Chapter I (How dwarves learned to fly):
"Even me ancestors knew about a way better than yer
strength to get what ye want. That's why; when yer strength
fails ya, use violence"
Borowgath's recipe notebook

Ledanur woke up, in the middle of the night, with a start. A
shriek had wakened him up. He jumped on his feet and turned
to see Malek pointing and screaming at the top of his lungs
at something in the forest surrounding them.
"What is the matter with you, Malek?" - Exclaimed Ledanur,
shaking Malek vigorously - "can't you see I'm trying to
sleep over here?"
Malek continued yelling until Borowgath hit him on the head
with his cooking pot.
"The elf be maddened I tell ye Lead-head..." - said
Borowgath and glanced at Malek who had curled up into a ball
and yelped.
Ledanur looked at the dwarf, knowing that his tries to avert
the dwarf from the nickname he had given him where inept.
Lead-head, as if Ledanur wasn't enough: he thanked his good
luck that he stumbled upon a non-Terran speaking party...
well, except Malek. However, he didn't worry. Malek was a
high elf magician, so he was too busy being high or arguing
with the dwarf.  
"What is this turmoil?" - said Blade, stepping out of his
too-large-for-a-one-person, but-I-won't-share-it tent. He
glanced at Malek who was kicking in his unconscious state
and sighed - "Is there no end to the contractual obligation
of a paladin?"
"He started screaming in the middle of the night, Blade" -
explained Ledanur - "I tried to calm him, but he didn't..."
- he looked down on the dwarf - "and then Borowgath hit him
on the head with a pot"
Blade looked at Borowgath with a bona fide shock. His hand
jerked towards his back where he had buckled his two-handed
sword.
On the opposite side stood Borowgath gripping the pot's
handle and looking at Blade with one squinted eye, which
made him look even more ridicules with his three-horned
helmet.
Blade drew his mighty sword and swung it on Borowgath who
deflected it with his pot. The clash rang like a bell in the
spring celebrations. Ledanur stepped between them and said,
"will you stop that you two... we need to sleep well before
we continue our way towards Helm's place".
"This dwarf had molested an unarmed individual, he shall be
clobbered down and then he shall ask exoneration from the
debilitated elf" - said Blade with his usual un-understood,
I'm-too-noble-for-you language.
"Huh? What he be saying? Never mind, Borowgath'll be showin'
ye yer arse, ye pathetic excuse for an ugly human"
"AYEEEEEEEE!" - came a shriek from Malek.
Ledanur turned and saw the elf pointing on an oversized head
of a goblin, which in turn was looking at him with red
gleaming eyes.
"Humph ashu?" - said the goblin and went for the elf.
Ledanur turned towards the two would-be opponents and said,
"As I was saying... you two stop fighti..." - the
realization struck too late but he turned and ran, drawing
his two swords, to help Malek.
"Strike at them brethren!" announced Blade and attacked
another goblin who staggered into the clearing.

Ledanur yawned, and cleaned his bloodstained swords on a
cut, and blood covered, corpse of a goblin. The sun was
beginning to rise in the east. "Damn those goblins for
appearing" cursed Ledanur under his breath.
He glanced at Malek who was scrubbing off the bloodstains
from his robes, with a vengeance.
Borowgath was readjusting his helm and chopping some parts
from dead goblins. When Ledanur inquired about it, the dwarf
answered, "Goblin meat be mighty delicious when fried
Lead-head. I be serving it as supper"
Ledanur went green just at the thought of it. Blade was
somewhere praising the gods for granting him victory.
They had planned on going to Helm's place a week ago, and
now they were late in schedule. Ledanur had to find a
shortcut through the woods. He just hoped that his woodcraft
skills were still in shape.
"Ledanur my friend" - came Blade's voice from behind - "art
thou planning an amendment to our itinerary through the
woods?"
"Our what?" - asked Ledanur turning to face Blade.
"The path..." - sighed Blade.
"Oh... yes" - nodded Ledanur - "I think if we cut here to
the east and go due north we will arrive to Helm's place
before time... I don't want to be there after the first
snow, it will be too difficult a path, in the snow"
"I see... impart me Ledanur; art thou recognizable with the
goblin idiom?" - asked Blade. Ledanur looked at Blade with
much curiosity.
"Yeah... why do you ask, Blade? Wanna learn some curses? I
know some...," said Ledanur and grinned.
"Heavens preserve me! No! I sought to inquire about the gist
of the expressions, which the goblin had uttered. Humph
ashu, if I am not faulty"
"Oh that..." said Ledanur and snickered "it means: raw meat
and I think the goblin had thought to make a soup out of
Malek"

