File: The Deadwell Crusade

O-louth

@Salem @SpiffyMeister @Man-in-the-Mist @Sinister_Plank @Swifty-Willownall
Brothers, sisters,
It is time we get to work, and show the lands what we can do in the name of the Light.
Both myself and Theron have skull roses, which is believed to be the first key to unlocking the crypt.

Dawnknight Stillwater

@o-louth said in THE DEADWELL CRUSADE!:

THE DEADWELL CRUSADE!
In honor of Saint Eveningstar and the Angel Hezebel, the Order of Aster are launching a holy crusade against the undead curse of Deadwell. And we invite all good-hearted souls to help us.
The Knights of Aster and the Church of Lathander, shall once more let Lathander’s light shine upon the cursed lands, and see the curse lifted.

To this end, we offer a bounty of 500 gold pieces, for any group who manages a full patrol of the cursed lands and reaches the mausoleum. ((Just grab a screenshot once you get there))
We offer a bounty of minimum of 100 gold pieces for any relic of Lathander, or other goodly deities, which we can use to fight back the curse.

Clues to the curse, may be found within the crypt underneath the Blisterfoot Inn. We also invite adventurers to look within the old tomb outside the western gate. Any who enter it, and bring us reports of their findings, shall be rewarded in kind.
We invite scholars and arcanists to help us ward the lands, so that the curse cannot spill further into the lands of Calantars road and Bospir.

Any man or woman with knowledge of the lands, and information of what can be found within the mousaleum, shall be rewarded for bringing such information to the Order of Aster.

Pledge your support by finding your local knight, Dawnbringer or squire, and together we shall turn the cursed forest into fertile lands for the village of Bospir once more.

Rewards of riches, magical relics and titles shall be given to those who pledge themselves to the cause!

By the Decree of High Dawnlord Belon, and the Order of Aster

Sinister_Plank

I have recently managed to pierce into the Mausoleum of Deadwell, and reached it's bottom. Therein I discovered a large altar steeped in necromantic energies.

I believe this altar is a powersource for the curse that infuses the land, and I believe this assasin that Pierre has hunted quite likley used it in her ambitions.

We have been able to hunt down and slay this necromancer known as the Assasin, and with the instigator gone, I believe one piece of this puzzle is complete but the curse remains.

If we can muster an expedition into the depths of the mausoleum, and therein perform a sanctifying rite, consecrating the very source of the Curse in the Morninglords name, then I believe the curse will begin to unravel itself and the land will once more bathe in the light of the Sun

-Dawnknight Harcourt.

Sinister_Plank

The Bhaalite cultist leader known as Assassin has been slain, and as such I believe the instigator of the Deadwell curse is off the board.

The curse itself remains in effect, still, most likley because the altar at the bottom of the Mausoleum fuels it on its own. However, with the instigator off the board, it should only be a matter of sanctifying that altar in the name of the Morning Lord, and with the source of the curse disrupted the curse itself should fold in on itself.

Dawnbringer Raine, you have shown great talent in these regards, what do you say?

-Dawnknight Harcourt

Valkyrie

It could be done but we will need like minded souls to aid in the task as well as purifying and good regeants to make the ritual possible.

Paramour

[This file is dusted off and put in a more easily accessible place]

Paramour

@Man-in-the-Mist

I have been given an Amunatorian book written in celestial. It was recovered from the half-orc Rhuul, a Bhaal-cultist attempting to interrupt this crusade.

They told me a few pages are missing, but on a quick leaf-through I can't tell. Would anyone be able to translate this?

~ Maire

Paramour

Today I took a small group into the Deadwell.

The Deadwell is an area southwest of Bospir, and about due east of the northern half of Calentar's Way. The area itself has some moderately powerful undead that summon other undead, and sometimes break apart into maggots.

The actual 'deadwell' - the source of this issue - is a Mausoleum bearing no obvious mark of any particular deity.

We were able to go about two levels down, before encountering a door that we could not open or bypass. The druidess Eo informs us that there's a rose that can be used to open the door - and that it grows in some secret druid place she isn't willing to share with us.

