The scent wafted even across the vast sea, that sickening stench of virtue-mongers congregating in their vile hall of the virtues. A bubble of black ichor popped on Baerron Jael's face. At least he knew exactly where they were, and they were far away from him and could not interfere with his journey. Pushing aside ferns and undergrowth, Baerron Jael uncovered a virtually unknown, and very small opening to the great Stygian Abyss on Fire Isle. Very little in this world gave him pause, but going back into that pit was one of them. The eternal blackness was not something he wished to return to, but he needed to press on if he were to break the Eighth and final Seal. He needed the Skull of Mondain. He gritted the remnants of Richard's teeth and took the plunge into the inky darkness. Visions unraveled before him of the Lightbringers and their efforts to reclaim the Shrine of Valor. Baerron Jael did not fully understand their need to reclaim these mere tokens of their virtues. They were just metal and stone... The Lightbringers appeared in his mind. They made landfall at Barrier Island east of the city of Trinsic. Baerron Jael watched as he sunk deeper into the Abyss as they met with an alchemist of questionable sanity, though he did mention something that made Baerron Jael pay attention... This "Si the Mad" had in his possession the Ruby Sun gem... an artifact of immense power and is of age beyond what most people can fathom, predating even the Stranger's first arrival in the lands known as Sosaria. And the mention of Wolfgang, the father of Mondain, was also worrisome. Very few entities were known to Baerron Jael to rival or surpass his master, but Mondain and Wolfgang both could have, were they not been dead for thousands of years. However, truly killing a wizard is no easy task, not when that wizard has knowledge of magic that can alter the fabric of time itself... Baerron Jael watched as the party pressed on. A memory came to mind of but a week past. Baerron Jael found himself on an island in search of the artifact that the Lightbringers now search. Filthy pirates and brigands managed to snag it away (from the alchemist apparently) and buried it so that even the daemon could not sniff it out. If Baerron Jael could not uncover it, then he had to do the next best thing. Tell the pirates of the impending Lightbringer arrival and allow them to prepare the best defense to hold them at bay that they could muster. Captain Dreg led the pirate forces against the Lightbringer's invasive fleet. It was curious, the daemon pondered, that Crimson Jack was not there to lead, for he was the one he spoke with about the Lightbringers. Perhaps the renowned pirate captain was still recovering from his wounds suffered at the Battle of Humility Shrine. Humans and their weak flesh; it made the daemon sick. With the Ruby Sun gem in hand, Baerron Jael could do little more than watch as they sailed onward to Valor Island. The daemon had sown seeds of corruption there some time ago, and sure enough, they were ready to bloom for the Lightbringers... The Lightbringers were successful in their ridding the Shrine of Valor of its corruption. The Seal remained broken, but it was a moral victory that the Lightbringers huzzahed over. But then something happened that struck the daemon in his core. The wizard Mondain himself showed, appearing through a time gate, and reappropriated the Ruby Sun gem. If the daemon had known that Mondain himself was going to be on Valor island, he would have been there to kill the ancient wizard and take his skull instead of having to plunder the damned Stygian Abyss for it. Though, as much as he refused to admit it, Baerron Jael did not have the power to take on the wizard. What will come of this strange twist of fate, it was beyond the daemon to know. ========================================================================================== ========================================================================================== ========================================================================================== ========================================================================================== (OOC) Another fantastic and engaging quest! A big thanks to Dreg for commanding the pirates, and as always, a huge thank you to the people who went on the voyage, and to Pegbyter for trying to murder you all. If anyone wants to share their own pictures and stories, by all means, share below.
The Lightbringers sail south out of Britain to gather information. Reports of a Mad Alchemist claiming to know of a cure to the corruption that had befallen the shrines. Finding the Alchemist rambling on about some item the pirates had stolen from him, trying to make some sense of his mindless chatter, the words Ruby Sun Gem and Bald Island were repeated over and over. The party finds buried treasure on Bald Island, the only place pirates hide valuables! With the Ruby Sun Gem in their possession, they travel to Valor Island and begin to fight back the horde protecting the corrupted shrine. With the Shrine cleared, the Gem is placed upon the shrine and it begins to clear away the corruption! Confusion strikes the group, as the evil wizard Mondain arrives, traveling through a rift in time to claim the Ruby Sun Gem as his! The Shrine of Valor was cleansed, but a very powerful artifact had been stolen by evil, pure evil... OOC: Better late then never with my screen captures! And it looks like I need to learn to find my hotkey more often!! Just want to say thanks for everyone for coming out, I hope you all had fun. I had a blast putting the event together and watching it take life! Special thanks to @Pegbyter and @Alex Caember for asking me to do this, seeing what all goes into these things behind the scenes really increases my respect for you guys!! What a crazy and chaotic fun time it was! Dreg you are a brigand at heart, but you commanded that pirate ship like a boss! Blooper shot below...somehow Darnell Williams managed to wield a shovel with deadly skill!
