3. The Stafff of Ilmater By Jason R Selious

The Stafff of Ilmater By Jason R Selious


  • ( If DM's wish to turn this into a book, would be truly cool!! )

    Let me start out by saying I would never have completed this quest without the devotion, loyalties and friendships I have found here in Narfell. All written within actually did happen and the Staff of Ilmater is not a myth as previously believed. As I write this the Staff of Ilmater sits beside me.

    Acknowledgements:

    The first acknowledgements go out to Andrew, Eragor and Varia. These three were with me from the beginning and always stood by and supported me. Even when things seemed most bleak I always knew I could count on them to be there for me. Secondly the Troff Legion for their full support. Romulus, Elva and Marty. Thirdly to everyone else that ever joined in this quest and made it all possible. I wish I could name you all but I fear that so many of you made this possible I cannot remember every name. The next going to Albryanna, whom without, I would not be holding this Staff right now. My son Ramus who gave me the strength and visions to take on this quest and to keep fighting and of course the dear sisters that take care of him for me. The final acknowledgements of this book going to the Sisterhood both living and dead at the time this book is written. You are loved and not forgotten, your strength, wisdom and guidance inspired me to find the Staff and helped me bring it back into the light once more. To you all, thank you for everything.

    Prelude:

    Eighty years ago, Ilmater oversaw the suffering happening in the world. He sought out one of his sons, a chosen painbarer and gave to him a Staff that would aid him in taking the suffering from others. Brother Thell Alowin took the Staff of Ilmater and used it to bless those in need, aiding anyone freely. Little did he know that his healing would be taken for granted. A Banite he had previously healed made note of the Staff and returned to his Dreadmaster to bring him word of such a powerful artifact. The Dreadmaster ordered the Staff to be claimed at any cost and brought under Bane.

    The Banites set out to do just this originally trying to intimidate Thell into handing over the Staff, but the man was truly without fear as he simply stood watching them, his faith and life devoted tirelessly to Ilmater. The Banites grew angry at this and struck him down and took his life. Thus claiming the Staff for themselves. They in turn handed the Staff to the Dreadmaster who could not make the Staff serve him. He handed the Staff to the High Imperceptor. After he failed to control the Staff he decided that only an Ilmaterian Priest could wield the Staff but that he would never allow it to fall into their hands.

    He ordered them to go back to the temple and get him the blood of Ilmaters Chosen that he could taint the Staff and make it Banes but when they arrived, the temple was clean and empty. No sign that Thell had ever been there to the dismay of the Imperceptor. Being unable to wield the Staff properly he tried instead to destroy it but only managed to break it into five pieces, each piece holding its own unique power. He handed a piece to each of his Dreadknights and told them to separate them till the day a Chosen could be found and the Staff forever tainted. So they were separated to the winds and the Staff lost to time. Slowly ebbing to being nothing more then a myth or story carried on by bards.

    Chapter 1: Story of the Bard

    I was about twenty years old when I first heard of the Staff, I had been working in Waterdeep for about three months as young officer to the guards, was hardly worth the pay but it did mean food and shelter. I had stopped in the local bar for dinner after a day of downpour when I noted a new bard in town. I should note I have always had a soft spot for bards and often sat to listen to them, even if that meant being late for work. Today it was an older man, he was as ragged as I and was singing for his supper. I remember the tale well as he told it. It was one I will never forget.

    In the darkness where Bane holds power sits a Staff of unique power. A Staff so told by those that are bold to be a gift of Lord Ilmater with powers untold. Stolen away in the bloodiest fight to be hidden away in a place darker then night. Beware all thee seekers for as stories do tell, for the one that seeks it, must in turn fight hell. The Banites do guard it, they will kill one and all, rather to die then lose it at all. So broken and shattered the Staff doth lay, in the darkest of darkness that keeps the bravest paladins at bay. Truth or story tis for you to decide, but I swear to you all that I have not lied, the Staff still exists and Ilmater still beckons for his children to find it and return it to glory, and that my dear friends, is the end of my story.

