Version History

The wake began like any other for Sam, he woke up in the barn he had begun to call home, Sam got out of his hammock by throwing one leg over the right side of it then rolled landing on the floor and rudely awakening the nearby cat that had been sleeping on his stomach. Slowly raising his rear end and outstretching his forelimbs out in front of him then arching his back Sam stretched like a cat. The cat whose name was Tom skipped his own usual stretch, as he was more interested in a scratching noise coming from the corner of the barn. Sam stood up and made his way to the ladder and climbed down to the ground floor. Tom followed behind quickly with a small mouse in his mouth. Sam pet Bessie the horse on the nose, she was an old mare that was unusually fat for a horse she almost looked pregnant all the time, though she was far too old to have a foal.

Sam had been living on the Colt Farm for two cycles, Farmer Colt owned five thousand luminares of land and let Sam and others live on the farm in exchange for work. Sam primarily worked on making a road that was intended to span the whole farm. This wake though he decided he would take the wake off and gather apples. Farmer Colt of course believed this was the only life you got and if those boys who worked for him wanted to enjoy a little bit of it then by all means they should, though when the time came everyone ought to do their share of the work. This method of management was why farmer Colt had been so successful. He was one of the largest landowners in his county. Sam had arrived at the apple trees with a burlap sack. He began to climb the largest tree at the head of the orchard when an apple the size of his head pegged him in the face.

Disembodied Voice: “Gotcha sucker.” *playful laughter*

Sam fell from the tree and landed on his butt.

Sam: “Ed I am going to climb up that tree and knock you from your perch.”

Ed: “I would like to see you try.”

With that the trial had begun Sam making a quick pace up the massive tree and Ed throwing a barrage of oversized apples. A few made contact with Sam but knowing they were coming he was able to brace on to the tree to hold himself up. As he approached the branch Ed had been sitting on Ed panicked and decided to jump to avoid being thrown off. He had a rough landing and got a few scrapes and bruises but otherwise he was mostly unharmed. Sam, rather satisfied with himself, collected five apples filling his bag and made his way back down to the base of the tree.

Ed: “Are you leaving the farm too then Sam?”

Sam: “No I was just in the mood for some apples, why? Are you leaving?”

Ed: “I guess you haven't heard, considering you are on the farthest border of farmer Colts land though I would have thought he'd have sent someone down to let you know.”

Sam *now a little perturbed* demanded: “Out with it Ed you buffoon.”

Ed: “A plague has fallen on the land the county has gone to war with three of our neighbors in a fight for food. It's a free for all, martial law has been declared and everyone is either running towards the fighting or running away from it but you can bet no one is staying where they are.”

Sam paused for a moment to take it all in. He did not like the sound of any of that at all. But he would have no choice but to make a decision.

Sam: “Ed what are you going to do?”

Ed answered *in a less ominous tone*: “Well I am going to paradise of course.”

Sam: “What? We already live in Paradise.”

Ed: “Not the county! The actual real paradise like the concept, travelers have spoke of the county to the South, there have been strange going ons but word is there was a wizard war and the winning side made a place with unlimited water, food, and no one has to work I guess the wizards all study or research, it's hard to get entry but if you do get in your set for life.”

Sam: “Well that sounds better than going to fight, mind if I tag along I make good company and I can hold my own in a battle with bandits.”

Ed: “Course you can come you are free folk aren't you, master of your own fate I couldn't stop you if I tried.”

Sam: “I asked if you mind not if I was capable, you have some gall trying to correct me with how dumb you are."

Ed *laughing*: “I’m the one with gaul? well at any rate I planned on eating my fill then leaving.”

They both proclaimed aloud “let's eat!” and feasted on the savory apples. As leep hour drew near Tom arrived, and climbed the tree that Sam and Ed had settled in to rest for the leep. Tom had a bloated belly, he had eaten his fill of field mice. Tom climbed to the large branch Sam was resting on and laid in his lap. Sam pet Tom with his back leaned against the bark of the great arbor. Tom was a welcome companion Sam spoke to his cat of his plans to travel with Ed and asked him to come along. Tom nodded almost as if in acknowledgement of what Sam said. They both faded to sleep.

