(G618 28/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL11

(G618 28/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL11

[The undead cleric of Umberlee known as Salt's Wake has signed up with an expedition to Jundarwood along with his new chum Korinth, a sellsword. They are now well into the forest. Rollo keeps an eye on them.]

DAY 729 30th Alturiak (Feb) 

They broke camp in the morning and continued east into the heart of the Jundarwood. The going was slower, the forest darker. Bozor scouted ahead.

I got a little too close at one point. I was in the form of a black fox. Korinth saw me and pointed me out to Egnol. He said just to ignore me, but Korinth did mention that a black fox was a beast of ill omen, which is right enough, although in this case I had already done them a favour in the morning and set a false trail for the Children of the Final Dawn to follow.

Bozor came back west to meet them. He warned that there were swarms of biting bugs ahead. 'We'll be plagued by blood-sucking insects for a days travel in that direction,' he warned.

Forward was the only direction though so on they went. Old Salty, being dead, was untroubled by the bugs, but Korinth had a hard time of it. He cut two eye holes in a bag and put it over his head, but if anything that made things worse as they got inside and could not be swatted away.

The stopped for lunch and the porters gratefully dropped all the baggage on the ground and flopped down beside it. One of them flopped harder than the others and it turned out she was dead, bled dry by the insects!

The other three porters were too weak to go on and Bozor was knackered, so they lit fires and burned leaves to make smoke, which did a good job of keeping the bugs away, if you didn't mind inhaling smoke. They camped for two hours.

Salty wanted to raise the porter from the dead, but everyone else was dead set against it. Her name was Bekka and she had been a jolly sort of middle-aged lady and everyone wanted her left to rest in peace. He did it anyway.

Korinth searched her bags, but then Salty stripped her naked, cut her skin to make her remaining blood run and then marched her into an area where the bugs were at  their thickest. The bugs went into a frenzy, and horrible as it was, it did sort of work and allow them to break camp and make their way east again.

By three o'clock they were all starting to suffer again, so Egnol ordered another stop and they lit the smoky fires again. He also ordered Salty to put some clothes on the blighted remains of poor Bekka.

Korinth tried some things to ease his suffering, such as caking his armour in mud. None of it worked.

After an hour or so they continued on until a porter dropped to his knees and said he couldn't go on. Egnol ordered the fires lit again. The next time they set off they carried smoking torches, which helped a bit.

I had been following along in the form of a honey badger, so pretty much unbothered by the insects. It was clear to me that this plague of bugs was being controlled by something or someone. Salty came to the edge of the camp to stroke his chin and ponder his next acts of evil and I looked up at him in the bushes. He didn't see me and I risked coughing out a bark that could maybe have sounded like "look for a nest!".

Salty went back to the others and said, 'I think these beasties are coming  from somewhere or being controlled by someone! Let's skulk around and see  what we can see!'

It was nearly ten o'clock by now, but it was a good idea. He and Korinth snuck out of the smoke filled camp and saw a light in the distance between the trees. They followed it, but then lost it. After looking around they deduced that the bugs were drifting in from a particular direction so they went that way. Suddenly an ettercap leapt out of the trees and attacked! It went for Bekka first, but she was undead so its poison had no effect.

Five more ettercaps attacked, including a shaman who was controlling the clouds of bugs. Salty summoned some undead to hold them back and Korinth shot at the shaman. They killed the ettercaps one by one in a desperate struggle in the gloomy forest. The shaman called in a giant spider to help
but the lads were able to kill it as well. I was very upset at Salty for his treatment of Bekka and kind of wished he'd die (properly!) but he was too skilled at marshalling his undead forces and handy with his mace too.

When the shaman finally fell, the bugs dissipated. Salty animated the dead giant spider and rode it back to camp. He made quite a startling entrance.


DAY 730 1st Ches (March)

The broke camp in the morning. The bugs were gone, much to everyone's relief, but they still had to suffer the company of Old Salty who rode his undead giant spider like he was the king in a royal procession.

By now they could see the imposing Tower of Klonis looming up out of the forest, every so often visible through the dense tree cover. There was evidence of undead in this area. Flitting through the shadows were the remains of ancient elves - skeletons, zombies and the God's knew what else. Egnol told them all to leave these undead alone. As long as they were not attacked, the undead of this region were not hostile.

They were in the outskirts of Tyfellia, the ruins of this once great elven city could be seen poking out of the ground here and there. As they continued the ruins were better preserved, with some of the dwellings almost wholly intact under their covers of ivy vines.

Egnol explained what they were going to do next:
'I want to recover an artifact called the Jundarstone. We are going to have to split the party now as its location can only be accessed if certain actions are taken elsewhere. Bozor will lead a section to the ruins of the Academy of Mages and reactivate the Sphere of Galzatric. Bozor knows what to do. We think, we hope, that this will allow the deactivation of the defences that protect the Jundarstone - but only for about a day. I will lead the second section and it will be our job to enter the Tyfellia Solis  Reliquary to find the Jundarstone.'

He didn't tell them what he planned to do with the Jundarstone once he had it and no one asked. Most likely they were thinking of all the other treasure that might be held in the Reliquary. 

Anyway, Egnol's plan went into action in the afternoon. I followed the second section. They headed further into the city. There were undead flitting among the ruins but they kept out of the way of the party. Egnol followed a folded up map he had made of the area until they arrived at the Reliquary.

I didn't follow them, but from my investigations I can piece together what  happened next. The main building of the Reliquary was in ruins and stripped of anything of value - it was the deep cellars where they were head. They met no opposition until they entered the vault of the Jundarstone. 

Every corridor, door and room of this massive vault had once been home to the treasures  of Tyfellia, but now most of them were broken and worthless. Thick cobwebs coated  everything and had to be pushed aside to make progress.

There were undead lurking everywhere, so Egnol and Wrunas remained at the entrance to cover their rear, while Old Salty and Korinth ventured further in.

In the first chamber they were attacked by skeletons and giant spiders. Once these  were dealt with Salty raised one of the huge ones as an undead minion. There were  steps leading up into another big vault and looking through the doorway they saw a  large suit of elven armour standing in the centre of the room. They avoided that, and back down the stairs they followed a corridor to the west where another, smaller, suit  of armour stood against the wall.

As they approached, it came to life and attacked. Salty sent forth his undead host and in the ensuing battle Bekka was rendered properly dead again. As they poked at the armour, a group of ettercaps attacked from a room in the west. The heroes killed two of them, but the other two ran off. Our friendly tomb raiders caught their breath for a moment and then pushed on.