    I sought him out later that night when finally relieved of my duties and asked after the story. It costs me my nights pay to get the rest of the story but for me it was well worth the cost of a nights comfort and breakfast. I swore then that I would find this Staff and do Ilmaters bidding and return it to the light. The old man simply laughed at me patting me hard on the back and walked away calling me a dreamer, and while at the time I believed him that I was nothing more then a dreamer, I needed those dreams. I wanted to be more then what I was, a simple urchin trying to make enough coin each day to eat and have a bed. I said my prayers and tucked closer to the fire for the night drifting to sleep and dreaming of the day I would find the Staff and be seen as a hero.

    When I woke the old man was gone. He had left at first light after a quick breakfast. For the next several weeks I spoke to every bard that ever came into Waterdeep hassling them for information on the Staff, most having nothing or information I already had at extremely high costs. Fair to say many nights I went without meals and a bed to learn information I already knew. Eventually I came to know I would never find the information in Waterdeep, if I wanted to find the Staff I had to set out and actually hunt for it. I spent three days working harder then ever, keeping every copper I could scrape up, it meant not really eating much and sleeping by the fire though the Captain soon took notice and pity randomly offering me bits of food here and there. After gathering three days pay I bought all the supplies I could, thanked the Captain for the work and his kindness and set out of Waterdeep.


  • Chapter 8: Daggerford

    So much had happened, my son getting a vision of all of us dying if we weren't careful on this trip. We needed to go though and I intended to bring this to a close. We set sail at the break of dawn for Daggerford, once again Captain Dash who had been so generous with her vessel the entire length of my quest since I started it here is Narfell, was taking us via her own ship. Off the bow of the ship it was reported that a ship was tailing us which we quickly realized to be Zhentil troops trying to catch us. One of our members shifted to the form of a dragon and set their sails ablaze allowing us to escape. We kept full speed till we lost them and made all haste for Daggerford.

    When we landed the village was quiet and rather deserted so we headed where any good adventurer does when they seek information. To the tavern. Inside the tavern we found the mayor and some of the people of the town. While some of the party sat down to eat or drink I moved towards the mayor and introduced myself and began asking about any troubles around the area lately. He told me that the wyverns of the area were becoming extremely hostile recently and that he was growing more and more concerned. I agreed to go and look into the wyvern issue and called to the group that we were heading out. When we were outside I admitted it wasn't much of a lead but at the moment but we couldn't ignore people in need either.

    As we pressed into the forested area we found wolves, harpies and small wyverns that clearly weren't our targets. We slayed them generally quickly and continued deeper in which is where we found the Zhents we had been looking for. They made little attempt to talk and instead moved to kill us quickly. They were met with the same force as they offered and were quickly dispatched. A quick search of the captain of the group revealed a letter telling them where to go from there and made my darkest fears a reality.

    " Make all haste to the Keep of the Fallen, there we will complete the ritual "

    We started to turn back for town when the entire ground shook like an earthquake. We turned back honestly expecting it to be from the Zhents somehow in time to see a wyvern the size of the Mermaid Inn land before us furiously. We held little to no reservations of talking to the creature and instead moved quickly to slay the beast. The battle was intense and fierce. Though my companions again proved to be the stronger. Within short time they had taken the beast down, and I had taken its head. With the beast dead the entire forest came alive and began attacking us. Varia fell twice in trying to escape but we soon managed to escape back to town. When we arrived at the tavern I offered the mayor the head of the wyvern and he told me that the First Sister Nicahh had spoken to him on my behalf and that if I was successful at the keep, she would meet me there and together we would reforge the staff. I thanked him and moved to the ship to once again head home. We had much planning to do, and I had much to fear at this point.

