Midnight RPG - Chapter 10.61

This conversation takes place during the eight-hour rest break that fell in between our descent into the hole and the beginning of our trek down the root. Durgaz will approach Kyuad and Zal'Kazzir, either separately or together, and lead them back to Eranon.

Durgaz/ Andrew

Durgaz: "Nobody else is saying anything, so I will. We need to discuss what we plan to do once we are inside the Spire. If we have enough time to do anything.

"I don't know what your intentions are, Kyuad. I know even less of yours, Sarcosan. I do know some of Eranon's, and that is why I have come to you. Eranon believes that he can break the curse on this marsh from somewhere within the Spire, and that it may have some connection to an artifact called the Sunder Shard. But he knows nothing of spells or curses, and neither do I. We are hoping that you do.

"Eranon can tell you more, as he has already told me. But I would like to know your plans as well. Neither of you is planning to actively seek out or attempt an audience with Vrolk, I hope. I have no interest in meeting the master of this place, and some of the things you have said make me worried."

Zal'Kazzir/Adam

• *Rising and gently facing Durgaz*

Thank you for raising the issue, Durgaz; I have also been wondering what our approach to this endeavor should be, and I appreciate your boldness and concern. If our goals are to capture or disable several items and to rescue the shadowwall, we should go in with a cohesive and well-reasoned approach. Do we plan on fighting our way in, or back out if we are succesful in entrance? My skills as a warrior are poor and my judgements on such matters green and untried, but you, as a seasoned veteran of great strength might have wisdom to be shared to help us to plan. I, for one, have absolutely no interest in meeting with Vrulk, but that being said, given his prediliction for spying devices, I seriously doubt that we have any chance of taking him unawares, or keeping him fooled for long even if we do, which may lead to the possibility of violence.

We should be prepared if, and I believe *when* we come face to face with the master of the spire, and I believe that we should have a plan for how to handle that conversation. It seems as if Vrulk is potentially playing a dangerous game of politics, and his loyalties do not seem certain; it seems that if we must negotiate with him, we may be able to make good use of his self-interst and divided loyalties, though we have precious little accurate information.

• *Turning to Kyuad*

Kyuad, you seem to be knowledgable about Vrulk; do you have any thoughts that might help us to know his mind? If we should need to speak with him, I would rather not do him insult or give him cause to seek us harm unnecissarily. I am uneducated in the lore or histories of this place and it's inhabitants, and any knowledge you might impart would be much appreciated. I also would ask a kindness of you; this spire seems to be a haven of the walking dead, and I have no knowledge of them, or how best to fight them, or bypass or neutralize them, if such a thing is possible. Do you have any knowledge of the walking dead, and if you do, it would behoove us greatly if you would be generous with such knowledge.

• *Giving Eranon a warm half-smile*

Eranon, your knowledge of the wilds and of their magicks never cease to amaze. I had no Idea that the marshes here were under a curse, nor did I know the spire as it's source. Though my knowledge of woodcraft and elf-lore are sorely lacking compared to you own, I do have a question; why is the taint and cold so prevalent in the outer marshes not present here, near the tower? Is the magic of erathor somehow nullifying the curses' effect perhaps? It seems unusual that the foul corruption of the curse would fail to manifest so near it's point of origin, but I know little of such things. However, my questions aside, if we have opportunity to put an end to this foulness, then we shoul certainly consider taking it.

Kevin

• [A]: A question to consider... What is this "curse" that Durgaz is saying that Eranon believes can be broken? Are they speaking metaphorically or literally? Just a consideration for Kyuad and Zal'Kazzir.

• [A]: Bill... Assuming you would want to make a Lorebook check about this "Sunder Shard"...
  ROLL: Kyuad (Lorebook +8) ROLLED: 18+8 = 26
  With this roll - Kyuad gains Obscure, known by few, hard to come by....

It is told that Vrolk travelled beneath the Spine of the World and back again with terrible artifacts and ideas to build his fortress of death. Hellish deals were made under the mountains, two of the most powerful artifacts he came away with were the Cadaverous Eye and the Sunder Shard. The Eye is all but unknown, however the Sunder Shard is said to have been the seed that grew the black tower in the Dead Marsh.

This Sunder Shard could possibly be from one of two origins, according to Kyuad's studies...

#1. The fact that the Vile gathered it from beneath the Kaldrune Mts. suggests that it is possible that it is related to the things that dwell in the deep... Many terrible things lay in the dark far below in the recesses between rock and Dwarven mines. Their is told tales of the Slumberer, a foul beast old as the mountain itself. It sleeps in the depths below the old city of Moria, feared even by the dark denizens that infest the ancient city buried in the ash and bone of the men of stone who died when the greatest Dwarven city fell. The Shard could be an artifact of volcanic means, a rock which is a type of naturally occurring glass, produced by volcanoes when a felsic lava cools rapidly and freezes without sufficient time for crystal growth. It is found only within the margins of felsic lava flows, where cooling is more rapid. The Slumberer Beneath the Spine of the World nests within this felsic lava flow and as it writhes in hate the Shard may have been formed. The Shard like basalt would be dark because of ferromagnesian enrichment. Obsidian is mineral-like, but not a true mineral because it is not crystalline. Its composition is very similar to that of granite and rhyolite. Because obsidian is metastable at the Aryth's surface. over time the glass becomes fine-grained mineral crystals), no obsidian has been found that is older than the pre-Sundering. If such a Shard were taken it conceivably could be magically worked to grow into such as thing as the black spike knows as the Obsidan Spire.
It is called "Sunder Shard" due to the fact that something that happened during or post-Sundering seemed to have made these mystical materials exist...

#2. A second educated theory would be that the Shard is somewhat less unique but equally as mystical. In difference this theory focuses on the Shard as Tektites (Elven for the Scar glass) which are natural glass objects, up to a few centimeters in size, which were rumored to have been formed by the impact causing the Scar in the Northern Marches when the Shadow fell. Tektites are obsidian shards produced by the lunar volcanic eruptions exposed on the Sundering, though few scientists are able to fathom this hypothesis. Tektites are among the "driest" rocks, with an average water content of 0.005%. This is very unusual, as most if not all of the craters where tektites may have formed were underwater/snow-ice before impact. This suggests that the tektites were formed under phenomenal temperature and pressure. An (unnoted) Sarcoson scientist's terrestrial-impact theory states that the impact melted material from Aryth's surface and catapulted it up to several hundred miles away from the impact site. The molten material cooled and solidified to glass. This impact theory states, tektites cannot be found everywhere on Aryth's surface. They are only found in strewnfields, which are associated with known impact craters. How it would have come to the Vile's attention from the peoples/things under the Spine of the World are unknown. Regardless this Shard would likely have similar makeup of the felsic shards noted above...
It is called "Sunder Shard" due to the fact that these materials seem to have been created as a direct result of the Shadow's fall to Aryth...