The Legend of Quan (Storytelling) See first post for guidelines.

A couple of hours later, the mighty Trollfens but a shade of blurred green in the distance the group was well on their way to Sydarun. The ground was parched and dry about them, the vegetation sparse and made up mostly of low lying brambles and thick bladed grasses. The sun beat down upon them in it's late afternoon majesty, beginning to dip toward the horizon taking on a slightly orange hue as the inevitability of the day drawing to it's end had begun.

"We're not going to make the city before darkness falls. If we keep a good pace, 7 hours from now, we should see the jewel of the sands illuminated on the horizon."
Shia said, swatting at the air about her face where a family of gnats had taken to following her for the past half mile. "I'd personally prefer to push on through past nightfall, and sleep at the inn instead of this insect infested ground."

"It would be past midnight when we arrive, but that is fine with me, so long as everyone is in agreement. " David stated, a bit of mirth in his voice and a slight smile touching his lips as Shia battled the hoard of gnats that was swarming around her. "I am not one to discourage personal hygiene Shia, but your scented soaps seem to attract some most unfortunate followers."

At this, even Nightshade laughed, the amusement clear in his dark eyes. "I prefer traveling at night, the shadows suit me and my skills rather well. But we're out in the open with a 7 foot warted troll, if we encounter anyone, there will be trouble." Perhaps, it would be best if Quan would remain in his natural form unless we're training, or in a dangerous position."

Quan, looked down at his massive green hands, strong corded muscles running up his arms and sighed. "I suppose you're right." With a wisper to The Three, he transformed back into a swampdonkey. The veritable cloud of gnats immediately lost interest in Shia and surrounded their new God. Worshipping his new form and it's beloved stench in glorious fashion. "I must absolutely agree!" Shia exclaimed, grateful for the reprieve, and they all laughed. The swampdonkey sighed, lowered his head, and pressed forward towards the sands of Inori.

The moonlight rained down on the sand, making it glisten like so many gems. The wary travelers had been trudging through the arid desert for what seemed like ages and now embraced the cool wind blowing at their backs.

Nightshade suddenly halted, "I can see the torches of the guard towers finally, but it looks as though they have shut the gate and guarding it heavily. They may not take kindly to a band of armed travelers appearing at their doorstep at this hour."

After a brief debate, the group decided it was best to make camp and wait until daybreak, when the guards would be less suspicious. The long day's travel had exhausted all of them, and without even bothering to make a proper supper, they fell into a deep sleep.

As Quan slept, his mind continually drifted to the heinous events he had seen the previous day, the strange lady who gave him powers, his new group of 'companions' if they could be called that. He then dreamt of his triumphant return to his home, being welcomed back as a champion, drums beating in his honor, the Elder Trolls bowing before him, the screams of the women. Screams. Screaming.

Quan awoke, realizing the screaming was not from his dream but from Shia. He saw Nightshade and David, lying unconscious, apparently overwhelmed while they were sleeping. Quan could only barley make out the silhouettes of 4 men dragging Shia south through the desert. "I must try to help her, even if I'm no match for them. Oh, wonderful Three, grant me your powers and watch over me in this time of need."

A surge of power flowed through Quan, and even before he was fully changed, he took off after the men at a full sprint. As he neared the men, he released a fearsome bellow, and demanded they release their captive. The men stopped, wheeled around, and paused at the enormity of their foe and the blood rage that seemed to be filling its eyes. Their leader took hold of Shia and yelled at his men "Destroy that hideous beast. I hear there is a craftsman who can work wonders with Trollskin."

As the three bandits surrounded Quan, he realized they were not going to just be scared off as he'd hope. Without training, even in this form, Quan worried this might be the end. The man to his left lunged first, and only out of instinct was Quan able to whip his giant arms around and smash the man to the ground. This was all the other two needed, as they moved in quickly and plunged their daggers deep into his back.

Quan fell to the ground, felt the blood on his back cooled by the wind, and slowly exhaled his last breath as his head landed in the sand. "He killed Yuri, broke his skull with one hit", one bandit said checking his deceased friend. "Grab his weapons and help Ferrut tie up that smelly troll. We'll skin him at the hideout", the leader commanded.

Wedge grabbed Yuri's shortsword and then took the rope from his pack. As he moved toward Ferrut and the dead troll, he saw the troll's hand slowly rise to Ferrut's throat, and watched as the troll came back to life, crushing Ferrut's last bit of life in the process.

A voice inside Quan's head echoed, "While in this form, your body will regenerate itself unless the fatal blow is dealt by fire. Now arise and protect your friends"...

