New Roads and Old Roads (Closed)

It had already been three days since he had slain that next of mind flayers and freed the captives. He was making his way back toward civilization when he heard the snap of twigs underfoot and the rustle of bushes. Sloppy work on an attempt to conceal themselves. He could spot three of them without any real effort, but they were not really trying hard to hide, they had numbers, and by the look of the big burly man who emerged with the far too many times broken nose they had brawling strength on their side. The average traveler and caravan fell easily to a gang of brutes like this.

”Travelin’ along on the road like this ain’t smart at night. You have a lot o’ shiny things that look like they will fetch a copper. Especially that sword. Though all those crystals you are carrying will do too. Why don’t you hand over yer gear and we won’t gut ya.”

The lone traveler wore finely crafted leather armor with a large ornate looking greatsword strapped to his back. He bore no helm to cover his face. Instead he wore what looked like a red iron crown with jewels on top and some sort of crystal mask that was hard to look at without feeling uncomfortable. Though the mask wasn’t on his face, it was worn on a strap off to the side for easy access to put on if need be. He wore a bejeweled armband on his left arm and at his hip he carried several long thing crystal rods that might have been mistaken for mage wands, except mage wands were usually made from wood, glass, or amber. His neck and hands were also covered in several strange looking tattoos that seemed to have no particular meaning.

His piercing green eyes locked with the big man showing no fear as the rest of the gang surrounded him and he looked around with a quiet sigh of irritation. “Listen friend, I don’t have time for this, and you do not want the trouble that this blade brings. You do not know who I took it from and what they will do to get it back. I have no interest in your activities, but the longer I stay here the more danger you are in. Let me pass.”

”I don’t know if you have counted buddy, but you are the one who is in danger here. Now I think we are gonna kill you no matter what happens. Get ‘em boys!”

He didn’t make any more attempts to stop them. Nothing short of force was going to dissuade the greedy fools, besides they had brought this fate upon themselves. He pulled the blade from the sheath and when he did something amazing happened. When the blade was in the sheath it was completely solid, but as the blade was pulled free it seemed to form an unstable liquid of silver. It shifted and moved as if the liquid metal was alive and had a mind of its own. Not only that but when the blade was released it released a mental female scream inside all of the minds of those nearby. Those closest actually stopped and clutched at their ears as if they could blot out the noise. There was a sickening black aura around the blade as well that spoke of further enhancements not yet seen.
He scanned the brigands and his eyes radiated a white light. His gaze locked and narrowed on a woman who was keeping her distance in the back just as she began to cast a spell. “Mages. I’ll show you what real power looks like.” Deep within the power of his mind stood a bastion of power forged in the heat of battle and constant mental discipline. There was a pillar of strength and it pulsed with energy. He tapped into that energy and pulled just a bit of that energy free.

There was a sound like the cracking of a whip from him and it ended at the caster. She screamed such a horrible, unbearable scream, clutching at her head and then crumbled to the ground. Her eyes were blank and her face was a mask of death. One look was all it took to tell she had been slain instantly with overwhelming power.

Several of the brigands charged and the brown haired main danced between blade, axe, and club, deflecting with his blade, or using an invisible shield conjured by an unknown force and counter attacking. When he swung the large silver two handed sword not only did the blade bite deep, but it burnt the flesh and bone with a strange energy. On particularly grievous wounds when he would strike a vital point the sword would explode with energy, doing even more severe damage.

Eventually the robbers stopped their assault for a moment and their timing was fortuitous. It was that moment that the power he had been maintaining had picked up something new. “Shit. All of you need to run. NOW! I might let you live, but they will not!”

He slid the mask over his face and an aura of fear and intimidation fell over him like a shroud. He turned to the surviving brigands. “Run for your lives you damn fools!” He roared at them, pointed at a nearby tree with a fingertip and fired a beam of lightning at it. The tree exploded. The display seemed to do the trick. The men took off in all directions running for their lives.

