Secrets of Ymph; by Randen Blake, Edited by Mororn Glaemril

[LiAlH4]

[The tome, newly published, entitled Secrets of Nebezzdos is placed among the shelves of the Curios shoppe within Mistlocke. The only other copy is kept amongst the records of the Brotherhood of Mercy, within the Shrine of the Triad deep in the Tower of the Gods.]

SECRETS OF NEBEZZDOS

 

An Essay on the Histories & Fall of Nebezzdos & Other Related and Miscellaneous Matters

 Randen Blake; of Waukeen and the Mayor's Muster. Edited by M. Glaemril, of Ilmater and the Brotherhood of Mercy.

Second Edition published Posthumously in MISTLOCKE, Tarsakh 15, 1381 DR, by the Brotherhood of Mercy with the aid of the Society of the Shining Hammer.

 ~-----~

 

I survived the fall of Nebezzdos, fought undead Netherese mages and saw many crazy things. Much of this book is only fragments of knowledge, but perhaps when combined with information you later find, you may be able to stop H'bala or escape the island. I hope you do. Good luck, you need it. Some of this information may be wrong. Much of it is incomplete.

If anyone who reads this book escapes to Faerun, in exchange for spilling my guts in this book, I ask a small favor. Go to the Guild of Lesser Tradesmen in Waterdeep, a guild of which I am a member. Tell them of the plight of those kidnapped to Ymph. Tell them I did not abandon my family. Tell them to convey my love to my wife. Tell them I am coming home, I don't know how, I don't know when, but someday, somehow, I am coming. They will send word to my family, the only thing I truly care about in this world.

[LIST=1]

• The History of Nebezzdos
  
• What happened to the people of Nebezzdos?
  
• How did Lothari Sanq gain control of the Nightriser Legion?
  
• Is Lothari Sanq the Chosen of Jergal?
  
• What is the nature of the Nightrisers?
  
• Crystals which raise the dead?
  
• The ancient elven past of Ymph?

~-----~

 The History of Nebezzdos

 I will note with great irony that my training is that of barbering, i.e., the cutting of hair and the pulling of teeth. After a great deal of looting the fallen city of Nebezzdos, I learned to read poor Netherese, after a fashion. This account is based on reading many ancient documents, exploring many ancient structures and speaking to many Netherese. The Nightrisers are a talkative bunch-though they were trying to murder me during our conversations. I also had access to a number of memory jars, ancient Netherese magical devices which stored the memories of others and could be absorbed by the possessor of the jars, instantly gaining their knowledge. The Nightrisers seem to have been dormant for millenia but now they are rebuilding the city, many of the documents I read have been destroyed in the last three years, I urge you to hurry if you want to read what is left for yourself.

If you have questions on what I have written, find me. If you have additions to make, find me. If I am dead, you might try the Transcendent Conclave, however I would caution you that they think themselves the inheritors of the Netherese civilization. They are often secretive and may not be willing to share information embarrassing to Netheril. Their oracle may actually be a living, flesh and blood, Netherese mage, though they are not talkative on the matter.

Ymph was discovered "a very long time ago" between four and five thousand years ago by a man named Ymph. Ymph was from Netheril, an ancient civilization of mages who ruled the world with magic. It is unclear which Netherese city Ymph came from, different bits of lore hint at different origins. He found the archipelago and the island with the mist already present. Even then, the mists seemed to cause insanity and madness, killing without a design which was apparent at the time. Stargazers were also present during Ymph's initial discovery. How the halflings got here is any man's guess.

At some time after the discovery, Ymph oversaw the construction of a colony on the island. How long after the discovery the construction occurred is unclear, who can know how long a wealthy Netherese might live? There are Netherese ruins on other islands, so it seems likely they settled most of the chain.

A central focus of the colonization effort was the construction of an immense Ziggurat Slaves and criminals were brought from across the Netherese civilization to aid in it's construction. Ancient texts indicate that the Netherese civilization was not a unified political force, but rather a series of cities with a common culture. It is unclear how such cooperation could have come about. Was the effort on Ymph of great importance, enough for warring cities to cooperate? We do not know the exact year Ymph was settled, could it be related to an attempt to stop Netheril's downfall, a misty and unclear topic? Were the laborers simply bought? Who knows.

