THE CITY BEYOND THE GATE
A story compiled August 1985 by Stephen D'Angelo

Dungeon Master for a game played by.
Jason D'Angelo as Christopher
Rich Schmelter as Ahrgo and Candis
Scott McKee as Alreght
Janice Lunt as Azerail and Natasha

The adventure itself was written by Robert Schroeck and published in the 
August issue of Dragon Magazine.  Some text and descriptions are taken 
from the text and credit is due to the author, but story line and actions 
are those taken from a play of this adventure.  
___________________________________________________________________________

The story starts as our six adventurers meet in a tavern to discuss their 
exploits.  Christopher was a bard at the time skilled in fighting, 
thievery, and nature.  Standing six feet tall and wielding his magical 
staff he made one tough adversary.  Candis was second in the group.  He 
was a half-elven thief with strong psychic powers.  Ahrgo was a master 
illusionist.  Also half-elven, he seemed small, but he was powerful 
none-the-less.  Alreght was an experienced monk, capable of killing with 
one hand stroke.  Azerail wore chain mail and brandished a large Vorpal 
sword.  Being half-elven did not slow him.  He was a strong fighting man 
also skilled in the ways of the clerics.  Last in the group was Natasha.  
The only female in the group, she was skilled in aspects of nature and 
the druids.  

This group's conversation eventually led to the topic of the Mace of Saint
Cuthbert.  All of them had heard legends about it.  After a short 
conversation they all decided to search for this mace.  The fabled mace 
of Saint Cuthbert has been lost from the sight of human eyes for many 
centuries.  Some claim it lies at the heart of an active volcano, guarded 
by salamanders and flowing lava; others swear it lies buried deep inside 
the earth, warded by powerful magic raised by those who would see its 
power denied to the forces of Law and Good.  However, a few claim that 
none of these stories are true.  They claim that long ago, before the 
Sainted Cuthbert rose to his exalted station, his mace was hidden away 
outside the boundaries of normal time and space, in a place so outlandish 
that the Mace's power and destiny would be unknown and unknowable, and 
thus safe.  Armed with legends, rumors, and now a map to the fabled 
island of the gate (found by Christopher in a previous adventure) this 
band of adventurers was going to set out in search of the Mace of St. 
Cuthbert.  

Alreght hired a ship and the others made their preparations.  They left 
in early fall and sailed for a little over 3 weeks before reaching their 
destination.  There was indeed an island where the map had indicated.  It 
was a small one about half a mile north to south.  It had a lagoon to the 
northeast guarded by two cliffs, promontories at both the north and south 
ends, and a high plateau in the center.  Some forested areas existed, but 
the isle was predominately grass covered or white sand beach.  Upon the 
plateau stood a small, white house.  On the south cliff a small 
temple-like building stood in partial ruin.  Selecting the calm, clear 
watered lagoon as the best spot, the ship anchored there.  

While the crew went about their work, Alreght noticed two young women on 
the beach waving.  Signaling the others to see, they all decided to go 
ashore.  A crewmember manned the oars and brought the small launch ashore,
where the women introduced themselves as Selvana and Lilith.  After a 
little talk the girls invited the group up to the house, and they 
accepted. 

The walk to the house was short and they soon arrived at the house.  It 
was built of fieldstone and whitewashed.  This simple structure had the 
look of a farmhouse that had withstood many decades, maybe even centuries 
of sea air and weather.  The party entered into the dining room.  In the 
center of the room was a large table with over a dozen chairs.  They were 
worn as though many a feast had been presented here.  The room was lit by 
many oil lamps suspended from brackets on the walls, and the walls were 
decorated with many great weapons.   

The women moved off to the kitchen to prepare dinner, as dark would soon 
come.  Natasha went with them (in order to watch what went in the food).  
The others (except Alreght) stayed in the dining room to rest.  While 
Candis and Ahrgo examined the weapons (noting that 12 were without dust 
and seemed well used), Alreght secretly moved into the hall.  There were 
four doors here. He tried the first.  It opened easily (but noisily) into 
a large room with 12 beds and a shelf.  He looked around inside a little 
when he heard a voice behind him.  Turning to see one of the women 
leaning from the second door (of course. the kitchen), he closed the door
behind him.  "I see you've found the sleeping quarters," she said, 
"They're yours if you want them.  Better go wash up. Dinner will be ready
soon." And she was gone.  

Outside at the spring, Alreght, Candis, Ahrgo and the others discussed 
their strange hosts.  Why were they here?  Why did two small girls need 
six battle-axes and six bastard swords?  Why such a large house to serve 
so many?  They had a chance to ask some of their questions over dinner 
(after Natasha gave the OK).  They found out the girls had shipwrecked 
here sometime back and had taken up residence in this abandoned house.  
Food was easy to find and they had a spring just outside, so life was 
bearable.  The girls had asked if the group was looking for the Mace.  
This startled the group, but they answered "yes".  When asked how they 
might know of the Mace, the girls simply replied that others had come but 
left after failing to find anything.

During the conversation, Alreght again slipped down the hall.  Behind the 
third door was a seat with a hole to a stream, which could be heard below.
Obviously a place to relieve oneself, and uninteresting.  He moved on to 
the last door.  He quickly slipped into a plain room with two hard beds 
and a shrine to the gods of good.  Before he could do anything, the door 
opened and one of the girls kindly asked him to come to dessert.  She 
closed the door and followed him back to the main room with even more 
questions in his mind. 

