The Fall of Our Kingdom
What we have discoverd
Vyldara traveled to Axeholm, with her two aides Ghilanna and Keerla. On their way, they rode through Neverwinter Wood and, as dusk was falling one evening they heard cries for help from nearby in the dense forest. Riding to the sounds, they discovered a large earthen mound, barren of trees and with a ring of stone monoliths at the top (Circle of Thunder from the Adventure). Partway up the mound they saw a prone figure on the ground being attacked by a singular of wild boars. The elven ladies drew their longbows and fired at the beasts, easily driving them off. They dismounted and approached as the figure recovered and then stood up. It was a half-orc who introduced himself as Moesko. He thanked the Elves profusely for "saving" him and offered them a place to stay for the evening. They at first refused but he insisted he repay their kindness. Vyldara decided to accept his offer and he showed them to a humble log cabin not far away. In the morning, as the elves prepared to leave, Moesko offered Vyldara a silver mirror as a final gesture of gratitude for the rescue the previous evening, and she accepted. He told her that he had found it in an abandoned wagon on the Tribor Trail and that she certainly had much more use for it than he did since she was such a great beauty. The elven ambassador and her aides arrived in Axeholm that evening, greeted by Castellan Gilthur, as word had been sent ahead of her arrival. The initial meeting between Castellan Gilthur and Vyldara was awkward, with both feeling like the other just reinforced the stereotypes of dwarves (gruff and taciturn) and elves (haughty and aloof). Unfortunately, we were not expecting two additional elves accompanying Vyldara, and the guest quarters were insufficient for three elves, so we had all the dwarves in the East Upper Barracks (A21) relocate and crowd into the Main Barracks (A7), so that Ghilanna and Keerla could have the East Upper Barracks to themselves, and be relatively close to Vyldara. After a rough start, myself and Vyldara began to understand one another better we discussed the possibilities and details of an alliance. But as Vyldara settled in, she began to notice that her aides kept picking up the silver mirror that Moesko had given her. She began to feel some possessiveness over it and her attendants were becoming obsessed with using it. She decided to start keeping the mirror under lock and key in her strongbox. Over time, Vyldara began to think less and less of the Castellan, while she simultaneously became certain that he was in love with her. She also developed a relationship with both of the religious leaders, Amhar, the Moradin priest, and Durl, the Abbathor adherent. Vyldara was gradually corrupted and became highly arrogant and vain, pitting the two religious factions against each other, treating me with utter disdain, and enjoying all of it. She grew jealous of the attention she perceived Ghilanna and Keerla were receiving instead of her, and in a fit of rage killed both of them, and framed Durl. At this point, I discovered that Vyldara was behind all our unrest, which had begun to erupt into violence, and he had her detained and put in the dungeon to be guarded by the minotaur Kalraz to guard her indefinitely (A18). She was furious and threatened grave retribution, eventually attempting to escape after convincing a guard to let her out, killing that guard and another and then being killed by the dwarves as she ran through the halls in an uncontrolled rage.The Mirror
If you hadn't guessed, the Mirror given to Vyldara by Moesko was cursed. Over time it gradually affected Vyldara, making her deeply vain and jealous and eventually murderous. The Shadovar had already made a connection with Moesko, who was a worshipper of Talos in search of a cult. The Shadovar had learned of the intention of the Moon Elves to ally with the dwarves, and wanted to disrupt this alliance and damage the relationship. The Shadovar gave Moesko the Mirror to give to Vyldara. In return they promised to teach him about a ritual to Talos that would make him "immortal" (a Blood Anchorite). Moesko faked the boar attack, and played his part very well, successfully planting the mirror on Vyldara, for which he was rewarded the "immortality" he was promised. Moesko has lived over 100 years. His protege's, Grannoc and Yargath, have since established a faction of the cult of Talos, but Moesko has grown weary of the rituals and prefers to be alone. He is now filled with a deep boredum and just sits in his lighthouse, unable to die and unable to bring himself to destroy his own heart and rid himself of his own curse.
Unreadable past this point
Continue the Story
Return to Main Plotline
Comments