Harbinger of Fate - Journal

The Harbinger of Fate keeps a journal of all her exploits within Myste-Hass as a testament towards her faith in the God Fate which is available to read within the House of Fate at the South Docks of Myste-Hass.

Entry 1.

Today I undertook the duty to find Conogan Gill, a man accused with murder, dereliction of duty and incitement to rebellion. I met with a questionable group of adventurers inside the local tavern, The Hung Goat, and then we shared an audience with Hall Master Sten to acquire more details of the accused.

Further investigation at Conogan’s house suggested that, whilst he had prepared to leave, his family had been forced from their home. With little delay we set out onto the road, heading towards his last known location at Gilmore’s farm. Our Ranger, an unusual dragon-man creature who seemed more than a little morally misguided, spotted an outpost for Conogan’s men. Slaying three of these heathens, the Paladin of Garr forcefully convinced the fourth member, Krynt, to return to town in order to confess his crimes and be judged through fair trial.

Using information generously offered by Krynt, we continued onwards. Krynt had suggested that Conogan was being influenced by some priests who clearly frightened the man. Undeterred, we moved east where we were beguiled by two Harpies who sang a beautiful and dangerous melody. We slayed these foul creatures without difficulty.

Finally, we discovered an abandoned church which appeared to be the outpost for Congogan and his men. Weary and outnumbered we decided to turn back and return when Conogan’s defeat would be inevitable.

Entry 2.

Convinced the silence from Devi Quintin’s logging camp was related to Conogan Gill, the unkempt Druid and I decided to investigate. We petitioned Hall Master Sten to delay Krynt’s trial and allow him to join us in an attempt to prove his loyalty to the city. We gathered a group of willing adventurers and headed North to find out what had happened to the loggers.

Amongst our group we had had two rangers, one a promiscuous woman and the other an unusual demon creature that appeared to cast shadow with his mere presence. Despite their unusual nature, these individuals quickly located what remained of the logger’s camp. The goods had clearly been dragged off by some creatures, potentially knolls, and the tents were flattened. A sticky residue suggested spiders.

Amidst the forest we discovered a hulking beast of limited intelligence. Skarimir, the filthy druid, easily distracted the hostile creature with an impromptu cookery lesson. Satisfied with his new-found culinary skills, we slipped away to follow the spider tracks.

Unfortunately, my fellow adventurers found the encounter more taxing than expected. With Malacotraca cocooned and dying, our druid manhandling an eight-legged beast and our rangers holding the fiends at bay from afar, I was forced to eradicate the foul creatures myself.

Entry 3.

After a much-needed night’s rest, our group reconvened at the Hung Goat tavern to finally deal with the traitor Conogan Gill. Taking Krynt for further information we set out. Our journey was disturbed momentarily by Griffon that seemed unnaturally drawn to my presence. Yet, it was his fate to die and the beast was easily slain.

Onward to Conogan Gill. Skarimir cleverly transformed himself into a mouse and slipped into a nearby building, setting the room alight to generate a distraction. The rest of our group moved onward to the church; on entering this sacred building it became immediately clear to me that something was wrong. A dark presence seemed to penetrate the very air. Guided by Fate, I followed the evil to a sealed box upon an altar. Smashing the box, two spirits erupted and were easily slain through the will of the Gods.

In the lower levels of the church, we interrupted a fowl ritual involving a blackened Genai Stone. Mages, or perhaps a twisted cult, continued to chant around this stone even as we cut Conogan and other ritualists down – it was a disturbing experience. With the ritualists defeated we had barely any time to recuperate before Ulborin found himself in the grasp of yet another despicable phantom. Unconscious and dying, I set out to save his life as Berticus destroyed the undead fiend.

At some point during the combat, Krynt thought it fit to save himself from the danger and abandoned the party. We returned to Myste-Hass with the Genai Stone, in the knowledge that there was much evil still needing vanquishing within the catacombs beneath the church.

Entry 4.

Though the capture of the traitor and coward, Krynt, remains a vital task upon my agenda, I found myself eager to return to the church in order to clear the undead spirits that remained. On our journey to the church we were set upon by a large pack of wolves. A number of our adventurers could not stand against these vicious creatures, Berticus and I were hard pressed to both kill the wolves and heal the fallen party members.

On returning to the church we found the area untouched since our last visit. We ventured back into the catacombs below and systematically opened each crypt to ensure that every phantom was destroyed. Then Berticus saw that every spirit was laid to rest.

However, in the throws of combat I attempted to break a sarcophagus with mind to drawing the related spirit back to its endangered resting place. As my blade cracked the stone a ringing sound filled the entire room and I opened my eyes to a vision.

I saw a vast army of men in shining armour, with black and purple robes. Behind these mounted knights was a huge figure with a pallid face and dark hair. Though I did not recognise him, I could feel his divine influence even as I stood in the cold tomb. He looked at me. It was a sensation clearer than any other I’d experienced, and I knew he could see me. He raised his hand to halt the army and then I opened my eyes within the darkened tomb again.

Our final discovery was a huge stone door with six carvings to represent the symbols of the old Gods. The symbols of the lesser Gods were then surrounded by twelve more carvings. There, beside Garr, was the sigil worn by the army in my vision.

Entry 5.

In an effort to locate Krynt an adventuring party headed back to the Church of Alaie. As we journeyed, it became apparent that the infestation of Knolls within the area was worsening. However, the task was set and with a little searching from the Demon-thing and Dragon-man we quickly noticed two boats moored upstream, on the opposite bank.

