THE ASHBURY PROPHET

Salamander / Gryphon 612
Long Live the Emperor!

Adventurers Travel to Afterlife

by Jonas Tull

On the 7th day of Serpent, Mastermind led his undead forces into Ashbury. The evil goblin liche attacked swiftly, and took several adventurers by surprise, striking down some and forcing others behind their wards. Before a unified attack could be organized, some of the citizens began vanishing against their will. Within minutes, all of the adventurers present had vanished, infuriating the Mastermind.

Within a matter of hours, the ducal army launched a counterattack and forced the Mastermind and his undead forces out of the city, but none of those who vanished could be found. It did not occur to authorities until later that all of those who had vanished were the Returned Heroes.

Ducal forces immediately launched a search in order to find the missing citizens and found no sign of them. However, they all returned after two days with quite a story to tell.

Apparently the citizens had found themselves in Limbo, confronted with the Registrar, the powerful guardian of the Afterlife and the dead. He explained to the bewildered adventurers that according to his records, they had all died en masse in 601, and that it had simply taken a while for the paperwork to be completed (apparently even in death bureaucracy cannot be escaped).

The Ashbans protested that they were not dead, but had in fact traveled in time, but the Registrar was reluctant to believe them. His assistant Pickwick handed out the forms the Ashbans were required to fill out in order to place them in their proper graveyards, and those who requested information were merely given more forms to fill out.

At that moment, one of the Registrar’s servants arrived and explained in great haste that the Book of Graveyards had been stolen by the troll dragonmage Fangthorn, who had been killed by the great Ashban hero Oliver Songbringer over 100 years ago. Fangthorn, who was supposed to be imprisoned in the Graveyard of Shattered Spirits because of the ritual used to kill him, was able to escape and steal the book.

The Book of the Graveyards is, arguably, the most powerful artifact in all of the Graveyards, and with it Fangthorn could not only travel at will between the Graveyards, but also control the minions of the Graveyards.

Somehow, the appearance of the adventurers in Ashbury before their time had created a paradox which had allowed Fangthorn to travel from his Graveyard and steal the book.

The Ashbans offered to retrieve the book from Fangthorn if the Registrar would return them to life. The Registrar said that if they retrieved the book, he would speed up the paperwork to see if they were, in fact, not supposed to be dead.

The Registrar explained that without the Book of the Graveyard he could only send the Ashbans to one graveyard, and that they would have to get the Guardian of that graveyard to return them to Limbo.

The nobles present, Lady Talin Gildenlily and Lord Jonathan Dragonhart Vardik, began to discuss which Graveyard to visit first, when suddenly a vansir arrived on the scene. He sought out the Registrar, and explained that he had been in the graveyard known as the Stone Halls, and suddenly he appeared in Limbo. The Stone Halls is generally the final resting place of vansir and dwarves.

The Registrar realized that since the Book of the Graveyard was displaced, it was also displacing people throughout all of the Graveyards. The Ashbans agreed to escort the wayward vansir back to the Stone Halls, and the Registrar rifted them there.

The Stone Halls

The Ashbans arrived in a vast, stone long house with a roaring fire pit in the middle of it. Seated near the fire was a large vansir, apparently asleep. It was quickly ascertained that this was the Colossus, the Guardian of the Stone Halls. As the gathered adventurers attempted to figure out how to wake him, he suddenly stood with a roar.

The Colossus announced that he was pleased to welcome the new arrivals, and immediately began their “initiation.”  With that, all of the Ashbans were afflicted with a berserk rage, and began to assail one another. Eventually the only Ashban still standing was Ragnar. The rage ended, and all the struck down Ashbans were restored to full health.

With that, many dwarves and vansir arrived and began to enjoy the party. A few adventurers approached the Colossus and explained the situation, and present the return of the wayward vansir. The Colossus claimed that he had not seen Fangthorn. When asked about going back to Limbo, the guardian said that he would have a series of five contests. He told the Ashbans that if they won the contests, he would return them to Limbo.

While in the Stone Halls, another heavily cloaked figure appeared sitting on one of the benches. Before the contests could begin, this figure lunged to his feet and began to attempt to form the Ashbans into battle ranks. It was then that the figure was recognized as Duke Bryan Nordenn.