    Chapter 9: The final battle for the Staff of Ilmater

    How I wish I could say I was confident at this point of my journey, that I had gotten much sleep in faith that we would win, but that would be a lie. I was constantly terrified of the results of failure and truthfully I was lucky if I slept two to three hours a night. I would constantly have nightmares of the failure and the consequences. Being in Zhentil Keep, seeing my friends dead or being tortured or more on a personal basis, me being tortured again like I had been in the past. It was a very real fear. Varia knew a bit about the Keep of the Fallen but since it was in Oscura I went to talk to Cray about it. I knew Cray was a peacekeeper and as such he had alot of pull in Oscura and I feared if this place was as tightly secured as he said it was, we were gonna need Cray's help in getting to it. I found him some days later in the Peltarch commons and told him I needed to speak to him in regards to the safety and well being of Oscura to which he took me aside to a private warehouse and asked me what was going on.

    I told him about the Keep of the Fallen and that the Zhents were planning to corrupt and destroy a holy artifact and that such actions if done wrong could level all of Oscura and half of the island with it. He asked me if the temple of Bane in Oscura was involved to which I told him no. Very rare is it that Zhentil and Banites get along. In my honest opinion, Banites actually are much more honorable for the most part. I told him I needed to get into the Keep and that I would accept his escort if needed. He told me he would arrange for us to get in and would see what he could do to get some help from Oscura. After that I never heard from Cray.

    As time drew on I called in those that were coming with us. Plans were carefully laid out and decided including an emergency escape plan for Varia with the staff of Ilmater. She would have all the pieces I had and if things started looking bad she would flee. The final team consisted of Varia, Romulus, Eragor, Leena, Elva. Albryanna and Andrew. When the time came we headed down to Oscura to find Varia waiting for us as she lived in Oscura and we moved for the gates. The guards were just heading on break telling us not to enter as they left. I believe Cray had something to do with that and we waited till they were gone from sight and I led them in calling out formation as we went. Romulus scouting, Eragor, Andrew and Albryanna in the front, any rangers or casters behind them and anyone else in the back with me. The first thing we noticed was a zombie of Alucard who warned us we should not enter but made no move to hinder us and so we moved on past. It was inside the Keep that things became an issue.

    The first thing we came across was a huge golem in the form of a black dragon. We knew it would not let us pass without the password and made a few attempts to guess the password which all failed. Andrew eventually grew annoyed with it and lunged the attack. It was a hard battle but no harder then the wyvern previous though I did warn Andrew from then on to await my decision before lunging into battle. Romulus went up ahead upstairs to check what was next and found what appeared to be golem balors. The moment we moved upstairs they attacked assuring us that fighting the dragon had sent out an alert all through the Keep. Again these were beaten back and destroyed though the battle was starting to ware down on the warriors. Again Romulus moved ahead to scout up the next floor and came back speaking of what appeared to huge golem spiders and what would appear to have been small spirits. We moved hard and fast though having to retreat several times to redon our armor and clothes. The spiders seemed to enjoy stripping it from us much to the embarrassment of many of the group. Though eventually we did win out.

    Romulus came back to report more demons on the next floor and we moved quickly to crush them before taking a time to rest and regather our spells. Romulus scouted up the stairs to saw it was a large entry hall that was apparently empty but led out to a bigger room. We buffed and prepared and headed up the stairs to the final battle. Inside were the demons, spirits and balors and the two Zhents that had been waiting for us. The battle started out well enough. Us holding out strongly as we fought against the swarms. The main balors being taken out as one of the Zhents I believed to be a monk got involved in the battle and lunged in at us. Somewhere in all the commotion I fell unconscious and woke to learn that Varia had fled when I fell and all the others except Albryanna had fallen as well. Albryanna had taken on the last Zhent and won. When we were up and moving we began to search the room and clean up the remaining enemies left. When that was finished we looked to the center and found the Staff of Ilmaters remaining two pieces up on the alter, Varia went to put up the others but I quickly snatched them and the other two preferring not to risk something bad happening to the staff.

