[R+S]: No Reflection Home (12/2014 - 12/2015)

[Deraj]

~December 2014 - December 2015~

Our story begins in the late autumn of the year counted by some as 318, with Hal the Wandering Healer. Hal, having taken up a life of solitude wandering the lands in search of the injured and wounded in need of restoration, was a compassionate man dedicated to his path and doing good in the world. Throughout his journeys he began to find trouble lurking in the woods. Gangs of brigands had obstructed his path many times, forcing him to return whence he came. These troubles compelled him to seek out Corinna, the Keeper of the Rangers of Spiritwood for aid. It was the rangers' duty to protect Spiritwood and its roads, and upon visiting the rangers in their Outpost, Corinna readily agreed to provide assistance.

The rangers set out to visit the old brigand fort that stood between Skara Brae and Yew. This fort had long been a refuge for outcasts, murderers, and ne'er-do-wells seeking to escape the sharpened justice of the kingdom, and someone in that small gathering of criminals may have had information pertaining to the gangs recently roving the area. The rangers launched an all-out assault on the fort, leaving many dead and some captured. Those that were captured were arrested and delivered to the Captain of the Guard in Skara Brae for interrogation. Two weeks later, Hal visited the Town Hall to inquire if any information had been found. All of the brigands had refused to speak except for one, named Rok. While Rok was willing to divulge the information Hal sought, he demanded protection in return, and so Hal wrote a request to the Governor of Skara Brae, Gillian Gryphon, who was also a ranger at the time, asking for Rok to be transferred to the Spiritwood Jail. Upon approval of this request, Rok was brought to the jail where the rangers questioned him fully.

Rok revealed that he and many others had been hired by a group known as the Bloody Blades to roam the roads and the woods in order to keep all travelers away from Sanctuary, a home for various kinds of monsters, misfits and criminal elements, yet for a reason that remained unknown. The group itself he knew nothing about except that he never heard the name prior to his employment by them. Once the rangers finished their interview, Rok was transferred to Yew Prison to serve time for his crimes.

Using what they learned from Rok, the rangers infiltrated Sanctuary. It was not easy sneaking in as the entire crumbling settlement was densely populated with many denizens of the dark that did not take kindly to the rangers' presence. Fighting their way through the hordes they encountered the fortified elven fortress deep within the dark, cavernous corridors. One of the elven inhabitants, Fulcher, offered to give the rangers information on the Bloody Blades in exchange for their help fighting three of the underlords in the tunnels beneath Sanctuary. The rangers agreed, and fought into submission Chiikkaha the Toothed, Moug-Guur the ettin, and Szavatra the succubus. Once the task was done, Fulcher told them what he knew. He claimed that the Bloody Blades was a group that sought knowledge of elven magic for the purpose of their research into a spell that he could only describe as "the Hallowing" or "the Halloween". However, he did not possess any details about what the spell was meant to do, or why the Bloody Blades were looking for it.

Around this time a plague had been spreading throughout Britannia, one which was created in a lab and spread by an evil lich named Lady Jacuyl. Transmitted primarily by plague rats, Keeper Corinna had the misfortune of crossing paths with infected rats roaming Spiritwood, becoming infected in the process. The illness took a serious toll on her health, delaying Hal's journey as he attempted to aid her.

Hal eventually departed once again, taking his investigation to Ilshenar, where after a month of searching he met with his old friend Buck the Trader at the Twin Oaks Tavern. In his travels Buck had come to learn a few things about the Bloody Blades himself, and so upon his return to Spiritwood, Hal met with the rangers at their Outpost and advised them to seek out Buck so that they may ask him questions of their own. Buck had learned that the Bloody Blades were meeting with a mysterious, masked woman in the Rock Dungeon of Ilshenar. Their purpose in old and mostly deserted labyrinth was to discover ancient magical knowledge that could help them perfect their spell, which the rangers learned was called the Hollowing. Armed with this knowledge the rangers ventured into the halls of the Rock Dungeon and confronted the Bloody Blades. A battle ensued, and all of the enemy combantants were killed in action, but there was still one member of the Bloody Blades group, as well as the masked woman, who were not present and accounted for. Ranger Oona discovered a clue in the aftermath that was later shared with Hal the Wandering Healer. It read: "Elf magick helpful. Not so gypsy. Maybe Ter Mur holds more promise."

