Editing Chronicle - Zundar (section)

== Taking Stock ==

When the fighting was done and the defences secured, we all made our way to the courtyard in front of Lastar's Tower to take stock of the situation. There we were met by a weakened Lady Gwendolyn being attended to by the Castellan, and she announced "and so it begins" in her usual enigmatic way. Before discussing what was to be done, there were greetings and introductions to be made. I met with Merc and Morweth for the first time, and thanked them for their aid; it was sure that without the army they had gathered the defenders would never have been able to hold back the foe, even with the aid of the great Dracor Augustus. The dragon seemed happy to have helped us, and said that a friend of his would likely want to speak with us, a River Dragon called Si Ling.

Merc wished us to meet the leader of the Elven forces that had aided us, Elerienne, who the Lady Gwendolyn divined was at the Keep. As the Lady was tired and we wished to discuss what needed to be done next, we all retired to the Keep.

Elerienne was indeed at the Keep, and introductions were made. She wore a single pointed crown of platinum with a violet gem set at the front. She was beautiful in appearance, despite the recent bloodshed, although a little too slight for my tastes. Merc seemed taken with her, though, and I could see how she could win the hearts of men.

Merc made a bold statement that a marker had been set down here, and that no longer would evil be allowed to advance - we would fight for good in this land until it had been overcome. His commitment was appreciated, although he may have been a little over dramatic, perhaps because of the presence of the two ladies. The Lady Gwendolyn, though, was glad of his words and said that she was tired of being the sole bastian of light in these lands. In truth she was right, our people were weary of living under constant threat, a threat that seemed ever to get worse. Hintzu revealed the ring that we had recovered from Bolgar, a small but significant step on the way to defeating this evil. The Lady Gwendolyn was pleased, but was too tired to remain whilst we planned and took her leave with the Castellan.

Merc spoke to Lanzi, who had proved that he knew more than all of us of the threat that we faced. He asked how we could defeat the evil for good, so that it could not rise again as it had continued to do through the ages. Lanzi admitted that he did not know enough to give a full answer, but it was sure that to completely destroy the evil it would have to be beaten and finished on its own plane of existence, it could not be done on our plane

Lanzi then made a surprising announcement, that he had seen Elerienne before in a [[Elerienne_Vision|vision]]. He then described the vision to us. Elerienne presented Hintzu with the Key of Kagrash that Lanzi had seen in his vision, and also gave us a map of the Eastern lands to aid in our travels. She told us that there are stairs from the centre of Balem lakes that lead to Zundar, the hidden Dwarven hall. The key showed her the way to the door and also opened it. The Dwarves fashioned the realm to hide something, but we do not know what. We asked to hear more of here journey within, and she told of one room that had a pentagram with Dwarven runes around it, and light shimmered over one point of the pentagram. She threw herself into the light and ended up in a prison in a worse place, but was no longer pursued. When she finally made her way out into daylight again she was in the Iron Mountains.

This started a lengthy discussion about the lore that we had come across and how it fitted together. I will attempt to record it here, although the narrative may appear disjointed since our discussion tended to flit between subjects.

The Sarnim Stone was named after Lastar, as his full name was Lastar Sarnim. The shards of the Sarnim stone were scattered throughout the realms of Elves, Dwarfs and Men. Some, perhaps even all, of these shards affect those that hold them. Lastar created the Sarnim stone using the power of a crown and the elemental rings, and he also created a staff in which to wield the stone. Lastar broke the Sarnim stone with Orcus' wand. Unglak's father, a gnome, found a stone that was held by Balem as his treasure.

Elerienne held bad memories of Iki-moto and was initially suspicious of Hintzu, but she accepted that he was different. The power that the combined rings grants the wearer could change a man, as they did Iki-moto, so we must all be watchful and supportive of Hintzu as he gathers the rings. In Odin's name I would rather strike him down than allow such power to be put to evil purpose.

Guerin is not the only Lich in history. Another Lich killed Bavarik and his sword was broken into three piece, which were recovered. Three swords were used in the 3rd Age by Men, Elves and Dwarves to battle a winged demon, and it is likely that each sword was made from a piece of Bavarik's original sword. We also learned that Rantor is dead but not dead, and could be a Dracolich.

Mei-Lai holds the Ring of Air.

Si Ling, the River Dragon, is a Blue Dragon that lives in the South, not far beyond Naga. She is older than Dracor.

After retiring for the night, we woke refreshed and began to equip ourselves for another journey. Merc took me into the forest with him to commune with his God, Freya. By Odin's beard, I have never seen the like! My faith is strong, but I had never thought to set eyes upon my Lord - yet we were visited by Freyr seemingly in person before us! He told us that "What Gelmir wore for us in times of old was taken as a trophy by the serpent of red." We were then granted a vision. We saw a fat priest and a cloaked, shrivelled man standing over the body of a man in a grey cloak that had been struck down by a dragon. The dragon breathed fire at them, and the priest shielded them both before they turn and flee. Pulled back by the dragon, the priest's backpack was ripped off and a crown with four points and red gems set in it fell to the ground. The dragon killed the men and took the crown to its hoard. The vision ended, Freyr told us that what we had seen was Gelmir's prize. He also bade us take heart, as not all is for ill. Merc questioned Freyr about Lanzi's vision and the hidden Dwarven hall, but was told only that "Zundar is hidden to us all." Merc was also told that Freya looks upon Elerienne now, and has tasks for her.

Hintzu challenged a monk at the monastery in Sutur so that he might advance his skills and prove himself in battle. It was a close fight, but Hintzu bested the man and has been accepted by the order as a skilled unarmed warrior. Training and meditation within the monastery honed his skills and he emerged more formidable than ever before.

I asked the Castellan for permission to be released from his service in order to accompany the party on their continued adventures. I felt that I had glimpsed just a small part of the good deeds that needed to be done, and their purpose was far greater than the defence of Sutur, or even the lands around it. Our quest was no less than the banishment of evil from all the lands of this world; Odin guided me onto this path and I must follow it to its conclusion. The good Castellan did not try to stay me, as he knew my words rang true.