Ardun's Proposal
27th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
Ardun Aaryanfar clarified that there was a frustrating lack of hard information about Mantus, the heirs, the tablets and other related topics as if there was an intentional campaign to erase any written records of the events surrounding the "
The Millenium of Darkness ", and what
The Serapis knew they got from people who were alive at the time. All the same, he was willing to answer any questions he could.
Malcolm asked Ardun to clarify what exactly they are the "heirs" of. Ardun explained:
"Some five or six thousand years ago there was an entity called Mantus. More powerful than any of the gods you know combined. Some of his followers created a gateway in the form of an arcane tablet that allowed him direct access to what is now known as the Mortal Realm. For about a thousand years the world was cast into darkness, and over run with demons, un-dead, dragons and many other unspeakable horrors. Until finally four sisters, sorcerers, found an artifact that allowed them to ascend to a power equal to that of Mantus, becoming the pantheon known as the Fyra. They chose four champions who then banished Mantus and destroyed split the tablet into four pieces. With his power tied to the tablet, he lost all influence over the Mortal Realm, and it seems the hope was that if they erased his name from history, no one would seek to unleash him again. You four are the descendants of those four champions."
Malcolm then asked how the last tablet piece would be any safer with Ardun than where it is now. Ardun explained that no one but active agents of the Serapis, who are generally raised in the archives, can enter the archives. Beyond that, an artifact this dangerous would be put in "the vault"; a pocket dimension that can only be entered from the archives, and with the approval of a "Regent." Once inside, anyone with deceptive or evil intent would face an army of creatures, called "Sin Eaters", that devour the souls of such people, ho then experience an eternity of horrific nightmares. Even if someone intent on stealing the tablet made it past them, every artifact that is placed there is surrounded by layers of wards, curses, and arcane traps. The time it would take even a well-intentioned person to disable all of them would be long enough for that person to be turned Sin Eater as well.
Satisfied with the plan,
The Regulators agreed to meet with him morning after next to retrieve the tablet. When Ardun left,
Duluk approached with a platter full of of left over organ meat and asked to give it to
Wulffric. It took a few minutes for Wulffric to warm up to him, but eventually the wolf let Duluk lavish him with attention. Duluk revealed that his childhood pet was wolf, though of normal size, and Wulffric's abnormally large size made him feel like a kid again. Duluk then left for a moment and returned with a collar and bracelet. Each contained half of a heart shaped magic charm that would allow
Meara to teleport Wulffric to her from up to 600 feet away.
One Day to Prepare
28th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
The next day, Malcolm and Zuko sold of their collection of valuable and extra supplies. Meara spent the day training Wulffric to hide on command.
Sersuaq
29th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
The next morning, The Regulators met Ardun in his room at
Between Two Streams and he used his
Wizard's Door to bring them to the "city" of
Sersuaq Kartonok. They found themselves in a small settlement of carved ice structures under a giant ice dome. Ardun cast a spell to turn their Imperial currency into the local gem stones used for trade and recommended acquiring better cold weather gear and any equipment that would aid in traveling an climbing in snow and ice.
While searching for snow suits, they found that the most of the locals didn't speak common with the exception of a young man named Aglakti, who offered to guide them through shopping. He explained that Kartonokians lived in a communal society, but used the gems to trade between settlements and with outsiders. In addition to snow suits, snow shoes and climbing equipment, Malcolm found boots that keep him magically warm and make snow and ice normal terrain. Zuko acquired a magic grappling hook that when pulled transports the user to the hook end of the rope.
The party then joined Ardun outside the dome where he was standing next to a sled pulled by a team of
Maguyuk: huskies larger than most horses with barks so powerful they can clear feet of snow. Toward the end of the first day of travel one of the dogs closer to the sled barked and the sled came to a stop. A moose had tried to charge the team but was blown to pieces by the Maguyuk's bark. The sled driver picked up the pieces and expanded the sled into a larger tent before cooking the moose for dinner. Meara spent the evening training Wulffric and Ardun used his minor image spell to assist. Zuko practiced his fletching, and Malcolm started designing a new long range rifle, but was frustrated by his lack of progress.
Day Two
29th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
Shortly after day break on the second day the sled slowed and the party witnessed a "true" giant (360 feet tall) crossed their path herding Woolly Mammoths; a sight so rare that most people believe true giants to be extinct. Malcolm took note of Ardun taking another seemingly unpleasant swig from his flask and asked about it again. Ardun revealed that shortly after they first met, he and his partner were ordered to go to
Hame to try and retrieve the 3 pieces of the tablet they already had, and the wound he sustained from one of the undead was cursed. He is getting weaker by the day and further injuries sometimes become cursed as well. He agreed to show them the keys for his wizard's door That evening, Meara and Ardun spent more time training Wulffric.
Day Three
30th of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
Just as the sun rose on day three, Ardun Welcomed them to Öldungadalurinn, or Valley of the Elders. The sled carried them up the slope between two 1000 foot high mountain ranges, both carved with life sized effigies of giants. A short time later the sled stopped at the edge of an evergreen forest, and they began walking up the switchback trail to the central mountain range. The temperature continued to drop and Meara and Zuko began to feel exhausted from the cold, Zuko getting the worst of it.
