Written By A Geiger

Continued From Entry #7

======================================

Chapter Four

After Sapphire professionally unlocked the door on the south wall of the room, the two explorers found themselves with a choice to go either southwest or southeast.  They chose the southeast path that went on for several feet and ended in a room which contained various torture devices.

A few seconds after they entered the room, a reptilian humanoid entered the room through a south door, which he closed behind him.

As soon as the lizardman saw Panther and Sapphire, he rushed towards them trying to attack them with his claws and teeth.  With precision reflexes and skill, Sapphire put a crossbow bolt through the center of the lizardman’s head before he could get within ten feet of them.  He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

They then searched the body of the lizardman, finding nothing of value, so they headed towards the door the humanoid creature had entered from.  They found the door unlocked, so they went through and headed down a hallway which sloped downwards towards a room at the end.

Halfway down the passageway, just as he heard the release of an arrow from a bow, Panther leapt into the air, the arrow passing beneath him.  Landing silently, he turned around and pointed out the trigger for the trap so Sapphire did not set it off.

At the end of the corridor, Panther and Sapphire stopped abruptly as they came upon a cavernous shaft that looked bottomless.  The path led to a narrow bridge that was barely bigger than a 2×4.

Curious as to how deep the pit actually was, Panther spread his wings and let himself fall into the pit.  Sapphire followed him.

About a hundred feet down Panther found another bridge spanning the chasm, but there was a partial bridge going from the middle of the bridge, across to the west wall.  Both Panther and Sapphire landed on the bridge and examined the west wall from a distance.

“It looks as though there is a secret door hidden in that wall over there,” stated Sapphire.

“I agree, let us go and have a look,” responded Panther as he took flight across the gap in the bridge.  Sapphire followed.

As he landed on the other side of the gap on a four foot ledge, Panther’s weight triggered a switch and a door opened in front of him.  He looked at Sapphire and then they headed down the long corridor that appeared in front of them.

After walking for what seemed like forever, the corridor ended in what appeared to be another secret door.  After about five minutes of looking Panther found the release switch in the wall to open the door.  He pressed the switch and the wall in front of him slid aside, and he entered a small room with a large adamantium vault door in front of him.

“Now how are we supposed to get past this door?” questioned Panther.

“You look for traps, I can handle this,” replied Sapphire, full of confidence, “This type of thing is what I am good at.”

As Sapphire took out her tools and began to work on the lock Panther searched around the door but could not find any traps.  Just as he thought about checking the lock itself, a bolt of energy sent Sapphire backwards down the hall, she landed in a heap about twenty feet away against a stone wall, the force knocking her unconscious,  as the vault door slowly opened.

‘Damn it!  I hope she is alright,’ thought Panther.

Panther moved over to check on Sapphire.  Seeing that she was still breathing, and that no bones were broken, he turned to enter the vault.

As Panther opened the door fully and entered the vault, he saw that the large room was filled with mountains of gold coins.  But in the center of the room on a pedestal was a red dragon scale amulet.

Knowing that that amulet was what he was here to get Panther cautiously approached the pedestal.  Along the way, he scooped up a handful of coins and put them in a pouch.  As he reached the pedestal, he slowly and gently lifted part of the amulet against the weight of the pouch.  Finding the two objects weighed the same, he quickly switched them.

Nothing happened at first.  Then all of a sudden, the door to the vault started to close, as water started to pour in through holes near the ceiling of the room.  So Panther started running for the door, reaching it with just enough room to squeeze through the opening.

Sapphire started to wake up just after the door closed behind Panther.  Panther gently helped Sapphire to her feetand motioned that they should both leave this place before anything else unexpected happened.

*

As they arrived outside the monastery ruins, Panther and Sapphire realized it was almost nightfall.  Therefore, they dug out some beef jerky and trail rations after they had started a fire.

“So you acquired the amulet?” questioned Sapphire after they had relaxed a bit.

“Yes I have,” responded Panther, “Where is the money you promised me in exchange for it?”

