Snow 24, 802 AR

The warmth of the fire fills the common room of our suite. Looking out the windows, I can see snow collected along the sills and the thin layer of ice makes it appear that the glass has cracked in several places. The storm broke yesterday and Blackhawk was on the road as soon as he was able to collect his two volunteers. Jaden was kind enough to provide them with a Telepathic Bond. My understanding is that Blackhawk was going to take them up into the hills to a spot where he thinks he will find signs of the creature he is seeking. There is little I can do to assist the Blackhawk's little band. I would likely slow them down more than anything else. The sun rises soon. I shall dress warmly and greet the day in the comfort of Rosewater.

~~~~~

The Stronghold is in an uproar. Rumors of injured Rangers being discovered seem to have sent everything topsy-turvy. I locate Raven and Elensul and we try to make some sense out of everything. It takes a little while before we realize there aren't any Rangers in town! Though, we do learn that the two retired Rangers that accompanied Blackhawk were found outside of Bliss, gravely injured. Nobody can provide any real, useful, information and they won't let us see the injured men. Nobody has any word of Blackhawk, except that he does not appear to have been found with the injured Rangers. Raven elects to do a flyover of the area while Elensul and I leave the city by more mundane methods.

Soon after leaving the city, Raven returns and guides us off the road and toward a barn. As we approach, we can see that 1/3 of the side has been forcibly removed. Oddly enough, we do not see any tracks. Raven assumes the form of a mouse and enters through the gap. Nothing is to be found except hay set aside for the winter. It seems that something large may have spent time here recently, but there is no sign of it now. Coming out of the barn, we pause to consider our options. In the distance, we can hear horns; not the hunting horns of the Hunter, but some sort of hunting horns. It's not much, but it is our best shot at locating Blackhawk. We follow the horns. Before we reach the horns, we see figures moving through the trees. Elves! Most are wearing grayish cloaks. Their forms are indistinct and they would blend into the background easily. If it weren't for the contrast with the snow, I would hardly notice them. However, one of the Elves is wearing finer clothes. She recognizes Elensul and is able to share a bit of news with him. It sounds as if the emissary sent to Alusia has decided to stay there. But, there is little time to share information. The Elves have been investigating the cause of the Hunter's activity near Bliss. They found a clearing with blood and paw marks. The Hunter's pack fought with a large bear. Saramay believe it is a spirit power. However, the Rangers are now combing the area and the Elves wish to avoid them. They are now doubling back to try to make their way around the Rangers sweeping the woods. I assure her that we can provide a distraction and slow the Rangers down so that she will have an easier time avoiding them.

We head off away from the Elvish scouting party and toward the Rangers. When we begin to near the Rangers, I borrow Elensul's hunting horn and do my best to attract some attention. The Rangers are moving down the valley in a skirmish line. We locate the Ranger leading this group and do our best to dissuade him from continuing his search. We are less than successful. The Rangers are set in their purpose and we do not have a strongly compelling reason for them to break off their search. We do try to gain a little more time for the Elves, but the lead Ranger eventually tires of our interference and has somebody guide us up the valley and over the ridge to speak with Lt. Roderick.

We have been discussing amongst ourselves what may have happened to Blackhawk. It seems that he is chasing a Spirit creature, which he is unlikely to meet. The fact that he did not appear to provide assistance to the injured Rangers concerns us. It is uncharacteristic of him. We believe that he may have become caught in the chase with the Hunter. If this is the case, we begin to wonder if we will see him again before nightfall.

Entering the clearing where the Rangers have established the center of their search, we immediately see Roderick with a small group surrounding him. The clearing has several pools of blood around it. Even I can tell that no person could lose that much blood and live. Indeed, I question how many people would have that much blood in their body to lose. Our guide brings us to Roderick. His expression is a mixture of emotions. I decide that his mood is of resigned acceptance that we would show up sooner or later.

Immediately, I ask him to call off the search down the valley, though I do not tell him why. If the Elves are avoiding the Rangers, I don't want to exacerbate the situation. It is times like this that I have a hard time remembering that we are barely above the apprentices in Guild Status. Roderick requires a specific reason as to why he should change the search parameters. I am reluctant to reveal much about the Elves. It is not my place to reveal their presence. Elensul brings resolution to the situation by scribing out reasons onto some parchment and allowing Roderick to determine how much the people around him need to know. In the end, Roderick instructs the searchers to investigate the area thoroughly. This will provide the delay that the Elves need without having to break the search line that is tracking the creature responsible for the disturbances.

Roderick shows us around the clearing. He points out the obvious pools of blood, the tracks from some enormous hounds and the claw marks of an even larger bear on trees and the rocks on the side of a cliff. Still, we see no sign of Blackhawk. Roderick, too, is puzzled by Blackhawk's disappearance, but he is focused on finding the creature. We tell him of the barn that the creature may have rested at and a team of Rangers is dispatched to investigate. Roderick does tell us that the injured Rangers were found in the morning and taken to the Stronghold. One of them was mumbling and saying things that just didn't make any sense.

We take our leave. It is obvious that the Rangers are more intent on finding this creature and our job is to find Blackhawk. Perhaps whatever the injured Ranger was muttering is something that we can make sense of. Our journey back to Bliss is quick, but we are still not allowed to visit the injured men. However, we are told we will be able to speak with them once they awake. It is a small concession, but we will accept it.

