And now we find out that Gem's training has been worth something.

By my count, there should only be a few lizards left (that and the really big one, of course.)

More wolflizards crawled out from hidden passageways all around the heroes. By now it seemed possible that the party would be overwhelmed. This was capped by the appearance of a giant, aged lizard, bigger than all the rest. (Also, bigger than a cow.) Soon, the party would be swept under. There was only one thing to---

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion broke the noise of battle into pieces. Every single wolflizard within a certain distance of the party perished, as the explosion sent clouds of fire out to several yards away. Strangely, the fire didn't affect the adventurers. Everyone looked around, trying to find the source of the blaze.

"Ummm.... sorry?" said Cyrus, hands glowing with residual magic, Gem pulsing red on his chest.

I'm back. Sorry if I was absent, but my browser crashed a while ago and this part of my session wasn't reconstituted.

In case you are wondering, Gem is being less than truthful.

Cyrus had stopped even trying to think about how bad his day was. By now, he was just following along with the group, having no idea what to do next.

Well, one idea.

Gem, what exactly did you mean by all that yelling?

  
_It sounded like more than that._  
  
~~~~ _Ok. Here's what I know. The Wraith, or whatever it was, was created by a mage, in secret, for purposes of great evil. It's kind of a long story, but I was created to stop it. I did manage to stop it, but the Wraith got lost in time, and **I** got stuck in that cave._  
  
_Oh. So...what happened back there, in the clearing?_  
  
~~~~ _It's gotten stronger._  
  
_So what can **I** do? So far, I've been like a fifth cartwheel, nearly got myself **killed** (no thanks to you), and now that... thing is sure to come after me. Again._  
  
~~~~ _Wait. I'll regenerate. Oh, and keep me away from that 'Rapierian' fellow. But, as I see it, you have three options._  
  
_And they are..._  
  
~~~~ _Well, if you see the Wraith again, you can either run, or die horribly. How's that?_  
  
_I'm starting to regret ever picking you up, Gem._  
  
~~~~ _Or, there's magic._  
  
_Uhhh, Gem, you **know** what happens when I try to use magic._  
  
~~~~ _I think I can get around that. Try this..._   

I am here.

Uhhh... the way I wrote it, the 'Terminator' just teleported out. If you'd prefer for me to change that, just say.

If you don't like what happened to our 'Terminator', or any other aspects of my post, just say so. I figured that something had to be done to hurry the story along.

For clarity: Neither Cyrus or Gem are dead, but both are out cold.

Cyrus was (perpetually, by now) not having a good day. First, there was the whole demons bit. Then, he had been time-warped without warning. Now, he was hiding behind a tree and watching 'his' band of adventurers fight this mysterious ma--

  
Well, hiding and watching had been the _idea_.   
  
Cyrus had quickly discovered through experimentation (and annoyance) that Gem was impossible to remove. To add to that, it could take over his muscles when it wanted to. Of course, Gem had never taken him straight into any danger before, but--   
  
As he moved closer, dodging from tree to tree, Cyrus felt Gem stiffen (so to think) through the mental link with the enchanted pendant. If its personality had a jaw, it would have dropped. The tiny red gems around the center gem began to pulse and glow, and a few seconds later, a shocked, disbelieving voice sounded in Cyrus's mind.  
  
  
~~~~ _I-- the-- It's him! How the # &$! did **he** get here? Now is my chance. Now I can make up for those centuries, sealed away. Those lost years._  
  
As some of the adventurers attacked the man, it raised one hand to systematically punch its attackers. All on the receiving end of the punches were thrown back, slamming into trees. The pendant's glow became solid, and an eerie light started to flicker in the largest gem, in the center. The amulet seemed to be charging, storing energy for some arcane purpose.  
  
Then, Gem yelled _through_ Cyrus's mind, while firing a bolt of pure red energy straight at the 'man'.  
  
~~~~ ** _You-- YOU-- IT'S PAYBACK TIME!!!_**  
  
The man roared as it turned, its voice suddenly shifting to a register strangely inhuman. Its form wavered for a second, but resolved back into that of the man. Without warning, it threw globules of its strange green light an Gem, which Cyrus was now holding straight out in front of him (not by choice). The globules fell to the ground, a foot away from Cyrus and the pendant. Ignoring Cyrus's mental pleas to stop, Gem counterattacked with another bolt of red light.  
  
The man's form was wavering again, slightly worse than the last time. Unfortunately, it wasn't stupid. Extending both hands straight out in front of it, it enwrapped Cyrus in a huge cocoon of light, until with a bright flash, Gem's defenses failed. Then the man simply picked up a rock and threw it with perfect aim.  
  
As Cyrus fell gladly into unconsciousness, Gem (now blackened and with all the tiny gems on the edges missing) 's glow went out, and the other adventurers tried to figure out any sort of way to attack the thing, it simply placed its hands on forehead, and let its form waver, in a different way that when Gem had attacked it. Then, the wavering intensified, until there was nothing there but a light mist (which quickly dispersed).  
  
Cyrus's last thought before the void summoned his mind was quite simple.  
  
_Worst-- day-- ever--_   


This post has been edited by **SoItBegins** : 26 May 2008 - 11:13 AM 

Actually, Cyrus probably could enter town undetected. It's not easy to tell that he's a mage (and if asked, he could just say that he can't do magic.

Actually, that's not really that far from the truth.)