He touched the fountain of power once more as he focused on where the energies were converging. If his aim was just right and he timed it…

Six humanoid creatures ripped a tear through the fabric of reality just as he vanished from sight and stepped through the air about fifteen feet above them. They were talking in a strange incomprehensible language; except he understood every word. He had learned the languages of all his enemies. They were complaining about the fact that the phase jump must have been off and trying to blame one individual in particular when gravity started to carry him silently down into them. He didn’t wait to spring his trap. The hunted became the hunter. He didn’t just tap the fountain of power this time, he grabbed it with both hands and rode the lightning as he tore a change of power from the internal fountain of energy that powered his psionic abilities. About ten feet above the Githyanki he exploded in a ball of fire in fourty yards in all directions. They had no chance to avoid the attack, they screamed in pain, and even as they rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish themselves he drove the great sword into one of their chests, killing him. Rolling to his feet and on guard a few feet away he smiled. “Saw you coming this time.”

The other five were badly burnt but got to their feet quickly and pulled out weapons. Beneath their burns they had green skin and looked like powerful warriors. They all wore unique but well crafted armor and unique looking great swords All of their gear was made with pride and well looked after it was obviously an important part of their culture. They all wore ornamental piercings in their faces.

”That was well struck sword thief. This is where you fall however.”

“I understand you think I stole this. I will tell you the same thing I told the last group who I had to kill. One of your sword bearers attacked me and I beat him in solo combat. Before you get to the part about how these are holy relics to your people the Illithids are also my enemy. I have used this sword to kill as many as I can. Just a few days ago I cleared an entire nest by myself. I am doing the word of your sword bearer in his name. I am carrying out his legacy. I may not be of the Githyanki, but we are fighting the same enemy. If you don’t stop coming after me I will start hunting you too.”

They were speaking to each other in their native, alien-sounding tongue. “Yes, I did kill a nest all by myself.”

They all snapped their heads to him in shock. ”You know our tongue? This is far too many heresies to be allowed you die.”

"Damn the eyes of that Orc-fucked bitch!" she swore. Resting against a tree, Kara snapped the shaft of the arrow that was currently lodged in her right shoulder. Prodding the head buried shallowly in the meat of her upper arm, Kara assessed its shape. "No barbs, widest at the base." She thought. Sliding the tip of a dagger next to the iron arrow-head, she expertly removed it. cursing through gritted teeth.

Kara had been careless. The assassins sent the warlord Secundus Septum had been easy to dispatch, so easy in fact that she hadn't noticed the archer hanging back in the brush. As an ex-mercenary barbarian, Kara had learned to kill without emotion, but slitting that bitch's throat felt near to orgasmic.

Slumping back against the cool bark of the Oak, Kara produced a scrap of untanned leather from her pack. Wiping the blood off of her sword in gentle, loving strokes, she thought back on her enemy.

Secundus had arrived nearly five turns of the seasons ago from a far-flung dessert land. His army, no more than a few loosely coordinated warbands back then, had cut a swath of destruction across the land. Killing, conscripting, or raping anyone they came across. Kara knew their ways well. Images of the blood, the fires, the screaming, flashed before her eyes. How could she have done such things?

The barbarian woman had been the daughter of one of the chieftains that made up Secendus' earliest followers. Being taller than any woman of the tribe, taller than all but the most towering men of the far North, and as strong as a cave bear, Kara had risen in the ranks of the hoard, becoming Secundus' highest lieutenant and occasional bodyguard.

It was in the wee hours after Secundus' army had laid waste to a small fishing town that Kara had fled. She could no longer slay innocent men and women, innocent CHILDREN. Kara's fist clenched, turning her knuckles white against her deep tan. Slowly breathing to calm her blood-rage, Kara searched her mind for something humorous. Not only was Secundus a murdering dog, he was useless at night amidst the furs. Letting out a cruel, dry laugh, Kara took a deep swig from her waterskin. The cool river water mixed with a healthy dose of mead

Suddenly, Kara heard the sound of far-off shouts. Scrambling to her feet, she ran to investigate. Before her eyes were several creatures, green-grey like orcs, but more slender with a keen intelligence in their eyes. They were menacing what appeared to be a human, and definitely an adventurer. Kara was not often one to make assumptions, but the not-Orcs smelled of evil, and she had a surplus of aggression from her previous battle.

Howling a war-prayer to her gods, the barbarian sprinted into the fray. "Need some help, friend, if friend you may be?" She half-sang as she swung her sword in a wide arc, neatly decapitating one of the strange creatures.

Kara (More or less).

