In the message from Naquent to Dunrat, Naquent mentioned a place called Rastor. Lylamwyn has heard that Rastor is a trading post in the Lortmil Mountains where Orc Tribes trade with unscrupulous human merchants. (Knowledge Geography 17+5=22)
The party also has the 1000 year old scroll written in a language that they can't read. Toriah suggests bringing the scroll to Hommlet's local Sage, Todariche Nem, the most learned scholar in the area. Todariche looks at the scroll and pronounces that it is written in an obscure dialect of Ancient Suel. He says to come back the next day and he'll have a translation ready.
Todariche says he was able to translate it, but even he doesn't have a clue what the words mean. He thinks it is describing a ritual from the Ancient Suel Imperium.
thurible and to fuel a torch of revealing are only two of its many uses.
The Black Cyst
Now, worthless one, you will learn of the Black Cyst. When the appropriate rituals and sacrifices have been completed and the proper magicks cast, it is possible to open a doorway through the cosmos to the very doorstep of our Master’s prison. Do not be deceived into thinking that this brings you any closer to glimpsing His infinite madness, fool. The walls of the Cyst are to you as a box made of adamantine is to an ant. Whatever foul magics hold the Dark Lord in His slumber, they are beyond anything that you can aspire to.
As always, you can discern the touch of our Master by the intense cold. Magic or specially prepared vestments are required if you wish to avoid frostbite. No light devised on this world will function in a Black Cyst, which is as it should be. This is another sure sign of the power of the Dark Lord, and only a greater fool than you will be without his own source of light, as I have shown you earlier how to deal with this.
Note, worm, that though I refer to ‘the’ Black Cyst, there can be more than one. It is believed that all of the Master’s greater temples had their own Cyst, which they each used for differing purposes. Every Cyst that is created weakens the Dark Lord’s prison and allows more of His power to escape. Lest you be so foolish to think that He can be freed through creation of Black Cysts, I will detail their creation below. It is no trivial task.
First, you must acquire a gem to use as a seed and conduit for the Cyst. The gem should be black, at least the size of a child’s fist, and either flawless or cut so as to remove all flaws. The gem must be kept in the room which you will use to access the Black Cyst, and this chamber must be lightless and unhallowed. Throughout the following rituals no light must enter the chamber or the gem is ruined and you will have to begin again.
On the next dark of the moon, you must steep the gem in the fresh heartblood of a child or virgin who has been sacrificed in the Dark Lord’s name. This must be done for the next thirty-three new moons. Remember, lackwit, all must be done in complete darkness or everything is for naught!
On the full moon following each sacrifice, a priest or arcanist loyal to the Master must sacrifice a sentient being (any will do) and call for a miracle in His name, worded thusly: ‘May all light cease to exist and darkness rule over all.’ Yes, fool, I know that such a wish will never be granted. The Master will hear you, though, and send a thread of His power to you. Once again, bathe the gem in the heartblood of the sacrifice.
As the thirty-third new moon approaches, begin harvesting the eyes, tongues, and ears of sentient creatures. Thirty-three of each must be collected, and each must be from a different creature. The eyes must come from creatures who have seen a sacrifice in the Dark Lord’s name, the tongues from creatures who have spoken His name, and the ears from creatures who have heard His Name. These must be the last things the creatures see, say, or hear, and the creatures must be alive when their organs are taken. Preserve these in fluids, take them to the chamber where you will access the Black Cyst, and arrange them in a circle about the seed gem.
In the days between the penultimate new moon and the thirty-third, you must prepare the ritual that will enable you to call forth the entrance to the Cyst. This ritual should include the sounding of a horn. As you are no doubt a simpleton, I must instruct you to be sure that the mere sounding of the horn is not the sole trigger - there must be other conditions set, lest the portal be opened by some ignorant lesser priest or interloper.
On the night of the thirty-third new moon, perform the sacrifice and bathe the gem as you have before. Renew the spell of unhallowing, and as you perform the ritual you have devised, call upon another miracle in the name of the Dark Lord - ‘Let me see what no eye can, let me hear that which is soundless, and let my voice carry to the place that is forbidden.’
If you have risen above your incompetence and followed my instruction properly, you will behold a part of the greatness of the Master, and be brought closer to Him. You will have no more secure vault for the Dark Lord’s unholy relics or no safer refuge should you bring trouble upon yourself.
