The Lord of the Morning

Chapter 2
In Search of the Skull Tower, Part 2

Part 1: The Skull Tower
20 Aurel 1317

  The party set out determined to complete its quest; the destruction of the Necromancer. They immediately left the shore of the Hag's island for the skull tower. After spending a couple of hours traversing the lost lake, their aquatic scout, Soren, finally happened upon the sandy beach of a long forgotten tower. But this tower was not uninhabitated. It was under the control of a viscious Minotaur, Urth, and his minions, a motley crue of Bugbears and Ogres.

  The party decided that a stealth attack would be best. After Soren had scouted out a suitable area to land, the party brought their craft ashore and set foot upon the beach with the intention of conquering it. With the beachhead presumed secured, they sent out their scout, Rhodian, to gather intelligence on the dock, storage hut, and Bugbear numbers at the far end of the beach. While Rhodian was off attempting to gather info, the party was attacked by the tower's effective and deadly alarm system; a pair of Shadow Mastiffs. The Mastiffs seemingly appeared out of nowhere, able to blend undetected into the shadows of the tower's base. Their howl sent Mr. Whiskers and Rhodian into quite a fright. Mr. Whiskers attempted to flee the scene and Rhodian cowered against the wall of the tower, using his Cloak of Elvenkind to conceal him from harm. The rest of the party made easy work of the shadowy beasts, but much to their chagrin, they had alerted the tower guard.

  Ranald, Olwyn, Soren, and Bodkin braced for the onslaught, while Rhodian continued to cower, and Maddox attempted to find Mr. Whiskers. As the Bugbear patrol rounded the corner, they were immediately struck with fiery death from the hands of Bodkin, without a thought for Rhodian. In a single stroke, Bodkin had cut the Bugbears' numbers in half, and had slain the sergeant. Ranald, Olwyn, and Soren pressed forward to take down the stragglers. Rhodian was left crouching in the dark and singed.

  As Olwyn Kindric tended to Rhodian's wounds, Bodkin went to retrieve Maddox and Mr. Whiskers, who at that time had wittlessly ran to the other side of the island. Ranald gave up on chasing the fleeing Bugbears but Soren had more heart. As he rounded the corner, Soren was pelted with quarrels from a gated and fortified entrance. By the time the party finally reunited at the docks and tower entrance, the defenders had closed and bolted the door.

  What then? Time flew by as plan after plan was discussed and thrown out. The party argued over the best course of action. Should they break down the portcullis and door? Plans of invisibility and sacks were discussed. Maddox scaled the walls with spider climb only to discover too many foes, and a giant skull, far above. As this went on, an Ogre was casually tossing stones from above in hopes of randomly finding a target. After much discussion and feather falling, "General" Ranald Stallworth took it upon himself to try and open the portcullis. With the help of Owlyn Kindric, a breach was made.

  The party stormed the tower, slaying an Ogre and five Bugbears below, and entered the belly of the tower. A prisoner was made, only to be slain by the hands of Rhodian. His hand had slipped while knocking an arrow , and as luck would have it, pierced the heart of their prisoner. Rhodian did not seem remorseful. Once inside the tower, the party discovered that it was being used as a fortified supply depot and command center for the Necromancer's armies. An elevator led to the elusive upper reaches and the party prepared to go up.

  The party agreed that the best course of action would be to have the cleric and fighter stay behind, while the weaker hand-to-hand party members would assault the tower's main forces. Rhodian, Maddox, Mr. Whiskers, Bodkin, and Soren were hoisted to the top. Once above the party came to the conclusion that they made a big mistake. Still, they dispersed and a battle ensued. Luckily for the party, the sure shot Rhodian slew bugbears left and right while Bodkin unleashed more of his deadly magic. Maddox and Mr. Whiskers pressed the attack while Soren attempted to give his enemies a taste of his quarterstaff.

  The dust cleared and all that remained was the party and a sole prisoner. Ranald and Olwyn were hoisted up the elevator and returned to the party. Another "accident" involving Rhodian and a Bugbear happened. Rhodian had squeezed all the info out of him and decided the best thing for him would be to spend some time relaxing on the beach.

