After avoiding the army in the valley, the group found a place to camp. In the morning, two of the bonds-brothers had a startling announcement to make - they had dreamed in the night that they had to separate from the party for a while to accomplish a task. The ancestors’ spirits were rather insistent. So, Kan’ Vi’ Don Lu and Mykal departed - each heading in separate directions. Neither stated what they had to accomplish, only that it was urgent and important - but that they would catch up with the group as quickly as possible.

Aquila, Bingo and Gi’ Kar proceeded toward Kel’ Sai and the tribe of Kon’ Te Kel’ as quickly as possible. The first three days of their journey were rather uneventful and good time was made, however on the third night things changed. Aquila was on first watch, and heard something that sounded like a person wimpering and whining. It was further outside the campsite than he had originally anticipated. Shortly after leaving camp, he discovered a Kaa’ Jah Kushani child huddled up in a ball. The child appeared very frightened of Aquila.

While Aquila was attempting to placate the child and reassure her that there was no danger, he caught a sound that gave him pause. Taking to the air, he noticed two humanoid shapes making their way toward him and the child. He also caught a glimpse of three other shapes moving into the camp area.

Before he could act, the two slumbering Sol’ Kal were awoken by the sounds of approaching feet. Bingo reacted first and silently kicked Gi’ Kar’s feet to rouse him. Aquila also realizing the danger, swooped toward camp raising the battle cry.
The Enemy

Wolf-things: Two of the five assailants were approximately 7 feet tall with bodies that appeared to be stitched together from various other bodies - all the major races appeared to be represented in one fashion or another. The head, was that of a wolf - a dead wolf. These two appeared to be the “leaders” of the motley horde.

Necrogoblin: The other three beings were roughly Kaa’ Jah Kushani in build and shape - however, they did have more pointed feature and had a deadish look to them as well. Their teeth were pointed and sharp and their hands ended in claws.

The Conflict

At the sounds of alarm, the three shapes approaching camp, charged. Fortunately, Bingo was ready and was waking up Gi’ Kar.
Quick to join the fray, Gi’ Kar rushed forward to join battle with the second Wolf-thing and the ghoul, thus keeping them focused away from Bingo. Gi’ Kar was still groggy, though, and failed to do anything of significance to either foe.

Seeing that his friends were alert and defending themselves, Aquila raced back to the child. Landing next the girl, he scooped her up in his arms and took to the air again. The two ghouls that were confronting him and the child were powerless to do anything other than stand and try to throw stones at them. Aquila had other ideas, though - and blasted them both with a furnace of hot air that caused them to expire.

The battle raged and Bingo scored a few good blows, hurting the Wolf-thing. Upon seeing the one foe taking severe damage, Gi’ Kar quickly changed targets and focused his efforts on the same Wolf-thing that Bingo was attacking. It was only a matter of a few moments, and Bingo was able to deliver the finishing move on Wolf-thing number 1.

Upon defeating the first Wolf-thing, Bingo and Gi’ Kar were able to turn a unified front on the remaining two enemies. Both of whom went down without much effort, and no serious injuries to Bingo nor Gi’ Kar.

While Bingo and Gi’ Kar were mopping up the last of the beasts, Aquila took the opportunity to try and Divine what had happened to the child. Feeling the child’s shirt and uttering the new word of Power he had been taught in a dream the previous night, the following vision unfolded:

Darkness - utter darkness. Blinding light - so bright it hurts the eyes. The child is unconscious on the rocky ground. She awakens and hears the sounds of hungry Kep Hounds. She is frightened and runs from them. She finds a cave to hide in, but the Kep Hounds know where she is. They circle around the entrance (now blocked by a boulder). They growl and dig - trying to get in. They are unable to. Days pass and the girl stays hidden in the cave. Frightened and fatigued she eventually leaves the safety of the cave and runs. She seems to pick a direction at random and changes direction frequently. She is unable to find food. More days pass and the sounds of Kep Hounds are heard again. She runs faster and climbs a tree. The Kep Hounds find her, but are unable to get her from the tree. They leave. Too weak to hold on any longer, she falls to the ground and curls up on a fetal position. She cries. She is exhausted and passes out. She wakes up and cries some more - there are other sounds, something is approaching - it is a Seraph…

As Aquila makes his way back to the campsite, he finds the other foes defeated and Bingo and Gi’ Kar surveying the scene of the battle. They all hear something - not too far distant. It was a Necrogoblin fleeing the scene. Gi’ Kar ran after it and easily took its head from its shoulders.
While Bingo and Gi’ Kar were collecting the bodies of the completely dead things, Aquila thought it might be interesting to see the history of his Armor - he laid his hands up on his Armor and uttered the word for Divining. A different flash occurred this time, however. A blast of hot air, so hot it turned the ground to glass in its passing, passed between Bingo and Gi’ Kar - doing neither one any damage but startling them nonetheless.

Once the bodies were collected they ensured that all the heads were removed from the bodies and dismembered them as much as possible.

That task complete, it was time to discuss the girl. Gi’ Kar was all for eating her. This notion apalled the other two who felt that she needed to be protected and she should accompany them. After some considerable debate, Gi’ Kar acquiesced, but put the responsibility for caring for her firmly on the shoulders of Aquila.

They broke camp early the next day and proceeded on their way.

Several, uneventful days passed, however, after three nights, they were beset up on by Another Wolf-Thing and a Necrogoblins. The attack occurred on Bingo’s watch - and he was alerted by the screaming of a Wolf-Thing charging him. Bingo woke the others and prepared to plant his spear for the charging, hulking shape of the Wolf-thing - however, there was no spear in his hand. Instead it was his scimitar! Amazed, Bingo nearly missed the charging beast. Gi’ Kar was quicker and more able with his weapon this time - he dispatched the Wolf-thing in one blow, beheading the beast. Aquila took to the air and unleashed an arrow that hit the Necrogoblin in the neck - killing it.

As he was about to land, Aquila spied another necrogoblin fleeing the scene here as well. He took after it to prevent that from happening. He landed and was preparing to attack it, but was caught off guard by how quickly it reacted. He was struck by a blow that broke the skin. Within seconds, he felt his limbs becoming unresponsive and stiff. Fortunately, Gi’ Kar was able to remove the head from the necrogoblin before it could do any more damage to Aquila.

With the last of the necrogoblins dispatched, quiet settled on the camp once again. Fearing attracting attention, Bingo and Gi’ Kar quietly removed the heads from all the creatures.

The next day, the heroes arrived at a 20′ wall, atop which were two Gru’ Dwari guards. The heroes had arrived at the village of the Kon’ Te Kel’.