Finally, a new Mystique has come out! You've been waiting long enough if
you read the last one, and if you didn't I hope you like this one.

Coming from your humble 54-year-old Master Scribe and "Secretary from Hell"
(I really ought to come up with a new pseudonym), we present... THE 2nd
ISSUE OF THE 9th VOLUME OF THE MYSTIQUE!

Please enjoy the read!



- Beljia, Secretary from Hell, Master Scribe.

Serin Cross-Country Race!

Vanisse revived the Serin Cross-Country Race! Among the participants were
Beljia, Fronbur, Robyn, and Yaohjla.

There was a roadblock early on, where one of the kittens wanted an item
nobody could collect, and later on Beljia attempted to sabotage the race!
One of the kittens wanted an item which Madam Tracy carries, and Beljia
reportedly killed Madam Tracy to get the item! But was she trying to
prevent others from getting ahead? Quite possibly, but it added to the
overall excitement. Yaohjla managed to finish first, then Beljia. Fronbur
joined later, and achieved the best time. Congrats to Yaohjla for beating
Beljia! And congrats to Fronbur for his speed record at the race!


The chicken catch!

It seemed like a boring day in Seringale at first. Eloret and Niusan were
both around, inside one of the rooms in the Mocker's Tavern. The author
went there, and later Iymril joined her. Apparently one of the Immortals
was not there, but he or she was randomly attacking Eloret. Eloret was
wielding his mace of unholy spirits, and had to deal with the Immortal's
pimp slapping. That excitement did not last, as Eloret left soon after.
But then, there was something which was really entertaining! One of the
Immortals decided to start a chicken hunt/chase/catching contest. Though
all in the realms were offered to join in, only Iymril and yours truly took
up the challenge. For a while, the chicken and contestants were inside a
manor. Iymril somehow managed to fall out into Sorbus's hut, so the
location was changed to an abandoned village. The manor had some squeaky
floors, a library, and many rooms behind doors. Only a madman (or madwoman)
would try to describe the village, for it does not exist in the present day!
In the end, Beljia managed to take down the chicken, and she now has a pair
of chicken catching gloves! Iymril's gloves got ruined and acquired chicken
feathers, which is a sad thing. Not even a booby prize? What a shame.


A wedding!

Jaux and Beljia got married in the occultist temple in Haon Dor. Ona was
there to provide divine sanctity, and all went well. May the marriage last
eternally!


Mushroom-hunting contest!

Niusan has had some interesting ideas lately... Most recently, he asked
everyone to find a mushroom and return. Who won is unclear, but more than
one person received a prize for giving him a mushroom which was not a pill.


Spider hunting contest!

Soon after the mushroom hunt, Niusan organized a spider hunt. Some fighting
did occur during the event, but it wasn't too serious. Robhyn didn't even
have to go anywhere to get money, since she did rightfully point out that
Niusan had not called out numbers before saying go.


Poker contest!

The first of Niusan's crazy ideas was a poker contest. Beljia eventually
won it even though Mikoos got an early lead. It went on for a long time.

Auvha

Auvha was an extremely militant healer and crusader, totally ignoring the
laws. Just as she had acquired the nickname "The Archangel", she fell to
Alfara and took her own life. She was a very fat woman, but also very fast
while flying. She made the best bacon in the realms. She will be missed.

Dastro

Dastro, Knight and Grand Master of Assassins, took his life for reasons
unknown. Where will Valour be without their thief and spymaster?

Eidren

Eidren, General of Valour and noteworthy member of the Illusionists Guild,
departed from the realms after a long period of absence. He was an
honorable fighter, and a good one.

Graulog

Graulog, the medicine man of Legion and only one among them who wasn't a
coward, took his own life after Troven killed him in the Rift. May the
spirits watch over him and give him peace.

Ikaork

Ikaork the Volcano of Infinite Rage, lover of fear, the eternally angry
soul, connoisseur of live pigs, took her own life. Her anger will never be
forgotten, nor that she took her life in a state of even greater anger than
usual.

