Ether V1

You wake to the sound of waves gently lapping against the shore. Your head hurts and is tender to the touch. You rub your hand across your forehead, a thin trickle of blood pools in your open palm. //What happened?// You struggle to your feet, your body aches. You are standing on a black strand that stretches in a wide crescent ending with fragments of broken cliff. The sky is laden with [[dark clouds]]

The path is narrow, bordered by dark stone; its surface is slick and glistens strangely in the half-light. //This place looks familiar but...// There is an image in your mind, always out of focus. The path winds its way through the jagged shards of rock and rises steeply. Your body feels dull and heavy, each movement is a strain like walking through thick mud. You reach the top of the trail and follow [[the path]]

The path levels out onto an open grasslands. There are a pile of old stones heaped together where the path splits in two. A silent breeze gently bends the pale stalks of grass, creating swirling patterns across the open expanse. One path leads down towards what looks like to a small cluster of [[dwellings ->ether]].It is difficult to make out as a fine mist is drifting in from the sea. The other path rises sharply tracing the cliff edge, the path turns to stone steps etched into the hillside, the steps end with a [[stone archway]] bordered by a low wall.

The stone steps are greasy and lichen-covered, you nearly lose your footings, you use your hands to grip the steps, half crawling, half climbing. You body aches with the memory of an unknown pain. You reach the top. Beyond the arch is uneven ground hemmed in by the low wall in a roughly square shape. The ground is littered with [[standing stones.]]

The stones are not arranged in any manner but it is clear that the enclosure is an old graveyard. You pace over to the low wall, there is a sheer drop on the other side to the dark sands and jagged rock towers. The grey sea is tipped with white crests and dark clouds hang low on the horizon. You hear a noise behind you. It's coming from behind one of the stones, you move [[closer]]

The sound is growing louder, it's like a tearing sound, your heart is pounding. You peer around the [[grey stone.]]

There's a deep trench on the other side of the stone. You look closer, A crow is picking away at something ... It turns its head towards you and opens and closes its beak. No sound comes out. You stamp the ground trying to scare it off. It flutters its wings and flies up out of the hole and perches on the stone beside you, tilting its head towards you. Its eyes are white. It opens and closes its beak again. there is silence. There is something in the grave. [[Take a look]] [[Leave the graveyard]]

you turn... It is perched upon the archway, watching... You back away slowly, carefully feeling your way down the steps. You follow the trail back down to the [[pile of stones]]

You take the other path but you can't see the dwellings anymore. A thick curtain of fog has enveloped the grasslands. There is no wind. You follow the winding path descending into the [[ether]]

The path winds its way through the rolling hills. Where the village was is now a wall of grey as mist hangs thick in the now still air. It is quiet. Your muffled footfalls and shallow breaths are the only sounds. You are keenly aware of each cracking twig and stalk beneath your feet as the sound ripples across the greyness. You try the scan the ground in front of you but it's no use the mist has wrapped everything in an opague shroud. You think you can see shapes, vague forms moving out in the grey but as you move closer they disolve into nothing only to form again at the borders of your vision. The path is [[descending...]]

You hear water. It's not flowing so much as trickling and its growing louder. You feel it before you see it. You feel the coldness of the water through the boot. You hear voices. but can't see anything in the grey, they are getting louder. There is a familiarity to the voices but... The words ... you can't understand what is being said. There are shapes moving through the grey. [[Stay hidden]]

The mist begins to thin and you can see a little further ahead. There is a low circular wall in the middle of the road; it looks like the village well. Three small houses line one side of the road, on the other side there are the empty shells of another three, they are roofless and the stone walls are black with soot. You can smell the acrid scent of ash still thick in the air You walk up to the well. It is a low circular wall Around the rim of the wall are stone facades evenly spaced. There are various different symbols on the facades - a bow and arrow, the sun, a spear, a hammer, a flame. There is an upturned bucket with a rope tied around it on the ground beside it. You pick it up and lower it into the well. The well is deep but you soon feel the bucket make contact with the water. You pull it back up feeling the extra weight of the water. you hadn't realised how thirsty you were until you pulled the bucket out, the water is clear and pure and slakes your thirst . [[Investigate the houses ]]