The surviving Githyanki surrounded him in a semicircle. He plucked at the string of power inside his mind and engaged a power. His eyes shimmered black and his skin crackled with power briefly. He knew this formation, it was a common Gith tactic. All he could do was prepare for it and hope not to get vaporized by the incoming attack. Another power activated with lightning quickness and the air around him shimmered as if a dome of force settled over him. Just as the dome coalesced the Githyanki all fired beams of energy from their hands at him. Each unleashed a different element, fire, ice, lightning, sound and the fifth also used ice.

The beams struck the barrier first and seemed to diminish in power. Then they struck his body. All of the beams struck the crackling energy barrier and all but one fizzled, the last one struck the invisible force barrier but managed to penetrate it and strike him in the chest. Ice crystals formed in his lungs and he staggered back as he struggled to breathe.

The Githyanki advanced in formation trying to take advantage of the wounded Psion until the barbarian woman roared into the clearing and cleaved one of the Githyanki’s head nearly from his shoulders. Coughing he staggered to his feet and unleashed another power from the well of his internal energy that allowed him to briefly move at staggering speed. He closed the gap to the Githyanki in the blink of an eye and swung his blade with a terrible force that rivaled the barbarian’s own. The horrible wound burst with burning psychic force and another strange effect took place, even before he died his eyes glowed bright orange signifying a special effect on him.

He turned to the barbarian. “I will gladly accept your aid, my friend. Two words of caution, however. These are Githyanki, astral planar Psionic beings. Steel your mind as they may use mental attacks, also they are capable warriors as well as capable of destructive powers somewhat like wizards. The second warning if you engage in this fight you may well be hunted by them for helping me.”

The Githyanki’s eyes started to glow as all three of them activated powers. He recognized the signs and shouted to his new companion. “They are summoning reinforcements! Ready yourself. They are dumb but strong and dangerous. I will try to banish them when they arrive.”

As the Githyanki finished their power activation three blobs of pinkish purple goo simple appeared from out of nowhere and formed into eight-foot-tall humanoid shaped creatures with Rhino horns. They roared with fury and immediately charged at the warrior.

He harnessed the energy inside his mind and focused his gaze on one of the hulking brutes. Just as it raised it’s massive hands to smash the fiery-haired woman the ectoplasmic form shimmered and they seemed to lose all cohesion and then vanish. He did not have time to admire his work, however. A sharp pain in his side reminded him that the Githyanki were still very much a threat. This wasn’t working!

He whirled just in time to parry a blow aimed for his head. He let out a breath to calm his heartbeat and focus himself. “You are testing my patience, children of Gith. I think it is time to end this.” He latched on to the monolith of power once more and drew from it and instead of channeling that power outward, it channeled it into his own body. His body began to change, he could feel his muscles expanding, shifting, growing. His body began to change as well, his facial hair grew, his teeth elongated and hair grew down his bare arms. He looked almost bear-like.

He swung his blade and this time he did quite literally cleave one of the Githyanki in half.

"'Git-yankers", huh? Good to know. Said Kara, as she turned to face two of the approaching fighters. Blocking twin thrusts with her sword, the barbarian drove her fist into the stomach of the Githyanki to her left. A third attacked from behind, only to see his attack ducked. Kara swung around and slashed at the Githyanki's shoulder before rolling out of range.


As the unusual warrior called out a warning, a massive pink demon-thing materialized. "You didn't tell me these things could do THAT. It would have been useful information!" Kara said. A blade silenced the Barbarian's building tirade.

A drop of blood formed on Kara's throat as she backed away a fraction of a second too late. The combatants locked blades as Kara roared. An approaching Githyanki was kicked swiftly in the gut, doubling over in pain, as the barbarian out-muscled the first, running him through with her own sword.


Kara's new companion used some sort of magic to neatly bisect another of the greenish creatures. "Nice work," Kara called out with a laugh. "Maybe I should have left this battle to you, you know, to even the odds a little." Wheeling her sword into a guard position, the barbarian steadied herself to slay the remaining three Githyanki. Kara was having fun.

Despite the shift in odds, he caught a glimpse of the barbarian woman. She seemed to be holding her own quite well. She grumbled about not getting a warning about the astral constructs, but she adapted well to the changing battle conditions. He lost sight of her as the constructs and a Githyanki broke off to engage her, but the Githyanki quickly fell to her weapon.

