2/28/214 - Report of Anja Lefkaris
General Summary
[Written report of Anja Lefkaris as dictated to Walter Lefkaris]
We traveled southeast past Steel Industries. After a few uneventful nights we were traveling southeast to skirt the edge of the mountain. We spotted a silver glint in the sky and noticed it was a Dragon. An actual fucking Dragon! Then Randy called out to it in the Dragon Tongue. Idiot. The silver Dragon came to us. He noticed Randy and I have red and blue draconic ancestry. Said we were of his enemies. Randy told him where we came from. About The Old World. Idiot. The dragon was named Baerithyn Rex, King of the Red Mountains. Baerithyn didn't know anything about The Old World. He said our ignorance and the silver dragon scale was why we were still alive.
He said we are one of the few things in this world beyond his understanding. His kind ruled this world long before any empire. He said their numbers darkened the skies and all lesser creatures trembled before them. He said the Dragons destroyed each other in a civil war between the colored Dragons and the metal Dragons. The metallic dragons worship Bahamut and the chromatic dragons worship Tiamat. Baerithyn allowed the Harpies and Archaeans to live there as a result of them offering tribute. He said the Empire paid tribute to the Dragons and the silver scale represents a bond that goes back generations. He said the camp of the Archaeans to the east also have a silver scale. He will not suffer intruders.
Randy asked Baerithyn where to find the red dragons. Baerithyn's enemies. Idiot. Baerithyn, of course, said no and that they would eat or enslave us. He said the Archaeans were three days to the east, their camp overlooking their ruined city of Gordion. He pays little attention to Zarus or the affairs of mortals. I spoke Latian to him and he recognized it as different but did not know of any connection between our worlds.
We pressed on through the mountains to the Archaean encampment. It was so cold. Eagrym got hypothermia. We encountered some Steel Hawks attacking an Aurochs. Eagrym, delirious from hypothermia, walked over trying to save the aurochs. Said it was named Bessie? Bertha? Idiot. While he was about to die, I managed to snatch the potions Lyudmila provided him. I turned myself into a Harpy and flew in the air to scare the Steel Hawks. The Steel Hawks fled and Bertha ran away. And I saved Eagrym's life like the hero I am. When asked, he said the Harpy appeared average looking and advanced in age. See if a Harpy rescues him again.
We pressed on. Felt our will crumbling. But then we saw horses. Two mounted Archaean soldiers on patrol. They thought we were corpses and were surprised we came from the mountains. They led us to their camp. There were 3-4 thousand people and it was well fortified. The camp had to have been there for several months. A large portion of the camp is armed. The banners are all red with a white eagle holding the Latian letter "M." They took us to what looked like their leader's tent. We warmed up and then spoke to Centurion Valens.
Centurion Valens asked us where we came from. He commented that we, foreigners, settled on Empire territory. We explained we came from far away and how we had not met civilization before. He was skeptical of our claim. I kind of forgot what Lyudmila said about the silver dragon scale and put it on the table. Everyone flipped out. Lyudmila was going to kill me. Swords were drawn. It was a bad time. Everyone calmed down and we convinced him that we met the dragon and the dragon gave us the scale. He said the Empire once stretched across most of the Continent. At its height, none could claim to be ignorant of it. We ended up telling him the truth about the Portal and that we came from Another World. Lyudmila showed him her journal with the sketches of the Portal and Obelisk. He seemed interested in the journal and left us. We waited.
Centurion Valens brought in a senator named Tacitus Nolar. We told the senator the truth of where we came from. Lyudmila showed him her journal and translated everything about the Obelisk. He seemed to believe us and knew what we were talking about. Does that mean there are more portals? He doesn't know but thinks it's possible.
Tacitus said the Empire had collapsed. All that remained was the Legio Milles: 1000th Legion, which in Latian means last. I switched to Latian. He said he had never heard the language spoken, but he read about it in ancient texts. He said it was like speaking to an ancient person.
