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Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“No," a voice rang in his mind. The speaker wasn’t whatever was talking to him earlier as far as he knew. This voice seemed older, more powerful even. And…worldly, in a disturbing sort of way. It was a far cry from the demonic hallucination that had plagued him earlier.

“No…what?” he wondered aloud.

*Don’t turn around,” the voice replied. “Just*walk. Into the halls to your right.”

“Sure,* the Spider said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “I suppose you’ll say that the big bad guys are right behind me next, right?”

“Not at all,” the voice answered. “But, I’d rather talk to you. Alive, if possible. But you won’t be alive if you turn around. It can** hurt you if you can*t see it.”

The Spider shrugged. “Well…where are you then? Hell, are you even real?”

“Go in the halls,” the voice repeated. “To your right. You’ll want the first room on your left after turning the corner. And don’t look back until I say so.*

A sharp hiss sounded from behind the Spider, but he fought against his instinct to turn around and deal with the source of the noise. A sense of dread began to invade the room, so he decided to humor the voice and go into the hall to his right.

His vision adjusted to the lightless hallway quickly. The mercenary was surprised to see that it had somehow escaped the destruction which had ravaged the reception hall. Ornate flowery designs adorned the walls, which were broken up into sections by well placed wooden strips bearing unlit candles set upon bronze plates.

“No light,” the voice said, as if it was reading his mind. “It can see you if there’s light.”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:36:06 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:07:02 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Spider ignored the voice, for he turned around a corner and suddenly came upon a series of doors in the hall. He followed the voice’s earlier instructions, and went through the door on his immediate left. He found himself standing in a lavish bedroom as the door closed silently behind him. A large bed and dresser dominated the left half of the room, while an ornate rug and a pair of study desks were situated to the right. Velvet curtains framed a duo of tall windows topped by sloping arches, which afforded a view into the desolate courtyard.

Orange light filtered through the windows, providing adequate lighting in the bedroom. The sky hanging over the courtyard had an orange hue about it, which the Spider found odd considering it was blue the last time he was outside.

*No time to wonder,” the voice chided. “The Hunter will pass by while you’re here. Now, look through the desks. See what it is that prompted the attempted destruction of this unholy site you stand in.”

The Spider, having decided to trust his gut instincts at the moment, walked over to the desks and began shuffling through their drawers. He saw nothing exceptional- a bill here, a missive to a relative there- and it was no more than ten minutes into his search before he came upon a strange tome.

The book was bound in the usual leather afforded to the nobility, but embroidered on the cover were strange symbols that seemed…unnatural. The Spider felt as if he was violating some unspoken law of the universe just by attempting to make sense of the runes. Against his better judgment, he opened the book and leafed through it. A lot of the pages were covered in odd runes that he didn't recognize, but a few pages close to the middle caught his eyes.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:37:45 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:08:24 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Duneday, 15 Raktuber. Year 170 of the 5th Age.

Met an interesting scholar while traveling the shores of Karamja today. He was fascinating, to say the least. He claimed to have been studying the local tribes, but for what reason he could not say. However, when we got around to talking about world history, he seemed impressed with my knowledge. It was these course of events that led us to schedule a trip deeper into the jungles south of this pirate infested hellhole in the coming days.”

^+^

“Erysail, 17 Raktuber. Year 170.

A strange occurrence happened. During my time with the mysterious scholar, I had slipped and tumbled down into a rather deep hole unharmed. I couldn’t see much at first since it was dark, but once my eyes adjusted, I saw something…fascinating. I had stumbled into a cavern made of an unknown dark green stone that had resonated with an unnatural power! Surely this bears more investigation, but not now. Not without my family’s wizard present.”

^+^

“Caistleday, 21 Raktuber. Year 170.

While recuperating from my ordeal in the strange cavern, I have witnessed*something. I know not what it was. It must have been a dream. It *had* to have been a dream. Or a nightmare.

I guess I should start at the beginning. I had awakened to find myself in a dark, slimy catacomb made of the same material that probably lined the cavern I had encountered in my ordeal. At first I thought I was drunk, but no drunkard could have heard what I heard and smelled what I smelled in that foul place. What’s more, the same phrases echoing through the cavern repeat themselves in my mind, even as I write this.

‘Iaa! Iaa! Fhtagn Ixamalesta! Ixamalesta vecutix grominen! Iaa!’

‘Kinast*hihi remiostiu! Mglw'nafh Iaa!’

I wonder…the strange phrases make my heart flutter with an unnatural terror. The cavern must hold the answers. But dare I delve into my own nightmares to discover a truth which I don’t wish to know?*

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:38:30 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:08:54 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The entries ended there before trailing off into more strange runes. It wasn’t until the Spider had reached the end of the book that he had come across more legible pages. They seemed stranger than the last set of journal entries in the book.

^+^

“Gullday, 2 Novtumber. Year 170.

It’s happened. My family had agreed to send the wizard we had on retainer along with myself and a crew I had hired to take back to Karamja. We expect to arrive in Brimhaven within the day. We shall rest there a day, and set out for the strange cavern in the early morning.

