FORGOTTEN REALMS V This page presents the chronological order of the story that is remembered through flashbacks in the Blood of My Blood campaign. To make it an easier read the first chapter, The Beginning, is separated into two parts as one part of the group travelled to Waterdeep and one to Evermeet. Chapter One: The Beginning A sunny day, in the Glen of the Moon. The banners were raised high in the trees telling all that saw themthat the councilof the Moon elves was in session. You were all gathered there; Thalaenas, Silvermane, Silent Hope, Bellago, Tyverus, Fillorin and Vandelay. Just getting the elven council to admit Vandelay and Tyverus had taken some doing. Ogres and ogre mages aren´t normally let into elven lands and it´s unheard of to have them in the sacred glens. With the spread of humans the elves had started to retreat and fewer and fewer elves remained on the mainland of Faerûn. The elves fiercely protected the small areas they had left against intruders. Still, the seer had insisted and so here you all were. The three elders stood beneath the sacred librarian tree while you stood in the center of the clearing. An old elf dressed in pure white robe entered the glenand the three elves and Thalaenas straightened up. This must be the ser Khalanas, Thalaenas father. He looked at you with clear white eyes that does not notice the present surroundings but instead could gaze into the future. "I will tell you what I've seen..." As the old seer starts his tale you listen attentively. ”Five nights ago when reading the scrolls of the ancient seers brought out from Nemanthyr I discovered a very disturbing text. In it I read about a time when gaunt human man would step across the dimensional barriers that separate his desert world from our beautiful Faerun. This man will put mankind under him and see to the eradication of all other intelligent life. As I read through the text I came to one startling conclusion; the time these texts speak of is this year and in all likelyhood this man already walks the lands. The ancient seers have provided us with the means needed to stop him however, in the old library of Nemanthyr, located somewhere in the north. Nemanthyr is one of five libraries and one that has been sealed since the elven retreat began. According to the texts it will open this midwinter day to allow us descendants to enter and retrieve the magics we will need to fight him. Based on what the texts say I have asked to have all of you come here today. The text mentions something about guardians in Nemanthyr but that leavefall will stop those. I, unfortunately do not know what this means exactly. The other thing is the necessity of having the key to the vault of magic. This key is now on Evermeet. Considering the time we have left until midwinter, about 9 months and the tasks ahead I say you split into two groups. Thalaenas, you will take Silent Hope, Silvermane, Vandelay and Tyverus with you when you travel to the north to learn more about the exact whereabouts of Nemanthyr and what this leavefall is. I’d suggest the city of Waterdeep and Neverwinter as good starting points. Landor, you will take Bellago, Fillorin and Merkell with you to Evermeet. Any questions?” ”I have no questions, but I would appreciate it if I could search Waterdeep, for I have lived there ome years back and now the city well...What say thee Thalaenas??” Tyverus asked. ”I’d rather go to a city where I have a guide so we’ll start there,” the gold elf answered. ”Evermeet? Ho, god.” Fillorin uttered. ”Getting to Evermeet is easy, but leaving it will be hard,” the seer begun. ”It is a haven for those elven nations that has chosen to retreat from the growing nations of man and noone that has come seeking it’s sanctuary may leave. But I think you will find a way.” One of the elven elders which has stood silent so far takes a step forward. ”We have been blessed to get the help of Silverflare, a silver dragon. She will carry you from here to beyond the High Moor. From there you will be on your own.” One of the other elders speak up. ”Landor, you and your companions will follow me to the Chamber of Doors.” ”May Corellon be with you all,” the Seer says. ”and son, be careful.” That last part was directed to Thalaenas. The third elder took this moment to step forward. ”We have chosen to lend you these,” he shows you two small crystal orbs the size of a childs closed fist. ”They will allow you to contact each other twice per hyrar for an hours time.” He hands one of them to Thalaenas and one to Landor. You look at each other one last time before following the elders to your respective starting destinations. You follow the elder away from the glen and take a narrow stone laid path that leads upwards through the forest towards the mountain. As you walk out of the forest the path ends and you see in front of you the foothills of the great mountain ring that surrounds Evereska. Not far away from you stands the silver dragon. You stop in your tracks as you look at the massive creature. From tail to head it must be at least 150 feet long. Everything you have ever heard or read can’t do it justice. It seems to have no scales, instead it looks like it’s made out of pure silver. Standing on it’s four legs, Tyverus, who is the tallest of you with his 10 feet, barely reaches the dragons elbow. It has noticed you and smiles a pleasant smile even though it’s a smile filled with teeth the size of your legs. It lies down before you. ”I am Silverflare,” it says with a very elven sounding voice. ”Are you ready to go? Tyverus gives a startled "Yes". "Why don't we get started?" Silvermane says. ”Why don’t we? Climb up and make yourselves comfortable,” the dragon replies. You climb up the tail and settle between massive spines just in front of the wings. "Hang on," the dragon warns you as she stands on her hind legs and you scramble to get a hold, hugging the closest spine. She spreads her wings and with one massive flap you lift off the ground. With each beat of the wings you rise further from the ground until the elder is but a dark spot in the middle of fields of green. You can see all of the Evereska community beneath you, paths, roads, buildings, lakes and rivers. The air gets increasingly cool as you fly higher to clear the surrounding mountains. As soon as you’ve passed the mountaintop the dragon glides down on the updraft so that you finally fly no more than 300 feet above the barren lands beneath. Dry grass, the occasional bush and stand of trees break the monotony of the landscape. Each night as you fly towards the High Moors the dragon lands to let you sleep, the days are pretty eneventful but just watching the world from above is amazing. The fifth day is less so as it rains the whole afternoon of that day. The last day you fly over two verdant valleys before the dragon sets down in a forest. It’s late in the afternoon. "The village of Serpent’s Cowl is in that direction," the dragon points, "And so is the Trade way that will take you north to Waterdeep. The elder said to warn you away from the ruins of Dragonspear castle which lies a few days north of here. Many human soldiers from Waterdeep are there but that does not mean the area is safe. Anything else before I fly back?" "Will we ever meet you again? I feel quite sad we did not have a chance for a normal conversation...Thanks a lot for your help! " Silvermane asks. "When you come back to Evereska I’ll be glad to speak with you." The dragon stands up again. "Safe journey good people," she says before throwing herself into the air and flying off. "Okay, does anyone need to buy anything before we start on the trail to Waterdeep?" Thalaenas asks. "I'd like to buy some more rations and maybe look if there's a wizard in those city...Maybe he knows something..," Tyverus said. "Good idea. Let’s go," Thalaenas started walking. "What about Tyverus, and Vandelay? Won’t the people there be hostile?" Silvermane asked. "I hadn’t thought about that." Thalaenas thought for a while. "Maybe you and I should scout ahead. Silent Hope should stay behind too. I don’t think they’ve seen voadkyn here either." After a few minutes walking you come to a large clearing were obviously people from Serpent’s Cowl get their timber. From here you can also see the village. Perhaps 100 wooden structures of different sizes stand close together within a wooden palisade. Watchtowers are placed at regular intervals. A wide moat surrounds the village and beyond that is yet another palisade, a bit lower than the inner ones, this one with towers at the two gates. Large fields lie on this side of the valley, the same valley that you flew over earlier. "Ok. You three wait here. Silvermane and I will talk to the villagers and get back as soon as we can." With that he walked across the field of treestumps towards the village. Silvermane following close behind. After a while Thaenas returns, alone. "Well. They have allowed us to enter. We will leave all our weapons at the outer gates and we will be escorted by their guards while we are in there. Silvermane is their insurance that we behave. Just follow me," Thalaenas walks back towards the village. "They have a mage but apparently he was petrified while doing experiments in his laboratory. They said you can see him in the library, through a window but they haven’t checked his house for fear of magical wards." Thalaenas answers as he heads back to the village. "They’ll be closing their gates soon since trouble comes after sundown. I didn’t ask them what trouble but I bet we’ll find out," he continues. You leave your weapons at the inner gates before enetering the village proper. Four guards armed with longswords stand before you. One of them speaks. "We will be your escort." You can tell from the tone in his voice and his face as he looks upon the ogre mage and the wood giant that he is both fearful and unsympathetic towards them. The buildings of the village are all solid constructs with stone foundations. The village doesn’t have a village square or anything but a slightly wider part of the main road where a well stands. People stare at you from behind windows and door as you walk down the main street. "The Inn will provide you with any rations you’ll require. We should make haste so we can make use of the last few hours of sunshine." Thalaenas says as he enters the large building. The village obviously sees a lot of travellers as the inn easily holds 100 persons. Right now it’s just two more guards, Silvermane and a visibly nervous innkeeper. Tyverus frowned and thought for a moment, before asking: "I would like to see this wizard from close. Could thee tell me what potion made him petrify himself?" He looked over to Thaleanas. "If it isn't too much trouble I would like to try and help the wizard, work on a cure. I would only hold you up as a non-human. What say thee?" "I don’t know...my father wanted you in this group for a reason. But if we’re allowed we could take a look at the wizard." Thalaenas replies. "Captain," he adresses one of the guards, "would it be possible for us to take a look at the wizard’s abode after we’ve bought what we need. With your supervision of course?" "That you may, but we’ll keep Silvermane in our custody when you do," the guard answers and you can see Silvermane sighing. After having bought the rations you need and ordered pants and a vest for Tyverus to be sewn up to his size the guards lead you to a small house just off the main road. The door is set with the wizard’s mark. They lead you around the back and points to a window. The window is dirty but you can still make out the mage as he stands hunched and petrified over a book. The book lies on a cluttered bench, parchments, beakers and glass bottles fight for space in the room which clearly is used as both laboratory and library. "Tyverus, you think we should go in?" Thalaenas asks. "Aye, that we should, but not before I know if spells guard this house." Tyverus mumbles some words and looks around. Satisfied he walked around the house. After you did that twice he opened the front door. The air inside billows out smelling like a cowpen in the summer. The house was decorated like anybody’s house and the hall and kitchen, to the left, gave no clues to the profession of the owner. With Tyverus leading the way you walked through the kitchen and into the laboratory. Tyverus turned to Thalaeas; "Try looking around for anything that might aid me to find answers as to the petrification of the wizard..", He looked around for bottles and parchments. "Don´t read any of them, some may have spells binding them." Then he looked at the books in the bookshelves. The mage stood over what clearly is his main workbench. It bears the marks of countless experiments, and the marble top is frayed and chipped and burned in several places. The book he had been, or was, reading had one page of strange writing and one page whose main motive is an open eye. The mages left arm rested on the table and the other was reaching towards two glass bottles. Both are labelled but the labels are unmarked. One contained a dark green liquid and the other a clear red one. On the floor below him lay books, one of them titled ”Curses and petrifications”. The others were related to various accidents of spell research and casting. Tyverus picked up the book titled ”Curses and petrifications” and started to read through it looking for an antidote, afterwards checking the other books thoroughly. Silent Hope, Vandelay and Thalaenas were slowly checking the bookshelves, careful not to touch anything. The guards watched them from the kitchen. The book, ”Curses and petrifications” was about just those subjects detailing alot of possible sources of affliction but no antidotes or cures of any kind. The