2. Clash of faith
We fled from a lot of fire and bad news, into the portal, I mean, what else was there to do? I was one of the first to come through the portal and as soon as I was through I went to my left. A man tried to speak to me, I think the language was elvish, but I couldn't understand what he was saying. I told him to speak common, and he went away. I found some nice trees and a little way off the path I kept close to one of them, observing the place we had just arrived in. There were houses, it appeared to be a village. People came bustling out, looking at us. They looked like they had never seen so many strange people before. I heard the clan chief tell us to come inside.Two hunters made sure everybody came, but they let two rat-likes stay outside. They didn't see me. The rat-likes were discussing something and I decided to walk around in the village a bit. The two hunters could see well in the dark, and urged me to go inside. I was very suspicious but I didn't think I had a choice.
Inside, there were a lot of people just standing around. I slid to the back of the building, which looked like an inn. I found a big table and sat down. On the next table, a white-clad man and his friends were talking. I was very scared and didn't trust anyone there. But when the white-clad man sat next to me and asked me why I was so hostile, I thawed a bit. He got me a glass of water and we talked for a long time. He introduced himself as Sir Rion, a paladin of Imperito [God of justice]. His traveling companions were Sir Ravian, sir Quantum Ferrum, and Lady Thaliama, an Elf. I also met Rothgir the Dwarf, Cursin who had spoken to me in Elvish earlier, Holly and Fenris. After I had spoken to them a bit more, I went to take a look outside. The hunters didn't stop me. Where we had come through the portal, nothing was to be seen. I sneaked around the trees a bit and I listened in on some people talking. One of them was a woman with horns on her head. They were talking about a castle and more. After a while I went back inside and found out none of the villagers had heard about a castle. They said that besides this small fertile area, all they knew was out there was plains of ice and snow.
Soon after that, the village was attacked by undead. I helped fight them off, and went back inside to ponder. All I wanted was to find a quiet place on my own in a nice forest with happy little trees so I could find rest...and apparantly this wasn't the place. The clan chief announced there would be tests in the morning to see if we wanted to stay and whether we were strong enough to stay.
The next morning, I sought some herbs near the graveyard and found some good ones. Then I joined a group of hunters to go hunting. We walked towards a small patch of trees away from the village where there was game, and I scouted. I found two rabbits and we hauled their bodies back to the clan. I tried to get a hair from the horned girl but she demanded it back. The hair was needed for a ritual. I did acquire a hair of the Skaven man (He wanted money later).
Some fireminions appeared, claiming a sacrifice for the firegodess, and we fought them. They called an earthquake but I could remain standing. Fenris kneeled before them, he is a follower of the Goddess of Fire. The demons asked him if he would sacrifice a member of the clan and he obeyed. The fire demons took a clansman, and he didn't interfere. The clansman was incinerated and I kneeled besides the ashes and asked Storok, God of the Earth, to have mercy on his soul.
Then we were told to accompany a guide on a route past tests of courage and intelligence. I had found some herbs that morning and I brew a potion for courage. We were of the last group to go. I scouted with Cursin the elf, and we came upon the first test, that of throwing a log. We all passed, I threw it 7 and a half feet, just like all of the other men.
The second test was that of intelligence. We had to play chess against an old man. I don't play chess but when we took one of his pieces, a fighter appeared on top of the hill we sat under. I immediately stood up again, but I was ordered to sit down. I wasn't comfortable at all. When we took the fourth piece, there was a fourth fighter and we were attacked. I fought bravely, but then died in battle.
A second later, I realized it had all been an illusion. We were ordered to walk along a path. The third test was that of magic. Two sorcerers cast spells on us and the rest of us had to guess what it was. After five tests we could go along the way. We came across some more rabbits. I communicated with them by sign language, and asked them which way we should go. They showed us the way and let us pass.
The fourth test was that we came across two lovers, who wanted to kill themselves. I was scouting the way, and didn't interfere with that. The last test was when we came across two women fighting over whose cow it was. Then an old man also came along. Then two of the evil party killed the two women, thus solving the problem.