Sam woke up to Ed stepping on his head in his descent of the tree. Tom had already departed from Sam's lap probably off warring against the lesser powers of the farm Sam thought. Ed apologized for stepping on Sam but it was about time he woke up anyway, they would leave soon so they both topped off their sacks with Humungo apples (the name the people of Paradise county called the enormous fruit).

After reaching the base of the tree Sam noticed tracks in the dirt just around the dirt near the building roots,

Sam: “Looks like a band of horse mounted soldiers or merchants came through while we were sleeping and they must have been in a hurry.”

Ed: “Let's travel with haste then I don't want to find out what was chasing them.”

The path was a somewhat well traveled one but it was not lined with brick or rocks. Sam had a momentary thought that he might build on this road like he had done so many of the others on Colts farm. It passed as quickly as it had come remembering his life of road making was in the past, a new journey was ahead of him and while he might have chosen better company if he could, he was stuck with Ed. Upon examination of the tracks Ed announced there were likely six riders.

After a moment of silence from each of them Ed said “let's follow the tracks and see if we can gather more information on the party but keep your distance.”

They began their journey following the exact path of the group ahead of them to give some semblance of hiding their own tracks. Sam thought on the fact that it was the perfect wake to start an adventure. Lum was bright in the sky and it looked like it would be a clear wake. The birds had begun their morning gathering of worms, bugs and berries. It was very peaceful. The two of them were well rested sleeping in the sticks was not at all uncommon for them and they both were as ready as they would ever be. The idea of the horsemen having been in a hurry became abundantly clear as the horsemen had left small trails of blood from where their spurs struck the horses and left a periodic trickle of blood.

After a few hours of silent travel between the two companions a small noise could be heard in the direction they were going. As they came closer Sam thought the noise sounded foreign unlike anything he could fully comprehend. Sam was an avid practitioner of the saying curiosity killed the cat, he of course was unaware of the second part of the saying “satisfaction brought it back.”

Sam: “I don't really care to find out what that noise is.”

Ed was the curious sort and wild images ran through his mind as to what fiendish thing could make such a sound.

Ed: “whatever it is I have to see it, but you needn't worry I will observe from a safe distance.”

Sam walked a short way off the path and hid in a large fairly inconspicuous looking bush.

Sam: “Well I will wait here, but not for very long so you had better make it quick.”

Ed took off ahead traveling along the brush just off the road, so he would not be easily visible to the thing making the awful noise which seemed to be getting louder but he was sure it was just because he was getting closer. Once he was within viewing distance he gazed upon an old person rolling around in a mixture of mud and blood. The person was yelling in two voices, one of an older person and that other worldly, screeching noise. Ed watched for a minute and decided someone ought to help the man, and no one else was around so it would have to be him.

He slowly got out of the bush he had been hiding in, he took each very careful step as slowly as he could. He was only a few yards from the writhing old person when he tripped on some invisible thing then fell into an invisible wet puddle of liquid. It was not the mud that was clinging to him as he lay for a moment but some unseen liquid. Ed thought it smelled of blood. He got on his hands and knees then noticed the noise had stopped. He brought his eyes to where the old person had been rolling. Now Ed saw a pair of feet, he raised his eyes following the feet to a pair of legs then a stomach, chest, neck, and stopping on the face of the old man. It was like no human expression he had ever seen, it was closer to a wolf's snarl. In place of eyes the old person had black pits. He was growling in the other worldly voice. Ed, now back on his feet, began to back away slowly. The old person raised his hand holding the open claw position and aiming at Ed's heart. Ed turned and ran back in Sam's direction. Ed could hear the old person beginning to chant

Old person *chanting*: “Eternal Dark, hear my call, if it is your will strike this child's heart and take what you desire.”

The voice grew distant as Ed got farther away, Sam popped out of a bush he had been hiding in.

Sam: “What did you do!?”

Ed: “Nothing, he just started chanting some weird stuff about eternal darkness.”

Sam: “Who.”

Sam looked back and saw an old person walking toward them with a goofy smile on his face. Though he had heard the chanting from that weird voice it had stopped and only this old person to show for it.

