frp

Roderick,

The shadowy fog that followed you these past two days lingers - even after the elementals it produced have been destroyed.

Though the fog is not as dense as it was, and you can sometimes catch a glimpse of stars through it, you still sense a menace. A subdued dread keeps you awake long into the night and you find yourself once again awake while most of the others sleep peacefully around you.

You feel (or imagine) the sensation of shadow - that warm and cold tingle you first felt back in the dead village of Gressa - where you first met the young woman who you later realized was the goddess Matchitisiw.

The stars peek through a hole that appears above as the mist moves - without wind. The moon is almost new, so it set shortly after the sun tonight. You are reminded of the full moon - only two weeks ago - when you lay in the cold desert and felt the wicked and fickle power of an immortal.

It is not as cold now. In fact, the temperature is quite pleasant. But the memory of that encounter and the tingle and menace from the fog around you makes you shiver anyway.

“I can bring you a blanket,” a voice startles you from your reverie.

She stands over you again - just like in the desert. Your heart races and a panic floods your body. Your limbs are numb and refuse your mind's command to flee.

“Have you always been a coward, Roderick?” She seems to sneer down at you.

There is no moonlight this time, so her form is almost entirely dark. You are forced to imagine her as she was the last time.

But then you notice something.

Where her eyes should be, there is a soft glow that produces a mild sense of confusion when you look closer. It is the same effect as with the giants that invaded Ohanzee - and with the Chaos minion you captured the other day.

There is something not right here. Your hand brushes against one of your sacks and you realize it contains a continual flame stone. Carefully and slowly, you open it and get your fingers around the stone. She doesn't seem to notice.

“Imhotep is tired of you. He calls you a fool behind your back.”

Her taunts melt in your ears. You know she is babbling lies. You grab the flame stone and pull it from its sack as quickly as you can. In the flash of light, she recoils as if in surprise. (Can goddesses be surprised?) Then, with a gesture so fast you almost don't see it, the flame is extinguished.

And as quickly as the darkness returns, she is gone.

But in that instant of light, you saw something horrible. Where you expected a beautiful woman with golden skin, you saw instead a misshapen and indistinct hulk. Its form was so unreal that even now the details are fading from your mind.

Off in the distance, you hear what sounds like a wind whistling through trees.

Beyond that, your mind races - as if untethered from your body. Past an army of horsemen. Past streaming refugees fleeing burned villages. To the shores of a vast, dark lake. Lashmere stands in front of you looking out across the water. There is a misty bank of clouds on the horizon. He turns and extends a hand. “Come with me, sir. I can get you across.”

And then you wake with a jolt. Was it a dream?

The sun is up and the camp is stirring with the normal morning routine. Next to your bed lies your sack. Next to it lies a small, dark stone that once had a continual flame cast on it.

Roget,

It is the night after the battle with the shadow elementals. You are on guard. The fog never quite dissipated after the battle - and a dread permeates the camp.

Suddenly, you see a bright light - just for an instant - in the center of the sleeping area. Accompanying it is a brief yelp from Roderick.

You move closer to investigate. The moon is nearly new, so it set long ago. In the darkness, you find Roderick. He is sound asleep - so much so that he doesn't wake when you prod him.

Instead, he snores deeply.

The camp is quiet again (or has it always been so?). You begin to wonder if you even saw the light. Perhaps it was a trick of the fog.

By the time you return to your station, you are convinced that (at the very least) it can wait until morning.

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