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Journal Entries - An Invitation to Mithril Journal of Aravin de Tylmarade After returning from vanquishing the Gorgons, Vesli and the Vigil of Mullis Town have moved against the Coal Goblin threat with great success! Excellent news for Mullis Town. When word of our involvement in the discovery, and thwarting of this diversion by Dar' Tan spread, Barconius himself requested our presence at the de Bronis estate for the Divinities' Day celebrations there. Such an honour, I’d never have dreamt of! The journey was uneventful for the most part. Travelling with Viktor can be particularly trying, I’m coming to learn the hard way. The wonder when we arrived at Mithril far exceeded even my grandest expectations. The city bustles with movement and life, the Blood Sea is something to behold and the Golem ... Corean’s Mithril Golem is pure magnificence. The stunning craftsmanship, the sheer size and granduer, and of course, the oft spoken of ragged battle scars, all utterly mesmerising. I have finally prayed to Corean at the foot of the Golem for guidance. I have thought often of my girls on the long ride along the Cordrada Corridor. Justice still has not been done, and it falls to me to carry out. Surely in this Corean is with me. I pray for a sign. I am very pleased to say that I’ve managed to find my humble way to Mithril Keep. The barracks there are quite impressive, and I yet hope to find my place among them. Astonishingly, Barconius himself was there to receive my enquiries after the various knightly orders. I have learned much: the Gold heal and protect; the Silver rout out Outsiders; the Iron are masters of warfare and siege; and the Mithril are the elite order, the “best of the best” as Barconius puts it. The order of the Mithril Knights feels like the place where I can best serve Corean. I still have much training ahead of me before I might be considered, but the path is now marked. The wisdom of Corean is marvellously laid out before me. The Divinities' Day party at the de Bronis estate was a spectacular debacle. The Nameless Orb appeared full from behind passing cloud – an ill fated sign indeed! Clearly, this marked the end of the celebrations. I was however interested to overhear conversation between Barconius and Metolian. Metolian, a paladin of Corean himself, refused Barconius’ offer to join the Mithril Knights. I managed to discuss this further with him and he explained that without the burden of duties and responsibilities that are accorded to a Mithril Knight he is better able to serve The Avenger in his own way. Certainly an interesting perspective, I would do well to remember his wise words: ”his path is the one that serves his people - not the one that serves your purposes.” A Day to Kill in Mithril It seems each party member has their own agenda to pursue now we’ve arrived in Mithril, and I am no different. I have prayed at the foot of the Golem each day I've been here, and hope that He will hear. But I know well Corean will only help those who first help themselves. So it is that I’ve set out to inform the various law enforcement agencies of my search. I have no reason to believe Viklas is here, however I simply cannot sit idle while he remains unpunished. It has taken an entire day, but I believe I’ve spoken to every agency in Mithril. Law enforcement here in Mithril is complex, and various groups involved range from elite paladins, right through to little more than corrupt thugs. Indeed my encounter with Grummel and Sarov of The Grey Guard was less than pleasant. Never the less, I believe I can count on the rest of the law men and women here to stand ready should Viklas dare show his face. Corean’s sword is raised. The Nameless Orbb Shines Disorder Barconius sent for us to investigate an attack on a caravan carrying a special secret cargo. The house Bloodhawk caravan, was carrying a case of Veshian Violet wine bound for King Jaren in Mullis Town. Our investigations turned up very little here in Mithril. The representative from House Asaurus was particularly peevish, and self-righteous. It was not until we rode out to the scene of the attack that we discovered a nearby ruined tower, and were finally on the trail. Exploration of the ruins proved deadly. We encounted several goblins feasting on the filth they call food. Steel drawn the battle was met, but the sound drew out worse monsters still. Two large, brutish orcs appeared from another room, weilding wicked axes. Attacking with surprising force, my counters came too slow and by I lost my footing when a savage stroke swept under my blade and caught me full across the chest. My compatriots dealt with the monstrosities bravely, and used a healing potion to restore me. I fear the the fight when we have none of these blessed potions left. Poor Viktor was not as lucky as I, however. We pressed on to the next level of the tower and were assaulted by "sentient undead" to use Viktor's own term. This creature of the shadow struck Viktor twice and he fell. One such as him is too young to depart Ghelspad, too young by far. Dispatching the remaining shadow creatures, the