Deadwell, our next holy crusade

[O-louth]

Brothers, sisters,
We shall renew our interest in the area known as Deadwell, uncover its curse, and see if we cannot lift it.

Evelyn

@o-louth said in Deadwell undead problem:

The Order of Aster has taken a renewed interest in the area known as Deadwell.

The story, as we heard it, was that it was once a cemetary maintained by the clergy of Cyric. One day, adventurers came past, and found the clergy butchered, and hanging from the trees in the most brutal of fashions.
They cut down the priests and proceeded the bury them. The next dawn, the adventurers, every one of them, were now found in the cemetary, strung up in the precise same fashion.

The secrets of Deadwell have been left uninvestigated for too long, and the Order of Aster will no longer stand by to watch.

If you could assist us in two things, it would be greatly appreciated it. Spread the word amongst your own, that the Order of Aster has cast its glance on Eveningstar once more. And check your archieves for any further information on the subject.

Dawnsquire Stillwater

[O-louth]

@o-louth

Fang Therene,
I've mounted several expeditions into the area, and all I can confirm from stories I've heard is that something evil lurks within. We've no knowledge on the magic raising the dead, nor any leads on who caused it.
However, here is a list of what we do know:
An society of vampires did live within the Mausoleum. We've no sign of them during my time in Arabel, however.
There are extensive traps and powerful undead within the Mausoleum
There are several sites within the Mausoleum and outside it that seem to be ritualistic alters
In the past, an enemy of the city took refuge here, however it was thought he was a pawn of some greater evil
A goblin tribe attempted to dwell within the maw of Deadwell, however they were destroyed by Arabels adventurers
the Mausoleum requires several spells and skilled lock smiths to bypass the locked doors
A Skull Rose is necessary to enter the deeper section of the Mausoleum

We will share what is known of Deadwell.
First. We must warn them. Deadwell is not simply an undead and vampire infested cemetery. It is cursed land. It is dangerous land. To fall within a crypt may bring them certain doom, or seem them tainted by undeath.
What is known of Deadwell, is that a coven of Vampires resides in its depth. And they are no simple vampires. They are cultists. Of the Cult of Slaughter. Of the dead god Bhaal. But they are not all vampires. Some are manlings. Fanatics of Slaughter. We met one once, within a crypt. From his death, we have seen a vision. A vision of one of them that caused much trouble for a den of Arabel, many moons ago. A Pale Man. Orosthor, he was called. We saw manlings kneeling before him. They spoke of slaughter and retaking a den of Arabel. But we knew there was another, more powerful presence they knelt before. A Master of Deadwell. A female vampire. We did not see this one. Only heard her voice.
For a time, as we battled a vampire's hordes of undead, people started to find black gems. Foul creations of the Pale Man, that controlled their mind and allowed them to bring forth undead with its necromantic powers.
Magelings of the Tower were working with a foul vampire but, in the end, stabbed him in the back. Still, they worked with the foul creature for their own gain for a long time. We still wonder what would have happened if they had not betray the vampire.
What is most strange, is that another coven of vampires that may be hiding within a den of Arabel aided to see the Pale Man ended. The Vampire Rhul showed the way to those that came to end the Pale Man. The Vampire of Slaughter was eventually slain, at great cost and hard battle. But not for good. A woman Rhul said a coffin was a decoy. That a Pale Man could return in a month or a year. It was uncertain.
Some time after this, a Lady of Coin entered a crypt and made it to its very bottom. There it is she used sun gems, and light battled the darkness for a moment, until a Lady collapsed. We are uncertain of the effect his had. Perhaps it slowed down the cultists in their foul attempts to take a den of Arabel.
This is what is known of Deadwell.
The Redwoods

The expedition was a success and undead beyond counting were put to the sword.
A mage from the scarlets believes destroying the altars within the Mausoleum may weaken the curse but would attract the attention of the crypts masters.
Personally I believe the land is beyond repair and besides hunting necromancers and dangerous cultists who sometimes lair there little can truly be done.
Bryce

Councillor Bryce, Clark of the Greywatch, Dextar, Councillor Soppi and the tormite Torpher entered the cemetary to investigate further. A true dungeon crawl. We fought our way past the guardians, going further and further below ground. Solved puzzles, outwitted our enemies, until we came to what we believe to be the very bottom of the complex.
Here, we tested our luck, and fought against the hordes, yet we were ill prepared, and Dextar and the tormite were quickly cut down.
We fled through the tunnels, until we fought temporary shelter. As Clark of the Greywatch said it was impossible to retrieve our fallen adventurers, I thougth to hell with it, and charged the enemy head on. Bryce and Soppi soon followed. We took the undead by suprise, and were able to pick up the two dead bodies.
Then the real challenge began, and we fought our way back through too many numerous undead to count. Bryce valiantly carried the Tormite, Soppi carried Dextar, and Clark and I fought back and forth to ensure they could return to Bospir alive.
We learned that we indeed can fight our way to the end, but we must prepare better, if we are to succeed. We shall return in force and see what we can discover of the facility.
Of note, bring elemental magic, something which can cast negative energy, and weapons which target the undead.
Oh, we found a huge mummy by the end of the place. We shall return to discover new secrets, and test our boldness against this challenge of Tymora’s enemies.
C.C.C