Chapter 1

FERGEL - pulls out his short sword and, as the guard decapitates Von Braden, drives it with all his might into his groin.

The guard howls and crumples to the floor. In his throes of agony, the guard writhes, causing his sword to twist about, impaling its user upon its blade.

COLUM DARKEN - 'Selfish to the last, Von Braggart!'
      Colum smacks Ferro hard on the back. 'Dwarf! Come alive and drive our foemen back! Only then can I use my magics to good effect! Fergel - you've avenged our comrade, now take your anger to his savage companions!'
      Colum tries the door handles behind him. 'As I thought - magic has sealed our potential escape route, but not through malice... we have passed through a portal from one location to another distant.'

FERGEL - crouches and dodges as a second guard's sword scythes through the air within inches of the halfing's thigh. Fergel slashes at the guard's extended arm, but his dagger merely scores the guard's vambrace. Fergel breathes with great labour, his body shaken and impaired by his recent beating at the demented hands of comrade Ferro Blackhelm, under the nosferatu's spell.
      Fergel ducks under the outstretched arm as the guard makes ready for his next attack. He grabs hold of his foe's leg and tries to stab him in the back of the knee, aiming for the tendon.

The halfling's nimble, almost preturnaturally-sensitive fingers find a weakness in the guard's leg. Fergel's blade slides and grates between broken links in the guard's chainmail undergarment, penetrating and severing his tendon. The guard kicks out at Fergel before slamming sideways against a wall, emitting a stream of expletives.

FERGEL - 'Come on Ferro, don't just stand there! Avenge Erik!'

FERRO BLACKHELM - Is the enemy of my enemy my friend or my enemy? Ferro's bloodshot eyes rolls as Gotha's enchantment continue to plague his senses. He finally takes the simplest explanation: if those longshanks have the audacity to point their pigsticks in this dwarf's direction, they get a return visit from his axe!
      Ferro punches at a guard, seeking to create enough room to manoeuvre his battle axe.

The guard meets Ferro's fist with his arm in a reflexive blocking movement. The force behind Ferro's blow has the guard stagger back.

FERRO BLACKHELM - swings his battle axe with both meaty hands supplying power. Despite his enthusiasm, his misjudges his opponent's predicted resting place and falls short, chipping the stone floor instead of cleaving into thin Human flesh and bone.

The guards take stock of their enemy. 'These fiends like their fleshy disguises! Where are their claws, fangs and... knobbly bits?'
      'Then mayhaps they are flesh and blood like us...!'
      'Then they are fools for braving the tombs, or the bravest gang of louts I've ever met!'

COLUM DARKEN - finds the opportunity to work his magic upon the Duke's Guard. 'Cease this fury! Do you not know your friends from fiends?'

The guards stop their joined attack upon you. Confusion flickers in their wide eyes.
      'By the Duke! These are our friends!'
      'Can we not sort them apart from fiends? What idiots we be!'
      One guard appears not to have been taken in by Colum's spell. 'Did you not watch that monster's hands dance in enchantment? Aye, we've been bewitched, but Sergei will cut through the veil before you, Friends, and reveal the truth as before..!'

FERRO BLACKHELM - reaches up smashes the guard's head with the blunt side of his battle axe. Sergei withers and falls into an imposed sleep.

COLUM DARKEN - breathes a deep sigh of relief. 'Oh that I could at this minute trade you all for a private tower in a remote stretch of woodland, liberated eternally from braggarts and enraged midgets...! Now that the dust of battle has settled, I put this before you all: what do we do with these tin-plated fools... and where are we? Clearly no longer in the Black Peak Mountains...'

FERRO BLACKHELM - wipes the blood and minced body parts off of his great axe whilst still facing the spell-struck soldiers. The dwarf keeps an eye on the group that opposes them, watching for any sign that their bewitchment has lifted. Whilst waiting for the Karameikos' to respond to the question posed to them, Ferro mutters a whispered prayer for his fallen comrade. To die in battle is a sure way to meet the Immortals and the dwarf honours Von Braden's memory for the feat.

