Living with the Dead

[Cp_Winddancer]

*A black leather bound Journal written in black ink.  Written with the flowing hand of a well practiced scribe*
  Something odd has occured! Last night I was asleep in N'Jest visiting with my family, when I awoke I was talking to a dragon who send me to Hlint.  Why I do not know. Dirty little town.  I was to goto Arabel in the morning to continue my studies at the Temple.  I was to learn to raise skeletons.  I guess I will have to learn on my own. 
   If I recall Hlint is the center of Mistone.  I think I have been cursed.  At least there is a crypt here and I will be able to study the dead.  Too many Dwarves around, and the guards allow people to run around naked.  Never the less I will continue to study the dark arts.  I will need to be less obvious about it.  I don't think the people here will take to a skeleton or zombie the way they do back home. *the ink blots here for a moment* Ahh home where the dead walk freely, there are worse things to worry about.

[Cp_Winddancer]

I am begining to get used to this area of the world.  Last night I had to stop for a second.  As I entered the gates of Fort Hope (not to be confused with Fort of Last Hope) I saw three men running at me with Fire enchanted axes wearing sets of what looked to be full plate... was I back in Arabel, men running to fight the demons, no I was not, it was at this moment that two thing shook reality back into my head.  First was the lack of the screams of torture which are the normal in Arabel and second was the Celestial Hawk following one of the men (obviously a Cleric to one of the more prodominent deities of this area, he is definately not a Priest of Corath).  For a brief moment I thought I was home again.  Amongst the things which I find normal. 
  I was reading a map in the hole known as Hlint when I came across an area known as the broken forest.  It was nice to see again the things which I was accustomed to seeing back home.  Soul afflicted with the curse of never-ending sleep.  Ahh what a nice thought.  Hopefully I will be able to find some sign of Corath in this area of the world.  I am not sure if I will be able to make it back to Arabel for the celebration on all Hallows-eve.  I hope I will be able to do so, I am sure they don't celebrate it openly here if at all.

[Cp_Winddancer]

I thought I was alone in this area.  I thought I was the only Corathite to be found.  Until yesterday when I ran across a Priestess.  At first I thought I saw an illusion, then I saw her again.  I could not remember her name, but I have seen her before in the temple in Arabel.  I knew she was a priestess the moment I saw her.  Skulls dangling from her armor, abrasive attitude, and a "I'm greater than thou" approach to everything.  Ahh!!! it was nice to feel the chill of home.  We breifly exchanged words.  If there is a priestess of Corath in the area there is sure to be a cult.  From her dress I could tell she was not a High Priestess but you never know she could be close, the names of those being tried are not mentioned so who knows.  From the lack of use of the name Corath in this area her flock can not be very big, and I have not see a whole lot of Necromancy being weilded by the few mages.  I will need to look into this a bit furthur *stops and runs her hand up her left arm feeling the scar on her bicept* yes I must find out.
  Today I ran into a brute by the name of Golgoth, at first sight, something seemed a bit odd.  His armor, I had seen it before.  When I mentioned it he quickly stood tall and informed me that he was of the Black guard of Arabel.  I knew I had seen it before!  Like all of the other soliders of Arabel he was a pompus womanizer.  I can understand why they are with their lifespan being as short as it is.  He said he had served for four years and was on assignment from Arabel to Hlint.  Why would the priest(es)s be interested in the Hlint area.  This dirty hole, other than being the center of Mistone who cares.  Perhaps they wish to cause chaos *smiles for a moment* what a lovely thought that would be, none-the-less I will continue in my studies.  If only Golgoth's IQ was as big as his mussles he would be a very nice catch.  I could use a brute to take the brunt of the fight till I can kill off the creaures with my magical powers.  Perhaps... hmm... I could seduce him with a charm spell to do my bidding.  If I didn't have this scar on my face I think I could easily gain control over him.  *Pauses for a moment to dream* Ahh, a brute chopping trees and making sawdust for my scrolls, and doing it all without a shirt on wouldn't that be a pleasent sight, and a corathite to boot.