missing wine recovered, along with a vast hoard of treasure, (including a very finely crafted bastard sword that sings through the air with impressive speed an ease), we returned to Mithril, and reported to the Shining Council. Emili was granted by Corean, the power to ressurect Viktor, and my heart almost burst when the colour returned to his face. He is to walk Ghelspad a little longer, Corean agrees. Evidence recovered from the site suggests this was the work of Dar' Tan’s penumbral servants! A spy within House Bloodhawk has been implicated and Barconius and the Shining Council will investigate. A price will be paid for the lives of the men that were taken on that caravan. Journal of Fatso Fjalar It appears we are quite more in demand than I had ever anticipated! The coal goblins now defeated (largely due to our investigation) Mullis Town bore little more opportunities for us in the immediate future, so it is lucky that news of our conquests traveled to Mithril in such haste! Barconius had infact invited us to attend his Divinities’ Day gathering, and as I am as partial to a party as much as the next dwarven wizard I had not objections whatsoever! So we were to set off, when Ruegoth (strangly able to calculate but not climb a tree) figured that Viktor’s cart would hamper us so that even if we were to leave immediately we would miss the party all together! Now don’t get me wrong now journal, I understand the importance of spell components to a wizard but by Wee-Jas! The damn imbecile only knows how to animate vermin! And yet he is on his “qvest” to uncover great “pvower”. Can he not see that the Arcane arts do not teach themselves! You cannot become “Pvowerfool” or earn respect by being able to chill an ale with Chill Touch, or make a rodent’s corpse spring to life! I had expected a lot from this strange little human and sadly I am becoming disappointed. The road ahead however is long and windy; perhaps I will uncover more about him. The path took us through some treacherous and exhausting terrain on the way to Mithril and once again I was struck unconscious during a night encounter with a beetle. I am glad that we have salvaged such restorative potions because a wizard such as myself with robes for armour and only a small bevy of (however destructive) spells will never stand long in the front line. Never have I wished so much for an Orc beside me! (Or in front as the case may be). Upon arriving in Mithril the party were greeted by Barconius and taken to our more than humble accommodation (at the deBronis Estate) for the duration of the festival and up to a few days after. We wasted no time in wasting time once in Mithril, I was aching for an ale and of course the first establishment we enter only serves wine that costs more than a barrel of ale! This ridiculous place also got the better of my companions (I use the term modestly) for when I expressed my dissatisfaction as to both the price and lack of ale they simply backed away into the shadows.. are they so concerned with the opinion of such cretins! The party came quickly and the banquet hall was awash with adventurers and the town aristocracy. After an address by the host a strange calm fell over the place, the Nameless Orb appeared brilliantly in the night sky. This bad omen quickly destroyed the atmosphere and soon the banquet hall was almost empty. I was quite happy to spy Eshella, the dwarven wizard across the room. I had earlier spoken with her about my kin, particularly those arcanely gifted and she had offered to tutor me during my stay. Such an opportunity excited me greatly and soon my ambitions began to present themselves. I intend to become powerful, more powerful than Eshella herself and return to Burok Torn, for there I will be among true friends. For there I will defend the stronghold of my race. The day after the Divinities’ Day celebration we were asked by Barconius himself to investigate a caravan which had been attack on route to Mullis Town. It had been as we later discovered carrying quite a substantial payload of Veshian Violet wine. Upon finding the upturned caravan, I sent Turtle skyward to scout the area. When the faithful Eagle returned I was informed of a tower to the east, about a mile off the road, this I was certain held the answers to destroyed caravan and hauntingly ghostlike murders of its occupants. Once in the tower we fought and destroyed a shadow and then two orcs. Not without Aravin being rendered unconscious and Victor dieing I must also admit, but like the many times before it gods and potions would bail us out of another dire situation! In the uppermost room of the crumbling tower was a huge dog, chained to a post (thank Wee Jas!) we were able to injure it from just out of the range of its vast snapping jaws and eventually it dissipated. Next to the post it was tied to was a chest of considerable size. It was brimming with coin (unfortunately copper formed the majority) and a few interesting weapons etc. This money however did not last long as it was quickly donated at the temple of Corean to resurrect Viktor. After all we cannot let him die without becoming some sort of