PROLOGUE -
Shantra McTavish is boarding within the temple of Lilith in Blackoak and after awakening from her coma-like fever, is struck with a prophetic vision. A priest known as Mark will find her at this point, in the morning, sweating heavily, her forehead lined and her lips moving silently. He will try to awaken her, and then ask what she was dreaming. The dream is as follows:
"Shantra walks alone, in her ceremonial robes through darkness. Her footsteps echo into the distance, she is barefoot. Suddeon. Ronald retrieves a large silver key from his pocket and opens the first door at the top of the stairs, motioning for everyone to go in before him. You notice a plaque on the door that reads "The Blue Room", and a piece of paper pinned underneath which reads "Do not enter lest you disturb the rest of the dead". Inside, you notice why the "Warm Hearts" is so popular amongst travelers. This particular room is furnished with a comfortable resting chair and cushions, a large queen size bed, wardrobe, bedside table, desk and cushioned seat. All cushions, sheets and furnishings are deep blue or light blue, and give the whole room a relaxing atmosphere...if it wasn't for the fact that stretched out on an oak table in the corner under a pale blue sheet lies a dead body. There are a variety of other ornaments here and there as well. Two paintings also hang on the walls, one over the desk and one over the fireplace. The one over the desk shows a great sailing ship, its many sails full, and waves churning against its sturdy hull. Dolphins jump from the surf and far in the distance, on the cliffs, sits the shadowy form of a Topaz Dragon, watching the ship from its perch on the peaks so far away. Above the fireplace sits another image of the sea, shown from the perspective of someone standing upon clifftops, perhaps the same ones in the other picture. Gulls weave between the rocks and the water far below, and on the horizon sails a fleet of three ships. Elsewhere in the room, a hairbrush, toothbrush and mirror lie on the bedside table; sheets of pale blue paper, an ink vial and blue quill pen, letter opener and two blue candles sit on the desk; and above an open fire place on the shelf are two candleabra, a package of incense and a small receptacle for burning the herbs and flowers. The fire is not burning, but that does not explain the extreme chill that permeates this room, the air bites your skin with cold.
"It's like the winds of the north in here thanks to our supernatural friend. Good for storage þ'NŠ Š °T› Ð ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ ÈÊ ìÐ Ð Ð ( DÐ DÐ DÐ DÐ à=Ð/ Ð8 d DÐ ÿÿÿÿ ÐVÐ – ÆÊ
PROLOGUE -
Shantra McTavish is boarding within the temple of Lilith in Blackoak and after awakening from her coma-like fever, is struck with a prophetic vision. A priest known as Mark will find her at this point, in the morning, sweating heavily, her forehead lined and her lips moving silently. He will try to awaken her, and then ask what she was dreaming. The dream is as follows:
"Shantra walks alone, in her ceremonial robes through darkness. Her footsteps echo into the distance, she is barefoot. Suddenly, four glowing circles appear before her hovering in the air - one is green, one is blue, one is red and the last is white. They intertwine slowly, and then plunge into the ground at her feet. Suddenly a grotesque shape rears from the soil and reaches for her. It climbs out of a rift in the ground, a rift of fire, and walks toward her. It is humanoid with glowing red eyes and is twice her size. Shantra puts her arms over her head as massive fists descend. Then, the beast and the rift are gone. Shantra finds herself in tunnels far beneath the earth, and looking to her left, sees a strange glyph or symbol. It is a pentagram in a circle, with a question mark within the pupil of an eye in it's centre. She reaches out and touches it, suddenly a hand erupts from the wall and grabs her wrist - she awakens to find Mark holding her hand."
