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"Where Am I?" Lorelai began to fall through the darkness. Feeling the air rush by her face she was beginning to worry about her choice of escape routes. She reached back for the corners of her cape and tried to use it as a chute. Gaining a little maneuverability, she began to drift toward the wall, but was still falling to fast. Slamming into the side of the cavern, she lost her breath and lost her concentration for a moment. With the ground no where in sight, it looked like Lorelai was done for. With a last desperate attempt, she managed to stab a dagger from her belt into the cavern wall. The short stop nearly dislocated her shoulder, but she held on despite the pain. Hanging there in the darkness, she began to weigh her options. She definitely wasn’t going back up, and she had no clue how much further down any kind of floor was. That and the whistling sound that drew her here were beginning to get on her nerves. That was when she noticed a different sound. The rushing of water. Damn, if she only had some way of lighting a torch. So she was apparently going to have to make two leaps of faith in one day, well it was really one huge leap but she wasn’t worried about the specifics. So she let go of the knife and closed her eyes. The next thing she felt was the impact of the water, as she slipped into unconsciousness. The dream is always the same, or is it? The monster(s)? There were four of them now, one with a club the others with swords. They were simply walking through the village, slaughtering all in their path. The fires were still burning and she was still running. She turned for one look back and saw her home village engulfed in a black wave. She awoke with the water rushing over her face. Lorelai found herself in a strange structure, and she didn’t quite recognize it. Could this be one of the Sindar ruins? The whistling was at its highest pitch here, that she was sure of. Then she heard a voice. “ You are one who seeks our power?” The voice was soft, yet drowning out the once overwhelming whistling of the caverns. Could it be…. “Are you the Sindar?” The voice responded quickly. “You would know that better than we child.” It had to be. She had found the Sindar Temple, she just knew it. “Of course you are. Who else could build such a magnificent structure.” “Yes, of course child. I will start you on the path to what you seek.” With these words, an unseen hallway was illuminated. But it was in the aqueduct that washed her in, by her guess. “So I get another dip in the water, huh? I don’t think so.” She began to look for another way but the voice quickly responded. “Of course not Lorelai. We have arranged for proper transportation for our chosen one.” A small skiff drifted by, manned by a handsome young man in a brown robe. “I will make sure you have a safe journey to your destination.” “Great.” She stepped onto the skiff. A few moments later the boat arrived at a dock, slowly drifting to a stop. “This will be the first step of a long journey for you. Take care.” With that the young man left. After a long walk down another illuminated corridor, Lorelai came to a large encircled area. A huge stone gate crashed down behind her, blocking the way she came. Her trip here had been an exhausting one, blackouts and all. She was not ready for anything major here. “ You have but one test Lorelai. Defeat this monster and the prize is yours.” A gargantuan black scaled creature descended from the roof, spreading its wings wide in an intimidating fashion. God she was not ready for this. Pulling her bow and arrows, she took aim at the creature and let some shafts fly. The arrows splintered upon striking the creature who began to laugh. Lorelai began to run further into the ruin. As she ran she heard the voice again. “You must give up your old ways child, and embrace Sindarin weaponry instead.” It was then that she saw the pedestal in front of her. On it lay a scythe and a rune. She quickly grabbed for the weapon and rune. The rune would be useless here, but the scythe may be what she needed. When her hand touched the rune it merged into her hand. “We would not be so cruel as to give you useless equipment.” The creature was right behind her now. Spinning around blindly she struck the creature, and the rune glowed brightly. Lorelai felt a surge of energy wash over her. This was much better. As she raised the scythe above her head, she noticed the creature was asleep. “Oh well, at least it’ll die peacefully.” “STOP!” The voice boomed. “You have passed the test. Take your rewards and go to greenhill. There you will find a clue to your next journey.” Before Lorelai could respond, a huge wave washed into the room. The impact was like a stampede and she was quickly rushed out of the temple. She felt a short drop and the feel of concrete snapped her back to reality. As she stumbled along the brick path she saw smoke a short distance away. “Greenhill? How am I supposed to get there? That’s clear across the country!” She saw the chimney producing the smoke belonged to a quaint little inn, but she was too tired to notice the name. The innkeeper, a mildly attractive blonde woman, opened the door and saw Lorelai, who was obviously exhausted. “Pete, quick, help me get this woman inside.” Looking up at the innkeeper Lorelai spoke. “How far from the Great Forest am I?” The woman looked back with a confused expression. “Lenankamp?” Lorelai’s desperation was starting to show. “Gregminster?!?!” “ Oh dear….” “WHERE AM I?!?!” The young boy spoke. “Ma’am the closest town to here is Muse. I never been to Gregminsta.” “Dear God, I’m in Jowston..” And Lorelai passed out.
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