other books in the first pile told how to avoid accidents of both magical and mundane nature when researching spells, while scripting scrolls, while brewing potions and while casting. The mage seems to have ignored the solution for avoiding petrification while reading protected books, namely to read it using a mirror. "There’s three other books on petrification here, ”The eyes of the Medusae”, ”A treatise on causes and undoing of states of petrification”, and ”Turn to Stone", Thalaenas says as Tyverus put down the last of the first books. "Is this going to take much longer" one of the guards asked Thalaenas who turned to Tyverus. "If tis too much trouble for ye, to stay here longer then go on...But I must help a mage in distress..." flicking over some more pages. He looked to the guards. "Could ye not stay here to keep an eye on me and let my friends get on with their quest?" He turned to Thalaenas. "I'll be with you as soon as I can." He quickly flicked through the pages of the book ”Eyes of the Medusae” again. "I’ll give you until tommorrow morning to look through the stuff. If you’ve found something by then we can discuss it. Those of you that need it can go to the inn and get some rest. I’ll stay here and help Tyverus." The guards sighed. "Thank ye!" Tyverus quickly started looking for any kind of solution. "Hmm could some priest not cast a remove paralyse/petrification spell", still flickering through the book. "I feel so helpless...." Thalaenas turns to the guards. "Any priests here?" "Yes", mumbles one guard, "We’ve asked her but she says her god does not grant that until she has proven herself more." As the evening becomes night Tyverus starts cleaning the bottles to enable the casting of the Identify spell. When the first rays of morning light illuminate the laboratory he casts it. He appaerently seem to find what he was looking for, bending down to pick up an old looking parchment from the floor. Tyverus made certain all was well before preparing to cast another spell. "Ye might want to leave this room for I know not what may happens when I cast this spell.." The guards hurries outside and Thalaenas closed the door to the laboratory behind him. As the spell began to work you can see the grey slate once again get the hue of human life, first the head, then the rest of the body, and finally his clothes. As he comes back to life he raises his hand to shield his eyes and for a moment he looks like he’s about to faint. He looks at Tyverus. "Ehm, ...who are you?" "Fear not my wizardly friend. I be Tyverus Morhion. I come from far and am on a quest, I saw ye standing here petrified so looked up a dispel. Could you now maybe help me?..." Thalaenas walked in from the kitchen as he heard the conversation. Tyverus told the mage all about the quest and what he could do to help. "An ogre mage, an orc, and a wood giant in the company of elves? Truly amazing. As much as I’d love to help you, I don’t know very much about it. But when I studied magic under my master he told me of another student, one before me, who knew a lot of elven history. I can’t recall his name but my master’s Seerhon Kairyan. I’ll write a letter to him, he lives in Waterdeep, and explain your errand. I’m sure he’ll help you with my recommendation." The mage poured himself a mug of ale and started penning a letter. New guards showed up together with Vandelay and Silent Hope. "So what’s today’s agenda, great leader?", Vandelay asked with a smile. "Well let Tyverus rest a while, his spells have sapped some of his strength, and in the afternoon we start off for Waterdeep." You all walked back to the inn, and while Tyverus got some much needed sleep, Thalaenas looked at a merchant’s map of the road to see when to start avoiding it and the castle the dragon told you about. When Tyverus had woken again and memorized his spells, you packed up your things and set off. Days on the road becomes a ride, then another, and more until you stand on hilly crest looking at the city of Waterdeep that lay perhaps a mile away. The size of the city astounds you, surely more people live in that city than in some of the other realms in Faerun? Houses, towers, mansions, temples, a huge harbor to the south and on the slopes of a mountain that protects the western part of the city from the sea stood a huge castle. "I’m guessing you three are as unwelcome here as elsewhere in these parts so when we reach those trees," Thalaenas said, pointing, "you’ll wait while I, and Silvermane talk to the guards." You walked the remaining distance, careful not to be seen from the roads and farmsteads and as told some of you waited while Thalaenas and Silvermane continued to the gate. You stood watching the setting sun cast long shadows when a voice behind you said: ”Gimme your valuables if you value your lives!” "Take cover," Tyverus whispered to Silent Hope and Vandelay. Seconds later he turned around and flumg away what looked like a small black marble. Quickly it grew in size and began to glow first with a white light, then a red and it burst into flames and exploded just behind three creatures. Two were ogres and a third was a huge brutish looking human. The exposion threw them past you and out onto the road as you were showered with dirt and tree-splinters. They did not move afterwards. Guards from the gate come running as did Thalaenas and Silvermane. Searching the ogres and the humans revealed the charred remains of simple leather armours, backpacks with what’s now very well done wild game. Tyverus explained to the guards, "They came out of nowhere and started threatening us, I didn't stand for that and took action. Though it looks as if the action outdid itself once again," he looked at his hands and smiling grimly. "I've no remorse of what has happened here guards...I saved my life as well as my friends." The guards stopped when they saw them, but kept their weapons ready. Thalaenas started talking to them "They’re with us, they’re not dangerous." "Alright, you all stay here until the captain comes and you can explain this to him," one of the guards, a large grizzled man, said. A few minutes later a large group came walking, ten guards and a collection of strange-looking people. They were all led by an human ranger who was flanked on one side by a tall lizardman in huge flowing robes and a gnome dressed in a flower-embroidered tunic on the other. A huge greenskinned creature like nothing you ever seen before walked last carrying a doubleheaded, sawtoothed axe that seems like it weighed as much as one of you. Obviously this city was used to unusual creatures amongst it’s citizens. The elf whispered something to the guards who walked back to the gates, then he turned to you. "I’m Aramos, captain of the watch of Waterdeep, and these are Strikeforce Grey. Who are you, where do you come from and what is your business here?" "I’m Thalaenas, from Evereska, I and my companions have come here to talk to some of your city’s sages about some elven affairs." "I can see quite clearly that you aren’t all from Evereska, so you two, where are you from?" he says looking at Tyverus and Silent Hope. "I be Tyverus Morhion, I come from across the sea in search of knowledge and magic. Together with Thalaenas and the rest we´re on a mission...as Thalaenas may have told you already..." "Tyverus?" The lizard man asked as he took a few steps forward. "Yes, that is him. It´s okay, Aramos, I know him. I just didn't recognize him in those clothes." The same evening you dined at Castle Hubris, in their enormous banquet hall. Castle Hubris was bar none the tallest building in the realms, erected by the gods and given to Hubris. At least that was what the word on the streets was and that word was hotly contested by those guilds in the city that got paid for the building. Hubris were one of several well-known adventuring groups to have Waterdeep as their base. Some others included Strike Force Grey and the Company of the White Wolf. The members of the most high-profile groups usually belonged to all three, and were there for each others as needed. After you cleared up the incident at the city’s gates (the fireball if you recall), you were given the tour of the castle and given guest rooms and time to wash after days of travelling. "So Lish says he knows you from way back, Tyverus. What brings you back to the city?" Astrakhan, the druid, asked and smiled pleasantly. Tyverus looked with astonishment at his old friend, "Good day Lish Azuta, how is your Kara Turian doing?" He looked over to Astrakhan. " My greetings Astrakhan, how fare thee this day and age? I have come on here on a quest, let us make our way..." "Thanks to Tsa here," the lizardman said and pointed to the oriental man that sat at the table. "I’ve been able to learn enough to actually hold my own when we go over there." Astrakhan finished his cup of cider before he answered. "A quest you say..." The evening passed as you talked of the quest and shared memories, as well as tales, some tall and some not, of what had happened to you since you last saw each other, or in case of the new aquaintances, their lifes stories in abbreviated form. The day after Lish accompanied you to the new mage’s guild where Thalaenas thought it would be easiest to find the mage that the petrified mage had given you a letter for. Those of you that had been here before noted that the main difference between the old mage’s guild hall and the new was that the new one has a fresher coat of paint. Inside it looked like a small tavern, but instead of a menu with drink prices behind the bar there was a list of available jobs for spellcasters. Drinks were available, wines, and finer beverages, but to use any of the guild’s services you had to be a member. "Talk to the lady at the bar, she probably knows" Lish said as he went to a table where two men sat playing cards. Tyverus nodded to Lish in agreement and walked over to the bar. He got the barmaids attention, and as he asked her for a fine beverage her pleasant smile turned into a look of suspicion. "I don't recognize you, are you a guild member?" "None of us are, lady" Thalaenas answered, "we just want to know where one of your members are." "Who?" Thalaenas picked up the letter. "Seerhon Kairyan." "Oh him. I don't know where he is, he was on a job down at the docks but failed to show up later and pay the guild fees. Noone's heard from him since." "If any of you are spellcasters you should know that you are by law forbidden to use magic unless you pay the guild membership fee." She continued. "His house is on Book Street, and his wife will let you in if you tell her I said it is all right. Just remember to remind him of his fee if you see him. If he shows up here, who should I say was asking for him?" "Thalaenas, I'm staying at Hubris Castle." "Very well, anything else?" "Thank you, you've been most helpful." Lish who seemed to have noticed it was time to go rose up and joined you as you walked out of the guild hall and down towards Book Street. As you reached it you saw why it got it's name, from tne numerous small shops that sold and manufactured parchments, papyrus, bound books, and made ink. Towards the southern end of the stret, across from a stable stood what was probably the mages house, judging from the ward on the door and the small tower on the side of the building. As you came closer you cou hear faint noises, sounded like it was a fight perhaps, inside the house. As Tyverus turns to look at you others he notices the surprised look on Silent Hope's and Thalaenas face as Lish is now brandishing two huge Katanas. Then he looks at the ward on the house but doesn't seem to think it's something dangerous. "Stay behind me, I would not like to see a pretty thing like yourself get hurt now" Tyverus says and Lish just grins back. Then he motions with his finger to the door and with a knock sound it flies open and huge bluish powder clouds billow out reducing your sight considerably. "You little aa.." you heard a mans voice saying before it sounded like someone crashed into the house's cutlery. Tyverus stepped up to the side of the door and the rest of the group fanned out around the opening. The thick blue smoke made it impossible to see farther than perhaps 15 feet. After a final noisy crash it suddenly turned silent apart from the sound of small wings flapping. Out of the door flew a small humanoid being, no taller than a foot, carried by bat-like wings. "That's Kappiyan's imp!" Lish said. Then he turned to the creature. "Is your master home? What is going on?" "No", the imp answered in a thin voice "The master is away with his ladyfriend. This strange human came in through the back yard to steal things, I think." "Mind if we take a look?" The imp looked at each one of you appraisingly. "I guess you large types won't be comfortable inside but do as you wish." With those words he flew back inside the building, and ever so slowly the cloud began to dissipate in the slight breeze. Lish walked inside the house and soon emerged with the limp body of a man clad in all black. "Well Tyverus I guess you reckognize the type. We should put him in our castle dungeons before he wakes up. Our group's resident ninja, Tsa Kazzi tells me, they rather die than face the dishonor of being captured." You all walk back to Hubris castle and accompany Lish as he puts the man in irons. Then you set off to find... ...yourselves back in the large room in the dark underground cave. Meanwhile: The elder led the way through the forest and at first you followed a paved stone path but after a few minutes you turned away from it, walking into the the dark woods. Over and under fallen trees, through the underbrush until you reached a small building built out of a greyish blue stone. The outside