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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JollyDoc" data-source="post: 6565588" data-attributes="member: 9546">A Destiny Revealed4 Abadius, 4715The last stop on the map of Brinestump Marsh was the mysterious cave marked by both the goblins and the old witch Megus. It wasn't difficult to find. A fifty-foot high cliff rose along the marsh's southern border, its face a thick tangle of jutting rocks and bright green vines and nettles. A curtain of those thick vines partially concealed the cave opening at the base of the cliff. Within, a low-ceilinged tunnel stretched away into darkness, a small stream running along one side. It twisted and turned for a ways before opening into a small chamber. In the center of the chamber a hairy red-backed spider the size of a pony crouched, feeding on some sort of large lizard. As it turned towards the intruders, Piotr sent a flash of bright light at its eyes, momentarily dazzling it. Yannus quickly stepped in and drove his glaive through its abdomen, pinning it to the ground while Lucian bludgeoned it to death with a heavy cudgel.Further along, Mazael caught a glimmer of light coming from a side passage. When he glanced inside, he saw that the source of the flicker was a cluster of glittering crystals that protruded from a small island surrounded by a pool of shallow, brackish water. Intrigued, the war priest waded out into the pool towards the crystals. He'd gone no more than three paces, however, when something struck his leg...hard. Then his leg began to burn, and he felt something tighten around it, like a constricting snake. When he looked down, however, he saw a gelatinous, translucent mass clinging to his lower leg. He didn't let panic seize him. He closed his eyes and focused, murmuring a brief prayer to Desna. A moment later, he was free, his leg slipping free as easily as if it had been greased. He backed quickly towards the tunnel, his blood swirling in the water behind him. As he left the pool, Haroldo charged passed him, his eyes filled with rage. As the ooze creature reared up out of the pool to strike at him, he chopped at it with his great sword. It recoiled, but then struck again, seizing him in its grasp. A moment later, he heard Piotr's annoying chanting from behind him, and from out of thin air, a hail of small, black stones rained down upon the ooze, turning the air and water around it bone-numbingly cold. The creature slipped silently back into the water and did not reemerge. The winding tunnel finally emerged in a large cavern, the stream running along one side. A half-dozen skeletons, clad in the same foreign armor as the ones at the wreck of the Kaijitsu Blossom, lay scattered about the floor, unmoving. Koman immediately ran to the nearest one and brought his morningstar down on its skull, smashing it. At that moment, the other skeletons began to move, rattling to their feet. Two more rose up out of the stream and began lumbering forward. "They're going to box us in!" Haroldo shouted as tried to charge through the oncoming horde. He found himself instantly surrounded, and though he raged and lay about him with his blade like a dervish, the undead horrors clawed and raked at him with their filthy nails. Mazael and Koman rushed to his aid, while Yannus stood behind them, stabbing over their shoulders with his glaive. Piotr stood back, focusing his magic on disrupting the dark energy animating the corpses, while Lucian alternated between swinging his cudgel and using the minor magics granted to him by Desna to heal his companions' more grievous injuries. Finally, the last of the skeletons fell and did not rise again, leaving the young heroes panting to catch their breath, and bleeding from multiple wounds. Yannus and Lucian bound them and tended them where they could. On the far side of the cavern, a single, narrow passage exited. It was short and led to a small, cramped chamber. As the light from Yannus's glaive showed dimly in the far corners, the companions saw a dark alcove on the opposite side. In it there was a large chest, and seated upon it was a man, silent and unmoving. As the group cautiously approached, he rose his feet, the sword he'd been cradling on his lap know naked in his hand. He was dressed in the same armor as the skeletons, though his appeared in better condition, and he wore a large, flared helmet on his head. It was only when he'd stepped into the light that his skull-like visage made it clear that he was no longer among the living, though two pinpoints of light gleamed from his hollow eye sockets. His gaze fell upon the hulking form of Haroldo, and he nodded. Then he spoke, strange-sounding words rasping from his lipless mouth."He's speaking Tien," Piotr whispered. "Ameiko has been teaching me the language."Haroldo glared at the sorcerer. "So what is he saying, smart boy?""He's challenging you," Piotr replied with a slight smile. "You want me to use my magic on him?"Haroldo snarled in response, and turned towards the skeletal champion, his eyes blazing as he raised his own sword. The walking corpse met his charge, steel ringing on steel, and it slipped its curved blade beneath Haroldo's and slashed the blood rager across the abdomen. Haroldo grunted, but did not falter. He swung his huge sword like a battering ram, knocking the creature to one side. Then Lucian and Koman were by his side, moving to flank the skeleton. Though it moved stiffly, it was obvious that, whatever the fiend was now, it had been a skilled warrior when it was alive. It parried and countered the blows of three warriors, giving as good as it got. The three companions eventually overwhelmed it through sheer force and numbers, and when Lucian's cudgel finally cracked its skull, it fell silently to the ground, unmoving. The dead warrior's blade was a thing of beauty. It was etched with the images of seven shrikes perched on a coiling branch that ran the length of the blade, but the hilt and pommel were loose, and twisted in one's grip. The chest that he had been seated on was carved rosewood. Inside, the interior was velvet-lined and contained many slots. Most were empty, but several still held wondrous treasures, including 10 delicate flasks containing multi-colored elixirs, a ring carved from ivory, a slender wand fashioned from lustrous teak wood, a beautifully wrought chain shirt, a curved short-bladed sword forged from cold iron, and many more of the fireworks similar to what the heroes had taken from the Licktoad goblins. The companions loaded up their booty and headed home to Sandpoint to tell their tale and bask in the glory of their adventure. Ameiko was specially interested in the artifacts they had recovered, and offered to buy all of them for her collection. Piotr told her of the battle with undead warriors in her native tongue of Tien, which made her laugh in delight. Haroldo, not to be overshadowed, interjected how the skeletal champion had singled him out for individual combat, and