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[Thrax]

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Eric was out of breath when he reached the teleporter. His flight from Papua had been long and arduous. He had narrowly evaded death numerous times, as hungry or malicious creatures crossed his ever-southward path. Never having been a warrior, he had taken some wounds, even from the weak mongbats that lunged at him. Yet, to him, it had all been worthwhile, for he felt supremely confident that he had had entirely eluded any human pursuers. Entering the teleporter, he felt a surge of relief and his spirits soared.

He found himself on an island, in little better shape than where he had been, though he knew he was no longer in the Lost Lands, but rather Trammel. The island was infested with deadly reptiles, plants, and vermin. A few wandering healers roamed the area. As he began to despair, he heard the sounds of battle on the island. Venturing south, he found the corpses of an ancient wyrm, a white wyrm, and a nightmare piled together and a man standing with a white wyrm, a tamed creature, near them.

"I would pay thee all my gold if you would but help me escape this island, sir," he asked the man, who seemed intent on collecting his things, having been slain himself and recently resurrected. At first the man did not reply, instead speaking to his friends who appeared on the scene. "I would like you to provide me a gate to Britain, if you would," he asked, then took time to search for treasure on the ancient wyrm and found plenty of gold left on the corpse. He had no scruples in taking it without their permission.

"We have a treasure map and are locating it. You may stay and fight with us, or else wait. I will provide you a gate soon," one of the others responded.

Eric nodded. "I will wait by the portal. I am weak, and no fighter. Please do not forget about me, sir," he begged. He waited a while by the portal, where the royal guards still did their duty in protecting him from assaults by the carnivorous beasts that dared venture too close. After a brief interval, he went back and spoke once more to the adventurers. One of them cast a gate travel spell. "This is to Britain. Keep the gold," he said. Eric thanked the man and hurried into the portal.

He found himself atop the west bank of Britain. After using the teleporter to exit the top, he entered the bank and placed the gold he was carrying and odd items he had found along the way into a bank box. Except for a skull helm to hide his face, he wore little, as he was wont to do. It was not long until he had lost himself among the many faces of the crowds in the capital.
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"I followed him to Britain," Skurj reported to Alicia. I had to let his trail go cold to report here to you. I am sure I will find it again," he said, tapping his nose with his right-hand index finger. "It will take more time, since there are so many people there," he speculated. He sat across from her at a table in the top-floor meeting room of the Citadel of Blood.

Alicia rose from her seat, the glow of a lighted skull candle casting an imposing shadowy likeness of her on the wall behind her. She paced for a few minutes while Skurj sat in silence, waiting. She stopped and shook her head suddenly. "No, do not waste any more time following him. I will get word out to our friends and allies, and any bounty-hunters, that he is holed up in Britain. No more general postings that will only serve to warn him that we know where he is. Let them finish that work for us. I have need of your skills in other ways," she replied.
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Eric's injuries, disheveledness, and begging skills served him well. It wasn't long until he found an elderly couple who took him into their home, feeling sympathetic toward him. He rested now on a soft bed, having dined on a rather sumptuous meal earlier that night. He jotted down another entry into his journal:

"I have fled to Britain where I may be lost in the host of people who inhabit and visit this enormous city. It is my first visit here and I have yet to see all of it. I will not stay in one place for long. I know an inhuman monster is tracking me. I can sense it. I must keep on the move, but this city shall be my new home and may defeat all efforts of those who seek me."

He closed the book, tucked it under his bed and lay down to the first real night's sleep he had had in a long time.