(G617 21/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL10

(G617 21/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL10

[The undead cleric of Umberlee known as Salt's Wake has signed up with an expedition to Jundarwood along with his new chum Korinth, a sellsword. They are now well into the forest, and exploring an ancient temple. Rollo keeps an eye on them.]

DAY 728 29th Alturiak (Feb) cont ...

Nukaliss may have been mental, but she wasn't mental-mental if you see what I  mean. She knew time was pressing so she gave a Potion of Lesser Restoration to Korinth so he could heal his vitals after being injured by the tough skeleton.

One of Salty's undead cultists was sent north to check out a corridor and its doorways, but even so Korinth managed to trigger a trap as he blundered around and was hit by spectral barbed vines.

They entered a central chamber where three large bells were arranged along the south wall. There was also a large pile of leaves blocking the way north. A shambling mound came from a set of stairs to the east and attacked them.

This was a large pile of rotten, but very angry, vegetation. They used the zombies to hold it off while they shot at it. This worked, but Salty lost two of his undead cultists.

Korinth went and looked down the stairs it had come from. It seemed to be another large room, choked full of bushes and undergrowth.

Salty sent a zombie down there and this provoked two more shambling mounds into attacking them. Nukaliss got involved this time and summoned two owl bear skeletons to fight the mounds. Meanwhile the other held back and shot there bows. Salty even got the kill shot on the last shambler with his crossbow.

They then went downstairs and beat about the bushes and found some treasure mixed in with all the garden waster and bones.

From the bell room they headed north into the largest chamber of the buried temple. It would have once been a really lovely altar room, but now it was all overgrown and covered in roots and vines. As they entered they were attacked by a fierce zombie-like creature. It was in fact a bodak, the remains of someone that had been killed by a touch of pure evil. It's mouth hung open down to its chest and its long arms terminated in twisted claws.

It tore into them and Korinth took the brunt of its attacks as Salty moved his precious undead around to press the flanks and Gravedigger healed his friends when required.

Korinth was badly beaten and being healed by Gravedigger when Salty got the finishing blow with his recently looted "Backbiter Spear". After they got their breath back they looted the chamber and found a mysterious orb - no doubt that this was what Egnol was interested in.

Still, they knew there was still treasure in this temple, so they went and rang the bells in the previous chamber until a hidden door grinded open to reveal a room full of more treasure. They had no opened all but one room, which lay behind a portcullis.

It was too heavy for them to life, but they did see a lever further down the corridor so with a grappling hook, some rope and a lot of patience they eventually got the gate open. The room down the corridor had a well in it - and a vampire who may not have been immediately hostile, but Salty took no chances and Turned it as soon as he saw it. The vampire turned into mist and wafted down the well.

With the temple now thoroughly explored they headed back to camp and arrived at three o'clock. The expedition then continued east until eleven and made camp in the dark.

Progress was slower now and they were all very tired. The unlucky porters were put on watch so those that had seen combat during the day could get a decent night's sleep.

(G616 14/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED15

 
(G616 14/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED15

[This continues the story of Rogier the bard, a warforged called Gravedigger and a goliath paladin known as Uthmar Shatterstone. They have arrived at the  mysteriously deserted town of Everaska and have just recently opened a portal to the God's only know were while mucking about in the manor house of the Viers family.]


DAY 19 cont...

The lads didn't know where they were and had a thin grasp of what was going on but they knew they were in a dungeon and that meant there was treasure to be had!

The next chamber they came to was like an underground forest, chocked with roots and dark foliage. Here they were attacked by fiery skeletons that hurled magical bolts of flame at them.

Uthmar charged at the undead and started laying about them. Rogier cast spells at the back and Gravedigger managed to Turn two of them.

Rogier found that his poison bolts burned off the skeletons harmlessly so he switched to his trusty Cloud Of Daggers spell. Each time a skeleton was slain - it exploded! Our heroes soon learned to stand well back when they went off. After the battle they then hunted down and destroyed the Turned ones.

With all the excitement over they moved further into the cavern. They discovered a  dark overgrown graveyard.

They found a secluded place to rest and settled down for the night. Uthmar and Rogier spent a large portion of the evening arguing about the division of loot.


DAY 20

They broke camp in the small hours of the morning. Gravedigger had a look around. It felt like they were underground. The plants that had grown here were dried and desiccated. They were of no type of fauna that Gravedigger was familiar with.

While looking around he found a door in the east wall of the chamber. Rogier came over and "accidentally" opened it, just to annoy Uthmar, who came racing down to where they were and shouted, 'shut that bloody door!'

Gravedigger did as he was bid, but whatever was on the other side of the door had been awoken. Screeching and banging was heard, then hissing and rasping. Rogier shrugged and opened the door again. They were attacked by four ghouls. Gravedigger Turned the first two, who went running back into the darkness of the other chamber.

Uthmar grumbled at Gravedigger for some reason and used his Smite Evil on one of the other ghouls. As it died he remarked to the warforged, 'waste of a good Smite, that was!'

While that was going on, Rogier had destroyed the last remaining one, so they ventured further in. It appeared to be a large crypt. The Turned ghouls were at the back of the chamber and with a bit of trouble they were eventually dealt with.

Our heroes were all puffed out after that, as none of them had even had breakfast so they rested for a while. After that they investigated a door in the north wall of the crypt. Rogier warned that the door was trapped so Uthmar threw a dead ghoul at it, which landed on a  pressure plate and released an acid cloud.

Once open the door lead to a corridor, then to some stone steps leading down. They could hear voices coming from below.

Opening the door revealed a wide hallway that went east and west and opened out into large gloomy chambers on either side. Chained to the north wall was a ragged lady who looked up from here mutterings when she saw our heroes arrive and cried, 'praise the God's you are here!'

Uthmar at first shushed her, but then made some very poor taste jokes about the smell of urine coming from here. He then commanded Rogier to get her unchained.

However, as Rogier approached it appeared she had just been pretending as she leapt at him, brandishing one of those Ritual Sickles used by the cultists. Then another bunch of them came from the eastern room. Someone shouted 'Agnes! Pull the lever!'

The cultists were fanatical, but not strong and were easily slain by Uthmar and Rogier. Gravedigger found that all his spells just slid off them, he was having bad luck with his magic. As the last of them fell, they heard a low hum build into a louder noise and then a crack of thunder and a flash of lighting came from the east - then abruptly everything was silent.

