The Frozen Halls
| MIN LEVEL | START LOCATION | START REQUIREMENTS |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | Khel (North) (10, 8) | [none] |
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DetailsWind comes blasting off the cold sea. Snow gusts buffet you as you trudge through the frozen land. You pull your worn travel cloak tighter against the biting chill. You are about to give up on all hope of a warm bite to eat when you see a small light of a camp fire in the distance. The fire is now a blazing beacon against the cold. The Warrior grins up at you, 'I got the fire, you got the meal yet?' He takes the meat from you, 'Well now. That’s a hearty chunk of food. Sit yourself down, you earned a seat by the flame. My names Unfrid, I'm here looking for the Sanctum of Khel. You seen it?' You shake your head and tell him the only thing you saw were bears and ice. Unfrid scowls, 'I hear you. My brother was slain in battle a few weeks back and his sword was never recovered. The Seer in our tribe could not find him in the Sacred Halls so he pronounced that he fell into dishonor.' Unfrid goes silent suddenly. Silence stretches out between you. You ask how he could have been dishonored. Unfrid pokes the fire with a smoldering stick. 'I suppose you would not know, my tribe is from the Thromergath Mountains. We believe that a Warrior has to fall with his sword in his hand to enter the Sacred Halls. My Brothers sword was never found, so he might have fallen without it. I am now trying to find the Sanctum of Khel. It is a place of Legend for our people. It is said that it sits on one of the gates to the Underworld, but it was destroyed by Gurgriss for a loss in battle that we suffered. We then left this land and traveled to Thromergath and waited for Gurgriss to smile upon us again.' He glowers into the bright flame, 'Many think I'm foolish, but if I can find the Sanctum, I can enter the Underworld and see if I can find my lost Brother. Unfortunately it looks like the Sanctum has indeed been destroyed and my Brother lost along with it for eternity.' The wind begins to rise, you lean forward to catch more heat from the flame. You then say, 'I shall help you in the morning, there might be a cave or something we both missed in this foul weather. Two pairs of eyes are better than one. It's the least I can do for the fire and kindness you have shown me.' Unfrid glances at you for a moment as if checking to see if you are jesting and he sees that you are not. 'Well - I would appreciate the help, I can't rest thinking my Brother is damned.' He then cuts you a huge chunk of steak, 'Eat well my friend, you may need your strength tomorrow.' You must look for a cave or building in the Realm that might lead to the Sanctum of Khel.Unfrid waves you over. The big barbarian claps you on your back, 'Well done my friend, I was just about to give up and go home. I would have guessed that this was simply another Bears Den, but judging from those angry spirits flying around I would say we're on the right track to finding the Sanctum.' 'The only problem seems to be is that there is only a Portal Arch outta here. We need to get it activated. I suppose the Screaming Skulls can open it as they must have come from somewhere, maybe they can give you a key to the Dark Stone Portal. I'll go back to camp and get our stuff, you see if you can open that Portal.'A small Shrine sits in the deep snow. Tradition states that gifts left to these shrines will appease any angry spirits in the Realm, thus giving travellers safe passage. The evil Rune pulses with fury in your hand. You place it on the small Shrine and the flame in the rune flickers out. A cry rips the frigid air and the you hear a sound of lightning come from the Dark Stone Portal behind you. You turn and see Unfrid stood by the Portal waving frantically. Light spins within the arch, and you see him draw his large axe and step through. You take a step toward the Portal when a voice stops you, 'You have done well warrior. But you must now face me. I am tasked with guarding this Realm for the Mistress, and she must be obeyed.' The voice chills you far more than the frozen cavern around you. Turning you see an Undead Swordsman. 