Adventure 1: The Haunted Stump

Banyan City, on the Great Plains bordering the Black Dessert, was an amazing community inhabited by every form of life one could think of. It was the largest city on the plains and target for the Dessert's hate. It was constantly spitting out heinous creatures to infest the abandoned inner districts of the great tree city. To protect the citizens of the great metropolis the Surveyors were created to...survey the inner districts.

One of their up and coming Surveyors was Nigel Priest. While filled with potential, Nigel was still a high schooler working to become one of the Surveyor’s Pilots. Until he was ready he and his friends were in charge of the old market, home of hermits, artisans, wandering animals, and the occasional ghost.

Nigel was sitting at his desk on the rookie floor when the hubbub started. The Captain—a burly man named Trait—pushed his way into the noisy room, greeted with instant silence when the rookies spotted him. Captain Trait was a fun guy that never wanted his agents to feel uncomfortable, but the look on his face told everyone that he wasn't in his usual joking mood.

"We've just received a report from the 12th district of a Goltagaul sighting," he barked.

Several rookies gasped, one almost fainting. Nigel knew why: Goltagaul's were one of the most destructive of the monsters that crawled out of the Black desert. Great hulking beasts covered in impenetrable black scale with venomous fangs, deadly claws, and a blinding thirst for blood and chaos. They used to be rare, maybe one sighting every 30 years, but ten years ago a nest that had escaped the crusades hatched. There had been nearly a thousand eggs, tripling their dwindling population. Nearly half of the rookies in the room had decided to join the Surveyors after barely escaping the beasts during the attacks 9 years ago; including Nigel.

"Witnesses say the thing's 40 feet long, the biggest on record," the captain went on, "So we're on high alert. Most of you rookies will be assigned to bolster the scouts; do as they say and try not to get in the monster’s way, these things have no mercy. Others will be sent out to evacuate civilians and stationed at key posts so that we can keep track of this thing. Let's move it, people!"

Everyone around him got to their feet, grabbing their gear, but Nigel didn't move.

"Nigel," said his best friend Ruby Shunts, "Grab you're gear. We gotta go."

Ruby was a fleet fairy, born and raised in the city. She was pretty, fast, smart, and charming, a potent mix. Copper hair, warm brown eyes, sleek wings, and an impish smile rounded her out. Ruby was a part-time Surveyor and captain of the school archery team; she'd been assigned to Nigel's team shortly after arriving.

"Maybe he knows something we don't," came the metallic voice of their team mate, Maxum.

Maxum was an android with a Generation 2 A.I., the peak of the A.I. revolution. He was built to be as close to humanoids as possible, but his social skills were a bit off so he'd been sent to school and made friends with Nigel and Ruby. Originally he'd been a marionette model, over the last year he'd been outfitted with synthetic skin, but he still wore the long coat from when he tried to cover his joints to fit in better. He was a nice guy, though a bit eccentric.

Next to his partners Nigel almost disappeared. He was 100% human, raised on the outskirts of the city, living a completely normal life until his family was almost killed by a Goltagaul. Already smart, Nigel had pushed himself to become better. While he wasn't as fast as Ruby or as strong as Maxum, he was more fit then any of the other human rookies, but more importantly he was a strong leader. He knew the strengths of his team and knew how best to use them; and he could always keep his head in a crisis. He had a pretty good sense of humor and wasn't bad looking either; at least if you went for sweet, strong, and confident.

"We're not going after the Goltagaul," Nigel said, "It's illegal to send anyone under age into a high risk situation. That's why we're only given menial tasks instead of the hard stuff we're qualified for."

"Glad you understand that, Nigel," said Captain Trait, suddenly appearing out of thin air; Camelon's tended to do that when they were stressed.

"Gah!" Ruby yelped, shooting a good 4 feet into the air in alarm. Maxum jumped too, which is something for an android.

"You want us to stay put, sir?" Nigel asked, ignoring them except to smile, "help coordinate communication and tracking the beast?"

"We've got that covered," the captain said, waving his hand, "actually I want you to cover for one of our agents on the Goltagaul. He's been trying to help a lingering spirit near your patrol, but he hasn't been very successful; she has no voice and he sucks at charades. Normally, I'd leave it to him, but it's been long enough that we're worried it'll turn into a poltergeist and-"

"We don't need that kind of trouble when we've got a Goltagaul on the loose," Nigel finished, understanding that far, but: "Poltergeist are considered high risk. We're not allowed those cases either."