An hour later, Shantra, in long, thick robes of forest green, kneels before the shrine of her religion in the sacristy of the Lilian temple. She is deep in prayer, giving thanks for her deliverance from her illness. Mark walks in behind her and she is disturbed from her reverie. She fixes him with her deep blue eyes and swivels to sit upon the steps leading to the altar, on which stands a great model of the church's holy symbol. He takes a seat to the left of the altar. "I've been thinking, Shantra..." says Mark "..that perhaps your vision foretells of things to come. After all your service to this religion, your devotion to your cause, you have been gifted with prophetic sight. This is indeed a great honor for any follower of Lilith, and you have been blessed. I have heard of such powers being given to the faithful, but be careful. The visions are often ambiguous and easy to misinterpret. They tell of either a future that is certain or changable, you have no way of knowing for sure. And of course, you must learn to use this gift wisely. You must discover whether you can enter a trance and call upon this power, or simply wait for its appearance in your life.
This particular dream that you have had. I have decided that several things are clear. The glyph, the pentagram with the eye and question mark in its centre is one of the symbols that designate members of the elusive society known as the Cryptics. This organization travels a great deal of these lands researching phenomena of magical, psionic or supernatural nature. Their members are few but spread throughout the lands. They have representatives in almost every region, I know one exists locally"
Shantra is intrigued, she narrows her eyes and leans forward, a lock of blonde hair falling from her shoulder. "Who is this man? Where does he live? I would be interested in speaking to him, he might be the person my dream speaks of".
Mark thinks "I'm pretty sure his name is Xavier. He's an old man who spends a great deal of time in research and writing. His house is in the central part of town to the southeast, I can take you there if you like."
Shantra stands, her robes falling loosely about her figure, "I'll get changed, and pack".
Shantra has two days from the completion of this afternoon before her friends arrive in Blackoak after their own ordeals. Then the adventure "Factions in Blackoak" begins in full swing. Mandril will be teleported to the back of the "Warm Hearts" Inn with his Dragon-kin prisnor at 12:00pm, and Orion will be tying up loose ends with Zafretta and his daughter Angelica, and also should be present somewhere near the inn at this time. But, until then...
First Afternoon
3:00pm - Mark guides Shantra on foot to Xavier's house, then bids her farewell until she has sorted out why the Cryptics would appear to her in a dream.
"After guiding you through the city streets, he stops outside a small fence and indicates the house behind. A stone path leads to the front door. "Here lives Xavier, Cryptic, and investigator. I bid you farewell until I see you again, good luck in your enquiries, oh, and be patient with the man. He may be an old bully at times, but his mind is sympathetic and sharp. Farewell". And with the rythmic swing of his staff, Mark walks on. You walk to the front door, made of solid oak, and knock. You glance in a window to reveal a house decorated in somewhat of a gothic style.
The door opens, and there stands Xavier. He is silent at first, looking Shantra straight in the eyes. A quick scan, and he has made up his mind. "Yes..." he rasps "..Can I help you with something?"
Erin must play Shantra carefully at this point. Insolence will be repaid with rejection, humor or folly taken with some suspicion and intolerance concerning abusive language. If she plays her cards right, which she has to ( I have nothing else planned!), she will be invited in. "The inside of the house has a grey-blue and white color scheme, and tapestries line the main passage, which continues away from the front door reaching the back entrance".
The Tapestries
The tapestries must have been constructed by the same person, as they are all of the same size and style. All depict the time of the Cataclysm, the great war between the forces of light and dark that took place over one thousand fie hundred years ago, and contributed to the development of the world as it is known today. The battle lasted for around fifty-seven years and was directly responsible for the construction of the many castles that dot the landscape throughout Alantasia. Thousands died within those years, and the last ten years of combat centred upon the vast expanse of land between Starfell, Dreaddale, Tauron and Temporil. Indeed, these towns themselves were involved. This plain is known as the 'Land of the Lost' and houses the greatest number of undead known to exist in Alantasia.
*Tapestry one depicts a royal knight trampling Kobolds and Goblins under the hooves of his steed. He wields a massive fiery sword, ready to slay survivors. The sun appears from behind grey clouds and other men wielding polearms wait to strike in the distance behind him.
*Tapestry two on the opposite wall shows a Death Knight, with a sword of blazing cold crushing men under the hooves of his Nightmare. Skeletons and various goblinkind wait, armed to the teeth, in the distance behind him.
