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<blockquote data-quote="PHDungeon" data-source="post: 5525075" data-attributes="member: 86320"><p>GM Note: This was a landmark game session, in that after 42 sessions of play Bella finally meets her end.</p><p></p><p>Here's Melek's journal from session #42.</p><p></p><p>I've decided that it is time to start recording the tale of our adventures for posterity.</p><p></p><p>While previously I'd often taken the time to quietly reflect on what had transpired I hadn't made a permanent record of those thoughts, partly from a lack of a strong desire and partly from concern that the records not fall into the wrong hands.</p><p></p><p>I now find that my desire to keep a record is far stronger than it used to be. I am unsure if that is because of changes in myself, or just my coming to the realization that the true record of our acts is the best memorial I can make to the friends and companions who have fallen.</p><p></p><p>I will safeguard these records to at least some extent. First I will write them in the Southern tongue. And they are also encrypted with an Eladrin cipher that Allain seems to have taught me in my dreams. </p><p></p><p>This seems to be a good place to set down what we know about the Cult of Elemental Evil.</p><p></p><p>The cult is organized as independent units that know little or nothing of each other’s activities. This means that if one unit is compromised the others can continue to function unimpeded.</p><p></p><p>One such arm of the cult was the Yellow Skulls. These operated out of Nentir Vale and their activities were disrupted and the cult itself destroyed by my companions prior to my joining them.</p><p></p><p>There is also known to be a group operating out of Old Nerath, out of the Temple of Elemental Evil. The temple lies in an old fortress in the Chaos Mountains south of Nerath overlooking the Plains of Chaos. It is said that the borders between this world and the Elemental Chaos are weak within the plains and that there places there where one can cross over.</p><p></p><p>Their goal is the freeing of an entity variously known as The Elder Elemental Eye or the Slumberer. It is said to be a Primordial or even the Creator of Primordials.</p><p></p><p>It is with considerable sadness that I note that today Bella was slain. I am not sure if she will find some satisfaction and sense of professional pride in the fact that she died in exactly the same way that she liked to kill, by somebody striking from the shadows. I suspect not, but I can hope.</p><p></p><p>But, I should start closer to the beginning.</p><p></p><p>After we returned to Grimmsburg from the Golden Horn Clan Labyrinth we spent the next few days raising and restoring our friends and attending to some personal business. I went to the temple of Odin and formally left his service, as respectfully and forthrightly as possible. I was (and am) quite sincere when I expressed the fact that I still worship Odin and will still continue to do his bidding in this world. But my heart is no longer that of a Skanzi Warrior, and I truly feel unworthy of the honour that he had bestowed upon me. And I definitely have an allegiance to the Maiden as well as to Odin, an allegiance stronger than that felt by a warrior to his Jarl.</p><p></p><p>I am not sure if my insanity is gaining ground or if the other soul within me is gradually being merged with mine but my transition seems to have completed itself either in the Labyrinth or shortly thereafter. I now have a far greater facility with an entire range of skills than was previously my want. Intellectual, social, physical, it matters not. While I am a long way from being a master of everything I am most certainly quite competent and everything that I have tried.</p><p></p><p>No, this cannot be insanity; or at least, not merely insanity. While I could be fooling myself about my ability to ride a horse or darn a sweater, I am not fooling myself when I say that I can now cast two rituals, musical skaldic rituals, that I was previously unable to do. And I am not fooling myself when I say that I was able to quickly and easily master some far more advanced Bardic rituals that I learned at Skaldsholme.</p><p></p><p>I also went and had a chat with Bella. I expressed to her my gratitude that she had stayed behind when the situation had seemed very dire and not abandoned us. Although she disclaimed any need for that gratitude I believe that she was, in fact, at least slightly pleased. I may be fooling myself but I'd like to believe that she did, in her own way, appreciate that acknowledgement. I'd like to believe that she saw us as something more than useful companions. I know that I tried to make her my friend.</p><p></p><p>I am now somewhat in debt to a moneylender that reports to Bella. I needed the money to purchase some Bardic rituals and an appropriate focus. I was a little surprised to be drawn to the Tambourine as my instrument of choice. Hardly a traditional Skanzi instrument. But it just felt completely right in my hands. The Skanzi part of me thinks that it may be a silly instrument for a powerful male wizard. But the elven "part" of me thinks that it is a fine instrument for both sexes, one that has historically been associated with many cultures and even used in a martial context. Not surprisingly, my companions turned out to mostly agree with the Skanzi part of me.