Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="talien" data-source="post: 4351681" data-attributes="member: 3285"><p><strong>Cold Visitor: Part 3a – The Lorehouse</strong></p><p></p><p>A plain stone structure reached out of the snow, old beyond counting. Snow had piled up against every side of the structure, with the only exposed areas being the upper walls and a single entrance on the side facing you. The structure was made out of the same granite as the monoliths, but seemed completely unadorned.</p><p></p><p>“It’s not great, but it’ll do,” said Kham. He ducked into the opening.</p><p></p><p>Inside, the stone structure was hundreds of books of varying sizes lining the walls. There were no lights inside, no furniture, no sources of heat and no other exits. </p><p></p><p>Kham began tossing books into a pile.</p><p></p><p>“What are you doing?” asked Ilmarė.</p><p></p><p>“Staying alive,” said Kham. “We have to get a fire going or we’ll freeze to death. Not all of us are children of the wind or whatever you always say.”</p><p></p><p>Ilmarė sniffed. “I wasn’t going to say that. But there may be some clue as to where we are and how we can get out of here.”</p><p></p><p>Kham threw one of the books down. It slammed to the ground, hard. “I KNOW where we are.” He threw a particular heavy book onto the pile. “We’re in Kadath.” He threw another, thinly bound book to the floor. “We’re stuck here.” He lifted a copper-bound book. “And there’s no way out.”</p><p></p><p>Ilmarė grabbed his wrist. “That’s the Turner Codex.”</p><p></p><p>Kham blinked. “What?” He turned the book to look at its cover. “You’re right!” Kham sat down cross-legged, the cold and their predicament forgotten. “Maplethorpe Turner supposedly discovered a number of thin copper plate in Khitan, covered with hieroglyphics that had been painstakingly hammered into the metal. He spent eleven years deciphering it and finally published his findings in a thousand-copy limited edition. This is number one twenty six.”</p><p></p><p>Dril grabbed a book and threw it onto the pile. “That’s great. But that’s not going to keep us warm.”</p><p></p><p>“What happened to Turner’s book?” asked Ilmarė.</p><p></p><p>“It was rejected.” Kham left out the part about the Emerald Society rejecting it. “Turner refused to reveal his collaborators, possibly to keep all the credit to himself. When the metal originals melted in a fire, Turner never received recognition for his work. But what’s it doing here?”</p><p></p><p>“Does it say anything about getting out of here?” Beldin added another book to the pile.</p><p></p><p>Kham flipped through more pages. “It speaks about a Black Lake, and how a Monstrous Thing that had fallen upon Carcosa from the stars lived in a state of somnolence, from which it woke betimes, ravening with hungers unspeakable.”</p><p></p><p>“The thing that’s buried in the ice?” asked Vlad to no one in particular.</p><p></p><p>Kham continued to read aloud. “And the sages said that this Dweller in the Depths was of the very spawn of Azathoth and half-brother even to Dread Leviathan, the Lord of the Great Abyss, and that the Thing in the Lake would mate with the Black Ewe with a Thousand Young, aye, even Tizzhet; and upon that hellish and cloud-like Entity had begotten the Twin Abominations, even Nug and Yeb. And it was deemed unprudent to utter upon the lips of men the Name of the Thing in the Lake, wherefore was it known as The Unspeakable.”</p><p></p><p>“The Unspeakable One.” Dril lit a tindertwig and threw it on the pile. The books sputtered into flames. The light illuminated their faces with macabre shadows.</p><p></p><p>“The Pantheon had their final confrontation with the Other before the Onyx Castle,” continued Kham. “The enormous shrine was built on the mountain of Kadath in the Cold Waste, built by the Other's heretical cultists, upon a field of black crystals. Yet, even infused with the energy of their fallen allies, the Pantheon was not able to destroy the Other. Instead, They imprisoned it, sealing it for all Eternity away from those It would feed upon.”