The Shrine of the Preserver

General Summary

After some debate, Captain Markesh and the leader of the meats, one Oscar, took one of the boats and set out for Fort Floodgate. After the ambushes and undead surprises, the intrepid expedition decided some reinforcements would be welcome. Undeterred by the coming dangers, though, Tiberius, Coop, Aemon , and Tol lead the remnants of the expedition towards the Shrine.   A couple of days later, they discovered an off-balance structure sinking into a boggy clearing in the swamp—the fabled Shrine of the Preserver at last! Clearing the upper level of its undead guardians (ghouls and zombies), the party discovered a portal to an entirely implausible sub-level. The portal opened using a black lanthorn that appeared to have undetermined mystical properties. Before descending, Tiberius led the rest of the expedition into the upper level of the shrine, which they fortified against incursion.   The portal created a whirling vortex which vacuumed entrants into a pocket plane library. The group met three spectral archivists, Rossiah, Josephus, and Arthur whose role as custodians spanned some eight thousand years. They came here with Anatolia Dagrazt, who created the pocket plane.   Anatolia Dagrazt was the leader of the opposition to a tyrannical potentate referred to as the “Great Overlord.” The Great Overlord held dominion over all of Malatoria, and sought to extend his dominance over other worlds. The conflict between Dagrazt’s rebels and the forces of the Great Overlord precipitated the apocalypse. The Overlord sanctioned use of a weapon so terrible that it caused “the skies to alight with fire, which scorched all below.” Almost every living thing on Malatoria died, save those in protective shelters sequestered on pocket planes or dimensions (like this one)! Dagrazt’s mission was the preservation of lost lore and the regeneration of Malatoria. So, the “Preserver” is one of the rebels who stood up to the Great Overlord and survived the apocalypse. What knowledge could be salvaged from pre-apocalyptic times is archived in the scattered survival pockets.   The specters describe an “endless winter of black ash,” and a “world shrouded in constant darkness.” At length, however, something empowered Dagrazt with regenerative abilities. The origin of these powers is a matter of debate. Josephus argues that they are evidence of divine intervention and ascension, but Rossiah does not accept that conclusion. Nevertheless, all of the specters agree that she gained the ability to heal the ravaged world.   The specters tell of the Preserver’s travels and word restoring the world, though they witnessed none of it first-hand. They were charged with remaining in the pocket and preserving the lore and artifacts there. But The Preserver commonly revisited this shelter during her labors—it served as a sanctuary and place of restoration. Prior to her final departure, the Preserver indicated concern with a stubbornly resistant area of devastation and damage. She described it to her friends as an “incorrigible degeneration” somewhere to the southwest near the coast (near contemporary Cyrecuze. Despite the Preserver’s efforts, the degeneration continued to spread. There are no further records of visits from the Preserver.   The specters also indicate that the party are not the first visitors to the Shrine. Some time ago, though not too distantly, they were forced to repel a group of raiders from a secretive cult of zealots called the Kabal Aljahal (The Brotherhood of Ignorance), whose mission is to eradicate all traces of ancient culture and learning in order to stave off the possibility of another apocalypse. Rossiah, Josephus, and Artur (and the “girls”) slew them, but not before they caused widespread damage.   Finally, the specters guided the party to an intact library filled with wondrous media from a lost world. Visitors are allowed to study the lore within, but may not remove any of it from the Shrine…