Sam: “Ed it's only an old man.” and walked over to him.

Ed: “We need to run now!”

Sam *casually walks over*: “Hello.”

The old person gave an uninterested sweeping motion with his hand. Then a strong gust of wind picked Sam up and smashed him against a tree. Sam’s back made contact first, he slid down the base then his butt hit the ground hard, he grunted and his eyes shut. Ed fell over on his butt as well only for him it was out of fear. He put both his hands up as if preparing to block any magic the old person could throw at him. Instead the eldritch voice once again began chanting.

Eldritch Voice: “Eternal Dark, you will hear my call! You will consume the one laying before me. I offer The Stone Of Abandon as offering to take the one before me I command it!”

The old person repeated this line as he pulled a purple stone out of a small bag attached to his waist. He raised the stone to the sky and an ominous tempest gathered from all sides leaving the eye of the storm directly above the trio. Ed was paralyzed with fear unsure of what to do even if he could bring himself to move. Lightning bolts began to strike the ground all around Ed, he brought his knees to his chest and buried his face in them bracing for what he feared would be his death. He thought about his short life on the farm that had not really amounted to anything so far. Then the chanting came to a complete halt and a awful noise but one Ed could comprehend, furios screeching and yowling came from the direction of the old man, Ed raised his head and could see Tom tearing into the old man's face, apparently he had no passive defensive magic because Tom was quickly covered in blood, the pair of them were hissing, screeching, and yowling together now. The old person tried to rip Tom off his face but the cat had a firm grip and held tight. The tempest retreated, leaving the sky blue and the sun shining. To Ed’s surprise the old person began walking backwards and tripped on a large rock behind him. He fell and hit his head on a much larger rock. His eyes shut and he fell unconscious.

Ed sat for a minute to take in all that had happened. Ed felt like the luckiest unlucky guy walking the surface. He ran over to Sam and put his hand over his mouth to see if he was still breathing. His breath was ragged but definitely there, the impact had done some internal damage, Ed was unsure of how much, he knew he would need to take Sam to a medicine person. Now that he confirmed Sam was still breathing it was time to deal with the old man. Tom was sitting next to the man's head. The cat was licking the blood from his paws in the typical feline fashion. Ed walked over and looked down at the man's face. He gasped in shock, the blood was gone and he didn't have a scratch on him. Ed had never met a wizard before. With his limited knowledge of magic folk he knew it must take a very powerful wizard to heal themselves while unconscious. Though all that was hearsay, could it maybe be possible that healing magic was easier than most folk had seemed to think?. The wizard was still breathing, Ed couldn't decide if that was good or bad. On one hand he had tried to kill them, on the other hand he was a living person and it wasn't Ed's place to take life. He took Sam's apples out of his sack. Placed the now empty sack over the wizard, removed the lace of his boots and tied the string around the wizards hands and feet. Ed did remember something about needing to use hand gestures in spells so that should do well enough for stopping his magic. Ed leaned the wizard up against the opposite side of the tree Sam was leaned up against.

Ed walked over to Tom and began petting him, after a few minutes of this he scratched Ed on the forearm signifying the end of the petting he would tolerate. He decided now may be a good time to examine the contents of the bag on the wizard's waist. Tom walked off into the woods without a care in the world. Ed kneeled next to the unconscious wizard, he gripped either end of the relatively small bag and drew it open, it was too dark inside to see anything. Ed cautiously reached his left hand in the bag and gripped something soft but stiff. He pulled it out and it was a pair of leather shoes.

Just as soon as he had the shoes out of the bag he heard a noise coming from down the road in the direction they had come from that morning. He put the shoes in a satchel he wore around his right hip and dragged the wizard and Sam into a nearby bush to hide them from view. Ed rushed up the tree, climbing to a branch that blocked him from view of the road but allowed him to see out. A band of twelve horsemen came down the road at a galloping pace. Just as they hit the muddy section Ed and the wizard had fought in, their horses tripped on something, probably the same invisible thing that Ed himself fell victim to. The back four members of the twelve person group were able to stop in time but the other eight fell over each other and the horses quickly regained their footing and stepped just off the path close to where Sam and the wizard were hidden. Among the back four, one person rode a tan horse speckled with black spots. He was cloaked, his face obscured, wearing a backpack and holding a staff in his right hand.