The houses are small stone buildings with thatched roofs and a single window set deep in the thick walls. The window is covered with dirt, after wiping some away it is too diffcult to see inside but from the looks of it no one has lived here for some time. You walk to the door, it is slightly ajar, it creaks as you push it and quietly step inside. The light from the open doorway barely penetrates the gloom but you can see a sparsely furnished room with a table and something like a cupboard. There is an empty fireplace, it doesn't look like its been used recently. In one corner, a bed frame is standing on its side. Walking deeper into the room you see the dim light glint off an object set on a thin shelf against the wall. Moving closer, you can see that the object is a small framed picture. There is a portrait of a woman with dark hair, her eyes are gleamiing. The background to the portrait is a vivid red laquer. The paint has been scratched away where her mouth should be. [[Check the portrait]] [[Go to the next house]]

You push open the door to the next house. The layout is the roughly the same. There is a table with four chairs, a cupboard is set against the back wall, a bottle with clear liquid sits on it. A large pot is lying on its side in the blackened hearth. There is writing scrawled across the wall, it's small and difficult to [[read.]] [[go to the last house]]

The door is in splinters, there are fresh scorch marks in the hearth, the cupboard and table are overturned and the charred remains of a chair lies strewn on the floor. [[go to the church]]

The church sits on a hill at the end of the road. It is made of dark grey stone,it looks ancient. You approach the wooden door. You put your shoulder to it and push, the door is heavy and takes some effort to move. You can feel the breeze as you push it open. The entire back wall of the church is missing. what should be an enclosed space instead is a framed portait of sky. A stone altar sits on a raised dias before the landscape of cloud. Shafts of weak light cut across the space in between and play with shards of coloured glass that are scattered across the stone floor. There are several upturned pews stacked to form a makeshift barrier angled against one of the side walls. Behind the barrier is a blackened circle with the embers of a small fire still glowing. "Hello, is there anyone here ..." Your voice echoes off the stone walls. "Hello ...?" There is a bundle of blankets lying in the corner, beside it, there is a pile of wood stacked neatly against the wall. You look around you, the church is empty. Your body shivers reminding you of the damp clothes clinging to your cold bones. You gather up some thin stripes of wood and place them in the embers, blowing on them, you bring the fire back to life. You place more wood on top. It isn't long before the flames fill you with warmth You pull over the blankets and wrap them around you. Something falls on to the floor. You pick up a small book wrapped in red cloth, You unwrap the cloth revealing a dark brown leather covered book, the cover is embossed with the figure of a woman standing before the image of a flame. There is a page jutting out from the side of the book. You open it up. A single page has been placed loosely in the middle of the book. It is blank on one side and on the other [[it reads]]

You stay crouched in the shallow water. The voices are getting closer. You feel a tingling sensation run down your spine, your heart beats shaking your body. You feel something ... There are shapes within shapes in the formless ether like the patterns of clouds within a grey sky. The voices approach, shift and change and like whispers are gone. The cold water seeps into your boots and chills you to the bone. Slowly you move across, careful to remain quiet, each droplet of water echoes in the ether. Solid earth replaces the thick mud beneath your feet. you move over the [[uneven ground ->Landfall village]]

The writing is written in ash, it says (text-rotate-z:22)[//The Truth shall set you free//]

You jump down into the open grave, the earth is sodden and there is a shallow pool of water collected at the bottom. There is something beneath the water's surface. You reach down and pick up a picture frame. It looks the outline of a woman's face, it is difficult tell, the water has seeped through the canvas and the colours have bled through. The are holes where the woman's eyes should be. You turn the picture over, there is a roughly carved symbol of what looks like a flame. [[climb out ->Leave the graveyard]]

The crow is watching you, its head follows your movement, tracing the line of your retreat back towards the archway. //What is going on here?// As you pass through the [[archway ->screech]], you hear a shrill screech...

You turn over the portrait, there is a symbol of a hammer carved into it.

In the begining there was only the source. And from the source all knowledge came. Breathe in the exalted. For Life shall reveal itself unto you Time may suffer still but tarry not in the shadows For the righteous must walk the path of light. Hear the true words Speak with the true voice Rejoice for the chosen shall be reborn in the holy image of the eternal. All those who have sought but not found shall be saved. And those that wandered from the path shall one day find their way back. Thou shalt not suffer the blade in blame but in devotion. All that has been or shall be, will be written in an empty sky Accept the [[true vision]]

It must be some sort of religious text. I wonder what it means? You put some more wood on the fire and huddle up against the wall. The warmth of the fire is soothing and your body aches from a deep tiredness,. //Rest you are weary// You lean back against the wall and [[wait...]]

