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Post by Deleted on Mar 11, 2015 18:25:33 GMT -8
*I apologize if I made any mistakes with what happened, as I wrote this a while after the March 1st event * Lilith StarseekerEven though I arrived in Oldmin two months ago, I’ve been too busy and sick to actually write. It’s a good idea, though, to keep a journal and now that I have too much time on my hands, I may as well. When I got to the Bluebottle Inn, around midday, there was already a crowd of people there. How they get up early, I’ll never know. I’m definitely not a morning person. There were a few people missing and there was someone new. I don’t know her name, but she seemed nice enough. Well, they were talking about heading out to explore some underground ruins. That didn’t sound very interesting to me, so I sat around town for a bit. About an hour or so later, Nigyri was asking if anyone wanted to head out to the place the morning party was exploring. I didn’t exactly want to spend another afternoon lazing around, and besides, who knew when the party that just went out would be back, so I went with him. When I met him, he seemed nice, but as soon as we were walking, he firmly ended all my attempts at conversation. I like it better when it’s quiet anyways. When we got there, we saw an archway with seven star-shaped stones on it. To the right, the stones were lit up, glowing bluish purple. On the left though, they were dark. The center stone was crowned and raised above the others. We went in, still silent. There was a glowing pathway, the same color and brightness as the stones outside that led us deeper into it. There was a door on the opposite side of us, open just a crack. I asked Nigyri if we should go that way. He looked away and nodded. We approached the door and peeked inside. It was poorly lit, but we could still see another door on the opposite end. The same light lit up a pathway going to that door. Nigyri opened the door wider and we walked in. The room was plain, and I searched it just to be sure there was nothing there. I noticed that above the door there was an inscription. I couldn’t quite make it out, but it said something about seeking and worthiness. Nigyri was better at piecing it together, but he’s a historian. Once we got to the other side, we tried the door. It was locked. Nigyri tried a mana in it, and it opened for him after a beat. He slipped through and left me on the other side. I couldn’t do anything except follow him. I placed my hand on the door and I felt as if something was trying to access my mind. That seemed weird, but I really didn’t want to get left there, so I let it. Anyways, the door swung open and I stepped through. Nigyri was waiting on the other side. It was a large room, with many doorways leading off of it. We looked around and I asked Nigyri where he thought they were. He shrugged and told me to decide my self. Well. I could kind of hear sounds coming from one room, so I opened it and looked in. Sure enough, they were inside. I knew many of their faces, but I’d never talked to any of them. Okay, it’s not like I know anyone well, but that’s besides the point. They told us about the dungeon and the lights and the strange challenges. Nigyri noticed that above each doorway there was a word or phrase. There were seven; despair, greed, ignorance, stubbornness, anger, evil and one unlabeled one with some sort of machine inside of it. Apparently, if you went in a room, there was a challenge. They thought that if the lights came on, that was a sign you’d failed it. That was interesting. Someone suggested that maybe the brightening lights were a good thing. So we started going into rooms and figuring out how to make the lights brighter. In the room with the riddle, labeled “ignorance” there was a statue of a man with a shield and sword. If someone gave it a mana, they would get a riddle to solve. When we solved it incorrectly, the lights came on. For the gremlins (stubbornness), they wanted us to leave. We just had to be stubborn, and unfortunately, that ended poorly for them. The room labeled “anger” held plenty of humans who attacked us. We defended ourselves and almost lost, except for one member of the party. We had already passed the rooms with the blue wraiths (despair) and the machine, so we had two left. Thro’sarae was against it. In the greed room there were three sarcophagi and a couple hundred in gold and jewels, not to mention magic items. We all started taking things, but I felt a little conflicted about taking the items. I noticed Thro’sarae did too, but while she did say it was wrong and refused to do any of it, she didn’t actively try and stop us. Finally, we opened the last room, the one with the inscription “evil” on top of the door. It was a plain room with an altar. People started to debate what we should do. Before it got much further, Thro’sarae tried to remove mental effects on all of us. Nigyri declined, but when she did mine, I felt really weird. What was I doing here? Why did I do this? A second later, I was back to normal once more. Thro’sarae advised us to return this place to the way we found it before we came here. Everybody else agreed immediately. Apparently they had been feeling as nervous as I had. We returned everything to it’s normal place. The big rocks in the machine room were piled up against the entrance to it. Thro’sarae wanted me to head back to town to deliver a message to May, but we eventually decided just to go together. Outside, the lights became fainter and we all headed back to Bluebottle and warn everyone not to go there and maybe take a team to block it off. I was suitably frightened and decided it would be quite nice to return home for the evening and try not to think about how easy it was for me to go along with that. I should have been the one to see that what we were doing was wrong, but I was too caught up in myself to notice what I was doing. Why was that? Was it just the the place or was I actually doing that myself? What I do know is that we should stay away from that place is keep others from making the same mistakes we did, because next time, they might not have someone watching their back.
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Post by Deleted on May 6, 2015 16:23:54 GMT -8
Lilith Starseeker (Yes, I know it's May. I'm sorry.) Ughh. Last month was boring. I spent most of it doing things that got me nowhere and just made me feel more frustrated. Oh well. Today was much more productive than last month, so I guess that makes up for it. Anyways, this morning one person had news that he had gone scouting over the Walking Crop Wastes and was interested in taking a group to try and get to the center of it. Now, I promised myself earlier that I was completely done with that place, but I figured that since this guy knew a lot about it, we would be okay. Well, actually, not so much. At first it wasn’t so bad. We ran into some gremlins, which we took care of, no problem. The next group was ogres, which was slightly worse, but not by very much at all. Finally, we got to the edge of the Walking Crop Wastes. The first thing we ran into there was a couple of beasts. One of the party members told us that a certain type of plant could turn into animals to scout, so we were forced to kill them. Being a wild mage and a decent person, I naturally wasn’t too happy about it, but I suppose it had to be done. The first group of crops we ran into wasn’t so bad. It was mostly turnips and other less powerful plants. As usual, there were a lot of them and they were annoyingly hard to kill. I’ve always hated those things and today was no different. Whatever it was that created them was a twisted spell. Our group was small to begin with, and two people were killed by them, so some were worried about pressing on. Apparently, none had had the foresight to bring a healer, so we were stuck carrying the bodies of our fallen comrades. We decided to press on though, just to see if we could make it. Someone did bring up though that if anyone else died, we should just head back to town. Unfortunately, we fared much worse on the next wave though. As we continued walking we decided just to try and skirt the crops to avoid casualties and hence continue further. However, while some made it across, most ran back towards the already traveled path. I was killed during the initial run across the field, so I was told that afterwards that we pulled back and the next thing I remembered, I opened my eyes in the inn. After lunch, I headed over to the harvest festival. The princess was there, as well as a priestess of the Growing God, something you don’t see in Oldmin everyday. She seemed like she had some interesting things to say, so I followed when she and Rose Knight from our party -Mae, I think it is? - went to talk. Apparently, she had been having visions of beings poisoning the world. Of course, it was all more poetic than that, but I can’t really remember the details. She was quite frightened by it, especially be the face the appeared at the conclusion of her vision. All was well until a group of humans came in and started to harass a group of dwarves in the festival. I had heard about the hostility towards the dwarves before, but the brutality in which the attacks came was not at all something I expected. The priestess created a shield of energy in front of the dwarves to protect them, but the kept circling around it to get at those poor people. Mae began to try to reason with them, but they ignored her and kept verbally abusing them. That’s all it was at first. But, as with our luck that day, it escalated far too quickly. One of our party members, along with another civilian dwarf attempted to leave the festival and return to a safer place. However, the harassers continued to follow them. A group of us went off to help them. I followed a few seconds later. However, none of us were quick enough to prevent the men from killing the dwarves. The quicker adventurers dueled the humans and killed or wounded them. Law enforcement took the killers in and the festival returned to some semblance of normal. After everything had died down to a certain extent, I saw a girl making flower crowns. I always used to do that with my mother and I instinctively sat down beside her. belatedly, I realized that if she so much as looked up, she wouldn’t want me anywhere near her. I was about to leave before I realized that she wasn’t going to look up and see my scales anytime soon. At first we just sat there in silence, together. After a few minutes, I began to ask her about her family and her life. The details of it are not necessary to include, but she reminded me of what my life could have been like if i had been born normal instead of scaly and odd looking. A few people walked by, asking for flower crowns, including the princess and another women who sometimes talks to us in the inn. That women then stood in front of us and asked for silence. She spoke then about the festival itself and the nature of it and read a poem written for the occasion. Once the poem was read though, the princess collapsed into a group of bystanders and began mumbling about something we couldn’t see. her eyes were closed and the woman calmly informed us that she was having a vision. I could only make out parts of what she said, but it sounded close, eerily so, to what the priestess spoke of. Once the vision was complete, she stood to her feet with the help of some people around her and excused herself. The woman asked her if she was okay and she nodded, making excuses for why she needed to go. The festival winded down after that and we returned to the inn to discuss what needed to be done during the rest of the day. It was decided that we would deal with the worm (or was it a wyrm?) that was found earlier that day. We traveled out to the place where it was contained and entered it. Inside was the worm, of course, but also three undead. I remember a specter, a wraith and an ethereal being. Immediately, about half of the party went after the worm. I saw someone fighting a specter and I tried to help her. I got a hit or two on it before it died. We took it out of the circle of protection and went back into the fight. Over the course of the battle, I got a hit or two on the worm and maybe a few on the other undead. I remember being hit by the worm once, and the wraith another time. But finally. the worm was dead and placed safely in the smallest circle of protection. Once it was inside, it exploded into thousands, perhaps more of little worms.Then these worms buried themselves into the ground inside the circle of protection. Better still, they didn’t take normal damage and seemed to regenerate. So the people inside ended up killing them by wounded them with holy damage and then burning them. One adventurer, did the same with jumpstart heal. I’m not sure how long they were there for, but I was just glad that I didn’t have that job. Imagine! It would be horrible. Well, I have to go now. I have more work to do, and it’s late.
