Tad left Jack's wagon, stepping out to see many people gathered around the cooking area or off talking as the sunset on the valley.

Tad saw several dwarves carrying large chunks of mushrooms over to the carnival member's cooking area. There was a small fire going, and the smell of food was in the air.

Tad stopped briefly to grab some mushroom chunks about the size of a biscuit. He munched on these as he walked towards the bridge. He reached out with his soulmancy seeking Lamruil. He sensed him near the Fey Tree.

As he walked over there, Tad noticed most of the tables used for the party the previous night had all been moved and now resided inside the cathedral entrance. He also noticed something else he didn't expect. The flagstones and stairs were wet. Had it rained? He frowned; just another thing he needed to figure out.

He saw Lamruil standing near the tree talking to Terri and the other two elvin ladies Tad had seen following Jack.

Tad projected a conversation as he walked towards the elves, "Lamruil, is Nico near? I'm going to use the Gate of Stars to find out what happened back at the Forester's village. "

Lamruil looked up at Tad as he projected back, "He is with his family looking at buildings in the city."

Tad continued until he was near the elves.

Lamruil spoke up before Tad reached them, "Thaddius, let me introduce you," he turned to the ladies. "This is Terri Carlen, her sister Bellauna, and this is Nuala Ilisyshar. Ladies, this is Thaddius Rockgrip, the leader of this fine valley and champion of the goddess Gweleth. Tad, these ladies were just describing what it is like growing up inside the Grand Bazaar. Did you know they have warm running water in the city? They can push down a stone, and water will come up around it to fill tubs and pools. It is quite fascinating. "

Tad thought about that for a few moments. The three elvin ladies looked well amazing like every other elvin female Tad had ever seen. He thought that perhaps Lamruil was emphasizing this whole warm water thing a bit more than he had to.

Tad nodded to the ladies and smiled, "Nice to meet you again, Terri. I hope Jack wasn't too much trouble. Also, it is nice to meet you, Bellauna, and Nuala. I hope you are finding the valley suitable. "

Terri smiled back, "The valley is very nice. The light show last night was quite remarkable. Lamruil said it was caused by undead charging the shield around the valley. I never thought I'd be saying something like that, but it was interesting to watch. "

Tad raised his eyebrows a bit, looking at Lamruil, "Light show?"

"It appears several hundred undead tried to make it through the shield last night. They burned as they touched the shield and sunk into the sands. The ripples of magic caused the blue of the shield to change color along the east side where they touched it. The lights reached quite high. " said Lamruil.

Tad nodded and looked out across the water to the cliffs beyond the city. It was getting dark, and the orange of the last of the evening rays illuminated the cliffs on the east side. Soon, the sun's shadows from the other side of the valley would walk up the wall, and it would be dark below. Tad saw the blue haze of the shield around the valley above the cliff edge.

"Niucrelath had mentioned the shield was working correctly. She didn't seem concerned with the undead on the outside for now. I will have to clear them from the river at some point soon. We can't risk them getting inside or the dwarves coming under attack when they arrive in a few days. " said Tad.

Lamruil nodded.

"Ladies, if you will excuse us, I need to borrow Lamruil for a---" Tad stopped talking when Nuala came up and grabbed the edge of his jacket.

Nuala looked excited as she ran her finger over the embroidered images and the material. "What is this made from? I've not seen anything like it. It looks like silk, but up close, it's clearly not silk. It feels smooth, but it's also much thicker. "

Tad's eyebrows went up, "It is spiral silk. Made from the silk of a Lasso spider. "

Before Tad could blink, she had a small knife in her hand, and she stabbed him in the jacket. The jacket stopped the piercing of the tip. "That is amazing," she said as Tad moved away in a hurry reaching out with his soulmancy to sense her intentions. She had a protected soulmancy space, and she gave him a mental chuckle.

Nuala projected, "I'm not going to hurt you, silly. I'm just checking the material." Out loud, she continued.

"Is there more of this? We need to test this. I know some merchants that would pay a pretty penny if they could dress their mistresses in this material and a few others that might like how it stops blades," said Nuala.

Tad's eyebrows creased slightly as he thought, "You know fabrics? No, there is no more of it right now, but I believe I can make more. Do you think you can sell this? "

Nuala smiled a crooked smile. Tad recognized the look. It's the same when a carnie gets a person that wants to play a game of chance. "Yes, I could sell it. Do you want to share where to get more?"

Tad grinned. "We will have more soon, I believe. I hadn't realized it could stop a thrust like that. What exactly was your profession again? "

Terri cut in, "Nuala has a seamstress shop down the way from my confectionary in the Grand Bazaar. She also does work for many of the merchant houses. "

Nuala spoke, "I do more than just seamstress. I do complex cutting, fitting, and designing. Many of the finest ladies in the Grand Bazaar wear my outfits. I tailor to fit. I had several seamstresses that worked for me before the Bazaar closed. "

Tad nodded. Then he reached into this pouch and pulled out the Needle of the Artful loom. "What do you think this could do? "

Naula looked at the needle, and it wasn't very large. She reached out and hesitated before touching it, "May I? "

"Certainly, " said Tad as he carefully handed her the needle which was stuck in a small piece of wood.