</p><p></p><p>After all of our companions were restored to health and after we'd finished processing the various materials we had found into Ritual components we decided to head off to Hammerfest. We had to inform the dwarves of the status of the Golden Horn minotaur clan and we also wished to check the library there in the hope that we would find more information on the Divine Engine.</p><p></p><p>My companions were quite amused by my new sartorial tastes. Again, I think that this is just the hyper aggressive masculinity of the Skanzi speaking. There is nothing at all wrong with somebody wearing nice, pretty clothing.</p><p></p><p>Now that I see that in writing, I realize how strange that is. Perhaps it wasn't my companions who are wrong but it is instead me. It has just occurred to me that I've been assuming that Allain was a male. But Allayne is a woman’s name. </p><p></p><p>I suddenly find myself wondering how rich a sense of humour the Maiden of the Moon has. She IS Fey, after all, and likely old enough to be bored and seeking amusement.</p><p></p><p>Bella opened up a portal to Fallcrest where we intended to immediately go off by Giant Eagle towards Hammerfest. However, once at Fallcrest we quickly learned that a small party of Frost Giants consisting of a Giantess and a handful of guards had been sighted near town heading along the river towards Grimmsburg. There was no indication that they were marauding or attacking villages, so far as we could tell they seemed to be peaceful.</p><p></p><p>We consulted with the leader at Fallcrest and decided that we should investigate. So I cast my ritual to summon Giant Eagles.</p><p></p><p>I was quite surprised to find that instead of Eagles what appeared were Pegasi. My companions were variously amused or appalled at the thought of flying on such beautiful creatures instead of the more usual Eagles. One could almost feel sorry for poor Smar, he was so clearly upset at the very concept of mounting something so elegant and beautiful. At least Ardyn seemed to appreciate the Pegasi, even giving the one that he was riding a name.</p><p></p><p>We flew off on our glorious steeds along the river towards where the Giants had been sighted. To our surprise, we came across a scene of combat at a cliff edge as a larger force of Frost Giants led by one mounted upon a mammoth were attacking the smaller band that we had heard tell of. And the new force was very clearly winning the fight.</p><p></p><p>The band that we'd been tracking hadn't been marauding, and they were the underdog. For no better reasons than that we decided to intervene on their behalf. Fortunately, that turned out to be the correct decision.</p><p></p><p>Smar was so eager to leave his mount that he hurled himself off from 50 feet in the air, landing on a Frost Giant. The rest of us landed somewhat more sedately and combat was joined.</p><p></p><p>All of us had the same idea of pushing our opponents over the cliff edge. Smar has a newfound power that allows him to summon up primal winds that he can use to buffet his opponents. Bella used her bolts that cause the giants to stagger backward. I attempted to use my ability to teleport my enemies.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, none of us succeeded. The giants and mammoth were just too large and too resistant to our magics. Although we got some near the edge we were unable to get any of them to actually fall.</p><p></p><p>Fortunately, they were no match for the more pedestrian use of our powers and we prevailed, although not before I was severely injured by the Mammoth. One of the Giants tried to surrender but he was slain. Not by Smar as I'd expected, but instead by one of the escorts of the Giantess. The mammoth and its bow wielding rider fled into the wilderness.</p><p></p><p>The Giantess was Sonia Orelsdottir, the wife of Jarl Grundersson, leader of the Mammoth Tusk Clan. She had been heading to Grimmsburg to seek the help of Jarl Sturgleson.</p><p></p><p>Grundersson had been, by giant standards, a peaceful ruler who had his people primarily hunt for mammoths in the northern tundra as opposed to raiding. This changed when a massive Frost Giant (more likely an Ice Titan) calling himself Thrym showed up with Ulmir, the great White Dragon. </p><p></p><p>Thrym is somebody out of legend. As I remember the Edda, he and his entire band were slain by Loki and Thor after he had stolen Mjöllnir. And, if I am remembering the tale correctly, Thor succeeded only by dressing in a rather pretty dress. It would seem that the Aesir are less relentlessly masculine than the Skanzi.</p><p></p><p>Whether or not this really is the Thrym of legend, he has taken over the Mammoth Tusk Clan and corrupted Grundersson. Sonia believes that it might be possible to redeem Grundersson, which is definitely something to keep in mind.