The Journal of Skor Peon ~Fin

[frobones]

As I travel further down the path of life I have chosen, I find that death rears its grim face more frequently. My past has acquainted me well with the lost of comrades, but the events as of late have left more slightly more vexed than usual. To prevent myself from being a minor footnote in the annals of history, I feel I must leave a record of what I have done, what I intend to do and my intentions behind them.

Many men throughout history have merely been grains of sand caught in the winds of time, being careened about helplessly. I, however, will be acknowledged by the wind, an obstacle in it path that it must bend around to continue on with its passage of time. And such, I begin this journal, my legacy that I will leave upon the world.

~Skor Peon, exile of the clan Scalescar~

---

Brownie Points
Lucan	|||| ||||
Nathan	||||
Nara	|||
Smalls	|
Ishkur	0

	The Fallen	|||| ||||
David:	Rangran	Belgosi	Ash	Ashby
Gilbert:	Ling
JP:	Moonscale
Joseph:	Korrigan	Skip
Kristine:	Lenna
Tony:	Paper

[frobones]

Journal entry 1:

The events of today are those that have moved me to leave record of the things I have done.

Having been separated from the party, I attempted to relocate them. As I followed suit of their trail, I came across a group of 3 humanoids. A tiny Goliath, a human, and an elf. I trailed close behind them unseen, as them seemed to be following the same tracks as I have been. The events of today culminated into a room I followed them into.

To my dismay, I saw stone statues of Skip, Moonscale, and belgosi. At the side was the slain corpse of Lena and there was no sign of Paper or Lucan. The loss of a comrade is not an easy thing to bear. The loss of four, especially those that could have been prevented by your actions, is an even heavier burden. Skip and Moonscale, fine warriors till the very end. They shall be missed. Of those that are left that I would call friends after my “exile” from clan territory, all that remains is Paper.

The culprit behind the deaths was a Medusa. A vile creature that defiles the flesh. This Medusa seem rather estranged, hunched over the corpse of a large Ogre. She proceeded to scream towards me and the 3 I had been following. She loosed a medal from about her neck, then spiritual energies from the many stone statues about her began to swirl around. Culminating in the conjuration of a Deva clad in golden armor. With the Deva charging at us, and the Medusa in a craze, I was left little choice but to band with those I was following.

Short work was made of the Deva. It appeared that these 3 had some extensive fighting experience. Then to my surprise, Paper came charging into the room. Having been reinforced, we seemed to have the Medusa cornered. But she quickly turned the tables by slowly turning us to stone. The first to fall was the tiny Goliath, the process seemed to have been inadvertently sped up by his human companion. Next to fall was the human. Now it was just Paper and I against the Medusa. But alas, I too succumbed to the gaze of the Medusa. As my body began to harden and my muscles stiffened, my mind began to slip away and the world grew dark. It felt like this was the end and that I may finally be rejoined with my love Evandra...

Then suddenly, I awakened by Paper's divine intervention. He had reversed my petrification. To my delight, the Medusa has been slain. I proceeded to heal my comrades, including the 3 I had trailed. The battle just fought was proof that we all had the will to survive, and thus banded together for the time being. An important issue of trust has yet to be resolved, but for now it is enough to travel together.

As I was shaking off the aftereffects of my petrification, spiritual energies began to swarm once again. In it's wake was another Deva, that went by the name of Ronen. He seemed to be lacking a sort of human aspect to him, as he complied to most commands given to him. As we all had just banded together, the addition of a "loyal" servant did not seem such a bad idea. Due to our location and predicament, more numbers often meant increased survival rate.

The next hardship of the day would be the Three Gates of Agony. The Gate of Ignorance, the Gate of Treachery, and the Gate of Terror. The first gate, Ignorance, required us to pass through while deafened and blinded – embracing the darkness of ignorance. I took the initiated as the first one through the gate, and then everyone followed suit.

The second gate, Treachery, instilled some doubt in the minds of us all. Not a welcome feeling when amongst unfamiliar comrades. Upon entering this gate, whispers inform us that one of our allies is cursed. Having all eventually entering the room and hearing the message, we split up into three camps. Paper and I are one, the Goliath and the Human another, and then the Elf along with his owl familiar. Eventually, the human shout out about the curse to get to the bottom of things. In doing so, the Gate of Treachery was unlocked. It escapes me as to how and why this happened, but all I know is the Gate of Treachery did nothing to improve our standings with each other.

The third gate, Terror, looked to be this demonic door that ate and mutilated anything that entered. Having no clue on how to unlock this door, I order the newly found Deva to enter. As he enters, blood and carnage spews out of the door. Having ordered the Deva to an uncertain fate, I felt obligated to follow in after him to safeguard his wellbeing. As I step through the door, I see the Deva with not a scratch on him. The Gate of Terror was a leap of faith if I ever saw one. However, there was one catch, communication was impossible from one side of the door to another. But in due time, we all eventually entered the gate save for Paper. We could not wait for Paper much longer, so we took initiate to find a way back around to the other side of the door. With some patience and communing with the spirits, we were able to find a path back to Paper and tell him to enter the door. As soon as he entered, a door behind us unlocked. We then proceeded to enter...