Part 2: Death of the Necromancer
20 Aurel 1317

  The party entered the Skull. There, sitting in a luxurious feasting hall upon a throne, was Urth. He welcomed the party in and offered them free access to the Necromancer to kill him. The party refused this gracious offer. The esteemed General Ranald made threats towards Urth, and then proceeded in to engage him in combat. Urth was not alone however, as he had a pair of Displacer Beasts as pets under his control. More fireballs, magic missles, arrows, and swordplay was had. Among all this action, Maddox went down, critically wounded by one of the Displacer Beasts. General Ranald had defeated Urth, but was in great peril and near death. He made a tactical combat decision and swallowed a vial of black liquid found in the witch hut in hopes of it being a cure for his physical ails. Alas, it was poison. As he collapsed to the ground, so did Soren. While fighting beside Ranald, Soren was struck down by a devasting blow from the second Displacer Beast. With three party members down and out, Bodkin and Rhodian acted swiftly and together slew the last Beast while Olwyn was able to save Ranald from himself, and Maddox as well. It was too late for Soren.

  An epic battle raged on the horizon, the elves locked in a struggle with the armies of the Necromancer. Urth was slain and the party was in shambles, but they pressed on. They needed to, had to, must defeat the Necromancer. Above, in the cranium of the skull, they found an ancient robed figure sitting upon a stone chair looking out over the swamp through the great skull's eyes. In front of him, was a pedestal with a black orb resting on it. On the floor was a circle of runes whose circumference included the pedestal. Standing beside the Necromancer, was a man that no one had met. He was dressed in shining mail, had a morning star by his side, and appeared to be wearing a great, black cape. Without giving his name, he offered up the Necromancer, asking the party to kill him. He would not interfere and insisted their goals were the same; the defeat of the Necromancer. The battle was taking a turn for the worse for the elves, as two black dragons had arrived. Without a word more, Bodkin heriocally ran forth and threw the black dagger at the seemingly helpless wizard. The Necromancer didn't move to get out of the way, and as the dagger struck him in the heart, he let out a soft gasp. A thunderous boom was heard, originating from the pedestal. With quiet grace, the party's new friend quickly removed the black orb, took a few steps, and lept from the skull's eye. As he flew across the sky towards the battle, Bodkin congratulated himself on a job well done. He heard the Necromancer's last gasp, "Fooooolllll...," as he turned to dust along with the black dagger.

Bodkin cheered.
Olwyn was puzzled.
Rhodian despaired.
Ranald slept.
Maddox slept.
Soren bled.
Mr. Whiskers bathed himself.

What had they done?

Part 3: A Revelation
20 Aurel 1317

  The party stared out into the distant horizon. Their new friend had reached the giant black dragon, and they both turned east and flew off into the darkening sky. To the west the sun was setting. On the battlefield below, the elves were regrouping, the Necromancer's forces had scattered, and the corpse of a black dragon lay steaming in a festering pool of its acidic blood.

  The party was startled when something caught their eye. From behind the great stone chair, a vision had been triggered. Sun was glistening down upon a great meadow. Rising out of the ground was a great tower, and it stretched far into the sky. The vision soared to the summit. On top sat a great skull, and a gathering of people crowded the stairs leading into the base of the skull; lords and ladies, wizards and men-at-arms. Inside there were two men. A wizened, old man dressed in black seemed to be muttering incantations. Beside him stood an enormous man. He was easily 6'6", and long, blonde hair fell from his head. His full plate reflected the sunlight in a myriad of colors. On his back was strapped a shield bearing a warhammer. At his waist hung a scabbard and longsword. He was holding a jet black orb. The two men looked at each other and seemed to share a private moment. The wizard nodded and then sat himself upon the stone throne. With a wave of his hand a pedestal slowly rose from the floor in front of him. With another wave, a circle of runes surrounded the pedestal. The warrior stepped forward and placed the black orb upon the pedestal. There was a low thrum. The old man shivered and then sat up straight, his eyes went wide and mouth opened. The warrior stodd at attention and saluted, and then quickly turned and exited the skull. Far below the warrior the crowd exited the tower. The vision faded with the warrior riding to the west.

  After taking the time time to recover from their wounds, the party searched the tower thoroughly. Apparently, Urth had been using the tower to gather a great host of frogmen, hobgoblins, and bugbears. Correspondence between hobgoblin leaders and Urth was found detailing their plans to move out from the fens and assault Balintree. The frogmen were easily bought as swamp guides and mercenaries, having no love for man. The gnoll villages had been wiped out, which explained the small bands of gnolls seen wandering about; their homes were laid waste.