People attempted to explain to him the situation, but it appeared that years spent in the Graveyard of the Shattered Spirits had taken its toll.

Years ago, Duke Bryan had heroically sacrificed himself to save his people by fighting an extraplanar creature known as Jamar. The creature had consumed him and because the creature existed on many planes at once, Duke Bryan’s spirit was shattered.

When confronted with Ashbans that he had never met, Duke Bryan began to call them by names of retired and deceased adventures that had been around in his time. It was quite evident that Duke Bryan did not belong in the Stone Halls. The adventurers would have to win the contests in order to return him to his proper place.

The first contest was bear wrestling. The kiergani known as Fishercat Warbird squared off against the beast, and was eventually triumphant.

The second contest was an archery contest. Lady Talin and an unidentified kiergani elf represented the Ashbans, and soundly defeated the Colossus’ champions.

The third contest was an eating contest. The Glory Road members known as Flat Dog and Redcloud represented Ashbury in this front and they were victorious.

The fourth contest was to be a drinking contest, but it turned out that all the ale had already been drunk, so that contest could not be held.

The Colossus then announced that since there were only five contests and the Ashbans had won three, that he would return the Ashbans to Limbo, right after another contest of combat. With that, the Ashbans were again overtaken by a berserk rage and began to attack one another. This time, Gilwing the dwarf was the last man standing, and again everyone else was healed.

The Colossus was true to his word, and returned the adventurers, as well as Duke Bryan, to Limbo.

That night, while the adventurers rested in Limbo, Fangthorn appeared. His troll minions attacked any who attacked but left alone any Ashbans who were peaceful. Fangthorn told the adventurers that he was looking for the Registrar, but no Ashban was willing to assist him. He eventually left the area, using the book to rift to a graveyard.

When presented with Duke Bryan the next morning, the Registrar claimed that he should be returned to the Graveyard of Shattered Spirits. The Ashbans objected to their heroic Duke being sent there, stating that instead Duke Bryan should be resting in the Hero’s Graveyard. The Registrar however explained that because of Bryan’s situation, he could not be placed anywhere else. He then asked the Ashbans to return Bryan to his proper graveyard. The adventurers were hesitant to see one of Ashbury’s heroes placed in what they felt was the wrong graveyard, but ultimately agreed.

The Shattered Spirits

In the Graveyard of the Shattered Spirits, insanity seemed to run rampant, even afflicting the Ashbans who were only temporarily there. Several began to believe that they were animals, while others had strange compulsions, such as sneaking up on others and yelling “boo!” or fearing a specific color.

Ultimately Lord Jonathan used his biata mind abilities to cure the afflicted adventurers, and even was able to make Duke Bryan coherent, even if only temporarily. Also while in this graveyard, the adventurers discovered another misplaced spirit, that of Elquois, a kiergani and one of the first known wielders of the magical Dire Bow.

Apparently, in order to escape this graveyard, the adventurers would have to find a series of pieces of a map that a crazed mage had created while in the Shattered Spirits. Her fellow inhabitants had stolen it from her and had ripped it to pieces, and each wanted something in return in order to relinquish their piece. One fellow, for instance, demanded he be paid for it and it took a while for the adventurers to realize that he thought leaves were money. Meanwhile, the adventurers of Ashbury were becoming more and more unstable.

All of the pieces but one were eventually recovered and the Ashbans had no clue as to the location of the final piece needed.

Suddenly, a far off chant was heard:  “Hail and Kill!”

Coming through the woods were members of the Freejyn Horde who had permanently died. Shouting “Glory to the Red Rage!” the Horde advanced toward the adventurers and then held up a skull and called upon the power of Freejyn.

However, this skull was apparently just some random one they had found, for it did not cause a single adventurer to go into a berserker rage. The Horde, shrugging their shoulders, attacked anyway. Duke Bryan, remembering these crazed warriors, rallied the adventurers and led the charge to once again defeat the Red Rage.

The final piece of the puzzle was recovered from the body of a Freejyn Horde member. After five minutes, all of the bodies dissipated to be “resurrected” elsewhere in the Graveyard.

Upon returning to Limbo, the Registrar sent them to the Elder Wood to return  Elquois and continue the search for Fangthorn.