</p><p></p><p>Thrym is leading an expedition consisting of Grundersson and scores of Giants. They have traveled from their stronghold in the Cairngorn peaks west towards the distant coast of the Ice Mountain Sea. They left some time ago. The expedition will build ships when they reach the coast and then they will sail into the sea, seeking a point where the barriers between this world and the Plain of Chaos are weak. They expect to sail into a great frigid sea lying in the bowl of a massive earth motte floating in the Elemental Chaos. On an island inside the Bowl is the Frost Spire and inside of that Spire is believed to be a shard of the Divine Engine.</p><p></p><p>Thrym’s goal is to initiate Ragnarok and likely destroy all of reality in order to revenge himself upon the Aesir. Apparently Grundersson and his giants believe that they will survive this and become great lords when the Primordials remake the world. Deluded fools.</p><p></p><p>Sonia was opposed to Ragnarok, and so she was imprisoned by her husband. It took her awhile to convince some of her guards to help her but eventually she managed to escape with their aid. She set off to Grimsburg to warn the Jarl of what was happening and to enlist aid to stop Thrym.</p><p></p><p>After using a Sending ritual to warn of their impending arrival Bella opened up a portal to the temple of the Aesir in Grimmsburg and sent Sonia and her sole remaining guard through. There they can speak with Jarl Sturgleson. I am sure that once we have concluded our business in Hammerfast, we will see her again, and likely offer our aid.</p><p></p><p>We then remounted our Pegasi and proceeded on to Hammerfest. </p><p></p><p>In Hammerfest, we split into 2 groups. The more intellectually inclined (Bella and myself) went off to the library while the others first checked in with the administrator of Hammerfest and then went off to relax in a low Dwarven dive. Some of Turak’s Golden Horn clan had also made it to Hammerfest untainted by the corruption that had infected the rest of his kin. Turak was overjoyed, and reunited with them before going to the pub to celebrate.</p><p></p><p>At the library we asked to meet the head librarian and were directed to Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian. We explained our intentions to him and gave him the letter of reference that had been provided by Briannah. Thanks to Briannah’s letter, Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian was then quite happy to allow us into the restricted area of the stacks. We were warned about a mischievous (or perhaps insane) ghost who haunted the stacks. We attempted to placate the ghost but were unsuccessful.</p><p></p><p>The first day we managed to glean a little more information but nothing of great import. We then reunited for the evening with our companions who seemed to all be covered in muck and piss. Quite the stench. I used prestidigitation to at least mostly clean them up. Apparently they had been engaged in some rather rowdy celebrating.</p><p></p><p>We have received a total of 18,000 gold from the Hammerfast Trade Guild as a partial payment for resolving the minotaur problem. They will give us the remainder of the payment once we ensure that all of the Demons of Baphomet have been eradicated. So, once we finish our research in the library we will have to return to the labyrinth and see that any demons remaining are hunted down and destroyed. Not just for the money, of course. They are a danger that must be eliminated, and I suspect that Turak wants his vengeance to be complete and thorough.</p><p></p><p>The next day Bella and I returned to the library to do further research. Prior to doing that Bella sent a message and opened up a portal back to Grimmsburg. Briannah brought over a couple of books on dwarven geneology to help quieten the ghost, for such topics were of great interest to the apparition. She was overjoyed to get the chance to visit the library here without the burden of traveling. She also got to meet in person Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian.</p><p></p><p>I'd just managed to find a document of considerable interest when I heard Bella calling out. Looking over I saw that she was being attacked by a masked man emeshed in Shadows, his first blow having apparently missed her. </p><p></p><p>A fight then ensued between Bella, myself and the assassin. After failing to kill her on his initial strike and being hit by one of Bella’s frozen bolts the assassin had turned invisible, probably in an attempt to flee the scene. He then was so incredibly stupid as to attack Bella when she pretended to nonchantly walk by him. Although it was a neat attempt Bella was unable to turn his attack back on himself. I then managed to Eldritch Blast the assassin but that wasn't sufficient to put him down and before I could further act he landed a deadly slash with his blade that caused Bella to collapse.</p><p></p><p>I'd like to be able to state how I then saved the day by killing the assassin. I certainly tried. But the assassin was extremely agile and managed to dodge my blasts until it was too late for Bella. He slashed me once, nearly knocking me unconscious, but then turned his attention back to Bella’s bleeding body and slit her throat before I could stop him.