[WSUCougar]

Once more the heavy wooden door creaked open, but instead of another reticent servant, in walked the lord of the house. A few steps behind him walked a rather dirty-looking individual, obviously a military man by his bearing and the inherently wary look of his eyes.

Lord Pelspin was a sizable man, barrel-chested with a ring of graying hair encircling his otherwise bald head. He strode into the room with the confidence of a nobleman on his own ground; the inset lace and finery of his tunic sparkled in the flickering light from the fireplace. His gaze was sharp as he scowled about the small room, taking stock of the men at hand. He nodded a gruff greeting to Benton Gale, the paladin.

“As you may have ascertained, we’ve had some trouble. It seems a scroll map – a copy of the original which is still held in the possession of Puli there – has been stolen from these very premises. Frankly, I cannot understand how anyone would have known of this in such a short time, unless someone has tracked Puli here for that very purpose. But what’s done is done. By necessity, the timetable of this quest must be altered. You will leave in the morning.”

The lord paused for a moment, looking into the faces of the five men as if seeking an answer to an unasked question. He noted that wizard Baldar seemed to be concentrating on something else.