[CHURCH]  COMPENDIUM IX
THE RESCUE OF JARRAD


	*****		*****		*****


Fractions of seconds stretched into eternity and Cari turned to run back 
towards the main doors. 

"Take her!" Semareth ordered.

Guards moving towards the main entrance of the Church blocked Cari's 
avenue of escape, and she pulled up short. She knew she had no options left. 
Fury and hatred showed in her green eyes as she turned to fight with what she 
had left, and tried to twist the minds of the two Inquisitors who 
were coming for her. She needed them to attack each other. She would 
have tried to send them after Semareth, but decided fear of him might override
 her command.

The two Inquisitors never wavered in their stride, and  trapped her between 
them and the wall. One grabbed her wrists and manacled her. Semareth 
strode on past them and towards the battle.

Hope awakened within Cari; though she could sense a certain 
deadening of magic from the manacles, a feeling that made her feel 
slightly ill, her mind powers were still hers. One of the Inquisitors 
seemed to realize this little problem and touched her with a batton.

Electrical fire ran through Cari's nerves and she lost consciousness.
--Cathy Mosley

The thin man got up and drew two daggers, and a girl in the group
fired an arrow.  Suddenly the ground beneath the thin man opened up and he
fell in.  Looking up, Dougan saw a woman looking out of a window of the
Church.  'Hmm, it looks like I'm a little late.  Again.'  Dougan started
running towards the soldiers, but, deciding to go for shock value, didn't
transform yet.  He tackled one soldier from behind and broke his neck. 
Taking his sword, he launched into the rest of them.  Even in this form,
he was an excellent fighter.  He dispatched several of them before they
started to swarm around him.  'This looks like a good time to change the
odds,' he thought, and went through his lightning-quick change.  One
second the guards were about to mob an unarmored man with a sword, and the
next they're about to get killed by a bionoid.  Dougan took them all out
and looked around.  Coming out of the Church were more guards and what
appeared to be the High Inquisitor himself, Semareth.  Dougan realized
that the fight wasn't quite over yet...
--Count Ryan

Thai leaned back out her window as the skeletal warrior below her 
drew his daggers.

She had no intention either of making this easy on him.
Under his feet the ground simply disappeared, dropping him to the 
dungeon level where a cell awaited him.
--Phaedra Whitlock

As the ground opened out from under him, Bonedancer let out a
short scream as he fell.  Reacting quickly he manages to shove one of his
daggers into the stone and earth forming the wall of the hole, quickly
bringing his precipitous plumet to a halt, his lower body hanging in
midair.  And just as quickly rendering the dagger extremely useless in a
fight, the edge ground away.  Looking down he could see an uneven stone
floor covered with mildewed straw.  "The dungeon, how fortuitous, now I
won't have to sneak through the church proper,"  he thought to himself. 
--Jeremy Farnham

By some strange twist of fate the cell Thai tried to drop Bonedancer into 
already had an occupant. Dryctor was hiding in there listening to Smith 
talk with the chief Inquisitor. %I can't belive Smith is planing to sell 
out like this, It MUST be a part of some plan, Still I should go warn 
Hugh% As Dryctor thought things over the roof dissapeared and somekind of 
animated skellton started to drop in. %Wha! Have I been found out?% Just 
as he is about to attack he sees teh creature is trying to get out, then 
he remembers hearing about the one called bonedancer. He waits to see if 
BD needs any help getting out. and casts a flight on himself to use the 
same exit. %I wonder what's going on up there. sounds like some kind of 
battle%
--Barron C Featherston

Digging his fingers into the wall to secure his position, Bonedancer
thought, "Since I'm already on my way down there I suppose that I could
just drop down and free this Jarrad person on my way out.  Except of
course that I have no idea what he looks like.  Well I suppose I could
just free everybody.  Except I couldn't sneak every prisoner out, and
unarmed men aren't much help against guards.  Hmmm, I suppose I'll have to
climb back up and get the others then."  That decided Bonedancer stuck 
his now extremely worn dagger back in his belt and began to climb out of 
the hole, his bony fingers finding crevices a normal man would consider 
impossible.
--Jeremy Farnham

Before she could see if he had been caught unawares or not, the 
elf girl Caitrine drew her bow and a bolt of magical energy sprang into 
being on the bowstring. The ogre Grym charged the nearest crowd of 
Inquisitors and the girl's father had drawn his sword to defend Caitrine 
from another group of Inquisitors.

