Conversations in and around Falathien

Beldon the Bragger - 2/05 -Can you believe it, my twin brothers Seldon and Weldon seem to have disappeared from the face of Istaria. I hope they didn?t turn out like Bolger, eaten and turned into fertilizer. What a mystery this is. What could have happened to cause them to disappear so totally and completely?

Geldonna thinks the Demonmask Cult is responsible. I think its was the DEVILS who whisked them away never to be seen again, not even as fertilizer. Now her story about a Darkstaff imposter seems more plausible. That would explain how the true Darkstaff?s reputation has been tarnished. In fact, if the forces of evil are trying to undermine the will of the people to defend Istaria, discrediting true Heroes, like Darkstaff, is a good way to start. In fact, I would be wary of any who spread discrediting rumors about Darkstaff, including my sister Geldonna. They may not have the best interests of Istaria at heart. They may actually be minions of the Lich King and they may be trying to undermine Istaria?s defenses. Why the rumor is that some of them are not even Gifted.

Now I don?t like to brag, but I want you to remember that you heard this rumor from me first. My spies tell me that the Lich King has captured Darkstaff and is hold him in a magically sealed cell I the Underdark as a prelude to casting a spell that will cover all of Istaria with the Fimbulwinter. Yes, the Lich King is trying to put Istaria into never ending darkness. All the Gifted must band together, gather your friends and guildmates, recruit new members, all the guilds must be strong, we must do whatever it takes to stop the Lich King before he can cast the Fimbulwinter spell. Brave adventurers like Dario, Balinor, Arley and Rakkir need to rally the Gifted and lead the charge against the Lich King.

As you may already know, we are trying to recover the shattered fragments of Darkstaff?s once awesome armor crystal and to locate the crystal stolen from Darkstaff?s tower. Yes you are right, Darkstaff is not having much luck with his crystals of late. One thing you could do now to combat evil is to recapture these crystals from the Lich King?s minions and put them to use fighting evil. Would you like to hear the story of Darkstaff?s shattered crystal?

Geldonna the Gabber ? 2/05 - I have heard a lot of rumors lately and let me tell you, I don?t mind repeating them, true or not. In fact, I almost never even try to verify he truth of anything I say. It does appear that Darkstaff has cut down on his drinking. Maybe those Phoenicians, lead by Sunsfire, are having a positive influence on him. Now here is a surprise. Darkstaff has taken on an apprentice after all these centuries. A fine young human named Eklipse. Apparently, the Spirit is strong in Eklipse. I just hope Darkstaff teaches him more about magic than drinking and carousing. I?m going to keep my eye on that Darkstaff and it seems I am not the only one. It seems Klump the Insane is watching him also. I have an update on the Demonmask Cult rumor. A Darkdemon has sided with the Lich King and has formed the cult to place Fimbul runes on the sacred soil of Istaria. You can identify the cult members by the demon mask they wear. Not very subtle are they. It must be a secret society run by idiots. Unfortunately, the Lich King is notan idiot and is obviously up to some horrible scheme.

There is still no confirmation on the Darkstaff imposter rumor, but I do have a new Darkstaff rumor. It appears that either the real Darkstaff or the imposter or both have been captured by the Lich King and imprisoned on another plane of existence. Finally let me close with a couple of facts, things I have seen with my own two eyes. Flying Dragons have returned to Istaria. Blessed be. I didn?t believe it was true until a huge old one named Inoga, flew in here and landed right next to me. Well, if that was not enough, Dionyseus walks up and asks if I have seen any Dryads. Can you imagine what happened next? Yep, you guessed it, a Dryad named Akasha and a Dryad named Tarzan hovered into view. We are living in strange times. Flying Dragons, Satyrs, and Dryads have all returned to Istaria. What will be next?

I do have some good news. Thanks to brave adventurers like yourself we have recovered some of Darkstaff?s stolen crystals and rather then return them to that rogue, have given the to adventurers who will put them to good use. Now that my brother Beldon has arrived, you may want to assist him. In the meantime, if you hear any good rumors, let me know first, not Tilly. Do you want to hear some more rumors?

Give me a break, you weren?t even paying attention to the rumors I already tried to tell you. Why should I waste anymore time on you. You should talk to either Tilly or Beldon.

Tilly the Talker ? 2/05 - Oh no, this is awful, beyond belief, Darkstaff has been captured by the Lich King and imprisoned in an enchanted cell. I just heard it from a reliable source, Melagant. Darkstaff?s capture appears to be part of some plot by the Lich King to launch the Fimbulwinter, whatever that is? What a shame this is, after those Phoenicians actually had Darkstaff on the road to recovery, it makes no difference now, he is gone. I just can?t believe this has happened, why it was just a couple of weeks ago when Darkstaff stopped by to visit with me and introducedme to Swythe, Fallen, Akasha, Sergon, Faetten, Loops, and the diabolical Scarn.

Oh that evil Lich King, he must be launching a major new offensive. He has killed the Archangel Gabriel, who was trying to stop the Lich King from casting the Fimbulwinter spell and has broken the new cart Gabriel was crafting. Has the Lich King?s power increased to the point that he can kill angels? If so, we in Istaria are in desperate need of help. Who can give us this help? Looks like it won?t be Darkstaff the Ancient, maybe Aroah can still help but he can?t do it alone. We must allcome to the aid of Istaria in this dark hour.

With Darkstaff imprisoned, will Faetten ever need to start construction on Darkstaff?s new burglar proof Tower? Oh my sob, I so wanted Darkstaff to move to Falathien. We all need to rally to rescue Darkstaff. Get ready to fight. If you need quality armor search out Bost, Arley, Rakkir, Kulamata, or Tresil, for the highest quality weapons speak to Ansol, Balinor, Thugg, or Morvan, for dragon crafting look to Dorrin and for spells look to Ravenatha, Warmachine and Nirab.

Ok, now lets get onto serious business. I have a lead on another one of Darkstaff?s stolen crystals. It is not extremely powerful, but can still be useful. Would you like to help me recover the crystal?