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Post by Deleted on May 24, 2015 5:59:13 GMT -8
Lilith Starseeker April Chronicle I arrived late again. It wasn’t my fault this time, but I still missed the morning. Some people had head out to a dungeon earlier, so naturally, I had to go. Another group of people wanted to head out there too, so we all went together. We met up with the rest of the party after a while. Apparently they had wanted a small party and since we now had at least ten people, they weren’t too happy. Well, its not like I’m was going to leave, so I let them be. The first thing we ran into was a couple of lizardmen. We decided, though, to try and not to do any actual fighting and just avoid them. They were grunting at us, pointing and counting down on their fingers. It was all very confusing until they started duelling party members. then we just ran to the other side. I came for the dungeon, not the fighting anyways. The next thing we happened upon went basically the same way. It was a group of giants and once they started throwing boulders, I was out of there. The next thing that came along was two beasts and wyvern. Those were harder to kill than the previous things, and of course, there was someone in the party who insisted on killing them. He called them false dragons, or dragon imitators – something like that. I didn’t really wanted to be there, but I fought the wyvern a little. The beasts were much easier and were wounded almost immediately after the fight began. We got passed both and continued on to the dungeon. We got to the door of the dungeon a little while after. If you could call it a door, actually. It was just a stone arch with no door, just hard, cold rock. There was a symbol, a circle with a cross through it. A couple historians looked at it and determined that it was a pre-Fall symbol of unity between the races. Someone suggested that to open the door, each race put a mana into one section. Since there was only one elf, I had to do it with three other party members. When we did that, something changed, so we put another one in. When that didn’t change anything, we sat down and thought about for a while. We spent a lot of time doing that. A couple of people tried pushing on it, one of each size and race. One person tried singing to it. Then Miko and another woman tried reciting poetry. The woman read it first. after she finished, the wind picked up. There was ash, volcanic ash. It got in our faces and formed part of a symbol on the door. Then Miko read another poem, about the fall to it. That’s where it got weird. We all had a vision. The sky looked like it was burning and ashing was falling down, coating everything. I was scared and I could feel my heart, beating in my chest. I saw a door and a maze of passage way, winding in the ground. In the distance, there was a disc of light, bright enough to be a sun. At first, it seemed close, within reach, but then I realized that it was far away, it just seemed close because nothing should be that bright or large. My heart was beating very fast, like a drum in my chest and I was breathing quickly too. I saw the sun, the disc, go from one, to five smaller discs and I felt something similar in my own body. Then the five became one again, then seven, then one, then seven and then all at once, one again and it felt really big. Not in a physical way, but kind of in an emotional way. I can’t describe it. Then I opened my eyes, and I was back again. The door still wasn’t open, the arch was the same, but the feeling was just fading. There was a hobbit girl in half plate. She walked towards and told us she lived there and that she heard and wanted to see what the fuss was about. We told her wanted to go and she smiled and told us to ask nicely. We all thanked her and went inside. The door opened up into a passageway. In it, there were these weird tendrils that hid in the shadows. The poetry woman identified them and said that they originally came from the dream dimension and that they fed off negative emotions. They seemed to be hurt by silver, though, and we didn’t have too much of a problem with clearing the hallway. We continued to a place where the passage forked and we took the left one. At the next intersection we took the curving passage and found ourselves in a room of stars. I don’t mean that literally, of course, but painted stars. Around the edges, there were four statues, an elf, a dwarf, a hobbit and a human. I put a mana in the elven statue and so did each person in turn for each statue of each species. I felt as if I was the statue. No. That’s not quite right. I felt like I was seeing from the eyes of the statues. Those eyes rolled up and I saw the stars. Not painted stars, but real one. Like I was walking in the night sky. Across from me, I could another one of the party members, Kaz. I felt big, even though there was no reference of size here. Kaz looked weird though. He had these streaks through him, sickly looking flecks. I looked around, for my bearings and then realized I would never realize quite where I was here. I could still see the room, but not the people, just the outline of it. It seemed far away and I looked up again. I talked with Kaz a bit, looked around and then a worm wriggled out of one of the flecks on his skin and disappeared. We talked about why that might be. It reminded both of us of the worm demon thing we had fought earlier, but neither of us had been in the circle of protection with the worms or had done anything the other hadn’t. Then, we decided that rather than sit here, we should do something and moved. I suggested we leave the room and try and go somewhere else. As soon as I stepped over the wall in the world below, that room felt very distant, very far away. Standing out over an empty field of stars, I tried to search the area for anything interesting. I didn’t find anything, but I did hear a voice, small and far away ask me what I was looking for. I told it that it was looking for something out of the ordinary, something important and one of the stars swelled into an orb of bright light. I walked towards it and it started talking to me. “Will you know me?” “When do you remember?” I wasn’t really sure what it was asking, but we eventually talked to enough that we figure out it was asking if we remembered our time, where we came from. Kaz asked it what it knew and it said that it knew only darkness and that it would remember us. We asked it we could leave, eventually and it replied that “ "We are amongst the stars... I am not yet. But I will be. You may return when you choose to go...". After that, it wouldn’t really give us a straight answer and it eventually faded. We went back to the space above the room and thought about going back. We weren’t sure how much time had passed, but also wanted to make sure we weren’t missing anything. All we had to do was think of ourselves back in the room and a staircase of auroras appeared leading us downwards. We paused for a minute and hear the orbs voice saying “..Remember..”. Then we were back in the room again, with the rest of the party. I stayed around there for a little bit, running around. there was this weird sound and one of the people we had to go to this place or we'd die. Needless to say, I'm not dead and I'm not really sure what that was about, but its over now.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 26, 2015 19:01:48 GMT -8
Lilith Starseeker May Chronicle The first thing we did that day was the Werdyn. There was a weird thing going on there and we were sent to investigate, as normal. Before we headed out we decided not to get involved as much as possible, just to speed things up and make sure we didn’t get sidetracked. The first such thing we ran into were giant snails. With knock out breath. Thankfully the whole party managed to avoid or fly over these things, so it wasn’t really a problem... Okay, never mind. I’m too tired and lazy to write this whole thing out. Besides, I remember. I was there. Werdyn, attacks on farmers, riots in Oldmin, the Demon and the Lich plus a few other missions I didn’t go on. That’s it for tonight. I’m going to bed.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 20, 2015 8:45:49 GMT -8
Sena Easayr September Twentieth (or it's equivalent in Falnorian)
I have to say, I’ve adjusted to Mandel better than I could have hoped, but worse that I would have liked. the city is different than most, but no more different than I had expected. The streets are drab and everyone is in a constant state of nervousness. Not my kind of city, really. The people here, the adventurers at least, seem to be good people for the most part. There are perhaps fifteen in total, although I have not talked to most as much as I would like. I probably haven’t talked to some of them at all. I can’t say I’m particularly close to any of them though, except for Rue.
Rue reminds me of Rilla a bit. They both were about ten in human years, and had similar mannerisms. Rilla, especially, acted younger than she was. She was too used to being the baby, the cute one, Grandma always said. At least with Rilla, she was unburdened and young. Rue is the opposite in that respect. Kids shouldn’t grow up as fast as she did. But still, it’s hard not to imagine Rilla when Rue cries. I feel really bad for her. To see your parents die when you are that young is bad, but to believe you did it...is heartbreaking. i’m trying to keep an eye on her when I can spare one, just to make sure things work out for her. I’m pretty sure others are doing the same, so I think she’ll be okay. I hope. I’m still nervous about a ten year old adventuring, although I know it would break her heart if I told her she couldn’t.