However, I can*t help but shake the feeling of being watched. Maybe it’s nothing. Or maybe it’s because the strange scholar who was with me when the cavern was discovered had been reported dead in Rimmington. The cause of death was undetermined, but a strange pentacle with an eye in the middle had been carved into the palm of his hand.

Eyes…hmmm…strange occurrence, that is. It may very well be my imagination playing tricks, but my nightmares have been including a pair of golden eyes lately. Maybe they’re nothing more than a symbol of my hatred of the sun and desert dwellers. But yet, they seemed…malicious.

Dammit, why can I not think straight?!”

^+^

“Twiblick, 4 Novtumber. Year 170.

We have found the cavern again! It had somehow moved locations since my last visit, but now that our team has penetrated this odd womb of the earth with torches in our possession, I can see the details more clearly than on my previous visit.

Carnegie, the family wizard, seems highly interested in the strange carvings scattered around the cave. I cannot make heads or tails of their meaning, but the wizard…he seems to read them as if in a trance. I must ask of their significance later…for now, my attention is caught by a strange crystal door that one of my men have found.”

^+^

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:39:17 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:11:12 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The rest of the pages were torn out, much to the Spider’s dismay. He flipped through the pages once more in an attempt to find anything he missed, but to no avail.

“I came this way for a book?!” he muttered to nobody in particular.

“The information is important for what’s coming,” the voice growled. “But no matter. More lies four doors down. The Hunter has passed by now. But move quickly. My protection can only last so long!”

The Spider dropped the book back into the drawer, and quickly left the room. His cape swirled behind him as he turned into the hall, causing a slight swish to sound in the air. However, that was enough to elicit a small hiss from the dark hall in front of him.

“Quickly!” the voice urged. “The fourth door on your right! Straight ahead! Don’t stop, and whatever you do, don’t look straight ahead!”

The black clad mercenary lowered his gaze, and ran his hands along the walls to his right as he strode forward. More than once he felt something pass by close to his head, but he resisted looking up. Once his hands ran across the fourth door, he quickly threw it open and slipped into the room. The door slammed shut with a loud click, but other than that everything seemed rather quiet as soon as he looked up.

He found himself in a darkened study. Rows of bookshelves lined the walls on all sides, and a small circular table holding a lone candle sat in the middle of the room. There were no chairs save for those which were broken, and many a book was scattered around the room. Some of the tomes were ripped to shreds. Others were burned, and even more were simply left open on the floor and various shelves.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:39:53

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

“Light the candle,” the voice ordered. *We are safe for now.* The Spider complied, and conjured a small flame that leaped from his fingertips to the wick of the candle. A dim light basked the room upon ignition, causing the study to look ominous. It was as if the Spider was about to delve into forbidden lore at that very moment.

On the table was a pile of books. Many of them were horribly maimed beyond recognition, but a blood red leather tome stood out among the pile. The Spider reached for the tome, and further inspection revealed symbols reminiscent of the Divine Magiks that the priests of the world were known to use during blessings. He gingerly opened the book, and saw that while there weren’t many pages filled with writing, those that were had at least something comprehensible written down in them.

^+^

“Gullday, 25 Septober. Year 173 of the 5th Age.

Three years. It has been three bloody years since we have begun excavating these caverns, and surprises are still around every corner! The crystal door had been breached earlier this year. The strange thing was that Carnegie’s Magiks had failed to work on the strange portal, but yet a simple stash of explosives had breached it within seconds. Bless those souls working at the Digsite for their contributions to the cause!

My nightmares are neigh nonexistent now. They’ve been occurring with less frequency by the day, but maybe that’s because I haven’t slept in…how long? Days? Months? It’s hard to tell down here where there’s no sun to mark the passage of time.

But I must write more later. My men say that they’ve made a rich discovery that I need to see for myself. Oh, the joys of archaeology!”

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:41:05 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:12:54 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

^+^

Essianday, 28 Septober. Year 173.

My entry this time comes late because of what we’ve found. I’m not sure what to make of it, but what I see before me as I write this is...extraordinary.

A large chamber filled with crystals was found by my men. It’s impossible to believe...a vault, filled to the brim with these precious pale gems! And we found them first!

What’s more, Carnegie seems excited by the discovery, albeit for different reasons. He claims that the inscriptions on the walls throughout this tomb- for really, the appearance and build of this place now that we’ve penetrated deeper into the caverns leave us with nary a better description- actually warn about the vault we stand in now. I must investigate with him further.”

^+^

“Ivanday, 29 Septober. Year 173.

Strange…Carnegie seems…depressed. Nihilistic, even. He claims that we’re all doomed now that we have come into contact with these alien crystals.

‘Heikka xanthiulhu norcis*toux’ he had said. When I asked what that had meant, he only told me that the crystals were the keys to the Seals of the Horsemen.

Reading his diary does not work to calm my mind. I fear that, come morning, we may very well have to leave this place and ask for the assistance of someone else. The Temple Knights, maybe. Or even the mages of the Circle of Hecate. Anyone who has much more potent magik to defend against the insanity that pervades this…this…gateway? Portal? Tomb?