    That's when Sister Nicahh stepped into sight. I was overjoyed to finally be standing before the First Sister herself. She asked me for the pieces of the staff which I handed to her without hesitation. I could feel Ilmater's warmth in her. She laid out all the pieces so everyone could see what we had fought to gather then reforged it into the true Staff of Ilmater. Before I could touch it though she warned me there would be a price to pay to wield the Staff. Were I to wield the Staff, I could wield no other weapon. I would in all essence enter a vow of peace to hold the Staff. There was no hesitation, no second thought or even a doubt. I dropped my sword and shield on the floor and handed Andrew the Cherrywood Shortbow he had bought me so many years ago and picked up the Staff. Holding the Staff finally after so many years just felt right. Sister Nicahh merely smiled at me acceptingly then explained what the Zhents had intended to do in full. They needed my blood to taint the staff once it had been laid on the unholy alter. From there it would have been offered to Bane. We could only imagine the horror that would have brought as Sister Nicahh suggested we should leave that foul place which we did.

    Authors Notes:

    I started this quest at the young age of twenty. There were many times I should have and did give up, lost hope, even doubted myself. This quest though took me fifty five years to complete. You did read me right, I am seventy five years old writing this book. This quest is finally complete. All this started by a boy enjoying the music and tales of a Bard. I know I mentioned the Order of the Divine Shield earlier and how them refusing me helped me make a decision later on that I still believe in. That decision is this and this alone. The Staff of Ilmater shall never be in their possession. Never shall it be locked away in the darkness again as they would have it sealed. When I die this Staff shall be given to a Keeper of my choosing to be guarded until the next Priest of Ilmater that is not of the Order of the Divine Shield proves themselves in Ilmaters eyes worthy to take up the Staff. Perhaps it will be with the Legion, or perhaps it will be with the Forsworn should I have it up and ready by then. Which ever I choose, I do not hate the Order of the Divine Shield. They choose their path as I have chosen mine and it is not always a guarantee that even though we follow the same ideals that we will all get along.

    To those that stood by my in this quest, I thank you. To those that gave me strength when I was weak and afraid, I thank you. To the bards who's stories fill us with dreams of glory and treasures beyond our dreams simply with their stories and songs, I thank you. Most importantly, to the friends I have who mean the world to me, who stand by me even if I seem to be just an old man on some strange venture, I thank you as well.

    (( A final thanks goes out to DM Skippy who made this whole event possible, what started out in my mind as one or two events turned into something huge that many people got involved in and reshaped my image of Jason. Thank you! ))


  • Chapter 6: Dar'kul

    We had set out by sea for the port of Dar'kul, Captain Dash being a wonderful woman in offering us her ship to do this. The trip was long but well worth the wait as we neared the port, she informed us that we would have to row to shore as she would not endanger her crew by getting too close to the port which was fine. We manned the boat and rowed to shore to be greeted by hundreds of zombies. For every turn we made there were nearly a dozen to two dozen zombies to be stopped. It became a rush to get to the fort of Dar'kul and prepare. When we did make it to the gates we stepped in and moved quickly clearing another swarm of undead as we entered.

    As we progressed further and further into the keep the undead stopped but demons appeared barring the path. There were only about five or six demons that actually fought us but these ones were extremely powerful and took much effort to take down. When we finally reached the bottom we were met by an incubus who admitted he had turned the town into the undead state it was in out of boredom and curiosity. Varia, Romulus and Elva worked together to try and figure out a connection to some runes with a statue in one and worms in another as I and Andrew worked to distract the incubus. It worked for a while but eventually the incubus left and another demon attacked which we slayed as Varia absorbed the curse into herself thus releasing the town of the curse.

    Shortly after a drow dressed in the Sisterhood robes appeared before us. She took the statue and thanked us for freeing her from the binding. She revealed herself as Sister Tianna of the Sisterhood. We soon headed back not wishing to stay there much longer though now the streets were empty of undead strangely enough. We made it back to the boat and sailed back to Peltarch. From there I sought rest once more as I am sure many of the others did.

    Chapter 7: The second vision and Marie Scuttlestone

    Around a tenday after our return from Dar'kul I felt the strange compulsion to wear the robe when I slept. I trusted my senses and headed into the inn and upstairs donning the robe and resting in the bed. Within short time I again found myself in another place looking at Sister Tianna. She again thanked me for freeing her and pleaded with me that a living Sister was in need of my aid. I promised her I would do what ever it took to save her. She told me the name Marie Scuttlestone and that she had been taken as a slave by a ship called the Sacred Ibis. I assured her I would save her no matter what it took and soon awoke again and immediately headed out to investigate what could be found about Marie. It didn't take me long to learn that Marie lived in the docks district and commonly saw to the orphans. Along the hunt for information me and my group traveled after the Ibis to Mulhorand to see about rescuing Marie only to learn that she had been sold to Zhent's.