Upon entering the door, I notice that the walls appear to be flesh-like. As I touched my hand to it, I could feel slight pulsations. The floors were covered in a slimy purple substance that was difficult to navigate through. As I scouted ahead, jumping of the purple slime, I came face to face with a large Grick. Another battle was about to ensue. The battle was a long and hearty one. At the start, we spread our forces too thin. The human warlord, being quick on his toes, ordered a regroup centered on his rally banner. As soon as we came together, the battle began to lean in our favor. With time and talent, we were able to slay the foes around us. As soon as we did though, the flesh walls began to move forming walls across pathways. The party was physically separated, the Goliath, the Elf, Paper and I on one side. Soon, a poisonous vapor began to release into the air. With the wellbeing of my comrades at risk, I start to search for a way to shut off this poison. Finding the source of the vapor, I call its attention to the rest of the party. It appeared to be emitting from behind one of the fleshy walls. With enough brute force, we were able to tear it down to find a fleshy nodule suspending in the air. This aberration was the source of our pain. As we began to strike at the nodule, my lungs began to weaken. I couldn't take much more of its poisonous vapors. Once again, my mind began to slip away as I fell unconscious. And as before, I awaken to Paper's divine intervention and to find our assaulter slain.

The second near death experience, within an hour no less, puts one grasp on life into a special kind of perspective. One that causes you to cherish the time you have now and how you will leave your mark on this world. Take heed of my words, and I pray you never suffer the experiences I have to come to this realization

~Skor Peon, prisoner of the Pyramid of Shadows~

[frobones]

Journal Entry 2:

After I tended our wounded and we all recovered from the foreign gas, we continued to make our way through the prison. The time I've spent in this forsaken place has taught me to be ready for most anything. It wasn't very long before we stumbled upon our next objective that will supposed lead us out of this place. That task was to defeat a colossal creature that had been imprisoned in a vortex of prismatic energy. As any respectable hunter's pack would do, we charged in on our quarry. As we fought to get through the swirling vortex, backlashes of disorienting and blinding light affected us; searing our bodies. As we reach the colossal being amidst the vortex, we could only land a few blows before he could set himself free. Then we found ourselves in a fine predicament. Encircled by prismatic energies, cornering us with this aberration.

The battle was a fierce one, step to close to the vortex and your might get consumed. But, get near the aberration and you are in for a fight for your life. As the fight waged on, those more attuned with the arcane arts were slow to realize that the conduit of the prismatic energy resided in the very pillars beside us. With a redirection of our tactics, we focused our strengths on the pillars until they came crumbling down. With the environmental hazard dissipated, we were able to eventually subdue the far realm creature before any casualties were had.

After having a meditative commune with the spirits, I was able to ease away the party's wounds. As we progressed forward, we came upon what appeared to be another sect of people within the confines of the prison. My past experiences with the Arboreans and the lost of our dear friend Rangran has taught me not to interfere with others who have established themselves within the pyramid. While some the others were curious to inspect the situation, I choose to remain quiet and unseen all the while making my exit. Smalls and Nara took to follow my lead, it seems that they may be of a like mind and share that instincts that I posses. However, before Nara, Smalls and myself could take our leave, the others who choose to investigate brought the entire cults attention to our whereabouts. It seems that they are lacking the concept of espionage.

As I continued to try and slip away, the others were in a heated debate with the cult about something regarding sleeping arrangements. When I finally managed to slip away, it was only a matter of time before the others were soon to follow. I would assume that they left the cult to themselves. A few corridors later, the temperature began to drop. Not a new experience, but cold and ice have been ill forebodings to us. Entering the next room, we discover its entirely encased in ice. As we attempt to carefully tread across, none of us can seem to remain standing. Making it about halfway through the room, an ambush of Eladrin well accustomed to the cold sprang on us. Half of us face first in the icy floor, the trap was executed well. The ambush appeared to be a gang with two distinct generals leading, while there seemed a single support off in the distance.

The fastest way to cull an enemy unit is to crush its head, but as we went for the generals, the damage we tried to inflict upon them seemed to transfer to other targets. A little disheartening at first, but we pressed on. Soon enough, their numbers fell to our superior might... leaving only the lone support left in the back ranks. We attempted to corner her, and after we landed a few blows upon her, she seemed to remember that she could ice-step. She would melt into the icy floor and reappear elsewhere in the ice. More of a nuisance than anything else, it simply prolonged her inevitable death.

Tending to my allies' wounds once again, we continued to proceed with our daunting task of escaping this pyramid...

~Skor Peon, prisoner of the Pyramid of Shadows~

[frobones]

Journal Entry 3:

This entry begins with the loss of someone I considered a friend... As I awoke from my slumber to relieve Paper from his watch, he was no where to be found. My first instinct was that he went to investigate some misfortune that would have befallen on the party... but that was not the case. There was a note left behind. He had described that he believed he was under the effects of the lycanthopus disease that affected Ash and chose to depart as he wished not to be slain by us. He said that he could not burden our hearts with such a task. He also could bear the possibility of bringing harm to the party. With that, he wrote his final farewell to us and gave us his blessings.

…

What have I done... how could I have not seen signs of his ill-effects. Because of my misjudgment and lack of skill, someone who I held dear... someone I trusted... is now lost to a life for which he has no control over. I don't know if I can ever forgive myself.

As night turned into day, or rather our meager perception of it within this pyramid, I informed the rest of the party on Paper's disappearance. There was a short moment of silence, but nevertheless, we needed to continue on if we all were to survive.