When they neared the top of the trail they were nearly run over by a small stampeded of forest creatures coming down the mountain. After coming into view of the frozen lake and waterfall beyond hiding the cavern that would take them the rest of the way to their destination, Ardun pointed out that the forest had gone completely silent. He suggested they run for the cavern and just before they reached the lake they were spotted by an adolescent Ice
Wyvern. They fought the creature as they ran for the cavern and were surprised to defeat it before making much progress across the lake. Though Malcolm became trapped under the ice at the end of the fight, they managed to survive the fight without much damage. They spent the last hour of their four hour window of sunlight harvesting some of the Wyvern's valuable parts before slipping into the caverns.
They chose to rest not only over night but until 4 hours before dawn the next day, so that Zuko could regain his strength and they would arrive at their destination in daylight. Ardun helped Meara begin training Wulffric to Defend her .
Himinvirk
31st of Wintercrest 22nd year of the Second Era
They proceeded through the caverns and came upon an old encampment. Upon closer inspection they found frozen bodies and equipment still in place. It seemed as if the occupants discarded their warm clothing and froze to death. Ardun said the castle they were going to was rumored to be filled with treasure, which was probably what these people were heading to find. Zuko took a swig from an unmarked bottle in one of the travelers' hands and became immediately drunk. The party determined the cold had frozen everything that wasn't pure alcohol causing it to become stronger, which likely led them to feel warmer and less rational, resulting int hem freezing to death from lack of clothing.
They scaled a large ice cliff and came out of the cavern near a large tower with a draw bridge. Lowering it, they discovered it only covered the first half of the 400 foot gap between the peak they were on and the adjacent one, So Malcolm used the carpet of flying to reach the other side and lower the second half of the bridge. The grounds of
Himinvirk were littered with the ancient corpses of
Leviathan soldiers, as if some battle occurred in mountain top castle before it was abandoned. THE first place they investigated was a nearby horse barn. Inside they could hear rattling chains, and found an undead horse with a short sword stuck through its head giving it an appearance like that of the unicorn. It was secured by an abundance of chains secured to the ground and structure. It seemed calmed by the presence of Malcolm and when released approached him before turning into smoke and enveloping him. Malcolm could sense a telepathic connection to the creature, which seemed to still long for its former master.
The party then investigated an old tavern, an armory, and the underground dungeons before coming up to the third level courtyard where Meara located ingredients valuable in potion making. They then found a small chapel dedicated to the four goddesses of the
Fyra, most prominently
Xaena the goddess of death. Malcolm said a prayer at the idol to Xaena and felt an instant connection, adding to his suspicions that he was the descendant of the Champion of Death and owner of this castle. Zuko said a prayer at the idol to
Gedia goddess of Light and Order, and felt the same connection. Meara was drawn to the idol of
Cyuna goddess of Life, and had the same experience.
Then proceeded into the main structure, first entering what appeared be the library. Many of the books were ruined by exposure to the weather. The remainder could be seen charred in the fireplace. In the center of the room a book pedestal with a secret compartment was hanging open and a large book was on the floor next to it appearing to have been recently handled. Meara investigated the book but determined it was written in giant. Ardun offered to translate as they explored the rest of the castle. They entered the throne room and found the long cathedral like room was lined with open sarcophagi. The sarcophagi and the mummified armored corpses littered around the hall all bore the symbol of the
Hellige Riddere. After a few moments thought they all realized they recognize them as a defense force that was also present where the three other tablet pieces were found. The peculiar thing here was that their armor showed evidence of being pierced by weapons fairly recently.
When asked, Ardun explained that the Hellige Riddere were a knightly order sworn to carry out the work of the
Fyra by assisting the champions on their quest to defeat Mantus, ridding the Mortal Realm of creatures that the Fyra created other realms for, and possibly were behind the collection or destruction of any written records of the champions and Mantus. They continued exploring finding the royal dining hall where remnants of the last meal still remained. The wall of the hall was lined with hunting trophies from large and foreboding creatures, and a painting of
Klizmir the Undying which reflected a failing mental state and a strange axe with a black crystal nested between it's blades. They then inspected the kitchen, and an arcane/apothecary workshop. There they found some valuable arcane tools as well as recipes for some new potions. They also explored the fighting pit, the raven roost, and the collapsed remains of Klizmir's private tower which had collapsed in on itself. Malcolm repelled into the ruins to open a chest where he found some valuables and a magic belt that gave its user increased strength.
When Ardun finished translating the book, he explained that it was a record of the castle and kingdom's history. Klizmir ruled here for 986 years. After outliving the children of his second marriage he buried them in his ancestral tomb and sealed it. After that he slowly grew man and became a vicious and tyrannical ruler. The last pages detail how the
Hellige Riddere attacked the castle and killed those still willing to fight for Klizmir, then lured the king himself into a teleportation trap which allegedly sent him to his own sealed tomb. They then secured his horse and began building sarcophagi for their own falling right in the main hall. They put an arcane seal on the secret entrance beneath his throne and feigned celebration with the surviving residents of the castle. Those that didn't die from the drink, the Knights killed apologetically, saying that no one could live who witnessed what had happened there. The author hastily recorded all of this and hid it in the library in hopes it would some day be found.
Meara ripped up the throne, and found that her sword (which also bears the symbol of the Hellige Riddere) reacted with the arcane seal below. She drove the blade into the seal which shattered and allowed the aperture opening to retract revealing a spiral staircase. They descended over 300 feet until they reached a dark hall with the indecipherable remains of stone carved murals on either side. At the end of the hall, Ardun attempted to walk through an archway and was forcefully repelled, revealing it to be the chamber where the tablet piece resides. He wished them luck and The Regulators entered the chamber.
To be continued...
Session 36: Memento Mori 
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