The primary danger of the Deadwell seems to be traps coupled with a myriad of lower-danger undead. A group with paladin or a cleric should have very little trouble there, at least if they encounter the same things we did.

I went with Amaire, Eo, Junnen, and Fye. Amaire could pick locks - many of the doors were locked. Fye marked out the traps. Eo, Junnen, and I did most of the fighting.

Do not go into the Deadwell without a trapspringer or it will go poorly.

~Squire Maire

Paramour

As an added speculation and summary:

According to the previous records, the rose we need is a 'Skull Rose'. I have been told to search for them along the dragon trail. The druids are also searching.
The undead actually inhabiting the Deadwell at this moment are reasonably weak. There are, however, many many traps. A trapspringer is necessary.
One of the doors requires a cast of 'Negative Energy Ray' upon a nearby pile of skulls to open.
I speculate that we will be able to use this Opulescent Book of Amunator, after it is translated or reconstructed, in a ritual to blast apart this altar and cleanse the area - as the book itself seems to be an anathema to the undead.

So here's what we need:

Someone who can speak celestial.
Someone who is capable of seeing and marking traps in Deadwell.
People strong enough to defend those two people against the last of the place's power.

All members of the Order of the Aster and members of the Clergy, I request that we please make finding someone who can speak Celestial a top priority.

~Maire

Paramour

@paramour said in Manson, Half Orc:

[Written in a blocky, awkward text around the quieter, darker corners of the city and outskirts]

Bodies of dead men, ogres, dwarven heroes of time past wanted for holy rite to offer to the DEADWELL to strengthen its wards

Church of the Dreadlord shall march toward old battlesites and gravesites to secure old heros of the war to stand fight against its oppressor's

Grand powers and gold given to those offering tribute the rituals begin before a ten day is past

rm

He has now begun openly practicing necromancy.

~Maire

We are going to need to start patrolling the Deadwell area daily in order to prevent his strengthening the wards while we search for someone capable of speaking celestial.

It's possible we may never find that person or might not find them in time, so here is what we know about the book:

It is a tome dedicated to Amaunator
It seems to be able to cause the dead to run from it just by existing.
Rhuul has torn a few pages out of it.

Even if we can't read it, we might have to use it in a ritual anyway.

Tass, you're a bard - any ideas?

~Maire

Fizzgig

There is a celestial artifact located in the Eastern marshes, which speaks every know tongue and language. Perhaps we would be able to use it, to translate the text? May require some assistance from a powerful arcanist, with greater education in the art of spellcraft than I.

Dawnherald Tassulue

Paramour

It's worth a shot. The next couple of days seem busy with Dom's duegar-hunting and Alpharin's strengthening of the celestial warding around that tower near Hillmarch, but let's you and I find time to go out there with Kira and see.

Juli, Amaire - could I ask the two of you to put your heads together for an expedition down beneath Arabel? This book apparently came from the smuggling tunnels and some ruins down there, and the two of you seem much better suited for it than the Crown Guards. There might be something else to be found down there that could shed some light on this.

Ma'crag - we are going to need someone to do some heavy lifting when it comes to patrolling between the region's graveyards. Do you think you could gather some of the adventurers when you have the opportunity and clean out the battle sites like south horn, the land around the Deadwell, and whatever other battles you think this Rhuul might be trying to dig the dead up from? You will be most likely to encounter him, I think, and he seems your mirror opposite. You might be able to talk or knock sense into him.

~Maire

Master_Sarevok

I shall endeavor to gather warriors when it can be done to cull the undead forces that are abhorrent to Lathander

-Ma’Crag

Paramour

Juli and I took Junnen and Eo of the Wildwalkers down for a look beneath Arabel yesterday.

The ruins have several Lathanderite crypts.
They are accessed via an entrance off the north gate.
There are many secret passages and places that must be climbed to: falling is a distinct possibility.
At the deeper depths something prevents the use of magic.

Although we did not uncover any more relics we speculate that Rhuul must have robbed the book from one of the sarcophagi.

~ Maire