We traveled a good part of the morning toward the palace only to find a transparent barrier completely encompassing it. Someone hit it and it sounded very solid, but when I touched it my hand went through. I slowly pushed myself through the barrier only to find myself naked on the other side. Standing completely in the buff I turned around to find all my belongings on the ground outside the barrier.

After a few tests Bryrgar walked through the barrier and up to the front doors. Completely naked he stepped inside for a minute then came out and hollered for someone to go with him. Nosila did, and Sprocket and I waited here doing various tests on the barrier to see if we could find a way in, one included a spell; another was attaching a rope to an arrow and shooting it across the barrier. Nothing worked; even directly attacking it didn’t work.

At one point Sprocket walked through the barrier herself to test a spell, and I saw the most beautiful being ever at that moment. I’ll be haunted by her beauty in my dreams for many nights.

It was getting fairly close to evening when Bryrgar and Nosila came back with what looked liked a very stiff elf. Upon passing the elf through the barrier it seemed less stiff at first, then looked at us and, in Elven, asked us why he was naked and who we were. We talked for a while, I don’t remember everything that was said being as mainly I translated, but the basic gist was he had no clue what happened.

The sun was still up when Nosila, Sprocket and I went into the palace to find a wizard that may help. We were informed on how to use the magic doors, but it didn’t work for us. We did find a study with pixies on a desk. We were looking around as the sun was setting and that is when strange things began to happen. The emerald colored walls became black and veins of pure crimson red streaked through them. The fairies on the desk shrieked and their once beautiful skin grew black, as claws elongated from their fingers and fangs protruded out of their mouths.

Thankfully Nosila had held the one door open. I grabbed three books and bolted for the main door; I noticed Sprocket and Nosila were right behind me as we left the accursed palace and ran for Bryrgar.

Apparently the elf we met had gone through a similar transformation for when we got there Bryrgar had planted his axe into the once-elf creature. I knew the fairies were still after us. Even though we couldn’t see them we could hear them and the gashes appearing on our flesh were a dead give away.

We fought for a while then decided to run only to have Bryrgar fall behind. So we ran back and helped him fight off our attackers. Nosila got one with a lucky swing, and I nailed another with an arrow. Not hearing anymore wings we relaxed and made camp right where we were.

After a little discussion we decided to do a little test. Being as I’m probably the least useful at the moment I volunteered for this. I stood inside the area where the barrier stood during the day and watched as the sun rose. As the rays of the morning light hit the top of the palace....

I find myself naked again being dragged out of the barrier. Our fears were true, anyone caught inside the barrier as the sun comes up is cursed to be a frozen statue during the day and a monster at night. The rest of my companions are going to go inside the palace to find anything useful, I’m going to wait out here and read whatever is in these books I took out last night.

I wonder though. If the elves put up the barrier, was it really meant to keep others out, or themselves in? Maybe it was supposed to freeze them at night, but something went wrong and it got reversed. Or is the barrier itself the cure for what was a curse they already had. So many possibilities, but no answers. Hopefully there will be something in one of these books.

Posted by Fred on November 29, 2004, 22:49 | Roscoe’s Journal