Hal took the road himself once again into the subterranean gargish lands of Ter Mur, having been informed by Oona of the note found with the Bloody Blades. While pondering the details of the mystery of the Bloody Blades it suddenly occured to him that he knew where the remaining Bloody Blade and the masked woman had gone, having been reassured of the knowledge by a voice in his head. He returned immediately to the ranger's Outpost, explaining that the masked woman had traveled to the halls of the Stygian Dragon in search of magical knowledge for the Hollowing spell. The rangers set out immediately and confronted the Stygian Dragon itself. After an intense battle the dragon lay dead, and the rangers discovered the body of the last member of the Bloody Blades, along with his sword that had been stained with the dragon's blood; their only clue. The masked woman was nowhere to be found.

A month later in the midst of Spring, Corinna received a letter from Hal who, having been given the blood-stained sword found in the halls of the abyss, had been visited one night by the masked woman herself. She sought the blade as it was the final ingredient in her Hollowing spell, and demanded it from Hal. Plagued by the presence of a strange voice, Hal was compelled by faculties not entirely his own to surrender the blade. His letter to Corinna instructed her to find him in the ruined city of Montor in the lands of Ilshenar. When the rangers found Hal he was standing near the edge of a flowing river of lava, begging the rangers to end his life. He explained that the Hollowing spell had been cast upon him, a spell whose purpose was to "hollow out" the spirit inhabiting a body and to replace it with another, leaving the former spirit to fade into non-existent oblivion. Even now he could feel his will slowly succumbing to the influence of the emerging soul - the soul of an ancient librarian named Semidar, a man who once served a powerful witch known as Ilyana. His wish was to die, but at his current stage was unable to commit the act of suicide himself, and so resorted to begging the rangers to end his life at that moment. The rangers, unable to bring an end to the healer for whom they had grown a fondness, decided instead to bring Hal back to their jail, where he would be held until either they could find a cure, or the masked woman came looking for her servant and they could attempt to learn the cure from her.

During this time strange books began appearing around Skara Brae and elsewhere, many times at places of gatherings, and usually accompanied by a brown healer's robe and a pair of human ears. The book, called The Great Disease and written by the Healer, described a spiritual disease that infested the kingdom and prophesized a great cleansing that would one day occur. Having encountered many of these books, the rangers could only guess at their meaning and the identity of the author and his motives. What they did not realize at that the time that the Governor of Skara Brae at this time, Guy Greywulfe, was a secret servant of the Healer, and had been instructed to secure the release of Hal in a pact made between the Healer and the masked woman.

After several days of captivity, Hal sent word to the rangers saying that the Hollowing spell had failed and he was himself again. Wary of deception, the rangers were torn on what to do. Ultimately they decided to keep Hal imprisoned in case he was really Semidar attempting to secure release, and continue their search for an answer. However, Hal reached out to Governor Greywulfe asking for release, compelling the governor to visit the Ranger's Outpost personally and order his release. He gave the rangers one day to comply with his respect, but also assured the rangers that he would hire a sage to evaluate Hal. The next day, Governor Greywulfe and his entourage returned, and waiting at the front of the jail was none other than the Healer himself, but his identify concealed and referred to by Governor Gryewulfe as "Sage Horance". The Healer examined Hal considerably and determined that he could not detect the presence of any evil within Hal, and finally concluded that Hal was whole again. With the examination complete, the Keeper Corinna reluctantly consented to Hal's release.

Yet, before Hal could enter the summoned moongate to return to Skara Brae, the ranger Tserim Arryth, distraught with the situation and refusing to believe what he had been told, murdered Hal and fled into the woods as the governor's guards attempted to stop him. Governor Greywulfe immediately put out a warrant for Tserim's arrest. He was found a few days later in an old graveyard deep in Spiritwood, and surrendered himself peacefully. Corinna consigned him to the northern Outpost where he would remain until she could resolve the entire situation herself, and secretly sent Tobias away with a small wooden box in her possession to a place far to the north. The contents of the box were unknown, and Tobias was sworn to keep his task a secret.

Knowing that Governor Greywulfe would put Tserim to trial for murder, she visited the northern outpost to speak with Tserim and get his account, but waiting for her was a magical revenant conjured by the masked woman and made to look like Tserim. The revenant had infiltrated the northern outpost and attempted to strangle Corinna in retaliation against the death of Hal/Semidar but the real Tserim discovered what was happening and attempted to defend Corinna. During the melee the revenant was knocked onto a lit lantern; the oil from the lantern splashed on its form, setting it on fire and reacting with the magic that gave it form causing a massive explosion that destroyed much of the building.

Meanwhile, the rangers arrived to find the ruined northern outpost and a single charred body, hacked into multiple pieces, was left behind. Inside of the fireplace, Katalin found a charred stone upon which was inscribed:

Katalin

Spiritwood Speaks

Will you listen?