Sparrow and Karis are both natives here in Mandel. I suppose that makes them valuable friends. They both have similar personality types too. Both of them are quiet and think before they speak, no doubt a product of growing up in a prison city. Karis seems like she works a lot, despite what she says. I wonder what her family is like. She seems young to be caring for them, but I suppose it’s possible. Sparrow is more secretive than Karis, if that is possible. He seems like he doesn’t take many risks and he rarely speaks, preferring to observe the conversation rather than participate.
I have spoken with Feydrin and Alexis a fair amount as well. Both of them seem polite and well mannered. Alexis is very shy or something. He blushes a lot, but he speaks well. Maybe his family is important somewhere. I’m not quite sure what to make of Feydrin yet. He seems kind, sure, but I don’t know much about him. I don’t know much about anyone, really, but still. He seems to be some sort of fey, a dryad or something. Avory and Creo are probably the people I have talked to the most, after Rue. They are in the inn quite a bit, which helps. I feel bad for Avory. It can’t be easy, living like she does. I wonder what happened to her, that made her the way she is. She has deft hands though. I don’t know how she managed to fix up Creo like that, but she did. I’m impressed. Creo is another matter altogether. While everyone here is rather polite and civilized, he is the exact opposite. He even bit a table once. Whenever I go in the inn, I can’t stop looking at it. It throws off the “feng shui” or whatever Feydrin called in last night in the inn.
I think that’s it for now. I’m actually kind of looking forward to adventuring, which is surprising. I might even make some friends.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 3, 2015 17:39:15 GMT -8
(Just a note: This is private if someone ends up decoding it) Sena Easayr Dearest Ama, Are you well? I hope so.
Gvi sikszcs pr sdwscvc. Ovmu w aixh, q doh efuzf och kqiyss efr q kwsr’l fmhzxdw vwd ajgz wb dcjpv vcyh nsm, ovk hwi hswwzt ejccur bi, sbl osap, wjmu at. M sa av gdvjm. Q kwsr’l tmlz amcs q oos e uvwpqt. Efr avat hsma p kxwz w kviah yc jhqz. Fmh q ha ciwrmk vtvw ovk ugeeai...dsap qcc rbda ovia gwi’k zqrs. Prqkifg. Xw wjmymdrw cshm dzwf bosgi? ag hhbp edfqnvi? m oczym pfgib osg wgamawbik.
Cdlf wijs, q ooki s guhza wzcx, h giefr zloapq, twy tdvlivl htpdwvn. Wi’w zce p geifr uf rpck twy hwi ecaa dpvl, ovk w’b medzvjxry, fmhzac. Ah uhytw hfmahn kgcl tcciq ovk w’b gsfmmia xg gxlbs azob p vpzw. W sucl cgi evfgc, tib kcc’x. A vics ilag curtv ucvafdp xcz ucl. Xzs xlcepw vmys hiwa bv vpzw o olbjmfs quhtvwgb pb bc lfiks. Ilwfm hft e xse dvd ejs...tlgh tdsizocx, tib avtc ucul ogsmbl sshw gtblb. Dj em nlk truccuhtvk kqav ilwa, bosn lsjm afxiv hw mcggw am vii sx hpl qxxq. Mwb ycso vwd wi mk. Hplft ejs avat mf sdlfn gahg. P hwmfy q oochdsl ph lidz mucjkz, rqwzdqshqjoapq, vwd mdy locnvi qw. Gbpza, ml aiks bi kc uhr x asbblr is tfmhy hsesbowck.
Lvqz qxxq...wb’z rxjxszlbi jjcu avt slvmy qxxasa p’jt fwsv ac. Qyl wv h givsbol kpc, ah’a uc smxtmyscx xfwt vdqw. W phjt e ucvzhprl tmhf dj esazwck kculhwmfu cw, pgisyquu p psk q kwsr’l yvvk tbagblr, nsm yvvk, ilw iaboa. Xzs kvaeefm wm hwi srdlbiyjszz, ktpd wb tozik ix mcg e jsaafxglwdl qxxq. W phjt qsrm mfxifra, -- pt ilsh qz kwel mwb’r redz bosb. Xg pm occikh, bosn ejs tphipw awys ilsb oscgmxwmk orumoquhprusa. Fcj ofce ocl m sa ephw xzs evfs “jjwmur”.
Dj szt vt ilw olcscxmfmz, w pq hszooew uzwzshx lc zbs. Hlw fmtwchk am vt gmdzi. Avtc zodl hwi koul qjvaccz axrv, hpl gpqw vcuutv xcz zhdvasa, avt wsam moxvqhiss xhwotz. Fji ag i sci cgivnsg xzov avt vwgb, wsglsda asc mf vctoc cwozz, pjx kvm hqiw eiko cahwf booc xzob. Zvt mk o avatazob ysrifh wydwef, vmy dpvwbbz yxpdsl logpasz im p hwawu. Och kvm’z bdx dmquu. X’zw pmlb is lvia vdyks iur xx ooa acgr sdiyhh. Wzs jsobik vmygtpx, kppqw m uov vbac lsts vtv fcb ac. Hlw wa zc hqsfb hbs fjodl tdv gbm zc nsmbo.
Avtvw wa hzhs fwth, kws a vics htgymu hd pwga avpr lvm vhwijg, jbh ppjsikm amcs. Aos hiwaa zscwaptl och vskpgxzw svvivl. Kvm pg evgpiizn xzs xlfhsf w eviah lfczh ilw awzh, hmedtf ptgsial w zrgk aos rsmzl oochds eooi m koqk, kwif gwts dxzszz kdydr vvh amkhmu hd qw cz dcjpvb’b bbsijgbhbs. Ml’g aafprys, byihxabo zcbigbm zc fyaqssm prv bwa ftedzg bbsijgbhbsmfu eom. Eijviwg xx ag jlqpyks wm hwi oog zvt lsblsss lwfalzu hmfquu pvyiulbiw. A ou uci wmfm.
Hbs xzsv avtvw wa ocas. kvm’z o hxjovns drw. Gwts seqg, aos hiwaa lbtvysbpq prv sfjwiiv, kppzt slvmyg hlw qiu ppvwzg rstt zsz osph sbl zonw kvm’z txrw, pca w zrgk aos’h pqwvn. Och fce, zishwbtf, gwi jsnlfh xg vmygtpx wv avt xzwzk dtvkcv. Avtvw ozl cilwf xhfiw gt plf eijgwuoamlm booi hgb’b toigz ix lwilwf, jbh x gsb’b wii qq tquutv gb eooi’w ofwuu. X xzwvr gwi fsmkg widd,jbh x nmgb joc’x ywdl wi xg vmy.
W wens isgd whcslb p vwoavbpfds itcjrl hw hztbag, eoc xw sb iyrtp fcjss dj kczag. X lsjm h vpvv hqts ziwdquu ivsqs vt llg’g vvpxpahg hbs azc qzb’i. Lw wa bbueazquuac hctpht efr khzaw es “upgh wwbi”, dvxgz wa h givwhko, pjx ovw ha x xg qwtdaeab? q’cs ppjsikm ivasl ac cs sjipz. Ppwlqz gtieg dlfn xwaxlfpqwbbhz. Wi ag dlfn yhgma, ckij gwtsilabo p qpr’l vmsd qyl hw hugiw kqav prv vm ooh ifzqzhth em plze. M owts rd qq pmzh, qyl hpl ogis vm hgzw es bv vtph vqt kxxz wa ksumfwblzn rgh uf givgbo zixx. Zceljtv, a kqsz ss em jlgi. Ml’g phfs xg vqz vxq kc lpgivsiooh.
Ilwfm hft, sx qwbfhi, eczl, pjx lvwzs pvw hpl ccik w awspo lc uvgi vwucsogpq. Ivmcgxmbiasac, a rqk bdx biaa kgmls bowh pwhblf yykh bv gpc zstsc prv rmzqgmts dhfxsmg ikjtrlizlfh. M fsmk gdqw olcwri, gb bdc ilaboz wc tsfbpqjpsf, zloapq.
Hpl txvkh wus wek hw kc lmlv awogvgk. I tccxz cz zc pkg, vm acah jim ac zmdz iucilwf ikjtrlizlf is hfwcs wijgmst lsjhpf cu fwwvn cci. Sdxhftrlzg, os wev bw lleiuhmk vtv lc ov hwmk tiy, pjx lvm kobeys ehg ssfs iur gyw obasbtlsl ac zmdz bos phnsvaigij. Vm rsex zsz mfdq vcquu xx, tib p udx eol hh wme twy pgmfuquu xx md qu hwi xwzzh epsqm, zc x rwjmy orgwdblr wmk oxvzdkq. Ovk w gisztf vpxw vwsrxry uzbrvik, sdlb usj cvsm p qgbbo. Shtwqqhzac ovmu hwi hszzcc lsg iwcasywhlr prv hzpss xg airs xx jwooh. Ss qcc avxrc w aocjpv twyuxzw vqt? w’b rgh abft azob ac ss…
Zceljtv, dwsl adwl dzvpaieg, qa utxk kwygt. Vwqmuhac, a vik ptkmb dvzjrlsmywck sh bos dvhviuovik ozvich lvm jwic. S tmd hwmfua zhgyuy ul oh svr ia txvkh iur cso w it qdrnwvjss xzob zcbilvquu qev wa ooetwbquu xr lvqz qxxq pmfcch ovia w ilgiooh qixczl. Txvkh wm oap, lvm hadyfh wm cgtzovz gwsmzl uci fw hppg qmy wv h gbedz kphn paym avxw. Lvmys pvw kif hds eovf cgtzovhutw lc jl bdveot. P atef, czwvpr doez ogi khzpqi, fmh aawap.