</p><p></p><p>At least I managed to avenge Bella by slaying the foul scum with a final eldritch blast before he could escape. </p><p></p><p>I've replayed the fight in my head a thousand times since then. Perhaps we should have allowed the assassin to flee. Perhaps I shouldn't have concentrated so much on killing the assassin and instead should have tried to heal Bella. Or perhaps we should have just fled.</p><p></p><p>I can't help think that we were very unlucky. Another time my blasts would have downed him before he could finish Bella off, or she would have shoved his blade into him when she fooled him into attacking. </p><p></p><p>Bella has been very specific in the past that, if she is killed, she does not want us to attempt to bring her back to life. We will, however reluctantly, honour those wishes.</p><p></p><p>I'll miss her. I regret the fact that I never did understand her, and now I never will. For somebody who appeared to be such a stone cold killer she certainly risked her life for others and was truly loyal to her companions. She seemed a deeply unhappy person to me but hopefully that impression was very wrong. I certainly hope that she has gone to whatever afterlife she wanted to go to. </p><p></p><p>Although I'm sure that she'd deny it and hate my saying it, she died a great hero and hopefully will be allowed to reside in Valhalla.</p><p></p><p>Now we have to decide how to proceed. Although I am also a Ritualist it was Bella who cast most of the Rituals that we used. I now have access to her spellbook (a remarkably attractive book) and will obviously have to master at least a few more rituals. We make very regular use of Sending and Linked Portal. And if we're to go into the North and try to make it to the Frost Spire we'll certainly need, at the very least, Endure Elements. So at some point I'll have to spend at least a few days somewhere in intense study.</p><p></p><p>We also should consider going to Grimmsburg and acting before they receive word of Bella’s death. I'd like to get access to Stark’s library again. More importantly, there is now going to be a power vacuum in the underworld that the Jarl should be aware of. Perhaps Skarn, her second in command, can quietly take over, especially if he is informed before any rivals. If we decide that it is a good idea I should be able to make people believe that Bella is alive for at least a little while.</p><p></p><p>I'd also like to track down who sent that assassin and convince them that they made a fatal mistake in targeting Bella. Apparently there was a previous attempt on Stark before I joined the group. These attacks may or may not be related.</p><p></p><p>Hmm. It looks like I should add Speak with Dead to the list of Rituals that I need to master.</p><p></p><p>First, we have to go track down that last remaining band of demon cursed Minotaurs.</p><p></p><p>We will then, presumably, head off to try and intercept Thrym before he can get the fragment of Odin’s Divine Engine.</p><p></p><p>The next few weeks are going to busy and dangerous.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="PHDungeon, post: 5525075, member: 86320"] GM Note: This was a landmark game session, in that after 42 sessions of play Bella finally meets her end. Here's Melek's journal from session #42. I've decided that it is time to start recording the tale of our adventures for posterity. While previously I'd often taken the time to quietly reflect on what had transpired I hadn't made a permanent record of those thoughts, partly from a lack of a strong desire and partly from concern that the records not fall into the wrong hands. I now find that my desire to keep a record is far stronger than it used to be. I am unsure if that is because of changes in myself, or just my coming to the realization that the true record of our acts is the best memorial I can make to the friends and companions who have fallen. I will safeguard these records to at least some extent. First I will write them in the Southern tongue. And they are also encrypted with an Eladrin cipher that Allain seems to have taught me in my dreams. This seems to be a good place to set down what we know about the Cult of Elemental Evil. The cult is organized as independent units that know little or nothing of each other’s activities. This means that if one unit is compromised the others can continue to function unimpeded. One such arm of the cult was the Yellow Skulls. These operated out of Nentir Vale and their activities were disrupted and the cult itself destroyed by my companions prior to my joining them. There is also known to be a group operating out of Old Nerath, out of the Temple of Elemental Evil. The temple lies in an old fortress in the Chaos Mountains south of Nerath overlooking the Plains of Chaos. It is said that the borders between this world and the Elemental Chaos are weak within the plains and that there places there where one can cross over. Their goal is the freeing of an entity variously known as The Elder Elemental Eye or the Slumberer. It is said to be a Primordial or even the Creator of Primordials. It is with considerable sadness that I note that today Bella was slain. I am not sure if she will find some satisfaction and sense of