Tacitus said Gordion was overrun by the undead almost three years ago. He said it was a fortress city destroyed by The Plague from within. He said anyone who has had contact with the dead becomes infected with the Plague Death. But they show no signs or symptoms until they die by any means. No matter the cause of death, anyone infected will rise when they die. He said Gordion stood for 700 years and fell in 8 days.
Tacitus said there are 50,000 undead in Gordion's walls. They simply don't have the men to retake Gordion. At its height, Gordion had 80,000 to 90,000 people. A fortress city that oversaw a lot of farmland. Tacitus said the capital was Archaea. It fell 20 years ago in the early days of the plague.
After some back and forth, it became clear no binding agreement would be made. We agreed to do a task for Tacitus. He said there was a monastery to Ilmater, one of their old gods, near the mountains. The monks committed suicide as it was being overrun. There was a relic there called the Armor of the Martyr, said to make someone invincible. We are to go there and look for the Armor. It's probably full of Ghosts. Do this, and we prove ourselves and Tacitus will send an envoy to Gatefall.
I brewed some of my best beer in the Archaean camp. We left the camp for the monastery. We entered the outer perimeter and fought three Specters or Shades (not a full ghost that...did what that one did to me). There's scaffolding that looks like someone, perhaps the attackers, was trying to take down this monastery brick by brick. The statues appear to have been removed. No roof on the ground level. We went around the perimeter and found a great arch.
We went further around and encountered more shadow creatures, including one massive shadow. It had several shadow people attached to it. Like its hands had hands. One of its hands was a literal shadow person that had smaller hands. How does that happen??? It seemed like an amalgamation of shadows and souls all at once. It tried to drive us mad and turn us against each other. We killed it and all the other shades. Despite the pain it delivered me, we prevailed and I was no worse for wear.
We then went to the suit of armor. It talked to us mentally, saying "Set aside thy cup. Thirst shall trouble thee no more." Gunther tried to rope it away and nearly died. There were flayed corpses around it who seemingly died from touching it. It appears to want a passphrase in order to let us take it. We searched the grounds and saw an inscription. "Speak no word of complaint; for He shareth thy pains; We walk together."
The flayed corpses appeared fresh. We healed one and the corpse came alive. The (still living?) corpse said the pain burns him. The corpses appeared to feel relief when we destroyed them. Deciding that we couldn't retrieve the armor ourselves without the passphrase, we decided to rest up and head back to the Archaean camp. During the night, Randy slipped away from us and left. His tracks were the way we came in the direction of the Archaean camp.
We returned to the Archaeans, who were pleased with our report of our sortie. Randy apparently came back here and then left for reasons unknown. The senator said he went in the direction of the mountains towards Gatefall. Senator Nolar said that he would send an emissary to follow us to Gatefall. We asked him more about the Plague.
We learned from the Archaeans that anyone exposed to the undead who dies by any means comes back. The same could happen to Eisen and the Old World! I imagine Eisen would be burning by now if the Plague spread silently among the living. The Archaeans don't think it does. However exposure to the undead could lead to an outbreak. We advise an immediate accounting and quarantine of every single person who has had contact with the undead in the New World. And keep them in the New World. The Archaeans advise a quick puncture through the eye or head into the brain is the best way to dispatch the recent undead.
I went around the camp to observe their culture, technology, and society. This is a struggling refugee camp made up of survivors of an apocalyptic event. Their level of technology is less than the old world. Basic steel-armed and armored soldiers. They have mastery of basic metallurgy. No Firearms (they use bows and crossbows as ranged weapons) or adamantine armor. They have ballistae and trebuchets strategically positioned. One thing that stands out is the Archaeans have a surprising amount of magic. There are great braziers that have magic flame almost commonplace. A massive fire off of a glossy black stone. I see acolytes of their religion conjuring food for the refugees. I saw runes engraved on the shortsword of the Senator. The Senator himself alluded to having magical training and it seems like they have far more trained magic users than we do.