</p><p></p><p>“Disgusting.” Ilmarė shook her head. “Clearly, this Codex was written by humans. They speak of the elorii pantheon as ‘fallen allies,’ as if they had not committed murder in cold blood. And even then, the human gods’ murder of the elorii deities was all for naught.”</p><p></p><p>Kham nodded. “Yep, the human pantheon is all in here. Althares imprisons the Unspeakable One with ensorcelled metal, Nier uses fire, Hurrian uses a pure blade, Sarish uses ten pounds of silver, and Illiir ends a prayer with something about stilling the song of birds and the quieting of beasts. Hmmm.”</p><p></p><p>The others circled around the fire, struggling to keep warm.</p><p></p><p>“What?” asked Beldin.</p><p></p><p>“There’s an entry here about Belisarda.” Kham looked up at Ilmarė. Belisarda was the lone surviving goddess of the elorii pantheon. “Something about the Keepers of the Belisardan Sign.”</p><p></p><p>“Give that to me,” snapped Ilmarė. Kham tossed the book to her without comment.</p><p></p><p>Ilmarė’s eyes scanned the page. “The Belisardan Sign is an ancient glyph that captures and focuses the power of the natural world; an item of jewelry that bears a properly crafted Belisardan Sign becomes a potent ward against creatures from outside the natural order. It must be fashioned from a pure metal and taken to a location high above the sea, where the Unspeakable Promise prayer must be read.”</p><p></p><p>“Sounds great. If we ever make it back to Arcanis alive,” said Dril. “I’m pretty sure there’s no seas around here. At least, ones that aren’t frozen, anyway.”</p><p></p><p>Ilmarė ignored him. “The Sign offers protection against enchantments worked in the wearer’s hearing that include instrument, song or performance. The first prayer allows absorption of such an enchantment when accompanied by a soft ring of a chime. The second prayer allows the release of the absorbed energy.” She snapped the book closed. “I’m holding on to this.”</p><p></p><p>Kham shrugged. “Keep it. The Codex told me all I need to know. And now I wish I never read it.”</p><p></p><p>The fire expanded into a blaze, consuming the books hungrily.</p><p></p><p>Vlad looked around. “Fine, I’ll ask. What did you read?”</p><p></p><p>“I now know the Unspeakable One’s name,” said Kham.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="talien, post: 4351681, member: 3285"] [b]Cold Visitor: Part 3a – The Lorehouse[/b] A plain stone structure reached out of the snow, old beyond counting. Snow had piled up against every side of the structure, with the only exposed areas being the upper walls and a single entrance on the side facing you. The structure was made out of the same granite as the monoliths, but seemed completely unadorned. “It’s not great, but it’ll do,” said Kham. He ducked into the opening. Inside, the stone structure was hundreds of books of varying sizes lining the walls. There were no lights inside, no furniture, no sources of heat and no other exits. Kham began tossing books into a pile. “What are you doing?” asked Ilmarė. “Staying alive,” said Kham. “We have to get a fire going or we’ll freeze to death. Not all of us are children of the wind or whatever you always say.” Ilmarė sniffed. “I wasn’t going to say that. But there may be some clue as to where we are and how we can get out of here.” Kham threw one of the books down. It slammed to the ground, hard. “I KNOW where we are.” He threw a particular heavy book onto the pile. “We’re in Kadath.” He threw another, thinly bound book to the floor. “We’re stuck here.” He lifted a copper-bound book. “And there’s no way out.” Ilmarė grabbed his wrist. “That’s the Turner Codex.” Kham blinked. “What?” He turned the book to look at its cover. “You’re right!” Kham sat down cross-legged, the cold and their predicament forgotten. “Maplethorpe Turner supposedly discovered a number of thin copper plate in Khitan, covered with hieroglyphics that had been painstakingly hammered into the metal. He spent eleven years deciphering it and finally published his findings in a thousand-copy limited edition. This is number one twenty six.” Dril grabbed a book and threw it onto the pile. “That’s