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Cassandra takes out a quil and begins to write*
  While roaming about through the mountains Sabel, I and that demon ran into the high priestess.  During a short oncersation she pronounced that we were standing on the site of a future temple of Lord Corath.  The plan was then set forth, which we have begun to put in motion.  Raising that much gold will take sometime.  A couple of weeks later floorplans were displayed.  I took the time then to catch up with master Vensk, it had been sometime since we last met.  Truely darkness will spread forth across this contenent turning the weak minded into servents of the dark sun.
  It appears that Blood will slow down our progress on the temple.  His forces have landed on Mistone.  Garet and his band of do gooders were out attempting to run us out of Hlint.  The fools do they think that we will actually leave.  Then they have the tenacity to arequest our help in defending their home.  If they want my help I think I can raise a good portion of their cemetarys to fight for them.  Skeletons now do my bidding.  If nothing else I would enjoy the challenge of such a task.  I am sure I can manage to do so.
  *puts quil down and shakes head for a moment*
  Czukay what were you thinking.  You actually think that you can go about on your own, worshiping lord Corath.  Foolish warrior, rules must be followed.  You must worship under whomever has stewardship over the area of the world in which you reside.  Chaos is spread, not allowed within the ranks.  You must follow the desires of the high priest/ess where you live, else how can you obey with the utmost diligence.  Fighters... the weakminded, this is why blood will take control over this contenent.  Unless they learn they will fall.

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Sitting on the desk under a few scrolls and maps sits her journal, Cassandra opens it up and begins to write*
  I have finally finish my golem made of stone.  The finaly enchantment has been put into place and he comes alive.  For now I will store him here however to which plane will he be the safest to store him on to do my bidding. *pausing for a few moments* Ahh yes where better than the plane of death.  He is neither alive nor dead, this will make him safe from the powerful magic weilded there.  He is stronger than I thought he would be, I guess my skills are more advanced than I previously believed. 
    The High Priestess has requested of me to perform a study on skeletons.  Interesting subject, very well suited to my specialty.  As I studied my own skeletons I have found them to posess a certain resistance to magic.  Something I did not previously realize since I normally do not run into many spell casting foes.  This study required that I spend hours inside the tomb of storan.  After a while it becomes quiet enjoyable.  But then again as confired my the high priestess Storan was once a powerful follower of Lord Corath and made a deal with him at his death.  Time seems to stand still when you are within a crypt, how long I was there I do not know.  However, I do know that two crops of mushrooms grew while I was there.  Luckily for me they are the very mushrooms which I need for some of my inks.  Several bodaks wanted to test their magic out only to find their teeth missing later that day or was it night, now that I think of it I am not sure.  With my study almost complete I am curious as to what task she will think up next.  Now I must get to these orders from other mages desiring my skills in making them scrolls.  Their weakness will bring me untold wealth and fame, which I will use to gain power over them. 
  *waving her fingers the journal closes and seals closed.  It then finds its way back on the shelve with a dim glow of red and purple*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Cassandra sits down at her desk.  With a wave of her hand off the shelf comes her journal opening to the next blank page.  Reaching out she finds her quill made of a stirge feather.  As the ink touches the page energy begins to surge outward from the book.*
 
  Never before have I witnessed what I did this night, weakness of body from a high priestess of Corath.  After running off those whom had aided her out of the forest of Sielwood, I assisted her to a safe house.  Lord Corath will strike soon to gain power over the weak.  The time is right; he has already begun to move into position.  This night his constellation moved upward in the sky, moving to strike the weak.  After being told of the visitation of the Dark Sun to the high priestess Chanda, I became further elated.  We will soon strike forth while others are weak.  Darkness will prevail and spread forth across the world!
 