surface was smooth and divided by thin rounded pillars that were connected by vaults. The roof was high and pointed, looking like a gigantic polished stalagmite. A wooden door inlaid with patterns of gold was an obvious entrance and when the elder touched the door it swung open accompanied by a sound not unlike a sigh. You could see that the building was empty inside except for a set of stairs that led down into the ground. The elder stepped away from the door. "Follow the stairs down. Then walk the corridor until you reach a chamber with three mirrors. Stand before the middle one and say ’I seek refuge from the storm’. That will activate the portal. Once activated you will be able to enter it and arrive on Evermeet. From there on you will be on your own. Any last questions?" You walked the narrow stairs down, your eyes slowly adjusting to the dim light that seemed to pulsate from the walls. Beautiful mosaic patterns adorned the walls of a long corridor. You had walked it halfway when you heard the door close behind you. Led by Landor you walked the rest of the corridor till you reached a circular chamber with smooth white walls. The chamber held three mirrors that looked like they were made out of pure silver. As you watched them more closely you could see their surfaces ripple like they were made of water. For some reason the air in here didn't smell like an underground chamber, but instead it smelled like a flower filled glen in the spring. One of the mirrors was on your left, one right in front of you and one to the right. As soon as Landor has spoken the ripples on the mirror became larger and as you stepped through you got the sensation of passing through a wet membrane. As soon as you were through you saw that you were standing in another circular chamber, approximately twice the size of the one you had left. It had whitewashed walls set with brass ornaments depicting stylized trees and all around it’s walls were similar portals as the one you just stepped through. One of them had magic wards surrounding it and every now and then darker ripples showed up on it’s surface. On the floor in front of you, a few steps away lay two elves in light blue robes, with chain mail armor showing on their forearms. They lay on each side of an opening leading to a set of wooden doors. The swords they once held lay away from them and one of the swords had been bent into an almost perfect circle. Apart from the distant noise of water crashing against rocks it was eerily silent. You all rushed to the fallen elves to see what had happened to them and as you watched them more closely you could see that they were totally still. Checking them for a heartbeat you heard nothing, and their bodies were completely rigid. But they didn’t look dead, they still had the healthy hue of life. Searching their bodies revealed that they only carried plain clothes, elven chain mail, and a spare dagger each. Landor looked to the rest of the party members. "What do ye think, they look almost alive to me yet they do not move. If we cannot revive them we'd best be on our way." "We should probably move on", Merkell agreed. You took a minute of silence before heading down the corridor. You opened the doors and looked out over a huge valley. The building you were in sat atop a small hill, the highest in this rolling landscape. Small stands of trees dotted the landscape, as did small gatherings of buildings. On the far side of the valley, almost obscured by a light mist was a city with more spires than you had seen so far in your lives. Outside the building more elves lay fallen and as far as you could see no living beings moved. The sound of the sea, though, with crashing waves, and crying seagulls, told you that it was a relatively local phenomenon. Landor looked to the city. "Good, we're almost there. But beware, something tells me all these dead elves didn't just fall over if you know what I mean." Landor smiled slightly. "Shall we continue? The others nodded approvingly as Landor took the lead. As you walked the long road to the city you noticed that sometimes one or more of you fall behind while to them it seemed like the others sped ahead. It was as if time itself was in a state of flux on the island. Consequently it took you a bit longer to reach the city, and by the time you did it was late in the night. There was no wall around the city and you could just walk right in, avoiding all the fallen elves. The city was quite large but the houses were generally quite small, one-family houses apart from a few larger ones in the city centre. A green light flashed suddenly and very brightly from atop one of the large buildings main domes and you could see a figure falling out of a window and hit water a few seconds later. There was no line of sight to wherever the figure landed, there was too many buildings blocking the ground view. You ran towards the dome through narrow alleys and through small parks, until you reached the place where the person had hit the ground. A bubble of shimmering light surrounded the fallen victim and the ground and the person within it seemed to be born, age and die only to be reborn again and repeating the cycle over and over again before your eyes. Above you in the dome some sort of fight was still going on. Several explosions were heard, then it suddenly became all silent. The dome itself seemed to be the central feature of a huge castle and from where you stood you could see several large doors, some open and some closed that led into its gloomy interior. One of the open doors seemed to lead into a library, another into an art gallery and a third into a long corridor that probably leads into some sort of court. "By the gods, this cannot be, there are powerful forces at work. We'd be much better splitting up and looking for clues than staying as a pack, do ye agree?" "Let us meet back here when the moon rises, that should give everybody enough time to look where he wants to." Landor pointed a finger over to the tower. With that gesture he was gone, swallowed up in the shadows. Shortly afterwards, all members of the group had entered the building through different entrances. Landor watched the others disappear into the building then he examined the walls to see if there was enough foot and handholds but the walls were so smooth that he didn’t dare risk it. But there were stairs in the library going up. The disadvantage was that the library was pretty well lit. He moved with caution across the checkered marble floor. Here and there he noticed the bodies of fallen elves. Most of them were surrounded by a faint green glow. He passed hundreds of books, scrolls, parchments, stone tablets and every other form elvenkind had used as something to write on. A long row of tables ran through the center of the room, some with open books and maps on them. Some were to be studied. Others were in the process of being copied. Most of them were elven literature, prose, and the maps were of areas he had never even heard of. As he came closer to the stairs he could hear faint voices, human, that seemed to come from the next floor. Landor looked around to see if the coast is clear. Then he looked over to where Merkell ducked and laughed. "Good to see ye aswell Silent Hope. I say we follow those two men to the tomb of heroes. They said it was down by the sea, to the west. We should gather with the rest and see if they found anything of interest." Merkell nodded and as you ran down the stairs you were joined by Bellago and Fillorin. As soon as you reached the outside you all looked to the stars to determine the right direction and without spoken consensus you all headed off in the same direction, quickly making your way down the steep streets. You noticed the effects of the temporal magic wearing off and some people slowly waking up as you ran past them. After a while you were outside the town, running along a narrow trail that seemed to lead down to some buildings on a sheltered beach. Past trees and rock formations, crossing other trails, you closed in on it. You were not far away when a huge explosion erupted from one of the buildings, and green, blue and red flames erupted and lit up the night sky. Seconds after all of the buildings were covered in a brownish cloud of smoke and all was silent. "The brown smoke I do not trust, we must make haste and find those villains!! If anybody wants to check out the explosion that is fine by me but I do not want to waste any time to let them escape." Landor ran on. "Maybe one of those exploding buildings are the tomb of heroes?" Fillorin, paused for a short while. Behind you you could hear loud horns sounding, maybe some sort of alarm. There was no sign of anyone near the buildings or anywhere as far as you could see apart from yourselves. The first horn was soon accompanied by others from other parts of the island. As you rushed towards the nearest hornblow you found yourselves face to face with two scores of elven warriors, their bows trained at you. Chapter Two: Leavefall ”Which road will we take?” Autumn came early this year. The bright red and yellow leaves of the great trees contrasted sharply with the bleak gray sky. The days grew steadily shorter, the wind grows colder and rain seems to have become the norm. Outside the villagers where preparing for the coming winter, curing meats, making ciders, lemonade and jams. A merchant caravan on it’s way south made brisk business selling furs from the Frozenfar. Inside, in a small tavern, you were sitting round a table eating and drinking and preparing for the continued journey northward. It felt good to be inside after days on the road in increasingly bad weather. As usual it had taken both the words and assurances of Thalaenas and a presentation of the Waterdhavian charter to get you into the walled village. Still all weapons had to be left at the gate. You were eyeing the maps you had gone to great lengths and expenses to procure. None were complete but together they gave a good overview of the North. This far your travels had taken you from Waterdeep to Rassalantar to Skorail where you were now. Now you had to decide whether to turn inland and to the faster road after Amphail which was the next town or if you would continue on the Waterdeep - Mirabar road which was slower but safer. The fast road would take some 18 days while the longer would take maybe 24 if the wheather didn’t turn really bad. If the rain and wind increased it could be almost double that. All in all you had 133 days before you absolutely would have to be in the Tower of Nemanthyr. And you definately had to be there before the Zhentarim. All seemed to agree. Time was of the essence so you decided to take your chances on the shorter road. Vandelay knew enough about the north so you wouldn’t have too much trouble. Now it was time to buy the supplies you needed for the journey. Winter in the North was unusually severe and if you weren't prepared for the worst of weathers you were basically dead. Or so they had told you back in Waterdeep. After having finished your shopping you ate one last meal at the small inn before continuing your journey north. Following the high road you rode through rolling hills, passing Waterdhavian mounted guards and riding past horse farms that became increasingly frequent as you reach Amphail a chilly early morning. As always Thalaenas presented the charter to the guards who finally let you pass. Riding through the village you noticed a black stone statue of a horse which seemingly was the local playground as children climbed it pretending to ride into battle. Another thing you noticed is the smell of horse manure and when riding out of the village you thank the fresh air and the fact that it wasn’t a hot day. On the top of a hill a weatherstone stood proclaiming that you were leaving the Watherdhavian protectorate. A wooden pole had three arrows pointing back to Amphail, along the high road to Red Larch, and on to Iron ford. Hesitating for a moment you rode on towards Iron ford. Eight days on the road took its toll as the cold rain found it's way beneath your coats and into your chemises and boots. Making camp some 20 yards away from the road you were sitting round a campfire drying your clothes and eating your rations while you kept cautious eyes on your surroundings when from deeper within the forest a loud noise like a hunting horn was heard. As you all stood up weapons ready and eyes trained into the dark forest more horns were heard from further away. The first horn call couldn't have been more than 30 or 40 yards away but these new ones were probably a few hundred yards away. "Let’s check it out." Tyverus said as he moved towards the source of the noise. Cautiosly Silent Hope followed. "I’ll watch the camp." Said Vandelay as you walked into the forest. As you moved away from the campfire your night vision started to take over. The forest changed from being only different shades of grey to coming alive with reds and blues, which made it easier to see where you were going. You saw a man standing over another man who lies still on the ground. The man who stood up is clad in simple, tight, dark green garments. He was holding a fur cape in one hand and a sword in the other. In his belt hung a hunting horn and several pouches. He looked to be somewhere in his thirties with short black hair, well kept beard and the biggest nose this side of svirfnebli. He looked around himself constantly peering into the forest and lighting it up with his bullseye lantern. If you gotten any closer he would probably have spotted you instantly. The man on the ground was dressed in fine but tattered clothes. Yellow silk shirt, velvet vest, black pants and black riding boots. From where you stood you couldn't see if