February 8th
A Man of Darkness?
Submitted by Zog the Fishmonger:
After deliverin' some fish to the Ladies of the Lair Tavern, located in Paxlair,
Felucca, I was rewarded with my usual haul of rum and ale. Wasting no time
'tasting' them dry, I belched royally. In a happy state o' mind, I stumbled over
to the Pax Towers. A gatherin', der was, up on the roof - old faces and new
forming up yet again for another unpredictable Thursday evening adventure. As
Mayor Minsk spoke amidst the Stalwarts, me rum cup fell from my hands. Once
again I felt the fear of my impending death as the Gatekeeper materialized in
the midst of the gathering adventurers. I looked about me, to gaze upon the
faces I knew would, most likely, soon be standing beside me in the afterlife!
The Gatekeeper spoke of tales, of legends, riddles, and rhymes - of how often in
ancient writings can be found solutions to the needs of current times, or in
modern tales a pathway for heroes to travel, or of lost lore telling of hidden
evils destined to rise again. The Gatekeeper knew that evil was once again
binding together, and asked those present where might be the greatest library of
our land. A wise person noted that in Moonglow could be found a great storage
place of lore. The Gatekeeper then spoke of a Man of Darkness, and encouraged
the Stalwarts to seek this person out at the library. Something dire was about
to happen in our lands, shown by the fell portent of the moons misalignment.
A blue portal opened, and another veteran companion showed the Stalwarts the
pathway from the city to the library via the teleportation platforms. Entering
the dusty and venerable library, the Paladins of Virtue discovered a mage
quietly reading a book. Dressed in robes of midnight black, wearing a wizards
cap, this person calmly perused through a tome of Dark Magic. My spine froze as
I noticed the fingers turning the pages were skeletal horrors devoid of flesh.
The man was known as 'Valtos the Void', a Grandmaster in Meditation, with strong
skills in Magery and Tactics. Indeed, we had found the Gatekeepers 'Man of
Darkness'.
The Paladins of Virtue repeatedly attempted to speak with this man, and were
rudely rebuffed by Valtos. Valtos repeatedly told those asking questions of him
to leave him alone, often insulting them in the process! Valtos insisted that he
wished to continue his studies regarding Dark Magic and began to ignore the
questions asked of him. A stalwart stepped forward, and told Valtos that the
Gatekeeper had directed us to him. At the mention of the Gatekeeper, Valtos
exploded into action!
Dark Magics enchanted the skeletal hands of Valtos as he began mumbling words of
power. He ran about, searching for the Gatekeeper, telling of how long ago he
and the spirit had vied against each other in battle. Valtos named the
Gatekeeper a liar, and ranted about how the Gatekeeper had been conquered by
evil! The Gatekeeper materialized, and Valtos ran forward to battle the spirit.
Mediums translated yet more of the Gatekeepers wailings, and thus did the
Stalwarts learn the Mantra of Truth, 'Muh'. Valtos was encirled, and the
Stalwarts chanted in unison, repeating the Mantra thrice!
Muh! Muh! Muh! - Valtos dropped his hands to his sides, his face slack, eyes
drooping, as his body swayed from side to side. For several moments, he was
forced to answer questions truthfully due to the power of the Mantra. Valtos had
this to convey:
'The Red mages bind together below us. They will erupt from the ground. You
cannot defeat my plan!'
Evidently the Gatekeeper was right. Valtos was the liar, and he the evil one.
Valtos masterminded, or did the work of a more powerful being beyond himself, a
plan to create an army of evil mages bent on the destruction of our world. The
Mantra was used again on Valtos, but the Man of Darkness scoffed at our
'Muhings'. The power of the Mantra no longer had effect. We had discovered that
we must find two nests of these corrupt mages, and disrupt their training - to
throw the organizing forces into confusion! This led us to Serpents Hold, and
the yawning chasm leading to the Dungeon of Fire.
The Stalwarts destroyed a small outpost of evil mages, hot on the trail of the
main infestation of Dark Ones. Strangely enough, crossing the rope over the fire
chasm no longer requires the ability to 'move like quicksilver'. The Stalwarts
rushed past the tombs of the ancient Lich Kings, through the sandy hallways of
volcanic stone. Upon reaching the tunnel leading deeper into the Dungeon, the
Stalwarts emerged deeper to find the corpse of one 'Alfred'. Apparently, Alfred
was a Spellsinger, one who had failed to provoke the creatures around him, and
perished as a result. As Alfred's remains decayed, we scavenged his belongings,
knowing that we would need all resources to survive our trials. A prayer was
offered on Alfreds behalf, and we travelled on to the Palace of Evil Mages.
Demons stalked us, Hellhounds bit our ankles, Hellcats screamed and yowled.
Efreeti hurled vast energies at us. Yet, we perservered. It was quite the
blessing that around this time the Casandreal Guards joined with us, their
enchanted war-hammers crushing bones and shattering evil life. Gaining entry to
the Palace by knocking the steel doors down, we took the Palace - Mayor Minsk
calmly lockpicking treasures for us to take back with us. We took news of our
victory back to Valtos the Void at the Moonglow Lyceum. We knew we had cleansed
only the first of two nests of evil mages.
The Mantra 'Reh', again provided by the Gatekeeper, once again forced Valtos to
divulge the location of his second hidden army. The Captains of this army had
tactically positioned themselves in a lakeside fortress deep in the bowels of
Shame. Only through a series of lever puzzles could they be found and forced
into combat. The group split momentarily, for the mages had summoned Elementals
of Poison to assault our flanks. The divided Stalwarts held the day, and evil
was once again dealt a mortal blow. Back to Valtos we journeyed.
The Gatekeepers next Mantra 'Seh' forced Valtos to speak truthfully. Even though
we had defeated his forces, Valtos informed all that one can 'be victorious in
battle, but still fall in war'. Evidently, Valtos has yet more nefarious schemes
to bring about chaos and death. I pass this news to you that you may prepare. My
thanks to the many new faces I saw, the Paladins of Virtue, and Nighteyes and
the Guards of Casandreal. All worked together and won the day, destroying these
most current machinations of Valtos the Void.
Muh! Reh! Seh!
*grins*
Zog the Fishmonger