The girls went off to their room after seeing that the group had been 
cared to.  In the sleeping quarters after the girls went to bed there was
a short conversation.  More questions had been raised.  If they had been 
shipwrecked, why hadn't they left with one of the earlier seekers of the 
Mace?  Candis also revealed that he tried a psionic mind probe and drew a 
blank.  After giving up on trying to find answers tonight, Christopher, 
Ahrgo, Candis, and Azerail fell asleep quickly in the beds.  Alreght 
rested in a state of meditation on the shelf across the room. Natasha 
wandered a bit outside, but finding nothing came inside to sleep with the
others.  And so the night started.  All asleep but Alreght (who seemed 
strangely groggy) in a strange room lit by candles that gave a slight 
scent to the air.  The calm of the night would not last long.

A few hours after bedtime, the door to the room slowly opened.  Alreght 
drew his two daggers in preparation of the worst.  He saw two creatures 
enter the room.  They had the upper torso of a woman with a body of a 
snake.  Each had 6 arms, each with a weapon.  One had axes, the other had 
bastard swords.  Instantly Alreght realized what was going on.  He 
launched his two daggers at them and screamed an alarm to awaken his 
friends.  Christopher slept closest to the door, and received the first 
attacks.  Waking quickly he rolled out of bed and grabbed his staff, 
commencing to defend himself.  Alreght stuck himself in front of the 
other demon to give his companions time to get up.  They all rose quickly,
except Azerail, who continued to sleep soundly.  Taking a terrible hit, 
Alreght fell to the floor, just as Natasha arrived as back-up.  Candis 
tried to fight with his psionic powers--in only a split second the combat 
between him and the demon was complete.  They were evenly matched.  Being 
unable to win in mental combat, Candis joined the melee.  After many long 
rounds, Ahrgo succeeded in getting a spell to affect the demons.  The 
lightning bolt struck fast and sure, downing the first great beast.  
Christopher in the meantime had been holding off the other single 
handedly.  Candis and Ahrgo helped him while Natasha looked to the monk's
body.  Surprisingly, he got up.  Alreght was faking his demise.  Alreght 
tried to awaken Azerail without success while Natasha added her skills 
to the brawl.  When it seemed they had defeated the demon, it roared in 
rage and then blinked out.  They had only a few seconds to relax before 
the door opened again.  Drawing their weapons to the ready position, they
saw a ghost-like form of an old man in cleric's robes enter the room.  

"I am Girard, a priest of St. Cuthbert," its voice rang out.  "I am the 
original Guardian of the Gate.  It was here that my garrison of troops 
was housed to protect it, but two demons arrived and murdered my men and 
then me.  While my troops were taken to their reward above, I was charged 
to remain until the demons were vanquished.  I shall now fulfill my 
destiny, "Follow me."  

The ghostly shape moved out into the hall.  It was quickly decided that 
Candis and Christopher would "take care" of Azerail (who was still asleep 
after all this) while the others would follow the specter grabbing their 
belongings on the way out.  

Using a light created by Ahrgo, they followed the ghost.  It led them 
outside and then south for five or six hundred feet to a small clump of 
bushes that it floated through.  Natasha and Alreght moved through the 
bushes into a small cave while Ahrgo waited for the others.  Inside, the 
cave was small and cramped barely fitting the two along with the ghost.  
At the center of the cave was a small wooden post surmounted by a small 
elliptical disk.  

"This is the key to the Gate," it said.  "Take it and we shall proceed."

Alreght carefully removed the disk and followed the ghost outside.  About
this time Candis and Christopher were arriving with Azerail (minus 30 
gold pieces.  That's what you get for having two skilled thieves carry a 
load).  They were then lead to the southernmost point of the island to the
sight of the ruin.  It was built in an open Parthenon-like form with 
randomly laid stone blocks about that made the building from a distance 
appear to be crumbling.  It wasn't.  In fact it was quite neat and clean.
Inside was the one odd part about it.  A stone arch about 12 feet tall 
and 10 feet wide.  

Again the ghost spoke.  "This is the gate beyond which the Mace lies.  To 
pass through, simply hold forth the disk and say "Open!".  Once through, 
the disk will blink to indicate how close you are to the Mace.  Good luck 
on your journey, and thank you for relieving me of my duty." 

He vanished.

Candis then noticed a small table out of the way with 5 amulets on it.  
Each party member (besides Azerail who was still sleeping) took one and 
put it on for luck.

The party, tired and worn out from fighting and travelling all night, 
settled here until morning.  Too tired to post watches, they slept and 
woke up late the next morning.  Azerail woke first to the light of the 
sun and hurriedly woke the others to find out where they were.  After a 
long explanation, they ate and discussed their current situation. They 
now had the key to the Gate.  They could pass through at any time, so why
hurry?  They also knew that after the disaster last night, they needed to 
elect a leader.  Being strong and well-tempered, Christopher was chosen.  
It was then decided to search the house they were in last night.  
Natasha and Azerail stayed behind, and the others went on up the plateau.