*Tapestry three, next to number one, further along the wall, shows a wizard with motes of flame spiraling from his hands to form a massive column above him. He has a pointed hat and is dressed in green and brown. His beard is long and grey. His staff is solid oak. Behind him to the left is a cleric bearing the symbol of Glandor, he is a holy soldier bearing a warhammer. His wide eyes and youthful features are testimony to his innocence. On the other side, behind the wizard, crouches an elven ranger with long, golden hair. His bow is tense and an arrow is about to let fly. Running around on the ground in front of him and the wizard are three Kercpa (Dragon Magazine 214). The sky is dark, but rays of sunshine pierce the dark clouds.
*Tapestry four, opposite three, is an image of a lich, dressed in robes of deepest violet and black. Motes of cold spring from his hands and form an arch above his head. To his left stands the skeleton of a minotaur, eye sockets gleaming with crimson light, and claw-like hands clasping a bloody battleaxe. To the lich's right is a swordwraith with claymore and vicious gazeof glowing red. The rest of his body remains transparent, with only his heavy armor and torn clothing discerning his shape.
*Tapestry five, on the left wall along with one and three, shows the aftermath of war. Bodies litter the ground, and a standard bearer, still alive but battered and torn, is on his knees atop a mountain of dead friends, head lowered. He weeps. A spirit of a dead friend touches his shoulder and looks at him sympathetically, but he does not seem to notice his ghostly companion. It is raining softly.
*Tapestry six, opposite five, shows another knight. He stands in full armor bearing the standard of the king atop of his lance. The broadsword in his other hand is bloody. He rests his left foot upon the teeth of a dead dragons head. The great red's eyes are closed, and blood covers the ground. A great serpent tongue lolls from between cruel jaws.
*Tapestry seven, found within Xaviers study between two bookshelves, shows an Aasimon (Planetar) and a Molydeus (Baatezu) in conflict. Soldiers of light and dark look on as the two fight each other. The thunderclouds above the Aasimon are broken by sunbeams. The sky above the Molydeus are deep black, and cut by fork lightning.
*Tapestry eight, next to the desk on the same wall as the study door, shows a woman turning into a werebeast (wolf), she is straddling a man whose eyes are wide with terror. The full moon is shown in one corner. The mans armor lies on the ground around them.
These tapestries are Xavier's pride and joy, and their recovery was the focus of many of his adventuring years. He has researched the scenes depicted to some extent in order to glean some knowledge of the story that they tell. All tapestries depict struggles between good and evil during the time of the cataclysm. Xavier knows only large fragments of the Cataclysm itself, but says that there is an extensive record of the events surrounding the great war to be found in Montague Monastery. This structure lies over the river north of Mirkwater, near the summit of Literain Mountain. It is the home of many priests (Drakill), sages, scribes and mages and is the greatest store of books, scrolls and other forms of literature in Alantasia. It is said that the monastery has its own copy of every written word in the world! Most people to be found within its walls are there for research purposes, as difficult as it is to gain entry. The whole structure is tended to and run by the religion of Drakill. This is the religions base in Alantasia.
"Xavier then invites you into his study, where more tapestries are to be found. He motions for you to take a seat in front of one in a small wooden chair between two bookcases. He asks "What questions can I answer for you Shantra McTavish?"."
Xavier will answer questions concerning the Cryptics to the best of his ability, or on anything to do with himself and his house. If Shantra expresses an interest in what he is doing now, Xavier looks thoughtful.
"Xavier thinks for a minute and then says "What better way to experience the Cryptics than to experience some small aspect of what they do? Shantra, I would ask that you accompany me in my latest venture. I will be investigating some peculiar goings on that have started recently in the "Warm Hearts" Inn. Apparently for the past four weeks, patrons of the inn have left a particular room complaining about objects moving and floating about, disembodied voices, screams, mumbles and whispers etc. etc. The innkeeper, Ronald, quite a nice chap, approached me and asked for assistance, you see, the matter has suddenly become much more grave. Two people have died under mysterious circumstances after staying in that room in the past three days, the most recent only last night. Apparently there was also a mutilation that also occurred there some seven weeks ago, but whether that was connected I cannot say. It may in fact be the cause of the spirits unrest, being the spirit of the mutilated man. Ronald is starting to suspect that the troublesome ghost that was haunting the room may have escalated in its activities. I remain a little sceptical as to whether the ghost is responsible for murder, and so will be starting my investigations as soon as you leave me...that is, if you do not want to accompany me?"
