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<blockquote data-quote="Pacio49" data-source="post: 2532393" data-attributes="member: 28472"><p><strong>Tiriel Midnight's Journal</strong></p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">13th Aut, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">It is with reluctance that I commit these thoughts to paper.Somehow to utter them makes them more real to me. Yet I fear that the bleak vision of the future which looms above my dreaming hours is to be closest to the truth, and what transpires must be known.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I am Tiriel Midnight, Elf-friend and High Enchanter of the Deepsetter clan. I chose to honor the ways of clan and endure the ostracism of my people although I did not agree with what Morthrauk and Clan Lord Karradok Deepsetter did and I heartily approved of the fact that they were shorn of beard and hall, birthrunes broken and scepters burnt before the High King’s Council for their failed coup. I named them friends, and name them so still today, though there are many who will no longer utter their names. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I am also of the Midnight Order, and Mysta will not forgive me if I deny my dreams, for it is in them that She always spake. This vision shall come to pass, and if it be so then this account shall be in the hands of another of the Midnight Order. It is to him that I entrust these notes, that they must serve as a guide for him, to unlock the doorway through which he is to pass, by unlocking the past. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The mood of Deepsetter’s Hall-in-Exile has been growing ever darker, even as the city itself begins to break down. The strange malaise which began a fortnight ago in the spelunker camps seems to have spread now to all parts of the city. The victims lose all ability to fend for themselves. It’s as if they have ceased caring. Some undoubtedly have died, many corpses lying to rot in their own filth because at first no one noticed or cared if they did, and then no one was willing to go near them. I begin to suspect there are Undead amok in the city, but those who have died of this disease have not rised to walk again. Perhaps this is a curse sent to us from Moradin. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I would ask my old friend Elamite Winharrower, the Bishop of Deepsetter, but once his hand had spilt the blood of the unshorn, he declared himself to be one of the Clanless, and slashed his cheeks and cut his beard braids, one of more than nearly half of the Deepsetter who had done so. Many would get adopted or taken in by cousins by marriage in the other Clans, but they would always wear the scars as a symbol of their shame, most not marrying and always dressing in mourning. I fear that the loss of community and lifelong isolation that means might actually be preferrable to watching the very dream and hope of clearing our name after the fifth generation, Deepsetter Hall-in-Exile, be destroyed by a despairing blight that kills from within.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">19 Aut, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I have undertaken to investigate the strange malaise myself. I took to the shape of a rock dove and flit about the city. I found no evidene of Undead, but upon closer examination I found a strange mark upon the left palm of each one. A slight puncture, enough to just break the skin, consisting of four lines radiating from a single pinprick hole. Nothing more. I do not know what has come over the city, but the commonality of these holes, even on the victims who only just begin to show signs of the Malaise, makes me suspicious that it may be sabotage from within. A band of Clanslayers, perhaps, utilizing some strange device. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Oh, I am certain it was a device. The pattern of the wounds looked remarkably like a power-auric connection. Forgive me the shop talk, but when certain items are used they sometimes breach the skin slightly by pins to complete the connective power flow necessary to activate the item. It causes no pain to the user, does no damage, and is usually unnoticed since its sole purpose is to breach the aura of the user and allow the ... well, I know my brother Midnight would find this fascinating, but the short of it is that I know the markings were caused by a device. Most likely the same device, or one similarly shaped.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The thing is, even under magical charm and truth zones, no one confessed to having ever come into contact with any sort of device or item, they just felt tired, and often wanted me to leave them alone.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">3 Setero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Things are much worse now. There are strange shadows which flit about the periphery of my vision. I know that the city is doomed, and I confess my dreams do not show any other outcome. There is a battle looming, but it is a battle I don’t know how to fight, let alone win. There is a tangible force which is seeping into my life, and I can’t but wonder whether this is the Malaise come for me. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">No. It has been hours since I set my pen down last, and a great battle was fought inside of me. I believe I was victorious, but I know that I cannot delay any longer. I choose to resist. I could flee, but I must wait this out, lest I carry this to other places unwittingly. I have cured myself of disease many times, but still I do not feel whole somehow. I must pray that Mysta guide me.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">4 Setero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The night was full of bleak dreams for me. There is no one abroad in the city at all. I hear no noise and see no activity. I wonder if all have died, or if all have simply barricaded themselves inside as though to keep out the illness. Mysta answered my prayers and sent me visions. The dead do indeed walk this place, but it is not from this disease. I believe it is from the new tunnels which found a worked stone area that led to some kind of ruins. They will find us easy prey from apathy and despair already. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I must begin work, and quickly. I saw the plans in my mind, though it has elements which are foreign to me. I must meditate on them even as I set my workroom to readiness.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">10 Setero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I have been working quickly and quietly, although not in my customary laboratory. Long years ago I came across this cavern while swimming through rock. I made a secret tunnel here and took great pains to ward it heavily against detection. I outfitted it myself to function as my secret laboratory, where I could work away from prying eyes. Soon after I wondered at my motives, for such a thing was not practical. There was never a time for me to be away from my students and assisstants, the other Master Artificers who accompanied me. My every waking moment was usually accounted for, so to disappear for days at a time would be unthinkable.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I never let the supplies run out, though. I think I delighted more from the secret security of this place than from the functionality of it. Now, I must concede that the gods have worked well by me in this planning. It is here I shall leave the journal. It is here I will leave the scepter. I am completely relocated into this shelter and workshop and it is with guilt that I note the sheer satisfaction I have received from being here and at work, one last time. For it shall be. I see that, too.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">19 Setero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The Undead walk the streets of the Clan Hall-in-Exile by night. Some scavenge the shadows by day. Is it ever day here anymore? The attack on the city is indeed an attack by the Undead. It is the work of a sword. A very powerful sword, in the hands of a very powerful creature. The ruins above are the abode of the one who calls himself the Bone Lord. He is a Deathknight of strength, and it is the sword he keeps by himself that plagues our city. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The Deathknight’s sword is forged from the despair of tortured souls made manifest as a blade. It burns with the fire of a dark sun, and it scorches all who behold it or live near its shadow not with fire, but with despair and wretchedness. The Deathknight does not wield this sword, for not even he can bear to be near it, though for him it is like being near a raging bonfire. It was not his when he was made a Deathknight, but it was found by him and brought by magic to his domain.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I have resisted some of the Sword of Despair’s effects, but yet I have also holed myself up and secluded even myself instead of trying to rouse the spirits of my fellow Dwarves. This has not been a disease, this has been an enchantment. I have broken it now, and see the ruin for what it is. We have been stupid, for the Gods are truly punishing us for our ex-Lord’s crimes.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I have completed my creations. I have made the scepter and jewel, and the weapon of great power which combats the despair. It is the Sword of the Last Hope. I go to make further preparations. Even now I feel compelled to remain in this city, to carry out the last instructions of my Goddess.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">21 Setero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">With the passing of the Equinox I suddenly perceive the danger. The darkness is spreading more thickly now. I have underestimated the Deathknight’s powers. He is bound to a node of some kind, and draws his power from there. A gloom has cast over the skies by day in this valley now, a magic which protects the Undead, allows some to move about without hindrance. All of the garden tiers have wilted and the grain is rotting in the terraced fields. I spent a day sitting alone in my room. It was only dejected wanderings which brought me back into the presence of the Sword of the Last Hope. The miasma of evil has grown so oppressive that without the sword in the room I cannot function nor resist the darkness that pulls on my thoughts.