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The Westgate Campaign Chronicles - serial
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<blockquote data-quote="Carlo-One" data-source="post: 7929428" data-attributes="member: 7015827"><p><span style="font-size: 22px"><strong><strong><em>The Ritual of the Hand</em></strong></strong></span></p><p></p><p>The night of Hammer 22, the companions rested in the guest house, drifting off to sleep one by one. Aerikoth was the last to fall asleep and once he did, joined the others in a shared dream - one shared also with the lich Ashnakzeroth. As Aerikoth appeared in the bluish-tinged dream chamber, an apparently pleased Ashnakzeroth stated that they were finally all together. Rahnee wryly asked Aerikoth if he had had trouble getting to sleep. Belle was not present; Ashnakzeroth said that he had no interest in the “weakling” that accompanied them. The lich also observed that his former servant – meaning Melissa – had resisted his call. Brok-Tul’s prayers to Helm and the invocation of a protective spell were ignored by Ashnakzeroth, who said “cast your spells and pray to your foolish gods. It matters not, here in my home.”</p><p></p><p>The lich announced that he had brought them into the dream to demand they break its soul gem – the one they apparently were inside, in the dream – once they returned to the waking world. Aerikoth folded his hands into his sleeves and declared that Ashnakzeroth was not in a position to demand anything, as Brok-Tul’s fists clenched around his magical maul. The lich and the party traded verbal barbs for a short period until Ashnakzeroth, tiring of talking, said that he had been patient with them, but would now demonstrate his displeasure. The lich gestured toward Veran and the monk erupted in a fountain of blood, dropped to the floor and then slowly pulled himself up on one knee. Ashnakzeroth warned them that this would happen, night after night, until they did what he asked and broke the gem.</p><p></p><p>The companions awoke from their dream, finding themselves back in their beds at the guest house. Rahnee and Brok-Tul immediately hurried up the stairs in order to check on Veran and found Melissa in the hallway. She asked them what had happened, as she had felt the touch of the Master that night. Brok-Tul was explaining that they had dreamed together, when the door to Veran’s room opened and the monk staggered out, leaning on the doorframe for support and clutching his side. It appeared that the damage done to him in the dream chamber had not disappeared once the dream was over. (<em>What a nightmare situation - literally - for Brother Veran! My flesh chills just thinking of the fate the abomination wished to inflict upon him. Yet I expect this will serve more as a spur for the company to find a permanent solution to defeating the lich. --C</em>)</p><p></p><p>Veran, gritting his teeth with the pain, said that he had suffered a minor setback, while Brok-Tul quickly called to Helm for healing prayers. The monk confirmed that he had shared the same dream as the others, while Melissa went to check on Aerikoth. Aerikoth told her that he had shared the dream as well, commenting that Ashnakzeroth must be growing desperate. Melissa said that she had been able to resist his call this time, which elicited a supportive comment from Rahnee. They discussed for a short while the circumstances of the dream; Melissa believed that Ashnakzeroth had regained sufficient strength to be able to reach out from the gem that contained his soul. Aerikoth observed that the longer they were delayed in going to Turnton, the stronger the ancient lich’s essence would likely become, and in time he would be able to reconstitute a corporeal form.</p><p></p><p>After some further discussion regarding possible ways to destroy the gem, and an argument about whether it would be best to leave immediately for Turnton (Rahnee’s preference) or wait until it was light out (Melissa’s point), the companions agreed to wait until dawn, although Rahnee declared she would not be sleeping. Veran said that for his part, he would compose a note for Brother Millerjoi, the head of his Archendale monastery, to inform him of the latest.</p><p></p><p>(<em>A search of the Order's archives revealed such a note from Brother Veran, dated Hammer 23, 1373, which lends further credence to the validity of these chronicles. It read:</em></p><p><em>"Brother Millerjoi,</em></p><p><em>It is with great hope that I write you. We have partially succeeded. The soul of the Lich is imprisoned inside a soul gem. It has been defeated, but not destroyed. We leave at once for Turnton, to meet with Arch Cleric Carlin of Helm, to seek assistance in destroying the creature once and for all. If Carlin fails, we will be out of contacts for further assistance in how to destroy the gem without releasing the remnants of the lich. It would be of great assistance if you could search through whatever documents you might think relevant. Lastly, I write to thank you for the amulet. I am sure it will come of use. Hopefully not too soon. With regard to my presence in Westgate, I believe that there is some potential