professional pride in the fact that she died in exactly the same way that she liked to kill, by somebody striking from the shadows. I suspect not, but I can hope. But, I should start closer to the beginning. After we returned to Grimmsburg from the Golden Horn Clan Labyrinth we spent the next few days raising and restoring our friends and attending to some personal business. I went to the temple of Odin and formally left his service, as respectfully and forthrightly as possible. I was (and am) quite sincere when I expressed the fact that I still worship Odin and will still continue to do his bidding in this world. But my heart is no longer that of a Skanzi Warrior, and I truly feel unworthy of the honour that he had bestowed upon me. And I definitely have an allegiance to the Maiden as well as to Odin, an allegiance stronger than that felt by a warrior to his Jarl. I am not sure if my insanity is gaining ground or if the other soul within me is gradually being merged with mine but my transition seems to have completed itself either in the Labyrinth or shortly thereafter. I now have a far greater facility with an entire range of skills than was previously my want. Intellectual, social, physical, it matters not. While I am a long way from being a master of everything I am most certainly quite competent and everything that I have tried. No, this cannot be insanity; or at least, not merely insanity. While I could be fooling myself about my ability to ride a horse or darn a sweater, I am not fooling myself when I say that I can now cast two rituals, musical skaldic rituals, that I was previously unable to do. And I am not fooling myself when I say that I was able to quickly and easily master some far more advanced Bardic rituals that I learned at Skaldsholme. I also went and had a chat with Bella. I expressed to her my gratitude that she had stayed behind when the situation had seemed very dire and not abandoned us. Although she disclaimed any need for that gratitude I believe that she was, in fact, at least slightly pleased. I may be fooling myself but I'd like to believe that she did, in her own way, appreciate that acknowledgement. I'd like to believe that she saw us as something more than useful companions. I know that I tried to make her my friend. I am now somewhat in debt to a moneylender that reports to Bella. I needed the money to purchase some Bardic rituals and an appropriate focus. I was a little surprised to be drawn to the Tambourine as my instrument of choice. Hardly a traditional Skanzi instrument. But it just felt completely right in my hands. The Skanzi part of me thinks that it may be a silly instrument for a powerful male wizard. But the elven "part" of me thinks that it is a fine instrument for both sexes, one that has historically been associated with many cultures and even used in a martial context. Not surprisingly, my companions turned out to mostly agree with the Skanzi part of me. After all of our companions were restored to health and after we'd finished processing the various materials we had found into Ritual components we decided to head off to Hammerfest. We had to inform the dwarves of the status of the Golden Horn minotaur clan and we also wished to check the library there in the hope that we would find more information on the Divine Engine. My companions were quite amused by my new sartorial tastes. Again, I think that this is just the hyper aggressive masculinity of the Skanzi speaking. There is nothing at all wrong with somebody wearing nice, pretty clothing. Now that I see that in writing, I realize how strange that is. Perhaps it wasn't my companions who are wrong but it is instead me. It has just occurred to me that I've been assuming that Allain was a male. But Allayne is a woman’s name. I suddenly find myself wondering how rich a sense of humour the Maiden of the Moon has. She IS Fey, after all, and likely old enough to be bored and seeking amusement. Bella opened up a portal to Fallcrest where we intended to immediately go off by Giant Eagle towards Hammerfest. However, once at Fallcrest we quickly learned that a small party of Frost Giants consisting of a Giantess and a handful of guards had been sighted near town heading along the river towards Grimmsburg. There was no indication that they were marauding or attacking villages, so far as we could tell they seemed to be peaceful. We consulted with the leader at Fallcrest and decided that we should investigate. So I cast my ritual to summon Giant Eagles. I was quite surprised to find that instead of Eagles what appeared were Pegasi. My companions were variously amused or appalled at the thought of flying on such beautiful creatures instead of the more usual Eagles. One could almost feel sorry for poor Smar, he was so clearly upset at the very concept of mounting something so elegant and beautiful. At least Ardyn seemed to appreciate the Pegasi, even giving the one that he was riding a name. We flew off on our glorious steeds along the river towards where the Giants had been sighted. To our surprise, we came across a scene of combat at a cliff edge as a larger force of Frost Giants led by one mounted upon a mammoth were attacking