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Message: <blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 1981330" data-attributes="member: 1210">Return to the Ruins of Ostraghan8/2/370 O.L.G., Brelana, DorhausQuietly, without telling Drelvin, Lillamere has given the small community on Lake Bellurnus, near the ruins of Ostraghan, a name.  It is now called Brelana, named after Drelvin’s mother.  Word has spread among the folks of the settlement, and now they all refer to their home as Brelana.  Amazing what a 30+ charisma can do, virtually overnight, in a village.Veil continues to visit Von Dial, the Living Obelisk, and Von Dial continues to touch him, gifting him with yet more Chaos.  When the mindspy journeys down the streets towards him today, however, she finds a pair of men of Forinthian extraction intently watching the raving man from across the street.  Veil hurries to fetch the party, and Rex puts on a good show of intimidating the men, who claim just to be refugees.  “If they were spies,” Inoke says later, “they had pretty bad spy costumes.  Forinthians disguised as Forinthians?”Who knows.  ***8/3/370 O.L.G.  The party determines to return to Ostraghan’s ruins and investigate further.  Lillamere has asked around and gathered rumors, and it seems that the ruins may hold a number of interesting features.  “There was a great wizard in Ostraghan at the end,” Drelvin’s nephew says, “and an academy of spearmen... also, it was said during Fuligin’s attack on Dorhaus that a great general of evil went into a temple of Galador and never emerged.  It’s possible that it is still in there, bound or something.”Drelvin frowns.  “I’m a little worried about those Forinthians we saw yesterday,” he states.  “Maybe we should leave a couple people behind just in case.”  The party discusses this, and Drelvin ends up appointing Thrush sheriff of Brelana.  N’Sari, Lillamere’s sister, remains with him as his deputy.  The others head into the ruins, wind walking the few miles there in minutes.The group resolidifies just outside the ruins.  As they head in, they encounter a wounded adventurer with a broken leg, which Horbin heals.  Gratefully, the man tells them that he had been wounded badly in a fight with giants a few days ago- before our heroes destroyed Fnogghi Chaos-Hand and his band.“Seen any worms?” asks Horbin, but the man has not.  He has, however, seen an intriguing huge locked portal.  “Our wizard advised us not to open it,” he tells the party.  “He said that it sealed away some kind of nasty creature.”  Our heroes exchange glances; obviously they must investigate.Following the man’s directions, our heroes reach a ruined tower.  Searching around the fallen stones of the fallen edifice, the group rapidly locates a half-buried metal portal, chased and set with bits of both adamantine and orichalcum.  Carefully examining it, Orbius notes eldritch runes scribed along its perimeter.  He tells the others, “I think this holds a terrible creature called a madrey.”“What’s that?” asks Drelvin.“Some kind of legendary monster that is usually held behind a powerful magical seal,” the divine oracle replies ironically.  “But nobody’s ever seen one, at least in the last few thousand years, and so I don’t know anything to speak of about them, except that they’re very dangerous.”“Look,” Drelvin the Archer calls, “I found a half-dissolved plaque!”Indeed, about twenty yards away a large area seems to have suffered damage from some sort of corrosive.  Warped by whatever it was exposed to, the plaque bears words, but only part of the message on the plaque is readable:...SE THE MADREY...GAZE OF MADNESS... DANGER TO ALL... LAMPREY OR WORM.“Worms,” Horbin breathes.“Does this tie into that damned prophecy?” exclaims Veil.  Suddenly the hand on the shield Graz’zt gave him twitches, and his jaw drops.“That’s...”  Horbin is speechless. “Does it talk to you?” Inoke asks.“What?”  Veil looks at him.  The swarthy man repeats, “Does it talk to you?  The shield?”“No, I mean, not that I know of... not so far...”Do you mind if I tell them about you? Inoke thinks.Do you trust them?Yes.Go ahead.“My helmet talks to me, sometimes.  In my head,” Inoke says.  “It’s what taught me to be a warmind.”The group stares at Inoke’s cat-shaped helmet.  “Interesting,” says Orbius, “but we must stay focused here.  We may be facing a terrible monster!”“It sounds like it has a gaze attack,” Drelvin comments.  “Whatever this thing is, I think we should kill it.  I don’t want it on my land.”“Should we open the seal?  Right now it’s sealed away,” Lillamere points out.Drelvin snorts in disdain.  “Until someone comes along and Lesters it up.  We can’t let this thing just sit here waiting for one of our enemies to come turn it loose on us.”“That’s a good point,” Inoke says.  “Let’s slay this thing.  Surely we’re powerful enough to do so.”The group looks at the portal.  It looks stoutly sealed.“Maybe I can open it,” Inoke offers, and throws his back into it.  He grunts in surprise at the strength of its resistance, and his muscles bulge as he redoubles his efforts.  It’s still not enough- not nearly enough.  With a roar, Inoke flies into a rage.  An inarticulate noise emanates from the warmind as adrenaline rushes through his system, and slowly, the door begins to inch open.  Next Time: Against the madrey!</blockquote>

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