“Phlebas is reporting on our mission to the graveyard of Cove to slay the lichkin that were to be found there. I will however be telling of a frightful discovery that I made during that mission in my own words…”

…

To our surprise there had been but two lichkin to be found within the graveyard when we arrived. How could this be? Had the reports been incorrect or could it be that the lichkin somehow knew we were coming? If so, why had the others left?

After ferocious fighting and destroying of dozens upon dozens of the undeath that were springing from the ground, we finally managed to reach the lichkin and fell them under the weight of our combined attack.

While my comrades continued to fight of the remaining walking dead I decided to have a closer look at the lichkin. To see if it held some clues as to why there had been but two here, even though the reports had spoken of several lichkin raising and creating more dead in the area by one mean or another.



Searching through the bony remains of the lichkin, I uncovered an heavy item from amongst its rotten robes. It was an musky old tome of sorts. I gently removed it as its age was apparent, and mishandling of it might have easily caused its yellowed pages to break free from the books keel and carry off into the nearby woods by the strength of the cold steady wind that whisped through the graveyard.

As I lifted the recovered tome closer to my face to see through the visor of my helm I recoiled in horror. The covers were re-inforced with old dried skin, skin that seemed as if it had at one time belonged to a human being!




Being mesmerized by this find the noises of the battle that continued around me faded away as I crouched down next to a gravestone to shield the book from the wind. I gently opened the book and peered inside. I flicked through many a page until I came across the following passage.



…
Vanozzi la yndorri, kalysso tarrez. Yelro tandazzi katwaro urloto.Dlkjfiaj forwino roidni ta’za walori Hythloth decarro ok’deyr canturo valozzi.Gi’darro nafmalori kadeed nahmafo. Lynoso denarr valyzzo soxitorus.
…

I could not make much of the cryptic words of magery, but one word I seemed to recognize if by rumour alone. Hythloth.
I flicked further through the book and came across the following image with a scripture following in the Sosarian common tongue.



Harvestin of the souls, ammassing of the dead for the rise of the dark moon.

Further towards the end a second picture was drawn with black ink. It was titled and had a subscript, again in the common tongue of Sosaria.

Passegway of the unspoken.



Gather the tears of the ether onto the brazen of the harvester. Pass the arrow of k’tury by the yer of ages. The darkening of the heavens will set the archway of passage.

While I had been examining the book two more lichkin had appeared out of what seemed thin air and quickly raised the dead me and my comrades had already slewn to once more claw at us. Phlebas, Thari Macil and Chloe la Mare fought back and managed to drive them off again. They had seemed to be trying to reach me as I was reading through the book. Alas failed, due to my fine comrades.

As the muffled sounds of battle subsided I came to and called upon my companions.

Realizing I was out of my dept I decided to pass the old smelly tome onto Phlebas as he be’eth far wiser when it came to matter of the arcane.

His initial investigation confirmed my suspicions, this tome needed to be researched far better. Phlebas removed his sash and wrapped it around the book, then placed it in his packs to safely guard its frail form against the elements as we headed out of the graveyard after having completed our assignment for Baron Samsca. He would take this book to his arcane library and cross reference the scriptures and look through his collection of mystic books, to better understand what we had found here this day, before he would bring the tome to Hanses attention.

*Ned lies topless on a warm beach, next to his chair a flamingo holds a bucket of ice containing cool ales. He reaches in and grabs one and looks to the sky. He sees a perculiar tropical bird of prey with a pigeon in its talons, as he squints to take a closer look a letter falls from the birds feet into his lap, startling the flamingo into pouring ice into Ned's crotch*

"What in the name of blackthorns boots is this?"
*Ned reads, and a worried frown appears on his brow*

(OOC Your reports are quickly becoming one of my favourite things to read! Brilliant, keep it up. )

(OOC p.s. that evil tome is a bible right?)

(OOC Glad to hear it Ned and thanks. )

(OOC On giving it some though the first picture of the old tome may well be of an old Bible. It hadn't occurred to me while I was looking for pictures online to go with the story. But now that you mention it he he. Given a fantasy setting though, its appearance makes it double up nicely as a magic tome of some sort and so works good with the narrative. )

[I put this on stratics - hope you dont mind! Its an awesome piece of work!]

http://uo.stratics.com/news/Europa.shtml

(OOC Thank you Callumf , I'm honored. )

[Thanks callum ]

[nice nice, good work mate ]

[3d pic is nice ]