It's dark. The fire has gone out. It takes a few moments for your eyes to adjust, the church is bathed in a pale light. The page is still in your hand but as you search the ground around you, the book is gone. You hear a noise on the other side of the pews. "Hello?" You struggle to your feet The entire space is filled with a pale moonlight, the shattered glass lining the ground is glistening. You move around the pews to the centre of the aisle, there is nobody there but something is moving on the floor just beyond the altar. Reaching the end of the aisle you step up on the dias, there is a dark stain on the surface of the altar with ragged lines trailing down the back of the pillar. On the ground, a small wooden chalice is rolling back and forth. On the floor beside the chalice you see the same red laquered portrait of the woman. You pick it up, the lacquer has been removed where her ears should be. //what does it all mean?// You turn it over, a symbol of the sun is carved there. You can hear the sound of waves crashing against rock. You look out on to a path descending from the rear of the church, it snakes its way down towards a rocky headland before tracing the line of the coast and veering north. You think you see the figure of a woman almost gliding between the [[trees that line the path,]] for just a moment she seems real then she is gone.

You leavde the forge behind you. The dirt track traces the coastline for a while, below the white crests of waves crash against the shards of land scattered out in the [[bay.->edge]] .

The wind is becoming stronger and the path trails along the high cliff edge. You feel exposed, vulnerable. You can't shake the feeling someone is [[watching you]]

Ahead you can see a crescent beach and the land juts out in the sea in jagged spikes forming a bay. Here the path splits in two; one path curves away from the coastand follows a line heading into a nearby forest The other path continues skirting the coast then ends abruptly and is replaced by a narrow trail descending the cliff face. There are two stone waymarkers where the path divides. A stone with a symbol of a flame etched into it sits by the [[forest]] path Another stone with a sun symbol leads towards the [[cliff]]

The pale moonlight glistens off the cresting waves. As you descend, you notice several small shapes on the shoreline. Your boots touch sand, looking around you can't see any movement but anything could be watching from the shadows of the cliff face. <img src=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/ed/75/30/ed75303b88513ebea825e398715f24ee.jpg> As you get closer to the shapes you realize they are people. There are four bodies lying stretched across the black sand. It looks like a wild animal has been at one, there are three men , their faces bloated and changed. The last body is a woman, you kneel down beside her, grey hair covers her face, you move it aside. Something catches your breath as you inhale, a memory of a smile, cold hands finding warmth //Njala// Instinctively you reach out and touch her. She looks as if she sleeping, her face is pale Kneeling there, a stream of memory floods your mind, you feel the strain across your shoulder as the oars try to find the water,its grey all around you and the sea is raging. There is a light in the gloom and a voice calling. A voice calling ... [[drawing]] us in ...

It is dark with the gnarled branches of trees creating web like patterns on the ground. <img src=https://i.pinimg.com/564x/39/a5/49/39a549e1ab3c30c2c7360df5f851e867.jpg> The path weaves its way around the darkened trees, the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze is like whsipers calling to you. You move silently carefully, [[shapes within the trees]] move alongside you ... watching... waiting.

You move along the ledge. It widens to a trail and climbs into the hills. After a while you come to a wide rock shelf. There is a small hut in the lee of an overhanging rock wall. Leaning against the hut is large pile of firewood. There is a blackened circular mark in the smooth stone in the centre of the shelf, the remnants of splintered wood are scattered around. Beyond this the trail snakes around the rim and continues along the jagged ridge You walk over to [[the hut]]

You follow. Moving over the uneven ground quickly down towards the headland. The sky is clear with a crescent moon filling the landscape with an eerie glow. The path levels out, your feet hit hard packed earth with a grinding sound. you break into a run, there is something pulling you along You're drawn to a [[presence.]]

The path descends towards the sea and ends at a broken [[causeway]]. On the other side there is a collection a small buildings.

