Legacy of Death Part V: Dead-eye of the storm
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
The mutant armies were taking over, and Conan was the lonely pagan - as opposed to Christian - hero; he was Roland at the pass, he was Tarzan, he was a mythic figure.
I had put lots of mutants, lots of beasts-men. At the time, I already was interested in the cloning, in DNA, this kind of things... It made sense. I had lots of images in my head, armies of 400 or 500 mutants charging at each other!
Oliver Stone discusses his script for Conan the Barbarian.
I had put lots of mutants, lots of beasts-men. At the time, I already was interested in the cloning, in DNA, this kind of things... It made sense. I had lots of images in my head, armies of 400 or 500 mutants charging at each other!
Oliver Stone discusses his script for Conan the Barbarian.
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
They accepted Lord Dillard’s offer to fight with what forces he could pull together in return to help them on their way:
“Dar Tenibor has many ideas on this…but some of them are quite resource intensive.”
He also mentions that Tenibor has found out “what is wrong with Lucian”.
Forge is put in charge of 50 mutant brutes and Buckthorn 50 mutant shooters. Nar is given the chariot, with Robot 1 and Kan’Ka.
As the enemy army approaches, they are told to engage an advanced force and “march to the sound of guns”.
100 sleeths and a motely mix of 50 hoops and other mutant animals make a frontal assault on the party, at a disastorous cost. The relatively elite forcers under Forge’s and Buckthorns command, together with Nar’s magic, easily decimate the mutant animals, with only a small number of losses to show for it.
The next engagement is not as one sided. Almost one hundred cavalry and 40 elite infantry—in a bus!—are sent by the Knights to decimate the band from Burlin before returning to the main battle. The light cavalry are quickly shot to pieces. But the heavy cavalry and infantry put up a much tougher fight.
Then there is the Grandmaster himself. He opens with a missile hit on Forge, Nar, Robot1, and Kan’Ka and wreaks havoc from there. Robot1 is severely damaged, Kan’Ka is down. At some point so is Forge, and Nar is close.
The mutant brutes have a hard time holding off the full force of the Knights, but Buckthorn and the shooters make up for it, raining pain down on the Knights forces. Buckthorn also rains it down on the Grandmaster, and, with Nar turning into a being of flame, the lead Knights are decimated in turn, the Grandmaster slain, and the remainder routed.
While reinforced, stopping the knights used many grenades, missiles, and those most powerful spells that Nar could still access in this strange world. But the main battle lie ahead. As the mutant humans approached it, the last of the reserves where sent it: the surviving knight infantry and the badders from before, with their flame spitting tank! They finally managed to inflict some damage on Buckthorn’s shooters and hold the infantry, but at a cost. The knights again were pushed back, and the badders seemed to be fading, even as Forge forced his way into the tank.
Hoggers: mutant pigs on motorcycles, were diverted as a stop gap. But the real challenge remained. The abomination. The huge, orange mutant that was still devastating Lord Dillard’s forces.
“Dar Tenibor has many ideas on this…but some of them are quite resource intensive.”
He also mentions that Tenibor has found out “what is wrong with Lucian”.
Forge is put in charge of 50 mutant brutes and Buckthorn 50 mutant shooters. Nar is given the chariot, with Robot 1 and Kan’Ka.
As the enemy army approaches, they are told to engage an advanced force and “march to the sound of guns”.
100 sleeths and a motely mix of 50 hoops and other mutant animals make a frontal assault on the party, at a disastorous cost. The relatively elite forcers under Forge’s and Buckthorns command, together with Nar’s magic, easily decimate the mutant animals, with only a small number of losses to show for it.
The next engagement is not as one sided. Almost one hundred cavalry and 40 elite infantry—in a bus!—are sent by the Knights to decimate the band from Burlin before returning to the main battle. The light cavalry are quickly shot to pieces. But the heavy cavalry and infantry put up a much tougher fight.
Then there is the Grandmaster himself. He opens with a missile hit on Forge, Nar, Robot1, and Kan’Ka and wreaks havoc from there. Robot1 is severely damaged, Kan’Ka is down. At some point so is Forge, and Nar is close.
The mutant brutes have a hard time holding off the full force of the Knights, but Buckthorn and the shooters make up for it, raining pain down on the Knights forces. Buckthorn also rains it down on the Grandmaster, and, with Nar turning into a being of flame, the lead Knights are decimated in turn, the Grandmaster slain, and the remainder routed.