here for showing the common folk the light of our faith. </em></p><p><em>Yours in Judgement, </em></p><p><em>Veran Bron"</em></p><p><em>-- R</em>)</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Carlo-One, post: 7929428, member: 7015827"] [SIZE=6][B][B][I]The Ritual of the Hand[/I][/B][/B][/SIZE] The night of Hammer 22, the companions rested in the guest house, drifting off to sleep one by one. Aerikoth was the last to fall asleep and once he did, joined the others in a shared dream - one shared also with the lich Ashnakzeroth. As Aerikoth appeared in the bluish-tinged dream chamber, an apparently pleased Ashnakzeroth stated that they were finally all together. Rahnee wryly asked Aerikoth if he had had trouble getting to sleep. Belle was not present; Ashnakzeroth said that he had no interest in the “weakling” that accompanied them. The lich also observed that his former servant – meaning Melissa – had resisted his call. Brok-Tul’s prayers to Helm and the invocation of a protective spell were ignored by Ashnakzeroth, who said “cast your spells and pray to your foolish gods. It matters not, here in my home.” The lich announced that he had brought them into the dream to demand they break its soul gem – the one they apparently were inside, in the dream – once they returned to the waking world. Aerikoth folded his hands into his sleeves and declared that Ashnakzeroth was not in a position to demand anything, as Brok-Tul’s fists clenched around his magical maul. The lich and the party traded verbal barbs for a short period until Ashnakzeroth, tiring of talking, said that he had been patient with them, but would now demonstrate his displeasure. The lich gestured toward Veran and the monk erupted in a fountain of blood, dropped to the floor and then slowly pulled himself up on one knee. Ashnakzeroth warned them that this would happen, night after night, until they did what he asked and broke the gem. The companions awoke from their dream, finding themselves back in their beds at the guest house. Rahnee and Brok-Tul immediately hurried up the stairs in order to check on Veran and found Melissa in the hallway. She asked them what had happened, as she had felt the touch of the Master that night. Brok-Tul was explaining that they had dreamed together, when the door to Veran’s room opened and the monk staggered out, leaning on the doorframe for support and clutching his side. It appeared that the damage done to him in the dream chamber had not disappeared once the dream was over. ([I]What a nightmare situation - literally - for Brother Veran! My flesh chills just thinking of the fate the abomination wished to inflict upon him. Yet I expect this will serve more as a spur for the company to find a permanent solution to defeating the lich. --C[/I]) Veran, gritting his teeth with the pain, said that he had suffered a minor setback, while Brok-Tul quickly called to Helm for healing prayers. The monk confirmed that he had shared the same dream as the others, while Melissa went to check on Aerikoth. Aerikoth told her that he had shared the dream as well, commenting that Ashnakzeroth must be growing desperate. Melissa said that she had been able to resist his call this time, which elicited a supportive comment from Rahnee. They discussed for a short while the circumstances of the dream; Melissa believed that Ashnakzeroth had regained sufficient strength to be able to reach out from the gem that contained his soul. Aerikoth observed that the longer they were delayed in going to Turnton, the stronger the ancient lich’s essence would likely become, and in time he would be able to reconstitute a corporeal form. After some further discussion regarding possible ways to destroy the gem, and an argument about whether it would be best to leave immediately for Turnton (Rahnee’s preference) or wait until it was light out (Melissa’s point), the companions agreed to wait until dawn, although Rahnee declared she would not be sleeping. Veran said that for his part, he would compose a note for Brother Millerjoi, the head of his Archendale monastery, to inform him of the latest. ([I]A search of the Order's archives revealed such a note from Brother Veran, dated Hammer 23, 1373, which lends further credence to the validity of these chronicles. It read: "Brother Millerjoi, It is with great hope that I write you. We have partially succeeded. The soul of the Lich is imprisoned inside a soul gem. It has been defeated, but not destroyed. We leave at once for Turnton, to meet with Arch Cleric Carlin of Helm, to seek assistance in destroying the creature once and for all. If Carlin fails, we will be out of contacts for further assistance in how to destroy the gem without releasing the remnants of the lich. It would be of great assistance if you could search through whatever documents you might think relevant. Lastly, I write to thank you for the amulet. I am sure it will come of use. Hopefully not too soon. With regard to my presence in Westgate, I believe that there is some potential here for showing the common folk the light of our faith. Yours in Judgement, Veran Bron" -- R[/I]) [/QUOTE]
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