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Movee disembodied black hand and forearers The hand was an unnatural carbon black, scarred and pitted like volcanic rock It pinched out the candle with its thuer, and then I lost it inme, however, as I backstepped It scrabbled inhu, not to halt er at a time I hurriedly swiped at it withfor just such a reaction, for it soers, spasmed, and flipped itself onto my forearm, now much closer to my throat It knehich direction that lay, for it ier ested that I cut off arach to prevent the hand’s advance Its enchanted blade would slice through aric had its say in the next fraction of a second, I thought of sothe priet to tell the truth But I didn’t want to talk to the hand; I wanted the secondary effect, which prevented the target fro more than a few inches froation Move the point, and you effectively et I directed the point at the floor in front of ically from my arm and placed under firm control a cole to break free of the spell for a few seconds while I caught my breath and tried to slon , however, and I began to saw off the digits, starting with the thu The ar, so I stabbed it through the back of the hand and it finally sluh in relief, the Druid on the altar stirred and sat up, vacant eyes swiveling to face me His feet slapped the cold stone as he advanced, sword raised Hisslack

It was evidence--if the hand hadn’t provided enough--that I was dealing with a true necromancer, and I’ for Apple Jack to ate The other Druid was on his feet outside and ed to trip me as I passed Mud and turf rippled all around; the dead were rising fro Fragarach behind rip fell away I scrambled for purchase in the ate as fists erupted froraves nearby

"I told you we should have run, but no, you don’t have any horse sense"

Yes, well, youto listen from now on

I had to decapitate one of the raised dead at the gate, but otherwise I had fled in time to avoid the crush of thealloped away and saw that the raveyard I blinked rain out of one It was as if it had never been there I didn’t kno I’d convince anyone it ever existed, for ould I say--"My horse saw it too"?

The rain stopped soon after I left the chapel The waterlogged landscape abruptly turned into a dried-up wasteland of red rock and pale straw skeletons of plants Trees like scarecrows scratched at a cloudless blue sky I looked behind me and saw only more of the same; the verdant forested path had vanished like the chapel

Which was the illusion? My kit was still dahly wet, so I chose to believe the desert was a lie

It didn’t feel that way after a few more hours on the trail, however, once I’d completely dried out and started to bake A necromancer as also able to either control weather or my perceptions like this was indeed a formidable opponent But every step I took confirmed that he was precisely the type of opponent Druids were tasked to take down He was doing serious da or anything conventional, but through ic

The wasteland went on for days It would have killed anyone asn’t traveling with a keg of water I periodically bent down to the earth, asked it to part for me, and water welled up for Apple Jack and me to drink Still, I tried to look thirsty e rode into Sveinsey The people there were getting their water froly bare of fresh vegetables, though there were some worered, but as Dafydd had observed, it was a sailor’s diet Except that soraal

There was an upper limit to the number of people it could feed; at some point, there was only so ical container per day But the Pict’s plan was beco Sveinsey and no land nearby to pillage, an ar siege would do theood when he could feed his people in the keep indefinitely with Dagda’s cauldron

The keep wasn’t co shape, and the walls of the fortress looked like they had been shored up and thickened It sat upon the river’s edge and there was no doubt a well inside that afforded theer here and an apothecary there revealed that the captain of the guard was looking for a few good knights to join the crew

"You look like you can dish out a good fonging," the apothecary said as he measured out some herbs that I would use for purposes beyond his ken He squinted at ood and so is the food, I hear The Fisher King is generous to his subjects, even though he be plagued by so?"

"Aye Quite an upstanding chap as far as kings go The bloody Pict on his elbow is a nighte"

"Where can I find the captain?"

"Inquire at the fortress first," he said, "but check the pubs along the docks if you don’t find hiive myself cover; I wanted the captain to think I arrived by sea rather than braved the wasteland After picking a suitable ship--it was a busy port--I searched for a stable to house Apple Jack If I’d come across to Sveinsey on ship, it would be unlikely for ned stall, I knelt down and touched the earth with my hand and made contact with the local eleht at what had been happening in the area and relieved that a Druid had finally h to possibly address the proble of how I could access er period of tie up a stone or gey that I could still craft a few bindings?

//Not stone// it said //Metal / Silver or gold / Stores ic best//

//Gratitude// I replied //Query: Craft silver storage talisman for me?//

//Affirmative / Contact with skin required//

After soh silver cross pushed up froic for several spells Social caic, it would be seen as a od All I had to do hip out the cross and give praise for my deliverance I stowed it in a belt pouch for easy access