Thai centered a fireball on the pair and hissed as the light and 
heat dispersed to show them both wearing red dragon armor.
--Phaedra Whitlock

%Whoah! That was a fireBall! I better get up there ASAP! Our side might 
need some help fighting fire with fire!%
--Barron Featherston

Caitrine reoriented her bow on the tower and Thai dodged the 
flaming arrow that was sent through her window. A quick spell blinded the 
girl as Inquisitors closed around her and her father.

Thai glanced down to see what had happened to Bonedancer as she
prepared her next spell...
--Phaedra Whitlock

A skeletal hand reaches over the lip of the pit, quickly followed 
by another, as Bonedancer pulls himself up level with the ground.  
Peering out he's just in time to see the inquisitors ganging up on the 
two elves.  Kicking off his boots, he digs his toes into the wall and 
draws the dulled dagger.  With pinpoint precision he buries the dagger in 
the back of one of the inquisitors.  As the man begins to fall, 
Bonedancer shouts "Over here!  Hurry!"
--Jeremy Farnham

As soon as BD clears the hole Dryctor flies up thru it and lands next to 
BD. As BD shouts he removes his ring making it look like he 'ported in.

"You called? Dryctor Ben Rei at your service, I assume you are the one 
called Bonedancer?"
--Barron Featherston

Bonedancer spun his head very quickly to stare at Dryctor when he 
appeared.  "Yes, my name is Bonedancer.  How do you..?"  Bonedancer never 
got a chance to finish asking his question for just then...
--Jeremy Farnham

As soon as Thai see's another Elf appear next to Bone Dancer. She throws 
another fireball at Dryctor. Dryctor Quickly gestures and diverts the 
fireball up into the air and reforms it into a firedrake, he then sends 
the firedrake back at Thai.

[ADMIN] - %% = Dryctor's Private thoughts 
--Barron Featherston

Startled momentarily, Thai watched her fireball blossom into a 
huge reptile, and her eyes narrowed. Competition.

As the firedrake exploded upwards she created a mass of oil in 
the air, centered on the elf and Bonedancer. Gouts of flame from the 
drake ignited the oil as the dragon's wings beat against the air. 
Droplets of fire rained down on the pair.

The creature breathed directly in front of Thai obscuring her 
vision with no other results. Unseeing where it was going, she pushed it 
down, collapsing the image into a teardrop of flame plummeting out of the 
sky towards the ground and Dryctor...
--Phaedra Whitlock

%hmmmm Whoever that is in the tower Appears to be adept with flame spells
too. This could get interesting%
--Barron Featherston

Bonedancer raises his arms to protect himself from the flaming oil. To no 
avail. Trying to beat out the flames springing up on his clothes he 
succeeds, though only after a good portion of the clothing is damaged. 
"I've got to stop coming to church." he complains to the world at large, 
"Its hell on my clothes." Heaving a sigh he turns his attention once more 
to the situation around him.
--Jeremy Farnham

Dryctor Gestures and mutters another quick spell and gathers all the 
flame drops into a ball and sends it up high in the air where it explodes 
in a multi-colored burst in a pattern like a mum. While that draws most 
of the peoples attention he fires a quick volley of flame arrows at the 
tower window and the troops comming out of the church. (He's not sure if 
the Drake flame failed due to Thai changing the spell or from fire 
protection so he's sending a test arrow at thai) After that spell he uses 
a create water prayer to wash out the oil around Bonedanncer and him.
--Barron C. Featherston

	Bonedancer quickly turns his head away from the flare.  "Aahhh, 
little bright."
--Jeremy Farnham

>From her window Thai turned her head sharply away from the burst 
of light, ruining her next spell in the process. The surge of uncontrolled 
magic spilled outwards in a cascade of perfect, hollow, crystalline spheres 
that began to rain down into the courtyard.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Bonedancer looks upward just in time to see the descent of the 
spheres.  Once more raising his arms above his head, he shudders under 
the impact of several gleaming crystal balls.
--Jeremy Farnham

While that [Dryctor's flaming mum] draws most 
of the peoples attention he fires a quick volley of flame arrows at the 
tower window and the troops comming out of the church. 
--Barron Featherston

"This way Caitrine." Randall guided his daughter out of the 
courtyard into the church annex and pulled her to one side. A moments 
respite and a spell later Caitrine's vision was restored. She pushed her 
father aside and drew and fired her bow at the Inquisitors gathering at the 
door of the church.