While reinforced, stopping the knights used many grenades, missiles, and those most powerful spells that Nar could still access in this strange world. But the main battle lie ahead. As the mutant humans approached it, the last of the reserves where sent it: the surviving knight infantry and the badders from before, with their flame spitting tank! They finally managed to inflict some damage on Buckthorn’s shooters and hold the infantry, but at a cost. The knights again were pushed back, and the badders seemed to be fading, even as Forge forced his way into the tank.
Hoggers: mutant pigs on motorcycles, were diverted as a stop gap. But the real challenge remained. The abomination. The huge, orange mutant that was still devastating Lord Dillard’s forces.
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
Even as Nar’s magic and Buckthorns gunners rained down death on the last standing Badders and Hogers, and Forge seemed on the verge of taking over the Badder’s fire spitting tank….
…it emerged.
The Abomination! And it proceeded to devastate the remaining mutant infantry before turning its attention to the shooters, nicking at it with a wave of arrows, slugs, and psi-shots.
Buckthorn decided to take on the knight’s bus that was still on the battlefield. It kept running him over. Forge was fighting in the cockpit of the tank and get getting shot by the badder sergeant.
This left Nar to try to stop the Abomination! He managed to use one of his mutations to try and confuse it, and succeeded! It attacked him instead of the troops, so was something of a success.
Buckthorn managed to break away from the bus and Forge seemed to finally take care of the badders. Then, in a chariot of his own, the Prophet emerges.
One sleeth guard leaps onto the tank, soon followed by another. The fight for the vehicle is on again! The Prophet proceeds to wrack the minds of Kan’Ka and Buckthorn…and eventually reveals the truth to the Halfling, putting Buckthorn under his control.
The abomination proceeds to decimate the shooters.
Soon, almost all the troops led into battle by Buckthorn and Forge are dead or down. Robot 1 struggles to keep the party members alive.
However, the party finally gets reinforcements of their own. As the devastated survivors of their side watch on, a band of Orlens, bickering two headed giant-men emerge and start firing on the abomination.
They have a hard time hitting it.
Even as Buckthorn fires on his own side, Tak Ha’Sssth does the same, inadvertently torturing his own warrior. The badder sergeant, playing dead, covertly pops the hatch in the bottom of the tank and escapes! But this allows Nar to join Forge and attack with his venomous spines. Soon the tank is firmly under their command and being driven into the abomination. Kan’Ka stands toe-to-toe with his former master, and Buckthorn finally shakes off his domination.
The Orlens charge into melee! They drop the (many times hit) over-sized mutant!
The Prophet makes his exit. Survivors cheer. The badder sergeant quickly emerges and surrenders to the Orlens “what have we done. What have we done.”
The massive casualties make it a harsh victory. The 3 aliens hope to get help in their search for the “third base” deep in the deadlands. But Lord Dillard reminds them that the prophet survived, as did his potentially devastating weapon.
With Kan’Ka and 20 or so sleeths now freed from their mental control, they journey to the stronghold of Tak Ha’Sssth. They are surprised by how little resistance they face. Though not admitting it to the others, Kan’Ka fears for his fellow sleeths, and has them stand guard as the 5 head into the heart of the stronghold.
The Prophet is waiting.
He tells of his change and meeting the demilich.
“A being of pure energy…like so many before, I sought to touch its mind”. A touch that led to the revelation that death and devastation are the greater glory. He knows little of the greater plans of Acererak but commends his ingenuity and sadism, to which he can only aspire.
Forge charges in. Evasive with precognition and bolstered by the Prophet, who brings pain to the party and healing to his allies, the sleeths put up a fierce fight. Buckthorn again turns and fires on his allies. Forge is dropped, more then once, holding down and eventually defeating the guards. But again Kan’Ka stands strong, Nar transforms into a being of fire, and Buckthorn, also periodically wracked with pain and down when not controlled, finally shoots the right way with full strength.
The Prophet meets the end that, in his twisted heart, almost certainly craved. The party and the sleeths fan out to find the deadly weapon.
Connected to a terminal, Robot 1 quickly determines it is about to launch! With the Robot’s guidance, Buckthorn attempts to disarm it…
…and it starts to launch. Forge lays into it, joined by Kan’Ka, and its not able to fly after they gash into it. But it might still explode.
Now Buckthorn…manages to disarm it.
Surprising the others, Forge insist the weapon be destroyed. Its is buried, with explosives, deep in the stronghold.
They are greeted as heroes, and within a few weeks, receive their reward from Lord Dillard and Dar Tenibor.