The colony was settled. The slaves and criminals were aware that the Ziggurat was magical in nature and thought it would be a crowning masterpiece of their civilization. The slaves also expected to be freed when the Ziggurat was completed. We do not know if this promise was kept. The sacrifice of blood and souls can be powerful magic, the laborers may have been sacrificed to empower the Ziggurat, however, there is no sign of any mass grave in Nebezzdos I read account of a slave who did live after the completion of the Ziggurat and was then a free man, but the existence of one such household does not prove they were all freed. Among many immense scattered ruins of the city a great deal is preserved, yet there is no hint at all of any such atrocity, so it seems unlikely. Then again, there is an ancient Netherese "garbage dump" on Ymph which dumped the garbage of the city onto the plane of shadow, so the bodies could have been disposed of that way. Another mystery.

At some point, the colony was finished, along with the Ziggurat. Central to the Ziggurat was the Mythallar, a powerful magical device. The exact properties and purpose of the device is unclear. It has the ability to transport people from across Faerun. It has the ability to send magical messages.

It is clear from experience that the Nightrisers "dislike" it but they dislike it the same way that living men hate being stuck outside on a cold night or in a hot dessert. Nightrisers can pass through the Mythallar chamber and have done so. The Mythallar does not appear to have any connection to the powering or creation of the Nightrisers. The powers of the Ziggurat were partially dimmed during the fall of Nebezzdos The Nightrisers, somehow, managed to stop it from being used to send magical messages during the fall of the city. I witnessed, first hand, men still being teleported to Nebezzdos even during the final day before the city fell, so the Ziggurat was not fully turned off. What this means is unclear. Clearly knowledge to partially control the Mythallar exists in the hand of the Nightrisers. However, the Nightrisers wanted to expel all living men from Nebulosity. If they had the ability to stop the Mythallar from bringing new men to Nebezzdos, they would have done so at the time or since then, therefore, they must not actually possess the knowledge to fully control it.

There is strong evidence on the island that Ymph was inhabited for an absolute minimum of two hundred years, possibly longer, but unlikely for more than five centuries. This time-line is based on evidence of the construction of new buildings, the expansion of the city, assuming a rate of growth of newly born to inhabit it. If Nebezzdos was a new colony when the Ziggurat was finished, the city would not need many of the outlying amenities and civil service buildings which inhabit the island. Small populations do not need dozens of temples. Writings make clear that complex and large hierarchies inhabited these temples, small populations do not need large numbers of priests. A magical garbage dump exists on the island, however due to the nature of it's functioning, it must have been very difficult to construct, the effort to create it would never have been needed if garbage had not been a problem and garbage would not have been a problem without a large population.

The arena of Targus is an enormous arena on a neighboring island. It can sit thousands upon thousands of people. The Netherese would not have built an arena to sit thousands, if they did not have a large population to actually sit in it. The arena is also a master of architecture, it would never have been built in a small backwater colony.

The wealthy and elite of Netherese society, powerful mages and scholars, would not want to live on some backwards, remote island away from the luxuries of the rest of their civilization, yet there the evidence is obvious that Nebezzdos had a large and thriving class of scholars, mages and men of wealth.

There are many crypts in Nebezzdos and scattered across Ymph, including large family crypts, meaning that there must have been successive generations of the dead.  The underground structure used as a dock in Nebezzdos is enormous and much larger than any small, new colony would need, if indeed the cave was cut out, it is too oddly shaped to be entirely natural.  

Eventually Ymph became a penal colony for the Netherese civilization. The journals and writings of the Netherese elite paint a picture of normalcy in the society which they inhabited.  At some point during this period of relative normalcy, H'bala arose, though her true name was [Ed. Blake has left this portion of his manuscript blank]. The now lich was a slave in the city of Nebezzdos She fled her masters into the countryside and was befriended by the halflings who taught her the magic of nature. Chaos occurred on the island but the exact nature of what H'bala did is unclear.

According to the Nightrisers, the Netherese fought her and claim that the Netherese originally imprisoned H'bala. The Nightrisers also stated that they would do so again. In his brief statements to the survivors of Jergal's temple, Lothari Sanq, the Warden, said that he and his minions would "march to war", the implication being that he meant H'bala for if not her, who else?

