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| - This handwritten book contains descriptions, chants, and magical formulae for a number of dark magical rituals. It has no listed author, but is dated 1592. An aura of malevolence seems to cling to each page.
- The demon-forged swords contain a pulsing aura of angry menace.
- These hastily scribbled notes record the results of the ritual. While they provide no proof if Hequat is active or not, the indications of the ritual are that she does still exist.
- Written in Akarist's hand, circumscribed on the parchment by a cartouche of protective wards, you read a series of symbols heavily laden with unworldly power. The symbols stay in your mind, recalled instantly at a moments notice.
This, you realize, is the True Name of the Envoy of Shadows.
- The exhibit tag calls this clay tablet "The Diary of Tyoss". A roughly translated excerpt reads:
"We have behaved as animals do, brutally, savagely, without mercy. I have wept for those who die by our crimes, but have not stayed my hand. I wonder: in saving our lives, have we destroyed everything we once were?"
- The notes and research contained in these tomes center around Circle attempts to ascertain the True name of the Envoy of Shadows.
- The message is penned in Akarist's spidery hand. On the subject of sacrifices, it says:
'Any fell being of power will usually demand a human sacrifice. The fiend will claim that it is to quench it's thirst for blood and souls, but in fact that is not the true reason. Most fiends are well fed on mortal corruption, and even if they were near to starvation it is unlikely they would admit it lest it make them seem weak. They will feed, of course, as it would be foolish to forsake an easy meal, but in truth their reasons for demanding sacrifices are generally twofold:
'Firstly, they demand it as a tribute. Demons, like most creatures that crawl forth from the abyss, are both proud and vain. They wish to have their greatness tallied and displayed for all to see by the magnitude of tribute given to them. This Envoy of Shadow will no doubt demand much to fit it's title.
'The second reason is more practical. It is a test of how far the summoner is willing to go. If a summoner is willing to sacrifice another human being to appease the demon, then the answer is probably very far indeed.
'The disruption of such a sacrifice by outside forces will not necessarily cancel the deal, but it will at the least save the lives and souls of the poor unfortunates selected as the Demon's tribute.'
- You've seen samples of Akarist's spidery handwriting before, and these books were definitely written by him. There are numerous volumes here, and each one chronicles a different aspect of a great war between the ancient peoples of Oranbega and another lost civilization called the Mu. The books start with the creation stories and mythic founding of Oranbega by refugees who's god led them across the sea in great ships, after they had been exiled from their homeland for practicing magic; and proceed up to the war. The last volume Akarist was working on has only reached the first few days of the conflict, where Mu Skyships rained a magical fire down upon the outlying Oranbegan cities.
From the detailed descriptions, it seems as it Akarist himself was an eyewitness.
- One of the Circle of Thorns mystics you defeated told you:
'You may have shut down our portal, but our descendants are already here.'
- This ancient brass pendant has been badly tarnished, its intricate designs worn almost smooth by the passage of time. When you hold it close to your body, you are aware of a slight quickening of your heartbeat, as if you sensed danger lurking from the floor beneath your feet. According to the exhibit tag, this pendant was used in the summoning of demons.
- This lengthy document contains dire potents and warnings from a Prince of Demons about the impending return of an entity called 'Hequat', all made in the vaguest possible way. It makes many further vague promises as well.
- Three locations have been marked on this map: the office building your contact sent you to protect, a sewer junction, and a warehouse. You can only conclude that the Circle plans to hit each of these locations.
- The message is penned in Akarist's spidery hand. On the subject of True Names, it says:
'All things have names, and knowledge of the name can grant great power over a thing. Thusly do things of great power protect their True Names. When a demon is brought forth across the bridge of worlds it is often bound in service with threat of the revelation of it's True Name, for should the name be in the minds of those who would do it harm it could be slain eternally should it fall to their attack. Thusly the continuous research into the True Names of fiends is always to be advised.
'The Envoy of Shadow was brought to the world without it's True Name being known. It is unbound and thus immortal on this world. Even if physically destroyed it will live again, for nothing can truly harm it. However, the Circle of Thorns will have ordered research into the Envoy's True Name. If they acquire it, they can compel the beast, which will not be a good outcome for you. However, the tome you recovered from it's original summoning may provide a great boon in finding it's True Name. Combined with the information already gleaned at the Circle's order, it could provide the Envoy's True Name. Assuming you can first recover that information from the Circle of Thorns.'
- The message is penned in Akarist's spidery hand. On the subject of Hequat, it says:
'Though we did not know of them until the War, the Mu were our sworn enemy for hundreds of years. Within a fortress-island forged of iron and fear they had been trained to hate us and to fight against us for generations. Their Goddess demanded it, and they obeyed her in all ways. They believed that their chosen place upon this world was to serve as the righteous implement of her will, and in their deeds and customs did they enshrine this so that to do otherwise would be unthinkable. At her command they performed generations of what you would call eugenic breeding to strengthen the magic within their blood lines. At her command they crushed all contrary thought, and made no art that did not praise her name. At her command they attacked our peaceful Oranbega on a spring day, sewing ruin on our city and bringing war to us after it had become forgotten in our lands. The name of this Goddess was Hequat.
'Hequat was in our myths as well, for it was her followers who had hounded us from our lands and drove our forbears into the sea. In our myths she was the former lover of Ermeeth, the god who taught our people the magic he had learned from the fabled Tielekku. Hequat was also Ermeeth's greatest foe, and it was from her armies we had fled under one sea and across another to the land we would call Oranbega. We had thought Ermeeth and Hequat both legends until her soldiers came to burn our world away.
