DDC - Gathering Information

The main Scribe Notes

Almost all planning and discussions related to the Dark Circle are conducted in Newhaven within the Castle Defense System and under the effects of an anti-scry guard. We sometimes discuss matters outside this area, but are always aware that we are under observation.

Previous information obtained by Guild Members

Saydar allowed one of his many "bandits" to avoid a death sentence if they went through all the previous scribe notes and Seagate Times issues looking for references to the Dark Circle or Rashak. The following information was obtained:

General Dark Circle

• If someone dies within the Dark Circle and they are not ressurected then they rise as undead the following dawn.
• Undead are much tougher within the Dark Circle
• Rashak can see through the eyes of any of her minions
• Possession is common in the dark circle
• All undead can see through invisibility

Astrology

• Any attempt at scrying, using astrology or other precognitive vision results in a heart attack

Flying

• Hordes of Vampire Bats make flying hard
• Undead crows cause problems for flying

Skeletal Knights / Lords

• 50’ range - resist 3xWP or be drained
• +25 on die rolls when adjacent
• Any hit dissipates most powerful spell
• Drains FT on touch
• Resist vs Necromancy or PS drain, he gets stronger
• Gets faster each pulse

Skeletons

• Explode when you kill them
• Use Flash grenades to blind living
• Drain PS, necro counters help vs this

Vampires

• Vampires are known to use blade venoms that cause massive bleeding

Zombies

• Zombie mages can cast spells
• Wicca with hellfire

Assassins

• Spectral or Ghastly
• Attacked and killed heads of Church and State through the Western Kingdon
• Soul-leeching blades render victims irresurrectable
• Wreathed in black fire
• Set a cathedral ablaze with black flames. Necromantic fire that defied all attempts to extinguish it.

Soul Jar

• Skeletal Lord fought in the Brastor Breakout was a commander of sorts
• When defeated an amulet appeared on chest and he faded away
• Magic had the aura of a "Soul Jar"

Other Allies

Known allies of Rashak include an Undead Dragon, Prince Orion and possibly Drow
Prince Orion is known to be allied to Rashak - info source: guild members.
Note that this information is second-hand and unreliable

Duke of Carzala

Morgan talked to the Duke. The Carzalan forces are stretched to breaking point. They are holding the advance of the Dark Circle at the wall, but only barely. Breaches in the wall are frequent, but have been beaten back so far. The Duke can offer us no assistance at this time.

Western Church

Engalton approached the Western Church. They are engaged in battles on many fronts and have no spare forces. They are willing to provide Holy Water, but have no other resources available. The Church is obviously a threat to the forces of Rashak since she has sent assassins to remove the senior clergy.

Elves

Sabrina approached the elves of Alfheim. She was taken to the main city in the forest and found a grand council of elders. The council was convened approximately two months previously to discuss the urgent matter of the Dark Circle. The elves were still debating the matter. Opinions were divided. The debate continued with common themes such as:

• Should the Elves get involved in the war?
• Should the Elves move to the new world?
• Is the Dark Circle indicative of an impending war between the Gods?
• How long will it take for the humans to fall to the Dark Circle?

Sabrina spoke at the council meeting and advocated action. The council listened, responded and continued their debate.

Some discussion with an elven librarian revealed the following:

• The veils consist of primordial chaos from which the gods were created
• Few gods are capable of handling the veils and no mortal beings can survive
• The 12th veil came to be on Alusia
• Since the Gods have a convenant not to interfere directly with the world, the Mistress of Veils gave Rashak the power to control the 12th veil. Rashak appears to be using the veil to gain power and has not returned it.
• The control of the veil began around two decades ago.
• It is likely that the Dark Circle is part of a Ritual to use the veil to bring something back to life or to create something new. It is likely to be a god.