    We dispatched any slavers we could find all the while freeing slaves where we could. The group headed back though I chose to speak to the captain who had a map leading us to where the Zhents had taken Marie, a remote mountain that I have forgotten the name of. I went alone at first to get to know the layout of the area and perhaps see if I could find Marie. While I did find the mountain, I did not find Marie but did learn from others a hin matching her description had been seen alive. I headed back to get the others and prepare for the next assault. When we arrived there the Zhents were on guard and clearly not happy to see us. While I gave them the choice of surrender I knew deep down they would not take it leading us to have to kill every Zhent we came across. When we reached the top a Champion of Bane awaited us lunging us as we came in sight quickly targeting me. I blacked out at one point in the battle but woke to Andrew fighting him off. When he was finally killed we stepped inside taking a moment to rest then opened the first door to find Marie and a bunch of children locked in the room. We found out that the Zhents had been using Marie and the children as pleasure slaves. We led them back down the mountains after Marie told us that some others had run ahead to Daggerford. Myself, Andrew and Eragor swore on that mountain that the Zhents would pay for what they had done to Marie and the children. For now though. Getting them all home was the priority and resting and recovering for a short time after that. Then we needed to prepare, for war had been called upon the Zhents by us for their unforgivable action.


  • Chapter 4: The search resumes

    I had arrived in Peltarch barely a copper to my name. Still damaged from a necroplague that had nearly claimed my life back in Cordor. I have met many interesting people, made many mistakes and helped as much as I believe I could have in my state. Yet no one in all of Narfell touched my heart quite like Andrew. Always watching over me he was the first and only one to notice when I had blacked out for several hours after a trip in the sewers with a group. He since has become very protective of me and closer to that of a son. I call him my own son and its a title he has earned. As I got to know Andrew and trust him I slowly trusted him enough to tell him of the Staff of Ilmater and my search for it. He listened quietly and suggested I ask the local temples who might know something. I agreed and we went on to the temple of Kelemvor which is where the search finally hit off. I had previously received a strange item into my care called the Vial of Tears. I have no idea how I got it, only that it was in my possession. The temple told me that the key to restoring the Vial may lie in the old ruins of the Sisterhood and gave me some directions to get there.

    When one dies we usually do not remember anything of the fugue, yet for a brief instance I can remember almost everything that occurred in that place. We had been fighting a powerful being of the crypts. She was huge and powerful. Yet for some reason she would not fall. Myself, Varia and Eragor fought on and on but in time I fell to the blows and woke up in the the fugue. There standing before me was a woman in a red and black robe. She seemed to just look at me a moment then started speaking to me. Telling me that Ilmater was watching over me and that the Staff was indeed real and not just some myth. Ilmater had tasked me to find it and return it to the light. She knew I was suffering from the remains of the necroplague as well and laid a hand on my chest, a warmth running through my chest and into my wrists which started to bleed instantly. She said not to give up and that my quest would reveal more but that for the time being she had to go back to Ilmater. I awoke in Eragors arms all the way back in Peltarch. He had carried me from the ruins of Old Norwick himself. Neither he nor Varia could explain how I just suddenly woke in his arms from death, or how I had started just suddenly bleeding as a corpse from both wrists. No bandages nor medical treatment could stop the bleeding yet it brought me comfort. I could breath again without the choking fits and for that I still bless Ilmater. Now I had to complete this task given to me. I just needed to prepare a group to help me get there.

