Cyzaine
09-17-2007, 08:30 AM
This is the tale of the temporary end of the cursed Dark Rot. It was told to me by a strange lizard by the name of Tyrsell, and I relate it to you as best as possible. I'm a rogue, not a bard, so I'll only be telling you once, you'll have to pay if you wanna hear it again. Tyrsell had a certain slant to the events, and I've tried as best as possible to straighten it up, I highly doubt he single handedly stormed the tower in first ruins, and dueled a faceless, while the others watched in horror as he claimed. Regardless he was the only first hand witness to sit and talk with me, so his word is all I have, and this may be a story worth saving for a later time.
Those involved are listed here, as well as a brief description as best as I was able to discover.
Cuwi - Dark elven priestess, dedicated to Gradalsh (65 Cleric)
Daedeus - Knight, and keeper of the artifact (65 Paladin)
Bthar - Dwarven priest and friend of Daedeus (65 Cleric)
Tyrsell - Necromancer, dedicated to Shojar, and the one who told me this story (65 Necromancer)
Tomasi - The mercenary and tracker (65 Ranger)
Nathasar - Daedeus' dark counterpart (65 Shadowknight)
Szriko and Tanasinn - Beastlord and his faithful pet (32 Beastlord)
Foragoth - Young Halfling, with possibly abusive mother (5 Rogue)
The call was heard by those who would listen. A herald of Althuna, the Goddess of healing and justice, arrived in Newport. There could be only one reason for this, the Dark Rot. "The Emissary of Althuna is coming", she would yell, but few responded.
Daedeus arrived first, responding directly and promptly to his Goddess' call. Tyrsell was second. Cuwi arrived after, but only to observe. Nathasar arrived, the perfect balance to Daedeus ' reverence, while Tomasi stuck around, smelling the potential for a quick coin if he played his cards right. Szriko arrived with his beast in tow, perhaps the most reckless and dark of all who gathered. Foragoth, the young halfling, in trouble with the authorities of newport snuck about, debating the morality of picking the pocket of the Herald. After being spotted by near everyone in the crowd, he joined as well.
Tyrsell was impatient from the get go. Though the Herald promised the Emissaries imminent arrival, many hours had already passed, with no end in sight. Those gathered began bickering, but with such a diverse crowd how could it have been any other way. Daedeus and Cuwi in particular rubbed each other the wrong way. As Daedeus saw it, Cuwi worshipped a God dedicated to spreading disease and chaos, why would she even be here. The Herald held similar concerns. Tyrsell continued to harass the Herald, asking questions she could not answer, and demanding to know when the Emissary would arrive.
Foragoth broke the mounting tension with tales of cabbage stew and one too many smacking from his mother. For a time the group was united in picking on the halfling, who proceeded to sneeze on Nathasar in retribution. This too passed as Tyrsell started to muse what the Goddess could possibly want in return for aiding Dalaya. Daedeus was quick to point out that some people were truly altruistic, but the bulk of the group were resigned to the fact that something would have to give.
The Emissary finally did arrive, and as expected, nothing is free. The Emissary spoke of how long it had been since the Goddess directly intervened on the behalf of mortals, and after 'pleasantries' were exchanged by all parties, it was time to talk of business. A tale was told, of a powerful artifact, an amulet of sorts, known as the Phylactery of Preservation. It was wielded by a powerful Cleric in the name of Althuna, and held power untold. Time would prove the artifact not so powerful, and the Cleric even less so, as both were lost in what is now the First Ruins, against the followers of Sivyana. None of those present shared any love for this Goddess, and Cuwi had lead expeditions to the first ruins before. It seemed all in order, but for one snag; Only a follower of Althuna could find and possess the amulet.
All eyes fell to Daedeus, but he was willing, perhaps even eager, to follow his Goddess' wishes. Trust was in short supply, and Daedeus contacted a former associate by the name of Bthar to balance out the good and evil within the group. The band traveled to Erudin, and down into the first ruins, where the ghosts of Erudites long dead attacked. Foragoth was caught in a storm of ice and fire, and gravely wounded early on, Bthar and Cuwi attending to him as best as possible. Tyrsell's mastery of the undead was proven as he forced a Vicar to assist against its companions. Tomasi could find nothing unusaul, and suggested they move deeper in. With care, they did just that.