Time gets murky now and it is difficult to guess how much time occurred between the imprisonment of H'bala and the following events, which resulted in the collapse of Nebezzdos  At some point, a powerful mage, experimented with the creation of life from nothingness, which apparently is supposed to be impossible to do with magic. The mage experimented for many years and eventually succeeded, creating what they at the time called "Parasites", with a big P. Though the origin of this race of creatures was magical, they were fertile and able to reproduce. It is difficult to describe a larval parasite, consider a praying mantis crossbred with a crab, roughly the size of a cat and tucked into a ball. The parasite matures by taking over the body of a larger creature, fusing with it, then growing to between 4 and 12 feet tall. The shape of the "adult" parasites seems to be varied based upon their host. They still exist today, under Nebezzdos.

 They do not seem to be self aware, but I do not know of any attempt to communicate with them, if they take on the property of their hosts, it is possible some are thinking creatures.  The duration of the following events is important. At some point, the Netherese Civilization collapsed in a relatively small amount of time. Many written sources in Nebezzdos refer to a sudden loss of communication with the rest of the Netherese civilization. The creation of the Parasites occurred contemporaneously with the fall of the Netherese civilization though it seems a mere coincidence that both events overlapped.  A short time after the creation of the Parasites, they spread rapidly.

An account by an ancient Netherese Archmage states that the Parasites rapidly overcame and destroyed much of the life on the island. The barren wasteland over which the Mages now float may have been the result of massive deforestation caused by the Parasites. Many Stargazer monuments seem to reach back to the time of the Netherese and the halflings do worship nature.

Such mass destruction must have been a sacrilege of the highest order, it is a mystery why the halflings never erected any sort of monument which relates to the destruction caused by the parasites, nor why there are not stories of such a calamity which were passed down from generation to generation. The halflings I spoke to knew of none, but it is possible that their high-shamans and leaders know more.  Suddenly cut off from the rest of their civilization and facing an immense threat, the Netherese of Nebezzdos panicked. It is clear that the city was partially over run by the parasites, though it can be presumed that the great magical power of the mages were able to combat the threat to some degree.  

At some point, the Netherese created the Nightrisers. Fully sentient, self aware undead, specifically designed to fight the Parasites. It is a commonly and mistakenly believed that the Nightrisers existed for a long duration of time and that they acted as prison guards for much of the  Nebezzdos.

 This belief is false. Memory jars describe Nightrisers being created in an act of desperation shortly before the end of Nebezzdos for the purpose of fighting the Parasites. Other writings by the elite of Nebezzdos society which can be dated to a short time before the collapse of Nebezzdos make clear that the Nightrisers were only then first being made.  

Lothari Sanq is an ageless, but not undead man and currently the ruler of Nebezzdos and the Nightriser Legion. The man is a mystery. At some point in time his memories were removed, or copied and placed into a Netherese memory jar. If his memories were copied, he may have lost them due to extreme age. Lothari is not undead but is simply very old. His skin is pale and his hair gray, yet, he appears to breathe and he has drunk liquids and did not respond violently when positive energy spells were used on him or when undead were turned in his presence.

Written accounts by Lothari make clear that he was alive when the Nightrisers were first made, he opposed their creation at the time. I heard Lothari speak about the creation of the Nightrisers as an "abomination", confirming the written account.  And here is where all of the written history end. Suddenly the historical record ceases and no one else bothered to write new books. Of the many books and scraps of paper beneath Nebezzdos, I've not read a single one which explicitly refer to the battle against the Parasites as a past event.  Evidence in the Warden's tower in Nebezzdos can extend the story for us but only a little bit. The structure is a prison. It is mistakenly believed that this was the central hub of the Nightrisers, it is not, that location is deep beneath the city. The structure is a prison and has Nightriser guards inside of it.

It also has coffins and armories and all of the other equipment the Nightrisers would need to function as guards. It is unclear how many prisoners were housed in the tower after the Nightriser guards inhabited it, but there were some.  Construction of such facilities take time. If Nebezzdos had been destroyed, there would be no reason to create a barracks for the Nightrisers in the tower, nor would there have been prisoners.  

The end of Nebezzdos is shrouded in Mystery.




 

What Happened to the People of Nebezzdos?

How was Nebezzdos depopulated? H'bala was trapped and the Parasites were defeated, how did the end come? Whatever happened occurred rapidly as written records seem to stop suddenly. There are a few records in Nebezzdos which speak of Karsus as a contemporary figure and some speak of his death seem to be among the latest writings found anywhere on Ymph.