use to the party! Cone of cold not included! By the by journal, the marauders turned out to be the Penumbral servants of Dar’ Tan and that name I am sure we will hear more of. The wine was returned and the mission was a success, at least now I will have some free time in Mithril to pursue other, more rewarding goals. Journal of Ruegoth Ulgon Veslii came to us and told us that a great honour had been bestowed onto us. Due to our efforts in discovering the coal goblin city, Barconius, the leader of the Mithril Knights, had invited us to his Divinities’ Day party at his estate in the city of Mithril. We quickly accepted and gathered our things and started to head out. I did a few rough calculations and worked out that if we traveled with Viktor’s cart, we would not make the 400-mile journey in the 3 weeks that we had before the party. After some discussion we finally managed to convince Viktor, that we would not make it if we did not sell the cart. Aravin, after getting a good price for the equipment we recovered previously, sold the cart. Unfortunately he was not as lucky this day and Viktor left a little disappointed with the price. As we began the journey through the Moanscar Mountains, we quickly worked out how tiring traveling through the mountains would be. Each day, traveling through the thin mountain air, left us exhausted by the end of the day. A few nights later, I awoke to the sounds of battle. Viktor and Aravin were battling a giant beetle and Fatso was lying on the ground bleeding. My first reaction was to try and bandage Fatso but Aravin quickly called to say that they needed help. I rushed into battle and Viktor, Aravin and I started going toe to toe with the huge beetle. Finally the beetle landed a huge blow on Aravin and he fell to the floor. Viktor and I battled on and I finally managed to land a killing blow on the creature with my morning star. We healed Aravin and Fatso with healing potions and we went back to sleep. Fortunately the next week or so was uneventful which allowed Aravin to tend to our wounds. The only activity we had in that week was an Elk that we spotted one evening while on watch. The next day, we spotted what looked like an elegant Elk. We cautiously approached the creature and strangely it spoke to us in Dwarven! Fatso and I had a brief conversation with the creature, with it telling us that it was named Grilaromon and that he was an Orafaun. Grilaromon told us that the road ahead was fairly clear, but that the lands were dangerous and unpredictable. We bade farewell to the Orafaun before continuing on our journey. On the morning of the next day, we saw the city of Mithril. Three great towers stood firmly within the massive walls. Above it all towered the Mithril golem, a huge statue that looked bent and beaten from its great battle with Kadum. We approached the gate and were stopped by the guard. As soon as we stated who were, the guard went to get his superior. His superior, a female Paladin named Otharia, came and greeted us. Aravin, who seemed extremely excited to have arrived after such a long journey, immediately greeted the lady and asked her if she was a knight of Corean. Otharia told him that she was not, before telling us that we were expected at the deBronis estate. On the way to Barconius’s estate, Otharia took us past a number of interesting places, namely, the blood sea, the bustling caravansary and a very unusual looking bookshop that had Viktor’s eye’s bugging out of his head. I also found it interesting to find out that the wall surrounded only part of the city. I guess that is what happens when a city expands over time. The last interesting place that we passed was the Guild of Shadows. Otharia told the mages that they would need register at the Guild before the end of the week. We reached the deBronis estate; Hanlin, the butler, greeted us. Hanlin ushered us into the vast library. I started looking around for something on ancient history but I could not find anything that interested me, which reminded me that I would have to go back to Azatan’s bookshop later on in the day. After about 15 minutes the door opened to reveal an olive skinned bearded man wearing Mithril full plate. Barconius told us that he was very happy to meet us and that we were welcome to stay at his estate up until the day of the party and for a few days after that. Barconius quickly left us, telling us that he had other business. Hanlin showed us to our room and I had just managed to find a nice comfortable chair when the rest of the party decided that they wanted to head out and see the city. Fatso and Viktor headed over to the Guild of Shadows to register, so I decided to go with Aravin to see the Golem. We all agreed to meet up at the Inn of the Golem later on in the day. As we got to the Golem, Aravin went inside the temple of the golem to pray to Corean. I found it interesting to find out that a pinky finger of the golem actually fell off the great golem during the battle with Kadum. This finger was housed inside a massive building and the knights of Corean use the Mithril from the finger to make their swords and armour. When Aravin finished