The approached the tower of the Artifacter, and by some means were successful. Tyrsell's version claimed the others were overwhelmed by fear of the powerful ghostly casters, and he alone stood against them matching his force of will against the might of the dead. When I tried to get this confirmed by Cuwi, she simply laughed and laughed, walking away from me...
Cuwi lead the group up the tower, and on to the bridge, where they were ambushed by the followers of Sivyana. Nathasar was critically wounded, and Tyrsell suffered grievous injury as well. Bthar and Cuwi had their hands full repairing the damage from that assault, and the band was forced to regroup and rethink their strategy. Things would not be as simple as first hoped.
The witches and warriors of Sivyana could not stand up to a fair fight however, and they assembled on the bridge. Looking down from this height, was quite frightening, and humbling in some ways. Many demons swarmed the bit below, and the followers of Sivayana could be seen attending to the tower. Fearing another ambush, Nathasar, thought still wounded from before, volunteered to scout ahead, and to try and bring back the enemy in more manageable numbers. He was the only one who could, and he suceeded.
During this fight, Tomasi was able to find evidence of a great fight nearby, and was able to track a charred body. Finally they had a clue, but before they could act on it, tragedy struck, and Nathasar was lost. Tyrsell would not go into details about it, saying it was none of my concern, but one can only imagine that very few in number are the Iksar that follow the path of law, and that every one lost is felt harshly by them all. Regardless of how it happened, Nathasars loss reminded everyone how much was really at stake here.
Now lower on the tower, Foragath and Szriko earned their keep by acting as scouts. The Faceless were ahead, guarding the corpse, and without Nathasar, they were 3 too many. From the top of the bridge Szriko stood, watching the Followers on their daily patrols. Perhaps it was his sarcastic streak, or karma finally catching up to him, but while alone on that bridge, Szriko managed to attract the attention of the demon swarms, and barely escaped with his life, requiring quite a patch up from Cuwi. Trial two occurred, and without the aid of there patrol, The Faceless fell.
On the edge of the tower the charred remains lay, and the Paladin inspected it to see what he could fine. The amulet was their, and as he reached for it, it shone with a powerful light. The remains of the Cleric crumbled to dust, its duty served, and the band returned up the tower save for Daedeus and Tyrsell. Tyrsell paid his respects, and left Daedeus alone to ponder what final fate likely awaited him in service of his Goddess.
The ghosts had regrouped in the Artifacters tower, likely jealous that another dead soul had found rest, but were no match for the renewed vigor and zealous fury the band now had. A path was cleared for the wounded and weaker of the group, and each made their way back to Newport, where they hoped the Emissary still waited.
I happened to be traveling through Newport at this point, and saw a young halfling running as fast as his legs would take him through town. Curious I followed him, and was able to witness the end of this tale in person.
Foragoth - Got here as soon as I could...
Cuwi - Nice run. You're the last one
Foragoth - alflings aren't marathon runners you know
Tyrsell - You may need to lose a few pounds...
Daedeus - Lets go
Tyrsell - Ah he's still here after all
Daedeus - Hail
Emissray - All Hail to the Goddess! Do you return with news from the ruins?
Daedeus - We return, successful, but not without loss
Szriko - Surprisingly not the halfling!
Cuwi - Nathasar has not returned.
Emissary - His sacrifice will be honored. All life becomes more precious for the blood of those who have fallen.
Foragoth - Twas nothin in my book
Daedeus - Here you go, The Phylactery of Preservation
Tyrsell - Our part is done now
an Emmissary of Althuna reacehes out and slowly takes the amulet from Daedeus's hand.
Emissary - Ahh yes, this is the pylactery. You have done well, noble knight.
Cuwi - Hmph, he did not do it alone
Tyrsell - Indeed.
