The Story So Far. . . .


Prelude:

Part 1 - Traveling into the Unknown:

In the Arenian city of Faring, Karin hurrily boards a merchant vessel to escape her pursurers.  As she stops to catch her breath, she spied the an interesting swordsman standing at the stern of the ship.

The swordsman's head is mostly covered by an Oriental style wide-brimmed straw hat.  The hat especially stands against the tan trenchcoat, leather pants, dark boots, and the fact he is not Oriental is any way.  The number and variety of blades that are visible on him are both intimidating and intriguing at the same time.

Hungry and fearing that it is one of her pursurers, she quickly goes below deck.  She quietly observes the swordsman whenever she sees him.

On the third evening, a fog rolls in masking the approach of the pirate vessel.  The crew is surprised as they board and begin slaughtering both crew and passengers alike.  Karin casts an invisibility spell upon herself and quickly heads to a safe vantage point.  At this new position, she sees the carnage unfolding.  The crew, surprised and unprepared for the attack, are easily dispatched by the fierce pirates.  The only thing keeping the pirates from advancing any further is the swordsman.  With weapons in both hands, the swordsman cuts through the pirates ranks like a hurricane.  Shaking off her amazement, Karin begins to lend a hand by casting elemental spells at the pirates and their ship.  The pirates, suffering heavy losses and unable to continue, retreat back into the fog.

Once the fighting subsides, Karin heads over the bridge to talk with the captain.  She discovers that the crew and ship were greatly crippled by the attack.  Unable to help any futher, Karin returns below deck.  There she runs across the swordsman.  The swordsman is at a table cleaning his weapons.  With his hat and coat off, Karin realizes that the swordsman is really a woman.  Thinking that she is no longer one of her pursurers, Karin approaches her and starts a conversion.  The swordsman is Sira Morgan, a wandering swordsman.

Part 2 - The Dream:

Her beautiful and haunting voice flow into the ears of Reena.  She follows the strangely familar sound, thinking all the while of where she had heard this tune before.  The music leads her up a hill where a single tree stands overlooking the valley below.  Reena looks over to the tree and sees the young lady sitting in front of it.  Her brown hair flutters gentlely in the light breeze.  When she sees Reena's eyes before her, she stops and smiles back.  The young lady begins to speak and her lips move as if she is saying something, however Reena cannot hear anything.  "I'm sorry, I can't hear you. . . ."

Reena is jolted back into conscienousness. . . . dripping wet, she sees her sister-in-law, Stacy, looming over her with a bucket in hand.  "Can you hear me now?  Hurry up or your'll be late. . . . again!"

Part 3 - The Ill Fated Meeting:

When Sira and Karin awake the next morning, they have a strange feeling that something has changed.  The ship appears to be different, there are no signs of last night's pirate attack.  When they approach the captain, he even denies the event.  The boat stops at a small island port. Although it is not their intended destination, both Karin and Sira disembark and wander down the streets of this small port town in search of an inn.

Reena bolts out the door.  Her shoes half tied and a peice of toast in her mouth, she runs straight into a nearby pedestrian.  Lying on the road, Reena rubs a sore spot while shaking the disorientation in her head.

"Hey, watch were you're going!" shouts Karin.

Reena apologizes serveral times and starts off again. . . . where, futher down the road, she runs into someone else. . . .

Karin decides to head for the library in search of information and perhaps some magic.  She discovers that the lord of the island, Juste, has a small library and heads there.  Scanning the shelves, she spots a strange book at the top shelf.  She takes the book down.  The book is bound in black leather and imprinted with the face of some demonic being.  The lock on the book strangely opens when Karin touches it.  Curious, Karin slowly opens it. . . . an errie glow fills the room as waves of heat flow out of the book.  Staring at the page, Karin sees a number of red impish creatures dancing around a fire.  They seem to quickly spot Karin and start running towards her!  Karin slams the book shut as fast as she can, tries the lock on the book, and returns it on the shelf.

Reena heads home after a long magic lesson with lord Juste.  She walks slowly, checking out the shops as she goes.  Looking up from a store window, she spots something unusually familiar, a strange looking blade.  The blade is longer and wider than most swords, especially at the end when the width is at least double that at the hilt.  The handle is a long nightstick design wrapped in a worn dark brown leather.  The runes are inscribed lightly on the broad blade give the weapon an ancient aura.

Curious, she catches up with the swordsman.  "Excuse me. . . ugh. . . miss".

Sira turns around to face Reena, "Yes?".

"Umm, that's an interesting sword.  Could you tell me more about it?"  Reena notices the other bladed weapons and adds hesitantly, "the one behind you?"

Sira takes out the blade, "Do you mean this one?"  Seeing Reena's uneasiness, Sira smiles.  "This one is called the Cipher; it's called that because it is supposely able to open anything.  It's amazingly old, it's over 700 years old.  It's sort of a family heirloom.  My name is Sira Morgan, a wandering swordsman.  And you are?"