praying we headed down to the Inn of the Golem to meet the wizards. As we entered, I quickly realised that it was an extremely upmarket inn. Unfortunately Fatso did not. He blustered in saying that they should all hail the Heroes of the Roasted Ox. Knowing that this kind of blustering would not impress the people in this bar, I skulked into a corner and waited for the commotion to die down before trying to gain some information about this city. This did not take long, for as soon as he found out that this bar did serve beer, only wine; he quickly stormed out saying that he was going to the Sailors’ Inn to get drunk. Ah Fatso, about as subtle as well … the rest of our brethren. Still I did not understand how he could even drink human ale. It tastes like swill most of the time. That is the one thing I miss about travelling, I haven’t had a decent drink since leaving Dalane. After talking to the barmaid, I found out that Barconius’s Divinities day party was the biggest thing happening in the city at the moment. Only the most prestigious people were going to be invited, not that I really cared who would be there. Just being invited to this city by Barconius has been an honour. Viktor and I headed off to that unusual bookshop while Aravin headed off to the temple of Mithril to find out about becoming a knight. The bookshop was a very unusual place and the owner was an unusual person who had 9 cats roaming around the shop, one for each of the gods. I noticed that Viktor looked very strangely at the cats but then again, Viktor is a very strange man. Viktor and I asked Azatan the about interests, Viktor found one book on anatomy that he was not particularly interested in but the bookshop owner did find one particularly interesting book on ancient history. This one was actually before the Divine war! I would have bought it just to spite my father but I was not going to spend 500gp that I did not have, just to satisfy my grudge with my father. I found what happened next I found extremely strange. Azatan started telling a story that was told him by someone that had come into the shop. It was of a necromancer and his apprentice that had died in a battle with another wizard and his henchmen. After some prodding by Viktor, Azatan revealed that the master’s name was Mornat. He also revealed that the apprentice was brought back from the dead by the power of an amulet. Viktor pressed on about the identity of this man, but the shopkeeper could not remember who had told him the story. I asked Viktor if he was the apprentice, to which he responded yes. I decided to tag along with Viktor as he travelled to the Guild of Shadows to find some more information on this wizard. A woman manning a book that all wizards must sign into guarded the entrance. Viktor tried to convince her to let him look at the book but he was denied. I tried to distract the woman so that Viktor could get a look at the book, but I failed to gain her attention. We decided to head off to the sailor’s inn to meet up with Fatso. I spent the night sipping very bad ale before helping carry Fatso home. A few nights later was the night of the party. Barconius began by introducing some of his guests, including us and Lord Dorothain of Shelzar and Eshella from Burok Torn. Fatso’s ears pricked up when he heard of a dwarven wizard being at the party. The food and drink flowed freely that night and during the evening I overheard a few interesting conversations. The first was between a man and an elf named Theodannuss. The man was putting on a play about a Dwarven King and was trying to get funds to put on the play. The second conversation seemed far more interesting. It was between Otharia who we had met earlier and a man named Khelarian. Khelarian was complaining about paying too much tax, and how the giving tax breaks to the smaller houses was unfair to him, especially after what occurred with House Bloodhawk at the Caravansary. Seeing that this could be an interesting topic of conversation I approached Khelarian. He went on to tell me that he owned the largest trade house in Mithril, and that the tax breaks that the Shining Council were giving to the smaller trade houses, like House Bloodhawk, was hurting his business. After speaking to Khelarian it really did seem like he has a large share of the market but now a smaller house was starting to give him fairly fierce competition. Still his arguments did not make sense. Surely, giving smaller houses tax breaks encourages competition, which in turn is good for business. Khelarian also went onto tell me that House Bloodhawk had sent one of their caravans through customs at the Caravansary at the same time as his shipment was due to leave. House Bloodhawk’s caravan was given priority because it was smaller and easier to process. This caused Khelarian’s caravan to be held up and his customers were not happy that his shipment was late. I told Khelarian that we would be staying here for the next few days before moving on. I went over to talk to Otharia and she confirmed my suspicion, Khelarian seemed to be under some fierce competition and the laws were going against him. I wandered outside