<In which the High Herald pursues her thought experiment with Trillian Triffle and a paladin who missed his true calling.>

You tell Trillian 'My dear Trillian.'

You cast the bones of the mystic for a reading.
The bones rattle on the ground and settle into position with a rib bone prominent.
You read a cold dread in the position of the remaining bones.

Brrrrrrrrr.

Office of the High Herald
The door to this room is partially blocked by a giant bookshelf, the
first of a dozen or so placed around the walls of the room. In the center
of the mess and half hidden by another large bookshelf, is a grand desk with
a tall and softly padded chair. A large soft rug fills the floor of the
room, with a smaller mat intended for shoes, so that visitors won't track
mud all over the already cluttered floor. Two fine oaken doorways open to
the north and east.

[Exits: north east]
A glass cabinet is mounted above the desk containing a golden parchment.
A leather bounded book is on a leather covered desk.
A desk covered with soft leather rests here facing a window.
A tiny wisp named Hibbadibbity flies in.

Trillian tells you 'Hello hello!'

Trillian tells you 'How are you?'

You tell Trillian 'Hail tidings, dear.'

Trillian tells you 'Indeed, indeed. Any great discoveries since I departed the other day?'

You tell Trillian 'No, but Avenar and I both do so enjoy hearing ourselves speak.'

Trillian tells you 'What a lovely pair you two make then!'

Trillian tells you 'The perfect balm to differing world views is the predilection to speak continuously!'

Trillian tells you 'I am afraid this new puzzle is going to force me to rewrite part of an advert I had prepared...'

You tell Trillian 'Do tell, dear!'

Trillian tells you 'Which is probably for the best anyway. I may have gotten...overly inspired... by your rapping.'

You tell Trillian 'Now my appetite is thoroughly whet.'

Trillian tells you 'Well, I intend to run and ad in the next Mystique for my writing services. And I wrote a normal advert.'

Trillian tells you 'But then I also wrote an aggressive rap second piece for fun and liked it so. But I may have cast my banter to wide in the original edit.'

You tell Trillian 'Well, I am quite partial to rhymes. I should enjoy reading it sometime.'

Trillian tells you 'Or two upward as it were.'

You have been entangled in Gidji's tripwire.
You hit the ground hard.
Your face plant decimates you!

You feel less wobbly on your feet.

You rise back to your feet.
You are tangled up!

Players near you in Holy Grove:
<PK> Valindra Outside the Hall of Archives
<PK> Trillian Room 1C of the Travellers Rest
<PK> Gidji A clearing in the woods

Gidji yells 'Gotcha!'

You yell 'Slippery little sucker.'

Trillian tells you 'The original? Or the edit?'

You tell Trillian 'Either. Both!'

You tell Trillian 'Careful, dear. Gidji is lurking about.'

Trillian tells you 'Shall we attend each other?'

Trillian tells you 'I hope I have some good will with him after crowning him king...'

You tell Trillian 'And I a dark queen. He should really prepare me a dowry.'

You invite Trillian to join your group.

Trillian walks in.

Trillian waves happily.

Valindra looks up from whatever occupies her attention on the desk.

Valindra smiles as a toad might, maw gruesome.

Valindra taps the surface of her desk with a stubby, emerald hand. Hibbadibbity opens a tiny eye.

Trillian says 'Apologies my mind wanders for a time.'

You say to Trillian 'Why dream of me when I am right here, dear?'

Valindra crinkles her nose a bit to take the sting from her teasing.

Trillian hums merrily.

Trillian says 'Okay, I'm back about.'

You say 'What fun!'

You say 'Have you much to report?'

Trillian says 'Would you like to hear my adverts now? Or shall I scribe them into a note to you in preparation for the mystiue transcription?'

Trillian says 'Nothing too much unfortunately. I have been getting horribly scattered with too many competing projects.'

Trillian says 'I need to focus and finish the dragon but this new mystery is also so compelling.'

Valindra nods, her chins wobbling.

You say 'I yearn for . . . closure.'