Uthmar went east and saw that the corridor opened out into a large chamber to the north. At the top of the room were all sorts of strange equipment, some still sparking and smoking. A woman stood beside a wide table were some sort of hideous monster lay. Indeed by its description I would say it was a flesh golem, a being made from the stitched together parts of dead people, bought to life by magic and lightning.

Uthmar came back and told the others what he had seen. He and Rogier then distracted themselves with puerile jokes revolving around the size of the golem and the need to use magic to enlarge Uthmar's... well, I won't relate here what I don't understand. If there was a joke here I fail to see it, but anyway, they were drawn from such low banter by Gravedigger giving an "ahem" as the monster came down the corridor towards them.

Gravedigger tried a Turn, but the monster was a construct, not undead and the spiritual magic had no effect. When it came to fighting this horror, the jokes stopped and they got to work. For all their low humour I must admit they knew their business. Uthmar faced the monster and traded blows with it, while Rogier used his magic from a safer distance to injure it with fire and magical blades. Meanwhile, when Uthmar received a blow or two, enough to make him stumble, Gravedigger was on hand to heal him. Even so, the monster was very strong and managed to beat them back to the door they had come though. By this time they were all hurt and once they had all hustled through the door they pushed it shut.

Uthmar pondered for an irritatingly long time if he should take a Healing Potion or not. Gravedigger gave up listening to him about it and cast Bless, Aid and then Spiritual Weapon.

They then opened the door again and charged the monster. After more desperate fighting the monster lay slain, next to the lady that had released it.

(G615 07/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL9

 

(G615 07/02/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL9

[The undead cleric of Umberlee known as Salt's Wake has signed up with an expedition to Jundarwood along with his new chum Korinth, a sellsword. This story is now taken up by Rollo the Druid.]

DAY 726 27th Alturiak (Feb)

Greetings dear and gentle reader! 
I hadn't known anything about what my friend Egnol had been planning  until he chartered one of my ships, the "Black Cat". Even after that I didn't know much, which is why I followed it to the coastline that bordered the Jundarwood.

I will now relate to you what I know in regards to this (ill-fated?) expedition. Some of it I witnessed with my own eyes, some of it I learned later and some of it I have made up based on my best guess as to what may likely have transpired.

Having said all that then, as I circled high in the sky as a sharp-eyed eagle I watched as the campsite on the beach woke up and they all had their breakfast.

The Black Cat had returned to the shore, but was making ready to leave west later in the day. 

Korinth went to speak to Egnol and was told something along the lines of:

"We are going to the ruins of Taefellia. It is under a curse, a curse that has raised the elves of the city as undead. I have researched for 30 years and finally I think I have a way of lifting the curse."

Hiring two necromancers seemed to make sense, Korinth supposed, given the mission, but he did wonder.
'Are we there to clear them out or help them?' he asked intuitively.
'We'll see when we get there,' was the cryptic answer.

Korinth then went to talk to Nukalis. Among other things she said:
'I think Egnol is going to try and do something stupid and I am totally here for that!'
And:
'I think he's planning to keep me and old Salty apart so our Turn's don't interfere with each other.'

Korinth then went to talk to Old Salty and relayed what he had learned. As they walked along the beach, a sudden cry went up. They were under attack! I wheeled in a little closer to what the battle.

Large gangs of people in robes and armour attacked from the north and the south. I learned later that they were from the a cult known as the Children of the Final Dawn,  an extremist group associated with Amaunator, the god of "order, the sun, law, and time".

The cultists wore robes, while the clerics wore armour. All wore tall round red caps. Our heroes went north to meet the main attack while the others went south to meet the other cultists in combat on the beach.

Blades flashed, maces fell and spells were cast. Old Salty cast Desecrate, then raised three of the dead cultists to do his bidding. But then a Final Dawn cleric turned his undead who went fleeing down the beach. The cultists were fanatical and all fought to the death. When Salty and Korrinth had killed all in the north they rushed south to help finish off the enemy there. It finally came down to the last cleric fighting Korinth who at first seemed to have the matter easily in hand, but then took an age to finish off his foe. In the end he slew the final cultist with a massive killing blow, which earned him a gentle round of applause from Salty and Ownkabey who had been watching from close by.

Now that it was all over, it was seen that two porters and a man called Ketric had  been killed. Ketric was a rogue, and would have been handy later on, but they did not  have the resources to resurrect him.

They looted the bodies of the slain, but not long after the Black Cat rounded the headland and signaled that another, much larger, group of cultists were heading in their direction! Egnol gathered everyone up and an hour later they plunged into the woods with everything they could carry.

They marched into the forest for the rest of the day, a group of seven adventurers  accompanied by four porters.

Myself and Jonathan kept an eye on them from a good height, but Korinth noticed us and took a pot shot with his bow. The blighter winged Jonathan! I had to heal him as he tumbled in the sky. Korinth noticed that and shot again, so I sent down an Ice Lance to see how he liked it!

Jonathan flew home and I landed not far away and turned into a fox. I watched as Egnol handed Korinth a potion of healing and told him, 'don't shoot at any more birds!'

In the evening they made camp. They could have done with a druid on this trip I think as there was a much nicer place just a half mile further on. Still, for a forest with a very sinister reputation the Jundarwood was very pleasant.
It was overgrown, but easy to pass through. The trees were mainly Holm Oak,  Cork Oak, Stone Pine, and Calid Chestnut, trees that grew far enough apart to make travelling through the forest as easy as walking through a park.

Ownkabey was a hobgoblin princess or something like that, I had no idea where had come from, but she apparently knew the forest and where they were going.
She was dressed in very fine armour and compared to some of the other nutters on this expedition seemed to be fairly normal in behaviour.

Nukillas on the other hand was manic in character, always making very bad-taste jokes and put-ons, wearing out the patience of the entire party. She was demented in some way, but then would any cleric of Asmodeus ever be considered sane?

I turned into a seagull later on and flapped away, then teleported home.

DAY 727 28th Alturiak (Feb)

I checked in with the expedition late in the afternoon. They were making good progress and had entered a more sinister area of the forest were the trees weremore gnarled and pressed in more closely. There were few animals in this region and a sense of foreboding pressed down on all living beings under the dark forest canopy.

They made camp at night fall and I happily left them too it, teleporting home for a nice cup of tea and a bath.

