Author:	Winfield, Old Man  -
Date/Time:	1/20/2003 11:35:11 AM
Subject:	Gatekeeper Quest to Continue
I ran into the Gatekeeper this morning in PaxLair as I was purchasing wares to resupply myself from last night's festival. The Gatekeeper said he wants to continue to help PaxLair against Mazrim's new strategy to turn the Spring of Courage into the Spring of Death. The Gatekeeper said he knew which orcs and savages were the leaders who are training and gathering their forces for an assault on PaxLair. Last night, the companions in PaxLair were readying themselves to launch a surprise strike on the orcs and savages, but the strike was delayed. This should be alright, said the Gatekeeper, because the orcs and savages are still taking their time in their preparations. The Gatekeeper said he may not be able to assist the companions for a week or so, perhaps on Adventure Night on January 29. He is currently indisposed in the Underworld, he said, for a few days to regain his strength and do some research with others in the Underworld. The emergency summoning that the companions did to bring him forth was a bit draining on him, it appears. Here are copies of the books discovered in the quest last night: ================ Spring of Death Mazrim's Strategist This note must be kept strictly confidential and not revealed to the enemy. It is only for the leaders of the Orcish and Savage Tribes. Keep this plan hidden at all cost! Since that terrible day when Seer Daemeon thwarted Mazrim's deadly touch upon the Spring of Knowledge in the vile city of PaxLair, Mazrim instructed me to devise a new plan to take back the Spring and put PaxLair under a new cloud of darkness. I fear that the renewed Spring, now called the Spring of Courage, has given the people of PaxLair a sense of hope. My plan will most certainly douse all hope for these vile people. Once they see their pretty blue Spring turn to blood once again, and the stones turn black as the midnight sky, they will know they are defeated and Mazrim is the true master. The Spring will become the Spring of Death!! Leaders of the Orcish and Savage Tribes, Mazrim bids you to gather your strengths for battle against these enemies in PaxLair. At the appointed time, you will receive instructions to attack PaxLair in full force. Once PaxLair is under your control, my Master will cause such a terrible quake to level the land of PaxLair and turn the Spring into the dark Spring of Death! With this achieved, the Realm will shake under Mazrim's fist and a new age of darkness will begin. Again, keep this note hidden and prepare youselves for the battle to come! ================ Summoning the Gatekeeper An Ancient Scribe The Gatekeeper usually can not be summoned except in extreme emergencies. Even then such a summoning is prone to failure. I discovered in the Underworld, from which the Gatekeeper came, a certain ritual which reaches out to this ghostly presence. I saw it performed by an Old Knight who was searching for the origin of an Old Code. This Old Knight did the following... The Knight gathered wood and set it ablaze in a circle around a Pentagram. He kept the fires lit during the entire ritual, replacing wood as they burned out. Then he placed in the center some firtle dirt to represent the earthen lands upon which we walk and the boundaries of our existence. This dirt signified that the Gatekeeper was to be summoned to a physical and not a metaphysical place. Next, he placed in the center the skull of an undead. This skull would act as a vessel to carry the words spoken into the realm beyond his sight, where the Gatekeeper resides. Third, he placed a black potion of nightsight into the center to act as a catalyst to reveal the Gatekeeper once summoned. Finally, he placed his sword in the center as an indication of the reason the Gatekeeper was to be summoned. For the sword was given to the Knight by his father as a means to carry out the Old Code. This last object was very, very important. It would vary based upon the purpose of the summoning of the Gatekeeper. This last item was most difficult to get correct and was never a tome or book of any kind, but something physical with meaning and purpose. The Gatekeeper would sense the mind of the summoner before appearing and if the item was not correct, then the Gatekeeper would not appear. I noticed the Knight was careful in the selection of this last item for he did not know if failure would prevent the Gatekeeper from ever appearing again. Choose your final item properly. Make it as specific to the essence of the summoning as you can. Once all items were in the center of the Pentagram and all fires were lit around it, the Old Knight chanted a single word. "JASTRUG" Then the Gatekeeper appeared and spoke to the Old Knight. ============== Dragonspeed to you all, Winfield, Old Man