Sabrina met Kesrin, the commander of an army of 4,000 elves that have bodies of living stone. They are destined to fight against the army of darkness and have been waiting 30,000 years for this event. Kesrin believes the time is right, but will not act without approval from the council. Scribe notes describing the events leading to the creation of this army can be found in the guild library.

Odin

http://xs53.xs.to/pics/05444/Sabrena_at_a_gate.jpg

Sabrina talked with Odin about the Dark Circle. Odin thinks that Ragnarok is coming, but has not yet started and must still be at least three years away.

Some mortals hold artifacts that can deal with the veil. A bear holds one of them (we believe that the bear is the shapechanger Clementine - see below). Odin will send help at some stage, but will not say what it is or when the help will arrive.

Clementine

Clementine was name summoned and asked about the artifact she holds. It is the Sceptre of Sigismund. King Sigismund himself gave the sceptre to Clementine before he left to fight evil. The Sceptre can be used one each year to close a portal. It also destroys undead.

Grobbenbonk

The Guild Library indicated that Rashak's allies have the power to possess people. A number of reports of possession were identified, so we tried to locate something that would protect against possession. We discovered that Grobbenbonk can make amulets that protect the wearer from Heart Attacks and Possession. They only work when you are connected to the Earth. He asked a high price, but they are worth it. Wearing the amulets allowed us to continue our investigations of the Dark Circle using astrology and magical resources.

Death Vision

Saydar's death vision showed Saydar flying towards the fortress of Masada. The air shimmered slightly and Saydar dissolved into smoke that was sucked into the shimmer. Further death visions on Dunlan and Vychan showed similar effects. We believe that the shimmer is the effect of the veil and that we are being returned to primordial chaos. Certain irressurectable death. Not good.

Vychan's Earth Stone

We used Vychan's Elemental Earth Stone to find the answers to some questions.

1. Is it possible for living creatures to exist in Masada?
   • Yes
2. Is the effect of being turned into smoke caused by the Veil
   • Yes
3. Can the rip caused by the Veil be closed the the Sceptre of Sigismund?
   • Yes
4. Is there a way to get into Masada without passing through the Veil?
   • Yes
5. Will destroying R's minions/armies slow down her plans?
   • Maybe
6. Will understanding the Lands of the Dead in Fastness of Girwyllan help understand the Veil?
   • No
7. Will the Calamar help us?
   • Maybe, they will get involved if we ask them
8. Can the Wild Hunt be used to get us into Masada alive?
   • No
9. Is there a portal that we can use to get into Masada?
   • No

Naga

The Naga that previously protected the Book of Knowledge answered some questions for us.

1. What question should we ask you that will help us the most?
   • When is the Lady of Masada most vulnerable?
2. When is the Lady of Masada most vulnerable?
   • When she has to return to the King Stone
   • Those that visit the king at the King Stone as blessed for the year
   • King stone is a stone that the lord of the land must stand upon on Equinox (Spring Seedtime 15th)
   • Land has chosen R as the queen of her land
3. Where is the King Stone?
   • South of Gujerat
   • Where Al Ambrah used to be
4. Where is the Lady of Masada most vulnerable?
   • TBA
   • Maybe while travelling
5. Where is the best place to go for further information?
   • Vychan
6. How can we safely get past the veil?
   • Many ways
   • Use the Sceptre of Sigismund
   • Use subterfuge
   • Use Saydar's abilities
7. What is the Lady of Masada trying to achieve?
   • Ascension

White Goddess

The Temple of the White Goddess located in the Shriven Hills in the Duchy of Brandenburg is normally home to the book of Knowledge that is protected by powerfull magics and a Naga (see above). The Naga told us that the book had returned to the heavens becuase the danager and pending destruction from the Dark Circle. The Naga at the Temple told us her time to leave had come.