The house was the same as they left it and a lingering aroma of food 
reminded them of the feast the night before, and then of the fight.  They
put it out of their minds and looked around.  Ahrgo searched the kitchen.  
Christopher looked over the sleeping quarters.  Candis examined the 
dining room and remaining weapons (the 12 were gone).  And Alreght made 
straight for the demon's quarters.  He moved toward the shrine and tried
to look inside an urn there, but his hand moved right through it.  Aha, 
an illusion!  Figuring there was more to see, he set his mind on 
dissolving it.  Opening his eyes once more, he saw a bare room with two 
large nests filled with treasure.  He removed a few choice items before 
calling the others.  

In the kitchen Ahrgo had found a few bottles of some strange herb, and 
Christopher had noticed the strange wax used in the candles.  Together 
they figured it was a slow poison that must have made them groggy last 
night.  It must have put Azerail to sleep.  Hearing Alreght calling, 
they all moved down the hall to into a room to see Alreght standing there 
telling them to look at all this treasure.

"What treasure?" Christopher asks bewildered, "All I see is two small 
beds and a shrine."

Catching on, Alreght explained that it was only an illusion.  Each of 
them cleared their minds to reveal the room's real features.  They split 
up the gems they could find, but the 20,000 some gold pieces were beyond 
carrying, so they left them.  

Back at camp, Alreght examined his choices.  First were three jars of 
some ointment.  He tried some and it healed his wounds.  Keeping one jar 
for himself, he handed one to the cleric and one to Christopher (who got 
the worst of it last night).  The second object was a silver chime.  Not 
being a musician, he handed it to the bard (Christopher), who loved the 
sound and kept it.  There was also a scroll with spells written on it.  
After Ahrgo and Azerail looked at the scroll, it was decided that only a 
magic-user could use it, but Alreght kept it anyway. Last of all were an 
amulet and necklace, both valuable and inlaid with gems.  He kept those, 
too.

After having lunch, they decided to leave.  Alreght held up the disk and 
said, "Open!"  The archway filled with a blue-white light.

After a moment they all moved through, and...

                                     - * -

They were on a lightly wooded island beside an arch identical to the one 
they just passed through with one exception.  It had a plaque inscribed 
with "Sculpture donated by Hon. Edward Cuthbert - 1932."

"Looks okay here," Candis observed.

"And I'm getting one flash every six seconds on the disk," Alreght 
responded, and put the disk in his pouch.

"Now let's get off this island and get the Mace," Christopher said next.

They all agreed and began looking.  It was a small island with shore 
only fifty to one hundred feet away, and soon enough Candis found a small
rowboat.  He notified the others.

"It'll hold four, but I'm still wondering about this," Candis said 
pointing at some writing on the side of the boat.  It said "Jake's 
Rowboat Rentals."

"Who goes first then?"  Christopher asked.

Natasha offered to stay behind and Candis said he could fare for himself,
and so it was decided.  

As the others got the boat going and crossed the water, Candis just 
walked across it (using his psionic powers) to the amazement of a man and 
a girl on the opposite shore.  The party landed just in front of the man,
and Candis walked ashore.

The man in his blue uniform stood stunned, while the girl looked on in 
amazement.

Candis answered their unspoken question with  "You just gotta know where 
the stones are."

The man came to his senses as the girl kicked him in the shins, broke 
free of his grip, and hid behind Azerail (the one in chain mail and 
carrying a sword).  "Please return the girl to me," the uniformed man 
said to them.

"What has she done?" Candis asked.

"That little urchin has been removing objects of value from people and 
I finally caught her..."

"...stealing from you." Candis completed the sentence with a chuckle that
upset the Man in Blue even more.

"Now give me the girl," was his stern reply.

"What punishment does she face?"

"Jail or a fine of 15 pounds."

Pounds?  What were they going to do, slim her down?  Candis tried a mind
probe and found out that a Pound was a monetary unit.

"Oh," Candis replied.  "How about this.?" he said, offering the man a 
gold piece.

"You expect me to take a party coin?" he said, tossing the coin into the 
bushes.  "Hand her over."

Seeing no other option Candis knelt before the girl and asked her to go 
with the Man in Blue.  "Where may we pay this fine and free the girl?"  

"At the Battersea station, g'day to you." He said, grabbing the girl who 
continued to kick his shins and say, "I ain't done nothin'!" repeatedly 
while he swore under his breath.

Alone again, the group pondered the situation.

"The people here are weird," Christopher stated after bringing Natasha 
across.

And they talk weird too," Azerail added, "I couldn't understand a word 
he said."

The others all said they understood perfectly, then Ahrgo figured out 
that it was the amulets that translated the language for them.  He 
explained what happened to Azerail.

Soon they moved out onto a trail moving west.  Their next encounter was 
with another Man in Blue on horseback.

"Excuse me where are we?" Candis ventured to ask.

"Battersea Park," came the polite reply.  "Say, you are foreigners, 
aren't you?"

"Yes.  We're new here."

"Are you filming a movie?" the man asked.

"Movie?" echoed the companions.  Candis quickly probed the man's mind to 
find out what a 'movie' was.  He received images too perverse to describe
here.

"Aren't we a little overdressed for that?" Candis replied.

"Huh?  Well, what can I do for you anyway?"

"Can you direct us to the Battersea station?"