Valindra drums her stubby, emerald fingers upon the desktop impatiently.

Trillian says 'Yes,the same. The same. As I always say, inspiration goes stale if jarred for too long.'

You say 'Yes--transcribe the adverts for me so that I may publish them.'

Trillian says 'I shall attempt to buckle down.'

You say 'I feel like I have spent half of someone else's life chasing demons.'

Trillian says 'I also have an advert from Dwiggans for his sausage I will transcribe.'

Trillian says 'Shall I just start a section for ads in the Mystique?'

You say 'That seems appropriate. Has Dwiggans paid?'

Trillian says to you 'How many people's demons have you chased?'

Trillian says 'He led me to believe he submitted this for the previous edition. I thought perhaps he paid then?'

Valindra loses track as she begins counting on those manicured digits.

Trillian giggles.

Trillian says to you 'How are you holding up? With the pouches and what have you? No additional concerns with the demon portals seemingly gaining steam?'

Valindra's eyes flash with a peculiar eldritch gleam.

Valindra looks down to the aforementioned pouches dangling from her waist, eyes lingering on the one pulsing malevolently.

You say 'I can only admit to . . . excitement at the uptick, the discovery of this gem, of Resatimm's intervention with Ilromie and Avenar.'

Trillian says 'Yes, I was surprised to hear his name in a context other than you!'

Trillian says 'Perhaps he watches over this place after all?'

You say 'Perhaps they take turns--capricious things, gods.'

You say 'I hope to speak to Vevier soon, but she has been quiet.'

Trillian says 'They are so hard to predict aren't they!'


Trillian says 'And the Gem fills you with excitement?'

Trillian says 'Do you... hope to use it?'

Valindra's eyes flash again, a scale sliding somewhere between anger and fear.

You say 'If such a thing could trap an immortal, perhaps it could hold Olgarda.'

You say 'And perhaps I am selfish to even think it.'

Trillian says 'I thought that might be where you were headed.'

Trillian says 'I don't see why not!'

Trillian says 'There is nothing wrong with being a bit selfish. It's selfish of the Gods to ask us to clean up their messes.'

Trillian hums merrily.

You say 'Even their pantheon is temporary, it seems. Who knows what bridges they cross into the next realm?'

You say 'Avenar's bones . . . cast differently this morning.'

You say 'I do not know what it means, only that it chills me.'

Trillian says 'They did?'

Trillian says 'My, my. This moves quickly.'

Trillian says 'What changed?'

You say 'I will show you.'

An Underground Chamber
A dimly lit room with walls of smooth gray brick rests here beneath the
courtyard. From the weathered stones and still air, it feels ancient, dug
out of the ground long ago. The room has been constructed with cube-like
symmetry, save for the low, slightly arched stone ceiling. A set of small,
nearly invisible stairs are carved into one of the walls and from the decor,
they are the only component of the room that appears to be of newer
construction. Silent burning torches line the walls, placed into
elaborately carved black iron sconces. The carvings each seem to depict a
scene of some kind, as if they tell a story through images. Dominating the
center of the room is a large granite table cut from a single massive slab.
Its polish has long since aged to a dull sheen but it still reflects a
surprising amount of firelight. The table is surrounded by nearly a dozen
chairs of dark oak, each neatly tucked under the massive piece of granite.
The far wall of the room is entirely covered with bookshelves stretching
from ceiling to floor, filled with books and parchment both antique and new.

[Exits: (up)]
Here lies the skeleton of duergar, clutching a leather journal.
A tiny wisp named Hibbadibbity flies in.
Trillian walks in.

Trillian nods.

You cast the bones of the mystic for a reading.
The bones rattle on the ground and settle into position with a rib bone prominent.
You read a cold dread in the position of the remaining bones.

You say 'Last renewal, we noted an inverse.'

You say 'No matter how many times I cast them . . . over my shoulder, even.'

Trillian says 'Indeed, indeed.'

You say 'Now you try.'

Trillian casts the bones of the mystic for a reading.
The bones rattle on the ground and settle into position with a rib bone prominent.

