell, but his proficiency definitely was not what it would become "later" in life.  Once again, the kraken whipped 2 massive tentacles at those on deck.  Dr. Hu dodged one of them with a limber acrobatic stretch.   Salád, just beginning to wonder what had gone wrong with his spell, was hit broadside with no chance of evading.  Like Shady, he sustained serious internal injury; also like Shady, he kept himself aware through sheer determination.  Still, that was 2 RoachKings hurt bad and clinging to their wits.

Shadowstorm sheathed his main-gauche and took his rapier in a 2-handed reverse grip.  Draken stabbed the kraken once again with his rapier; the weapon was now much more effective with the Doctor's enchantment.  By-Tor continued his adept evasion of the kraken's clutching tentacles as the monster made a renewed effort to grab the ship.  Salád showed uncanny concentration as he prepared the same spell once again.  Draken stabbed away at the kraken's tentacle as Salád completed his illusion.  When his spell finally succeeded, Salád created the clear and unmistakable underwater songs of an approaching pod of sperm whales.  A moment later, the kraken decided to abandon its attacks on the ship and it quickly swam away.  Kendril & Dr. Hu immediately freed themselves from their ropes and hurried to administer first aid to Shady & Salád. Kendril knew enough about herbal medicine to make a poultice that would stop the internal bleeding. The Doctor administered some more advanced Samusese healing techniques.  By the time they were finished, the wounded were well on their way to recovery.  By-Tor continued to steer the ship toward better weather. Soon enough, the RKs were faced with nothing more than average waves and a dull rain.   By the time it turned into a light sprinkle, the RoachKings could see land in the distance.  When they got close enough to see that there was a small bay with a long bridge over its entrance, the precipitation had let up to a fine mist.  They were 5 miles out and, as far as they could tell, there was no one on the bridge.

[10/3/09]  The sky finally began to clear as By-Tor sailed the ship out of the storm and toward the land mass that was now visible at about 5 miles in the distance.  All at once, the clouds were parted; light streamed down in bright, unbroken beams.

The small bay the RKs had spotted earlier was now more clearly visible and they could see sandy beaches on either side of it & mountains beyond, although they still didn't see anyone crossing the long bridge that spanned the bay entrance.  The sun seemed to be setting behind the RKs (beyond the storm that now stood well out at sea,) giving them the impression that they were sailing west.

With their heads now completely clear, the RoachKings found themselves somewhat single-minded.  Their only goal now was to find the Fountain of Lamneth, which they instinctively believed to be in the mountains beyond the bay.

By-Tor brought the ship in under the bridge and into the mouth of the bay.  Once there, the RKs could see that there were long sandbars on either side of the bay entrance and that a primitive dirt & gravel road continued along the shore in either direction from the bridge, barely visible on the sand.   Just past the bay, a little over half a mile to the right (which they believed to be north,) the RKs could just make out an intersection in the road, where another road branched off & headed inland toward the mountains.

Once the RKs' ship was in the bay, they noticed something of a gathering to their right (on the north side of the bay.)   The bay was small - not more than a mile wide - but many other ships were anchored here, some smaller than their own, some larger.  Kendril's keen eyes recognized one of the ships as a viking dragon boat from the ice world of Ogh!  In fact, all of the ships were unusual and unique; no two were alike.  There were no more than a few crew on board each ship, but on the shore just beyond the ships, the RKs saw several encampments of tents.  To the left (west) of the encampments, a small river flowed into the bay.

By-Tor navigated the ship into the bay & tacked toward the other anchored vessels, giving the RKs a better view of the encampments on shore.  As with the ships anchored in the bay, the tents in each encampment were a different type and the RKs could see people moving about, but not many.   Kendril easily deduced that the group of 6 rectangular red tents on the left (west) end were those of the Oghian vikings.   The RKs decided to weigh anchor a short distance to the west of the other ships and By-Tor easily brought the ship into place.  Using one of the rowboats mounted on either side of the ship, they made their way to shore a hundred yards or so west of the Oghian vikings' encampment.   The sun had set earlier and it was already dark, so the RKs were fairly certain no one had seen them come ashore.  With Salád & Shady both injured, they decided to make camp and wait for morning.