"Sure," came his reply," just follow this trail to the main one.  Make a 
left and continue to the road.  Make a right this time and follow that 
road to Battersea Bridge Road.  Go right and he station is only a block 
or two down."

"Thanks."

"Glad to be of service to you.  G'day."  And the Man in Blue went down 
the trail.

They wandered down the trail while Candis made an attempt at explaining 
what a 'movie' was without being explicit.  They made it to a larger 
trail.  Here there were people, all dressed lightly, wandering about and 
talking.  Turning left, they came upon a group of people sitting on the 
grass.  

"Let's find out where a good local inn is from this band of adventurers,"
Christopher suggested.  

"Travelling mighty light for adventuring, aren't they," Azerail noted.

"Excuse me, could you point out a way to a good nearby inn?" Candis 
started.

"Sure, just go down to the road, go right and the Waiting Lady Inn is 
right there," the largest man replied.

His wife asked, "Are you fellas actors in a movie?"

Movies. Why were these people so hung up on them?  Candis tried another 
mind probe.  Romantic scenes from 'Gone with the Wind' (whatever that is)
came to him.  Again he wondered what to say, and just before he spoke, 
Christopher interrupted.

"You're travelling rather light, aren't you, and with your wife and 
children.  Is that wise?"

"Travelling?  No, just having a picnic," replied the man.

Candis stopped Christopher's next comment by saying a quick good-bye to 
the man and ushering his friends off.

"Why'd you do that?" Christopher said angrily.

"We don't need trouble, and that guy was weird."

                                  - * -

A short walk later.

"Is this the road they've been telling us about?" Azerail said uneasily.
He was looking across a paved way cluttered with people and strange metal
(Armored?) carriages without horses.

"This is strange!" Alreght exclaimed.

"Must be a military zone with all the vehicles armored like that," 
Azerail put in.

"Let's find that inn," Christopher added.

They moved down the street to look for the inn.  Before they found it 
they did spot a jeweler's shop and went inside away from the noisy 
bustle.  It was rather nice inside.  There were a few cases with gold, 
silver, and jeweled items that tempted the thieves, but Christopher made 
it a strict order not to steal anything.  

"I'd like to exchange some gold for pounds," Candis stated to the small 
shopkeeper who emerged from a back room as they entered.

He handed a few gold pieces to the man, who promptly ran some tests.  
"Nice," he said.  

"Where'd you palm these, the museum?  Never mind, I don't want to know."

"How much would 15 of these be worth?" Candis asked.

"I'd say about 1,500 pounds."

Candis knew that this meant they were worth 3,000, but he was not in the 
mood to haggle right now, so he said, "I'll take it."

He was handed 15 small pieces of paper.  This startled him.  "Is this 
1,500 pounds?"

"Definitely, and a mighty fine roll of dough at that."

He left hesitantly, but later noticed that much of the currency here was 
paper.  They wandered down the street more confidently with some local 
currency on hand.  They had not gone far when havoc broke loose on the 
streets.  There was a large armored wagon approaching pulled by eight 
extremely large horses.  People and carriages  (even the armored ones) 
were moving quickly out of the way.  The companions moved quickly to the 
side drawing their weapons and preparing for the worst.  The wagon 
however, passed by peacefully and traffic returned to its normal state. 

"What was that?" Christopher ventured to ask a person nearby.

"Just a beer wagon," came a quick reply.

"Oh."

"Are you mates here for some movie or another?" the man asked in return.  
"One o' my drinking buddies has an uncle who is a producer, you wouldn't 
know him, would ya?"

"Um, well, I don't know."

"Okay.  Catch ya `round mates," and the man moved off into the crowds.  

A short distance later they found the inn and moved inside.  Looking 
around, all they could see was a chair, a desk with a button on it, a 
hall, and some stairs.

"Service," Christopher called.

Candis studied the button and deciding it wasn't a trap pressed it.  RING.

They all jumped, grabbing for their weapons as a man entered the room and
froze.  Calming the others, Candis approached the innkeeper and asked for 
three rooms.  The innkeeper accepted his money and handed them three keys
labeled B- 3, 6, and 7, and he pointed up the stairs.

"Are you." the innkeeper started.

"Yes, we are in a movie!" Christopher returned as they moved up to the 
stairs. 

The keys had a weird shape, but they managed to open the doors (after a 
few tries) and looked over their surroundings.  Each room was mid-sized,
had two small beds and a dresser with a mirror.  They examined their 
rooms.  Azerail found a small book in the dresser drawer, which he could 
not read (no translation amulet), but everybody told him was called 
"the Bible".  Candis examined the beds, finding a large number of springs,
but he could not locate the trigger to the trap.  Alreght found a switch 
on the wall.  Flipping it, his room was filled with an unnatural yellow 
light.  He tried it a couple of times and put it off to a cleverly 
controlled magic.  Ahrgo found a small triangular piece of wire with a 
hook on it, thinking it some kind of weapon he gave it to Azerail, who 
could not make heads or tails of it.  

The innkeeper had told them the water closet was down the hall.  
Christopher went with his canteen toward the last door.  Inside was a 
ceramic bowl and a lever.  Curious, he pulled the lever.  The bowl made 
a rushing sound and the whole building shook a little (bad plumbing).  
Christopher slammed the door in fear and hit the deck.  He then ordered 
everyone to avoid the place totally.