Trillian raises an eyebrow.

You say 'What do you sense?'

Trillian says 'Cold dread.'

Valindra holds up one of her arms, and little motes of flesh stand at attention there.

Trillian says 'And you?'

You say 'I felt the same.'

Trillian shivers uncomfortably.

Trillian nods.

Trillian says 'Does that mean anything to you?'

Trillian says 'Eldritch speaking?'

You say 'Nothing good.'

Trillian nods.

Trillian says 'Any thoughts on what Resatimmm meant about looking below the bones?'

<The pair return to the High Herald’s office.>

Valindra capers up to her desk and seats herself as if at a throne.

Valindra taps her lip with a stubby, emerald finger.

Trillian says 'Gods talk so funny. I feel maybe Avenar was taking it a bit literally.'

Trillian says 'I thought maybe he meant search the underworld.'

Valindra nods, her chins wobbling.

Trillian casts about for a good place to sit.

Trillian says 'I miss my thinking sofa.'

Trillian says 'You need more furniture in here!'

You nod at Trillian.

You say 'Too right.'

Valindra clears a spot on her desk for the little pixie.

Trillian must like you a great deal to beam at you so broadly!

Trillian hops with a puff of pixie dust he flits up and sits cross legged upon the desk.

Valindra smiles fondly, though her eyes drift to the window.


Trillian says to you 'All that aside, are you holding up well... emotionally?'

Trillian blushes.

Trillian says to you 'Ok, I admit it! I read your diary!'

Trillian gasps for breath as if he'd been holding it for some time.

Valindra barks a rather uncharacteristic laugh, nearly toppling from her chair.

Trillian twiddles this thumbs, looking a bit chagrined.

Valindra rights herself so quickly that only a careful observer would have noticed her gaffe.

You say to Trillian 'And what did you discover about your mistress?'

You tell Dwiggans 'What do you know of the summoning stones?'

Trillian says to you 'Things I knew and things I did not. That you care deeply. That you lie. That you had a great love prior to Resatimm.'

Dwiggans tells you 'Ahhh now that be a loaded question.'

Dwiggans tells you 'Me knowledge is vast!'

Dwiggans tells you 'There be seven in all. Each reprentin' a sin.'

Dwiggans tells you 'Carried by the great evils of Serin.'

Valindra smiles at Trillian as if the pixie had made a merry jest.

Trillian raises an eyebrow.

Dwiggans tells you 'If ye place all seven on the altar of Zaikkra in the sewers, it summons Zaikkra himself!'

You tell Dwiggans 'And, once assembled, one can use them to summon Zaikkra?'

Trillian says 'Did I misinterpret the words?'

You say to Trillian 'No, no.'

You say to Trillian 'I lie--often to myself, certainly to you.'

Dwiggans tells you 'Zaikkra appeared right there, killed me, he did. Once I got me wits about me, I slew him right there where he appeared.'

You say to Trillian 'But I think you have confused Resatimm for the Darksworn Solmundi.'

Dwiggans tells you 'Meanwhile we had a separate party atop Mount Omedan awaiting Zaikkra.'

Trillian gasps in astonishment.

Trillian snaps his fingers.

Trillian says 'Oh drat.'

Trillian says 'I can't keep all these Gods straight! I only ever half listen to Avenar and I only just started paying them any mind!'

Dwiggans tells you 'We were workin' on info that apparently the great lich can teleport back 'n' forth between the sewers and the summit o' Omedan.'

Dwiggans tells you 'But he never once teleported.'

You tell Dwiggans 'Aha.'

You tell Dwiggans 'Did you fuse the gems before summoning Zaikkra?'

Dwiggans tells you 'Nay.'

Dwiggans tells you 'No additional action needed.'

You tell Dwiggans 'I would like to show you something. Will you attend me in the Rest?'

Dwiggans tells you 'Aye.'

You say to Trillian 'Forgive me, dear. I would like Dwiggan's insight into something.'

<The pair travel to the Printing Works.>

Printing Works
The hall that was originally the location of the Herald archives has been
replaced by new shiny machines, printing Mystiques like mad.

