The PargAddi Annals - V

"Journey Through Madness"

1ta - (Crescent-Go Day/Truth Week/Storm Season)

I awoke to a gritty taste in my mouth and a very sore neck. Yelm shone upon my face and strange bird calls drifted through the air. I heard a harsh chanting next to me and opened my eyes. Hagrid lay on the ground with High Irdexmot Lerakelm crouched over him - my beaters and Sengeresh encircled the three of us. At my feet sprawled the corpse of the naked brunner I had been wrestling with. Lerakelm was doing the chanting as he shoved a crumbly black substance into Hagrid's mouth.

Hagrid sputtered and coughed blood. Lerakelm stood and looked down at us. "I have returned life to your bodies using the energy from your slayer's heart. Considering the type of man he was I don't know what the long-term affects will be." With that he turned and stalked off.

The PargAdarch scowled at me, "Get your beaters ready to move, we're not staying here any longer than we have to." He turned and stomped off, "Assembly in twenty minutes," he tossed over his shoulder.

I grabbed Maloven, "What happened?"

Maloven grinned at me, "You were dead. That brunner," he jerked his chin at the body, "broke your neck like a twig. He tore Abby's snake's head off and broke Hagrid in two."

Verakus chimed in, "We killed him though and Lerakelm cut his heart out, cast a spell on it and fed it to you two."

I worked my head about on my neck and thought about that for a moment. "Oh well, I'm here now and I ain't going anywhere. Assembly in 15 minutes! Move it!"

Once the regiment had mustered Sengeresh counted heads. Five men were found dead in the moon boat's wreckage, a couple were injured but could walk and there were 20 Darjiini perverts now without a vessel.

"Beaters!" Hervenyar roared.

Sengeresh looked around. "Beaters, we are a little off course." We chuckled dryly. "As best as we can tell we are in the Imther Foothills." I nodded happily at having been correct. "Unfortunately, we are in the northern foothills." He stopped to let realisation hit us. "That's right, we're in Tork."

Now the PargAddi have been to some pretty strange places and done a lot of strange things. A lot of the things we have seen and done would be considered quite horrible by most people but to us they're just part of the job. Tork was something else. Tork was a place that even the Emperor didn't go. Hell, the Mad-Sultan of Tork killed the Emperor back during Sheng's invasions. For those of you that don't know, Tork is a little hilly area between Imther and the Jord Mtns. At First Victory, where the Goddess returned from her great quest riding on the Bat, many of the soldiers on the Carmanian side went insane and ran from the field. It is said that they had been imbued with entropic energy from the Bat's coming and couldn't stand it. After years of effort these madmen were imprisoned in Tork.

And now we were in here with them.

Hervenyar stopped the murmer with another roar and Sengeresh continued. "Yes, we are in Tork. And that is not a good thing." He smirked. "We're leaving; and that, well that is a good thing!" and we all laughed.

Hervenyar formed the regiment into a column of Elevens and marched us out to the north-east. He set outriders and rear-guard; and we got point. We cast back and forth until we found a trail that led where we wanted and followed it down the mountain.

The sky was clear and cold, but the weather was anything but normal. We were drenched in sudden rainfalls - when there were no clouds. We exploded into steam when we were hit by ferociously hot winds and then slid down a hill on the ice left behind. The plants and animals were as strange as the weather. Trees with blue leaves, red grass and green flowers. We saw birds that were not created by any god that I know of. Birds with three wings, others with four. I saw a bird with one foot, one with no feet and even one bird that had three wings, four feet and a tentacle.

We moved fast, our daimons and hounds ranging ahead and to the sides; the regiment was 500 kets back. We saw lots of mansign.

As we moved down the trail we could hear laughter from a clearing ahead - deep, raucous laughter. We entered the clearing carefully after we found that there was only one man there. He lay on the ground with tears pouring from his eyes and holding his prodigious belly as he laughed uncontrollably. I sent Hagrid back to report to Sengeresh.

The man was babbling to himself, almost like he was telling jokes, and then breaking out into greater peals of laughter. I tried talking to him but he didn't hear. Then I caught part of his latest joke and began laughing myself. I don't know why and when I remember the joke it isn't funny. Soon we were all laughing uproariously.

I didn't like it.

I grabbed my mace and smashed the man across the face sending him sprawling across the ground. He stopped laughing, wiped the tears from eyes and looked at me incredulously - and began laughing again. Maloven and Abby began telling him jokes of their own and the man laughed even harder. Finally he got up and walked away down the hill still laughing.

