Well, friend, the story of this Black Sword I carry is a long one. It has been some time since I first encountered it, deep within the catacombs under Throal. I am not sure where to begin the tale. Perhaps with the discovery of the Gem known as The Heart of Throal.
Somehow, without my knowledge, the other members of the Blades of Dawn, Jhan-Tah, Calypso, Beleg, and Trent, had managed to implicate the band in the theft of this gemstone. The gem had been recently uncovered through mysterious circumstances, and none of us knew anything of it, but nevertheless The Blades of Dawn were sentenced to work in the new excavations in Throal as punishment for the theft.
It was something to see that morning, so long ago. Calypso and I stepped out into the street, only to find it packed with refugees of every kind save dwarven. Calypso could glean nothing and was met with contempt, while I could only garner dire warnings and angry remarks about Throal's new policy of punishment for all outsiders. Attempting to make sense of it all, we were suddenly accosted by a dwarven patrol that recognized us and escorted to the newest excavation site to pay for our "crimes".
For much of the day, I was set to work with a pick axe, which I did to pay whatever debt my comrades may have incurred. Calypso found himself in a supervisory position, chatting with the overseer. The work was hard and many of the workers were very near to collapse within a few short hours. I attempted to reason with the overseer but could only get a few moments respite for the others. We were returning to work when the gargoyles arrived.
There was a scream from the main room. The gargoyles had come from below suddenly and attacked the nearest of the enslaved excavators, felling them, and the two great stone beasts were orienting themselves for another attack when I reached them. I buried my pick axe in one and drew my axe. Calypso came up behind to lend assistance, freezing one of them so that it fell to the ground and lay motionless. I hewed them and they clawed at me as I strove to drive the creatures back. As one crumbled a few of the workers came to aid me, striking the remaining one with their pick axes. Having destroyed the two attackers, I quickly saw to the injuries of the fallen.
Calypso and I decided to find the source of this attack and getting the approval of the watch captain who could not put up any real resistance, we plunged into the caverns beneath Throal.
We traveled deep into the earth underneath Throal. The path was difficult with many tight places for me, but we continued persistently and soon arrived at a larger chamber. The expanse of the chamber was strewn with corpses and the darkness gave the room a shadowy, nightmarish atmosphere. I was convinced that the bodies would rise and attack so I steeled myself... We were attacked, but not as I had expected. Shadow Mants flew from the shadows, whipping their stingers through the air, but we easily drove them back. Perhaps too easily.
Soon we came to an underground river with a strong current. While we debated how to pass this obstacle, we perceived a creature coming from across the river. It was a gragoyle, like those that attacked us before, but its face shone eerily. It hailed us as it drew near and offered us safe passage across the water. Calypso and I conferred briefly, deciding that someone, or something, was addressing us through the elemental and that we had little choice but to accept the offer. We were ferried across and we pressed on, escorted by two of the gargoyles.
Soon, we came to a great set of doors which appeared to be made of orichalchum. The voice bade us enter and Calypso placed his hands on two handprints set in the doors. They slid open immediately, revealing a large chamber with a strange well in the center. Inside was a tall woman, elvish in appearance. She thanked us for freeing her from her prison. Apprehensive, I stepped back, preparing my axe...
What followed is a blur to me. It introduced itself as Jarinea, a dwarvish-sounding word. It spoke plainly of the fear it would cause and the atrocities it would commit. The aura of evil from this creature was powerful and I wanted to destroy it. Calypso, however, expressed his doubts as to the power of the creature, constantly asserting that the feats it claimed were impossible. As he continued to challenge Jarinea, it grew more and more angry. Calypso finally demanded that it demonstrate its power, stating that he doubted it had the power of even one of its gargoyle servants. He demanded that it destroy one present to prove its power, and it grabbed ahold of the first and crushed it into dust. He challenged again and it destroyed the other, although Jarinea had to strike it down and the crushing blow was clearly very exhausting. As Jarinea stood exhausted from its display, we attacked without a second thought.
The battle was short and pitched. Jarinea struck hard, but we were somewhat more rested... and armed. As I struck it down, it became a thick grey smoke and disappeared down the well. Frustrated, I collapsed the well and with great effort we managed to close the door. Unsure of what action to take, we fled the underground chamber and returned to the surface.
We rested, gathering with Beleg, Trent, and Jhan-Tah, telling them the story of our battle with Jarinea. We attempted to gain some understanding of what had happened, but our research and studies only told us that the name given us by the creature had roots in Dwarven concepts of doom and destruction. We began to believe that Jarinea had been sealed deep within the mountain somehow with the gem called the Heart of Throal. The gem not only sealed Jarinea, but whatever magics it possessed made it irresistible to the Dwarves, who, with the exception of Calypso, were now completely enthralled by it. We determined that the gem needed to be returned to the seal to prevent Jarinea from escaping again. As we were coming to these conclusions, we received a summons from King Varulus.
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