The Elder Wood

The Elder Wood was a huge majestic forest that makes even the Ash Forest look like a small patch of woods.

The Ashbans arrived and enjoyed these beautiful surroundings in relative peace for a few minutes. A small group consisting of Ciaarah, Lady Talin, Cedric Fruvous, and Tithrak the sarr was eating in a small clearing in woods, when an elf suddenly came from out of nowhere and put his sword to Tithrak’s neck, demanding to know why he was in the Elder Wood. At the sight of the other elves nearby, he removed his blade and introduced himself as Lorin Alfenwen, the first baron of the Ash Forest.

Lorin immediately asked what was going on, and asked why there were so many non-elves in the forest. The elves explained the situation with Fangthorn and that many spirits were being misplaced. Lorin reported that a gypsy had recently appeared in the Elder Wood who had never been there before.

Lorin also explained that some parts of the Wood were becoming corrupted. The Ashbans guessed that Fangthorn’s control of the Book of the Graveyards was at the root of the corruption.

Lorin explained that there were three separate areas of corruption. One involved a stone that had been cursed with darkness and was guarded by undead. The second involved a lake that had been corrupted, and the third area of corruption involved a large, very old tree.

The Ashbans split into three groups to cure each area.

An endless amount of skeletons rose from the ground where the darkness stone sat, and after many tries, and many close battles, the adventurers who fought there used Liquid Lights to banish the darkness and cure the stone.

The corrupted lake caused foul plant life to attack, and it was not until a combination of Purify spells were cast by Lauroc, Redcloud and Keritana that the lake became calm once again.

The corrupted tree was guarded by powerful howlbears and it wasn’t until the adventurers tried a Restore Limb spell that the tree was cured.

However, despite all this, Fangthorn’s affects were still apparent. At various points throughout the day, the elves of the Elder Wood attacked the Ashbans, obviously under the control of Fangthorn.

The gypsy that Lorin Alfenwen had spoken of earlier turned out to be Vladimir Da Silva Donato, also known as “Vlad the Gypsy King.” The last thing he had remembered was being in the Listing Fields, and he did not know how he came to be in the Elder Wood.

Later in the day, Baron Lorin returned, explaining that he had found the Great Stag (the Guardian of the Elder Wood) and that Fangthorn had corrupted the great beast.
Without further ado, the Ashbans followed Lorin to the Stag in order to free it of the evil troll’s taint. What followed was a grand battle against the stag and many elves, dryads, and minions of the Wood that Fangthorn had taken control of, while the troll dragonmage himself sat in a nearby Circle of Power, studying the Book of the Graveyard to attempt to gain full control of it and puzzling over why he could not control the Ashbans.

Eventually the Stag was brought down, and the taint was removed from him at which point he received a Life spell. The Stag took control of his minions and, along with the Ashbans, began to advance on Fangthorn’s circle. Defeated for the moment, the troll used the book to rift away.

Unfortunately, this victory was not completely without loss. The Devorra Yelanus Veler was killed by a howlbear during the fight, and he did not receive a Life spell.
The Stag thanked the Ashbans, wished them luck, and rifted them to Limbo, where they literally watched Yelanus draw from the Registrar’s Bag of Fate. Sadly, the brave prophet drew the black stone, indicating his permanent demise. The Registrar judged him to spend eternity in the Listing Fields.

This done, the Registrar then sent the adventurers, plus King Vlad and Yelanus, to the Listing Fields.

The Listing Fields

Considering the danger and horrors of the Graveyards seen thus far, the adventurers of Ashbury must have been quite pleased to be sent to a place on constant parties and revelry. There were hours of food, dancing, music, play and storytelling.

In fact, the Red Knight, the Guardian of the Listing Fields, organized many of the activities, including a vast storytelling contest. The participants would sit in a large circle and were required to add a line to the story until only one remained being declared the winner. Round and round the story went, until finally only two Ashbans remained, Cedric and Symerille Strongbow. Back and forth the two went until finally the Red Knight declared the contest a draw, congratulating both.

Another form of entertainment was an impromptu play organized by Ciaarah, Aria, Dar, Rorii, and several others. The play was an amusing tale about a blind man rescuing his beloved from an evil wizard.