Foragoth - Aye.. I got blisters on my feet
Daedeus - Please use this to cure us of the scourge we all have
Szriko - Hey I only had it because of the necromancer, I was pure til then
Tyrsell growls at Szriko
Emissary - All praise to the Goddess!!
Daedus - Praise Althuna!
Szriko - ..right, praise be to Althuna
Emissary - Were you able to recover any of the cleric's remains?
Daedeus - No, they crumbled to dust after taking the amulet. We did pay our respects to him.
Tysrell nods
Emissary - It is well, Daedeus. I trust her soul rests with her rewards.
Be well young adventurers. You will know soon if the Rite has succeeded
Daedeus - Thank you kind Emissary
Forgath - Finally... some rest from the nasty plague
Cuwi glances at her diseased, pockmarked skin.
Cuwi - Yeah... I suspect I would know if its gone
Tyrsell laughs at Cuwi
Szriko - What will become of the artifact
Emissary - We shall deliver the artifact to the Goddess. THe power will be released from it in the rite. Unfortunatly, the artifact will be destoryed in the process.
Cuwi - Natrually
Szriko - Typical
Forgath - One less shiny to gaze at...
Emissary - She believes the sacrifice worthwhile, I assume by your giving of the amulet to me, that you too feel so.
Daedeus - I do, any sacrifice is worth it to remove Darkrot
Szriko - I'm not so sure personally... a Pyhrric victory
Emissary -
Emissary - Good day to you all, all glory to the goddess!!
Tyrsell - Til the next time the gods find use for us again I suppose
Tomasi - I would of demanded cash myself
Daedeus - Prasie Althuna
Tyrsell - Oh herald? Don't keep us waiting so long next time.
The Emissary, Herald, and his honor guard leave
Szriko - I'm still not sure if it was worth it
Daedus - i am
Tyrsell - It will be destroyed anyway, Althuna gains no real power and we lose the rot.
Szriko - We're going to the source of the plague soon anyway, which would have ended it...
Daedues - You were brave little one
Forgath -Hah! was nothing. Try living with me mum... that's brave
And that is the tale as I know it. At this point all we can do is wait, and hope that not only does Althuna's artifact cure us of the Dark Rot, but that it will stay away for good. With the Hierophant still out there, odds are not good on the latter, but perhaps this temporary reprieve will give us the energy and hope to continue on.
-Torick Ravenhart, Treasure Hunter and Collector of Tales
Those involved are listed here, as well as a brief description as best as I was able to discover.
Cuwi - Dark elven priestess, dedicated to Gradalsh (65 Cleric)
Daedeus - Knight, and keeper of the artifact (65 Paladin)
Bthar - Dwarven priest and friend of Daedeus (65 Cleric)
Tyrsell - Necromancer, dedicated to Shojar, and the one who told me this story (65 Necromancer)
Tomasi - The mercenary and tracker (65 Ranger)
Nathasar - Daedeus' dark counterpart (65 Shadowknight)
Szriko and Tanasinn - Beastlord and his faithful pet (32 Beastlord)
Foragoth - Young Halfling, with possibly abusive mother (5 Rogue)
The call was heard by those who would listen. A herald of Althuna, the Goddess of healing and justice, arrived in Newport. There could be only one reason for this, the Dark Rot. "The Emissary of Althuna is coming", she would yell, but few responded.
Daedeus arrived first, responding directly and promptly to his Goddess' call. Tyrsell was second. Cuwi arrived after, but only to observe. Nathasar arrived, the perfect balance to Daedeus ' reverence, while Tomasi stuck around, smelling the potential for a quick coin if he played his cards right. Szriko arrived with his beast in tow, perhaps the most reckless and dark of all who gathered. Foragoth, the young halfling, in trouble with the authorities of newport snuck about, debating the morality of picking the pocket of the Herald. After being spotted by near everyone in the crowd, he joined as well.
