Despite the feathers, I could feel the droplets of sweat dripping from my beak, onto the ground thirty feet below. As in the past we had triumphed again, but what about next time? No, no time to think, people are injured and I dive-bombed below to my wounded friends. The creature we had just scared off was a Horned Devil, and after defeating his minions he’d fled the battle, but at what cost? I had revealed our nature and purpose to the thing, and no doubt it would be reporting our presence to its master. No doubt our target knew we were coming after him. I felt foolish for my mistake, very foolish indeed believing that the thing would acquiesce to an unwilling slave of a Duke of Hell.

As I began tending to the wounded we spoke of our course of action. Much of my magic had been spent in the fight, and there was no doubt that we would have to rest before reaching our mark. Akaron is a dangerous place for resting, and there is little safety in this world. Valenkel informed us of a means to returning to the temple of the Old Man for rest, but that would result is the loss of two days, and we had but six left to complete our mission.

As we argued, another evil agent made an appearance. The creature was large and ugly, with gargantuan mammaries which sagged almost to the floor, and tiny wings which I knew could serve imperfectly in flight. A Malfeshne. “Beware its illusion,” I managed before transforming into a bear. Tzadik, Kay and, Amber charged in whilst Valenkel fired an arrow.

We came out even more weary than before having defeated two supernatural agents and their minions, one right after another. I patched everyone up as best I could and turned us into birds so that we would be on our way, muttering a plea to the Huntress to guide us to our prey unchallenged. I should have asked louder.

Our next impasse came in the form of a giant wasp swarm so thick that we were unable to keep our mighty breakfast down. However Estand had done his work well, and despite the nausea the poisonous stings did not affect my friends. I do not fear poison myself. I also learned that day that hell wasps have a substantial resistance to fire, and It was only after hitting Valenkel with a fiery aura that they dispersed. Once again we were on our way.

Our destination was that a world which belonged to shadow elves. I know not much about the race, but Valenkel insisted that its peoples knew the location of our mark. Upon arriving we organized a shelter molded from the rocks itself. Valenkel was turning out to be more useful than just a guide, and he fashioned a crude dome for us to rest in before continuing our journey. Our respite was interrupted only by a brief encounter between Kay and some bipedal creature which I did not recognize. It had been content to warn us to stay out of its way. It seemed to think that we should know it by reputation, but not being from these lands I knew not its race or purpose, nor did any of our company. We were content not to fight it and recover our strength. The following morning I communed with the natural forces of the Cube, and determined the location of an unnatural formation in the vicinity. We moved towards it, hopping it to be a shadow elven settlement.

She did not give us her name, but it became quickly clear that she was the mistress of the world which we had landed on. My friends and I are not people of great eloquence, but all things considered we did manage to keep a relatively non-insulting appearance. We offered gold as the price for the information we sought, and were guided to an elven woman who had just returned from a reconnaissance mission on Shadowthrone’s cube. Her name was Edilene, and just as we were about to obtain the information we sought did a dart pierce her neck rendering her incapable to defending herself. The assassins were the creatures which Kay had encountered earlier, and they did not attack us having considered us fearful of their presence. Their overconfidence cost them the battle, and although the leader escaped, Edilene remained unharmed.

Shadowthrone lives on the Cube called the Seerdomain, however his power over the cube is far from perfect as he is challenged by a fomorian matriarch for mastery of the world. He considers her a mere pest, and as such, has not checked her power, working diligently on mastering the Rod of Seven Parts. It is a ritual which we came to prevent. It is why he must die. We were also provided with a map of the Seerdomaine. If we move fast enough it will remain in its current location, although Shadowthrone is by now warned of our quest to eliminate him. It is said he is a descendent of a Dragon God, and master creator of powerful weapons, a true genius in the art, capable of dishing out items rivaling the power of the Sword of Kings or Bloodthirster of Krook Ma’Kali. Normally I would not interfere with such powerful forces, however mother earth has chosen me as its representative as protector Tellene, and no one else is qualified to do the job. I’m also bound to the Duke, by no will of my own. I can still recall glimpses of the torments I endured at his hand. My only hope is that Kassali has worked out something. He’s had ten years dammit, and he had to disappear on me again. So now I am left a slave of a most unnatural beast.

No man, that’s enough quit it, stop worrying. Life is to be taken one step at a time. Resolve this issue, then worry about something else. There is no time, and right now the order of things is more important than my soul. The status quo must be maintained. I am an agent of life. If I am to suffer an eternity of torment in her service I will. I have faith in her mercy. I will prevail.