The Fugitive
A Prelude to Session Six of the Path Perfidious Campaign

Morday, 6 Lollmeadow 204

In the last week, Manacus and Gunlarr have rode like the wind. They have journeyed south, away from the Village of the Eighteen Churches, but despite the speed of their mounts the Hounds of Mortis are still only hours behind them. However, now they are finally nearing their destination.

“Galys,” explains Gunlarr slowly. Manacus is puzzled, “What’s at Galys?” he asks. “The Arcanum Incognita mostly,” replies Gunlarr. “They closed Galys down about fifty years ago. Moved on the entire settlement to New Galys. Of course, New Galys wasn’t on quite the right spot of the river, so it never became the bustling town that Galys was. Now it’s only got about a hundred people living there, and Galys is a complete ghost town. The Arcanum Incognita are all that’s there. But we can still get to what we need to.”

“And what is that?” asks the diviner impatiently. Gunlarr doesn’t pretend to understand it. Something happened at Galys fifty years ago. Some magical event. It created a magical portal that the church thought could be used to their own ends. But it turned out to be useless. Anyone stepping into the portal is transported several hundred miles in a random direction. Useless if you want to go anywhere specific. Very handy if you want to escape the Hounds of Mortis.

“I have a contact in the church, a man called Shallock. He’ll get us into the portal, then we just hold hands and step through. Even if the Hounds follow us, they won’t be transported to the same place we were. Then we can just get our bearings and head for home.”

“And where is home?” asks Manacus. “You still haven’t explained why you are helping me, or what you hope to gain.” Gunlarr thinks for a second and then replies, “I’m helping you because I need you. I need a diviner.”

“My wife, Hena, died last year of brain fever. I saved up the money to get the Church of Fire to bring her back. They were willing, but the Watchers wouldn’t release the body from the House of Passing. Eventually I got hold of a part of her and Belerus Rothsman brought her back. Hena and I have been on the run ever since. But then I got to thinking, there must be dozens of people in Norandor who have been brought back from the dead and find themselves hunted down by the church. Dozens of people like Hena. I wanted to do something to help them, to help people like you. But in order to do that I have to be able to find them.”

“So you need someone who can scry, and sense things that you cannot,” states Manacus. Gunlarr nods. “Will you help me?” Manacus says that he will for the moment. After his experiences of the Watchers, he believes that Gunlarr’s cause is one worth championing. However, first they must escape their pursuers.

The pair arrive on the outskirts of Galys at dusk. At this distance, there is very little sign of a town. Abandoning the horses, they rush forward on foot. The Hounds have closed the gap and are now less than a mile away. Manacus begins to feel fear again. It would be tragic if he were killed on the verge of escape from the Hounds.

The grass gets longer and more difficult to traverse. Suddenly a man steps out of the shadows and stops them. “Shallock?” asks Gunlarr. The man nods. “The Hounds are right behind you Gunlarr. Head straight for the village, the portal formed in the plain before it, and is now covered by this long grass. Run and keep running. You will walk directly into it.” A howl punctuates the moonlight. “Go! Go now!”

Manacus and Gunlarr run. The ranger keeping a firm grip on the diviner’s wrist. If they are separated when they head through the portal then they may never find one another again, and he cannot afford to lose Manacus. They can hear something large and powerful bounding through the underbrush behind them. Several creatures closing in on them. Manacus chances a glance behind him. He can see dark shapes, rippling through the grass. They are only fifty yards away! Thirty. Ten.

Then he feels a lurch and something propels him forward. The magic of the Galys portal has grabbed him and Gunlarr and propelled them forward. Teeth snap at thin air where Manacus was standing as the diviner is catapulted into the darkness and the unknown.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Fugitive Index | Previous Session | Dancers in the Dark Session 3 | Rising Tide Session 1