Kskvbspq, ovk rtjabqasac eczl givsbol, yxhk wv avtww dthqtw zodl o hiufma qjplizl cu wgfbz. Hwiq vics rijhipb gmliisg ilwm lv, hwiq vics p wwh wm gjtwfaawimgba avtc srplft xg bw toixwf eooi efr bosn wzozl gisjwmz och yczf hppwg booi rg qppzs wzccsr qi sptl hd xzwvr ie. Xzsal yxhk vics xrkovphxik, bqnvi xwfzvfh efr bycjfds assttabo. Avtww ozl qwmdrzlb usj uwk’g hecs. Kowahjsv! hbs efmbpat m ysb jzdww, hplm uvwshl ie efr pprt edz wm wi. M oova hd lwzx avtq, tib p rdr’l yvvk wso hw isremgm p vpzw bw pbusjaiawdr gb bos hytxmjh. ilsh’a dvtvw gxhfgso qwtsh mf.
Gxhfgso uzlk jt ab plft. Lw yvvkh xzwvng ilsh q kcc’x. Zs eviah cbwd, fxkzh? jbh xj a twyupzw vqt och sgslr wme hphh, x agitk xjwl pm kcxry wb ac hijjm tmhidt zpuwx? a kwbzs fw iapbv laa, iur ilsh’a uci kgcl lwilwf. Abft, xzszl ogi ghplf celwdlg ilsh tpjt lwfm, rogmk twy cci. Tib rogmk viash jgf avat vwoavb prv w lvb’i ofce hbn slvmyg ilsh eviah ts ium jww. W llgeijoblzn asbb ac widd boshi cwlz, pjx uov p pgmfu ufgtpx hw bgt twcxss is vc av? qpr a sdlb umfr bos eelwmuqt xg kiph qixczl apoabo tm siuwapcc? m owts oleah gvig evjqjs dr lvqz oh fwgb p qpr.
Sbgdonw, wbwbuw sx ag wfdfdsuz. W’ap lsts mdy spwbh hses kvca xzwvng x’zw rwush. Jafaa cu edz, q tsi e hfquqt! lag vhat mk tmfrgmf ovk vt’w fcbowck dwsl vda yfitap wswl ucqmdwbf kpw dwsl. Bdx khcjy jt gf iumilabo. Os tzwb zltjwwg bv pt gsztlr p tjwvjs qc sbgvbt. Azc eviah cbwd? bdx es booi’w xcz zigi. A qiu’h qidwmcs ilsh phdeifsl, lgeiuwiszn wabkl w smvb’b rbda ah ia txvkh.
Q’cs qiwb wu ejmls i msl evjmuhjvwg isftevm. Q’cs usmupa ndqtwmz och kymssisfg, eyoxxzg iur vlgitz, hwmfua fcj agitkb’i insv isamwjm. P’jt qwh vfaelk ovk rgcsra. P vpzw o uhuxgsz aaouj. Sbl afjxz pm acah, at bosgi sfm hbnqgfm dcchwfa pb ilag evfah, a rwu’h lefh bv ztens. Q docx lc als llsh q joc wws, medtvasvjs llsh q joc. El tqygi m ooa ocbikwkr, pjx fce p rdr’l kiuh is dsics ilag tptt fwvqur. Csl hpl qxxq, aifpt, fmh bos uiwz booi m zodl o rlgwkl wc lgk q swki sbl dvtr a rql...wi’w saigwck. A kiuh is ksm fcj efr hhbp xzccnv, prv stso prv hpl ppfq. Pca bdx qsb. Isixwf bv kpml ivawa kjouto usjuqcsh qw ovk hxpd ag dcgo ab bowh gahg pg dzwf.
I love you Ama, but I’m staying if it’s alright with you. Don’t worry, I’ll keep writing. I need your advice more than ever now.
Much love,
Sena
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Post by Deleted on Oct 14, 2016 19:47:57 GMT -8
Danay Vassano The Fourteenth of Tenthmoon, 138.3.2 Hole in the Wall Hostel, Hutmoor, Gildmar Based on notes taken on the twenty-fifth of Ninthmoon
It seems I have found a bit of time to write. It’s been a couple of busy weeks. I got to Hutmoor a week before we actually started to adventure, to get the lay of the town, you know? It’s small. There’s a lot of sand. People aren’t particularly friendly and it’s hot. As far as places go, it’s not my favorite. But it’s about as far away from Oldmin as you can get, and that’s enough to recommend it to me. Fast forward a week. Everyone met in a called the Hole in the Wall Hostel with the leader of the town, Lord Everett Haven. It was decided that we would split ourselves into two groups: one to speak to the townsfolk and another to solve a few haunts who had been improperly buried. Such an occurrence is not uncommon here. The day was already hot by the time we left. The graveyard was not far from town, but it was fairly large and took some time to traverse. We encountered a couple of giant snakes on the way, but we avoided them and went on. At the graveyard, we found three haunts, as well as handful of sky beasts. We spent more time than I would have liked in the sun, but we solved all three of the haunts. Speaking of haunts, there is one in our party. We call her Silver, as she wears a silver half mask. It seems that she has no knowledge of the new ogres and trolls in Falnorian. She is drawn to Hutmoor for some reason, but from what I’ve heard of the Wildlands, I would hardly be surprised if it had to do with that. Our groups reconvened at the hostel after we had finished. We decided that our efforts would best be directed at the Wildlands, and a mine with some sort of unknown pest. Lord Haven wasn’t sure exactly what type of pests the mine had, only that it had them. He wasn’t sure of the kind of mine it was either. Since I have a thing for mysteries, I went. We ran into more snakes. I wouldn’t be surprised if I hate snakes as much as I hate sand after a year of this. Then there were hobgoblins and a couple of scouts who told us that it was hot and there were a lot of insects in the Wildlands, which I probably could’ve guessed. After some more walking, we arrived at the mine. The passage split and we went straight, where we ran into a bunch of scaley little gremlin things. The passage split again and we took the left and ran straight into a bunch of battle bones. On the walls, there were little pieces of glassy blue gemstones. They were definitely precious stones, but minerals aren’t really my specialty and I couldn’t be sure exactly what they were. Maybe some sort of aquamarine or sapphire. Anyways. We walked for a while longer, and the passage slowly became more and more natural. We ran into another group of undead, but this time it was a lot nastier. Bran (he’s one of the adventurers, another archaeologist) thought he smelled some sort of gas and we all got out of there real fast. One guy went out there with a torch to see if it was actually gas. There was a huge explosion (who could have guessed?), and when we went to check it out, we ended up losing most of the people we had left. Meanwhile, the other group went to check out the Wildlands. I didn’t go, obviously, but afterwards they said they saw some things I wanted to take note of, including a fiery gazelle, an elephant-like creature, a black cat that looked sort of like a panther, hyenas and a wildling. They brought that one back to the town. According to Lord Haven, they were people who went insane after getting lost in the Wildlands. Doesn’t it sound like a wonderful place? After regrouping in town, we decided to go back to that mine. We ran into some traders on the way, some gremlins and a haunt who was eaten by ants. As far as ways to die, I think being eaten by ants would absolutely be the way to go. When we got to the dungeon, we took the same path we did before. We ran into some more gremlins, got people’s stuff back and then decided to explore some more. We got to this one room with a couple bats and a boarded up passage, which, looking back, probably wasn’t meant to be opened, but what the hell. Behind it, there were lots of gremlins, except they seemed like they’d been trained or something because they were using abilities. And, embarrassingly enough, they managed to take us all out except for Silver, the haunt, who got them to let us go by first aiding some of them. And thus, we returned to the city with bruised pride. I’ll probably write a little more later, but for now, goodnight.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 26, 2016 9:26:14 GMT -8
Danay Vassano The Twenty-fifth of Tenthmoon, 138.3.2 Hole in the Wall Hostel, Hutmoor, Gildmar Based on notes taken on the twenty-third of Tenthmoon
Everyone was pissed off in the inn on Sunday, but I can’t really say I blame them. The day had a strange feel to it. Anyhow, the first thing we did was attempt to deal with some bandits, which wasn’t particularly successful. Apparently, some strange Halimun-era ruins had been found in the desert earlier and one of our missions was to go check it out, which I wanted to do, of course, being an archaeologist. So did a lot of people, apparently, because we had a big group going out. There wasn’t anything particularly interesting along the way. Some dark trolls and more snakes, my favorite. We came upon the ruins. They seemed at least a thousand years old, although it was confirmed later that they were closer to two thousand years old. The building itself was very large, possibly some sort of communal space or maybe the home of a very wealthy person. Some people began walking on the roof to try and find a way inside, despite being warned against it by Bran and I. Two of them, Wren and Kelley I think, started trying to find a way to lower people down. I found a half buried window along one of the walls and Bran began to excavate it to find a way in that didn’t involve possibly destroying the roof. But by the time we had uncovered the window about three or four inches, people were already jumping through the chimney and so I figured it was better to just forget procedure and and make sure no one screwed anything up. There were hobgoblins down there, a lot of them. We managed to clear most of them out and plug the hole in the wall they were coming from. Inside the structure, there was furniture of all different sizes and rugs on the floor that crumbled as soon as they were stepped on. Needless to say, there wasn’t much left of them by the end. The walls had paintings and frescos on them. I’m not a skilled enough artist to recreate them accurately, unfortunately, but they were beautiful. A layer of pink dust covered everything in the room. Why there was so much of that dust there is still a mystery to me, and one I intend to research further. I started to identify it, but suddenly the room seemed to shift, for lack of a better word. I felt sick to my stomach, like I was going to throw up.
