Altared beginning 6

"Should never have left her alone", the witch muttered to herself, as she passed through the waterfall. They had spoken briefly as Seline had woken, after first discovering this altar. The young wizard remembered nothing of her actions, yet was troubled by another dream while she worked furiously below. A strange woman, some sort of ceremony. 'Why me?' 'What is it?" Seline lay frightened on the bed asking questions neither of us could answer. Danthor had run off looking for his own explanations, and I needed my own. "One for me, one for you and one for eternity" she mumbled repeatedly as she sank back to sleep. Tracings I needed tracings of this thing, its peculiar symbols, that's why I'd left her in the first place. There was more to the altar now, the little pockmarks across its surface was filled with gems, the results of my leaving Seline alone. She'd come back and activated this altar, a bright ring of light now visible in one corner. The lightning bolts and daggers, 3 of each I copied, the rest having to draw myself, not one of my better skills. Danthor and Seline sat together in the healing chamber as I returned, Seline still visibly shaken from her ordeal and desperately in need of proper sleep. "Stay with her Danthor, she needs rest." I asked him quietly, "I have a meeting to attend, we shall know more soon."

The Watcher

Someone is watching over me; I can feel it. This unseen ghostie follows me around sometimes... He is not always there except when I am in danger. He is not my savior from fate, he only observes silently. My earliest memories of him were of the shadow puppets that amused me within the baby creche of my Strife protector while he engaged in battle. The sounds of clashing blades a violent lullaby amidst the screams of the fallen. He was there when I fell drained of my life, a cool hand upon my brow bidding me to sleep to escape the pain. I could not speak in my delerium but only whisper of the horrors I saw in the square. A massacre too horrible to put onto paper. Poor innocent moppets, headless in the square, 1 head, 2 heads, 3 heads, 4 heads, 5 heads, 6 heads... The dark lady could not cleanse the place of evil with fire nor secrecy. He knows, he showed me and though their bodies are but dust, the earth knows and will not forget.

The Apostles of the Crypt

The black clouds slowly covered the sky as the sun set to the west of town, blanketing the sky in darkness, Maya Do'Urden recived a message, the same that Azarot and Burnx would be recieving this night. Bowing her head low Maya grins to herself, and draws the hood of her cloak low over her face and flits through the shadows as the suns rays vanish. Maya walks through the back alleys of town, darting here and there, and then stops near the deserted end of town, A few undead walk toward her, realising she is as them, Vanish back into the night. At this point two other men arrive into the shaddowed alley way, and approach Maya together the three of them step into the darkness and through a well hidden door. The three now stood in a cold and dark room, turning to each other they stand quiet a moment, observing each other soon Azarot breaks the silence "So we are to guide the Apostles now.... To restore to fix, to birth those who call the crypt home ?" He looks to the other two smiling slightly, Maya grins sickly to herself a moment "I guess that is to be so, Survival of the fittest from this point on.. " Maya snickers to herself caught up on her own private joke. The others look to Maya curiously a moment and shrug slightly, The three nod to themselves, and again look to each other, "Now I belive it is time to welcome our family home? Burnx asks before bowing low and Vanishing from sight. Maya turns to Azarot and curtseys lightly, as she watches Azarot depart, Maya walks to the doorway and whispers to herself "It begins... " and vanishes into the shadows. 

Altared Beginning 4

As Danthor walked back through the streets of Westbridge, he looked around, absorbing all the sights and smells of the bustling tradetown. His hand strayed down to his waist, where a gempouch was firmly tied to his belt. He turned east at Market Square and followed the all-too-familiar route back to the Isle of Mystra's Dance. Once there, he sought out Seline, thinking to share his finds with her, and ask her opinion on some aspects of their new finding. "Seline," Danthor greeted his friend and colleague. "I've got some things for you." Seline watched intently as Danthor disentangled the gempouch from his belt and poured its contents out before her. Seline swiped the gems up in one hand and dumped them back into the pouch, tucking them away somewhere on her person. Danthor smiled, shrugged, assumed that Seline had a use for them, or just liked treasure, and made his way off to his study. A short while later, Danthor returned to the infirmary to check on Seline. He found her dreaming, tossing furiously in her sleep, muttering strange words. Deciding to let her sleep her supposed fever off (she seemed to be suffering from no physical ailments), Danthor made his way back down to the altar, deep beneath their place of residence. As he rounded the final corner in the tunnel leading down to the lake, Danthor noticed a strange, soft, glowing light emanating from the area around the waterfall. Danthor increased his pace, hustling furiously toward the altar.. And what is THIS?!" A circle of white light{s flickered and beamed forth from the previously empty corner on the top of the altar, and where there were once pockmarks lay the nine most rare of the gems he had given to Seline. "It seems this thing has been activated by Seline.. at least in some manner. This must not be allowed to continue until its purpose is made clear. But, the mystery of this thing is killing me. I must know its purpose .. I must know how our Church can use it to our advantage, if there is one. I thirst for this knowledge more than any other. 'Tis a great mystery, this .. and I intend to solve it."