DAY 728 29th Alturiak (Feb)

I caught up with our heroes just before lunch today. It looked like Bozor was acting as scout, at first going forward to check the route, then going back  on their trail to check how far away the Children were.

It appeared Egnol thought they had time enough to explore a ruined Taefellian outpost and wanted to send some of his hireling to go take a look.

Salty and Korinth were to go and they could bring one other of their choosing. Old Salty wanted to bring Nukillas. Korinth was looking forward to a break from her incessant vulgar jokes, but Salty didn't want to learn any healing spells so in the end they took her with them. He promised to do all the Turning so Nukillas could concentrate on the healing.

Ownkabey gave them simple directions and after an hour's walk they arrived at the outpost. Egnol had told them they could take all and any treasure they found there except for any "orbs" they turned up.

They found the ruins of a small elven settlement. The only building that had not been totally overtaken by the forest was a stone temple in the centre.

At the ivy choked entrance they argued about who was to go first. As I studied these two more I began to realise this was to become a very familiar refrain.
'On you go then Korinth!' ordered Salty.
'What?' gasped the fighter in amazement. 'Send your undead in first, that is what they are there for!' Here he gestured at the six zombies currently in
Salty's employ - two undead kao-tua and four undead cultists.
'But you are the guy with the sword and shield, the front line! I'm a cleric and people like me are back line.'
'Maybe,' conceded Korinth, 'But those rotters are trap-fodder. Send them forward.'
'Hey, zombie lives matter!'
'They are not alive you... oh look out, here she comes.'
Nukillas had wandered over. 'What are you boys talking about?'
'Nothing,' growled Korinth. He then drew his sword and marched angrily into the temple.

In the first chamber they found some undead elven skeletons, temple guards who still stood at their posts after centuries. Salty turned and destroyed five of them. Two more swiftly fell to Korinth's blade, but the last one gave them more trouble.

It tilted is head, then snapped it back, gazing over all of them with blazing fire in its eye-sockets. Dark veins grew along the flagstones of the temple floor and around the skeletons legs, as if nourishing it. Their attacks appeared to have no effect. Nukillas tried to turn it, but nothing happened. The skeleton slashed at a zombie with its ancient sword and cut it in two.

It seemed indestructible, but its attacks were no more dangerous than any other  skeleton, so they stepped back out of the temple to discuss options. The skeleton did not follow.

Eventually they deduced that it drew its power from the inside of the temple so they went back in, ducked under its sword and dragged it out into the sunlight where they easily smashed it to pieces.

Watching all this, perched on a branch as I was, the bickering, the arguing and then the eventual execution of a plan that more or less worked, I couldn't help but compare them to some friends of mine. Korinth seemed to fill the role of the slightly more sensible one, similar in character to Fenrir who could be quite clever when he wasn't drunk. Salty was more like Reinward, always looking to cause trouble, always looking for opportunities for foolishness, overly cautious to the point of annoyance, but deadly when he had to be.

It's strange, I find, that the same sort's of fellows seem to enter into my life again and again.

(G614 31/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED14

 

(G614 31/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF, KT, AP(GM), AD) 5ED14

[This continues the story of Rogier the bard, a warforged called Gravedigger and a goliath paladin known as Uthmar Shatterstone. They have arrived at the  mysteriously deserted town of Everaska and have just recently entered the manor house of the Viers family.]


DAY 17 cont ...

Our brave heroes continued to wander around the house looking for useful things and any treasure that wasn't nailed down.

Gravedigger found a set of keys in a kitchen drawer that allowed them access to some of the rooms upstairs.

In the master bedroom he found a sinister looking journal. He translated the first page:

''
That which stands behind the world may be reached by those who dare to step sideways
''

Along the edge of the cover, in smaller script, almost like an afterthought:

"Do not read this aloud unless you are prepared to be answered"

It continued:

''
I write this not as confession, but as instruction.

The Other Plane is not distant. It does not lie beyond the stars nor beneath the earth. It exists beside us, pressed thin against our reality like breath against glass.
Most believe the planes are separated by vast gulfs. This is a comforting lie.
The truth is simpler, and far more dangerous: the Veil is weakest where people gather, where lives overlap, where faith, fear, and memory are layered thick upon one another.
A house will suffice.
A district is better.
A city is ideal.

The passage is not opened by force, but by alignment.
Time must hesitate.
Witnesses must be present.
And the reflection must be invited.
Those who fear possession misunderstand the process. The Other does not steal the self - it reveals it. What was taken from Veershade was not flesh, but certainty.

They stepped through willingly, though they will never remember agreeing. I record the ritual here so that it may be repeated, refined, and - if necessary - completed correctly next time.
''

None of them knew anything about what any of the above meant, although they all agreed it was a bit rum.

Gravedigger also noticed at the bottom of the page, written later, in a different hand, or  the same hand grown unsteady:
"I hear him now, even when the mirror is covered."

They went back to Lady Vier's camp and Gravedigger gave her the book and the translation.
'Oh deary me!' she exclaimed.

For reasons known only to himself Rogier decided to tried being intimidating and  demanding more money, going 'WOT!' and lurching at her in the most alarming fashion.
She gave them all 100 gold each. 
Gravedigger, rather ashamed of his companion's behaviour, handed his back later on.

Gravedigger then translated more of the book, sat at a table in the shelter of Lady Vier's pavilion.

He looked for the more pertinent parts, and translated them from Infernal.

''
I attempted the alignment elsewhere.
In the cellar. In the upper rooms. Even beyond the house.
All attempts failed.
The Veil does not tear twice in different places. It thins only where it has already been wounded. The entrance remembers.

To stand anywhere else is to knock upon a door that does not exist.
''

In the margin, cramped and irritated:

''
The circles are not redundant. Each serves a voice.
''

Gravedigger thought on this. The author appeared earnest, but it didn't tie in with any established religious thinking. There was no "Veil". There was a "Weave" and also the Plane of Shadow. Perhaps it was the name for one of these, or it was a name for an Alternate Material Plane as yet unknown, or an alternative name for an existing Plane in the established Cosmology.

Gravedigger talked to Lady Viers.
'It's all very good finding out the truth,' he considered. 'But where does it get us?
Do you think we could get all the people back?'
'I know not,' she admitted. 'But I think you should try the pentagrams. None of this matches up with our understanding of the other realms, but it could be interesting to find out.'
'Hah!' puffed Gravedigger. 'It is all the lies of demons and devils if you ask me! I was taught the Traditional Model in my seminary. It is well established.'

