Prayers of the Faithful #3

From the Writings of Thayel Ravensorrow



Blessed goddess give me strength, I fear I am fading into the darkness of my past. The deeper we travel into the prison ruins I can feel him. Each step brings me closer to the evil I have fought so long to bury....

 It has been slow moving in the ruins; the crumbling passages are filled with the undead. Gisley is proving to be quite useful, his giant hammer and rage more than make up for the lack of combat skills that Carlotta and Aeros exhibit. But both are needed in their own ways. Carlotta has kept the burley barbarian alive and well. We stumbled across a file room that held records of the prisoners that were incarcerated here. My heart seemed to skip a beat and I was pulled towards a particular prisoner: Vance Stressel, better known as the Lopper. As I read through the accounts of his crimes I could feel a calming, almost unnatural cold envelope my body. Could this man or perhaps his spirit be a test? Are you, divine goddess giving me a chance to save myself by bringing Stressel's unquiet spirit at last to your judgment?

 We have moved further into the depths of the prison and the shadows in my soul continue to rise, as we battle the undead in these hallways I feel myself beginning to unravel. The battles go by without notice and the elf I was before takes control, swinging my axe with a lust for blood that I'm sure rivals even the barbarian Gisley's rage! My judgement is becoming more and more clouded. I need to find answers in the hope that I can once again control my own actions. Foolishly I used a magical trinket that we pulled from a tomb in your catacombs. I knew there would be dire consequences if it was used improperly, but I didn't care.

 The spirit world was contacted and there was a spirit willing to talk, but the process took too long. I only managed to get a name, while my companions kept monsters at bay.  Vrood the voice claimed, had killed the professor!

 The process left me weak and my companions urged me to rest but I could feel we were very close to something. Aeros suggested we leave to regroup but before he could finish his words I had already opened the next door in the labyrinth; to be honest I don't even remember moving. The door was rusted but not to difficult to open. The light from Gisley's illuminated hammer revealed a large room with benches and rotting cots, probably an infirmary. I wasn't able to hear my companions enter the room my ears were filled with a hauntingly familiar sound. The hair on the back of my neck stood straight up and the room seemed to melt away into darkness. Frantically I turned looking for the light from Gisley's hammer. Nothing, the light slowly began to come back into the room and I could begin to make out my hands. Something was wrong; my hands appeared to be the hands of a child, as the light continued to creep back into the room I could begin to make out a body on the ground in front of me. I felt a wave of sadness and guilt wash over me as I realized it was my father's body on the ground. The barbarian's axe still firmly planted in his skull. Stepping backward in fear, I slipped in the blood gushing from his wound. As I lay there in a pool of my father's blood the shrieking became louder and I could finally make out where it was coming from. My mother floated above my father’s corpse, the look on her face of one I will never forget. The horror of her family dying before her eyes is the last thing I remember of her. Like a child I ran, the world became dark and I ran.

If it weren't for Aeros' quick thinking he and Carlotta may have died. By the time I came out of the creatures’ spell I was outside the prison. I went back in to find that Aeros and Carlotta had escaped but not before the monster had wounded Carlotta. Wisely Aeros decided we should leave and regroup before heading deeper into the ruins. On the way out we picked up Gisley who had also been affected by the spell but chose not to come back for us out of shame over his actions.

 My lady of graves I hope you can forgive my decision but I feel there is no other way. Though I may stray from your path I will still need your divine blessing to complete my investigation.