Altared Beginning 3

Danthor made a quick stop at the bank on his way to the Westbridge jeweller. He had an eye out for any stones, jewels, rocks.. any sort of gem that had a strange cut. Danthor turned north as he left the bank, making his way up Main Street. As he drew nearer to Market Square, the smells of Tom's Bakery wafted towards him. He turned his thoughts and his face back toward the jeweller's store, and stepped through the door. He approached the counter, and looked to the rather fragile man behind it. "I'd like to buy all the rare gems you have, good sir." The jeweller snorted in derision as he reached down below the counter. "Aye, and I'd like to be king. I've got some gems for ya, but how'm I to be sure you've got the coin, eh?" Danthor swiftly pulled a large coin pouch from his belt. It was bulging with the shapes of various coins from around the Realm. The jeweller's eyes grew as big as saucers as he reached eagerly for the pouch. "All.. every last gem you have, sir, and this pouch is yours." Danthor leaned in, blocking the dim light, making himself seem larger than normal.

Altared Beginning 2

As Seline's body fell back, what came into view was something like Danthor had never seen before; a three-sided altar, standing at about four feet high and two feet wide at the largest section. Its stone edges were rough from ages of weathering, with three large pockmarks on each side; various other, smaller, pockmarks, obviously causd by time covered its rough surface . Recessed in the top was a large bowl. Around the bowl were inscribed three daggers and three lightning bolts pointing toward it, with a small hole in the center of the bowl. Upon inspecting it closer, Danthor found a hole at the top of each cluster of pockmarks leading in towards the basin. Danthor slowly sat back in amazement at what he saw. "What in the name of Mystra IS it?" Danthor asked of no-one and everyone. Simbul was not so easily distracted from the matter at hand. She took one look down at the unconscious bleeding Seline, and lifted her in the air with a word and a motion and placed her body on a floating disc. Simbul's eyes grew large as she realized she had just cast a spell she had never recited before. Danthor turned his head and very slowly a little smile crawled across his face, and then, just as suddenly was gone. As Danthor and Simbul made their way quickly back to Mystra's priestess, Danthor had but a few moments to sort all of this out. 'This could be some rare artifact, something with which the Keepers could preserve their findings. Or it could also be the destruction that we seek so heartily to prevent. We must be cautious in our advances with this .. thing. Yet, I cannot just ignore it. Those pockmarks seemed to have many different shapes; Some almost looked like stones. I shall see what I can find in the Realms that come close to those shapes, and seek knowledge of this thing from my fellow Keepers. Nothing further must I do until more is known about this thing and its origin.'

Altared Beginning 1

The lights played off the shimmering waterfall as Danthor, Simbul and Seline made their way through the tunnel. As the three approached the edge of the lake, they turned and silently followed it toward the waterfall. The three walked in a single-file line, Danthor in the middle. As Seline stooped to duck under a few loose, crawling vines, she turned her head slightly towards Danthor, a trancelike look upon her face. This was not the serene half-elf that he had come to know so well. This was the face of someone in distress. As Seline rigidly approached the waterfall, Danthor and Simbul turned to exchange a silent glance. Once there, Danthor stood back from the other two, wondering what could possibly be found so deep in the recesses of Mystra's Isle. Danthor leaned in a bit closer, lowering his voice .. "Do you know why she has brought us here?" "I must admit, I am not sure. Though it seems she is about to reveal her purpose," replied Simbul. Danthor nodded, slowly, eyes squinched shut against the moist, almost saturated, air. "Aye, but she does not seem herself." As the two slowly turned their gazes back to Seline, they noticed that she had already made her way through the waterfall and out into a hidden cavern on the other side. The two colleagues strode forward intently, moving as one, curious as to this area previously unknown to Mystra's Chosen. As Danthor stepped quickly after Simbul through the rushing water, he was taken aback at what he saw there. Seline, on all fours, was digging frantically, almost mechanically, at the ground, clawing and ripping up chunks of earth and wood. Her hands had become bloody ribbons by this point, but the distraught half-elf seemed determined to unearth something in this dark, damp place. All the while, Seline continuously muttered "One for you, one for me, and one for Eternity. One for you, one for me, and one for eternity" in a deep feverish voice. Simbul stood passively aside, awaiting the completion of Seline's mysterious task. Shocked, Danthor knelt beside Seline, thinking to aid her in her efforts, until ..looking into her eyes, Danthor senses another's emotions, thoughts and, most of all, fear. Danthor leapt back to Simbul's side, frantically moving towards Seline, then away, towards, then away. Before Danthor could decide on what action to take, Seline sat back, obviously exhausted and bleeding profusely from her hands, and fainted.