The Lord of Lies
Chapter 1: The Home of Althalos Farlight
The up and coming wizard known as Althalos Farlight owned a house in the major city known as Ornand. One day he was sitting on the privy and he noticed a stone with an edge that was jutting up beside his foot. Still wearing his boots, he attempted to raise the stone with the edge of his foot. The stone was lighter than it appeared on the surface and pried up easily. He finished his business and raced back to the rear of his house. He brought a trowel from his garden and the other stone around it pulled away easily. Now a hole twice the size of a man lie in front of him and below it some hobbled together planks were haggardly blocking the path which led to some kind of cavern below.
The wizard thought about it and didn't want to explore on his own. The next morning he rushed to the council offices to immediately put in a work request for some fellow members and a mercenary to accompany him into the underground area. Three days later he found himself alongside a few lower mages as well as a mercenary known as Cole Henderson. They followed a winding path that led deeper in and came to a long wide path that extended north but was not hewn. This long extended hallway had the markings of prominent human hands from long ago. There was an old passage to the west that opened up into a grand cavern with an underground lake 80 feet below. This passage had a naturally formed stone bridge that led them across to a small alcove at the other side. This bridge seemed treacherous even for wizards as the fall was quite far and the type of water that lie below was unknown. The alcove at the other side had a stone statue resembling the god known as Medias, the god of safe travel. The statue had extended hands and an inscription below stating "Place your hands upon mine and have favorable winds in your future travels for the road of fate is a path few travel with true wisdom." Resting on the face of the statue was a black silken but rigid mask with multiple layers that had simple holes cut for eyes. The mask had an almost batwing like appearance to it. The "wings" were what covered the face and extended beyond the forehead above and at the bottom tapered at a downward angle at the cheeks. The mask covered all of the face but the mouth and had short black horns at either side of the forehead.
Althalos removed the mask from the statue and inspected it closely. Althalos cast detect magic on the mask and detected nothing magical about the mask, which he found strange considering how well preserved it was despite being in a wet cave for who knows how long. His conscience begged him to try it on just for fun but Althalos wasn't the type to joke around or make himself the target of any jokes. He tucked the mask away and the party made their way up the long northern path. He let the party get ahead of him for a moment and slipped the mask on. At that moment a strong urge fell over him and he crumpled to the floor for a moment. His form rapidly changed and altered as he cry in agony. The other members of his group rushed to his aid and he leapt from his vulnerable position back to his feet. His hands raised as if he was a puppet resisting it's master and multiple powerful evocation spells erupted from his hands and lay waste to all of his companions except his close friend Simon McKinnon who was able to dodge the magic and run away. As simon retreated back to the surface he looked behind him to get one last look. He saw Althalos' form become shrouded by a dim red light and his form continued to rapidly erupt in convulsions. The wizard slowly walked deeper into that long passageway to a large set of double doors. Simon raced back to the council offices to report what had just happened.
Chapter 2: The Hole in the Bathroom Floor
After the short story the half-elf introduced himself as Geoffrey Montagu, a council member of the Denerac Council of Mages. He had Simon describe Althalos to them and laid out the rules and payment to the party which was a hefty sum of gold and reputation. Working with a council member was above the work of a normal mercenary and a task done well could carry you a good bit in the lands of Alocia. The briefing was very short and the half-elf whisked his companions and himself away, leaving only the timid young Simon with the party. The group set out to the nearby tavern to eat and discuss their plans the following day.
They traveled to his manor and let themselves in with the key they were given. Althalos' house was upper class and well kept. Flanking the entrance area was a side room with a window which looked to be a study room with a small library in the adjoining room. The party searched this library with heavy scrutiny and uncovered nothing of particular interest until Dorn, the party's sorcerer uncovered a secret room behind the southern bookshelf. Inside it were various studies into the occult and magic that has since been forbidden. Most of the shelves were dusty and unkempt but atop of one of the bookshelves lay a book that had no speck of dust on it. The book was titled 'The Lord of Lies' and contained an introduction to a being known as the Lord of Lies. The brief description led into a more detailed chapter but the page was half torn and the other pages were missing. Dorn tucked it away after sharing his find and the adventurers made their way through the floorboards and down into the cold cavern below. They retraced the steps of Althalos' group and on the way noticed all of the supplies the now-dead council group had brought in. The party made their way to the large ornate double doors and quietly entered.
This story is canonical lore and a telling of the story of Dhuldir as well as my group's part in uncovering the truth and enriching the story.
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