Excerpts from the adventure journals of Elric of Telerion

Introduction 

I have seen things no mortal has ever dreamed: the living flames of a dragon’s breath as it melts the very stones; the chilling visage of the living dead minions of the witch king and the awesome might of long forgotten magicks. I am Elric of Telerion, priest of Quentir and last ranger of Telerion, last of the Quentil elves on Arven and this is the story of my travels and adventures. 

In this, the dawn of a new age, most of the First-Born of Arven, called Elves by mortals, have sailed to their Western lands leaving this world to the Younger Races. With the passing of the Witch-King, the Abyssal Lord Nazgothiel and the Orb of Ulmondor, the immortal First-Born had fulfilled their mission in this world and returned to the Creators, the Variels. My story is about end of the last age and the beginning of this one and the heroes who stood against a tide of darkness the likes of which you cannot imagine. It begins with my departure from the city of my ancestors, Telerion.

The Lorven Chronicles 

I have a long and difficult journey across a thousand miles to the human lands known as the Dales. In the city of Lorven, I spend my time learning the ways of the human priests of my God, Quentir. They are quite monastic and rigid in their service to the Variel, which differs vastly from the free-spirited worship we elves offered. 

Not long after my arrival, I meet Tanya, a Sindarien from Lorele who has lived among the humans for a long time. As a sell-sword and a bard, she has had ample opportunity to study the culture and customs of the humans. We resolve to travel together and I am introduced to her companions Horak the barbarian half-orc, Aurora the psychic and Barkins Willow, a roguish halfling. 

Our travels together begin with exploring the ruins outside Lorven. These are the remains of Old Lorven, a city that was mostly decimated during a raid by one of the Wyrms of Ulmondor. Many fell beasts, including a tribe of hobgoblins, inhabit the ruins but we prevail against the monsters. 

After a few adventures, strange things begin happening in the city. The hobgoblins (from the ruins) are now openly roaming the streets of Lorven. Lord Cardelier, ruler of this city-state, has not cracked down on these creatures so we have to assume the worst. Nevertheless, our adventures continue and finally lead to us retrieving the sword of King Thirimus, last king of the Dales, who died fighting the Wyrm. This is a Quentil-made sword that has been specifically enchanted against Wyrms so it is no wonder that the king managed to slay the beast.

Alas, our days in Lorven are numbered as Cardelier orders a crackdown on the temples and begins conscripting civilians. We go underground to escape the fist of tyranny but none of us are too happy about hiding from this bastard. Soon enough, we are organizing resistance against the foul regime and disguising ourselves to walk the streets above.

Following an unsuccessful assault on Cardelier’s castle, we are forced to leave Lorven until things cool down. The call of adventure leads us to the town of Darsvia in the north. Here we encounter and put down a burgeoning cult of Silaria, a god of petty evil. Darsvia is not a town that recommends itself to travelers so we move south. After a short spell in Cormel, we head to Taksaran, an ancient fortress built by the dwarves, in search of further adventure. But our hearts are still in Lorven and we head back there to finish exploring the ruins. Little did we know what lay in the deepest recesses of Old Lorven. 

The ruins actually stretch out into Lorven Wood and at one point, we discover what appears to be a series of natural caverns. What resided in one of these caverns was definitely not natural though. In our greatest challenge so far, we come face to face with a Wyrm named Obsidian. Through some amazing luck and the sword of King Thirimus, we defeat the dragon but at a heavy cost. Horak is killed when Obsidian picked him up and dropped him from a great height. Though we had won the day, Obsidian had escaped and we knew we would face it again. 

In the hoard of the dragon, we find a great treasure in the form of a ring called Nanya. An artifact of ancient Quatrilier, the ring had powerful healing properties and I personally take charge of it. It is at this point that we make the acquaintance the Dracor’ezu, a strange hybrid of reptile, specifically Wyrm, and human that can only be the handiwork of foul magic. These beings are now apparently in the service of Cardelier and they pursue us to gain the ring. Seeking to find answers about the ring, we travel south to Disarius to the temple of Nivriel, the Power to whom Nanya is sacred.

On the way, we are waylaid by the Dracor’ezu and in our first battle against them, discover that even in death, the creatures are deadly. The Wyrmslayer of Thirimus is destroyed in the battle. It is but the first of many swords I will have a hand in destroying. 

