The Scattered Writings of Nicodemus Bernhold Garrintrough, Professor of Archaeology

Nicodemus Bernhold Garrintrough was a professor of Archaeology at the University of the Lighted Way from 159 PR until his untimely disappearance in 170 PR while chasing a lead on a lost temple to the Antecedent Mother of All, the goddess Vrokhanna, an unlikely find that earned him no small measure of criticism from the intellectual community of his time due to the well known facts that surrounded her lack of worship even in pre Blight times. Convinced, however, the professor gathered a few of his most trusted understudies, and barely enough gear to make the journey and set out anyway. While many speculate as to his fate, his remains weren't discovered until 215 PR.
More importantly, it turns out he was right.

Purpose

These documents were the professors desperate attempts to notate his discoveries while lost underground.

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The Scattered Writings of Nicodemus Bernhold Garrintrough, Professor of Archaeology

Far beneath the dead of the region, overlooked by Vrokhanna’s empty eyes, lies the remains of the Master of the Aberrant Flame. When the Blight was called down, it appears that he did not perish in the black, but instead managed to survive and retreat into a structure in a small fishing village that no longer appears on any maps. From the remaining documents I have managed to acquire through years of research, I have found mention of it in the former Empire’s tax accords. A small village north of Carrig’s Cross called, Caster’s Folly. The village was tiny by most standards, barely a village at all. Beyond the evidence that I have uncovered revealing his escape, not much else remains on the academic side of this. The Stapleton files hint to the fact that, not only was he directly involved in the conspiracy that brought about the events of the Blight, but that he may have been not entirely human or alive. None of this was confirmed however. I have found an entrance to a cavern that remain unexplored. It is not part of the Fouveinian Empire, nor is it mapped by the Academy’s explorers. The only true hint to its existence is a reference in an ancient manuscript, the “Annotated History of the Practices and Dealings of the Theology Surrounding the Antecedent Mother of All, Vrokhanna.” In my professional opinion, the work was very dry and hardly worthy of inclusion in the library of the Lighted Way, but I cannot deny the author, a pre blight Empire professor named, Harold Vargenshire, was right in his suspicions about the location of a lost temple to the fallen goddess. I have found the entrance. It must have been at one time a much easier affair to gain entry, but time and the shifting of the grounds themselves have nearly occluded it from all attempts to gain entry! I lost two understudies to the black pool that otherwise appears to be a well. The first, poor David, disappeared altogether, and the second, Frederick we managed to recover thanks to the line we attached to him, but alas...he had expired from some sort of piercing trauma to the chest and legs...large wounds that must have carried significant enough force to also break the bones beneath. Tomorrow I will attempt a new approach, quite ingenious if I do say so myself, those twits back at the academy would balk if they could see me now! Here is what I believe will allow me to bypass the treacherous dangers in the pool... (The note is torn here and the rest of the message lost)

...must have been terribly tedious for one with such a lofty intelligence. The scrawling I found in the cave excavation told quite a tale, at least they did before the damp air reduced them to brittle dust. His mind was slipping away from reality, most likely due to the exposure to the Void energy that permeates the caverns below. He rambles on about a companion named Voltaire having limbs or appendages ripped off and falling to his death and some ancient book that was his last hope...all just nonsense as far as I can tell. All historical documents mention nothing about either of these things. The final and newest of the writings, at least I believe them to be so, details his plan to elevate his unnatural state to the next level, something he refers to as a “deathless god”. I have no knowledge of this, and it may just be more nonsense brought on by continued expos...

After weeks of digging and working through the natural stone and debris, I have found it! My little hut has barely managed to shield me from the things in the dark, but despite the countless, sleepless nights and constant gnawing of my belly, this discovery changes everything. The ambient void energy that permeate this place has done its damage on me unfortunately, and I can feel the sickness in my lungs and joints, and getting up from a sitting position has become excruciating. Alas, I digress...

The Master of the Aberrant Flame did indeed make his way here, and apparently found Caster’s Folly in the same state as did I. I can only imagine the dangers and difficulties of those early days following the cataclysm...for the living. He appears to have avoided the village, seeking shelter in a now submerged cave instead. This is understandable considering what I found there in Caster’s Folly. All that was left of Xendall was a skull with the remains of eight shattered gems. I found no other artifacts beyond this, and it seems he went dormant in his undead state not long after the fall and so remained until the tectonic shift that collapsed his lair upon him with enough weight and force to obliterate the artifacts that bound his soul to his ragged remains. It pains me that I will not be able to return these relics to the University at Armuun, but I suppose knowledge is its own reward. I only hope that someone, anyone may yet someday find me here and report back to the scholars of Becht what I found here and accredit me with the discovery so that, while my body may lie in tattered distress, the memory of me may yet live on.

Sincerely, Nicodemus Bernhold Garrintrough, Professor of Archaeology

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Type

Study, Historical

Medium

Vellum / Skin

Authoring Date

170 PR

Location

Caster's Folly

Authors

• Nicodemus Bernhold Garrintrough