Lylamwyn and the others examine a letter, the books, and other documents on Fachish's desk.
(Documents attached as JPGs; books in text below)
Master Fachish-
I am pleased to inform you that things move apace. The one who delivers this message will soon take the Test. Continue your supplications to Yan-C-Bin so that the Great Prince might join us in our adoration of the Dark Father. Be assured that the doomdreamers take a keen interest in your actions. Great things await you.
I have further good news. Tessimon has eliminated the intruders which had foiled her at the Fire Temple. I am returning the two Lesser Keys of Air which were captured. You may freely use the Air Bridge again but remain on your guard and report anything suspicious to me at once. The plan is at a fragile point.
Know that the time is drawing near when the Faithful shall be rewarded and the Infidels will meet their just punishment. Stand steadfast and vigilant Brother Fachish and glory shall be yours.
Hedrack
Fachish's Books
• An ancient tome entitled "The Yeth Codex":
The worm-eaten pages you are holding, about a dozen in number, are filled with a dense, crabbed script which occasionally becomes spidery and sprawling without apparent reason... extended readings prove nauseating and disorienting. The language is a corrupted form of Ancient Suloise, and marginal notes suggest that the pages are a translation from an older tongue. The author or translator displays an obsession with capitalization and interjections. Most of the text is a meandering prayer, both groveling and gruesome, to something variously called the Unmaker, the Destroyer, the One and the None, the Eater, and the Sleeper in the Void. There are also disgusting supplications, dedications, and vows from the author to the entity, and several portions of the text are divine spells.
In some instances, the text alludes to an imprisoned “Avatar” of the entity. A mention of a manifestation of the Avatar near the now-lost Baklunish city of Dharba-Aran places the Avatar on Oerth prior to the Invoked Devastation, although there is nothing to indicate whether the Avatar or its associated entity was linked to the Cataclysm. It is clear that the author of the text regarded the Avatar, like the entity it represented, as an object of abject terror and sniveling adoration.
It is also clear that the Avatar or its associated entity was at some point imprisoned by “The Others,” a group held in contempt by the author, who seems incredulous that such a thing could or should have happened. At one point, there is also mention of “thousand-cursed Tsojcanth.” The author refers to “the Black Cyst” as the venue of the Avatar’s or entity’s confinement; several descriptions of the prison as “Beyond” and “Outside the Prime” suggest an extraplanar location.
• A beautifully illustrated tome, the cover of which is titled in silver, "The Breath of The Eye." It's pages seem to have been tenderly perused over the years:
This book is a sort of how-to manual relating various techniques of torture. Most of the techniques described herein use suffocation, drowning, alteration or removal of the subject's lungs, and the like. An appendix in the back gives recipes for the preparing and utilization of ungol dust, burnt othur fumes, and insanity mist.
• "The Boundless Blue" by Gaunt Hohn. The chapter on inhabitants of the Elemental Plane of Air is quite dog-eared:
"Yan-C-Bin: Yan-C-Bin, the Master of Evil Air, is naturally invisible. Only a slight disturbance in the air marks the passage of this archomental. He lives in a palace of solid air similar to Akadi's, but spends much of his time wandering the plane (not to mention several others, particularly the Prime Material). All creatures that soar the skies of any plane or realm know of Yan-C-Bin and fear him. The power doesn't amass troops, but merely gathers together small groups of evil air elementals (and similar creatures) as needed.
"His greatest foe is Chan, though their conflict is not an open, physical war but one of silent intimidation and covert chant-gathering. Truth is, the two have never even met. Neither puts much stock in amassing armies, but its said that someday these wandering beings will meet, and that only one will survive the day.…"
• A battered, copper-bound work entitled, "Welcome to the War," by Altus Timblespiver, which seems to ramble on about something he thinks is important:
"…One of the most important mistakes a prime can make is just that: thinking he can make an important mistake. He can't. Sure he can irritate some high-ups, and get himself put in the dead-book real easy. He can steal the hammer of Thor… well, at least he can give it a try. He can kill off a pit fiend and try to storm the fortress of Malsheem.
"But is any of this important? No. A mortal can make precious little difference in the Blood War. It's too big, been going on too long. The most lasting impact a body can hope to have is - maybe, just maybe - to become a tiny little footnote in the annals of the war. But even that's something that powerful heroes, paladins, and wizards and the like, haven't done in eons. It's that hard.…
"…let me give you some basic tips on the war. But don't think I can share the full dark of it with you. You'll find out the real secrets as you get better in your trade - whatever it is. Just remember: Life on the planes is about belief and knowledge. If you expect everything to be handed to you on a silver platter like it is on the Material, well you've got a good deal to learn, and you probably ain't going to like most of it.…"
• A worn scroll, the edges of which are pressed gold leaf. It is written in Dwarven, but has been translated into Common between the lines:
The scroll describes the area of the mines that the Air Temple is in, as well as many of the chambers that lie to the east of it, as the living area of the dwarven community that once ruled here.
After a page and a half of mundane information about the dwarves' daily lives, the scroll indicates that the dwarves discovered a magnificent diamond deep within their mines. They secreted this fabulous stone, called Tulian's Eye after their queen, somewhere in the area. The last part of the scroll is a warning regarding the diamond's curse…
• The "Dämonomicon", which, aside from offering detailed illuminations of people performing truly unwholesome acts upon one another, offers the following information:
"…The mightiest of the demons are the balors, the personification of rage and passion that drive the race into frenzies of destruction. Caught up in their own spells of self-loathing and self-love, balors push themselves toward release and abandon. They won't find it, but their absolute devotion to the war effort often inspires their inferiors. Indeed, these fiends are the very heart of the Blood War, rousing all other demons to take arms against their opponents with murderous fury.
"The canine heads of the glabrezu hide monstrous intelligence and cunning. These demons are far more subtle than they look; fact is, they shoulder the burden of drawing strength from other planes (especially the Material). The glabrezu tempt mortals into summoning them, and then, sap power from the sod's plane for the betterment of the Abyss.
"The froglike hezrou enforce the will of the rest of the high demons, and see to it that lesser fiends form crack fighting forces. Without the hezrou, the balors and mariliths might bark orders that never reach the ears of their battle captains or get woefully misinterpreted.
"The mariliths, six-armed strategists of the Blood War, hold the second-most important seat in Abyssal society. They don't inspire the same awe as balors, but they're terrifying in their own right. Shrewd and cruel, the mariliths are eager to betray and hurt, and their brilliant minds plan the complicated surges and feints of the demon troops. If the balors are the heart of the Blood War, the mariliths are the head.
"The nalfeshnee are the judges of the Abyss. They decide which souls become dretches, which become manes, and which become rutterkin - all based on the spirit's potential for evil. These bloated demons boost or sap the intelligence of the newly formed fiends. Thus, they really control the Abyssal end of the Blood War, for success depends on the quality of the recruits.
"Finally, vrocks make up the sterling fighting force of the Abyssal fiends. A gathering of vrocks (also called a murder of vrocks) can unleash crushing magic on its enemies, and its coordinated attacks are enough to give even the devils pause. Vrocks work together better than do the other battle-bent demons. Fact is, vrocks exhibit the only loyalty in the Abyss; they're proof that demons can band together to form an effective team.…"