“You will receive the money once we have obtained all of the amulets,” stated Sapphire, “Will you now hand me the amulet?”

“You had better be willing to bet your life that I will get my money,” replied Panther darkly as he handed Sapphire the amulet, “I will kill you if you do not keep to your end of the agreement.”

“Agreed,” acknowledged Sapphire as she took the necklace and put it on.

As she put on the necklace, Sapphire felt a sensation of warmth seeping through her body and her senses seemed to broaden beyond the ruins where they now were.  Sapphire closed her eyes and suddenly she felt herself soaring above the earth towards the snowy wasteland of the Icelands.  She then suddenly opened her eyes and found she was still where she had been.

“The next amulet is somewhere in the Icelands, exactly where, I am not sure just yet,” stated Sapphire.

“To get to the Icelands we have to go almost completely across the world,” responded Panther, “How are you sure the next one is in the Icelands?”

“It is a feeling I got when I put on the amulet,” Sapphire told Panther, “The amulets are somehow linked together, and they all point to the general location of the other amulets.”

“That is pretty convenient, but I believe you.  You have been able to be trusted so far.  We should head on our way then before Dreamless starts to look for me,” said Panther.

“I agree,” responded Sapphire as they packed up their belongings and started to fly east to the next town or village.

*                                     *                            *                               *                             *

The tavern was busy tonight.  Dreamless was sitting at a table, wearing his mask, and flipping a coin soundlessly in his chain-gloved hand.

Most of the regular patrons in the tavern avoided his gaze as he glanced around the room.  He noticed a few new faces of traveler’s, merchants and farmers from out of town, but the man he was waiting for was nowhere to be seen.

He swore an oath under his breath.  This was not the first time this had happened.  Most of the time the people he sent to do tasks for him to join his guild were arrested while doing it.  However, from the reports from his men, this Panther person completed it flawlessly.

In which case he had just taken off with the artefact he was sent to retrieve on his task.  This infuriated him, what made it worse was the rumour that Sapphire might have been in contact with Panther.

He smashed his fist on the table causing it to splinter as he stood up.  A couple at the table next to him cowered and looked away quickly at the unexpected movement.

Dreamless then stormed out of the tavern to go to his guild.

*                                    *                                  *                                     *                                     *

After about two day’s flight, Panther and Sapphire noticed a small village in the distance.  It looked like it was a small human settlement from the distance they were from the place.  About a mile out just as the sun was setting they landed and proceeded to the main gate across the moat on foot.

As the two travellers approached the gate, the guards motioned for them to stop.

The bigger of the two guards spoke, “What brings the two of you to our village at this time of night?”

Panther responded, “We are here for provisions and to stay the night at your Inn for the night.  This is Crysillia, and I am Aveil.”

The man looked them over quickly and then motioned for them to enter.  “Very well, enjoy your stay.”

As Panther and Sapphire entered the village gate, they noticed there were only two main roads that intersected with each other, a central marketplace, and they were surrounded by small farms and houses.  After a few minutes they located the Inn.  The Inn was a three-story building with a sign hanging above the main oak doors proclaiming it to be the White Wolf Inn.  They entered the old building.

As Panther and Sapphire entered the lobby of the Inn they noticed a fairly old human female standing behind the counter in front of them, a door to the local taven on the left and a set of stairs leading to the next floor right next to the door to the common lodging.  They approached the woman behind the desk.

In a high cackling voice the woman spoke, “How may I help you folks?”

Sapphire responded in a soft tone, “We would each like a private room for the night, can you help us?”

The old woman behind the desk seemed to peer more closely at the two, “Two separate rooms?  That will be twenty gold pieces.”

Sapphire handed the woman the money, got the keys from the woman, handed Panther his, then both of them headed up the stairs to their rooms.

*

After being in his room for about half an hour and making sure no one could access any of his belongings, Panther heard a light knock at his door.  Putting his hand on a dagger underneath his cloak, he slowly opened the door.  He relaxed when he noticed it was Sapphire, and motioned for her to enter his room.