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I must hurry. The dome is nearly complete, but I begin to wonder how much time I have left.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">2 Tektero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The dome at last is finished, but there is horrid news to tell. I have been foolish in the extreme. As darkness settled over the city, the aura of hope from the sword shone like a beacon. I have been fending off Undead with increasing frequency. Today they nearly had me. There are vampire spawn within the city. I killed two, but I know there are more. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">3 Tektero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The darkness is so terrible now... help me.... Even holding the sword is not helping anymore. There is nothing left to do. I tried to go out to secure my escape route, now that the pieces were in place for you to follow, but they came too quickly. I was chased, but they didn’t get me. I dropped the dratted jewel before I could put it in its proper hiding place in the courthouse. One of the vampire spawn was waiting for me just inside the courthouse door and managed to knock it out from my hands and push me back out into the street. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I... I think I’m going to die here. Why does it have to be? Have I not been an obedient servant to the Lady? Why? Why?</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">5 Tektero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">It is nearly midnight all day. The sword’s power has been banked, and needs to be kindled. Have I failed then in all that I have done? I must channel divine energy into it to push the darkness at bay and waken its powers. And I must do so more and more frequently all the time now. The time is coming when the darkness will overtake me, and the Deathknight will be my new Master. And all that I have worked for will be lost.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Except you. Who are you? And why must I place my trust in some future brother of the Midnight Cabal? What secrets of the universe will you have gleaned that we have not? What mastery over the fabric of reality do you possess which will enable you to survive where I have not? What failing lies at the core of my essence, what fatal flaw am I burdened with that you have not? Or have you faced your test and passed, while I could only slowly fall into the pit of despair? It is the abyss of the soul that I face, and my faith... no longer comforts me.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I hate you. I hate all of the potential that you are. I cannot abide by you, and when I die I shall go screaming unto death cursing your very name and the bloodline by which you will be born. I see you, but I do not know you.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Why can’t I know? Why are there no easy answers for me?</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">6 Tektero, 6289</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The worst of it is over. I believe a wave of it passed in the night. I look back at my prior scrawlings with horror, that I doubted so much. The sword’s effect to hold back the despair is still abating, but I think I have held on long enough to survive for what remains to be done. I did not pen this previously, because I did not trust that these notes would not be taken before my plan could be enacted. I have succeeded in my plan. I am greatly diminished, but I have been victorious.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The Sword of Despair will never let me leave. Not while the Sword of the Last Hope still exists. And without the Sword of the Last Hope I will succumb to the despair. It is death by either choice.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">So I chose you. You are the Last Hope, and this is your Sword, though I think you shall not wield it yourself, but pass it instead to another. I had to hide it, not only from the Deathknight but also from the Sword of Despair. I wonder, who is the Master and who is the Servant, the Sword or the Deathknight? I doubt I shall know.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I have taken the collective wisdom from those souls of Deepsetter who remained true to the Dwarven Kings. They came willingly, and it is our hope that this jewel will restore to good name the Deepsetter clan. If it lies within your path, please take it to the Dwarven King so that his sages might see our hearts and intents and judge whether we be worthy of admittance to Moradin’s Halls. But you must first recover it, and the last place I saw it was in combat with the vampire spawn inside the courthouse.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Before you should lie the scepter. There are two halves, both with markings. There is a code there... decipher the code and you will be able to align the scepter properly. Set the jewel in the scepter’s end, set it in Moradin’s anvil, and it will show you where lies your sword. I would have done more for you, by putting the jewel in a safe place as well, but fate decreed otherwise.