As we proceeded deeper into the icy halls of which we rested in, we came across the lair of an Adult White Dragon. While not openly hostile, it seemed to be under the assumption that all who entered were obliged to bring him a gift. As we approached the Dragon, Vyrellis spotted that the last piece of her soul shards was among the dragon's treasure. So, since the dragon insisted on us giving him a gift, we asked from something in exchange. The dragon seemed unhappy with our request, and once again demanded that we offer him something. We all tried to reason with the dragon, as only a fool would provoke one. Having said that, Ashby attempted to intimidate the dragon into handing over the soul shard. Needless to say, the dragon was unamused at his antics. The rest of us attempted to appeal to its good nature, if it had any left inside of it. All the while, Nathan edged closer to get better ground if the dragon decided to attack. This Nathan fellow seems to be very knowledgeable in the tactics of battle. I would do well to get in his good graces. As fate would have it, his decision was a wise one, as the dragon eventually grew tired of our persuasions and decided to unleash its mighty wraith upon us.

Knowing the wraith that an adult dragon can bear, I immediately suggested that Lucan grabs Vyrellis' soul shard as the rest of us distract the dragon. Within moments the shard was in our possession, the only thing left to do was to vacate the lair. But as I proceeded to make my way to the exit, the rest of the party had full intentions of slaying the mighty being. Seeing the determination in their eyes, I proceeded back into the battle lines to offer my spiritual guidance. With the battle well in our favor, victory was most certainly ours... that was, until the dragon decided to bath itself in its icy waters. When it emerged, its wounds had been healed.

This would have been devastating blow to the morale of almost any party, but not to my comrades. They seemed to be unaffected. We carried on with full determination of showing the being that we are not to be underestimated. Our unified power proved to be greater than that of the dragon, emerging us as the victors. Every battle causes a revelation in its survivors, and mine had shown me the extent of the tenacity of those I fight with. Never again shall I doubt the abilities of those I choose to make my allies.

Having the shard of Vyrellis, we make our way further in the pyramid. We eventually come across what we thought to be Karavakos. However, it turned out to be an elaborate trap. The figure we saw before us was nothing but an illusion to lure us into a room set with deadly measures. Once Nara, Lucan, and I entered the room that the shadow Karavakos resided in, the door shut behind us, sealing itself with a magical barrier. Gas that choked the lungs then begun to pour into the room. We all immediately began to search for a way out or for a means to shut off the gas. But to no avail, we were powerless to change our own destiny. We had no choice but to put our fate into the hands of our allies outside the room. As my companions have proven themselves time and again in the past, there was no doubt that they would find a means to set us free. Having my faith firmly set in them, I proceeded to enter a meditative state to ward off the effects of the gas to allow my allies more time to rescue us. Before long, the barrier receded to the forceful blows of our allies. Needless to say, the three of us immediately ran out. I don't believe air ever tasted so good as it did then.

As we ventured further into the pyramid and approached this particular hallway, the voices of the spirits begin to wail in agony. In all my years as a medium between the physical and spiritual realm, never have I heard them scream in such agony. It was almost unbearable for me to enter the room at the end of the hall. As the doors came open, the walls were covered with the screaming faces of souls lost to the pyramid. Before I could assess how to free these trapped spirits, we were assaulted by banshees and four-armed skeletons wielding scimitars in each hand. As the hundreds of souls wailed in pain within the walls of this labyrinth, we took to arms against our assailants. With a thousand years a pain ringing in our ears, vanquishing the undead before us was a daunting task and within a few seconds we were overwhelmed. As Nathan held the front lines, the rest of us were able to retreat to the entrance to regroup. We then realized there was no tactical way about this, that this was simply a test. A test of endurance against the wails of the lost souls whilst facing a contingent of undead. Our duration within the room seemed like an eternity amongst the screams of the imprisoned. But once again, our prowess had overcome the evils that wish to slay us. As the last one fell, the screams immediately came to a halt. The souls were no longer imprisoned. My spirit was a little more at ease now that they had been freed.

Taking a short respite from our endeavors, I ponder upon the talent of the four newcomers. There is no doubt about their capabilities in battles. Nathan is a man of supreme battle presence. Nara and Smalls share a strong bond with each other, and their nature is true and pure. However, that one Ashby fellow and his owl... I am having trouble fully trusting him. But, for the time being, we need to take heed in the strength of our numbers if we are to escape this prison. Only time will tell if our current connection will extend beyond the bounds of this pyramid.

~Skor Peon, prisoner of the Pyramid of Shadows

[frobones]

Journal Entry 4:

With the souls freed and our wounds tended, we make our way through the labyrinth. As we approach the center, we receive a strong arcane reading. It magical resonance pointed us to a pile of decayed bones. After clearing away the pile with my scythe, we find a metallic disc with a peculiar blue gem embedded inside. As I examined it, a faint glow emitted. Upon closer inspection, the faintness turned into something stronger. I investigated further, and it seemed the closer to my presence the disk was, the stronger its glow. Next, I decided to check if the same effect would arise if held close to another person. I immediately put the disc up to Nara, and it jumped out of my hand and latched onto his chest. A blinding lighted flashed and filled the room. As we regained our sight, a metallic being stood in our midst. Before we could analyze what happened, a voice reminiscent of Nara's spoke from inside the being. It seemed that this gem embedded disc held some sort of extra-planar suit of armor that could be summoned. Having added another magical tool to our arsenal, we proceeded to make our way out of the labyrinth.

Exiting the labyrinth and navigating through hallways, we came upon yet another room. This area contained a very peculiar stone. It was as dark as a starless night sky and stood about 7 feet tall. Ashby sent in his owl to scout as usual, and when it touched the stone, the owl was destroyed. With my curiosity perked, I decided to get a closer look. As I approached the stone, attempting to throw a copper piece at it, two Dark Stalkers appear out of thin air and attacked me. I am beginning to grow tired of creatures inside this pyramid attacking unprovoked. With no other choice but to defend ourselves, we engage our assailants.

