Excerpts from Etrigan’s Journal: The Cut Sectionsby
Kevin Hines PART 1* * * After Etrigan was raised from the dead until Rhys visited
Etrigan in the back alleys: Rhys dropped me
off at the Rauvin temple to be raised. When I came to I was strapped to a
table. A group of 4 priests stood around me and began to prod me with sharpened
sticks, and make small cuts along my body. Burning irons were used on my flesh.
They mostly stayed away from my face. After 3 hours of this torture, they
stopped and moved me to an empty cell. They chained me in the center and began
to whip my back. I was already breaking. I had been pulled from death to only
be caused constant pain. They began to splash hot oil on me, while continuing
the whipping. They wanted me to scream in agony. It was not I
that would do the screaming. I
felt myself change. Change like I have not done in years. My skin hardened into
a shell. My hands grew claws. My back buckled slightly, and my knees turned
slightly out. What small fabrics I had be wearing tore off. My teeth sharpened,
and my eyes began to see in red. They almost did not notice until my growling
got loud enough. They stopped the session and looked at me. I
tore the thin chains out of the wall. My right arm was free first and I used it to help free my left. I broke the
shackle off where it was. The chain that was still attached to my right arm
became a weapon. I whipped the man who had done the same to me. Only my chain
wrapped around his neck. I pulled him close into my hands....if you can still
call them hands. It was easy enough to break his scrawny neck. Glancing
around I saw others in the room. I had moved sudden enough that no one had run.
I leaped onto the one closest the door. I was blocking the path to escape even
as my teeth sunk into his tender neck. Tearing out the flesh with my mouth, I
turned to face two priests that were charging me. I spat the skin into one’s
face, and clawed the other’s midsection. He crumpled in a scream. Either
the room was silenced or the screams were expected because no one came to help.
It took me a matter of minutes to kill the remaining priests. If
only it had stopped there. I
crashed through the unlocked door to see one solitary guard. I was on in him in
the blink of an eye. In even less time his blood covered my hands and forearms.
Two priests had just rounded the corner
and saw me at the end of the hall. I stood there licking the blood on my
arms, and then I turned and saw them.
One began an incantation, the other drew a small blade. I began bounding
down the hall using my still-thickening front arms to gain speed. The spell got
cast just as I reached them. It had no effect. Fool. I rammed the one with the
blade, knocking him into his companion. They hit the ground hard, and I began
to dig into their bodies as if I was tunneling through soft dirt. The rest of
the hall was empty, I began to race down looking for an exit. Instead I found a sleeping quarters. Some of the lower
initiates were sound asleep. I could not resist no matter how hard I tired.
Their slaughter was quick. But not painless. With all these lives extinguished
at my hands, I took leave through a window in that same quarters. It was a 3
flight drop into an alley. Hitting the ground hurt slightly, but I began to
scurry away looking for a place to
rest. My appetite for evil was sated. I
awoke the next day. And was horrified at what had become of me. I hid myself in
shame for the next few days, but
eventually realized the others must have sent me to me raised. So I left
message for Rhys that I was alive but needed time to myself. I gave him a time
and location to locate me. I would visit the same alley every day so he could
reach me. I lived the next few days eating out of garbage and avoiding the other derelicts. * * * PART 2
* * * At the monastery while we guarded the caravan - Etrigan
has a vision: Last night in
the chapel while I prayed, I was visited by a knight. He showed me a standing
stone. He claimed that at this standing stone I would find a gift. I was to use
this gift to aid some holy soldiers who would be stopping a usurper from taking
the power from the god of torment. Why holy soldiers who wish to aid Rahven I don’t know but it seems that this would be a chance to redeem my soul. * * * Etrigan collapses with a
vision just prior to a battle (after he lost the black glove and also
shortly after Riatha joined.): Not just any
body. I found myself in my father’s body. I was running across these same
rocks. I was being chased by some military. I had killed recently. I felt some
sadistic glee. The vision horrified me, and I fell
to the ground trying to force it out of my mind. At the same time the party was
attacked but I had collapsed and only the valiant battle of the others kept me
alive. * * * Evelyn tells Etrigan details of the Mission to kill the
necromancer: And as a bonus
she mentioned that I might have a chance to confront my father. Ilek had
summoned him, or possibly had. So if we killed Ilek it would either hurt my
father or give me a chance to kill him, and my party members would be there to
aid me. This is a chance I must not pass up. I thought he was dead, and want to
insure he does not harm me or pull me into his evil grasp.