A healer named Kelvin was summoned to examine the body, and was able to determine it was a male, once had ash blonde hair and had a past injury in its leg as Tserim had. The body also disintegrated completely into dust after after examination. Armed with this knowledge, they were able to rule out Corinna as the victim, but had no way of knowing if there was an alternative explanation for why a body that very much resembled Tserim could be there. They were lost and without answers until shortly thereafter a collection of books and notes arranged earlier by Corinna had arrived, containing clues and stories into the background of the masked woman's past.

Initially ranger Mylar Tyrmitore set up posters around Skara Brae asking for information pertaining to the explosion and the body found within. She did receive an answer from a man who met with Mylar at the Shattered Skull. After leading her outside of town he suddenly attacked her, but unsuccessfully. Like the body found in the northern outpost, his soon disintegrated after inspection, but not before Mylar and Piper discovered a list signed by someone named Thomas, and the man's neck had been cut so deeply that it was nearly fallen off, however the wound had not been inflicted by Mylar. There was also no blood at the scene. The list was found to be from a Thomas that worked at the provisioner's shop, who had employed the man whose name they now knew was Cody and had given him a list of items to get. Thomas claimed that he had noticed nothing out of the ordinary with Cody. He also suggested finding Cody's family, and upon finding the home where Cody lived they found the rotted remains of his wife and child. All clues indicated the hallmarks of a so-called revenant whose nature had been documented in one of Corinna's books, "Stalker of the Swamps".

The rangers traveled back to the Twin Oaks in Ilshenar to meet with Buck the Trader again in attempt to gain answers about the mysterious history presented in the collection of books arranged by Corinna. Many years before these events, a powerful witch named Ilyana had given birth to a massive line of descendants, with the intent of inserting them into positions of power throughout the kingdom to achieve her long-term goals. After her death, her librarian Semidar enacted a plan to take control of Sosaria but ultimately failed, and died. Hal's apparent hollowing into this man Semidar seemed to indicate a connection to this history. From Buck, they learned of a man mentioned in the books, Arlin Kensdrick, who had in times past had served as the Chancellor of Britain, succeeding a Lord Winston Arroway. Arlin waged way on the Kingdom of Winterfell using his own privately organized army, but ultimately failed in his attempts, and even died when some of his so-called Honour Guard betrayed him. Buck knew of a Winterfellian that dwelled in the Hedge Maze of Spiritwood where they could learn more.

At the Hedge Maze they found a lich, or something resembling a lich, named Gabriel Drachen, who had once served as a healer in Winterfell. In times past, Winterfell had been ruled by the Stark family who had become entangled with curse that spread out and in many instances destroyed their lineage. Gabriel, however, was able to shed light on a remaining Stark that still lived in Britannia named Colin.

Before searching for Colin the rangers traveled to the area where the Kingdom of Winterfell once stood, searching for any possible clues. In their search, Tserim Arryth appeared to them urgently requesting them to follow him swiftly. Not sure of what to do, the rangers followed him into Dungeon Wrong nearby, where they traveled deep into the dungeon before the man they were following screeched and attacked them, revealing itself to be a revenant. The false Tserim was put down and the rangers quickly departed the dungeon.

Colin was found in the depths of Khaldun in the Lost Lands. Though quite entranced by his work he was willing to speak of the subject on which the rangers sought information. They learned that in the days of Winterfell, the King of Winterfell Eddard had fathered an illegitimate child with Iliana of the Stower family, a family hailing from old Magincia. The bastard in turn fathered children of his own, among them Brandon and Colin. Brandon, who later became legitimized and named King of Winterfell, murdered his grandmother Illiana which resulted in the curse placed upon the Stark family by Byron Stower, the son of Iliana Stower and uncle of Colin, and Horance Stower (the similarity of Horance's name with the sage was, it was later found, purely coincidental). Colin also revealed that Arlin Kensdrick was the son of Iliana Stower, as well as Alionna Arroway, the wife of Lord Winston Arroway. From Corinna's books they learned of an incident in which Alionna had been kidnapped by Clan Gunn, and upon her return the Arroways retired from public life, living peacefully in Britain.

After Ranger Tobias admitted to crossing out the name "Judas" from one of Corinna's books, the rangers went in search of the bard seeking more information. Judas recounted his memories of Semidar, and how the librarian had attempted to collect magical seals that would lead him into another world, but the members of the Fist that he had used to collect these seals eventually killed him and closed the portal he opened from behind, sealing them off from Sosaria. He also recalled the kidnapping of Alionna, and suggested searching for her in Britain.

