Wanderer reports ill news

[krandate123]

The night wind blows in behind the wanderer as he enters the Elfsong Tavern. A tall slender man with a clean shaven head and intricate markings on his face enters and walks to a booth towards the back. He nods to Lady Alyth as he passes, then is heard to order a round of bitter black.

As he wanders to the back, he notices an off duty Flaming Fist guardsman drinking in a corner. He walks over to the guardsman, bowing his head slightly as the annoyed guard's eyes meet his own.

"May I join with you for a spell sir? I have a tale you should hear."

The guardsman nods and gestures to the seat opposite. The newcomer sits and begins his tale.

"My name is Marlevi. My tale...or this part rather...begins when myself and a few companions decided to go to the Friendly Arm Inn to have a drink after exploring the ruins atop the hill north of the Inn. On the way there I glimpsed a gnoll near the opening of a cave. My companions and I attempted to greet it and determine what a lone gnoll was doing there. The gnoll of course attacked, and proved a most fearsome combatant."

The monk draws a breath and takes a deep swig of his beer before continuing.

"The gnoll slew one of my companions, a priestess named Katriana. She served Ilmater well that day, sacrificing herself to save the rest of us. The rest of us scooped up her body and ran for the Gate to attempt to reach a priest before too much time had passed. We...well...we found trouble on the road. While running north we witnessed a woman in green being assaulted by the undead. One of my companions, a wielder of eldritch magic called Crescentia stopped to fight the dead, while my other companion, a warrior of Tempus named Nefrain continued to the Gate. There we were able to get help for Katriana, at which point we all hurried back to help the druid."

The monk takes another drink and motions the barmaid over. After ordering a meal he stares into his drink and continues.

"There were so many... The druid, Kriana, joined us and we fought them back time and again, different creatures. So many different creatures. Worgs, zombies, skeletons...we fought them back to the source. We pursued them deeper into the wood where ever more foul creatures attempted to destroy us. Ghouls, ghasts, a truly fiendish spider, even some mounds of filth that walked with a life of their own. All of those fell, untile we...we finally met our match." The newcomer grips his mug so tightly that cracks begin to appear along the handle. "The very ground was shaking as it approached. The treant was diseased and must have been an elder. It was massive, well over ten men in height. We...had no chance. We ran. That thing cornered us and..."

Marlevi sits up and smiles slightly. "I saw my own death that day. I was proud of the life I have lived. When all was lost, from nowhere a unicorn of the purest white galloped in and attacked the creature. The battle was long and fierce, but the unicorn emerged victorious to the cheers of us all. Once the creature had fallen, the unicorn spoke with us. That is the news I bring, guardsman. Mauglir is indeed dead. The unicorn confirmed it. But his legacy...his legacy only begins. Mauglir had followers. At least one of them is a necromancer. That is perhaps not the most dire news though. Mauglir had truly abandoned his faith. Mauglir had turned to the Lady of Poison, the Mistress of Disease, the Mother of All Plagues! Mauglir had turned to Talona."

Marlevi is silent for a long time after this, waving off the guardsman's impassioned questions while he collects his thoughts. "This...this is just the beginning. Gather your forces, and guard well the places you value. A dark time is coming. I have vowed to do what I can to stop it. I need to find others to do the same." Marlevi looks one last time, with a very intense glare into the guardsman's eyes as he speaks the last words before he leaves. "Spread the word."