*raises staff* :“Dispel.”

A light flashed from the end of his staff, revealing the scene fully. Six horse and six mangled human bodies lay scattered across the ground, clad in red uniforms featuring chainmail at the joints and metal plates on broader surfaces. The newcomers wore similar attire but in yellow, distinguished by a different emblem. Whereas the uniforms of the deceased bore a sleeping raven symbol, those of the living featured a howling wolf.

Another of the back four, the apparent leader of the group, called something out to his men that Ed didn't understand. They rapidly started getting on their horses Ed was directly above one the men getting on his horse, the thought crossed his mind that this would be an opportune moment to kill this warrior if he was going to end up fighting them that could be his best chance. But he would surely die to the others. Judging by their garb they had four mages in the back, four archers ahead of them. two spear wielding warriors and two sword wielding warriors. You could tell the leadership of militias in the land by the colored pauldron on their right shoulder. High command typically wore gold and small group leaders wore silver. This one was wearing silver. The mage who used the spell called out to the other men shouting what sounded like an order in another language. The group continued down the path the direction they had already been heading, leaving behind the dead bodies.

Ed felt the adrenaline and shock begin to dissipate from him. This wake could have gone worse but it was shaping up to be one of the worst he had ever had. Ed worked on the Colt farm as a plow. He usually pushed an enchanted boulder buster in front of him and pulled a rake that divided the front row created by the boulder buster into six smaller rows. Others would later come and plant seeds in the furrows. He knew he had the strength to transport both bodies of Sam and the wizard. First he would need to make a gurney. Sam was the better craftsman of the two of them but Ed had spent enough time working with them to figure something out.

After some searching he was able to find two sticks that were straight and cylindrical enough to serve as an axel. Donut stones, ancient runes from some previous civilization were easy to find and came in standard sizes. They held no more magic but served well as wheels due to their unusual durability and shape, a circle with a hole in the center. Ed whittled the ends of each axel until they could almost fit through the center of the stones. Then forced the slightly oversized branch through the wheels getting them stuck on either end of the axel. For the platform the bodies would rest on he found vine leaves. They could be found on dying trees, like the trees the constricted they were enormous large enough to carry most adults. They also had vines that grew from one end to the other end of the leaf in random patterns. Normally the vine would go around the tree holding the leaves flat to the trunk or branch they were gripping. Due to the wild nature of the plant often you would get leaves that grew off other vines that did not touch any part of the tree but still had the looping vines beneath.

After some searching Ed found two leaves that had vine loops that were in the correct position for his need to wrap around the axel. He had to cut a wheel from each axel once he realized the vine loops were not large enough to go around them, then run the axel through the vine loops and attach a new wheel to the end of the axel. Ed wished Sam would wake up already. He did not like being called dumb by Sam but even he had to admit stupid mistakes like that wouldn’t happen if Sam had been the one making the gurney's. Finally Sam took some vines without leaves and tied them to the opposite end of the leaf from the axel he was pulling, then around his shoulders so he could pull the Gurney. He placed Sam on this one. He found some straight branches and pierced them through the leaf he would be pushing. He placed the wizard on this one so he could keep an eye on him while they traveled.

*The species of Intearth do not produce bodily waste and have no need to go to the bathroom, all living creatures have some bit of magic inside them that helps their bodies digest all of whatever they consume. This is mostly an advantage over the waste methods of species from The Real Realm with one drawback. If a poison is consumed the body has no way of expelling it regurgitation is only known in a limited number of species and usually used as a weapon. For poison control magic is required or someone must consume another substance that alters the composition of the poison in the body.*

After around half the wake he was done crafting and ready to begin traveling again. He ate some of Sam's apples but his own sack of apples on the gurney with Sam then began carting the two down the same road the party had traveled earlier in the wake. By the time it was leep Tom had returned and laid upon Sam's chest who was still asleep. Ed put both of them down in the brush just off the path so they would be out of sight of any travelers. The land they were traveling to had a lower elevation and the further someone got the Lun the colder it was, Ed wanted a fire but thought better of it and went into a deep sleep as he always did after a hard day of work.