Randall's spells joined her as they began to fight their way into 
the church, fire arrows flying over their heads...
--Phaedra Whitlock

Grym smashed a long sword weilding Inquisitors good arm and 
bellowed at the man's cry of pain. Light and heat, and a shower of 
crystal, distracted him from the fight. The Inquisitors around him were 
being cut as the crystal broke into sharp slivers, Grym's heavy leather 
undertunics absorbed the damage as he charged through them to where the 
skeleton and the mage were in need of assistance.
--Phaedra Whitlock

After that spell he uses a create water prayer to wash out the oil around 
Bonedancer and him.

"You might want to move away from me. It looks like things will be getting 
hot in this area as that mage in the tower seems to be adept with Flame 
spells" 

He heard casting in a clear, feminine voice overhead and 
moved adroitly underneath her balcony for protection.

"Here this might help....." Dryctor Gestures at the Guards leaving the 
tower and shouts "KRONKNORS" Stunning about 2/3rds of the guards and 
stagering the rest back a pace or 2. "Power Word:Stun, a handy spell for 
crowd control" he says with a sly grin.
--Barron Featherston

Mauq barely managed to protect himself from the stun spell.  Reaching
out with a stand he grabbed one of the assailent's feet and pulled it out from
under him.
--Sam Gonzales

Grym faltered in his charge and fell headlong into the gooey, oil patch 
covered with water, sliding forward and into the pit below the tower wall.
His hoarse bellow wafted upwards a moment after he disappeared 
from sight as he hit bottom with a painful thud.
--Phaedra Whitlock

As the rain of crystal stopped, Bonedancer watched as a very 
large armored figure slipped in the oil around him and fell into the hole 
he had pulled himself from mere moments ago.
--Jeremy Farnham

Lightning blasted out of the sky where Dryctor had been standing 
and traveled through the water coating the ground. Two Inquisitors who 
had continued forward fell face down with the smell of burnt flesh and 
ozone and moved only feebly.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Lt. Mauq was not pleased with that near miss.  The time had come to put
an end to this little upstart once and for all.
--Samson Gonzales

The others who were not stunned continued forward heading for the pair 
in overwhelming numbers. Crossbow bolts flew at Dryctor and Bonedancer, 
the only rescuers left in the courtyard.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Quickly scanning the courtyard, Bonedancer's sight was filled 
with inquisitors, all intent on doing him much harm.  As crossbow bolts 
started to perforate his attire Bonedancer made a decision.  "I think 
it's time for me to leave.  Excuse me gentleman, but I have a companion 
in need of assistance."  and with a jaunty salute to the fast approaching 
guards, Bonedancer jumped into the hole, to land with nary a sound on the 
floor of the dungeon.
--Jeremy Farnham

Grym turned to face him, club raised to strike, and grinned as 
Bonedancer landed nimbly. Instead he turned to the barred door 
keeping them within and bashed at it with his club until it shattered.

Rubble and two figures poured down into the pit, the bottom of 
which was the cell. Grym jumped through hurriedly and turned to see if 
anyone still needed his help before he went in search of prisoners to 
rescue and Inquisitors to kill. This was not what he had been led to 
expect by the girl in the forest.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Mauq glowed a brillient vermilion before he let fly.  The blast
of blue and yellow light shattered and undercut a section of the wall.
The now weakened slabs of stone began to come down on Dryctor and Bonedancer.  

>From over the wall came flying Shan.  Seeing the 20 foot tall
section of wall comming down on Dryctor and Bonedancer [It didn't matter
who they were really. He just knew they weren't wearing Inquisitors robes
and were being attacked by the church.] he arched his way toward them and 
shoved them and himself into the hole in the ground.  Above them, the wall
covered the hole and any chance of escape in that direction.  The only
light in the dark belly of the church they were now in eminated from Shan.
--Sam Gonzales

The body tackle caught Dryctor by surprise just as he released a magic 
Missle at the Mage in the Tower. The Missles went wild and impacted 
harmlessly on the Tower wall. Then Dryctor felt himself falling and used 
the remaining duration of the flight spell he had used to leave the 
dungeon to keep from hitting the ground too hard. Since he had Shan on 
top of him this also protected Shan from a painful meeting with the ground.