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I know not why the Sword is important to you, nor what use it will be. While the Sword of Despair exists, there will always be its nullifying force as a threat, and this close to the Deathknight’s lair the Sword will sense the Last Hope as soon as you remove it from its hiding place. You will need to press onward on your path with all due haste.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I know that you are destined to seek the shores of the Sunless Sea, and quest for the Heart of the Mountain. The only thing which lives near the Sunless Sea is Excelsior, the Ancient Crystal Wyrm, who slumbers with Merradh, his guardian paladin, keeping vigil. But Excelsior may know of what you seek, though he has never been awake when I have visited.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">The way below is twisted, but it can be done at speed, which may mean the difference for you. And if you go that route, you must pass by one of the tunnels that leads straight to the Bone Lord’s domain. The power of the Sword of Despair there is great. Only with the powers of the Sword of the Last Hope kindled afresh by the Last Hope himself could you manage to get past it without succumbing to the despair.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Once you have the Sword, you must enter the galleries of the mountain behind the keep’s southwest tower. It will have wooden stairs spiraling down several flights, then lead you out onto a broad ledge overlooking the iron mines. Continue to the end of the ledge and climb down the scaffolding until you are at Sublevel 19. Remain on the catwalk and head underneath the aqueduct. Take the first left by the cart loading area and travel down until you come to the cave with a large pool of water in it. Cast Light and look for the thin ledge by the side of the pool. There is nothing in the water but water itself, though that’s bad enough. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">When you make your way around to the other side you will see three caves leading off. Two lead down, and one leads up. The one which leads up is the one which leads to the Bone Lord. Of the two that lead downward, the way I know lies with the one on the right. It will lead you to another iron mining gallery. Go to the end and follow the railcart tracks on the right. They will lead you down to a place very near where Excelsior sleeps. You will only have to take a quick boat ride across the lake *away* from the sound of rushing water, and you will see a small set of double archways. Pass beyond them and you will find yourself on the Sunless Sea. The isle where Excelsior and Merradh make their home is found toward your left, and has a number of crystal outcroppings about.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">There is but one more thing I must tell you, though. Mysta came to me in my dream and said that you must call out Merradh’s name before you set sail for Excelsior’s island, or more than just one of you will die. I confess this confuses me, for I have never needed to do so on the few visits I have made.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">May Mysta guide you and may Excelsior be awake to greet you when you come. You will carry the Last Hope of this city when you go. May the Lady of Magic, the faith of the Order of the Midnight Cabal, and all the other Gods bless you. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">I am now going to try and blast my way out of this city, though I do not see my survival. Still, old habits die hard, and I would rather succumb to wounds in glorious battle in the name of Clan Deepsetter and the honor of the Dwarven Kingdom than to give in to the bleakness of despair. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">Remember me, and do so with honor. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pacio49, post: 2532393, member: 28472"] [b]Tiriel Midnight's Journal[/b] [indent]13th Aut, 6289 It is with reluctance that I commit these thoughts to paper.Somehow to utter them makes them more real to me. Yet I fear that the bleak vision of the future which looms above my dreaming hours is to be closest to the truth, and what transpires must be known. I am Tiriel Midnight, Elf-friend and High Enchanter of the Deepsetter clan. I chose to honor the ways of clan and endure the ostracism of my people although I did not agree with what Morthrauk and Clan Lord Karradok Deepsetter did and I heartily approved of the fact that they were shorn of beard and hall, birthrunes broken and scepters burnt before the High King’s Council for their failed coup. I named them friends, and name them so still today, though there are many who will no longer utter their names. I am also of the Midnight Order, and Mysta will not forgive me if I deny my dreams, for it is in them that She always spake. This vision shall come to pass, and if it be so then this account shall be in the hands of another of the Midnight Order. It is to him that I entrust these notes, that they must serve as a guide for him, to unlock the doorway through which