Shantra responds in kind. I'm certain she will accept, at which Xavier will say:
"Excellent, my dear. But I must prepare you in advance for what you may encounter while investigations are taking place. Even in respect to all of my years experience with such matters, I am still shocked by much of the evil that I encounter. Be warned, my dear, that there is a world of unseemly darkness out there, waiting to capture souls of innocents and pervert minds." he looks at you directly with the utmost seriousness. You nod and acknowledge his serious demeanour. "Bravo, please feel free to view my tapestries as I pack. We shall take residence within the inn until our investigations are at a close, starting tonight. You are equipped for travel and trade?"
"Shantra will respond, and then: You wait as Xavier walks to another room. He emerges moments later with a bulging Backpack, hat, staff and large book under his arm. Noticing your eyes on it he says "My journal, I like to document all that occurs". He then escorts you out and after locking the door, heads off down the road at quite a pace for his age. He is quite spry"
Shantra and Xavier will arrive at the inn at 4:45pm that same afternoon.
"You approach a building whose design is of two storey glory. From outside the inn looks to be most inviting, made from precision cut wood of the deepest and richest color, with supporting beams of what must be ash. A sign hangs from the front above the door, showing an image of a large fireplace. The words "Warm Hearts" are written in a beautiful script of curling letters, painted with a red so vibrant that it turns gold in the gleam of the afternoon sun. Three steps down-wards show that this inn is set into the ground on the first floor, obviously to retain some of the heat that the Inn seems to boast of. Surely it would be a delightful place in winter. On both sides of the door in a small passage down below are two small garden compartments, filled with Roses of deepest red. You enter after Xavier and find yourself in a large tavern-hall. This room has meal booths set on the walls, two to your left and three to the right. In the far left corner there is a great open fireplace and further along a window which is now open. the fire is small but nevertheless snaps and crackles as you weave between tables and supporting beams to the bar at the far end. Upon your entrance, the man behind the bar looks up and sees Xavier. "Ah, Xavier my friend, welcome. I thank you for coming so quickly. Please, follow me to a meal-booth. He throws a towel to a comely young woman who is also standing behind the bar, and she swiftly catches it and attends to the calls of a man sitting on a barstool up near the fireplace. Ronald walks over to the closest meal booth and slides into the chair, clasping his hands on the table.
Xavier indicates for you to slide in on the other side before him "Ronald, allow me to introduce Shantra McTavish. She will be assisting me in my investigations. A priest of Lilith she may even have the potential to turn the thing with her faith".
"Glad to make your acquaintance lass, and to hear of your calling". He reaches over and shakes your hand softly.
"Ronald.." starts Xavier "how many staff do you have nowadays?"
"Oh, around seven if you count the missus, although I don't think she would appreciate that. Neither would I suspect any of the staff of having anything to do with whats happening. You can question them if you like, but you won't get much but stories of what's going on, and I can tell you those".
"Where's the body from last night incident?" asks Xavier.
"I've got him lying on the oak table in the Blue Room under a sheet, the one that's been having all the trouble. The local gravediggers are coming to get him in about an hours time"
"Then I must look at it now to prevent getting in the way of the gravediggers. Please, lead the way". Ronald slides out and indicates for the man at the bar to come with him. he leans over to you and Xavier and says in a low voice:
"This is Moravar, one of our bouncers. He discovered the body last night, and he has his own ideas on what is going on, which I'm sure he'd be happy to relate to you himself". Moravar is a large man with his long, black hair tied into a small ponytail behind his head. He wears an ornate tunic of deep marone with a black grid overlaying its color. Black leather boots and a rapier seem to indicate that Moravar is a swashbuckler. He gives further testimony to the flair of such a swordsman by quickly shooting down the last of his alcohol and then approaching with a swiftness uncommon to a man of his size. His eyes are on you and he takes your hand in his "Pleased to meet the lady, my name is Moravar, swordsman of the oak, slayer of lizard kind", and before you can respond he kisses your hand and then releases it.