"Yes," the captain agreed, "Technically you aren't, but technically this is still a lingering spirit case. You're the best qualified if things go wrong, so you up for it?"

"Yes, sir," Nigel said, accepting the offered file, "Let's head out guys."

Maxum and Ruby followed Nigel out the doors, down the hall, and through the station's front doors into the filtered morning sun. The South East Surveyor’s headquarters was deep enough in the Banyan tree that it only got direct sunlight in the late after noon; and even then for only part of the year. The tradeoff for that lack of light was that the area didn't experience draughts as often as the Western edge facing the dessert.

The parking lot next to headquarters was almost empty, only desk jockeys, rookies, and company vehicles left. Nigel's Sorant was parked out in the middle of nowhere, previously surrounded by other agent vehicles.

"I'll drive," Ruby announced, hopping into the driver's seat. Ruby was one of the few fairies in the city with wings small enough that she could fly pretty easily among the roots, but she still loved to drive; especially Nigel's slick, midnight blue XV Panther convertible Sorant with magic-to-electric, 6-gear engine; one of the last models from the Pearl Age.

As soon as Maxum and Nigel got in the back Ruby started the engine and they set off. Nigel opened the file and scanned it as they soared over the business district. Captain Trait was pretty old fashioned, he refused to use crystal panel and stuck to digi-pads, but Nigel wasn't one to complain.

"Ok," he said, finished reviewing the facts, "Report was filed by Agnun Hoplet, the Abset inventor in the Flute lily house."

"Ey makes musical children's toys," Maxum provided, reviewing his file on eir. He had complete files on everyone living in the old market; which was only 20 people, actually.

"Yep," Nigel confirmed, "Ey was out collecting herbs and fungus behind eir house when ey found the ghost sitting on a stump."

"A real stump?" Ruby asked, surprised.

Banyans were massive trees that grew mostly horizontally, sending down vines from the canopy that would thicken into trunks once they reached the ground. Getting the permits, figuring out how to chop down the trunks, and the mere idea of cutting the veins of your home made the craft very uncommon. Thus, stumps were so rare that many city raised kids lived their whole lives without seeing one.

"A real stump," Nigel said, smiling, "The ghost is a 10-year-old girl—markings on her throat suggested she died of Atrak Thulnadal[12]—Agnun tried to talk to her, but when the girl opened her mouth nothing came out. So, ey contacted the surveyors. Agent Lemon, 3rd year scout, got the case and has been going every day for about a month. Explains why we keep seeing him. Anyway, he hasn't made any progress but didn't request any assistance or equipment except a spectral camera to take this image," he swiped his finger across the screen to bring up an image of a ghostly girl with a round, sad face and showed it to Maxum, "I hear he's a bit old fashioned, like the captain, so he probably went to the hospitals and showed this picture to the nurses. He didn't put in anything about an inquiry so it probably didn't bear fruit. Run facial recognition on her and see what you get. If that doesn't work do approximations, look for family."

"Got it," Maxum said, accepting the message containing the girl's picture.

"Have any opinion on her lack of voice, Ruby?" Nigel asked her, trying not to twitch as she made a sharp turn to avoid a passing leaf dragon, "Do we have any spells to give it back?"

"None off the top of my head," Ruby said, signaling for a low turn, "Mercy was up when I left, you can scry her."

Nigel nodded and pulled out his crystal panel. Mercy was Ruby's older sister, a consultant for the Surveyor’s on behalf of the Inventor's guild, the Board of Arcane, and Council of Speakers. Nigel tapped her icon on his mirror screen and waited for her to accept the spell. A few moments later Mercy's face shimmered into existence on the screen.

"Hey, Nigel," she said, smiling at him from the bright, messy, cluttered space she called her lab.

Mercy was a big sky fairy, built for flying long distances over rough terrain such as mountains, war fields, or desserts. Despite being 3 years older than Ruby they looked like they could have been twins. They shared the same heart face shape, brown eyes, mischievous smile, and sense of humor. However, while Ruby's hair was a great mess of copper Mercy's was carefully controlled of red that exposed her perfectly pointed ears. Her skin was also a full shade paler then Ruby's, as she spent most of her time in her lab inventing or doing research for various groups, and she needed glasses. She was an energetic, friendly person with a sharp mind, hot temper, and tendency to be a bit over protective of her beloved little sister.