he was unconscious or dead. Tyverus picked up a stone and hurled it into the bushes on the far side of where the man was standing. As it landed with a crash he spun around, dropped the fur coat and picked up his lantern. In the distance you could hear horses closing in on your position. He seemed to have heard it too. He put on his coat and continued to eye the direction of the thrown stone. Tyverus turned to the others and whispered. "What should we do? Wait? Or attack?" Three men on horses came into view. They all wore dark clothes, mostly blues and greens. "Is he alive?" A tall, redbearded, man asked as he climbed down from his horse. "Alive but uncounscious", the large nosed man answered. "The zhentarrim don’t make them like they used to. I don’t know what he was thinking fleeing into the woods with only these clothes on. He’d have frozen to death." "Lets get him up on my horse and back to the camp. We can interrogate him when we get there." With that they strapped him to one of the horses and prepared to ride away. Thalaenas turned to Silent Hope and Tyverus and whispered "Let’s wait for the moment. We may still attack later." He motioned to you to stay as he started to make his way closer to the men. As they started to ride away Tyverus made his way to Thalaenas, and Silent Hope soon followed, preparing to follow the men. You followed them maybe fifty paces behind, letting the light from their lantern guide you. Their horses make ample noise too so you needed not worry about treading lightly. They rode for perhaps an hour and stopped where a small campfire and two tents stood, near a small stream. They got off their horses and tied the unconscious man to a tree, then covered him with a blanket. The largenosed man lay down to sleep. "Wake me when he comes to." You sat behind low bushes observing them as two went into the tent and the third stayed behind to guard. "Have you figured out what that map’s saying." One of them asked. "No. It’s elvish writing I think." The man answered. "Can’t recognise any of the landmarks either." "You can bet it’s nothing good when a zhentarrim has an elven map." "Maybe we should take it to the Lady Alustriel of Silverymoon." "After this bird has squeeked, yes." Hours passed and they changed guards. One hour later their prisoner woke up. The guards woke the harper. "So zhentarrim scum. Where were you going and what is this map?" The large nosed man asked as he drew his sword. "To the Nine Hells with you harper!" "The chance of you ending up there is much bigger than mine." "Obviously he’s not going to talk. Let’s get him to a priest." One of the others cut in. "Very well. Let’s pack up." Thalaenas turned to you and whispered "I’m going to go to them and talk to them but I think it’s best you stay behind for now until I get a chance to warn them about you. I don’t want to risk us being attacked since I think they could help us." He took the Waterdhavian scroll in his hand and walked towards the guards that spotted him soon after he left the thick bush you were hiding behind. "Halt! Who goes there?" One of them asked in a loud voice as he raised his longsword and held it in front of him. "It’s an elf, Dohan, put that sword down." The other man turned to Thalaenas. "Do you speak common?" A little later you were all sitting around the campfire sharing your information. Appaerently a group of zhentarrim had broken in to the great library of Silverymoon and stolen books and maps. After having tracked them down and retrieved all of the books and most of the maps all but one zhentarrim agent had been caught or killed except the one here. Other libraries along the sword coast and the north had also been burglarized. Some things had been regained, some were still looked for and some had been destroyed. Most was of elven origin or pertaining to elven legends. One half-elven sage, learned in elven religion, had been kidnapped from Baldurs Gate but the famous human ranger Ryutel Soren Zohn and his companions were on that case. All in all this year had held more zhentarrim activity than the last five. Or maybe they were less cautious. Those few that had talked spoke of an intact library of elven magic from the time of Myth Drannor and Cormanthyr. According to them it was to open it’s gates to the world again this year. The one who got their first would gain access to priceless magics. When the elves started their retreat to the magical Island Evermeet after the fall of Myth Drannor some of the ancient elven magics and artifacts were left behind, sealed by spells they thought would protect it from the forces of the lesser races. The library of Cormanthyr was perhaps the most famous one but there were originally five libraries of magic, one of which is rumoured to exist somewhere in the far north. One elven seer looked into the far future and predicted that one year the library would have to open up to share it’s magic to defend against an otherwordly evil. That year Thalaenas father had predicted, was this year. The zhentarrim appaerently was after it to and had gone to great lengths to procure information about the location of the library. After a short sleep you continued on towards Silverymoon where the harpers would let you meet with Lady Alustriel and use the writings now personally protected at her palace. In the two rides it took you to reach the Gem of the North as it is sometimes refferered to you notice the days growing shorter. It stopped raining as frequently but instead bitter, cold winds seemed determined to make your journey slower. It was evening when you first lay eyes on what was surely the most beautiful city in the north. Huge ancient trees and slender white stone spires reached for the heavens. Under the starry sky it seemed to glitter and reflect the celestial bodies. Riding down towards it you noticed that the nearer part, on your side of the river Raurin which divides the city, was newer. While just as finely curved as most of the other buildings they lacked the amount of ornament that prided almost every building on the far side. < From what you knew it was a center of learning and culture and men and women of all the races lived there in harmony. How true that was or whether "all races" really included wood giants, orcs and ogre mages is something you would have to learn. A quick whisper from the lead harper to one of the guards let you in without even having to check your weapons. Tyverus asked where a good place to buy more food was and the harpers told him that if Alustriel was in favor of your mission she would provide you with all the food you could carry. You rode past military barracks and on towards what seemed like a silvery, ghosthly image of a bridge. This was in fact what had given the city its name. You crossed it and entered the old part of town. Even now in the evening quite a few people were out and while they took notice of you, you couldn't see as much as a trace of hostility. You turned past a noisy dance hall called the Dancing Goat, continued along broad cobblestone streets, through what seemed to be a new gate on the old wall and across a large open area, probably a market, past a grove of silvery trees and on to the palace itself. It was a masterwork combination of human, dwarven and elven architecture and had more towers than the entire city of Waterdeep. The gates opened up as the harpers rode towards it and it opened up to a tunnel and finally to the court. Servants came out to take care of your horses and while another one bowe before you. "Follow me to Lady Alustriel. She is waiting". Dragging the surly zhentarrim behind, you entered the palace and made your way up three floors past countless paintings, statues, carvings and other art objects to her audience hall. She sat, not on the throne but on a chair at a table to the side of the throne, a table which held a chess game which seems to be in progress. Having stared at other peoples faces, dirty from days on the road, she was truly stunning. She was the perfect example of regal beuty dressed in a long and wide evening gown whose gems shone and glittered in the light from the stars outside. "Welcome friends. I hope your hunt was successful." "It was. This is the missing zhentarrim." The lead harper answered. "We tried to interrogate him but decided it was better to give him to the priest to extract the truth from his head instead." "Very well. I’ll send for some priests. Who are these people?" "They are Thalaenas, Vandelay, Tyverus and Silent Hope. They are travelling north to try and find the library of Nemanthyr." Thalaenas took a step forward at this. "Yes Lady. My father is a seer and has predicted that the gate to Nemanthyr will open this winter. I and my companions are going there to protect the elven magic from those who would use it for evil. Like the zhentarrim which we know are after this too." "All signs point to that yes." The Lady answered. "From what my advisors tell me there are dangerous times ahead. Elminster himself speaks of the time of trials, where the fate of the Realms themselves will be determined." She paused for a short while. "But he has always been one for dramatic exaggeration." Thalaenas stepped forward. "My Lady, my father is a seer. One of high standing in the elven court. He has predicted that this year will see the return of an otherwordly evil. He believes that the means to stop him is located in The Vault of Eyes in the library of Nemanthyr. This is why we seek it. That the zhentarim even know of this is grave news. We need to be there fore midwinter day. That will be the day when the library opens it's gates to the world and allow entry." "I see. I sense that your words are true. Anything you need from me will be provided. Miranor and Welker here are the most seasoned of Harpers in this part of the north. If you will they shall accompany you." "That would be well. Right now though I’m going to need all ancient elven lore your libraries hold. We must find a clue as to the location of Nemanthyr." "It’s being kept here in the palace. Follow me." With a last glance at the chess table (which the Lady seems to be winning) you left the audience hall. You walked through opulent dining halls and galleries to reach the palace library. Located in one of the towers it was four stories high. The walls were lined with shelves that held books, parchments, clay and stone tablets, scrolls and parchments. On tables lay books whose slender letters revealed their elven origin. There were hundreds of them. The lady spoke. "My servants are at your command. Rooms for you to rest in is in the gallery we just passed. If you need more elven reading people I will send for them." Thalaenas looked at you. "Which of you know elven writing?" No sooner had Thalaenas asked the question than five black shapes came crashing through the stained glass windows. Landing you could see that they were humans, dressed in black, tightfitting garb. They brandished long thin blades of unknown origin as they quickly squared off against the four of you while the fifth went for one of the elven books. Drawing your own weapons you stood ready to face them. As you began the quick chant to send some acid arrows after the free ninja, the one that stood nearest you struck you, cutting your hand, and disrupting your concentration. The ninja jumped for the book and as soon as he touches it, the book and the ninja dissappeared. As soon as he was gone the others sunk to the floor, disolving into boiling puddles of black, foulsmelling matter. The battle was over as suddenly as it had started. Lady Alustriel and two of the harpers came running. "What happened?" "Blackclad men with strange swords just attacked us and suddenly they just fell into these puddles." "One of them took a book." Tyverus told them. "I think I know what they where" one of the harpers began. "Ryutel once told me of people like this from when he travelled to the far east. They are assassins called ninjas. He never said anything about them turning into black water." "I have a list of all the books. Let’s find out which one they took." Alustriel said. After checking off the available books the one now missing was titled ”Leavefall – The collected poems of Arastarian”. "What would they want with a poetry book, unless it offers some clue." Thalaenas said. "I think I know where you could get another copy of it." Alustriel said as she looked out of the broken window. "The mages of Saddledale has one and I’d bet my reputation that noone would be able to take it. I could send you there with a teleport and write them a letter stating your business. What say you?" You all agreed. "As you all agree I will write a letter of recommendation for the mages there." Alustriel said. "You should gather those belongings you will need. The horses must stay here I’m afraid but we’ll take good care of them." After getting all your gear you gathered in the audience hall again. Alustriel handed Thalaenas a scroll. "This will take you there safely. Good travels and well met." As soon as Thalaenas starts reading the words of the scroll it seems like the world around you becomes all quiet. All thet can be heard is the elfs voice as he recites the scroll. Then all of a sudden all the colors smear together and you stand in endless greyness for a second. Then the colors come back but you see your somewhere else. Still a little dizzy from the teleportation you take in your surroundings. You stood on a hill outside a fenced area that held the strangest building you had ever seen. It looked like perhaps 40 people started building a house or a tower by themselves and then decided to connect them. All separate parts were built in it’s owners favorite style which gave this place the chaotic look it now has. Beyond