"My name is Reena.  We don't get many visitors on the island, where are you staying?"

"I don't know."

"My sister works at this great inn just down the street. . . . I was just on my way over actually.  They have really clean rooms, and my sister makes this awesome chocolate cake that's to die for."

The inn is packed when Reena and Sira arrive.  Anastasia, Reena's sister-in-law, seats them at a table.  "Sit down, I get around to you in a bit.  Oh, and Reena. . . don't break anything."  While they wait they chat about different things.  Karin walks in shortly after.  Looking around the packed room, she spots Sira's blonde head and decides to join her.  The three ladies talk over dinner and dispite their differences, they have a good time.

It is late into the evening when Anastasia and Reena head back to their small home.  "Reena, where did you meet those two?"

"Well, I met Sira on the way back from my lesson today.  I guess Karin was on the same ship Sira was on."

"The swordmaster. . . ."

"Oh, Sira?"

"do you know where she got that sword?"

"You mean the big one?"  Reena tries to makeout the expression on her sister's face, "she said it was a sortof family heirloom.  Why?"

"No reason. . . ."

Reena stops.  "Stacy.  Do you know something?"

"No.  I never seen anything like it before, that's why."

Part 4 - The Dream II:

Reena finds herself back on the hill listening to the young lady's haunting melody.  Reena hurries up the hill to see her still sitting underneath the large tree.  The lady stops and her lips move as if she is talking to her, but Reena can not hear her words.  "I can't hear you.  Who are you?  What are you trying to tell me?" however Reena's words seem to fall on deaf ears.  The lady gestures towards the cliff and Reena's eyes follow.  The sky glows red as Reena sees the valley burning below.

Startled, Reena jots back into consciencousness.  Cold and covered with large beads of sweat, Reena stumbles into the kitchen to splash some water into her face.  The water feels strangely thick and warm on her fingers. . . . like blood.  She stifles a scream and run into her sister's room.  "Stacy!"

Anastasia, tried from a long day of work, rubs her eyes and tries to sound coherent, "What is it Reena?"

"I had a bad dream.  Can I sleep here tonight. . . . please?"

Stacy manages a nod and Reena curls up next to her.

Part 5 - Premonitions:

Reena wakes up in Stacy's bed.  She hears her sister in the kitchen and heads towards the sound of breakfast being made.

"Good morning."

"Are you feeling better?  I can go tell lord Juste that you're not feeling well. . . ."

Reena shakes her head, "No.  That's alright, I feel much better.  Thanks."

Reena gets ready for her leason and heads out the door.  When she steps out into the street, a strange sensation goes over her body.  She shakes her head to clear it and when she looks up, she notices that the streets are empty and the sky is blood red.  Off in the distance, she spots a man mounted on a black horse.  The horseman wears a complete set of armour and a sword in one hand and his head in the other. . . . startled, she turns to run.  She runs right into the arms of a passerby. . . . Prying herself away from the man, she sees that everything is back to normal.  Reena apologizes and hurries to her lesson.

Unable to concentrate, Reena fumbles through her studies.  When Juste asks if anything is wrong, she apologies.  "Sorry.  I had a hard time getting to bed last night."

"Well, practicing magic when you're tired is dangerous.  Why don't you go home and get some rest.  We'll continue on Monday."

On the way home, Reena decides to see Sira.  She finds Sira at the inn.  Sira noticing Reena's uneasiness, asks her what's wrong.  Reena tells her about the strange dreams she has been having.  When Reena finished her story, Sira asks her to better describe the lady on the hill.  Reena gives a better description of the woman and then asks Sira, "Why do you want to know?"

"Oh. . . . I just thought it might be important. . . ."

"And?"

"It's nothing.  Really."

Karin rushes over to their table and interupts Reena.  "Sira!  Something really strange is going on here!"

Sira turns to the panicked Karin and tells her, "Calm down.  What's the problem?"

"I was just talking to some guys from the docks and they said that no ships are scheduled to leave the island!  I think we better go check on this, like now!"

Showing less concern than Karin, Sira agrees to investigate the matter at the docks.

Part 6: The Long Night

It is late into the night when Sira, Karin, and Reena reach the docks.  Karin, visibilily irritated, stomps away from the dockmaster's booth and back to her companions.  "Damn it, the bastard said no ship has arrived or left port for over a week!"

"Reena and I couldn't find the ship we arrived on."

"What the hell is going on here???"

"Not a lot of ships dock at the island, we're pretty isolated out here.  There's usually a boat here once a month."

"The dockmaster said that this month's ship never made it in. . . ."

"Something strange is going on here, but we can't do anything about it now."  Reena notices the concern on Sira's face in the dimly lit street.  "I think we better head back to the inn.  We'll try to sort things out in the morning."

Reena pipes up, "Sira, are you okay?"

"We should hurry back. . . ."  Karin and Reena sensing Sira's fear hurry after her.