But first…
They watch a recording of Lucian. Uncontrollably fading into his shadow for extended periods of time. His planar origin and this strange world are just not working well together. And he is ever more distraught.
The reward brings more joy. (see attached). An airship, to which is attached a heavy lead plate, that gives them a way to fly above the deadlands and avoid the worst effects of radiation, or whatever else, is there.
They begin their journey to the base.
Then Acererak destroyed all of his slaves and servitors, magically hid the entrance to his halls, and went to his final haunt, while his soul roamed strange planes unknown to even the wisest of sages.
…it emerged.
The Abomination! And it proceeded to devastate the remaining mutant infantry before turning its attention to the shooters, nicking at it with a wave of arrows, slugs, and psi-shots.
Buckthorn decided to take on the knight’s bus that was still on the battlefield. It kept running him over. Forge was fighting in the cockpit of the tank and get getting shot by the badder sergeant.
This left Nar to try to stop the Abomination! He managed to use one of his mutations to try and confuse it, and succeeded! It attacked him instead of the troops, so was something of a success.
Buckthorn managed to break away from the bus and Forge seemed to finally take care of the badders. Then, in a chariot of his own, the Prophet emerges.
One sleeth guard leaps onto the tank, soon followed by another. The fight for the vehicle is on again! The Prophet proceeds to wrack the minds of Kan’Ka and Buckthorn…and eventually reveals the truth to the Halfling, putting Buckthorn under his control.
The abomination proceeds to decimate the shooters.
Soon, almost all the troops led into battle by Buckthorn and Forge are dead or down. Robot 1 struggles to keep the party members alive.
However, the party finally gets reinforcements of their own. As the devastated survivors of their side watch on, a band of Orlens, bickering two headed giant-men emerge and start firing on the abomination.
They have a hard time hitting it.
Even as Buckthorn fires on his own side, Tak Ha’Sssth does the same, inadvertently torturing his own warrior. The badder sergeant, playing dead, covertly pops the hatch in the bottom of the tank and escapes! But this allows Nar to join Forge and attack with his venomous spines. Soon the tank is firmly under their command and being driven into the abomination. Kan’Ka stands toe-to-toe with his former master, and Buckthorn finally shakes off his domination.
The Orlens charge into melee! They drop the (many times hit) over-sized mutant!
The Prophet makes his exit. Survivors cheer. The badder sergeant quickly emerges and surrenders to the Orlens “what have we done. What have we done.”
The massive casualties make it a harsh victory. The 3 aliens hope to get help in their search for the “third base” deep in the deadlands. But Lord Dillard reminds them that the prophet survived, as did his potentially devastating weapon.
With Kan’Ka and 20 or so sleeths now freed from their mental control, they journey to the stronghold of Tak Ha’Sssth. They are surprised by how little resistance they face. Though not admitting it to the others, Kan’Ka fears for his fellow sleeths, and has them stand guard as the 5 head into the heart of the stronghold.
The Prophet is waiting.
He tells of his change and meeting the demilich.
“A being of pure energy…like so many before, I sought to touch its mind”. A touch that led to the revelation that death and devastation are the greater glory. He knows little of the greater plans of Acererak but commends his ingenuity and sadism, to which he can only aspire.
Forge charges in. Evasive with precognition and bolstered by the Prophet, who brings pain to the party and healing to his allies, the sleeths put up a fierce fight. Buckthorn again turns and fires on his allies. Forge is dropped, more then once, holding down and eventually defeating the guards. But again Kan’Ka stands strong, Nar transforms into a being of fire, and Buckthorn, also periodically wracked with pain and down when not controlled, finally shoots the right way with full strength.
The Prophet meets the end that, in his twisted heart, almost certainly craved. The party and the sleeths fan out to find the deadly weapon.
Connected to a terminal, Robot 1 quickly determines it is about to launch! With the Robot’s guidance, Buckthorn attempts to disarm it…
…and it starts to launch. Forge lays into it, joined by Kan’Ka, and its not able to fly after they gash into it. But it might still explode.
Now Buckthorn…manages to disarm it.
Surprising the others, Forge insist the weapon be destroyed. Its is buried, with explosives, deep in the stronghold.
They are greeted as heroes, and within a few weeks, receive their reward from Lord Dillard and Dar Tenibor.
But first…
They watch a recording of Lucian. Uncontrollably fading into his shadow for extended periods of time. His planar origin and this strange world are just not working well together. And he is ever more distraught.
The reward brings more joy. (see attached). An airship, to which is attached a heavy lead plate, that gives them a way to fly above the deadlands and avoid the worst effects of radiation, or whatever else, is there.