The night went by without incident and Kendril used the time to forage for healing herbs.  He was able to find enough to repair a little more of the damage Shady & Salád had suffered from the kraken's tentacles, although neither of the injured RKs was at 100% yet.  When they saw 3 Oghian vikings moving about in the camp next to theirs, the RoachKings decided to make an attempt to communicate with the ice-world warriors, who had accepted the RKs' presence without protest of any kind.  Salád's well-known cultural adaptability made him the perfect choice to offer their greeting, so the Illusionist strode toward the vikings' camp with the best of intentions.  When they saw him approaching, the 3 vikings gathered together at the edge of their camp and uttered some words in a guttural language Salád couldn't understand.  Realizing he could not communicate verbally, Salád offered a gesture instead.  He put his hand to his brow, then swung it down & out with a lavish twirl as he bowed - an Al Qami greeting that suggested a kind of "in the same situation" kinship.   He then returned to the RK camp as the Oghian vikings muttered amongst themselves in apparent curiosity.  With no other ideas for gathering info from those camped here, the RKs decided to head out.  The tracks they could see on the road near their camp indicated that a great many people had gone up the road into the mountains, so they decided to do likewise.  Content in the knowledge that a couple of their brothers had decided to stay on the ship, the RKs pitied anyone who might attempt to board the ship while they were gone.

The road followed the general course of the river upstream, climbing into the rough terrain beyond the bay & up into a valley in the mountains.  Along the way, Shady asked if Dr. Hu could enchant his sword & the good Doctor agreed to use a wand and give everyone's melee weapon a boost in accuracy & puissance [+2/+2.]  Not long afterward, Kendril noticed, among the myriad tracks of people heading up into the mountains, there were a few tracks leading back down the road toward the bay.  These tracks showed Kendril that the people heading back downhill were in a hurry, traveling much faster than those heading uphill.

After about a mile of traveling up the road, the RKs could see that the valley narrowed up ahead, becoming a near-vertical ravine that was only about 100 yards across at the top.  The river flowed out of this ravine and the road became a narrow ledge about 100 yards up the sheer cliff on the right side.  From this distance, just about everyone (except Shady) could see several large winged creatures flying about in the ravine, but it was Standing Bear who identified them as gargoyles.  The RKs made sure their weapons were at the ready and marched on.

By the time the RKs reached the ravine, they no longer saw any gargoyles flying around, but they were aware of their presence & so they were prepared for the inevitable encounter, which came soon enough.  The road climbed sharply upward as the valley funneled into the ravine and soon, the RKs were marching along a narrow ledge of a path about 100 yards above the river.  At least another 75 yards of cliff loomed above them.  The cliffs on both sides of the ravine were dotted with small caves & the RKs assumed the gargoyles made their homes in these. 

Before long, the RoachKings spotted 4 gargoyles flying out of some of the caves about 50 yards ahead & they knew battle was inevitable.  By-Tor readied his mace & awaited the approach of the gargoyles.  Salád dropped his truesilver Triangle of Trimon on the ground, stepped inside it & began preparing an "Invisibility" spell. Taking a cue from the Illusionist, Standing Bear knocked an arrow, as did Kendril, and the 2 bowmen awaited a good shot.  Shady took a moment to formulate a plan of action & Dr. Hu readied a spell. 

Once the gargoyles flew a little closer, Kendril & Standing Bear drew their bows & took their shots.  Kendril's arrow found its target & pierced one gargoyle's eye, sending the bat-winged beastie plummeting to the river below.  Standing Bear clipped another gargoyle's wing, slightly reducing its flying speed. 

A second later, Salád blinked out of sight when his spell went off.  Kendril & Standing Bear each drew another arrow as Shadowstorm continued to "assess the situation."  Kendril suggested that Shady take some decisive action because by that time, the gargoyles had flown up to the RKs and were now close enough to claw & bite at them.

