As the Doombat drifted closer to the Wanderer, Onestar looked upon the craft with curiosity.
"You say it was moving at Spelljamming speeds?" He asked Ville.
"It was, but now it seems to be just drifting."
"This is something that deserves investigation." The samurai looked around the bridge. "Blaise! You, Ville, Phantom and Kath. Get over there and see what's going on."
"Understood, Onestar," Blaise commented. He closed his eyes and a portal opened before the Arcane to the other ship.
"Belieth," Onestar added, "you'd better join them. I want a magic user over there just in case. Be ready to teleport everyone off there in an emergency."
Belieth just nodded and followed Ville through the portal. Phantom was the last one through, then the opening sealed itself shut.
"Hall, get down and take the helm. I want best possible speed, just in case."
Hall nodded, and ran over to the helm. Damian stood just as the first officer arrived. The ship shuddered for a second as Hall took over the helm.
Over on the doombat, it was dark. The air had a musty, foul scent to it.
"Looks like this ship hasn't seen a port of call for some time," Ville commented, looking over the helm. Blaise's portal opened right into the bridge of the doombat. None of the crew were present, but it appeared that there was a tremendous fight. Chairs were smashed, maps ripped into shreds, weapons lying on the floor, caked with dried blood.
"Whatever happened, it mustn't have been pretty." Phantom looked around the room with determination. "I don't think anyone's alive on this hulk.
"Then how was it able to travel at Spelljamming Speed?" Kath inquired as he examined a weapon. Picking it up, he smelled the dried blood. "This is definitely elven blood, although it has a strange aroma to it."
"The Elves of the Astromundi Cluster are more savage than any you'll ever meet," Blaise commented. "They are almost nomadic, and aren't nearly as civilized as those from, say, Oerth or Toril."
"Sounds like my kinda crowd, even if they are elves," Kath said with a strange smile.
"I think I know how this helm was working," Ville said. "Belieth, I could use a little more light over here."
Belieth muttered a few words, and there was a brilliant flash of pure white light, blinding all those within the room. Everyone blinked for a few moments, until they got used to the brighter surroundings.
"Hey, watch it with the flash, Belieth!" Kath said, sarcasm in his voice.
"I didn't mean it to be that strong," she added apologetically. "I was just going to create a globe of light."
"Which proved my theory," Ville commented, removing a large piece of dull green crystal from a hidden part of the helm. Blaise looked at it with wonder.
"A wild surge crystal,"
"Wha?" Phantom asked.
"It's about as rare as dragon's teeth, and even more valuable." Ville handed the piece to Blaise while looking back into the helm. He continued to talk, his voice slightly muffled. "They date back to when the Thri-Kreen controlled the starlanes. They..."
"What?" Kath and Phantom asked.
"They were used to help power ships on long voyages," Blaise continued, fascinated by the artifact. "The crystal would store magical energy while someone was on the helm, and when the helm was not in use, it would move the ship. They can store almost limitless energy, but can be quite unpredictable, or if a spell is cast nearby, can cause a wild surge. Hence the name."
"If they were that unpredictable, then how could they be used safely?"
"Normally, Belieth, they'd be hooked up to a magical regulator to ensure their safe usage."
Ville popped his head out again. In his hand, he held a foot-long off-white strip made of some unknown ceramic. It looked like it could be attached to the crystal, and then to the helm. There was a little red switch on the top which appeared burnt.
"Look at this. A blown wild surge suppressor. No wonder Belieth's spell surged. This thing looks like it blew a fuse."
"Blew a fuse?" Kath laughed.
"Just a figure of speech." Ville added.
Phantom bowed his head for a second, then began to look around. "I think we should try and contact the Wanderer. Knowing Onestar, he's beginning to get worried. We've been here for awhile and not said anything."
"Good idea," Ville added. "Kath, stay here with me and we'll work on this some more. Phantom, take Pascal and Belieth to see what else is on this wreck."
Blaise sat the crystal down on the helm, and started off down a corridor with the others. Ville and Kath continued to check out the bridge for something that wasn't completely ruined.
A short while later, Phantom, Belieth and Blaise opened a door to the captain's chambers. Blaise told them that on ships like this, communication crystals could be found in private rooms. When Phantom opened the door, he saw a crystal... and more.
Scattered around the room were several skeletons, elven in appearance.
Belieth covered her mouth in shock and disgust. Blaise entered the room and, careful not to disturb the remains, headed to the crystal. He played around with it for a few minutes before getting it to spark to life. An image formed on the other side. Although fuzzy, they could tell it was Onestar.
"...aise! Belieth! Someone over there answer me!"
"I'm here, captain," Blaise answered.
"What the devil is going on over there! I've been trying to raise you for ten minutes and all we're getting is static! We saw that bright flash of light a few minutes back!"
"It's probably the wild surge crystal interfering with communications. Once I linked with the ship from this end, it cleared up slightly."
