Honour Shrine, Ilshenar, Chesapeake (PaxLair Times) – September 7, 2012 – by Ashlynn – Though Exodus has been defeated, his wicked legacy lingers on. Yesterday evening, the famed Lord Dupre decided to rectify a small part of that legacy by repairing the fractured moongate at the Shrine of Honour.
We were called to his camp near the City of Trinsic and were informed of the task ahead of us. With so many champions and scholars of note long gone or turned to dust, Dupre informed us we would be approaching the man calling himself Blackthorn as he would surely know something on the topic or moongates, or could at least refer us to someone who did. Blackthorn himself was still in residence at the Fishing Village in Ter Mur and as we hurried to seek an audience, we caught him in conversation with an assistant discussing the water supply and some way to augment it to more permanently stave off the Gargish plague in the Royal City.
Our large band soon caught his attention and Dupre approached with questions regarding moongates, the damaged one in particular. It seemed clear to me that the two men knew each other and so there may well be some truth to his claims of being the infamous Blackthorn.
Blackthorn confirmed our suspicions – the damaged moongate was a final parting blow from defeated Exodus. It soon became clear that we would need to recover the notes of the missing mage Gilforn and they were suspected to be somewhere in the old maze built by Relvinian the Mad. It was also clear we would require the services of a powerful mage and our only choice was Balandar, so we made haste to his estate and informed him of the situation. With preparations complete, towards the verdant labyrinth we marched.
Activity in the maze was at something of a peak and we fought several daemons on our way to the centre. Eventually we arrived at the ruined estate and were attacked by a great dragon with a hide of obsidian and wicked gleaming spines. The creature did not last long and it’s broken frame soon decorated the rest of Relvinian’s corpse littered garden.
Balandar took something from the corpse, muttered an unfamiliar gargish incantation and opened a black gate of some kind. To our astonishment, the foolish wizard then stepped through and vanished! After some searching, all we found were his robes and the book we sought, but of the mage there was no sign!
We headed back to the Fishing Village and informed Blackthorn what had happened. He told us that we should not expect to see Lord Balandar again (much to the relief of some others in the Royal Guard I suspect). He also told us he would perform the ritual himself and we should meet him at the moongate.
Dragging us through a strange field littered with many curious objects, we soon arrived at the ruined gate of Honour with Lord Dupre. However it seemed Blackthorn had other business to resolve first and we huddled around the shattered gate mumbling about various frivolous topics for some time before he finally joined us.
The ritual was an impressive one and the large amount of magical energy being manipulated was clear for all to see. After several minutes of arcing arcane energy and other witchfire, the gate exploded into blue light and looked fully functional once again.
Congratulating us all and thanking the man called Blackthorn for his help, we all began to make our way home for the evening, many using the newly repaired gate. Its repair is another piece of good news for the people of Britannia and will hopefully be something of a morale boost for the citizens of the realm. It would also be the second time the man calling himself Blackthorn has aided the inhabitants of Sosaria. I only hope that his motives are noble and not a means to a more sinister end.
As for Lord Balandar, was it bravery or madness that led him to step through the gate? And is he now in the same place (or places) that Gilforn is believed to be? It would seem that there are now even fewer all-powerful mages left in Sosaria and of those that do live on, one of them seeks revenge against the Kingdom for the slaying of her lover. I pray that does not prove to be bigger problem in the future.