He made his way to the hole in the earth that was discovered after the earthquake. A few townsfolk had gathered at the opening and were exchanging second hand tales of adventure and terror on the things that lay beyond. Morgan spoke up as he approached, "Make way peasants, lest ye have your belongings donated to my cause as tribute!" The townsfolk became silent and a few looked intimidated. Morgan's reputation as a highwayman or, "Brigand" had spread far and wide as of late. The townsfolk knew that if they complied and were not disrespectful they could expect no trouble from Morgan. They still regarded him as a lower life form but nonetheless, they respected him and were polite. As Morgan strolled by the line of people he casually snooped their packs not really to find something to steal but more from pure habit.

Having reached the end of the line his attention now focused fully on the opening in the earth that bellowed a misty white haze. The mist smelled earthy for the most part with a hint of sulfurish ash and swamp water. Morgan quickly put on his wandering healer look-a-like costume and summoned all the courage in his being. All the townsfolk were now silent with fixed gazes on Morgan to see if he was truly brave enough to enter. He took a deep breath and stepped through the opening. He found himself in a dank cave in total darkness. He fumbled through his pack until he found his tinderbox. Lighting the torch, he began following the tunnel in the only direction it would allow. After a long walk he saw a hint of daylight streaming from around a bend up ahead. He snuffed the torch and stood completely still to listen for activity. Hearing total silence he decided that it was ok to move on. He reached the opening and stepped through.

Warm sunlight beamed onto his face as he came through the opening. His ears were filled with the songs of birds and the calls of creatures he had not heard before. He quickly hid in the bushes from plain site and surveyed his surroundings. After some pondering he decided to move in the direction that looked easiest to travel. After all, Morgan was looking for human, "customers" more than creatures to pillage. Not long after arriving in this wondrous place Morgan happened upon a lone fighter engaged in a melee battle with a two-headed creature. What an ugly site this monster was! (and the Ettin wasn't that good looking either) The armsman having his attention fully committed to the Ettin, didn't pay Morgan much mind. Morgan donned a helm, equipped a spear and moved towards the Ettin to look as if he was to attack the beast. As soon as he was within range he snooped the mark's pack and quickly located the black pearl. *snatch* Rogue Rule#1: Remove the mark's ability to Ebolt. Morgan was pleased that his expertise was such that the liberation of pearl went unnoticed. He hit the Ettin once or twice for effect and decided he would try for the mandrake root next. Rogue Rule#2: Remove the mark's ability to heal. *snatch* This time the mark must have noticed because he quickly moved away after the root was liberated. Morgan decided since the mark was now aware of his intentions perhaps he should turn his attention to the backpack that the Ettin had over his shoulder.

*snatch 143gp*
*snatch Amethyst*

Meanwhile, the mark had positioned himself just on the other side of the Ettin and continued to do battle with the beast. Morgan realized that the mark was within range for further liberation if he was just quick enough with grabbing. He remembered that the mark was carrying a pile of arrows. Rogue Rule#3: Remove the mark's ability to poink you with archery. He made a grab for the stack but because it was so far away he only managed to get about half the pile. This time the mark had had enough. He unequipped his halberd and took a mage's posture and began to call out to some unknown deity to assist in his conjuring. The mark noticed his spell would not be successful because he no longer had all the needed ingredients. He face began to show visible anger as he fully realized what had happened to him. He equipped his bow and began firing at Morgan. Morgan returned fire and decided to move in closer to engage the foe with the skill of fencing. The mark changed weapons to a halberd. Morgan's superior skill resulted in damage so great that the mark began to retreat. Morgan gave chase and switched to a bow. The mark's life was bordering on red-line. Morgan realized that one more arrow would result in his death. He stopped. Morgan is not a murderer. He stood still and took off his battle helm and watched as the figure of the, "mark" grew smaller and smaller as he ran away. He realized then that this new land was indeed and highwayman's paradise. The atmosphere was perfect for his tactics and style. He would explore further and perhaps keep an eye out for a potential base of operations.

Dismissing those thoughts from his mind Morgan again retreated to the shadows and stood completely still to listen for another, "customer." He heard much commotion to the South and decided to move that way. He came upon a clearing where there were fighters everywhere engaged in battle with strange dinosaur looking creatures. He waited in the bushes in silence so he could gather as much information about the fighters as possible. For instance, where they all together? Does it appear they would join forces to attack a highwayman? These questions were first and foremost in Morgan's mind so he waited.... and listened.... After Morgan's wounds were completely healed and he had figured out which adventurers were, "alone" he walked out of the bushes. This time he was to use different tactics....

*the image in the crystal ball becomes cloudy and fades....*

*to be continued*

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Brought to you by Morgan's seer.