* * * During the mission to kill Ilek: But in regards
to the more important aspect of the mission, well unfortunately my father had
not been fully summoned. As soon as Ilek died, my father appeared before me and
taunted me. He laughed and vanished. Before he vanished he made some comment
about having a sister, and that she would be proud. It made me think he
referred to Evelyn, though I can’t say why. A gut feeling. But I was the only
child of my mother. Was Evelyn a half-sister? A bastard child of my demon
father? No.....that is ridiculous. My father is trying to fool me. Drive me
mad. I can’t trust anything he has to say. * * * PART 3
* * * While visiting Evelyn, and after receiving the cloak: She also began
to talk to me about the rest of the mercenary group. She told me that we had
been performing well lately, but I must be prepared to push them in the right
directions, or leave them. She does not want them to hold me back. I feel no
allegiance to them, so I told her not to worry. Of course I have
no allegiance to her either. * * * While fighting the demon that eventually took the horn to
Tenubria: After everyone
left the room he spoke to me. Trying to convince me that we are one and the
same. He used the word brother. I may be demon, but I am also human. I have no
brothers. There is no one like me. I wish I did, it might make my future
decisions easier. * * * after the pirate mission, dividing up the loot we found: I decided to
keep a few items for myself. A Red Robe, and a black dagger. Also a ominous
looking book. I also kept some of the gems and gold (a small portion) – I have
a feeling if I hand them over they will enter the group’s funds, and not be
split among us all. I might give some of the items to the party at a later
date, but I feel the need to hold back some of these items....just in case. I
gave them the vase and of course I gave them the box. * * * the birdman tells Etrigan his future. He had two
options…: One was with Evelyn and one was with the standing stones I had the vision about. Both paths led to Vekna. In one I opposed him. In other I stood by his side. * * * PART 4* * * After commenting on Drake’s dark path and before leaving
to get the pearls: I have been
thinking of offering him this dark book and dagger. See if he turns it over to
Riatha or uses it for his own deeds. I'd like to know where he stands. So I
will have to give it to him anonymously. I will have some chests made, and also
some places to store the chests. --- Kren built the
compartments in my room. And I got three nice chests and hid them in my room.
In the dagger and robe chest I put cheap copies of the goods in there. I have
decided to decipher a bit of what this book is before giving it to Drake. If it
is not a book of sacrifice like I suspect my test will be for naught. Tonight I
will go look for a translator. --- I found a
translator. Or rather I was referred to one. Calls himself 'the Piper'. I will
meet him tomorrow night at a tavern. This could be expensive. --- The tavern was
nice and posh. It cost me a few silver for the meal alone. The inkeep brought
me to an upstairs room. Inside there was a large guard of some sort. I assumed
that he was an off-duty militia getting some extra cash. Nothing I could not handle if it had come to
blows. It was a modest room with a nice table, a brazier for warmth and a floor
to ceiling window on one wall overlooking the city. The guy frisked
me and gave me a once over. Inside sat a halfling, dressed in clean trouser,
vest and coat - very bookish looking.
