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Nildi of Keldagrim

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Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“You’re early with the corpses this morning. What do you have for us today?”

Zavistic laughed. “Unless you feel like filling the position, we have none. Open the door, Irwin. We have come to see your master.”

There was a scuffle and one of the heavy doors swung open. “Secretary Rarve? I’m so sorry. I thought you were the local farmer. He brings us his dead animals from time to time for a few pieces of gold. Research material you understand.”

The voice came from a short, freckled man in his middle years. He was dressed in bright red robes and hat with mystic black embroidery and a cloak that he swished involuntarily as he spoke.

“I see you have not lost your sense of drama in your clothing, Irwin,” Zavistic observed dryly.

“You know how the locals expect certain appearances,” Irwin mumbled in reply. It was hard to impress Guild wizards. “Well come in, come in. It is an unexpected honor to see you. I shall inform Master Invrigar of your arrival immediately,” he said, scuttling up a spiral staircase.

“Zavistic,” Nildi whispered. “What about my pendant here?”

“I detect no magic around this tower. We will be quite safe,” Zavistic answered as he led the way inside.

Scarcely a minute had passed before the assistant returned. “Master Invrigar will accept an audience with you forthwith,” he announced grandly, sweeping an arm up the stairs. The wizards smirked, but followed Irwin up to the next level.

“Secretary!” a deep and reverberant voice echoed out, “What a wonderful surprise. What brings you here on foot my good friend? Welcome to my humble home, folks. Please, find a seat anywhere.”

~continued~

21-Nov-2006 09:38:42 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:23:51 by Dreamweaver

Roshinda

Roshinda

Posts: 6,271 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I caught you again :p

I noticed this reach 100 posts and as soon as I clicked on it it went to 11 pages.

Congrats on finally surpassing that first, very important milestone!

And good job on the additions, though you missed the punctuation in the final sentence.

21-Nov-2006 09:45:04

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Everyone filed into the second floor room, which turned out to be a comfortably decorated study and bedroom. An elderly but hale wizard had come to the steps to greet them. His eyes were set deep beneath a furrowed brow, he had a small pointed black beard that was graying at the edges, and he was dressed in simple black robes and a hood.

“Invrigar! It is wonderful to see you again, though this is not just a social call I fear. We have some news and some puzzles you may be able to help us with. But allow me to introduce my friends, then our tale shall be told.”

After introductions, Invrigar raised his hand to pause Zavistic, then waved his assistant back downstairs, who left begrudgingly. Once he was gone, Zavistic bade Nildi tell his story while the necromancer listened intently. Then he filled in the rest of the tale to Invrigar, from the time he first met Nildi to when they were knocking on the necromancer’s door.

Invrigar pondered for a minute, then turned to Nildi.

“May I take a look at your parchment copy of the skin?”

Nildi nodded slowly, drawing the page from within his cloak and handing it to Invrigar, who spread it out upon a table and pored over it for a few minutes.

"Extraordinary! Nildi, your representation from memory does not appear to be wholly accurate, but I can certainly guess as to what the original err, document would have said. I also believe that this means I have some news for you.”

21-Nov-2006 09:46:25 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:25:10 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***The Parchment is Read***

“Your parchment contains an Abyssal script,” Invrigar announced. “There are many languages in the Abyss, just as there are on our material planes. This is not demonic, as it does not speak of power and corruption, yet it is tortured and filled with a twisted and terrible thirst for revenge. I believe therefore that this has been written by a shadow.”

“A shadow?” Nildi asked, cold creeping into his bones.

“Yes. Spirits may not be released and diffused at death for many reasons, hence the existence of all the ghosts and shades that we see about the lands. But if death is torturous and cruel enough, and if the spirit is forcibly barred from diffusing, forced to feel the rawness of its demise and never move on, it becomes a perpetual shadow of its own twisted death. It also becomes bent on revenge. Anyone interfering with shadow spirits can expect a great deal of trouble in return.”

“So you are saying that the Dwarf miners somehow interfered with these shadows?” interjected Nildi, shocked.

