Continued from S3: The Beast, demon of Blood Fountain Tower (Portrait). “People call him the ‘bog-man’,” Roland explained. “He’s a religious fanatic; a priest of Arkyn who showed up about thirty years ago raving about some terrible evil lurking in the Marshes. My father dismissed him, so he built himself a hut in there. Deeper in then any of the peat farmers would go. I’m sure Orlan would have told Ny’essa about him.” “What makes you think that beast hasn’t gotten to him?” Rynard asked, eyeing the foul swamp with clear distaste. “It may have,” Roland replied. “But if he knew it was coming, I’d think he’d prepare a defense for himself. If he’s still alive, he may know where the tower is.” Resigned to the fact that they had to find this ‘bog-man’, they set off into the Marshes on foot, knowing that their horses would only become mired and lost to the swamp. Trudging through the seemingly endless bogs; they followed what appeared to be a trial, at lest it seemed to weave along the most solid ground available. The unnatural fog made it hard to determine where the sun was, but they all knew it would be setting soon, and they were well past the point of no return. If they didn’t find this ‘bog-man’ soon, they would have to stop and try to prepare a defensible camp. Suddenly a figure seemed to materialize out of the mist in front of them. “So the lord-protector of Mistendell finally heeds my warning,” he greeted them with clear distain. “Now that the ancient evil has awoken… and the fountain flows with blood of many!” Then he turned and retreated into the fog, forcing them to rush to keep up with him. The waning light confirmed that the sun was setting by the time they reached his compound which occupied a small island of dry ground, marked by a wide line of crushed white stones set into the dirt and a mosaic in the form of the sign of Arkyn. To be continued on S3: Thedius, the bog-man (Portrait). Once just a simple scribe serving the temple of Law in Aflitain, Thedius discovered an ancient text that recounted the tale of Blood Fountain Tower, and became obsessed with it. Believing it was a message from Arkyn, he went in search of the tower, even though no one else believed it existed… and found it! But the lord-protector of the region, Roland’s father, dismissed him as a crazed, religious zealot; leaving him to stand watch over the eternal evil that slept there alone. Driven nearly as mad as everyone believed by thirty years of solitude in the foul Marshes of the Mist, Thedius betrayed everything he believed in when Ny’essa seduced him into aiding her and Orlan in finding the tower. He tried to redeem himself by leading Roland’s expedition to the tower, and facing the immortal evil there, Lady Sol, but died under the claws of her demonic servant, the ‘Beast’. Thanks for looking... Hope you enjoy! Comments and suggestions always welcome and appreciated!