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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(contact)" data-source="post: 940421" data-attributes="member: 41">(A new handwriting appears, stately and elegant)Marpenoth the 3rd, DR 1372So much has transpired that I fear will be lost to time should I not write it here.  This filthy book is what must substitute for my own comfortable study, which I likely will not see for some time, if ever.My name is Ashnern, sage of Storm’s Rise and former pupil to the great Elias the Silver in the Halls of Oghma, Arabel.  I have seen sixty winters come and go, and I believe with all my heart that this past month has been the worst of my life.So many have died, and now it falls to me to record the names of the fallen.I put pen to paper from within the Room of Golden Writing in the Halls of Kor’En Eamor, First Home and Throne of All Dwarvenkind.  Tomorrow, I will begin my studies here in earnest, but tonight I must scribe a tale of blackest treachery and perdifery.  Bear with me, sages to come, as much of what I must relate is cruel in the extreme.The Lord Ilthais Truesilver is a scoundrel of the blackest temperament.  On the night of Elient the 24th, Lord Truesilver arrested the adventurers styled as the Band of the Great Delve.At that time, goblin and giantish forces from the Stonelands came through the pass, operating under an alliance of the four main tribes there and occupied Storm’s Rise, with the blessing of Ilthais Truesilver.  Lord Truesilver dispatched two large contingents of goblinoids into the delve to search for Ceridain Lifegiver, whom he refers to as Ceridain Death-Caller.Merkatha witnessed this event, as she alone escaped arrest.The adventurers, along with myself and my niece and nephew, were placed into the dungeons beneath the Lord’s Manor, and forced to witness a terrible speech.  He announced his intent to find and awaken this Ceridain, and sacrifice us all to dark powers.  Ilthais Truesilver is a devout member of Cyric’s faith, and priest to the Mad God.  Alas, that I saw no sign of such a dark truth.  I was blind, and shall regret my failing for the rest of my days.His first victim was the Lady Tess, who had been his prisoner since her disappearance some six weeks ago.  They misused her in front of us, then beheaded her in a vile ritual that we were all forced to witness.  Ilthais promised us that one of our number would face the same fate each day until we were all dead.His allies include his Lady Arlewen, an entity revealed as no human after all.  She is a succubus, a type of fiend often encountered away from the Abyssal planes, charged with the corruption of mortal souls and the spread of evil amongst the Prime Material.They have several lesser clerics of Cyric with them, all of whom answer to Ilthais, and amongst their number is a blackguard—a true black knight.  Rounding out their unholy alliance, the infamous Sorcerer-Queen of the Stoneland goblins stands with them.  Why such a worthy would deign to trifle with a traitorous priest of Cyric is beyond me.Aree was their next victim, and was sacrificed to Cyric on Elient the 26th.  May her gods rescue her soul from the damnation that was intended for it.Fortunately, Merkatha was not passive during this time, and was able to gain intelligence about the goblin occupying army.  They represent a unilateral force comprised of four separate tribes from the Stonelands.  Had I been able, I would have advised her to wait for a division amongst the goblin groups, but she intuitively understood what my studies have revealed.The tenuous alliance broke down, and internecine fighting broke out within Storm’s Rise.  Merkatha heroically took advantage of this confusion to find us, and liberate us from our prison.  Stranger still, the silent dwarf Winterbeard himself told her of the secret passage exiting Storm’s Rise that we used to escape—the dwarf spoke for the first time in the memory of any living man or woman among us.We were unable to retrieve the body of Aree, but the corpse of the Lady Tess, rightful ruler of Storm’s Rise, came into our possession.We made a hasty alliance with a handful of hobgoblins who professed hatred for the Sorcerer Queen, and while the majority of their force returned to the Stonelands to warn their kin about the Sorcerer Queen’s treachery, a pair of them assisted our escape.In our flight from the Lord’s dungeons, Merkatha was able to steal his crystal ball, no doubt the scrying device he had used to keep a watch on us.  