Cursin was very angry with them and attacked them. He ran after them and when I saw him run after them I followed. I kept the fight from becoming too bloody and told Cursin not to take justice in his own hands, and to let the clan chief handle it. Cursin had dropped his sword and agreed.
Once back at the clan I immediately reported to the clan chief what happened and after fighting another patch of fire demons there was a trial. The murderers were set free! Cursin was very angry indeed and tried to get at them. They were sentenced to public ridicule and we threw rotten meat at them.
After dinner, the clan chief spoke again. Apparently somebody had been tampering with the food, and all men between 25 and 35 were poisoned to be madly in love with the chief's daughter. There was a tournament to determine who would have her hand in marriage.
Argh, a wandering hideous creature, won the tournament! The daughter called upon her right to challenge him and choose her own husband - if she won. She won, and chose Sir Rion. Just before the marriage, I had a small chat with the son of the Chieftain, who stated that his grandfather (who was raised after his death and now was an undead clan head) was a servant of The Unnamed, and that he wanted to learn what he could do. I reported this to Sir Quantum and the other paladins. We suspected something would happen at the wedding, but it didn't. Grandpa was present though. After the wedding he walked outside and stood talking to the horned girl. I told the paladins that Grandpa wasn't at his grave. Ravian and Quantum said that that would be the perfect time to bless the grave in hope to stop the raids of undead. I scouted the area near the graveyard, and came across people, the ice elf Kylikki, grandpa, and some of their friends. Before I knew it, they knocked me out.
When I woke up, the full moon had not moved much in the sky so I figured it was less than an hour that I was knocked out. I felt a bit dizzy and faint, and I checked my pockets only to find that I was mugged.
When I was back inside - very grumpy indeed - I was told we were going to have a ritual to shatter the haunted sword of Sir Quantum. The ritual needed the hairs of all species and we had eventually captured those hairs. I had to keep all people away from the ritual but soon there was another undead raid. I was badly injured and luckily Fenris had a healing potion. It was slightly alcoholic though, and soon I was drunk. The Dwarf knocked me unconscious to keep me from disturbing the ritual... After I woke up [sober again], the sword was shattered, and we were suddenly attacked by more and more undead. After a heavy fight I stumbled upon Sir Rion, who was bleeding heavily from a wound on his leg. I went to search for healing and his wife. I found the potion, drank myself as well, and fed more to Rion and his drunken wife. She apparently had also had need for healing. The three of us, very very drunk but good shape, hugged some trees and giggled. Back inside I brew a healing potion for the dwarf and sat by the fire.
Sir Ravian joined me shortly after, and aksed me what was wrong. I felt hurt and lost, and I confessed all about my past, my family. Then, Ravian put his arm around me and said he had been worried when I didn't show up for the ritual, he said he had come after me, when I was lying in the forest, but that he couldn't find me. I was so touched and cried. "If you ever need protection, Anna, just call me" he said, and I cried silent tears, afraid to touch him.
All of a sudden, fire demons appeared again, and took three people, including Thaliama. We went to a field where she was kept, Cursin and I scouting ahead of the group. The field was lit by hundreds of candles, and there were fireballs and blasts in the air! We reported back and the group approached. The fire goddess was there! She demanded us to kneel before her. Then she summoned minions to attack us.
The fight was heavy, and I was injured a couple of times but healed by the strange fire wizard. I protected Sir Ravian and he protected me. In battle we lost each other, and when I was attacked by three fire demons, I called his name for help. He came to rescue me. We fought valiantly, but kept losing eachother in the fray, Rion sometimes near me, then Ravian, always trying to keep close, but never actually succeeding.
When I was fighting a fire demon, I saw that another one had just stuck its sword through the already heavily bleeding sir Rion. I finished off my opponent, and ran towards him, trying to fend off the demon. But before I could get to him, the demon called upon the powers of his Goddess, and burnt the body of sir Rion.
Limping, leaning on sir Ravian, and with the wounded and dead on litters, we returned to the village, where three days passed in which healing was bestowed upon those who could still be saved.