Sapphire spoke in a soft tone as she entered the room, “I was wondering if you would like to accompany me for dinner and a drink?  I will pay.”

In a low purr, Panther replied, “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt, I am fairly hungry for some real food.”  Panther then followed Sapphire out of the room and down to the tavern.

As Panther and Sapphire entered the tavern, all motion and conversations stopped as the humans stopped to look at the two strangers entering, even the bard on the stage stopped his performance.  Panther followed Sapphire to one of the tables that were not occupied by anyone and they sat down.  A couple minutes later after the prodding of one of her friends a wench came over to the table and in a shaky voice asked them what they would like.

In a firm voice Sapphire ordered, “Could you bring us today’s special, and a bottle of your best Elven wine, red preferably.”

The wench partially shocked replied, “That will be one hundred and fifty gold pieces.”

“Very well,” replied Sapphire as she produced the money for the wench who hurried off to the kitchen to place their order; a few moments later returning with the bottle of wine and two glasses.  The tavern went back to normal but slightly quieter tones as everyone started to relax.

After Sapphire had poured them each a glass of wine, and the rest of the tavern was as loud as they should be she spoke softly in Elven to Panther who understood the language, “That was a smart move with the village guards, giving them fake names, also Dreamless doesn’t know we are travelling together as of yet.  But just to be safe we have to keep moving rather swiftly so that he has problems keeping up to us.”

Panther replied in the same language, “I understand that, that is why I did what I did.  We resume our journey in the morning.”

At that point, the wench came back from the kitchen with two plates of steak and a small loaf of bread for each of them.  The two travellers ate their meals in silence then said goodnight before going to their own rooms.

==================================

End of Chapter 4

Chapter 5 to continue in Entry #9 . . .

Written By A Geiger

Continued from Entry #6

===========================================

Chapter Three

The sudden arrival of Panther in her camp surprised Sapphire, she stood up suddenly as she unsheathed her sword.  Panther approached her in a submissive manner to relax her and let her know that he was there in peace.

“Why are you here?” asked Sapphire of Panther, “You were not supposed to meet me here until you had acquired what Dreamless sent you to get after you had completed your task.”

“The task wqas to retrieve an artefact from a temple, a magical sword to be precise,” responded Panther.

“Did you give the sword to Dreamless?”

“No I did not.  I found out what it is and the powers it holds.  Therefore, I decided to leave with the artefact.  No one knows I have left the city.  That I am aware of.”

“Where do you plan on going?  Dreamless will hunt you down and kill you once he finds you; there is no place in this world where you will be safe.”

“What artefact was it that you were going to pay me for if I found it for him?” questioned Panther.

“Dreamless has been trying to find someone who will help him get a hold of the Amulets of the Dragons,” responded Sapphire, “I was planning on going after them myself, but I realized I would need a partner in order to obtain them.”

“What are you willing to pay someone who might be willing to help you obtain these necklaces?” asked Panther.

Sapphire pondered a moment, and then responded, “I will pay you twenty thousand gold pieces for each of the Amulets that you help me acquire.”

“It is a deal then,” agreed Panther, “Where might this first amulet be found?”

“It is in the dungeon of an abandoned monastery about ten miles south of the city, we shall proceed there in the morning, right now I think we could both use some rest.”

“That is a good plan,” stated Panther as he took to a treetop to keep hidden and entered a light sleep.

*

As the sun was starting to rise the next morning, the two individuals packed up camp and proceeded to take flight from the forest, across the vast plains that spread out for about eighty miles before the foothills, and a thick jungle near the river that flowed from the mountains.  After about two and a half hours of flight, they landed in front of the entrance to the ruins of an old abandoned monastery.

Panther looked upon the ruins, and he saw that there was no real building really upon the ground level now, all there was left of the building was a few remnants of where walls used to be and upon closer inspection, he found a set of smashed oak doors in the ground with a set of stairs leading down.

