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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 919635" data-attributes="member: 5675">Yvgeny's Seventh LetterF.A.O. His Eminence Pietr Orik,C/o the Temple of Ilmater,The Triad’s Road,Temple District,Trailsend. Your Grace, A strange and wonderful thing has happened! Only a little time has passed since I last sent word to you regarding the vanquishing of the dread Pyrohydra (a Lernaean variety, I have since learned, that being the type that regenerates wounds) by the Crusaders. However, I have undertaken a spiritual journey of a length incommensurate to that short time period, and hence wish to share my experiences now! Recalling the details related in my last letter, you would remember that we had a single exit from the hydra’s lair. However, a second, hidden egress was also uncovered, this being two huge iron doors, hidden from plain sight by incantations of misdirection. Despite finding this second door, we chose to leave by the conventional exit, if only because there were likely to be greater challenges in the rooms protected by the hidden door, and we preferred to venture in that direction only when we had removed the chance of attacks from behind us. The conventional door opened upon a spiral stair, leading down. This we descended in careful fashion, until some way down we came upon a portcullis, with the opening mechanism on the far side from us. Some shape-changing spellcraft from Halbrinn followed by some deft lock picking allowed us to pass without too much trouble. We paused a little way down the stair after the portcullis to listen, and sundry of the group opined that there was talking from below. Therefore, we rearranged our marching order to allow the fighters to the fore, with Khondar taking the lead as we emerged into the chamber at the bottom of the steps. I had just enough time to notice that the cavern was the very one that I had unceremoniously dumped myself into when I fell from the rope in the stronghold entranceway chasm… Before I noticed that it still contained its complement of bowmen! This time, however, I had not left my wits behind, and called to my friends that the life of one of these fellows should be preserved, that we may extract information from him. Khondar was in the firing line again, receiving several arrows in tender locations! The doughty dwarf shrugged off the pain, however, to charge at the now unconcealed rogues… The rogues were crouching on boards laid across the fast-flowing stream mentioned previously in my reports concerning this cavern. We soon proved to the rogues that balancing on boards was not the wisest of choices: One was killed very quickly by Khondar, whilst another was knocked into the fast flowing stream and out through the tunnel in the cavern wall. The last one fell under a savage blow to the neck from Miles, but I managed to bind a tight tourniquet about the wound before too much of the fellows lifeblood spurted out; we had our prisoner. Miles then went to follow the rogue who had fallen into the stream, as his screams could still be heard from the tunnel: That noise had to be quelled. Suddenly, a strange mist started filling the cavern through a door in the far wall from the stream. Thinking it could be toxic, I lifted the fallen prisoner and laid him on the winding stair, above the level of the mist. Adamo then summoned an air elemental, which sucked up the fogginess by way of a wind vortex, and revealed the source of the obscuring cloud. One of the rogues had escaped us while we dealt with those by the stream, and had alerted some friends. They had then caused steam to be emitted from some braziers in the room beyond the doors (a steam room for the easing of the muscles of dwarven miners, it appears!) Our creeping foes, left without their cover, were forced into sudden retreat when we poured forth through the door into the steam room. Stedd was first into the next room, and reported some kind of magical darkening triggered by one of the rogues. Something clicked inside my head: ‘thieves that use darkness spells… Tieflings!’ I thought! I was through the door and into the steam room quicker than you can say nemeses! The battle then became a series of skirmishes, as our assailants sought to maintain their distance from us, allowing them to pepper us with projectiles with impunity. There were no obvious demon-spawn; just rogues with some sorcerous ability, it would seem. These sorcerer-rogues fell back through the steam room to a further room, forcing us to follow; said room degenerating into a shambles as previously hidden foes re-entered the fray from areas beyond it. Spells were let fly into the melee from both sides, and sword, axe and fist flashed about with very little room for manoeuvre. I was not to be the champion in this fight. Although I did manage to force ‘Slayer’ from the hands of one of our assailants (recovered, by our enemies, from the pool that Miles had fallen into) by stunning its new owner, I was swiftly set upon by two or three