The stones and slick and the water deep, large fissures criss-cross the broken rock, in parts it has completely crumbled away. The water is seething, crashing against the borders of the causeway, sea spray is thrown high in the air and erupts at random between the broken stone. The moon gives just enough light that you can navigate your way to the other side. You walk up the embankment there are some small buildings in a circle and what looks like a garden, there are several rows of plants. At the end of the garden, there are two mounds, nothing is growing on them. You hear a noise from one of the buildings, it sounds like metal on metal, you approach the door to a long flat building.You can see the glow of a fire. There is a woman inside. In one hand she has a hammer and she is beating a long piece of metal with it. Sparks swirl in the air around her. She stops ...as if sensing your presence. She turns and holds up the piece of metal, its tip glows red. She smiles, tilting her head. You move into the doorway, "Hello, Was it you in the church? I'm sorry I didn't mean to-" "Church? ...[[the forge]] is the only place of worship left"

The door is splintered and lying on the ground. There is an axe standing against the wall though it looks like the door wasn't broken with a blade, it's as if something tore it from its frame and ripped it apart. There is little of value inside, you rummage around, something catches your eye wedged beneath the frame of the roof. There is a simgle sheet of parchment stuck under the thatch. You pull it out and step outside to [[read it]]

//Twelfth day Breas arrived in the night, his family have been struck by an illness. I prepared for him a tincture, to quell the fever and sooth the pain. I would go with him but my place is here until the return of our people. I pray he reaches them in time. I could see his desperation. They should have sent for me. Fools, I fear Landfall is without its leaders for too long now. I hope our sons return soon. Fifteenth day It has been days since we have seen the sun, the mist is unlike anything we’ve known since arriving here. There no wind, no wind at all and everything is grey. We have not seen anyone from landfall since Breas, I heard no news of his family. I pray to the keeper, they have recovered Sixteenth day I sent Hogni to landfall with the cart two days ago, he is yet to return. I do not know how wise a decision it was as it’s difficult to see any distance ahead. I pray accident or misfortune has not befallen him. Tomorrow I will send a party to search the main road. I can’t shake the feeling, something is wrong. Seventeenth day None have returned by way of the road. Something is very wrong The animals, they sense it, all the dogs in the village have been acting strange. Howling for no reason, growling at the edge of the village. They know something is out there. I set a guard on the mountain road, nothing can be seen but there are sounds, unearthly sounds. We are alone, the people are scared. Day and night are hard to tell apart. The people are losing hope. We must do something, there has to be an end to this accursed mist. I pray the winds, release us from this torment, I pray Eighteenth day Hogni returned if you could say it was him. His eyes were blood red, he had open wounds on his arms and chest and was almost delirous. He said some strange affliction had driven the people of Landfall mad. He didn't see the others I sent after him, I fear the worst. He said Landfall is burning. He had lost a lot of blood. I did what I could but it was [[too late]] I lit the beacon fire but I fear its light cannot penetrate the grey. We must leave this place before it’s too late. //

//What happened ? These words are Njala's ... I know it// You pick up the axe Gather the firewood and [[light the beacon]]

The pile catches and there a bright blaze. //I pray a friend will see this ... there are no friends left // You sit beside the fire, and enjoy its warmth for just a moment. The wound on your leg is weeping. You place the axehead into the fire and wait... You pull the axe from the fire and without thinking press it against the open wound... The pain floods your body, you cry out... The smell of burnt flesh fills your nostrils. you collapse on your side with the pain, growling through gritted teeth. Your growl is met by another from the other side of the fire. //No... it can't be, not now... run// You see a single red eye staring at you, there are deep wounds stretched out across his flanks and half its face is [[ravaged.]] but it is alive. You struggle to your feet

It moves You move Trying to keep the fire between you. You grip the [[axe]] tightly

Your leg is throbing with pain; your movement laboured // strike quickly// Its nostrils are flaring wildly, saliva dripping from its mangled jaw You feel the weight of the axe in your hand, its blade is still glowing hot You move as one The hound lunges foward and springs into the air. You plant your feet and with one fluid movement swing the axe in a wide [[arc]]

The blade connects with the creature's neck, the force of the blow sends the creature sideways into the flames. The creature catches fire. You fall the ground in a spasm of pain. The flames engulf the creature, its single eye still staring. //Get up, move// You struggle to your feet and follow the [[ledge trail]]

You stagger along the ridge, leg pulsing with each step. The trail rises, falls then evens out and traces the coastline. The mist is thinning. Out in the water you see a dim light. The trail branches off, one path descends in the direction of the [[light]] there is a stone waymarker with what looks like a spear etched into it. The other path rises higher into the [[mountains]]The waymarker has a symbol of a hammer etched into it.