After a short rest, Christopher moved outside to examine one of the metal
wagons.  The one outside had its protective glass side plate down, so he 
looked in.  Before him was a wheel, a lever, a few pedals, and many 
incomprehensible devices.  He looked around to see another person climb 
into a nearby vehicle.  Chris watched intently as the man put a key in 
the door and opened it by lifting a latch.  This person then got in, put 
his key in a slot and turned it.  The thing began to rumble, then moving 
the level and turning the wheel the wagon left.  Determined to figure one 
of these things out, he finally found a latch and got the door open.  He 
climbed in carefully.  It was a tight fit (what do you expect from a 6' 
tall person in a compact car?), but he managed.  He tried his key (from 
the inn) in the slot.  No luck.  He then picked the lock instead and 
turned the slot.  The thing began to shake and rattle.  He moved the 
lever with little success.  Finally he decided it must be the pedals.  He
hadn't seen them used so he tried some.  With a lurch the vehicle burst 
forward into another at high speed, damaging both wagons as well as 
Christopher.  He climbed out, dazed, as a crowd collected.  One of the 
Men in Blue approached him.  

"Are you Alreght?" He asked, meaning 'all right' but speaking with an 
accent.

"No, he's upstairs," Chris stated, "I'm Christopher."

"What happened here?"

"I thought this was.  you see.  um, this isn't mine," came his reply.

"Can I see some identification?" the man asked.

"My name is Christopher and this is my staff," was his response as he 
planted his staff.

"Come along then for questioning."

"No!  I ain't done nothing!" Christopher screamed kicking the man in the
shin as he had seen the girl do earlier.

The Man in Blue pulled out his club, threatening Christopher.  "Come 
with me or I'll use force."

Chris held his staff saying, "Mine is bigger than yours!"

The man blew his whistle, and slowly drew a small "L" shaped metal object
from his coat.  "Don't move now."

Chris responded to this threatening gesture by knocking the object free 
of the blue man's hand with his staff, inadvertently taking the lower 
half of the arm with it (He's strong!).  While Chris stared in amazement 
at what he had done, two more Men in Blue arrived.

"Freeze!" they screamed at him, holding forth their pieces of metal.

Chris went for each of them with his staff, striking each solidly in the 
chest, but not before they fired a number of rounds into his body.  
Surprised at the pain but seeing his opponents on the ground and the 
crowd in panic, he ran for the safety of a nearby alley where he hid to 
think this out.

Hearing the ruckus followed by a number of thunder-like sounds (the gun 
shots), Natasha warned the others, then ran outside.  She arrived just in
time to see a wrecked metal wagon, two men apparently dead, and another 
dying of blood loss with his arm missing.  Before she could do anything a
blue van pulled up and a number of specially outfitted Men in Blue, 
carrying shields and large metal sticks and wearing helmets, burst forth 
into the street.  She heard a loud voice echo, "Don't move, we have you 
surrounded."  Just then, the others, except Azerail who was resting, 
arrived on the scene.  Spotting trouble and cursing Christopher, they 
made a disappearing act out of it.  Ahrgo used his ring of invisibility,
then after casting invisibility on Natasha, he ran for the alley.  Candis
used his magic ring to make himself look like his surroundings (like a 
chameleon).  Alreght used his magical dust of disappearance and took off 
down the street.  

The SWAT members faltered after seeing them all vanish, but quickly moved
into the inn.  Natasha had just gone in herself to warn Azerail.  She got
to him first, because the Blue Men were moving with extra caution.  She 
ordered him up, and had him strip his armor and weapons and hide them 
under the bad.  She then gave him her Amulet of Understanding (Azerail 
had not gotten one earlier).  He lied down just in time.  A Man in Blue
burst into the room.  Seeing only Azerail (Natasha was still invisible), 
and he was in bed, the guard relaxed and asked him to get up.  Azerail 
did as he was told.  He got up, dressed, and followed the man out, 
confidant they had nothing on him, but worried about the others.

Once they had left, Natasha herself changed clothes, from her leather 
armor to a dress.  Just as she finished changing, the invisibility wore 
off.  She hid her stuff just before another Man in Blue entered.  He said
a few things, but it was all scrambled, then she remembered that Azerail 
had the amulet.  She followed the man and made it clear she did not 
understand.  She was led outside and put in a van beside Azerail.

In the mean time, the others had regrouped in the alley.  Knowing they 
were wanted, Alreght sprinkled them all with some invisibility dust.  
They talked it over and decided they had better rescue Natasha and 
Azerail.  Alreght silently moved out and leapt to the top of the van 
where he held on.  The others waited and followed the van on foot.

Inside, Azerail and Natasha talked over what happened.  One of the 
officers asked why she understood him when he spoke English, but could 
not understand a word he said earlier.  These amulets seem to translate 
your speech to match those who are listening, so to them he was speaking 
English and to her he was speaking Elven.  Seeing more trouble, they both
shut up, leaving the guard very suspicious.  