“I take it we are supposed to go down those stairs into the dungeon to find the first of the amulets you are searching for,” stated Panther with the deep purr to his voice.

“That is true,” responded Sapphire nervously, “Except no one has ever returned from the depths of this dungeon with the artefact.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that I shall return from this place, are you agreed to accompany me?” questioned Panther of the female winged elf.

Sapphire hesitated a moment then responded, “I have brought you here to help me, so in answer to your question, I agree.”  She then reached into her backpack and produced a torch, then took out a tinder stick and lit the torch.

“I will go first, I don’t need the light to see,” stated Panther as he strode purposefully down the staircase into the dungeon, with Sapphire a few feet behind him.

*

As Panther and Sapphire arrived at the bottom of the staircase which took them about a hundred feet underground, they found themselves in a fairly open room with two passages leading out, one passage leading east and one going south.  There was also a door in the west wall.

In the center of the room was a pile of what appeared to be bones, and rags of clothing.  In addition, as Panther looked up he could not see how high the ceiling was because of all the spider webs that were only a few feet above their heads.

Something glinted from the pile of rubble in the center of the room in the torchlight, so Panther strode forward to investigate.  As he reached the pile he saw that the light was reflecting off what looked to be a gem inside a skull.

Just then he felt something touch his shoulder, he started to turn and stand as a crossbow bolt whizzed past his head, just above his shoulder.  He turned and saw that Sapphire had just removed large spider, the size of a chicken from his shoulder.

They then took the torch and used it to ignite all of the webs in the ceiling.  As the webs went up in flames, six other now dead spiders fell from the ceiling, which was as high as half the distance they came down the stairs.

“Thanks,” stated Panther, as he turned to examine the skull.

After studying the skull for a few moments, Panther withdrew his sword from its scabbard and smashed the skull with the hilt of the sword.  There was an emerald the size of a small chicken’s egg inside the remnants of the bones.  Panther pocketed it.

“Which way shall we go?” Panther whispered softly to Sapphire.

“Let us go right, through the doorway,” responded Sapphire in the same tone of voice.

Panther then headed forward to listen closely for sounds coming from the other side of the door.  As he put his ear to the close to the door to listen for any sounds on the other side, he heard a howling sound coming from the other side.  With his sword in hand, he proceeded to open the door, and enter the room.  As he entered the room, a gust of wind extinguished Sapphire’s torch.

According to Panther’s sight there was no threat in this room, all he could see was a stream coming from the north side of the room, becoming a pool near the south side of the room, then flowing through a passageway in the southwest corner.  Panther then grabbed Sapphire’s torch, muttered a few words, and then the end of the torch gave off light as bright as if there was a real flame on the end.  Sapphire relaxed.

As Sapphire’s eyes adjusted to the light from her torch again, she strode over and glanced in the pool of water, all she could see were a few albino catfish lazily swimming around.  Upon looking closer still, at a build-up of limestone, she noticed a bone case.

Sapphire motioned Panther over and pointed out what she saw in the water.  Panther then dove into the pond and managed to retrieve the case.  He then climbed out of the water, dried himself with a few words, and proceeded to open the case.

Upon opening the case, they found that it contained part of a map, or at least what was still legible on the parchment.  It pointed out a room downstream from the room they were in now, and the entrance room they had come from, but everything else had been washed away and made unreadable by the water it had been sitting in for years.

“One of us should go downstream to investigate the passage that this map indicates,” Panther stated in a hushed tone.

“Which of us shall go?” asked Sapphire in the same tone as Panther.

“I shall go, I believe that I can trust you with holding an end of the rope here so that I can make it back easier,” replied Panther.

Nodding her head in agreement Sapphire stated, “You can trust me.”

Panther then took a coil of silk rope from his backpack and handed one end to Sapphire, took a deep breath, put the other end in his mouth, then he dove into the stream and let the current carry him through the passage.