Malek caught his breath, and looked around him as if only
now realizing where he was. "Ouch!" yelped Malek and got to
his feet. He rubbed his head to reduce the pain and looked
towards Lednur and Blade who where discussing some sort of a
matter.
An evil smile appeared on his face and he rubbed his hands
together. "Dwarf steak!" he mumbled under his breath.
Uttering a few arcane syllables, Malek approached the dwarf
and put his hands on his hips. Borowgath turned to look on
the elf with fear and curiosity. Malek just looked him in
the eye and lunched a fireball across the dwarf's chest.
"WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" screamed Borowgath and hit a nearby
tree. Being a dull headed dwarf, Borowgath jumped on his
feet and ran screaming through the camp. "Me beard, me
beard... me beard be burnin'"
Ledanur with much tactfulness took an oil filled water skin,
which was lying on the ground nearby, mistaking it for being
full with water. He couldn't understand why every time he
poured the liquid the fire grew stronger. "AHHHH! It be oil
Lead-Head... OIL! AHHH!"
"The dwarf is in a great affliction and you only tote up to
his twinge" - said Blade in a cold tone.
The dwarf stopped to consider Blade's words and ran,
screaming, into Blade. Tackling him under his knees the
dwarf pushed his now-well-greased beard into Blade's face,
yelling, "Have at ye"



Chapter II (The Dead Frog):
"A friend in need is a friend indeed. Aye, I live by this
rule. If you'll ever be beaten up, call me and I'll help...
in relieving ye of yer pain"
Borowgath's recipe notebook

Ledanur sat on a stool at Helm's place sipping from his ale,
and observing his surroundings. Next to him sat Blade with
all his paladin dignity, looking down on any one who dared
to glance on him. Malek was throwing out his guts, in some
sideway alley. On the other hand, Borowgath was singing,
burping, and drinking at the same time, which looked very
funny to any outsider.
Malek walked through the door and looked at the table where
the party sat. He began to walk slowly, dragging his feet as
if not to fall, and then he increased his speed
methodically. After a moment he fell, head first, unto the
floor. Ledanur went for Malek and helped him up. The elf
raised his head to observe Ledanur, burped, and began to
laugh hysterically.
"Led... Ledanur, HA HA HA, dead frog" Ledanur went red and
dropped Malek to the floor, causing the elf to bang his head
against the floor again. He took a deep breath and crouched
beside the laughing elf. "Please Malek, I beg of you. In the
name of Colleron, do not tell anybody... please"
"Yeah, yeah sure. Don't-" stopped Malek to laugh some more
"don't worry...DEAD FROG!" he rolled on the floor, clenching
his stomach and laughing.
"Pick up the elf from the floor, will ye?" said a voice
behind Ledanur. Turning back, Ledanur looked at a
semi-rotten human. He looked like a zombie, and one of his
eyes looked like it was falling of its socket. It happened
to be, that this zombie was the innkeeper.
"Certainly my good... eh... man?" said Ledanur and took
Malek to their room.

After positioning the drunken elf on a bed, Ledanur went
back to the bar. Realizing he had forgot to remove the elf's
boots he headed back to the room. He opened the door and for
the next few minutes Ledanur stood mesmerized in his place;
he gawked at the sight in front of him. The whole room
looked as if a hurricane storm had passed through it, which
included the fact that the room was full of junk that wasn't
there when he brough Malek in. He looked for him in the
ruble but couldn't find him.
"Malek! Malek, where are you?" shouted Ledanur and began
kicking the chickens that came from nowhere and attacked
him. Suddenly, Malek's head popped up from underneath a pile
of books.
"Huh? What do you want Ledanur?" said the elf in a sleepy
voice who looked like a wailing banshee, with his hair
standing strait up.
"What ye be doin', Lead-Head? Are ye trying to redecorate
the room?" said Borowgath who staggered to the room and was
not wearing a shirt.
"First of all, Borowgath go dress yourself. Second of all,
Malek did it"
"What? Lead-Head you don't like me chest?" asked Borowgath
and began to rub his hairy chest.
"What is this upheaval? Is it possible for you people not to
dispute at all times?"
"Shut yer mouth, ye big headed baboon" - shouted the dwarf
and fell sideways and started twitching.
"Not again..." complained Ledanur, who was already tired of
these constant troubles.