"Hi, Mercy," Nigel replied, "We just got a new case and we'd like to know if we have any magical options."

"Of course," she said, over acting distress, "You never call just to say hi. I feel so unloved."

"We were over for dinner just last night," Maxum commented.

She chuckled. "I know," she said, grinning at them. She loved to give them grief, a sure sign she cared for them, "Alright, give me what ya got."

Nigel summarized all the facts for her finishing with: "I've asked Maxum to run facial recognition so we can learn more."

"And I've got more," he declared, messaging the files, "Her name was Lulinsa Skytears."

"River Elf," Ruby said, an expert on cultural names, "South eastern providence of the Mashcin kingdom. Born here?"

"No, her parents moved to the city after her gift for song was discovered; she was a big hit. But, she was caught in the Thulnadal epidemic 54 years ago. The doctors believed she would pull through, but when she lost her voice she gave up hope and passed."

"Poor thing," Mercy crooned, saddened.

"If she died 50 years ago," Maxum asked, not familiar with magic, "Why did she appear now? And why is she haunting a stump instead of her home or the hospital she died in?"

"It's Surveyor policy to tear down any building where more than 3 unrelated people contract the same dieses," Nigel said, reading the file further, "According to her file she lived in an apartment building that had 7 other victims. There was nothing to return to there."

"And all hospital, hospice, morgues, and other places where people regularly die or their bodies are dealt with have wards to prevent hauntings," Ruby provided, recalling her magic lessons.

"She may have chosen the stump because she used to play there," Mercy said, pulling spell books from her shelves off screen, "or because of the music from Agnun's place: ghosts are often attracted to sights, sounds, or smells they felt connected to while they were alive. As to why she only appeared now there are a wide variety of factors: a change in the stump's environment, the sudden death of a family member, saturation of magic in the area, distress in Agnun' house, she could have arrived at the stump weak and only just gained the power to manifest, or numerous other reasons. Despite all our research on ghosts and death it's still a great mystery, but in regards to her voice I think I can help. The most likely cause is residual from her death, like how someone who was decapitated often walks around with their head tucked under their arm."

"Thanks for the visual," Nigel said, grimacing.

"Best example," Mercy shrugged, it took something pretty serious to disturb her; she flicked through her books until she tapped one page in particular, apparently pleased, "Ok, I've got it. A level 3 Runic spell. It's a bit more complicated then you're used to, Ruby, but I think I can walk you through it."

"Great," Nigel said, unbuckling as they landed near the entrance to the old market; the gaps between trunks were much too small for his sorant to squeeze through, "We'll scry you when we get there."

"Kay," she said, smiling, "I'll look for more in case that doesn't work." She tapped her mirror and ended the spell.

They landed and headed into the market place. All of Banyan city was covered in plants, vines, and often fused with trunks from the tree, making it near impossible to discern where the buildings ended and plants began. The old market was even more so because no one tended to the buildings anymore, many strategically collapsed by the Surveyors over the years.

Nigel lead his team down the overgrown path through the main market, imagining what it had been like in its heyday: bustling with shoppers and traders hawking wears. It had been built during the latter part of the steam age, meaning several building were decorated with od gears and stacks for whatever machines once made their business possible. All that was left were old stands, faded signs, and flowers breaking through the worn cobblestones.

As they wound through the unplanned streets toward Agnun's place they spotted many of the beings that made their home in the market. Most of the registered residences were older citizens who didn't like people or forsaken modern convenience, but there were several runaway kids who didn't trust anyone and pariahs of normal society, but everyone liked and trusted Nigel and his team. Even the hermits, who barely tolerated their neighbors, liked the kids who steadily watched over them.

It took ten minutes for them to reach Agnun's place and another three to convince eir they didn't need a second breakfast; ey was a terribly kind individual who adored company, especially children. After giving them some of eir delicious homemade cookies ey led them out back to the stump.

"It's empty," Maxum observed, staring at the empty stump surrounded by song lilies.

Agnun whistled a few notes and the spectral girl faded into existence, a gentle wind causing the lilies to sing and catching the girl's shimmering white dress. Bidding them good luck and giving Ruby another cookie—the dear had to keep up her strength—Agnun headed back to eir house.

"Hello, Lulinsa," Nigel said friendly, earning a wide eyed look from the little spirit as he pulled out his crystal panel again, "I'm Nigel and these are my friend's Ruby and Maxum. We're surveyors sent to help you." He pulled up the mirror screen and scryed Mercy again.