this time, Mazael was there to back up his story, grinning mischievously at Piotr as he did so. After that, the companions settled back into their normal lives, their adventures now a fond and fading memory. That is, until two days later when each of them found themselves mysteriously summoned to the Rusty Dragon by Ameiko. When they had all gathered, she reached under the bar and pulled out the carved sword they had retrieved from the undead warrior. The hilt had been repaired, but the pommel had been removed. Ameiko reached inside and pulled out a small rolled parchment."The smith found that the hilt was hollow while he was repairing it," she said. "This was inside."She unrolled it and began to read."My son, my heir. You know now that I have kept secrets from you. You were always a perceptive son, and while you may not understand my reasons for secrecy, I hope that you will realize it was necessary. Know that I was not angry with you for opening the warding box-I was angry with myself for withholding the truth from you and forcing you to seek out what I should have given to you. The words I spoke to you were from anger with myself and it shames me to think of them now. I write this note as an apology, and to beg you to leave these secrets to history.The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family's enemies have, as I hope, forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the warding box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family's greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun's care, and it shall remain hidden in the secret third vaults under Brinewall Castle-obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray. I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing me themselves-if it comes to it, let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you, so that our enemies believe our line ended.I have instructed Tsutamu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only if I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south, and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not, they will lie in wait forever for your return. I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you, and I know you will survive this old man's shame. You are strong and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I am gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again."Rokuro KaijitsuSunday, 29 Desnus, 4687"Who is Rokuro?" Piotr asked when she'd finished. "He is...was," Ameiko corrected, "my grandfather. Which means this letter was intended for my father, Lonjiku. My father and I...we really never had the best relationship. We didn't talk a lot, so I don't know much about his life in Minkai before the family came south. I did some research after I first got the note. The town of Brinewall lies about 500 miles north of here. It was mysteriously wiped out 28 years ago...the day after this note was written, in fact. The captain of the guard there was a man named Kortun, and Tsutamu was my grandfather's personal bodyguard, a samurai warrior. I guess, maybe that was him that you guys fought in the caves. It's starting to make sense now, the two shipwrecks in the swamp, the undead soldiers, the fireworks. Only, it doesn't really. What was my family doing in Brinewall in the first place? Why did they flee? What is this secret my grandfather was talking about? You know, I feel bad about saying this, but I'm actually kind of excited! A mystery involving my family? The chance to explore a ghost town and an abandoned castle? I think I'm feeling a road trip in my near future. Sandru has been talking about making another caravan run north, and I know Koya would jump at the chance to go on the road like her mother used to. I already talked to Shalelu about it, and she has agreed to come along. What about you lot? You up for a little more adventure??As it turned out, they were. None of the young heroes had any urgent ties keeping them in Sandpoint. In fact, for Yannus and Koman, it was going to be like a family vacation, traveling with their brother Sandru, and their mother Koya. Piotr was thrilled at the chance to spend a bit more quality time with Ameiko, and Haroldo wasn't about to let him take advantage of it. Lucian was overjoyed to be able to actually adventure with his mentor, Shalelu, but he tried not to let it show too much, for fear of being thought overeager. For Mazael, if there was money to be made in the service of Desna, that was all the excuse he needed. And finally, Boris was not to be denied. He immediately volunteered to be the cook for the caravan, much to the dismay of the other travelers.Sandru's caravan consisted of a covered wagon for passengers, a supply/cargo wagon, and a fortune teller's wagon, which Koya would use. Ameiko put up funds for supplies and further improvements, and the company used the money to purchase another covered, and another supply wagon, and to reinforce all of the transports. Sandru would be driving the lead wagon, and he hired four local brothers, Dale, Jeff, Bobby and Mario, to drive the others. He also convinced their sisters, Rachel, Paula and Julia to come along as additional cooks, despite much grumbling and cursing by Boris.  Haroldo would serve as a guard for the caravan, while Mazael, Lucian and Shalelu would scout the terrain ahead, and forage for food. Koman volunteered to ride up front with Sandru and act as a guide to navigate the road. Ameiko and Yannus would act as healers for the troupe, in the event of injury or illness, and Piotr offered his merchant experience to help with trading in any towns they passed. Within two days, the caravan was outfitted and ready to travel. The pulled out of Sandpoint with little fanfare, but much excitement and anticipation. Those feelings were quickly tempered with a healthy dose of reality when, not 20 miles out from the town, still on the heavily travelled Lost Coast Road, the train was set upon by a band of marauding ogres, who just happened to stumble out of the woods as the caravan was passing. The brutes descended on the company in a disorganized mob, but what they lacked in tactics, they made up for in sheer strength ferocity. The companions were not without their own resources, however, and they came together like a well-oiled machine, at first driving the ogres back, and then finally slaying them to the last. The caravan had taken heavy damage, nonetheless, and they were forced to stop and spend two days encamped while Sandru effected repairs. This produced some unrest among the hired hands, but when the train finally set out again, spirits lifted. After that they made good time, with two weeks passing with no further hardship. They travelled through the towns of Galduria, Wolf's End and Rodric's Cove along the way, with Piotr making good on his boast to wrangle them some good trade deals. Rodric's Cove would be the last settlement they would encounter before Brinewall</blockquote>

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