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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mfrench" data-source="post: 4019403" data-attributes="member: 32901">Roland exchanges pleasantries during the meal, and seems to enjoy himself with the witty banter of his guests.  He deflects, politely but firmly, any discussion concerning his proposal until the conclusion of the meal.At that time, when Loren has ensured that everyone is satisfied and has been offered the chance to drink or smoke according to their tastes, Roland dismissed him and gave strict orders that there be no interruptions, save for late-comers who might still be interested."Now, then: are any of you familiar with the legend of the mage Keraptis?"OOC: Unless you can make a K:history or K:arcana check, the answer is no.  If you can, give it a try.As people glance around the room, gauging the responses to his query, Roland presses on:"According to the legends, which I've spent months and much wealth confirming, he was a man of considerable arcane power over two millenia ago.  In the wizard-circles here and in Radigast City, his story is told to apprentices who question the need for the Mage's Injunction: namely, he became powerful enough to level a city, and could have gone on to do more.  Rumors say that his magic was studied by the ancient Suel and Bahklunish to bring on the calamities that ruined the West.  Of course, they had teams of powerful mages working rituals for days to bring about those effects; Keraptis worked alone on a spell of power to annihilate a city in minutes."But all of this is by the by.  After destroying that city, he simply up and vanished.  No one knows what happened to him.  His name was lost to most histories, and he is thought of as a myth by most serious students of arcane history."Twenty years ago, an intersting thing happened in Greyhawk.  Four owners of fantastic artifacts, each well secured, found themselves robbed, without any sign of an intruder save this:  each received an identical note, taunting the victim, and giving a clue to the whereabouts of the artifact.  The intial, K, was left at the bottom.  It is my conjecture that each of these objects was once claimed by Keraptis, and that he stole them back."The objects were thus: a greatsword, Blackrazor; a scimitar, Frostedge; a hammer, Whelm; and a trident, Wavecaller.  These weapons were removed from the city, and the four furious owners put together an expedition to have them returned.  Not entirely sure where they were headed, and not exactly united in purpose, each of them sent two representatives on the quest."After several months, the owners feared the worst, and sent out new parties to retrieve there lost treasures.  At that point, two of the eight returned, with strange results: they brought back five weapons, having also procured the arrow, Seeker.  With so many conflicting parties involved, two owners were returned their weapons, and the others were claimed by the retrievers as fair price for their trouble.  Of the two, one was slain before he could flee the city, and his weapons lost.  The other managed to escape to the West, and lived in fearful retirement for some time."At great cost, and after years of putting this puzzle together, I've managed to locate the journal and papers of this last surviving member of the retrieval party.  He is dead now, but the information needed from him should have lived on in his papers.  They confirm one thing at least, that the mage they killed there was Keraptis himself, though how he could still be alive is beyond any estimation.  He was, of course, weakened compared to the legends, but alive nonetheless."Roland sighs, and sets down his drink, now empty.  "Forgive my longwindedness.  There is much I have omitted, but time is now precious.  Are there any questions before the final part of this history is disclosed?"</blockquote>

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