Nuala looked at the needle for a few moments and closed her eyes while she cast a spell on it. She stopped and opened her eyes.

"This needle is for making cloth, all though it could be used to repair or alter clothes. There is a very high grade of magic on it. I have several magic needles but nothing for looming. Would you like to sell it? " asked Nuala as she handed it back to Tad.

Tad placed it back in his pouch, "Not at the moment. I do think we will be talking more in the near future about this fabric. " Tad nodded to the women, "Ladies, I need to borrow Lamruil. We have some business to attend to. " Tad nodded to Lamruil, then followed as Tad went to find Nico.

***

The three men stood in front of the Gate of Stars. There were clouds in the sky, and Tad had cast his low light vision spell to compensate for the deep shadows below the Fey Tree.

Nico was walking back and forth in front of them, "I don't like this, Tad. If these dogface men are-"

Lamruil cut in, "They are called Kyontheós or Kyon's for short. "

Nico's voice raised in excitement, "Yea, you said that already. Whatever, the Kyons are rampaging around this village or city. What makes you think the three of us can solve this problem? I don't care what Lidilia said. I am not going to die because some cute woman batted her eyelashes at me. "

Tad didn't see where his friend was wrong, but at the same time, he felt some responsibility to the people. He also had this quest, Rescue the Pride. He took a deep breath, "Nico, you don't have to come if you do not want to. But I am going to try to save anyone that I can. I don't know how and I really don't know who. But I think it is something I must try. I feel I have to do this, Nico. "

Lamruil, who was busy not getting between the two friends, "I think I'm going with Nico on this one. I don't see how risking our lives helps the carnival or the people we have already rescued. "

Tad turned to Lamruil, raising an eyebrow, "Were you not just talking to three women about hot water and plumbing? Yea, that's interesting. I'm sure you were doing that out of the goodness of your heart. Well, you can both stay here then. I don't even know what we are going to find."

Nico bowed his head slightly, trying to pray, " Niucrelath, I could use your help. " He waited, and there was no response. The three of them stood there waiting.

Niucrelath appeared near the Gate of Stars behind Tad.

"Thaddius, I do not see the point of wasting mana rescuing people that are not my followers," said Niucrelath. Tad was still getting used to her having real hair and not writhing snakes. Well, he thought it was hair anyway.

"I will waste the mana, and I need you to help me use the gate to look around to see where. I should be able to invest enough mana into the gate to hold it open for five minutes," replied Tad.

Niucrelath nodded, "I can do this. It is possible that others will feel our presence. The power of this gate is not insignificant even when we are using it to gaze upon far-off lands. "

"Let's try, " said Tad.

Niucrelath turned and looked at the Gate of Stars as the pillars started to glow, and the colors in the columns started to swirl under the surface.

A haze formed between the pillars of the gate, and an image of the city Gweleth had originally shown him came into view. The small city was smoking charred rubble now. Not a single building still stood. Large support logs still smoldered in the ruined buildings and along the graveled streets where they had fallen. There was not a living thing in sight.

The goddess moved the view a distance away from the city, and they could see the true devastation of the city and farms around it. It was all burned. The fields around the city, along with the farms, were also all burned. It looked like the Kyontheós had no interest in taking the land or staying with such absolute destruction.

Tad noticed something missing, though. Before, he had seen bodies, and now he was expecting to see crows or corpses. But there was none to be seen. Someone had collected the bodies.

Niucrelath shifted the view farther, and Tad could see an encampment across the burnt fields, just a few miles from the city. It was large. The view shifted to this. Tad could see the Kyons now. There were several small groups or patrols of them patrolling around the encampment.

The view shifted to the encampment now. Tad could see now why there were no bodies in the city. There were piles of bones and human skulls stacked outside the camp, large piles, some taller than the Kyons walking among them. They had eaten these people.

Tad's hands clenched and open, then clenched again. He felt a hand on his shoulder then as Nico spoke. "I've changed my mind. I think I would like to pay these Kyon a visit tonight. " then he turned his neck side to side, and Tad heard his neck crack as his vertebrae shifted. There was a dangerous look on his face.

Tad's voice had taken on a dangerous tone, "I think your right. "

The view shifted again as the goddess viewed different parts of the encampment. It looked large enough for a huge army, but Tad noticed many of the rough huts and dirt structures were empty. The goddess shifted, showing a large round squat building made of rough logs and timber with a thatch roof. Then the view shifted inside, where several dozen dog-faced men were laying about or chewing the flesh from bones. To one side was a cage with several people still in it. Three adolescent human-looking beastkin, a single older woman, and several adults were lying on the floor of the cage covered in blood. He was unsure if they were alive. All of them had wounds or injuries.