He did more research, late into the night and deduced that their were three pentagrams they should focus on:

Pentagram 1 — The Anchor - Runes of binding, devotion, and endurance
Pentagram 2 — The Voice - Runes of sound, names, and invitation
Pentagram 3 - Gravedigger wasn't too sure about this one, it looked like nonsense to him 

DAY 18

Gravedigger spent another day translating the journal.
Rogier helped when he wasn't arguing with Uthmar or trying to intimidate passing badgers.

Uthmar spent the day either napping or attending to his weapons and armour.


DAY 19

Our brave heroes returned to the manor house and the rooms with the pentagrams in them.
Gravedigger consulted the journal and arranged them all on the pentagrams he had deduced to be the ones required.

As the ritual began all the doors slammed shut and the air began to feel thick. The pentagrams began to radiate darkness. They found that they were now stuck to the spot. The flickering of the candles seemed to freeze mid flicker. Motes of dust hung in the air.

Next a voice said something in an unknown tongue, the floor began to pulse as if breathing.
It was all kicking off now, that was for sure, there was hardly anything of the sinister persuasion that WASN'T happening now. A mirror in the room clouded over, then cleared. The runes on the floor began to move.

Something dark moved in the mirror, then in blur of moving light and shadow they found themselves moved into the interior of some sort of tomb.

Rogier, without any hesitation at all, seeing a sarcophagi, went over to lift the lid so he could loot it. Gravedigger and Uthmar did not like disturbing graves and left him to it.

After searching the place for loot, they moved forward into another chamber that contained several chests. It was hardly a surprise to any of them that they turned out to be mimics.

A hap-hazard fight ensued, with our brave heroes eventually coming out on top. They then sat down and got their breath back for a while.

Eventually they stood up again and examined a door to the north. Rogier knocked on it and stood back. Gravedigger put his ear to the door.
'I hear hissing and clicking,' he informed the others.

(G613 24/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL8

 
(G613 24/01/2026 via Roll20 - JF(GM), KT, AP) EVL8

[Dark forces are gathering on Yag Island, manifesting as an undead cleric of Umberlee known as Salt's Wake and a Dread Necromancer called Vaelis Crowe. They are currently having a home invasion from a group of good-aligned adventurers. This is documented by Ganbar, Priest of Kelemvor.]


DAY 718 19th Alturiak (Feb)

My Lord,

Here I document what else I know of the attack on the house of the necromancers on Yag Island. They were beset by a group of adventurers that consisted of a paladin,  a cleric, a ranger, a rogue and a wizard.

Crowe, either wanting to make an escape by himself or wanting to lead the attackers away from the house, gathered together the remaining undead and made a break for it.

They charged up the cellar stairs and through the kitchen. Many of the undead were  slain and Crowe, heavily wounded, staggered through the kitchen door and out into  the night. The sight of the remaining undead and a necromancer firing off spells woke the street, and the goodly adventurers at first tried to calm things down but found themselves embroiled in explanations and accusations, so they quickly exited the scene.

Where Crowe went to is unknown to me. I will seek to find out where he ended up but my suspicions are that he left the island and thus, my area of investigation.

Salt's Wake however, remained in the house. He snuck upstairs and found both  Dondlepart and Keletch "dead", but much to his delight Guppy and Cod-Piece (the undead Koa-toa) were still on their feet.

Later, he went out into the night, to skulk in the shadows and listen at the tavern doors for rumours. He heard tell of Julia Yenessa, the daughter of a rich Calimport nobleman who had traced her whereabouts to Yag Island. She was believed dead but he still wanted her body. The adventurer's must have heard that some unsavoury necromancers lived at Wake's house and drawn a mistaken conclusion.


DAY 719 20th Alturiak (Feb)

Wake returned to his house as dawn arrived and lay low for the rest of the day.

Meanwhile, a sellsword known as Korinth, a rough fellow with a long scar across his face, had arrived on the island. He wore full plate armour that had seen a lot of action and carried a long sword and longbow.

He had been inhabiting one of the dockside taverns since his arrival and it was there that he came to the attention of Egnol Galeborn. Galeborn was an elven historian that had lived on the island for many years. He was definitely up to something, but as of the time of writing I have yet to deduce exactly what.

Galeborn hired Korinth to join his expedition and his first task was to go and known on the door of Wake's house and recruit him.

Wake was not expecting visitors so put on a high pitched voice when talking from behind the door. 'Just a second young man!' he screeched as he waved his fishy friend up to protect him.

When he finally opened the door a crack, Korinth stepped back at the smell that was half grave and half rotten fish assaulted his nostrils.
'Oh don't mind those two,' remarked Wake. 'Old Guppy and Cod-piece mean no harm.'

Korinth explained his purpose and after much deliberation Wake agreed to meet Galeborn in a private room in a nearby tavern.

Galeborn explained that he wanted to go to Jundarwood, a forest on the east coast of the Shining Sea. It would be 350 miles to Urbeth, then 250 to Jundarwood. He had contracted a stealthy ship from a local merchant for the purpose.

Wake was concerned about his own smaller ship. It would be too slow to join the expedition but was too big to take onboard the merchant ship.
'Don't worry, I'll set someone to watch it,' said Galeborn.
Next Wake wanted a valet service. 'Here is a hundred gold my man! Have them scrub her to tip top condition!'
'Err... Very well, I will arrange that,' agreed Galeborn, if only to get the meeting back on track.

He wanted to leave in eight hours. Wake asked about 'his fishies' and Galeborn assured him that bringing undead on the ship would 'not be a problem'.

With the deadline set Korinth went to the general store to get supplies, but Wake held off for now, reasoning that Urbeth was a larger port and would have more choice.


DAY 720 21st Alturiak (Feb)

In the twilight of dawn Galeborn's expedition to Jundarwood sailed out of Tamunzah port.
 
The people on this adventure were:

Egnol Galeborn - an elven wizard and historian.

Nukillas - a Yian-ti pureblood cleric. She was known to consort with demons but was willing to work with undead if the price was right. It was her that Wake and Crowe had disturbed in the Devil's Cauldron.

Bozor - a half-elf sellsword, of which I know little other than he was dedicated to Galeborn's cause (whatever that was).

Wrunas the Minotaur - hired as extra muscle. Until recently had been hanging out at the Barrow after being rescued from a dungeon.