he is to pass, by unlocking the past. The mood of Deepsetter’s Hall-in-Exile has been growing ever darker, even as the city itself begins to break down. The strange malaise which began a fortnight ago in the spelunker camps seems to have spread now to all parts of the city. The victims lose all ability to fend for themselves. It’s as if they have ceased caring. Some undoubtedly have died, many corpses lying to rot in their own filth because at first no one noticed or cared if they did, and then no one was willing to go near them. I begin to suspect there are Undead amok in the city, but those who have died of this disease have not rised to walk again. Perhaps this is a curse sent to us from Moradin. I would ask my old friend Elamite Winharrower, the Bishop of Deepsetter, but once his hand had spilt the blood of the unshorn, he declared himself to be one of the Clanless, and slashed his cheeks and cut his beard braids, one of more than nearly half of the Deepsetter who had done so. Many would get adopted or taken in by cousins by marriage in the other Clans, but they would always wear the scars as a symbol of their shame, most not marrying and always dressing in mourning. I fear that the loss of community and lifelong isolation that means might actually be preferrable to watching the very dream and hope of clearing our name after the fifth generation, Deepsetter Hall-in-Exile, be destroyed by a despairing blight that kills from within. 19 Aut, 6289 I have undertaken to investigate the strange malaise myself. I took to the shape of a rock dove and flit about the city. I found no evidene of Undead, but upon closer examination I found a strange mark upon the left palm of each one. A slight puncture, enough to just break the skin, consisting of four lines radiating from a single pinprick hole. Nothing more. I do not know what has come over the city, but the commonality of these holes, even on the victims who only just begin to show signs of the Malaise, makes me suspicious that it may be sabotage from within. A band of Clanslayers, perhaps, utilizing some strange device. Oh, I am certain it was a device. The pattern of the wounds looked remarkably like a power-auric connection. Forgive me the shop talk, but when certain items are used they sometimes breach the skin slightly by pins to complete the connective power flow necessary to activate the item. It causes no pain to the user, does no damage, and is usually unnoticed since its sole purpose is to breach the aura of the user and allow the ... well, I know my brother Midnight would find this fascinating, but the short of it is that I know the markings were caused by a device. Most likely the same device, or one similarly shaped. The thing is, even under magical charm and truth zones, no one confessed to having ever come into contact with any sort of device or item, they just felt tired, and often wanted me to leave them alone. 3 Setero, 6289 Things are much worse now. There are strange shadows which flit about the periphery of my vision. I know that the city is doomed, and I confess my dreams do not show any other outcome. There is a battle looming, but it is a battle I don’t know how to fight, let alone win. There is a tangible force which is seeping into my life, and I can’t but wonder whether this is the Malaise come for me. No. It has been hours since I set my pen down last, and a great battle was fought inside of me. I believe I was victorious, but I know that I cannot delay any longer. I choose to resist. I could flee, but I must wait this out, lest I carry this to other places unwittingly. I have cured myself of disease many times, but still I do not feel whole somehow. I must pray that Mysta guide me. 4 Setero, 6289 The night was full of bleak dreams for me. There is no one abroad in the city at all. I hear no noise and see no activity. I wonder if all have died, or if all have simply barricaded themselves inside as though to keep out the illness. Mysta answered my prayers and sent me visions. The dead do indeed walk this place, but it is not from this disease. I believe it is from the new tunnels which found a worked stone area that led to some kind of ruins. They will find us easy prey from apathy and despair already. I must begin work, and quickly. I saw the plans in my mind, though it has elements which are foreign to me. I must meditate on them even as I set my workroom to readiness. 10 Setero, 6289 I have been working quickly and quietly, although not in my customary laboratory. Long years ago I came across this cavern while swimming through rock. I made a secret tunnel here and took great pains to ward it heavily against detection. I outfitted it myself to function as my secret laboratory, where I could work away from prying eyes. Soon after I wondered at my motives, for such a thing was not practical. There was never a time for me to be away from my students and assisstants, the other Master Artificers who accompanied me. My every waking moment was usually accounted for, so to disappear for days at a time would be unthinkable. I never let the supplies run out, though. I think I delighted more from the secret security of this place than from the functionality of it. Now, I must concede that