Unfortunately, there was some conflict in the Listing Fields. The Ringmaster (the same one that was slain 11 years ago by the fey Silva) had imprisoned a sarr for entertainment purposes, which earned the ire of several, including a mystic wood elf who assailed him. After an investigation by the Red Knight, it was determined that the sarr in question was King Zutclag, of Junjeq, and he had been in the Endless Hunt until recently.

Ultimately, the Red Knight found the Ashbans entertaining, and agreed to return them to Limbo in order to continue the search for Fangthorn.

The Endless Hunt

From Limbo, they proceeded to the Endless Hunt in order to return Zutclag to his proper resting place. Though they did not find Fangthorn, they did find Sir Polycarus Imago, one of the paladins under Duke Aramis. He explained that he had been in the Hero’s Graveyard until recently.

The Ashbans soon met the Huntsman and explain the situation to him. The Huntsman said that he would return the Ashbans if they could win a hunt. He explained that a unicorn had recently appeared in the hunting grounds, and that he would have a hunting contest between the Ashbans and his minions. They would not only hunt the unicorn, but also one another. The Ashbans were reluctant to kill a unicorn, but the Huntsman explained that it could be given a Life spell immediately afterwards. Still reluctant, but unable to convince the Huntsman of any other course of action, they agreed.

The hunt was intense, lasting deep into the night, with the Ashbans not only attempting to capture the majestic unicorn, but also fend off attacks from the Huntsman’s minions. Ultimately, however, an unnamed kiergani was able to get to the unicorn and so the adventurers  were successful. They returned to the Huntsman with the Unicorn. It was killed, and immediately brought back to life.

With that, the Huntsman rifted the Ashbans to Limbo in order to continue the hunt for the book.

The Hero’s Graveyard

When the Ashbans arrived in the Hero’s Graveyard it did not take them long to meet the Maiden of the Swan, one of the Guardians of the Hero’s Graveyard, who confronted the adventurers, inquiring as to their presence.

Also in the area were a number of heroes, noble and commoner alike, including a cabinetmaker who had rescued a drowning child and who had permanently died holding off trolls to allow others to escape.

Also there was the Thessi Emperor Bernd Thrommel, who had sworn that he had changed in the ten years that the Ashbans had been gone and was now a good man. This was clearly another example of a spirit being misplaced since this evil biata was a hero to no one. It was apparent that Bernd had fooled no one.

The Maiden of the Swan explained that she had not seen Fangthorn, but that one of the inhabitants of the Hero’s Graveyard, Conner Arawyn, was trapped in a nightmare of his own guilt, and was reliving the last moments of his life over and over again. Apparently they involved the vengeful trolls that killed him, enslaving his seneschal Cerik Capulus, and forcing him to aid them and cast necromancy during the battle. Apparently Conner was ignorant of the fact that Cerik had been enslaved and believed that he had chosen a very poor seneschal who inherited his barony.

Certain Ashbans had been selected by the Maiden of the Swan and marked as worthy of being called heroes. She now called on these individuals to help Conner free himself of his nightmare. They aided him in fighting off the trolls, but were unable to convince him that he was not worthy of such guilt and that he had been a good baron and a great hero.

The Maiden of the Swan sent the Ashbans back to Limbo in order to return Bernd Thrommel to the Graveyard of the Four Winds. The Registrar readily sent them there, but warned them that if they did not recover the book there, that they would be trapped there for the rest of eternity since the Four Winds did not ever let anyone leave.

The Graveyard of the Four Winds

The Ashbans steeled themselves and traveled to this nightmarish place. Foul winds blew against them and a depressing grayness filled the lands to the horizon. Evil permeated the place.

Once there, Bernd railed against the Ashbans who did not believe in his “reform” and attacked some of them, Lord Jonathan specifically. Though the Ashbans attempted to harm him, most could not even affect him. Soon, however, skeletal hands shot up from the ground and dragged the screaming emperor beneath the earth.

It did not take long for Fangthorn to attack them, sending waves of trolls. They fought well, defeating many of the trolls, until the Ashbans were gathered around Fangthorn’s Circle of Power while Fangthorn’s minions stood by, ready to attack again.