"Wild surge crystal? What in the seven hells is that?" Onestar asked. In the background, Blaise could hear a small voice speaking very quickly.
"Wildsurgecrystal! ididn'tthinkanymoreof themexisted!ohwhatjoywill i'llhave examiningthatdoyouthinkmister pascalwillletmelookatit oncehebringsitbackhe willbebringing itbackherewon'the..."
The voice stopped as Onestar turned to look away from the crystal for a second. Belieth chuckled as Blaise just rubbed his forehead.
"Report!" Onestar said.
"This ship is a wreck. We've found skeletons of some of the crew here in the captain's quarters, but I can't say how long they've been like this. They might have been this way for some time."
"Begging your pardon, sir, but I think this is a fresh kill," Phantom interrupted.
"Explain, please," Onestar asked. Phantom stepped beside Blaise so Onestar could see him.
"The air on this ship may be fouled, but it's not that bad. I'd say the crew, before they were slaughtered, had their air fouled for a few days. And then there's the matter of the blood. It looks like this was a recent kill. The blood was dried, but still relatively fresh." He stepped away from the crystal for a second to pick up a skeleton bone.
"Look at this." Phantom held the bone up for Onestar to see. "There are slight indentations here and here, almost like teeth marks. I'd say that they'd been eaten. Someone killed them and then had a four-course meal."
Onestar grimaced. "I want all of you off that ship now."
"We still haven't learned what happened to the crew or found a log..." Blaise tried to argue.
"I don't care. Get off of there now!"
"Yes, captain. Pascal out." The communicator crystal faded as the party turned and headed to the bridge. Blaise brought up the rear, obviously disappointed. He wanted to learn what happened to this crew, since in a sense they were family.
The others were ready to open the door to the bridge when Blaise heard a scraping sound.
"Did you hear that?" he asked. Phantom looked at Belieth.
"Hear what, Blaise?" Belieth asked.
"Something scraping," the arcane replied. "My hearing is slightly better than yours. It sounds like it's coming from underneath us..."
Just then, the floor beneath Belieth opened up and she started to fall through the deck.
"Yearrgh!" Belieth cried. Ville and Kath heard her cry and came running from the bridge. Belieth caught herself as her lower torso was through the hole in the floor. Blaise and Ville grabbed her by her arms and tried to pull her up through the floor.
"Something's got me!" she cried, as she stabbed at whatever it was with her sword. "Something's got my ankles and won't let go!"
Kath reached over to a fallen battle axe and began to hammer away at the floorboards. Already weakened by whatever grabbed Belieth, they gave way in two blows. The Scro then jumped down the hole, ready for battle.
Phantom looked over the scene for a second, almost at a loss of what to do. Then, suddenly, he grabbed his own sword and joined the Scro.
Below deck was darker than above, the only light coming from the hole above them. As Phantom jumped through, he felt a wave of nausea pass through him. Suddenly, he realized he was passing through the gravity plane and it would take precious seconds for him to readjust himself. Kath had already reoriented himself to the new direction and was charging into the darkness. All Phantom could see, for the moment, was the last of the light glinting off Kath's armor and Belieth's legs, with darkened coils wrapping themselves around them.
"What a time to be without infravision," Phantom commented. In the darkness, there were a few slashes heard, a few thuds, and a sharp, animalistic cry. One of Belieth's legs were free, but Kath was thrown back into the light by whatever that was.
Phantom concentrated for a minute, then charged the creature. Although dark, he aimed for the area under Belieth's still-held leg and slashed with all his might with his sword. There was another animalistic cry, and the other leg was free.
Above the creature, Ville and Blaise were finally able to get Belieth up to the other deck. Once above, Belieth tried to stand on her own, but found her legs wouldn't hold her. Blaise helped her sit down, and then rolled up her pantslegs to check for injuries.
"My legs are numb," she said. "When that... thing first attacked, it hurt like the devil, but now, it's like they're not there."
"Must be poison," Ville commented.
"By the great provider," Blaise said, pointing at several bleeding welts on Belieth's legs, "what is that thing."
Suddenly, a dimension door opened right beside the party. Onestar, Hall, Karamon, Damian and Grimmore passed through. Onestar was holding his cobalt katana, looking side to side.
"What the devil is happening here?"
"Down there," Blaise said pointing below deck, "whatever it is, Kath and Phantom are fighting it down there."
Onestar looked over the three above. "Hall, get your wife over to Father Armas."
Hall was already bending down to pick her up. Blaise was ready to try and tell Onestar what was going on when Phantom was thrown through the first hole in the floor, back to the bridge. Another animal cry was heard from below, while Kath's scro voice could be heard screaming in attack. Tabatha was passing through the portal as Hall was taking Belieth back to the Wanderer.