The coolness of the underground stream started to chill Panther’s skin during the thirty seconds until he emerged from the underwater passage into a fairly large square room.  There was a large iron door in the center of the south wall.  Panther unsheathed his sword and walked through the inky blackness towards the door.

As Panther checked the door he noticed that it wasn’t trapped or locked, so he opened it.

On the other side of the door was a fair sized corridor, which branched out in a cross-shape centered on a marble statue of a minotaur, which faced towards Panther.

As Panther approached the statue the door behind him closed and clicked shut.

Slightly shocked, Panther approached the statue and studied it closely.  He found what appeared to be scrape marks going in a circular pattern along the base of the statue.  He decided to try turning the statue.  As he put his strength into action, the statue started to rotate on the pedestal.  He stopped rotating the statue when he heard a click sound coming from the door that was down the hall to the right of where he came from, as the eyes of the statue faced in that direction.

He strode towards the door that just clicked, and found that it was unlocked.  So he opened it slightly and peered inside.

As he looked into the room, Panther found that there was a human ghoul in the room, so he quickly closed the door, which clicked locked behind him.  He went back to the statue.

Panther tried rotating the statue again, which moved with little resistance, until it was facing south.  As he stopped rotating the statue, he heard another click come from the south door this time.  Panther walked down the hall to find that that door was now unlocked.  He opened the door slightly and peered inside.

As Panther looked in the room, he saw three Halfling zombies, so he quickly shut the door, which locked behind him.  Then Panther returned to the statue and rotated it until it was facing the east door, and he heard the click sound come from that direction.

As Panther opened the door at the end of the east hall he noticed that the room contained five rather large chests, and there was at least an inch of dust coating everything in the room.  So he entered and approached the first chest, which upon examination he found was locked.  He checked the others and found they were locked as well.

Therefore, after examining the lock on the first chest more closely, Panther took out a tool kit and started to work upon the lock.  After a couple minutes, he had it open.

Inside the chest, Panther found it was full of gold coins.  He closed the lid and proceeded to the second chest.  Panther noticed that all the locks on the chests were the same as the first one, so within a few minutes each he had the other chests open as well.

The second chest was empty, the third chest was full of platinum coins, the forth chest was full of gems and the last chest contained nothing.

From the chests, before Panther left the room, he took fifty platinum pieces, a hundred gold pieces and a handful of gems.  As he walked out of the room, the door closed and locked behind him.  Therefore, Panther proceeded to the statue.  As before, Panther rotated the statue until it faced north and he heard the door unlock.

Panther then exited the corridors and headed into the north room, where he grabbed the rope and swam upstream while pulling himself along by the rope.

*

As Panther reached the other side of the underwater tunnel, he took a deep breath of fresh air, and climbed out of the water.  He tossed Sapphire a pouch, which contained the hundred gold pieces.

“I thought you might like that, I found it in the set of rooms down there,“ stated Panther with the purr to his voice, “There wasn’t much else down there worth anything.”

“Thanks,” replied Sapphire as she put away the pouch under her cloak, “I was starting to wonder what was taking you so long down there.  I take it that there was no amulet in those rooms.”

“I did not see the amulet during my brief excursion in those rooms,” responded Panther as he muttered a few arcane words under his breath to dry himself off, “We should proceed with the rest of this dungeon as quickly as possible, who knows what beasts might call this place home at night.”

“Very well,” acknowledged Sapphire as she grabbed her torch and they headed back to the entrance room.

*

After they were back in the main room, they decided to go down the south corridor.  At the end of the rather long corridor, they found themselves in an empty ceremonial chamber.  Finding nothing of importance in the room, they headed back the way they had came and proceeded down the only remaining corridor not explored.

A short distance down the corridor the corridor turned and headed to a small room but before the room was a door heading east.  They followed the hall to the room at the end.

As they entered the room Panther and Sapphire saw that there was two human skeletons seated at a table, and there was a chest in the northeast corner of the room.  Panther decided to look more closely at the skeletons, while Sapphire took a closer look at the chest.

