<span class="bbc_size" style="font-size: 14pt;"><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: georgia;">Fourway - The Aftermath</span></span><br/><br/>It wasn’t difficult for the fox to track the ogres in the dark forest.  They made enough noise they could be tracked on sound alone.  Not to mention the foul stench they gave off.  If the fox was blind and deaf he still would be able to track the ogres by just their scent.  The strength of the bond to Maeve faded as he went deeper into the forest, but it was always there, that knot of emotion that was tied to his new master, whom he still has yet to meet.<br/><br/><br/>A small crowd had gathered around Berash’s family, or what was left of it.  The father was so heart wrenched that he hadn’t even noticed that Ardin was missing until now.  “Ardin… where is Ardin?” the panic in his voice led one to believe that the man expected the worse.  None of the surrounding crowd knew what happened to the boy, or if they did, then they didn’t have the heart to tell the boy’s father that he was taken.<br/><br/>Maeve’s spell directed healing energy into Cale’s body but the spell had little to no effect.  The Mayor watched mournfully as he dug in his pouch for a strawberry sized gem of quartz.  “May I?” he asked softly to Cale’s father.  The old man nodded, “p..p..please, anything if you can save him.”<br/><br/>Mayor Hansbrough nodded and placed the gem on the boy’s chest and finished the spell that he had discreetly started and began to cast a second spell.  (If anyone has spellcraft, you can make a roll to determine what the mayor is trying to do here)  After five minutes or so of preparations and chanting, the gem of quartz began to change color.  At first it took on a faint yellow, the color deepening and the crystal growing clearer.  The yellow slowly turned to a pale green while growing clearer as the color darkened.  The mayor continued to chant and focus his magic into Cale and the gem.  The gem completely clear now and one of the most beautiful shades of blue-green anyone had ever seen, the color stopped developing and the mayor stopped his chanting and concentration.<br/><br/>With a sigh of relief, the mayor slouched over in exhaustion.  His hair noticeably grayer than before and the lines on his face a little more well-defined, “It is done.” he said as he took the gem and examined it.  Upon close inspection, one could see the colors swirling inside the gem, blue and green with a few streaks of yellow all mingling inside the small jewel.  “I have preserved Cale’s lifeforce inside of this vessel.  As long as we keep this gem unharmed, Cale will have a chance at life again.”  The Mayor didn’t specify if Cale would have a chance at life in his original body or not.<br/><br/><br/>The ogre that had taken Deborah’s bait jumped back in time to avoid being struck by the priestess’s staff.  Roaring in annoyance at the priestess, the ogre’s breath smelled like a decaying carcass.  (Deborah make a constitution check – the ogre’s breath is indeed that foul!)<br/><br/>The roar drew the attention of Ruy and a few of the villagers.  Seeing Deborah on the ground and the ogre standing over her, Ruy instinctively nocked an arrow and shot.  The arrow whistled through the air and passed close enough to the ogre’s face that the monster could feel the wind off of it.<br/>