Meet 87, Adv 12, 4/27/24

The afternoon was a slow go as Elaine and Lori alternated between sobbing terror and grasping clinging on the party members. Amathadwan and his staff were very on point, working with Annalee Mason on getting the two women to eventually get looked after and then some food and drink in them. Various council members and citizen of Grymeria kept coming up to the party with handshakes and thanks for the work they did.

The afternoon bled into the evening and eventually the two women were able to get some rest, and the party managed to have a moment of their own as well. Clothes were dropped off for laundering, we ate a late meal, and had to speak with a number of visitors. Exhausted we fell asleep, knowing that we would have a long day with the Council tomorrow.

We awoke with more celebrity behind us and made our way to the Council Building after making sure that Elaine and Lori were well off. Annalee was going to stay with them and once again, Amathadwan and the staff of the Heart of Vitalia were going to go above and beyond the need of things.

At the Council building we were met with cheers and applause, noting that Duncan Eternal’s chair was empty. Eventually we had some private audience with ICC Marrions who got the entire story from us and was very pleased. We did it without upsetting the treaty between Freemantle and Grymeria and the women were home now and being looked after.

He let us know that Necrolord Duncan Eternal was waiting to speak with us and his assistant, Cassandra Ruggel, a member of his private staff as well as a powerful undead and priestess of Frigga, was going to lead the group to his estate for an audience with him. So they all got up and took a nice walk through town eventually to his acre sized estate. It was nice, not exactly palatial, but certainly the home of a nobleman. She was sharing with the group his importance and a variety of rules that they should adhere to – limited speaking, no familiar gestures, avoid eye contact and the like.

Eventually she was called in and Cassandra brought the group to Duncan. He was seated on a throne emanating both shadow and light. He was robed and cowled, the upper half of his face beyond his nose lost to darkness. The room was a library of sorts, a few windows, and a large map with fairy lights dancing around it. He invited them to sit, a Staff of Might gripped loosely in his off hand. His voice was commanding and shook with a subsonic timbre at times.

The conversation was 2 hours long and meandered over many places. There were many things discussed and the group was deferential to Duncan. We spoke about his early life and years. The disease that affected his wife and son, Bazi’s Plague. Primarily an elven affecting virus, it has also been known to affect other races. Usually limited to Tilani and the environs around it, those affected quickly develop pustule sores all over their body and yellowing of the teeth and bones. Then all the solid parts of the body become brittle (teeth, bones, etc..) and eventually the soul itself also breaks apart and the sufferer not only dies but cannot be raised.

Duncan had taken many jobs into the Terror Dungeon in hopes of finding a cure. Strange herbs, bloods, fluids, fungi – anything he could get out of there. It was when they emerged after 3 weeks, and he ended up as the first Sovereign of the stolen kingdoms that he realized he could not leave. The spell that made him king also made sure he could not leave his lands for a year and a day – during which time his family had died. He had them disinterred and brought to Grymeria but they have not come back and he has tried again and again to do so.

As for the box, some 7 years ago he had come to the conclusion that he cannot die, he crafted a homunculus and had it fused to the body of his long dead son, hoping that since his life force cannot be extinguished here, that would pass to the body of his son. It did not take and instead because it was a part of him – the Land had a macabre sense of humor, and he could not kill it off. So, he and his council came to the conclusion that it would need to be buried away and the magic leeched out of it. Willow trees are excellent conduits of magic so they captured the thing, crated it up, and he had them dispose of it – with explicit instruction NOT for him to ever know where it is. Every 6 to 8 weeks, another homunculus of him appears and his councilors gather it up and again hide it away. There has to 50 of them so far – buried all over Grymeria.

As for the Terror Dungeon – he feels it is not a crucible as some think – sifting out the best of the bunches. Nor does he think its purpose is to get to the bottom level and fight the big bad there- as some of the bards and stories say. He feels the Terror Dungeon is a created thing and for a purpose. And that the Gorokian Dwarves are a big part of it. They were very vested in the Terror Dungeon when it first came into being and it was the passing of the original Lord Bork that had Lord Corface Bork take over and replace the Gorokian contingent in the Keep with his own people. Except for the makers of the Terror Dungeon Amulets – only those dwarves, still there, are able to make the correct piece to allow people to enter.

He has many supplicants and followers – but few peers. So he thanks the group for just chatting and not wanting anything.

We looked over his map and saw all the Sovereign Lands and other places nearby. There was one place called Donnegarten up in the mountains past Freemantle and Shadowthyrst. Duncan said that if it was on the map, the place has to still exist. It was a dwarven research facility, very top notch stuff. Not exactly under the purview of the High Thane of Gorok before the Randari War. But they were doing some research on the Randari Empire and its leadership caste when the orcs found out about it. They managed to seek out its location and then had the place sacked and all its mages, runecasters, and researchers within but to death. Even though he was not aware of its existence, the High Thane of Gorok was offended at the Randari Ympire and eventually forged the alliance that took down the orcs. The sacking of Donnegarten was the catalyst to the entire Randari War. Its exact location has been lost to time but we know roughly where in the mountains it is.

We did note that based upon the pin in the map, if and when another Sovereign Land opens up – it will most likely claim that spot. We suspect the Gorokian Dwarves are involved. Between the Lathandar fountain, the Norn issue, the interest in the Terror Dungeon. It was something we’d like to eventually look into.

As for us, Lord Duncan rounded up our promissory note to 2,500 crowns each and then was going to make arrangements for us to get that in gold coin when we leave. We agreed to downplay the good parts of Grymeria so the place isn’t overrun with adventurers. He was also going to set up his own adventurer guild here for interested citizens. The free passage through the border applies to us – not the entirety of the Vangaurds – they would have to earn his respect.

We left humbled and tired, discussed many plans of options and met with everyone who was going to wish us a good trip. It was a day of hand clasps and thanks but the evening of the next day had the Inquisitors show up along with 12 chests of gold – 2 for each of us, along with a number of low functioning animates. The Inquisitor used a Far Seeing spell to get us to describe where in Erylond our home was. Then the spell took us through the walls to the basement and after making sure he knew where it was – the inquisitor opened a portal to our home in Erylond – and we all stepped through.

Connal was home and he was surprised to see us all. Along with a Wraith and 12 zombies with chests. We were well fed and nicely dressed in well made clothes. We tried to downplay what was what while we directed the zombies to go to our rooms with the chests of gold. Once there they returned to the main room and portalled out back to Grymeria. Dizzy went to the local locksmith to get a dozen locks while the monastic tried to bend Brading’s ear as to what happened but getting only broad strokes of the adventure with no details except odd points of fact.

We were happy to be home and after Dizzy returned with the locks and we all locked up our chests, we were going to discuss what the next plans were and what we were going to do next.