In the next chamber of the mine we were greeted with more writings chiseled into the wall; only this time, they weren’t moving.  The rest of the chamber seemed to be shrouded in an unnatural darkness.  Grizzle stepped into the gloom and was attacked by tentacles coming out of the ceiling and walls and the same thing happened to me when I tried to help him.  Finally Jerro was able to cast light onto Grizzlegar’s sword and the barbarian freed both himself and me.  We hastily ran for the illuminated part of the chamber.

 

“Let me try something.” And before any of us could stop him, Jerro read aloud the incantation carved on the wall, which was brave considering what had happened to him before.  The rest of the chamber was lit up and the tentacles disappeared.

 

“Halt!  Give us the password!”  About six guards and six Vecna fanatics were standing on the other side of the chamber.  Since we were still dressed in the cloaks we had taken off the guards outside the mine, Grizzle tried to continue the bluff that had worked before.

 

“We don’t have time for passwords.”  The barbarian insisted.  “Can’t you see we have these sacrifices for the Ceremony?!”

 

But the lead warden wasn’t having it this time and a battle ensued.  Mallek, refreshed by the pool, showed us why he was Captain of the Melinir guards; taking out the lion share of our opponents.  The fray however had taken its toll and I noticed that Mallek and Menolly had the same ashen look to their faces.  They were still suffering the effects of being held by the Vecna tentacles.

 

“Look over here!”  Said Jerro.  “I can tell there’s a secret door in the wall.”

 

I felt along the partition until I found a hidden latch that made the door slide back into the wall.

 

“I’ll scout ahead and see what I can find.”  I told them.

 

As soon as I stepped through the door I realized there was something strange about the floor in this part of the mine:  It was undulating as if it were alive.  It took all my dexterity to make it across the chamber.  Looking back I noticed that huge chunks had been excavated from the walls.  This must be the living stone the Vecna cult used to carve the statues that had attacked Malador Sirak and me on The Cymbeline.

 

I stepped into a long winding passage and was relieved that the floor was no longer moving.  I crept along the passageway until I found a crevice where I could hide and spy into the next chamber.

 

Again there were 9 to 12 Vecna wardens and fanatics standing around while our old friend Red chanted an incantation; the ruby dagger clinched tightly in his fist.  He had succeeded in opening another eye in the wall.

 

I quickly ran back and relayed this information to Grizzlegar and the others.  While Menolly, Jerro and Mallek held back in the crevice I had found; Grizzle, Pax and I charged the chamber.  Grizzle went straight for Red this time and dealt him a heavy blow.  Pax charged in beside him and was ensnared in one of the eyeball’s tentacles, but continued to slash away, even though she couldn’t move her feet.

 

In his frustration, Red turned and let out a yell:

 

“STOP FIGHTING!!!”

 

For a few seconds I was confused and defeated and then I heard Menolly singing.  It was a battle hymn that cleared my head.  I realized that Mallek was fighting by my side, but he still had that ashen pallor in his face.

 

Grizzle delivered a final blow to Red and he crumpled to the ground dead; as he did so the eyeball closed and the tentacle released Pax.  With their leader dead, the other wardens and fanatics started to run but we cut down most of them before they could retreat.

 

Mallek walked over and took the ruby dagger from the orc leader’s cold grasp.  The creature that had served as Red’s armor disengaged from the body and tried to slither away.  Grizzlegar put a stop to that.  Mallek took the dagger to his daughter and they both held it for a moment until it exploded.  They both fell unconscious but I was relieved to see the ashen pallor was fading:  They would be all right.

 

I turned and noticed a small winged creature hovering over Grizzle’s head.  I vaguely remembered seeing it fly to a high perch in the back of the chamber at the beginning of the battle.  Grizzle was taking swings at it with his long sword but the little thing had so far deftly avoided these attacks.  It flew to the door at the far end of the chamber, turned and let out a sound somewhere between a chirp and a bark.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

“Great.  I think it wants us to follow it.”  Said the barbarian.

 

Jerro stood guard over Mallek and Menolly while the rest of us followed the creature down the passageway and into yet another chamber.