the gods have worked well by me in this planning. It is here I shall leave the journal. It is here I will leave the scepter. I am completely relocated into this shelter and workshop and it is with guilt that I note the sheer satisfaction I have received from being here and at work, one last time. For it shall be. I see that, too. 19 Setero, 6289 The Undead walk the streets of the Clan Hall-in-Exile by night. Some scavenge the shadows by day. Is it ever day here anymore? The attack on the city is indeed an attack by the Undead. It is the work of a sword. A very powerful sword, in the hands of a very powerful creature. The ruins above are the abode of the one who calls himself the Bone Lord. He is a Deathknight of strength, and it is the sword he keeps by himself that plagues our city. The Deathknight’s sword is forged from the despair of tortured souls made manifest as a blade. It burns with the fire of a dark sun, and it scorches all who behold it or live near its shadow not with fire, but with despair and wretchedness. The Deathknight does not wield this sword, for not even he can bear to be near it, though for him it is like being near a raging bonfire. It was not his when he was made a Deathknight, but it was found by him and brought by magic to his domain. I have resisted some of the Sword of Despair’s effects, but yet I have also holed myself up and secluded even myself instead of trying to rouse the spirits of my fellow Dwarves. This has not been a disease, this has been an enchantment. I have broken it now, and see the ruin for what it is. We have been stupid, for the Gods are truly punishing us for our ex-Lord’s crimes. I have completed my creations. I have made the scepter and jewel, and the weapon of great power which combats the despair. It is the Sword of the Last Hope. I go to make further preparations. Even now I feel compelled to remain in this city, to carry out the last instructions of my Goddess. 21 Setero, 6289 With the passing of the Equinox I suddenly perceive the danger. The darkness is spreading more thickly now. I have underestimated the Deathknight’s powers. He is bound to a node of some kind, and draws his power from there. A gloom has cast over the skies by day in this valley now, a magic which protects the Undead, allows some to move about without hindrance. All of the garden tiers have wilted and the grain is rotting in the terraced fields. I spent a day sitting alone in my room. It was only dejected wanderings which brought me back into the presence of the Sword of the Last Hope. The miasma of evil has grown so oppressive that without the sword in the room I cannot function nor resist the darkness that pulls on my thoughts. I must hurry. The dome is nearly complete, but I begin to wonder how much time I have left. 2 Tektero, 6289 The dome at last is finished, but there is horrid news to tell. I have been foolish in the extreme. As darkness settled over the city, the aura of hope from the sword shone like a beacon. I have been fending off Undead with increasing frequency. Today they nearly had me. There are vampire spawn within the city. I killed two, but I know there are more. 3 Tektero, 6289 The darkness is so terrible now... help me.... Even holding the sword is not helping anymore. There is nothing left to do. I tried to go out to secure my escape route, now that the pieces were in place for you to follow, but they came too quickly. I was chased, but they didn’t get me. I dropped the dratted jewel before I could put it in its proper hiding place in the courthouse. One of the vampire spawn was waiting for me just inside the courthouse door and managed to knock it out from my hands and push me back out into the street. I... I think I’m going to die here. Why does it have to be? Have I not been an obedient servant to the Lady? Why? Why? 5 Tektero, 6289 It is nearly midnight all day. The sword’s power has been banked, and needs to be kindled. Have I failed then in all that I have done? I must channel divine energy into it to push the darkness at bay and waken its powers. And I must do so more and more frequently all the time now. The time is coming when the darkness will overtake me, and the Deathknight will be my new Master. And all that I have worked for will be lost. Except you. Who are you? And why must I place my trust in some future brother of the Midnight Cabal? What secrets of the universe will you have gleaned that we have not? What mastery over the fabric of reality do you possess which will enable you to survive where I have not? What failing lies at the core of my essence, what fatal flaw am I burdened with that you have not? Or have you faced your test and passed, while I could only slowly fall into the pit of despair? It is the abyss of the soul that I face, and my faith... no longer comforts me. I hate you. I hate all of the potential that you are. I cannot abide by you, and when I die I shall go screaming unto death cursing your very name and the bloodline by which you will be born. I see you, but I do not know you. Why can’t I know? Why are there no easy answers for me? 6 Tektero, 6289 The worst of it is over. I believe a wave of it passed in the night. I look back at my prior scrawlings with horror, that