Everything in the room looked new. The furniture, the tapestries, the rugs, everything. There were three people who were ordering food and drinks at a bar in the corner. I was about to walk over when two people from our party ran in and told me they had found more of the pink dust. I went with them instead.
The room I entered was covered in cubbyholes on three sides, about three hundred of them in a all, with a bed pushed up against the last wall. Of that, about thirty contained some amount of the dust. I identified a small amount of the dust and discovered it was a mixture of two different minerals. Later we found out that one of the minerals is used in forging. Delilah took some samples of it to bring back to Hutmoor for Lord Haven.
When I returned to the first room, I heard that it had become old, then new again once more. The people I could see became haunts when the room was old and they seemed to get angry or at least react to the words city, wilds (this one made them very mad), time, sand and (the beginning of the) desert. The room shifted to the old version again and the haunts appeared to be escalated. They started attacking us, when I saw Asterion take off his gloves and touch one of the haunts. It seemed like he was possessed and started attacking people, saying “for all our stories ever end, in blood and bone beneath the sand” repeatedly. Someone knocked him out, and when he woke up, he described it as feeling like a void turning in on itself inside of him. There was still one escalated haunt remaining. He began attacking people and so a lot of us left for the roof. While some people went back for the wounded people below and while they were down there, Vesper found a scrap of paper on the ground. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be written in the Halimin language.
When we returned to the inn, we spoke to Lord Haven about our findings. He told us what the dust was and about how old the building had been. Asterion guessed the structure was likely an inn, which I agree with, and Vesper asked about how the Wildlands was created. Apparently it had been some sort of combination of natural disasters that created the Wildlands and spelled the end for Halimun.
I spent most of the afternoon trying to figure out some stuff about what we had seen. I went on one more mission, to drop some supplies off to a settlement. We ran into a herd of devil snails that smelled absolutely horrible, as well as a bunch of rams of some sort and a haunt lady. There were some travellers that we came across as well, headed to Hutmoor. They seemed fairly normal, but they did ask whether there were haunts along the way, which struck me as strange. We dropped off our supplies and headed back home. It’s been a long day. I’m going to sleep early.
The Thirty-First of Tenthmoon, 138.3.2 Hole in the Wall Hostel, Hutmoor, Gildmar
Aaaaaaahhh. Okay. Where to start? Asterion mentioned to me that he was doing some sort of ritual that potentially involved Halimun, so of course, I was in. Silver came too, as did Kelley. We spent the better part of the evening northwest of Hutmoor setting up this ritual. He intended to call many spirits to him to answer questions about Halimun. It occurred to me that perhaps it would be easier to just read about it, but either way, doing a ritual was pretty cool. Apparently Asterion and I both worship the Angels. That came in helpful tonight. Zachriel is the Angel of Memory, and I had hoped making holy water blessed by him would help the haunts remember and protect Asterion. Perhaps it did. I’m not really sure. All I know is that the ritual worked.
Once we had completed it, a circle of haunts appeared around us, perhaps twenty feet away from where we stood. There was so many of them, and they all looked individual people. Hobbits, and elves, dwarves and humans, all standing side by side. Asterion had left several offerings for them, including some of our candy. They gathered closer, to only an arm’s length away and seemed to calm down some. Then they said the same thing Asterion had said earlier: “For all our stories ever end, with in blood and bone beneath the sand”. They moved in once more. It was almost uncomfortable now. I couldn’t move back into the ritual or forward into the haunts. Then they said “From all to many, many to one. Become the madness that cleaves the bone, become the blood that thins your own.”. Asterion asked how to put them to rest, and in unison they made some sort of shushing noise, sort of like how the wind sounds, and raised their hands. Then he asked about Halimun. They seemed not to like that very much. They attacked us, nearly killing me. From Asterion, I learned they had said “You can not save us, save yourselves. For in these wastes to long you'll dwell”
They left a paper as well, the other half of the one Vesper picked up earlier that is now in my possession. I think we can begin to decode it now. Already the events of this evening are all getting blurred in my head. I’m glad I wrote it down. I should get some rest and write more later.
The First of Eleventhmoon, 138.3.2 Hole in the Wall Hostel, Hutmoor, Gildmar
Let’s be real. I wasn’t going to sleep. Asterion and I stayed up til like 2 translating this paper. Here’s the translation, for anyone interested:
On the front: “Sail upon the summer sea/Walk on tired memories/Heartpeat proken feel the beat/Or searing sand beneath your feet/Watch your shadow, keep it close/The world waits, so make the most/Forr all our stories ever end/In blood and bone beneath the sand/In passing time and river dry/In spirits home an empty sigh/In waters where no one hopes to die/For here were all when all were one/Now all are many, here are none/There cursed sands beneath your feet/Betray a past that none will meet/Become a madness cleaved to bone/Become the blood that thins your own/(insert crossed out section here)/You cannot save us, save yourselves/For if too long these you dwell/Its sands will claim your memories/Forgotten in these sandy seas/Drowned in ages of decay/In blood and bone will wash away" (all spelling errors are as they were in the document)
On the back: The courthouse waits to try us for our sins/Before the crossing comes, they settle in/Now drawing near, the thunder sounds the call/And brings our slag to feast upon our fall
I need to sleep.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2017 10:03:10 GMT -8
Danay Vassano The Thirtieth of Eleventhmoon, 139.3.2 Hole in the Wall Hostel, Hutmoor, Gildmar Based on notes taken on the thirtieth of Eleventhmoon
I figured I should document what happened today before I leave, just in case something happens to me. The first mission I went on was to go to the ruins of an old market and clear it out. We ran into law enforcement on the way, but they let us pass without issue. A little while later we ran into a group of haunts. They appeared to be normal haunts, but when someone tried to solve them, they wouldn’t be solved. They were slowly heading towards the old city. Everything seems to lead there. The paper, the strange haunts, the spirits from Asterion’s ritual, the haunts in the old inn. Maybe even the strange creatures in the Wildlands are connected somehow. Asterion and Silver decided to follow the haunts. This whole situation bothers me. Anyways, the rest of us continued on to the market place, where a lot of us were killed by snakes. I hate snakes. The remainder of us decided against continuing on. We met up with Asterion and Silver on the way back. I went with them rather than continue back to Hutmoor.
I met another haunt member of our party. She came with us to figure out what was going on. The haunts we found were recent; my best guess was no more than five years old. I started reading the prophecy to them and they froze in place. Asterion reached out to touch one of them, and they attacked him, killing him and Silver.The haunts began to wander off again and I wanted to follow, but they agreed it was too risky and we were returned to Hutmoor.
Before going to adventure today, we had agreed with a few other party members to go out to explore Halimin. Several had already left on a mission earlier, so Silver and I are going out to meet them in the Wildlands. I’m leaving my journal behind and I'll update it when I return. Best of luck to you all.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 4, 2017 22:23:34 GMT -8
Sena Easayre Based on the events of January 123.3.2 as an adventurer out of Mandel in Falnin
I am no scribe, nor am I a historian. My party and I are, however, some of the few who has visited Halimin and returned to tell the tale. To be sure, it is one that deserves to be told. I can not guarantee that my writing is completely accurate, as it took place many years ago. I can say that, due to my notes and recollections, the essence of it is correct.
