You return to your commander’s office, still feeling somewhat haunted by what you saw in the mines. Vibius sees the look in your eyes and looks, for a moment, sympathetic.
“Welcome back,” he says. “I know that look. I’ve seen it many times, on the faces of every soldier who somehow ends up here. I couldn’t warn you about what’s out there. It’s something nobody can believe until they see it with their own two eyes.”
He slouches in his seat and rests his hands on his stomach. You start to see how tired all of this is making him. “Nobody believes. Nobody, outside this fort, knows what strange things live in this area. And nobody will find out. Not until it’s safe.”
“Things are happening. Terrifying things. We can’t be sure about what, yet, but Decimus and I are convinced that a clue rests in the courier’s satchel in the abandoned mine. That is why it is vital for you return it to us as soon as possible.”
Then, his lower lip curled with distaste, he returns to his work.
You root around in your packs, looking for the message you found in the abandoned mines. It’s stained with a bit of blood, probably yours, but it is still intact. Vibius, delighted, tears it from your hands.
You might as well be alone in the room, so intently does Vibius stare at the pages. The writing is in some sort of code, but this doesn’t slow him down at all. You wait for an hour, as he reads the document, and reads it again, and thinks.
Finally, he turns back to you. “Interesting. Worrying, and interesting. Our friends in the village of Nethergate seem to have a little bit more than just sensible obedience to Rome on their minds. What, we aren’t sure, but it bears investigation.”
He motions you forward. “Come. Speak with me. There is another task you must perform. There is still much we need to know. You have had a taste of the strangeness that lives in Shadowvale. Now you must descend, and drink deep.”
Or whatever.
You enter the commander’s office and present the leather scrolls. Vibius looks at them dubiously. Then he takes them from your hands and gives them a closer inspection.
“Well. Tell me where you found these.” You describe your adventure in the Ruined Hall. “Interesting, but not hopeful. These scrolls were buried far away from the meeting hall. It’s unlikely that they contain useful information.”
“Plus, I can’t make any sense of them. Hmmm. Still, Gaius knows a lot about old writing. I’ll have him take a look. We may be able to get some information from them.”
“Return to your quarters for the night and come back tomorrow. We’ll see if we can make any sense of it.”
Commander Vibius shakes his had. “You’re back too soon. We’re still looking over the scrolls. Go rest in your quarters, and come back tomorrow.”
You return to the Commander’s office. While yesterday he looked dejected, today he looks positively ecstatic. “We’ve managed to understand some of the scrolls! Not much, but enough to understand what’s going on.”
“I shouldn’t be pleased. It’s a terrifying message. Still, we’ve finally managed to make some progress. It’s a contract, between the creatures of the valley and the village of Nethergate.”
“The local natives are working for the faeries. This explains a lot, such as why they’ve been so hostile to us. They are trying to recover three items for them, in return for something awful happening to us.”
“We’ve only managed to translate some of the scrolls, enough to know what the first item they’re supposed to recover is. We’re going to get to it first.”
“You need to go to a place called the Vaults of Goagh-Nar, and find something called the Skull Of Stone. It’s in the northwestern corner of the vale. We don’t know what this place is, or who lives there.”
“However, getting these items before the Brigantes do is the only way we can keep them from completing the terms of their contract. Go there, and good luck to you.”
You return to the Commander’s office. “Have you recovered this ... ummm ... this Skull of Stone?” You shake your heads.
“Hmm. Let me refresh your memory. You need to go to a place called the Vaults of Goagh-Nar, and find something called the Skull Of Stone. At least that’s what the contract says. It’s in the northwestern corner of the vale.”
“I know that this is far beyond your experience. Still, you have done very well so far. I have no doubt in your continued success.” This is very strange. You still have no idea why Vibius requested you over any other soldiers.
You cautiously enter the Commander’s office. You’ve been very worried about this. Romans are not tolerant of failure, and your loss of the Skull of Stone was a debacle of the first order.
And, sure enough, when you tell Commander Vibius of your recovery and subsequent loss of the skull, his response is loud, long, and highly obscene. As he rants, you suspect that he’s on the verge of drawing a sword and actually attacking you.
Fortunately, he eventually manages to calm down enough to speak rationally. “Sprites!” he spits. “You lost the Skull to sprites! Who knows when we will have as good a chance to stop the Brigantes! You have failed your Empire.”
He sighs. “Still, there are other opportunities, and, alas, you are our best hope. More of the scroll you recovered has been deciphered. The next item Nethergate needs to recover is something called the Eye of Cathrac.”
“It is in ... ummm ...” He searches through his papers. “It is in Castle Aethdoc, in the southwestern corner of Shadowvale. Go there with all speed, find out what this Eye is, and bring it here.”
“And, I swear, if you lose the Eye too, Nero won’t get a chance at you. I’ll kill you myself.”