Taking Judas' advice, the rangers traveled to Britain, where they came across a man whose name struck them as familiar from one of Corinna's books, a man named Michael Mitre. Knowing that the group were searching for Lady Alionna Arroway, he suggested seeking her in Britain. When they found Arroway's house, they entered it to find Lady Arroway herself and several members of her family, who turned out to be Stowers. Arroway revealed herself as the masked woman, and explained her intentions on bringing Semidar back into Sosaria through Hal, as well as her desire to hollow each of those that had intruded into her home. She also stated that the destruction of the northern outpost and the death of Tserim was retaliation for Semidar's murder. The rangers squared off with the Stowers and Arroway's necromancer but were defeated. Bound up, Lady Arroway left with her family, leaving only one Stower behind to guard the group. Strangely, Governor Greywulfe of all people entered the house, sneaking up on the remaining Stower and stabbing him from behind. He went to work on the bindings of those captured and they were able to escape. Greywulfe explained that his hireling, Devon Hawkins, had tracked the group and informed him of their whereabouts. Though not well-versed in combat, he had followed along to ensure their safety.

Nearly a fortnight later, Lady Arroway launched an undead army to invade the Ranger's Outpost, but the attack was thwarted after a hard-fought battle. It was not a total victory however, for as Lady Arroway's undead ranks were annihilated, Corinna, who had been converted to a revenant, appeared to challenge the rangers and express her disappointment in them all before attacking and forcing them to destroy her. As the rangers were only beginning to realize their grief, Michael Mitre arrived at the outpost and led several rangers to a graveyard elsewhere in Spiritwood where they found Lady Arroway's necromancer, who was responsible for raising the dead that attacked the outpost. She was immediately vanquished. Several days after the attack, the rangers gathered to hold a memorial for their fallen, the Keeper Corinna and First Seeker Tserim Arryth. With their Keeper gone, the rangers were without leadership.

With the loss of ranger leadership, Governor Greywulfe took it upon himself to re-establish the Ranger's Guild of Skara Brae, and appointing Michael Mitre as its Keeper. The Ranger's Guild was based in Skara Brae itself, rather than the Ranger's Outpost in Spiritwood. Both Greywulfe and Mitre visited the Ranger's Outpost however to announce the renewal of the Ranger's Guild, and to offer an invitation to all of the Rangers of Spiritwood into its ranks. Many of the rangers were skeptical at the time, some never joining at all, but over time some were convinced to join the Ranger's Guild under the guidance of Mitre.

A few of the rangers sought out Judas the bard once again, to see if any new information could be gleaned. He talked some more about the kidnapping of Lady Arroway mentioned in Corinna's books, and had stated he had always thought there was something not quite right about that whole matter. Following the lead they traveled to Kent's Last Pint in Yew, Felucca, where they found a member of Clan Gunn, Rachel Gunn. The clan had been responsible many years ago for the kidnapping of Lady Arroway, but Rachel refused to comment on the matter. Nevertheless she had information pertaining to Lady Arroway's current whereabouts, and offered that information in exchange for the rangers performing a job for her. The rangers chose a job involving retrieving a skull of venom from the monstrous spider Mephistis. For giving this skull to Rachel, she revealed that Lady Arroway was hiding in a pocket dimension inside of the Dungeon Deceit. Armed with this knowledge the rangers fought their way into Deceit and, locating the entryway into the pocket dimension, were able to extract Lady Arroway and arrest her.

It did not take long for a trial to be arranged for Lady Arroway. For several days leading up to her trial, the rangers had established a rotating guard to watch over her in her cell to ensure that she would not escape by any means, however unbeknownst to anyone, Eldaern Mallorn had been poisoning her food with a slow-acting poison. There was a fear going around that she would employ her influence as a wealthy noblewoman of Britain to affect the outcome of the trial in her favor, and despite the hefty case made against her on the day of her trial, her influence won out as two of the three jurors found her not guilty. However, her regained freedom was short-lived for only a few minutes after her victory, she succumbed violently and painfully to the effects of Eldaern's poison.

Governor Greywulfe immediately went to work searching for answers. He visited the Ranger's Outpost to interview each of the rangers and eventually, the truth came out that Eldaern was responsible for the act. Greywulfe and Mitre, looking to bolster the ranks of the Ranger's Guild, offered him a secret deal to influence the trial in his favor if he joined the guild. Eldaern agreed and was advised to plead innocent. Governor Greywulfe appointed an incompetent prosecutor, while Mitre served as Eldaern's defense counsel, ultimately swaying the jury in favor of Eldaern and achieving his release. Eldaern would, however, turn his back on Mitre because he was too proud to wear a uniform.

And so it was, the Ranger's Guild became the primary force in the town of Skara Brae, and the Rangers of Spiritwood, lacking leadership and a Keeper to guide their way, dwindled and soon scattered to seek out their own separate adventures.