Many years ago, I worked in the Mandel orphanage and adventured for the city. After several months, I began to notice children were going missing. The orphans in Mandel are often neglected and overlooked, so it did not surprise me that no one else had picked up on it. Anyhow, I began to notice that there was a certain child that kept leaving, and after that children would disappear. I had figured out which child seemed to be leading the other ones away, but I wasn’t sure how to get rid of them. I spoke with Aria Sneath and Sparrow Whitehawk (two other adventurers and friends of mine) and we agreed to enter the orphanage pretending to give medical exam to the children in order to corner the suspicious child. We eventually cornered the them and started an identify ritual disguised as a medical examination. It seemed to realize what we intended to do, and it reached out to touch Alexis Arendel on the forehead and he began to attack people. I’m not the best fighter, but thankfully we had several, so we were able to knocked him out without too much trouble.
The child thought this was all very amusing. It told us that it worked for the spider and it seemed like it was playing with us. In the confusion, it slipped out of the orphanage and ran out of Mandel towards Gildmar and Halimin. I followed it with Sparrow and two others. The rest of the party was a short distance back. We ran for a while. The child seemed to stay just within sight of us, like it wanted us all to follow. At some point, a Gildmar patrol approached us. They warned us not to run and said they had to take us to their camp. We were all rather annoyed with the delay, but since the child did not appear to be moving, we gave in. Sparrow and one other did run past at the last second, however. When we got the camp, we asked to be taken to their leader. We waited awhile before finally seeing him. You would think I would remember more about meeting the King of Gildmar, but I don’t. I do remember what he told us though. When we told him our purpose, he gave us several pieces of information: 1, the creatures in the Wildlands are not normal and one would best beware of them. 2, no one has ever come back from the Wildlands after being sent in. 3, magic, the gods and planes become warped there. He remarked that the child sound similar to tales he had heard from that place. He offered us a chance to look through their journals, but we insisted that we had to continue on, so he let us go.
We continued through the Wildlands, meeting up with Sparrow and the other as we went. There were several battles with the strange creatures the king had described. I remember dying by the hand of a spiky green elephant and seeing many other twisted creatures, distortions of how they normally looked and acted. Slowly, slowly, we drew closer to Halimin itself. When we could see it in the distance, my familiar appear agitated. Hoku insisted she had to leave because it was not safe for her here. I asked her to polymorph Rue Freanitryn (then a young elven girl in our party) in order to keep her safe from whatever may come. I was sad to see here go, for even then her presence calmed me. I remember the twisting feeling in my stomach after she left. Apprehension maybe? Fear?
As we drew closer, I could see that this city was the one from my oracles. We walked through the city gates. We approached the courthouse. Outside, they were three...creatures? Spirits? People? One seemed as if it were made of frogs and had multiple rows of shark teeth. Another looked like a tumbleweed of octopus tentacles. There was something that looked like it must be a ghoul, but it was living, not dead. Looking back on it, it must have been a life-dead. I wish I could say it was the last time I encountered one of them. The last seemed like a normal human, but he had a look in his eyes I did not like and stayed in my mind for weeks after. We had to walk past them all to get to the final entranceway to the courthouse. The child-shifter had changed now and was waiting for us there. It was huge now, and seemed to constantly be changing in between forms. Oroko later described it as wearing a blank black mask with truesight. It tried to keep us from going in, but we did not listen. It warned us that the Black King stood inside, but at the time we did not know enough to be as cautious as we should have been. We pushed opened the door.
The courtroom had once been grand, perhaps was still grand in it’s own, twisted way. There was a rich black carpet that let up to a dais. Upon it were three huge figures surround an even larger figure who occupied the throne. One wore an intricate silver mask and a modern day suit. Another was dressed in red with a sharp-line mask and a crest of feathers. The third wore a black mask with silver tears. Then there was the child-shifter, now huge like all the rest of them.
The Black King asked us why he came and we replied that one of his underlings had drawn us here. He tried to intimidate us. He taunted that the night was coming and there was nothing we could do to stop it. He forced us to get on our knees with Elder Sorcery and made bow before him. When we tried to respond, the being with the intricate mask tried to throw us off guard with its words. Later, we decided that must have been Doubt. I couldn’t make myself speak out against him. The King talked to us for a while before making Aria an offer to answer all her questions in exchange for her servitude, which she refused. He then warned us we had one minute left to speak to him. As we turned to go, both Sparrow and Anna had their necks twisted by a strange force. Sparrow turned and punched whatever it was in the face, while Anna was not so lucky.
Eventually, we made it back to Mandel, alive but filled with more questions than answers. Sparrow’s hand and arm was blackened after punching the Black King. Sometimes it was better than others, at wrist rather than his mid arm. It changed it him. I think seeing the Black King changed us all, really. It the least I can do to pass along this story and hope that someone, somewhere can find use for it.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2017 16:36:36 GMT -8
Compiled Oracles Done by Sena Easayre in Mandel These oracles are sorted chronologically. I have made quick notes on the possible meanings of things and the context of each oracle, but most is left up to your own interpretation. If any of these are useful to anyone else, then I am glad that I was able to help in some small way.Death Knight Oracle (September 2015)This is an oracle done with Princess Kolien Oroko at the very beginning of our time in Mandel about the direction of the time to come, the tunnels and what lurked in them. It is possible that the oracle was not about this, but that is my best approximation after all these years. “We saw a gate. On one side of the gate, there was a city, Mandel. The sun was just setting and the city was light. On the other side, there were the tunnels. They were dark and closed. On the Mandel side, you could see Lord Gregor, walking. He was looking around, like he thought someone was watching him, but he was also watching it. It was almost like we were seeing out of his eyes. One the other side, you could see a lantern in the blackness, and eyes, watching. Then there were graves, and they opened, but nothing was inside them. I felt myself fall inside. I looked up and all I could see were stars. Then a hand reached in and grabbed me and pulled me out, into nothingness. The vision shifted again. I saw the innkeeper lady, with her white eyes and dark hair in the shadows. As she was walking through the tunnels, she said to us ‘their greedy mouths will devour us whole’. As she walked, the tunnels folded away and she was walking through and ancient city. There was a broken throne, and a man sat on it, a king of sorts, with red rimmed eyes that were black all the way through and pale skin. He sat there, and as he did, he drew up the sand and manipulated it into shapes. Then there was an anthill, with a Queen at the very top, ordering around the workers, and the drones and the soldiers. The ants swarmed around until the vision cut to Mandel again. We saw Lord Gregor, calling up the men at arms, the sentries and the soldiers.” The broken throne and the man on it are most likely representative of Halimin and the Black King. My best guess would be that the anthill represents Mandel-- it is a motif that has appeared again and again throughout oracles at and about this location. Assorted Oracles (December 2015)The first oracle about the missing children and what happened to them. “I saw a spider on the wall, cleaning its front legs like a fly. It clicked its mandibles, and the clicks sounded like laughter. There was an anthill below it; the spider casted of a stray piece of web that floated down to the anthill like fishing line. On the end of the bait there was an ant, and the spider used it like a puppet string to walk the ant around. It started a trail and more followed. Then there was the sound of a deep heartbeat, and I am blind; but I felt wind all around me, and dust all around me, and I felt very thirsty. Then it changed again, and I saw a child pleading sulkily to an adult “I don’t knowwwwwww!” and then the vision ended.” The spider is a common motif throughout the oracles, possibly representing the Dark Council and its influence over Mandel. The wind and dust may be a reference to Halimin in the desert.