When one of the gargoyles flew up into Shady's face with claws & teeth bared, the wild elf quickly took Kendril's advice and jabbed at it with his rapier, impaling it for significant damage.  Salád drew his enchanted scimitar and By-Tor swung his mace, slamming the gargoyle now in front of him.  Kendril shot another arrow at close range and winged the gargoyle that had approached the Doctor.  Meanwhile, Dr. Hu cast a spell on the same gargoyle, slowing it & making it unable to effectively maintain flight.  The 2 gargoyles still at full speed attacked, but one missed By-Tor & the other found its claw parried by Shadowstorm's main gauche, taking some damage to its hand.

Shady immediately stabbed at the gargoyle again with his rapier, leaving another deep hole in its flesh & sending it plummeting to the bottom of the ravine.  Thinking quickly, Salád stepped forward one stride & took a swing with his scimitar at the gargoyle that was now struggling to stay aloft after being magically slowed by Dr. Hu.  He struck the beast with enough force to put an abrupt end to its failing bid for flight & send it plunging to the river below.  He thought to himself, "'Salád the gargoyle slayer,' that has a nice ring to it."   As Kendril drew another arrow, he suggested that they needed to get Salád a "first kill" patch (something the RKs always did in the old days.)  Meanwhile, By-Tor swung his mace at the gargoyle that was still clawing at him, clipping it on the shoulder & tearing its flesh.

With 3 of the gargoyles now dead or plunging to their deaths, Shadowstorm stepped up next to By-Tor & joined him in attacking the last of the creatures in this group.  Shady showed great agility by keeping his footing at the edge of the cliff as he stabbed the gargoyle with his rapier, sending it to join its friends at the bottom of the ravine. 

The RKs took stock of their condition & found that none of them had sustained any injuries from the gargoyles.  Kendril & Standing Bear kept arrows knocked & all the RoachKings maintained watchful eyes on the cliffside caves ahead & behind them as they resumed their progress along the path.   As they marched forward, Standing Bear did his best to determine which of the caves showed signs of gargoyle habitation & which didn't and he found that most of the cave openings within eyesight had been heavily scratched up by gargoyle claws.  He decided to leave some etchings of his own on the cliffside, marking the RKs' passing.

A short while later, the RoachKings' vigilance paid off when Shady noticed something in one of the caves about 50 yards ahead & 50 yards up the cliffside above the path.   Specifically, he saw a flicker of reddish light, indicating the presence of a flame.  He & Salád immediately began preparing defensive spells that would obscure their visages as some of the others ran past them with weapons at the ready.  At that moment, burning oil poured out of the cave, flowing onto the path & creating a large area of flames that blocked their way forward. 

Running just ahead of Kendril, Standing Bear loosed an arrow at the mouth of the cave, but to no avail; his arrow careened off the cliff face & into the ravine.  Kendril also fired an arrow and apparently had better luck; he could hear a painful moan echoing from the cave as his arrow ricocheted into the cave opening.  Meanwhile, Shady cast his "Shadow Form" spell and Salád cast his "Blur" spell. 

Suddenly, dozens of crossbow bolts filled the air, flying at the RoachKings from the multitude of small caves on the far side of the ravine.  The whirring sound they made in flight gave the RKs their only warning & it was a fleeting one, but they reacted quickly.  By-Tor blocked one bolt with his large round shield, Salád blocked another with his buckler & Dr. Hu dodged one with an acrobatic roll.  Shady & Kendril were missed entirely, but Standing Bear wasn't so lucky; 2 crossbow bolts pierced the Helfindian warrior in his left side.

Obviously outnumbered and with no clear targets on the far side of the ravine, the RKs decided to just charge forward, jump through the flames & move on.  They all ran toward the patch of burning oil at full speed, but the hail of crossbow bolts continued.  By-Tor took a critical hit to his left side as he lead the charge but amazingly, none of the other crossbow bolts in this salvo hit their targets. 

