Silly me. I wrote earlier I was surprised to hear that the Ethereal tower inside was similar to places in our world. Surprised because my guess was that the tower also would lead to the brothers. And that every floor was a representation of what kind of place, or rather what kind of brother you would meet through the portal. And silly, because I bet they have trees and lava and savanna where they live as well. Because they might be as near as Umbrion and Tenebrion, just their illusions are working better. Sigh. Not the brightest am I.

While dressing up in library, heading out to hunt - I got invited to join a group that were headed for Lyfe Isle. After a quick detour though the valley to get Axell and a fallen mystic, we headed for Ethereal Plane instead. That´s right. Ethereal Plane. Yor used the stone to open a portal directly from the Valley to the plane. It was such an adventure! While I have been travelling the Zodiac circle on many occasions, I haven´t been back outside the circles since that first time when we got there. The news of the path defining itself from Ep to Purgatory had reached our ears as well, and we were determined to go through the mirrors in the Tower. There were the same beasties as we met when we first arrived there, and to tell the truth - my knees were shaking just a little bit. I´ll never forget that initial battle that lasted for 4 hours see. I can still feel the pain in my arm after that one. This time it wasn´t more than what the group could handle, and we fought our way down to the Tower. This tower I have heard so much about but never seen.

A wonderful group this was by the way. Two of my favourite Zo, and Axell , Thuja, Sai, Achates - how could we fail? While we at one point was challenged, and I saw Thuja red - there were never an imminent depart waiting. That´s always good news, despite the situation. Inside the tower - every floor, as Yor pointed out , bears a resemblance to a place from our world. The snells in ethereal plane are octagon, 8 snell crossings. Gurgi could tell me some days ago that some crossings are indeed one way, while most seems to be two way. We strolled around, travelled the plane for awhile, and then turned back and left through the mirror to Tenebrion´s Isle. Later I deared the travel again with another group, but this time the group had less healer power, and - on top of that - we met no less than 3 Ethereal Clouds. I have never met one, seen one or been hit by one - so I had no idea what we were up against. All I knew was that it would be smart to run. We did, and retreated. The clouds had taken us completly by surprise though, so it was not much left to retreat with, or even fight with. We lost it completly after that. The whole ordeal reminded me very much of the first ventures into Orga Outback, before we got used to the place.

But, as it turned out - this was going to be a day in the sign of the Ethereal Plane. When I later stepped outside of the library, Callia had a conversation with Tenebrion in his conference room. I´m not going to bore you with the details of me trying to help Odesseus and Forey, then getting trapped by guards in the Courtyard and then falling to a rat, and after eons of time and rat nibbling - finally raised in town by a zillion healers. No, as I said - I will go straight to the point....

The major thing they discussed was what we previously have heard from Rieger: Tenebrion: "Ether is flowing out of the Ethereal Plane at a rate I have never seen before. If I am correct and it is following the paths to Purgatory, your town could be in considerable trouble. Every time someone moves from the Ethereal Plane to Purgatory they are making things worse. "(Departing also causes this) Callia has made the whole transcript available, as there are other things of interest there as well. Especially Tenebrion´s reaction to Callia´s knowledge of the constellation Sororian.

Some exile-news: Forey the bard and Journeyman has joined RQ. Hurrah! And he has made some nice scrolls too. Thuja finally made it and got her golden bard belt. Congratulations to her. It will look so good with the green outfit. We are eagerly awaiting Felicity and Koric´s marriage. Someone tell them to hurry up? And tell Slyph and Althea that too. Sheesh...The latter just takes time because they can´t agree on what to wear. Slasher is back in the lands, and I saw Mr Fancy Pants in town square the other day. And I have sensed Jo´Maril in the lands as well, but haven´t met him yet. I am quite nervous about meeting Jo´Maril, as he was my mentor in fighting when I came to the lands. I hope he will be pleased with me, but I just never know with that one. And if he starts to talk about trools again, I swear I´ll just close my ears. And not kiss one, this time.

Day 36 of Autumn, 542. Just another day in OC4... Rodding while fighters play Blackjack...This raid went very well, we had a good group with experienced Orga Camp raiders, although we were for some time confused as to whether the Magician would show up or not. He did, eventually. Sadly - Diotima, Groan and the other mystics didn´t have the training to obtain a stone, but it was a successfull raid all in all. Next time. J´jh and I had one breathtaking experience though. A group fell in OC3, and Kojiro , our raid´s loud leader, got a rescue team togeher from OC4. OC3 was full of locks though, so our rescue team was soon dispatched of. Almost. J´jh and I stuck together, and she was healing me as I killed the locks. Now, I don´t have much killing speed, I have some darkus, but the locks got me slowly down, despite J´Jhs healing. We were both getting close to red after the 6th or seven lock, and the last one was over the river. I was dealing with the last one west of river, and had about enough health left that a Chigger-hit would fell me. Katan, on white, strolls down, and not even knowing what was up or how close call it is - he takes the last lock bolt and runs after it, buying J´jh and me some time to heal up. All got up after that, there were about 15 corpses about. Whew. Sometimes, luck is on my side.