With the battle underway, two black plumes of smoke begin to fill the room, eventually engulfing most of it. Virtually blinded and fighting creatures that turn invisible, this fight was one that would truly test our mettle. Using verbal cues to ascertain enemy positions, we coordinate our attacks on the vile creatures. As we drop one of the tiny fellows, a plume of smoke vanishes... These little devils are responsible for our clouded vision. As we continue our assault, the Dark Stalkers fall one by one until the room is once again visible. Having purged the darkness from the room, a shade of Karavakos stood before us. We immediately alpha strike the shade, and in due time it falls to our awesome might.

As the shade falls, a green aura swarms around him materializing into the hero that enlisted our aid to release him from this pyramid. But as he was congratulation us, his joyous smile turned into an evil grin and his face wrinkled into a evil disposition. It was now Karavakos that stood in our presence, mocking our triumph and then vanishing. Immediately, Vyrellis urges us to pursue after him as if tomorrow was not to be had. We would have obliged, but we were missing the 3rd and finally key needed to reach the top of the pyramid where Karavakos stayed. With no choice left but to search for the key, we begin our exploration with the rest of the 3rd floor.

Our exploration led us to an area reminiscent of a crypt... rats scavenging about old bones looking for food, dust covered walls made of large stones, and the scent of death and decay. Once again, Ashby sends in his owl to scout the place. If anything, his “eyes” are a valuable asset to the party. With the O.K. to move on ahead, I lead the vanguard into the room. The rats pause what they are doing to take a glance, and then continue about their business. They seem to be doing no harm so I let them alone. Upon approaching one of the two doors in the room, I ask Lucan to secure it as he is trained in the arts of thievery. After he deemed the door safe, I proceeded to open it and as I did, a loud crash could be heard behind us. That was probably the doors sealing behind us. Inside the newly opened room, the lids of three coffins explode off and fall with a crushing force. From within them arose wights. With little time to gather ourselves, we were thrown into another fight... once again unprovoked. As we began to engage to the wights, they were reinforced by a wraith. If that was not enough, as I was fending the wights, I hear the squeal of a rat echo through the room. Someone had attacked the rats, and now they viewed us as a threat.

This battle turned out to be an arduous one, bringing most of us to bloodied mess. With no other choices but to prevail or succumb, we continued on with the fight. But it proved to be a little more than we could handle. My friend and comrade Lucan had fallen to one the undead. But before I could use my spirit powers to get him back on his feet, he vanished in a swirl of darkness. My heart fell... the thought raced through my mind that I was about to lose another trusted friend. With the adrenaline surging through me, I redoubled my efforts to vanquish these undead to begin my search for him. But my efforts were met with another wraith. If only Paper were here, he would lay waste to these undead with little effort.

This was a grudge match, our supreme prowess were matched with supreme resilience. The life source of the undead seemed endless, giving new meaning to the word. Were these creatures truly undead... unable to be slain? Much to my dismay, Smalls was the next of us to fall. Even with the attempted intervention of Nara, Smalls was still swept away by the magical darkness that spawned. Ever vigilant, Nara, Ashby and I waged on as failure was not an option.

What seemed to be an eternity later, only a single wraith remained. As we attempted to corner it, another loud commotion rang through the crypt. My first thought was more wights exiting their coffins... but it was Smalls! He was alive... albeit barely. Seeing him gave me hope that Lucan was somewhere in the crypt. And with Smalls reestablished aid, we were able to slay the final wraith.

Before I could catch my breathe, Nara was already removing the lids to all the coffins in search for Lucan. We had found him, but it was too late. His spirit had already departed. But as all seemed lost, I remembered Lucan had a scroll of Raise Dead in his possession. I searched for the scroll and immediately begun to prepare to cast the ritual. However, Ashby interrupted saying that if he were to master the ritual, we could use this invaluable skill later. I hesitated for a moment... here laid before me a trusted friend, and Ashby wants to spend an addition 8 hours mastering the ritual before raising Lucan. His logic was flawless, but emotions can cause one to do illogical things. However, this time, I was swayed by the argument of logic. I allowed Ashby to master the ritual and then perform it. Looking back in hindsight, I should have immediately casted the ritual off the scroll myself as there was no guarantee that if we waited Lucan would still be able to be revived. It was an error in my judgment, but everything turned out fine... this time.

With Lucan returned to us, we all took a much needed rest. However, we were all awoken to a loud crash that was heard from the upper level of the pyramid. This was a rude reminder that Karavakos has been freed for the past several hours, able to do whatever he wishes. With time against us, we gathered our things together and continued our search for the last key.

~Skor Peon, prisoner of the Pyramid of Shadows

[frobones]

Journal Entry 5:

As we wondered about searching for the key, the suit of armor that Nara had once worn became sentient. It was in no way a threat to us, it was just the opposite. It obeyed any command that Nara gave it. Perhaps it would only take commands from those it deemed worth to lead it. Regardless of the how or why, the additional comrade was welcome

Continuing our search for the last key, we came across yet another room. As I cracked open the door to peer inside, I saw three massive undead skeletons. Upon further inspection, in the back there was a Tiefling with two flaming skull guardians on each side of him. This Tiefling was most likely another shade of Karavakos and probably the holder of the last key.