In Disarius, we learn that the Witch-King and his minions are once more about in the land and that the dragon-men are indeed his servants. Tanya and I realize that the only answers to our questions will be found with the most ancient of our people in Lorele, specifically, Lady Arrien. With the rest of the group in agreement, we board a ship heading north to Donione, capital of Trinteare. The plan is to proceed on land from Donione through the dwarven halls and then into Lorele. Unfortunately, the laid plans often go awry. 

Somewhere close to our destination, we run straight into a storm which sinks the ship. Fortunately, we are fairly close to our destination and wash up on a beach near the town of Bran. Here we meet the wizard who calls himself the Edge and a farmer/sellsword named Ganda Sinatra who promptly join our band. 

The journey to Lorele is fraught with danger and before long, we are sidetracked by an ill-advised trip through Wight Wood. It is supposed to be a short cut but I suspect that going through the Troll-infested Moors would have been less deadly. Wight Wood is aptly named as it is crawling with Wights and they are “based” in a city in the heart of the forest. Through his bumbling, Sinatra releases a powerful evil entity known as the Wight King, a servant of the Witch King, and so we are forced to enter the ruined city to fight this creature. 

In the city, we chance upon a strange sword embedded in rock which Aurora uses her psychic powers to free. In what will be become painfully evident, the sword was not meant to be freed. The Edge makes a discovery that makes our journey a little easier. He has found a strange journal that catalogues the travels of a wizard and his party of adventurers as he made his way through Wight Wood. It contains many ancient magicks lost to the ravages of time but the Edge will bring them to light again. 

We soon encounter an enigmatic wizard whom the Edge suspects is the one who wrote the journal. He claims to be the guardian of this place and proves it by keeping the Wights at bay with his magic. The nameless one guides us to the lair of the Wight King and gives invaluable advice on fighting him. In that epic battle, it is a miracle that none of us lose our lives but Aurora and the Edge both lose much of their life essence to the King and his minions. 

Our mission accomplished, we leave Wight Wood but the consequences of our trip there have not yet ended. While resting one day, the sword seizes control of me and I earn my title of “Friend-Slayer” by virtually sucking the life out of first Barkins then Sinatra. Ironically, the power that the sword drains flows into me and in my newly empowered state, I am able to best the sword’s will and gain control of myself again. But the damage has been done and Sinatra and Barkins are lost to us. Resolving to destroy the sword, I call upon Quentir to bring his power to bear on the sword and he hears my prayers. Thus I destroy my second magical sword. 

Eventually, we reach Lorele and inform Lady Arrien and her councilors on the peril that faces the world. The council determines that the Witch-King seeks to uncover an artifact he hopes will lead him to bring the Abyssal Lord Nazgothiel and his minions back to Arven. Lady Arrien doesn’t think that Nanya is what the Witch-King seeks so we decide to return to Lorven to investigate Cardelier’s connection to this whole mess. The council also tells us that if are to face the Witch-King and his minions, we must retrieve an ancient sword once used to strike down the villain. The sword lies in the tomb of a hero of the Dales named Linnea and it was she who defeated the Witch-King the last time he inflicted himself on Arven. Our path laid out before us, we prepare to find the tomb and a warrior powerful enough to wield the sword. 

Before we set out, a halfling named Zomb-Kur joins our merry band. He will soon prove to unique among his kind, for better and for worse.

Arriving in Donione to catch a ship, we leave the Edge with his family. Before departing though, the lord of the city entreats us to check on some strangeness in Donione that we suspect may have something to do with the Witch-King. Instead of Dracor’ezu though, we find ourselves battling fierce warriors beneath the city. Amazingly, we survive those dungeons and its vorpal-sword armed villain and head back to the Dales. 

In Disarius, we meet a high priest of Valitir who bears a message for us from the Variels. Apparently, it has fallen to us to investigate and deal with the Witch-King problem. Micran, the priest and his escorts, Pyrus Oak and Trissot Frenduch also tell me that I am the Chosen of Quentir in this matter. The hand of Fate weighs strongly on our time in Disarius as a knight of Mach, Sir Connor Gilbert, joins us. He is the warrior we are looking for and he quickly agrees to join us in our search for the sword, which we have taken to calling Linnea. 