to think about the tax laws in this city as Barconius called us outside so that Emeli could give the prayer. Surely a smart business man in his position would subdivide his business into two smaller houses, make a trusted person, such as a family member the boss of the new house, and get tax breaks on both of the two smaller houses. I contemplated approaching Khelarian with this plan the next day just as we headed outside to recite a prayer to Corean. However, just as the priest was getting started, the Nameless Orb came out from behind the clouds. The nameless orb had not been seen for many a year and was a sign of very bad things to come. This seemed to kill the mood at the party and the guests dissipated quickly. I slept very poorly that night despite the most comfortable surroundings I had had in months. My dreams were troubled and I could never quite remember what they were about. I lay awake for quite some time after that thinking about the last few months. I had become close with my companions and the Mistress of Shadows had been smiling on me numerous times in our adventures. Still I could not shake the feeling that I had not yet found my place in the world. I knew I had been doing good things over the last few months but it did not fill the void in my soul, although my chat with the vigil stalker back in Mullistown reminded that there are places where people like myself fit in. The Nameless Orb also reminded me of my debt to Drendari for the night I asked her to raise Fatso and heal Viktor back to health. I know at some stage she is going to ask me to repay this favour and I fear the task that she will ask from me. I can only hope that my companions will support me when the time comes. The next day, after getting little sleep, I headed down to the Caravansary to find out the customs laws worked in this town. Maybe that knowledge could be used to fatten my purse at some time in the future. The caravansary was an extremely busy place, with lots of facilities for caravans, stables with custom’s officials busily preparing cargo manifests. What immediately drew my attention was a hiring hall for caravan guards. I entered and found out that caravan’s left daily, and with no other cities nearby, most of the traffic was heading back to Mullistown. I asked how much caravan guards get paid and found out that pay rates tend to vary with experience but we could get around 20gp per day! Getting paid sure beats riding back. Next I stopped and talked to a caravan driver named Nodolic, who explained how custom’s works. Supposedly, when the caravan leaves Mullistown, the custom’s officials there write on a manifest of the goods on the caravan and stamp it with a magical seal. When the caravan reaches the other end, the officials check the manifest against the goods in the caravan. This was handy to know, just in case I ever decide to transport some goods between these two cities. Next I decided to head down to the docks, to find out where ships actually sail. I returned to the Sailors’ Inn, where I sat down next to an older sailor. I shared some ale with sailor and he shared with me a story of the last time the Nameless Orb appeared. Supposedly it rained blood and creatures came out of the sea. I thanked the sailor and headed over to custom’s house. Custom’s house was an extremely busy place with clerks in horn-rimmed spectacles running around the place. One of them rudely told me that they did not handle passengers here and if I wanted a sea voyage, I should go outside and go to the talk to a captain myself. Just outside custom’s house, I found a captain that told me that he was travelling to the toe islands, which was a dangerous journey, as we would have to encounter sea creatures that have been mutated by Kadum’s blood and pirates. He said if I ever decided to travel that way, it would cost me 200gp. Very expensive for a simple sea journey! I also discovered that ships left for Hedrad and occasionally Shelzar. From the docks, I wandered around town for a few hours. I eventually found myself in the shady part of town, Shacktown. Shacktown was a very run down part of town. Eventually, I stumbled across a few grubby looking rogues, Sarov and Grummel. I tried to find out who controlled the underground in this city, but these two just seemed to be a pair of common thugs. I figured that these two might try and cause me some problems, so I decided to leave. Knowing that I would likely be followed, I hid in the shadows as I rounded a corner. Predictably, the thugs were following me, so I waited till they passed me. When they had gone, I chuckled to myself, doubled back behind them and headed back to the estate. Just after I returned to the deBronis Estate, Barconius summoned us and told us of a job that he had for us. A case of Veshain Violet had been stolen from a wine merchant named Thassim. There were many suspects, including the two other larger trade houses, House Ausarus (which was owned by Khelarian) and the Rising Sun house (located in temple city and dealt mostly with the upper class), the reapers, who are the leading criminal organisation in the city, and the crows, a band