The journal continues. I was in the desert for days - about a week, I guess. Then Enedel brought me back to the white room (no black curtains). Everyone else went and came back after a few minutes. They must have been off training too, but I wouldn't find that out until later. He took us off to this cave which had a magical light in it. We heard heavy breathing and then saw a Balrog-thing coming after us. Enedel threw his backpack to us and told us to run while he held it off. We haven't seen him since. Follow the wind to the city of Antar. Sprinkle some dust and jump through the well. Sounded simple enough. So we headed off through the caves. Our first surprise was our new party member. We found Jessica's friend Jeremy lying in the cave. He said he'd been runecasting on the Duke golf course and gone poof. Naturally, no one trusted him, especially when I said I knew him. At least they didn't shoot him. We went through a torture chamber - not fun - and then had to talk our way past some people guarding a door in the middle of nowhere. Then the floor fell out from under us and we ended up in this crushing-ceiling trap room. We managed to get everyone out safely with the help of some gunpowder, but Skaar almost became severely depressed. J It's funny how people look with such strange lighting. Jeremy especially - with that long blond hair flying around he looks like some animal. Anyway, after blasting Skaar free we worked our way through a passage with a hole in the bottom. Jeremy threw his knee out and fell down, but we dragged him out. Then we ran into some weird bats - I hope they weren't minidemons. They didn't come after me, so I guess they weren't. When we finally got out of the cave, some big guy (Everyone's big here) offered to guide us - we said no. We went on our way and had a guy with a bunch of nasty dogs come after us - we killed them, but Skaar got beat up a bit and turned into a ghost. Not dead, but I guess he can only do it when he's unconscious. Levitates pebbles. How annoying. (As I said, others were training too - Charlie's learning some very strange kind of spellcasting involving quotes from Hamlet. "A little more than kin and less than kind." Detect Foe. He screwed up once and thought he was the prince of Denmark for a bit.) So we got to the city, paid our way in, and found a doctor for Skaar - they gave him coca leaves. Heh. J Now we're having dinner - not that rat stew is terribly appetizing. Guess Jeremy thought so too - he ordered vegetarian. These big folk are strange - some of them think we're kids, others are suspicious. I'll be glad when we're out of here. I wonder what happened to Enedel. A break, and a shift in handwriting. You know, these little "tests" are not amusing. We left the restaurant and headed to the well, where we ran into a bunch of guards because (duh) we kept telling everyone we were going there. (Or rather, Jon and Skaar did, and I couldn't shut them up in time.) I cast darkness and we all ran for the well but I was too far away and this nasty mage sealed the well over before Skaar and I could get through. We beat on the well some, and he gave me a flare to burn it with, but we weren't getting anywhere. Then the dark mage made the ground rise up and swallow me. I had just enough time to drop the flare and yell. Next thing I knew I was standing in a fountain with Elfboy telling us it was all another test. ARGH. Something odd about Jeremy I'm not sure what that was all about. Because about then this wizard showed up and we spent a good while chasing him around while he was invisible and misty and threw spells at us. Luckily he's as bad a shot as Elfboy. Jay got hit hard, though, and fell into the fountain. Jeremy and I had to resuscitate him. When we finally got him breathing again, he grumbled for us to leave him alone and passed out again. Probably using that healing trance like he did in New York. I'm sorry, but when I pull someone out of the water and they're not breathing and their heart's not beating, I think something's wrong. Don't do that to me, love! Quelqu'un que j'aime, quelqu'un qui m'aime Anyway, I guess I fainted then - next thing I remember I was on the ground and Enedel was yelling at us to grab our weapons and come with him quickly. (Jer, Charlie, and Sakell - I don't know what happened to Jon and Skaar.) He wanted us to take Jay's weapons and valuables and just leave him lying here helpless. I couldn't let him do that. Jay promised not to let me get left behind - I owe him the same. So the others took his guns, but I stayed with him, and I made sure we kept the cross. Elfboy will have to come back for us. (Charlie threatened to shoot me to get it, but I think he was bluffing - he didn't, anyway.) They've been gone a while now. I don't know. I just worry. With Jer here, there are 8 of us now (assuming we find Joe again). There are supposed to be seven mortals. Is one of us going to get killed? Red and black warrior of sin. Isn't that what the oracle said? Loki's colors are red and black, and we do have Heimdall's horn, and someone said that Jon's spear is supposed to be able to cause Ragnarok Loki's been known to slum in the demon realms I hate demons. Now that we have the elf back, we must remember to ask about the missing poems. Annabel Lee Eurydice? He looks so beautiful lying there. He's always beautiful. I don't know what I'm doing here. Elf said if something attacked us, assume they weren't coming back. I can't fight, I can't carry him away, I can't get out of the astral planes safely. But if we don't look out for each other, who will? Fuck this. I'm taking a nap. Scribbled on the next page in pencil: Morgash jorgash nolingrath, greasy dorsey greasy blue Master of the middle world master of midgard? Below, now in blue ink. I haven't been writing for a while, because I can't trust someone (ahem) not to read this. But I thought I should give at least a brief synopsis. They came back and found me sleeping with Jay. I'm probably not going to hear the end of that for a long time. Oh well. Not the first time, nor the last. They killed the Atlantean wizard for finding us - sweet guy, the elf. He had a storm-summoning magic bracer that I really want to try, but the group would have me locked up for looking at it funny. Sigh. Least they won't let Jeremy have it either. J Speaking of which, we both think it's a little odd how nice the elf always is to Jer and how obnoxious he is to me. I assume he's trying to keep me ambivalent and balanced, but still. So we went to Egypt. Modern day. March, actually. And we ran into Arthur Cook, someone I'd seen in the shadow-realm in New York, trapped in a desert. He was cursed by Set's brother Sebec but Skaar knows the story better than I. He can't abide water. Joe kept fetching him alcohol - where did he get that magic bag? We made plans to go to a tomb, stayed in a nice hotel (where I swiped the new pen.) Jay's helping me learn breathing control. (Don't laugh, Jeremy, I know you were out there listening.) And I got to talk to GrendelFish! I sent a msg to Ali through him. I wonder if she'll get it or believe or tell. It's worse for Jeremy, whose gf has had no idea what's become of him. He should go back to her we're not supposed to be 8. We took a trip down the Nile and dug around in a tomb and went forward in time and it's a long and not very interesting story. The elf tried to contact the Egyptian gods but couldn't get an answer. So they decided to go back in time to find the gods. Only Jeremy kept his eyes open for transfer and went a little nuts. (Not that we can tell the difference.) So I stayed here to keep an eye on him. Currently he thinks he's on Ygddrasil, so he's hanging upside down. Well, I suppose it is a world tree but anyway. So that's a rough sketch of the past week. Lots of time spent waiting.