They begin their journey to the base.
Then Acererak destroyed all of his slaves and servitors, magically hid the entrance to his halls, and went to his final haunt, while his soul roamed strange planes unknown to even the wisest of sages.
Forge can take first watch each evening. To the extent any athletic ability is required to steer, repair or otherwise operate the airship, Forge will undertake those tasks. Forge also has keen senses so he can take lookout. Perhaps his dungeoneering background grants him some insight into the operation of the machine as well.
dyermaker001
Explorer
Nar will use his intelligence to watch and learn how Robot 1 operates the ships. He'll alslo spend some time with the book, trying to determine anything he can about why Acererak came to this world.
TerraDave
5ever, or until 2024
The ship is on something called “ah-to pilot” that allows it to head directly towards the base. Robot 1 mentions something about weather systems and the difficulties of evading them, but there is nothing you can’t manage, yet.
The working so far are largely automated, though there is the possibility of going to manual controls (which might be a little unwieldy…).
After a few days out, as you look at the window, you see something flying towards the ship.
Evasive action is not see easy….and it look familiar.
It seems to be waving.
Nar’s book review (behind the tag)
[sblock]“Perhaps the most famous tomb outside of the ruins of Ta’Khem, in the Shadow Coast!...
“Five centuries ago, a philosopher turned malicious sorcerer king in the waning days of Illumaria’s might [a reference to the last great empire]. His real name was carefully removed from all records and shielded from practically all divination. This acolyte of Vecna, just as that other lich’s cult was rising, would seek his own path to undeath that would rival his master. He is known to us as Acererak.”
“We took the old North Road. …
“The signs of the old dwarven settlements are found here and there. We made the mistake of exploring some. Too much time taken, and the first lives lost….”
“Trust nothing here! The savagery was too great for the Old Kingdom of the dwarves, and is to great now. Also, beware the elves. One snow clan was helpful, but others had degenerated badly [unreadable]”
…
“From the entrance on, the duplicity and trickery here is astounding! One deadly choice and trick after another. I will attempt to take careful notes of what I find.”
…
There is no end of the distraction and confusion, hiding what are sometimes the simplest clues. …
…
Disaster has struck. A sudden melt of snow flooded our swampy campsite, many notes have been lost.
...
There are just a few of us know. The treachery continues unabated. I wonder on the purpose of this place, and how many have died here.
…
I am lucky to be alive, and to have the means to return through magic. It seems amazing that I have retrieved this book, but it will be my memento and evidence that I survived the Tomb.
It is clear that Acererak was in fact “demi-lich”, destroyed in body, but free in its corrupted spirit, and capable of finding much dire lore.
There is much strange planar lore here! Long debated theories confirmed, and more revealed.
Is this the legendary Book of Shadows? Is it more, only now do I understand the real messages in the book.
It is now very clear that the power death has been rising, that “The Shadow”, as it is known, has been rising for many years, slowly corroding the gains of good and civilization in our current age. Acererak learned this in his strange travels.
1. In Old Deamorria none paralleled the city Moil for the erudition of its scholars or its wealth of lore. Then it fell under the sway of necromancers and the shadow Aether swallowed the city, forever cursed.
2. Most modrons will not accept a bribe.
3. The firmament that separates the mortal worlds from the immortal ones is not a wall or sphere, but a lattice with many strange twists and distortions.
4. From deep in the Cosmos a great source of darkness and necrotic power has emerged, touching many worlds. In coming years, no land will be immune.
5. Some mortal worlds are more isolated by the firmament then others.
6. With the breath of the dread god Zorrath did He imbue Orcus and Vecna with immortality and the incarnates of undeath and dark lore did they become.
7. Vecna once walked Thraeya, to the great cities of Karnakos , strange temples of and tombs of Khembia, dark holds of Kazduaen, of course, ruins of once great Deamorria.
8. Vecna is said to disguise himself as a beggar to walk among others both amassing and dispensing dark lore.
9. These followers of Orcus and Vecna, those that dare whisper the name of Zorrath, how many such death cultist may there be?
10. In Moil they were said to summon forth the great Codex, that which could only be born on the back of mighty beasts and none could read and maintain a grasp of their immediate reality; and from this Codex did they take much dark lore before others took the Codex in turn.
11. In Moil they were said to travel to a throne carved for the gods. They held dark rites there.
12. Ours may not be the only mortal world. This is practically a fact among the learned. Ours may not be the only Cosmos. This is heresy.
