BOOK 1 | CHAPTER 2: ELWALD AND GAULWITH

The Party was Arthund, Ferthelm, Masym, and Symund. They went down the gentle hill of grass into town. There was a Wide Street. An Old Man stumbled into the street from an alley on the side. The Old Man had long, white hair. He had a long, white beard. He was naked. His expression was of fear. He looked behind him in the alley. He saw The Party and winced.

Three Large Rodents came from the side alley. The Large Rodents were as long as a dozen handwidths. They Large Rodents chased The Old Man. 

There were Two Young Men walking down The Wide Street toward The Party. The Old Man approached The Two Young Men. The Two Young Men shoved The Old Man on the ground. The Large Rodents began to bite the leg of The Old Man. The Two Young Men laughed. The Two Young Men looked at The Party and gestured toward The Old Man on the ground and laughed.

Symund fought The Large Rodents. Masym covered The Old Man's ribs with a food spread to incite The Large Rodents. The Party slew The Large Rodents. They heard string instruments from a nearby alley. They saw a crowd of people gathering in a square ahead.

The Party helped The Old Man to his feet and moved toward the string-instrument sounds.
The Old Man could not remember who he was. But The Old Man said the townsfolk called him Elwald.

The alley lead to a circular area. The floor of the area was covered with cobblestone. The area was surrounded by the backs of residences. In the center of the area was a fountain. The fountain was empty and dry. Beyond the fountain were three women. The women wore long, red dresses. They wore broad-brimmed hats.Veils hung from the hat brims. The veils hid the women's faces. They play stringed instruments with bows.

Arthund cast a spell to make Elwald remember the past. Elwald remembers he was a treasurer of a stronghold of Ob'libburock. But they took his mind and he was cast out. He does not remember why. He would take The Party to The Stronghold of Ob'libburock. They would steal gold and he would have his revenge. Arthund asked where The Stronghold was located and Elwald pointed toward The Mountainous City in the distance.

Three Hooded Swordsmen in Red Robes entered the circular area from the right side. The Party left the area. They heard the string instruments stop their sounds. They heard screams. They heard an animal roar.

The Party walked down the Wide Street toward the crowd in the square. The crowd faced a platform in the square. On the platform were people hung by their wrists to a wooden beam. There was an Executioner. The Executioner broke the bones of one person hanging by their wrists. The Executioner decapitated the person. The head went into the crowd and the crowd cheered.

The Party went to an abandoned building in the South area of the town. There were many abandoned buildings there. An old fire destroyed much of the area. Night fell. The Party saw another figure in the room they occupied. The figure lit a small stick and approached them. The figure was Gaulwith. Gaulwith was dressed in fine attire. Gaulwith invited The Party to join him. He traveled to The Mountainous City. He was going to a banquet. The Party agreed.

In the morning The Party saw that Gaulwith's fine attired was ragged. In the darkness the clothes appeared kempt. Gaulwith lead The Party to a healer. He lead them to a street corner. They waited for his carriage. Gaulwith spoke of "The Council." The Party was confused by the mention of "The Council."

The Carriage of Gaulwith appeared. The Carriage looked like an upside-down mushroom. The Carriage was pulled by Walkers. Arthund attempted to kick one of the Walkers in between the legs. Arthund was trampled by the Walker.

The Party entered The Carriage. The Carriage was piloted by two human men. The two human men were Wulfa and Adnorn. They were bare-chested. Wulfa carried a great sword. Adnorn carried a great axe. The Carriage left the town and traveled East toward The Mountainous City.

The Carriage traveled on an elevated road of clay. The road ran through a low-ceiling forest. The forest gave way to a giant briar patch. The elevated road wound through the thicket of briar vine trunks. The road emerged from the briar patch to an empty field of dust. Across the field were hundreds of thousands of crucifixes. It was The Field of Crucifixion.

The Carriage stopped. The Party went to The Carriage Pilot Tower. The road was blocked. In the road were two posts. Between the posts was a thin sheet of cloth. Beneath the thin sheet of cloth was a figure. The figure lay on its side on the road. Gaulwith, Wulfa, and Adnorn were stunned by the image.

Gaulwith explained to The Party that this is the iconography of "The Abomination of All Things Created." The Abomination was the forbidden member of The Council. From The Field of Crucifixion The Party saw riders approaching The Carriage. The riders bore blades. The riders' heads were obscured by plants. The plants seemed to grow out of their necks.