'My name is Gai Gen and I serve Fushiyoma. I give you at least the reason for your death.' You must destroy Gai Gen (Elite) to follow Unfrid through the Dark Stone Portal.You must defeat the undead swordsman Gai Gen (Elite) to follow Unfrid through the Dark Stone Portal. After your fierce battle you sit by the small Shrine and rest for a moment. You look up to check that the portal is still open and see it still has light spinning in it. You are not too sure who this Fushiyoma is. But you should be on your guard for Gai Gen was a powerful adversary, who could he be serving? You take a deep breath and get to your feet. You can now enter the Dark Stone Portal.You find Unfrid is stood staring around at his surroundings as if in a daze. You hear a low muttering, you can't make out the words. But whoever it is, they are extremely grumpy. In a lonely alcove near the center of the Realm you find a face carved into the icy wall. The carving is moving, though when He sees you the carving freezes into a static stone sculpture. After you don't leave one eye opens a sliver, 'So you saw me, that’s not fair sneaking up on a Gargoyle like that. Mind you I have had a really - really itchy nose for the past 60 years.' The Gargoyle looks at you pityingly. You reach out and scrub its knobbly nose. The carving almost purrs with pleasure. 'It's so stupid that they didn't give me arms. I mean how hard would that be to give me arms. So anyway, how is the world? Still cold and crawling with savage Ice Bears?' You nod. The Carving pouts, 'That’s the problem with immortality, the world changes so very little. I suppose you want passage to the Sanctum right?' Unfrid surges past you, 'Yes I require passage, what must I do?' The Carving squints up at you, 'Is he always this earnest?' You nod. He gives a rumbling sigh, 'Everyone is so earnest.' He then looks up at Unfrid, 'Right, I take it your one of the Thomergath Tribe?' Unfrid nods. The Gargoyle beams at him, 'Can you read?' Unfrid sags a bit, 'Ummmm, not very well.' The Carving smiles broadly, 'Excellent. Listen to me Barbarian, reading is BAD. You learn to read, then you're off onto world domination and finally trying to toss the Moon into the Sun! Solve all your arguments with your axe, the dead don't complain...much.' He then opens his mouth wide, Unfrid reaches in and takes a leather scroll. He hands it to you, 'You're best to have this, I'm not too good with runes.' You open it and see it's a recipe. The Carving winks at Unfrid, 'As I say, nothing good comes from reading. The task falls to those who open the scroll to complete it. And only one task may be set at a time. So your friend here has to do it. You can tell me how the Tribe is doing these days.' You must give a the Gate Keeper a Ice Laced Heart You receive 1 x Ice Laced Heart RecipeYou return to the Gate Keeper, Unfrid is chatting away merrily to the sculpture. The Gargoyle squints up at you, 'You have the Ice Laced Heart? I can't let you into the Sanctum without it.' The Gate Keeper opens his mouth wide, you drop the heart into it and he chews on it happily. The grisly crunch of the heart being eaten makes you cringe. 'Mmmmm, that was delicious. I can now let you passage into the sanctum. Only the worthy may walk those sacred halls.' The keeper then stares past you and his eyes open wide. You spin around and come face to face with a tall Undead Swordsman. He draws his saber slowly, 'The Mistress has not allowed you entry. You must therefore die. It is the will of Fushiyoma that you do so.' He then charges at Unfrid, but he lunges to the side and the saber buries itself in the wall where he stood. The Gate Keeper glowers at the Undead, 'You are not welcome to interfere in this Takashi. They have fulfilled the bargain, so they may enter. It is written that they do so, so they shall. Run Unfrid! Takashi is deadly but single minded. The Warrior can deal with Takashi.' You must destroy Takashi (Elite) to allow Unfrid time to get to the Sanctum Gate and follow him through.The Gate Keeper peers all around, 'You killed Takashi (Elite)? He is a tenacious Warrior, his devotion to Fushiyoma verges on madness. He will not let you enter the Sanctum unless you put a stop to him.' The Gargoyle smirks at you, 'No he isn't. His spirit will return to Fushiyoma and she will raise him up again. She is searching for something and turned up here. We could not stop her as she came from the other side into the Sanctum. That was unexpected I can tell you. Now Fushiyoma is using the Sanctum for her own purposes. I bet they are dark and evil as well...' 'But anyway, the important thing is that you can now go see if Unfrid is alright. You better make the most of Takashi's absence. I've wave goodbye... But – I'm sure you understand.'You enter a frozen Citadel and find Unfrid standing before a shattered Statue. He points mutely at the rubble at his feet, 'The Weaver of Fate has been destroyed. The Gates will not open. There is no one to guide the souls of the dead to the Underworld. This cannot be happening...' You ask what the Weaver of Fate was. Unfrid stares off into the distance, 'The Weaver is a delicate statue holding the brass Loom of Time. Brass being one of the few metals that does not rust away. She uses the Loom to guide the Clans into where fate desires them to be.' You look through the rubble, then say you cannot find a metal loom. He looks again at the broken stones before him, 'You know, your right! Can you see if you can find the Loom? Its important.'You return to find that Unfrid has put together large chunks of the statue together. Though he has nothing to bind the pieces to one another, you see frustration and anger building within the Barbarian Warrior. 