He's probably middle-aged by halfling standards and he has a sharp nose. He was puffing on a pipe the entire night. The well
mannered fellow introduced himself as Piper and told the large fellow to fetch
some ale for us. He then asked what I had. I pulled out
three parchments (I had made copies of a few portions of the book) and dropped
them in front of him. He seemed to
acknowledge the copy was not professionally made, but was good. After making
some language jokes that didn't amuse me he finally began to translate. The
title of the volume was "The Book of Quissian" or "Travels in
the Lands of the Quissians" Piper told me of
many things, which did not seem to be to my interest. I will document them here
nonetheless: The Quissians
appear to have no proper written language, although warriors speak of a
Picture-tongue called Du’ast that is
used by priests. The priests claim that is a myth The Quissians
tell their history via Erans. Erans are roughly two hour long cycles of song
and acting sometimes involving costumes and stunts. Quissians come
from a homeland called Anauron which lies to the west. This land sounds like a
desert or some other sort of wasteland. They
named their sun Ram. Piper seemed to
think Anauron was significant because it came form the word Anauros. A word I
never heard of, so I cared not. However he spoke of Ram being an evil deity
worshipped by the Dark Tower knights. When Piper read
the name Morag Dulan he recognized it as a city in the jungles south of
DragonFall. I assume this is the same city our band plans to head down to. This
book didn't seem to contain much in the way of dark magicks, but it could be
useful nonetheless. At this point I
showed Piper the entire book and turned to the pages that contained a alphabet
key. The key seemed
to be to the Du'ast language. No myth after all. Piper then began
to tell me about some cataclysm from the past. To the east
along the northern coast, past Velc, one eventually enters another inland
sea connected to the Ocean. This sea is
known to scholars and explorers as the Crater Sea. It is a strange place. Reports
say the sea is inhabited by sea creatures, bizarre abominations who regenerate
constantly, and a city which, on a perfectly clear moonlit night, one can see
below the waters. No one knows why, but magic is almost useless in the Crater
Sea. It is unpredictable. Sometimes, they say, it can take on material
form and speak with those who know the Art, telling them secrets in their
dreams, whispering to them. There is one form of magic which works in this
place, but Piper would not speak of it. Just mentioning the topic made Piper
nervous and he warned me that he did not want to get involved with the people
who know of this other form of magic. Piper then told
me of the cataclysm in more detail. I will try to recall what he said here. "I'll begin
at the beginning. The way the world is now is very different from the way it
was some thousands of years ago. I
don't mean just people move and cities grow and shrink, I mean, it is almost a
different world. Something happened a long time ago, a majestic conflagration
between powers that ruptured and wounded the world and left it scarred. We really know little more than that,
really. Regardless, what is certain is that the conflagration was not between
gods, but between men. Two forces
clashed: a being known as the Runemaster clashed with another known as the
Anarketh. In their fury, they nearly disemboweled the earth. The Crater Sea is the largest of many scars
that remain today. that would be naught but ancient history, really, except The
Runemaster founded a school far to the east, in a landmass unreachable or
destroyed since. there, these other
Runemasters learned the lore of a magic that is fundamental to the workings of
our cosmos. They toyed with levels of
control unheard of since. and here's
the catch: they are among us! There are naught but traces, naught but the
faintest hint of their presence, but they are with us... sometimes they pass as
ordinary people These Runemasters have a purpose, a plan... One which I have
not fathomed. but as is clear is that
they mean to change the world in yet another fundamental way, and I think their
pace is quickening." He then spoke of
demons and a connection they may have with runemagic. "Demons
have portals to this world from their planes and their number have been
steadily growing over the past hundred years.
The connections always leave a trace, an aftertaste almost, of
runemagic. It is a very different thing
than a summoning with all its accoutrements done by wizards. It is almost a direct tunnel. The Runemasters
believe these 'tunnels' close when they are done with the demons, but I suspect
the demons have found ways to keep them open... put their finger in as the door
is slammed shut: it hurts, but if your finger is fat enough, you can keep the
door open. You know almost all I know of the 'big picture' at this point. I think the demons are either allied with
the runemasters or in direct war with them.