the strange mansion there was a few barns built in the traditional style. A stream that ran uphill separated the main building from the barns. Outside the fence on the other side of where you stood was a small village. The hill you stood on was but one in this rolling hill landscape. A greyish mist obscured the horizon. As your minds cleared you noticed two men sitting outside one of the building parts leaned over a big tome that they seemed to be studying exitedly. Several bottles of wine seemed to have helped keep the excitement up. They noticed you and one of them, clad in a dark blue robe with gold trimmings came walking towards you. "Well met travellers. How may I, Mendor Harpell, help you?" After telling the mage your story he led you around the fence and through the main gate. What from the outside looked like grass was some sort of small corn plant you noticed as you walked to the main building. Beneath a bridge over the stream you walk atop some kind of invisible bridge. "We’ve had others ask for this book. But we don’t allow outsiders to take books away from our library. This of course goes for you too even if Lady Alustriel is backing you." You noticed how quickly he had regained sobriety even if he still smelled of mulled wine. You entered the building and walked along a curved inner wall til you reached the first door. You entered into what seemed like a tavern. It was completely circular with round tables around a round bar around a round kitchen. To your left was a stage with floating instruments that softly played some kind of march. "Wait here and I’ll get the book for you. Refreshments are on me." A few minutes later he returned with a huge leather and metal bound book. The cover depicted three leaves, one green, one yellow and one red. "There you are. Just leave it when you’re done." He handed you some parchments and writing ink. "Tell me when you leave." He hesitated. "You are free to wander, that is if not all of you will read the book." Thalaenas started reading while Tyverus ordered something to drink. Going back outside Tyverus bent down to examine the plants closer. Picking one up he could see that it was in fact shrunken corn, about 4 inches high. He took it with him as he walked down to the bridge. The real wooden bridge seemed under close examination to be nothing but paint on some sort of invisible structure. It was probably part of the mansions defense. The real bridge, totally invisible, went under the painted bridge. It was easy to cross when you knew exactly where it was but really confusing for an uninformed newcomer. Walking back inside, to the bar, you met Vandelay who was walking around the mansion, coming down from the stairs to the second floor. "The place is a veritable maze". He said as he joined you at the bar. Silent Hope and Thalaenas seemed lost in the book, scribbling notes. Tyverus got some wine from the bartender. "Did you know they have stuffed monsters upstairs? Beholders and dragons and all manners of strange beasts?" He sipped his wine. "Damn strong!" He said with a smile. One hour later Thalaenas walked up to you. "We have what we came for. One of the poems describe pretty thouroughly the ritual we have to perform to get into the library vault. If you all are ready we should be heading back to Silverymoon." Thalaenas led you back to the mage you first met. "Could you teleport us back to Silverymoon." He asks. "Certainly. Be sure to come back and tell me how it all went later." "We will." At that he started weaving the spell and you once again experience the strange sensation that teleportation brought. When you can fully orientate yourselves you saw that you stood just outside the palace gates. Though it was now late in the evening they were still open. "We'll get our horses and what supplies we need. We need to quicken our pace. The ritual alone will take a week with preparations. Lady Alustriel will understand even if we don’t take farewell of her properly." He starte off to the stables. ”Vandelay, you get to the kitchen and fix some trailfood for us.” Readying your horses and packing the food you soon started off out from Silverymoon and were again back on the road to the north. Cold winds and long days lay ahead. The weeks on the road became a blur. The green light diffused some memories...but you still remembered the rocky pass just north of a small mining colony called ”Northtooth”. You had ridden perhaps 200 yards into the snow covered canyon when Thalaenas halted his horse. "Look at the sky." As you looked up you could see dark clouds forming overhead seemingly concentrated above the canyon. "Someone’s working weather art. We need to make haste so that we aren’t caught in the canyon." With this he smacked his horse and started galopping forward. Vandelay starts off after him. Following him you reached a ridge when a blizzard hit. Visibility was suddenly down to a few yards. "We’ve got to make a shelter" Vandelay screamed over the wind. "We’ll use one tent as a windshield, propped up with snow and raise the others. Tent openings in the wind direction. Quick!" Working quickly you did as he said. The horses moved about nervously. You took of the saddlebags and covered them with blankets before taking cover in your tents. "How long does this last, Vandelay?" Thalaenas screamed. "Real blizzards can last for days but thats rare. Usually a few hours." Vandelay screamed back. "What about the horses?" "They won’t survive this if it’s more than a few hours." "We can’t just sit here." "We won’t last if we go out. We can’t see." A roar made your horses whince and another sent them galopping. "Vandelay! What was that roar?" "Sounds like Ice worms. If we’re lucky they’ll settle for our horses." "Without the horses we’ll be hard pressed to make it on time!" "We’ll never catch them in this weather." The discussion went quiet as a noise not unlike a stampede seemed to be nearing, heard even over the roar of the wind. "Get out of the tents!" Vandelay screamed. Scrambling your nearest gear you jumped out of your tent. ”Stay close to the cliffs!” The sound comes nearer and nearer and out of the grey and white that is the blizzard came a huge creature. It looked like a giant furry caterpillar with a multitude of legs and from the ground to the head it was about 30 feet. As it thundered down past you it flattened your tents. Then came another. Just as large. But this one slowed down just few yards past you. It was hard to concentrate in the wind but somehow Tyverus managed it and sent the tiny glowing speck towards the creature as it turned around to eye you. With a thunderous boom the fireball exploded red and yellow that soon became just a blackened cloud. The creature howled in pain, bits of it's chitinous shell blewn away and left it's flesh exposed. It turns around completely and begins to run towards you. It's once white boneprotrusions on it's back now glowed a cherry red color. Then another fireball hit. Thalaenas doing. Bleeding heavily it started to run away from you, but swayed from the lost blood. Soon after the blizzards stopped. "Get as much of your gear as you can. We should hurry down to the forest where we’ll be better protected against the weather." Vandelay walked back to the shreds that was once your tents. "These can be mended." You started to pack your things as well as you can. "We wont make it very far if we have to carry all this. Take as much as possible that you can still maintain a walking pace. Tents and food is most essential." You walked downhill into a large connifer forest. Thalaenas and Vandelay walked last in the snow that reached almost to their knees. Ten days of walking through the forest saw you emerging on the other side. "This is as far as I have ever been" Vandelay started. "I know we should be on the lookout for caves up this cliffside but I’m afraid I don’t know anything about what’s in those caves or on the other side but we should be extra careful." He hesitated for a while. "We should spend today hunting. I have no idea about when we next will be able too and food is a little low." "Agreed." Said Thalaenas. "You watch camp Tyverus while we hunt." He handed you his huntsman's horn. "Blow in this if something happens." While standing guard Tyverus noticed some riders approaching him. It was the harpers from earlier. They slowed their horses and disembarked. "Where are the others" the hawknosed man said as he eyed the tracks your companions made as they went off to hunt. "We almost despaired about catching up with you again" he said as he straightened up and looked around with watchful eyes. The harper behind him seemed to be reaching for something in one of their horses saddlebags. "Why did you come after us" Tyverus asked. "Well, you asked for our help earlier and we volunteered, so here we are. We wouldn’t want you to hog all the Zhentarim bashing glory." He smiled. You kept an eye on the other harper and could see that he pulled out a ring and put it on his finger. Then he began walking towards you stopping besides the first harper and exchanged glances with him. "The others have just gone out for some hunting...they will be back later..I think...why do you need them?" "Oh, we need them...dead!" He answered. At that the harper with the ring pointed his hand with the ring towards you and says "Akalawath!". When nothing happens they both stop in their tracks. They seemed stunned by the fact that nothing happened when the ring was pointed towards you. Tyverus quickly flicked away the bat guano and sent fiery death exploding in their midst. Chunks of charred flesh settled in the snow and soon all that was left is the smell of roast meat. The explosion brought Thalaenas and Vandelay running back to your camp. "What in the nine hells happened?" Thalaenas asked. "You remember those two harpers a while back who took us to the harper lady?" "...Well they came after us and wanted us dead. But I didn't like the idea of that so I killed them." Tyverus grinned as he looked at himself and what was left of them, astonished. "So what have you been up to then?" he asked. "I’ve downed a deer, but I left it a while back, when I heard the explosion. Still I can’t believe they turned traitor unless some kind of evil magic was involved." Thalaenas answered. "I’ve gotten us two hares." Vandelay says. "What we have now should suffice for a few days. As soon as Silent Hope returns we should try to make use of what light is left and get some distance between us and this place." Searching the remains Tyverus found three rings remaining, all clearly magical as they hadn't been so much as dented. After pocketing them he returned to your studies. Vandelay started preparing the hares as Thalaenas went off for his deer. Later as he returned with Silent Hope you continued up on the mountainside. Trees became gradually less common and as the night nears you took shelter in a small icy cave on the cliffside. Vandelay started making your evening meal while Thalaenas explored the cavern walls. Tyverus took the time to examine the rings. The carvings on the rings were clearly oriental in nature although the exact area of origin was impossible to pinpoint. The auras emanating from two of them were of the school of illusions and there was no trace of malign magic. The other one has magic from the school of abjurations and does not contain any malign magic. The only way to see what they do was to put them on, one at a time. While he was examining the rings he could hear that Thalaenas and Silent Hope had begun hacking away at the ice and that Vandelay had started to roast the hares. Vandelay looked up at Tyverus as he had put the first ring on and smiled. He could see that his shape looked different, the ring seems to give him the appearance of the hawk-nosed harper. It was a pretty good illusion, but since you were prepared for it you could see through it. The other ring gave him the appearance of the other harper. The third ring didn’t seem to do anything but it was probably because it needed a word of some kind to activate it. As you ate Thalaenas told you that there was another, larger cave behind the ice wall in the back of this one. Thats why he and Silent Hope had been hacking away at it. "When we break through, it’s good if you two can be ready to support us with magic and weapons because the noise we have made is sure to have brought the attention of animals and monsters, if any." After the meal they continued to chip away at the ice and soon they had managed to hack away enough that Thalaenas could take a look. "It’s the crystal caves." With renewed frenzy ice is chopped away until an opening big enough for you and Silent Hope to squeeze through had been made. Vandelay entered first, weapons ready, Silent Hope, Thalaenas and Tyverus followed. The only light came from your cave’s camp fire but that was enough as it made the walls sparkle like a thousand diamonds. All of the cave was crystal and the sharp stalacmites that covers parts of the floor could easily kill anyone who stumbled and fell. Several openings lead away from the first cave and went deeper into the mountains. "Okay. We’ll get our gear and move out." Thalaenas said. You packed all your stuff and started going into the crystal caves. After almost two days of spelunking through the crystal caves you emerged into a small vale. Thalaenas had told you that the crystal caves once used to be a place of pilgrimage for elven monks and clerics who wanted to meditate on the future. It had been a strange experience in there, the walls seemed to whisper strange advice and sentences but as soon as you tried to concentrate on what they said the whispering voices had silenced. It was less than a mile across, with relatively level ground. Sharp, snow