13. The power of a god must both be given and taken.
14. The thesis there are angels, not fallen angels that are devils, but just angels, that are evil, is untrue, or at least exaggerated.
15. Where the darkest remnants of Kron and the Beast arose the Abyss, from the nether regions of Chaos. But is this the true realm of slaads?
16. A mortal world barely connected to and unknown to ours saw great and horrible death that still reverberates.
17. The diseases of ghouls, vampires, and mummies are “natural” manifestations of their nature, a bit of the shadow Aether brought into the living.
18. The first demons were said to come from the dead body of Kron like maggots from rotting meat. But what of what was spawned from the offal of the Beast slain by Kron and Yavara?
19. Negotiations with a Slaad are unlikely to be fruitful.
20. Height, length, width, even time may not be limit of dimensionality. Strange tales tale of the tesseract, a “cube” that extends into one of these other dimensions.
21. Nothing would be better then delivering the Hive directly into Lolths lair.
22. …and this creature became the lich. Acererak. Over the scores of years which followed, the lich dwelled with hordes of ghastly servants in the gloomy stone halls of the very hill where the Tomb is. Eventually even the undead life force of Acererak began to wane, so for the next 8 decades, the lich’s servants labored to create the Tomb of Horrors. Then Acererak destroyed all of his slaves and servitors, magically hid the entrance to his halls, and went to his final haunt…
23. Whence this so called Sigil? The deep lore makes no mention of it. It is not the making of Ordos, or Chaos, or angel or fiend. Yet they say it is there. Even if it always was not.
24. Tiefling racial appearance may be much wider ranging then most Thraeyans imagine.
25. The Aether, strange and fragmented as any part of the Cosmos, courses with eldritch energies. The elements called on by arcane formula, the dark shadows that lead souls ever deeper to the beyond and the warping touch of true gods and risen incarnates.
26. The Aether, its domains of dread and feywilds entice, its mists dazzle and daze. It leads to all lands, but its paths may never end. The depths that can be plunged, greater than anything under Kazduaen.
27. No avatar of good could bring back the mercy chalice. It took a Queen of Thieves.
28. Mortal worlds may range as widely as any distant Astral realm.
29. The dark Aether may bring one to the level of the Styx, and the layer of Pluton. This is obvious.
30. To satisfy the dread god, is it merely a question of spreading the shadow and its influence?
31. It is well known that Gith made dark bargains to free her people from the Illithid and lead them to Astral Realms. As it is well known that these races battle still.
32. The mistress of the Githyanki, greater then Vecna?
33. The Cant is an atrocity. As to be expected.
34. The need for the sacrifice of sentient humanoids is undisputed. But one should not underestimate the appeal of eating them, especially for greater hags and slaads.
35. This book seems to want things.
36. Cosmic rifts, also heresy?
37. Some dwarves are said to make smoke powder, and alchemist other things, but the idea that great weapons as powerful as any magic seems both ludicrous and compelling.
38. The Amber family is largely deranged.
39. The portals between planes may be slowly vanishing. Or at least faster than they can be made.
40. No on associated with Melkar house can be trusted.
41. Some ancient liches maintain their form, others seem to revert to pure dust. The demi-lich is a deadly hybrid, a minimal physical presence while its soul roamed strange planes and worlds unknown to even the wisest of sages.
42. If one could map the dark places of the Aether…a tracing from which undying power would be unlimited. But to create a rift. That would also be interesting.
I will resist this madness that claws at the edge of my mind. These dark waking dreams that have seemed to consume me. It is not merely the death of so many at the Tomb, nor is it the rational, or irrational, implications of the Tome. It is something else, something creeping through the world. I now simply have the faculties to realize it.
While the cosmos may have many parts, its “one-ness” has been identified as a fundamental characteristic since the time of the first cosmologist in Patheria centuries ago. Ergo, all things that are cosmic in nature are shared throughout, even as the evidence has built that the workings of reality do vary greatly from one bit to another, much like the climate or terrain may change as one travels across Thraeya. So the True Gods have cosmic influence, even if various saints, demon lords, and so forth, may have much narrower and variable power. But now I cannot help but wonder if there could be another cosmos? Of course, there could be anything, but if there is never any chance of interaction or influence, it is a point beyond academic. So the real question is, is there interaction?
To re-enter into that dark shadow would consume me and surely lead to a death more imminent then the one I face…Even as I have freed myself of the Tome—may it sit securely in the Melkar House Library—my obsessions with dark rifts in the cosmos will not abate. I am also now convinced that Acererak had great knowledge of these rifts, even in his decrepit state…..