Ikroma

Ikroma, former Champion of Valour, member of the clan Bu Mai, went amok
and started murdering everyone in sight, then took her own life.
(See the EXTRA for more details.)

Kurlson

Captain Kurlson disappeared without a word one day. He was an honorable
dwarf. Hard working and always giving his best efforts. His loyalty to
Seringale and the enforcing of Order will be ever remembered.

Saeka

The patriarch of the Aerinonth family is dead. He took his own life within
the palace, after his love rejected him and told him the wedding was off.
He was a kind and patient man, and although he was hunted by shadowspawn he
was someone that many people came to know and love. May the Aerinonth line
of blood continue to flow.

Staperro

Staperro, an apparently homicidal and not altogether smart giant, took his
own life after a complicated mess of events. Eloret, Graulog, Kurlson, and
this author were all present at the same time Staperro was. Supposedly,
Graulog told Staperro to attack Eloret and get wanted in an attempt to get
Eloret to shackle Staperro. In any case, Staperro got wanted. Both Kurlson
and Eloret ran after him. Somewhere along the way, Graulog abducted Eloret,
but only after Kurlson apprehended Staperro. Staperro killed a beggar to
return to life, and repeatedly threw himself at the author, who couldn't do
anything. Staperro died because this author had been smart enough to call
upon her unholy strength beforehand. Staperro was smug about the author
losing protection. Ultimately, he went mad, and took his life.

Tonsue

With the abrupt departure of Yao, it seems Tonsue also decided he'd had
enough with life and serving the law. Tonsue took his life, and with it the
only officer still serving the law and Eloret.

Vahlren

Sir Vahlren of Valour took his own life after falling against Valox. Why
would he do that? He showed so much promise, and he didn't seem like
someone who would do such a thing. Your brief service to Valour shall
barely be noted. Farewell, Vahlren.

Yaohjla (Yao)

The Justice Yaohjla, or simply Yao, took his own life. He had a decent
service record, and it is unclear why he ended his life prematurely.

[Knights]

Patron Immortal: Olyn
Mortal Leader and Executor: Airelyn
Other members: Lyradan, Zildea

Situation: Valour has lost many of its members and gained new ones, but may
finally be on the rise with five applicants and a couple of new members.
However, there have been losses along the way (see the obituaries), and
Airelyn's rise came at a big cost (read the extra for details).

[Legion]

Patron Immortal: Groq
Mortal Leader and Forsaken: Valox
Other member: Mikoos

Situation: Legion has been about less frequently, and with the loss of
Graulog their only real member is the Forsaken.

[Justice]

Patron Immortal: Jeradan
Mortal leader and Commander: Eloret
Other members: Anisa and Teav

Situation: There is not really any order when Eloret isn't around. Teav
goes on a rampage outside town, attacking anybody and everybody. Eloret is
likely doing the best he can, but Teav is not maintaining order. However,
when Eloret is here he does a fine job and shows why he is worthy of being
Commander.

[Keeper]

Patron Immortal: Hrimoyan
Mortal leader and Keepermaster: Jaux
Other members: Aechara, Chandran, Meerah

Situation: Jaux is no longer alone, in part due to his new members, but also
because of other events (see misc). The Keepers have not managed to remove
one threat recently. But they're trying to do their job.

[Mystic]

Patron Immortal: Niusan
Mortal Leader and Abecedarian: Noliperus
Other members: Naskel and Ona

Situation: As usual they're ushering in new folks, though there haven't been
many of those... However, Ona did find an elf who was new here and appears
to have given us fresh blood. That's not a bad thing.

[Herald]

Patron (or maybe Matron?) Immortals: Vanisse and Vevier
Mortal Leader and High Herald: None to speak of. Beljia is Master Scribe
and sometimes regarded as leader, but there is no High Herald.
Members: Aldinio, Beljia, Bilinks, Savas, Yarianne

Situation: There's been plenty to write about, but before this Mystique was
published you probably had no clue. We've been watching the events as they
unfold, writing other things in our spare time, and trying to come up with
things for you to read.

