Whispers of the Past

 

Chapter 4
The Temple of Time, Part 2

Part 1: Voices in the Walls
14 Aurel 1317

The party returned to find Xiltik where they had left him, but in grave shape. Olwyn used one of the ancient healing scrolls to cure the strange illness that had stricken the gnome. Soon after the color returned to Xiltik's face and he was able to stand and move about with relative ease. Still, the party was far from ready to venture further into the Temple, so they decided to rest and heal for a bit before moving on.

They party rested for a day without interruption, and moved deeper into the complex. They discovered another secret door into a section of the Temple which had strange holes in the walls which seemed to carry sound from somewhere beyond. Draggart listened at one of the holes and managed to hear some voices speaking in Orcish. The party decided to try to find the source of the voices and set off through yet another secret door.

The party quickly came to a room which was almost a duplicate of the main entry hall that was the entrance to the Temple itself, including the large blue hourglass embedded in the stone floor. Instead of a stairway up, however, there was a stairway down that was filled almost to the top with water. Draggart approached the stairway to investigate and was surprised by a pair of water elementals, and the party engaged them in a heated battle. In the end, the elementals were defeated and Draggart swam down to see what lay beneath the water. A water-filled room lay below with three doors, one of which Draggart managed to force open, only to find darkness and a long corridor beyond. As he returned to the surface, he noticed a silver chain on the stairway at the end of which was part of a broken amulet with a number of runes and some sort of symbol in the center. Draggart put the chain around his neck and the party moved on to find the source of the voices.

Part 2: Orcs!!!
15 Aurel 1317

A quick search by Xiltik revealed yet another secret door at the end of a hallway revealed a corridor that ran along the rooms which they had listened from earlier. They slowly and quietly moved down the corridor and listened at the door to hear a number of voices speaking in Orcish and they seemed to be gambling. Draggart burst into the room and attacked a large orc that was close to the doorway. Dressed in a breastplate and wielding a large sword, he and Draggart battled it out while Bodkin summoned a celestial badger that occupied two other orcs and Olwyn went toe to toe with yet another. They party quickly dispatched the lot, with strangely no other reinforcements. Satisfied they were safe, they decided to rest for the night. Throughout the night the party heard noises from beyond the southernmost of the two doors which lead out of the room they rested in, but they played it cautious and decided to wait until morning to investigate.

Part 3: Prisoners
16 Aurel 1317

Once the whole party was awake, they approached the door and opened it, ready for whatever lay beyond. What they discovered was a helpless figure on the floor, bound and gagged. They quickly untied the figure, who turned out to be a wood elf. He informed the party he was captured only the day before and that he overheard them talking about their leader named Kelthan, and that he was coming back soon. He also informed them that he was captured in the wilderness outside the temple, and that there was a way out somewhere nearby.

With this knowledge, the party moved more quickly through the complex, and soon came to a room with three more bound figures. They freed two gnomes and a human female. They learned that the two gnomes were named Feldor and Zimish, and were members of the Church of Jond and known to Xiltik. They were captured while examining the grounds of the temple a week before. They also learned that the woman's name was Jhenna, and that her party was ambushed by orcs and she was taken prisoner. They equipped the three with some spare weapons and moved to find the exit.

 

The wood elf easily noticed yet another secret door just outside the room where the three captives were found, and they opened it to find a long corridor that slowly sloped upward which eventually lead to the outside. Creeping up to the edge of the opening, Draggart was attacked by two orcs which had been on guard there. A quick battle dispatched the two foes, and the party surveyed their surroundings. They were on the side of a hill, and a large campfire could be seen down to the west about a half of a mile away. They formulated a plan that involved Draggart posing as one of the guards if and when other orcs returned or came to relieve their companions.

Part 4: This Way They Come
17 Aurel 1317

They waited until morning, and just past sunrise they could see a number of figures leaving the camp and heading towards them. Soon the figures came within bowshot, and the party could see that along with a large number of orc warriors, a shaman, and there was an ogre! The party of orcs came to a stop, and their leader, a half-orc was ready to speak, but Draggart called to them that intruders were in the Temple. The half-orc seemed to mull this over and instead of ordering his forces inside, he shouted questions about the guards and the forces that should have been in place. Draggart professed to be injured, and lured the shaman close enough to attack him by surprise.

The ensuing battle was a large one, and in the course of it both Draggart and Olwyn went down to the orcish force, but not before killing the shaman and a few warriors. Yet the power of Vesta saved Olwyn long enough for him to keep Draggart alive. Bodkin threw his eldritch energies at the ogre and managed to fell it with some help from Jhenna and what appeared to be some magic missles. Despite this, the battle seemed to be lost, but fate intervened in the form of a group of archers dressed in grey. At their appearance, the half-orc, Kelthan, fled the battle with his remaining warriors, unwilling to fight on against these new foes. The Greycloaks as they were known, pursued the orcs as they fled, hoping to drive them off.

 

The Greycloaks returned from running off Kelthan and what remained of his vile band of orcs. Aid was given to Draggart and Olwyn while the rest of the party gathered near. After a short while a large contingent of Greycloaks entered the cave clearing. Tents were pitched and a camp was struck. The party was offered nourishment and healing as well as praise for their brave deeds in battle. At this point the party noticed that their new friends were Wood Elves.

