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• The party then moved to their next clue
  • Booking passage aboard the Sea Cutter, the party returned to the Ivory Coast
  • They see that the town has thrived with the knowledge that they have been given
  • A wizard, assigned to escort the party to the location where the next stone is suspected to be goes with them
  • The wizard escorts them, as a part of a caravan traveling out of the Ivory Coast, to a remote area, that eventually leads to swamp lands
  • At the edge of the swamp, the Wizard explains it’s as far as he goes (though he takes an interest in Omen’s Dragon Staff)
  • The party ventures forward and finds that there is something suspicious about the fog that encircles them
  • Luna is able to tap into nature, and keep the mysterious fog at bay
  • The party reaches a very small, swamp town (small area, with wooden buildings, mostly water logged, full of vines, etc)
  • There, within the Inn, they meet a Wizard named Dekard who is telling a tale to children about an evil Prince named Valarious Darkmoon; the tale eventually explains Valarious’ origin and his obsession with magic and fear of death. The wizard goes on to explain that the castle that was once plunged into the swamps – supposedly by the Gathered themselves! – has risen again.
  • The story he tells goes as follows:

    The story of Castle Darkmoon, as told by Dekard, the Gray Wizard:

    Ah, you’re just in time!

    Stay awhile, and listen.

    Please! Please, sit down. I was just about to share a tale about these lands to these children here!

    A long time ago, a time forgotten now by the history books, there were seven mortal who strived to conquer the one thing that comes for us all – death. Five of these mortals were humans; two of them were elves.

    One of the humans, an elderly man – perhaps the closest to death, due to his age, was named Tarren Kahl. Another human – a female, beautiful beyond words they said – named Shiela Varen. Supposedly, it was her beauty that made her so concerned with beating death. Her vanity consumed her, for she feared aging. The third human was named Boris Den. He was perhaps, the most powerful of the human mages. But his wisdom was his downfall; he thought less of everyone. No one, in his mind, was as good as he. The fourth human was Jauris Longstaff. He was a King’s Mage, and thus had access to untold riches, that he used to advance his own magic; the very king he served, never the wiser. Whenever the king questioned Jauris, he quickly blamed thieves. Hundreds of innocent men died due to Jauris’ lies. The fifth and final human – was a young man. Handsome. The ladies would throw themselves at this young man. Not only was he handsome; he was also a prince. But those women whom he seduced; rarely saw the light of day again. For the young prince practiced the darkest of magics, and used the women as sacrifices to demons. His name was Prince Valarious Darkmoon.

    As fate would have it, these five vile humans would one day meet and combine their forces, wisdom, resources and magic.

    This magic drew the attention of two elves.

    Yes, yes! I see it in your eyes children – you’re asking yourselves, “But aren’t elves good people?”

    In almost every case, the answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

    But there are those that are compelled and drawn to the dark magics. Two such elves are a female named Delaria Oakstone and Ashen’Var.

    The seven of them – together – committed such heinous acts.

    But the story I tell you tonight focuses on one – the young, handsome Prince Valarious Darkmoon.

    So why tell the story of this vile Prince?

    Because – once – long, long, long ago… He was the prince of these very lands. It’s no surprise that none of you remember or ever heard of him… As I said, his name, along with the others, have long since been erased and forgotten by historians; for they lived so long ago and committed such acts of evil, that no one wanted to remember them.

    Prince Valarious Darkmoon as I had said was a young, handsome man. Women flocked around him like moths to a flame. Consumed with power, Prince Valarious snuck into the King Mage’s room and learned about demonic magic. Prince Valarious began seducing women, to lure them and sacrifice them to gain magical abilities, promised to him by the demons. The young prince, despite being spoiled endlessly by his father and mother, could not wait for his father to pass of natural causes. It is said that Prince Valarious Darkmoon murdered his father one night and took possession of the throne the very next day, announcing – almost all too eagerly – his father’s demise.

    The people were not happy. Prince Valarious’ father had been a kind king; generous to the people who swore loyalty to him and the crown. Prince Valarious – now king – was nothing like his father. You see, the kingdom did not have much in the way of money – as you can see in these swampy lands – there is not much a kingdom can offer in trade. So instead, Valarious worked his people to the bone; taxed them for every copper coin they owned.

    The people rebelled eventually, for not even Valarious’ own soldiers would stop the rebellion and Valarious was forced to flee.

    That is when he met the others humans. As the five of them grew in power; it drew the attention of the two dark elves I had mentioned; Delaria Oakstone and Ashen’Var. With newly found power, Valarious returned to his castle and reclaimed it through magic and violence. He murdered anyone he even suspected of having risen up against him.

    He used his vile magic to change those who he murdered to become mindless undead servants. For he, along with the others, believed that the key to immortality was unlocking the magic that allowed them to raise the dead. Within that magic, they could surly find the key to immortality.

    He reigned as king, through darkness and foul magic, for many, many years – never aging. Until one day, without warning, his castle sank beneath the swamps with a quickness, devouring with it the city that had become a cemetery. Some say that Florasena, the Goddess of Life herself, destroyed the castle, furious with Valarious and his disrespect for life.