The van went only a few blocks to the east and then it turned north for 
another three blocks before reaching the Battersea Police Station. As 
the prisoners were led across to the building, Alreght leapt to the 
ground and moved in close.  He removed his amulet, then jumped forth 
screaming "Run!" in Common to the two as he sprinkled some of the dust 
on them.  "I'll meet you at the shore, in the park.  Go!"  They 
scattered and made for the park unseen by any eyes, while behind the 
guards drew their weapons and looked about.  About this time, the other 
group approached tired from a long run after the van.  They arrived to 
see the place swarming with Men in Blue.  Sticking close together, they 
crept up close and moved inside to rescue their (newly freed) friends.  
After many close calls they made it up to the hall in the station and 
found the cellblock.  Inside there were eight cells filled with 8 to 16 
people each.  It seemed one of the prisoners was being moved, and was 
screaming, "I ain't done nothing!" to her captors. 

Christopher recognized the voice.  It was that girl's.  The one they had 
met this morning (Was it only this morning?).  He could see Natasha and 
Azerail were not here, but he decided to save the girl while he was here.
After giving his change of plans to the others, Christopher quickly hit 
one guard over the head with the pommel of his dagger, and the man 
promptly fell to the ground.  In the cheering that followed in the 
cells, Candis nailed the other two guards and grabbed the girl.  On the 
way out, Christopher tried his new chime out.  Upon striking it, one of 
the cells magically opened.  He opened the others this way, and then the
group made their way out the back while the officers tried to control 
the mob of escaping prisoners.  Using their voices to keep track of each 
other, they ran a couple of blocks, then hid in an alley.  Ahrgo removed
his ring and materialized before the girl.  She only knew him before as 
the invisible shape that carried her, but now she stood stunned, 
obviously recognizing Ahrgo as one of those neat people she had met this
morning.

"Where can we hide little girl?" Ahrgo asked her.

"At my place, and I'm Charlotte."

"Can you show us the way there?"

She could and did lead Ahrgo and his two invisible friends (the dust had 
not worn off yet) down a couple of streets to an obviously abandoned 
house.

"You live here?" he asked her.

"In the basement, so nobody can tell," she said, leading them around the
back to a cellar door.  Inside, however, there was some light, as it was
dark outside.

"I found a magician, a real one, Nicky, just like in the books," she 
hurriedly told the other little girl in the room.  "And he has two 
invisible friends with him."

"I don't see nobody," Nicky said flatly.

"Of course not, they're invisible," Charlotte responded, "and they want 
our help, and they're gonna stay here with us, and."

"But we've no room and food for the others," came a bitter voice from 
the corner.

"Oh Rocco, you're such a spoil-sport, he really can do magic," and so 
the night went on.  Charlotte, talking constantly, finally convinced 
the others to let Ahrgo and the others (who finally materialized) stay.
After a short tour of the beat up house, they settled down for the night.
The kids, however, would not sleep and fired millions of questions at 
the group.

"Do you really fight with swords?"

"Are there any magic-users where you come from?"

"Can we come see it sometime?"

"Have you met Robin Hood? Or King Arthur?  Or Ivanhoe?"

The party members also got some answers to their questions.  It seems the
Men in Blue were called Woolies by the kids, and those metal wagons are 
cars, but you gotta be rich to have one.  These kids ran away and were 
living here, surviving by obvious thievery.  Candis and Christopher 
managed to learn a little about modern locks in this time also.  They 
also learned that weapons other than knives and what she called guns were
rare, so where might you find the Mace?  Candis then thought of the 
others.  Where might they be?  He began to search with his mind to link 
with Alreght.  Hmmm.  where is he?

A little over a mile away, Alreght and the others met on the lakeshore.  
They discussed their problem and obvious separation.  Alreght had the 
others wait and he went back to the inn to get Azerail's things and to 
look for the others.

The area by the inn was roped off and Men in Blue stood ready everywhere.
There was also a small van with "Nightly News" written on it.  Nearby 
was a man speaking into some wand like stick, while another pointed an 
obviously heavy box at the first man.  What weird customs.  Alreght went 
through some alleys and found the back of the inn.  Using his superior 
skill, he leapt up an entire floor to a window ledge.  He climbed 
carefully inside, and moved to Azerail's room, where he began grabbing 
all the things that had been left behind.  Luckily the rooms had not 
been searched yet.  He exited through another window before the posted 
guard made his rounds. 

Back at the park, they were wondering what to do when Alreght felt 
something.  "Alreght?" he heard a voice say.  He looked about, seeing no
one, and then he realized the voice was in his head.  Candis!  Why does 
he have to do that?

They relayed what had happened to each other and made plans through 
this telepathic link.  It was decided to meet in the park at noon the 
next day, by which time Candis would provide disguises.  The plans set,
Candis broke the link and went to sleep.

Alreght and the others crossed back to the island on the rowboat they 
had found earlier and went to the arch.

"Open!" Alreght commanded, and they moved through.

Back on the island, however, the trees were without leaf and the stars 
had shifted greatly.  They moved over the hill to the lagoon: empty.  
The ship had gone. By the stars, it appeared that almost a month had 
passed since they had left!  But how?  They left only yesterday.  They 
hid Azerail's weapons, and other telltale signs that did not belong in 
this other place in the cave where the disk had been.  They then crossed 
back through the gate to the other world, where it seemed only minutes 
had passed during the 2 hours they were gone.  How strange.  