A surge of energy radiated from within Quan, his rage fully coarsing through his veins. He sprang to his feet and charged towards Wedge, his great hands forming into fists as hard as any iron in the land. He lashed out with a tremendous right, catching the stunned bandit below his chin. The sickening crack of a spine snapping was immediately followed by Wedge dropping to the ground, his head bent backwards at an impossible angle.

The bandit leader, now completely sure the odds had just changed outside of his favor, released Shia and took off running as fast as his large frame would allow. Still, the rage burned within Quan, as he sped past Shia at a pace no man could match. The look of horror in her eyes was not evident as Quan's sole focus was on the fleeing coward who had dared to harm his companions.

As he caught up to the man, his huge warted hands grasped him around the neck and in one motion, he turned the screaming human to face him and roared into his face. The bandit defiled his underpants at that very moment. Quan began to squeeze that mighty hand and just as the man's face turned a grotesque shade of purple, Shia screamed "Quan! No!"

It was as if he heard that scream from a great distance, instinctively, he turned his head to ponder the source. "Quan, let him go." She said, a look of great concern upon her face, her features illuminated in the moonlight. "Do not become a monster, he is defenseless!" Quan unceremoniously dropped the man to the ground. The bandit leader was gasping for air, his nearly crushed wind pipe just being spared irreparable damage.

Shia moved up to Quan and hugged him tight, her face pressed firmly against his belly. "You saved me! You saved us all! ....The others!" She released him, rushing over to David and Nightshade and immediately began praying. When the prayer of healing was answered, the two men stirred and awoke and beheld a weeping Shia and the sight of Quan dragging a gasping man toward three discernibly dead bandits.

Quan tossed the bandit leader next to the corpses of his crones. The man, barely able to breath let alone move, stared at Quan with bruised bloodshot eyes. "Why....why did you spare me?", the bandit gasped, "Would it not be easier to ease my suffering and send me to the darkness?" The man lay there motionless, breathing heavy, unable to do anything but cling to the thread of life left in him. Quan stared back, in deep thought. "Very well bandit, I will fufill your request", Quan replied. In a blinding instant, Quan smashed his giant hand into the man's chest armor. With a sickening thud and crunch, the man had been crushed inside of his jerkin.

"Quan! Why?!?", screamed Shia as all three sprinted towards him. "He asked to no longer suffer, so I helped him," replied Quan. The others stood there in awe at Quan's apparent disregard to Shia's request. Quan stared into the distance as oft times before, in deep thought. All of a sudden, a green aura burst from the man. He suddenly sprang back to life. He reached at his throat as if struggling to breath, realizing he was fine he looked at Quan. Quan and the others looked back at him in equal surprise. "It worked!", stammered Quan. "What in the name of Arbenos just happened?", asked David.

"Every journey must begin with despair....", Quan repeated the same words to the man that Trinity had spoken. The man looked as if he had discovered new meaning, he sprang to his feet and ran off into the darkness of the Inori. "What was that?", asked Shia."Where did you learn to do that?" "I didn't know that I could, I trusted in The Three to ease that man's suffering and followed their orders", replied Quan.

Remaining silent for most of the skirmish, "I under estimated you swampdonkey, you may need this", Nightshade handed Quan an odd coin. "After your display of tenacity to save us and belief in your calling, I am allowing you some of my generosity. This ancient imperial coin is enchanted with a spell that will grant you clarity in your thoughts Quan. You have good intentions, use it to keep focused on your goal when you think you cannot continue."

All four stared at each other for a silent moment, acknowledging their companionship. Quan then transformed back into a swampdonkey. The cool gray light of early morning began to illuminate the city walls of Sydarun."Shall we continue?" David asked. They all nodded in agreement."What about the unfortunate bandits?" Shia asked? "The coyotes and spiders need to eat as we do, grant them the oppotunity of an easy meal", replied Nightshade. They began their slow march towards Sydarun with David in the lead, followed by Shia, then Quan, and lastly Nightshade.

The gates of Sydarun were flung wide, the morning sun rising directly above the gatehouse lent a welcome feeling to the vision. David spoke, "To cross the great Inori, we shall need supplies, Shia, would you visit the merchants and appropriate provisions for us? Look for some good good waterskins and a flask of mineral oil to keep them from cracking. Water will be our greatest concern. Some dehydrated muttun and dried fruit would also be good for rations."

"Sure, give me an hour or so and I'll meet you at the inn." Shia declared and strode off towards the market. David added, "I'll take our weapons and armor to the smith to ensure they're in good repair, if Quan doesn't mind bearing our burden and accompanying me." Quan replied, "Sure, I'll lug your gear, and try to keep my mouth shut. People might over-react toward a talkin swampdonkey."