Korinth and Salty made the passenger manifest up to six. Galeborn told them they would meet more of the expedition when they arrived.

The ship was small, but was magically fast and invisible when it wanted to be, which made it perfect for missions such as Galeborn's, who definitely appeared to want to keep what he was doing as secret as possible.

The ship sailed on and in the darkness Wake prowled the deck. At the prow he spied a dark sinister figure looking out to sea. He approached.
'Hey, I was going to be the dark sinister figure standing at the rail on this trip!' he griped.
Nukillas turned and hissed at him, 'you! You are the one that killed all my undead and fish followers!'
'Oh, but...!'
'Ha! Ha!' she laughed. 'Just kidding, I don't care.'
Wake was momentarily baffled. In the dim light he could see she was attractive, if you didn't mind
the slightly scaly quality of her skin, the yellow eyes and the fact that she was clearly mad.
'Where is the other one?' she asked.
'Oh, I've not seen Crowe recently. He maybe left town.'
'Ah well, he'll miss all this fun then, hehe! I wonder what old Eggy want's with two evil clerics
do you suppose?'
Wake shrugged. She sniffed him.
'Undead eh? A creation of Umberlee I expect. Does your thingy still work?'
'How dare you!'
'Rotted off has it?'
'In full working order, young lady, you can rest assured on that point!'
'Whip it out then.'
Wake tried to rejoin with his own banter, but she was better practised in the art. He realised she was a "wind up merchant" of considerable skill and in the end he bid her good morning and returned to his cabin.

Dawn arrived and it was Korinth's turn to be on deck. He noticed Galeborn at the rail, looking seasick, and went over to talk to him. Galeborn was happy to talk but didn't reveal the exact reason for the expedition, only that it was going deep into the Jundarwood, that was full of undead, hence the need for clerics.

Korinth then talked to Wrunas, who seemed a stupid but powerful creature. He was friendly enough but had no idea really what was going on, only that he was being paid to guard Galeborn.

The ship he was on seemed to be primarily crewed by gnomes. Korinth played cards with two of them and the Minotaur. They were using 'gnome cards' and they played a version of Snap for a while, but when Wrunas left they played poker. Korinth won some money, but then played until the gnomes won it back.

Korinth chatted to the captain, who told them that the ship they were on - "The Black Cat" was magical, in that it could turn invisible and go faster than a normal ship could if it wanted to. The captain wasn't the owner, it was owned by people back on Yag Island, an outfit called the LVTC. Galeborn had rented it from them.

Salty came out later on, but every time he bumped into a gnome it squeaked and ran away.

[Rollo note: Today I went on a "shard hunt" around the Guildgate on the Wasteworld side. I took Sylvia, Jiggles and Kaylar Kaysh with me. We managed to get 5 shards from a nearby dungeon.]


DAY 721 22nd Alturiak (Feb)

Today was a day of good sailing east. Wake learned from the captain that there were three other ships like The Black Cat, all owned by the LVTC Company. 

Korinth sat on deck through the day, enjoying some rest. Nukillas came and talked to him a couple of times. She was friendly, but he got the impression she was mad. She was a cleric of Asmodeus and told Korinth.
'I don't usually do undead you know. No, devils is my thing. I love devils. devils are where it is at! Devils! Devils!! Mwah-Hahahahahaha!!!!'


DAY 722 23rd Alturiak (Feb)

Today they arrived at Urbeth, an island port in the eastern Shining Sea, with a population of about ten thousand.

Korinth went into town and bought a Masterwork Warhammer.

Salty couldn't make up his mind what to do, but in the end he joined Korinth. Korinth noticed that Wake was looking more presentable these days. He had scraped some of the barnacles off and in a dim light he might even be mistaken for a living person. Before going anywhere Wake also activated his Hat of Disguise and turned into a dashing young man.

In actual fact Wake had been casting Gentle Repose on himself as much as he could to stop the process of decay. It's effects were marginal, and the problem of the terrible smell he produced was still present. The first place he went to was a Perfumery where he bought some strong scent to mask the smell of putrescence. 

At some point he left Korinth and went off by himself, trying to find a temple to Umberlee.
Even when he paid for directions he kept on getting lost and in the end he paid someone the princely sum of two gold to take him there.

He finally entered the Shrine of the Drowned Lady and donated 10 gold for an appeasement 
ritual.

In the evening Wake and Korinth went to the The Salt & Star. They had a some good food and drink and Korinth chatted up a tart. Wake tried too as well, but he was still a bit too 'undeady' to stand any chance.

Instead he butted in on Korinth's arrangements. His new lady friend was called Veronia and she charged five gold for a very pleasant night. Wake paid her an extra five gold to make sure Korinth got a premium service. 

Korinth went off upstairs, leaving Wake to do his best to blend in with the other seafarers in the tavern.


DAY 723 24th Alturiak (Feb)

The Black Cat set off in the morning and had another day of fast and steady sailing.

Korinth chatted to the crew, while Salty amused himself by frightening the gnomes.


DAY 724 25th Alturiak (Feb)

The Black Cat arrived at the shores next to the Jundarwood late in the night. There was a base camp set up here already, lit with torches.

Everyone was dropped off at the beach by row boat. There were tents already set up for them to sleep in.


DAY 725 26th Alturiak (Feb)

In the light of dawn they could not see the Black Cat, she was either out at sea or around one of the headlands.

Korinth noticed that there were also about a dozen porters in the camp, mainly humans and half-elves. He went and found Egnol in his tent, reading books and looking at maps.

He had nothing for Korinth or Salty to do on this day so they took a walk down the coast. They discovered the bones of humans, large animals and monsters, as well as old rusty armour and scraps of leather. If this was what the edge of the forest was like, what would it be like further in, wondered Korinth.

The Mall (2026 Liminal)

 

The Mall

- WELCOME TO THE MALL -

She was new to this city and had spent the day going around the shops looking for things to buy for the flat. They had moved here because of her husband's new job and they needed to stock up on various household things.

She just needed some wet wipes for her infant son and then she could go home. Noticing a large mall across a plaza she didn't know the name of she headed towards it. She was from the Far East where everyone did their shopping in malls and was drawn to it like a moth to a heavily discounted light bulb.

The entrance was strongly guarded, unusual for a mall in Britain, but very common for where she was from so she thought nothing of it. Perhaps there had been a bomb threat?

