26 Kythorn, 1361 D.R.
Several days back, when I wrote my last entry, we had just come back from defeating these two idiots Marke and Varstinius, remnants of some cult calling itself the Eternal Order. Since Markollus wanted to talk to them, we took them over to his place, leaving Baxter, Prihelm, and Jess behind (Baxter wanted to sleep, Prihelm wanted to pray, and Jess wanted to prey on Prihelm, I think). We were soon shown into his home, where he had the gall to go off about how he’d wanted them captured alive. Idiotic human! Doesn’t he realize that we don’t always get what we want? Honestly, what with the various humans I’ve met in my travels, I have to wonder how insane an elf has to be to actually like one!
Well, eventually, Markollus got over his little temper tantrum and deigned to tell us what he knew. It seems that the Rod is more correctly called the Iron Scepter, and as near as I can make out, it’s a powerful symbol of the ruler of this land. The Whisperer in Dreams is, Markollus thinks, the personification of the land we’re in, called Necropolis by most but still really called Darkon.
At this point, my head began to hurt.
As Markollus explains it, several years back, the Eternal Order managed to build something called the Doomsday Device, whose purpose was to merge the realms of the living and the dead. I have no idea what that’s supposed to mean, but the upshot was that the ruler of this land at the time, one Azalin, managed to stop them, more or less, though he was destroyed in the process (which surprises me, as I didn’t think that was possible!). But Azalin didn’t stop them entirely, and on the night that the device went off, the Whisperer said the single word “Necropolis,” and was heard by all Darkonians. Markollus believes that the activation of the device woke the Whisperer and that it was warning them of what had happened.
I don’t entirely see how this is helping us, but the important thing is that the land is without a ruler at present, and whoever controls the Iron Scepter can be the next ruler. Presumably, this is why Alisanda wants it; she wants to be the next ruler of this land, like her friend Figlio and like Dr Fran and all the rest. I am not overjoyed by this prospect. No one knows exactly where the Scepter is at present, although Markollus thinks that possibly Yako Vermoff, wizard and unofficial lord of Karg, has it.
As I see it, then, our mission is to find the Scepter and try to figure out what to do with it. I suppose it can’t really be destroyed, which would be the most sensible thing, but perhaps we’ll come up with something better.
In any event, having gotten what we needed from Markollus, we spent several more days resting in this gods-forsaken town, recovering from our mission, and also split the items we’d picked up from Marke and Varstinius. Prihelm, that bastard, managed to acquire a holy sword and has been insufferable ever since, especially when he was also able to acquire a potion to cure his blindness.
Having rested for three days in total, we hit the road for Karg. The direct route leads between a pair of forests which have a rather dismal reputation, but since we were in a hurry, we took the road anyway. Camping at about the half-way point, we got caught in a thunderstorm, although curiously, just before it started, Prihelm went off about death riding the roads and whatnot, much to the irritation of all, since none of us saw a thing. I’m starting to wonder about him, truly.
We made it to Karg late the next day, cold, soaked, and miserable. The city itself is a pit, the worst example of human civilization I’ve seen in quite some time, and we had to pay exorbitant fees to get in, too. Honestly, I begin to wonder if these guards aren’t just thieves who set up near the city entrance and prey on weary travellers such as my followers and I.
In any event, now that we’re here, we’ve managed to acquire rooms at an inn called the Old Mill, which is supposed to have some of the best food in the realm. I deserve it, after putting up with my comrades for so long, too! As soon as I’ve managed to clean up, I’ll head off to try and find out where Vermoff lives, and maybe we can break in and find out if he does have the Scepter or not, and if he does and if we’re exceptionally lucky, we can even swipe it for ourselves.
Somehow, I am skeptical that all of this will work out that easily. And I find myself wondering what exactly the connection between Yako and Alisanda is, as I clearly recall that he sent her the fake Scepter that started all of this.
I swear, this is getting more and more irritating with every passing day! I hate this place!