After everyone had gone to sleep, Ledanur began to wonder
where they should be headed next, considering the winter had
began. Although they weren't the typical adventures they
knew each other for nearly two years.
Malek came form some elven village but was taught magic in
the academy of the winds, somewhere in the northwest forests
of Thornleaf. Borowgath came form a place called Rock-Chop
in the mountains of Azrugaar. He was the heir of a famous
weapons' smith there, but he went to travel so he could have
inspiration for his next marvelous weapon. One of Ledanur's
swords was one of Borowgath's special weapons. Blade,
however, was a son of a nobleman. Blade was very proud of
that and there wasn't a moment he didn't remind everybody
that he was well educated. Ledanur was a simple fellow who
didn't like too much company. He was a good swordsman, but
wasn't that smart. The only reason he was leading the party
was because he was the only reasonable person around and
because he was the only one who really knew the way through
the land.


Chapter III (The mission)
"They say that man's best companion is the canine; Woman's
best companions are jewels; My best friend is... me"  
Blade's voyage chronicle

Helm's place was a huge inn. Moreover, the area surrounding
the inn had become a small town; most of the residents were
retired adventurers and merchants.
The company had decided to go and search for some kind of
work, to preoccupy themselves.
"I advocate we go to the local temple, there must be some
vice to obliterate" - said Blade when Ledanur asked where
should they ask first.
Borowgath, on the other hand, suggested that they'll go to
the nearest dwarven tavern. "Me people are the best in
adventuring, Lead-head. There'll be always a treasure to
find or yer dragon to slay"
After a long discussion, which almost caused a fight - again
- between Blade and Borowgath, they decided to go to the
temple.
The temple of Lathander near Helm's place was all but fancy:
the door was unhinged, some windows were broken and several
drunks lied near the once white walls of the temple. It
could have been a very beautiful temple as appropriate to
the god of healing, but obviously, somebody hadn't taken
care of the temple for a while.
"You should be mortified. This is the temple of the all
mighty Lathander and you urge to disgrace it. You shall
undergo the fury of righteousness!"
Blade took out his sword and started to advance towards the
drunkards in intimidating strides.
"Blade, Stop this at once, they are here under my
protection!" - Came a voice form inside of the temple - "You
should be more careful in your judgments, my child"
An old man came out of the temple dressed in what used to be
white ceremonial robes of the healing god. He looked very
old and not in any shape for walking and especially not
maintaining the temple of the healing god.
"Father Koronus I beg for exoneration, I did not know" -
said Blade, dropped on his knee, and bowed his head.
Father Koronus smiled softly, and approached Blade.
"I forgive you child. Now rise up, and help me steady
myself. I'm not as young as you" - Blade stood up, dusted
himself and only then steadied the old cleric, with a
genuine worried look on his face. Noticing the company he
approached them and smiled.
"Oh... I see you brought some friends of yours, would you
like to introduce us, Blade?"
"My pleasure, Father... this here is Malek of Thornleaf, a
high elf magician"
"Honored to meet you, cleric of the mighty Shilvan"
"Saulst mun Shilvan, Malek. Thur menelii forthuna " - said
Koronus, with a perfect elven accent. Malek only smiled and
nodded towards the cleric in appreciation.
"This is Borowgath Hard-skull, heir to the famous weapons'
smith.
"Hullo to you too, sire" - said Borowgath and bowed
hurriedly, in the process his helmet flew off and hit the
cleric's magical shield, which, luckily, appeared in front
of his face. The cleric only smiled and said nothing. Blade,
on the other hand, was very shocked and his face was red
angry.
"Th...This is... and this is Leda-" - Blade looked around
but couldn't find Ledanur anywhere - "I swear I saw him a
minute ago. Where is he?"
"Never mind, there is an important topic which I must
discuss with you. Please come in" - said the cleric and
coughed.