It is at this point that Zomb reveals his idiosyncrasies, though that would be putting it mildly. His greed appears boundless but, curiously, he also displays great courage and resourcefulness in combat. But it is his eating habits that truly distinguish him from others of his kind. Zomb is a voracious eater and a prodigious drinker who has to have a whole pig and a barrel of ale to himself. His particular method of consumption is to literally dive in and we have been forced, many a time, to fish him out of his barrel once he passes out. I discovered once what happens when Zomb does not eat his fill. One night at the inn we were staying, I went to the stable to check on my horse only to find that the creature had eaten it! As he was a friend and ally, I forgave him but resolved to keep the little fellow fed so as to avoid a repeat performance.

After no small amount of research, we discover that the tomb is in Lorven Wood though it is some distance from Lorven town itself. We know that the tomb is full of traps and has many guardians but our information on the place serves us well. Unfortunately, there is also a priest of Angoth and his servants looking for the sword and we clash a few times, resolving in the end to leave each other be until one of us finds it. After searching the entire crypt, we finally discover Linnea and put the servants of Angoth in the dead book. The party decides that our cause will be best served if Sir Connor uses Linnea and with that, the good knight is entrusted with the weapon. 

Before we can further our goals in the Dales, we are forced to return to Lorven by an unexpected turn of events. Tanya has gone missing and all the evidence suggests that she went to Lorven on some business of a local thieves’ guild. Apparently, she was once a member of this guild and now has returned to Lorven to help them out. Following Tanya, we sneak into the town (we are still wanted fugitives) and search out this guild. Surprisingly, the guild is not in trouble with Cardelier nor this matter have anything to do with the Witch-King. Tanya is the prisoner of a half-elven rogue named Serena who blames her for the collapse of her relationship with the guildmaster. 

Unfortunately, we are all caught up in Serena’s web, especially after she takes a shine to me. No doubt her interest lies solely in hurting Tanya but through a variety of disguises and some magic, she convinces me, and thus the party, that she means no harm. Despite Serena’s best efforts, we find and free Tanya but the little monster manages to escape. Nevertheless, she is now the sworn enemy of Elric of Telerion and I can wait for centuries to inflict vengeance upon her. 

During this escapade, Serena turns Zomb into a dog and hands him over to Cardelier. The despicable tyrant then proceeds to sodomize the poor fellow before we have a chance to rescue him. Thankfully, the halfling has a horrible memory and, believe it or not, will in time be unable to recall this entire incident. As a result of having to enter Cardelier’s castle though, we learn that the despot has indeed made a pact with the Witch-King as he now has a small contingent of Dracor’ezu guards. 

At this point, the Edge rejoins our group, having been restored to his former glory by the priests of Valitir in Donione. We also manage to convince Aurora to join our band for one last adventure before she hangs up her sword for good. It will turn out to be something I will regret for years to come.

In our search for the next step in our battle against the Witch-King, we head into Lorven Wood to seek the counsel of the elves of Trandil, a kingdom hidden deep in the forest. Instead of finding guidance though, we are interrogated by the King of Trandil and forced to turn over Linnea to him. Through the intervention of the Queen though, we are given an opportunity to prove ourselves. Our quest is to once again penetrate Taksaran and recover the Orb of Ulmondor, which has for centuries been hidden within. The forces of the Witch-King have occupied the place and are looking for the ancient artifact and we know that the Witch-King will be neigh unstoppable if he gets his hands on it. 

I am given an ancient sword called the Heart of Stone to help in our quest but the loss of Linnea still rankles. A ranger of Trandil called Haplo also joins us as a representative of the hidden kingdom. 

This time around, just getting into the fortress will be a perilous undertaking as the front gates are heavily guarded by Dracor’ezu. Resolving to enter through natural caverns beneath Taksaran, we once again encounter Obsidian and this time it’s a fight to the finish. Our combined might is too great for the dragon and we fell the mighty beast. Inside the fortress, we fight many running battles with the Dracor’ezu and the undead who have taken up residence here. 

When we finally unlock the secret of the Orb’s location, we discover that we will be safe from the dragon-men because even they cannot defeat the powerful traps that guard the relic. Truly, these traps are the stuff of legends and even the word “traps” does not do justice to them. Through a Herculean effort, we manage to recover the Orb but in the process, Zomb-Kur is poisoned by a trap he could not disarm and he perishes. 

Now that we have the Orb, we are attacked en masse by the Dracor’ezu. After a titanic battle, we prevail but at a heavy price. All my companions, save the Edge, die at the hands of the dragon-men and, to make matters worse, their souls are trapped in the wretched Orb of Ulmondor. With heavy hearts, the Edge and I make our way back to Trandil with our prize.