others, all using my vitals for pincushions. I was downed very shortly thereafter, and was only awakened by Adamo’s Formian Workers some time later. However, this is not the end of my report. During the time my spirit was considering the journey to the House of the Triad, I was visited by my Celestial Guide. This time, there was no expedition to the lands above ground, neither to Mulhorand, Thay nor to Damara. Instead, the entire dream, if dream it was, was spent in the dark. I visited underground realms, grim and evil, where no light was permitted. Dark elves—I recognised them as Drow—visited all manner of tortures upon others, not just upon those not of their race, but also upon other Drow. I saw creatures strange to my eyes, but with obvious cunning, and with exotic powers that went beyond magic. These creatures, too, had slaves, although often treating them as food, or in other equally degenerate ways. My Guide took me to these places, flashing horror after horror before my eyes until I thought that I had been mistaken, and some demon in angelic form had brought me on this journey. At one point I felt as if I was being immolated, and was not sure if this was a bodily or spiritual sensation… Then, my guide said: ‘Choose.’ It seemed to me, then, that the choice was this: Die, be martyred and live in Ilmater’s House. I had already done enough to expect this reward. Or, continue my quest. A new mission was being set before me: To transcend the simple work of my past two years I would need to undertake a perilous quest into the Underdark. There, my duty would be to free as many of the forsaken slaves of those dark lands as could be managed. My Guide then conversed with me at some length, outlining my lack of humility and lust for power as additional factors that would be absolved in such a self-sacrificing quest. Thus chastened, I requested a little time to consider, and spent some minutes in prayer. And then I agreed. Your eminence, I understand that your blessing would be required in this new endeavour; there is little I could monitor of the Dales as my travails underground would likely take me some distance from those lands. However, I am sure you would agree that this new quest, taken as it is with the blessing of Ilmater, would justly supplant the needs of Damara regarding the politics of the Dales, which I have mostly fulfilled in any case. Please consider this just a short leave of absence, as I intend to return to the fold as soon as I have judged my quest into the Underdark completed. Finally, I will of course keep you informed as to my progress. You may even consider this more a change of mission for the secret services, as I believe there are only a few agents in place in the Underdark? In accepting my Guide’s proposal, I was invited to receive the blessing of Ilmater. I was brought before a man of middle years, bent over with the number of his wounds and injuries. He appeared so unprepossessing that it took me several moments before I realised that this was an image of my God! I knelt before Him, and received His touch. All the pain and uncertainty I was then suffering melted away and I knew my own mind more clearly than I ever had before; I knew I had chosen the right path, even though I may (or may not!) live through more pain and darkness as a result. Not only were my hurts healed, but also I felt an energy suffuse my blood, as if my earth-bound flesh had become nothing but light. I then saw in my minds eye what I would become if I continued down the path I had chosen for my future: I could indeed become a full celestial! And then my reverie was over. I woke with a start to find myself back in the caverns of the Rudenheims, with all the hurts (and some additional singes!) to contend with. But I was not downhearted, for now I had some inkling of my destiny! So, that is how it stands, your eminence. I will continue to write, of course, but I think you can now expect some variation to my reports! Finally, now that I am back in the lands of the living, I have also noticed some additional favours that Ilmater has granted me: Knowledge of a whole host of new spells! Now I cannot wait to begin prayers to test some of them! More will follow, your eminence, but for now I must proceed again with my comrades. Yvgeny.Ilmater save the king. P.S. I have added this at the last moment, more through wonder than anything else! It appears I have already begun the journey to the upper planes, as I have started to manifest powers normally only belonging to true celestials! Along with my ability to create light, I now also appear to have the ability to use Ilmater’s blessing, and to protect myself from evildoers several times in one day. I seem to be able to do this spontaneously, without having to store the spell’s power within myself beforehand. I am amazed at the generosity of Ilmater! Clearly, this quest I have chosen to undertake is close to the heart of our God. Hence, I must not fail. Ilmater save the king.</blockquote>

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