[Exits: north south]
Trillian walks in.
A tiny wisp named Hibbadibbity flies in.

You print The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3.

You get The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3.
You get The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3.
You get The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3.

<Downstairs . . .>

Dwiggans tells you 'Let me just finish me sausage plate.'

You tell Dwiggans 'At your leisure, dear.'

Trillian says 'Issue 3.'

Trillian says 'So we believe it is the reference?'

Trillian says 'Shall I wait here while you consult with Dwiggans?'

Valindra collapses dramatically onto the sofa, taking care to scoop up the pixie.

You sit on a comfy looking leather sofa.

Trillian sits down and rests on a comfy looking leather sofa.

You say to Trillian 'He will attend me, as is appropriate.'

Trillian giggles.

Trillian says 'But of course.'

You give The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3 to Trillian.

Dwiggans walks in.

Trillian wiggles about as he nests neatly into Valindra's folds.

Dwiggans bows deeply.

Dwiggans says 'Hullo!'

Dwiggans sits on a comfy looking leather sofa.

Valindra scampers over to Dwiggans. Suddenly, she is wearing bright, red lipstick. She plants a sloppy kiss on the dwarf's cheek. The kiss begins to smoke.

Trillian says 'Hello Sir Sausage.'

You say to Dwiggans 'A pleasure, Sausage-Maker.'

Dwiggans says 'Ye tattooin' me wit' some kind o' voodoo magic?'

Dwiggans blushes.

You say to Dwiggans 'Only paying my respects, dear. You are so handsome, after all.'

Valindra bats her tiny eyes coquettishly.

Dwiggans puffs his chest out slightly.

You give The Serin Mystique, Volume 1, Issue 3 to Dwiggans.

You say 'I wanted to discuss this.'

Dwiggans nods.

You say 'Specifically section 3-1.'

Dwiggans puts his feet up on the table, knocking a few food scraps to the floor.

Dwiggans says 'Sorry 'bout that.'

Dwiggans says 'Hope ye don't mind.'

Valindra waves her hand dismissively, and an unexpected gale dislodges several other of the table's contents.

You say to Dwiggans 'Making messes can be fun. Yet it seems we are the ones left to clean them up.'

Dwiggans says 'So what of this history then?'

You say 'I am . . . interested in the parallels.'

You say ''It has been known for some time to the Legion and the Mystics that the Gem of Souls, a relic from the Taekir invasion of Darkhan, might be of some use to them in combating the Demons.''

Trillian says 'It does read quite similar to what you undertook for your Order.'

Trillian says 'Before making wiser choices and settling down to be a Patron that is.'

Dwiggans sits down and thinks deeply.

You say 'It later mentions that Resatimm fused the gems into the Gem of Souls.'

Dwiggans puts his finger to the page and starts tracing the words he's reading...slowly.

Dwiggans scratches his head.

Dwiggans snorts derisively.

Dwiggans coughs loudly.

Dwiggans says 'Let me see here.'

You say 'I do not know if it was the hand of a long-dead Seeker who guided me to this Mystique or simply cruel caprice . . . but I feel it is worth exploring.'

Trillian says 'When you summoned Zaikkie was there a gem of souls? I remember you collecting many.'

Trillian says 'But I thought there were more than 5?'

You say to Trillian 'There are seven, each tied to an immortal sin.'

Trillian says to you 'So why does the history record indicate Legion needed only 5 for Resatimm for forge the Gem of Souls?'

Dwiggans says 'Okay then.'

You say 'Myth and history are kissing cousins, I think.'

Dwiggans says 'I've gone into a near trance recallin' me fight with Zaikkra.'

Dwiggans says 'Summonin' and all that.'

You say to Dwiggans 'Such rapt attention.'


Dwiggans says 'There was never Gem o' Souls.'

Valindra nods approvingly. Her chins wobble.

Dwiggans says 'We had seven as Valindra stated.'

Dwiggans says 'I gave each stone, one by one, to the sculpture of Zaikkra.'