*”Yum Bird” is a spherical animal that lacks appendages. “Bird” is used for any feathered creatures that fly in Intearth. In truth Yum Birds float, like most organisms their magic ability is highly specialized and serves the basic functions and the floating ability. The more magic the Yum Bird has the more robust and colorful their plumage. A Yum Bird completely out of magic has no feathers at all. To my knowledge essentially their only form of defense is to float out of reach of predators, They eat worms primarily and during the act of eating is usually when they are hunted.*

Ed awoke to the smell of breakfast being cooked. Sam was cooking disks of meat on a thin plate shaped strone [metal].

Ed: “Is that Yum Bird you cookin?”

Sam: “Sure is, we must be getting close to where that old witch lives, she was the one that set the birds loose on the land, or so says Jams.”

Ed: “I didn’t think it was safe to have a fire in case those soldiers came back or more came behind them.”

Sam: “I thought the same at first, but go ahead and look around.”

Ed after taking the half cooked piece of Yum Bird out of the pan with his bare hand and shoving it in his mouth, began to look around into the distance. There was a dark smog that surrounded them and made Lum look red.

Sam: “Those soldiers must be burning the town ahead, probably started a forest fire too.”

Ed: “The whole county will be smoky for weeks, did they really think that was going to help them find this guy?”

Sam: “The villagers probably did not cooperate with them, even if just saying no the wizard isn’t here was enough to satisfy the soldiers, consider the general mental attitude of the people we know…”

Ed thought about it for a moment, The people Ed knew were stubborn to the core, The local culture was one of no snitches. If something got stolen and everyone but the sheriff saw it, not a soul would tell the sheriff. Ed knew the local culture was considered strange to most travelers. Often mishaps with neighboring counties would occur on communication problems alone. Colts farm was one of ten farms in the county and no one else could start a new one because of the stubborn farmers who refused to sell land. Regardless of potential gain in terms of money, It was standard practice to pass your land, possessions, servants down to your selected heir. The stubbornness of the locals would never let any of them break this tradition.

Ed: “I think know you mean, well I am glad we get to eat at least, did you try waking him up.”

Sam: “I think he is going to need magical help to wake up, he stopped breathing at one point. He seemed peaceful when he was dead. But he began to glow red and his body jerked then he started breathing again. I think the noise he made is what woke you up.”

Ed: “The county witch doesn't live too far from here, do you know the way?”

Sam: “Yea I finished a road from her castle to the North East corner of the farm a couple years ago, she used to let me read the books in her library on my breaks. That's why I am so much smarter than you buddy.”

Ed: “I guess the first thing to do is to get this guy some help then how long you think its going to take to get there.”

Sam: “Its about a wakes travel from here if we set off soon we could get there before leep, I am not sure I want to help this guy though.”

Ed: “How can you say that? The sick will always be helped in Paradise county, it says as much on the welcome sign at the south entrance.”

Sam: “Remember I am not from here I just ended up here I'm not stubborn like you folk, I always thought that was stupid. People will get into a street brawl after a night of drinking, then the guy that beat the other guy near to death takes him to the farm healer right after.”

Ed: “You think its better to just leave them in the street to die then.”

Sam: “If I was mad enough to beat someone near to death I have no interest in trying to get them help after.”

Ed: “Well I am Paradise folk my family tree goes back to the first settlers here, We came from Lum that's why we have six toes and finger on each limb.”

Sam: “You have six toes and fingers, cuz you are inbred, families shouldn’t make kids together.”

Ed: “There is no reason families can’t make kids together you all same the soul multiple sibling contribute some soul they are just reuniting the pieces of the parent who split their souls to make the siblings in the first place.”

Sam: “Have you ever heard of anywhere else where siblings make kids together?”

Ed: “Our people have been doing this from the beginning.”

Sam: “Your people you mean, and I do not doubt that your people have been doing it ever since you arrived. In fact it's true that your ancestors came from Lum, In the witches castle I read a book about the arrival of people in a Stone vessel that carried them from their home through Lum then they crashed landed here and started Paradise, Which it apparently must have been in comparison to where they came from.”