"Hmmmm Didn't I just leave this cell?" Was all Dryctor got out when the 
wall landed on the hole causing him to quickly jump aside incase the wall 
kept coming.
--Barron Featherston

The ogre Grym bashed down the locked door of the cell and led the 
way into the hall with a war cry of vengeance. He waited only a moment 
for the others to stir, then loped down the corridor looking for 
prisoners to free or Inquisitors to kill...
--Phaedra Whitlock

After the dust settled Dryctor looked around to see who was 
in here with him. "Bonedancer, we MUST stop meeting like this." Turning 
to the flying tackle he said "Hail and well met Goodman, My name is 
Dryctor, by what name do you answer?" and to the other person who sliped 
in the oil "(Sorry)" and fell in "Are you hurt sir? What, may I ask, Do 
you call yourself?"
--Barron Featherston

Bonedancer cast a quick glance at the two new arrivals before 
leaping out of the cell.  Seeing Grym moving down the hall in one 
direction, freeing prisoners and smashing cells as he went, Bonedancer 
decided that he would start freeing people in the other direction.  
Moving down to the next occupied cell he quickly inserted a forefinger in 
the lock and with a deft flick, opened the cell.  The prisoner inside 
cowered against the back of the cell, terrified of the undead apparition 
come to claim him.  

Bonedancer was about to step into the cell when he saw the state 
of absolute terror the man was in.  A small sigh escaped him before he 
waved the man off and moved on to the next cell.  "Hopefully the next one 
will be a little more appreciative, and merely try to kill me.  Sigh.  
Prisoners are so bloody ungrateful."  Shaking his head in mock disgust he 
started unlocking the next cell.
--Jeremy Farnham

"It is good that we fell in THIS cell as I had already rigged the lock on 
this one so it will not latch. If we are all recovered from the fall we 
can go out this way" Dryctor goes to the cell door and pushes it open. 
Smith is in a cell just over here, There is someone else in the cell next 
to smith's as well. Shall we try to remove them both from this Roach 
motel while we are here?"
--Barron Featherston

(What reason could I possibly have to push an old man into a hole in
the ground that a skeleton just jumped into.)  Shan thought.  He began to brush 
the rubble from his shoulders as he looked around.  

It was dark in here. Where ever "here" was.  There were several other
people in this hole besides wizard and the skeleton.  There was an Inquistor
with a large block of stone covering his torso, for one.  There were also living
people in here.  He realy couldn't make out who they were.  He suddenly felt
very vulnerable being illuminated in red, as he was.  Would they attack him?

As he backed away, dimming slightly, he saw a larger humanoid
standing up and shaking his head.

Deciding to speak up, Shan thought of anything to get introductions
aside. "So, anybody else here, besides me, come to rescue someone?"  He looked
deperately for an escape root.  To the left in the distance down a hall he could see
light and to the right a wall at the end of a hall that could either be a turn or a
dead end, it was to dark to tell.

The room they were in had a shattered wall in which a door once
stood, but that just lay ascue in the hall.

He jumped as a few more stones fell from above and some muffled
shouts were passed back and forth between the unseen people above.
--Samson Gonzales

The huge humanoid in the cell with Shan rose up to her full height
and turned to face the others in the cell. Sachiko touched a white furred
palm to her face and saw a trickle of blood from where she had fallen badly.
Her ankle hurt as well. Sachiko was an ogress-magi, and her husband Grym had
already bashed a hole in the wall to the passages of the church dungeon.

"Greetings to you." She rumbled through her fangs. "I am Sachiko
here to rescue one called Jarrad. I do not have a plan of escape, but this
mage is powerful. Speak to him. I will be with my husband."

Sachiko turned and limped out of the cell, ducking below the doorframe.

She had been disguised all along as an Inquisitor, and had killed
many of them in that guise, until Grym had fallen into the hole and she had
had to follow him. Impetuous husband, but beloved all the same. Sachiko's
name meant luck, and she knew it would be needed if they were to see the
light of day once more.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Mauq glowed a brillient vermilion before he let fly.  The blast
of blue and yellow light shattered and undercut a section of the wall.
The now weakened slabs of stone began to come down on Dryctor and Bonedancer.  

As her support crumbled beneath her, Thai screamed and fell hard 
onto the mass of rubble now covering the pit she had had such plans for.

She rolled over, her head aching, hurting everywhere, positively 
livid at the desecration of the church tower. She knew who would be 
delegated to fix the blasted thing.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Above Mauq stared in amazement.  Had they been crushed?  No, he
could still 'feel' whomever it was that was using the Way.  (Trapped.
All too easily.)  Several of the pursuing Inquisitors had backed away 
in time to avoid being smoshed.  Three of them who had slipped in the 
oil weren't so lucky.  Sadly, two of them were of his own escort.
 [tisk tisk :)]
--Sam Gonzales

Thai walked around several dead and injured Inquisitors, more 
useless waste of manpower, and of course she would be the only person in 
the entire church with healing knowledge.
--Phaedra Whitlock--

Lt. Inquisitor Mauq found his way to a large looking Inquisitor
with a big sword, steel colored eyes, and an odd glove covering his left
hand.  Behind him were several guards who were carting a woman off in
manacles.  