Dwiggans says 'After I handed the last one over, Gluttony, a swirlin' black vortex opened slowly in the heavens.'

Dwiggans says 'Then I saw the demonic form o' Zaikkra slowly materialize.'

Trillian drums dramatically on the sofa arm.

Valindra is taking detailed notes despite the fact that her hands were empty mere seconds before.

Dwiggans says 'Then shortly after that Zaikkra arrived.'

Dwiggans says 'And beat the snot out o' me.'

Trillian giggles.

Dwiggans says 'I might be the worst prepared paladin ye ever met.'

Dwiggans says 'Didn't even have me aura up.'

Dwiggans says 'Wanted the full experience I guess ye could say.'

You say to Dwiggans 'You have been gifted with both a sophisticated palate and much courage, dear.'

Trillian says 'Nonsense! This is riveting! The protagonist cannot simply succeed!'

Valindra smiles, her maw gruesome.

Dwiggans puffs his chest out slightly.

You say 'Trillian has a sense of the thing . . . a proper Chronicler of Myth, he.'

Trillian beams broadly!

Trillian says 'Some core differences to be certain though from the history. Do you recall much of this statue?'

You say 'So what to make of this? We need divine intervention to fuse the stones?'

Trillian says 'In the ancient Zaik escaped from the Soul Stone only after it was forged by a God.'

Trillian says 'In your experience you gave them to a statue of the creature itself?'

Trillian says 'Feels like a fundamentally different prison Zaik came from this time around.'

Dwiggans says 'Give me a moment.'

Dwiggans says 'I'm recallin' the moment we slew Zaikkra.'

Dwiggans says 'Me old noggin' be slowin' down.'

Trillian says 'I wonder which two are the superfluous sins that Resatimm did not originally require?'

Dwiggans says 'I may be in me early thirties but sometimes I feel more like eighty.'

Valindra repeats 'Superfluous sins.'

You say 'What a lovely thought.'

Trillian giggles.

Valindra smirks slyly.

Trillian says 'It does have a ring to it doesn't it?'

You comfort Dwiggans.

Trillian says 'You've lived the lives of 3 dwarves Dwiggans. It is no wonder you feel so old.'

Trillian says to you 'So you think it might require an Immortal touch to fuse the Soul Stone?'

You say 'I do not know.'

Trillian sits down and thinks deeply.

You say 'I am guiding you with speculation and serendipity.'

Trillian says 'It is interesting that the second history speaks of the Fell as if they are only partially in our world.'

You say 'But this--from a history of the Taekir War--'

Trillian says 'Has Avenar sought out the demons in his travels in the ethereal?'

You say 'While [Darkhan's] army advanced upon Serin, he used the distraction to search for more power, and came across the Gem of Souls, an artifact not of Serin, that he believed had been hidden deep beneath its surface.''

You say 'That Resatimm gained immortality at the end of this conflict, later sought the Gem of Souls in the last Fell invasion, and now cautions us to look below for answers . . . it must add up to something.'

You get a string of sausages.

You eat a string of sausages.
You are full.

Dwiggans nods.

Trillian nods.

Dwiggans says 'The moment Zaikkra fell...'

Valindra bats her eyelashes at the paladin once more, this time a touch seductively.

Dwiggans says 'Nothin' happened.'

Trillian says 'It does seem too coincidental.'

Trillian says 'Nothing?'

Trillian sits down and thinks deeply.

Dwiggans says 'Anticlimactic, it was.'

Trillian says 'Yes, most unsatisfactory.'


You say 'You did not slay him.'

You say 'You only returned him.'

Dwiggans says 'Party atop Omedan awaited Zaikkra.'

Dwiggans says 'Thinkin' fer sure it wasn't the end.'

Dwiggans closes his eyes momentarily.

Dwiggans says 'But the multi-spiked bracelet o' vengeance on me wrist said otherwise.'

Valindra nods, her chins wobbling.

Trillian says 'Are we quite certain Zaik matters in this? If he escaped from the Soul Stone and now arrives via a process that does not require it...'
You say 'I am more interested in the stones themselves than in Zaikkra.'