Ledanur wondered around the town, looking for entertainment.
He wondered where his companions could have gone. He ran the
events repeatedly in his already-troubled head.
"I argued with Borowgath." he thought, "The dwarf said
something extremely silly about dragons, and then everybody
was shouting at each other." Ledanur paused to realize he
was wandering about in an unfamiliar town. After pondering
for a while, he decided it can't get any worse, and went
back to his thoughts.
"Yes, everybody was shouting. Then I told them I got to go
to the john, but I don't think they heard. The bastards left
without me." His conclusion didn't surprise him, but the
fact it didn't - did.
"Well I guess I'd better go and find them, they are probably
already in some quarrel with someone. When I come to think
about it, again, Blade did say something about a temple"
"Excuse me, good sir" - said Ledanur and turned quickly
towards the person who was standing behind him with a dagger
drawn - "do you by any chance know were there is a temple of
Lathander nearby?"
The surprised man mumbled something under his breath and
stabbed at Ledanur. Ledanur on the other hand stepped
sideways and let the thief fall, face down on the paved
street.
"Well?" - said Ledanur waiting impatiently.
"Just..." - grunted the thief - "just continue on the road
'till you get to the fountain, then turn left"
"Thank you, my good man" - said Ledanur and tossed the thief
a copper.

"I just need you to go and inquire about what is going on in
that place" - said the cleric and breathed heavily. His
breath began to come in quick gasps, and he coughed a lot.
"I will execute it in the finest way I am able, Father. But
are you certain you don't crave me to go fetch a healer"
said Blade in a very concerned tone.
"Boy, I am a healer! Besides my duty in this world is over,
my time to join Lathander is due" - a terrible cough
attacked the poor priest, which took a long time to calm.
"It is located near the forest of Goblin-maw. Please Blade,
you have to go there and find what is causing all the
apprentices in the temple to go there in blind acceptance."
Suddenly the priest started to twitch and shake violently.
He even punched Blade in the nose in the process. This
caused Malek to laugh out loudly, and to fall on the floor
clenching his stomach.
"I wish... I wish that the long forgotten hero... could help
us... alas, he... he is dead as a frog"
Then he died.
When these words were uttered by the priest, Blade thought
to himself - "maybe his decease was for the better, he
embarked on losing his good sense, the underprivileged
fellow"
Borowgath started to weep.
Blade mumbled a few prayers in the honoring of the old
priest, and then turned to yell at the still laughing elf.
"How can you be so uncharitable? It is not benevolent, the
thing you are doing. Don't you feel infamy? The man is
deceased, please honor him."
"Well... I... I thought it was funny" - said Malek trying to
control his laughter.

Chapter IV (An unpleasant surprise)
"I hate racism. I hate it as much as I hate drunkards AND
dwarves"
Blade's voyage chronicle

Malek decided he'll go outside to try and get a hold over
his jolly mood. He reached for the temple's door's handle,
and pulled it, hoping the door will follow. His hopes were
to no avail. Malek tried to figure what spell he could use
to open the stubborn door, but he couldn't really
concentrate, since every five seconds or so, he had a
hysterical burst of laughter. After a few moments of staring
at the door, he decided he'll use the most simple, and his
favorite solution - fire. Taking a few steps back, Malek
started waving his hands around, and mumbling magic words.
Unfortunately for him, and the temple, the noisy dwarf
noticed the elf, and probably figured what will happen
soon.
Borowgath was crying over the old cleric when suddenly he
noticed he no longer heard the annoying laughter of the elf.
Whoever was familiar with the elf, knew that this was a bad
omen. Borowgath raised his head and searched for the elf. He
saw him standing in front of the handle-less door, preparing
to cast some magic. One glance at such a scene was enough
even for the dwarf, who wasn't intelligent anyway, to figure
that something bad was at hand. Borowgath jumped on his
feet, and started running towards the elf, hoping he'll be
there in time to prevent the demonic mage from casting his
spell.
The mage's hand started glowing in red, and as the flame
lunched its self towards the door, the dwarf tackled the
wizard, which, other than causing for them both to fall, set
aflame several curtains and a holy symbol of Lathander.
Blade which was still standing beside the dead priest,
noticed that the hall suddenly brightened. Hoping it was a
celestial being coming to take the old man's body, he turned
to greet it. The vision of the dwarf on top of the elf
swearing and kicking was not a lovely sight and did not
suggest that it was a doing of a celestial being. Moreover,
the flaming altar and symbol of Lathander could only mean
that there was a demon somewhere... or that the crazy
magician had flamed the whole building.