Lulinsa smiled warmly at them as Mercy appeared on the mirrored surface, quick to give orders: "Ok, get out your chalk, Ruby, you'll be writing the ruins on the stump."

Ruby started fishing around her hip-bag for chalk, but as the seconds stretched into a minute, she began to frown.

"Oh dear," Mercy said sarcastically, picking on her sister, "Is the boy scout unprepared?"

"Wouldn't she be a girl scout?" Maxum asked, reaching into his own pockets to pull out a piece of chalk; it’s anybody’s guess why he had it.

"I don't scout for girls," Ruby said with a flirtatious wink, causing Nigel to chuckle, "Thanks, Maxum." She accepted the chalk and went around the back of the stump. "What do I write, Merc?"

As Mercy coached Ruby through the glyphs for the spell Nigel and Maxum told the girl a story about the time Maxum got stuck in the tree trying to chase down some run away auto-mice at Mercy's lab. It was a silly thing, but it seemed to make her happy. Just as they got Maxum out of the tree Ruby finished writing her spell and they all stepped back.

Ruby drew a control glyph on her hand and intoned: "Velpa Nult." I lend my gift to this lingering soul.

The glyphs glowed ruby red, the color of her magic, and began to move. They twisted, wiggled, until they pulled themselves off the stump.

"Hold still, little one," Mercy called from the screen, seeing the concern on Lulinsa's little face, "It'll take just a moment. Then you’ll get your voice back."

She nodded and held still as the glyphs scurried and crawled up her dress and arms to lie on her throat. As the last glyph found its place on her neck the glow changed to white and faded to reveal smooth, unmarred skin.

"Done," Ruby said, looking a little worn. She was a capable spell caster, but not the strongest; she much preferred battle magic to planned spells.

"H-hello?" Lulinsa said, her voice like water spilling on river rocks. "Oh, I can talk again." She started to cry, whipping phantom tears from her transparent face. "Th-thank you so much," she choked out.

"You're welcome," Nigel said, going to one knee so he was at eye level with her. "Now, can you tell us why you're still here? What's you unfinished business?"

“Nothing really,” the little elf said shyly. “I just like playing with the lilies and listening to Ind Agnun play eir music. Eir grandmother was my music teacher and she used to come out and play for me, but after she passed and Ind. Agnun moved in I was too shy to approach eir.”

“What changed?” Ruby asked.

Lulina got a sour look on her face. “There’s a gremlin that lives near here and he keeps trying to get into Ind. Agnun’s house and destroy eir toys. He pulls up lilies and teases me when he can’t get past eir barrier. He’s not very strong, so I don’t think he’ll ever get past it, but he’s really mean so I’m worried he might try to attack eir.”

“Gremlins don’t usually attack people,” Maxum said, quickly running through his database on Gremlins, “But there have been a few cases. They’re unpredictable when angered.”

“Well, let’s see what we can do,” Nigel said, “Where’s this guy’s house?”

The ghostly girl pointed to a gap in the trunks. “He lives in the green and pink toadstool cottage in the fair folk community two clearings over. He just lost his job so he’ll be in.”

“Let’s go,” Ruby said, zipping off and slipping through the gap.

“She’s eager,” Lulinsa observed.

“Pixies and fairies are natural allies,” Mercy said from the screen, reminding everyone she was still there, “It’s in our nature to be friends so we’re always excited to see each other.”

“And our classmate Silverwisp lives around here,” Maxum said, following Nigel toward the gap.

“There’s that too.”

“Um, Maxum,” Nigel said, bracing his hand on a trunk to pull himself through the gap, “Maybe you should stay with Lulinsa.”

“Why?”

“Gremlin,” Nigel pointed through the gap, “Android,” he pointed at Maxum.

The look in his eyes said Maxum had completely forgotten what Gremlins liked doing to electronic when upset. “Right. I will stay here then.”

Nigel smirked. “Good ide- WHOA!”

The young surveyor back peddled away from the gap as several shimmering pixies shot through followed by Ruby laden with other fair folk. She landed next to the stump, letting the little people clamber off and hurry into hiding while the alarmed pixies whirled around her head, flashing different colors and letting out bell-like chatter. After the last brownie hit the ground the fairy shot back to her team mates, wide eyed and frightened.

“What’s wrong?” Nigel asked, hand resting on his laser gun.