The RoachKings continued to rush forward through another barrage of crossbow bolts.  By-Tor, Standing Bear & the Doctor each dodged one and Salád blocked another one with his buckler, but Kendril was hit in the left shoulder.  Luckily, his chain mail armor kept it from piercing his skin, though just barely, and he pulled it out of his armor so it wouldn't impede his movement.

Ignoring the hail of crossbow bolts, the RKs continued to charge forward, finally reaching the patch of flames blocking the path.  The oil had somewhat burned itself out around the edges, but there was still an area of fire 2 yards wide for the RKs to jump through.  Shady was first & he bounded through the flames with little trouble, although his boots were slightly scorched in the process.  Then came By-Tor, pushing through the pain & physical impediment of a crossbow bolt in his side to jump the flames, his boots likewise being singed.  Dr. Hu was next, easily hurdling the fire but searing his shoes & slightly toasting his feet.  The other RKs had just reached the patch of burning oil when another burst of crossbow bolts flew at them.  There were noticeably fewer bolts this time, as if their attackers were running out of ammo or lagging behind in reloading their crossbows.  Still, Dr. Hu had to dodge another bolt, which wasn't difficult since he was already dancing a hot-foot jig.  Shady was hit by one crossbow bolt, but it didn't pierce his armor & he quickly pulled it out.

Standing Bear, Kendril & Salád then took their turns jumping through the flames.  The Helfindian warrior was first, but his injuries slowed his approach & slightly shortened his jumping distance.   He dragged his moccasins through the burning oil upon landing & they continued to burn.  While Standing Bear stomped his feet to put out the flames, Kendril made it over the burning oil just fine, although his boots were still singed.  Next, Salád tried an acrobatic leap across the fire, but he missed his landing and found his boots & pants on fire when he regained his footing on the far side of the burning oil.  He quickly patted himself down to put out the flames as he continued to dash forward with the others.  A few crossbow bolts struck the cliff face behind the RKs as they made their way out of range.  Once clear, Kendril applied some healing herbs to the wounds sustained by By-Tor & Standing Bear and pulled out the crossbow bolts, although he couldn't mend all the damage done.

About a quarter mile further up the ravine, the RoachKings rounded a curve in the cliffside & saw a waterfall up ahead.  It fell from the top of the cliff on their side of the gorge, pouring onto the path, then spilling over the ledge & tumbling down into the ravine, feeding the river below.  Just past the waterfall was a hanging bridge that spanned the ravine & lead to a similar ledge/path on the other side.  The first thing most of the RKs thought was that this bridge was another obvious ambush opportunity for their crossbow-wielding adversaries or for the gargoyles.  However, the first thing Salád noticed was the inordinate amount of prismatic mist all around the falls.  It gave him a very good feeling about this place and he instinctively knew no harm would come to them as they passed through the waterfall.  In addition, the mages in the party could see that there was a magical energy to the falls.

Regardless of his fascination with the waterfall, Salád concurred with the other RKs that there was a good chance of an ambush on the bridge.  Shadowstorm suggested that Salád project his image out in front of the party as bait and Salád & the others agreed that this was a good idea.  After considering the best way to do this without making it obvious, Salád came up with a plan.  The RKs would walk through the waterfall single file but, although Shadowstorm would be in the lead when they walked into the water, the image of Salád would be out in front as they walked out.  The real Salád would actually be bringing up the rear.  With this plan in place, the RoachKings walked into the waterfall where it poured onto the path.

As they did so, they felt a strange sensation similar to what they experienced walking into the Time Gate.  However, this time, their innocence slipped away and they regained some of their life experiences, along with all the worries & regrets that came with them as well as the skills, spells & abilities they had learned from those experiences.  They emerged on the other side of the waterfall more mature, with all the perspective & understanding of more seasoned adventurers.

It took several moments for them to absorb what had transpired & to process the change, but the RoachKings then moved on to the situation at hand.  The path/ledge on their side of the ravine ended at the hanging bridge, so there was no other option but to cross.  Salád sent his projected image out onto the bridge, which spanned the ravine at an angle.  Shady warily followed the projected image of Salád onto the bridge, but nothing happened as they walked to the other side, followed by By-Tor, then Dr. Hu & the others.  Everyone was quite surprised to find that there was no ambush, no one at the bridge at all.  As they continued on their way, Salád maintained his projected image at the head of the marching order just in case.