  More correspondence was found between Urth and someone named Zanzanis. It was hard to decipher what actually transpired, but Zanzanis revealed the location of the tower to Urth, told him to gather his forces, secure it, and await his arrival before assaulting Balintree. Great rewards were promised Urth, and failure was not an option. Urth was instructed not to touch the black orb or the Necromancer, and all would be revealed to him upon Zanzanis' arrival.

  As presumed, the elves were from the Great Elven forest to the east. The messages they carried spoke of great evil, massive cliffs, an ancient city, and the stairs of God. They were requesting that the elves of Aris gather their forces and march east. The great power entrusted to them was in danger of falling into evil hands.

  The books that were found detailed in pictures what transpired in the vision, except for the first book. Its pages showed a great battlefield, and a man and a woman were shown surrounded by evil creatures. Black dragons were in the sky, and dead bodies of knights, like the one in the vision, surrounded them. The woman wore a crown, and was dressed in armor, wielded a mace, and appeared to be middle-aged. The young man was dressed in shining mail that had a warhammer across the breastplate. His great helm lay smashed on the ground before him, and blood and dirt covered his face. He was kneeling on the ground before the queen facing the evil hordes. He held a sword that glowed with white fire, and was ready to plunge it into the ground before him. His look was sad and desperate. On the pages that followed were maps to places the party had never seen or heard of.

  The party rested and recooperated. They had the warmth of the fires, plenty of food, and new trinkets that were discovered. Urth knew how to live in luxury. As dawn broke, the mist cleared. The Fens could be a beautiful place. Below the party, what remained of the elvish host was breaking camp. A small group was approaching the opposite shore of the lake, and they did not stop at the water's edge, but continued to cross. More elven magic was at work.


Part 4: The Elven Council
21 Aurel 1317

  The party stood before them, awkward, impotent, and powerless. Their beauty and grace beguiled their immense powers. The council of Wood Elf elders were seated before them, and they had ill tidings and questions. But who were they to question the party in their newly won Skull Tower? They had lost friends and fought hard! But their losses did not compare to the elves. Five thousand strong they were when they first entered the Fens. Two hundred warriors remained. Among those lost was Lloth-Logan, slain by a great, black dragon. The Elves held the advantage throughout most of the battle, and the almost comical resistance the Frogmen offered was immediatley smashed. The Hobgoblins, supported by their Bugbear compatriots, put up stiff resistance. However, the elves proved to be superior. The Hobgoblins had made one last rally when the dragons showed up. Screeching down from the sky, coughing up their foul acidic bile upon the battlefield, they killed friend and foe alike. The hapless Lloth-Logan had been leading a sortie when the Dragons struck. His end was painless, but his stain lingered on the battlefield. It was then that Rendellen appeared. Charging atop a stallion of purest white, he lowered his lance and pierced the great beast in the thigh. A fierce battle ensued, and when the dust had settled, neither foe remained standing. The Dragon was slain and Rendellen was left a horrible cripple. He sat before them now, legless and burned. One arm was in a sling, the other acid-eaten beyond recognition. He still retained some of his elvish beauty even though half of his face had slid off and remained on the field of battle. Who were they to question the party? They were the council of elders led by General Rendellen "the Dragonslayer".

  While the story of the party might have been shorter, it was no less glorious. Or was it? While Urth had been no Black Dragon, the Necromancer had been a skilled and devious foe; or had he? To hear Bodkin tell the tale he would have had you believe that it was in the party's most desperate hour of need that he faced the Necromancer and plunged the dagger into his heart. But who was to deny the small sorcerer his five minutes of fame? Or five minutes of infamy? The seven elves listened to their tale, expressionless. Afterwards, the questioning began, and every detail was repeated. "Prisoners? What prisoners?," Rhodian proclaimed. Poor "General" Ranald, assumed the leader, was examined closest. None of the elves seemed to find his title or his decisions befitting of a general. They inquired of Soren, a friend to the elves. Finally after what seemed an eternity, they were dismissed from the council's presence. The party was tired and their minds felt as if they had been sucked dry.

 

Part 5: A Visit from Rendellen
21 Aurel 1317

  After a time Rendellen asked to see the party. He was carried into their quarters (the supply shed!) by two elf warriors who he promptly dismissed. Then he spoke.