A woman named Lucina called to us. She carried scrolls. She worshipped the Old Gods and warned us against the New Faith of Zarus. I asked her to tell us the names of the Old Gods. She said they freed the Archaean people from Imaskar, a cruel land of dark magic and dark men far to the South. She said General Livianus has decreed none shall be persecuted for their faith, so they seem to have a legal system together. Lucina said that the camp operates on bartering, as Gold and Silver hold little value for the refugees amid their struggles. She said cloth is in short supply. Basically any luxury from civilized life, except the bare essentials of survival, would be valuable.
Things that appear to be in high demand:
*Salt
*Alcohol
*Cloth and textiles
*Oil
*Luxury foods (meat, dairy, fish)
*Dyes
The merchants have magical baubles that they'd be willing to trade. Literally common items for ordinary use.
Old Gods of the New World:
Azuth - god of magic & secrets
Chauntea - goddess of agriculture & beasts
Deneir - god of scholars & wisdom
Eldath - goddess of nature & peace
Gond - god of artisans & smiths
Ilmater - god of martyrs, suffering, & healing
Kelemvor - god of the dead & the underworld
Lathander - god of the Suns, athletics, & masculinity
Selune - goddess of the Moons, motherhood, & femininity
Talos - god of storms & the sky
Tempus - god of battle & bloodshed
Tormus - god of heroism & martial valor
Tymora - goddess of strategy & good fortune
Umberlee - goddess of the sea & sailors
Waukeen - goddess of trade & merchants
The next day we met the Archaean emissary. He was a young man named Appius Nolar. He is Senator Nolar's nephew and his title is "Legatus." He said he speaks with the authority of the Empire. He fought with the cavalry against the dead when Gordion fell. He referred to the War between the Old Gods and the New Faith (Zarus). He referred to the Golden Age of Heroes and all of the relics lost. He said there are ruined temples to the Old Gods that likely hold many relics still. Oh, Eagrym convinced a whore named Sabina to come with us. [Anja visibly shakes her head]. We traveled over the mountains. Somehow Sabina survived. We made it to the forest. We discussed the intelligent strategies used by the undead who have their minds capable of controlling the dead. The rest of the journey is uneventful and we arrive at Gatefall. Appius met with the Burgomeister. We debriefed the Burgomeister afterwards. End of report. P.S. Randy made off with half the reward. Beware that charlatan!
Chauntea - goddess of agriculture & beasts
Deneir - god of scholars & wisdom
Eldath - goddess of nature & peace
Gond - god of artisans & smiths
Ilmater - god of martyrs, suffering, & healing
Kelemvor - god of the dead & the underworld
Lathander - god of the Suns, athletics, & masculinity
Selune - goddess of the Moons, motherhood, & femininity
Talos - god of storms & the sky
Tempus - god of battle & bloodshed
Tormus - god of heroism & martial valor
Tymora - goddess of strategy & good fortune
Umberlee - goddess of the sea & sailors
Waukeen - goddess of trade & merchants
The next day we met the Archaean emissary. He was a young man named Appius Nolar. He is Senator Nolar's nephew and his title is "Legatus." He said he speaks with the authority of the Empire. He fought with the cavalry against the dead when Gordion fell. He referred to the War between the Old Gods and the New Faith (Zarus). He referred to the Golden Age of Heroes and all of the relics lost. He said there are ruined temples to the Old Gods that likely hold many relics still. Oh, Eagrym convinced a whore named Sabina to come with us. [Anja visibly shakes her head]. We traveled over the mountains. Somehow Sabina survived. We made it to the forest. We discussed the intelligent strategies used by the undead who have their minds capable of controlling the dead. The rest of the journey is uneventful and we arrive at Gatefall. Appius met with the Burgomeister. We debriefed the Burgomeister afterwards. End of report. P.S. Randy made off with half the reward. Beware that charlatan!
Rewards Granted
Missions/Quests Completed
Report Date
08 Jan 2023
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