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| - | <div style=" font-size:smaller; text-align:center; margin:-10px 0 0 0;">
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| - | Top:[[Star Frontiersman]] main page
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| - | | Up: [[Star Frontiersman Issue 5]] main index
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| - | | Up: [[Planet of Mystery]] main index
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| - | ----
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| - | </div>
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| - | <div style="border: thin solid black; background:#eeeeee; width: 50%;
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| - | padding: 0 5px; float:right; margin:0 0 0 5px;">
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| - | Editor’s Note: I came across this document while web
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| - | browsing, and although it uses races and setting
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| - | information not found in Star Frontiers, it is a fun read
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| - | and not only appropriate to this article, but very Star
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| - | Frontiers.
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| - | </div>
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| - | from [http://www.warrensburgweb.net www.warrensburgweb.net]
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| - | These pages are the mission logs of the crew of the Serena
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| - | Dawn's exploration of the planet Volturnus. This crew set out
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| - | to explore the system and the system's class M planet. Upon
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| - | achieving orbit, the Serena Dawn was attacked by a pirate
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| - | ship and from within by pirates planted amongst the crew.
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| - | Many of the crew were killed or captured while a number of
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| - | them escaped. This is an excerpt of the annals of Xa
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| - | Shrishen Traldor.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:07:08:43:00 = 00/02/18:00 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We have evaluated our water supply and realize that at
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| - | our current rate of consumption that we will run out
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| - | sometime shortly after day 11VLT. Serena is scouting to
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| - | the west, looking for the corpse of the creature. If she can
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| - | find that, then maybe she can find tracks. We figure it had
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| - | to have had vegetation. That would mean water.
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| - |
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| - | Tsestar-sing and Tiinak are organising the first aid kits.
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| - | Our young dralasite has taken a liking to our botanist.
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| - | Despite being a stow-away, she seems most ready and
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| - | eager to join us. I have learned that the young dralasite's
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| - | parent died several years ago at the hands of pirates. How
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| - | ironic.
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| - |
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| - | Serena Silent-Strike's father died at the hands of pirates,
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| - | several other crew members have various reasons for
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| - | hating pirates. I for one have no use for them. I don't
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| - | know if I will ever recover from what we have been
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| - | through... If we survive it.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:07:12:43:00 = 00/02/22:00 VLT'''<br />
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| - | Serena is back. I've just got it all pieced together. It
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| - | appears she could not find the corpse, nor even signs of
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| - | where it had been. She travelled several hours west and
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| - | found no signs of life, but did find one of those things in
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| - | the sand about a km west of our camp like Shae stepped
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| - | into. The debate continues: Stay here, move on. Which
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| - | way to go?
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:08:09:43:00 = 00/03/15:00 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We have decided to see if the mountains are more
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| - | hospitable. Lacking any other direction, we must go some
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| - | direction because just sitting here is killing our morale.
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| - | Ulgar will carry Shae as his foot is badly damaged and
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| - | Kiroth with do his best to hobble along with us. He is way
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| - | too big for any of us to be much help with.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:08:16:50:00 = 00/03/22:07 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We found a small outcropping of rocks, about 5m in
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| - | diameter and 1m high in places. Scattered with that
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| - | outcropping is our first cactus. Tsestar-sing is wound up
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| - | like an ancient hand watch and very excited. She is taking
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| - | notes and cataloging. Studying and documenting. Her
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| - | excitement is infectious and the discovery is uplifting.
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| - | Plants mean water and despite the fact that these are
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| - | cacti, I am confident that we will find water long before
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| - | our supplies run out!
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:09:16:43:00 = 00/04/18:00 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We camped during the day and are moving out again at
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| - | night. Same thing: sand, sand, and more sand. The
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| - | ground is less rocky than further south.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:09:17:48:00 = 00/04/19:05 VLT'''<br />
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| - | Yahir (the Mechalus First Contact Specialist) and Ulgar are
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| - | fighting one of those things Shae stepped into. It sprung
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| - | up out of the sand and tried to bite Yahir. He dodged and
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| - | has his pulse baton out. Ulgar is weilding his great sword.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:09:17:51:00 = 00/04/19:08 VLT'''<br />
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| - | The battle was pitched but over in a minute. Ulgar
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| - | dispatched it quite readily, dispite having to dodge the
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| - | rocks Tsestar-sing was throwing.