    And now – it would seem – both the city and the castle – have surfaced again. Drawing the attention of adventurers to seek out the treasures of the vile Prince Valarious. It is believed that Prince Valarious is the first Vampire of the world.

  • The party rests here, then ventures forward to the castle, suspecting that the gem is somewhere in the castle
  • Stepping within the castle’s walls, the party is consumed with sadness and dread; and both Omen and Bodrag find themselves emotionally unstable, often crying without rhyme or reason
  • Inside the main hall, Bodrag examines several photos, of what appears to be the family that once lived here; and once getting to the last photo, finds himself entranced by the photo and begins attacking the party. He is eventually rendered unconscious and regains his senses.
  • The party continues to examine and enters a small garden; where the fountain suddenly turns on, pouring backwards, and the liquid turns to blood
  • A spirit appears (named Dhauna) who reveals she was someone important to Prince Darkmoon; before he killed her as well, by slitting her throat at the very fountain that she is now condemned to haunt
  • She also explains that there are countless other spirits trapped within the Castle that suffered horrible deaths at Prince Darkmoon’s hands, as he experimented and sought to find the answer to eternal life
  • She goes on to say if they bring her body back to the fountain, she can further assist them against Prince Darkmoon
  • The party moves down into the dungeon and encounters several undead creatures down below, which Ariana is able to take care of for the most part

• The party resumes exploring the dungeon below Castle Darkmoon, finding room after room, that indicated some horrible events and experimentation happened in these dark, dank, dungeon halls
  • The party comes to a room that seems unnaturally dark; Argo says that he can’t see (being human), Bodrag, though a dwarf, does not see well into the room, nor does Luna or Tenjii, so Ari enters the room first
  • The party is surprised by an Umber Hulk, hiding in the darkness, that lands a critical strike on Ari, piercing her with its claws
  • Just as Omen begins to cast a spell, he is abducted by what appears to be Prince Darkmoon
  • The party rushes in to fight against the massive creature, but it’s Confusing gaze poses a problem for the party
  • Eventually they damage the creature enough, that it chooses to flee instead, causing a cave in and burrowing away; but not before severally injuring Ariana; and the resulting cave in deals a large amount of damage to Luna, who was not quick enough to escape the collapsing ceiling
  • Beaten and bruised, the party takes a moment to heal their wounds as best they can, before entering the room that had just collapsed. Argo, using his Gauntlets (Girdle) of Hill Giant Strength, and Tenjii using her Ring of Telekinesis are at least able to clear a small passage through the door way in the room that the Umber Hulk had been standing next to
  • Climbing through, it leads to a large circular room lit by torches with a mysterious coffin in the center
  • Everyone is overcome with a sense of dread, so much so that their body refuses to enter the room, except Ariana who calls upon her goddess to bless her and grant her the strength to enter
  • However, entering the room triggers, the room’s guardian; a Wraith who touches Ariana with its chilling touch and drains some of her life (levels) away
  • Seeing their priestess and friend in trouble, each of them fights the dread and enters the room; all except Tenjii, who upon seeing the unnatural spirit, flees in complete terror, running at full speed (with her Boots of Speed) away
  • The party manages to defeat the Wraith, though Ariana’s levels do not return to her upon the creature’s destruction
  • Luna then uses magic fire to burn the Coffin
  • With no other way out, the party turns around and explores another passage in the dungeon
  • They find a door with a mysterious symbol and magical runes on it; without Omen there, the party is unable to decipher what the runes say
  • Taking a chance, Bodrag pushes on the door, and collapses to the ground
  • The party pulls him away and discovers he appears to be dead
  • Leaving the door alone, they follow another path, which leads to a massive courtyard above ground, which is lined with several dozen statues, scattered in random order throughout the courtyard, almost creating a maze effect
  • The party finds a Brigand in the courtyard, who explains he and his comrades were fleeing from a giant lizard (whose gaze can turn people to stone)
  • Tenjii climbs a statue to see if she can find a way out of the courtyard, whose walls and statues are covered in ancient vines, but then the “giant lizard” is right next to them (revealed to be a basilisk)
  • Tenjii jumps on it and lands an incredible back stab, while the others quickly flee from the basilisk
  • Tenjii leaps off of it and uses her boots of speed to find the exit
  • The shout of the wounded Basilisk also wakes up its mate, who was nesting near by
  • Luna is turned to stone by the first Basilisk just as she calls down lightning to strike both creatures; one bolt kills the already wounded male basilisk while the female pursues Ariana
  • Argo attacks the female Basilisk, as does the Brigand, realizing that these people were his only hope of survival
  • Argo is also turned to stone by the Basilisk, and the Brigand manages to save the day by reflecting the basilisk’s gaze upon itself turning it to stone
  • Tenjii returns and uses her Ring of Telekinesis to haul Luna and Argo back to the village outside of Castle Darkmoon.
  • The party is assisted by Free and Dekard at the small village, to restore Argo and Luna back to flesh
  • The party rests here, before venturing back to Castle Darkmoon