She was seven months pregnant and her belly swelled out under her blouse making her waddle and quick to tire so the first thing she did was sit down in the food court and order a decaffeinated coffee. She looked for messages on her mobile phone but found that she couldn't get a signal.

Ah, what luck! Just across from where she was sitting sipping her coffee she could see a 'Boots'. She could get the wipes in there and then make her way home again.

- BOOTS -

What a funny lot they were here. In her country, old people didn't go out of their homes much, but in Britain they seemed to be out and about on the buses and in the shops all the time. And the old lady in front of her in the queue had no shoes or sock on! Her feet looked like something from a wildlife documentary. They had long toenails and were covered in sores, what a sight! She would have to ask her husband about it when she got home, were such things normal here? The old lady was looking away so she glanced over her face. It was a road map of deep lines. She look as if she was a hundred years old and the old man next to her looked equally as ancient, his face so saggy and deeply cut with lines he hardly looked human any longer.

He noticed her gaze and smiled weakly.

She bowed her head and looked away. In her country the old were treated with respect, unlike here, where even her husband would talk to them as he would any other person.

The queue was very long, but eventually she was able to pay for her purchases and leave.

- ONE WAY ONLY -

She head back the way she had came, but a security guard stopped her and silently pointed at the floor. She had to step back to read what was written on the tiles. One way only.

'Excuse me,' she said. 'How I get out?'

The guard, again silently, pointed up at a sign. One of the many things written on it was 'Exit' and an arrow pointing back into the mall.

Meekly she turned and headed back inside. She felt angry at herself for not being more forceful, but politeness and submissiveness was bred into her.

Her husband, she was sure, would have just pushed past the guard, he considered such people his social inferior. Even the police he regarded with disrespect, a concept completely alien to her. But they didn't carry guns here and she supposed that would make a big difference.

She followed the signs and noticed that there were more and more one way areas and more and more guards.

This was ridiculous! She was now desperate for a pee and was getting drawn further and further into this strange place!

- THE GALLERY -

She'd found a toilet at least. The baby was pressing down on her bladder though, and she instantly felt as if she had to go again. Instead of following the signs towards the exit she headed towards what was signposted as the 'gallery' and took a seat on a bench overlooking the city. She must have gotten quite high up now as she could see down onto the roofs of houses that were four and five stories high. There were office blocks in the distance.

She didn't even know the name of the city she was looking at. Her husband had explained that they now lived in the join of two large cities and it didn't even really have a name. The two other cities had western names she had found hard to pronounce and she'd forgotten them anyway.

The streets looked deserted.

She looked at her phone again. No signal. She sent a text message to her husband anyway.

'You have done well to get even this far,' the man next to her suddenly said.

She looked over at him, he was still looking over the city. He was in his early forties.

'Excuse me?' she replied.

'To see anything other than just the inside of the mall is rare.'

'I not understand,' she said.

'Ah,' he said, turning and smiling at her. 'You're new, in that case you must have got here by blind luck. Hopefully your luck will continue then.'

She realised that there was a bad smell here, and that it was coming from this man. He was a tramp. She got up to leave, he must be crazy. You get a lot of crazy people in this country, she thought.

- MAN AT C&A -

She was back at where she had entered the mall, or at least as close as she could get to the maze of security guards, escalators and one way signs that encased it.

She was on the verge of a complete break down now, it was so very late that her husband would be home from work and wondering where on earth she was. The infant, not even two years old yet, would need his dinner and his bath. She didn't really trust her husband to do all those things by himself.

He was probably driving around the city looking for her though. He would be worried sick.

This is absolutely ridiculous she thought and stepped forward to demand egress from the first of the guards.

She steeled herself for the confrontation, but then a man's hand gently held her back,

'Don't bother,' he said. 'Just watch.'

A family consisting of a man, his intensely angry wife and two children approached the guard and tried to force him aside. The guard whispered something into his radio and suddenly five more guards appeared as if from nowhere. The family were surrounded and quickly defeated, ushered back into the throng.

'You see?' said the man. 'It's futile.'

She could see he was well dressed, in a dark suit, but he had unkempt hair and a short beard.

'I cannot believe it,' she said. 'They can't do this!'

'I know,' he shrugged. 'But they do. I've been here three weeks.'

She was speechless.

'I think I have a plan though,' the man continued. 'We need enough people to spring all the traps. I've been standing here all day and I think fifty would be enough. The first person goes forward and confronts the first set of guards. While they are busy, the next person goes up and does the same at the next security gate. Then a runner goes past them all as fast as they can. I think they would have a chance of getting past them all if they were quick. It's like an American football game, the blockers hold up the other team so the quarterback can get through.'

'Fifty people to make one people escape?' she asked.

'I think so.'

'I think I find exit,' she said with finality and went back into the mall.

- EXIT -

She had dozed off on a bench somewhere near the big department stores. When she awoke she found she was leaning against another sleeping woman. She looked at her watch. It was four in the morning.

For a while, she watched the people in the mall. A lot of them seemed to be wandering aimlessly. Most of the shops were still open (didn't this place ever close?) but the people didn't go into them.

Some of the people looked like tramps. She wondered if they were really tramps or just people that had been here a long time.

She was hungry so she looked through her bags. She ate some of her son's biscuits. The ones topped with yogurt that everyone in the family liked. She washed then down with half of her bottle of caffeine free diet cola.

The woman beside her on the bench woke up and eyed up the remains of the biscuits. She looked like her hair was growing wild and her eyes were very red.

'I haven't eaten in two days.'

She gave the rest of the biscuits and coke to the hungry looking woman who began to eat and drink greedily.

'I'm looking for the exit,' she said.

The wild woman looked up and said, 'the mythical exit. You know, they say around here that there actually is one. They say that by law there has to be one. But don't bother with the signs, they are worse than useless.'

'But there is one?'

'So they say,' shrugged the wild woman. 'I don't know though. God knows I've looked.'

She got up to go, she needed the toilet.

'Another piece of advice,' said the other woman. 'Don't be so quick to give away your food next time. Unless you've got someone on the outside topping up your credit cards.'

She spent the rest of the day trying to find the exit. Up and down escalators that seemed to constantly switch back on themselves or dump you in the middle of nowhere or back where you'd started.

It was like a snakes and ladders board that only contained snakes. She wasn't the only person riding the stairs, there seemed to be hundreds of people going up and down, but ultimately going nowhere. Some got frustrated and jumped between the escalators, swapping from an up to a down or vice versa. It looked dangerous though and she doubted she would have tried it even if she hadn't been pregnant.

