[IC] Graveyard Shift: Session 1

Nekurr finds the hagiography of Saint Durvin to be quite dry and boring. For the two hours before the priest finds him, he reads the first couple of chapters. These mainly concern the golden age into which Durvin was born, and an almost certainly legendary tale of Durvin's birth (his mother grew wings and bore him in the clouds). Nekurr learns that Durvin was born into a noble family of Cailn but showed a penchant for books and learning early on. There's a long section that explains who Durvin's main teacher was, and who his teacher was, and who his teacher was going all the way back to the beginning of the world. It's really quite tedious.

But a priest sees Nekurr with the book and takes pity on the half-Catfolk. Over tea, the priest explains that Durvin became a saint for the role he played in the Second Darkness, when Waiqar’s undead minions laid waste to Terrinoth and the Death Cults he had sponsored spread fear and disorder in the nation’s cities. Durvin studied the threat and determined that the only way to defeat Waiqar was with fire and lightning. Accordingly, Durvin rallied to the side of Kellos, a fierce warrior who had mastered fire. The two defeated Waiqar, and both were deified upon their deaths. The portion of the book with the image of the cloven-hoofed person is probably a demon, the priest explains. While Waiqar's armies were primarily undead, he did ally with certain Demon Lords who wanted revenge for their defeat in the First Darkness. Durvin was particularly adept at smiting the creatures of the Ynfernael, which the illustration shows.

Where the priests of Saint Durvin prickle a bit these days is over the fact that Kellos is better remembered across Terrinoth, while Durvin's followers are relegated primarily to the barony of Cailn. The priests of Durvin are particularly known for their ability to harness lightning and thunder against their foes, and for their mastery of the spark of life to heal the sick.

The priest finds out that Lyssie has been stabilized and is spending the night in the healers' section of the cathedral complex. Nekurr, too, is offered a bed in cathedral guest quarters, but he is kindly asked to donate 5 silver for his room and board (1 threat).

Nera scans through Vizeron Dribbage's journal, the one that was left atop his desk. While her progress through it is a bit halting, her task is eased by the fact that the entries are rather simple and to the point. The book seems to go back about a year before the man's disappearance. Each entry is dated, and then some very brief notes are given about things Dribbage did that day, purchases he made, and books he read. Some entries include a note or two about his thoughts, but nothing too revealing. Each page covers a single day.

One representative entry, from about two weeks before his disappearance looks like this:

7th of the Month

Woke early. Leftover porridge for breakfast with hot water and berries. Read Chantellos's history of the Third Darkness until lunch. Mutton stew, not the best I've tasted. Brought Chantello to my favorite spot in the cemetery for further reading. Returned home after dark; no longer hungry.

Tronus finds the separation papers a riveting, if trying read. The whole thing is written in a very legalistic way, as if the priests of Saint Durvin were trying to make sure every T was crossed and I dotted in getting rid of Dribbage.

From what Tronus can make out, Dribbage joined the priests in his late twenties. His progress reports through his initiation and training show he was an eager if uninspired student. While he mastered much of the book learning surrounding Saint Durvin, he never showed much of a knack for creating a real spiritual connection to the divinity—no gift of healing, no gift of fighting, no gift of any kind. The priests relegated Dribbage to the libraries, unsure what else to do with him.

That was a mistake, the documents show. Dribbage found himself infatuated with the library's collection of forbidden tomes, kept under lock and key so the higher-ranked priests might study their traditional foes: undead, demons, dragons. But Dribbage, the papers allege, saw them as another avenue toward power. A superior caught him reading a book on the Ynfernael and attempting a spell from the book. As far as the senior priest could tell, Dribbage's ability to harness the Ynfernael forces was no stronger than his attempts to harness powers of divine healing or lightning. Nevertheless, the man was brought before an internal inquisition board and thrown out of the order. The document suggests that if Dribbage had ever shown a modicum of magical or divine talent, he might have been given a much harsher sentence. Coupled with his family's historical links to the cathedral (the cemetery), he was let go with just the promise he would never pursue forbidden knowledge again.

With lanterns burning, Barvek joins Nera in the study at Argus Inquiries. The journal Vizeron Dribbage kept locked in his desk is identical to the one from the desktop. However, Barvek is puzzled to find that his book has no dates whatsoever.

Nevertheless, the book follows the same simple, straightforward style as the one Nera is perusing. The writing is a bit more cryptic, but Barvek guesses that it must indicate things Vizeron Dribbage did, albeit ones he wanted to keep private.

In the entries, Dribbage makes careful note of what he has been reading and his insights gained from these tomes and scrolls. He seems particularly obsessed with dark magic, forbidden lore, and Terrinoth's darker eras. Even more troubling, later entries suggest that he had started attempting to use the knowledge he was accumulating. He repeatedly mentions a theory that the cemetery behind his house holds a portal to the Ynfernael realm, and he describes in detail sacrifices of animals (including Thistlerock dogs) he has conducted in an attempt to lure a demonic creature to this world.

Nevertheless, there's a strong current of frustration, as his activities fail again and again. He eventually decides that the answer must lie in rune magic, since using runestones does not require any natural magical affinity on the part of the caster. Toward the end of the book, Dribbage notes that he has acquired a runestone of his own that he hopes will allow him to "finally summon something to the material plane." He also seems pleased to have acquired one of the only known copies of a book called Our Ynfernael Masters.

After discussing the two journals for a time, Nera and Barvek compare the page layouts. It seems that they follow one another; that is, the dated entries in the first book seem to flow directly into the undated ones from the second. Each time Dribbage mentions attempting some sort of spell, his public journal suggests that he spent much of the day reading at his "favorite spot" in the cemetery beforehand.

With a bit more time to puzzle it out, Hildar finally realizes the script on the tome is Uthuk, a language used by a tribe of debauched Humans who live far to the east of Terrinoth, where they worship the creatures of the Ynfernael. The title translates to "Our Ynfernael Masters," or perhaps, "The Ynfernael Lords Who Own Us" to use the Uthuk idiom. As the Elf gets deeper into the book, he notes that the tome gives very explicit instructions on how to summon Ynfernael creatures to the mortal realm, especially by using certain dark runestones.

Despite his great interest, Hildar only manages to get about a third of the way through the volume before sleep overtakes him. Nevertheless, he suspects that a full reading of the book would certainly provide some sort of benefit to attempts to summon creatures to the material plane.