Moonglow, Trammel, Chesapeake (PaxLair Times) – November 27, 2010 – by Ashlynn – In the wake of the attack on the Gypsy Caravan earlier in the month, the sealed rune recovered from the skirmishes had been delivered to Lord Balandar in an effort to crack the arcane lock upon it and lead us directly to those responsible. And tonight the Royal Militia rallied at Castle Britannia as it appeared the Queen’s magician had done just that.
We were taken from the castle to Lord Balandar’s home in Moonglow where we were told that the seals upon the rune had finally been broken, or at least were about to be. Five minutes and an impressive incantation later and a moongate opened to a snow-swept isle defended by high walls of frozen, roughly-hewn rock. Before us stood glacial doors but before we could break those down, we had to deal with the defenders guarding them.
The temple was defended by many frozen guardians.
Once inside, we discovered a temple or tomb of sorts, similar to one I had previously seen in Ter-Mur, and after fighting our way through the frozen elementals and ice daemons, we arrived at the heart of the complex. Five magic circles filled the room, each with a different elemental inscription, one each for earth, water, air, fire and chaos. The gathered crowds quickly deduced that perhaps elementals and even a summoned daemon could solve this puzzle for us, and sure enough, it worked! Another gate opened and onwards we pressed.
The Militia summon elementals to "unlock" the way forward.
We found ourselves in front of a great castle in the frozen wilderness. The castle was defended by ratfolk, yet more ice daemons and even white wyrms perched on each of the castle’s towers. While some of the militia took a direct approach and stormed the front gates, others took to ladders on the east wall, clambering up over the battlement between the merlons and engaging the defenders directly.
I tried the front gates at first, but the walls were definitely a better option...
The battle was a long one and I decided to stalk the castle halls as it raged. Inside I discovered a number of interesting items. Statues and arms dedicated to a Lord Tomlinson, some of which appeared to be gifts from Lord British. And a number of books including a guard’s log that recorded details of the attack on the Gypsy Caravan. From my investigations, it appeared that they sought fragments of a map, though to what end, I do not know.
Soon the defenders inside were vanquished, but it seemed The Magician, or at least the image of him, called upon the spirits of the earth to tear down the castle as he made his escape. The walls fell in around us and many found themselves trapped in a pile of rubble at the centre. While some took to looting, others investigated the area nearby and discovered a hole deep into the ground.
The hole appeared to have only been dug recently.
The Militia moved quickly underground, fighting off yet more frozen elementals and ratmen. Deep inside the caves, we found a mighty beast made of solid ice that stood waist-deep in a cold pool of water. Upon entry it grew enraged and attacked us all, inflicting many causalities, but after a hard-fought battle, we were finally able to defeat it.
Our reward for the night’s adventure was another piece of the map the Magician craved hidden in a frozen chamber beyond and Lord Balandar soon told us that there was now only one piece left to recover; that held by the Magician himself.
The map lay upon an altar made of ice in the middle of a pool.
Returning to Moonglow, Lord Balandar and Captain Gwen thanked us all for assisting them but warned us the stay vigilant as the Magician would surely come to take the pieces we now held. We were then all dismissed to contemplate the night’s events before resting. It will certainly be interesting to see where this map takes us once it is assembled and just what he will attack us with in the wake of the devastating blow we struck him this eve.