 

There were over two dozen people chained to the walls in this chamber; men, women, and children.  The little winged creature hovered over to a young blonde girl who looked to be not much out of her teens, but my intuition told me she was really much older.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

The blonde girl opened her eyes and looked up.

 

“Blinky!  You brought help I see.”  Blinky landed on the girl’s shoulder.

 

Looking around the room, I noticed that about seven of the men were wearing tunics emblazoned with the symbol of Kord, much like the one I used to wear and Pax was wearing now.  These were Paladin candidates and yes, there was my cousin Revlis.  He, like most everyone else was still unconscious.  They all had the same ashen look that Mallek and Menolly had had.

 

“Grizzlegar, I’m going to run back to the pool and fill up a flask with the water.  Hopefully it’s had enough time to recharge and will heal everyone.”

 

“Sounds like a great idea to me.”  Said the gnome; who was kneeling to talk to the blonde girl.  “Yeah, so you say your name is Vala?”  Pax stood behind them giving him a disapproving eye.

 

On the way to the pool I stopped by to check on Menolly.  I was relieved to see that she was awake but still resting with her father.  I let them know that Revlis and Garain were among the hostages (Garain was Menolly’s cousin and Mallek’s nephew) Menolly was disappointed to hear that I wanted to continue hiding my presence from Revlis.  There were still the reasons we had talked about before but there was also a nagging memory of a conversation I had had with someone who said that the time was not right for Revlis to know about me.

 

The water from the pool worked wonders and everyone was soon breathing the fresh air outside the mine.  The townspeople disbursed and Menolly and her father went back to his house.  Garain invited the rest of us to the Temple of Kord.  I managed to stay well away from Revlis in route.  I was excited at the prospect of seeing my mentor, Panril Shortankard again.  Dinner was set out for us and afterward Garain informed us that Panril and the Abbot’s counsel had requested an audience with us.

 

The Abbot’s counsel sat behind a huge desk in the audience room.  I knew most of their faces but none of their names (Except for Panril of course):  They represented all six major cities in the Mid Isle.  They were the Abbots of Telar, Sindar, Torlynn, Kraal, Marshwood the ruined city, and Panril of Melinir.  But there was a seventh person with them that I was familiar with.  It was Plinth, the Mage from The Cymbeline.  As I recognized him, I also had a memory flash.  He had been the one to warn me against talking to Revlis. 

 

But when did he give me this warning?

 

It seems to have happened sometime between my time on The Cymbeline and a few days ago when we all came back to Melinir.  I had talked to him here at the Temple, but that was all I could remember.  I didn’t know what to think of Plinth.  He had left us to the mercy of the Vecna statues.  We survived; at least I had.  I had no idea what had happened to Malador and Sirak.

 

“Gerard, are you with us?  You seem distracted.”

 

“I’m sorry Abbot.  Please continue.”

 

Panril was reaching out to Grizzlegar instructing him in the ways of Kord.  And from what I could tell the gnome was receiving it positively.  Then Panril turned to Pax and congratulated her on completing her pilgrimage to the Temple.  As for Jerro he was beside himself to be in the same room with an actual Mage from Mage Isle.

 

“And to you Gerard,” Said Panril “Have you found any answers to the questions you were asking?”

 

“Some of them, I believe you were right in sending me away.  I feel my destiny lies somewhere on the sea, but I will always hold Kord and the things you taught me close to my heart.”

 

“I am heartened to hear you say that.  Now to why we asked to talk to you this way:”

 

Panril went on to explain that a rift in time and space had been detected in the last few weeks and the council wanted our help.  They wanted us to go to Mage Isle and talk to the council of Mages there.  “So far all correspondence between us, the Abbot’s Council and the Mage’s Council has been ignored.  We feel that because of your heroic stature of late you four are best suited to plead our case in person before the Mages.”  And then he turned to Plinth who began to address us:

 

“I was the only one on the Mage’s council who felt it would be beneficial to reach out to the Abbot’s council.  There is someone else on the council who may be sympathetic to this cause.  I cannot tell you why she might feel that way now.  Only that her name is Serina.  It can only be her who gives you access to the Isle.  Without her help you will never find it.”