Part 5: Frogs, Mosquitos, and a Necromancer
18 Aurel 1317

After an evening of much needed rest the party was summoned to the center of the camp. As a new dawn broke over the land of Aris, they were to speak with Lloth-lagan, the apparent leader of the Greycloaks. A great breakfast was laid out and the party sat down to eat. After a time Lloth-lagan joined them and he explained to them that his Wood Elves were the van-guard of an even larger force of Wood Elves that had entered the Fens. Unlike the party, the elves were there on a much different mission. His clan of Wood Elves had lived in the West with men for centuries but remained unseen. They were merely there to keep an eye on worldy happenings and then report any news to their brothers in the Great Elven Forest, east of the Fens. For the past two years they had not received any messages from their Eastern brothers, nor had any of their messengers ever returned. The Great Elven Forest was silent.

The Fens separate the West from the Forest and it is there that the Greycloaks believe all their messengers were disappearing. Lloth-lagan believed the Necromancer was to blame. He had been gathering the evil denizens of the swamp into a great force. Frogmen were now moving in greater numbers and some had been seen bearing his seal of a skull. Bands of Orcs and Gnolls were about, and a large force of Hobgoblins dressed in black, led by a grey-haired leader and his Bugbear lieutenant had been reported. What remained of the Wood Elves in the West had gathered in force to deal with this Necromancer and hopefully discover the mystery of the disappeared messengers, and finally make contact with their Eastern kin.

Lloth-lagan believed the Necromancer was still weak and if dealt with swiftly could be crushed before he summoned even greater evils from the depths of the great swamp. Lloth-lagan said the Necromancer was behind the recent earthquakes and was probably hoping to uncover the secret powers of the ancients that were buried beneath the swamp so many centuries ago.

The meal came to a close. Lloth-lagan stood and addressed the party one final time. "I sense that this Necromancer is just the beginning of an even greater evil. While our brothers in the East are reclusive, they possess greater power than all the Kingdom of Aris. They could have easily dealt with this Necromancer. Something is very wrong. You seem like honorable and courageous men. I have heard of your deeds and the slayings of the hobgoblins. Xiltik speaks highly of you and you have already recovered an ancient artifact that could have fallen into the Necromancer's hands. I ask you if you will help us to defeat this Necromancer. If treasure and reward are what you seek there shall be plenty, as well as fame and glory. We move in great force and intend to take the Necromancer's meager armies by surprise and scatter his power. His focus will be drawn to us when we strike and reveal ourselves. A small band of adventurers such as yourselves might be able to infiltrate his lair, a great Skull Tower in the center of the Fens."

Part 6: Before the Dawn
18 Aurel 1317

The party quickly accepted the challenge from Lloth-logan and he was pleased to see that they were men of valor. He gestured to an elf to summon his other guests, and after a brief moment two new adventurers arrived at the breakfast. He introduced the party to Soren Karth, a solemn monk of the Lizardfolk, and General Ranald Stalworth of Middlemarch. He went on to explain that both were long-standing friends of his brethren, and both had volunteered their services to defeat the Necromancer.

Lloth-logan got right down to business. The elven van-guard was to break camp on the morrow and begin its search for the camp of the Frogmen. By then the rest of the elvish horde will have entered the Fens and engaged the Necromancer's forces where they find them. In the meantime the party was to depart the following day at dawn in search of the Skull Tower. Lloth-logan had provided Soren with a modestly detailed map with the approximate location. He said he had been sending out scouts for days but only one had returned, and the scout was wild-eyed with fear. The map reflected what information the elves could gleen from the scout's now insane mind. Apparently, the scout spoke only gibberish about death, horrors, and an evil she-witch that guarded the way to the Skull Tower. Lloth-logan cautioned the party not to underestimate the scout's report. All the men he sent were trusted skilled Rangers and only the strongest and bravest was able to escape with barely any wits. The area of the Fens that they were to be entering was a quagmire of swamps, undergrowth, and deadly sink holes. Remaining on the path was of utmost importance, as there were vile creatures that had been drawn to the Necromancer and now resided in the area. Lloth-logan knew nothing of the she-witch and wished the heroes good luck.

Unfortunately, at that point Draggart and Xiltik had to leave the party. The female captive the Orcs had, Jhenna, told Draggart that she had news of Draggart's father that needed to be discussed, and Xiltik had to return to the Temple of Jond with the half-amulet. Draggart would complete the original party mission by escorting Xiltik back to the Gnome temple.

As the day went by, the Wood Elves made preparations and the camp was very busy. While talking at their tents Lloth-logan cames to the party. He was garbed in Elvish battle gear and a helm covered his face. His escort was not with him. As he drew the party near he removed an ornate dagger from his belt. It was jet black from blade to hilt. He told them that the dagger was the only weapon capable of killing the Necromancer and had to be used to deal the killing blow. He told them to speak of it to no one as the Necromancer had many spies, even in the camp, whether willing or not. He told them they must defeat the Necromancer before his power grew too great.

The whispers of the past have been drowned out by the sounds of war. Dark forces are gathering far to the East. Elves and Dwarves fight together in desperation against old foes. The skies darken and fire falls from the skies. And far beyond where any traveler has set foot a tiny kingdom holds back the oncoming storm alone, where a Queen awaits the return of her champion. In the darkness of an ancient temple, a weapon of power sits. The blade gives off a faint hum, it has awakened, for 10,000 years it has rested, waiting for dawn.

And the return of the Lord of The Morning.

But who shall it be?