<div class="floatleft">(http://img135.imageshack.us/img135/876/oldmanicon.jpg)</div>-<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 18pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: arial black;">"Old Man" Vinny</span></span><br/><em>- Priest of Rao</em><br/>- 45/45 HP ; AC 17<br/><hr/><br/><br/>When the spell had finished, a great silence fell upon the surrounding air.  The eyes of the dead man opened to the sky, seeing nothing, and his slackened jaw cracked with the effort of movement.  From its bloated throat droned a gargling voice, little more than the words of a doll whose strings had been cut.<br/><br/><em>"Ask what you will o' the dead."</em><br/><br/>Vinny paused uncomfortably, not quite willing to meet Kasumi's eyes.  "Where is the place you hailed from?"<br/><br/>The corpse was silent, then:<em>"I came from the cave of Utva, the Troll Stalker."</em><br/><br/>The old man deliberated with himself for a moment.  "Tell me: What are the factions of this land?"<br/><br/>This time the answer came quicker.<em>The Hill Fort.  The forests hide the elven folk.  In ruined ship do the goblins dwell.  Beneath the island lurk the dark elves, in caverns black as their skin.  Along the Grey Cliffs, the bird folk soar."</em><br/><br/>Vinny's eyes seemed to light up at that.  "So we kin be sure of civilization, at least!  A fort, at least, 'n others too.  Thank you, friend," he uttered uselessly--he was talking to a corpse, and nothing more.  "But, how did you die?"<br/><br/>The words had barely left him when the dead man responded, his voice rattling out from lips stained purple and red as the magic of the spell drained from his empty veins.<em>"Caught unawares, ambushed by a crab beast."</em><br/><br/>Vinny looked up sharply, staggering to his feet.  "If<em>that</em>isn't reason enough to hurry along, m'dear, I don't know what is!"