"I'll check the town hall for any posted bulletins that may increase our coffers and head over to the slave pits and see if I can pick up any interesting information." Nightshade said, "Meet you all back at the inn after about an hour or two." and he set off toward the retreating Shia.

David finished loading up all the party's weapons and armor upon Quan's back and they set off toward the clinging of hammers striking iron. The town was bustling with people of all ethnicities. Children played stones and bones in a large circle as they passed, different skin colors being evident, yet there was no bias amoungst children.

A gnarled old woman sat upon an equally gnarled old chair, overseeing the youth and eyed David and Quan peculiarly. "You there!" She rasped, looking at them quizzically..."Come over here and let me have a look at you." David, raised an eyebrow and curious, walked with Quan over to the old woman. She began looking Quan up and down, scratched him behind his ear where he always got that itch and in the exact spot Grunchella used to scratch him. "Yes, most interesting, indeed. Ya, know...I've seen a lot of donkeys in my days, but this one seems to smell like a troll. Swampdonkey, no doubt, but his odor is all wrong." She went inside and came back out with a pail full of water and a brush in one hand, and dragging a huge chest behind her in the other.

She sat down upon the chest and began scrubbing Quan down. "Yes, most interesting indeed." She declared, grabbed Quan by the mouth and forced open his maw and stuck her head in peering down his throat. "He's a bad tooth back here, she squeezed it firmly in her withered old fingers and with great surprise to them both, she ripped the rotten tooth right out of Quan's face.

"Ouch! what the..." Quan caught himself, but too late. She smiled, the children had taken interest and began to gather around. "Excuse me maam..." David said, "but we really must get going, our gear is in need of repair." But the old lady ignored him. She looked about at the children, who had fully gathered about them. A full 15 of them. "Do you remember the story of the great swamp monster who eats little children who do not mind Granny?" She whispered, conspiratorially to the children. "This is one of his children, and watch carefully now!" She held up the tooth and whispered an incantation and Quan felt the power of The Three flow through him. A moment later, the 7 foot troll stood before the trembling children. "Granny is very wise, you should listen to her or I'll get ya!" Quan said, and willed himself back into his natural form.

The children screamed and took off, dust beating up from their fleeing footfalls. "Thank you, Quan." The old lady said with a wink. She stood up, turned around, and opened the chest. Pulling forth a massive club, far too large for her to handle the way she was, and leaned it against Quan. This was carved from an ancient dead wood tree, one that grew far to the north in the frozen tundra of a land surrounded by ice at the far northern point of our world. It has been petrified in the great sands of the Inori and enchanted to protect it's owner from both death magic and fire. It's incredibly light and impossibly strong. Just will it so and it will light up the room as a torch would and it strikes with the power of light. None of an evil nature can touch it, or be consumed in holy fire. This ancient weapon is called Torchlight and may it guide you, in your darkest hour Chosen of The Three." She winked, and melded into a younger, far more beautiful version of Trinity, smiled, and disappeared.

A few hours later, with supplies and weapons, old and new, ready, the party struck out from the Oasis, and began their long trek across the great expanse of the Inori Desert.

By nightfall, they had made good time, but were completely exhausted. The heat of the sun had taken its toll, making every step through the soft sand feel as though it would be the last. There was only pain and weariness in their eyes as they gathered around a small campfire to eat.

"I've heard many rumors of travelers either losing their way or their minds to the vast sands." David spoke, finally breaking the silence. "Considering I have joined with a talking donkey who can become a troll at will, my way and mind might already be lost, so at least that's one less thing to worry about."

"I'm too tired to scold you for that lame joke. Good night gentlemen." With that, Shia laid her head on her pack. "Don't get too comfortable, we are heading out again in a few hours" Nightshade chimed in. "We will never make it traveling by day. Far better to travel at night. We can use our weapons on the denizens of the night, not on the heat." Everyone mumbled back unhappy replies, but offered no real resistance, as they knew he was right.

To Quan, it seemed almost as soon as he had closed his eyes, Shia was shaking him awake. It was in a daze that he traveled that night, locking his eyes on David's pack, merely attempting to keep to his eyes open and legs moving, as his brain demanded rest. It was in this state that Quan stumbled across something in the sand.

His hoof made a dull thud as it banged against the obstacle. "Hey, guys, I think I found something" he shouted to his friends ahead of him. Quan began moving the sand away, revealing a small wooden corner. "Is it a chest" Nightshade asked as he neared, joining David and Quan in the excavation. "I see hinges on this side, but it too large for a chest, maybe a giant crate of some sort" David offered as more and more of the sand was removed.