    I first started with the Order of the Divine Shield asking Ashena for aid. While I do not write this part in spite, I do write it because I find it important to a later decision. When I asked Ashena for aid she told me she would not aid me nor would the Divine Shield as Jiyyd was far too dangerous for such a trek. I accepted that and moved on to gathering others such as Andrew, Varia, Eragor, and Elva. It was a small group admittedly but something we wanted to accomplish. Thus we set out as soon as we were able and made way for the cavern leading to the old orphanage of the Sisterhood to discover a group known as the Sisterhood of Bones after the exact same place. I did offer them to freely leave if they did so quietly which they refused and as such were cut down. The door for all purposes was locked yet when I touched the door with my blood from my wrists it opened for me. Inside was the ruins of the orphanage, a sad and lonely place fallen in the Jiyyd war as the sister had died there trying to get all the children out. I knelt down there feeling the sadness of such a tragedy and prayed my blood flowing heavier as I did so. Yet as I prayed the scene around us started to change, a sound of children laughing, furniture and warmth. I looked up to see the very sister from the fugue standing there over me with a happy smile. She seemed so much more peaceful in the release as I told her that I freed her from this place and that the children were safe and happy. Some Sisterhood items were found, each marked for the four of us. For me it was a robe of the Sisterhood. We left there closing the gate behind us and headed back to Peltarch to seek a long deserved rest.

    Chapter 5: The vision

    I don't know why I wore the Sisterhood robes to bed, it was like a compulsion that I needed to do it. So one night I finally donned the robes before heading to bed. Being as exhausted as I was it didn't take me long to pass out. I suddenly found myself in another time and place. Before me stood the sister of the Orphanage. She had given me the robe as a way to communicate with her to learn more about the staff it seemed. She assured me she was doing better and that she was now happily beside Ilmater. I asked her then what I must do to retrieve the Staff and she told me to seek out the other Sisters. They needed rescuing and in doing so I would find more pieces of the Staff. I told her then I wanted to know her name, I needed to know who I was speaking to. She told me her name was Sister Belle. The Sister that needed me next was in Dar'kul trapped and needed freeing. She was trapped in her body as an undead and could not get free. I promised Sister Belle then and there that I would free her and aid all her Sisters no matter what. She seemed relieved at that and told me she had to go. I asked if I would see her again but she simply smiled that told me all in itself, I may or may not but the robes were the key.

    I woke soon after and went to find the same friends that had accompanied me to Jiyyd and told them of this quest. To my relief they agreed to follow me again and we began the long preparation to make such a trek, one that again would not be easy and I would need to charter a ship to make this run. I managed to do so with Captain Dash though she warned me she would not put her crew in danger. I accepted this and told her I would let her know when we were ready to set out. I placed up a notice to seek out anyone willing to aid me including Marty who did get back to me asking to see the robes of the Sisterhood I had gotten and when I showed them to her she told me she would help however possible. Little did I know how much help she would be in her own way.


  • Chapter 2: The search for information

    For ten years I hunted the lands. Stopping in every town on the route and asking anyone I could about the Staff. Sadly more often then not no one knew anything and often gave me a funny look. Other temples of Ilmater granted me food and shelter when I stopped in there which I often looked the part of a disheveled beggar by the time I reached their steps. Many were the nights I lay questioning myself wondering if I was just chasing a story just in the hopes of being recognized for my hard work. Many times I wondered if I should quit and just settle as a farm hand or something of the likes. I could surely get a job as a guard. My reputation in Waterdeep would carry enough that I was a hard worker. In the end though I always found myself denying the easy path and would be up, washed and dressed ready to face the road again.

    One does not search for information though without consequence. Nor do they go unnoticed by those who would prefer such things kept in the darkness. I had been on the road almost a tenday when I noticed a man standing in the middle of the road staring at me. I could feel the cold presence of the man long before I got close to him. So much of me wanted to run but where would I go? The nearest town was a tenday behind me and I was extremely tired and starving. A town was less then a day ahead and that was where I needed to go. Besides, even if I did run he would likely long catch up before I got away. So instead I kept moving ahead approaching the man as he slowly uncrossed his arms. His eyes dark and cold, a nasty sneer as he watched me. He knew he had me unnerved and it definitely gave him the advantage. I noted immediately that his colors were Black and Gold though I didn't know at the time that those were the colors of the Zhentil. He spoke little but his point was made very clear. They didn't want me seeking the Staff and failure to leave this quest and I would be dead.