 

Panril continued:  “This mission will be fully funded by the Temple of Kord.  You will have full access to the merchants of Third Gate.  You may commission any supplies you think you may need.”

 

Grizzlegar’s eyes lit up like missiles.  “We’ll take the job!”

 

We spent the rest of the night in the arenas beneath the Temple getting impromptu work-out sessions from my former training instructor Balrick.  It was nice to catch up with him after some much time away from the Temple.

 

The Temple served us breakfast at dawn and then we headed out to Third Gate with Garain as our escort.  I commissioned a new rapier and received a light horse named Murgatroid , while Grizzlegar had them customize his great sword and bought a pink riding dog named Hessendorf. Pax and Jerro opted to collect their supplies after we returned from Mage Isle.  We were told it would take all day to fashion our items so we decided we would pick them up the next morning.

 

Garain suggested we should spend the night at an inn in Third Gate called The Stag’s Hoof.  As soon as we got there we were greeted with a familiar soun:

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

 

Blinky flew down from his perch on the roof and landed on Grizzlegar’s shoulder.

 

“Don’t even think it Bub!”  Said Pax to Grizzle.

 

“What?  It would be impolite not to see how she’s doing.”

 

Grizzle was referring to Vala, the blonde girl we had rescued from the mine.

 

“Yeah, and you’re always so polite aren’t you?”

 

“I think I should be getting back to the Temple.”  Said Garain  “I’ll see you back there tomorrow.”

 

We found a table and ordered some food and sure enough after he ate, Grizzlegar made a beeline for Vala’s table.  A few minutes later he came back and told us that Vala had promised to show us where we could find Serina in the morning.

 

“Wow I’m beat.”  Said the gnome.  “I think I’ll turn in.”

 

“But it’s only 1:30 in the afternoon.”  Said Pax.

 

“Yeah but we’re going to have a LONG day tomorrow.”  And with that Grizzle headed for the stairs closely followed by Pax.

 

I spent the afternoon drinking with Jerro and maybe it was the drinks, but his company was convivial.  He left me around 6:00 and I fell asleep at our table.  The next thing I remember, someone was nudging me awake.

 

“Where have you been?!  It was Menolly.  “I was expecting you for dinner last night.”

 

“Garain invited us back to the Temple and then Panril gave us a mission.  We were training until dawn.”

 

“Wasn’t there something that I told you I needed that got left back at the mine?”

 

The ruby dagger.

 

“Menolly, I’m sorry.  I was just so concerned about you that I forgot.”

 

“That’s sweet.”  And she leaned over and kissed me.

 

“We could go back and look for it after I return from this mission.”

 

“Don’t bother.”  And she placed the dagger on the table between us.

 

“How did you?”

 

“I went back to the mine this morning with an escort of guards from my father.  I slipped in, found the pieces of the dagger, gathered them up, and slipped out before anyone was the wiser.  The place looked deserted anyway.”

 

“How did you find me?”

 

“I came to Third Gate to find a craftsman who could knit the dagger back together.  They told me you had been there earlier so I figured I might find you here.”

 

“Would you like to accompany me on Panril’s mission?”

 

“I already have another mission from my father so I’m going to be out of town myself for a few days.”

 

“Then I guess I’ll see you when we both get back.”

 

“I hope so.”

 

“You be careful.”

 

“And you.”

 

“I love you.”

 

“And I love you Gerard.”

 

And she was gone.

 

I ordered another round.  Then I ordered a few more rounds.  By the time I went upstairs I was pretty well snockered.  So snockered in fact that I went into Grizzle and Pax’s room and flopped down on Grizzle’s bed.  Grizzle wasn’t there.  In the morning both Pax and I had a pretty good idea where he had gone.

 

Just then he came bounding into the room.

 

“Vala gave me a line on where we can find Serina.  What are you doing here?”  He asked me.