"It's a door or cover of some sort, help me lift it up" As they lofted the heavy wooded door, letting it slam to the ground, they saw a dark tunnel with old rickety steps leading down. A smell of death and rotting flesh that had been bottled up for years rushed past them, heavy like a fog, filling their noses with the stench and their minds with the terror of what may have caused it. Peering into the darkness, Quan was the first to speak.

"Anyone else up for a little adventure?" With that he transformed into his troll form and stepped down slowly into the hole.

....Quan slowly eased down the stonefaced steps. A horde of blind mice scurried haphazardly away from the sound of the adventurers. "It's mighty dim down here, I can faintly make out the walls of a narrow passage", said Quan, "let me fix this problem." He muttered to himself, in an instant the club began to glow with a soft white light. Everything in front of Quan lit up as clear as day, the bright light radiating from the club did not bother his eyes. "Hey! Who is coming down next?" Quan asked. All three glanced at each other, nodded, and filed down the stairs behind Quan.

The group stood in a small archway that acted as a foyer for the narrow hallway behind it. The hallway appeared to have no visible end as far as anyone could see, it was just wide enough to stand two abreast. Quan's head almost rubbed against the ceiling, he will have to be wary of doorways and other low spots. Along each side of the passage were doorways set at various intervals apart. Nobody could tell what may be behind each door or where the passage led.

Everyone took in their surroundings for a few moments until David broke the silence. "What is our course of action? I am very wary of this....tomb....or whatever it is." "I think we should first hide ourselves", said Nightshade as he climbed up and closed the hatch to the stairs. "Let's put our heavy items in our packs and hide them in the corner of the archway, take only what we need to explore a little and return", said Shia. Everyone nodded in agreement and began to organize their gear neatly into the corner. "Should we split up into pairs? We can then go into a door on each side and see what is behind it", said David. "Sounds good to me", Shia replied, "David, you go with Nightshade. Quan, you and I will team up. See what is behind your door and them come back out as quickly as you can."

As they respectively each approached their first door, they quietly readied themselves. On a silent count of three, each pair burst through their door to face whatever lay behind it. David and Nightshade went their way, the door swiftly closing behind them. Shia and Quan entered the door and found themselves in a moderately sized room. It looked to be like some old storage room, nothing left but a few old and broken barrels. Once they checked to make sure there were no hidden foes, Shia turned to Quan with a furrowed gaze. "Quan, there is something you must know", she said. Quan gave her a puzzled look. "Quan....Trinity is my sister. I know of her journey. She told me about you, about David, about Nightshade. I know what you all fight for in the name of The Three. She confessed to me that she was not supposed to reveal that information and does not know what will happen. Then she told me that we were destined to fight along side each other Quan, our fates combined in the hands of The Three." Quan stared at Shia for a moment, he tried to speak to no avail. Quan lurched backwards as he passed out from surprise, crashing into a pile of old food sacks.

The sounds of steel striking steel and Nightshade yelling for help brought him back to his senses. He leaped up, raising Torchlight high and ran back out the door, Shia in tow. As Quan breached the doorway, the sounds of distress gave way to the sight of a hoarde of animated skeletons and many zombies in various states of decay.

David's mace whooshed through the air, striking a skeleton squarely on the breastbone as it collapses into a pile of haphazard ivory remains. The move only served to leave his extended arm vulnerable and a rather large zombie bit deeply into his bicep. He howled in pain a moment before Nightshades daggers flashed blue before his eyes cleanly severing the zombie's head from its neck. David tore the gory head from his arm just as Quan charged through.

With a furious roar the troll brought the mighty club to bear. With a single devastating swipe 4 skeletons crumbled to the ground and as Torchlight finished it's arc, striking a zombie in its face, the club flashed a brilliant white and the zombie fell backwards, it's face completely disintegrated.

Shia, began chanting a spell to mend the wound to David's arm and the virtuous man called out in warming to Nightshade. "Above you!" A giant spider had crawled down from the tall ceiling and spat a vile green liquid just as Nightshade was looking up to locate the threat.

"My eyes!" he exclaimed, and then screamed in pain as the venomous spit began to eat as his skin. David rushed to his aid, tearing a flask of water from his belt and dousing his friends face to wash the vile slime away.

Quan, infuriated, smashed several more skeletons to dust with a great swipe of the massive club and leaped between Nightshade and the Spider. The spider pounced, it's significant weight knocking the troll off balance as it's fangs sank deep into Quan's neck.