You make your way down the trail, you can just about see the ragged shoreline. The thin sliver of moon gives enough light to make the outline of a boat moving towards an outcrop of rock. As you get closer you can see a figure waving a lighted torch in an outstreched hand over his head. The mist thins as move closer. There are a several people in the craft. Reaching the edge, you hear a voice The boat drifts on the water near by. You call out. you are close enough to see two figures standing at the prow. You see recognition in the their eyes. You don't understand. They raise their bows arrows are loosed.

The trail rises then begins to descend. You are moving slowly, looking back along the trail each time you think you hear something. //He follows// There are voices in the mist urging you on, holding you back. Memories stream through your mind but they are not your own. The path begins to wind [[slowly downwards]]

"Can you tell-" "You shouldn't be here" "What happened here? Where is everyone?" If he comes back and you're here there'll be blood" "If who comes back? What is happening here, where is everyone?" The woman walks around the other side of a large stone basin.She twirling the hot poker around and around in glowing red circles, "they're all gone, all gone ... he made sure" "Who is he" "The Smith, he made them all go away" "The Smith? This is his forge?" "He walks the paths alone, he wanders, he made them all go mad and then he hunted the rest, they're all gone, all gone, except you and me ..." She turns towards you and for the first time you can see her eyes, they are shot through with blood, she smiles,"It's already too late for me, but you... you might have a chance ... maybe, there's still time" "What? I don't understand, still time for what?" "I tried to find the lady but I couldn't find the path, they kept calling to me... she could help ...maybe, I don't know ... no ... the lady, she is your best hope." "I don't understand Best hope? "You can see it, can't you, see it in me, I can tell, the eyes don't lie. In the village, you the drank from the well, didn't you?" Her expression changed and her smile was gone, "you can hear the whispers,can't you? "What?" "You haven't much time,leave and go north, I'm sorry I couldn't find the way but maybe you can." "What was wrong with the water." I saw him do it, he crept into the village in the night and dropped something into the water, I saw it glow, a few days later the fires started and the killing..." "What did he put into it? Tell me?" You move towards her, suddenly angry, She backs off, raising the poker to your face, stay back." You step back "Why... why didn't you warn them? Why didn't you do something?" Her face contorts with anger,"Warn them? We deserved it for what we did, what we let happen ...poor little Mira." "Who, what are talking about?" "He buried them ... we didn't even give them that .. .I drank the water ... I knew ...I drank it anyway." She turns away "Go! Seek out the lady while there's still time." "How?" "[[North]], keep heading north but beware of the Smith, go!"

"Come with me, maybe there's-" "Go! She jabs the poker at you, "there is no time, he'll have heard me in the forge, he'll come here, you must go." "But what about you?" She smiled, "It's too late, there are too many voices in my head, at first they whispered, now they scream ... I can see them all ... their memories are my memories... go ...if you're quick you may hide in the forest and he'll pass you by... go ...[[please"]]

Your leg is throbbing with each step. The trail drops steeply and curves its way down to the valley floor. The pilgrims trails lie beyond the broken causeway, the tide is too high and the causeway still lies beneath the water. Night is retreating, the sky is a pale green twilight. You sit in the shadow of a wide cavern and wait... You watch the ridgeline for any movement and grip the axe. //Don't sleep// You slip deeper into the crag and try to rest your back against the rock wall, it's cold and water trickles down the rock face. It gathers in small pools and spills from each shelf and ledge to the next one. The sounds of water falling feel your senses, it echoes off the rocks, by the shore, the waves ebb and flow in a gentle motion. The colours seem to shift and change. //Don't sleep, he's watching// You bolt upright, suddenly [[aware]]

//The light drew us in. How could we have known? It's all whispers in the dark// I can't think... //The light drew us in ... Whispers in the dark ...they're calling to you Listen...All the voices are one ... Run ... Listen to what they say... You hold her cold hand in yours and try to draw out the memories. Listen... Run...run... [[run]]//