The evil troll then announced that he had full control of the Book and could control all the people in the Graveyards.

With that, he summoned forth Oliver Songbringer, the first Duke of Ashbury, and the hero who had first destroyed Fangthorn. The adventurers, knowing of Oliver’s dragon mage powers, were worried, and backed away.

Fangthorn ordered Oliver to destroy the Ashbans. Oliver approached, zombie-like, and then giving a wink, destroyed Fangthorn’s Circle of Power with one spell.

The Ashbans cheered and began attacking Fangthorn and his minions immediately. Oliver and the evil troll engaged in an amazing fight, casting forth rituals as though they were the simplest of magics. At one point, Oliver transformed Fangthorn into a gypsy, and Fangthorn then gypsy cursed Oliver to hop on one leg. Oliver, not seeing any gypsies nearby to remove his curse, then turned himself into a gypsy and removed his curse, turning himself back into a human afterwards. Fangthorn had already transformed back into a troll by that time.

Ultimately, not even Fangthorn could stand before the might of Oliver Songbringer and the assembled Ashbans, and he was unconscious before them.

At that point the Ashbans attempted to figure out how to use the book in order to transport them, along with Fangthorn, back to Limbo; however, none could understand what would be needed to control the book. Finally Oliver took the book in his hands and used its power to send them there. (Apparently, the book needed the power of a dragon mage to activate.)

Once in Limbo, the Registrar announced that he had checked the records, and the Ashbans were indeed not supposed to be dead yet. He shattered Fangthorn’s spirit, sending him back to the Graveyard of the Shattered Spirits, and returned the adventurers to the capital city unharmed.

There are many questions about the afterlife that many would love to ask these fortunate Ashbans, but so far many are being fairly quiet about the whole ordeal.
.


Plant Attacks from Ash Forest Increase

In recent months, focused assaults originated from the Ash Forest have been increasing in number and severity.  The attackers are in the form of rotting and wilted vegetation with the ability to move and the desire to kill.

For years, the Ash Forest has remained holed up and closed to all decent citizens of Ashbury. The occasional raiding party into civilized areas was not unheard of, but it was a manageable problem.

It would now seem that for these nearly unchecked years the Ash Forest has been building up its resources and corrupting the plants within the Forest, preparing for an all out attack It is feared by many that the time of containing the Ash Forest within its borders is coming to a head.

The plant attacks started some months back, with small groups of walking vegetation coming from within the Forest, crossing the Ash River into the city of Ashbury to attack any living creatures they encountered.

Over the months these attacks have steadily increased.  The plants have become more numerous and dangerous, constantly venturing forth to attack both military encampments along the borders and farms and merchants in the outlying regions. Many soldiers have lost their lives in defense of citizens.

“One of the major problems in defending against the plants is they are nearly impossible to detect,” stated Corporal Isabel Goudi of the Ducal Army. “When still, they resemble normal plants; they can easily pass by our guards on the borders into local communities without being detected. The only viable solution I can think of is to destroy all plants in the area, but that seems less than reasonable.”

These attacks have both intrigued and to an extent horrified the sages and prophets who have done research on them. Studies of these plants mark them as having some amount of reasoning ability, as they seem to fight intelligently. While this is not unheard of in the history of Ashbury, there are more to these plants that make them dangerous. They seem to be corrupted by some type of taint, and while it has not been confirmed, it is thought to be necromantic in origin. Some have been seen to spit out various acids as well.

Sages speculate with the power possessed by the Wold and the resources and amount of corruptible plants within the Forest, if an all out assault is planned, it is possible that a serious threat is posed to all citizens of Ashbury.

In response to the threat, Ducal forces have changed their policy of strict containment, and are instead pushing forward into the Forest in order to stop these assaults at their root in the Wold.


Letters and Announcements

In my tenure as Warlord of the Ash Forest, it has been my policy to contain the Ash Forest within its borders. However, in light of the recent push outwards from the Forest, attacks upon my soldiers, and the citizens I have sworn to protect, I find that the policy of containment must change to a policy of attack.

I have asked for more troops form Duke Sir Frost and from Emperor Glantri so that I may push forward into the Forest and still leave a large force around the borders and within Ashbury city to protect the citizens.

