Jake and the Opals

The sorceress seemingly spoke to herself, in an ever-changing cant of elven, human and dwarven. Occasionally she would pause as if making up a word, or interpreting a meaning. She seemed oblivious to the dirt and grime that she acquired as she moved about the obelisks.

The orc chuckled to himself, for some reason the area near the obelisks felt safer than anywhere else they roamed. Morgan said the road they followed mirrored the path shown to her by the Lady. Jake still didn't have much faith in paths illuminated by moonlight, but the stone pathway was a different matter. It had to have been built by somebody and it had to go somewhere, and since there hadn't been any other roads or pathways, it seemed only reasonable that this pathway would take them to the heart of Gothmordra.

This was the second set of obelisks set along that pathway. Morgan believed them to be significant, that within their symbols there lay the meanings that would have great import. Jake wasn't as impressed by them as she was, but she knew more of these things than he did, and he trusted her.

As the orc contemplated, he was unaware of the subtle shadows which moved near him, creeping ever closer in the dimming light where no shadow should have been. His foraging took him further and further away from Morgan and the further he walked from the pathway, the more the shadows followed him and coalesced around him.

The orc shivered unconciously, suddenly it seemed much colder to him and the feeling of despair which infused this land seemed that much stronger. The orc ground his teeth together, fighting off the sense of dread. Their task couldn't be as hopeless as he imagined. After all he did have Morgan le Fay with him.

But what could she do? This was no simple magic they were heading towards, this was the work of things that would not die.

The orc sat down suddenly, tired and dispirited, convinced that their quest was pointless and they should turn back. Still oblivious to the growing shadows, the orc shivered again, wishing for a moment for a blanket or thick woolen cloak to ward off the chill.

The shadows begain to break away from their hiding places, creeping slowly over the ground, touching the orc with icy fingers. Their touch seemed to absorb the light and where they touched things became more grey, as if leached of life and color.

The orc shivered uncontrollably. He thought to stand up and stamp off the cold with brisk activity, but it seemed so pointless to do so. He would only get cold again once he had burned up all of his energy. Better to sleep, he thought. To lean back against a rock and rest for a few minutes to gather his strength. Yes, that was the best thing, simply to rest.

Shadows clustered around him, covering nearly a third of his form as he felt his wakefulness drift away. Rest, just for a few moments...

Morgan comprehended more of the writings now. They recounted the story that Jake had been telling her. Here, near the base of the stones, it told of the great "accident" which had unleashed the shadow of death. Above that, it spoke of the great council which met to defend against that shadow. The next tier on the stone seemed to represent the place where the five stones of power were summoned from the silver wood of the elves, and the arguments that took place over their use.

The next tier seemed to indicate there was some problem with the stones, it wasn't clear precisely what was meant, perhaps Jake could elaborate on that part of the story. Although it seemed that their solution was to fashion a... tool? Perhaps she misread... a focus maybe. It was unclear.

As she continued reading the stones, it appear that the dwarves were in some way involved in the fashioning of the focus. Again one of the symbols, clearly orcish, was eluding her interpretation. Something about the five becoming one or being focused as one?

Morgan was annoyed to discover that from there the story appeared to jump as if being told by another writer. While it was evident the stone obelisks were being used to tell the story, it was also apparent that there were several story-tellers who all felt that different parts of the story were important.

The sorceress paused in her studies to ensure that the images and runes were properly recorded in her thoughts, and to mull over the meanings thus far. She wondered where the orc had gone, it seemed an overlong time for him to have been collecting wood.

Resuming her studies, the next tier spoke of a leader, the glyph seemed to be a dwarven one, or perhaps elven. The sorceress was puzzled. She translated its meaning as "Stormfist." At first, she could not decipher to what Stormfist referred, but after a time it became clear that Stormfist was a person, a general perhaps, though of what race was unsaid.

Stormfist was leading the forces into the shadow. Then more complex glyphs that she had trouble interpreting. Something about soldiers falling and then rising once more. The sorceress realized the horror they must have felt when the men they fought beside rose up and struck against them. The symbols seemed an attempt to relate the horror.

What was this? The shadow rune again? No wait, it was different. Shadows? Something about the rune disturbed the sorceress. There was a second meaning here, this was not a simple shadow like that of any object, nor was it the great shadow which was consuming the land. No, this shadow seemed to have a more animated meaning.

Morgan's concentration was broken and she stepped back from the obelisk, at once realizing how long it had been since she had seen Jake. The sorceress cast about, searching for the orc. He was nowhere to be seen.

The sorceress became alarmed. Her intuition screamed at her that something was wrong. Calling out, the sorceress sought a response from the orc. "Jake?"