You feel a strange presence as you walk through the forest.

"Anybody else getting the creeps?" Ezor said.

"You too, huh?" said Zethrid.

"Any idea what it is?"

"Maybe," said Lotor.

They walked closer together in the woods and the rain.

A figure stepped quietly out of the trees, with a cloak and a hood and a strange way of moving.

"Whoa," Ezor said. "Hi there?"

"Are you looking for trouble," Zethrid growled.

The figure didn't answer, but stepped slowly closer into the group. Its hands were out, and it turned its head this way and that as though it were listening.

"The fuck is this thing doing?" Ezor said.

It came up to Acxa and traced a symbol in front of her. They all watched it, rapt.

It went up to Zethrid and did the same thing.

"Narti, is this you?" Ezor said. "What the fuck are you doing?"

"No questions out of character!" said Coran.

The figure made a symbol in front of Lotor. It stopped.

"Well," Zethrid said. "If this thing isn't Narti, maybe we should kill it."

"It hasn't hurt us yet," Acxa said.

"That we know of," said Lotor. "Acxa, can you contact a higher source regarding the nature of this character?"

"I can try."

"Oh boy!" Ezor cheered. "Magic!"

Zethrid snorted at her.

"You know, you could have been something magical, too."

"Yeah, but have you seen my TEETH?"

Acxa was drawing a seal on the wet ground. She placed a stone in one section and a leaf in another.

For the third, she drew a knife.

"That'll be one hit point," said Coran.

"I'm aware."

She squeezed a drop of blood over the final rune and closed her eyes.

"Wow," Ezor said. "Maybe doing magic actually kind of sucks."

In a flash of light, the stone and the leaf disappeared. The circle was glowing, just slightly.

"That means it worked, right?" Zethrid said.

"Quiet!" hissed Lotor. "Don't distract her!"

Acxa took in one breath, then two.

"I come with a question," she said. "Speak it, I am listening."

"Right," Ezor scoffed. "How are you gonna make this sound like something you'd actually be asking in the GAME?"

"Ezor…" Lotor warned.

"The divine are unconcerned with such things," Acxa said.

"Oh. Good, then?"

"Ask it fast," Zethrid said. "The circle's fading."

"Is this person who came to us someone we know?" Acxa said.

"Who ISN'T Coran," Ezor added.

"Yes," Acxa said. "Someone you know who is not Coran."

"Well, that's good to know."

The light of the circle went out. Acxa opened her eyes.

"You got an answer?"

"You just SAID it," Ezor said. "Look, it says so right here."

"Hey! No monitor-sharing!" Coran shut off Ezor's screen.

"Oh," Ezor took it back. "Nice picture, though."

"Why, thank you," said Coran. "I've been using that screensaver since my much younger days."

"Yeah, I can tell. Now you look like an old guy."

"You know, it's dangerous to insult the game master during a campaign."

"Bring it on, mustache," Ezor pounded the table. "We got Narti now, we'll spit out anything you throw at us!"

Lotor looked Narti up and down.

"I'm not so sure we should trust her," he said.

"What," Ezor scoffed. "You got something against hooded, cloaked figures that show up in the middle of the night? You probably just offended her. You offended, Narti?"

She pulled up the stranger's hood and looked underneath it and promptly dropped dead.