Airelyn has been named Executor! But, she has not told us what has
happened before that! Her actions caused a big scandal in the past, and
after a dispute one of the former Knights as well as a high-ranking and very
respected Noble patriarch took their lives. But that's not all. She has
not been about enough to guide her squires, and as a result of Teav
provoking her all she's been doing is fighting.

That scandal was a disagreement between herself and Ikroma about the proper
use of Valour's coffers. Ikroma was mad that Airelyn took 100, 000 coins
which she had spent a hard time at gaining and making an excuse for stealing
her hard earned coin. And rightfully so, because Ikroma was selflessly
gathering coins for the coffers.

Let us hope that Airelyn does not cause further trouble and does her job!

The Town Crier in Timaran said that a monstrous beast has been seen
flying over the Sands of Sorrow! We're on the look out for more
information!

I found Farynril the elder blue dragon near the Sands of Sorrow. Wonder
what he's doing here? Hmm, there's a pool beneath his cave... Whoa! He is
not very friendly. He clearly does not want to be disturbed... But where
is the treasure? I see nothing of value in there. And he doesn't pursue me
once I go inside. There doesn't seem to be any way out that way. The
dragon's treasure does not appear to be found in his cave! Most peculiar...
Chances are he's the one the Town Crier was yelling about! The brass dragon
is still there, but surely something will happen between the two!

Another dragon!

Another dragon has been spotted, this time in Grimforge Mountain! He is
a nasty green one, and his name is Ixphenyl. Jaux found Ixphenyl first, and
with the assistance of Khaploom and Beljia, he managed to beat the dragon.
The dragon had a mangled corpse of a dwarven king, and this corpse contained
the lost crown of the dwarven king. The town crier in Timaran mentioned
four dragons though. There is the blue dragon in the Sands of Sorrow, but
what about the other two? We'll keep an eye out for more dragons.

After a brief look, I found another dragon in Escismir E'gal. His name
is Rykaloth, and he is a black dragon. I don't know his exact location,
but I dared not check beyond the Kaddar Faeries. Maybe a more daring
adventurer would try looking over there? I checked the Ylsae Faeries,
and there was nothing in their territory.

After all this talk about dragons, you would think we have said
enough about the topic! But no, a number of people have been a
bit curious about the Town Crier claiming that there were four
dragons flying around. We've found one in Grimforge Mountain,
one in the Sands of Sorrow, and one in Escismir E'gal lately.

Berndamir noticed the ice-wrought gem which floated near Beljia,
and upon learning it was from the white dragon in Mudfall, said
something about fighting and defeating the other three. He said
that the green dragon has a crown, which is true. He surmised a
tale, claiming to have fought the green dragon in Grimforge, the
blue dragon in the Sands of Sorrow, and the black dragon within
Escismir E'gal. He defeated all three, he said, and told a tale.
The person who wears the crown and gets things from all three of
the other dragons may be proclaimed King of Solace, he said. Who
knows? He said the black dragon only had ore, but the blue dragon
had sapphires, and the green dragon held the crown. Beljia knew
where the ice-wrought gem came from presumably, since she carried
it and nobody had seen it before. It's been confirmed about the
sapphires and crown, but Beljia appears to have lost track of her
ice-wrought gem, and there have yet to be witnesses for the black
dragon and what he guards. Who knows? Maybe it's crazy talk, but
maybe it's true!

For You: a poem by Yarianne

I searched the world
and sought for you.
Alone, there was
naught else to do.

I returned to find
my absence wasted
For you were gone,
our love untasted.

What to do?
What to do?
Worth going on
if I don't have you?

What to do?
What to say?
My friend, I miss you.
Every day.


To You From Me

To not meet was a shame,
But what could I do?
Where were you?
You have some fame,
I wish we could game.

As far as we go,
You wield the bow,
I do deeds very low.
This needs to grow!

I want you to read,
It is a need,
Come and heed,
Let's plant a seed!


The Angel and the Three Thieves

On a distant mountain far from civilization, there was a temple. There
were also bandits, outlaws, or thieves in general who chose to rough it out
there in the wilderness. Three of these thieves decided to climb to the
summit where they saw a temple. They figured it might contain loot.

