enslaves them all.”
“Maggie, I need you. You have
met and befriended Eir, I believe
you may be the only one to convince
her to give up her quest. Eir’s family
has offered a generous reward of a
gold coin for anyone who can help
us bring Eir back safely. My greatest
fear is that she will stir up the king
and reignite the war between the
Ascalonians and my people. This is
the worst possible time for us to be
fighting on two fronts. The dragons
need our attention.”
“We are meeting at the catacombs
at two hours past midday. I hope to
see you there.”
Maggie showed the letter to
Terri. Terri read it and said quickly,
“I’ll go get my kit ready.”
Maggie put her arms around her
partner and replied, “The catacombs
are dangerous. I don’t want to take
a chance on you getting hurt.”
“You know I’m tougher than you
think. They’re ghosts, I have fire.
And you’re there to keep them from
getting too close,” Terri assured her.
Maggie’s tough exterior began
to crack. Her eyes bright with the
beginnings of tears, she whispered,
“What if I can’t protect you?”
“We can do this together.
Besides, we’re broke. And your
share of the the gold won’t pay the
rent. Hendrick’s been pestering me
all week. Besides, there’s no way I’m
letting you and your hot temper run
around in ghostville without me.
You need me. End of discussion.
Now go sharpen your axes.”
They got to the Catacombs a
few minutes early and Rytlock was
nowhere to be seen. They were
in the tourist section, which was
protected by the Iron Legion and
Durmond Priory and full of magic
artifacts used to keep the ghosts
away. The ghosts were rumored
to be the souls of those who fell
defending Ascalon from the Charr.
As they waited, Maggie noticed
a small group of strangers coming
in the gateway. They were walking
towards her with a purpose.
Involuntarily, her hands sought
the axes at her belt. Terri touched
her shoulder and said, “It’s okay
sweetie, I recognize the Asuran. His
name is Mellen. He’s a necromancer
and we did some work together a
few months ago.”
“He doesn’t look like he’d be
much help in a fight,” was Maggie’s
reply.
As the group reached them,
Maggie watched them closely.
Alongside Mellen, there was a larger
than life Norn, and a disheveled
Charr. As they drew close, she
noticed the Charr smelled vaguely
of alcohol and vomit. Her nose
wrinkled as he walked by.
The Asuran came right to her,
stuck out his hand and said, “My
name is Mellen, what’s your name,
bookah?”
Maggie wrinkled her brow and
squeezed his hand a bit more firmly
than friendly, “Maggatha Watson,
and this is my partner Terri.”
He winced, “I remember Terri,
she and I worked together a few
months ago when that crazy bunch
of pirates started harassing people.”
The Norn spoke then, his voice
actually bigger than himself, “Hi
there, my name is Bones, but my
friends call me Doc.”
Not to be outdone, the Charr
growled out, “Hello, my name is
Harry” and promptly laid down on
the floor and began snoring softly.
Rytlock walked in at that moment.
Shaking his head, he found a pail of
water and dumped it on the Charr.
This had the desired effect and as
Harry stood up, a kitten fell out
of his backpack, sputtering and
hissing. Rytlock grabbed the kitten
and with his tongue dried him off.
Releasing the kitten, watching it
run back to harry, Rytlock shouted
to them all, “Gather round”
Rytlock had everyone’s attention
now, and he told them what he
knew, “Eir has gone looking for King
Adelbern’s sword. We believe she is
planning on giving it to a member
of Destiny’s Edge to fight Zhaitan.
The Priory and the Iron Legion
also have reason to believe that her
path through the catacombs might
anger the king and rekindle the
Ascalonian War between the ghosts
and the Charr. This could prove
disastrous to us all in our fight to
end the reign of the dragons. We
need you to find Eir and if possible
get the sword from the king. The
plan is simple, find Eir, gathering
information along the way.”
Once he finished speaking, he
led the way and they began their
descent. Immediately, trouble
started. The first level below ground
was a room filled with caskets. Each
of them heard a ghostly whispering
in the air from something that they
couldn’t see. A couple of gravelings
had made a nest there and should
not have been difficult to get rid
of. Black with hard slick skin,
they should have been easy to kill.
However, some greedy member of
their party had opened a casket,
then another, and another while
searching for loot. Soon they were
fighting half a dozen ghosts along
with the gravelings. This spread
them out very thin in the battle, and
the gravelings took advantage and
pressed their growling attack.
Terri, the Elementalist, came
to the rescue and brought a rain
of fire down upon the ghosts and
gravelings. Then she dropped a
healing rain of water on her fellow
party members. Doc also got
into the act by doing spot heals
of anyone who he saw bleeding.
Maggie waded into the middle of