"No! Just NO! This is a Smoke Pit, boy, not some damned make-shift forge.

You want to melt down some rock you found in the mud? Not here! Take it elsewhere.

We've worked hard on this pit, and I'm not about to let you ruin it."Ozzy and the smoke golem glared at each other.

Joe had shifted to his monstrous form.

Long, smoky chains were dangling from his arms and his eyes were aflame.

"Dammit Joe, we don't have time for this.

We need to melt it down and this is the only magical fire we have.""Didn't your mama teach you what NO! means? You’re not so big that I can't teach you myself! And where are you going with that screaming coal? Do you know how tough that is to get? Do you remember we had to trap an angel last time? An angel!"Ozzy set down the coal and raised both hands, palm out, in a placating gesture, "Sorry, sorry.

I just sort of thought you might like to toss a Star Spawn down in there."Joe's eyes narrowed and Ozzy had his undivided attention.

It was an unsettling feeling.

"Star Spawn? You said you had some meteorite you needed to melt down.""I do! And I'm damned sorry for not explaining better.

We fought some horrible metal monster over in the Glade.

Big fight but Jon chopped its head off.

Looks like a big meteor.

Ben says there's something called a Star Spawn in the rock.

Goes by the name of M'Fargle.

Hurts my head to even say it.

The thing is constantly screaming directly into our brains.

We had to get a Bard to drown it out.

Level 15 Epic Boss from what we can tell."Joe turned back into his human-shaped form.

Where he had towered over Ozzy before, he now looked like a 90-year-old farmer in overalls.

Granted, everything about him was in shades of gray from his bald head to the laces on his boots.

"Well, I'm going to say that's a different sort of situation entirely.

A screaming-star-spawn we can toss in the pit? Well, I might allow that."

The golem paused and thought, "But we do it right! Let’s put about two tons of that normal coal you've been digging out from under Makken's house into the pit first.

Then I'm going to want to dump all four barrels of Dark Mana we have on top of it before we finish off the stack with the Screaming Coal.

If we're burning something to death, I say we do it right.""Got it, Boss," Ozzy ran to the coal pile to get things started.

Two tons of coal to start with would make the hottest fire he knew of.

This was going to be one hell of a fire.

And it really needed to be.

Moving the cart was difficult.

The wheels sunk over a foot into the soft ground.

It was a lot easier in the end to just have four workers pick up the cart and pack it over to the town.

The cart wasn't built to hold the weight of a three-ton chunk of metal.

They took it slowly to keep the load level - which was difficult when they had to be so near to the thing.

Coglin was singing a counter-tune which could cancel another bard's song, a monster's roar, or the music of a siren.

It was helping immensely but couldn't stop all of the mental scream.

The strain of carrying the cart was much less than the strain of being to near to M'Fargle.

Titania caught up to Suzette.

She took the barmaid by the arm and started talking to her in a calm voice that didn't quite hide all her worry, "I know what your hunk of a boyfriend is going to try to do.

It might just work, but not without help.

Even that charnel pit isn't going to be enough.

We need every single thing we can think of to increase the heat of that fire.

And then we also need a way to keep the heat inside.

No good melting the stone foundations of half the town."Suzette really didn't like that idea, "We can't just dump it out in the wilds? Or down a mine?"Titania shook her head, "Nope.

It will come back.

And then you'll see a gaggle of flying wizards around the town and this whole chunk of land will get purged.

We have to deal with it, and that overgrown bar-b-que pit is the only fire we have that stands a chance.

You're going to have to seal it off though."Suzette stopped and looked at the old witch, "Seal? As in a Hermetic Seal? If it's that powerful, then it will break my spell fast."Titania pulled her along and patted her arm, "Not to worry.

It won't be just you.

We need to set up a Witches' Circle and ramp up the power.

Thirteen would be ideal, but if we can get at least seven it will work.

You start thinking on how you're going to cast your Seal on that pit, I'll get the Circle set up.

You are Called!

Suzette, the Lonely Barmaid has begged aid from Titania of the Broken Circle.

Titania invites any Witch, Follower of Hermes, or practitioner of the Old Ways to come join her and her sister in a witch’s circle.

Tea and cookies will be served if any of us survive.