and ice-covered cliffs surrounded it, and the sun shone down from a clear sky, almost blinding you at first. Small stands of fir tress was the only thing here and there was no signs of any civilization. And yet, here, somewhere, the entrance to the library should have been. "We can rest for a while now, we'll have to wait until night when the moon is out in full to begin the ritual. I think we're a few days ahead of schedule, but tonight we will know for sure." Thalaenas was right, you are four days ahead of the time of the library's revelation. As the tension rose, day by day, you all occupied yourselves in different ways. Thalaenas practiced the ritual, Silent Hope and Silvermane foraged for food for you, weapons were polished and sharpened, clothes and armor mended. Tyverus studied the vale which seemed to be strong in magic with no particular source. No secret doors or other entrances were found except the one you entered through. On the third night, the one before the ritual, you were all awakened by Thalaenas and Landor who were on watch. They pointed towards the cave entrance where ten people clad mostly in black stood, clearly visible in the moonlight. Six of them wore metal armor, and the rest leather or cloth. They seemed to be lead by a female cleric and shields and holy symbols depicted the Black hand of Bane. This was probably some zhentarrim strike group. Your guess was that three of them were clerics, three fighters, two mages and the other two might have been anything. They seemed to be only humans or perhaps half elves, at this distance it was hard to tell. They were discussing among themselves, but they kept a good watch on their surroundings. "We need to do something about them, any suggestions on tactics" Thalaenas whispered. "When have we ever used tactics?" Merkell replied. "I suggest two of us go over to them using the rings of illusion, then give a signal as when to strike. No need for me to say the spellcasters will be a handful if left standing" Tyverus volunteered. "I can cast upon thee some spells to aid in the battle ahead, who is willing to go?" he asked. "I'll go" Vandelay answered. "Me too" Bellago offered. Tyverus started to cast a Stoneskin spell on Vandelay and handed over the illusion rings. "We will await the sign if and when to attack. We only need a sign, maybe a raise of the left foot while standing?" Tyverus said. "Sounds like a plan" Thalaenas said. "I think we should try to eliminate the spellcasters as quickly as possible with our own magic, maybe as many area spells as possible in the first strike." "Hang on, let me just cast a spell or two that will make us less noticeable until we attack" Fillorin whispers. "You should spread out a little, and give their spellcasters a harder time to use their are affects" Bellago said as he put on the ring and became someone else in appearance. "Ok, everyone ready to go?" Thalaenas asked. Everyone nodded and as soon as Fillorin was finished with his spells most fanned out a bit. Bellago and Vandelay started to walk towards the zhentarim. "Ill met" Vandelay shouted in the voice of the Harper. The zhentarrim exchanged some quick words among each other and most of them drew weapons. "Eiroth, is that you? Take off the ring!" Vandelay stops and raises his left foot. As Tyverus quickly cast a Minor Globe of Invulnerability on himself Thalaenas hurled away a fireball that exploded in the midsts of the Zhentarrim. While most of them reacted quickly and put up shields or threw themselves out of harm´s way, one clad in leather took it dead on and fell to the ground burning. You could see another group of adventurers attacking the enemy from behind. "Just an illusion of mine." Fillorin mused. Landor was nowhere to be seen, and Bellago started to run towards the enemy that was struggling to get back on their feet. Vandelay was right behind Bellago, drawing his sword as he ran towards the enemy leader. Merkell cast something on himself and his skin took on a brown, barklike look. Silent Hope seemed to just observe the chaos as Silvermane sent off a fireball of his own. This one didn't hit as hard as Thalaenas spell did, but it was enough to send one of the mages flying to the ground. One of their clerics raised his unholy symbol and for a short second the zhentarrim were all bathed in a dark blue glow. Tyverus mumbled some magic incantations and suddeny one of the zhentarrim clerics was absolutely still. Fillorin sent 5 glowing magical missiles into the chest of the female leader and Thalaenas walked towards the enemy and sent a bolt of lightning towards the cleric that had held his symbol up. The cleric however stepped out of the way and most of the bolt went past him. Bellago reached one of the enemy fighters, took a good swing but the fighter blocked with his long sword and grinned. One of the zhentarrim, clad in matte black leather separated from the rest of the group, drew a bow and an arrow and started to fire at Fillorins illusionary adventurers. One of their clerics healed one of their mages. Vandelay closed in with the leader of the zhentarrim. The first sword strike she parried but the force pushed her back a bit and as she was trying to recover he brought down the sword full force, only to have it mostly deflected off her plate armor. Merkell quietly whispered, his head turned down, and suddenly the grass under the enemy's feet began to grab and hold them, making them unable to move. The mage that was healed cast a Minor globe of invulnerability on himself as one of the armor clad zhentarrim came to his leader´s aid against Vandelay. The grass held him down however, and made it hard for him to reach and he was unable to keep up with Vandelays dodges. Silvermane cast a Slow spell that doesn't seem to affect anyone, and Silent Hope continued to just observe. A wall of thorn bush sprung up in the midst of the illusionary adventurer group, the doing of one of their clerics. Tyverus pointed his hand towards the mages and uttered "Askatha", sending a bright lightning bolt towards them. They both dropped to the ground. Enough of the bolt seemed to hit them however, as one of them remained down, held in place by the grabbing grass. Thalaenas sent three magic missiles towards the leader. Bellago swung again, a good blow that almost knocked his opponents sword out of his hand as he tried to parry. With the illusionary adventurers disabled the archer turned around and sent two arrows flying towards Thalaenas. In the darkness however his aim was far from true and the arrows settled a whole 100 yards past Thalaenas. One of their clerics cast a spell on himself. vandelay and the enemy leader traded blows, Vandelay hit twice and the leader once but they both drew blood. Merkell called down a column of fire on the mages and now none of them were standing. One of the fighters closest to their leader managed to hit Vandelay twice in the back as he focused mostly on the leader, and the hits were good too, and Vandelay seemed to have some trouble moving. Three magic missiles leaves the fingers of Silvermane to join all the others on the leader, and as she staggered from the force she raised her weapon and shield up and yelled: "We yield, we yield!" Everyone seemed to stop, but noone seemed willing to let down their guard completly. Spell components and weapons remained in hand. For a moment it seemed noone dared to breathe. Tyverus looked at the enemy, waiting for them to drop their weapons and quit casting spells. He walked towards the group and shouted "Drop your weapons and kneel!" "I will drop my weapons, but I will not kneel" the leader answered. "I have some information that you'll find very useful if you're to enter the Library, information that I will give if you let my men go free and take me with you." Everyone, on both sides seems surprised at the suggestion. "Drop your weapons first, your men too!" Tyverus suggested. "Do as he says" the leader said, looking at her men as she put her weapon and shield down "Now". Still somewhat uneasy, those zhentarim that held weapons put them on the ground and the magic user pocketed his components. Vandelay sheathed his sword and Bellago started a healing prayer for him. Landor returned from the darkness, he had probably been trying to circle around the zhentarim to backstab them. "Information from zentharim has never been highly recommended as valuable in such cases, so speak what ye know and maybe your men can leave." Tyverus said as he grabbed a rope and eyed the leader. "First we need take precaution of course." He made a motion to start binding their leader but she put up a hand and said: "No. Let the others go first, then you can bind me as much as you like, but I really think you'll be needing every extra sword hand available once you enter the library. I swear on my lord Bane's name that I will give you the full truth once my people are safe." Silvermane leaned in next to Tyverus and whispered "Let's let them leave, we can have Landor shadow them to make sure they really leave and not come back. As much as I don't trust zhentarim, I don't think they take their God's name in vain." Tyverus nodded to Silvermane. When the last of the zhentarim disappeared into the cave their leader put her arms forward and Tyverus bound her. When he was done he turned to her. "Now speak of what ye know!" "Fine. When the elves built the library humans had started their conquest of the realms and the elves argued amongst each others. It even came close to civil war. The creator of the library wanted the library to be a resource for all beings for all times but in the end he was voted down. Instead of taking it to war he went into exile and was never heard from since. The library had some defenses built into it that would let any pure elf pass undisturbed, but anyone else would be attacked. There are three defenses. The first one is a trio of iron golems. They are powered by magical rocks set in holes on their backs. I guess it's either hack them down or try to get their power source out." She paused. If it was for effect or if she was thinking about something was hard to know. "The second defense is a labyrinth filled with traps that are designed not to kill but wear down and disperse an enemy. It´s supposed to have lots of portals in it that sends you away to faraway lands. The last defense I don't know of. Our source was the diary of the army commander that opposed the library's creator." She looked at you, waiting for your next move. Thalaenas and Tyverus listened attentively, as if they're both trying to see if the words ring true. Thalaenas whispered to the rest of you. "Sad to say, while my father would most likely know if this were true or not, I used to think history was just for old people who no longer wanted to be a part of it." Tyverus turned to Landor and whispered."You had best check if those Zentharim are really leaving. We will wait here for you." "On my way" he said as he took a few steps and disappeared into the darkness. Tyverus walked back to the leader of the Zentharim group and says "We will see what is true and what is not. Where is this diary you spoke off?" "It's not here. It's kept safe in my master's study in Zhentil Keep. I haven't read it myself, I have only ever seen it." After she is finished speaking Tyerus stripped her of all her spell components and other items and gagged her with her own embroidered silk handkerchief. Finally he bound her feet, and her arms to her back. "You don't like taking chances do you?" Fillorin says with an amused look on his face. Tyverus motioned the others to follow him a bit away from the zhentarrim leader. "If it is true three iron golems guard the vault we will have aour hands full. What I know is they are powerful creations and have some resistance to magic. We will need blunt weapons to inflict most damage. It seems to me the best chance we have is to get those stones imbedded in their heads. We may be able to distract them so Landor can take one by surprise so we only have two to worry about. Also we must be at full strength so I suggest we all rest and recouperate from this meeting with scum." He looked to the leader again and speaks a little louder so she can hear. "We may have some bait..." He grinned demonically... "I agree with your ideas. I wonder what tactics the zhentarrim were going to use." Thalaenas says. "I've heard golems are pretty large, so I guess it's up to you two to take out those magic rocks" he continued and looked to Tyverus and Silent Hope. "We should probably prepare defensive spells more than attack spells." With prisoner in tow you returned to your camp site and started to prepare. Tomorrow night was the night of the ritual. Landor returned soon after the sun had started to rise. Tyverus turned to you "We'd best get a good nights rest and prepare for what lies ahead. I suggest we take turns guarding the cleric, we wouldn't want our bait to run away now eh." His lips turned in a little smile. "I will study in some spells that will aid us in the battle ahead. Spells to enlarge some of us, and some to protect us from blows. Also I have thought of something to entrap at least two golems, if I have time, in to give us a little breathing room. Also will be able to quicken some of us. That is all I can do for the battle ahead." He took out the magical items and potions. "Some of these items may prove invaluable to us in the near future, is anybody here proficient in herbalism? The items I can glance over and may understand them a little, a proper identification will take me about eight hours, thus too long now. Please..." He looked at those of you that are also spellcasters. "...take a look at the items as well." "Tyverus is right" Thalaenas said. We should rest and