Goldstar
The tall, lean warrior stares at you from beneath the shadowy boughs and tangled
vines of the Forest of the Damned. His dark garments and suede boots are
thorn-torn and mud encrusted. As you stare at his haggard face, you see a
luminescent, golden pentacle appear on his brow for a moment, and then it
vanishes.
“Only fools come here…fools or the damned. I fall into the latter category
unfortunately. I am Goldstar, once a protector of Stonehaven, once vanquisher of
Yeenaghu and once a Knight of the Cup. As a child, I discovered I was
blood-cursed. The scrye-seer of my village called it a water-gift of Grandsire
Furlich, but I know it for what it was, the curse of tainted-blood, lycanthropy.
All my young life I struggled to keep the beast within me in check. The older I
got the more battles I lost with the beast, but somehow I managed to never kill
an innocent. Crooks, monsters and enemies became my fare until I met Aranna
Wraithchilde, bearer of the Pentacle of the Winds. I attacked her while under
the sway of my beastly self but Aranna defended herself simply by touching the
Pentacle to my brow. The Air Arcani emblazoned a golden star upon my forehead
and with that mark my brutish beast’s rage dissipated. My blood curse was gone.
I could draw on the strength and senses of my lycanthropy but my mind was no
longer slave to it. Yanti’s artifact had given me back the gift most appropriate
for a scholarly deity. I regained my thought and reason.
“I had lost something as well, the Wild. I was no longer as connected to the
natural world, could no longer read the actions and communications of animals or
tap into the feral strength of my beast, but that was all a small price to pay
to be human again. I never had a chance to thank Aranna, for by the time I
recovered my wits Aranna had used the Pentacle to vanish in the night winds, but
I made a promise to myself that I would prove myself worthy of this gift.”
“My path to personal redemption led me to Stonehaven where the Gray Council
recruited you, Raith, as well as Yatagan, Eric Greenring and me to scout the
Landbridge Woods. However, one of the councilors known as Scrye had predicted
dire portents emanating from the gnoll-infested forest. The Stonehaven garrison
was dealing with a crisis on the Northern boarder and could not afford to spare
any manpower to investigate the predicted peril. Our mission was to scout the
woods for any sign of this foreseen threat and report back to the Gray Council.”
“This quest turned out to be no simple scouting mission but a crucible beyond
anything I imagined. We soon found out that we four had to uncover four ancient
artifacts known as the Arcani and fend off the attacks of the gnolls, who also
sought the Arcani to empower their foul deity, Yeenaghu. We found the Staff of
Earthen Might in an abandoned earth temple. Yatagen discovered the Fire Lord’s
sword hidden in a muddy cave. Later, I kept the blade secure by out-running a
band of gnolls and leaping a chasm to safety.”
“I found the Bloodwine Chalice lodged under a rock alcove in a stream beneath
the Harpy Cliffs. The Arcani discovery that most disturbed me was the Pentacle
of Air. It was hidden in the Black Mire. On the path to the Black Mire, we
encountered a black spirit that sought a book of prophecies. Both Eric and I
recognized the spirit. It was Aranna, Eric’s old friend and my savior. The
Pentacle-Bearer had died in the poisonous muck of the Black Mire years before.
We had to discover the icon of the Sprite King on a circle of waterlogged wooden
markers. None of us could make out any symbol on these markers so Yatagan
searched through the venomous mud near several markers and fell deathly ill. He
had to keep quaffing healing potions to stay alive until much later when he
could find a cure poison potion. Eventually, we found the Sprite King’s Trident
on a marker and Yatagan fished out the Pentacle of Air. I wish I had used it to
figure out a way to free Aranna from her black shroud or find the book of
prophecies she sought. I knew the book was last seen in the hands of a rogue
mage that attacked us at the edge of the Landbridge Woods.
“Ironically, we won our struggle against the gnolls by losing all four Arcani to
a band of gnolls that took us prisoner. The moronic gnoll shaman High Howler
scooped up all four of the Arcani in his arms. Obviously, High Howler was
unaware that no mortal being could withstand holding more than two Arcani at
once. Holding all four simultaneously caused a major magical cataclysm that
pummeled Yeenaghu and slew the majority of the gnoll tribe. Each of the four of
us scouts snatched up an Arcani and channeled the magics of the cataclysm to
vanquish and shackle Yeenaghu.
“The four of us went our separate ways and gave the Arcani to suitable
guardians. My task was to give the Chalice I had found to the Sprite King for
safekeeping. I did so and as I passed the cup two him, in the moment our hands
were both on it. The cup’s bloodwine aura flashed to light and I felt dizzy. He
admonished me that I should be careful! That this was the reason the Chalice
most stay in sprite hands; humans were too obtuse to use the chalice safely. He
held the chalice it glowed, a small amount of blue shimmering liquid poured into
me and the dizziness went away.
“Our band of scouts had broken up but I felt my debt to Aranna was unpaid. I
went back to see her spirit and wished Yatagan was there. He was the sorcerer or
even you Raith you were wise about dark spirits. Well needless to say, I failed
in my attempt to free Aranna and instead wear her shroud of black. I remain
forever tied to the Black Mire until the book of prophecies is found.