Textblock #477

in game item_read_text 2 parts

part 0

"King Yeshuz is mad.  I stand here writing what may be my last testament to
 the horrible crimes being commited outside, in hopes that anyone finding this
 may learn from the deadly curse our mad king has brought upon us.  Our King 
 was not always an evil man, and never a madman, but ever had a lust for power 
 and glory.  A warrior-king he was, proud and mighty, worthy in battle and just
 in rule.  In the end, however, his greed overcame him, and as his victories in
 battle increased, his happiness waned.  He began to consult with untrustworthy
 wizards, but for a long while he was unable to find what he sought.  Failure
 after failure left many wizard heads impaled on the gates to the Royal Palace.
 Finally, to our dismay and doom, the necromancer Zorastra came, and her beauty
 and power awed Yeshuz.  Together they probed the secrets of life and death,
 searching for that which the King forever sought-- immortality.  

 It is not known whether or not Zorastra intentionally betrayed Yeshuz.  One
 night, she and King Yeshuz went to the museum in the centre of the city, the
 only place where the spell of great power could be cast-- Zorastra planned to
 drain the energy of the entire city to power a portal to the outer planes, and
 this necessitated a central location.  Once there, the Necromancer queen began
 her dread spell, and the entire city bend under her magical yoke.  With a 
 blinding flash of light, a dark portal snapped into being, and the demon lord
 Goru-Nezar stepped out.  Little did they realize what a scourge they had let
 free into our world!  Zorastra, overconfident in her power, commanded the 
 demon lord to reveal to them the secrets of undying existance.  With a 
 horrible sneer, he granted her wish.  Raising his hand, he pointed at her, and
 a dark beam speared forth.  King Yeshuz watched in horror as Zorastra's body
 began to decompose, completely rotting away within a few moments!  Goru-Nezar

part 1

then trapped hey soul in the undead form of a shadowraith, thus fulfilling her
 with for immortality-- if not in the manner she expected.  Yeshuz, horrified
 beyond all explanation, turned to flee, but the great demon lord grasped him
 with his ungodly strength and hurled him screaming through the dark portal. 
 
 All this time, I had been aware of these happenings, and watched with dismay
 through my scrying orb.  Now Goru-Nezar noticed me, looked straight at me
 through the orb, and laughed.  With a flick of his hand, my crystal ball
 shattered, and I was left bleeding from many cuts.  This was two days ago. 
 Since then, the demon lord has been widening the portal, increasing its power
 so as to allow his unholy horde of demonic warriors to pour forth and ravage
 the city.  I know they will not stop there, like a plague they will scour the
 land, destroying all trace of life and goodness they encounter.  Already much
 of the city has been destroyed by the ravenous demons, and only a handful have
 entered through that accursed portal.

 My time here is waning.  It is only a matter of time before the demons find 
 this concealed chamber and destroy me.  I have tranported the holy master of
 the temple to me, and together we will attempt to attract the mercy of the
 gods.  We stand together in a circle of protection of my fabrication, so for
 a short time we are safe.  Our prayer will be for the gods to blast this city
 into nothingness-- anything less may mean the escape of these unholy horrors,
 and in a few short hours no-one will be left.  These few words will be my
 last, as it is now time to begin our lengthy prayer.  May the gods have mercy
 on our souls."

 
 Archmage Kale Mandos

References