prepare now. Tonight is the night of the ritual. When Tyverus was done studying and saw that Landor had returned he addressed Landor "What did you hear and see?" "Those caves are quite echoy. I could hear them talking from far behind them. There was a lot of grumbling, but noone seemed to want to countermand their leader until they could get word from even higher up. From what I gather they have some sort of magical communication device but it's at their camp on the other side of the caves. That means it'll be at least 4 days before they'll be back." Landor went to rest while all of you prepared for the night. And the night came, and with it a full moon. With the zhentarrim tied to a tree not too far away you started the ritual. At first nothing seemed to happen, then you notice that the light from the moon seemed to grow stronger and focus, first on you, then as it travelled across the grass, and finally it reached full intensity as it stopped at one of the ice covered mountain walls. Just as if the warm rays of the sun had hit it it starts to melt. It melted a lot quicker than you would have thought and in a only a few minutes it has made a hole, almost 20 meters deep through the ice, to reveal a pair of huge silver ash doors carved to resemble a mountain range made out of parchments, tablets and books. Above it were three large, round, stained glass windows. The doors slowly opened. Behind them a short flight of stairs went down to a balcony connected to a long bridge. From here it looked like all of the rest of the mountain is hollowed out. Thalaenas went to untie the zhentar from the tree, with her hands still tied behind her back. "Vandelay, keep an eye on her" he said. Walking inside you noticed while the whole of the mountain wasn't hollowed out, plenty of it was. Here and there you catch gleaming crystals and there's no bottom to be seen. The light from the moon illuminated the bridge and you note something - it's only 10 feet wide and it had no rails. It's almost 200 feet across. At the far end of the bridge was a long narrow corridor that led to an open space that looked to contain light and plants. Tyverus stepped to the ledge and looked down, staring for a while until he's sure his eyes didn't decieve him. There was no floor or bottom below as far as he could tell. The bridge seemed like it's suspended in midair with no sort of supports either from above or below. "Those three windows we saw above the door are probably doors of some kind behind which the golems stand. Main issue is not getting caught flatfooted by the golems." He turned to Landor "Will you guide us in front and check for traps and such?" "No problem" He answered with a smile. "I never could stand heights" Silvermane sighed. One by one you started out across the bridge, weapons ready, inching your way forward with Landor in the lead. When he was almost to the center you heard three bells ringing and suddenly three golems golems appeared. One behind you at the start of the bridge, one in the middle and one at the far side. They were modeled to look like tall elven warriors, each unique. One held a giant mace, one a giant long sword, and one a giant spear. "Wait! I got it! This is what the Leavefall ritual was for!" Thalaenas almost screamed. "Meirindil, Aeindil, Litherae!" He said loudly, and as each name was uttered the golem was teleported away. He turned to you. "The ritual wasn't really for opening the door, it was to neutralize the guardian. I hadn't thought of what my father said to us back in the Glen of the Moon until now" His voice was back to normal. "And here I was getting ready for a real battle" Vandelay said, with emphasis on battle, beaming as he looked at the zhentarim leader. "We still have the labyrinth, any advice on that one?" Thalaenas said to the zhentarim leader. "Only some vague thing about following the red stars" She answered. After crossing the bridge, and going past the corridor you entered a huge domed room. The entrance to the stone labyrinth was straight ahead, almost the only visible stone surface in there as the rest of it was covered in different types of plants, most of them herbs and edible plants, full of berries and nuts. Light was emanating from a spiral of green globes that's almost 20 feet high and seemed to hover above the labyrinth, under the center of the dome. Everyone seemed to be taking in the view for a while before Tyverus spoke. "I once heard that if you keep following the left or right wall in a labyrinth you can get out, but I don't think that applies to this one. Would be too easy." He looked over to the party and then Landor and smiled. "What say thee to a boost up the wall Landor, maybe you can spot the way we have to go and save us some troubles searching for the right way, and maybe some obstacles we would rather avoid alltogether." "You know" Landor replied. "The ancient elves might have been a lot of things but they were always thorough, they must have deviced some sort of defence for someone who thought to climb or fly over. Let me try something first." First he picked up a stone from his pocket and threw it up over the edge of the nearest wall of the labyrinth. A few seconds later you heard it hit a wall or perhaps the floor a bit in. Then he cut off a small branch from a wine and threw it at the same place as the stone and it landed soon after. Lastly he took some dried meat from his ration pack and threw it over the labyrinth. It vanished the instant it passed over the height of the labyrinth walls. "Nice one" he muttered. "Look at this" Thalaenas said loudly. He was standing at the entrance to the labyrinth. As you gathered you can see there's as much growth inside the labyrinth as outside, although almost all of it were different kinds of plants with red berries: raspberries, redberries, lingonberries, dawnsunberries, concord grapes, red currants, cranberries and strawberries. Everyone turned to Merkell. "Oh, of course. Red stars is an old name for lingonberries." He said, almost taken aback with his own knowledge. "So, let's follow the lingonberry road then. Still, I'd like us to walk a few steps apart, just in case." Thalaenas said as he started to walk into the labyrinth. Looking closely at the assortment of berries he first turned right. Some twists and turns later you emerged on the other side. Another narrow arched corridor separated you from a vast open space beyond which you could see pillars surrounded by book cases. It seemed to be illuminated by moonlight from above. Walking through the corridor and out the other side you're astonished by the sheer size of the library. The light illuminated only the area near where you entered while the rest is in darkness and evey step you took, and every word you uttered echoed on what seemed like forever. "Okay. We need to find that vault of magic. Let's split up. Three groups, and call out and regroup here if anything dangerous is happening. Remember, there's supposed to be a third defence. I'll take Merkell and Fillorin. Tyverus, who'd you want with you?" "I have no real preference but seeing I get the honour..." Tyverus smiled at Thalaenas then looked over at Landor and Silenthope. "Will you accompany me Landor and Silent Hope?" "Of course." Landor replied while Silent Hope simply nodded. "Ok, me and my group will go deeper into the library right here, Tyverus, why don't you take the right side, and Silvermane, Bellago and Vandelay, you take the left." "Everyone ok with this?" Thalaenas asked as he prepared to go. Tyverus nodded. "Let's meet back here in six hours, It wouldn't surprise me if we can't communicate with each other once in the labyrinth." "Agreed" Thalaenas said. As you teamed up and went your separate ways you quickly lose sight of the others, and soon you could only hear yourselves. Remarkably for such a large area, beyond the entrance there's no echoes. You passed pillar, after pillar, after pillar after pillar. The number of books, scrolls, tablets, parchments and weaves is simply astounding, there's more here than all of you had seen combined in your lives. After a few minutes however the shelves around the pillars were empty and soon after you came upon a wall. Following it deeper into the library you soon came to an opening. Landor illuminated the are beyond with his bullseye lantern, revealing a round writing chamber with the walls covered in a tapestry depicting a deep, green, forest. As Tyverus walked in and started to look around and check the tables the others followed. There were writing instruments here, and several bottles of inks of various colours. A few had dried up but most are still fluid. As Tyverus searched behind the tapestry he founds a small piece of parchment stuck to the back of the tapestry using a sewing needle. It's a few sentences, in old elvish writing. Nothing else out of the ordinary was found in the 15 minutes or so you spent there. In all you had been away from the others for about half an hour. Tyverus uncorked the inks, cautiosly smelled them, and nods approvingly before putting the corks back. "Have any of you found anything? He asked. Silent Hope and Landor shook their heads. "Hidden behind the tapestry I have found this note, sown to it." He looked at it, turned it around, looked at it again... "Can anybody read this?" "Looks elvish" Silent Hope said and looked closer. "I recognize some of the words, but most of these characters...I don't understand. Maybe one of the elves know. It says something about trial, magical hiding place, general." "I think we have done what we can here, let's head back to meet the others." Tyverus said and pocketed the inks. You're the first group to arrive back, and the others arrived after a few hours. As you sat down to eat, Thalaenas started to speak. "We reached the far wall in a few minutes, and the shelves starts to become empty after about half the distance. There are three sets of three short tunnels that lead to barred iron and silver gates, each with it's own motif, a stylized animal. We tried to get the doors to open but we think they're locked by some sort of magic. Behind them there are short tunnels that lead to wooden double doors." He paused to drink some water. "What about your group, Silvermane?" "Well, we also noticed the shelves aren't filled with books beyond the first 20 or so pillars. There are three side rooms. The first is a huge shaft that leads to the top of the mountain and is some sort of observatory. Even though it's outside the temperature is comfortable, and there's no snow or anything. The next room is some kind of trophy room with lots of stuff, banners, weapons, pottery, paintings, but none of it looks elven. And the last room is just shelf after shelf of small crystal figurines depicting every imaginable creature, animal and intelligent race you can think of." "Tyverus, what about you guys?" Thalaenas asked. Tyverus started to tell what happened to his group. "Our route also began with the shelves becoming empty after some time. We followed a wall deeper into the library and come into a round chamber. The walls there were covered in tapestry with forests on them. The chamber was a writing chamber, I found a hidden message behind a tapestry, sewn to it. Unfortunately none of our group could understand it completely." He took out the piece of parchment and continued. "All we know is what Silent Hope could read, which is something to do with trial and a magical hiding place. Can any of you complete the translation?" Thalaenas and Silvermane took a look at it and look at each other like they're not quite understanding what they're reading. "This is really strange." Thalaenas began. "It's written using ancient elven words but the grammar is more like old elven, much closer to how it's used now. Anyway." He hesitated for a while. "It says It has come down to a rule of fear, fear not only of the humans that's come to our lands, but also of the dwarves, the halflings and the gnomes who have long been our allies. I fear that the trial to determine the faith of the last of the libraries is over before it's started. I've sent out messages to friends among other races so that one day the knowledge of the libraries can be shared with everyone and not guarded and used only for the benefit of elvenkind. I've hidden the vault of magic in a place that can only be reached if five willing persons from five races touch hands and recite Elien." "That basically means For everyone, in elvish." Silvermane chimed in. Thalaenas continued. "I hope that in this way the general or anyone else can use these powerful items without an alliance with other intelligent races. I hope history will honor my name. Arastarian." "What do you say guys?" Thalaenas finished his reading. "Interesting...." he looked to Thalanaes and Silvermane. "This 'Elien' we need to recite,.. have you heard of it? We will need this to reach the vault. Also I am curious who this Arastarian is who wrote the note..." Thalaenas answered. "Yeah, Elien as a word is used sort of as a rebellious thing by those elves that decide to remain here in Faerun instead of retreating to Evermeet. Back then it probably meant just for everyone. Today we say Eli thaque instead if we just mean for everyone. Arastarian is the architect of this place, and the author of Leavefall." "I'm just amazed that note said all of that." Merkell added. "Ancient elvish as very economic, you read it both left to right, then up and down. Every letter is two letters." Silvermane explained. "I guess when everyone's finished eating we should hold hands. Or does anyone need more preparations?" Thalaenas asked. Tyverus nodded in agreement and as soon as everyone had packed and checked their gear you gathered in a circle and held hands, the zhentarrim