[R&S 1.4] Clertus' Account of Bones

Mid Morning on the Eve of 1526Castle LibraryWikkthronrarenta, DrekkisHead librarian, historian, and record keeperClertus, 47 years of age

This is an eyewitness account of the theft of bones of the great golden dragon named Shine. As recorder of this event, it is important to delineate what I witnessed, what I was told, what I have inferred, and what I have interpreted these events to mean. I shall walk through this event in chronological order, making notes for future readers as to how this information was sourced. I swear by this account on my life. Excepting where noted, all interviewed sources are credible, honorable, and responsible witnesses.

Early this morning, less than an hour after sunup, the Teleportation Circle in the great storage hall was used by King Imrik McGary - Slayer of Scoria, Champion of Drekkis, Slayer of Xorthas, Tamer of Dragons, and cousin to the Empress - to bring Twenty Knights clad in Red Dragon Scale Armor - I infer these men to be his Kings Guard by their armaments but have no verification of this assessment - into the keep of Wikkthronrarenta, capital of Drekkis. The King spoke to his men in the Mistryan language, whereupon four armed knights took the lead, four stayed put in the storage room, and the remainder followed behind the king. This event was witnessed by two servants who were in the great storage hall and quickly hid amongst the storage.

Moving with haste from the great storage hall, the invaders made their way to the front doors of the keep. The guards there were unprepared for an attack from within and caught off guard. King Imrik McGary used a Wand of Fear to scatter the guards on both sides of the door before casting a Web spell on the grounds just outside the door. A hold portal spell was then cast upon the door, and six more knights were left to guard it while the remaining ten knights and King McGary proceeded to the temple within the castle. This event was witnessed by the affected guards, a dozen people in the court yard, and four servants within the castle.

Note about the Wand of Fear: None of the witnesses could provide a reliable description of the wand used, but the king is known to possess and use such a wand and those affected all report an overwhelming terror descending upon them.

Note about the Web spell: This spell has been sufficiently observed as to be unquestionably accurate. King McGary is known to have this spell in his repertoire.

Note about the Hold Portal spell: One of the fleeing servants lingered at a doorway long enough to see the spell cast. It had only a verbal component and took but a moment. After the webs in the courtyard were burned away, the door was found to be stuck. While the bars on the door were in place when the entryway was recovered, it is inferred that both magical and mundane means were used to hold the door fast. Because the spell effect ended rather than remained permanent, it is known that Wizard Lock was not used.

It is here I shall pause my chronological account to provide some much needed context.

On August 12th of this same year, a grand dinner was held in which all the great powers of the continent and outlaying islands were invited. At this dinner, with which the reader can assumed to be familiar, the golden dragon known as Shine died. What the reader may not be familiar with is what happened to her body after her death.

The transformation from human form to dragon was so substantive that sections of the castle were damaged or destroyed. It was impossible to remove the corpse without total destruction of the castle - so naturally the dragon was disassembled into her component parts and removed. The castle was then repaired. All within the court felt great remorse at having to desecrate the remains of one held in such high esteem, but all other proposed options failed. The bones were then cleaned, blessed, consecrated, and when the time was right, given a state funeral. This funeral happened on the afternoon of November 20th - the Day of Gratitude for the Dead. The bones were interred in a section of the crypt that was newly excavated for just this purpose. King Imrik was invited to the funeral, but did not attend. I shall assume the reader is familiar with the tensions between King Imrik and Empress Wikk / King Consort Van. If the reader is not, that context is important for understanding all the events upon this scroll.

The entrance to the crypt lays within the temple.

I shall continue my chronological account now.

2 priests and 4 laymen of the temple were preparing for morning service. The high cleric was preparing her sermon within her chambers. The afore mentioned priests and laymen witnessed the king and knights enter the temple through the main door. Two knights moved to block the side exits while two others herded the priests and laymen into the High Cleric’s chambers. The remaining knights and King McGary moved directly to the crypt.

The High Cleric learned of the assault when the first priest entered her chambers, and immediately used a Dimensional Folding spell to open a gateway into the Grand Hall so that those present in her room could escape before any calamity befell them. It is the author’s opinion, formed from collected information after the fact, that the laymen, priests, and cleric were in no danger; however, so far has the reputation of King McGary fallen among the people of Wikkthronrarenta, that their fear of their own destruction was quite reasonable. It is unknown if a further Hold Portal spell were cast upon the High Cleric’s door, or what the invaders plans were if the High Cleric would have resisted their advance.

There are no witnesses to what happened within the crypt, but there were clues to what happened left behind. The bones of the dragon were found and removed from the crypt. In order to properly place the dragon bones within the crypt, many large bones of similar sizes were bound together so they might be affected by a Reduce spell to permit their transportation through narrow passages and doorways. This author hypothesizes, but cannot know for certain, that multiple bags of holding and portable holes, were used in conjunction with reduce spells to gather the dragon’s bones for a quick egress.

From inspection of the crypt after the fact, there was clear evidence of bones being broken. Portable Holes have a depth of ten feet and a diameter of six feet. Bags of holding are also bound by volumetric constraints, but their variances are many. Many of the dragon’s bones would have been too large to fit in either device, and the bone fragments imply that many bones had to be broken to be moved.