'Have you managed to find the Loom of Time?' It's an odd object, a metallic hand loom with strange cords stretched across it. Unfrid takes it as if it's made of china. 'This has symbolized the shaping of the entire history of my people. I am grateful to you Warrior. Though I don't know what to do with it.' He stands by the pieces of pale rock like a lost child. In the silence he places the Loom on top of the broken base and turns to you. 'With the Weaver of Fate destroyed the gates of the Sanctum will not open. I cannot go any further on my journey. But I thank you for your help and kindness Warrior. I would never have got this far without you.' He looks at the floor in misery. You listen to the pain in his words and find it uncomfortable to look at him. You shift your gaze and then see white dust running along the floor silently past Unfrid. Confused, you follow the weird pale rivers to find the pieces of shattered stone hovering in the air behind Unfrid. The stone fragments then silently come together and in moments a beautiful statue of a young woman stands before you holding the Loom of Time. You tap Unfrid, he turns round and stares unbelieving at the smiling stone woman. She bows slightly, 'I saw you laboring to bring me together, I thank you for your diligence.' She then turns to you, 'I also saw you rebuilding my Loom. For this I am eternally grateful. I am sorry but I have another task to set before you. You may refuse of course. You are free to choose whether to accept the quest or not. You have done enough already.' 'But if you decide to help the Sanctum, we need to be rid of the Underworld Guardian that has ensconced herself within our Halls. Her name is Fushiyoma. I would assume you have met some of Her personal Guard as you have come this far. She has chosen her Guards well as they are both powerful and completely devoted to her. The Captain of her Guard Katsuma is never far from her side, you will need to deal with him first before you can deal with Fushiyoma herself. If you decide to help, destroy Katsuma (Elite) and return to me'The Weaver of Fate greets you, 'Have you destroyed Katsuma (Elite)?' The pale woman gazes at you for a moment, then nods at you slowly. She then threads a few stitches on the Loom. 'With the Captain of the Guard momentarily destroyed, this leaves Fushiyoma herself vulnerable. I will ask you to cast her back into the Underworld from whence she crawled! It does not matter what quest she is on, only that she no longer haunts these halls. To aid you in this endevour, I gift you this Recipe. I would not want to let you go ill equipped for this task. You will require the Blade forged from this recipe to be able to confront and defeat her.Return to me when you have sent this foul being back to the Pit.' You receive 1 x Longsword of Fate RecipeThe pale marble statue bows as you return, 'Welcome back Warrior! Have you cast out Fushiyoma (Super Elite)?' 'She smiles knowingly back at you. Then stitches a few more threads on her Loom. 'You have done well Warrior. You have also done much more than you suspect here today, but that is for another time. For now I shall open the Vault of Khel to you. Inside you shall find scrolls of power that might be of some interest to you. Walk your path with honor Warrior and Fate will smile upon you.' ' Unfrid stares up at the marbled woman, 'I am sorry my Lady, but I have something to ask. My Brother Olaf, have you seen him in the halls?' The Weaver stares at him for a moment, 'I see your pain Unfrid, but my essence was shattered along with my body. I am afraid I have no knowledge of who has come through our Halls into the Underworld, although I can set a barrier over the portal now that I am whole again so this does not ever happen again. But if you wish to enter the Underworld I shall allow you to go through the Gate of Khel. But Unfrid, you might find it hard to return. Do not make this decision lightly, your Brother would not want you to risk your soul unnecessarily.' Unfrid grits his teeth, 'I have come this far, I am going make sure my Brother is not lost.' You watch him turn and silently enter the sealed gate behind you.' You receive 561,188 Xp |