As the story goes, the wizard Karsus tried to use magic to murder the goddess of magic and take her place. There are two versions of the story. In one version, Karsus is overwhelmed by the sudden transition from mortal to god and was unable to control magic, in that instant all magic ceased to exist and most of the Netherese civilization was destroyed as the magic which supported their society suddenly stopped functioning. In the orthodox and generally accepted version of the story, the goddess of magic sacrificed herself to save the weave of magic, dying in the process, yet saving magic. In this version, magic also ceased to exist, ever so briefly.

No written account I have seen in Nebezzdos speaks of a sudden stopping of magic. Such an event would have been ear-shattering, why did no one write about it? Golems would have suddenly been turned into non magical mounds of metal, yet many adventurers have met golems on Ymph who survived the fall of Nebezzdos, locked away in the dark. It is entirely possible I simply never found such accounts, yet there are many records which speak of the sudden loss of contact with the Netherese civilization, an event which must have happened at the same time. It forces me to wonder how the Netherese civilization truly ended.

The Netherese civilization fell but Nebezzdos lived on, at least briefly enough for Nightriser barracks to be established in the Warden's tower. Where did all of the people go? What caused all written records to cease a short time after the death of Karsus? There is no obvious destruction to the city itself, it only shows signs of weather and age.

I can offer three theories. The first is wrong, the second is terrifying and the third is useless.

Theory one: Perhaps the Parasites made a comeback and destroyed the entire population, but the Nightrisers then defeated them. [Ed. The Parasites that Blake references here are commonly known as the “Larvals”, and reportedly exist to this day beneath the ruins of the Ziggurat.] This theory explains the absence of people and their bones but there is no direct proof. It seems unlikely that the Nightrisers would have been able to stop the undead as they were first being made, yet somehow overrun when they were at their full strength.

Theory two: The mists, for an inscrutable reason killed the living Netherese. This explains how the outlying Netherese settlements on other islands were destroyed in the same rapid period of time. If the Parasites destroyed each island in turn, surely there would be some written record by those which did not yet fall, or parasites on islands besides Ymph, yet neither has been found. Where are the Stargazer monuments to the sudden disappearance of the Netherese, or the stories of the Magic Men who oppressed them, then vanished? There is no direct proof the mists are responsible, it is simply another explanation to the mystery in front of us.

Theory three: Something else. My money is on this theory, sadly it is quite vague.

How did Lothari Sanq gain control of the Nightriser Legion?

  How did Lothari Sanq, a Jergali who hated the undead, gain control of the Nightriser legion? He was a man within a mortal lifespan when the Nightrisers were first made and he opposed their creation at the time. Something happened after the creation of the Nightrisers which placed Lothari Sanq in command of the Nightriser Legion. It should be noted that one of the Sub-Wardens is also named "Sanq", Lothari's son, another relative, or perhaps Sanq was a common surname in Nebezzdos and there is no relation?

Even before he regained his memories, he encouraged men to fight the undead under the temples in Nebezzdos During the final days of Nebezzdos, he counseled the defenders of Jergal's temple on how to fight the undead.

How did a man who hated the undead, somehow gain control of a vast army of the dead?

Is Lothari the Chosen of Jergal?

Lothari Sanq does not appear to be undead. What happened to him? The Netherese civilization collapsed, Nebezzdos was depopulated in a short period of time, but Lothari lived on.

Somehow, Lothari's memories arrived in a memory jar. We do not know how memory jars are made, only that using them gives the recipient the memories stored inside. We do not know if memories are copied, leaving the original memories inside of a man, or if they are actually extracted.

Could Lothari have placed them in there himself, for some special purpose, knowing he was immortal and would one day need his mind again, yet knowing even an immortal would go mad after thousands of years of isolation?

During the fall of Nebezzdos Lothari regained his memories via a memory jar provided by Sub Warden Sanq. The words of Sub Warden Sanq are yet another mystery because he did not seem to be aware that Lothari had lost his memories and only learned of such by spying on us, as we discussed his memory loss. The Nightrisers did not know Lothari's condition, but how could they not, having inhabited the city alongside him for thousands of years? How could they not know of the condition of their own leader?

A possible hint lay in the cryptic words of Lothari shortly after, that even Karsus trembled before him. I warn that what follows is the wildest of speculation.

Lothari was a priest. He seems to be ageless. He survived some catastrophe which depopulated Nebezzdos If his boast of being greater than Karsus is true, then he certainly could have left and returned to Faerun on his own. Lothari must have chosen to stay.

Who could possibly be more powerful than the greatest wizard to ever live?

