Excerpted from the journal of Etaf Gerin
March 3, 1377 (The Year of the Haunting)
Months have passed since I
last recorded my thoughts in this journal, since before the fateful day when Oahbe’s
cruel treatment of Dreiw was made plain. The soulless form of my sister was a
torment to me. I spent weeks researching the arts of necromancy, looking for
the curse that the lich had used so that I might cure it, neglecting all else.
But now, having passed into death and returned, it is clear to me that these
records I keep are more important than they may seem.
But I must record things in
their proper order. My researches took up most of the winter, and I learned
much of the dark arts. I learned that Oahbe could not be killed by normal
means, but only by destroying his phalactery, a physical manifestation of his
life force. I learned to animate the dead, question them, even
cause them to fight for me. I learned to curse my enemies with blindness, with
deafness, with paralyzing weakness. But none of it was what I sought.
Fortunately my companions were
also searching, and their efforts proved more effective. Examination of the
note Oahbe had left revealed much to Omiata and Ahmed, allowing them to narrow
their search to the city of
The combined skills of our
company made finding the lich’s tomb an easy task,
once we had traveled into the desert. Finding what we sought, though, was
another matter. We defeated many minor monstrosities, some of which guarded
treasure of value, including a valuable magical axe. Unfortunately, this new
acquisition made BadAxe somewhat incautious. He and
Friar Francis entered a misty room ahead of the group – and immediately
returned, but BadAxe was a woman! The Friar, too, was
changed, though not in outward appearance – instead he began to cast evil
spells on our foes and refused to help his comrades.
Leaving that dangerous room
before any further misfortune could occur, we continued on. After much
searching, and overcoming many traps and solving several puzzles, we revealed a
small room where a lich stood! Francis rushed in and picked up a glowing mace
that was lying near the undead monster, and with a single blow reduced it to
dust – although not before the lich disintegrated Omiata. Fortunately we were
able to resurrect the rogue, but both mace and lich were gone. All of us agreed
that this must be some sort of misleading trap, and we continued on.
After several more
misfortunes, including near-drowning in a pool of blood and a narrow escape
from an angry efreet, we finally found what appeared
to be Oahbe’s sarcophagus. It was surrounded by treasure and an anti-magic
aura, so we felt confident that it was not another trick. But before we could
enter, Omiata conceived of a plan to restore our cleric to his normal self.
Following his lead, we all returned to the misty room and forced the cleric and
dwarf to re-enter it. Francis emerged restored to his previous character – but
now with forest green skin! And BadAxe remained a
woman but was now taller – a giant of a dwarf at five feet! We decided that
with the cleric’s alignment restored, we could live with the other changes, and
left the misty room for good.
Returning to the sarcophagus,
we pondered the best way to proceed. Omiata found a strangely glowing red gem
nearby and picked it up while we debated. Suddenly the gem spoke within his
mind! It said that he could have any one wish – but he felt that it was somehow
dangerous, and instead of wishing for anything, he told the rest of us of the
gem’s message.
To me, this seemed like the
answer to my dilemma. Surely with a wish I could destroy Oahbe, thus freeing my
sister and removing the lich as a threat! I demanded the gem, and when it
touched my hands, I heard the same message in my mind. Immediately I voiced my
wish – “Destroy the phalactery of Oahbe.”
My rash action did not have
the intended effect – for the gem twisted the wishes it granted. Instead of
destroying Oahbe, it brought him to us! At the same time, I felt in my mind a
feeling of sadistic satisfaction from the gem – now that it had been used, it
was free to destroy us! The lich appeared directly in front of me, and
immediately saw the gem in my hands, its glow growing brighter. “You’ve killed
us all!” He screamed in terror and immediately began to run.
My thoughts raced. If Oahbe
was here, and frightened of the gem, I had merely to stay near him, and he
would be destroyed. But that would also destroy me and my companions – leaving
no one to help Dreiw. Worse, Oahbe would not truly be dead – for we still did
not know where his phalactery was. No, the only choice was to get rid of the
gem, allowing us to fight the lich.
All this passed through my
thoughts in moments. The gem was glowing brighter and brighter, preparing to
unleash its devastation upon all of us. I had to take the gem away from here,
and so I called on my psionic powers to take me as
far away as possible – straight up. The teleportation sent me through all the
rock and sand above the tomb and more than a hundred feet in the air. I started
to throw the gem away…
That was the last I remember
until a mere two hours ago. That was when Friar Francis called on the gods to
bring me back. The gem had exploded with awesome force, killing me instantly
and reducing everything in a large area to ash. Of course my companions knew
nothing of this at the time – to them, I had simply disappeared. That still
left Oahbe nearby, though, and they attacked the fleeing lich instantly. He
proved no match for their combined power, falling even before he fully
recovered from the shock of seeing me with the gem.
It was only a short time later
that Francis followed his senses to an overpoweringly evil aura in a nearby
chamber – the phalactery. BadAxe quickly destroyed
everything there, and the lich was destroyed for good. Francis tells me he also
felt a soul released, which I pray was my sister’s, finding its way back to her
mortal form. After raiding the lich’s treasures,
which were substantial, the party returned to Suzail.
On the way they searched for me, and when they found nothing but a massive
crater where the explosion had occurred, Francis beseeched the gods to return
me to life.
My sincerest thanks to my
companions for all they have done for me and Dreiw. Any aid I can give, I will.
Soon we will return to our keep,
where I hope to find Dreiw safe and whole. Meanwhile, I record this here, for I
have been forcefully reminded of how fragile we all are. The knowledge we have
gained must not be lost, from ill luck or ill-considered actions.
Some random out-of-character comments:
Much thanks to Chopper for
taking on the hosting responsibilities. I think I’m going to try to avoid
dying, if only so I don’t have to bite my tongue all the time. The dead aren’t
supposed to offer advice. :) It’s kind
of frightening how well Demetrius has taken to the dwarf-woman role. It’s nice
to have the band back together – glad Mike J. made it safely to
Last updated 03-12-2006 by Skip Franklin