Tyrsell was impatient from the get go. Though the Herald promised the Emissaries imminent arrival, many hours had already passed, with no end in sight. Those gathered began bickering, but with such a diverse crowd how could it have been any other way. Daedeus and Cuwi in particular rubbed each other the wrong way. As Daedeus saw it, Cuwi worshipped a God dedicated to spreading disease and chaos, why would she even be here. The Herald held similar concerns. Tyrsell continued to harass the Herald, asking questions she could not answer, and demanding to know when the Emissary would arrive.
Foragoth broke the mounting tension with tales of cabbage stew and one too many smacking from his mother. For a time the group was united in picking on the halfling, who proceeded to sneeze on Nathasar in retribution. This too passed as Tyrsell started to muse what the Goddess could possibly want in return for aiding Dalaya. Daedeus was quick to point out that some people were truly altruistic, but the bulk of the group were resigned to the fact that something would have to give.
The Emissary finally did arrive, and as expected, nothing is free. The Emissary spoke of how long it had been since the Goddess directly intervened on the behalf of mortals, and after 'pleasantries' were exchanged by all parties, it was time to talk of business. A tale was told, of a powerful artifact, an amulet of sorts, known as the Phylactery of Preservation. It was wielded by a powerful Cleric in the name of Althuna, and held power untold. Time would prove the artifact not so powerful, and the Cleric even less so, as both were lost in what is now the First Ruins, against the followers of Sivyana. None of those present shared any love for this Goddess, and Cuwi had lead expeditions to the first ruins before. It seemed all in order, but for one snag; Only a follower of Althuna could find and possess the amulet.
All eyes fell to Daedeus, but he was willing, perhaps even eager, to follow his Goddess' wishes. Trust was in short supply, and Daedeus contacted a former associate by the name of Bthar to balance out the good and evil within the group. The band traveled to Erudin, and down into the first ruins, where the ghosts of Erudites long dead attacked. Foragoth was caught in a storm of ice and fire, and gravely wounded early on, Bthar and Cuwi attending to him as best as possible. Tyrsell's mastery of the undead was proven as he forced a Vicar to assist against its companions. Tomasi could find nothing unusaul, and suggested they move deeper in. With care, they did just that.
The approached the tower of the Artifacter, and by some means were successful. Tyrsell's version claimed the others were overwhelmed by fear of the powerful ghostly casters, and he alone stood against them matching his force of will against the might of the dead. When I tried to get this confirmed by Cuwi, she simply laughed and laughed, walking away from me...
Cuwi lead the group up the tower, and on to the bridge, where they were ambushed by the followers of Sivyana. Nathasar was critically wounded, and Tyrsell suffered grievous injury as well. Bthar and Cuwi had their hands full repairing the damage from that assault, and the band was forced to regroup and rethink their strategy. Things would not be as simple as first hoped.
The witches and warriors of Sivyana could not stand up to a fair fight however, and they assembled on the bridge. Looking down from this height, was quite frightening, and humbling in some ways. Many demons swarmed the bit below, and the followers of Sivayana could be seen attending to the tower. Fearing another ambush, Nathasar, thought still wounded from before, volunteered to scout ahead, and to try and bring back the enemy in more manageable numbers. He was the only one who could, and he suceeded.
During this fight, Tomasi was able to find evidence of a great fight nearby, and was able to track a charred body. Finally they had a clue, but before they could act on it, tragedy struck, and Nathasar was lost. Tyrsell would not go into details about it, saying it was none of my concern, but one can only imagine that very few in number are the Iksar that follow the path of law, and that every one lost is felt harshly by them all. Regardless of how it happened, Nathasars loss reminded everyone how much was really at stake here.
Now lower on the tower, Foragath and Szriko earned their keep by acting as scouts. The Faceless were ahead, guarding the corpse, and without Nathasar, they were 3 too many. From the top of the bridge Szriko stood, watching the Followers on their daily patrols. Perhaps it was his sarcastic streak, or karma finally catching up to him, but while alone on that bridge, Szriko managed to attract the attention of the demon swarms, and barely escaped with his life, requiring quite a patch up from Cuwi. Trial two occurred, and without the aid of there patrol, The Faceless fell.