  "It appears my friends that we have all made a great mistake and were misled from the start. What is more disturbing is that I believe someone or something on the council is responsible. It was the council that discovered this black dagger. While I do not know from whence it came from, I imagine it was an ancient weapon of some kind. Apparently the Necromancer was keeping some great evil object sealed in his tower for eons and we have let it fall into evil hands. There has not been a dragon in Aris since Gorthvalundror once scorched the earth. Now in this place there were two. And big ones indeed! Do not feel bad, my legs were a small price to pay for my new surname."

  "I believe that Lloth-Logan chose well when he picked you for the task. So I must also, ask of you a task. I can no longer trust the council or the Wood Elves here in Aris. It seems there is an informer of sorts, or some devious villian involved in all of this. We are to continue on to the Great Elven Forest to the east to make contact with our kin. There is much to clean-up here and we will be moving slow at first. I need you to depart immediately, ahead of us, into the Forest. I fear that I might not survive this expedition and you must act for me in case dire events unfold. This task is full of great peril, and the forest is a dangerous place to those who do not know of its ways. It is said our kin can move throughout unheeded but strangers never return. You must find and reach the lost city, a great elvish city in the trees that spans over a bottomless lake. Once there you must seek an audience with the Ancients, the seven oldest living beings since the Eldren walked the land. Tell them of what has happened, tell them of my dilemma, and warn them of the dragons, the orb, and the evil within my own council. Take this ring, it bears the symbol of my ancient house, and will mark you all as elf-friends. You shall also find your own answers there as well; about the orb, the strange man, the Necromancer, the dragons, the vision, the messages found on the elves, and your place in this tale."

  "Two days travel to the east is Plinth, the last settlement before the Forest. It is more of an outpost than town or village, but you will be able to purchase supplies, rest, and make your plans. I have already arranged for your departure. Some trusted warriors will escort you to the far shore and out of the Fens. I shall attempt to stall the council here as long as possible. As elected general, I still hold political power and will attempt to remain in power, and bog us down in deliberations."

 

  "Good luck."

 

Part 6: A Silent Departure
21 Aurel 1317

 

  A light mist rolled over the lake, and the sun had almost set in the west. The days were getting shorter and the nights colder. The party sat relaxing by a small fire they had made by the storage shed. It appeared they were to be envoys of Rendellen to an ancient group of elves no one had seen or heard from in ages. And to make things worse they would have to navigate a dark and dangerous forest to find a lost city, with no map or direction other than to go east.

  As they pondered over the hows, whens, wheres, and whys, two Wood Elf rangers slipped into the soft glow of their campfire. They had elven cloaks and boots, shortswords, longbows, and their quivers bristled with arrows. They motioned the party to remain silent and in hushed voices let them know it was time to go. Rendellen and the council were discussing what was to be done with them and the remaining Elves were in their camp. The moment had come for the party to slip away unseen.

  They guided the party to one of the boats. They pushed off from shore, and the Skull Tower was alight with activity above. Rather than heading to the far shore where the battle had taken place, the Wood Elves took them into the dark, and the party could only assume they were headed ever eastward. For some time it was the only direction.

  After what seemed like hours they reached a dark, wooded shoreline. The boat wass pulled ashore and hidden in the underbrush. The Wood Elves paused briefly to inform the party that they would be guiding them through the forest and out of the Fens. The party spent the night stumbling through the dark, tripping over root and rock, and generally made too much noise. The guides, however, glided silently through the woods. At some point close to dawn the Elves halted, and the party was allowed to rest. They thankfully curled up into their bedrolls, and sleep found them quickly.

  They awakened slowly, the warmth of the sun on their faces. The woods were coming to life. It was the dawn of a new day. The fire had burned out. In the light of the breaking day, the party noticed a small wood path. It, of course, led east. At that point the party noticed their guides were gone, and a small pack of food had been left by the fire. In the pack was a note:

  "Travel east to Plinth. Once there take shelter at 'The Whisper' Inn. Mention my name to the innkeeper. Take care to keep a low profile and avoid anyone asking too many questions. Move swiftly when you can, the Great Forest can be both beautiful and deadly. No one knows what wonders or evils may lurk within its borders.

  Be wary my friends, there is great evil about and I fear that you have not seen the last of this Zanzanis.

  Courage,
  Rendellen"