 

/\ BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS /\

Panacea . . .

Before long, the ravine widened and became less steep, eventually broadening into a valley once more.  The path wound its way down onto more level ground and became a dirt & gravel road again.  However, the RoachKings traveled only a short distance along this road before spotting another situation of interest.

Up ahead, a crowd of several dozen people had gathered around a small wagon of some kind. Next to the wagon was a small makeshift stage and the crowd was watching a man on the stage who was making what appeared to be a spirited presentation. He had a small table in front of him and on the table were several bottles, jars, boxes & jugs, along with several glasses & a pitcher full of a clear liquid that appeared to be water. In a cabinet compartment on the inside of the open wagon door behind him were many other small bottles, jars & boxes.

He had obviously gone through his schpiel many times already, but several people were just leaving as the RoachKings approached, so he turned to the RKs with a big smile and started all over again with an enthusiastic voice:

"Dr. Billy Amazing here! Step right up my friends and join the hundreds - dare I say the thousands - who have already experienced the incredible healing powers of Dr. Amazing's Patented Opti-Mystical Curative Remedies." The RKs noticed that he was constantly gesturing toward the audience with his hands, either pointing his index finger up or reaching out with his palm up. "The healing powers of this patent medicine are available as a powder, a tonic, a liniment, or in extra-strength potion form."  He pointed in succession to each type of container on the table in front of him as he spoke.

Without missing a beat, Dr. Amazing picked up a small porcelain jar from the table in front of him and removed the lid to reveal a fine prismatic powder. He took a small silver spoon from his coat pocket & scooped up a portion of the powder, then dumped it into a glass of water & began to stir. Meanwhile, his sales pitch continued, "Just add a teaspoonful of this powder to a glass of water and you have the single most effective remedy there is for minor ailments of the digestive tract, including nausea, heartburn, indigestion, upset stomach & diarrhea. It's also a quick cure for headaches & most fevers."

A groggy, unkempt man in the crowd spoke up & asked, "Does it work on hangovers?"

Taking the question in stride, Dr. Amazing answered, "A hangover's just a violent combination of headache & nausea, sir, no problem at all for Dr. Amazing's Patented Opti-Mystical powder. Try it for yourself." He offered the solution in the glass to the disheveled man with a smile and an outstretched hand, palm up.

As soon as he drank it, the man exclaimed, "Wow! It worked immediately. All my hangover symptoms are gone. Thanks, Dr. Amazing! I'll buy 3 jars!" Several others waved their money in the air to purchase a jar or 2 of the Dr.'s powder; Shady purchased 6 jars himself.

Once that flurry of activity had calmed down, Dr. Amazing moved on. Returning the small spoon to his coat pocket, he exchanged it for a slightly larger one from the same coat pocket. He then picked up a large medicine bottle, opened it up & poured out a spoonful. The RKs could see that the thick liquid from the bottle shimmered with prismatic color (not unlike the fluid in the Hourglass of Epoch.) Dr. Amazing then continued:

"Now, folks, let me tell you about this tonic. Just one tablespoonful cures & prevents more serious intestinal maladies such as dysentery & cholera morbus. It's also a sure-fire remedy for other infirmities like nervousness, insomnia, foot in mouth disease, the common cold, neuralgia, & lowness of spirit."

A sad-looking woman in the crowd yelled out, "My spirit is low in the depths of despair. Can your tonic help me?"

Again, Dr. Amazing didn't miss a beat. "Ma'am, if you'll try just one spoonful of my tonic, I believe you'll find your despair turned to delight." He offered the spoonful of tonic to the lady with a smile and an outstretched hand, palm up.

The depressed woman took the tonic and immediately proclaimed, "By the gods, I've never felt better. Why would I go on feeling low when I have the single most important thing in life - my health. I'll take 3 bottles, Dr. Amazing!" Once again, several others in the crowd offered up their money to buy the Dr.'s goods, Shady included.