                                - * -

The next morning, Candis, Christopher, and Ahrgo woke late to find a 
pile of food near them.  Charlotte and her friends had obviously been at
work all morning "collecting" that much food.  After eating enough to 
satisfy them, Candis and Charlotte left to go find some disguises.  She 
led them to Battersea Church Road and to the major marketplace there.  
Candis was astounded by the variety of wares offered on the street.  Much
of it was food in so many shapes and smells that Candis got hungry again.
After seeing Charlotte almost get caught trying to get him a doughnut 
(such a strange food) he decided to concentrate on other matters.  He 
wandered into one place called "British Army Surplus Store".  Inside he 
found the walls covered with strange devices.  Candis bought a couple of 
knives there (each with a strange ball that always pointed north, no 
matter how much he tried to confuse it.)  Finally, however, he bought six 
sets of clothing (with the cash he got from the jeweler yesterday).

At noon, the group was reassembled in the park.  They decided to once 
again travel the gate and drop their belongings (besides a knife ring or
other non-obvious things) on the other side, and then change into these 
new clothes they had for disguises.  Charlotte followed them through and 
went crazy.  The whole idea of magic, other worlds, swords, and demons 
astounded her.  She loved it.  They passed back across the gate (bringing
the unwilling Charlotte with them) to what they now knew as Battersea, a
district of London.

After a small meal on iron rations (something similar to beef jerky and 
dried fruit), they moved westward, checking the disk every block or so.
It stayed at one beat per six seconds.  They decided next that they must 
go north or south.  They choose north.

They crossed a bridge over the wide Thames River and the disk started 
blinking once every three seconds.  They followed Charlotte north 
covering many blocks of terrain.  They ran into many weird people on this
trip north.  A number of times they passed large groups of people in 
white and holding small black boxes that made clicking noises when 
pointed at things.  Charlotte said they were tourists taking pictures. 
This made no sense.  They passed many Woolies on the trip, but none 
seemed to mind this thievery of pictures.  Anyway, they also saw more 
vehicles in this more crowded portion of town, some with two floors 
carrying masses of people and others with just two wheels and one seat.
What variety.  

After travelling about half a mile, the disk began to blink faster - 
twice per three seconds.  Moving north some more and it sped up to a rate 
beyond counting.  Using the disk they located a building labeled 
"Natural History Museum" and went inside.  In the first chamber they 
found a 30-foot diameter ball painted blue, orange, and green and rough 
surfaced.

"Wow!  The world is big isn't it," Charlotte exclaimed.

"The world?" came Azerail's response.

"Never mind," Christopher said.  "Let's get the Mace and go.  Look, 
there's an information desk, we'll ask there."

"We're getting closer," Alreght told them.  "Now it blinks faster than 
ever."

"Do you have any maces here?" Candis asked.

"Maces?" the girl replied puzzled.

"You know, weapons."

"If you'd like to see the display of ancient weapons, they're just down 
this corridor and on your right."

Following the directions led them to a small room with swords, axes, 
maces and other assorted weapons.  The disk glowed with a solid light 
as they got near the wall with the two maces that were in the room.  
They waited until the room was clear, then Ahrgo cast a "Detect Magic" 
spell on the room.  None of the weapons showed any sign of a magical 
aura.  How strange.  The disk definitely was brightest when pointed at 
the maces. but wait, it seemed just a few degrees off to the right.  
Maybe the real mace was beyond that wall.  They peered out the window, 
and across the street was another building.  It must be there.

They moved out of the museum and down the street to the other building.  
It was the "Victoria and Albert Museum" and was much larger than the 
other building.  They walked into the marble-floored building.  A guard 
sat by the doors, and Candis asked him if they had maces here.

"I don't know, try the information desk two doors down and on your 
right," the man told them.

At the information desk, they found a small not so detailed map of the 
museum, but it did point out where the exhibit of ancient weapons was.  
They crossed a large courtyard, open above and teeming with plant life 
(all of it labeled), and went through another door down the hall on 
their left.

The room held three longswords, a broadsword, a two-handed sword, 
several pole-arms, a pair of axes, two maces, and three morning stars.  
On the walls were crossbows and bows along with a display on the process
of making arrows.  At a special table, many types of daggers were on 
display along with two trick swords.  A careful look about, showed that 
two of the swords were of obvious, though archaic, Elven manufacture.  
One mace showed little signs of wear or of having rust removed as was 
found on all the other weapons.  This was it.  The Mace of St. Cuthbert.

They pondered the question of getting the Mace out while sitting in the 
courtyard.  Finally deciding on a plan, everybody except Alreght (who 
was chosen to complete the mission) left and waited a block down the 
street.  Alreght moved into some bushes and turned invisible using the 
magic ring he had borrowed from Ahrgo.  He then made for the Mace room, 
as a man began searching the bushes where Alreght was last seen.

The Mace room was nearly empty.  Only four people were there.  Alreght 
relaxed; this was going to be easy. Quickly he shattered the glass and 
sprinkled some magic dust of invisibility on the Mace.  Alarms went off 
everywhere and two men in the room pulled out guns.  Alreght grabbed the 
Mace.  A sudden change came over him as the Mace used its power.  He 
began to look on his life in a different light, and to value life, 
beauty, and truth.  Then he realized, with his new values, he could not 
just steal the Mace out from under their noses while invisible; it would 
be unfair.  He deactivated the ring and stood visible before the 
collection of guards. They shot him and he was hit twice.  Realizing he 
could not get out this way, he decided to repay these men with 20 gold 
coins for the Mace, then he again turned invisible and ran out the room.
He ran for the front door only to find it closed and heavily guarded.  He
ran to the courtyard instead and jumped to the second floor balcony, and 
from there to the roof.  