Trillian nods.

Trillian says 'I agree.'

Dwiggans says 'Lumubella gave me orders to investigate the summit o' Omedan.'

You say 'And in ascertaining Resatimm's involvement.'

You say 'What did you find?'

Trillian giggles.

Dwiggans says 'That led me to collectin' the stones.'

Dwiggans says 'And summoning Zaikkra.'

Trillian whispers to you 'I've heard this one. It was the inspiration for the rap I told you about that oversteps good sense.'


Trillian says 'And what did Lumu tell you after you did the deed?'

Valindra smiles as a toad might, sizing up its supper.

Dwiggans says 'Sin Henge.'


Dwiggans says 'Once ye reach the Summit, ye can walk south and yer at Sin Henge.'

Dwiggans says 'Nowhere to go from there but back.'

Dwiggans says 'An ebony temple.'

Trillian pretends to jump up in an ovation then pauses and sits back down once there is nothing to applaud.

Valindra continues taking voluminous notes. She discards sheets full of spidery script one at a time to the floor.

Trillian says 'You must have been sore disappointed.'

Dwiggans says 'In the center of the temple was a broken effigy o' Grazz't the former emperor.'

Trillian says 'Have you ever gone back? Is this how it always is or was something different?'

Dwiggans says 'I haven't gone back.'

Dwiggans says 'Except immediately after sending Zaikkra back to the Abyss.'

Trillian nods.

Dwiggans says 'Anythin' else ye wish to know?'

Dwiggans lets off a real rip-roarer ... a greenish cloud envelops Dwiggans!

Dwiggans says 'Excuse me.'

Trillian says 'So what do we really know then? Darkhan found the Soul Stone deep below. Resatim crafted it from Sins but only 5. Zaik escaped from it in ancient times but now is summoned differently. Lumu enjoys seeing dwarves sweat?'

Valindra inhales deeply.

Dwiggans says 'It's all the sausages.'

Trillian giggles.

Valindra turns a slightly deeper shade of green: forest, perhaps.

Dwiggans sits down and thinks deeply.

Dwiggans says to Trillian 'Aye I was a wee bit disappointed.'

You say to Trillian 'An excellent recap, dear.'

Dwiggans says 'But I made some priceless friends in the process!'

Dwiggans says 'It was about the journey, not the destination.'

Trillian says 'For you maybe! But it certainly won't do for the readership at the moment.'

You say to Dwiggans 'Thank you for your insight, dear.'

Trillian says 'No, no... we shall have to find a proper conclusion here.'

Trillian says 'Or craft one...'

Trillian giggles.

You whisper to Trillian 'I will seek Resatimm's ear, though I do not know if I will gain it.'

Trillian whispers to you 'Brave Valindra entreats the Gods once again!'

Dwiggans says 'Valindra, I'm itchin' somethin' fierce top o' me back. Ye think ye could get it? I can't reach it.'

Dwiggans removes a silver wide brimmed bodyarmor from his torso.

Valindra sits behind Dwiggans and begins scratching with gusto, her manicured fingers digging a little harder than is strictly necessary.

Dwiggans says 'AHHHHH.'

Dwiggans says 'Amazin'!'

Dwiggans thanks you heartily.

Dwiggans wears a silver wide brimmed bodyarmor over his torso.

Valindra sniffs her fingers experimentally.

Trillian perks up as if he just had a wonderful thought.

Trillian says 'Why the timing of your advert is positively perfect!'

Valindra collects the skin from beneath one nail and slips it into a pouch at her waist.

Dwiggans eyes Valindra suspiciously.

You say to Dwiggans 'It's definitely not for a love spell, dear.'

Dwiggans says 'Me sausage ad?'

Trillian titters excitedly 'Why the hero seeing no path thinks he's victorious. Retires to a happy life. Evil rears it's head from the shadows. He is called arms again in the 11th hour.'

Valindra winks, or blinks, again as she appraises the dwarf with pursed lips.