The wind shifts //Run...// You feel it, looking back towards the way you came, there is a figure holfing a lantern on top of the cliff //drawing us in...// An animal is by side, you hear a noise and the animal begins moving down the trail //Run...// You let go of her hand, it falls to the black sand //I'm sorry// You run. Your body strains moving across the sand towards the cliffs, you look back,it's already on the sand charging towards you. You can hear a low growl, getting closer and closer Louder .... you hear the sand and waves and whispers all getting louder You reach the cliff face and scramble up a trail, gripping overhanging roots you climb. You strain, you feel a sharp pain in your leg and noise, the wild noise of the animal tearing at your flesh. You feel its weight and the jaws press around your leg, Your grip begins to slip. The pain sparks through your body. You kick wildly at it, Its frenzied growls get louder and more crazed. You feel the flesh rend and tear. You manage to get the upper part of the your body on a narrow ledge, you're lying flat across it now , with one leg dangling over the edge with the beast flailing in the air. you can see it clearly now. You lock eyes, its eyes are blood red. One hand grips the ledge tightly , the other feels around the ledge for something. Your hand grasps a thin shard of black stone, you slash downwards, you feel the shard dig into its flesh, for a moment its grip around your leg tightens then it lets go. It falls, crashing down the side of the cliff to the rocks below. Your heart is pounding in your chest, you breathe in deeply and raise yourself from the ledge, looking down you can't see the beast. you look back there is no sign of the figure. You hobble along the ledge it [[rises]] steeply, you cling to the hanging roots hauling yourself upwards from ledge to ledge.

"You're the last" The voice is familiar. He steps from the shadows. "The Smith" is large man, he has a rough greying beard and knotted brown hair which clings to his sloping cheeks, he's wearing a battered breast plate and leather greaves, his arms are bare and heavily scarred, in one hand he carries a large broadsword. You hold the axe, ready. His expression is fixed, staring at your eyes, "not long now" he places both hands on the hilt of the broad sword, the blade sinks into the wet sand. "It would be a mercy ...like what you gave the hound ... better this way" You step back, raising the axe "Not a weapon for fighting a man with a sword ... best you make it easy on yourself, I'll make it quick ...clean" //Like you did for us?// "Clean? Like you did for everyone else." His expression changes looking grim,"They deserved everything they got" //We did nothing wrong// "All of them? They did all deserve it?" "It doesn't matter now ... I purged this place, wiped it clean now someone else may find it and treat it better than we did, you know what we are ... why wait for the madness to come... make it easy." //We tried to help// "And Njala and the others from high village? Did they deserve it too, I read the chronicle, she tried to help" He pulls the blade from the sand,"TOO LATE, TOO LATE" He charges at you swinging the blade wildly. you fall back rolling away from the blade stroke. The blade crashes down on the rock beside you sending sparks flying. [[Circle around into open ground]] [[Retreat into the cavern]]

You can see the dark shadow of the sword shift and feel the downward blow coming, the sound of metal on rock echoes through the cavern, sparks erupt from the stone in a fountain of light. You are ready, you move sideways, your muscles strain as you swing the axe across your body. The blade cuts deep, you can feel it cut through the armour and find purshase in bone. He strumbles, crashing headlong into the cavern wall and collapses on the ground. "Fool ... you should have listened" you pull the axe from his body, he growls in pain. //Grant him mercy ...no ...what mercy did he give us?// [["Finish it ..."]] finish it ... I didn't let them suffer .. it was quick... clean" [[Leave him for the tide]]

"Strike ...I'm ready ..." //Mercy// You raise [[the axe...]]

"I would have made it quick, I gave them mercy." "How many did you burn?" "I ...he ..." "Was that mercy?....here" You throw the axe on the ground beside him "do it yourself." Wait.." You walk out of the shadows, a thin strip of light traces the horizon. "You can't leave me like this?" The voice grows distant as you reach the water line, [[it fades.->it lies.]]

The tide is receding as walk from the cavern //Thank you// The axe falls from your grasp, you leave it where [[it lies.]]