*With a final wave of her hand the quill is returned to the ink well, her journal again seals and returns to its place on the shelf awaiting her next call*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Walking I and sitting down at her desk Cassandra reaches out with her left hand to grab a vial of in when her left pinky hits the edge of the vial*
 “Blasted all”
 *a bit of blood seeps onto the desk, with a wave of her hand her journal comes off of the shelve and opens to the next available page.*
 Upon giving all of the goods requested by high priestess Chanda she asked that I join her in the meeting room. I thought this rather odd since normally she just speaks to me wherever we meet. After entering the wench proceeded to inform me that my work was useless. Ranting and raving she went on about how useless I was, the standard practice for priests and priestesses of Lord Corath. Nothing is ever correct, even in perfection they will strive to find flaws. Then in her normal way of doing things she wanted me to recite my third tenant. Like I don’t know what it is, sometimes I wonder how she ever reached the level of high priestess, probably a lack of qualified people. Then when she asked me what I sought after the word power seemed to make her angrier. Probably due to the fact that she knows I will be far more powerful than she could ever dream. I’m not the one who has failed Lord Corath. All of Arabel knows of her failure to obtain the piece of the altar of Lord Corath. She has a problem with failure; one of her top mages failed and paid the ultimate punishment for it. Lord Corath send the Dark Sun to remove his soul forcing him to wander forever on the plane of Death. FAILURE, rubbish! To top it off then she wanted my finger, obedience is what she wants and I will give it to her up until the day she finds my dagger cutting across her throat. After some hesitation I gave her a bit of my finger (the first digit on her left pinky). She then threw it into the fire she then stormed out.
  *A drop of blood falls onto the page*
  I am going to replace the missing digit of my finger with that of a skeleton. It will take a bit of work but it will happen. Perhaps I can incase a gem into it for a bit of décor even enchant it.
 *Waving her hand the book closes and returns to its place on the shelf radiating a pale red color*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*A wave of the hand and off the shelf comes the journal slipping open to the next page*
 My skills are improving with this shortened finger of mine. I thought it would hinder my casting ability but it has not. A short time ago I was summoned forward by the high priestess. She wishes that I take on an apprentice named Nagash Nightban. His former master Kallious has apparently began working on methods to circumvent the metal of armor. I told him I cared little for that study and he was to work on it in his spare time. I then set him about menial tasks to test his loyalty. The high priestess thinks he may be a spy, if he is I will find out. Later that night while making a copy of the seven tenants of faith, a visitor arrived in the hall, a lesser darksoul. He obviously had wandered from home or was sent. Either way he is no more.
 ********
  A few days later I was beckoned to The Scamps Mug for a meeting. Shortly after arriving the high priestess and I met with two Pyrtechon’s, they are associates of the nameless one. After a short discussion they were hired to deliver a cleric of Ilsare to the high priestess. Quick to the job they delivered him to the temple for punishment. Other than a short interruption things went off better than planned. The high priestess got what she wanted.
 *********
  While doing some business at the Leilon Arms a most humorous event occurred, a succubus and what I think was a basilisk appeared in the hall. All the normal heroes rushed out to their death. Only the bard Ozy returned to the inn. Walking outside the street was filled with corpses. The succubus and basilisk were gone. If I was not so close to the safe house I would have considered raising one of them as a new skeleton to serve as my body guard. Nevertheless, I did not. Other than a few sales and deals, which I have secured, it has been uneventful for a spell. I did receive a letter from the high priestess calling for my attendance at a meeting of Corath in a few days. No telling what it will bring, I am sure though that Vestlyn will be a topic and what to do with him. If he stays in Mistone he is a liability to the temple and all of us. Time will tell his fate.