of mercenaries that guard the catacombs. House Bloodhawk was carrying the wine, in what was in theory a secret mission. We started our investigation with Thassim who told us the extraordinary fact that the wine was valued at 12000gp! I wonder what motivates people to spend their money on frivolous things like this. Thassim told us that a member of the crows might have overheard his conversation with the member of House Bloodhawk. We next went and spoke to Aravin’s contact in the crows, who all seemed to be bald, scarred and of an average height. This lead also turned out to be a dead end. This trend seemed continue throughout the day, with us learning very little from either House Ausarus, where we spoke to Khelarian’s brother Viando. Frustratingly, we fared little better at the Rising Sun trade house. Lastly we decided to stop in at the Demon Whale, an inn where the reapers made their business. Unfortunately we managed to get nothing out of them either, with Viktor barely escaping a beating from the barkeep. As we left the Demon Whale, we were notified that the lone survivor of the caravan, a man named Harvel Brighthand. Harvel was a passanger on the caravan and hid when the attack started. He described how the moon was full and bright and there were lots of shadows about. His attackers were silent and unseen and there attacks left no marks on the armour of the dead! Knowing that we would get nowhere in town, we got some details of the attack from the vigilants that had brought Harvel in and we headed out along the corridor. We reached the caravan the next day and quickly discovered the broken caravan, which strangely, Vitkor tried to fix. Fatso sent his falcon to scout the area from the air, and we quickly found a ruined tower. When we reached the tower, Viktor sent his Raven to the to top of the three story tower, find that parts of the roof were missing. We pressed on into the lavish but dusty hallway before entering a room containing four creatures appeared to be goblins. Aravin and I quickly cut two of them down, before two larger creatures with greataxe’s appeared and brutally cut Aravin down. Fatso, Viktor and I finished them off and we healed the paladin with a potion. On searching the creatures, we discovered that one of the great axes was finely crafted and turned out to be magical. Aravin did not want the weapon so I took the fine, but heavy weapon. After finding nothing else on this level, we headed upstairs. The next level revealed four identical rooms, and as we went to enter the rooms, we heard a cry of “Sentient Undead” from Viktor. The frail necromancer stumbled to the ground as if his legs could barely hold his body weight. We eventually spotted the shadowy creature, which I took down with the greataxe and a very useful spell that Fatso cast on it. Sadly we were not fast enough in taking it down to save Viktor, who was taken by the creature’s icy touch. We moved upstairs where we found one large room, with a huge hound chained to a wall. Fortunately the chain was long enough so that the might beast could not reach us. Underneath the anchor point of the chain, stood a chest. Knowing that the dog would surely kill us if we did not soften it up, we attacked the creature with daggers and oil, before suddenly the creature disappeared! Knowing that would not be able to retrieve this chest with out getting attacked, Aravin and I stepped into the room, and we immediately attacked by the invisible creature. Fortunately, Fatso, Aravin and I were able to take the beast down without sustaining too much damage. Aravin and I lugged the heavy chest outside and quickly removed the copper, as we would never be able to carry it back to Mithril with it. We strapped Viktor’s body to his horse and returned to Mithril. We returned to Barconius’ estate where fortunately, we managed to get Viktor raised in exchange for the gold and a scroll that we found. That night I again slept restlessly, and I awoke in the middle of the night a cold sweat. Again, I could remember little from the dream apart from the fact that I was a powerful predator, but I could not recall where I was or where who I was hunting or even if I was hunting somebody at all. As I was contemplating the dream, I realised that my skin was paler than is normal. How strange, I thought to myself. I hoped that this was not part of one of Viktor’s spells before I drifted off to sleep. Journal of Viktor von Haelsburg So once again we se out on the road. This time we travel to the great city of Mithril. Great? I think not. No city could be called great when compared to Hollofaust. It seems that Barconius has requested our presence for a party or some such. If it had not been for the insistence of my companions, I would not have considered going. Such frivolity when serious work is to be done. The journey was not exactly uneventful with a battle against a giant beetle (A member of the order Coleoptera, having biting mouthparts and forewings modified to form horny coverings that protect the underlying pair of membranous hind wings when at rest.) breaking the monotony. Once again the Paladin fell along with the dwarven