The plan was supposed to be simple, we charge in, defeat those who stand in our way, and find the key. The element of surprise was on our side. However, not all situations go according to plan. As we readied ourselves for battle, Lucan was the one to lead us off into the fray, but he isn't the most stealthy among us. As he opened the door to unleash his infernal wrath, it was too much to contain as those in the room were alerted to our position. Our surprising element was taken from us.

The battle was a taxing one. The limbs of the massive skeletons had incredible reach, keeping us on our guard as we maneuvered about them. The first wave of onslaught from our adversaries brought nearly all of us to a bloodied state. As each moment passed, the outcome began to look more and more grim for us. Thoughts of retreat crossed my mind, but I reminded myself of the tenacity that was shown when we engaged the White Dragon earlier. Pressing on with the fight, our living armor was surely pulling its own weight. In one swift flurry, it brought down one of the massive skeletons and nearly a second one. This display of prowess completely renewed my faith in the outcome of this battle. The tables had turned in our favor.

Having eliminated the larger undead, only the shade and the flaming skulls were left. Although the skulls were rather small, the fiery fury they brought down upon us leveled the battlefield. Most of us were on our dying breathes, but we continued to press on.

Nara was the first of us to fall, but he managed to destroy one of the flaming skulls in the process. Assessing the situation, I deemed the best tactical maneuver was to give up some ground for more advantageous positioning. Although there was only the shade and one flaming skull left, I had no more means of spiritual healing, the one who kept our battle morale alive was down, and the shade could teleport around as he saw fit. Retreating to closed quarters was indeed the wise decision. I ordered Smalls to grab Nara and we all proceeded to retreat from the room. However, the living armor seemed to be in a battle frenzy over the fallen Nara and stayed behind, managing to kill the last skull.

Now it was just Smalls, Lucan, the shade, and I. It became a battle of attrition and Smalls was our next fallen. If today would be the day I pass on to the other side, I would not have it any other way than fighting side-by-side with Lucan. Pushing forward with our resolve, the combined might of our wills proved to be more than the shade could handle. We were victorious!

After tending to wounds, we managed to acquire the last key needed to advance to the top of the pyramid and face Karavakos. When we reached the top, there was a door and, of course, there were three key holes. There was no legend as to which key fitted where, as that would be far too easy. Instead we were given cryptic messages on the keys themselves and some guidance from Vyrellis. After some time and deliberation, along with the keen intellect of Nara, we were able to determine the arrangement of keys to open the door.

As the door flew open, we all proceeded into the room. Atop several tiered platforms in front of us stood Karavakos and the Hero, locked in battle. As we approached, Karavakos fired a wave of energy towards us, which managed to barely scathe Lucan. However, also stuck his bag of holding. As the energy tore a rift in his bag, the head of Vyrellis, along with her shards, flew out. With the energy provided from Karavakos' attack, she was able to reform herself and then without hesitation, went to aid the Hero in his battle.

However, that was not the only thing that was reformed... All the “souvenirs” Lucan had been collecting from our slain enemies had somehow festered into several abominations. Without provocation, the creatures attacked. With no other option but to defend ourselves, we engaged our newly created foes. These things were more of a nuisance that a threat as each time we hit them a part of them would fall off.. .and attack us! However, short work was made of them.

After having eliminated the nuisance before us, we could engage in the battle against Karavakos. But before we could provide any aid, the two massive orbs of energy that stood atop the platforms violently surged power into a black stone that stood behind Karavakos. Overloaded with energy, the stone erupted... creating a rift in the room. It seemed he had activated a portal of sorts, in which he proceeded to escape into. Vyrellis and Somner quickly pursued after him. With the portal activated, the pyramid became unstable, as if its source of power had been drained. The room around us began to fall and crumble. Not having much of a choice, we all proceeded to jump through the vortex...

What happened next was beyond words. If I was asked to describe it, I would have to say it was like being whisked away by a powerful water current, and yet it felt as if we were in a space devoid of anything. With safety as a priority... well, as safe as one could be given our situation, Nara threw out a rope to attempt to secure us together. Each of us managed to grab the rope and anchor ourselves to it. If anything would happen, at the very least we would all be together.

As we continued through this current of space, I began to see visions... like elaborate shadows of detailed color projected onto a wall. Some of these visions were of my past, some of places I've never seen and people I never met. One vision in particular seemed to call out to me. Answering this call, I attempted to reach out towards it, and as I did we were whisked away once again.

I can't exactly explain it, but somehow we ended up in an arid area and in front of us was a rather tall stone wall. After gathering ourselves, we made our way around to the entrance. Apparently, this stone wall enclosed the city of Fallcrest. In my travels, I once came upon a Fallcrest but this place was vastly different from the one I knew. After passing through the front gates with no problem, we proceeded to locate a guard of the city to ascertain our whereabouts. It turned out that where was not what we should have inquired, but when... It appeared that we had been sent 50 years into the future. This was quite a revelation. Perhaps this is the same Fallcrest...

We needed time to think. Having not been in a civilized area for quite some time, seeking out an inn was not a bad start. We asked the guard for directions to such a place. Given two options, we made our way to the inn that was located in the higher class of society, called the Steadfast Dragon. After getting settled into our rooms, we decided to establish some reconnaissance in our new surroundings. One of the attendants in the inn proved to be very useful. He provided us with a rough layout of the city, its services, and its demographic.