“I cannot answer to the actions of your miners,” replied Invrigar, “but I can assure you that something turned a shadow, or shadows, against your people. I cannot make out all of the marks you have written here, Nildi. But this is what I can read:

‘You grasp at us. We will seize you and… something… maybe grind… you into fine dust. You trap us. We will imprison you… I think it says cloaking… you in a… bottomless pit? No, an eternity… of despair. We come to… I think steal… steal the prison yonder… I think it’s yonder, but I cannot be sure… and wreak revenge upon your people one-hundredfold.’”

“I do not understand,” Nildi muttered. “How can the Dwarves grasp and seize at shadows? How can you trap a shadow? It makes no sense. But now my people will be persecuted for who knows what far-fetched action? This tells us nothing!”

~continued~

21-Nov-2006 09:47:13 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:27:18 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Invrigar spoke again. “It tells us that something has upset the shadows, certainly. It also tells us that none of us are safe until we find out what is meant by this. Shadows do not differentiate Dwarves from any other race. I fear that all peoples will be tasting their terrible revenge, and indeed I have already detected signs of exactly that.”

“What?” cried everyone in the room.

“Shadows are already attacking?” Devlin exclaimed. “Where? What do you know?”

Invrigar settled back into his chair. “This brings me to the news I have for you, now that I am confident that your story is connected to mine. I have a wide network of contacts across the lands and into other planes, enabling me to hear about strange occurrences that might be of interest to one such as myself. Three nights ago, several Al-Kharid border guards were killed on the road to Lumbridge. One was slashed across the face with a poisoned dagger, but survived just long enough to crawl to a tannery nearby. He said that the figure that had attacked them told him to tell someone they were coming.

“The following morning, I heard report of an attack on a young girl in a coastal community on the distant island of Miscellania. It seems she was cut down while trying to run away. She was slashed across the face also. Her dying words to her mother were much the same; something is coming.

“Later that evening, far to the west of here in the fair land of Tirannwn, I heard news of an Elven hunter whose face was also cut open. He gave the same message to a fellow trapper before he died. Finally, just yesterday, a young farmer was cut down near Draynor village and a jeweler from Rimmington was attacked and slain while mining for gold in the local area. He was not found alive, but had managed to scribble two words onto a scrap of paper before he died. They read ‘Shadows coming.’ He too had a deep slice across his face.

*continued~

21-Nov-2006 09:47:45 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:33:50 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“In each case, a victim was allowed to live just long enough to get the shadow's message through. Does that sound familiar, Nildi?”

“Yes,” he whispered, shivering. “But why the slash across the face? Why not more writing like our unfortunate miner.”

“That slash actually is writing. A single diagonal line means ‘us.’ I believe the shadows are marking those messengers as part of their ritual to trap and torture their spirits. They are trying to turn them into shadows also.”

“So we have at least three shadows that you know of?" asked Zavistic.

“Five attacks, my friend. One in…”

“Yes, yes. But if the shadow from Al-Kharid were also responsible for the Draynor and Rimmington attacks, it would suggest strongly to me that they are converging on a location. Quite possibly this location. How are you getting this information, Invrigar? Are you the one angering the shadows yourself?”

Invrigar rose abruptly from his chair. “Certainly not! Shadow attacks out of the Abyss are rare. They create much disturbance among the spirit realms. As I said, I have a large network. I know how to listen to the spirits as well as the living, but I have no direct contact with the shadows themsel…”

At that moment there was a knock on the door.

21-Nov-2006 09:48:07 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:39:15 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Bsalt: I appreciate your ongoing support. Thanks for keeping on checking back here!

Roshie: yes, tonight was constructive for getting a good chunk of the story out there. I have a fair bit of tidying up now, but that'll happen in the next day or two. Thanks for your continued input as always! :)

Dreamweaver

21-Nov-2006 10:18:09 - Last edited on 21-Nov-2006 10:18:29 by Dreamweaver

Bsalt1

Bsalt1

Posts: 1,576 Mithril Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
I just thought I would point out that when Invrigar mentioned the various murders, that he didn't talk about the farm boy being killed in Draynor Village. Maybe you have some purpose for this, or maybe you just forgot; but if you did just forget, then I thought a reminder couldn't hurt.

And that cliffhanger in the last chapter is killing me :@

24-Nov-2006 04:16:53

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