On the edge of the tower the charred remains lay, and the Paladin inspected it to see what he could fine. The amulet was their, and as he reached for it, it shone with a powerful light. The remains of the Cleric crumbled to dust, its duty served, and the band returned up the tower save for Daedeus and Tyrsell. Tyrsell paid his respects, and left Daedeus alone to ponder what final fate likely awaited him in service of his Goddess.
The ghosts had regrouped in the Artifacters tower, likely jealous that another dead soul had found rest, but were no match for the renewed vigor and zealous fury the band now had. A path was cleared for the wounded and weaker of the group, and each made their way back to Newport, where they hoped the Emissary still waited.
I happened to be traveling through Newport at this point, and saw a young halfling running as fast as his legs would take him through town. Curious I followed him, and was able to witness the end of this tale in person.
Foragoth - Got here as soon as I could...
Cuwi - Nice run. You're the last one
Foragoth - alflings aren't marathon runners you know
Tyrsell - You may need to lose a few pounds...
Daedeus - Lets go
Tyrsell - Ah he's still here after all
Daedeus - Hail
Emissray - All Hail to the Goddess! Do you return with news from the ruins?
Daedeus - We return, successful, but not without loss
Szriko - Surprisingly not the halfling!
Cuwi - Nathasar has not returned.
Emissary - His sacrifice will be honored. All life becomes more precious for the blood of those who have fallen.
Foragoth - Twas nothin in my book
Daedeus - Here you go, The Phylactery of Preservation
Tyrsell - Our part is done now
an Emmissary of Althuna reacehes out and slowly takes the amulet from Daedeus's hand.
Emissary - Ahh yes, this is the pylactery. You have done well, noble knight.
Cuwi - Hmph, he did not do it alone
Tyrsell - Indeed.
Foragoth - Aye.. I got blisters on my feet
Daedeus - Please use this to cure us of the scourge we all have
Szriko - Hey I only had it because of the necromancer, I was pure til then
Tyrsell growls at Szriko
Emissary - All praise to the Goddess!!
Daedus - Praise Althuna!
Szriko - ..right, praise be to Althuna
Emissary - Were you able to recover any of the cleric's remains?
Daedeus - No, they crumbled to dust after taking the amulet. We did pay our respects to him.
Tysrell nods
Emissary - It is well, Daedeus. I trust her soul rests with her rewards.
Be well young adventurers. You will know soon if the Rite has succeeded
Daedeus - Thank you kind Emissary
Forgath - Finally... some rest from the nasty plague
Cuwi glances at her diseased, pockmarked skin.
Cuwi - Yeah... I suspect I would know if its gone
Tyrsell laughs at Cuwi
Szriko - What will become of the artifact
Emissary - We shall deliver the artifact to the Goddess. THe power will be released from it in the rite. Unfortunatly, the artifact will be destoryed in the process.
Cuwi - Natrually
Szriko - Typical
Forgath - One less shiny to gaze at...
Emissary - She believes the sacrifice worthwhile, I assume by your giving of the amulet to me, that you too feel so.
Daedeus - I do, any sacrifice is worth it to remove Darkrot
Szriko - I'm not so sure personally... a Pyhrric victory
Emissary -
Emissary - Good day to you all, all glory to the goddess!!
Tyrsell - Til the next time the gods find use for us again I suppose
Tomasi - I would of demanded cash myself
Daedeus - Prasie Althuna
Tyrsell - Oh herald? Don't keep us waiting so long next time.
The Emissary, Herald, and his honor guard leave
Szriko - I'm still not sure if it was worth it
Daedus - i am
Tyrsell - It will be destroyed anyway, Althuna gains no real power and we lose the rot.
Szriko - We're going to the source of the plague soon anyway, which would have ended it...
Daedues - You were brave little one
Forgath -Hah! was nothing. Try living with me mum... that's brave
And that is the tale as I know it. At this point all we can do is wait, and hope that not only does Althuna's artifact cure us of the Dark Rot, but that it will stay away for good. With the Hierophant still out there, odds are not good on the latter, but perhaps this temporary reprieve will give us the energy and hope to continue on.
-Torick Ravenhart, Treasure Hunter and Collector of Tales