One may question if Moil ever had any kind of “virtue”, the caliber of its great scholars not withstanding…the fact that not only did it suffer the devastation inflicted on all Demoria, but was also cast into shadow of the most dread kind, presumably has some implications. One may wonder, as a “City of Necromancers” as it was openly referred to in the waning days of Demoria’s great decadence, if its great curse was not in fact self inflicted…Clearly Moil retains some relevance in all this. I know not exactly what. With the Tome, I could almost certainly find my way there. Yet surely I would only find the most appalling part of the Aether, and even if a mystery was solved, what horrible questions would be raised?
The dark Aetherial stain is too evident. In my darkest paranoia, I wondered if the Tome itself was responsible. It could certainly accelerate the spread!
I write this with some clarity, having set aside the Tome, but not all the thoughts it plagued me with. Somewhere deep in the cosmos, a great flood of necrotic energy has spread through the shadow Aether. One is tempted to point to the action of a god or incarnate, but even that would seem to be insufficient, at least as the direct cause. This would seem to require a great act of death. Beyond that which any Thraeyan may yet imagine. Again, a distant divine war, as written of in ancient texts? For this event seems distant, with the effects slowly filtering through reality. Again, in this moment of some clarity, my own feelings, one could even called visions, of a bizarre and misshaped world, struck by a great cataclysm, a cataclysm to great that it ripped a rift in the cosmos, seems so far-fetched…yet, it remains my best guess.
I have little doubt that, somehow, others have become aware of this Tome, inspite of my best efforts otherwise. Smedley and his cronies make me nervous. And those shadowy shapes that seem to follow me…just my imagination?
There is a path. There is a nexus. What should be a twisting, turning way no mortal could ever follow through. Like wandering through tracked mountains. But a tunnel has been bored through the Aether. I can no longer dwell on these implications.
The Tome of Shadows. Rumored from the early Illumarian period. Undoubtedly what I have. But what is it? Whither its core? No obvious author can account for what is there. It is almost certainly taken from a Demorian source, but what Demorian could even know what is there? An extract perhaps, but again from what?[/sblock]
The working so far are largely automated, though there is the possibility of going to manual controls (which might be a little unwieldy…).
After a few days out, as you look at the window, you see something flying towards the ship.
Evasive action is not see easy….and it look familiar.
It seems to be waving.
Nar’s book review (behind the tag)
[sblock]“Perhaps the most famous tomb outside of the ruins of Ta’Khem, in the Shadow Coast!...
“Five centuries ago, a philosopher turned malicious sorcerer king in the waning days of Illumaria’s might [a reference to the last great empire]. His real name was carefully removed from all records and shielded from practically all divination. This acolyte of Vecna, just as that other lich’s cult was rising, would seek his own path to undeath that would rival his master. He is known to us as Acererak.”
“We took the old North Road. …
“The signs of the old dwarven settlements are found here and there. We made the mistake of exploring some. Too much time taken, and the first lives lost….”
“Trust nothing here! The savagery was too great for the Old Kingdom of the dwarves, and is to great now. Also, beware the elves. One snow clan was helpful, but others had degenerated badly [unreadable]”
…
“From the entrance on, the duplicity and trickery here is astounding! One deadly choice and trick after another. I will attempt to take careful notes of what I find.”
…
There is no end of the distraction and confusion, hiding what are sometimes the simplest clues. …
…
Disaster has struck. A sudden melt of snow flooded our swampy campsite, many notes have been lost.
...
There are just a few of us know. The treachery continues unabated. I wonder on the purpose of this place, and how many have died here.
…
I am lucky to be alive, and to have the means to return through magic. It seems amazing that I have retrieved this book, but it will be my memento and evidence that I survived the Tomb.
It is clear that Acererak was in fact “demi-lich”, destroyed in body, but free in its corrupted spirit, and capable of finding much dire lore.
There is much strange planar lore here! Long debated theories confirmed, and more revealed.
Is this the legendary Book of Shadows? Is it more, only now do I understand the real messages in the book.
It is now very clear that the power death has been rising, that “The Shadow”, as it is known, has been rising for many years, slowly corroding the gains of good and civilization in our current age. Acererak learned this in his strange travels.
1. In Old Deamorria none paralleled the city Moil for the erudition of its scholars or its wealth of lore. Then it fell under the sway of necromancers and the shadow Aether swallowed the city, forever cursed.