Presently, they were halfway up the mountain. There was some grumbling as
usual, as they had to get all the sacks up the next length of rope and make
sure they had enough pitons. The first thief was the leader, and the other
two were his cronies.

"Hey! Why am *I* supposed to take up the rear?" The first underling
complained loudly. "WHAT? I CAN'T HEAR YOU!" The leader shouted, before
having to gasp for breath in the thin air. The first underling muttered
quietly, continued with his job until the last sack had been lifted, then
brought up the section of rope. "You know, just because you're boss..."
"Shut up, will you?" "I don't want to be..." "I said shut up, and I meant
it. Would you rather fall down a ravine, punk? You're with me."

The bickering continued. Eventually, the three thieves made it to the
temple. Once everyone was up, the underling in the rear went straight into
the temple. The other two stood outside, wondering what to do. A few
seconds later, a beautiful woman with wings swooped down to the ground from
the roof of the sanctuary. "Hello! What brings you here?" The woman
cheerfully said. The two thieves outside stared at her. Meanwhile, the
underling inside was walking over the temple's soft floor, and lit a torch.

The winged lady beckoned the other two thieves, motioning for them to come
inside. They followed her, leaving their bags behind. The thief already
inside started looking for something to drink, saw the font. As the lady
watched, he ran towards the font. He was getting closer to the font,
clearly intending to drink the water. The angel quickly bellowed "I
wouldn't do tha...", But the thief had already greedily drank from the font
before collapsing and rubbing at his throat. "You just drank holy water!"
she exclaimed. The other two thieves attempted to take advantage of this
situation. One of them quickly drew his hand crossbow, fired a quarrel at
her. She swiveled around, and it missed completely. She created a spear of
light, and soared into the air. She made a massive wing buffet, knocking
one of them far out of the temple, and he fell to his doom. The other one
got lucky, because he hid behind a column. He tossed a dagger at her, and
she ignored it. He kept using the column as cover while tossing each of his
dozen daggers, one at a time. He ran out of daggers, and she charged at him
and impaled him on her spear. The angel then went back to the roof of the
sanctuary after disposing of the other two corpses.

Beljia vs. Teav

Teav was taunting Beljia repeatedly, and she decided she'd had it with that
shaman being annoying. They fought in the Ford, and Beljia killed Teav when
his aura fell. Remember, don't mess with a dark-knight, even if she's a
lady Herald. She might prove to be as strong as one of the furies when
provoked.

Eldroc vs. Gorvik

In a duel between Gorvik and Eldroc, Eldroc easily overpowered Gorvik.
Gorvik chose the wrong weapons, didn't yield, and after foolishly trying to
slam his shield into Eldroc, Eldroc bashed into him and killed him.

Two Arena Fights (Ona and Beljia)

Ona and Beljia fought in the Arena two times. The first time, Beljia
poisoned Ona but forgot to summon her unholy strength, and yielded to Ona
without knowing that Ona's mana pools were deplenished. The second time,
after some talk outside the Arena, they fight again. Ona took the advice of
Beljia regarding a certain tactic, exploiting one of Beljia's weaknesses.
But Beljia summoned her unholy strength this time, and forced Ona to yield.

Ikroma and Jaux

Ikroma and Jaux were talking, and Jaux attacked Ikroma as she tried to
give a lecture. Jaux kept attacking Ikroma, until one time Ikroma tried to
dirt him, after which she ran. Ikroma vanished in a puff of smoke and Jaux
lost her! The battle continued... On the Eastern Road, Jaux badly hurt
Ikroma, and she went running again. No more vanishing for her! Jaux is
very fast and hits Ikroma as she's trying to 'get' him. She runs some more.
Eventually, Ikroma admits defeat to Jaux and they stop fighting. Neither of
them fell.

Ikroma vs. Ikaork

After a long fight, Ikroma managed to best Ikaork. They went back and
forth throughout all of Serin, for many hours. Ikroma was kicking dirt into
Ikaork's eyes, and from most of what I saw was the one generally on the
offensive. I did not observe enough of the battle to see what they did, but
they were running around a lot.