"Excuse me.  Might you be able to tell me where I could find the High
Inquisitor.  Semareth, I believe his name is.  I am his new Leutenant, Mauq
L'Arain."   
--Sam Gonzales

Semareth raised his eyebrow disdainingly. Despite the battle around him, 
he was composed. He caught a glimpse of Thai, disarrayed, storming in his 
direction. This should be amusing, he thought, but there were infidels to 
be dealt with.
--Nick Takayama

"Deal with me you fool." Deaconness Thai spun the Inquisitor Mauq 
L'Arain about to face her. "NEVER endanger me again."

She slapped the man with a stony fist, hard, before half turning 
to Semareth. Her dark eyes still flashed with the force of her emotions 
making her more beautiful than usual.

"Semareth. This fool cut off our access to Bonedancer, the ogre 
and that mage. You'll have to go in from the church entrance while I see 
that the mage doesn't blast their way back out through the rubble. I can 
take up to four Inquisitors with me, but we have to go now. They'll be 
after Jarrad and Smith both."

Thai glanced back at the rubble covered pit where sounds could be 
heard below ground. She was clearly not pleased. 
--Phaedra Whitlock

Semareth waved his arm, and a subordinate came running. 
"Four men for the deaconess. Quickly or I'll have your legs cut off and 
sewn onto your face.". He watched the man run like his leggings were on fire.
--Nick Takayama

As she waited for Semareth to delegate four men to accompany her, 
she eyed the masonry and wondered how much heat it would require to melt the 
rubble to slag, then eyed the unfamiliar Inquisitor she had slapped. His jaw 
would be sore for a week, but at least she wouldn't have to tend him.

Her eyes returned to the rubble as she pulled forth spell components...
--Phaedra Whitlock

Semareth turned and ran for the front entrance of the Church, and winced 
as he felt a crossbow bolt stab into his left thigh. He kept running, 
unimpeded, and reached the front doors quickly. A middle-aged man in 
armor stood in front of him, obviously shocked at Semareth's arrival. The 
slight smell of burnt flesh crept into Semareth's consciousness, and he 
realised that the man had launched a fire attack at him. He thanked 
Sh'aljien that he did not feel it yet. Anger surged within him, and he 
felt his left hand twitch eagerly. He ignored it. His right hand 
came around and smashed into the man's skull, crumpling him to the ground.
He heard a shriek, and noticed the girl standing a few paces away.
He ran straight for her, too close for her bow to be drawn, and 
backhanded her into a wall. She hit it with a thud, and slid to the stone 
floor, a red line staining the wall behind her. He bolted down the steps, 
and into the dungeon complex, his heart racing, and his blood boiling.
[Randall and Caitrine down....]
--Nick Takayama

Thai glared at the four men delegated by Semareth until they were in 
position around her, then cast her spell. The five of them teleported into the 
dungeon cell where Shan had whisked Dryctor and Thai had hoped to bottle the 
rescuers. The four moved out into the corridor ahead of her and fanned out in 
each direction. Thai headed left following Dryctor and Bonedancer and another 
aura.

The Deaconness and two Inquisitors turned a corner behind the 
rescuers and within moments Thai was casting. A fireball blasted between her 
guards towards the rescuers and Jarrad's open cell. A cold chill ran down her 
spine at the thought of Jarrad escaping, but she didn't stop to question her relief 
that the fireball flared and died against Dryctor's Globe of Invulnerability.

The Inquisitors with her began firing their crossbows as she summoned 
creatures to assist her men. Ogres appeared in the center of the corridor and 
closed on Dryctor. 
--Phaedra Whitlock

Jarrad sat in his cell, trying to sort out why Thai acted in the manner 
she did to him, and how he was going to get out of this mess. There was 
a click and the door swung open to reveal a skeleton. Grasping the fact 
that the church was not likely to employ skeletons, Jarrad thanked his 
rescuer and moved out of the cell.

With the last of the Myrl having worn off, Jarrad reached out, a gentle 
probe of the whole church, seeking two people, Smith and Elvira. His probe 
reached a barrier, in one of the top cells. He gently worked around it, 
pushing a little here and pulling a little there. Then he felt the trap 
trigger. Slamming up a shield just in time, Jarrad staggered with the 
effort of fending of the mental attack. Then it was over.

