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Continued
. . . (previous) -
by Chris L'Etoile
Thorns of the Hopeslayer -
from the
Zone
Dereth: Morningthaw
PY 11 / Earth: April 2000
In Morningthaw, darkness and blood flooded the land in equal measure.
The month began inauspiciously enough. The
pent-up tension of the previous month, the sense of threat, like a
towering wave about to break, hovered still over the heads of all. The
clouds still raced, the moons still loomed, and the figure of the Demon
still appeared during storms . . . yet no Shadow activity broke the
oppressive quiet. The biggest news was the murder of the Banderling thief
known as Gertarh.
In the desert, Hamud ibn Rafik fought a
personal battle with the forces of Darkness, and it did not go well with
him. “We no longer fear our mortality,” he wrote his daughter Devana,
“but there exist worse things than death.” Having given his loyalty to
the forces of Bael'Zharon, he found himself less and less able to resist
their commands. He told Devana of a portal in the South Direlands leading
to a facility called the Nexus. He seemed to think that some key to
defeating the Shadows could be found in that place. Unfortunately, those
attempting to investigate the complex found the way blocked by strong
doors. Some attempted to slip through by exploiting unpredictable forms of
teleportation magic.
During the pause, explorers rediscovered
the legendary Silifi of Crimson Stars -- an artifact many despaired of
ever finding. The weapon had been lost after the death of the One Queen,
when the warrior Wari al Sha'im had wandered into the A'mun Desert in
search of new challenges. Apparently he met a violent end, for his weapon
was broken into many pieces, none of which were easily found. It seemed
that the blade had been utterly shattered. Only careful exploration of the
desert lands allowed the bold to reconstruct the Silifi. Kayna bint Iswas,
a recluse Walim scholar learned in the lore of the Silifi, was
instrumental in forging this Isparian relic anew.
Then the Shadows launched their invasion.
The first wave, lead by a Shadow Captain, hit Fort Tethana and the
Direlands. After a sharp battle, the defenders of the Fort repulsed the
dark warriors, slaying the Captain. Shouts of victory echoed from the
walls, but the euphoria was short-lived. The Shadows advanced across the
northern land bridge into Osteth, encamping themselves at Plateau. They
were defeated there as well, and moved further east, into the Mount Esper
area. Their last Captain moved to Stonehold to lead her forces, but was
anticipated. A large force met her there, and she was cut down.
While the remnants of the Captains' forces
could be found in the forests and on the slopes of Esper, the Shadow
armies seemed to have gone underground once more. The illusion of peace
was shattered a week later, as their armies poured into the Direlands once
more, under the leadership of the dread general Black Ferah.
She first assaulted the religious retreat
at Wei Jhou. The defenders were hard pressed, but once Ferah appeared to
lead the attack personally, she was quickly surrounded and cut down.
Again, the defenders rejoiced, but Ferah, as she fell, hissed, “A fine
attempt, but this is but my shadow. I shall move on!” So she did,
advancing across the southern land bridge into the Linvak Mountains. Ferah
was perhaps too bold in stating her intentions, and was met in the hamlet
of Kara by strong forces. She and her Lieutenant were smote down within
seconds of appearing. Again, the Isparians rejoiced. After this easy
victory, some of the more powerful defenders thought the battle no longer
worth their time, and left the field.
This proved a mistake, as the general moved
her command post into one of the howling Shadow Spires. The portals
leading to this blasphemous construct appeared randomly on the landscape.
Not a few adventurers wandered into these gateways, and were slain by
Ferah and her bodyguard. In the end, the Isparians assembled at the
portals to launch a cohesive assault on the Spire. Ferah again found
herself overwhelmed. She fell, coldly stating, “A fine attempt . . . I
see I must reformulate my plans.” Again, the Isparians celebrated a
victory, and again it was but a temporary respite.
Eight days after the climactic fight in the
Spire, Ler Rhan's forces flooded the wastes of the A'mun desert. Unlike
Ferah, he elected to establish his headquarters in the Spires at the
outset. However, the portals to the Spires proved unresponsive to powerful
adventurers. Younger warriors, mages, and archers made sorties into the
Spire and were beaten back by this fearsome apparition. Eventually,
however, he was overcome, and moved on to the plains in the Aluvian-settled
regions of Dereth. Again, he was tracked and defeated. Once more he moved,
into the Spire found in the festering Blackmire Swamp. Once more he fell,
and Black Ferah reappeared in the Direlands to give his troops time to
regroup.