Just as Panther started to search the skeletons, they moved to attack.  Panther smashed the skull of one with the hilt of his sword, and a crossbow bolt from Sapphire shattered the skull of the other, dropping them both lifeless to the ground.

“That was close,” stated Panther as he approached the chest, which Sapphire had just bent down in front of to try to unlock with her tools.

“It was to be expected,” replied Sapphire as she quickly opened the lock with unerring skill.  As she opened the chest, she found that there was a pouch with three hundred gold coins.

“Keep it,” stated Panther as Sapphire went to hand him part of the contents of the pouch, “I have enough money already.  Let us head through that door in the corridor, and get us closer to leaving this place.”

“I agree with that,” responded Sapphire as she hid the pouch under her cloak and they headed on their way.

*

They checked the door in the hall and found that it was unlocked, so Panther opened the door and seeing no apparent danger on the other side they moved through it.

Ahead of them down the hall were six doors to cells and just before the doors on the south side was a passage heading south, so they proceeded down the passage.

Fifty feet down the passage going south Panther and Sapphire found themselves in front of an old oak doorway in which the bottom half of the door was missing.  All that was left of the bottom half was splinters, and there was no dust on the floor of the passageway, so they proceeded carefully.

As they entered the room, Panther noticed that this was a room for keeping guard creatures, because the room was filled with cages and kennels for the beasts.  All of these were open except for one and there was a growling coming from the cage.

Holding his sword at the ready, Panther cautiously approached the cage, peering inside.  Panther recognized the cat-like beast inside as a krenshar, so he took his sword and put it through the side of the cage, spearing the beast inside of the cage.

After looking around the rest of the room and finding nothing of importance, they proceeded to the south end of the room, where they were in front of a locked iron door.

=====================================================

End of Chapter Three

Chapter Four Continued in Entry #8 . . .

Written By A Geiger

Continued from Enty #5

========================================================

A couple seconds after he went invisible the two people who were coming down the stairs entered the room; Panther recognized the human male priest and the female that was with him.  Before they noticed anything, he took flight up the stairs, locking the door on his way up and left the way he had came.

*

As Panther landed on the ground outside the back of the Temple of Soranica, he noticed that the amateurs that were supposed to be keeping an eye on things outside were nowhere around.  ‘I should go and find out more about this sword that I acquired before I freely give it to Dreamless.  I wouldn’t want to give that man something too valuable even if it means not becoming a member of his precious guild.’  So Panther headed in search of someone who could answer his curiosity.

*

About five minutes later Panther paused in front of an old two story building in what appeared to be the old section of the city.  There was a sign hanging over the oak front doors of the building proclaiming this to be the Black Rose tavern, as there was a picture of a black rose in an ale mug.  ‘I might be able to find someone here who can help me.’  He then strode purposefully through the doors.

Upon entering the establishment, Panther noticed that this place was a lower class tavern with quite a few patrons, mostly Drow elves, Halflings and a couple dwarves, but no humans.  ‘This does seem to be the right place to look for information.’  There was an elven male bard playing a lute on the stage and singing an Elven song, and the Halflings were throwing daggers at a target on the wall, against the two dwarves that were there.  Other than that, there were quite a few other types of elves, and humanoids of other races sitting at tables or booths chatting, eating or drinking.  Panther proceeded to have a seat at one of the tables near the stage.

Just as Panther got comfortable, an elven wench came to his table and asked what he would like to order.  She was scantily clad in rags and gave off an odour of stale perfume, wine and sweat.  She would be something to look at if she were to take better care of herself.

“I would like a bottle of your best wine, and whatever today’s special is,” replied Panther.

“That will be one hundred gold pieces,” responded the woman.  He then drew out a pouch of coins and handed it to her.  She looked inside then said while pocketing the pouch somewhere in her rags, “Your meal and wine will be along shortly.”  She then headed back into the kitchen.