Then, a shadow began to pour through the holes, reforming onto the upper deck. Taking the shape of an elf, it was completely dark. Bits of it oozed off as wisps of shadow, melting into the surroundings. Its mouth opened, and the sounds were nothing like anyone had heard before. Part pain, part anger, part hate.
With a great warcry, Onestar lunged at the creature. So powerful was his blow that one of the elfshadow's arms fell to the floor. As the arm lay there, it oozed over the floor, merged with the body, and reformed another arm. Onestar's eyes opened wide at the sight.
"Grimmore!" Onestar cried out! "Quickly, a light spell!"
Grimmore concentrated, muttered a few words, and several spheres of light flew from his fingers and encircled the creature. They buzzed him like flies, but didn't touch him. The elfshadow swatted them away with his newly formed arm. The spheres dissipated.
"Great spell," Ville commented.
"What do you expect?" the red-haired mage commented, "I'm an illusionist, not an invoker."
"Everyone back to the Wanderer!" Onestar commanded. Kath took a couple more swings at the creature as he passed it, causing more of it to wisp away. Whatever he hit would reform within seconds. Ville, Blaise and Grimmore all passed through after Tabatha returned to the ship. On the Wanderer, crews were taking defensive stands in case the elfshadow tried to pass through the dimension door.
Damian and Karamon were the last two to leave as the portal closed. Onestar remained, with Phantom near him. Blaise tried to call to Onestar, but the door was already shut.
Tense minutes passed. Damian reestablished contact with the helm and moved the Wanderer closer to the Doombat. Blaise tried to reestablish a door but found he couldn't. Ville took the captain's chair back on the command deck, and tried to contact the doombat. Finally, the Wanderer pulled alongside the smaller ship, but before they could get a boarding party ready, Onestar and Phantom materialized onboard the Wanderer, with Onestar helping the security chief to stand.
"Onestar!" Crystal cried. All on the bridge turned to see the pair. Onestar was bleeding from several cuts on his forehead and forearms, while Phantom had a nasty gash in his right leg. Brien Fleetfoot rushed over and started to bandage Phantom's wounds when Blaise went over to talk with Onestar.
"The creature is dead," the samurai said.
"How?" Blaise asked. Phantom started to say something, but Onestar interrupted him.
"Psionics. I used my abilities to set the creature on fire. The light destroyed him. Get a salvage crew over there to see what else they can find, and have a report for me within an hour. I've got to get Phantom to Armas, and see how Belieth is doing."
Onestar helped Phantom off the deck. As they made their way down the stairs to the medical station, Phantom stopped for a second.
"Thanks," he said.
"For what?" Onestar asked.
"Keeping my...secret."
"I've known about your secret for some time, Phantom. I figured it was something you wanted to keep from the others, so I respected your privacy. You've got some powerful talents there. If you ever need to talk..."
"...Thanks, captain."
"Let's get you healed first, all right?"
Some time later, Onestar was sitting in his office, writing in his Journal the events of the day. A knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Enter," he said, setting down the quill and closing the book. Hall and Whisper entered the room. Hall closed the door and sat down in the chair in front of Onestar's desk. Whisper took his preferred position by Onestar's feet. The samurai reached down and scratched the Astrovag behind the ear.
"How's Belieth?" Onestar asked, sitting back up.
"She's fine," Hall replied. "It was just a paralyzing poison with no permanent damage. I looked through my library for some information on that creature. It appeared to be an elfshadow, a rare creature. It's formed when an elf dies in the void on a mission. If it doesn't complete the mission, and a few other factors are tossed in, it becomes a negative energy creature who only lives to feast off the living."
"Something different," Onestar commented.
"Looks like the elfshadow was formed on the long trip from the Astromundi Cluster and started killing the crew. They appeared to be headed to the Rock to meet Blaise!"
"What for?"
"We're not entirely sure. Most of the logs are records were destroyed, but there were some personal correspondence to Blaise. Something about some trouble in the cluster."
"Wonderful. Another home sphere near collapse." Onestar's comments brought a slight chuckle from Hall. "Anything else?"
"Nothing worth salvaging, except for the wild surge crystal, and some weapons for the armory. Blaise is talking about aiming the ship for the sun, sort of a proper burial."
"Whatever he wishes."
Hall stood to leave, but stopped for a second by the door. "Onestar, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course, old friend," the samurai replied.
"When I was checking through the books on the elfshadow, it indicated that the creature was immune to fire. What's more, fire would have ignited the phlogiston, and we would have seen that. Yet, you said that you were able to set it on fire and destroy it."
Onestar looked at Hall for a second before speaking. "This was probably just a different strain of elfshadow. Something not mentioned in the texts."
"Probably," Hall added quietly. "Goodnight, old friend."
"Goodnight, Hall. Tell Belieth I hope she gets better soon."
"Of course," Hall said. The two just smilled slightly at one another for a moment, then Hall left. Onestar just looked at the closed door for a few moments before returning to his Journal.