great. But that’s not going to keep us warm.” “What happened to Turner’s book?” asked Ilmarė. “It was rejected.” Kham left out the part about the Emerald Society rejecting it. “Turner refused to reveal his collaborators, possibly to keep all the credit to himself. When the metal originals melted in a fire, Turner never received recognition for his work. But what’s it doing here?” “Does it say anything about getting out of here?” Beldin added another book to the pile. Kham flipped through more pages. “It speaks about a Black Lake, and how a Monstrous Thing that had fallen upon Carcosa from the stars lived in a state of somnolence, from which it woke betimes, ravening with hungers unspeakable.” “The thing that’s buried in the ice?” asked Vlad to no one in particular. Kham continued to read aloud. “And the sages said that this Dweller in the Depths was of the very spawn of Azathoth and half-brother even to Dread Leviathan, the Lord of the Great Abyss, and that the Thing in the Lake would mate with the Black Ewe with a Thousand Young, aye, even Tizzhet; and upon that hellish and cloud-like Entity had begotten the Twin Abominations, even Nug and Yeb. And it was deemed unprudent to utter upon the lips of men the Name of the Thing in the Lake, wherefore was it known as The Unspeakable.” “The Unspeakable One.” Dril lit a tindertwig and threw it on the pile. The books sputtered into flames. The light illuminated their faces with macabre shadows. “The Pantheon had their final confrontation with the Other before the Onyx Castle,” continued Kham. “The enormous shrine was built on the mountain of Kadath in the Cold Waste, built by the Other's heretical cultists, upon a field of black crystals. Yet, even infused with the energy of their fallen allies, the Pantheon was not able to destroy the Other. Instead, They imprisoned it, sealing it for all Eternity away from those It would feed upon.” “Disgusting.” Ilmarė shook her head. “Clearly, this Codex was written by humans. They speak of the elorii pantheon as ‘fallen allies,’ as if they had not committed murder in cold blood. And even then, the human gods’ murder of the elorii deities was all for naught.” Kham nodded. “Yep, the human pantheon is all in here. Althares imprisons the Unspeakable One with ensorcelled metal, Nier uses fire, Hurrian uses a pure blade, Sarish uses ten pounds of silver, and Illiir ends a prayer with something about stilling the song of birds and the quieting of beasts. Hmmm.” The others circled around the fire, struggling to keep warm. “What?” asked Beldin. “There’s an entry here about Belisarda.” Kham looked up at Ilmarė. Belisarda was the lone surviving goddess of the elorii pantheon. “Something about the Keepers of the Belisardan Sign.” “Give that to me,” snapped Ilmarė. Kham tossed the book to her without comment. Ilmarė’s eyes scanned the page. “The Belisardan Sign is an ancient glyph that captures and focuses the power of the natural world; an item of jewelry that bears a properly crafted Belisardan Sign becomes a potent ward against creatures from outside the natural order. It must be fashioned from a pure metal and taken to a location high above the sea, where the Unspeakable Promise prayer must be read.” “Sounds great. If we ever make it back to Arcanis alive,” said Dril. “I’m pretty sure there’s no seas around here. At least, ones that aren’t frozen, anyway.” Ilmarė ignored him. “The Sign offers protection against enchantments worked in the wearer’s hearing that include instrument, song or performance. The first prayer allows absorption of such an enchantment when accompanied by a soft ring of a chime. The second prayer allows the release of the absorbed energy.” She snapped the book closed. “I’m holding on to this.” Kham shrugged. “Keep it. The Codex told me all I need to know. And now I wish I never read it.” The fire expanded into a blaze, consuming the books hungrily. Vlad looked around. “Fine, I’ll ask. What did you read?” “I now know the Unspeakable One’s name,” said Kham. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
Arcanis: Gonnes, Sons, and Treasure Runs (COMPLETED)
Top