As you return to the commander’s office, you steel yourself for more abuse. Much to your surprise, when you see him, he no longer looks angry. In fact, he looks ashamed. Ashamed, and extremely upset. He can barely look at you.
Finally, with difficulty, he manages to speak. “Welcome back to the fort. Well done recovering the Eye of Cathrac. Unfortunately, I have extremely dire news.”
He is overcome for a moment with rage and fear. On a superior’s face, it’s a nasty combination. “The Eye is gone. Last night, we put it in a storeroom near your chambers. It disappeared overnight. We have no idea what happened.”
“Decimus returned the Eye. I knew he would. He has never failed me. We placed it in storage. The next morning, nothing there. We have lost the second of the three items. Fortunately, there is still hope. We have determined your next mission.”
“You need to find something called the Crown of Lost Warriors. It’s in a place called Annwn, hidden near some stone spires halfway between here and Nethergate. You can speak with me to find out more information.”
“However, before that can happen, we need to find out how the Eye was lost, so that we don’t lose the Crown when you retrieve it. Go and rest. Spend the night in your chambers. Perhaps tomorrow we can tell you more.”
Commander Vibius sighs. “I’m sorry. I know you are eager to find the Crown of Lost Warriors. Whatever it is. We can’t let you go, though, until we find out how the Eye was lost, so that when we have the Crown it doesn’t get stolen too.”
“Return to your chambers and sleep. Tomorrow, we may have more information.” As he speaks, you notice that Vibius is rubbing his stomach as if he is in pain. Probably indigestion, brought on by stress.
Shaken by your dark dreams from the night before, you return to the commander’s office. He is still furious, but he looks afraid no longer. “Good morning. I hope you slept well. We have good news for you.”
“We now know how the savages broke in and stole the Eye. The dug a tunnel. Can you believe it! They dug a tunnel into our fortress. I can’t imagine what powers they called upon to be able to escape discovery.”
“Alas, you still can’t go to retrieve the Crown. You are needed here. You see, the tunnel is long and dark, and we have no idea what foes may be hiding down there. We need someone to go investigate and clear out any enemies.”
“The best someone for that job is, of course, you. Who else would we send?” He smiles, as if at some private joke. “The tunnel entrance is in the back corner of the storeroom at the far northeast corner of the fort.”
“Explore the entire tunnel and make sure nothing hostile is hiding down there. If something is, you should slay it, of course. When this is done, you may continue on your quest.”
Commander Vibius looks up at you when you return. “Welcome. You have, of course, been down into the tunnel and you made sure that there is nothing there which will threaten us. Yes?”
You admit that you haven’t. Vibius looks, as you expected, irritated. “And since when is it your habit to obey orders in such a slow and inefficient manner? Go, and don’t return until the job is done.”
You give Vibius a detailed report of the contents of the tunnels, including a colorful and dramatic account of your battle with the creatures at the far end. He approves.
“Excellent. I will send a few soldiers down there to cave in the tunnel. In the meantime, you should go find the Crown of the Lost Warriors at this Annwn place as soon as possible. Decimus said that he knew something about how to get there.”
“If you’ve been talking to the soldiers, I’m sure you have heard that Shadowvale has become extremely hostile. Although we have not yet succeeded in keeping Nethergate from recovering an artifact, we have worried our foes.”
“Because it is so important for you to succeed, we have some special equipment for you. We have protected it, up until now, with special skills we picked up from the locals.”
“The items are past a concealed door in the council room.” He points to the north. “They were reserved for the protection of the fort, but your mission is now far more important.”
“May the divine Augustus watch over you. Go get the crown. Wherever it is.” He silently rests his hand on his stomach and winces. Vibius seems to be in great pain.
When you enter Commander Vibius’s office, he looks ill. Not just physically sick, though he is grasping his stomach, but extremely upset as well. You don’t even have to ask. They lost the Crown.
“We lost the Crown. It happened not long after you left. The guards you gave it to were watching west, away from the portal. Then several Brigantes came out of the portal, behind them, and took them by surprise.”
“That small group of savages, they have evaded us at every turn. They have recovered the three items they needed. Now, they will use them to open the Nether Gate. We can only sit here, and wait for the end.”
“Gaius is still trying to decipher the rest of the contract. Perhaps he can find a glimmer of hope. Return to your chambers. Come back tomorrow morning. Perhaps I’ll have a good defense plan drawn up for our last days.”
You enter the office and surprise Commander Vibius. He’s clutching his stomach and rocking back and forth, clearly in extreme pain.
When he realizes you’re watching him in his moment of weakness, he lashes out at you. “What are you doing? I told you to go to your quarters! That’s an order!”
You return to the commander’s office. He looks pale, and his face is covered with a thin sheen of sweat. Still, he seems in much higher spirits than he was yesterday.