FERGEL - 'You there!' Fergel sharply addresses the nearest guard. 'What is this place and why are you guarding it?'

The guard, now at ease, grins at Fergel in relief. 'We stand in the catacomb beneath the ruin of the old Marilenev palace. We guard this doorway on the orders of the wizard Ragemor to stop the flow of monsters.'
      At that moment, the doors behind the group open once more, admitting two unlikely individuals. Clearly no monster, they are Human, one dressed in dark clothing, armed with a longsword and a large, dull buckler strapped to his forearm. The other is Oriental from a far off land unknown to all, dressed in robes unsuited to Karameikos's climate. The two strangers look down at the corpses of Erik Von Braden and the guards, then raise their eyes to appraise the mage, halfling and dwarf and the guards stood beyond them.
      In response, the guards raise their swords, preparing to launch an attack upon the new arrivals. 'Fear not, friends! We'll swiftly rout these fiends!'

LIEN HO-SHEN - looks at the guards, measuring them up. 'Please, there is no need for violence here, gentleman,' he says, in a soft-spoken accent, 'or, should I say, further violence. I can assure you, we mean none of you any harm.'

FERRO BLACKHELM - admonishes the guards. 'No! Your human heads can't be getting enough oxygen being perched up that high on your stretched-out bodies. These people are travellers, just like us. And alive, they may just be able to tell us where, above ground and under the skies, we are.'

COLUM DARKEN - 'Wait! These strangers may not be a threat. Lets hear them out before we attack them. What do you say my new friends?' Colum reaches out with his suggestive powers, placing thoughts of peace and brotherhood within the guards' minds.

The guards relax in mid-charge, slowing to a halt. They lower their weapons.

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'Hold your charge, Knights of Karameikos! I come in peace! Heed the wisdom of our friend's words. Are we not all present, loyal subjects of Duke Stefan?'

'Aye, that we are. You're welcome in our lands, but not here, in these ruins, for they lay within the Duke's stronghold,' speaks one of the guards.

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'Well met in peace, Friends. I am Covenant Theodosius, knight of this realm and follower of the Immortal, Lady Diulanna. "My companion and I greet you, noble adventurers. We come to aid you in the fight against the bloodsucking bitch, Gotha.'

LIEN HO-SHEN - 'We were adventuring in the caverns, my stout-hearted companion and I; hoping to slay that evil undead creature. However, all along the way, we were encountering signs that others had past our way: slaughtered denizens and triggered traps. We came to realise that we were not the only adventurers currently within. Tell me, are you those warriors? If so, you overcame many foes to get this far! A most impressive feat!' Lien gives a respectful bow, as he looks down at the headless corpse of Von Braden. One in your ranks has fallen?'

FERGEL - 'Aye, it was the braggart, Von Braden. A stout heart and a quick tongue, but small of brain. We will miss his company'.

LIEN HO-SHEN - raises an eyebrow. 'He appears to have been quite an interesting character.'

FERGEL - salutes his fallen comrade. 'So, do you gentlemen know where we are?'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'The only ruins inside the stronghold are those of the Marilenev family, long-abandoned... but that places us over one-hundred miles from Gotha's Lair, in the capital city of Specularum! What sorcery is this?'
      Covenant lowers his weapon, but remains in a defensive posture. 'Guards! Take us to your leader!'

COLUM DARKEN - 'Well met. Aye, it certainly sounds like you know what you're talking about. My name's Colum, the stout Dwarf is Ferro and the little smelly one with all the bruises is Fergel. How about you settle down with all this "take me to your leader" blustering?' Under his breath he mutters to Fergel and Ferro: 'Just like Von Braggart that one; if he doesn't stop, hell get himself killed in exactly the same way.'

