The Slumber of Tarandue

It was actually Herald Zeyrsi who had been traveling the southern road near Tarandue when he felt a slight shudder in the earth several days ago. Immediately he called to me and I joined him at the spot, to see what else would come about. Together, we witnessed a strange cackling, which echoed in the air as the wind picked up. Then, strangely, I fell asleep, as if I had been hit in the head. Zeyrsi fell victim to the drowsiness as well, and we lay asleep upon the road for several hours before coming to. Zeyrsi scouted north and south to see if anything lay in wait there, while I stood in place, making sure nothing strange passed by again I was struck with sleep. When I woke once more, I called out to my dear friend Duchess Athelea, who came to our aid at once. It was then that the three of us, huddled on the road, saw a large flash of light in the western sky, sending crows fleeing far to the east. Of course, we decided to venture west into the town.

The entire town was asleep; gnomes lay snoring in the streets, crows fell from the sky in mid-flight. We continued onward into the scarecrow fields. It was here we came upon Randall, the trainer of the area. Around this time, a thousand whispers hailed down upon our ears, and Randall fell asleep. When awakened, he growled at us, grew violent, and even attempted to kill Zeyrsi, before returning to sleep. This went on for quite some time, until we were able to deduce some odd pieces of information. At one point, Randall claimed to be hearing music. Also, whenever we spoke the word lights, it would cause Randall to fall asleep. The same was true for the gnomes of Tarandue. After testing this, I decided to sing the song of awakening to Randall, Herald of the Sky, to see what affect it would have upon Randall. In response, he screamed and fled the fields, running all the way to Rheydin aimlessly. Then, the world shifted, sending Randall back to his post within the fields of grain. Zeyrsi left and Athelea and I returned to the fields, to find a horrific sight: the Grim Reaper himself, attacking poor Randall. Paladin Giladrion Galawaryn came upon the scene as well, and attempted to aid Athelea and I in killing the Reaper. Unfortunately, such a thing cannot be done, for the Reaper was unaffected by all of our attacks from flame strikes to punches. The battle was a quick one, ending in Randalls demise. After his death, the wind seemed to die down and things began to settle, leaving us alone to contemplate what had just happened.