With a rough idea of our surroundings, we took action to explore. Making our way through various parts of the city, bartering with vendors and visiting the establishments, we came across the central district of the city. Walking down its streets, we ran into was appeared to be Orontor. Lucan was the one who recognized him, my memory appeared to be a bit fuzzy on his appearance as I did not even give him a second glance. As we approached him, he was quick to remember us... the Heroes of Old. But, this was not the same Orontor of the past. When he took off his golden ornate mask, he was a much younger looking man. He explained that the Orontor we knew had passed on, and the man that stands before us was the young one who initially found us in the Seven Pillared Halls. Having passed the trials of ascension, he was appointed the position of Orontor after the passing of the one before him.

Clearing the hurdle of understanding that we had been ageless and lost in time for roughly 50 years, Orontor enlightened us on the happenings during our leave of absence. It was about 50 years ago when Karavakos had escaped from his imprisonment. Present at his reintroduction to the world was the hero Somner and Vyrellis. Not having the strength to subdue Karavakos, a ritual was cast to seal his soul within a shard and in the process, Vyrellis' life force was expended. Somner, believing that his soul could confine Karavakos, impaled his soul shard into himself. Over the several following years, Somner began to grow a little more mad and little more unstable with each passing day. Uttering the name of Drakthu. Then finally, after about 5 years, Somner had disappeared from society.

Several years following his disappearance, rifts to other planes began to open, demons were invading. Along with reports of increased demon activity, a dark and ominous cloud appeared of the Spire in the Ixian Wastes. However, radical action was neither taken by humanity nor the demons. Even though the nations of our civilization were aware of their presence, very little has being done to deal with the issue. It seems they are all too caught up in their own circumstances to take a stand against something that might very well threaten all of humanity. Over the years since, there has been a steady rise in the demon activity. They attack unpopulated areas mainly and set up encampments and excavation sites. It appears that the demons are looking for something.

Now brought up to speed on worldly issues, Orontor asked us if we could investigate the demon problem. Being Heroes of Old, there was no way we could refuse such a task. Regardless of that fact, I refuse to turn a blind eye to this demon infestation. Orontor provided us with two leads to begin our investigation. The first was the location of a nearby demon encampment that had been discovered by a reconnaissance party. No doubt its leader would have some information on the demon mobilization. Second option was to seek out an Elven oracle, who is the one that sent for the Heroes of Old. She may have more knowledge than anyone else on the matters at hand, so seeking her out may answers many of our questions. In order to locate the Oracle, we were given a stone and a passage saying that the Celestial star will be our guide.

Before we made our departure for the evening, Orontor shed some insight onto the origins of the Heroes of Old. Those that bear the mark are neither common nor uncommon. Nonetheless, it appears that the mark is not as rare as I had believed them to be. Furthermore, those with the mark are a vessel of sorts. Perhaps after having deemed ourselves worthy, the empty vessel that is ourselves will become a reservoir of ancient power.

With nothing more to say, we took are leave and returned to the Steadfast Dragon. On the way, Nara, pondering on the message passed along to us with the stone, decided to hold it up to the night sky. As he did, he noticed a bright red star in the sky. He asked the rest of us if we could see this pecular red star, and we all said we could not. Nara proceeded to pass the stone along to us, and as it got into each of our possession we could see the star. It seemed that the bearer of this stone could locate the star that would lead us to the Oracle.

We finally arrived back at the inn. With much on my mind and much ahead of us to do, I retired to my room, did some studying, and went to bed. It had been far too long since I have been able to rest like this...

~Skor Peon, time traveler

[frobones]

Journal Entry 6:

After taking an entire day to rest, restock supplies, acquire rituals, upgrade equipment, etc, we began to prepare our departure for the oracle. After a small commune with the spirits of nature, I was able to discern that it would take about 6 weeks travel on horseback to reach the Oracle given the star's location. Dipping into our pot to purchase some horses, we set out for the Oracle. Most of our travel was uneventful, save for the Drow bandits that ambushed us while we were asleep during our 4th week of travel. Nothing spectacular to note with this chance encounter, but they had some rather potent poison. We attempted to interrogate them, and when I say we, I mean mostly Nara. He seems well versed in the tactics of interrogation. But even with his expertise, we could gather nothing from them. They we probably your average bandits trying to make a living.

As we continued our travel, the area began to transform in a very arid and desert dune atmosphere. Regardless of the scenery change, we pressed on. Further along in our trek, we came across a mountain ridge. Deciding it would be safer to move around rather than scale it, we came across a cave in the side of the mountain. Of course, we decided to investigate.

Inside, at first glance, it appeared to be just a vacant cave room. But as Smalls investigated, he found a hidden door inside that led deeper inside. Along the cave walls past the door were these luminescent fungal growth. At the end of the passage behind the door was another room. It appeared to look like a hermit's hideaway or a very rustic study room. As we were investigating, we began hearing very manic voices from the way we came in. But before we could position ourselves for a chance encounter, there were several undead and a barbaric human standing before us. He appeared to know about our search for the Oracle and intended to stop us with deadly force. We attempted to ask how he knew of our task, but he disregarded the question and muttered something about a leader figure named Karth.

This battle was... disturbing to say the least. The larger undead of the bunch had the power to devour a living being. The first to fall victim to this was Smalls. Marking this devourer as the most threatening target, we decided to alpha strike the being. Eventually, Smalls managed to break free from the devourer, but that left its belly empty for another... which happened to be Nara this time. Despite our continual efforts to slay this foe, it appeared that it feasted on the life force of the one within it. This made matters more pressing. Not to mention the four-armed skeletons surrounding us that made maneuvering the battlefield rather difficult, or the crazed barbaric human shouting powerful battle cries. Ever relentless, we continued our assault on the devourer. Eventually, we manage to slay it, but not before Smalls was devoured once again and rendered unconscious.