2. Most modrons will not accept a bribe.
3. The firmament that separates the mortal worlds from the immortal ones is not a wall or sphere, but a lattice with many strange twists and distortions.
4. From deep in the Cosmos a great source of darkness and necrotic power has emerged, touching many worlds. In coming years, no land will be immune.
5. Some mortal worlds are more isolated by the firmament then others.
6. With the breath of the dread god Zorrath did He imbue Orcus and Vecna with immortality and the incarnates of undeath and dark lore did they become.
7. Vecna once walked Thraeya, to the great cities of Karnakos , strange temples of and tombs of Khembia, dark holds of Kazduaen, of course, ruins of once great Deamorria.
8. Vecna is said to disguise himself as a beggar to walk among others both amassing and dispensing dark lore.
9. These followers of Orcus and Vecna, those that dare whisper the name of Zorrath, how many such death cultist may there be?
10. In Moil they were said to summon forth the great Codex, that which could only be born on the back of mighty beasts and none could read and maintain a grasp of their immediate reality; and from this Codex did they take much dark lore before others took the Codex in turn.
11. In Moil they were said to travel to a throne carved for the gods. They held dark rites there.
12. Ours may not be the only mortal world. This is practically a fact among the learned. Ours may not be the only Cosmos. This is heresy.
13. The power of a god must both be given and taken.
14. The thesis there are angels, not fallen angels that are devils, but just angels, that are evil, is untrue, or at least exaggerated.
15. Where the darkest remnants of Kron and the Beast arose the Abyss, from the nether regions of Chaos. But is this the true realm of slaads?
16. A mortal world barely connected to and unknown to ours saw great and horrible death that still reverberates.
17. The diseases of ghouls, vampires, and mummies are “natural” manifestations of their nature, a bit of the shadow Aether brought into the living.
18. The first demons were said to come from the dead body of Kron like maggots from rotting meat. But what of what was spawned from the offal of the Beast slain by Kron and Yavara?
19. Negotiations with a Slaad are unlikely to be fruitful.
20. Height, length, width, even time may not be limit of dimensionality. Strange tales tale of the tesseract, a “cube” that extends into one of these other dimensions.
21. Nothing would be better then delivering the Hive directly into Lolths lair.
22. …and this creature became the lich. Acererak. Over the scores of years which followed, the lich dwelled with hordes of ghastly servants in the gloomy stone halls of the very hill where the Tomb is. Eventually even the undead life force of Acererak began to wane, so for the next 8 decades, the lich’s servants labored to create the Tomb of Horrors. Then Acererak destroyed all of his slaves and servitors, magically hid the entrance to his halls, and went to his final haunt…
23. Whence this so called Sigil? The deep lore makes no mention of it. It is not the making of Ordos, or Chaos, or angel or fiend. Yet they say it is there. Even if it always was not.
24. Tiefling racial appearance may be much wider ranging then most Thraeyans imagine.
25. The Aether, strange and fragmented as any part of the Cosmos, courses with eldritch energies. The elements called on by arcane formula, the dark shadows that lead souls ever deeper to the beyond and the warping touch of true gods and risen incarnates.
26. The Aether, its domains of dread and feywilds entice, its mists dazzle and daze. It leads to all lands, but its paths may never end. The depths that can be plunged, greater than anything under Kazduaen.
27. No avatar of good could bring back the mercy chalice. It took a Queen of Thieves.
28. Mortal worlds may range as widely as any distant Astral realm.
29. The dark Aether may bring one to the level of the Styx, and the layer of Pluton. This is obvious.
30. To satisfy the dread god, is it merely a question of spreading the shadow and its influence?
31. It is well known that Gith made dark bargains to free her people from the Illithid and lead them to Astral Realms. As it is well known that these races battle still.
32. The mistress of the Githyanki, greater then Vecna?
33. The Cant is an atrocity. As to be expected.
34. The need for the sacrifice of sentient humanoids is undisputed. But one should not underestimate the appeal of eating them, especially for greater hags and slaads.
35. This book seems to want things.
36. Cosmic rifts, also heresy?
37. Some dwarves are said to make smoke powder, and alchemist other things, but the idea that great weapons as powerful as any magic seems both ludicrous and compelling.
38. The Amber family is largely deranged.
39. The portals between planes may be slowly vanishing. Or at least faster than they can be made.
40. No on associated with Melkar house can be trusted.
41. Some ancient liches maintain their form, others seem to revert to pure dust. The demi-lich is a deadly hybrid, a minimal physical presence while its soul roamed strange planes and worlds unknown to even the wisest of sages.