~~~~~

Later in the day, we receive word that one of the men is awake. We rush down and gently question Georg. Jan is still unconscious and is not looking good. Between Raven and I, we are able to learn a bit from him. The two of them accompanied Blackhawk until shortly after the sun had set. Suddenly, huge hounds beset them. Jan was bitten and tossed aside. Georg was assaulted as well, but he wasn't taken by surprise and was able to protect himself better. He did note that Blackhawk was nowhere to be seen. We were disappointed at that. Before Georg lost consciousness, he saw an enormous bear that the hounds were attacking. He also saw a very large human that watched the bear and the hounds' fight before it turned away and left. We assume that this was the Hunter. When Georg regained consciousness around dawn, he crawled over and did his best to help Jan. I sat, played my harp, and sang a song to help bolster his and Jan's health before we departed. Undoubtedly, the healers in the Guild have taken care of their physical wounds, but my song may help speed their recovery a bit. Once outside, we pondered our options. Blackhawk was still missing and while the information from Georg was interesting, it did little to help us locate him. We pondered the reasons why the Hunter would finally locate the creature, and then apparently leave. We also pondered where Blackhawk might be. In the end, Raven decided to once again take wing and see if she could locate him.

Her flight was brief and interrupted by a pixie. Moondrop! However, Moondrop did not immediately recognize Raven. She was out looking for a turtle. Raven enlisted Moondrop's aid in locating Blackhawk since Moondrop indicated that Blackhawk couldn't hide anywhere where she couldn't find him. Raven arranged to wait for Moondrop outside of the city, then returned to update Elensul and I. Elensul offered to wait at the Stronghold for any news and I accompanied Raven outside the gates.

A short distance outside the East gate is hill popular for picnics and such. Raven and I took a seat to watch the road and wait for Moondrop. I pulled my Gnomish harp from it's case and began to play. A short time later, an interesting woman came walking down the road. She had curly, blond hair and wore a large cloak that made it difficult to discern her attire. Though, it did look like she favored fine clothes and we could see the outline of some sort of sword. There was a familiarity to her dress and demeanor that I was reminded of the woman we saw at the Elfsong on the Eve of the day of Chaos. She looked up the hill, smiled at us and approached. As she neared us, she greeted us.

"Greetings, in the name of Light."

Certainly an interesting way of beginning a conversation. We invited her to join us and had a delightful conversation. From the outset, I had the feeling that she knew much more about us than we imagined. Combined with her resemblance to the other woman, I was almost uncomfortable. However, her demeanor was more open and pleasing than the woman at the Elfsong. When we asked what she was doing on the road, she confessed to be looking for her distant sister. It crossed our mind that these were strange words for the relationship with a sister. It seems that her distant sister was in the area and was probably looking for information regarding her distant brother.

Upon asking who this brother might be, the image of Graestivious entered our minds. Still, I did not have the feeling that this woman had any malevolent intent toward us. Her name is Lyriel and she says her distant sister has served the Darkness since she was created. As she sat there with us, I was able to see more of her sword. A gold hilt and quillons with a ruby the size of a hen's egg in the pommel. Coupled with the tone of her language, I began to suspect she was something other than human. Our conversation was pleasant, but she suddenly indicated that she needed to leave. She is not allowed to interact with us at certain time and a singularity was approaching. I asked if we would see her again. She hopes to, but there will be many singularities in the future and it will be difficult to see us since she chooses not to violate the rules set before her to not interfere. Regardless, we would meet her once everything was done. I took some small degree of comfort in that. She also told us that somebody was approaching and would tell us that our friend needed our assistance.