'If the Envoy speaks truly and Hequat moves again I do not know if it will be to your good or ill. She hated Oranbega, and would hate that which we have become even more. However, it must be remembered that her hatred stemmed from our refusal to bow down to the gods in all things, as she thought was proper for mortals. That aspect may bode ill for your people and your culture.'
- The message is penned in Akarist's spidery hand. On the subject of using a True Name, it says:
'Against a mortal the use of a True Name would require much ceremony and ritual. Against the Envoy, however, the process is somewhat streamlined. It has traveled across the gulfs between worlds, born without birthing and living without life. It is an un-thing here. As such, it has few defenses against the invocation of its True Name, save for secrecy. Your efforts and mine have defeated that. Now the task is only to slay the beast with its name known to you. With its form destroyed and its name known it must either face absolute destruction or be flung into the depths of Hell, never to return to this world again.'
- The aide you rescued told you:
"After the Councilman's wife died, he became interested in the Circle of Thorns. Really interested. I think he thought that he could have saved her, if he only knew some magic. He started attending Circle meetings, performing small rites and spells. And after a while, he was like a totally different person. He stopped drafting pro-hero legislation and started drafting just the opposite. He became frustrated with anyone on the council who supported heroes. I think that's why he gathered them here today. He would have killed us all if you hadn't stopped him!"
- Yo. I guess you could say I know a little about the Oranbegans. In fact, I used to be one! I remember all of my past lives, and the one I lived in Oranbega was sweet. Grace, tranquility, intellectual achievement: that's what it was all about. It's still hard for me to believe that the Circle of Thorns grew from such an enlightened society. Whoops, there's my phone!
Whoa! Cadao Kestrel just called me with a major problem! There's a huge battle going on in a nearby office complex, between two groups of Circle mystics! There's an emergency forcefield in place, but you better get over there fast!
- The message is penned in Akarist's spidery hand. On the subject of Thorn Blades, it says:
'When our people were pressed by the Mu, we took drastic measures. First, we sank our city beneath the earth to shelter us from bombardment by Mu sky ships. Then, when we found we still were sorely pressed, we turned to other powers from darker worlds. A Prince of Demons came to us and offered us his aid. The Circle of Thorns, the ruling council of Oranbega, debated greatly, but in the end we bargained with him.
'His first gift to us was the Thorn Blades, Demon-swords that turned men into blood-frenzied monsters. Armed with these we turned the tide, and the slaughter was indescribable.
'The men of Mu found new tactics however, and blunted our attack. Again we struck bargains with the Prince of Demons, and he brought forth troops to fight on our behalf from the depths of Hell. With wraiths and specters did we march upon the Mu. With Behemoths of the land and Leviathans of the sea did we fall upon their men, their city, their very land. The fiends had bargained for the slaughter of every last man, child and woman of Mu, and on that fine point we faltered. We still felt mercy for them, pity even, as we saw in them what might have become of us. We let some Mu escape to far shores. When the fiends discovered this, they were both outraged and gleeful, for they had hoped for just such an outcome. In the end we had to sacrifice mortal form and were only able to escape the wrath of the fiends as bodiless spirits in our sunken city.
'A gift of Thorn Blades was the first step in our bargain then, and it will likely be the first stop in a new one. We long ago gained the secrets of their making, just as we now have better methods of binding demons to our will, but the ceremonial import of the gift is still important. I have spoken before of the vanity of fiends, and love of ritual is part of it.'
- Upon his rescue, Akarist told you:
'It's hardly surprising that they sought to retrieve me. Whether by chance of design, there is an emissary of the Ever-Burning Hells in your world, an Envoy of the Darkness. And unlike a proper summoning, this Envoy walks unbound and free. He comes with sweet promises and fell bargains. When he appeared all who once trod Oranbega's streets felt it, for we had dealt with this ambassador's master before. They sought me counsel, as I had negotiated with his kind in ages long past.'
'Now that the Envoy is here, it has already begun to make offers. The specifics are unknown to me, but the Circle thinks it now knows enough to handle a creature of this power. I do not know if that is true, or if the Circle is acting rashly to a perceived opportunity at a time when Oranbega is once more under dire threat. Either way, the results will likely be catastrophic for your people. I should tell you that the last time the Circle of Thorns accepted such an offer, it ended with the destruction of the continent of Mu, and millions of souls flung into Hell.'
'Not that we came off much better.'
- After his rescue from the Circle of Thorns, the stunned Warrior boss King Thunder told you:
'The book. We stole it from the Circle, but we didn't know. We tried the rituals; it asked for power, promised power, and we did as it asked.
'It crossed over on a bridge of our greed, but it broke through our bindings and then it was on us. The flames! The shadows and the flames! My people, my Warriors, engulfed in flames!
'The Circle knew. They came to meet it and it went with them. It called itself the Envoy of Shadow, and they knew it was coming, and when it arrived it went with them below the ground.
We thought we were the ones calling it, but we weren't. We thought we were in control, but we weren't in control at all. The Circle set us up! We were sacrificed to it. We were sacrifices to bring it across the threshold of worlds.'
- These hastily written notes record detailed observations of the Envoy of Shadows, including numerous conjectures about it's nature and its possible True name.
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