Approaching the fountain, Ledanur heard screams and cries of
"Fire!" He turned left and saw a building which on top of it
was a symbol of Lathander. Suddenly the front door burst
open and three figures staggered out of the building,
choking.
The three were Blade, his shiny armor black as a coal;
Malek, who was laughing hysterically and trying not to
choke; and Borowgath, which rolled on the ground screaming
"Me beard, me beard!"

After the three were able to talk again, they all went to a
nearby tavern.
"Why did you leave me alone? I said I'll be back in a
minute. Oh and why did you burn the temple down?"
"No ye hadn't Lead-head, ye just disappeared on us" - said
Borowgath who had beard burned almost totally.
"Yes he did" - said Malek and smiled impishly.
"So why didn't ye tell us, ye stupid elf" - asked Borowgath
getting angrier each time he tried to scratch his beloved
beard.
"I thought it would be funny" - said the elf and exploded
with laughter.
"It wasn't... Malek, I had wandered through the whole town
in the search for you" - said Ledanur in an annoyed tone.
"The...the whole town?" - Said the elf trying to calm down -
"Excellent, then you must have seen a bakery somewhere, I am
starved"
"It is not a time for jests, elf" - said Blade and looked
gravely at Malek - "an exalted man had departed this life
today, and on his deathbed he had appointed us with a grave
undertaking"
"Who died, and what connection does it have with the flaming
temple? Excuse me for my language..." - inquired Ledanur.
"Father Koronus, had deceased... he asked us to go to the
swamp near Goblin-maw to study the reasons to the
disappearance of them temple apprentices"
Ledanur's face turned pale white, he mouth the word
"Goblin-maw" mutely. Borowgath saw this but didn't heed it.
For him, elves were a strange lot, and anything they do was,
at the least, not surprising.
"Gob...Goblin-maw? Are you certain?" - asked Ledanur his
voice failing.
"I am... I can grasp that you are familiar with the site.
Excellent, you shall conduct us there then, Ledanur." -
proclaimed Blade with a satisfied tone.
"Su...Sure" - said Ledanur and swallowed hard.
"Ledanur, est thurna milii? Se amunar firthaa" - said Malek
noticing Ledanur's pale face.
"Nurna. Nurna, Malek. It's the smoke"



Chapter V (The Goblin-maw)
"They say that in order you have no trouble in finding
anything. Well, I say that in total chaos you can find
anything...even a dying Giraffe"
Malek's spell-book

"A renowned warrior / A living legend / the dead frog
proclaims / Victory after victory in the name of just / He
shall destroy the evil / the awakening will be prevented /
But his last breath / A Goblin-maw will be his death"
"Or something like that, damn why did I go to that blasted
oracle..." - Ledanur thought to himself. He was scared to
death of this journey, but not planning to reveal his-self
after a half century of concealing.
"Lead-head, common... we be waiting for yer stupid arse for
too long. Move it!" - Borowgath yelled at Ledanur.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" - Ledanur yelled back wondering
why it sound so strange.

The way to Goblin-maw was uneventful unless you counted the
several times when Malek had set the dwarf aflame, when he
tried to light the fire in the nights. Now, Borowgath was a
totally bald dwarf, which made him look like a well polished
bowling ball. However, the loss of hair made him think more
clearly. He started wondering about what the old priest had
said about the dead frog and Ledanur's strange behavior ever
since they began this journey.
"Lead-head do ye know any hero who's dead as a frog?" -
asked Borowgath when they settled for the night, a two-day
journey to Goblin-maw.
Ledanur chocked on his food and started to cough
hysterically. After a while Malek decided to help Ledanur
and summoned a giant hand to tap Ledanur's back. He
mentioned with his hand and the hand tapped on Ledanur's
back, the problem was that the hand's intended use was to
strike foes. So the tap caused Ledanur to topple on the
ground, face down.
"At least he stopped coughing" - said Malek justifying his
doing.
"Crazy elf" - was Borowgath's exclamation for the
situation.
"Dead...Dead frog? Where the hell did you hear that silly
name?" - said Ledanur trying to sound amused.
Malek, hearing the name Dead frog, decided to help out
Ledanur by casting a sleeping spell. Moreover, he wanted to
know how did the dwarf know about that name. So, gesturing
with his hands and mumbling several arcane syllables and
trying not to be seen or heard by the dwarf, he prepared the
spell.
Closing to Ledanur he noticed that the dwarf was eyeing him
suspiciously. When he was a stride away from Ledanur, he
raised his hand and lunched the spell at him. The
consequence was very strange: Ledanur became paralyzed and
so was Blade who was in middle of crouching to get into his
tent. That caused him to fall nose down on the ground and
positioning him in a very awkward position.