leader having been retied to allow the use of her hands. As soon as the first of you said Elien there was a blinding flash and the next moment you were somewhere else entirely. Your eyes took but a moment to adjust but your minds were a bit slower as if you were not quite ready to believe what you were seeing. You were in a grand pyramidal hall made out of wood, steel and stained glass. It was bathed in colors and it felt kind of like how you imagined it would be if you were inside a rainbow. From side to side it was perhaps 100 feet. There were a few tables with simple wooden benches near you there in the middle. One of the tables held a stack of papers tied together with some string. Around the center in a sort of circular placement were glass cabinets that held armours, weapons, scrolls and an assortment of items. A large number of them were glowing and some even sparkling with magical power. While there were no huge stacks of coins it is probably the most incredible treasure collection you had seen. As you looked around it slowly sank in. The armours, and the weapons - they were all made to fit you specifically. Chapter Three: Bowels of Toril This part is written from the point of view of one of the characters, and was the actual beginning of the story. ”If we don’t have our memories; What do we have?” The surrounding darkness gave way to a lighter more greenish hue. A distand sound of running water reached you as did closer, dripping, noises. You felt youself lying down on cold stone bed with only a thin sheet covering your body. You felt uncomfortable because small stones and sand cover the bed, and you could feel it in your hair too. Your stomach felt crampy and your tounge was swollen from lack of water. As you looked around you with tired eyes you saw others; There was three elves, probably grey, an ogre mage and a human. All seemed vaguely familiar but you couldn’t really remember. You didn't seem to remember much at all. They all look as confused and sick as you felt. They all lay on stone slabs covered with white cotton sheets. Symbols has been painted on their foreheads in a red paint and as you touch your forehead you notice that you have been painted with it too. As you lifted your arm you noticed something more: It seemed too big and coarse. You ouldn’t remember who you were or what you were doing here but that arm, that body felt all wrong. Too big, too heavy. Three other slabs had sheets on them but they were empty. One slab had no occupant or sheet. The chamber you were in was carved out of the gray and brown bedrock. Three openings lead away from it. Two lead into darkness while green light emanated from beyond the third which looke to be a moss and fungi covered cave. The light seemed to come from the moss itself. Following the elf into the moist cavern you saw it stretching into the distance and curve downwards to the left. Stalagtites and low stalagmites glittered in the green light and water continuosly dripped from them. A strange smell like sour milk permeated the air here. You could see about 300 yards in that direction. To your right the cavern twisted and turned so that you could see about 100 yards. A slow moving stream winded it's way across the floor of the rounded cavern, gathering speed where the cavern started turning downhill. At it's deepest point it was perhaps three feet deep. Sediment lines on the walls showed that the stream sometimes was much higher than its current state. On your side of the cavern and to the right was an opening that probably lead to an adjacent room, maybe the same that the second opening lead to. Across the stream and to the right was a huge opening that had been carved out of the bedrock. Some kind of mosaic decorated the floor in front of massive, corroded, iron doors that also seems to be decorated. From here you couldn't really make out what they depicted or what kind of pattern it was. Wearing nothing but the thin white sheets for protection you followed the wood giant out into the huge cavern. You noticed that there were in all four openings on your side of the cavern, the one you just stepped out of and three others evenly spaced on the rock wall. The gold elf bent down at the stream and scooped up some water and tasted it. Seemingly encouraged he drank some more. "You should drink some, it’s fresh" he said. Looking in through the nearest opening you saw a huge room and the far wall was lost in the darkness. The light from the fungi was enough to reveal that near the next opening there was a stone circle, slightly lower than the rest of the floor. Hanging on the walls and lying on the floor were weapons, all close combat, mostly swords. Those that lay on the floor were corroded beyond repair but those that hung high up on the wall were only slightly rusted. After having looked through the opening you all crossed the cold stream and walked the three steps up to the floor mosaic and the iron doors. The mosaic depicted a white skull superimposed over a black shield with red borders. The skull had horns growing outwards and downwards from it's cheeks and horns growing outwards from its chin. The corrosion on the iron doors had eliminated a lot of the details of the basrelief work but it clearly showed a multitude of monsters centered around a central beholder. You recognized among them remhoraz, behirs, nagas, hooked horrors and bulettes. Others were slightly familiar and others still, total unknowns. The beholders 12 eyes were clearly buttons. As you stood there examining the doors you couldn't help but notice that the doors had been newly opened. You all walked back to the weapons room and the grey elf took this time to drink of the water. As they looked around for weapons to use you decided that it would very probably be a good idea to arm yourself. The grey elf decided on a curved sword and then proceeded to take a slightly longer less curved thin blade. The gold elf took a two handed club. You settled for a long sword of exquisite design. The ogre mage took a metal staff and the others equipped themselves with the remaining swords. Walking back to the mosaic and the iron doors the grey elf promptly began to push and prod the skull mosaic while the gold elf studied the beholder sculpture's eyes closely. "Turn away from the green light." The gold elf nodded approvingly to something the grey elf asked him. As he startes pushing the beholders eyebuttons you could hear the sound of clockwork starting to operate and as he pushed the third button the doors slowly opened with a creaking noise. Bright green light wash over you and even though you shield your eyes it burns as you start to tear. The green light reminds you of something, someplace… Where… Recovering from the flashback: "Beyond the Gates" You stood on the treshold looking in at an octagonal room. It was lit by a green light which pulsated, emanating from a well in the center of the room. An unfinished magic circle was carved into the floor, with the well at it’s center and within the circle stood six pillars wrought from the bedrock. Two men were tied to these pillars and as you laid eyes on them you feel the same kind of vague recognition you got from the others around you. On the wall opposite you was an alcove upon which was a throne in a black crystalline material. On the right and left walls were other sets of double doors, the ones on the right were open and revealing some sort of hallway beyond. The ogre mage walked into the room and proceeded to untie the orc and the gold elf while he kept a watchful eye on the open doors and the well. "Are you alright?" he asked. A half elf and a gold elf followed him in and with their curved swords ready they approached the open double doors on the western wall. Those that still stood on the treshold noticed that the waterlevel of the stream was slowly rising. "I do not know where this is and what is going on!" The orc said in a hushed voice. "Calm down, everything’s going to be fine" the grey elf began, "but the water level outside is rising, we should get out of here quick." "We don’t know where here is either" said the ogre mage. "I think our best chances are in this room if the water rises too high. The other rooms we’ve seen doesn’t have any doors in them." The wood giant and those that were still standing in the opening closed the door which shut to the sound of moving cogs and wheels. The half elf that stood by the open northern double doors turned back to you. "There’s another door and another opening in here, and a large room." As the rest of the party started to go into the torture chamber, towards the next opening, Tyverus ran back into the well chamber, picked up the ropes that were used to hold some in the group. When the party catched up with him, he was standing near the edge of the glowing well and dropped a small pebble into it. "What are you doing?" Thalaenas asked and looked down the well. The smalls tone fell down and you could see it slowly becoming smaller. It was not just the distance, it seemed that the magic that lights up the well was eating away at the stone. You never heard it hit ground, it just disappeared into the light, perhaps some 100 feet down. After that Tyverus proceeded to investigate the black throne. It seemed to be made out of some sort of black amber, made into a throne using primitive means. It was fused into the stone and it was clear enough to actually see through. A chilling cold emanated from it and it seemed almost alive, like it´s insides fluctuated. Landor pointed to the large double door. "Um, guys..." Looking over you can see water starting to seep in. You moved away from the throne room, closing the door behind you, and went on through the torture chamber. Tyverus and Merkell picked up a few choice instruments and tools. The next room looked like it was some sort of small gladiatoral arena. It was the same shape and size as the previous room, but the middle of the room was 20 feet below, and contained several cages with thick metal bars. A few skeletons of animals and humans are all that remain. A wide set of stairs lead upwards. Thalaenas looked down the gladiator pit with a look of disgust on his face. "You know. I will never understand people who think a battle of life or death is something entertaining." Tyverus looked around the room as if surveying it. Finding nothing out of place he proceeded to the edge of the pit and looked down carefully. Finding nothing of interest he turned his attention to the stairs. "Do you think it's trapped?"Bellago asked. "I wonder where we are." Thalaenas began. "I've begun to remember a few things but I'm not sure how they relate to each other in time. I think we were somewhere in the far north looking for the entrance to an elven library. Looking for something to stop an otherworldy evil." He paused. "I wonder if we succeeded or failed..." Tyverus found nothing out of place with the stairs so with him and Thalaenas in the lead all of you ascended the stairs. When you reached the top you entered into a winding passage that was partly natural and artificial. Both magic and stonecraft had been used to make it. As you proceeded along it you noticed more and more debris, and footsteps from a single humansized being that had gone in both directions, once. The corridor opened up into a huge domed room. Roots had cracked the ceiling in several places and a lot of the painted but mostly faded masonry lay shatterad on the floor. The place must have been thousands of years old. It was illuminated by several magical portals, evenly spaced along the walls. About thirty in all, only five of them were still working, and three of them had some sort of magical shield or seal in front of them. Simple sets of runes adorned a metal plate above each portal apart from two that had fallen to the floor. The material of the portals frame, and the workmanship was very different from the elven portals you had seen, much more primitive. There are signs of battle in the room, some weapons, arrows and a few armor pieces but no bodies. On the opposite side of the room was another corridor. Tyverus studied the foot steps, and concluded that whoever did it probably was a pretty tall person, perhaps 7 feet. "Never have this many portals stood together in one room, truly a magnificent sight!" He said as he started to walk towards the nearest of the blue glowing portals, clearly in awe. The frames of the portals were crudely made, from some unknown culture or race that lacked innate stone working ability or artistic flair. Studying the runes above them it was clear that they weren't magical. They were pretty crude, akin to way runes, more than letters or runes of an alphabet. The others spread out in the room, searching through the debris for clues. "The footsteps continue through the opposite corridor, I think whoever came here and fought came through this portal." Thalaenas said and pointed to the portal to the left of one of the sealed ones. "Most if not all of these portals have ceased to function as a result of the magic eating away at the metals of the portal frames." Silvermane noted. "It's only a matter of time before the rest of them are destroyed, my guess is anytime within this century." Tyverus looked at the remnants of whatever battle took place here, it seems all of the weapons and armor pieces belonged to elves, judging from their size and style. Uninterested, he eyed the seals for a while thinking a dispell might work to shut them off. "What do you think we should do?" Thalaenas asks, turning to all of you. Before anyone had time to answer one of the portals flared up and through the almost blinding green light you could see humanoid shapes walking through.

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