One block away, the other five of the group were waiting.  They were 
strolling down the streets when the heard the alarms go off behind them.
In no time, two cars pulled up behind them and five Men in Blue got out 
and yelled, "Stop!"

As they turned to face these Men, two more cars closed off the other end 
of the block.  Trapped!  Ahrgo cast a spell that paralyzed the men in the
two new cars, then they all ran for it.  They were hit with a few shots 
before making it behind the police cars.

"I know how to work one of these," Christopher told the others.

"Really, then let's go," came Candis' reply, and they all got in one.

The car started with a lurch and ran unevenly down the block, and he ran 
it against a bunch of parked cars going around the next corner.

"Wow!  This is fun!" Charlotte screamed.

"I thought you said you could drive one of these," Azerail protested.

"I can.  Just give me a moment to warm her up," Christopher told him.  
"Charlotte, which way to the museum?"

"Left here, then take the next right." She told him.

"Candis, tell Alreght to meet us out front," Chris ordered.

Candis reached out once more with his mind to find Alreght.  He was 
climbing down the outside wall of the building when Candis came through, 
"Hey Alreght!"  This startled Alreght who nearly fell from the wall.

"You did it to me again!" Alreght thought back.

"Meet us out front.  We'll be in a blue car.  See ya."

"Car?  Oh no," Alreght thought, but he was waiting when this scraped up 
vehicle screeched to a halt before him.

"Get in!" Christopher screamed.

"Are you crazy?" Alreght said back.

"Yes, now let's go." And they were off.

Charlotte directed them down the narrow streets while a number of police 
cars followed, sirens wailing.  After a few close calls, Christopher 
misjudged a corner and went skidding into a building.  Once everybody had
regained their senses, Chris took off again, minus one rear door, and 
with the sirens ever closer.

On the next straightway, he opened her up and took off at over 70 mph.  
Swerving erratically to avoid the normal traffic he mangled more of the 
car and nearly threw Candis out the open door.  He raced up the arched 
bridge and the car went flying into the air.  Alreght spilled some of 
his magic dust on the way up, and half the bridge disappeared.  Police 
cars went flying off the bridge trying to avoid the hole before them, 
and all pursuit was effectively stopped.  

Ahrgo had found a metal stick and messed around with it, finally getting
the shotgun to discharge into a passing building.  He kept the weapon 
for later investigation.

"The road's blocked!" Christopher yelled. "What to we do?"

"I'll take care of it, Ahrgo yelled back, and he did.  Using a spell, he
shot an explosive ball of fire at the blockade, engulfing it in flames.
The flames shot toward the car, and Christopher swerved nervously into 
the park to avoid them.  The car smashed headlong into a tree.

They were all really hurt, Charlotte was unconscious, and the car was 
totaled.  They climbed out to find that the park and nearby section of 
town were on fire.  They ran, with Candis carrying Charlotte's limp body,
into the park following random trails trying to find the lake.  A Man in 
Blue approached them on a horse, and Ahrgo used his fire-stick (the 
shotgun) on the officer.  The thing went off with a thunder sound, blew 
away the horse, and knocked the man unconscious.  The others looked with 
wonder at Ahrgo.

"What's that?"

"Just something I picked up somewhere," Ahrgo told them.  "Now let's get
out of here."

They agreed.  They quickly found the lake, and while Candis magically ran
across the water with Charlotte, the others swam out to the island.  
They found the arch and moved through once Alreght opened it.

Nine hours later they awoke from their peaceful sleep and it was snowing
outside.  Last night they had collected their belongings left here 
earlier, healed Charlotte, and set up camp in the dining room of the 
small house (because the dead demon managed to make air in the bedroom 
unbreathable.)  They spent the next few weeks resting and figuring out 
what to do with Charlotte.  She liked it here, but she did not belong in
this world.  Candis wanted to keep her and adopt her as his own, but it 
was finally decided that she had to go back.  Candis gave her a long 
goodbye, and promised to come visit her soon, then she disappeared into 
the arch of blue-white light.

Only a week later another ship stopped in the lagoon to escape a winter 
storm.  The group quickly approached the ship and paid their way home 
with a couple hundred gold pieces from the stockpile in the house.  About
a month later, they arrived back in the same tavern they started in.  The
trip took about four and a half months while seeming only two to them.

The group split up here, each to go their own way.  Alreght went off 
with the Mace to find a worthy cleric of St. Cuthbert.  Christopher was 
given the disk that controls the gate, and went off to train as a bard.
Azerail and Natasha went off together to their home many days travel to 
the west.  That left Candis and Ahrgo.  They stayed at the inn for a 
while after the others left to talk with friends and tell their strange
tale to anyone who would listen.  Candis, however, was never quite whole
again and longed to go back and see Charlotte.  They all agreed to 
someday get back together for another trip to this strange world, and 
what a trip it would be.

                                 The End