Unfortunately, it would not be ours for long.After a night of heated fighting within the town, the Lord Ilthais had regained control of Storm’s Rise, and sent a seek-and-destroy group out after us.We defeated this group in an ambush, and I am proud to say that equipped with a pair of wands taken from the orcish forces in Kor’En Eamor, I was able to assist that struggle.Shortly thereafter, the Lord himself appeared, and we fought with him and his Lady the demoness.  The Lord fled from the battle once he was weakened, but we overcame his paramour, and put her to the sword.I believe now that Ilthais loved Arlewen in some strange way.  His response to her death was as cruel as it was impassioned.  As retaliation for our small victory, Ilthais ordered his goblin servitors to fling the elderly of Storm’s Rise from the city’s walls.  We were able to witness this tragedy from our hiding place, and I tell you without shame that I was not the only one to shed tears of helplessness and rage.That next day, T’sdeal used Ilthais’ crystal ball to scry his henchman, the black knight.  We determined that they were still within the Manor, and while I waited for the group at a hidden rally-point, the Band of the Great Delve assaulted the Lord, hoping to finish what they had started.Selise, Merkatha, Bitzfit, Vai, and T’sdeal, along with two hardy hobgoblin warriors assaulted the Manor.  They dealt a terrible blow to the Cyric worshippers, but were forced to retreat.  Vai, T’sdeal, and both hobgoblins were killed in the assault.After the failed attack, we quickly fled to Eveningstar to warn the Lady Tessaril of the dire happenings in forgotten Storm’s Rise.  Those of you not familiar with our region may not immediately see the distinction between Tess of Storm’s Rise, and Tessaril, of Eveningstar, but I assure you they are as different as night and day.  Tessaril is a glorious lady, possessing a powerful gift with magic and (if rumors can be believed) a dear friend to the Harpers.Marpenoth, the 4thThe Lady Tessaril heard our news, but had terrible news of her own, which I shall relate here, in an attempt to place our struggle within the broader historical context.On Eleasis the 10th, the dwarven army from Vesper Hall reached the border to Cormyr and sued for free passage.  On the 20th, the Steel Regent refused them, and declared a state of general war against Vesper Hall.  A half-hearted Sembian attempt to broker peace collapsed, and both sides prepared their forces.On the 10th of Elient, the battle of Smuggling Stone was engaged, pitting the forces of Vesper Hall against the bulk of the Cormyrian defense.On the 12th, the entire priesthood of Moradin amongst the Vesper Hall dwarves was murdered as they slept.  The dwarves and Sembians blame Cormyr, who is denying any involvement.On the 16th, Sembian warships began a general practice of seizing Cormyrian merchant vessels, despite the lack of a formal declaration of war. On the 24th, combined dwarven and Sembian forces managed to navigate the Thunder Gap and Way of the Manticore, a feat previously believed impossible for an army to accomplish.  They have since flanked the Cormyrian defenders, and occupy a large section of Southeastern Cormyr.On the 25th, goblins and their giant allies emerged through the pass and took Storm’s Rise, at the invitation of its Cormyrian Lord.  A gathering of Goblin Nations was convened on the 28th, but subsequently fell apart due to a series of assassinations targeting the leaders of the Four Clans, at the direction of the Sorcerer Queen.We escaped the dungeons beneath the Lord’s Manor that night.On the 30th, Ilthais massacred the helpless citizenry of Storm’s Rise in retaliation for the death of Arlewen, and subsequently animated their corpses as walking dead.Marpenoth the 4thThe Lady of Eveningstar promised to send whatever aid she can spare, and has instructed a pair of Lathander’s faithful to join our cause.  The cleric Ashara and her paladin cohort Baeren were able to return the body of the Lady Tess to life.  Our band now numbers six:  Ashara, cleric and divine emissary of Lathander; Baeren, holy warrior of Lathander; Bitzfit the gnomish druid and transmuter; Merkatha, the drow scout; Tess, the true Lady of Storm’s Rise; Selise, our noblewoman archer; and myself.  My assistant Rath, sent to me by the Steel Regent of Arabel two months ago, joins me here as well.(A list of the murdered people of Storm’s Rise follows, including their names and professions.)</blockquote>

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