Surely, Moondrop must be returning with news of Blackhawk. It didn't sound as if it would be good news. I told Raven that I would seek Elensul and I offered to accompany Lyriel the rest of the way into Bliss. As we walked down the road, she began to hum. The tune was different, but harmonized with the Song perfectly. The faint smile on her face seemed to indicate that she knew I would recognize the similarity. As we approached the line of travelers waiting to enter Bliss, it seemed that something changed around her. The people parted out of her way. The guards did not seem to notice as we passed. It was dreamlike and surreal. As we reached an intersection, I thanked her for her company and expressed my hope that we would meet again, soon. I turned away, to look up toward the Stronghold, and when I turned back again, she was gone.

She made references to distant sisters and brothers. She spoke of them being created, not born. She alluded to times that she could not interfere with our choices. She knew much of us and she bore a gold chased sword with a ruby. Her name is Lyriel. I have studied religion to some extent. She might not be central to Michael's host of assistants, but nevertheless, she is an Angel. At least, that is my rede. I do not follow the precepts of the Celestial Church, but I feel blessed and I hope to meet those like her more often than I meet those such as Graestivious.

I rushed up to the Stronghold to find Elensul. On our way out of town, I told him of Lyriel. We arrived at the hill outside the gates shortly before Moondrop. Moondrop was quite agitated and speaking so fast I thought she might have some Quickling blood in her. Raven managed to calm her enough to find out where Blackhawk was. Up in the hills, some 20 miles from Bliss. He is nude, badly bruised and unconscious.

It didn't take much thought to decide the next course of action. Raven can wildshape and reach Blackhawk relatively quickly. Elensul and I will take longer. I hand my cloak to Raven so she can take it with her. It is the closest thing we have to a blanket. Elensul and I will continue down the road to the stables and I will ride Runs with Joy. We will follow to assist Raven and Blackhawk as quickly as we are able.

~~~~~

Moondrop guides Raven to a chasm. Blackhawk is laying on the cold rock. Badly bruised, cold, and unconscious. Changing back to her human form, she drapes Stephen's cloak over him. His bruises fade as she chants over him. Still, he does not return to consciousness. Clearly, the worst of his ills is the exposure to the elements. A quick consultation with Moondrop on the easiest way out of the crevice indicates that the most expedient path is through the sky. Moments later, a giant eagle hops forward. Her magnificent wings stretch at least 20 feet across. Fluttering forward, Raven wraps her talons around Blackhawk before she wings out of the crevice. She circles once, then twice as she gains altitude. Afternoon shadows are lengthening. It will be a near thing to get Blackhawk to Bliss before nightfall. A flutter in the corner of one eye turns out to be Moondrop, not food. Turning toward the city nestled at the base of the mountains, Raven flaps her wings a few more times and then glides toward the general direction of the East gate.

~~~~~

Even on horseback, and in the snow, I have difficulty keeping up with Elensul. We haven't seen Moondrop or Raven and we are hoping that we are going in the right direction. It is nearly dark and the moon will be rising soon. Scanning the sky to get our bearings, we see a huge winged form coming down from the mountains. It looks like a giant eagle, carrying something large. Ah! It must be Raven with Blackhawk. The eagle dips as it passes us. It appears that she will take him straight to Bliss. We turn and begin to retrace our steps. In the East, the moon is nearly peeking above the mountains. Watching Raven glide toward Bliss, with the glow of the rising moon as a counterpoint in the East, makes for a beautiful sight. I pause to appreciate it for a moment when I notice Blackhawk struggling in her talons.

A moment later, something is wrong. The moon has just risen, lighting the valley and the shape that was Blackhawk is now immense! The form of an enormous bear drops out of the sky, nearly bringing Raven down with it. They must be nearly a mile away and Elensul and I can both hear the sound of the bear hitting the ground. A powder of snow flies in all directions and we can see a bear loping East. Raven is winging skyward and turning to pursue the bear even as Elensul and I change direction to try to head it off.

The chase is on and I am hoping we can stop him before he hurts anyone.