 

Pax and Grizzle didn’t have much to say to each other the rest of the morning as we searched the streets of Third Gate for an infirmary that catered to children.  The nurse we talked to in the one we found gave us the impression that the doctors of Third Gate didn’t have time to waste on lower class folk.  Grizzle left there in a huff.

 

We had no better luck in Second Gate.

 

We ended up in First Gate where we were finally pointed in the direction of an infirmary that fit the bill.

 

“Wonk!  Wonk!”

 

Blinky came down from the infirmary roof and landed on Grizzle’s shoulder.

 

“No.  It can’t be.”

 

The barbarian flung open the infirmary door and pushed past several startled nurses until he found Serina in the children’s playroom.

 

Vala and Serina were one and the same.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were last night?”

 

“Because, I wanted to see if you would take the trouble to find me.  Besides it was much more fun this way.  We did have fun last night didn’t we?”

 

Pax walked up to Grizzle and punched him in the face, then stormed out of the room.

 

“Oh my, you HAVE earned the three answers to the riddles the ferryman to Mage Isle will ask you.”  Said Serina and she gave them to us.

 

You could cut the silence between Grizzle and Pax with a knife as we walked to the dock.  Jerro ran up to the ferryman and asked him for the riddles but Grizzle just spat the answers out in rapid fire succession.  The ferryman merely turned and indicated with his hand that we should board his boat.

 

As soon as we stepped aboard, a fog engulfed the little vessel and when it cleared the ferryman was still standing on the dock.  He indicated that we should disembark.  To us it seemed as if we had not moved at all but we realized that the dock we were walking onto was the dock at Mage Isle.

 

At the end of the dock we found what looked like a small cottage but as soon as we stepped through the front door we were inside what seemed to be a huge library with bookcases that went on for miles.

 

Jerro was positively drooling.  He ran from book to book not knowing where to start.

 

“Which of my colleagues gave you the ferryman’s answers?”  And all of a sudden we found ourselves standing in front of a long winding table.  Serina and four other Mages sat behind it.  “Serina, I should have known and I would bet my last spellbook  that Plinth has his fingerprints on this as well.  I see he remains absent from us.”

 

“The Gnome earned those answers believe me Rogard.”  And Serina looked straight at Pax.  “Don’t worry dear, your children will do great things inspite of their father or maybe even because of him.”

 

“Let’s cut to the chase.”  Said Grizzlegar.  “We’re here for your help with this rift.”

 

“Strange how the gnome uses a motion picture idiom he should have no knowledge of.  Perhaps he picked it up from the Game Master.”

 

“You would bring up the Game Master wouldn’t you Kerris?  Asked Rogard.  “Wasn’t it your idea to use that megalomaniac to test these specimens metle?”

 

“What?”  I heard myself asking.

 

“Oh, don’t worry Gerard.”  Said Rogard.  “You won’t remember anything about the Game Master.”

 

But I was.

 

I was remembering everything about the Game Master and who had wanted me to forget about him.

 

“You have overstepped your bounds Rogard.”

 

“Have I?  Have I indeed Alarick?”

 

“Perhaps we should discuss the Rift with them.”

 

“Ah, and we finally here from Elanara.  Ever the worrier my dear.”  Said Rogard

 

“May I remind the council that these four and the woman Menolly have proven themselves more than heroic, both against the Game Master and when they came to my aid in the mine?

 

Ah yes.  We know how much peril you were in don’t we Serina?”  Sneered Rogard.

 

“Enough!”  Shouted Alarick.  “This is what I shall tell you of the Rift.  The Rift was caused by a foolish boy’s wish, and it shall only be stopped when you discover the items that were stolen; by whom and from whom.  I shall tell you no more; except where to begin your search.  You must go to the place where the wish was spoken.  This audience is at an end.”

 

And we found ourselves standing outside the Mages’ Lair.

 

“Aw come on!  They could’ve at least let me have one book.”  Said Jerro.

 

“Here.” And I reached into my tunic.  “I am a thief after all.”  I tossed Jerro the book and began to relate the story of my cousin Revlis.