The SCRIPTURES of St JERRICK
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Marty has penned many copies of this epistle and distributed it to as many open minded folk as she can. The parchment is written in small handwriting onto lemon scented parchment
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FIRST EPISTLE to the SONS and DAUGHTERS of PELTARCH
The TESTIMONY of LEENA RAYFE
_11To the faithful and open minded folk of Peltarch,
And all who happen to read this epistle.2Martoushca Leaffall, gardener and witness to St Jerrick, Eternal Guardian of the Mountain.
Warmest Greetings.
3I write this account so that you may know that I am not a “religious lunatic” as some dim and ill intentioned individuals falsely and slanderously affirm. 4The following is an account of St Jerrick’s own flesh and blood, declared in the commons amongst many witnesses.
5I write this in the hope that you who read may come to appreciate the man – if he may still be called a mere man, and maybe by some means your appreciation of him may bless his heart in some way. 6For surely his spirit is with us.
7This account is faithful to the best of my memory. My conscience is clear.
21Leena Rayfe did clearly testify, “Peltarch was on the brink of being destroyed. The streets were flooding, storms were smashing ships like children's toys made of sticks and paper, and lightning caused fires and fear throughout the whole North. 2My father worked for days and days, with Raryldor and others, using elementals, and magic of nature, to shore up the docks defenses, bail water out of the area, and generally just try to keep Peltarch above water.
3For a time, it even worked.
4But things were clearly getting worse. Something was horribly wrong, and my father sensed it. So, an expedition was arranged. Nature magic would lead them to the source, they just had to find it, and stop it.
5So, a party of brave people went with him, to a Mountaintop on the other side of the Icelace, in Damara, a city called Praka. 6There was a tremendous nexus of natural power atop that mountain and four elemental princes had control of it. Every couple hundred years, a different one would use the power, and cause havoc and devastation with a certain element.
7Fire, water, earthquakes, you name it.
8So, the party arrives, and guides point the way to the mountain. They warn, though, that it's dangerous, and they may not make it to the top. 9It was a good thing My Father went though because the way was guarded by a series of great and powerful spirits and magics.
10The spirit warned them, after Jerrick summoned it by reading several stones, that to get inside the sanctum, they had to traverse, past, future, and present threats, to get there. 11People knew him in several of the places they went to, and their spirits let him pass. Snow Goblins, Aurilites, fey spirits.
12After much fighting, near-deaths, traps, tricks, and trials, they reached the sanctum, where the four princes were working their terrible magicks, twisting the powers of nature to their bidding, and about to destroy not only Praka, but lands all the way across the icelace, as far as Peltarch, and further.
13The fight broke loose in a torrent of magic. Lightning was brought down, holy fire bathed the area, and sword and arrows flashed to the heroic singing of Romulus, rallying our heroes to fight to the last breath!
14They slew them, every last one… but the spell, the SPELL, was not stopped!
15It was already in motion, and would have to be undone.
My Father had used a source of great power before, with the circle, and helped wipe the demon taint out of the Rawlins. He tried similar, asked the Gods' aid, and they came. Literally. 16Silvanus, the Oakfather, in all his wisdom and glory, stood before them.17He offered a choice, then. Jerrick could harness the power of the mountain, undo what had been wrought, and return home, victorious.
18Or he could stay.
31He was offered the chance to be the eternal guardian of the mountain, bearer of the power of that natural nexus, and prevent the cycle from happening again, when the power surged again in another hundred years.
2But to stay… meant staying forever.
3My Mother, Myself, Elaine, we were here. The Legion, the Wolves, the Circle, all here. His friends, allies, enemies, work yet undone… all here.
4We saw him at South Gate once. In the form of a wolf made of snow
5He chose to stay. Which I'm very proud of. I was angry for a while, but I was younger and foolish.
6Narfell, and the areas near, have been unbalanced for many, many years. So many, that few remember that this place was once colder, and it's people, hardier.
7They stored for winters, paid more attention to the nature Gods, who watch over harvest and health. We have lived in a long summer, but it's not entirely natural.
8He could return things to 'normal' in a day. That power, was his now. Romulus testifies that the choice they had was to let the spell continue to melt the glacier and drown everything, or bring back the long winter, but slowly.
9The Gods, of course, could have their say, but ultimately he going to put things back. Let it melt, or re-freeze it quickly, …. or...
10He made another choice. He would return Narfell to the way it was… but slowly.
11He would use the hundred year period. Gradually, winter is coming back. The land of snow and seasons is returning, with a patient, steady hand, guiding it, and watching over all.
12He -could- say "They dealt with it once, they'll adjust" and bring it back quick, but that's not the way my father worked.
13He did a lot, and taught me everything he knew. Even the difficult things. Even the things I didn't have one tenth of the power to do.
14He didn't abandon his work here. He just … I guess trusted us. Me, and Elaine, and Mom, and everyone he knew and didn't know, to pick up where he left off.
15The weather, the Gods? That's his duty now. Getting them to play nice, and keeping us safe enough to keep doing what we're doing.”