Attacking the Forest will not be a quick or easy task, and I do not relish any combat, however I believe this is the only way to prevent much loss of life within Ashbury.
I ask for all citizens to support soldiers in their activites and to steel themselves for any further attacks form within the Forest.

In Service of the Emperor and Duke
In Service of the Empire and Duchy
Warlord Loren Tor

...

The recent attacks from the Ash Forest will not go unchecked by our forces.  It has long been coming that the Wold pays for their years of treachery, and recent attacks on citizens of Ashbury have forced our hands in attacking.

I ask that all citizens join together and help destroy our greatest internal threat to peace and safety.

I have instructed Warlord Tor to take any steps necessary to ensure both the safety of Ashbans, and the elimination of the threat from within the Forest.

The Ash Forest is one of the greatest resources in our entire great Empire, and it is time it was put into the hands of the citizens of Ashbury, who will use it wisely and justly, not with cruelty and malice is the Wold uses it. I ask everyone to do their part, be it join the Ducal army and fight, or simply provide food or clothing to the army in this time of need.

I also strongly ask all adventurers to help in this battle.  Many times the adventurers of Ashbury have been called upon to help the people of the land, and now the need is greater than ever before.

If we are strong, and stand together, the evil of the Ash Forest can not stand before us.

His Radiance,
Emperor Glantri

...

Recent events in the surrounding area have come to my attention and I am writing a letter in response to the article I recently read in the Ashbury Times.

I am referring to Sgt. Tice Allen’s recent appearances in Ashbury. Many have labeled him an enemy and an undead abomination. I feel, as his friend, I must write and defend him.

He is not acing in his own mindset. Tice has dedicated his life to helping destroy the Mastermind and his minions. I was greatly saddened to see that he was captured and transformed in to the undead monstrosity that you had witnessed. Let me assure everyone that reads this that he was transformed against his will and did not want to be undead.

Sgt Allen and I have been friends for quite some time. His character is that of a strong willed person who stood fast in situations where it was certain death and somehow managed to escape death’s cold hand.

Many troops have asked me what is to be done with Sgt. Allen. My response about this is, I don’t know. Sending troops to find Sgt. Allen is a waste of resources. The troops are needed elsewhere to help in our struggles to protect the land.

That is why with a heavy heart, I have offered my resignation to Duke Frost. He has reluctantly accepted and I no longer hold any rank in the ducal army. My friendship with Tice is more important to me and as I owe my life to him on more than one occasion I feel it’s my duty to find him.

I feel proud to have served under Duke Frost and for the people of the Duchy.  I wish you all well and safe travels and if our paths should happen to cross, ale is on me.

Rig Vilmund     


The Gallows Pole Report

Victoria Foxglove was tried and convicted of treason for being one of the leaders of the White Rose. However, she died a hero because she renounced her former activities and named many of her associates and gave information helpful to the Order of the Mark.

Elijah Toath was once again tried and convicted of possession of treasonous materials and attempting to subvert the mind of a child towards treason.  Toath was sentenced to two deaths since this was not his first offense; however, coward that he is, he resurrected elsewhere and is currently at large. Anyone with information as to his whereabouts is required by law to divulge that information under penalty of death.

The sage Argim, wanted for treason since this winter, was captured after some Markies playing in a field reported seeing him to the Order. The children were rewarded with ribbons from the Order, and Agrim was obliterated.

Joshua Flashart, Adjunct Professor at the Bardic College, was arrested for possession of treasonous materials, but he cooperated with the Order, turning over all his books, and providing names of some of the Returned Heroes who had been coming to the college seeking these materials. He was released.

Let these criminals and their activities be a warning to all. Those who are enemies of the people of Galanthia will pay the price.


Obituary

The Devorra Yelanus Veler was the only one of Ashbury’s Returned Heroes who did not return from “death” during the early days of Salamander. Those that did return reported that he had been slain while fighting a howlbear in the Graveyard of the Elder Wood in a heroic attempt to free the Great Stag of an evil taint.

Yelanus’ career as an adventuring prophet has been rather checkered but he certainly made quite a name for himself in the short time he had been in Ashbury. Surely all of Galanthia shall mourn his passing.