One more Githyanki left and he seemed to realize his odds of winning had dwindled down. He dropped into a defensive posture knowing that Christian had used psychic powers to augment his strength. “Sword thief. You were lucky that help arrived to save you. I will not allow you or your ally to escape alive.” The Githyanki raised his hand and dark energy started to form at the tip of his finger.

Christian recognized the power, he was amazed that this Githyanki was capable of using such a power, let along augmenting it! “Yeah you could have left it to me, but I like to share, meet new people, explore new cultures!”

He touched the reserve of power, in the span of a thought he vanished and was standing next to Kara, stepping out of darkness. The two constructs tried to swipe at him and he dodged the first attack, but the second one bit deep into his side. No time to acknowledge the pain right now. He held out both hands and a material that looked just like the two constructs simply appeared from out of nowhere. In truth, it came from the astral plane. The ectoplasm formed a twenty-foot wall and stretched around the constructs caging them in.

In the time it took the wall to form the power the remaining Githyanki activated. The ugly red beam fired and split into two arcing toward both the barbarian and the Psion. Unfortunately, now there were two layers of ectoplasmic wall, and astral constructs in the way. The beam struck the wall and there was a horrible smell. The wall was semi-transparent and they could see the constructs trying to pound on the wall until they screamed, then they were solid. There was a glow on the wall as if something was trying to evaporate it. “Shit that is still coming? This guy is strong. You might want to sidestep, that is a disintegration beam!” The beam, however, did not pierce the wall.

Christian let out a sigh of relief and shook his head. The wound in his side was deep and he looked at it with a grimace. Then he turned to his new found friend. “Are you injured? I have limited control over the body. I can’t heal you, but I can absorb your wounds then heal myself.” He touched one of the tattoos on the side of his face and appeared to focus for a moment, then the bleeding in his side stopped and the tattoo vanished.

Kara's fellow combatant shouted out a warning about a disintegration beam. The barbarian dove to the ground in a push-up position with her sword held out before her in a blocking position and stayed there. The hit never came and the last Githyanki appeared to be dead. The giant pink things appeared to have lost their mobility or sentience or something. "I HATE magic of every kind." She thought. "Give me steel and flesh, that I know what to do with."

“Are you injured? Said the man. "I have limited control over the body. I can’t heal you, but I can absorb your wounds then heal myself."

Kara watched him as he demonstrated this strange ability. As his wounds closed Kara amended her previous inner comment. "I hate all magic except healing magic, that I can handle any day."

As a tattoo vanished from the stranger's face Kara's fiery heart forced her mouth to speak. "This seems like a very inconvenient way to heal someone. And won't you miss the tattoo? I have one myself that's not so temporary." Kara slid her feet beneath her prone form and pushed off, hurtling herself into a standing position in one clean motion. Sheathing her sword on her back, Kara approached her ally. "I am called Kara, my mother's name has been sullied by my own actions, and as is the custom of my people, I bear it no longer."

The grave look the barbarian women's face lent a steely fierceness to her features, very different from the almost meditative joy of combat. In short order, Kara tossed her head as if clearing the ghosts of past regrets from her mind. "I still haven't answered your question, how dishonorable of me. This scratch on my throat will heal naturally in no time at all, but if you could do something about the gash in my shoulder..."

His companion reacted well, if not a bit uncomfortably about the disintegration beam. Her skill with a blade were quite good. All in all she was quite talented, and as he looked at her now, not without beauty. He smiled lightly and let out a chuckle. “Most people do not like magic if they are not wielding it. I believe they think it is an unfair advantage.”

He decided not to explain that what that battle was had nothing to do with magic, not yet. Too much information might just scare the woman off, and he was finding her to be quite amusing and her company to be a nice change of pace over wandering alone.

Her comment about healing magic made him grin. “One of my areas of study is changing the body. Healing, increasing strength, agility. Making the skin resistant to attacks. This sort of thing.”

Her comment about the tattoo made him shake his head, short brown hair tossing as he did so. His green eyes locked onto hers as he reached out to take her hand with her introduction. “I am honored to meet you, Kara. May you one day see your name restored. I am Chase Lasiter.” He paused a moment and then thought how best to explain. “The tattoos are my own making. They are like Wizard scrolls but on the skin. All you have to do to activate them is tap them and the power locked inside is activated. I can also transfer them to other people, or even put them on other people to start with.”