41After her testimony, one of those bearing witness called upon Jerrick for snow. 2Another suggested that a shrine to him replace the temple, but Leena suggested that a festival at the beginning of winter, to celebrate balance, would be more appropriate.
3If you have read to the conclusion of this epistle you have blessed my heart to know that my pen to parchment was not in vain. 4And it is my prayer that whatever warm feelings stirred up by this testimony would not only inspire you to great acts of love and sacrifice but also to make supplication to him - the Eternal Guardian of the Mountain - for the benefit of us all.
5Amen._
((EDITED: Added chapters and verses to make it easier to quote in religious services. The first copies would have no chapters and verses.))
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[[In a mostly vain attempt to raise funds for Remove Disease potions for those stricken by the Plague in Peltarch, Marty has taken up busking in the commons. While waiting for the right time to beseech Sheela Peryroyl for more healing magic, she will tap her tambourine and sing (poorly, but with lots of passion) the following song]]
((The song is sung to the tune of "Go Tell it on the Mountain" like this or this (Peter, Paul and Marty!)*))
Go tell it to the moun-tain
Over nature he takes good care-yeah
Go tell it to the moun-tain
Jerrick Rafe is there.Glacier is adva-a-ncing
To freeze our fields so fair
But slow-ly now he’s in the mountain
We’re sustained by his love and care.Go tell it to the moun-tain
Over nature he takes good care-yeah
Go tell it to the moun-tain
Jerrick Rafeis there.If the sea’s a mighty tempest
If the fields yield up no fo-od.
Let the mountain hear your pleading
Jerick intercedes for our good.Go tell it to the moun-tain
Over nature he takes good care-yeah
Go tell it to the moun-tain
Jerrick Rafe is the–----re.[[adding it here simply because it may contribute to St Jerrick lore]]
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Marty tirelessly pens a vast number of copies of a Second Epistle. She then distributes as widely as she can
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SECOND EPISTLE to the SONS and DAUGHTERS of PELTARCH
The TESTIMONY of Cpt. ROMULUS GREY
1_1To the faithful and open minded folk of Peltarch,
And all who happen to read this epistle.2Mother Martoushca Leaffall, witness to St Jerrick who is the Eternal Guardian of the Mountain.
Warmest Greetings.
3I write this second account in so much as I have endeavored to interview all who were direct eye witnesses of the events that lead to the elevation of Jerrick to his current status as Guardian of the Sacred Mountain 4and Governor of the Balance, and to present their testimony as faithfully as possible not only to the fair minded folk of the city of Peltarch but also to all who would give an ear to truth.
5I write this in the hope that you who read may come to have faith in the man – if he may still be called a mere man, 6and maybe by some means your faith in him may bless lead you to love and good works. Surely his spirit is with us.
7This account is copied from notes taken by Captain Romulus Grey of the Legion of Troff. Captain Grey is a morally upright man of integrity and courage. He is well known at the time of writing as a man of honesty and valor. 8I have avoided editing his notes as much as possible in order to preserve the integrity of his testimony._
2 _1Romulus Grey testifies; “General Neverith, Peltarch's Military Law commander, assembled us on the Peltarch docks during the heavy rains and gave us our mission. 2Jerrick, the Druid servant of Meilikki, was to lead us to the Sacred Mountain north of the Ice Lake where other druids were thought to be responsible for the unusual weather. 3 Peltarch Defender Shallyah would represent the City. Other members of the party included Sir Allestor and Lady Talindra, Knights of the Order of the Divine Shield; Lady Elena, a priestess of Ilmater; Luke of the Black Sails who would pilot the ship and serve as our principal scout (who sometimes also undressed at inappropriate moments); Romulus, Captain of the Troff Legion (lover of fried chicken and the one who bears this testimony); and Fafir, the dwarf Weave Engineer.
4Luke and his Black Sails crew skillfully piloted our ship out of the flooded Peltarch docks and across the stormy Ice Lake. 5En route, the ship was attacked by a Kraken, a great sea monster whose giant tentacles slashed at us, knocking out both Jerrick and Allestor. Shallyah and the others managed to cut off the great tentacles and both the fallen were revived in time. 6Shortly after arrival in Praka, the Kraken attacked again, killing a number of dock workers and guards before the party forced it back.
7The party was led to the Palace and met with Praka's Duke Lewis, who gave us directions to the Sacred Mountain. 8The Duke said that only druids were allowed to approach that place, and warned that others had gone before us and none had returned. The Duke wished all the people of Peltarch well for sending us to help save them from the storms which were flooding everything.
9We climbed the part to the sacred mountain and were confronted by dire bears and tigers that had been posted as guardians. 10Jerrick spoke to them and calmed them, allowing us to pass and carry out our mission. 11We then faced a riddle of stones, six of them, each of which carried an inscription in an ancient Druidic language. Jerrick translated them for us:
12"First there was a stone; beyond this stone lay a world, inside this world lay a tower, inside this tower was a realm of What Was, beyond it was the realm of What Is, and beyond that lay the realm of What Is to Be."13A cavern entrance blocked by stone covering the remains of several magical circles lay nearby. Jerrick, invoking the blessings of Meilikki performed an ancient ritual that caused the stone to explode and allow us passage. 14On the other side was a small grassy place next to a tower. 15A Guardian stood beside it and warned us that Elders of the Elemental Way were already inside. 16Jerrick declared that we were determined to confront them and change their way. 17The guardian told us that once we entered, we could not turn back. We must either complete the mission and succeed or fail and die.