I doubted so much. The sword’s effect to hold back the despair is still abating, but I think I have held on long enough to survive for what remains to be done. I did not pen this previously, because I did not trust that these notes would not be taken before my plan could be enacted. I have succeeded in my plan. I am greatly diminished, but I have been victorious. The Sword of Despair will never let me leave. Not while the Sword of the Last Hope still exists. And without the Sword of the Last Hope I will succumb to the despair. It is death by either choice. So I chose you. You are the Last Hope, and this is your Sword, though I think you shall not wield it yourself, but pass it instead to another. I had to hide it, not only from the Deathknight but also from the Sword of Despair. I wonder, who is the Master and who is the Servant, the Sword or the Deathknight? I doubt I shall know. I have taken the collective wisdom from those souls of Deepsetter who remained true to the Dwarven Kings. They came willingly, and it is our hope that this jewel will restore to good name the Deepsetter clan. If it lies within your path, please take it to the Dwarven King so that his sages might see our hearts and intents and judge whether we be worthy of admittance to Moradin’s Halls. But you must first recover it, and the last place I saw it was in combat with the vampire spawn inside the courthouse. Before you should lie the scepter. There are two halves, both with markings. There is a code there... decipher the code and you will be able to align the scepter properly. Set the jewel in the scepter’s end, set it in Moradin’s anvil, and it will show you where lies your sword. I would have done more for you, by putting the jewel in a safe place as well, but fate decreed otherwise. I know not why the Sword is important to you, nor what use it will be. While the Sword of Despair exists, there will always be its nullifying force as a threat, and this close to the Deathknight’s lair the Sword will sense the Last Hope as soon as you remove it from its hiding place. You will need to press onward on your path with all due haste. I know that you are destined to seek the shores of the Sunless Sea, and quest for the Heart of the Mountain. The only thing which lives near the Sunless Sea is Excelsior, the Ancient Crystal Wyrm, who slumbers with Merradh, his guardian paladin, keeping vigil. But Excelsior may know of what you seek, though he has never been awake when I have visited. The way below is twisted, but it can be done at speed, which may mean the difference for you. And if you go that route, you must pass by one of the tunnels that leads straight to the Bone Lord’s domain. The power of the Sword of Despair there is great. Only with the powers of the Sword of the Last Hope kindled afresh by the Last Hope himself could you manage to get past it without succumbing to the despair. Once you have the Sword, you must enter the galleries of the mountain behind the keep’s southwest tower. It will have wooden stairs spiraling down several flights, then lead you out onto a broad ledge overlooking the iron mines. Continue to the end of the ledge and climb down the scaffolding until you are at Sublevel 19. Remain on the catwalk and head underneath the aqueduct. Take the first left by the cart loading area and travel down until you come to the cave with a large pool of water in it. Cast Light and look for the thin ledge by the side of the pool. There is nothing in the water but water itself, though that’s bad enough. When you make your way around to the other side you will see three caves leading off. Two lead down, and one leads up. The one which leads up is the one which leads to the Bone Lord. Of the two that lead downward, the way I know lies with the one on the right. It will lead you to another iron mining gallery. Go to the end and follow the railcart tracks on the right. They will lead you down to a place very near where Excelsior sleeps. You will only have to take a quick boat ride across the lake *away* from the sound of rushing water, and you will see a small set of double archways. Pass beyond them and you will find yourself on the Sunless Sea. The isle where Excelsior and Merradh make their home is found toward your left, and has a number of crystal outcroppings about. There is but one more thing I must tell you, though. Mysta came to me in my dream and said that you must call out Merradh’s name before you set sail for Excelsior’s island, or more than just one of you will die. I confess this confuses me, for I have never needed to do so on the few visits I have made. May Mysta guide you and may Excelsior be awake to greet you when you come. You will carry the Last Hope of this city when you go. May the Lady of Magic, the faith of the Order of the Midnight Cabal, and all the other Gods bless you. I am now going to try and blast my way out of this city, though I do not see my survival. Still, old habits die hard, and I would rather succumb to wounds in glorious battle in the name of Clan Deepsetter and the honor of the Dwarven Kingdom than to give in to the bleakness of despair. Remember me, and do so with honor. [/indent] [/QUOTE]
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