Kor Ellin
Kor Ellin is a farming village near Acaelica's southern rim, located to the southwest of the Stormeater Mountains. Its most recent mayor was Zakarias Orlane, though it is unknown whether he survived The Kor Ellin Massacre.
The Party's Visit
Prelude to a Tragedy
From Arc Destra through Arc Infinia of 1166CR, the population of Kor Ellin underwent a steady decline. Farmers packed their possessions and--for unknown reasons--migrated to other, less fertile areas. Some homes were simply found to be abandoned, with food on the table or crops unharvested in the field. No explanation had ever been offered for these strange disappearances. In fact, sometimes families returned in a week or two and other times they were never simply not heard from again.
The friendly character of Kor Ellin vanished as those who remained became suspicious of the strange occurrences. Families drew in upon themselves, rarely conversing with their neighbors. Strangers in Kor Ellin were met with questions and challenges instead of friendly invitations.
A Request from Lorna
The Party first learned of Kor Ellin from The Book of Leaves, which had suggested to them that the three undead librarians had traveled there after being released from The Primeval Archive.
Following the Book of Leaves' cryptic message, Murmus' friend Lorna approached the party for help investigating the disappearance of her mother, Mathilde (who lived in Kor Ellin). Knowing then that this did not bode well (and taking into account Murmus' own friendship with Lorna), the party accepted her request and traveled with her to the town the next day.
The Cult of the Undead Librarians
After a few days investigating the town and the strange behavior of everyone living there, Faewynn spotted a couple of monstrous figures departing the town in the middle of the night. They were headed into the swamp to the west and one was carrying an apparently unconscious dwarf.
Following the creatures deep into the night and into dawn, the party watched from a distance as the two figures seemingly descended into the earth. Reappearing a short time later, the creatures headed directly for the party and attacked them on sight. They proved no match for Faewynn's legendary Rain Bow however, and went down swiftly.
Seeking where the golems had disappeared led them to a small pool of water that concealed a submerged tunnel into an underground cave. Delving in, they found the body of the dwarf that had been carried here. Derek, revealing that he had been pretending to be a member of this "cult" that had been forming around him, was terrified to have apparently been found out and brought here. He immediately abandoned the cave per the party's instruction but waited for them outside rather than risking travel across the swamp alone.
The party would follow a couple of skeletons deeper into the cave into a room with a plainly dark ritual being attempted. At its center, painting designs on the earth with their own blood, were a group of townsfolk--including Mathilde. They were there greeted by the librarians who were seemingly pleased to see them again. Begging the party's indulgence but not receiving it, the librarians begrudgingly found themselves in a fight with their former, however unwitting rescuers.
Johann was swift to fall victim to a powerful charm that turned him effectively into a devout worshipper of these librarians and tried to defend them from his clearly insane friends who were attempting to kill them.
Once the librarians were defeated in a fierce battle, however, the charm lifted and he was able to deduce that this charm had been used on many of the Kor Ellin townsfolk. They would further learn that those who resisted the charm like Mathilde were given the option to participate in the librarians' ritual or be killed.
The Kor Ellin Massacre
Although they were able to solve the mystery of Mathilde's disappearance and disperse the shadows that had visited the town, the celebration was to be short-lived. Immediately upon the party's return to Kor Ellin, an impromptu party was thrown at the mayor's house to honor the town's saviors. Unfortunately, Sinfarena came to collect on her debts from Murmus and Algernon.
"A spell," in Algernon's case, turned out to be Fireball, and it was his owns hands that effected The Kor Ellin Massacre.
History
Founding
In the western parts of the region, the stagnant bogs and slime-coated pools of the Rushmoors occupy much of an otherwise fertile plain. To the east, the dark recesses of the Dim Forest cause even the most stalwart travelers to think twice before entering among the tall trunks and dangling tendrils of moss.
In about 1040 CR, a group of Kairos adventurers opened a small caravan track through the previously untraveled Dim Forest. This track would connect the town of Sou Salion to the so-called Eastern Spike of the The Wyrmtail River. This connection established a trade route to Mosslight, in turn connecting Sou Salion to Witchmill in the north.
Name and Local Legend
Kor Ellin itself was founded in roughly 1091 CR by a man called Teuro Neeman. Teuro was a middle-aged hermit who had been living with his wife somewhere to the southeast of Sou Salion.
One day, while traveling the path west through the Dim Forest alone, he was set upon by a band of orcs that had been making camp nearby. According to legend, Teuro was saved at the last moment by the unlikely appearance of an individual said to be Corellon Larethian in disguise.
Correlon (in the form of his elvish, mortal avatar) had been traveling through the wood alongside a "beautiful" woman whose identity Teuro apparently never learned. The pair swiftly struck down the orcs who had been harassing Teuro before healing their new acquaintance. Corellon then inquired why the man traveled such dangerous paths alone.
Teuro, after expressing profound gratitude to his rescuers, responded that he had lost his once perfect home and beloved wife to a blight set upon them by creatures he called "demons" (but which were more than likely not). He explained that he sought new farmland to the west and, more importantly, to distance himself from the trauma of his recent past. According to the legend, Corellon was touched by the man's story and decided to help him.
Once the group was safely out of the forest, Corellon told Teuro he had been through enough and traveled too far alone. The elf blessed the land upon which they stood and explained to Teuro that what he sought would instead come to him. Teuro, in astonishment at the vibrant new grass that sprouted up all around him, thanked Corellon again before the god departed with his unidentified companion to the north.
It was not long before Teuro was discovered by caravanners traveling the trade route from Sou Salion and Ravelle. Seeing the inexplicable new growth and immediate success of Teuro's young farm, the fertility of the land was impossible to deny. Farmers soon began joining Teuro in what quickly became a burgeoning town, with Teuro insisting to all that Corellon was responsible for the fertility they all enjoyed but could not explain.
When enough had arrived that the town deserved its own name, Teuro was naturally given the honor to name it. His accent caused him to mispronounce "Corellon" as "kor-ellin," which traders would later hear and mistakenly believe to be the same dialect which produced the name "Sou Salion." The name has stuck ever since, even though current residents pronounce the name Corellon distinctly from Kor Ellin.
The land proved to be very rich, often producing crops half again as large as those grown in more mundane soil. Kor Ellin quickly grew into a thriving community of 300 people following the erection of a temple to Corellon which even today is attended by most who live there.
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