18All decided to continue and so we entered the tower. 19There we first confronted the Guardian of What Was. 20He spoke with Jerrick and warned that this realm contained bests and tribes that no longer lived in the world, but might some day return. 21But we had to defeat him first in order to reach them. 22Jerrick thanked the guardian for doing his duty and accepted the challenge. 23We fought, and after a difficult battle defeated him.
24The realm of What Was contained hoards and hoards of snow goblins, huge dire snow rhinos, and half-fiendish corrupted goblins and bugbears. The passage also was narrow and guarded by traps.25 Luke and Jerrick led to search for traps, but niether was proficient at removing them. 26The party pooled its resources and produced five Find Traps scrolls, all of which were used. 27Nonetheless, one serious fire trap was sprung using the Dwarf Method, which knocked out both Jerrick and Luke and badly wounded Talindra. 28Allestor and Elena provided healing that restored everyone._
3 _1When we entered the realm of What Is, we were met by a pixie named Figment who offered to help us. 2We first had to fight and defeat another Guardian, and then proceeded through passages guarded by hook horrors, skin dancers and magic eaters. 3We managed to defeat all of these and arrived finally in the realm of What Is To Be. 4The pixie could not enter that, and left us there with its good wishes.
5The Guardian of What Is To Be was the most fearsome of those we had faced so far, but our party was exceedingly strong and prevailed in the end. 6We then fought our way across a narrow chasm bridge defended by dire polar bears and dire penguins. 7Near the last bridge, a group of female druids was camped. They declared that they were servants of Auril, who wanted to reclaim all of the north by extending the glacier and driving out the humans who had taken the land.
8Jerrick argued that their path was not one of wisdom, and that he intended to challenge the Elders of the Elemental Way who were following this path of destruction. 9Through his immense wisdom and divinely inspired speech, he managed to persuade the druids of Auril to send away the remaining polar bears and penguins and allow us to pass.
10Taking a few minutes to rest and restore our spells, the party then prepared for the final challenge. 11We reached the top of the mountain and found a single spiral path hemmed in by stones that led around and around to the center. 12Each loop of the spiral was guarded by an elemental crystal guardian: Air, Earth, Fire, and Water. We fought each of these in turn, and they became progressively more difficult.
13Nevertheless, we prevailed and arrived at the center, where four Elders were surrounding a sacred tree and performing the ritual that was bringing heavy rains to all the lands of the north. 14Jerrick challenged them to cease, but they began casting fearsome spells (and dispells) at us. 15We then attacked and fought them. At first, none of our weapons could harm them, but luckily, our party had saved some pretty fearsome spells of our own. 16Jerrick, Fafir, Allestor, Talindra, Elena, and Romulus all cast their magics and disrupted their magic spells around the sacred tree. 17This caused the four elders to resume corporeal shapes and our weapons began to bite them. 18One by one they were defeated and destroyed._
4 _1As we breathed a sigh of relief and healed each others' wounds, a shining silvery figure appeared next to the sacred tree. 2It was Silvanus, the Leaf Lord himself. All of us bowed before this god of nature. 3Silvanus congratulated us for disrupting the wayward druids. 4He said that now we must decide the fate of the North. Whatever decision we took would affect all the lands as far south as the Rawlings, but it was in our hands.
5After considerable debate, most of the party did not want to make a choice that would affect so many lives and preferred to leave it in the hands of the Gods. 6We were reminded, however, that every choice had consequences, including doing nothing. 7If nature's balance were restored and allowed to resume its natural course, then the glacier would grow on its own, overtaking Praka and turning Narfell once more into a cold and icy realm. 8Silvanus indicated that this path could be made very gradual, so that it happened over a hundred years period. 9We elected to make that choice.
10Silvanus then offered a choice to Jerrick alone. 11He would, if he chose, become the new guardian of the Sacred Mountain and see that our choice was carried out in the best manner possible. 12He would, however, have to remain on top this mountain for the rest of eternity. After a few anguished minutes of thought, Jerrick accepted this as his calling and his destiny.
13He said good bye to his companions, asked then to deliver his great bow to the Wolves Den, and to give his personal journal to Lycka. 14We would be free to visit him here. Saddened but proud that we had accomplished our mission, the remaining seven members of the party returned to Praka and took ship home to Peltarch, promising to remember Jerrick in epic songs and bards' tales."_
5 1This is the testimony of Captain Romulus Grey. I also bear witness to what Romulus affirms, 2that Jerrick, as Guardian of the Mountain, is now responsible for the balance of nature in our region. 3What was once in the hands of the gods of nature and the druids who serve them is now in the hands of him alone, and to him alone should petitions be made concerning those things which are now his domain. 4This is done to the honor and glory of the gods of nature. 5Even now many consult him concerning the weather, their prosperity and their safety. 6The wise join them.