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| - |
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| - | Yahir only has a small bump on the back of his head. They
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| - | have requested that Tsestar-sing NOT help if we are
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| - | attacked.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:09:19:58:00 = 00/04/21:15 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We have hid ourselves under our tent next to an out
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| - | cropping of rocks. Ulgar says a sand storm is building. He
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| - | told us not to bother setting up the tent, just spread the
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| - | material out crawl underneath and wrap the edges
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| - | underneath us up against the east side of the rocks.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:10:02:28:00 = 00/04/23:45 VLT'''<br />
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| - | The sounds of the wind and the feel of the blowing sand
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| - | even through the tent material is somewhat a thrill. The
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| - | air has been dead calm until now. Despite the force of
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| - | nature, we appear to have placed ourselves out of harms
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| - | way.
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| - |
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| - | I beleive we are beginning to adapt and am becoming
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| - | more optimistic every day that we will get out of here ok.
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| - | '''00:02:09:10:08:28:00 = 00/05/05:45 VLT'''<br />
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| - | The sand storm has ended and we just set up the tent.
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| - | The sun has returned and is beating down upon us.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:10:16:35:00 = 00/05/13:52 VLT'''<br />
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| - | A full grown creature like the two that followed Tsestarsing
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| - | was just sited in the distance. It was traveling west
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| - | to east. It did not appear to see us and the Weren
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| - | recommended that we not draw attention to ourselves.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:12:01:45:00 = 00/06/15:02 VLT'''<br />
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| - | The last day was more of the same until minutes ago. A
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| - | "sand shark" attacked us. The Weren charged out to meet
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| - | it to protect us. Kiroth is badly wounded, Tsestar-sing is
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| - | afraid he will die.
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| - |
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| - | This vicious beast is almost 4m long with a huge mouth of
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| - | teeth and rows of multi-jointed legs that allow it to propel
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| - | its self through the sand at amazing speeds. Its
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| - | exoskeleton gives the illusion of a dorsal fin jutting
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| - | through the sand.
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| - |
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| - | Over the dune are over a dozen of the creatures like
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| - | Tsestar-sing's babies. But these are mounted by octopi
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| - | type creatures.
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| - |
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| - | Oh, my. This is a first contact!! And I'm here to witness
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| - | it!!
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| - |
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| - | This is Xa Shrishen Traldor on Volurnous. The time is
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| - | 12:03:17 on the ninth day of the twelfth month of the
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| - | second year since the formation of the United Federation
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| - | of Planets. I am witnessing first contact with the Octopus-
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| - | People. Yahir, our Mechali first contact specialist is moving
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| - | out to greet them flanked by Ulgar Ulgrak-ka, one of our
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| - | Weren security officers.
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| - |
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| - | Five of the plum-purple riders are closing the distance
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| - | while.. four..eight..twelve.. fifteen. Fifteen of the riders
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| - | stay back on the dune.
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| - |
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| - | They have clubs and spears in their hands, but do not
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| - | have them raised, nor leveled. As the get closer, I see
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| - | that they are decorated with feathers, jewelry, and body
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| - | paint. Possibly tattoos.
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| - |
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| - | They are slowing as they get closer to Yahir.....
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| - |
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| - | They are now stopped. The middle rider has just thrown
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| - | down his weapons and dismounted. He is moving towards
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| - | Yahir who has since put his pulse baton back on his belt...
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| - |
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| - | He is coming right up to Yahir... and went right passed
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| - | him... What is he...?
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| - |
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| - | He is walking up to Tsestar-sing. He has a ninth tendril,
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| - | much smaller than his other tenticles. By the each of his
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| - | eight tenticles end in five smaller tenticles that allow the
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| - | much more precise manipulation of held objects..
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| - |
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| - | He touches her on the forehead with his tendril and she
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| - | touches his forehead with her hand. Then she begins
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| - | talking to him, despite that we cannot hear him speak.
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| - |
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| - | She says they are the "Ul-Mor" and that their mounts are
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| - | "Lopers". She says they recognize that we are in bad
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| - | shape but are forbidden by law to help those who are not
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| - | members of their tribe.
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| - |
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| - | She is searching for some way they could help us without
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| - | breaking their law. He suggests that we may become Ul-
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| - | Mor through the Ritual of the Quickdeath.
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| - |
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| - | This does not sound good. What do we do? Kiroth will
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| - | surely die soon without their help, but will we perhaps all
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| - | die in the Ritual?
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| - |
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| - | There is but one course. We have a chance with this
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| - | ritual, Kiroth has none without each. Each in turn, we
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| - | agree.
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| - |
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| - | They provide medicines for Kiroth to stablize his and place
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| - | his on a loper. The rest of us are to follow behind them.
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| - | As we are not tribe members, we may not travel with
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| - | them, per say.
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| - |
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| - | '''00:02:09:12:02:43:00 = 00/06/16:00 VLT'''<br />
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| - | We are now travelling. We are about 4m behind the party
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| - | of Ul-mor, but they have scouts off on both sides. I hope
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| - | Kiroth survives the journey.
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