As children were going missing, a strange invisible presence was felt by myself at the orphanage. There was evidence that the children felt it too. This is an oracle about what it was and what it wanted. “I saw the image of a door, and heard someone knocking. I felt familiar but not like myself The door opened to reveal a child wearing a mask; there was a conversation that happened, but it I can not recall it, and the child was invited in. I saw the orphanage as it normally looks, then there was a moment where the room dimmed and the heads of the orphans all turned around like an owl's to look at me with black eyes; there was a feeling of deep foreboding. The room went dark and I looked up at the night sky - it was all dark except for seven stars that flickered with an oddly dark and sinister sort of light. All the while I felt like something was dancing around or following me in the vision, but every time I turned to look at it, it slipped away or wasn’t there - and it laughed.” The mask often represents deception and lying to yourself in oracles. Seven stars is a very specific motif that has appeared throughout Falnorian’s history. My best guess is that it has to do with the Courts. The thing following me was most likely the shapeshifting member of the Black Court, although it is not certain.Around the same time, we first came into contact with the shapeshifter, a member of the Black Court. It is able to change it’s appearance into any person. We saw it take the shape of Gregor Mandel, a child at the orphanage and a high security prison guard in our time. It is possible it took other forms that we did not know.“I saw Lord Gregor Mandel walking towards me, with his morganti shortsword drawn. There was a moment, then he twisted, and he turned into a raggedy child who laughed and ran away calling "tag - you're it!...". There was a sense of formlessness, and many colors in the scene changed and the contents of the scene changed and morphed, and then it all turned to fog. I groped through the fog, trying to find what I has been looking for, but every time I thought I saw it it wasn't there at all... I could feel it stalking me in the mist, but not matter how I turned, it always seemed to be right behind me.” An Eldspel Patrol disappeared for a while and I believe it was found with horrific injuries. From the oracle, it can be assumed that this was the work of a member of the Black Court (the bishop/shapeshifter), although I’m not sure why. The throne with the crown is common symbolism for the Black King in my experience.“I saw a grassland, then a tunnel made of grown trees from one side to the other. Patrols passed back and forth. The Eldspel patrol snuck into the tunnel. Then the vision changed and there was a chessboard with pieces moving across it. A white pawn took a black pawn and moved forward. Then the black bishop took the white pawn and the earth shook and there was a weird smell in the air. I saw a throne with someone in it and a crown that hung off the side. There was a really icy deep laugh and a feeling that felt similar to the presence at the orphanage. It was laughing at me. I saw a fortune teller looking into a crystal orb and writing stuff down. It seemed like they were in some sort of vision or trance. I saw the paper, then the chessboard once more. The fortune teller said something to me, but I couldn’t hear it.” Assorted Oracles (February 2016)To be completely honest, I barely remember this oracles and I can not be sure what they were for. We we in Syenon at the time, I believe. This was recorded as an oracle about why the Winter Space and the creek in it was tainted and decaying.“I saw the forest, but with all its layers. There were roots that reached down and turned to bone as they got deeper with black ichor under the earth. A king-like man wearing all black and a black crown and scooped up some earth. There were three people on either side of him and his hand turned to bone and it felt very cold.” As with the first one, my memories of this oracle are vague and insubstantial. I do not remember why this oracle was done, but please interpret it as you will. In my notes, this oracle was about the purpose of the Middle-Space and the shrine-like grove we found in the area.“I saw a burial mound covered in flowers with a tree growing out of it, and a dead tree buried underneath it. A hand with black claws reached out and turned. The claws go away and the hand became covered in bark. The hand touched the ground and used healing touch. I could hear a storm and thunder. There was a sense of foreboding. A far off an animal gave a hunting scream.” Assorted Oracles (March 2016)Several orphans were discovered missing from the orphanage. This was one of several oracles to determine what happened to them and where they were. The orphans that were lost (assumedly taken by the Black Court) were never found.“It was dark. I was walking and feeling my way through some place - it felt like halls made of stone, and I was barefoot - and it was completely dark, and completely still. Somewhere above me, there was sand, moving; and it was very hot, and very cold, but here, it was simply cool and silent and still. It was oppressive. I could hear my heartbeat more clearly in the darkness. It sounded fine, and then it sounded wrong, and then it sounded more wrong, and suddenly the sound of it was terrifying…” Upon witnessing a battle between a Hellhound and a Golden Stag, we oracled for its significanceI had a brief image of the Hellhound and Golden Stag colliding to rip at each other again, in slow motion almost to the point of being still; behind them, I saw darkness and light, and beneath them on the ground, a chessboard. A pawn moved forward. This oracle was for the plans of the bishop (I believe they are the shapeshifter). It’s important to note that I took four mana drains from seeing this oracle. I was inexperienced and not as careful as I should have been. “My vision split in half and I felt like I was seeing double; it came with an immense migraine, and it started to cost me very quickly. There were two images that played out before me, or maybe they were one, and I’m not sure - there was laughter and cackling in the background, gleeful and sadistic, and I felt like one thing was dragging me down by my feet while the other pulled me up by my head. There were figures dancing, dancing around me in circles - I’m dizzy - they took me by the hands and spun me, pulled on me, tearing me apart...” Dark Council in the City Oracle (April 2016)This oracle was about the Dark Council underneath Mandel and what they were doing. I very careful to leave as little of an imprint as I could when doing this, so it is more vague than I would have hoped.“I had the oracle as if viewing it from a distance, so a lot of detail was obscured, but I felt safer when I did it as well. There was a series of brief moments rather than a long narrative. First I saw seven stars in a moonless night sky above the desert. Then a broken throne, worn by swirling sand. I saw a bustling city full of many, many people from a time long ago, and the sounds of bustle and talk reminded me of a heartbeat; but they they faded and the city was swept with empty, hollow wind, and the heartbeat went silent. A storm gathered over ruins, and as it rumbled a horn sounds; the storm broke and it rained, and each raindrop was a soldier, and each rainfall an army. I saw a heart, broken in two, and a crown fell clattering to the ground. Last, a star fell from the sky and crashed into the earth; and it felt very old, even primeval.” Morganti Body Oracle (July 2016)A body was found morganti killed in Mandel. It was cut up to the point of obscuring any of it’s physical features upon closer inspection, it seemed like patterns had been cut into the skin so many times they were no longer distinguishable. I believe the identify turned up blank as well. When the vision began, it was like we were walking through it and we could interact with different parts of it.“There was a dark street at night and a paladin fighting undead. A human in chains kept saying he needed help. He argued with spider who wanted to tie people up. An emaciated human asked to be untied. He has been tied up because of what he did. There was a human sized hole in the oracle at the edge. I let the spider tie me up and I saw a human male at the edge of the oracle. He looked like he was 6 feet tall and burly with medium skin and blue eyes. He wore a helm and the insignia of high prison security guard.” Later it was discovered that Fox (as known as "The Teacher") was impersonating that man in order to allow the Dark Council to access the high security prisoners.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 31, 2018 18:19:56 GMT -8
The Journal of Danay Vassano The 31st of Eighthmoon, 169.3.2
My name is Danay Vassano. I have been sleeping for a very long time. It’s hard to remember things now, but I will make this record in the hopes that the mistakes I made will not be repeated. Maybe none of this means anything anymore. Maybe it never did. But I need to write about it and I need to tell someone, even if it's just to get the story out of me and on to the paper.
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Danay’s Halimin Chronicle The 22nd of Secondmoon, 139.3.2
The notion struck us on one of the missions in or around the Wildlands (the details are blurry now. I can’t quite remember. It wasn’t important, anyway) to venture further into the desert to see what lay inside. At the time, it seems as if all roads led inwards and I was determined to figure out where. After gathering our things and walking a little way, Silver and I decided it would be best to summon a guide to lead the way. I won’t try to describe the ritual in its entirety (I’m not sure if I remember to be honest) but it involved invoking the Archangel of Secrets and Mysteries, Raziel. Nothing happened for a while, but then a line drew its way through the sand like some sort of weird snake. The ritual felt like an anchor to it, so we lit more incense and left the ritual to follow the sand trail. We marked our way with little rock piles in case something happened to the line on the way back. We walked for a way, and somewhere in there, I realized I hate the desert. It’s oppressively uniform. The landscape is the same, it’s just walking and walking and walking on forever. Eventually, we saw a line of smoke in the distance. We walked out as far off the line as we couldn’t while still seeing it, and then Silver waited and I walked the rest of the distance. It seemed like a little camp. Priests in white robes seemed to be preparing a small goat or sheep for sacrifice. The camp itself was made of white stones. I spoke with them for a while. They warned us that it was too dangerous and offered us a way home. I said we’d consider it, but I had not come this far to turn back now. Besides, this is Gildmar. They seem to think that women can’t do anything. They also shared with us a vision of “thunder and clouds moving over the sun” and “an ill wind, and a laurel tree withering”. We kept going. We walked along the line for a while longer. The landscape was bland and boring, so much so that I couldn’t tell how far we’d walked already. Out of nowhere, a black leopard looking thing jump out and attacked up. Silver and I fought it for a while. It charmed me, which sucked, but Silver was able to kill it. I identified what remained in its stomach. There was a ring and also a canine tooth, which Silver took, and several kinds of meat. We continued on. There was a little breeze, which was very welcome, but aside from that, the weather and the landscape barely varied at all. Sometimes there was a big rock, which was very exciting. There were some ants, but we ran around them. That did wonders for my self-esteem. I love being reminded that even ants can kill us out here. Aside from the ants, though, things started to settle into a routine. Sometimes it would feel like we had walked by the same place many times before, but a quick check would reveal a small detail that was different. Silver told me there were tracks all over the ground. A large group of hoofed creatures here, and