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Sitting down at her desk in a flowing motion off the shelf comes her journal. Glowing a dim red it lands in front of her, opening to the next page. A quill then floats over finding itself in her hand*
 A lesser dark soul has seemed fit to seek me out. Apparently his master who calls himself dark lord, obviously a lesser being wishing the power of a wizard of Corath to find what he has lost. After some thought I have decided to find the mace, which he has lost, returning it is another issue all together. I have asked the high priestess if she knows anything about it but she did not. She told me she would inquire of the bard Ozymandias. I am not sure how accurate his information will be or I should say how badly he will wrestle any information he may have. This mace was taken by a group of Aeridinites and hidden. This is what ultimately sparked my interest since if they want it hidden then I defiantly want it.
 ************************************************************************
 We recently returned from a voyage to Rodlem. The high priestess wanted to see what advantage she could turn on those isles since they are still recovering from the wrath of Bloodstone. During our visit we visited the town of Rodez. They defiantly could fall under the control of Corath with a bit of work. During our exploration we encountered some of the biggest snakes I had ever seen. We walked past them, sensing our body heat they struck a few times into the air but were unable to strike us. We also attempted to kill a belibith. It was a wise decision not to attack it directly as every attack by our creatures seemed to bounce off of him. I do want a vial of his poison but that will have to wait for another time.
*The journal closes, seals, and returns to its place on the shelf.*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*Leaning over the corpses of several dead giants Cassandra goes about the usual task of clearing out the gold, which they may carry. Examining the weapons for value. The setting sun slowly beginning to tuck itself behind the mountains when something catches her eye*
 "What’s that? "
  * Stopping her search she goes back and gently slides the blade from its sheath. *
  "Very interesting indeed. "
  *Quickly she gathers up the sword, and heads to Pranzis.*
  "There must be something special about this. "
 *Arriving in Pranzis she heads straight to the library there. Searching through the tombs she comes to a book titled “Artifacts and Legendary weapons” she pulls the book from the shelf and begins to flip through it. Stopping at a page she sees it a greatsword with a fire opal inlay. She begins to read about her newest prize. *
 *muttering silently to herself*
  “Truly I have found a rare piece of weaponry. And stolen from haven at that. Oh they would want one of their weapons back after this much time I doubt any of them can remember the story”
*Cassandra quickly closes the book sliding it back on the shelf and leaves*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*With a wave of the hand her journal comes off the shelf and onto the desk* Recently we have had a surge of newcomers show up. It is obvious that our allies also have seen the moving of Lord Corath and they want to follow on his coat tails to power. I can’t blame them really power is power. The high priestess has had a recent desire to mine ore and as such we have spent a great deal of time in cave seeking it out. During a trip to chase down vampires I found a most interesting item. Unsure of what it was I concealed it from my companions for further investigation into this item. After some research I was able to figure out what I had found. These bullets were an item for the Flame. I am sure the Flame would like them back but they will make a nice addition to my collection of fine artifacts. I tested the items on a piece of hickory parchment as a final test. It did in fact burn the paper.   Time will tell of the usefulness of these new allies and worshipers of Lord Corath. Some seem to have a use while others seem foolish. Eight times last night I had to save one of them and at great risk to my own life. I seem to have gained some favor in the eyes of the high priestess, or at least she has found others with which to fuel her anger.   My spell book is almost complete and the pages are filling up fast. The next pages will require some of the scribing parchment, which I have made. I will need to make more soon in order to contain the spells I seek.   *The book closes tightly and finds its way back onto the shelf*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*smirks slightly as she begins to write*
 I have taken on a pupil in the past week. A drow wizard by the name of Daralith, he thinks he is an “Arch Mage”. In exchange for my services of mentoring his learning, he is teaching me the drow language. This is a most useful skill to have considering all of the dealings, which we have with them. He is not the newest mage and as such he is not an apprentice, even if he makes mistakes like one. He is one of several new faces, which have taken up traveling with the high priestess and myself. One includes an old drow rogue. He like all drow thinks he is more than he really is, another is a druid whom is so confused he is lost most of the time, and the last is another priestess. She is a bit lost in her ways, as she does not use a short sword in battle. The high priestess put her in charge of the druid’s teaching.
A letter arrived from a drow by the name of Eanane, she wished to meet with me concerning my medallion of lord Corath. All she saw was the bones attached to it. She is seeking out an old palemaster to learn from him. He friend Isilme sent a letter to the high priestess concerning a plot against her. She is an elf and is wishing to walk the path of death. Obviously the high priestess has trust issues with this but has decided to meet with them both separately. My task was complete as I met with the elf to feel her out. Only time will tell if these new faces will be successful or if the will fail and be banished from the path of darkness, as time will also tell if my pupil will make it or fail as a mage.

[Cp_Winddancer]

*While storing items in one of her crates a knock came at the door*
“Darkness summons you forth”  I followed the man as I was led forth. I entered the house and was told to sit and wait. After a short time I was again called forth at which time I was blind folded and my wrist was bound. At which time I was led into another room and placed inside a circle of skulls. There was little doubt as to what was occurring, I was to be blooded here in Mistone. I am not sure weather the order originated locally or from elsewhere but it is obvious that I am to aid the temple, which I help to fund. With a cut into my bicep and oath it was official. Whatever the reason I do not know. However, since I am to work here I will do my best to spread forth the will of the Dark Lord. In a conversation later with master Perrin mine was to be the final ceremony to occur where it did, all future ceremonies will occur at the temple. Whom that will be I do not know, but then again I do not really care. I have my work to do and a reputation to spread forth. So far it is doing pretty good coming from the scrolls, which I make. I think I may begin to work on gaining a reputation as a enchanter as well since I need those blasted Lucinda’s touches to make greater scrolls. So be it I have work, which must be done.
*the book closes hard and seals itself returning to its place on the shelf, giving off a light red glow*

[Cp_Winddancer]

*the journal opens and the quil begins to write*
  The drow Daralith seems to be progressing well for a drow. He contines to teach me the language of his birth and has begun to incorperate the hand movements required to comunicate. He is still a weak mage though and needs to work harder on his magical skills.
  I have taken more time to develop my ability to enchant gems with magical power as I will soon need the potion of Lucinda to continue my work as a scribe. Time will only tell, the high priestess seems to have less anger toward me since my blooding. She has also seen to use the mahogany long bow I made the other day. Not that it matters to me since I am still unable to control the weapon.
 
  *The journal closes and returns to the shelf*