Prelude: Paths Crossing

Tears Between Worlds
Our story begins on Saturday, April 28, 2351. Gulo and Vyre, having met in Rogerton and agreed to travel together for a while, arrive in Red Deer, blissfully unaware of how long they'll stay. Upon meeting Elfrieda Chad and not making as favourable an impression as they might have done, they're sent out to go find Sam Hawkins, a member of Roger's Guard.

On their way to find her, they fight a number of skeletons with strange, crystalline growths protruding from their bones. After a brief battle, they emerge victorious, continuing on until eventually, they find Sam.

Sam — reasonably friendly, and apparently amused by the two — is searching for a portal somewhere nearby. Some portals, she explained, are less like gates and more like tears in reality. These jagged holes between planes can let all sorts of nastiness through, which is why she makes a point of closing them, by means of magical devices which can seal the tears.

Eventually, the three find the portal in question — and are promptly ambushed by a large, white and blue spider, along with several swarms of smaller spiders. Some of these smaller spiders scurry up Gulo's pants leg and bite him in sensitive areas, leading to his first untimely death. Sam revives him with a touch, which is weird, but go off I guess. Eventually all spiders are defeated, all portals are sealed, and our heroes return to Red Deer victorious.

Dungeon, Take 1
Our story continues on Monday, April 30, 2351. Seth is walking with purpose, though she doesn't know her destination. She is following the call of something ancient and powerful — she does not know exactly what she's seeking, or why, but she knows she will not be able to rest until she's found it. The universe intervenes by forcing her to sit down and take a breath when she falls into a hole — the mouth of a dungeon.

Meanwhile, above ground, Zohal is in search of some missing Roger's Guard members. On her way, she finds a lynx and magically befriends it — much like our heroes with Red Deer, poor Lynxy has no idea what he's signing up for when he starts to follow Zohal. Unlike Seth, Zohal spots the trap and hops down into the dungeon along with Lynxy — soon after, the pair meet.

Going deeper into the dungeon, the pair tense when they hear shouting further in — panicked, much-aggrieved shouting. This turns out to be none other than Seán, a vampire who was, at the time, being assaulted by various crawling claws.

It doesn't take long for Zohal and Seth to decide this dungeon is much too dangerous for them to be exploring, and Seán heartily agrees. With the vampire's help, the two women and Lynxy escape the dungeon, and as Seán settles in the shade of a tree to wait for sunset, the others make their way back to Red Deer — Seth now with the rocks she knew she had been chasing for days, Zohal with a report that her compatriots were very likely killed in that dungeon.

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