spell flinger and when Ruegoth finally decided to leave his bedroll, we managed to dispatch it. My recently researched spells aided me in this effort with my Chill Touch dealing massive damage to the beetle’s exoskeleton. Unfortunately the party did not agree with my suggestion that this would make a wonderful cart if only we had the wheels. These people understand nothing! They would waste every corpse they themselves create. Further along the path we came across a creature that I can only describe as a deranged goat. The creature engaged the shortlings in conversation using their crude native tongue. I made a few suggestions of creating a goat curry and the drifted off to sleep with boredom, the fight with the beetle having taking its toll on me both physically and mentally. Upon arriving at the “great” city we were escorted to the Manor of Barconius, deBronus Estate. On the way I noticed a store named Azatans Rare Books. I decided there would be a return journey made here. We were made welcome at the estate and decided to investigate the town. A giant Mithril golem stood looming over the city. Once this would have been impressive, but now it was lifeless and broken, although the paladin still thought it wondrous. Our first port of call was the Inn of the Golem (how original). A fine establishment worthy of my patronage. Our time their was marred only by the outrageous behavior of Fatso. I have seen dwarves behave badly before but this was disgusting. Thankfully he went outside into the street before the local constabulary came to collect him. What was worse was that not a single drop of ale had yet touched his lips. Bidding the bar mistress farewell we left the inn, our purses much lighter but having sampled the finest of wines from the Mithril vineyards. I suggested we return to Azamans, but we found that the fatso had headed of to drink and carouse at the less reputed sections of town. I begin to wonder if the arcane is actually his main priority. To pass up a chance to peruse rare and wondrous books…I wonder if he even understands the meaning of the word clerisy? Oh well, back to my story. Accompanied by Ruegoth, I attended the said store, Avarin having gone to look at some silly castle or some such, and met the owner. Azatan did not want to part with any of his beloved books but did allow me to purchase a fairly mundane text on anatomy. His asking price was one gold and with the help of Ruegoths bargaining powers I managed to purchase it for only three gold (I think certain members of our group need to invest a little time researching the basics of economics). Finalizing my purchase I chatted to Azatan about recent goings on. He told me he had heard a story from a customer recently and proceeded to relate to me the story of my own escape from the Glivid Autel and the death of my master. I began to question Azatan, as only a member of the Society would know the true story. Although his re-telling wandered, it was a true description of our battle that night. However, Azatans memory was not the best and he could not tell from where he heard this story. Surely, I thought, Starko Greymantle had preceded me here and had been bragging of the Societies success. A reckoning would soon come to him. I left Azatan’s believing I had gained all I could from him for the present and headed back to the Guild of Shadow’s. I approached Nabila Silverheart, the list mistress of the guild, to try and ascertain whether Starko was registered in Mithril or not. She would not allow me to see her notes and Ruegoth attempted to divert her attention so as to let me view it. Of course his attempt failed miserably once again. It is quite embarrassing sometimes. However, Nabila told me she did not have any one of that name registered and I had to take her word for it. Ruegoth left me then to find his drunkard kinsman and I set myself to poring over the tomes in the Guilds library. My, what wonders were contained within those walls. I found a number of references to necromantic spells that even I, a member of the Guild of Animators, had not even heard of. During this time I came across another necromancer, Tellis, and after satisfying myself that he was not a member of the society, I explained my plight. Tellis suggested I hire one of the Guilds members to cast a spell on the bookstore owner so as to regain his memory. Thanking my newfound friend I headed back to the shop with another spellcaster. After agreeing to allow the spell to be cast Azatan gave me the name I was searching for, Mithrendonar. This was the traveler telling my story. I headed to the Sailors Inn, where my companions were, to begin my search. It beggars belief that a spellcaster, albeit a dwarf, could get himself into such a state. Fatso was a dribbling, drooling mess by this stage and I avoided my companions as I entered, instead heading to the barkeep. I asked if had heard of a traveler passing through named Mithrendonar? He pointed to a man seated at a table and told me that this was he. I peered warily at the man seated at the table. He looked little like a necromancer but one could not be sure. I joined him at his table and