42. If one could map the dark places of the Aether…a tracing from which undying power would be unlimited. But to create a rift. That would also be interesting.
I will resist this madness that claws at the edge of my mind. These dark waking dreams that have seemed to consume me. It is not merely the death of so many at the Tomb, nor is it the rational, or irrational, implications of the Tome. It is something else, something creeping through the world. I now simply have the faculties to realize it.
While the cosmos may have many parts, its “one-ness” has been identified as a fundamental characteristic since the time of the first cosmologist in Patheria centuries ago. Ergo, all things that are cosmic in nature are shared throughout, even as the evidence has built that the workings of reality do vary greatly from one bit to another, much like the climate or terrain may change as one travels across Thraeya. So the True Gods have cosmic influence, even if various saints, demon lords, and so forth, may have much narrower and variable power. But now I cannot help but wonder if there could be another cosmos? Of course, there could be anything, but if there is never any chance of interaction or influence, it is a point beyond academic. So the real question is, is there interaction?
To re-enter into that dark shadow would consume me and surely lead to a death more imminent then the one I face…Even as I have freed myself of the Tome—may it sit securely in the Melkar House Library—my obsessions with dark rifts in the cosmos will not abate. I am also now convinced that Acererak had great knowledge of these rifts, even in his decrepit state…..
One may question if Moil ever had any kind of “virtue”, the caliber of its great scholars not withstanding…the fact that not only did it suffer the devastation inflicted on all Demoria, but was also cast into shadow of the most dread kind, presumably has some implications. One may wonder, as a “City of Necromancers” as it was openly referred to in the waning days of Demoria’s great decadence, if its great curse was not in fact self inflicted…Clearly Moil retains some relevance in all this. I know not exactly what. With the Tome, I could almost certainly find my way there. Yet surely I would only find the most appalling part of the Aether, and even if a mystery was solved, what horrible questions would be raised?
The dark Aetherial stain is too evident. In my darkest paranoia, I wondered if the Tome itself was responsible. It could certainly accelerate the spread!
I write this with some clarity, having set aside the Tome, but not all the thoughts it plagued me with. Somewhere deep in the cosmos, a great flood of necrotic energy has spread through the shadow Aether. One is tempted to point to the action of a god or incarnate, but even that would seem to be insufficient, at least as the direct cause. This would seem to require a great act of death. Beyond that which any Thraeyan may yet imagine. Again, a distant divine war, as written of in ancient texts? For this event seems distant, with the effects slowly filtering through reality. Again, in this moment of some clarity, my own feelings, one could even called visions, of a bizarre and misshaped world, struck by a great cataclysm, a cataclysm to great that it ripped a rift in the cosmos, seems so far-fetched…yet, it remains my best guess.
I have little doubt that, somehow, others have become aware of this Tome, inspite of my best efforts otherwise. Smedley and his cronies make me nervous. And those shadowy shapes that seem to follow me…just my imagination?
There is a path. There is a nexus. What should be a twisting, turning way no mortal could ever follow through. Like wandering through tracked mountains. But a tunnel has been bored through the Aether. I can no longer dwell on these implications.
The Tome of Shadows. Rumored from the early Illumarian period. Undoubtedly what I have. But what is it? Whither its core? No obvious author can account for what is there. It is almost certainly taken from a Demorian source, but what Demorian could even know what is there? An extract perhaps, but again from what?[/sblock]
dyermaker001
Explorer
Nar considers what he has found in the book. "Much seems familiar, but some may be new. I will think on this. For now, I believe we may know the approaching creature. I hope he found the "food" we directed him to satisfactory"
Buckthorn will take second watch after Forge.
During the flight, Buckthorn will try to use his Ranger abilities to watch the weather to see how it influences the airship and he will try to see if he can discern weather patterns and favorable air currents to avoid storms and make the best speed (Nature).
Seeing the creature apparently hailing the ship, Buckthorn believes he recognizes the creature. Yex the Yexil? He will hail Yex the Yexil. "Hello!" Buckthorn will shout. "Did you find the cache of uniforms?"
During the flight, Buckthorn will try to use his Ranger abilities to watch the weather to see how it influences the airship and he will try to see if he can discern weather patterns and favorable air currents to avoid storms and make the best speed (Nature).
Seeing the creature apparently hailing the ship, Buckthorn believes he recognizes the creature. Yex the Yexil? He will hail Yex the Yexil. "Hello!" Buckthorn will shout. "Did you find the cache of uniforms?"
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