    I told him that I would never abandon my duties to Ilmater and he merely laughed at me sauntering towards me with that nasty sneer. As I went to speak next a fist struck me in the gut followed by another to my jaw. I wasn't that great a fighter at the time but I knew enough from the guards that if I wasn't careful he might very well kill me. I was losing fast and the beating kept coming. I am still unsure how long the beating lasted before I managed to bolt towards town, though he did not pursue me I heard his voice on the wind telling me that if I did not stop the hunt. That would only be a taste of what would come next. I knew deep down he was serious. I spent six weeks in the town recovering having suffered a cracked rib, bruised jaw and some other more minor injuries. My mistake is I never told anyone who had attacked me. I was terrified that if I did he might come back and finish the job. It would be years before I dared to even consider looking for the Staff again.

    Chapter 3: A sign

    I was now in my late thirties and was traveling, a helmsman told me of a small island he was to be traveling to that might give me a fresh start to my life. By that point I needed something more to my life then just simply existing. I had stopped seeking the Staff in fear of reprisal and had become a lesser fisherman to the ship that was to head out. I was reluctant at first until he told me that he could no longer keep me in his employ, he hadn't told the rest of the crew yet but he was going out of business and that this would be his last run, he wanted me to go to this place and from there make a name for myself and become more then some poor fisherman that wouldn't last the winter. I agreed and set out with him. I wont write out my whole life on that island here as a lot of it is moot. It was there though that I first took a better look at myself and discovered who I really was. I met a paladin by the name of Godfrey Willows and asked him about the paladinship. I wasn't even sure I was worthy of such a thing. He told me if it was to be, Ilmater would let me know and nothing would change that but Ilmater. Thus I slowly moved into the paladinship still unsure but trusting in Ilmater's plan.

    A while later heading out to fight kobolds I noted a skull being used as a latrine as a punishment for something they had done in life. I seized hold of the item and took it to be buried. A day or so later I went back to make sure that nothing had occurred and actually met the man that placed it there, Justin, a paladin of Hoar. We argued for a long few hours over the skull with him ordering me to return it which for note, I never did return it to him. Eventually we went to part ways and I spotted a man passing the road with two vampires in tow while carrying the body of a hin. I went down and confronted the man with Justin close on my heels. The man stopped looking at these two young interlopers laughing at us as we ordered him to drop the body though strangely he complied. For the briefest moment I felt the same as I did that day infront of the Zhentil. Justin demanded him to leave the body and be on his way again causing the man to laugh at him.

    As that seemed to fail he offered to trade himself for the hin. The man seemed to take this a bit more seriously and agreed, which I could not accept. It became a quick battle to which Justin was quickly cut down and I was alone facing the necromancer. Fear quickly welled up as I found myself out matched and out powered. Again I stood alone badly battered and terrified. He came over to me with a slow yet confident step touching my brow muttering something I only barely caught word of.

    I curse you to the cold. For your fears will bind you forever from warmth and damn you to the cold of the grave. In this you are forever bound.

    Within moments the warmth in my body was replaced by the cold touch of death yet I was still alive. He grinned at me and left both Justin and the hin's bodies laying on the ground walking away. Not even worried for my own well being at the moment I dragged both of them back to Bendir and had them raised via scroll before collapsing. A strange vision came to me that day of Ilmater standing over me, a soft yet sad smile as he looked at me. While all of the pain vanished, the cold never has. I learned later I had come face to face with the most powerful priest of Velsharoon that Arelith had ever had the displeasure of knowing. A man named Sabbath. Months turned into years as I became accustomed to the cold being constant. I learned how to overpower the curse but could not cure it. I took it instead as a battle scar to be proud of and moved on. Over time my health would become jeopardized forcing me out of the paladinship forever and giving me the turn to priesthood. During that time I received a strange letter that told me the time had come to move on, the Staff would not be found here. I still to this day do not know who sent me that letter. After some further mishaps I set off out of Cordor and landed in Narfell where the true trials began.