LIEN HO-SHEN - gives a courteous bow. 'I am Lien Ho-Shen, traveller from the far lands of Ochalea. Pleased to make your acquaintance.'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'Well met indeed, Colum! A pleasure it is, to join your company. And to you, a splendid day, master Fergel; the odour... no, sorry, the reputation of your race precedes you. And last, but most certainly, not least, I extend the hand of true friendship to you Ferro. All tremble before the legendary prowess of the dwarves in battle!'
      In a whisper to Lien: 'We should be wary, you and I Ho-Shen. It is not only their smell which precedes the Hin, but their sticky fingers. Guard well your valuables, guard them as you would guard the family jewels...'

COLUM DARKEN - turns to the guards. 'Good men, why not take us upstairs to your Duke - maybe there is something we can help him with. What do you say?'

'Friends,' one of the guards begins, shaking his head, 'no-one may seek audience with the Duke outside of his open court, and that day is three sunrises away. I see you mean us no harm, but it is our duty to hand you over to Captain Varis, our commander, for questioning'.
      The guards indicate the way out of the catacomb with gruff courtesy.

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - walks over to stand before the body of Erik Von Braden, muttering a prayer of sorrow for a fallen warrior. He finishes his devotions, lifts Von Braden's corpse. 'We shall ensure a fitting memorial for our fallen comrade! Come, now! His Grace awaits'. Covenant strides away.

Accompanied by the Duke's Guard, you climb up a makeshift wooden ladder out of the catacomb, ascending up to a dirt floor surrounded by stone rubble, partially-sheltered by a vaulted, thatched roof. The guards direct you into the centre of the Duke's stronghold, pointing between two squares of garden toward a long, rectangular building constructed - like all the building within the stronghold walls - of stone.
      You follow the guards, glancing side to side. To your left stands a large, L-shaped ornate building, neighbouring a smaller building. To your right, next to the old Marilenev palace is another ornate, but smaller structure than the model to your right. Beyond that is set the fourth wall of the stronghold, in its centre large wooden doors. Nine towers are spaced along the high walls, seven topped with ballistas, the other two astride the doors with catapults. Flags fluttering in the warm breeze are divided between symbols of Karameikos and of Thyatis, raised for a full year to celebrate a millennium of Thyatian dominance over the Known World.
      You pass among the stronghold's inhabitants who give you curious glances. Mothers usher their children out of your path. Arriving at the building indicated by the guards, you enter, ever watched by more guards. You enter a room large enough to accommodate you all, plus a dozen further guards who have their swords unsheathed, alert for mischief on your part.
      A door opens to the far side of the room, admitting Captain Varis, a tall man dressed in the armour of the Duke's Guard, partially-obscured by a deep blue cloak. Varis is followed by an older, shorter man dressed in a mid-grey robe, a silver band capping his grey hair.
      Captain Varis studies you over a mug of beer. 'First hand over your weapons, then tell me how three men, a dwarf and a halfing came to be in the temple of the undead.'

FERRO BLACKHELM - regards Captain Varis, a man typical of his caste, spending his life institutionalised by the military. A stickler for rules, assuming of his own authority, and pompous in his dress and demeanour.
      Ferro naturally decides to take a dislike to the man. 'I'll lay down my axe when you lay down another flagon of that ale you're keeping to yourself for me to drink! I see you back up your bravado with a score of armed lackeys. You should be wary of those who survive the dungeons!'

LIEN HO-SHEN - inwardly cringes at the dwarf's threat. 'I think what my dwarven friend means is that we will lower and sheath our weapons, so that they cannot possibly be threatening to you; however, we will not totally relinquish our arms. Please try to understand, after what we have seen in the dungeon, our trust does not come lightly, and that by giving over our weapons to you, we would - quite literally - be laying ourselves bare to attack. Please, Captain Varis, surely it is apparent that we mean you nor your entourage no harm. And as men of honour of the Known World, surely our word of friendship should be enough?'

