Rumors and Salad
During their travel around
Gylidd a group of adventurers got to know each other aboard
The Falcon’s Fury. This three-masted sailing vessel is crewed by 100 various undead creatures. The adventurers were collected around Gylidd. They were a variety of individuals brought together by
The Shrike of Czira, a mysterious and powerful undead.
Sen Inako, Prime Thrall and first of the Shrike’s minions, speaks for her benefactor, commanding respect from even the undead crew and demanding it from everyone else with a sharp, poisoned wit and cruel energy. As they near the eastern coast of Gylidd south of Droellog River and around Red Dragon Reach, Inako relays the Shrike's request. The powerful undead’s entire focus is finding the Architect. That is their task, find the Architect among the Dungeon of Graves and earn their freedom.
Each adventurer had heard of rumors relating to the area they were to travel and find the lost
Dungeon of Graves. They all knew the basic knowledge that 300 years ago a powerful city was sacked by the combined forces of the Gylidder Guard and Navy led by Commander
Aurelius Zelkor. The city,
Tsar, was filled with evil beings committing horrible deeds and the people of
Gylidd Syn Aethri were fed up with their depravity. The Army of Light sailed around Gylidd to a shoreline east of the island. The exact location has been lost to time. After Tsar was destroyed some of the darkness that was the essence of the city fled west to Gylidd and Vrokíva’s Brume. Zelkor and his army pursued and neither the darkness nor the Army of Light have been seen or heard from since. It is assumed that the Brume had taken them both. However, each adventurer had heard more stories, rumors that expanded on their basic knowledge of the area they were tasked to find and explore.
Sir Conneghal of House Silvarian had heard, during their time in
Ormtona and with the
Merchant Lords, that the colors of Tsar, green and black, have been seen in the city of Gylidd Syn Aethri. It could be possible that some people who followed the ideals and practices of Tsar persist today and have grown more brazen. The aasimar cleric,
Lothar Brumeborn, had learned that a
Wrenjer who had been scouting the area near
Zelkor's Ferry made a tear back to Gylidrigg screaming through the city warning people about a dragon,
Gath the Ravager, and how it was now free. They are currently catatonic but had insisted that the dragon was now awake. Bards have heard the name Gath and a dragon had once lived in the area but it was understood that a bunch of priests were sent there many years ago and had put the ancient green dragon to sleep. Rumors say the dragon is now Brume possessed.
More recent rumors share that a group of Wrenjers called the
Fire Hawks had been scouting the Forest of Hope around Zelkor’s Ferry. They had left over two weeks ago and have not returned and this has caused the Wrenjers to become nervous.
Kaertas Vorell, the wizard, had learned that the leader of the Fire Hawks had with them a Wrenjer relic called “The Staff of Sragas”. They also learned the Wrenjer scouts that have come back in the past have relayed tales of giant rats in the area. The rats are massive with a thirst for blood and will eat the living and dead.
Namul Mountainvigor, who the Falcon’s Fury had picked up around
Kor, shared the knowledge that one of the Ineathri of Tsar wasn’t an archon of evil but represented the balance of life and death and paying your dues. The Dungeon of Graves is said to be a facsimile of a temple that was once a predominant structure in Tsar.
Fox Tail had learned that The Dungeon of Graves is based off the
Mausoleum of Graves. The original was destroyed with the sacking of the city 300 years ago. Millions of people have died there and millions have been raised as the Tsar’s Army of Dead. Because not all the Inaethri of Tsar were pure evil, the dungeon they are traveling might not be pure evil either, there could be pockets of non evil.
Sarazaal, the lizardfolk barbarian, further explained that the original Mausoleum of Graves was a place where the Inaethri would test the worthiness of their followers. One particular spot was rumored to be a white stone hallway that anyone who found themselves walking down the cursed path would be lost forever. The barbarian also heard the area near where they were landing was called
Red Dragon Reach. An old area of lumpy islands and reefs that were very tectonically active. The islands have a red tinge and are jagged, looking much like red dragons sleeping. As they approached the area they indeed smelled the stench of sulfur and saw the steam that looked like smoke flow off the islands. Although their path did not take them near the old lighthouse, Sarazaal shared that it was 1000s years old and no one has been there and that there was a rumor that something is inhabiting it.
As they approached the shoreline, nearing the spot in which the Falcon’s Fury would make port,
Xantrix, the artificer, shared with his companions that he had heard that the
Troll Fens had been aptly named. Many years ago, Trolls and other creatures formed a civilization in the dangerous area of the Forest of Hope. With Vrokíva’s Brume sweeping the area this civilization could be lost but scouts have noted that there are many snakes and the entire area just inhospitable for adventurers.
The adventurers landed southeast of Droellog River on the first of Zhira, 0 AE. The area had a low hanging fog bank blanketing it. The area was cold and damp. As they prepared for their roughly five day trek east of Zelkor’s Ferry, the undead crew of the Falcon’s Fury had started to build the tent town that would be the Shrike's base of operation. Supplies had been purchased from Inako. Kaertas had purchased and copied the map of the area while others purchased various other necessities. One female donkey was acquired and loaded with their food and a water barrel. The adventurers had named their donkey,
Fredd. After a small discussion of which path to take the adventurers boldly went up and over the rolling hills.
As they crested the first hill, the Falcon’s Fury was obfuscated by moisture. With frost crunching under their feet they continued their trek. Kaertas’ familiar, was able to help shed a higher vantage of their surroundings. All around the party the forest loomed and stretched all the way up the Rachis range. The first several miles of journey was uneventful, although cold. Not a refreshing chill but with every step their clothing was getting damp. Every so often the perceptive adventurers swore that the fog and mist around them were more than just mere precipitation. Massive clouds would form around them then dissipate. These clouds were the size of the hills they were climbing and were eerily quiet.
Stopping for midday break the group finds a small valley between hills filled with smaller trees than what they had noticed before and a lot of brambles. The valley was around 300 ft across and declined about 200 ft. After some investigation, the area seemed to be nature responding to the presence of something. The vegetation that occupied this particular valley wouldn’t normally grow in this area. Namul could see three bodies among the thorn bushes. The bold Sir Conneghal insisted that the bushes must be protecting something. While some watched Sarazaal approach a thorny bramble, Lothar went to investigate the bodies.
Sarazaal watched as the blood of his small wounds were flowing down the thorns into the heart of the plant. The others around could hear him chant, “There is no pain, Only Persistence. There is no chaos, Only Nature. There is no Weakness, Only Growth. There is no Death, Only Redemption” repeating this mantra as he stepped into the bush. Meanwhile, Lothar had discovered that the bodies were old and they had been drained of their blood by what looked like many tiny punctures.
All around the party of adventurers the brambles and bushes started to animate, growing humanoid features. An intense battle ensued with many of the brave adventurers falling only to rise again to continue the fight. “I will not be defeated by a salad!” stated the brave knight of house Silvarian as he dodged. However, the plants were vicious and tactical. Sir Conneghal and Lothar had been isolated from the group, while attempting to return to the party Sir Conneghal permanently fell.
After the battle was over, they collected their fallen companion. Lothar simply stated “This was not a battle we needed.” As they tended their wounds some guessed that the area under the thorn bushes lay a large amount of corpses. They had traveled 6 hours and now were faced with turning back to the tent town off the coast of Gylidd. The adventurers go armed with knowledge of the area for the necromancer, Inako and a heavy heart for their fallen friend.