With the devourer out of the way, and Ashby locking down the four-armed skeletons, we were able to eliminate the rest of the opposition. However, we managed to knock the human unconscious for interrogation. But despite Nara's techniques, we could not get any information. As we were discussing how to deal with him, he attempted to escape into the water reservoir that was inside the cave. Seeing this, I sent a spirit panther to finish him off before he could escape.

Noticing an archway across the reservoir in the cave, we decided to investigate further. This passage lead us down deeper into the cave were we discovered very detail murals on the wall. They were a series of depictions that looked like a screenplay. One mural depicted a fair maiden being dragged away against her will, and the location that was shown looked very similar to where we were standing. The next mural displayed a desert landscape, perhaps the very desert we have been traveling. This mural was followed by one showing a temple amidst the desert. The next two murals had images of a hooded figure and a black dragon. Taking the murals for whatever they're worth, we decided to exit the cave.

With no leads save for tracks in the sand leading out of the cave, we decided to track them. As we followed them on horseback, we eventually saw three figures far off into the distance. Naturally, we began to pursue them. This led us to a location in the desert where a temple was hidden away, and looked very similar to the temple depicted in the murals of the cave wall. The temple was surrounded by various other structures and keeping a close eye on the three figures, we saw which building they had entered. However, reaching them would be no easy feat, as this area was crawling with demons. With no easy way about this, we deliberated as a party on how to approach this problem.

The plan was decided, it was Ashby's time to shine. As a Doppelganger, this task was destined for him. He would sneak in disguised as the barbaric human we encountered earlier, eavesdrop on the language spoken by the demons, return to us and cast the comprehend language ritual. Now being able to speak their language, he would infiltrate the encampment and learn whatever he could and report back to us. However... things did not go as planned. From our lookout point behind a dune several hundred yards from the encampment, we witnessed Ashby move about the encampment. He was only supposed to briefly blend in to learn their language, but he wandered about long enough to be approached by another in the encampment. A few words were exchanged, and Ashby followed the human into one of the buildings.

Hoping that Ashby had things under control, we decided to wait... and we waited until nightfall. Knowing something wasn't right, as he was taking far to long, we decided to infiltrate the encampment under the shadow of night. We managed to make it inside the building where Ashby was taken, and it appeared to be a butchery or a kitchen of sorts. We peered about the room, but there was no sign of Ashby, only a handful a demons. The only assumption I could make was that he had been slaughter and probably eaten by the demons. With no more reason to endanger my life any longer by staying here, I proceeded to vacate the area. The others soon followed my lead, and we were able to safely retreat back to our lookout point in the dunes. As we were retreating, I heard some demons shout “We got him!”. But I brushed it off as random demon commotion.

The loss of a comrade is always a disheartening thing, but we can't let it drag us down and away from the task at hand. We still had to infiltrate the building the three we were following earlier had entered. It was time for another plan to be devised... and one that will hopefully go according to our expectations.

~Skor Peon, an empty vessel

[frobones]

Journal Entry 7:

The plan was simple... systematically exterminate the demon excavation site. Whatever they are up to can be no good and if left unchecked, they could bring down an Armageddon unlike any other seen by humanoidkind. If we're quick enough, we can section off portions of the encampment before the entire place is alerted. This was our best option.

We would initiate the plan immediately as nightfall was still upon us and we would begin with the structure that the three figures we followed had entered. As we filtered through the shadows, we came upon the side of the target structure. With no one in the archway, we carefully approached and made our way inside. The structure was quite large with a dome top and had two rows of pillars lining a pathway that ended with a dais. As we made our way to the back of the room, we came upon a small winged demon and a manticore. Along with them was a caged male Drow and a chained female Eladrin. Perhaps this woman was the Oracle.

With a moment to prepare, we all charged the room hoping to get an edge in the battle. The fight was straightforward, more or less. The manticore was rather agile and the winged demon could duplicate itself. But, thanks to the encounter with the aberration that spawned from Lucan's bag of holding, this encounter was nothing completely new. The Drow that was caged seemed to be feigning imprisonment, as he chose to free himself in the midst of our arrival. He appeared to be an ally as he provided a helping hand. Throughout the course of the encounter, mutterings of the demon had informed us that it was Karth and that it seems it had been taking orders from someone higher up, The only one that comes to mind at this point is Drakbhu. Regardless, the battle was brought to a relatively quick end with us as the victors.

Our immediate concern was that of the Eladrin, which happened to turn out to be the Oracle. She told us that the demon were excavating a device to establish a more stable and permanent rift, connecting our plane to theirs. She explained that the previous rifts seen throughout the previous decades have been temporary ones, only able to support the passage of a certain number of demons or remain open for an alloted amount of time. Furthermore, it seems that the demons are attempting to steal the life energy of the dragons of this land for some diabolical purpose. She advised that we destroy the device they were attempting to excavate. It was a rather simple addendum to be added to our initial plan.

Concerning the Drow that aided us during the battle, he seemed to be a competent sorcerer. If I learned anything from my time in the Pyramid of Shadows, its best to make peace with those you meet rather than war and to never turn down a helping hand. As there are strength in numbers, and Ishkur just made us a little bit stronger.