struck up a conversation. I told him I had seen him leaving the bookstore recently as I was entering and that Azatan had told me an interesting story. Mithrendonar repeated the story to me with many embellishments and explained that it was he that told it to Azatan. I pretended to blow the story off as pure fancy and was surprised when he agreed, telling me that he had heard the story himself from a barkeep named Gabe and that Gabe had been told it by the apprentice in question. Me. I made my apologies and left the inn, red faced with embarrassment that I had been chasing this red herring. The tale of Viktor Von Haelsburg may have preceded me, but I felt little joy in the fact that people thought it nothing more than a fanciful fable. Well, one day they will know the truth! I immersed myself in study until the night of the party. I would rather have spent the night at the library, but once again my companions insisted I go. It was incredibly boring, although the food was exquisite and little happened until late into the night. It was then that I overheard a conversation between a man named Neuth and a beautiful female named Danye. It seemed that were discussing a foray to the Towers of Gest Ganest, once the home of one of the most powerful wizards of all time. It seemed to me that this Neuth was not up to the challenge so I approached Danye and offered my services. It turned out that Danye was Arch Mage of Mithril and head of the Guild of Shadow, but her idea of what my ‘services’ entailed differed from my own. It seems that she has a thing for young men and uses them until she is tired of them and then discards them. It seemed that I was the new love interest. I decided that I would play her little game but turn the tables on her. After an interesting evening spent in her chamber, I slipped out of her window so that she would awake to find me gone. Upon seeing her the next morning I feigned indifference to her presence. Unfortunately for me Danye did not take indifference well and cast a powerful Geas upon me. It seemed that the tables had indeed turned, but upon me. What to do? I approached the Keeper of the Lists for the guild and explained to her my plight. It seemed that Nabila Silverheart, the Keeper was herself no great friend of Danye’s and she dispelled the Geas for me. I spent the night with Danye however, thinking that this could be a profitable accord, if on my own terms, but of course she discovered my ruse and confronted me. With a little fast talk I convinced Danye that we could both profit out of this accord and we settled down for a night of, well, you can guess. On the morn we were contacted by Barconius and told that a shipment of very expensive wine had disappeared on its way to Mullis Town. There were many different groups that could have had good reason for stealing the wine, from rival merchant houses to underworld agents. We trooped around town interviewing all that we could, including the only survivor of the attack who claimed his fellows were felled with attacks from weapons, but also from some other form that left no mark, but just as surely dead. Eventually we headed towards the ambush site, a day out from Mithril. Shortly after coming upon the ambush site Decaius and Turtle, our two avian companions, discovered an abandoned tower. We entered the structure and encountered some orcs and goblins on the ground floor, easy work for us, us that is except for the Paladin, who once again fell early in the fight. I wonder if he has really learned any of the fighting arts that Paladins allegedly are taught? Onwards and upwards into the shadowy darkness we traveled. The orcs and goblins may surely have attacked the caravan but they did not have the mystical powers that the survivor had described. Looking at the undisturbed floor a chill ran down my spine. We entered a room on the second level and my dread was confirmed as a shadowy shape flitted out of the darkness and struck me, filing me with cold fire and draining my strength away. ‘Sentient Undead’ I cried, and readied the only spell I had which could harm the non-dead. Furiously we battled the dread creature but alas it was my turn to fall as he creature struck me a second time, draining away the last of my strength. I fell into a dark and peaceful sleep. I awoke again in the great city of Mithril, finding the paladin at my side. It seems that my friends battled the shadow creature to its death and then fought a second fell monster, this one in the form of a hound. A great deal of treasure was found, along with the wine and they brought this as well as my limp body to town. Aravin told me that I owed Corean my life but I feel that it is he that I am indebted to. It seems that he took all of the gold and a scroll from the treasure haul and used this to purchase my life back from the priests and paladins of Mithril. He then told me the treasure never existed. He surely has the heart of a paladin, if not the fighting style. I believe the debt to corean has been paid by the gold and scroll, but my debt to Aravin is yet to be so. And so ends another mundane chapter in the life of Viktor Von Haelsburg. |