(Ults)

From the Glissom: Dark Heritage Campaign

It has been less than a week since our departure from Glissom City, spurred on as we were by the abduction of the city's King and the supposedly eternal flame the locals believe wards off ancient and evil gods. Although I know Gatanades protects his servants, even I have felt a chill fear seeping into my bones since the Hawks of Nem made off with their prizes. In such a state we set out for the Lost City with Prince Doron, though the two bannermen ordered by the Steward to accompany us did not appear before our departure.

First, we made our way to the market town of Rosmuillean, where we paused only long enough for Caith and Aphail to be married. It was a fine ceremony and a much-needed boost to our collective morale. From there we made our way through the Siren Woods, and though the fae beings within were strange, they were no more harrowing than other encounters I have had since leaving Lakestead. Perhaps I shall commit a more detailed account once we are returned to the city.

Once through the wood, we arrived at a small settlement of, as Colm described them, 'simple folk'. Our arrival was well-timed, for though the villagers did not seem concerned at their situation, we discovered them in the process of being tortured by an armored warrior imbued with fell magics and served by the Steward's missing bannermen, though the two brothers seemed to be unwitting slaves to the warrior's spells.

From the village, we made for the caves that marked the farthest distance yet traveled by Colm. This system of caves was filled with all manner of danger, and it was unclear if the chambers within served as prison, lair, or temple. A legion of corpses known colloquially as Bronze Chests, though Giles and Brannon called them Selentines, littered the cavernous rooms, victims of the traps, spirits, pitfalls, and creatures within. We encountered a great worm who demanded tribute in exchange for passage, we later discovered the larder of what must have been a giant; stocked as it was with bear, deer, and human kills, we climbed through narrow fissures and avoided vast icefalls, and although we made it through the cavern system, eventually reaching the top of the Bracks’ Mountain Range, we left many chambers unexplored and trials untested.

For a moment, standing atop the mountains that had last entertained human eyes in Gatanades knows how long, I felt a moment of peace. Despite the frozen corpses of another two Bronze Chests that stood as sentinels against the gusting wind, the view of the valley and lake far below was something to be remembered. Still, the feeling was short lived. In the distance, we caught our first glimpse of the Lost City, a cyclopean black granite structure jutting from the ice.

With a deer carcass absconded from the giant's larder, we descended the side of the mountain and finally reached the valley floor below. Here we stumbled upon the burial mound of the last legionnaire who perished in service to the commander, Felix Drajanus, as Giles named him. It was at this mound where we encountered the ghostly manifestation of Drajanus, who gave us warnings of what we might find once we set out across the frozen lake and enter Nem. His account suggested many perils that lay ahead of us.

Léofwyn used her powers over nature to craft us the shelter we reside in now, eating the thawed flesh of the giant's deer and steeling ourselves for the journey that still lays ahead of us. I pray that Gatanades will lead us through the dreaded city and allow us to return to Glissom with King and Hearthflame in hand. However, the teachings of his word are evidence enough that not all victories come without sacrifice. It is not beyond my imagining that many or all of us might be called to such extremes, though I take heart in the knowledge that the Lord will not allow such losses to be in vain.

This article first appeared in the Casket of Fays Issue 3.