We looked at each other, "What the fuck was that all about?" we wondered.

"I wouldn't worry about him," said a voice from the bushes. We spun around and dropped into fighting crouches as a head poked out of a raspberry patch (I assume it was supposed to be raspberries though they were all glowing yellow).

"Ah, Orlanthi. Tarsh?" he asked. The boys nodded their heads. "What do you think of the new Irripi Ontor Complex in Furthest," he asked.

"Errr, do they serve beer," Abby asked.

"Oh, you're into the fermentation and consumption of vegetable matter," the man asked. I looked him over asked him who he was. He was covered from head to toe in filth, dirt, mud and excrement. He drew himself up straight, cocked his head and raised an eyebrow, "I, am a scholar!" he exclaimed. "I study the intercourse of culture, the evolution of language, I know everything."

"Heh," grunted Abby to Maloven, "he said intercourse."

"Ah yes," the man said. "So I did. Of course of more interest than the intercourse of cultures is having intercourse with large-breasted women." His eyes lit up and his head jutted forward eagerly, "You wouldn't happen to know if there were any large-breasted women in the area would you?"

We all shook our heads. "Ah well, it's a think of beauty that is, large-breasted women." Abby quizzed him on his knowledge of local geography, particularly the locations of the nearest treasure troves and horse herds but he wouldn't part with his knowledge without payment and his currency of choice was 'large-breasted women'.

"Well, why don't we introduce you to our commander and see what he can offer you?" I suggested.

The man's face grew white. "Your commander? Sengeresh? Sengeresh the Burner? I think I'll be going now." With that he turned and ran off into the undergrowth.

We laughed and looked around. Hagrid rejoined us. "Well?" I asked him.

"Well what?" he grunted.

"What did Sengeresh say?"

"So."

I rolled my eyes and ordered the eleven to move on.

We hadn't made it far when we heard a commotion in the bushes behind us. My daimon swooped back and we saw a bloody man stumbling along crying out, "Stop! Wait!" I looked around and shrugged.

"Abby, Maloven, go see what it is and what it wants." Hagrid leapt up and said, "I'll go". I shrugged and we dropped our packs collapsed on them to rest as Hagrid ran through the brush.

My daimon swooped closer and through his eyes I thought that I recognised the intruder.

Hagrid crashed into the bloody guy and threw him to the ground. He grabbed his by the throat and began strangling it.

Rimushibi floated closer and I sat up startled, Hagrid was strangling Hagrid. I leapt up and with a cry, "Hey, stop that now," and ran to the struggling Hagrid's. It was then that I noticed Hagrid's daimon had not returned when Hagrid had.

I hefted my mace and called my drubbers over. Not-Hagrid dropped Hagrid and turned on me, his face stretched out of shape and grew fangs. His hands became talons. The doppelganger screeched at me and attacked.

You whine like a mule but you're still alive.

It tried to bowl me over and tore at my eyes. I stood my ground and ducked my head to avoid the lashing talons. His ribs crunched when I struck with my mace and it staggered. Then we all fell on it and the fight ended as quickly as it began.

I sent Maloven and his dogs back to report to Sengeresh and we bandaged Hagrid up. Verakus used his magic to help him endure his pain and we divvied his gear among us to help him out.

When Maloven returned - bearing a warning from Sengeresh about doppelgangers - we moved on.

Later that day there was a disturbance in the bushes along the trail. A man staggered out. He was nearly as filthy as the 'scholar', had a small hole in his stomach and held a length of intestine in his hand - he was chewing on it. He saw us and screamed, "WHERE DOES THE FOOD GO? We eat the Universe. The Universe eats us but where does it go?" Without waiting for an answer he turned and ran back into the brush.

We looked at each other again, shrugged and continued.

It wasn't much later that we came upon the eastern border of Tork. A fluctuating net of crimson energy barred our path and without being told we knew that it would be rather 'unhealthy' to try passing through it. Before the long the rest of the regiment joined us.

Lerakelm arranged us as he wished and enacted a ritual to Parg the Landwaster. We sang and danced, sacrificed three horses and two of the Darjiini - that made me VERY happy - and sang some more. As the ritual progressed I saw a large mob of Torkites gathering a ways from us, they waited expectantly for us to finish.

Within an hour the net began to fray and blacken, the ground under it charred and a tear opened in the fabric of the barrier. Finally the tear was large enough for us to march through and we double-timed out of Tork and down the hill.