I know not what we stand in anymore. It seems that the longer we stay here, the more convoluted our thinking becomes.”

^+^

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:42:09 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:14:04 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Spider had reached the end of the written portion of the book by the time the candle began burning low. Something about the tale tugged at the edges of his mind, and the voice seemed to sense his turmoil.

“It’s true, all of it,” the voice said. “Now, just read one more document. I fear it shall make some events more clear.”

“Which one?” the Spider asked.

As if in reply, a small sheet of parchment fell out of the tome in his hands and landed on the edge of the table. The Spider carefully picked it up after placing the tome on the desk, and read the carefully scrawled note.

^+^

“Report # 3983

My liege,

We have investigated Gorvanki’s claims about the strange cavern on Karamja. It appears that he speaks true, and now we must act quickly to undo what that fool has wrought.

Our worst fears are confirmed. Darksime crystals are plentiful in these caverns. They’re not active yet, but we must act quickly if we are to prevent them from calling out to the Seekers of the Seals.

Also, you might wish to investigate Gorvan*i. He claims that he had taken nothing from the cavern, but his reputation as a history student and gem collector is well known. He may very well come to believe that he bought the Darksime fragments legitimately, but we all know of the mind bending nature possessed by the tainted tools of the Heikka and their Kin.

And there’s one last note you should know about. The symbols on the walls of the caverns indicate something…peculiar. Translation spells tell of an ancient god-being known as *Ixamalesta’ coming to some world of…I know not their true name. But the word ‘Skarjil’ rings out every time the spells are cast to translate the runes. It may be wise to call for a meeting of all Grave Watcher captains and generals so we could discuss the matter in more detail. For now, I must cut this missive short for fear that it falls into the wrong hands.

Your faithful,

Grallik *’sara. Captain of the 5th Garrison of the Honorable Grave Watchers.”

^+

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:43:14 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:15:19 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Spider suddenly yelped as the parchment suddenly began to wither away. The process took only a few moments, and the voice chuckled darkly when it was all over.

*Don’t worry,” it said. “That only happened because I…borrowed it from the rightful owner. It’s back where it belongs now."

*Alright, just who the hell are you then?!” the Spider demanded. “Why not show yourself and explain why I’m even doing this in the first place?”

“All in good time,” the voice replied. “In fact, I’m at the courtyard right now. The Hunter should be in another wing of the manor by now, so hurry up and get out of there while you still can.*

The Spider wasted no time in throwing open the door to the study and sprinting down the hall from the direction he came from. The candles on mounted bronze plates seemed to fly by his gaze in a blur, and it was when he had turned the corner leading to the reception hall that he had come face to face with an abomination from a necromancer’s worst nightmare.

A disembodied head floated in the air before him. The skin was dry and shriveled with age, which seemed to compliment its gray and brittle hair…or what was left of it. The hair seemed to make a mockery of conventional hair, and flapped wildly and soundlessly to keep the creature afloat. Dull, red eyes were set awkwardly on its zombie-like face, and a lolling, bloated tongue pocked with glass shards hung rather lazily from a mouth of missing teeth. Or rather, what teeth were present had decayed horribly since the creature’s death.

*What…the…” the Spider began. He spoke no further as the creature’s eyes lit up upon seeing him, and began shrieking like a banshee.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:44:10 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:16:33 by A Mad Hatter

Dec

2005

A Mad Hatter

Forum Moderator Posts: 9,861 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile

The Spider immediately turned and ran down the hall, the head screaming as he did so. The screaming wasn’t stopping as he ran, and when he glanced back, he saw that it was somehow flying at him at full speed.

The hall came to a dead end ahead of the Spider. Reacting quickly, the mercenary imagined the reception hall he came into the hall from, and dived into the darkness. He emerged in the hall, and was glad to see light once more pouring through the collapsed wall. Unfortunately, the head came screaming from the hall at a speed that could only be described as impossible for something in its position. The Spider muttered an oath as the head lashed its tongue at him, and ended up cutting his chest. Blood began seeping from the wound, but his armor seemed to react to the tear in the fabric and flesh by covering both of the wounds.

Before the Spider could react, the head lashed its tongue at him once more, but this time it went for the head. As soon as he dodged the swipe, he felt the bloated appendage wrap around his neck. He gasped in pain as the glass shards began cutting into his throat, and he struggled to breathe through the pain.

“NO!* he heard a demonic voice scream. He wasn’t sure which one it was at this point, nor did he care. All he knew was that if he didn't act soon, he was going to die.

The Spider’s vision began growing dark as he struggled for breath. Despite his best efforts to rip the tongue off, the bloated appendage stayed in place. If he didn't hurt his hands on the glass shards, then the tongue itself would tighten, driving the makeshift blades deeper into his throat. It was no small miracle that he wasn’t dead yet, though he suspected his armor was somehow involved with that feat.

^+^ Antediluvian of the Draculesti Bloodline ^+^

^+^ If the Gods see fit to curse us with the Blood, then we shall raise ourselves above them ^+^

17-Sep-2011 01:44:47 - Last edited on 31-Dec-2014 05:17:51 by A Mad Hatter

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