"What, by the name of me ancestors, ye've done?" - Shouted
the dwarf at the confused mage.
"I... I tried to put them to sleep" Malek replied.
Then the wizard finally understood what went wrong, and why
both Ledanur and Blade were sleeping in awkward positions.
"Ye've put them to sleep? Like that? Why?" - Asked the
astonished dwarf
"So I could chat with you"
"Chat? I don't chat"
"Too late. Sit, please" Said Malek, and made a chair shape
with his hand. The giant hand followed and created a giant
chair floating in the air.
Borowgath, who by now was totally shocked, obeyed and sat
with no further questioning. As soon as he was able to stop
gapping he asked:
"Ye wanted to chat about what??"
"Where did you hear that name?" Asked Malek, who was trying
to be nice, seeing the shocked bald face in front of him.
"Name, what name? yers is Malek, I know ye not from
yesterday... though I wish I did" he added under his breath
"Does that surprise ye?" The dwarf was loosing the elf
"Not that" Said Malek, and made a silly face. The dwarf's
face, on the other hand, was expressing total
misunderstanding. Seeing that, Malek explained, in calm
tones
"Where did you hear the name Dead frog?"
"Oh, that. The cleric said it just before he died" Said
Borowgath who's face finally gained its bold, and yet normal
expression.
Malek was surprised. He searched his mind for the words of
the cleric, but they just weren't there.
"When did the cleric say these words?" Malek said finally,
after a long silence
"Just before he died, while ye were laughing yer empty head
off!" Borowgath replied angrily." After a little thought he
added: "Why? Does it matter?"
Malek didn't reply. His eyes expressed troubled thinking.
Noticing that, Borowgath decided to test the mage's
concentration, so the dwarf started waving his hands in
front of Malek's face. When that didn't help, he decided
he'll try something somewhat more drastic. So Borowgath took
out his pot and smashed it against the elf's head. The
result was absolute: the elf fell to the ground, twitching
without consciousness. Borowgath, who found his last stunt
pretty amusing, looked around. He saw three people lying
paralyzed on the floor, some by magic, and some by heavy
metal. Since the hour was late, the dwarf decided he'll join
the rest, and went to sleep.

After a restless night of not being able to move an inch,
Ledanur caught himself falling unto the ground the minute
the duration of the spell was over.
"Heavens preserve. My back is in great soreness. Malek, I
pledge, by the gods you will have to answer for this!" -
yelled Blade, when he unfroze.