He smiled again and shook his head slowly. “Not dishonorable my friend. We all have ghosts of our past that still haunt us. I understand. Let me help you.”

He placed his hand lightly upon her shoulder just beneath the gash. He appeared focused as he touched the font of power within his mind, then his eyes glittered green like emerald lightning. She could feel a strange tingling sensation in both the wound on her shoulder and the slight cut on her throat as both wounds simply vanished; not closed. They became energy as they coursed from her body to his and appeared in exactly the same place. The wounds appeared to bleed as if they were freshly struck for a moment, then the blood ceased.

He let out a breath against the pain and them smiled at her. “There, all better. The power sometimes takes all wounds if the damage is minimal enough. You were not terribly injured.” Even as he talked his eyes glittered again, more green light crackled in his eyes. It was clear he was not a Wizard, not a Cleric because nothing he did required words or hand waving or weird reagents to cast. Just funny lights in his eyes and shit happened. Before her eyes, his wounds closed and he was completely healed.

“So Kara, you helped me, and honestly I was just returning from a hunt so I am not doing anything terribly important. I feel it is only fair that I return the favor if you will allow me the honor of aiding you?”

His smile faltered slightly. “If not I understand. When people see my powers they tend to mistrust me. They believe that just because I am a Psion, I am evil. Like the Githyanki, or the Mind Flayers.” He met her eyes and it was his turn to wear a graven faraway look. “As I said, we all have our ghosts.”

Kara smiled at the stranger's kind offer to join forces. When he explained that his strange brand of magic made him a pariah among many folks, her smile widened ever broader.

"Well, friend." She said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know what a "Psion" is but it obviously isn't like those stuffy "Scions" I've dealt with before. No one would claim to be one of those with such a heavy heart. But if a Psion you be, then I suppose I have a Psion as a new partner for the foreseeable future!"

Noticing that the sun was beginning to hug the horizon, Kara scanned about for a place to make camp. As she cast about for firewood and a source of water, she spoke to her new companion. "I'm headed to a village a few days journey from here. I was told that they are being harassed by a clutch of Harpies who live atop a nearby crag. I normally wouldn't poke my nose into other people's business, but the peddler who spoke of the harpies also mentioned that they may be in the possession of a rather large diamond."

Spotting a clearing about a quarter league away, she slung her pack over her back and headed in it's direction. With a twinkle in her green eyes, she turned to her friend and teased, "Are you coming? Do try and keep up!"

She smiled at him and he felt the tension in his shoulders melt away. She could see the relief wash over his features as she accepted him for who he was without judgement. He let out a heavy breath and nodded firmly. “Indeed you do Kara. Thank you.” His words were spoken with genuine warmth and thanks.

He watched her studying the fading light and he understood, it would be time to rest soon. He knew the battle with the Githyanki had expended nearly half of his power reserves. He had been a bit reckless, but they were a dangerous enemy and he did not want to let them escape, and he certainly would not let them claim the life of an innocent who had simply come to help him in a battle that was not hers to begin with. Still if they encountered danger he had plenty of tricks up his sleeve to work with.

“Oh? Harpies are a nasty bit of business. I can certainly assist with that. I have tools to help deal with them. As for the diamond, well everyone needs to eat right?” He chuckled at her big grin.

He retrieved his own pack and followed after her. She looked back to taunt him playfully. That was when a small crystal crawled out of his breast pocket and of all things began speaking. ”What are you doing Christian? There is another Mind Flayer den 7 days from here! We cannot let those monsters live. Not after what they did to you, to us! To all the innocent people they hurt.”

Christian seemed annoyed and he glared down at the small crystal about as long as a human finger. “Be silent. You know that den is much bigger and has an elder brain. There is no way at our current power level we could survive it. All we would do is either become food, or a slave. We need more power. Now be silent!”

The crystal started to speak, but Christian glared and the crystal glowed brightly and fell silent. He looked back at Kara and chuckled. “That…is a long story. This object is… well call it a magical construct. It has a mind of its own sort of. It has a fragment of my personality embedded into it, and shares a link to me.”

