The Laying of Foundations
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Journal Entry 82
A substantial amount of progress has been made in the last several days, if what we have learned from the frequent inhabitants of Hanse's Hostel is accurate and not just drunken tall tales and fanciful ghost stories. The Seekers have met with varying degrees of cooperation from the patrons there and even obtained a chest full of tomes that reportedly came from beyond the odd moongates. The crate contained writings concerning rituals of necromantic origin detailing the creation of destructive entities called Death Knights as well as lesser undead such as zombies and skeletons. Additionally, I read historical accountings of mysterious beings with foreign names and purposes like Kabar, Ezerak and Aragothias. Perhaps most peculiar of all were the works describing the Seals of Oblivion and the existence of the Horsemen of Oblivion.
It is almost too much to absorb! Indeed, I will require several more days to pour over this treasure trove of knowledge so that I can truly understand the contents within. My brethren Seekers are as excited and as overwhelmed as I currently find myself. Perhaps together we will be able to take this knowledge and glean further leads towards our shared goal of obtaining the Ebon Skull.
At least we have narrowed our lofty goals to that one particular relic. Too many references of this most evil relic have been found in the books that have found their way into our possession and from the words spoken to us by the strangers from beyond the gates. As of now our tracks lead us onward to beyond the moongates and into the foreign lands of Sosaria. We must collect any and all lore relating to this Ebon Skull and the Order that named itself after it. It would seem, according to the rumors at the Hostel, that there are old surviving members of this mysterious Order that still travel the land. If only we could obtain a meeting with one of these living, breathing fonts of knowledge.
I admit I am being naïve in believing, hoping even, that these bygones of dark ages past will be willing to assist us and not hinder us. In the same vein, the Oblivion followers must have had many enemies. I believe that it is only a matter of time before our questioning and investigations attract the wrong sort of attention. I hope that we will be ready and able to deal with such situations when they arise.
Of more immediate concern, we are all acutely aware of the Brotherhood searching for us. The few stealthy trips into Umbra that some of us have taken since our less than friendly departure from Mardoth have shown us that his necromancer watch dogs continuously search the city streets and borders. Fortunately for us the dangers of the Corrupted Forest outweigh Mardoth's desire to see us punished. However we cannot continue to rely on this line of defense. Soon he will begin to push into the Forest, regardless of the casualties suffered, for each day we are allowed to remain free, it is another defiant and pointed attack upon his authority.
With that in mind we have had to focus our energies, temporarily, to securing our location within the Forest. The catacombs under the cemetery provides adequate shelter from prying eyes but they also drain the very warmth and life out of our bodies if we linger too long. Dark energies swirl and eddy in the depths of the catacombs and have on more than one occasion, when I nearly lose myself reading in various tomes, come close to claiming my life. Suffice to say, the living, cannot take up residence in the burial grounds.
Thankfully, Vrae'il took notice of the structural foundations surrounding the decaying shrine we had found in the same clearing as the cemetery. My comrade has a keen eye for architecture and under his instruction we have begun to gather the materials needed to build upon the ancient foundation surrounding the shrine. Progress will be slow I fear for we lack the numbers and strength to be proper masons.
Where some of us may lack such physical prowess we make up for it with our mental awareness. We have all felt the sickening, yet intensely potent, energy rippling out from the shrine and have all taken notice that our necromantic spells have taken on a greatly enhanced range of power and scope. This alone is worth our efforts to secure the shrine from the Necromantic Brotherhood. If they were able to lay claim to it then it would be all the harder for us to undo their strangle hold on Umbra. In our possession however, we should be able to hold the clearing for our very own and repel any advances Mardoth may attempt.
How ironic is it that our own stronghold would be so close to the enemy, in the very shadow of Umbra itself? That is, if we are able to finish the reconstruction of the shrine and the creation of the tower Vrae'il has drafted designs for before the Brotherhood locates us.