After the wench had left his table, Panther glanced casually around the room, looking for someone who might be able to help him with what he would like to know.  His eyes locked upon an elven man dressed in solid white, with long white hair, white eyes and white complexion.  He was sitting at a table on the opposite side of the tavern, drinking a bottle of expensive elven wine.

At that moment, the wench came back with Panther’s meal and wine.  Therefore, he decided to enjoy his dinner and then he would approach the man.

*

After he finished his meal of steamed pheasant, and fine red elven wine, he stood up and approached the man dressed in white.  Upon seeing Panther approach, the man in white looked up at him and asked in a whisper of a voice, “How may I help you?”

In a casual voice Panther responded, “I was just curious if you might know anything about antiquities of the magical sort?”

“I may, it depends on who is asking and the reason why,” replied the stranger in the same far away voice.

“My name is Panther, and I have just come across an artefact that I think might be worth something in my travels, and I am trying to find out more about it, so that I can price its value,” replied Panther.

“I’m Whisper, and I think I might be able to help you, as I do know quite a bit about rare antiquities.  Come with me and we will discuss this in a more secure environment.”

Whisper stood up and the two of them exited the tavern.

*

The two figures left the tavern and proceeded down the alleys for a few blocks while staying clear of guards, and other witnesses.  ‘I don’t really trust this guy too much,’ thought Panther to himself, ‘I better watch my back closely.’  They stopped behind an old ramshackle two-story building.

“Do you have this artefact with you?” questioned Whisper.

“That I do,” replied Panther as he unsheathed the sword and held it for Whisper to examine.

Whisper’s eyes lit up and he almost fell over in shock when he saw the weapon.

“How did you get that sword?” queried Whisper.

“I acquired it, which is all you need to know.  Now can you tell me what is so special about this blade?” responded Panther.

“That blade is the Sword of Dilensia,” Whisper stated, “Legends have it that the possessor of this sword has heightened magical abilities and senses.  It is worth more than any person would ever offer.”

“Thank you kindly,” Panther responded.  He sheathed the sword, reached under his cloak, removed a small pouch of coins and tossed them to Whisper, “That should be ample payment for your services.”  He then turned to walk away.

Just as he started to walk away, Panther heard the sound of a sword leaving its sheath.  He then sprang into the air, at the same time as he unsheathed his newly acquired sword, which he had to hold with both hands.  The sword shone a bright blue as electricity cackled along the blade.  Panther swung the sword and it sliced through the other blade as if it was butter.  Whisper took one look at his broken blade, then turned and ran.  As his opponent fled, Panther sheathed his sword and took flight to glide along the air currents towards the Inn where he was staying.

*

Upon arriving at the Inn, Panther glided to the window to his room and entered through it.  As he lit the oil lamp on the desk, he noticed that there was a piece of parchment sealed with the symbol of Dreamless in the wax.  He broke the wax seal and read what the letter said.

Panther,

Meet me with the acquired artefact tomorrow at dusk in the tavern downstairs, we will then find a place, jointly agreed upon to conduct our business.

Dreamless.

Panther held the parchment over the flame and watched as it turned to ash.  He then started to pack up all of his gear so that he could leave the city that night.  ‘There is no way I am giving up possession of this sword to that man.  I will go and find that Sapphire girl who looks like Rayvan and see what job it is that these two different people want me to do.’

After he packed up all of his gear Panther left through his window and glided high above the earth along the air currents out of the city limits.

Just as he reached the edge of the tree line of the forest, he noticed a campfire just inside the edge of the trees in a small clearing.  He decided to land just at the edge of the camp and sneak closer to see whose camp this was.

As Panther landed, he proceeded through the bushes and trees, until he saw a figure sitting beside the fire cooking a rabbit over the flames.  He recognized the individual as the female Sapphire.  Therefore, he moved into the fire light and approached her.

==========================================

End of Chapter Two.

Chapter Three Continued In Entry #7 . . .