“Good morning, warriors. I will not mince words, for there is little time. There is hope. It comes from two sources. First, Gaius has finished deciphering the contract. You should find him as soon as possible.”
“Second, I have had a dream. Yes, a dream. In it, you were entering a tower. Behind you was the entire force of the fort, ready to attack. I saw it all. That is what happened. There is still hope.”
He laughs, a little bit too loudly. It’s not a reassuring sound. He is clearly in great pain. “That was my vision. A massive gate opened in the air, and, as a boon for the people of Nethergate for helping open it, the Roman Empire was cursed.”
“You must stop them. You must go to the tower. The Spire of Ages, in the center of Shadowvale. That is how it must be. The tower. The tower is our hope. Speak with Gaius. He will tell you. He understands.”
You enter the warriors’ feast hall and come face to face with Chief Cartumnus, the massive, battle-worn leader of Nethergate. He’s short one eye and a number of teeth, and he has a particularly prominent moustache.
One of his hands rests on the huge sword at his waist. The other hand holds the chain which restrains his pet wolf. He watches you as you enter, chuckling as he sizes you up.
“Well, now,” he says. “I hear that you have been having a few light skirmishes with our goblin friends. A good beginning. It seems that you are not as weak as we feared.”
“Your work is only beginning. You have received a blessing. You have been chosen by the spirits. They told me that all of the omens spell out your names. It is you, they say, who will bring the freedom of our people.”
Some warriors start to grumble. He silences them with a look. “The problem is, we don’t know how this is going to come about. The sidhe, the fairy folk, have asked us to send you as envoys. The bronze token will identify you.”
“You are go to the Ruined Hall to meet with them. It is to the south of here, atop a tall hill. Come in and speak with me, and I will tell you more.”
Chief Cartumnus is scratching his wolf behind the ears when you enter. He stands and looks at you curiously. “Well? Have you been to the Ruined Hall yet? What do they say?”
You tell him that you haven’t been there yet. “What? Out drinking? Carousing? We can understand, but there are more important things afoot. Go to the Ruined Hall. It’s to the south.” He returns to caring for the wolf.
You notice that the warriors are looking at you with envy. They clearly resent relatively green upstarts getting so much attention and glory.
You return to the home of Cartumnus and proudly present him with the contract. He looks at it, turns it upside down, turns it over again, shakes his head, and says “Makes no sense to me.”
He hands the contract to a warrior and says “Take it to Cerridwen. See what she says.” While you wait for the warrior’s return, Cartumnus gives you good wine and regales you with tales of his many amazing exploits in combat.
After an hour, the warrior returns, without the contract, and speaks quietly with Cartumnus for a short time.
The chieftain looks you over, thinking carefully. “I am a warrior, not a diplomat. Secrets are not my business. Yet, I can’t tell you everything I know. I can only tell you this.”
“Our people have been offered a great opportunity. We may be able to cleanse our fair isle of the Roman scourge. To bring this about, we need but to recover three peculiar items and deliver them to ... I can’t say where.”
“First, we need to get something called the Skull of Stone. It’s is in a place called Goagh-Nar, in the northwest corner of Shadowvale. Beware, however, for Goagh-Nar is the home of those foulest of creatures, the fomorians.”
Cartumnus stands tall and proud. “We have our chance now! The chance to regain our power, and our freedom! That is why we are sending you to Goagh-Nar to steal the Skull.”
“We will stay back here, harrying the Romans of Shadow Valley Fort and keeping them from interfering with you. Before any of this happens, however, we need to propitiate the Gods. Go to your quarters and sleep for the night.”
“Tomorrow, we will have a sacrifice, and then your quest can truly begin.”
Cartumnus looks annoyed that you’re back already. “The necessary rituals to give you strength and luck during your journeys have not yet been completed.”
“Spend the night in your chambers and then go to the hill at the northeast corner of the village. Then you can go to Goagh-Nar and we can begin attacking to the south.”
Nobody here seems happy to see you. They can’t avert their eyes from the indelible, dusty marks on your hands. None of them will meet your gaze. Only Cartumnus himself has the courage to face you.
“Well,” he says weakly, “this is a difficult turn of events. You’re cursed, and everyone can see it. I can see you as having a difficult time until the curse is removed.”
“I will speak with you and guide you. It is my responsibility. Few others here will aid you, however, until your curse is lifted.”
He thinks. “Wait a moment. I don’t know how to lift a curse, but Cerridwen can. She lives in the southern hut in this stockade. She knows just about everything about shades and curses, although she doesn’t often care to help people.”
“Go speak with her, and continue on your quests as before. Good luck to you.” He backs away, as if he’s afraid you’ll contaminate him.
Cartumnus shakes his head. “It seems that there are many powers who are opposing us in our efforts to recover the three artifacts. Matters not. The rewards are too compelling for us to resist.”