Trillian giggles.

Trillian nods.

Trillian says 'This narrative is taking shape.'

You say to Dwiggans 'I shall even waive the advertisement fee.'

Trillian says 'Indeed your sausage ad!'

Trillian says 'The crafting is postively a perfect act break!'

Dwiggans wears a cheaply made shirt with "big dwig sausage" written on it over his torso.

Trillian hums merrily.

Dwiggans removes a cheaply made shirt with "big dwig sausage" written on it from his torso.
Dwiggans wears a silver wide brimmed bodyarmor over his torso.

Dwiggans gives you a cheaply made shirt with "big dwig sausage" written on it.

You are zapped by a cheaply made shirt with "big dwig sausage" written on it and drop it.
A cheaply made shirt with "big dwig sausage" written on it dissolves into smoke.

Dwiggans screams loudly!

You say 'Curses!'

Valindra looks down to her smoking fingers somewhat sheepishly.

Trillian says 'You positively must get a wardrobe sir! Save on all that strapping and unstrapping.'

Dwiggans says 'I can produce another cheaply made shirt.'

Dwiggans says 'Not to worry.'

Dwiggans looks at a tiny wisp named Hibbadibbity.

Dwiggans pats a tiny wisp named Hibbadibbity on her head.

Trillian says 'We shall replace the shirt!'

Dwiggans shakes his head.

Valindra watches with some interest as the outline of her lips on the paladin's cheek smokes in tandem.

You say 'I am all for taking shirts off.'

Dwiggans sniffs the air.

Dwiggans says 'Somethin' burnin'?'

You say 'Have you ever thought of smoking your sausages?'

Valindra smiles blithely.

Dwiggans coughs loudly.

Dwiggans says 'Ahem.'

Dwiggans says 'Aye.'


You say 'We'd make quite the team, dear.'

Valindra tucks her own smoking fingers into her lap as the odor begins to dissipate.

Trillian says 'Goblin Gas Smoked Sausage?'

Dwiggans says to you 'Me thinks I'd have to agree with yer statement.'

Dwiggans says 'Need meself some fire giant meat first.'

Dwiggans says 'Gwur would do nicely.'

Trillian whistles appreciatively.

Dwiggans says 'Skeggi if I can manage it.'

Trillian says 'I do want to interview you about that battle.'

You say 'Tough meat, but I think that makes the sausage sweeter.'

Dwiggans says 'Not as dumb as he sounds, that's fer certain.'

Trillian says 'It seems the first real action of the promised renewal of Legion.'

Dwiggans nods.

Trillian says 'We need to capture it for the Mystique.'

Valindra nods, her chins wobbling.

Dwiggans says 'Aye now's a good time if yer wantin' to pick me brain.'

You say 'Battle reports! How droll.'

Dwiggans chuckles politely.

You say 'I shall leave you two to it. I have a letter to finish.'

Dwiggans bows deeply.

Dwiggans says 'A pleasure, Valindra.'

Trillian waves at you cheerfully.

You say to Dwiggans 'As ever, dear.'

You say to Trillian 'I will be in my office for a time.'

Dwiggans gets a string of sausages.

You promote Trillian to the rank of Lore Keeper.

Dwiggans gives you a string of sausages.

Dwiggans says 'Sausage fer the road.'

You say to Trillian 'I shall look forward to this interview, Lore Keeper.'

Trillian says to you 'It'll be light on battle. That's for Ele.'

Trillian says to you 'I crave the story beneath.'

Valindra capers up to Dwiggans once more. She pinches the dwarf's bottom with stubby, emerald fingers before darting toward the stair.

<. . .>

[ 7]: <HERALD> Valindra: An Invitation
To: Resatimm
Hail tidings to the God of Acid and Ice,

Forgive my temerity, but we have not caucused much since I claimed the title of High Herald. Or before, for that matter.

Let us remedy that soon in conversation and fellowship. Perhaps a nice
plague.

Name your tribute if you require one.

Respectfully,
Valindra Skitterwit
Poetic Prognosticator
High Herald of Myth