the smaller band that we had heard tell of. And the new force was very clearly winning the fight. The band that we'd been tracking hadn't been marauding, and they were the underdog. For no better reasons than that we decided to intervene on their behalf. Fortunately, that turned out to be the correct decision. Smar was so eager to leave his mount that he hurled himself off from 50 feet in the air, landing on a Frost Giant. The rest of us landed somewhat more sedately and combat was joined. All of us had the same idea of pushing our opponents over the cliff edge. Smar has a newfound power that allows him to summon up primal winds that he can use to buffet his opponents. Bella used her bolts that cause the giants to stagger backward. I attempted to use my ability to teleport my enemies. Unfortunately, none of us succeeded. The giants and mammoth were just too large and too resistant to our magics. Although we got some near the edge we were unable to get any of them to actually fall. Fortunately, they were no match for the more pedestrian use of our powers and we prevailed, although not before I was severely injured by the Mammoth. One of the Giants tried to surrender but he was slain. Not by Smar as I'd expected, but instead by one of the escorts of the Giantess. The mammoth and its bow wielding rider fled into the wilderness. The Giantess was Sonia Orelsdottir, the wife of Jarl Grundersson, leader of the Mammoth Tusk Clan. She had been heading to Grimmsburg to seek the help of Jarl Sturgleson. Grundersson had been, by giant standards, a peaceful ruler who had his people primarily hunt for mammoths in the northern tundra as opposed to raiding. This changed when a massive Frost Giant (more likely an Ice Titan) calling himself Thrym showed up with Ulmir, the great White Dragon. Thrym is somebody out of legend. As I remember the Edda, he and his entire band were slain by Loki and Thor after he had stolen Mjöllnir. And, if I am remembering the tale correctly, Thor succeeded only by dressing in a rather pretty dress. It would seem that the Aesir are less relentlessly masculine than the Skanzi. Whether or not this really is the Thrym of legend, he has taken over the Mammoth Tusk Clan and corrupted Grundersson. Sonia believes that it might be possible to redeem Grundersson, which is definitely something to keep in mind. Thrym is leading an expedition consisting of Grundersson and scores of Giants. They have traveled from their stronghold in the Cairngorn peaks west towards the distant coast of the Ice Mountain Sea. They left some time ago. The expedition will build ships when they reach the coast and then they will sail into the sea, seeking a point where the barriers between this world and the Plain of Chaos are weak. They expect to sail into a great frigid sea lying in the bowl of a massive earth motte floating in the Elemental Chaos. On an island inside the Bowl is the Frost Spire and inside of that Spire is believed to be a shard of the Divine Engine. Thrym’s goal is to initiate Ragnarok and likely destroy all of reality in order to revenge himself upon the Aesir. Apparently Grundersson and his giants believe that they will survive this and become great lords when the Primordials remake the world. Deluded fools. Sonia was opposed to Ragnarok, and so she was imprisoned by her husband. It took her awhile to convince some of her guards to help her but eventually she managed to escape with their aid. She set off to Grimsburg to warn the Jarl of what was happening and to enlist aid to stop Thrym. After using a Sending ritual to warn of their impending arrival Bella opened up a portal to the temple of the Aesir in Grimmsburg and sent Sonia and her sole remaining guard through. There they can speak with Jarl Sturgleson. I am sure that once we have concluded our business in Hammerfast, we will see her again, and likely offer our aid. We then remounted our Pegasi and proceeded on to Hammerfest. In Hammerfest, we split into 2 groups. The more intellectually inclined (Bella and myself) went off to the library while the others first checked in with the administrator of Hammerfest and then went off to relax in a low Dwarven dive. Some of Turak’s Golden Horn clan had also made it to Hammerfest untainted by the corruption that had infected the rest of his kin. Turak was overjoyed, and reunited with them before going to the pub to celebrate. At the library we asked to meet the head librarian and were directed to Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian. We explained our intentions to him and gave him the letter of reference that had been provided by Briannah. Thanks to Briannah’s letter, Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian was then quite happy to allow us into the restricted area of the stacks. We were warned about a mischievous (or perhaps insane) ghost who haunted the stacks. We attempted to placate the ghost but were unsuccessful. The first day we managed to glean a little more information but nothing of great import. We then reunited for the evening with our companions who seemed to all be covered in muck and piss. Quite the stench. I used prestidigitation to at least mostly clean them