Scrivener [name not provided], a defender of Jergal's temple told us that Jergalites are sometimes turned into undead on their death, to continue their work for Jergal as scribes. The only way that a Jergalite would make use of the Nightrisers are if they are somehow a tool of Jergal.

During the second night of the battle for Nebezzdos, a true miracle occurred. As our forces were near over run, we prayed to Jergal and a divine barrier appeared on the temple, keeping the undead at bay, fueled by our prayers. The Nightrisers have powerful mages in their numbers and there was no living priest in Nebezzdos who could have possibly provided such a strong blessing. Lothari was not seen to act at the time. It was the god Jergal, himself, protecting the temple.

Why?

Gods are immortal. It is said their chosen mortal instruments are as well. One possible theory is that Lothari Sanq is the chosen instrument of the god Jergal, scribe of the dead, but once a mightier god and ruler of the Netherese gods. Could Lothari Sanq and the Nightriser Legion be part of some ancient plan by Jergal? The mind staggers to imagine the intricate motives of the gods.

The Nightrisers are well suited to fight H'bala The mists have showed a vision to a handful of some horrific creatures which in the vision, destroyed the world and slew the gods. I refuse to believe the gods could ever be beaten. Who can know if the vision was true, but having seen it, I can say that the Nightrisers are would also be uniquely suited to fight the army of beasts we encountered.

Lothari stated it was his intention to rebuild the Netherese civilization.

A plan by Jergal to stop H'bala, thousands of years ago?
A plan by Jergal to stop some mysterious threat to the world itself and stop The End from coming prematurely?
A plan by Jergal to rebuild the Netherese civilization and rise again to great power?
A plan by Jergal to rise to great power again?

No one knows, I can only speculate and propose insane theories after having been a witness to impossible things.


    [Ed. Randen's 'theories' here, while certainly borne of the cataclysmic tumult that was the capture of Nebezzdos by the Nightrisers, represent a heresy against the Faith of Jergal. To assume that Sanq is more than a powerful necromancer or even a faithful of Jergal with Netherese blood in his veins is to assume a great deal which is almost entirely devoted to speculation.]

[LiAlH4]

What is the Nature of the Nightrisers?

 During many battles with the Nightrisers, they talked to me and they can be very talkative, if you are lucky. Other times I spied on them, or simply overheard conversations. I never had an encounter with them where they were aware of my presence and not trying to kill me.

They seem to be as free-willed as you or me. The Nightrisers able to reason, logic, argue and carry on an intelligent conversation. They have a clear awareness of their surroundings. Nightriser mages exist which can do frightening feats of magic and I have been to the laboratory of one such mage, it was very clearly still actively researching magic. Nightrisers have shown happiness, anger, patriotism, hatred, duty, honor(after their own fashion, obviously, they were trying to murder us after all) and even humor. I've heard Nightrisers tell jokes and laugh at them. I've seen Nightrisers berate comrades in arms for telling bad jokes. The Nightrisers do not ever seem to express any special viciousness or malevolence, though they were sometimes expressed anger at our presence. They never showed any sign of remorse over trying to kill us. Many of them were very "professional."

On more then one occasion, when we were separated by obstacles and managed to keep them at a distance, they called me "Sir." I asked them many times why they were trying to kill us, one phrase I still hear in my sleep is "We are just doing our duty, Sir."

[Ed. There is to my knowledge little corroborating evidence from the present of rank-and-file Nightrisers speaking. They do display signs of intelligence, which would lead one to believe that it may be possible for such abominations to speak, but this is as of yet unconfirmed. Attempting to initiate a dialogue with one is not recommended.]

Some of the Nightrisers spoke of guarding the city against intruders, as was their orders. A few spoke of awaiting the Netherese civilization to rise again.

It seemed impossible to barter with the Nightrisers, we tried to persuade them to just let us abandon the city and they refused, yet I have never seen a Nightriser trouble anyone outside of the city. I have been to Nebezzdos since it fell and the Nightrisers chasing me would turn back when I left the city itself, their only concern seemed to be keeping me out of it. A race of sea-people somehow successfully persuaded the Nightrisers to permit one of their emissaries to enter the temple of Jergal before the final fall of the city, I have no idea how such a deal was struck. The "antediluvian" are another possible source for hints on the mysteries of Ymph. I don't know how to find the sea-people but wizards might.

The Nightrisers dislike the Mythallar, but they can and have entered the chamber.