a single large animal there, however, we never saw them. Thank god for that. The weather remained good- clear and breezy. As we walked, I noticed a change in Silver. Claws grew out of her hands at the fingers and she seemed a slightly darker color. It was almost like my eyes were playing tricks on me. Sometimes things aren’t always the way they seem in deserts. I didn’t mention it to her. We came upon some ruins not too long after. They looked abandoned to me at first. With a closer look, I could tell that they were a group of stone houses protected by large rocks behind them that prevented the wind from eroding them completely. Most of the building’s walls were only as tall as my ankle or my knee though, while one appeared to be mostly intact. Strangely enough, the roof of that house had been recently replaced by someone who didn’t know what they were doing. From my guess, it was about a thousand years old, maybe more. No artifacts remained in the village. It had probably been picked over by archaeologists years before. Silver picked up some signs of recent human activity. She saw some recent human footprints (not an hour old) as well as some doglike ones. After a little more exploration, we stumbled upon two jackals who attacked us. We fought for a while and each of us killed one. I identified one (my findings are found below, for future reference:) Wildlands Jackals. Size: 3. HP: 3. AV: 2. Int: Animal. BR: 9. Abilities: Wildlands Mutant, Martial Arts, Bite AV=0, 20s Mana Drain, Battle Cry, Barbarian Hordes, Maddening Howl. While I was identifying things, Silver heard voices coming from the intact building. She came back for me and we went together to see who it was. We met four people; an elf, a hobbit and two humans, who we talked to for a while. Their names were Shelby, Les, Dorn, and Ornis and they were all archaeologists studying the Ancients, a new religion that was coming back after the Fall many years ago. Nalake the Watcher, Goddess of wisdom. Zirali the Silent, Goddess of the underworld, Thangror, God of war; Ezregnak, God of nature; Merkha the Hunter, God of the hunt and Synis the Giver, god of Dreams are worshipped in that pantheon. We told them why we were going to Halimin and they offered to describe to us their oracles if we brought them our notes when we came back. We also showed them a copy of the prophecy and gave them the translation of the Halimin script that Asterion and I had worked on. I also learned that Silver was definitely from 2.2, post-fall Halimin. The Oracle: “There was hard, old ground, with a dried seed underneath it. Then a storm came, and some other things - I don’t remember what - and the seed came to life and started to sprout into a plant. There was more too, I know, but I don’t recall it.” We went our separate ways, promising to meet them at what remained of the West Road once we had returned. We left the ruins and continued to follow the line. The ground slowly became softer and softer under our feet until it gave way from hard-packed earth to sand. I fucking hate sand. I could see rolling dunes up ahead, although it’s hard to tell anything about how far away or how tall they are. If the landscape was repetitive before, now it has become positively monotonous and rather draining. These weeks have definitely taught me to hate the desert more than anything else. Silver escalated again. This time, I asked her how she felt and she stabbed me in the stomach with her sword, which I wasn’t expecting. Trying to talk to her and reason with her, but she dropped and killed me. Afterward, she resurrected me and I was, understandably, upset. It was really weird. She didn’t seem to remember killing me. She said she was just telling me what the feelings of this place were and then suddenly I was dead. We both took some herbs before continuing on. The dunes slowly grew larger on the horizon. They were still a ways away, but they were growing closer. We noticed something moving at the edge of them, a long procession of spirits. We got a little closer, trying to stay low so they wouldn’t see us. They were a variety of species; some human, some elf, some hobbit and some dwarf. There were hundreds of them, all processing together. It was one of the stranger things I’ve seen so far. Most of the haunts seemed to be warriors, dragging banners and carrying swords. A few were explorers and a few were mages or priests in long robes. Some wore everyday clothing. They all marched together, maybe four to six abreast, and they looked as escalated as Silver did. They seemed almost aware of us, but they did not try to interact. I sketched their flag as we waited for them to pass. It’s hard to tell how long we waited for them to pass. It felt like forever, and then suddenly they were far off and we wondered where all the time had gone. With the path once again clear, we continued. It was a little while longer before we reached the twenty-foot dunes in the distance. We spent a long time walking along dune tops. While we did, the wind picked up. The weird thing is the sun didn’t really move all that much even though we must have been walking for hours. Somewhere in there, the weather took a sudden turn for the worse as well. Huge thunderheads rolled in and the wind whipped the sand into our eyes and faces. The sand in the dunes shifted under our feet as well, and it made it hard to stand, let alone walk. Silver and I held each other up, which helped some. Thunder sounded through the air and lightning struck the ground around us and we stayed low and tracked to where the line should have been. After a bit, we adjusted and the going became easier. We had a very close encounter with lightning before the storm vanished just as abruptly as it had appeared. We found the path with ease and continued along it. The dunes were higher now, rising some forty or fifty feet high. The wind had vanished and the sky was cloudless, which was worse somehow than the storm. The absence of wind left the desert suffocatingly still. Again, Silver escalated. She asked me to hide so she could investigate her feelings without, you know, killing me by accident. I’m not gonna lie, it freaked me out a bit, but I found a place to hide. Time passed weirdly again. It was hard to tell exactly how long I hid for. It could have been anything from thirty minutes to over an hour. Time slipped between my fingers like sand. I tried to hold on to it but didn’t behave as it ought to have. I heard Silver shout my name and I came out to go to her. She was curled up in a ball where I found her. She seemed upset but determined to continue, so we went on. We walked for a while before Silver noticed some black birds circling overhead. There were three of them, vultures perhaps, but they looked big and not quite right for some reason. They did not circle directly overhead and they stayed in the same place. We continued to walk on, aware of them over our heads. We drew closer and closer to the site they circled. When we crested the final dune, we were met with a sight I will remember for many years after. Eight bodies were sprawled, dead behind the dune. The smell was heavy and ripe and it stayed in your nose for longer than it should have. The bodies were about size three and they seemed like they were wearing a lot of gear. The line ran directly through the center of them. Silver walked towards them to investigate, and I stayed back to observe. She had not gone ten feet from where I stood before turning back and telling me she felt as if something very bad was going to happen. She continued down, and I edged closer and then I could feel it too. It was dread and it lived in my stomach, pulling me down. It was fascinating, in a sick sort of way. I stayed where I was. Silver told me later that the bodies we cut jaggedly with morganti. She took any mastercrafted weapons from the corpses and scrambled up the dune towards me. We decided to walk around the bodies and then travel a little way before identifying everything. The foreboding feeling seemed to fade a little. We identified the items and two were magical. A magecry blade and a rod that gave 2x proficiency at ritual spells. Both items are made recently. The feeling slowly seemed to come back again, barely noticeable to use, but still there, hidden under the surface. We kept on walking. The dunes stayed high for a long way, but we eventually reached the edge. Once more, the ground was flat and stretched on. I could barely see some ruins in the far off distance. Halimin, no doubt. Off in the distance, we saw some hooded figures moving. As they neared, we saw they were a group of animals led by one animal in the front. There were a variety of creatures-- some leopards and jackals I had seen before, but also some that I had not, deerlike creatures, looming giraffes and spiky green elephants among them. At the head of the group was a single black lion, as dark as the night. They moved slowly to the east. Silver and I knelt to the ground until they were out of sight. To see animals moving together like that is...disconcerting. I fear they maybe something more to the creature in the Wildlands. I sketched the ones I could and Silver took notes. We went on. Silver escalated again. She seemed more tattered, more worn. Her eyes glowed red and her form grew dark. I worry more about her the closer we get the Halimin. She told me to leave her and I did. I ran as far as I dared and got low to the ground. Time still was not as it should have been. The world felt still around me as I watched the ruins from my vantage point. Nothing passed for all the time that passed. Who knows how long that was. Eventually, Silver came and found me. She told me she had found a way to seem aligned to me even when she had escalated too far to know what was right or wrong. I nodded. Whatever it took. We went on. The area still seemed still, timeless almost. The only thing that seemed constant was the line. Space seemed just as inconsistent as time was before. We walked. Time passed-- it must of. It felt like a lot of time. I didn’t know. I didn’t really care. I had walked for so long and I wanted to be there and I wanted to know. A group of haunts approached us. We fought for a while. They were very escalated and aggressive. I tried to use coriander, but it only seemed to slow them down a little. The haunts were all human, lightly armored and well-equipped. I got out of the way quickly and Silver did her best to distract. They seemed to be from about the same era as Silver was. She told me that they seemed familiar to her. Their fighting style, their uniforms, and their insignias. Silver got away eventually and we recorded what we saw for later research. We continued. Silver escalated again and she resorted to her method of controlling it, which involved adopting my emotions and morality in place of her own. It was rather strange. She didn’t act like she should have. It concerned me a little, but I was tired. Really tired. The kind of tired that stays deep in your bones and that sleep doesn't quite shake. We reached the gates of the city a short time later. We walked through the gates into the city proper. I barely had time to look around before we saw a size three figure walking towards us. It seemed humanoid to me. As it approached, I felt disoriented and confused for a brief moment. Right then, I should have known. I should have run right then. But goddamn I walked all this fucking way and I wasn’t about to leave then. Silver and I readied ourselves for whatever would come. As it approached, we could see it was clearly human, clad in elaborate, flowing mage robes. It spoke, and its voice was reassuring, calming almost. It greeted us and told us that its brother believed we would not come, but it knew better, for we had traveled far. It should not have known that. What was it? It would not answer any of our questions, but it asked us if we knew it. I replied that we did not, and I felt a door closing. And then it was silent. I remember that. But after that… Drowning, struggling to stay above water. Dark rooms, bleak, tired. Sadness and mourning. Tombs and graves. Blank sheets of paper.
That is all.
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