“The Goltagaul!” She hissed, “It’s wasted the community. I grabbed everyone I could, but I think it saw me.”

“Good god,” Nigel breathed, frightened, “We have to get out of here. Clear out the market.”

They took off at a run back toward the market, but just as the neared the stump they heard the trunks creak and break as something massive pushed through. Despite his instincts, Nigel turned back and gazed in horror at the terrible sight.

Black scales glistened, its hulking muscles rippling as it slithered through the wound in the tree. Its powerful legs didn't make a sound as it moved, its pitch black, three-foot-long talons caked in dirt, black sand, and fresh blood. It's flat, snake-like head swiveled to look at the clearing, the spikes topping its head shifting strangely, its purple tongue flicking out to taste the air, and its sickly green eyes drinking in every detail.

“Anuia protect us,” the little elf squeaked.

“What do we do?” Ruby gasped as the beast slowly filled the clearing. She’d stopped to watch, hovering over Nigel and Maxum; there was no way her friends could outrun the monster and she wouldn’t leave them behind.

“Goltagauls are susceptible to elven singing,” Mercy shouted from the crystal panel still held loosely in Nigel’s hand.

Without further prompting, the elven ghost started a grand aria. As she sang the lilies started to play an accompaniment, and the creature became transfixed. It’s head swayed as it turned it’s lidded gaze on the girl, ignoring the others in the clearing.

"Fascinating," Maxum whispered. "It's working."

"Fantastic," Ruby whispered. "So instead of dyeing straight away we get a musical accompaniment to our panic."

"Keep calm," Nigel ordered, bringing the crystal panel to his face, "Mercy, contact headqu-" he didn't need to finish the statement, seeing things flying across the screen as Mercy searched chanting: "Mirror! Mirror! Where is that stupid spare mirror!?!"

"Do we have anyway to trap it?" He asked his team, unclipping the latch on his laser.

"No," Ruby said, "Only level 7 sealing spells can contain it."

"I'm limited too," Maxum admitted, "I’m not equipped with any material strong enough to hold it."

"How about fire power?" Nigel asked, the song nearing its end, "Do we have enough to kill it?"

"I could hurt it," Maxum said, "But I can't breach its scales."

"The scales are impervious to heat," Ruby said, "Your laser on full power wouldn't be able to do anything, let alone my fire."

"Captain Felburt and his unit are on their way," Mercy called before they could say more, "He says to not to do anything stupid, but try to keep it there."

"That seems contradictory," Maxum said, slowly changing his arm to a blaster.

"We'll do what we can," Nigel said, drawing his laser.

"If any of you die, I'll kill you," Mercy said, looking panicked, "Understand?"

"Bye, sis," Ruby said, tapping the end spell button, "We ready?"

"We're ready," Nigel said, nodding to Lulinsa.

The song lilies entered their final crescendo and as Lulinsa released her final note silence filled the clearing. She lingered for a moment, looking at the surveyors in worry.

“Go,” Nigel mouthed, and she did. Withdrawing back into her stump, she left the clearing deathly quiet. Not a good omen.

After a dazed moment the beast finally noticed the trio. Its eyes became fierce and it pulled its great head back, preparing to strike. The kids tensed, ready to leap away. In a moment's breath the serpent’s head struck forward and closed its great jaws, not around flesh, but a ball of fire. Nigel and Maxum scurried away, looking for cover, as Ruby buzzed around the beast's head. Fire engulfed her hand, trailing down from scars on her upper arm; scar magic, one of the oldest of the archaic arts that allowed a user to draw power and weapons from any naturally healed wound that left a scar.

The Goltagaul struck at the swift fairy again and again, always missing her by a hair's breath. Ruby felt her heart pounding in her chest, every instinct screaming at her to run away each time those venomous fangs nearly touched her.

"Can I get some help here?" She shouted, somehow witty while terrified.

In answer Maxum and Nigel started shooting the monster's hide, causing it to jump in pain. It twisted around, lunging for their hiding place. Before it could reach them, Ruby dived in front of it, drenching it with fire. It hissed in frustration, snapping at her again.

"This isn't working," Nigel said, shaken. That had felt far too much like his childhood nightmares. "We need-" his crystal panel began to sing. He quickly snatched it from his pocket to see Mercy was scrying him.

"I got something!" She declared when he connected, "I think if I blend these two spells you can kill it! Where's Ruby?"

"Distracting the beast," Maxum said, as they repeated the maneuver again.