Seir

One of the Demons and Powers of Darkness. Seir is a Demon. Sier revealed the following information:

• When someone dies, a guide appears to help their spirit with the transition. These guides come from different sources. The guide creates a moment of unnatural twilight. This allows the spirit to see into the world of the living and the living to occasionally see the spirit. (Interpretation: It essentially makes a connection between the spirit world and the material world).
• A number of Liche Lords are engaged in Rituals of Blocking. These rituals prevent the guides from leaving the area with the spirits. The spirits of the dead are trapped within the dark circle. The Dark Circle expands as more deaths occur within the area of a ritual of blocking. The liche lords do the rituals before a major offensive, blocking the souls that die in the battles from leaving the area.
• These moments of twilight allow the undead to walk the earth as if it was daylight.
• The effect of some rituals are being boosted using a crystal of Kyanite which is a psychic amplifier. This is being used to amplify the effects of a Hekate stone which is the focus of some other magic. These Hekate stones are dangerous to destroy.
• Rashak has the ability to wield the Veil of Negation.
• The Veil of Negation is like a naked singularity. Imagine a powerful Dark Sphere with the capacity to release as well as absorb. (Interpretation: Although it destroys and negates, it is possible for something to come through to our world).
• Al Ambra acquired the Veil of Negation. It was unmade and any decendants from there died. With the large population of undead in the area, the land chose Rashak as the natural ruler.
• The Kingstone looks like a King. There are no major landmarks nearby. It only extends forth a few inches from the ground.
• Rashak is creating a vaccuum (Interpretation: This vaccuum will allow something to come through from the void).
• In the beginning there was the void. In the void, two formed from the nothingness. These were the elder gods and they formed others. A godwar occurred and some things ceased to exist. Some were cast back into the void and are not longer present in the world. Bali was one of the original elder gods who is currently in the void.
• The guides are managed by Death. They create the Dark Circle Effect.
• Seir wants to know the location of Roche.

(Note that this information is unreliable since it came from a demon)

Death

Death tells us of a temple that holds many artifacts of great power, both of life and death. The artifacts will be extremely useful for either side to get hold of. It is protected against undead, but Rashak is trying to break the protection and get access to the Banners of Living Flesh (among other things).

• There is no unicorn graveyard.
• Death said that she would aid us by giving us a bit extra time when our bodies were near death.
• Death protected us from having our souls sucked out by soul draining swords.
• She gave Dunlan a toad.

The Kingstone

The following map is correct and true (party info, first hand).
http://xs75.xs.to/pics/06143/Al-Ambra.jpg

(Note that this information is unreliable since it came from a demon)
We have done some scouting and information gathering regarding the Kingstone. Location of the Kingstone is south of the 'un-made' city of Al Ambrah, which was once home to the Drow lands. The Lady of Masada will travel from the Dark Circle to the Kingstone along a travil route we have worked out, and for a great part of the trip it will be under water. In the water along the path she will take are 200 Vampires acting as scouts and spies making sure the path is safe for her to approch. they are evenly spaced along the route except for one spot which was once 'blessed ground' that the vampires scouts seem unwilling/unable to 'sence life' into that area. We have chosen this spot for our attack.

1. When she has to return to the King Stone
2. Those that visit the king at the King Stone as blessed for the year
3. King stone is a stone that the lord of the land must stand upon on Beltain (Summer Solstice)
4. Land has chosen R as the queen of her land

• Seir gave Vychan a forgotten map of the location of the 'un-made' city of Al Ambrah.
• Seir also told Vycahn that someone that used 'The Pentacle, Circle of Protection, and Triangle' was proventing him from assisting us directly, and that person worked for Miss R.
• Vychan Summons and Earth Elemental in Newhaven and does not control it - the Earth Elemental Lord. It willingly shows us a relief map made in sand and dirt of the area we wish to know about. The area is which is south and south west of Five Sisters, showing us around 200 Vampires spread out over the length of the route we expect her to travel along from the dark circle to the Kingstone. The Vampires are along the 12 miles route. At the Kingstone are already around 2,000 undead, waiting for the Lady of Masada to arrive.

---

The main Scribe Notes