I have never seen a Nightriser bearing the holy symbol of any god, or use what I could distinguish as the blessings of the gods. What army does not have priests in their ranks? I am not a mage or a priest, it is possible I simply did not recognize the priests when I saw them. I have never heard a Nightriser speak about any god which strikes me as very odd.

We tried to take Nightrisers prisoners but I have never seen it successfully done. They did not disappear magically, but they are incredibly strong and immune to pain, how do you take something like that prisoner? They would force us to kill them before we could subdue them.

As best as is known, "killing" a Nightriser is a pointless activity. Deep under Nebezzdos is the Sunken Enclave, the center of the realm of the Nightrisers. Some hidden device, the "source", regenerates fallen and destroyed Nightrisers, memory and all on some regular basis, possibly daily. We "killed" thousands of Nightrisers during the first battle for Nebezzdos but it did not seem to have any dent on their numbers. It is possible that Nightrisers even have souls, but I have no idea if this is true.

I have seen Nightrisers "meld" in and out of the rock deep under the city. I have no idea what this means. Were they being absorbed back into the "source"? I've heard accounts of their bones melding into the city even on the surface, though I never saw this happen myself. [There are rumors that  the Nightrisers could be successfully destroyed in a permanent fashion  by the work of an organization called the "Pallid Mask". It is wise to never underestimate a foe's capabilities, but we must never overestimate them in return.]

I have never found the source or been close to it. In the final fall of Nebezzdos a group of Stygian Armada went forth on a suicide mission to try to destroy it. A single adventurer made it back alive. I do not know his name and I lost touch with him before the final fall of the city. I do not know if he is alive but if he is, he may be the most important person on Ymph. This adventurer claimed that the Stygians made it very close to the Source, but ultimately fell. This adventurer may know the path back. If the adventurer who survived are somehow reading this, do not horde your knowledge, tell others.
 


 

Crystals which raise the dead?

 There are many magical crystals under the island. Many adventurers have found healing crystals. There are crystals under Ymph which can return the dead to life. How can any man be returned to life without the intercession of the gods? I have no idea. This is a mystery, but perhaps this hidden power might be harnessed to fight the lich? Seek the Stewards of Ymph, I suspect they may know more about the crystals.

I warn you that if you do find one of these hidden caves, do not try to remove the crystals. Something very bad will happen if you do and there is a very strong chance you will die. I have no desire to tell you the danger you will face. It seems a horrible idea to meddle with such powers, not knowing what effects you may unleash. The crystals may be tied to the life force of the island, using them may deaden the whole island much like the Withering.
 
 [The raising of the dead is an inherently difficult matter, but unlike Randen's suggestions, it cannot be accomplished without the direct intervention of a god or that of incredibly powerful arcane magic. These crystals, if they exist, would serve to attract the attention of the patron of the soul to be returned to this world; lest the crystals themselves are dedicated unto a single specific master.]
 


 

The ancient elven past of Ymph?

 Deep, deep under Ymph is a passage into the Underdark. If survivors of Sanctuary are to believed, this passageway was built in the incredibly distant past, before Drow became evil monsters. The passageway was constructed as a way(possibly one of many?) for Drow to rapidly flee the surface of Faerun.

Where are the elven ruins? Where is the evidence of elven habitation? Is this passageway, "The Way", so ancient that the ruins crumbled before the Netherese arrived? Is it possible the Netherese cannibalized the remains of elven ruins, taking the stones for their own structures? Is it possible we see these ruins, but do not recognize them as elven?

I spoke to a Drow who claimed the above was true. This Drow was fighting others of his kind and was to imminently die, lending credibility to his story. He told me that Ymph was once inhabited by elves. He also claimed that the "Crown of the Ilythiiri" was a Drow artifact and was sent to recover it. The Drow claimed this was the same "Crown of the Isles" that others have looked for. I do not think the Drow was lying, he may have been wrong, but I do not think he was lying on purpose. The Drow sent to recover the crown would surely die of the Withering, they even risk spreading the Withering to the lands of the Drow, the crown must be of great importance to them to take such a risk.
 


 

~-----~

 
I've said my piece and shared what I hope may help the good fight.

Whoever you are, good luck on your mission and may Waukeen guide you to prosperity if your cause is just.

Randen Blake


[Waukeenar Randen Blake put his life on the line for many through his tenure on Ymph. A noble, gentle soul whose life was given unto duty. Through Ilmater's Mercy, may his soul rest now at peace amongst the gods.]