You might remember that the first time one of the Ethereal Stones were tested, many exiles saw a Tower in there when they ran through in panic and eventually fell. Later groups that have used the Stone, have been able to get inside the tower. Here is what Yor could tell of the findings:

That Tenebrion and Umbrion were connected and that they travelled through the ethereal plane when they wanted to pay eachother a visit, do not come as a surprise...... That the tower contains images of our world, does however. At least to me. Although an exit from the tower to our world inside was very likely. The groups also confirms that there are different snells for different zodiacs. As you may recall, when we travel the Zodiac Circle lead by the Crystal, we end up in the Rat. How many snells the plane consists of, no one could tell me, but my guess is that there are more than the number of zodiacs. I haven´t seen any sketches of the Obelisks inside the tower, and if they are similar in shape with those in Tenebrion´s basement. Although I am beginning to think of them as Pillars more, and not obelisks. Pillars as in things that keeps something else "up".

Merchants in Tenebrion´s keep have been offering Ethereal Stones in exchange for an Ethereal Sword, and they also want an Ethereal Helmet. No one I have talked have yet seen one, but the most interesting part is that such a thing exists. If you follow that line of thought, sword -helmet, you also get maybe armour and shield. Who knows...

There is one thing I really don`t get though. Tenebrion was very upset and angry over us travelling the planes, and now he lets merchants into his keep to deal with Plane things? What made him change his mind, or did he? He tried to keep us away from the place a very long time, and now he turns on a dime and let us in , just like that? Doesn´t make much sense. Tenebrion isn´t the kind of guy that does something for nothing you know.

RQ is busy these days, trying to find out what has happened with our dear Clanlord Aeaea. While our Soulguider, and now Clanlord Healery try to calm us down, many demands blood. And in this case, Naamahs blood. What I do know is that Aeaea is missing, and that Naamah claims she killed him, because one sister of the Nox Sorora was not accepted into the clan. Now, I don´t really believe that see, but I am confused. There are other things at work here I am sure. We just need to find out what. Others say that Aeaea is on a quest somewhere, travelling the planes. And Indigo I know is searching for him. I have no idea what happened, I need to talk to more clanmates first - but in the meantime I am sharpening the blade on my axe - just in case.

Sombdi, day 28 of Autumn, 542 (aka July 28th, 2001) a group meets Tenebrion in his audience chamber. He warns exiles that a path leading from EP to our Purg is becoming more defined. He also says that our leaving to Purg from EP is what causes this. And also "There are thousands of ways out that do not require leaving to Purgatory." He also says a storm is brewing..The whole report from Rieger can be found here.

Many many moons ago a group of exiles met Fat Alice outside her hut on Lyfe Isle, down in the woods somewhere. She is the one yelling at you from the tunnels under her house. The one that desperately needs to talk to Kizmia. Anyway, this old hag - because that is what she is - a relative of Prue no doubt, had lots of things to say. J´jh was awake enough to make a transcript.

Lyfe Isle is a scary place, I have written that before. On a long expedition to this island many many moons ago, I got a sketch of what I find most scary, the Lyfeledia´s themselves. And the change they take. At day the place is not so very dangerous for a strong group, at night - the island is death on paws. We were exploring a huge cave complex on the east side of the island. A cave where the pathfinders can see marks from someone who has gone there before, and a room with a map, where all the marks used are placed in a circle. Intriguing it is indeed. It looks very much like the marks Hulapop left us to find the safe way to the Darshak outpost, but I doubt Hulapop has been here before. Might be Kizmia, I really doubt it´s the Lyfeledias. Anyway, I ran first into a tunnel, and caught these in their natural form, and then their transformation.

They seem to transform into any form available to them, as a Pink Lyfeledia might as well look like an artak, or anything else. At night, they stand up and walk on two. At day, they look like cute kitties....We were exploring mainly during the day this time, and when night drew close - we were in a hurry to leave the island. I ran for my life to the sylvan fighter tree, and we crossed the farm and the bridge just at the stroke of midnight. The cute kittie next to me growled and stood up on it´s feet, and I knew we just had to get the hell out of there... Thankfully we did, in boat and not through Purgatory. The whole expedition took around a whole PT day, but it was worth it.

Inside this huge cavecomplex is a large room, with a huge statue of a catlike creature, and a sleeping one in front of it. The statue glows with an unnatural glow, shifting colors - and somehow.. I don´t want to be around it when it´s midnight. It´s scary, really scary.

On a related note, I hear Kojiro and a group solved the fire maze under Umbrion´s Castle and got an Ash Key and travelled the Abyssal Zodiac....!

Thuja has made a copy of the Boatman´s tale if you are not able to go there so often to hear it yourself.

This Zo has been so kind to me over the past year. I really appreciate him. Once, he slayed a tree giant and dragged the remains as a present for me to town square. How sweet and romantic, and very Zo like don´t you think? The Knight is also not so mean as he once was, so I am a rather content Sylvan Lady at the moment. As one said to me: A Lady like you need at least 2! Well, I don´t know - but it does make me happy to be so desireable.

I was able to pass the fifth circle test the second time I tried. I had help from a talisman K´pyn gave me, and I guess the witch was asleep too - making the whole thing much easier. Now, the sixth is another matter entirely, not even the talisman can help me there I´m afraid. Those pebbles are a pain to avoid. And I don´t have enough defense for that young sasquatch, who enjoys hitting me in the back while I try to avoid incoming .. missiles. Ooof...Someone mentioned that 2.5 K for a red belt is pocketchange for a 5th circler. I don´t know who he knows, but I sure would like to know them as well. Hopefully I will be able to get my red belt sometime before 542 becomes 543.