Ronald simply groans. "Typical, Moravar, typical. Please so such great an attention to Xavier, a member of the Cryptics who will be investigating the troubles surrounding the Blue Room".
"Ah, my respect is yours sir", says Moravar, bowing his head slightly.
Ronald walks through a door leading to a long corridor and then turns right to go upstairs. Moravar gets a pair of black, elbow length, leather gloves from his belt and puts them of the body anyways" says Ronald, closing the door behind him. Moravar walks over to the body and draws back the sheet. Ronald sits in the comfy chair and waits for Xavier to finish his analysis. The body under the sheet is deathly pale, and although the eyes have been closed after discovery of the corpse, the face must have been a mask of wide eyed horror judging by the way the rest of the facial features are posed. Xavier draws you near, and pushing aside some of the dead mans shoulder length brown hair indicates some markings on the neck. "The neck has received two small puncture wounds in the carotid artery" he says, "what do you make of that?"
Shantra McTavish is free to make her own examination of the body, but this is the only outstanding feature. She may state her belief of vampires being involved, and indeed, noone is in a situation to disagree. However, one other clue exists that will also be noticed. A strange set of claw-marks runs down the length of the abdomen. The span of the wound detracts from a natural handspan.
"Notice however, this wound running the length of the poor mans abdomen?" asks Xavier, "it is far to wide to suggest the handspan of you or I, indeed any mortal man!". He looks first at you and then swivels to look at Ronald still seated in his chair.
"So...perhaps this vampire has extraordinarily long fingers, they are supernatural creatures after all, capable of transformation into a mist or large bat. That would also explain how the creature was able to enter the upstairs window, as noone was witnessed entering the room from the corridor outside" Ronald looks happy with himself, but Xavier interjects.
"Posh, I accept the powers of the vampire myself, and indeed I am most familiar with them for they seem to be throughout Alantasia, but I do not agree with your conclusion that the vampire is a contortionist. Vampires cannot enter a dwelling without invitation, but seeing this is an inn, I would be surprised if anyone turning up on the doorstep was not soon invited in, and this rule does not seem to apply to public lodgings or locations. Vampires can scale sheer surfaces as if they were spiders, and that would also explain how it was able to gain entry of a second-storey window, as does your suggestion of the bat or gaseous form. Vampires have also been known to assume the form of a wolf, and have the strength of twenty men. Any attacks I have seen have always been of a pummeling nature as the vampire smashes its victims body with ferocity and strength enough to crush a mans skull as if it were an eggshell. And yet here we have a wide scar like the rakings of a massive claw, and see here..." he points to the gashes and Moravar and Ronald move over to look, "...these wounds are not altogether deep. Were they done by a supernaturally strong creature or not? I would think that if that were so, the wounds would have either been much deeper and bloodier, or cleaner". Xavier finishes and walks to the window, scanning down below in silence while the others look at the wounds.
Ronald looks up, "maybe he was trying to escape the villainous creature and managed to evade the full brunt of the monsters touch?".
Moravar laughs. "I really think you're both going out on a pretty big limb. Couldn't these gashes be made by the slashing of a sharp blade? Maybe there was a sword-fight? After all, there has been some mysterious characters very interested in this room since the death of the man in here seven weeks ago" he says. And as if on cue, the hairbrush and mirror rise from the bedside table right next to Xavier and begin floating upwards toward the ceiling. Xavier simply turns and with arms clasped behind his back, observes this phenomena rather casually. Moravar draws his rapier and steps toward the door as Ronald tears it open and runs toward the corridor, observing through the now open doorway. The hairbrush and mirror stop and float about two foot from the ceiling, and suddenly the letter opener, quill pen, ink vial and two blue candles begin to rise of the desk. Moravar spins to face the new movements, set firm in a defensive posture.
