"I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moments gone. All my dreams, passed before my eyes, a curiosity. Dust in the wind, all they are is dust in the wind. Same old song, just a drop of water in an endless sea. All we do crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind. Don't hang on, nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky. It slips away, and all your money, won't another minute buy. Dust in the wind, all we are is dust in the wind. Dust in the wind, everything is dust in the wind."
Faerune had been listening the entire time. The music was soothing, even if the words were not. He didn't open his eyes in fear that Freedrick might feel embarrassed and stop playing. A halfling bard, I never thought I'd see the day, he thought. He rolled over onto his other shoulder, trying to find a comfortable place on this gravel. How did I end up over here? He barely opened one eye, squinting to see into the pitch black. No more bandits? I wonder where they had all run off to.
Freedrick held his guitar and strummed it slowly. He placed it back in his backpack. He sighed as the warmth of the fire radiated throughout his body. He stood up and crept toward Faerune, trying not to wake him. He sat on a log nearby and whispered, "Ah, you musta be exhossted. But you dun need to worry, Mr. Faerune, Freedrick here a saved ya. Keep restin', wi'll travel tomarry." Freedrick slumped over against the rock wall and snored.
Edwin nearly jumped out of his robe. He looked at the woman to see her laughing hysterically at him. "Real funny, Deedra. You know that I'm high strung."
Deedra gasped for air after nearly making Edwin soil himself. Between her heavy breaths she uttered, "Of…c-c-c-course…I know…why would…I d-d-d-do it if you weren't?" She was a half human, half barbarian. He wasn't as tall as most of the barbarians around the camp, she what she lacked in height, she made up for in strength of mind. She wore a purple robe with black fray that covered her body from neck to toe. She reached into her robe and retrieved a small parchment. She unraveled it and read aloud. "By the order of Supreme Justice M-M-M-Marekk, I am hereby your g-g-g-guardian on the trip to Luclin. I am to ensure you safe arrival t-t-t-to the moon, and t-t-t-to represent you on your j-j-j-journey." She placed the parchment back into her robe. "Another ghost c-c-c-chase, huh, Edwin?"
Edwin wrinkled his forehead in confusion, "I just received that order, how were you able to get the writing down before I even left the tower?"
She giggled. "Carrier pigeons, silly. It's the wave of the future." She pointed in the sky to a small grayish bird fly from out the window of the tower. It swooped downward and landed nearby a scribe. He took the paper off of the bird's delicate leg and reached for a piece of parchment. He copied the note onto the parchment and gave it to a crier. They faintly heard the name "Grottin…" come from the crier's lips. A small gnome scurried over to the man. The crier asked the gnome a few questions then handed him the parchment. The gnome scanned the order, then threw it on the ground. A guard come out from a tent and grabbed the gnome. "Poor Grottin, he knows any act of aggression t-t-t-toward the Supreme Justice is a c-c-c-crime. I hope they don't t-t-t-torture him like they did with Yllrin." Deedra looked over to the gallows. Yllrin's body still hung limply in the noose, warning others not to make his same decision.
"You do not need to worry, Deedra. Your Lord Tyrannicus's daughter. He could pull some strings if you ever got into any trouble. Now we must make haste. I fear that with every passing second that this Abraham will be further into the unknown regions of Luclin." Edwin turned quickly around, robe flaring up against the wind. "Come, Deedra. Let us get into a more open area for you teleportation." The two walked out of the camp and into the thick Kithcor woods.
Marekk looked out his window at the two leaving the camp. He sat in his chair and fumbled through some papers on his desk. He placed his elbow on the desk and leaned against. Why was he placed in this rotten position? He thought to himself. I was the greatest judge of the Black Wizards. Every single criminal I was appointed to take down was judged either that day or the day after. Tyrannicus and I were the perfect team. All of our captured men plead nolo contendere. Now, I'm stuck with a supreme power, but am unable to truly use it. No matter, if everything goes as planned, I can finally be free of these binding chains of law.
Tyrannicus broke through the doors. He was a massive barbarian. A mist wolf hide covered his back while a glossy black breastplate covered his torso. He wore a flannel kilt, with his axe, the Frostmoon, dangling on his belt. A large, extravagant helmet was upon his head. He yelled out, "Marekk! Why is my daughter leaving with that womanizing bastard?"
Marekk was not shocked by Tyrannicus's intrusion. It almost became habit. Whenever his daughter would leave for anything, he would burst through the doors demanding an explanation. Marekk could have easily had Tyrannicus killed for entering the Supreme Justice's quarters without permission, but he had a mutual respect for the man who had saved his life so many times. "She was the only attorney available at the present time. You and I both know that crimes have risen nearly three fold this past year, and we aren't recruiting enough newcomers to keep up the demand."
Tyrannicus still argued, "Couldn't you have gotten Emila, or D'lock to represent that snake Edwin?"
"Emila was already assigned to represent another judge, and you know that D'lock has been trying to kill Edwin ever since he set foot in this camp. Tyrannicus, you can't hold onto her forever. She needs to see the world. You know that, don't you?
Tyrannicus hung his head lower. His helmet cast a shadow over his eyes, hiding his tear-filled eyes. "I know, but she's still just a kid. And she's been taking a liking to that Edwin. She's growing up so fast." He wiped his eyes with his arm. "Dammit! When I was on the battlefield, I never had to worry about these things. I miss those days, Marekk. Why'd we end up here? I can't sit around all day signing papers! There's too much warrior in my blood! When are the plans going to be set into motion?"
"Soon, my good attorney, soon."
Tilkin walked in the back of the group, though he did not know it, with Magus. "Mr. Magus, what does this place look like? It's called Echo Caverns, but I haven't hear a single echo this entire time."
