“I’ve got a better idea than thinking about it.” You suddenly tell Joref. “Why don’t we pray about it. If the OverLord truly spoke to you on this matter, than He should confirm it to the rest of us in prayer.”

With that you beckon the others to join you.

Dismounting from the horses, the others join you and Joref and you join hands in a prayer for direction.

“Most High God and Father, as we begin this raid, we pause to seek your direction. Joref has given us a choice to make at a point where we thought our direction was clear before. Now we are confused as to which way is best and what your will is on this matter. We know that time is short, High One, thus we need to know Your will for us at this moment. The Sacred Scrolls tell us in Exodus 15:13 that ‘In your unfailing love you will lead the people you have redeemed. In your strength you will guide them to your holy dwelling.’ If you could guide the people of old, you can still guide your people today, for you are unchanging and all-knowing. Speak to us in your wisdom, OverLord, we humbly pray...”

You finish praying but no one speaks or moves right away, each waiting in silence to hear the still small voice of the OverLord, hoping for his answer. After a few minutes with no clear answer in your own heart, you hear Joref begin to sing quietly the words that he mentioned earlier from the scroll of Isaiah, chapter 40, verse 31.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint...” As his voice trails off quietly, you slowly open your eyes, looking around at the others expectantly. But they seem no less confused than you. It appears to you at first that the OverLord has chosen not to speak on this matter, but then you notice something has changed.

“Hey, what happened to the horses?” Kale exclaims in shock.

As you all look over to where the horses were just standing a few moments before, you see that they are gone and that all of your packs are sitting nicely on the ground in their place. No one else can be seen nearby.

“Well, I guess we have our answer.” Valen says matter-of-factly.

“And we owe Joref an apology, I’d say.” You agree.

“Forget about it, Tharkon. It’s ok. Let’s just get moving, we’re losing precious time, right?”

Joref moves over to the packs. Picking up Kales, he hands it to the Knight. Kale accepts it, still looking around in astonishment for the horses.

“I see tracks heading off toward the stables, but who put our stuff on the ground?” he says.

“If we knew that, we wouldn’t be able to give the OverLord the credit now would we.” says Valen picking up his own pack. “In fact, I can see now how that verse applies to this direction. ‘They shall walk and not faint...’ For what it’s worth, Joref, I apologize for not trusting you.”

“Yeah, me too.” Kale grunts, hefting his gear onto his shoulders and moving toward the road. “Now let’s get moving. I’m tired of standing around.”

You move to gather your things along with the others as Joref takes his mandolin in hand.

“Yes, let’s be off. And I’ve got the perfect travelling song for the occasion!”

Kale groans as Joref launches into a merry song about a Knight who keeps tripping on his own braids. And so your group is off.

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Author guidance for This story

It will be helpful for all contributors to have working knowledge of the Dragon Raid world of Talania and it's inhabitants, but even if you don't, it could be fun to throw in your ideas. I'm not set on this staying strictly within the game world. However, please remember that this game is set up as a Christian spiritual allegory, which means that every dark creature met, whatever you choose to throw in, should have attached to it some kind of specific "sin-enchantment" (i.e. Goblin saliva or claw scratch contains the "Cruelty" sin enchantment which leads those affected to become cruel. Cave Trolls will tempt Lightraiders with a "Coveting" sin-enchantment, etc.) Dragons represent high ranking demons in this world and the OverLord of Many Names represents Jesus who was ripped apart by dragons many years previous and upon his death became a wall of living water that extinguished the dragon fire and provided a land of safety from which all Lightraiders launch their missions, called the Liberated Land. Light Raiders use regular weapons to fight dark creatures as well as Wordrunes, which are certain miracles given to them by the Overlord to use on their quests as they pray passages from the Sacred Scrolls (the Bible). Create your own, but try not to portray it as magical spells. They are more like requests for divine intervention, more like a cleric in D&D. There are also classes of Lightraiders as described in the character descriptions. This adventure should eventually lead to a final confrontation in the Dragon's lair or castle after the resolution of the fate of the captured Lightraiders and the recovery (or failure to recover) the Sacred Scrolls. Don't forget to develop the characters. Keep them growing to keep the story interesting, including the flaws in their characters. It's meant to stay lighthearted and Narnian in flavor.

updated Apr 20 '10 by Flindee