The King may have had up to four Reduce spells prepared, if he had not intended to cast Hold Portal on the High Cleric’s door. It is also possible that the King has in his possession a Wand of Reduce, although no such item has ever been recorded as being in his possession, recovered during his adventures, among the treasure left by Scoria the Red, or even known to exist. These spells would allow the skull to be kept intact, and perhaps helped facilitate the recovery of other large bundles.

While the bones were being abducted, within the Grand Hall, a counter attack, lead by Kel Francine of the Imperial Guard, was being rallied. I myself was present in the Grand Hall when the High Cleric opened a gateway there, and witnessed all the following events with my own eyes.

King Imrik was known to be in the temple, so to the temple we went. The knights, men at arms, and cleric positioned themselves just outside the temple’s doors and laid in wait for the king to emerge, while I, the squires, and the two priests stood quite some ways back.

In unison, all three doors to the temple opened, and a knight clad in red dragon scale armor emerged from each one. A battle ensued, but it was short lived. King McGary cast Hold Person upon the high cleric. He then used his Wand of Fear to dispatch most of the less experienced defenders before casting Power Word, Stun to render Kel Francine helpless. Kel Francine’s young squire, a boy no older than thirteen, rushed to her aid and was cut down by one of the Mistryan knights, whereupon King McGary openly castigated the knight for his actions. The invaders then made for the main door with haste. One such knight, a man whose name I do not know and whose face was hidden by their helm, stood in the hallway with an intimidating posture to prevent any of us from coming any closer until they were the last at the temple - then they too hurried away.

One of the squires followed the invaders through the castle while the rest of us tended to the paralyzed, stunned, and feared. We were looking for wounds to tend but the only casualty was the young boy. The high cleric was paralyzed before she could cast any defensive spells. There was blood and a few red dragon scales on the ground, but these must have belonged to the Mistryans.

At this time I would like to inject my own observations. Six knights and the wizard king carried packs. Those knights who carried packs carried no shields. Those who did not carry packs, did carry shields. I believe this lends credence to the notion that four knights stayed to guard the temple while six went into the crypts with the king to retrieve the bones. Bags of Holding can be quite heavy, and all the knights moved with great haste, so perhaps they surrendered their shields in favor of speed. Or perhaps the shields were left behind so that these six could be quicker once in the crypt. Whatever the specific reasoning, and others surely exist, it is clear to me that this assault was well planned in advance.

Once back at the main door, the six knights there fell in line with King McGary and they all moved with haste to the storage hall. With a coded knock on the door (one knock, pause, two knocks, pause, three knocks - witnessed by the servants still in the room) all the Mistryans moved to the teleporation circle. One of the knights loudly said something as they approached, and moments later the circle was activated by the King and all were gone.

According to my interviews, this one thing was the only word, phrase, or utterance spoken of any of the red scaled knights. Neither of the servants in the room speaks Mistryan, so what was said remains unknown.

At the time of this invasion, both the Empress and King Van were out of the castle. Their plans to attend a morning service in the city were not publicized, but this author finds it doubtful this timing was coincidental.

- Post script written that evening -

Upon returning to the Keep, King Van called for the Teleportation Circle within the keep to be torn up, and its component parts returned to the treasury. He also ordered vast sums of incense from merchants and shipping companies to the tune of hundreds of thousands of gold, and the creation of many barrels of holy water, so that he might reconsecrate the whole of the castle with Forbiddance spells that are not passable by King Imrik McGary via teleportation or self projection.

- Post script written on the 3rd day of 1526, evening -

I, Clertus, amend this record one more time to note a corresponding event that should be kept with this account. King Consort Van has sent a missive to all the Kingdoms and territories within the Empire of Drekkis. It reads as follows.

To all whom it may concern, King Imrik McGary, Slayer of Scoria, Champion of Drekkis, Slayer of Xorthas, Tamer of Dragons, cousin to the Empress, and my cousin by law, has attacked the Castle of Wikkthronrarenta with 20 men armored in Red Dragon Scale, cut down a boy of 13 years who dared stand against him, desecrated the Temple and Crypt of the castle, and unearthed the bones of the Great Golden Dragon.

His actions have become erratic and unpredictable. His motives are questionable. He should be considered dangerous. Use your best judgment when dealing with him, but remember to always keep a highly trusted adviser in a safe place away from him. King Imrik can use the spells Charm Person, Forget, Suggestion, and Modify Memory. Listen closely to your adviser after any meetings with the King. If they think your mind has been altered, send for me as quickly as you can and I shall purge his taint. If they are wrong, there will be no ill-side effects. During times like this it is best to be cautious.

King Imrik McGary is a capable spell caster, who can perform a great number of seemingly miraculous deeds; however, there are simple safeguards that can be taken. Malakai’s Teleportation Circles are wondrous creations that were once used for peace and prosperity, but they are now an easy avenue for King McGary and his minions to gain access to your towns, cities, or keeps. That is how he gained access to the capital. I have ordered the destruction of our circle, and encourage similar safety measures across the land.

King Consort Van

Further, a separate missive has been sent by private vessel to the Tower Order in Solumn, warning of a Renegade Mage in Arcadia. At the time of this writing, Arcadia and Solumn are in a state of war - a war that has cost both sides greatly. The Tower Order is assumed to be independent from the Empire of Solumn, also known as the Empire of Voraci. Their reach, ability, and desire to act upon this information is unknown to this author. One can only assume King Van knows more.