"That's because if someone were to talk too loud, the entire cave would become aware of us and quite possibly attack us. We need to keep our voices down so that won't happen, O.K.?"
"O.K., Mr. Magus," Tilkin whispered. He tried to whisper louder than normal to catch Pa's attention. "Pa, have we seen any sign of Faerune yet? My legs are getting offly tired." He rhythmically tapped the floor as he walked along.
Crassus whispered back, "No sign of Faerune, but I see some light at the end of this hallway."
Abraham was leading the group, sword drawn. "Keep quiet back there. I see movement ahead." He picked up the pace and squinted to see what was in the distance. Suddenly, a slight buzzing sound came from the brush. Abraham looked around to see what had caused the noise, but saw nothing. He turned around and looked at the group. They all had the same confused expression on their faces. All except Tilkin, he was looking around as usual, but this time he had a determined look on his face, as if trying to calculate where the sound had come from. He finally honed in on a small bush in the corner. Abraham followed Tilkin's eyes and crept toward the bush. Another buzz came from the bush, followed by another, much louder buzz. Abraham pulled his sword to his side, and in one swift motion, hacked the bush in two.
Green blood shot from the bush and a two large mosquito appeared from the mangled shrub, one falling, the other rising. Abraham tried to swat at the rising one with his sword, but the mosquito was far too fast. Every time he missed with his sword, the mosquito would jab at neck and arms, sucking out cups of blood each time. Abraham's vision became cloudy. He muttered, "Guys, a little help…"
Galena slowly walked toward the bloodsucker and closed her eyes, leaving herself virtually unprotected. Abraham shouted, "Galena, guard yourself, it's heading straight for you." He made one last measly swing at the mosquito before it fly out of his reach and sped for the unprotected Galena.
Galena's eyes remained closed as the mosquito's buzz drew closer and closer. It overconfidently lunged for the woman. At the last possible moment, Galena opened her eyes and grabbed the mosquito's sucker, crushing it in her hand. She took the flailing body of the insect and crushed it in her other hand. Abraham's blood seeped through her fingers and trickled to the floor.
Abraham fell to the floor. He felt his life leaving him. He reached for his gauntlet and removed it from his right hand. He placed his hand on his neck. A pale blue glow radiated from his body as a healing wave traveled to his wounds. They disappeared, almost as if they had been zippers. He felt his life returning to him. He reached for his sword and used it as a brace to get to his feet. The party rushed beside him. Tilkin was almost left behind, but Crassus turned back around and picked him up. "Is everything alright, Pa?"
"I think so," Pa said unconfidently, "but we should go and make sure everyone's O.K."
Magus leaned over and picked up the first mosquito killed and studied it. It must have been at least three feet long, from head to toe. He reached into his robe and pulled out a small art pad and a ruler. He quickly sketched the mosquito, noting all the major measurements. Length from one end to other: three feet. Length of legs: two feet. Length of sucker: six inches. Length of torso: immeasurable. (Note: body was cut in two, cannot make accurate estimate.) He flipped the page over and wrote down other scientific information about the mosquito. Color: light green. Known Habitat: Echo Caverns. Scientific Name: unknown.
"Magus, hurry up! Either stay there in the dark with that stupid mosquito or come down here," ordered Crassus.
"Very well, the advancement of science can wait for the senseless pursuit of man," Magus mumbled. He put the art pad back into his pocket and ran toward the group, robe billowing behind him.
Guard Quarto stood lazily at the doorway. His head was hunched over and his body was heaving slowly. The door opened slowly, and out crept Crassus and the others. Tilkin kept tapping the floor, when he accidentally hit the wooden door. Quarto jumped awake, mumbling, "I'm sorry, sir. We don't have anymore potatoes." He looked up to see five people staring at him. Embarrassed, he recited what seemed to be an old welcoming, "Welcome to Shadowhaven. I am glad that you have chose to stay here, please exit using the door to your right."
Tilkin whined, "Shadowhaven! We were just here! Pa, did you get us turned around in circles?"
Crassus scratched his pseudo-baldhead. A few hairs left drifted to the ground. "No, this isn't the same way we went into the Caverns. Excuse, sir, how come we seemed to be back in Shadowhaven."
"Oh, this happens all the time. Don't worry, it's not that uncommon for people to use the main entrance and come back up through the side entrance."
"Why in the world would you have two entrances to one place?" Abraham demanded.
"Because…" the guard paused for a moment, "Truth is, Shadowhaven is strapped for cash. So, we built the Echo Caverns to look like a real tunnel even though your most likely going to just end up back here. And since the halls of the cave are so dark, we employ thieves to steal from you on your trip to nowhere."
Tilkin checked his pocket, then sighed in relief when he still felt his music box there. Crassus felt for his, nothing was gone. Magus felt for his money pouch, but it was gone. "Damnation! You people are cold hearted, you know that?"
Guard Quarto just shrugged.
Galena stepped forward. She didn't have to worry because she never carried any money around. All her winnings from contests were safely in her bank account. "Do the guards work in shifts?"
"Yes, in fact we do."
"Where were you last posted?"
"Some lame job on the other side of the bridge to Paludal. That is a real cave. Swarmed with baddies. We had a surge of bandits flood toward us, running madly away from something inside. Me and my buddy, Carlson, we hacked a bunch of them down. Cut off a few heads and watched their bodies run into the water below. Quite funny, actually. Why did you ask?" He looked up to see no one around. He shrugged again and fell back asleep.
"Do you think that's Faerune who did that?" Crassus asked Abraham.
"I'm certain of it."