"WHAT!?" Mercy yelped, her sisterly instincts going crazy.

"The best way to help her is to kill it," Nigel said quickly, "But I can't cast spells. What do we do?"

"I installed a new function in your panel last night," she said, working with her own panel, "It's a magic transfer. It'll let me channel my power through you to cast a spell."

"You should really ask me before you do those things," He said, pulling up the function anyway.

She ignored him.

He pressed the icon and the screen turned to a swirl of multicolored light. It was the Heart of Souls, the source of all magical power. Leave it to Mercy to find a way to open a gate to the holiest of all magic sights in a simple crystal panel. A pair of spikes popped up on the sides.

"Peirce your palms on the spikes," Mercy ordered, a small window appearing with her face in it, "it'll let the magic flow into you."

"You couldn't find a less bloody way to do this?" He asked, flinching as he did so; he was very thankful they were only a quarter inch long.

"Next time," She promised, grimacing as she did so herself.

Nigel gasped as he felt the magic rush into him. It was like someone was flushing out his veins with fire, but not in a painful way. It was like every cell in his body was being filled with light. No wonder magicians were so energetic.

"Repeat after me," Mercy ordered, her face pale and surrounded by the swirling purple of her own power as it traveled through the Heart of Souls.

It was a lengthy incantation, but Nigel kept pace, recognizing only half of the words. The rest was the Elder Language, a tongue so old only the earth itself remembered it all; it was the only speech that held any sway over the Heart of Souls.

As the last word fell from Nigel's tongue he felt the power rush from him, spilling onto the ground as white light and racing toward the beast. He peered around his hiding place as the magic covered the monster in light, alarming it so it thrashed about in panic.

"It’s scales should be soft," Mercy said, her voice winded from the effort, "A stick could pierce them if we did it right."

"Ruby, Maxum!" Nigel shouted, breathing hard from the effort, "Aim for the neck!"

Neither of them questioned him and did as ordered. Maxum bombarded its neck with blasts as Ruby summoned her bow and knocked a glittering arrow. Quick as lightning she shot arrow after arrow into the beasts back, causing it to thrash in pain. Letting loose a tenth arrow she waited for it to sink it. As it did she snapped her fingers and the arrow heads exploded, causing the beast to hiss and thrash in agony, flesh, purple blood, and scales flying everywhere.

The glow began to fade, the spell dissipating, but the beast was as good as dead. Maxum took one last shot at its neck, the blast punching through its throat. The Goltagaul opened its mouth in a soundless cry, its eyes rolling up in its head, and collapsed. Dead.

A few minutes later Captain Felburt and 30 agents arrived to find the kids sitting together, exhausted and a bit worse for wear, but pleased with themselves. For the first few moments everyone was struck dumb by the sight of the smoking carcass. Then Felburt shouted at them and they began cleaning up the mess, congratulating the trio for such a harrowing feat. The Captain gave them a 10 minute lecture about not taking risks, but saying he was very proud, how they would get commendations, blah, blah, blah, they were just very glad to be alive.

As they sat recovering they spotted Agnun, Lulinsa, and many other residences beyond the safety line. They looked worried so Nigel waved, smiling. They all grinned and waved back, pride and relief written all over their faces.

Nigel let out a sigh and said: "That was way too easy."

Ruby opened her mouth to protest, but then thought better. "Yeah," was her final answer.

"That's because I'm brilliant," Mercy said, her face still a little drawn as she grinned from her messy lab.

"Or," Ruby said, earning a sour look from her sister, "The other agents wore him out chasing him. His hide looked pretty scratched and I think I saw some cuts and scorch marks in his mouth before I started."

"Or," Maxum said, oblivious to Mercy’s pouting, "when he saw a bunch of kids he figured he didn't need to try so hard and underestimated us."

"Yes, Maxum," Ruby said sarcastically, "He clearly had no idea the raw power hidden in the folds of your jacket."

"Arrogance is what causes people to overestimate their abilities," Mercy said, "Blood thirsty monsters don't suffer from such faults."

"You never know," Maxum said, "It could be a more common trait then we think, and Goltagauls could be smarter then we think."

"Seriously, Maxum," Nigel piped up, "Did Dr. Bluster specifically order an unconventional logic circuit for you? Or did he just have one lying around?"

Maxum's face became very serious as he said: "I don't know."

After a moment they all burst out laughing.

Adventure 1: Successful