Across from the cages was a tall throne composed of human bones and wood. On this sat a huge Kyon wearing a beaded headdress. Beaded strands dangled down around his furred skull and ears. He was laughing with a gruesome large-toothed smile while a smaller older Kyon stood behind him holding a staff with a skull attached. The smaller Kyon looked directly at Tad through the gate. He could see Tad.

Tad walked forward and touched his staff to the right Gate of Stars Pillar, channeling all the stored mana from his staff's amulet into it. He then imagined the room from behind the smaller dog-faced man and willed the gate to open.

A half-second later, Tad was through the gate, his staff whistling through the air with an extended blade of energia slicing through the shoulder and neck of the nearest guard. He felt no mercy now, and he felt no remorse. This was work he embraced completely as he spun ducked, bringing a scythe of death to all those in reach. In front of him, as he came around, he felt something from the leader on the throne. He felt that horribly familiar disgust of a void creature. This Kyon was a void creature. He didn't even pause as the huge creature stood up to engage him. He didn't wait for it to react. He started at the knee, and once that was severed, he sliced it over and over as he weaved away from other dogface men who were realizing they were under attack. It didn't matter. Tad had time for all of them soon. He heard a puff of air, and Nico appeared behind two of the farthest Kyons. His new fanged daggers in hand as he impaled each, not waiting to see the effect of the necrotic poison already moving to others in the darkness of the far side of the building.

Tad took the right hand off the void creature before him as it started to transform into the inky blackness of its true form. Tad had fought one of these in the sun before. It was not sunny now. The creature was falling back as it rolled to the side, but Tad noticed more void coming from its body to reform the appendages he had severed. The creature was growing new dark black limbs.

An arrow appeared in a Kyon to his left, right below its chin. The creature started scrabbling at the protrusion from its neck.

Tad had little time now, the void creature was back on its feet, and its arms turned into long whips of void energia as one lashed out at Tad. He deflected with summoned shields, moving the staff blade around to severe the tentacle as soon as it passed. It was detached where he cut it and flew into the shadows disappearing.

Tad worked the creature, turning it, forcing it to defend and backup. The appearance of the void creature had an effect he didn't' expect, though. The remaining Kyons were rushing for the entrance trying to escape the battle. This puzzled Tad. Had this void creature fooled these dogmen like the others had fooled the dwarves? Why was one here?

Then thought left as he dodged, blocked, and cut at the creature. It was now leaking black smoke of void from where Tad had cut its body. He thought it might be slowing, but he didn't trust that. He would work this fight as if his enemy was not injured until it was down. Arrows started appearing in the void creature. Tad wasn't sure if they were affecting it much, but it was a fine distraction and caused the bulky shadowy creature to take more wounds from a staff blade that Tad whirled relentlessly.

Tad didn't think they had much time left before the gate closed. Most of the Kyons were dead, dying, or fled. Tad saw Nico appear behind the Void creature. His friend stabbed both necrotic poisoned fangs into the void creatures back. He didn't pull them out this time. He left them high in its shoulders and ported away across the room.

This got the creature's attention. It turned, swinging the long whip of its arm wildly behind it. The strike severed one of the support beams for the ceiling like it was a twig.

Tad took that opportunity to step in and bring his staff around twice, slicing deeply into its back and then again through its stomach. The creature gurgled and tried to turn as it slid apart at the center, each half tipping in a different direction. Then it burst into a black flame, and Tad watched as the creature's essence or whatever it was rose from its dissipating form and floated through the ceiling out of his view.

The two fang daggers lay on the floor as the body of the void creature was utterly consumed in vapor. Nico came forward from the shadows of the building. There were dozens of dead Kyon back there. Tad considered chasing the rest when he heard whimpering from the metal cage across the room.

"Help me get the prisoners freed," said Tad taking deep breaths to catch his wind. He heard a snap and a crack as some of the timber fell. There was a crash as parts of the ceiling started coming down.

Tad ran over to the side of the room that had the large cage spiked into the dirt floor. He smashed the crude wooden lock off the door. "Common folks, we have to move it. " Tad took a moment to look at the people in the cage. Many were injured, only one stood. Tad moved into the cage. Most of the older people covered in blood were dead with clear indications of torture and disfigurement. Tad steeled himself as he moved farther back into the cage, casting his improved heal spell on two of the worst looking that had festering wounds.

"Come, we do not have long before the portal closes," said Tad.

Lamruil and Nico were behind Tad, helping those that couldn't stand to their feet or to the portal. It wasn't' far, but Tad was counting moments, trying to hurry them all along.

The wounded man Lamruil hoisted over his shoulder and carried. Nico, and the last of the living children were through as Tad moved to follow, then movement caught his eye. The small Kyon with the staff that was behind the void creature stirred. He wasn't dead yet. Tad grabbed him and threw him ahead onto the flagstones as he stepped right behind, willing the portal closed behind him.

He intended to get answers from this one.

***