“Your mission remains the same, curses or no. Go to Goagh-Nar, at the northwest corner of Shadowvale, battle the fomorians, and return the Skull of Stone to me.”
You walk proudly before Cartumnus, proudly bearing the shiny, heavy stone skull. He stands, walks forward, and takes it from you.
After a brief inspection, he nods and grins. “Excellent! What else could this be but the artifact we desire? Well done.” He pours you mugs of high-quality Roman wine and carries the skull away. You sit and talk with the warriors until he returns.
“Well then,” he bellows when he returns a few minutes later. “Enough resting. You’re probably eager to head off on your next quest. Castle Aethdoc. I don’t know where it is, but that’s where you’re headed.”
He gets a mug of wine, takes a swig, wipes off his moustache, and continues. “It’s at the southwest corner of Shadowvale. Hidden, or so they say. You need to go there and bring back something called the Eye of Cathrac.”
“Sounds a bit disturbing to me. Still, that’s what’s called for, if the faeries are going to curse the Romans like they promised. Ask around Nethergate ... someone might know more about it. When you find the Eye, bring it back here.”
Cartumnus looks at you dubiously when you enter. “Back already? Do you have the Eye of Cathrac?” You shake your heads.
“I don’t know what it is. Probably a gemstone or something like that. The contract says find the Eye at Castle Aethdoc. That’s all. Now hop to it!”
Cartumnus is glad to see that you have returned. At first. He drags you in, presses mugs of fine, imported Roman wine into your hands, and asks you of your adventures recovering the Eye of Cathrac.
Then, you let slip that the Romans beat you to it. At first, he doesn’t seem angry. Then, in one smooth motion, he smacks the mug out of your hand. He’s started to yell at you before it smashes against the wall.
Eventually, his tirade includes more information and less obscenity. “Do you know what this means? We will have to slip you into Shadow Valley Fort. We can do it, but the fact that we could was a secret.”
“This will let them know that we have a tunnel into their fort. We’ll have lost our secret, before we fully had a chance to use it! Curse them, curse their soldiers, and ...” He stops and takes a moment to regain his composure.
“Go talk to Vaughn. He should be at the front gate. He’ll tell you more about the tunnel. Go south to Shadow Valley Fort and find me that eye. Whatever the cost.” Frustrated and concerned, he sits back down.
Cartumnus is brushing out his wolf’s fur when you walk in. “What are you doing back here? Go talk to Vaughn and then go to Shadow Valley Fort and find the eye. And hurry! We have less time than you think.”
When you return, triumphantly bearing the Eye of Cathrac, Cartumnus looks very subdued. He motions you close and asks, in a low voice, “Did you recover the eye?” You remove it from your pocket and hand it to him.
“Excellent. It will follow the Skull to the Spire of Ages. We have to talk quietly. One of Queen Cartimandua’s agents is here snuffling around right now. His name is Boutell. Stay away from him and don’t tell him anything.”
Cartumnus looks around to make sure Boutell isn’t nearby, listening in. “You need to recover one more item. It is called the Crown of Lost Warriors. It is ...” He pauses, looking somber.
“It is in Annwn. The Land of the Dead. That is where you must go next. I don’t know anything about it, but I hear Mugain does. Ask her about Annwn. And stay away from Boutell!” He leans back.
“Oh, one other thing,” he says sadly. “For all your hard work, you deserve a reward. Go to my house and look in the north box. You’re free to take what you find inside.”
Cartumnus looks at you questioningly, no doubt wondering if you have found the Crown of Lost Warriors. You shake your heads no. He motions you close.
“Hurry,” he whispers, “and, if you haven’t already, ask Mugain about Annwn. She can help.”
You return triumphantly to Chief Cartumnus, proudly bearing the Crown of Lost Warriors. After checking to make sure that no agents of Queen Cartimandua are nearby, he takes it from you.
“I am impressed,” he says soberly. “None of us had thought that you would be able to recover all three artifacts, but, somehow, you managed. I can see in your eyes that you are waiting for your reward. Soon.”
He stands up and leaves. A few minutes later, he returns with a wooden box. He hands it to you. Inside, instead of a lavish reward, you find the Eye of Cathrac and the Skull of Stone. “We only have one more thing for you to do.”
“The contract says that, to receive our aid from the faeries, we must take these items to their tower and help them open the Nether Gate, whatever that means. Take these items to the Spire of Ages, in the very center of Shadowvale.”
“Oh. You may have a few small fights on the way. To help you out, I’ve left a few items in the southern box in my hut. Help yourself, and good luck to you. We’re very close to victory. Don’t mess it up.”
Cartumnus walks over to you. “You’re still here?” he asks. “We’re this close to fulfilling our end of the contract, and you’re still lingering here? Hurry! Go to the Spire of Ages, in the center of Shadowvale.”