up. Apparently they had been engaged in some rather rowdy celebrating. We have received a total of 18,000 gold from the Hammerfast Trade Guild as a partial payment for resolving the minotaur problem. They will give us the remainder of the payment once we ensure that all of the Demons of Baphomet have been eradicated. So, once we finish our research in the library we will have to return to the labyrinth and see that any demons remaining are hunted down and destroyed. Not just for the money, of course. They are a danger that must be eliminated, and I suspect that Turak wants his vengeance to be complete and thorough. The next day Bella and I returned to the library to do further research. Prior to doing that Bella sent a message and opened up a portal back to Grimmsburg. Briannah brought over a couple of books on dwarven geneology to help quieten the ghost, for such topics were of great interest to the apparition. She was overjoyed to get the chance to visit the library here without the burden of traveling. She also got to meet in person Alzar Scrollkeeper The High Librarian. I'd just managed to find a document of considerable interest when I heard Bella calling out. Looking over I saw that she was being attacked by a masked man emeshed in Shadows, his first blow having apparently missed her. A fight then ensued between Bella, myself and the assassin. After failing to kill her on his initial strike and being hit by one of Bella’s frozen bolts the assassin had turned invisible, probably in an attempt to flee the scene. He then was so incredibly stupid as to attack Bella when she pretended to nonchantly walk by him. Although it was a neat attempt Bella was unable to turn his attack back on himself. I then managed to Eldritch Blast the assassin but that wasn't sufficient to put him down and before I could further act he landed a deadly slash with his blade that caused Bella to collapse. I'd like to be able to state how I then saved the day by killing the assassin. I certainly tried. But the assassin was extremely agile and managed to dodge my blasts until it was too late for Bella. He slashed me once, nearly knocking me unconscious, but then turned his attention back to Bella’s bleeding body and slit her throat before I could stop him. At least I managed to avenge Bella by slaying the foul scum with a final eldritch blast before he could escape. I've replayed the fight in my head a thousand times since then. Perhaps we should have allowed the assassin to flee. Perhaps I shouldn't have concentrated so much on killing the assassin and instead should have tried to heal Bella. Or perhaps we should have just fled. I can't help think that we were very unlucky. Another time my blasts would have downed him before he could finish Bella off, or she would have shoved his blade into him when she fooled him into attacking. Bella has been very specific in the past that, if she is killed, she does not want us to attempt to bring her back to life. We will, however reluctantly, honour those wishes. I'll miss her. I regret the fact that I never did understand her, and now I never will. For somebody who appeared to be such a stone cold killer she certainly risked her life for others and was truly loyal to her companions. She seemed a deeply unhappy person to me but hopefully that impression was very wrong. I certainly hope that she has gone to whatever afterlife she wanted to go to. Although I'm sure that she'd deny it and hate my saying it, she died a great hero and hopefully will be allowed to reside in Valhalla. Now we have to decide how to proceed. Although I am also a Ritualist it was Bella who cast most of the Rituals that we used. I now have access to her spellbook (a remarkably attractive book) and will obviously have to master at least a few more rituals. We make very regular use of Sending and Linked Portal. And if we're to go into the North and try to make it to the Frost Spire we'll certainly need, at the very least, Endure Elements. So at some point I'll have to spend at least a few days somewhere in intense study. We also should consider going to Grimmsburg and acting before they receive word of Bella’s death. I'd like to get access to Stark’s library again. More importantly, there is now going to be a power vacuum in the underworld that the Jarl should be aware of. Perhaps Skarn, her second in command, can quietly take over, especially if he is informed before any rivals. If we decide that it is a good idea I should be able to make people believe that Bella is alive for at least a little while. I'd also like to track down who sent that assassin and convince them that they made a fatal mistake in targeting Bella. Apparently there was a previous attempt on Stark before I joined the group. These attacks may or may not be related. Hmm. It looks like I should add Speak with Dead to the list of Rituals that I need to master. First, we have to go track down that last remaining band of demon cursed Minotaurs. We will then, presumably, head off to try and intercept Thrym before he can get the fragment of Odin’s Divine Engine. The next few weeks are going to busy and dangerous. [/QUOTE]
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