As they reached the clearing he smiled at Kara. “I can make the fire pit quickly and get the fire going.” He knelt down in the center of the clearing and tugged gently at the fortress of power inside his mind. A small cone of sound waves began pounding at the soft earth in a perfect circle. The ground began to loosen and give way as he was vibrated apart by the sonic impact. The sound did not travel far as it was dispersed by the soft earth, but it did the job of sinking the earth several inches deep. Satisfied he touched the tower of power again and a second cone erupted, this time it was fire. He scored the edges and bottom of the newly formed hole until they were almost like glass.

He examined the work, and then he began placing tinder beneath smaller pieces of wood, and finally a few pieces of larger wood on top. A final tap on the tower of Psionic energy produced a beam of flame that ignited both the tinder and the small wood beneath and suddenly the fire was roaring nicely.

This done he reached into a pouch at his belt and fished out a plain silver ring and turned to his new companion. “Since we are going after Harpies and they are known for their mind effecting abilities, and we will no doubt be chased by more Githyanki you should take this. It will offer you resistance to magic except by more skilled casters, and help you resist mind effecting abilities. Do not worry about cost. I made it myself. I run a shop when I am not adventuring.” He pressed it into her palm with a smile.

Christian's Cyrstal began to speak. Kara reflexively drew her sword and snapped somewhat comically into a defensive stance.

"That…is a long story. This object is… well, call it a magical construct. It has a mind of its own sort of. It has a fragment of my personality embedded into it, and shares a link to me.” Christian said.

Kara re-sheathed her blade and gave the stone a leer of utter contempt. "You wizards, excuse me, psions, never cease to amaze me." The barbarian tried to mouth the strange word as precisely as possible, not because she feared to be rude, but as an honor-gift to her new companion. "I hope don't share TOO strong a 'link' with that rock," Kara said with a bright laugh.

After they had gathered branches for a fire together, Christian concentrated again. The now-familiar tension in his neck and shoulders combined with the far away, meditative concentration in his eyes to herald another mental "spell" Kara flinched as a gout of fire sprang into being. "Will you start warning me before you do things like that?" She snapped.

When the powerfully built woman told Christian of her current quest against the harpies, he gave her a plain silver ring. Kara felt the warmth of the man's hands, as well as his unique brand of magic, radiate from the metal and felt somehow comfortable. Maybe she was getting used to this "Psionics".

Kara had not received a gift since her past life so long ago. Secondus had never so much as gave him a grape from his dish. Despite being the warlord's general and consort, he had always treated her like the dirty peasant she once was. Turning to away from the firelight so as not to let Christian see her face if her eyes misted, she settled down to sleep. "Goodnight friend." She said in a soft, clear, almost delicate voice. "And if your hand should stray in the night you will wake up without it." She said in what could have been a joke or a warning.

Her reaction to the sudden voice the Psi-crystal offered was almost comical if not for the fact that Christian had seen how deadly she was with her weapon.

“Glad to know I am not boring at least.” He quipped back with a playful smile offered her direction. He raised a brow at her words about the bond he shared and gave a shrug. “Can’t expect me to give away all my secrets now can you?”

At least she was laughing. That seemed to please him even if her reaction had been less than ideal. It was a few moments later than he managed to startle her again with him unleashing a new power in front of her. He simply flashed her a smile. “I could do that, but if I warned you before I did something new wouldn’t that kill part of the fun?”

He watched her accept the gift and look down at it as if he had done something truly remarkable. She had seen him fold space-time and produce fire with the sheer power of his will and the ring he gave her was impressive? He had no idea the true significance that she found with the gesture, he had no way to know.

She quickly made herself comfortable. He followed suit shortly afterward and spoke warmly. “Sleep well, my friend.” When she made the joke about his wandering hands he couldn’t help but laugh. “You know it might be worth it. Besides I can always grow a new one.” The line was delivered with such a smooth delivery it was impossible to tell if he was joking or not. Though it was clear that he had no intention of violating the space she had layout as hers. Instead, he folded his thoughts inward, letting the crystal free to wander the camp it silently drifted to the trees above them. Of all the strange things the crystal quite literally flew up to the branches where it seemed to be keeping watch. He let himself relax and let sleep rush closer to him. The day had been very taxing and had taken a toll on his power reserves. He had not completely exhausted them, but he certainly felt as if he had.