BOOK 2 | CHAPTER 2: STATUARY

The Ones Who Remained were The Party: Handsome Carl, Widow, Robin, Brol, Shem and Tundra. They looked at one another and saw they were deformed from the touch of The Crystal Sword of the Lesser Traveler, Combined. They walked around the small island. They saw subtle movements on the ice beyond their vision. At the other side of the small island they found a Cave.

Tundra attempted to identify the subtle movement on the ice. An object hurled toward him. The object burst into flames and hit Tundra in the chest. Tundra was wounded. The Party went into The Cave.

Inside The Cave was a Drawing. The Drawing was of a large animal with a large mouth. The large animal was as tall as two people and as long as a dozen. The large animal was cylindrical in shape. There was also three people in the drawing. The three people held spears. On the ground, in The Cave was a blunted spear. Shem took the spear. The Cave was cold and Tundra died.

The Cave divided into two tunnels. A low growl emitted from the left tunnel. They could hear the scraping of flesh on ice. They moved down the right tunnel. Behind them they saw a great mouth from the side. The great mouth was as tall as a person. They saw a giant, pink tongue come from it. The tongue was searching. Shem threw the spear to it but missed.

They slipped on the ice and slid down a slope. At the bottom of the slope they found steps hewn into rock. The steps lead upward. They went up the steps and saw a small village under the hill. There was a Young Man Covered With Hair, playing a stringed instrument to their left. His hair was iridescent. The Young Man Covered With Hair made jests about their appearances and sang songs.

The Party went into The Small Village Under The Hill. They saw Residences, an Abandoned temple, a General Store and an Inn. They went inside the Inn and another Man Covered With Hair sat in a chair. His hair, too, was iridescent. Beside him lay a shell. He asked them if they were here for The "Event." They asked the man about the shell. He said it was to ward off daily attacks from the bat swarm. They went to the General Store to acquire shells.

The General Store was maintained by a Girl Covered in Hair. They asked the Girl about The "Event." The Girl said it was an unveiling of a statue by Humbald. Humbald was from The Small Village Under The Hill and was a famous artist. Humbald gave his money back to The Small Village Under The Hill. The people of The Small Village Under The Hill loved Humbald. Humbald lived on The Big Island. The city on The Big Island was called Column. The Party bartered for shells and Robin stole a healing salve. They left the General Store and heard screeching from above. They saw a cloud of bats. They ran to the Inn.

The Party went into the basement of the Inn. There was a long hall made of petrified wood. At the far end was a Crowd of Townspeople covered in hair. The Crowd faced a sheet. The sheet covered Humbald's statue. To their right was a bar. They drank at the bar. At the end of the bar was a human. The Human Man had long black hair and black beard. He had black, scaled armor. The armor looked like lobster scales. In the corner was another human. He wore a cloak. The cloak covered his face.

Shem went to the human in the corner and talked to him. The Cloaked Man signaled for drink. They drank. Shem asked The The Cloaked Man of The First Star. The Cloaked Man recognized the term. He heard it in Column. The Cloaked Man said he could bring Shem and her friends to Column in his cart by the Underbay Road.

The Crowd of townspeople cheered. The sheet was removed from the statue. The Crowd blocked The Party from seeing the statue. The Party moved to see the statue. They saw Humbald off to the side. Humbald looked like the other townspeople, covered with hair. But Humbald wore decorative clothing. Humbald wore a wig of long hair. The wig was flaxen.

The Party moved to the front of The Crowd. The Statue was made of hard, white stone. The Statue was a representation of Children. The Children were attached to one another to form a single figure. The figure had many arms, several heads, and a multitude of legs. The statue Children looked like the Children of The Party. Brol was upset and went to drink at the bar.

The Human Man from the bar, with long black hair, beard, and black-scaled armor, moved toward the statue. He struck the statue with a hammer. The Crowd was surprised. He struck the statue with the hammer and broke the statue. Humbald yelled. The Human Man yelled against The First Star. He ran from the Inn. The Crowd shouted at him.

The Crowd turned toward The Party. The Party was human like the man who attacked the statue. The Crowd began to yell at The Party. The Crowd moved aggressively toward The Party.