THOUGHTS OF A MONK
INTERLUDE ONE (These events happen during week two of the rebellion on Milos....)
"Thoughts of a Monk," written by Steve Bowden...edited by Mark Stinson
Its cold and wind is blowing over the edge of the mountain. I move up a couple of feet and look over the edge.
Wondering what has happened to get me here. I turn and all around me is snow and mountains. It seems that I have
lost my way. I start to pray for guidance and a vision starts to come to me. The mountains start to shake violently,
the wind picks up and the snow blows across my face before the vision comes into view, I hear my name over and
over. All of a sudden I wake, Walla's apparently been shaking me and yelling my name for some time. I realize immediately
that something is very wrong. Walla's not the type of nurse that would be this upset without good
cause...she's too experienced.
"Good Cause," there's been plenty of that going around! For the past two weeks since the Fire Mages of
the Church of Fire shut down the Power Core units, a minor war has been going on, mostly under the cover of Darkness
and in the sewers. The slaves of Milos have been slaves for generations...and habits die hard. While the number
of rebels has been swelling...it is a slow process, slow but steady. In the meanwhile, the Twighlight Guards and
the Hindar Clan have been trying to find out who shut down the Power Core...and who is inciting the increasing
numbers of rebels. They have been taking every adolescent and adult male they can find, off the street and out
of their homes and off the random questioning at the hands of the Inquisitors. To my surprise, as far as we can
tell, our presence here is unknown to the Twilight Guards and the Clan. I open my eyes and look around to see if
Walla has awoken anyone else. To my surprise the rest of the group is still sleeping on the cots that Ton-Kimble
has supplied. I gather my things as I look around the room that we are currently sleeping in. Its not much but
I guess I should be thankful that we even have a room to sleep in. Living in one of the back-rooms of The Gutter
still has advantages...for you never know when you could really use a drink...for spiritual fortitude, of course....
I simply ask what's wrong. Walla bluts out that Father Tradeau has been seriously injured by a Twilight Guard Unit.
Walla is a capable nurse but when serious casualties come in...and extensive wounds are involved...she has become
somewhat reliant upon my meager skills. Walla apparently has waited long enough, for she grabs my arm and starts
to lead me out rather briskly into the brighter light of The Gutter. Instead of fighting this woman I simply let
her lead. I have a deep respect for this woman...for she risks her life...her home...everyday in order to help
the injured and prevent the streets from running with rebel blood. Once I asked Walla why she does what she does,
and to my surprise her answer was as simple as it gets. "If I don't heal them, who will?" Her words were
simple, but her eyes told a long complicated story of love ones lost to the unjust rule of the Hindar Clan.
Before I realize it, I am ushered through a door and down a hall to the bar. Once I enter the bar I see the Father.
It only takes a moment to see what has gotten Walla so upset. There is a hole in the Father's chest that I truly
believe I could fit my fist into. I'm pretty sure I could move the fist around and not touch the sides...I look
at Walla with fear in my face and Walla looks straight into my eyes and says, "If you can't help him he will
die. He's a good man, Morgan McCloud."
I start walk towards the table where they have laid the Father's body. My answer to Walla is simple and clear,
and said beneath my breath. "I will try." Out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Walla's face...and
I think she believes in me and my power. I start to chant, summoning all the strength and power I can. As I begin
my work, Ton-Kimble pushes everyone away from the table. I touch the Fathers head then, and all of sudden I'm in
a rush of current riding the blood stream inside the Father picturing his injuries from the inside. There is apparently
internal injuries, but if Mung is to kept away this day, first I must do something about that hole. I summon the
power of Kib, the life-giver, and the skin starts to knit together, moving the edges of the hole closer together.
I feel the sweat rolling off my forehead and a dizziness just behind my eyes. My knees start to buckle and the
spell is complete. When I gather my senses I'm looking up from the floor. I look up at Ton-Kimble and put out my
hand. He lifts me up and says in a loud surprised voice, "By the Fire, you've saved him!" I look and
withoug speaking a word, I shake my head, no. The difficult task is still ahead of me. "The Father has internal
bleeding and if I am going to be able to stop it, you must clear the room except for Nurse Walla. Ton-Kimble makes
one small motion to the others, and they rush to leave. In a matter of seconds the room is empty except for the
Father and Nurse Walla (as I have come to call her).
I look at Walla and smile hoping to reassure her. If only someone could reassure me. I begin chanting and all of
a sudden I hear Walla chanting and...and another voice...Ton-Kimble! He has slipped back in and is attempting to
lend his voice and his power to my spell chant. For a moment, I allow myself to notice that Ton-Kimble has a deep
voice for such a soft spoken individual. He has such power behind those eyes, and there is much to him that I do
not yet understand. I bury these thoughts and focus on the task at hand, and the power I am gathering. Again I'm
riding the blood, and to my amazement I focus on the internal bleeding much quicker than I normally do...perhaps
Walla and Ton-Kimble have much power to lend me! Perhaps it is simply a matter of having the right gods smiling
up on you...or perhaps Mung is very busy this day. It is time to work. I gather the artery at both ends meld them
together. The bleeding and leaking stops, and once again the blood follows its proper course. It is Slid that smiles
down upon me! I knew one of the small gods was with me! I feel Walla wiping my forehead and chanting in her rough
voice. It is time to leave the Father's body, and return to the world we know. As I withdraw I sense the strength
of this injured man...the power the keeps within. He may not be versed in the Force...but he is a source or conduit
for great power, all the same...his will and determination will clearly pull him through. If these fail, I am confident
his temper will step in...he has many wrongs yet to avenge.