Dropping his club, he grabbed 2 of the spiders legs and pulled hard. With a sickening pop, the legs came free of the torso and the spider withdrew its fangs and hissed into Quan's face. Dropping the limp legs to the ground the troll grabbed the spiders face with one big hand and a spindly leg with another and charged straight at an outcropping of mangled stone on the deteriorating wall.

As his 350 pound frame impacted the stone the spider exploded in a gory shower of innards and membranes.
Looking back towards his friends, he could see them in a strange hue of red and orange but the light had went out when he released his hold on Torchlight.

The cold hues of blue were advancing towards his friends, still 8 more skeletons and a few zombies. He ran toward his club, knowing he had to get the light back or his friends would be in dire straights.

A sudden flash of sacred fire enveloped the undead as Shia finished a prayer to The Three. 2 skeletons and all 3 zombies burst into flames and fell to the floor just as he reached his club. A thought brought the light materializing back and 3 more heavy swings took the remaining skeletons back to the afterlife.

"You okay?" David asked the rogue, wiping away the last of the spider's venom from his friends face. Luckily, he'd removed it quickly enough to keep his face from scarring.

"Yes, thank you David." Nightshade said, looking over his shoulder at a bookcase nestled against the back wall. "What do we have here?"

"Quan, bring Torchlight over here so we can see better."

As Quan neared the bookcase, he noticed he recognized the symbols on the spine of one of the books. Unlike his struggles in the Troll Library, his troll hands weren't nimble but were far more efficient than hooves. He grabbed the familiar book. "This is the same kind of symbol as the scroll I was given".

As Quan opened the book, he felt a surge of energy seemingly pass from the book to his hands and then spread through his entire body like the heat from warm grog on a chilly night. "I suddenly have a bad feeling about this"

Shia, having has her fair share of nightmarish encounters for one day, pleaded to Quan "Drop it quickly and let's just get out of here." It sounded like a good idea to Quan but as he went to close the book, he suddenly noticed the symbols didn't look random anymore. Letters forming words forming sentences. He quickly flipped back to the first page of the ancient text. The Trials of Alektryon "Part 4- Outsmarting the Beast of Antioch"

"He who shall be drawn to this text will have bestowed upon them the wisdom Alektryon gained during his trials to become the first follower of The Three" Quan read aloud". "Sounds as though The Three have deemed you more than worthy and your intelligence has increased. You are officially the first ever literate swamp donkey" David said with his usual smirk.

"How wonderful for you Quan. Now let's do the smart thing, and get out here before more skeletons or spiders or worse zombie spiders attack us." Shia remarked, already heading for the door. Upon exiting, Quan rummaged through his pack, removing the old scroll that seemingly started this whole mess. Maybe now he could learn something more from it...

Quan quickly looked over the contents of the scroll. To his chagrin, he realized he could not understand the full contents of it. However, the first section was understandable.

Chosen One of The Three,

This message shall guide you through the upcoming perils you face. As you continue to prove your worth in deeds and thought, additional insight shall be granted to you about the quest you undertake.

The most important thing you must remember is to not lose who you are as you continue to grow in strength, power, and abilities lest you find yourself even less than you were before...

The remaining portions of the scroll only contained indecipherable symbols and scratchings...

Quickly rolling the scroll and putting it away, Quan moved after his friends and they left the stench of death and the faint sounds of skittering behind them to walk once more upon the sands. As his hooves crunched the tiny fragments of quartz his thoughts turned once more to his beloved home. A more foreign landscape could not possibly be found to his thinking... where was the water? The comfortable sounds of frogs, insects, birds, and the belching of trolls. Where was the familiar stench of vegetation rotting in anaerobic conditions, the gases only rising to be smelled if disturbed...

Here, there was only the sounds of the winds blowing the sands and the crunching his and his companions' feet as the trudged ever forward. The lack of humidity was doing horrible things to his skin and he itched endlessly. While he normally had bites that itched, those were singular points of discomfort... between the aridness drying his skin and the sand fleas... Apparently they were even worse than the fleas found in the fens...

And it was so very dark here... at least the luminesce from the various flora in the fens allowed one to see in the dark... Here, without the moon, they would be unable to even see five hooves in front of their muzzles. Luckily, the moon was out tonight and they could see a long dista... Quan stopped in his tracks as he tried to make out what he was seeing. The wind around them had died down a barely noticeable breeze.

"I have a question. What is that?" Quan asked the group as he pointed at a towering wall of blackness rapidly getting closer.