An undertakers view- Tempartiar Gayle

[Dezza]

As I sit and scribe into my journal I recount my first few days upon the shores of Mistone. Barely had I stepped from the deck of a fine merchant ship onto the docks of the fair and industrious city of Port Hampshire when I came upon a large gathering of people.

What drew me to them was the extreme mix of faces and races there. From orcs to human warriors to halflings to priests. Quite an odd assortment I thought. I drew near and happened to eavesdrop to discover they were planning a dangerous expedition to claim topaz from some mines near a place called Fort Velensk. It sounded like a dangerous undertaking in their description and I offered to aid them with my basic healing skills I had acquired through the graces of Aeridan.

I was suprised that I was so warmly welcomed into their circle I think Aeridin is well respected in these lands and from one of them by chance I heard of a man called Athus who had done much to bring the name of Aeridin into such reknown across this nation. I pray that one day I shall be able to meet such a man.

I was not sure of the undertaking but my place was sealed when one mentioned the forest of undead that existed there. I told them of the place I had once been to, the swamps where my father almost lost his life to the masses of undead that crawled from the muck. That such a place existed in these lands as well angered me more than I liked to admit. I had to pray to Aeridin for calm as they told me of the place.

When we drew near they showed me the forest. Merely stepping within the edge of it I could sense the undead, the unpalpable evil and I swore then to Aeridin that I should return there when i have learnt more and cleanse the place of those abominations and return them to the great cycle.

[Dezza]

It has now been several weeks since I have stepped foot on Mistone and I find my services being called on more regulalry than I would ahve expected. It seems the land abounds on dangerous creatures intent on bringing harm and death to the good people of this land. Heroes summoned by the Dragon as I have been regularly band together to seek out such creatures. I am concerned that some however see it as an act of retribution and vengeance rather than establishing boundries that the creatures should not pass. Several times I have parted ways with groups with this intent in mind.

Recent times have brought concern to my however and I have spent several nights now in Hlint watching for shadows that come forth under darkness to harm the living. I will not allow such sacrilage of human life to exist. Numerous shadows have I, with the aid of other likeminded adventurers dispatched and laid to rest to return to the Great Cycle. I will continue to do so until the day my last breathof life escapes my body.

Of such I have gained new knowledge, recently I was on an expedition that took me deep into troll infested swamps in search of a small child the trolls had kidnapped. I later found this out to be a falsehood spoken by a member of the party to entice me to join them. On this expedition a troll snuck up behind me and dealt me a mighty blow. I felt my life draining from my body, a stange sense of weightlessness filled me and I felt a warmth permeate my being. I remember thinking if that was what it was like to rest in the hands of Aeridin and I felt comforted. I did notfear death.

But after several moments I felt pain strike me and the sounds of my companions roared in my ears as they carried me away from the swamp and the angry trolls. I discovered that one of them had administered a healing potion to bring me back from the edge. As I had been taught I realised that my time had not in fact come. But I felt a distict sense of closeness with Aeridin after that experience that I think I shall cherish for the rest of my life.

For now I continue to watch for the shadows to try and determine where they are coming from. I am sure its only a matter of time before I discover something to this mystery.

[Dezza]

I find myself interacting with such a mix of people on Mistone that is is extraordinary. It seems the dragon summoned are drawn from all over the world. The people of the towns and cities seem to take it as a common day experience to see half breeds of ogres and giants walking the streets, elf and drow walk past each other with nary a comment or clash. Its seems so surreal.

I detect the hint of nervousness everywhere I go though. Stories whispered about Blood and Milara are always being heard and talked about wherever I go.

Of the shadows I have yet to find a lead to them and for the past few nights I have not seen any. Perhaps it is over...I do not know at this time. I will continue to watch out for this. But for now I have a new target. The crypts in Hlint are teeming with undead and no one seems able to do anything about it.

I have spoken with the undertaker Erag who seems to me to be totally unfit for the duty. I almsot suspect he is responsible in some way for the undead there. I plan on investigating this and if I find that he is responsible I will report it to the authorities. For now I plan in tackle them as many times as necessary to lay them to rest. That the bodies of the once living are used in such a way is horrific and cannot be allowed to continue.

[Dezza]

I cannot abide by this any longer...this land is plagued by undead. The crypts in Hlint, shadows walk the streets and forests of the land at night. Everywhere I turn it seems the dead walk.

I joined a group the other day who swore to enter the lair of a great undead creature surrounded by his own undead servants, a quest which I sought membership into and was accepted. We entered the crypt of the Lich called Storan and united destroyed many of his servants. Alas as we progressed further one of our party fell to the death cold gaze of one of the servants. I rushed to tend him but his heart had been stopped cold. The abject look of suprise upon his face was terrible to behold in its finality. There was nothing I could do for him but bless his body and send his spirit on its way to the great cycle.

We pressed on and in some confusion over keys the party became separated behind a trapped door and another party member fell to the undead. By this stage the undead were appearing in greater numbers than we could deal with and we made a strategic withdrawel into the mountains to take stock of our losses. Unfortunately it appeared that this creature had won the day. But it will not be for long...I plan already to return to this place and deal with this abomination to the living...soon.

[Dezza]

A trip to Haven to secure Iron seems to be the latest catch cry amongst the merchants and adventurers in Hlint. I took the opportunity to volunteer my services as a healer to one such group. My reasons were two fold. I thought perhaps I could attempt to negotiate peacefully with the ogres for rights to mine some of the iron. Second to that I wanted to investigate rumours that the spirits of past miners still inhabited the mines tormenting any who entered the mines.

My first attempt to negotiate with the ogres met with abysmal failure. They refused to talk nor even accept a truce. I felt perhaps it was due to the numerous incursions into their mines by those seeking the iron. In this I could understand where they were coming from. Alas I found it was much the same the entire way. The creatures just simply would not listen to reason. Even their leader was inclinded to kill or be killed. I could do nothing but pray for them to re-join the cycle as those I strove to provide healing for made their way through the caves.

On my second reason for going I had to report some marginal success. While I did not witness any undead or apparitions I did detect the uncertainly and nervousness in attempting to sleep in the caves. What interested me was the fact that the ogres were able to do so. I shall have to return to investigate further this phenomena as I had little time to explore the matter.