When that commotion had settled down, Dr. Amazing once more exchanged the medicine in his hand for a different variety from the table in front of him. This time, he picked up a slightly smaller jar than the one with the powder and he opened the jar, dipped his fingers in, & drew out a small amount of prismatic ointment. "Applied topically & rubbed in well, this liniment instantly relieves the aches & pains of rheumatiz, gout, gangrene, sore breasts, sore heads, toothache, lumbago, sciatica, bad legs, frostbite, bug & reptile bites, sprains & bruises; it'll even cure baldness."

Suddenly, a tall man in the crowd called out, "Hey, I think I'm going bald. Let me try some of that." Dr. Amazing invited the man to step forward and offered the open jar to him with a smile and an outstretched hand, palm up. The man removed his helmet, revealing a quite vacant dome, then took a finger full of the liniment and rubbed it into his folically-challenged scalp. To everyone's amazement, his head immediately began to darken with a 5 o'clock shadow. Within a few moments, the man had a full head of thick black hair. The crowd erupted with "ooh's" and "ah's" and this time at least half of them began waving their money at Dr. Amazing, begging for a bottle or 2 of his incredible liniment. Once again, Shady purchased several jars for himself.

When the excited crowd finally had quieted once again, Dr. Amazing picked up one of the large blue bottles from the table and continued his endless sales pitch. "Drinking one bottle of this extra-strength embrocation has been shown to heal any & all injuries, diseases & infection. Legitimate, documented examples of illnesses completely cured with this elixir include impotence, consumption, inveterate ulcers, Bright's Disease, venereal diseases, systemic thrombosis, leprosy, insanity & the black plague. This, my friends, is liquid grace, passion pure, a bona fide panacea and it can be yours for the low low price of 3 silver coins per bottle."  After a brief pause, he added, "And if you purchase right now, I'll throw in a pack of suppositories for free!"

At that point, an absolute buying frenzy erupted, with most of the crowd pushing forward to buy up as much of Dr. Amazing's patent medicines as they could afford.  When all was said & done, most of the RoachKings had purchased several of the potions each, along with a few bottles or jars of each of the other forms of medicine Dr. Amazing had pitched.  Shady & Standing Bear rubbed some of the liniment on their wounds and it relieved the pain immediately.

 

Bacchus Plateau . . .

By this time, more people had arrived at the medicine show & Dr. Amazing began to pitch his wares again to a new audience.  Finished with their business here, the RoachKings wandered off & resumed their travel up the road, which continued its climb uphill for at least another half mile.  Almost immediately, the RKs could hear music coming from up ahead, beyond where the road crested at the top of its long ascent.  The music was alien & mysterious, a fusion of styles from myriad hemispheres.  As the RKs got closer, they could hear the unmistakable roar of a crowd as well - shouting, laughing, cheering, singing along with the song, all the sounds of revelry one would expect from a huge party or concert (the kind the RKs themselves often held.) 

When the RoachKings topped the hill, they found themselves on a wide plateau where the road veered away from the river.  As they had expected, there were hundreds of people here - perhaps thousands - and all of them seemed to be partying & dancing to the music coming from performers on an outdoor stage at the center of the plateau.  Debauchery was rampant; everywhere the RKs looked, people were drinking, smoking, loving, swimming in the river, you name it, and no one showed any sign of inhibition whatsoever.   There were numerous clusters of tents on the plateau and like the encampments at the bay, each represented a different type & color.  Shady spotted a group of 3 tents in front of the stage and noticed that everyone who came out seemed to have a fresh drink in their hands; he deduced that it was the refreshment center.

Obviously, it was out of character for the RoachKings to avoid a party of this magnitude but with some of the RKs wounded, they just wanted to find a place to camp & rest for the time being.  They marched past most of the revelers and set up camp on the far end of the plateau.  They didn't engage anyone in conversation, but they noticed that most of the people weren't stopping to talk much anyway.  As the RKs endeavored to rest & recuperate, the party continued unabated all around them.