"Smith is being kept in the chamber at the end of this corridor on the 
left" Jarrad said to the skeleton. "And now for Elvira" he muttered to 
himself, probing outwards again.

The bell in her mind told Thai that the shield she had woven had been 
breached. She traced the path her counter spell had travelled, and 
ran into Jarrad's probe. Not now, this was the last thing she needed. 
Thai withdrew quickly and started casting.

Jarrad sensed the Deacon's withdrawal. This was his chance for a little 
revenge due to her previous actions. He gathered his strength and lunged 
mentally, crushing her shields, and getting a deathgrip on her mind. He 
could kill her within a blink now. Her mental scream rewarded him for 
everything he had suffered from her. She froze in his mental grasp, 
her heart beating from fear. Jarrad sent the name Elvira to her, 
and watched the thoughts it evoked. Unconscious fear, she was hiding 
something.

Thai's eyes widened and she started struggling. He stopped probing and 
slapped her mentally, hard enough to stop her resistance, then probed 
while she was helpless. What does Thai know about Elvira, where was she. 
He probed even deeper forcing the answers out of her, and then Jarrad 
received the biggest shock of his life.

Thai was Elvira. Jarrad stopped as if poleaxed, an expression of pure 
confusion crossing his face, and being broadcast mentally. Thai broke the 
mental link by teleporting into a psionic null cell.

Jarrad stared into the space where she had been. Elvi, no he corrected 
himself, Thai, cared for him. On the surface she disliked him, but deep 
inside where she had no idea they existed, was something more. Once 
inside her mind, it had been plain how many times she had neglected her 
duty for him despite her fear of failing Proctor John. That was plain in 
her mind too, for Thai knew what he was.

Jarrad's control over his psionics fled and he withdrew in 
panic, unable to deal with the revelations and his conflicting emotions. 
Love for "Elvira" and a hatred for Thai. Thai who felt for him 
subconsciously. Thai who was Elvira. He started to flee but before he 
took the first step, an instruction matrice from Cari flooded his mind. 
Without any conscious effort all his rage and confusion was transmuted 
into psionic power and fed into this matrice. Then Jarrad jaunted, with 
no idea of his destination, and no concern.
--Paul Khangure & Phaedra Whitlock

Thai calmed herself once she knew she was safe. Jarrad now knew she had used 
him to capture more of the Refusers, and would no doubt attempt to exact 
vengeance at some point. She would have to barricade her mind against that.

As for Elvira, she sighed. It had been a good ruse and he had 
believed it utterly. It was a shame that he'd found her out before she 
could convert him, but it wasn't as if cleansing him would bother her.

Still, it WAS a waste.

She brushed imaginary dust from her skirts and exited the cell to 
find Semareth. Jarrad would be back, and it was her duty to see him 
cleansed when he did.

Her head was in a turmoil. Maybe I'm coming down with something 
she thought as she climbed the stairs.

Maybe I just need a vacation.
--Phaedra Whitlock

Thai held off on her next spell until she could see what was happening 
and felt a warning go off in her head as Jarrad breached her mental defenses. A 
mental blast returned along the path he had made, and she started casting 
again. Before she could complete the spell Jarrad smashed through her shields 
and took her mind in a deathgrip. In her mind Jarrad demanded she give him 
Elvira, and Thai started fighting him. She couldn't let himhave Elvira. 

Jarrad stunned her before she could damage herself and probed past 
her terrified resistance.

Thai shook as Jarrad withdrew quickly from her mind and teleported 
away, shocked. 

He knew now that she was Elvira, knew she had seduced and lied to 
him, used him to lure these people into a trap.  She teleported herself into the 
cell Jarrad had occupied, knowing his psionics couldn't reach her through its 
nullifying fields, and in the relatively quiet darkness brushed tears away from 
her pale face.

What was wrong with her? Even in the worst straights she had never 
cried, and here she was wasting time.

Bonedancer appeared in her field of vision and she cast a web spell at 
him, furious that he had released Jarrad. Jarrad should have been burned and 
everything would have been fine. Thai ignored the nagging question of whether 
she could have truly watched Jarrad die and strode out into the corridor, a 
gleaming sword in her hand and a glowing damage shield surrounding her 
dark, magicly armored form in the dimly lit hall. Proctor John's wishes were 
hers, as it should be.
--Phaedra Whitlock