Goblin-maw was a great thorn forest. In mid-day the darkness
ruled the place. Most of the forests inhabitants were
goblinoids and other vegetables: including the great,
meat-eating, red, giant cucumber.
The swamps were every where there. Will-o-wisps were aplenty
there and their only pray was goblins and oversized
bug-bears.  
Entering the forest, the party readied their weapons. The
dwarf held his axe in one hand and in the other he steadied
his helmet so it won't obscure his vision. Blade had a lot
of trouble in holding his two-handed sword: being a six foot
long sword in a middle of a dense forest. Ledanur, on the
other hand, strode in total ease between the trees, as if he
knew the terrain by heart. His hands on his swords' handles,
muscles twitching ready for a battle, Ledanur looked like
veteran of many battles. His constant expression of
innocence vanished and was to be replaced with a serene face
which held more than simple seriousness. Malek was seriously
preoccupied. On one hand, he couldn't stop his-self from
staring at the other elf in the party, who looked like as if
he was walking a well known path, while all the others were
so tense. On the other hand, he kept wondering why the
cleric's last words sounded so familiar to him. He was
wondering about it since they woke up, and yet he couldn't
figure it out. Malek felt like he was walking into a
dead-end, the more he thought about it, the more confused he
got. He had a hunch that the whole thing was somehow related
to Ledanur, for he was acting strangely ever since the party
left the Temple. Then it hit him. The translation of Ledanur
from Terran is Dead Frog! Realizing that he came out of his
thoughts, just in time to dodge an arrow which appeared out
of no where.
Being so surprised he uttered three words "Yob tvayu mat'!"
and the spell sequencer was activated. The first effect was
Malek getting covered by a magical shield made of stone. The
second effect was that the whole forest lit up as if in
daylight. The third, and final, effect was two floating
fireballs hovering next to Malek.
"Oops" was all that the wizard could utter, before another
two arrows hit his shield.
Two orcs stepped out of the dense forest into the clearing
in which the party stood in. Borowgath, seeing the orcs,
cheered up and charged, screaming his lungs out, and
attacked them. The only problem was that he didn't think
that Malek will be crazy enough to send one of the fireballs
at the orcs. The result was: two dead orcs, and a cursing
dwarf "They were mine, Malek!"
More enemies poured into the clearing: goblins, orcs,
bugbears and three trolls. Hailing Moradin, the patron of
the dwarves, Borowgath charged into several goblins. Blade,
on the other hand, swung his two-handed sword several times
and rushed into the battle hailing the curing hand of
Lathander. Ledanur, drew his swords, and ran at the first
orc he saw. A back handed swing cut the orc through the
chest. The next enemy was skewered down into the ground with
two swords stuck in his chest. Malek saw Ledanur fighting:
it wasn't the same way he used to fight earlier; it was a
much more skillful fighting. Moreover, the dodging and the
ease in which Ledanur advanced from one enemy to the other
were not Ledanur's usual technique in which he fought.

"But his last breath, a Goblin-maw will be his death"
Ledanur repeated this sentence after each killing. He was on
the verge of crying and bursting into hysterical laughter.
Six hundred years since he was raised in the mercenary camp
of the War-dogs, and this was the way he was going to die. A
goblin-maw... the absurdity of the situation was killing
Ledanur: he who had killed many enemies, among them giants
and dragons, was to die by a goblin-maw. Slash. Stab.
Another slash. Death after death, he couldn't remember how
many he had killed, but they just kept coming, as if
laughing at him, taunting him into oblivion.

The trolls' bodies were still smoking. A few hundred orcs
were lying on the forest-bed, dead. The others had fled.
Blade's left hand was broken, he was sitting on the ground
trying to readjust the bone, while Malek and Borowgath, who
had lost several teeth, were trying to help the heavily
wounded Ledanur. His side was almost totally torn apart and
his face was covered with blood, his own and his enemies'.
The strange thing was that he had a pained smile on his
face. He was losing blood quickly, and he was grunting from
time to time, but the smile didn't fade. There was nothing
the companions could do to help him but nevertheless the
dwarf and the elf tried their best to relieve him from any
pain.
"Blade!" yelled Malek "can't you heal him? He is suffering"
"I regret not, I don't have any left. I used all my powers
on healing myself" - said Blade coldly.
"Ye... ye swine. I'll show you what is it to leave a friend
dying. You honorless paladin" - yelled the dwarf and threw
his axe at the paladin. Luckily for Blade the armor
deflected the blow.
"Neve... never you mind Borowgath, it's okay. I won't be
here for long" - said Ledanur.
Malek started mumbling some sort of a healing magic, but he
began crying and the words failed him.
"Arnada Ethiir" - said Ledanur and exhaled for the last
time. He was still smiling.
"Yes... we will live in peace, friend. We won't forget you"
"Not by any chance" - added Borowgath wiping a tear.
"Rest in peace, and may the gods grant you justice" - said
Blade, and turned to go.
As blade was walking away, the light created by the mage was
fading out. The forest was regaining its natural gloominess.
Malek lit an eternal light over Ledanur's final resting
place.


A legend dead, a warrior and friend
Savior of many, his deeds were meant to mend
Under the dark sky he slept
Over his faith we wept
But in his last hour he failed not
To bring down orcs to rot
The memory ever remains
But still it bares pains
Of a friend long gone
Of a warrior well known
In death he left us with a smile
Brightening the future, yours and mine
In memory of Ledanur Silver-bow