The streets are empty except for the three ladies.  The town is unusually dark as the only source of light is the moon.  Even the houses and buildings lining the sides of the street are void of light.  He appears at the other end of the street, a faint grow from the moonlight reflecting off his armour surrounds him.  His mount, a black stallion, pants a greenish-glowing mist.  All three girls are filled with fear as they see that the horseman's head is in his hand and not where it should be.

The horseman charges forward.  Terrified, Reena bolts running as fast as she can.  Karin casts invisibility on herself and follows Reena.  Realizing, the others are not with her, Reena stops and sees Sira drawing her swords.  Reena yells back, "Run Sira!"  Sira shakes her head and engages the horseman.  Sparks from their swords light the street when they collide.  The horseman effortlessly swings his heavy sword at Sira.  Sira deftly strikes out with her weapon, a double bladed samurai sword.  Although Sira's skill is amazing, her blades harmless deflect off the horseman's armour.  Sensing that Sira is in trouble, Reena and Karin gather up their courage and run back to help.  Just as they arrive, the horseman's blade cuts one of Sira's swords in two.  As the horseman brings his sword back around for another swing, Karin casts an elemental spell to distract the horseman while Reena pulls Sira away.

They run zigzagging down the streets until they reach the inn.  They all gather in Karin's room and decide that it should be safer if they all stayed together for the night.  Reena also asks to stay.  Deciding to take shifts, Sira takes the first watch.  She watches sitting by the window, several blades around her and a sheathed katana in hand.

Part 7: Discovery at the Town Square

Reena and Karin wake up in the morning to find Sira missing.  Strangely, many of Sira's weapons are still on the floor where she left them.  Fearing something happened to her, they gather up her weapons and head out looking for her.  When they step outside, they find a large group of people gathered around the town square.  They head in that direction and to see what is going on.

When they arrive they see the gortesique scene.  The entire square is splattered with blood including the walls of nearby buildings.  Looking closer, they see the chucks of human body parts littering the ground.  The once calming fountain in the middle of the square now sprays a sickly red-coloured water.  The townspeople there are filled with horror and grief.  They stand there in shock or walk around the carnage searching for pieces of their loved ones.

At one end, Reena sees the lord's guards and heads in over there to see if they can tell what's going on.  As she gets closer she spots Sira.  She is soaked in blood, she  appears visiblily shaken and in what appears to be shock.  A group of guards lift her up on her feet and escort the shackled Sira away.  Reena goes up to the captain of the guards and asks him what is going on.

"We found her at the scene.  She was passed out in the middle of the square, weapons in hand."

Reena and Karin rush over to the castle to see lord Juste.  They find him pacing nervously in his office.  He explains to them the evidence against Sira and why she has been taken into custody.  Reena insists on see Sira and Juste leads them to her.

In the dark recesses of the castle is the dungeons where Sira is held.  Having been cleaned from the coating of blood, she is curled in the corner of her cell still in a state of shock.  Reena trys to confort her, however they do not seem to reach her.  Unable to do anything more, they head back to Juste's office to talk.

Part 8: The Magic Book

Talking with the Lord of the Island
Search for clues. . . the Book.
The book is stolen!
Look for the thief
Death in the prison

Part 9: Escape the Nightmare

Reena heads back to release Sira.  When she approaches she hears voices talking.

"Please, you must get her away from here."

"She's too strong. . . . I can't stop her."

"She doesn't remember anything.  Please, help her!"

Reena didn't notice the others approach.  "What are you doing?" asks Karin.

The conversion promptly ends before they enter and see Anastasia attending to Sira.

Juste steps forward and announces, "You must leave here before she gets here.  We will try to slow her down.  Hurry."

Sira nods and pulls Reena away by the arm.

"Wait!  What's going on?  Stacy!"

"Reena, go with her," replies Anastasia.

As they leave the dungeon, they hear the screams and that evil laughter getting closer.  Sira runs quickly through the catacombs dragging the protesting Reena behind.  Karin not sure what to do follows closely behind.  They seem to run aimlessly away from the approaching evil.  They find themselves in a foyer of what seems to be an opera house.  The luxurous room is warm as it is consumed in fire.  The large wooden doors are stuck shut exposing them to the massive amounts of heat.  Sira draws the Cipher and begins to hack away at the doors.  Karin tries to blast the doors open with magic.  Reena looks back and sees her.

She sees the youthful lady, her fiery red hair blends with the flames of the burning building.  She holds a large jagged blade covered with blood in one hand and drags the bloody and beaten body of Stacy in the other.

Reena shouts out, "Stacy!!!"

The doors explode inwards knocking Reena to the ground.  Gasping for air, Reena manages to open her eyes to see the dark clad lady pulling her out of the building.  Except for her clothes, she reconizes the lady as the one from her dreams.  The bright sunlight blinds her and she faints from the heat and the smoke.


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Last Updated:  July 23rd, 2001