Eidren vs. Graulog, round 1 of 2

Eidren attacks Graulog's guild with marines in tow, flies away quickly a
short while later. Eidren keeps failing to gate elsewhere, then finally
manages. Eidren collects duplicates from Exile, heads back towards town,
and Graulog intercepts him in Darkshyre. Eidren dispels Graulog, Graulog
again uses earthquake like he did before, but recalls while in awful
condition. Eidren rushes to Darkhaven, but Graulog isn't there. Graulog
tries to flee north of Darkhaven, Eidren finds him and attacks. Eidren dies
to Graulog.

Eidren vs. Graulog, round 2 of 2

After the immediately preceding battle, Eidren attacks Graulog's guild
with mountain barbarian illusions, then kills Graulog quickly with
flashfire. Graulog did not recall for some reason. Maybe he was too
dumb to do it? He had a feeble mind from what
Eidren did to him. It still was dumb!

Airelyn vs. Graulog

This fight is going fast. Airelyn keeps rushing at Graulog and attacking
then disengaging. She runs as fast as the wind! She is like a valkyrie,
striking as fast as the wind and flying like an eagle. She nearly gets
Graulog a couple of times, decides to return to Valour because she is
hungry. Airelyn gains some rest, and collects some necessary supplies.
Even a valkyrie needs her rest. But then she's back at it again. She moves
very fast, like the wind is at her back and rushing her forwards. Airelyn
rushes away from Graulog while grabbing supplies. She still flies
incredibly fast. Graulog invades, forcing Airelyn to return to Valour.
She's gained supplies, and strikes as swift as an eagle. Also quick,
Graulog rushes away. He makes her go into bouts of hysteria, and
temporarily blinds her. The hysteria is really hurting Airelyn. Panicking,
she runs away to get more supplies. Airelyn flies like the wind after an
engagement which doesn't go in her favour. Graulog returns to Darkhaven,
Airelyn rushes over there, they meet up in Enthema. She chases Graulog,
doesn't manage to catch him before she gains more supplies. And as is
typical for Legion, Graulog decides to leave because things aren't going his
way.

A new Outlaw!

Tefren has been branded an outlaw! He is no longer safe even within
Seringale's walls. We look forward to seeing how this turns out.

Interview: Tefren

I asked Tefren about his status. Apparently he was a lawful citizen before
deciding to attack Etelann in town after Etelann attacked him first, but
became an outlaw after that. Tefren doesn't know what to think of his new
status, or didn't at first. He did not know that Justice can attack him
now, understands his lack of protection. It was interesting to talk with
him. I thought he'd spew out hatred of Justice, but no, he seemed calm,
cool, even very cold.

Another apprehension

Laeotis became a criminal, and was swiftly apprehended while Veruliane and
Yaohjla were both present. If you're thinking of breaking the law, think
twice. The Iron Fist will strike you down if you're caught.

The Traveler's Tune

Oh my lads, we may be wary, but we must be merry. Our feet in our boots
shall touch the roots, crunch over leaves as we watch for thieves. But we
move on merrily, though we're wary.
For journey's end we are eager, as eager as a beaver. We march and march,
league by league, to ocean and sea. We wish to stop, we no longer hop, we
have no crop. But we move on merrily, though we're wary.
But it will certainly come, like the rise of the sun. We may be out for
moons, and have unclean spoons, and become all gritty, but we shall be
pretty. Now it ends, as we make amends!

A new Mystic!

The tower has acquired a new member, Ona Lightveil. Her elven wisdom will
surely spread throughout the lands!

Ikaork's story and the pig chase

So I'm standing at North Square, and Vanisse asks who can tell a story.
Ikaork volunteers. Ikaork tells a somewhat boring story. She's from a big
hill, a big FIRE hill. She's killed an entire town of people. She killed
the strong ones in her hill, rules by fear, loves fear. Aside from that
typical boring stuff, she said her favourite thing to eat is a whole live
pig. A live pig appeared in town, going all over and oinking. Ikaork had a
problem catching it, especially because she's wanted and the city guards are
all after her. It kept running past me and saying 'Oink!' before running
away again. It was more entertaining than I expected.