With a new addition to the party, and the Oracle hidden in a safe place, we continued our assault. The next stop was the kitchen/butchery area we visited before. With knowledge of the structure, we decided to hold the battle in the narrow hallway at the front of the building, drawing them to us. The strategy was a success as we manage to keep the rather large construct among the demons at bay while we ended the lives of the rest. Then, with only the construct remaining, and Nathan as our bark encrusted point man, we managed to take down the construct despite its constant whirling swords.

Next on the list was the sleeping quarters. As we approached the doorway, there was a rather large beast on watch. With no way to calm or slip past it, we had no other option but to send it to the same fate as the demons. As we initiated our attack, those in sleeping quarters awoke and began to engage us. This battle was rather irritating as one among them had the power to dominate our actions. Now a battle of wits and will, we all pushed against our opposition. However, in due time, we manage to put down all those that stood in our way. We were the victors once again.

Now, having clear the areas of the encampment, there can't be too much more to go and once most of the encampment is taken care of we can seek out and destroy the device the demons are excavating.

~Skor Peon, demon slayer

[frobones]

Journal Entry 8:

As we scoured the rest of the encampment, there was only one area left that was occupied. It was the excavation site. Extending exactly 101 feet below the ground surface, we proceeded down the stars. But as we were about halfway down, the stairs consistency changed to that of slick mud and we all slid down to the bottom, save for Nathan and Ling who remained at the top. With the trap set off, the demons were sure to know of our presence. We decided to wait for them to approach us, as there was a narrow passage in which we could engage. As each demon came, we were able to pick them off one and two at a time due to the restricted space. During the fight, Nathan performed a rather impressive feat. He slid down the stairs on his shield, like a dolphin riding a wave, and as he hit the bottom he kicked up his shield onto his arm, spun around the connecting corner and bashed one of the demons in the face. A rather impressive sight to behold.

The demons soon grew wise of our strategic positioning and decided to retreat. As we gave chase, we walked right into another trap. Along the narrow passage, ruins of fiery destruction that lined the path erupted, burning most of us. Fueled with the desired to end this immediately, we continued deeper into the encampment. Nathan went headstrong amidst the demons and managed to slay several of the smaller ones in a fell swoop and with due time we were able to slay the rest of them.

Having eradicated the demon excavation site, we returned to the oracle. She informed us that the original Heroes of Old had transformed themselves into dragons to watch over the world. This bit of knowledge made the situation of the endangered dragons more dire, as the demons are attempting a diabolical plot against the Heroes of Old. The Oracle also told us that the dragon Atma is in the most immediate danger. So, with the locations of the dragons already known to us, we made our way towards Atma. But before we left, we gave the Oracle one our of horses as per her request so she can make her way back to her living quarters.

When we arrived at the location, it was another cave in the side of a mountain ridge. As we entered, we could hear the crying yells of a very large beast in pain. Determining that this was probably the dragon, we followed the echoes of its cries. When we made it to the first clearing of the cave, the walls seemed to be moving, like ripples in a pond. With the lighting conditions less than ideal, we proceeded carefully with our guard up, expecting the unexpected. As we reached the center of the clearing, we came across two boulder-like creatures. When they were alerted of our presence, two earth Genasi appeared behind us. The Genasi were mostly likely the ripples in the cave walls. Thus, we had another engagement on our hands, and one that was quickly ended. With our tactful advances and swift execution, we were able to neutralize the threat.

In the next clearing, we could see a gathering of shadowy figures. Although we could see them, they were not wise of our presence. They seemed to be retreating out of the cave. Since they were approaching us, we decided to wait in the cloak of darkness and ambush them. As they entered in range, we all engaged. Once again, Nathan led the pack and managed to kill several smaller demons in one go. Amidst the group stood another spirit devourer and another figure that turned out to be a vampire.

This battle was, shall we say, tiresome. At the start of the fight, the spirit devourer manage to engulf me. That left the rest of the party to fend for themselves without any of my spiritual guidance. Although it could not contain me for more than a few seconds, each time I escaped it would just engulf me again. This turned out to be another battle of attrition, and once again we were the victors. But, when we had laid the final blow to the spirit devourer, a black essence had left its body and made its way further into the cave. This was followed by another yelling cry from within the cave.

As we proceeded to the next clearing, there was a large elevator in the center. We all loaded onto it and operated ourselves up to the top. What awaited us was a rampaging dragon, that was covered in the black essence that left the spirit devourer. Atop the dragon seemed to be the form of a female, perhaps this was the essence of the Hero of Old. We attempted to severe the black corruption from the female figure the only way we knew how... by slaying the dragon.

We all engaged the dragon, pinning it down to one place and unleashed our mighty fury upon it. The dragon was not much of a threat, maybe it was due to it being crazed by the black corruption. Regardless, we managed to end the fight rather quickly without much injury to ourselves.

With the dragon defeated and the female figured freed from the corruption, she introduced herself as the Hero of Old known as Atma. She reinforced what the Oracle had told us of the dragons being in danger and that we must do what we can to stop the demon plot. Furthermore, she had approached me, recognizing that I was one of the vessels for the Heroes of Old. She then began to disperse into a green energy, washing over me, leaving the Mark of the Healer upon my forehead. I was an empty vessel no more. With nothing more to do inside the cave, we made our way back to the Oracle's quarters. She had prepared a transportation circle that could send us to the City of Fallcrest.

However, my mind was heavy in thought. When Atma's essence combined with mine, she gave me a message. Once that struck me down to my very core. Information that may cause me to separate from my party...

~Skor Peon, rekindled