As I pull out I notice that the Father is know breathing better and seems to be on the way to a full recovery.
I ask Walla to keep me up-to-date over the next couple of hours. I'm going to head back to bed and try and get
some rest.
I get back to the room after getting a drink and lay down. In a couple of hours the Mages are going to be coming
for a council meeting. In the make-shift council room in the back of the bar. As I walk in Kenai sits up and asks
where I've been. I look over and tell him to go back to sleep. I can see in his eyes that he is probably just as
tired as myself, and any description of what just occurred will pale in comparison to actually witnessing it. Yesterday
in the street we had actually ran across a group of the Kindar Clan. Thinking back over it, the battle could have
been a lot worse. The five of us had been excorting back five rebel fighters that had been recently recruited by
the Church of Fire. It started out as a small skirmish with the Twilight Guard. Quinn, Vette, Ranar and Kenai along
with the five new-rebels seemed to be handling everything quite well. Then all of a sudden a hound came out of
nowhere. This hound was the size of a horse with fangs and a smell strait from the shoes of an Adept of the Dark
Side. As Vette and Quinn broke off from the battle with the Guards to take on the Hound, the battle went from bad
to worse. Vette and Quinn were jumping from one side of the street to the other, but the Hound seemed to know where
they were going to land. I don' t really know if the hound had some unearthly help or was just lucky but Quinn
actually took some damage. And Vette seemed to be facing this threat with the utmost care. For those that know
Vette, this is clearly contrary to his nature...he must have sensed something was wrong.
As the last of the guards dropped, two men walked around the corner out of the ally and somehow I could feel the
evil from the individuals. Later I found out that they were actually members of the Hindar Clan. One approached
the five and one approached Kenai and Ranar. The battle was actually was fierce and seemed fairly evenly-matched
until one of the five rebels dropped then a second and a third. The hound was still up and fighting, and giving
Vette and Quinn a fair amount of trouble. All of a sudden the hound ran for no reason...I thought it must be some
kind of miracle. Vette and Quinn came running to the aid of the others with a speed that was just amazing...no
other word could describe it better. They were blurs.
I moved to help the injured laying on the ground. I grabbed each individual that had dropped and dragged them back
to an ally. While I could hear the battle going on in the street, at this point I could not actually see what was
going on. I was too busy trying to save the lives of the fallen rebels. I suddenly felt a strong evil looking at
me. I immediately threw a small spell of shielding around myself and with all the air in my lungs I yelled for
help. As I did the hound jumped out of the shadows. To his side a man with a black leather outfit stepped beside
him. The leather was tight and had leather straps that laced the shirt and pants up the sides. Metal buckles gleamed
from all over the leather outfit...
He radiated evil like I've never felt before...even when facing Marna Jade on the FB Avenger. One of the men laying
at my feet had regained consciousness at that moment, and the fear in his eyes told me that I was overmatched.
He yelled to me, "Run or your dead. That's a Shade...a servant of the Dark Lord...for god's sake...RUN!!!"
I looked from the fallen man, back to the Shade, and I knew the man spoke the truth. The thing looked at me, if
you could call it that. I'm not even sure I could see a face...for my memories of the Shade are somehow hazy...as
if it was all a dream. It sent chills up my spine then, and it send chills up my spine now, as I recall it. I had
only moments to do something, but the alley's exit was blocked and I had three men at my feet that could not walk.
The hound was bleeding and I assumed this was from Vette's or Quinn's swords. But it still looked extremely strong.
The hound and the Shade stood there for a second or a lifetime, whichever you prefer, and then the pause in the
action ended. The hound started walking towards me...a little cautious...but walking steadily towards me. I started
to chant, summoning all my strength for a spell. I could feel the spell and see the strings of power flowing from
my body. First I wrapped he spell around me and then the others. Lifting myself and the others off the ground and
up. I know Kib was watching or I would surly be dead...lying in a bloody heap along with the others. The hound
jumped and grabbed my leg bitting into it like Tibaroe fuma-cheese.
From there everything is a blank. I know that my spell brought us to the roof of the building next to the alley,
and that my leg was pretty tore up. The next thing I really remember is Quinn and Kenai standing over me and the
injured rebels I saved, and asking what happened. I'm still not to sure if they believe me or not about the Shade.
Something tells me they sensed the evil...and fear what it means. But they have not shared their thoughts on the
matter yet. I know one thing for sure...before this is done we will have to face this evil...and then everyone
will know and believe what I saw in that alley!
With the help of the others we all managed to get back to The Gutter...A little worse for wear...but alive for
the time being....
Thanks for reading...its now your turn to build on this tale, or start your own!!!!
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