Being the fittest and bravest of our group, I swam to procure the boats. As I made my way across, a ghostly hand seemed to brush against my leg – a matter that must be addressed in the future. Yet, I was set on finding Krynt.

We discovered two sets of tracks and followed the heaviest North. Two of Conogan’s men were found wedged inside a tree, their skin sallow, as if the very life essence had been removed. Whilst inspecting, the filthy Druid and Canis became aware that a Raven was watching a group. This Raven had a gem within its mouth – the very stone we suspected had been used on the prisoners within the catacombs. At this point I noticed a horrific wraith like women and ran to smite this evil creature with ease.

Onward we followed the Raven to a hut in the swamp. Here we were ambushed by toads. Though the others seemed easily apprehended by the creature’s long tongue, I brushed them off and destroyed these beasts.

We discovered Krynt unconscious within the hut, drugged by an older lady that seem very peculiar. She claimed to be a worshiper of a fake God called Meltaint. Fate told me something evil resided within her residence, but I could not leave my duty to return Krynt in order to investigate.

With a little ingenuity from the group we captured the Raven that stalked us and retrieved the magical stone it carried within its beak.

Entry 6.

Today I was involved in a grave ordeal.

Those at the Hung Goat suggested investigating ‘The Rider’, a ship from Brindle that had drifted into the South Docks apparently unmanned. At first, this job seemed of little interest to me but there were two points that convinced me to aid the group.

Firstly, rumours suggested the ship may be haunted. Though I suspected these to be of little value, it is my duty to see that any unliving reach their fate and are sent to the lesser God, Garr. Secondly, I have now spoken with the masons who will be commissioned to produce the great temple of Fate. I have seen this monument in my dreams and I am keen to begin work on the building that will bring the proper faith to so many.

As such, we set out with a militia man, Neft, who had been sent to aid us with operating the ship. The boat appeared abandoned except for a few bodies. All of the dead bore claw slashes.

Immediately, Fate told me there were undead aboard and a great evil lurked beneath. We climbed below deck and fought several creatures of extreme power – all unnatural beasts of the shadows. Yet, these foul minions served a master far deadlier than anticipated. Hidden in a metal coffin, within a crate, this unholy beast emerged as mist and though we valiantly attacked his physical form, this incorporeal state proved a challenge we were unequipped to deal with.

He was a vampire. The unspeakable beast left through the bow of the ship, took over Neft’s mind and began moving towards Myste-Hass. I could not watch as my fellow adventurers murdered Neft in an attempt to halt the creature’s route to the land, the beast merely through Neft’s dead form into the water and continued to the shore line – charming all who came in his way and disappearing into the night.

Entry 7.

With the rising threat and commotion within Myste-Hass I've scarcely had the opportunity to note down my experiences. As such, I will attempt to do so now in as little words as possible.

I patrolled the streets endlessly in search of the Vampire to no avail. However, as I sought tirelessly for this evil being my fellow adventurers found yet another foul being beneath the city. It appears that the Vampire had been using ancient tunnels that made up catacombs beneath the temple of Garr. This awful creature had murdered and fed on the priests of Garr.

Exploring the catacombs revealed a vast network of tunnels long since unexplored by civilised folks. Here a creature from the pits was discovered. A demon. Fearful that such a creature would manipulate individuals with lesser minds, enticing them with power and promises, we decided to outline a contract which would free the demon from its confines in return for banishment from Myste-Hass for 100 year. The demon claimed that its sole purpose on our plane was to make his enemy, another demon called Throlti, suffer. We specified that the demon could pursue Throlti providing he destroyed the vampire fiend we had been tracking. I was frightened by the lack of clarity and asked for Fate's guidance - he assured me that when the demon eventually returned it would be my Divine duty to slay the beast, it would be my Fate.

On the successful signing of the contract, the demon sought out the vampire who was currently using Corporal Gaffe and Lady Milvia, Hall Master Sten's sister, to escape the confines of the city. In an epic and, unexpectedly, difficult battle the demon killed the vampire.

Entry 8.

With the demon and vampire supposedly dealt with for the time being, we ventured out in order to locate and eradicate the evident Harpy issue. As we were travelling we encountered an Owlbear which I dispatched with relative ease. Of course, Canis was there to help. Moving on, the Harpys were occupying an old tower that appeared to be designated to the worship of Dariss.

Skaramir pushed for a pyrotechnic solution as always, but the smoke allowed us to see that the tower was located high above a huge cavern. Making our way inside and up the endless stairs that soared into the heavens we faced secrets archers. Skeleton warriors, long dead, forced us to take cover but were easily smashed to pieces when confronted with the might of Fate.

Just before nightfall, we opened a locked door to discover several dead cultists. Their bodies seemed drained of life and their skin taught against their bones. These corpses were adorned in the same outfits as the cultists encountered below the old Church of Alaie. Among the bodies we found a small stone, believed to of the Genai variety.

A few days later we headed out again. Returning to the tower, the vast caverns below were now occupied. Two Owlbears stalked the darkness and without hesitance I threw myself against one of the beasts. However, the threat was higher than I had anticipated.

The second beast cut Berticus down in a single stroke and I barely withstood the same from the beast I faced. Thankfully, our new cleric of Peridot and wizard companions were on hand to bring the beast down and keep the paladins up.

Continuing up the steps we caught sight of the Harpys; some of the party became immediately drawn to their song. Stood on the precipice, Berticus and Varius almost tried to cross the void to reach the creatures enticing song.