| |
Prelude: Elvaryn
You have been investigating an unnatural pattern which he discovered while traveling through the Temporal Realm to the Ki’kiri Jungles, 12883.
Enroute to your destination you occupied part of your time examining the vast devastation wrought by the
worldwide warfare of the Black Scourge. It was there that you discovered a thin, nearly ghost-like lifeline extending from the vast destruction.
You would not have noticed the ghostlike lifeline except that your attention had been drawn to it much like the unusually thick and unusually
dark mists of the Temporal Realms that enshrouded it. Following this curiosity back several decades you were surprised to find that the ghostly
line continued to the horizon as far as you could see, and always surrounded by the strangely darker and thicker mists, extending perhaps
thousands of years into the past. Returning to where you originally discovered the anomaly you followed the lifeline for several years of it’s
length and noticed that the mists about it continued to darken and that many strands seemed to be attracted to it as well. The further you
followed, the darker it became and the more strands made the journey more difficult.
Finally, unable to pursue the phenomenon any further without being carried away by the strands you saw on the
horizon an immense temporal storm that will extend from horizon to horizon being spewed out from a vortex that seemed to grow forth from the
very lifeline you had been following. Distracted by this terrible apparition you noticed that the strands about you had significantly become thicker
and more threatening. Fearing that you might be carried into the strange storm by the strands, curious as to the nature of the lifeline, and feeling
somewhat responsible to take upon the burden of investigating the phenomenon, you turned back to travel a few years back along the stream
to where it was safer from the strands.
Suddenly, a terrible fear struck within you and you sensed a presence rapidly closing upon you from
downstream – where the vast storm was brewing. Glancing over your shoulder you observed sinuous tentacles of the storm were reaching forth
through the flow of time – to what evil purpose you could not fathom. Irrational panic struck you and you fled from the temporal mists and
reentered linear primal space.
Wandering through the fading autumn countryside you came to a small trade town, known as Batrimuir. There
you could feel the stirring of time in the air as if some great event slowly laying the bricks of its foundation.
Your investigations have revealed that undead incursions into civilized areas have been on the increase – as
have kidnappings and outright disappearances. In the local taverns it is whispered that all these events are somehow related and have their
source in the Mirl Swamp – several days to the north of the city.
You have found an inn to your liking, Khale’s Place, which offers the privacy and security that you covet, it
isn’t important to you that the inn happens to be quite close to the waterfront of Lake Bassappi. What is important is that it is near several
taverns and the local bazaar where numerous curiosities can be found.
It is the evening of the 24th of Mordun. The moon, Emmor, has slowly been losing it’s light as time marches
on and the new moon approaches and so the night is dark. Happily, for you, the bazaar remains open until nearly midnight. Being something
of a nightowl by necessity you have spent the last couple evenings wandering among the wooden stalls and politely trying to discover the
nature of the recent undead incursions and disappearances. The bazaar is now closed and so you have headed to a nearby waterfront tavern
to warm yourself before returning to your room at the inn for your nightly studies.
Like most nights, a thick fog has billowed off from the nearby lake and encloses the streets and the tavern in
its misted grip.
|
