wquest

The tale of true heroes...

DAY 1

This is my summary of the tale of the valiant men, women and, surprisingly enough, the orcs who joined their forces to battle evil, and rescue an innocent child whose soul had been cast into the shadows by the foulest of creatures: the succubus Queen, Semidar.

I knew this mission was going to be a dangerous one. But I never expected it would be this much. After reading the letters that were sent to me about the events that led to my niece's demise, I decided to seek heroes that would have the courage to embark on a perilous journey to rescue Clio, if possible. Many answered my call. But I couldn't risk the lives of some of the young would be heroes that came. I knew the task would be dangerous and I felt it was my duty to select a smaller group of seasoned adventurers to pursue this quest. After a challenging Race, 15 heroes were chosen to be my champions. Divided in three teams of five, I gave them a week to prepare for the journey.

At the time and on the day agreed upon, my champions met with me in Nujelm Theater where I shared with them the final information I had received regarding my niece's plight. I gave each of them a copy of the letter I received from Rhiannon, and after wishing them the benevolence of the Virtues, they started on the path that would hopefully lead to the salvation of my beloved Clio.

	After reading Rhiannon's letter, my champions made the long trek to a small valley north of Mistas. It is in this small room underneath her herbs and potion shop in the Serpentine Passage Valley that the Witch welcomed the travellers. She told them that Marcus had apparently found the solution: a very special potion of binding. Rhiannon knew how to prepare the healing half of the potion but needed my champions to bring her the ingredients: various eggs, fungi, bones, a truly rare fish, an entrail and a plague beast core. This task accomplished, Rhiannon then asked them to speak with Grifty McBegg, an old beggar known to roam in the forest of Spirituality Valley. Though considered crazy by many, Grifty is wiser than he lets on, has a keen eye and a phenomenal memory. Surely he would know more about the tragedy that took place in his valley.

After a fairly quick search of Spirituality Valley, my champions eventually found Gritfy hanging by the unicorn pond. Suspicious as always, it took them a moment to reassure him of their honorable intentions. Eager to assist them in their quest, Grifty told them about Marcus' other journal that could be found in the treehouse west of the valley. Being unable to read, he had no idea of its content, but suspected some valuable information might be hidden there. He also told them that one of the guests at the inn, a sailor named Oly Phisguts, had been heard telling tales of how he ran into Marcus while sailing back to shore after his last merchant expedition. Maybe he could help them further.

	The heroes went to Inn looking for Oly, but he was nowhere to be found. Disappointed they made their way to the treehouse, north-west of Lakeshire, where they found the journal lying on a table. The journal proved to be indeed quite informative. Marcus sought Lord Oaks' help. After all, who better than him who has the power to grant life or take it away, could possibly revive Clio? But while Lord Oaks or any of his warriors could revive her body, they didn't have the power to bind her soul back to it, hence the need for the binding potion, the half of which Rhiannon had provided them.

An ethereal warriors informed Marcus that a wizard known as Khaelwen, who resided in the hidden room at the Hedgemaze in Trammel might be able to assist him in finding a famous alchemist who could prepare the binding half of the potion. The Wizard sent Marcus a letter asking him to come see him and to bring him the Sorcerer's key. The purpose of the key, he didn't know, but at the risk of his life, Marcus retrieved it from the Sorcerer's Dungeon. But the last entry of his journal made a reference to winged females who apparently stole that key from him. That key needed to be found before my champions could go see Khaelwen.

	Known for their habits of playing tricks, the fairies were suspected of the theft at first. But they wouldn't hamper Marcus' progress in this instance. They wished no further harm to my poor niece. So it was in the harpies nest, west of Blood Dungeon, that my champions were finally to find the key, hidden in the dried branches that formed the nests. The stone harpies were particularly vicious. It quickly became obvious that it was no coincidence they stole that particular key...

The key recovered, the valiant heroes headed towards the hedgemaze to meet the Wizard Khaelwen. He had quite a few tales to tell them. He knew the alchemist, Malekai, very well. Unfortunately, Malekai had gone into hiding after managing to flee the evil men that had abducted him. Khaelwen had no idea where Malekai could be, but should my champions find his approximate location, he could show them a signal that would make Malekai come out of hiding, and identifying them as friends.
Living among Imps and Daemons had its advantages. Though limited, Khaelwen's understanding of the gargish language was sufficient to pick up some of what was being said among those creatures of the underworld. Semidar had forbidden all the demonic creatures to assist Marcus in lifting the curse that was plaguing my niece. Unfortunately, the spell that had put Clio into her enchanted sleep had been cast by Gargoyles. With Semidar's interdiction, the Gargoyles would not tell what the magic word to awaken her was. So even if they obtained the other half of the cure, my champions would be unable to summon the soul of my niece to revive and cure her. As despair was setting upon them, Khaelwen gave them new hope. Seriena, the Oracle, possesses a magical golden box that will answer any questions asked. If they could find her, and pass the test she would put them through, she would invoke the powers of her magic box to reveal the magic word that would awaken the child. The key he had requested Marcus to retrieve would be needed to unlock the golden box. But as nothing is ever easy, finding and reaching the Oracle would be yet another challenging task. A fortress had been built for her recently. Where that fortress was located, no one knew. No one, except Angramar, the man who built it for her and the countless evil men that served under her. My champions would need to find the architect and get him to reveal the location of the fortress. While Khaelwen didn't know where Angramar was currently dwelling, he knew of a way to find out. Angramar, in jest, had given him a very pale imitation of the Oracle's magic golden box. Angramar's box was made of wood, instead of gold, and only served one purpose: revealing his own location. Khaelwen had left the box in his former home; a palace Angramar had build for him in the desert of the Lost Lands. A home he had to flee when the Ophidians invaded him and forced him out.
	After a fierce battle with the Ophidians, and as per Khaelwen's instructions, my champions found the key to the magic box in one of the bookshelves of the palace. As he had warned, the answer was somewhat of a riddle. "Khal-Ankur" was written in the box. What could that possibly mean? Looking through history books, they stumbled upon the story of the Cursed Explorers. With dread, my champions realized Angramar was in Khaldun, the tomb of Khal-Ankur, Lord of the Seven Deaths.

As the hour was already quite late, two of my champions teams, exhausted by all the events of the day, agreed to raise camp for the night and rest well so they could face the challenging, if not perilous day that awaited on the morrow. The third team went to explore the foul tomb. Many of their men fell to the evil that lurked within its walls. Battered and worn out after searching in vain for hours for Angramar, the third team carried its wounded outside the wretched place and finally raised camp as well. Where in the tomb could the architect possibly be? Why could they not find him? As sleep took over them, they realized there was more to Angramar's story. No man in his right mind would voluntarily dwell in such a place. But for now, rest, they must rest. There will be time enough in the morning to solve this mystery.