Emerging from the shadow of the cliff, you can see clearly the blood stained armour, his sword glints in the half-light. You take a swing with the axe, pushing him back for a moment. He avoids the swing and thrusts. You parry with the axe handle. "You drew them into the shore why? Njala tried to help you, and you lead them into the rocks, why?" He shifts his weight, circling you, "I didn't know ... I didn't care, it was too late, you would have tried to stop me. They all deserved to die for what they did //We were innocent//" "They did nothing, murderer" You swing wildly one way and back across your body. You miss. Your foot sinks into the wet sand as you try to turn away from the incoming blow. You meet the blow with the axe handle instead of the blade. The sword cuts through the handle, the blade spins, careers off into the sand, your leg buckles sending you into the sand, on your knees. The Smith looms over you, sword raised, "No shame ... I'll make it quick, make it clean ..."

You get to your feet //We didn't want this// Your wife and child, do you think they wanted this" "They murdered them, burned them alive" He lunges at you with the sword, you move sideways away from the thrust "Did they want this slaughter." Another stroke narrowly misses your chest but cuts deep into the flesh of your arm, you wince retreating deeper into the cavern. "All in their name?" "Shut your mouth" "How many innocents had to die so you could have your vengeance? Do you think Mira wanted THIS?" You retreat into the dark close to the cavern wall. "Don't you say her name" He is a dark shadow against the light of the cavern opening, he raises his sword high over his head and [[rushes]] toward you

The water has receded enough to cross the causeway. The mist clears and the day brightens as you walk beneath a stone archway. The stone is slick beneath your feet, ahead the northern island looms and the pilgrims trails beyond. The waters advance and withdraw around the rough stone bridge, like the breath of a living sea, you can hear the whispers, they are [[calling to you.]]

Twilight retreats as the sun peers over the horizon bathing the empty island in a soft light. You reach a fork in the path. There are two stone waymarkers, the path that rises into the hills is marked with a [[flame]] The path that traces the line of the coast is marked with a [[sun]]

The path rises steadily, your leg hurts and you are now limping heavily. Voices ebb and flow as you walk as you rise above the treeline. You can see everything The path follows the ridge, the sea stretches out on both sides endlessly. You can feel the warmth of the sun on your face. In the distance, you can see a small boat moving slowly towards the shore. //You are not alone// You follow the rising path until it becomes flat and wide. Not far, there is a strange rock formation reaching out over the edge. A woman is standing there She turns to you and smiles...

The path runs along the shore, you walk, Colour blossoms in the light of the day. Your mind feels heavy laden with a burden you can no longer bear. You walk. The voices are louder now. //We wait...// Familiar. You hear them clearly now They call to you. In the shadow of a curved stone tower, You lay down. You listen to the whispers of the ceaseless tide You wait. The water approaches and recedes...

Your body is cold to the bone, your clothes are ragged and drenched with the cold salt water. The beach is empty. You walk along the shore until you come to an outcrop of rock.There is a path hidden between the jagged [[spires]]

The forest is endless, the memories of a child spill into your mind ... running through fallen leaves ...and night fires. The trees close in around you, the darkness almost complete. //Once I knew this place// Time passes, you walk feeling your way through the [[thinning path.]]

There are whispers in the dark all around you, you see nothing but hear everything, familiar voices "Hello? is someone there?" The shivering leaves whisper. You feel a coldness grip your body. //He is watching// There is a murmur trembling through the trees, something is moving in the darkness. [[You run.]]

Something is chasing you, unseen but you feel its presence. You break from the path into the trees, branches tear at hands and face, you run on through the maze of darkened boughs. You stop, straining to listen. Whispers in the dark grow louder, they call to you //run// You turn, and run. Ahead you can see dim light and the shadow of trees, you run towards the light, stumbling over the ragged ground, [[you fall.]]

There is light. You are in clearing, a fire is burning brightly.There is a large man sitting on a rock beside it. He has a sword resting across his lap and is running a whetstone along its edge. //run// "Sit, stay a while" The figure points to a stone on the other side of the fire. You hear a low murmur behind you. You turn, a large dog is sitting at the edge of the treeline, its eyes are blood red, the murmur is a low growl. "Come, it's is better you sit, warm yourself, a fire is a salve for the soul" "I need to-" "There is no more need, not now... not anymore" He looks up from the fire, his expression is fixed. "Come, sit and let us talk of life and death and what lies between..."