COLUM DARKEN - mutters under his breath 'By the nine layers of Hell, you really are a conceited oaf Blackhelm.'
      He turns to Ferro and Fergel. 'Ill buy you that drink, now give your weapon over - the time for your waist-height posturing isn't now. You too Fergel; we don't want to spend any time in the gaol, do we?'
      Colum gestures to Captain Varis. 'You can have my spear and knife Captain.'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - slowly draws his sword to ensure no misunderstanding occurs. Covenant extends the blade, pommel first towards Captain Varis. 'Accept my blade as proof of our good hearts and noble purpose, Captain. I must confess that my arrival in this location surprised me as much as your men.'
      Covenant rubs the bridge of his nose with the thumb & forefinger of his right hand. 'I had heard rumour of a foul Nosferatu, named Gotha, who laired within the Black Peak Mountains, preying upon local citizenry, travellers and adventurers to quench her unholy hunger. As a sworn defender of innocents, I set out to hunt down the vile creature, freeing the people of the area from the Unholy terror.'
      Covenant paces back and forth, warming to his story as he tells of meeting Lord and Lady Antonic who tell him that a company of adventurers set out for the mountains with the purpose of disposing of Gotha. 'I stayed in His Lordship's home overnight and set out to join the band at first light. After travelling for some time, I encountered a fellow adventurer from the mysterious East,' Covenant gestures towards Lien. 'We entered the caverns, in search of both the adventurers and the bitch-queen Gotha. We encountered and battled diverse foes, but found no sign of Gotha. Following the signs of recent battle and taking this to be the trail of the adventurers, we progressed further into the lair. After some time, we encountered the doors, beyond which we discovered your guards, the sought-after adventurers and the corpse of their erstwhile companion.'

FERGEL - stands as if in a trance as Covenant speaks. When the knight stops speaking, he stands stock still for a moment then shakes his head as if trying to awaken himself. 'Eh, aye, that was fascinating Covenant. Now, where's the beer?'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS -  sighs and looks the Captain in the eye. 'So you see, Captain, I am at a loss as to how we travelled over one-hundred miles in the blink of an eye, to find ourselves in the company of such stout-hearted soldiery.'
      He draws himself up to his full height. 'As the son of Sergius Theodosius, loyal servant of His Grace, Duke Stefan, during the Traladaran campaign, I therefore formally request the hospitality of His Grace, for myself and my companions, as is my right as a knight of this land.' Covenant produces a seal, signed by Duke Karameikos's own hand, as proof of his title.

Captain Varis sets his mug down on a nearby table and takes the seal from Covenant. He reads it quickly, too quickly Colum suspects, as it would be unusual for a man of Varis's stature to be able to read.
      Varis looks up at Covenant and grumbles. 'It seems in order, but I will seek further counsel.'
      He orders a guard to take Covenant and Colum's weaponry. Varis eyes Ferro, Ho-Shen and Ferro coldly. 'I am a reasonable man, but you three are stubborn, ignorant and slow to obey the Duke's Law that all weapons are to be rendered inaccessible during your stay within Specularum. I will grant you the time it takes me to finish my beer before administering punishment should you not accept His Grace's authority.'

LIEN HO-SHEN - Offers up his broadsword and bo-staff. 'I mean no disrespect and humbly request your forgiveness.' Unknown to the Duke's Guard, the warrior-monk retains his shuriken should the need for self-defense arise.

FERRO BLACKHELM - 'If my so-called friends had stood by me, then you would find your negotiations more a challenge... now I must falter, dragged into the abyss by their contaminating, weakening courage!'
      Ferro pushes to the front of the group and holds out his battle axe and daggers. 'I shall want them back in good time - in GOOD condition.'

