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Meeting     Into the Crypt     Umber Hulks    Stone Heart    Vampire    Beryn     Keep     Sand Giant
City-Between-Places     Beryn's Farm     Bog Serpent     Stronghold     2 Parties     Dog & Horn     The Cells
Escape!     Calrhuvianne     Souls     Hawker Bag     Kin's Tale     Mayor & Shopping     Dhunok Grael
Karubiat Elesis     Underground Sun     Lizardmen     The Boat     Akkenophon     Shurudien!     Ghurzak!
To Karnak     Dice     Oracle     Mogradjinn     Battle     The Hilt     Exit     Strange Allies     Ghorak Lan
Farigon     Calrhuvianne2     Wraithking     Columns     Last Column     Galent     Zeres-kai     Eyrie
Elementals!     Golem

It seems like the shortest hop - until the landing.

There is a disorientation from the complete change of surroundings: the party are outside, on a hillside and it's light as it is just before dusk, although the sky is already full of stars. An island floats in the distance with a huge, gleaming city astride it and the ring of hills you stand upon surrounding it. A moat of pure, endless, starry sky separates the two.

Off to the right, the merest impression of a path eventually leads the party down to a meeting with a half-orc, Nilfract, who describes himself as a cook (evidenced by his offer of soup), and who seems to gently oversee a ramshackle group that gather on the mountains-side of the arched, transparent bridge that leads to the gates between of the City-Between-Places.

He offers a warning: “The City-Between-Places is a haven to all. And I mean ALL. That's why some folk change their minds about going in. A word to the wise - don't pick any fights in there. You don't think they'd send a 'free guard' like Bherrt out if they had less inside?'

Bherrt is a large troll who lingers silently by the start of the bridge; he is replace by another, Ehrnie, and the party, after a brief rest head towards the city. A little cooked-up subterfuge, in the form of a fictional tale, allowed them to ask where a special gem might be found and now the party have the name of a gnome who must be he person Beryn referred to: Arn Basaltson.

It is clear,as the bridge is reached, why many change their minds about crossing it – there are no hadholds or protective barriers and below the transparent arc is only darkness and stars without end. The party are not so easily discouraged, however.

The City-Between-Places is a huge, sprawling, walled city growing out of the very island it sits astride. The gleaming metal walls (brass perhaps, like the fabled cloud city of the Efreet?) stretch towards the heavens. Away from the hills it is apparent just how curious the entire place is: there is no sun in the endless sky but it's quite light nonetheless. It strikes you that there is quite probably never any night time here.

Dragging your eyes down to the base of the city, you see that the bridge ends with a small, flat cleared area and then two huge iron doors, the only obvious entrance. In front of them stands a large humanoid warrior, his race difficult to guess as he is covered in armour from head to toe.

As you approach, he clangs a chainmail fist against steel breast and throws out his arm in salute. When he speaks, his voice booms militaristically through his full helm.

"Welcome, travellers. I am Heimdall, Watcher and Guardian of the Great Bridge. You are welcome to the City-Between-Places. Here you will not draw a weapon in anger; should you break this decree, the City Watchers will be instant and final in their meted justice."

Then, with a slightly less authoratitive boom, adds "I would suggest you look for lodging in the Kallan's Shield Inn, to your right..."

With that, he hammers on the door, moves to one side and waves theparty forward as the massive doors creak open. Smells and sounds rush out to fill the air - trader's cries, laughter, argument and hubbub. This is a vibrant city and all manner creatures go about their business within the walls.

The party soon find accommodation (free for the first night!) at the recommended inn with Hranff, its half-ogre barman, and gain directions to the gnome both from an unpleasant Drow town guard and a nervous friend of Beryn’s - Randor of the Chaemites (and his owl companion). Randor looks after the tab and room costs and a number of the party settle in to a well-deserved session amongst the ever-changing inhabitants of the noisy and frenetic, smoky bar.

The City-Between-Places is a bustling, never-dark place with a vast array of inhabitants, taverns and shops (all expensive). Morin and Rhadogan head off into it to find the gnome and pass the message as the rest of the party….party. Except for Kin, who retires early to his room to catch up on some much-needed study. And not too much later Jarek also reitres.

Suffice to say that their minor mission is succesful: more relevantly, whether it is the nature of the City or things just coming to a head, a number of personal details are uncovered and discussed.

The most noteable of these is the change in Rhadogan who has dropped a disguise and now appears as his real self – Suva. He had been meant to take the scabbard for the emperor of Karubai but proved independent and questioning enough to make his own choices and has joined the party of his own free will now. It turns out that the Illuninatus had already allowed Dalrylshana to see that there was a disguise (and she had kept the Illuminatus away from other magic users since realising this). Evidently, he had shown enough promise and trust to allow himself the time to reveal himself on his own terms.

Jarek also shows his muddled colours as somebody who may have sold the party down the river at one poitn but who cares about them now and the task at hand. It is an intense time of soul-searching all about and Dalrylshana summarises it all as she descibes the party:

“Balin, a gambling dwarf and headstrong fighter.
"Morin, of course, who's obsessed with the werewolf and driven by desire for revenge, and now at least we know why - sorry for your loss Morin.
"Jiriki, who's quiet unless we meet undead and then beware his mighty weapon," she grins, "and who must be trustworthy because he's related to Karnak!
"Rhadogan, who arrived with Jiriki, but isn't Rhadogan and is now rather lost.
"Kin, the conscientious, who's upstairs studying and doesn't seem to have much of a past.
"Jarek, tortured soul whose complex reasons for being here I can't even begin to properly fathom.
"Darius the brave, who is also Darius the hunted.
"And me with no great doom or madness in my past but a long-term interest in the Sword of Names; it's pure fluke that this is what we actually are searching for.
"I think Jiriki's got the right idea - see you later, Jiriki - ,"she pauses to wave bye to Jiriki, who is clearly not overly impressed with the details coming to light and leaves the inn to go for a walk about the never-closing town.
And then she adds: "And we're all led along by Beryn, whom we know little about. A mission of such seeming importance that we really should have been hand-picked, surely?
I'm off to bed before this honesty session gets too much for me but I just wondered, does it occur to anybody else that this motley crew is a suicide squad. Expendable to the extreme???"

Her words are faintly damning and preced an unusually glum mood for the elf.