Occasionally she would check her phone, but she never got a signal and she tried to always remember were the nearest toilet was in case she needed to make a dash for one.

The mall seemed to be incredibly big. Just when she thought she had reached one side of it, there would be another passage or set of doors, or a shop with two entrances that lead off to another area.

Suddenly needing the toilet she realised she hadn't the faintest idea where the nearest one was. She was in a quieter section of the mall where there were a lot of empty concessions, rows of TO LET signs ranked along the tops of the shop windows.

Desperately she dived through the nearest door and into a staff only section. Miraculously there was a staff toilet just off to the side and she ran into it gratefully.

When she came out again she saw that there were some steps leading way down to a landing and she decide to go down them. After what felt like an age the stairs twisted around and she was confronted with a very strange sight.

Camped out on the beige carpet were a man on his son, lounging around in sleeping bags next to piles of boxes and crates. There was even a tent, but they seemed to be using it for storage rather than sleeping in.

'Hello,' said the man. The boy nodded and smiled.

'Hello,' she replied.

'We don't get many visitors down here,' he said.

'What you do here?' she asked.

'Me and the boy are just camping out,' he said. 'It's quieter down here away from the guards and the crowds. We prefer it.'

She nodded. They did indeed seem to be well set up.

'Do you know where exit?' she asked.

'As a matter of fact yes,' he replied. 'It's right over there.'

- FCUK -

She walked along a seemingly endless corridor. The man had pointed at a door marked exit and she had entered eagerly.

'But be careful!' he'd called as she'd left. 'They made a mistake with the plans, so it's not as it appears to be! Or safe!'

There was definitely something wrong with this corridor, but she couldn't figure out what it was yet.

It was a typical sort of thing, thin beige carpets, sets of locked doors on either side, strip lights on the ceiling and a litter bin every so often along its length. It was just that is appeared to go on forever. Literally forever, it must be a mile long or more because she couldn't see the other end!

Resigned to a long walk she had set off.

After a while she was surprised that her head suddenly brushed against a strip light.

Confused she looked back to where she had set off from. It was quite far away, but perhaps not as far as she had thought.

Setting off again she found that she had to crouch. Her head was touching the ceiling!

Suddenly it dawned on her what was wrong with this corridor. The perspective was all wrong. It wasn't just that it receded off into the distance, it was getting smaller.

Further along, she had to get onto her knees, and then down onto her belly.

This is ridiculous! She had to push the next litter bin past her body to get past it. It was the size of a salt shaker.

Now she had to hold her breath to squeeze past the frames of the doors on either side of the corridor. Each one she was sure she was going to get stuck on, but she managed to wriggle on to the next straight bit before getting to the next one.

Claustrophobia was beginning to get to her though, she felt like she was in a grave. This tiny tunnel wasn't going to get any bigger either and she couldn't even turn now to look back the way she had came.

Looking forward she could now see that it seemed to turn straight upwards. Another 'mistake' in the plans she supposed. If she could squeeze past one more set of doorways she could maybe get her hand up it.

She could feel the baby moving and shifting to a different position as she squeezed past the frames. She realised she couldn't do another one, but she was at the upwards bend now.

She knew there was no way she could make her way round it, even if she hadn't been pregnant, it was just too narrow a turn.

If it had been possible in some way, if she had been prepared to skin her knees and elbows, to risk a broken rib or two, then maybe, just maybe, she would be able to get underneath the shaft and see where it led.

She couldn't go forward another inch though so she decided she would at least stretch out her arm and feel up the shaft to see what was there.

As she edged forward she caught a faint whiff of something unpleasant. Something dead.

Reaching up she could feel one of the tiny door frames on the side of the wall. A little further and she could feel something else. If felt like wool. She tugged at it and when it fell onto the carpet of the tunnel she could see it was a black woollen sock.

A feeling of awful dread suddenly settled in her stomach, but she forced herself to reach up again. She slowly reach past the doorframe once more and her fingers closed over something bony. She gasped in horror and snatched back her hand as if she'd been scalded. She'd just touched a skeletal foot. She crawled back as quickly as she could.

- MOTHERCARE -

Weeks passed. At least she wasn't going hungry. Her husband - somehow - was topping up her bank account. He wouldn't know where she was, but at least he would know she was alive.

It also meant she didn't need to get a job or resort to begging or worse.

Her stomach got bigger and she found that she could hardly move from the food court. The women that worked there were stern looking, but even they didn't have the heart to move on a heavenly pregnant woman. She washed her clothes in the ladies toilets and had a sink wash each morning.

She was determined not to turn into a smelly, dirty tramp.

One day, she was sitting, drinking a decaf coffee as usual, when her water broke.

'I'm having my baby!' she cried to one of the waitresses.

She sat down again and started her breathing. In ten minutes some paramedics arrived and she was taken to a staff elevator. The guards looked at her sullenly, but she had a free pass, she was having a baby.

Next she was in an underground car park, and then an ambulance. Was she finally free of this nightmarish place? The ambulance screeched off and up a ramp, then out. From where she lay she could see the street outside. She was out!

'Don't worry,' said the friendly medic sat beside her. 'Just you lie back. We'll be at the hospital in no time.'

- HOSPITAL ZONE -

She was lying in her hospital bed, looking out the window at the small grass area that was fully enclosed by hospital buildings. Her beautiful daughter was in her arms, two days old.

Her husband and their son walked into the room. She squealed in delight.

'My gosh!' she cried. 'I thought I'd never see you!'

'Me too!' he said. 'I looked everywhere! The police here are useless. When I tried to report you missing they acted like I was wasting their time! The nurses wouldn't even let me see you until now.'

'But your here now!' she said as he kissed her. He held up their son for her to hug too. He couldn't talk yet, but appeared to be delighted to see his mummy again.

'I can't believe I missed the birth. Where have you been all this time?'

'The mall,' she replied as she stroke his cheek. 'You haven't shaved in long time.'

'Yeah,' he said. 'This hospital is really weird, me and the boy got here days ago. I wanted to go home to feed the cats, but... they have these lines painted on the floor. Red for A&E, yellow for Maternity and various others. Green for exit. But if you follow the green line it just leads you round in circles or down dead ends.'

She lay back and closed her eyes.

Trapped again. But at least they were trapped as a family.