Captain Varis looks down at the feisty dwarf. 'Your tongue is sharp for one raised in Hillforge among the gnomes; I shall try to take your threat seriously as a gesture of respect to you and your companions.'
      Varis looks to the robed man by his side. 'Who among them is the mage?' He looks pointedly at Lien Ho-Shen. 'The Alphatian?'
      The other man opens the palm of his left hand, releasing a trail of glittering particles which arc towards Colum is a series of spirals. 'It is he, of moderate skill...' The man squints in puzzlement, '... but there is more to him than first appears. His blood boils with the fury of other planes of existence. Be cautious with this one!'
     Varis frowns, considering his advisor's words. 'It is not my concern in this present day. Mage, relinquish your grimoire and you shall enjoy a comfortable respite whilst you and your friends await an audience with the Duke.'

COLUM DARKEN - 'By Phlegethos, you want my book of spells? What sort of country is this?' Colum breathes deeply, sighs. 'As you will, 'though I must have your oath you will not open it? It is imbibed in spells. A wrong move and BOOM!'

Captain Varis is angered. 'You design to threaten me, Scarecrow?'
      Varis motions for a guard to relieve Colum of his grimoire. The guards look at each other, but do not approach the mage, their Traladaran ancestry paralysing them with ancient fears. Instead, Varis gestures for the robed man by his side to undertake the task.

COLUM DARKEN - We're adventurers for hire - mercenaries if you prefer. Do you have anything you'd like us to take care of - so to speak - for the right price.' Colum smiles.

Captain Varis glances at his robed colleague. 'These adventurers may be the men we are searching for, Weravich.'
      Weravich nods, 'but beware the mage amongst them - I sense he is full of tricks.'
      Varis turns his attention back to you. 'I am not the man you should be speaking with if it's work you're after. I will have a guide take you before Lord Korrigan. I see no reason why you should have audience with His Grace in light of your request for employment. You may go. I will return your weapons when you leave the stronghold, but you must obey the Duke's Law and keep them secured tightly in their scabbards while you remain within the borders of Specularum.'
      Varis orders two guards to attend to you while the other guards disperse, returning to their duties.
      Weravich murmurs to Varis. 'I will report this turn of affairs to my master, Teldon. I bid you leave, Captain.'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'Tarry not, my good men - lead the way!'

The two guards escort you to a stone building also within the walls of the stronghold called the Low Palace, the administrative heart of Karameikos. The guards pass you onto another set of guards in slightly different uniform who direct you to a door leading into a small office.
      One of the guards speaks with a young female of Thyatian descent dressed in brown and green robes. The female nods at the guard before approaching you. 'I will allow two of you only to audience with Lord Korrigan; who will it be?'

LIEN HO-SHEN - 'I suggest Darken and Theodosius. I feel I do not know as much about this land and its ways to be competent in such a meeting with your Lord.'

COLUM DARKEN - 'Thank you for the nomination, my dress-wearing associate, I don't have an objection to go and see this Korrigan. I'm not sure I want Theodosius with me; I'd prefer one of the other two - I at least trust them. However, your logic is sound. A representative from the two groups.'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'As newcomer to this...'esteemed' band... I defer to your wise leadership, Darken.'

COLUM DARKEN - 'Theodosius, I'm not sure you've joined our 'esteemed' band. We can discuss this after. However,
you and the quiet man in the dress seem harmless enough.'

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - 'I apologise for my presumption, master mage. I am, of course, at your service."

LIEN HO-SHEN - regards the mage with a small smile of tolerance on his features. It is not his fault that he is an ignoramus from the west, arrogant enough to believe that only his attire is acceptable clothing to be worn by humankind; and obviously intolerant to the cultures of others. Ho-Shen comes to the conclusion that the small-minded individual is to be pitied, more than despised.

COVENANT THEODOSIUS - is appreciative of the Ochalean's superior wisdom. 'I will, of course, put our part to Lord Korrigan. Well, Mage, is this acceptable to you and yours?'

COLUM DARKEN - 'It sounds reasonable to me. He addresses the page. 'Girl, myself and Covenant will meet with Lord Korrigan.'

FERGEL - 'Aye, that sounds okay to me'. Fergel turns to the nearest guard. 'Is there any chance of getting any food around here?'

continued