But there are surely other big players and I do not know who they
are. And now we have come full circle
to your cypher. That language has appeared on both the bodies, in the form of
tattoos, and parchment carried by outsiders who have been 'caught' in the last
few decades. No one could decipher
it." Piper seemed to
trust me. I know not why, and if I was a kinder soul I would tell him not to
have faith in me. But I have need of him. We made plans to translate the rest
of the book. There may be no more of
use in the book but there may be more clues to the connection to the Dark Tower
or the nature of these Quissians and their connection to the cypher language. I left him
shortly after that. But I felt as if I had learned things that would change my
destiny even further. * * * After Killing Lyan in the alley: But was he a
man? He seemed to take the form of a demon periodically. Was he like me? I
doubt it, I tend to transform physically, and he seemed to flicker as if one
moment he was a demon, and the next he was man. Still this was too similar for
my taste. * * * Etrigan talks to Emily while the elves investidated the
undead town: Something she
could use to possibly tell in one of her performances, and also help someone
else along too. I told her about
Kaylo and his family and his imprisonment as a Minotaur. She was enthralled.
Hopefully she will spread the story around and whatever fiend searches for
Kaylo will come to us, and we can deal with his problems. I'd rather name the
time and place then wait for his foes to find us. * * * While visiting Evelyn after returning from getting the
pearls: She once again
spoke of me choosing a path, or a side. She seemed to hint (none too subtle of
a hint) that if I would regret not siding with her, even if it meant going
against my 'friends'. While I don't consider the group 'friends', they are
allies. And I don't like being threatened. I appreciate all Evelyn has done for
me, but if she thinks I follow her blindly or even trust her, then she is not
as bright as I thought. She also
informed that the odd fellow that Riatha, Emjad, and I fought before leaving was
still held by the Iron Fist. His body has not decayed at all. Nor has it
returned to its own dimension. That is very disturbing, and it makes me wonder
about a number of things. For obvious
reasons I assume that he is not a full blooded demon. Perhaps that makes this
plane his home dimension? So that would mean he has no dimension to return to.
But that also suggests he is dead. Do demon's decay? I am not sure, as there
are few reports of demons' being killed. Just slain from our dimension. Lots to
think about. * * * While visiting Evelyn after returning from getting the
pearls: I wonder if
Evelyn knows that I slept with the innkeep? I know she would not allow that,
and I know the innkeep would not inform Evelyn. But I am also sure Evelyn has
ways to find out about those sorts of things. * * * After being killed by the lobstrosity: The next thing I
was aware of was intense torture. But I was not alone. I was with the odd
fellow who we killed in NoGuard. He told me his name was Lyan. He also made numerous
claims. He told me was actually a paladin of good (as if I did not see his
demon guise). He claimed he worked with my father, who he called Corzan. (it's
strange to not know one's father's name). He and my father threw off their
chains of evil and tried to become good. I might have believed Lyan if he had
not brought up my father. Perhaps Lyan is part human, like me. Perhaps he was
able to make the right choice. But my father is a demon. And I have seen him
working with a necromancer, and I do not believe they had any intentions of
being good. I have experienced parts of his past, and am sure there is no good
in his blood. * * * After speaking with Tarkin: And I am
curious…if these woodsmen can use these runes, then why can't I? Piper seemed
to suggest that the demons could use slight rune magic to open portals, or keep
portals open. Perhaps I could use this same rune magic to kill these demons? If demons were
going to continue to plague my life, then I will make them pay. And perhaps I
have a key of how to do that now. * * * PART 5* * * After returning from the Prison, Evelyn speaks to Etrigan privately: She told me of
the upcoming destruction of our planet. The red star that hurtles towards us
will destroy us all. Including the demon hordes that are north of NoGuard. She
plans on taking as much power as she can before that so she can leave. And take
me with her. She asked if I was willing to ally myself with her over the
others. In truth, the answer is no. I will ally myself with whoever I need to
when that day arrives. Whoever can benefit me. If I can't escape my heritage
then I will use it to my advantage. I will kill demons. I will kill the evil
creatures. No matter what it takes. If I say yes I
will have her aid, and her power, and
then when I want I can abandon her if necessary. I will use her just as she
plans on using me. I will have to be careful. So I agreed. She offered me a
sword. It was beautiful. And powerful. I could sense its power. I picked it up. It was mine. But
I have to do one thing to bond with it. --- Last night I killed an innocent. I found a drunken vagrant and slew him. It was easy. He was no one. And it bonds the sword to me. When I unlock its powers I can vanquish foes like never before. The price was worth it. |