Ed: “What, is the book still there. That must belong to our people the witch shouldn’t have it, can I read it.”

Sam: “The book is there for sure but you don’t know how to read Ed…”

Ed: “Well we will take it and you can read it to me on our journey,”

Sam: “Alright Ed you have persuaded me, in your own stupid way you had a good idea, grabbing some books for our journey, lets get this wizard to the witch.”

Ed rather pleased with himself continued to eat Yum Bird slices. After they were done eating Sam put the fire out and they set off, leaving the road they had been traveling on behind, to walk through the farm land which had dirt paths that wound between sections of plants. About half way to the castle Sam stopped and raised his open palm to signal Ed to stop.

Ed: “What is it?”

Sam: “Sounds like a Gavulox”

*Gavulox are somewhat ox like in appearance and a hazard to farmers across Intearth, The have a magic specialization that allows them to manipulate dirt and rock, They can stick their horns into the earth and uproot a whole field in less than a minute, They also have sharp teeth and clawed feet instead of hooves, that help them when feeding on the farm animals. There skin is scaled, they can grow to any size, they start out the size of cat.*

Ed: “How big is it?”

Sam: “I can’t see it but from the sound its bigger than a cow”

Ed: “What can we do about it? Colt’s dogs are all being kept near the Colt farm house to protect the Colt’s, even if we had whistle to call them they wouldn’t come”

Sam: “We don’t need the dogs to kill the beast, we just need to get by the beast, let me think.”

Sam sat in thought for a few minutes before the earth beneath there feet began to move like waves of water. The crops they had been using as cover all fell over, the bull sized creature made eye contact with Sam and charged. Ed dropped the gurney and ran the opposite direction from Sam. The Gravelox covered the distance between itself and Sam in just seconds. Sam could feel adrenaline rushing through him, the mouth of the foul thing was wide open and about to clamp down on him, like slow motion he could see what was about to happen he let him self fall to the ground to avoid the mouth. The Gravelox got his arm though and just as soon as its jaws closed the arm was gone.

Sam rolled away, stood up and started running again. The Gravelox noticed at this moment the body sitting on the gurney. Graveloxen are known for being lazy and won’t pass up an easy meal. It placed its horns into the earth and the ground beneath the gurney began to move in waves carrying the wizard to the Gravelox. It opened its mouth wide to let the whole body move into its mouth, As the Gravelox brought its jaws down on the torso of the wizard, the thing's head exploded.

The wizard didn’t get by unscathed, bone shrapnel traveling at tremendous speed went through him like an arrow through a bed matt (typically cotton and fabric blood was pouring out of him creating a pool and he was raving mad again screaming and writhing on the ground.

Ed rushed to Sam's side tearing of his own shirt to make a turnakit then, leaving the unconscious Sam Ed rushed to the wizard. The wizards body began to sink into the pool of blood which was also beggining to drag down the Gravelox’= Ed grahhed tue arm of the raving person to pull him out of the pool but found the blood was like glue attaching him the the person and he took began to get pulled through the blood with the rest of everything else it touched. Ed was sy6=

Sam woke up to a
Strones, what the locals think of as heavy duty stones but really they are refined metal pieces from a larger structure that are scattered across the surface in some areas.

The yelling Halls,
Sam and his party of adventures Open the door to a cacophony of noises. People traveling down the Halls in the thousands, making all kinds of noises, hoot, toddlers, singing, whistling. Noise making devices everything you could think of that would make noise. Someone at some point was probably using it in that Hall. The ancient beings whose power allowed the travelers to go through held back and writhing in agony at the noise.

Sam: it seems a little cruel to those ancient things.

Guide: It's not done intentionally to harm them though the harm is a benefit. It's simply there normal reaction to noise. It's painful for them, but there's certainly things that we can do that would be more painful. And never forget that if the noise was not made in this Hall, these things would be able to traverse again between our lands in the agonies they wouldn't inflict on anyone. Individual would be a thousand times that of what each one of them. Accumulatively are suffering now.