"Maybe...", Moravar mutters softly, "..this force itself is the cause of these murders". Not a second after these words fell from his lips that everything dropped to the floor except the letter-opener, which whizzes past Moravars ear and imbedes itself up to the hilt into the wall behind him with an almighty bang.
Ronald walks back in and begins to pick up the items. Nothing is broken. Xavier moves towards the knife in the wall and tries to pull it out, but to no avail. He steps back, "Interesting", he mumbles. He turns to Ronald. "Absolutely no noise was heard on the night of this young mans murder?" he asks.
"Just some initial scuffling from next door, but..." suddenly another face appears around the door.
"What the devil is going on in here?" says the newcomer. His nose is a little larger than most, but otherwise he is quite attractive. His eyes glitter with a strange inner intensity.
"Good timing Maxwell. Please, Xavier, allow me to introduce the man dwelling in The Purple Room next door. Maxwell, this is Shantra McTavish and Xavier the Cryptic. They are here to investigate the murders that have taken place the past couple of days, as well as rid us of this troublesome entity".
"Excellent, I am indeed most pleased to make your acquaintance" Maxwell says, walking into the room. He is a man of resonable build and height, almost matching your own height. You therefore assume him to be about 65 to 67 inches tall. He is dressed in a short sleeve lavender tunic with cream lapels and elbow length cream gloves. His braies are also lavender and his ankle height boots are a typical brown leather. He is quite an impressive character with his arms crossed, yet the most interesting feature is his sharp features. Thick eyebrows and the aforementioned piercing gaze. He is most enigmatic. "I have had a little trouble with the ghost myself, it occasionally plays small triks in my own room, tearing up clothes and that sort of thing".
"Yeah, its troublesome alright" agrees Moravar, still checking the side of his head for any sign of blood.
"Xavier walks close to him and whispers in his ear, audible to all in the room, "you won't find any wound, my friend". He then walks over to the window again and speaks aloud, "Poltergeists are indeed malevolent, but they never truly hurt people. And I would hardly attribute an act like this", he indicates the body "to be perpetrated by our spiritual visitor, all the same, why such a concentration of activities in this room?".
"Perhaps.." says Ronald from the doorway, "..the spirit is one of the creatures known as a Crimson Death reported to me by travelers? A red, bloodsucking mist?'. Again, accusations pointed at the spirit have seemed to anger it, as the desk suddenly jolts and slides noisily across the floor at great speed, things toppling over on top of it, the ink container finally crashing open and spilling its contwents across the desktop. As it moves, the desk collects Maxwell and sweeps him out into the corridor with Ronald, then crashing into the doorframe and coming to a stop in the doorway.
"Did you see a mist just then sir?", asks Xavier, Ronald looks over the desk from the corridor and shakes his head, his mouth wide open. "The Crimson Death is indeed able to levitate and manipulate objects, but a faintly human-shaped mist or vapour is seen swirling about that object as it moves. Indeed, the Death has this misty form wherever it goes, sometimes a shapeless colorless cloud, and others a faintly human shape, or glowing red after it has feasted on the blood of its victim. It also has some solidity after feasting. Legends say that they are the spirits of dead vampires, or the spirit that that being lost upon becoming a vampire seeking an existence of its own with the same bloodlust as its body. There are even tales of the creatures being evil air elementals. But, my friends, this is not what we are dealing with here" Xavier looks out the window again. "Tell me, Moravar, you said something before about some characters being very interested in this room?" he says.
"Yes, some local thiefs from what I gather. I found them in the room one night and discovered that they had not payed for lodging. They left, but were found in the room for the next three days at varying times of night by either myself, or Tharrick, the other bouncer who works early morning till early afternoon. They never actually broke anything, and often shifted furniture around, but four nights ago I found them in here, one with a kn