To assist her, she brought to life the
spires that loomed close to the towns of Osteth. The Shadows of the Spires
-- Shadow Children, for the most part -- were fought by the newest
arrivals to Dereth, as the portals leading to their lairs refused to
activate for the mighty. The town Spires, however, did field two new
horrors: Shadow Sprites and Spire Shadows. Sprites appeared to be Zefir
that had been absorbed by the darkness. Spire Shadows, possibly the most
disgusting of Bael'Zharon's followers, appeared to have grown out of the
floor of the Spires. The implications were troubling -- it now appeared
that the Spires were bizarre, living fusions of multiple creatures,
twisted and bent to the will of the Hopeslayer.
Each of the Shadow Spires, however, carried
a secret treasure: a piece of a key. When these were combined in the
proper fashion, the doors to the Nexus were opened. Massive parties
flooded the facility. Legions of powerful Undead and Shadows resisted
their advance, but the sheer numbers told on defenders. At the bottom of
the Nexus hovered a floating crystal, similar to the Great Work of Frore.
It was quickly swarmed by the vengeful Isparians, and fell. Tayway of
Thistledown, Freeze of Frostfell, Al Neo of Morningthaw, Qua Badib of
Leafcull, Hell Maker of Harvestgain, and Lop of Darktide made the killing
blows, and were rewarded with chunks of the Crystal. At the fall of the
Nexus, the Shadow-armies melted away into the Darkness, leaving behind
only an echo of unsettling, strangely satisfied, laughter.
Many questions were left unanswered. Where
was the third general, Isin Dule, and why had he not participated in the
assault? What was the purpose of the invasion, and why, if the Shadows
have limitless armies, did so few participate? What was the Nexus Crystal,
why were the Shadows protecting it, and why did they melt away upon its
destruction? Most importantly, what was to come? The generals, it seems,
were pushed back, but not defeated, with what consequences for Bael'Zharon,
no one knows.
Heroes' Respite -
from the
Zone
Dereth: Solclaim PY
11 / Earth: May 2000
A hush fell upon the land. The sun, so recently dimmed to a wan, bloody
red, flared bright yellow once more. Of the Shadows, there was no sign,
and their intentions remained inscrutable.
Jaleh al-Thani sought an answer to the
mystery in the depths of the Direlands, the only area where Shadows were
known to remain in numbers. Leading a caravan of like-minded Sho and
Gharu'ndim, the noble settled near the Darktide Festival Stone, and
established the town of Ayan Baqur. Rather quickly, a group of Aluvians
arrived, driven by the overcrowding in Arwic. Among this group was Ulgrim
the Unpleasant, a discredited scholar. While Ulgrim's stout-fueled rants
entertained many, few believed a word he spoke.
Ayan Baqur's most unique resident, however,
was “Claude,” a Virindi who floated into town one afternoon with a
wave and a hollow-voiced, “Greetings. Might a simple human archmage
dispense his wares from within your defenseless hovel?” Claude was given
a tent a safe distance from his “fellow humans.” Whether the residents
accepted him primarily out of fear, curiosity, or amusement remains open
to debate.
Meanwhile, in the north, Lady Tallial
acquired a seneschal to oversee her long-neglected tasks at Neydisa
Castle. The Lady had been in a deep depression since the death of Sir
Joffre Tremblant in Frore. Hence, her decision to take on the
untrustworthy Gormling may be forgiven. Like Ulgrim, the seneschal could
neither hold nor forgo his drink. Worse, he was discovered to be an agent
of her rival, the bandit MacDougal. Tallial, who spent her days staring
wretchedly at mementos Tremblant had left her, seemed oblivious to her
peril.
Harking to the abandoned arts of Ispar,
weaponsmiths recreated Viamont's piercing rapier weapons, sneeringly
referred to as “the big stick-pins” by Aluvian highlanders. Many were
promptly stolen by Drudges seeking shiny objects, and eventually passed on
to more powerful monsters. Other new weapons were discovered by
adventurers afield: a cursed dagger and electrical throwing daggers
belonging to the elusive assassin Oswald. Again, the crafty rogue managed
to evade his pursuers.
Finally, in the fastness of his mountain
stronghold, the assassin Hamud ibn Rafik continued to fight his lonely war
against the dominion of the Shadows. When some Tenebrous Edge initiates
came to see him, they discovered he had been transformed into a Shadow
himself, with barely any ability to speak. “I am unable to leave my
chambers in this ancient, cursed fortress,” he had written his daughter.
“I know now what will become of me. The Dark Master himself spoke to me
and told me what lies in store . . . What awaits me now surpasses even the
depraved rites of the Milantans.” Alone and tormented, the entity that
had been Hamud stoically awaited his fate.
Continued |
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