Behind us a great howling reached forth as the horde of madmen tried to follow us through. In their rush to get out they had begun fighting among themselves to get to the gateway - which continued to grow until it was hidden from view behind the trees of Garst.

3ta (Black-Moon Day)

We camped a few miles from Tork that night and set a heavy guard. A few madmen wandered by but they all thought better of bothering us.

I had noticed that the Goddess' face looked wrong for the day of the week. It was Waterday, and should have been Dying-Moon today; but it wasn't. Verakus explained that the Goddess' seven faces each looked down on a different region of the empire each day. When it was Crescent-Go in Alkoth it was Crescent-Come in Yuthuppa. So, while I thought that it should be Dying-Moon today, Verakus told me that it was Dying-Moon, in Alkoth. Here in Garst it was Black-Moon. Here in Garst it was also outside the Glowline.

So I shrugged, and reminded him that he had to be ready to move in ten minutes.

We marched north east that day heading for the Garsting River. Hervenyar told us that Sengeresh planned on making his way down the Garsting to the Acros and sailing down the Acros into Oraya.

The scouts, we weren't among them today, found lots of signs of life. We were passing through an area that was inhabited by semi-pastoralists - and we were being watched.

Sengeresh shrugged, "They can watch all they want. If somebody gets in our way them kill them."

4ta (Crescent-Come)

When Yelm rose that day we could smell spring in the air. The sky was clear and the air crisp - it was going to be a hot day.

Hervenyar assigned us to left flank and the regiment moved out. We ate breakfast as we moved, hard bread and smoked meat - I don't know what kind of meat but I figured it was my duty to the Devourer to try anything.

At mid-morning Maloven's hounds staked out a bush, bared their fangs and growled. The hell-hound gathered itself for the attack and a voice called out, "I bear you no ill."

I chopped my hand at Maloven and he called off the dogs. "Show yourself'" I ordered.

A tall man stood and stepped from the brush. He wore fine armour and what was once very nice clothing but were no little more than tattered rags. Etched into his breastplate were the runes of the Reaching Moon, Yara Aranis. "I am Voranis of Nothium. I am an Imperial Factor and need to requisition your regiment. What is your current strength?"

"I think that is something the PargArdarch can tell you." I said. We took Voranis to see Sengeresh.

The regiment flopped down in what shade they could find while the Factor spoke with the PargArdarch. He handed Sengeresh a disk and showed him some seals and they spoke some more. Then, "Gresh!" Sengeresh called me over. "I have a job for you. Voranis needs an escort, you're to go with him and make sure he gets safely to his destination. We will follow you and meet up with you in three days." With that he nodded at Hervenyar and the regiment moved out.

Voranis led us of at a rapid pace and we soon lost sight of the regiment. When we asked where we were going and what he was doing here he proved quite talkative.

"We are going to an excavation on the Garsting River. I am doing research for the Emperor and was sent here by the Brass Proxy on a mission of extreme importance."

My beaters nodded sagely and mumbled something about brass balls - they obviously had not heard of the Proxies - provincials! "Proxies are granted a portion of Takenegi's divine authority, usually pertaining to a particular set of tasks, and perform those duties as though they were the Emperor. If a Proxy speaks the Emperor speaks."

"Quite right," said Voranis. "Anyways, the Brass Proxy sent me here to oversee a dig. You see, we've found an ancient Dara Happan city, perhaps from the Golden Age."

I was thinking that the Yellow City, ancient home of Buserian had been in the east and that Voranis may have found it. "However," the factor continued," we have a slight problem."

Abby was quick, "Something's killing you."

"Exactly. The Kingdom of Estven opposes our presence here. They have raided our compound several times and will soon drive us out if we don't get help; and that's where you come in."

He continued to babble for a while about the local tribes and how ignorant they were, how loyal they were, and how they worshiped him as a god. We all nodded and mumbled non-commitally as we marched along.

5ta (Empty-Half)

Yelm's last rays of the day eked their way through the passes in the Jord Mtns as we approached the compound. The dig overlooked the Garsting River and sat in a large clearing in the forest. There had been a lot of work done already. Remnants of the city's walls had been dug out and the top of a ziggurat rose behind them. "We are trying to penetrate to the lower catacombs where anything of importance may still be found," Voranis explained.

We marched into the camp as Yelm finally sank behind the mountains and the Darkness fell. A rough palisade surrounded the dig camp; Voranis told us that it housed three hundred native labourers and a handful of surviving imperials. "Most of us were killed in the raids," he said.

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