Wreben Malliver's page

"Its as if he was scared of a kitten, how silly!" chuckled professor Malliver.

"Oh bravo." said professor Malliver, "One down and five to go."

Producing a writing pad the professor drew a neat line through the first entry:

* Viscount’s signet ring
* Feline tail (blue and purple mottled fur)
* Skull of ghoul royalty
* Green stone idol of a water lizard
* Night hag ambassador’s heartstone
* Captain’s tricorne
* Red webbed foot

He then scratched his chin and told you, "Professor Kelkin and I have been amusing ourselves with this rather remarkable library you ah liberated. There's all sorts in the marginalia anyway we think we've identified a backup in case one the quests the count tried doesn't, ahem, work out."

Looking white as a sheet Malliver replies, "In deed it is not Professor Kelkin, this borders on folly. Still there's nothing to be done about it now other than watch and wait. Better get comfortable this might take some time."

"Indeed professor!" echoed Maliver, "Perhaps I shall be able to work on my monograph now without somebody practically sitting in my lap..."

Heinrich's diplomacy
"The dreamland you say?" professor Malliver raised both eyebrows and glanced meaningfully at professor Kelkin.

Delighted to be talking about something he knew, Malliver replied at length, "Indeed it was. Name didn't fit, not when you consider it's in the nastiest stretch of swamp in Ustalav. Never been there myself but I've read accounts of those who have. A common phrase among Ustalavians is 'No one goes to Illmarsh'. That it has such a reputation even among Versex’s unfriendly standards speaks volumes!"

He grins at all of you before continuing, "Illmarsh is a small town of antiquated, split-log buildings. Almost it's entire economy is based around fishing, although the wharves like everything else are rotting away. The town is surrounded on three sides by the swampy Soddentimbers, the marshy western reaches of the Forest of Veils. We'll be able to smell it before we get there, it's supposed to have a dank mildewy odor. That smell pervades everything, and as such it's said you can smell somebody from Illmarsh from across the street, not that they ever travel much. Oh and several occasions over the past couple centuries, sickness and plague have sprung from the unwholesome pools and thickets of the Soddentimbers, giving the young settlement once known as Baytown its new name, Illmarsh. And to top it off, as Mr Agrippa says supposedly most of the locals worship the Old Cults. All in all I think Captain Freeling is wise to slip past."

Wreben replies at once, "The thing you have to understand is Tar-Baphon is half way to godhood and as such 'finally defeated' doesn't make sense in the way a mortal can be 'finally defeated'... Anyhow the short answer is by 3754 Taldor aided by the dwarven kingdom of Kraggodan and the Knights of Ozem had had enough and they stated what became known as the Shining Crusade. The campaign was as brutal as it was long. It took until In 3801 AR before the crusaders finally established a beachhead in the (then) Ustalavic town of Vellumis, and began the slow and bloody process of advancing to Gallowspire. This advance soon became mired down and it seemed the stalemate would go on forever so in 3818 AR the Knights of Ozem summoned Arazni, the Herald of Aroden, hoping to break through the Tyrant's lines. For a time it seemed to be working but in 3823 AR, the Tyrant contrived to kill Arazni! This was a terrible setback and it wasn't until 3827 AR, that the crusaders finally reached Gallowspire in ruined Adorak. The Taldan general, Arnisant, fought the Tyrant and, using the artifact known as the Shield of Aroden, was able to withstand the lich's magic. When the shield eventually shattered, it burned the lich with holy fire, weakening the Tyrant enough that the crusaders were able to imprison him beneath Gallowspire, using a powerful magic ward known as the Great Seal. The province of Lastwall was then established forever to watch uneasily over the Tyrant's prison."

Zarine's assessment is correct.

"Ah!" Professor Maliver perked up, "Well the Shining Crusade was a decades-long war fought by the Taldoran Empire, the dwarves of the Kingdom of Kraggodan, and the Knights of Ozem against the forces of the Whispering Tyrant of Ustalav. It began in 3754 AR and ended with the Tyrant's defeat and imprisonment in 3827 AR."

He smiled his eyes lighting up, "It's quite a torrid tale. The Whispering Tyrant of course was the wizard-king Tar-Baphon although he wasn't called that at first. In the 9th century AR, he terrorized central Avistan. An immensely powerful necromancer, he followed the strictures of the Whispering Way, longing for immortality through undeath. He and his undead minions were so powerful that it took the power of the god Aroden himself to finally defeat him. In a mighty battle, he slew the tyrant in 896 AR on the Isle of Terror in Lake Encarthan. That's partly why we came here of course to visit the Isle."

He takes a breath before continuing, "Everyone thought that was the end of it, indeed nothing was heard of the wizard king for thousands of years. Unfortunately that was far from the end, you see through the power of his magic he was reborn as a lich in 3203 AR, now calling himself the Whispering Tyrant. Gathering his undead followers, he traveled north into what is now the Hold of Belkzen. There he unified the quarreling orc tribes by promising them the riches of the southern lands of central Avistan. By the end of 3203 they had conquered Ustalav and brought its people under Tar-Baphon's control. He consolidated his rule over the next 600 years, turning Ustalav into a byword for terror and decadence!"

"Ah but I had a chance to cogitate Kelkin, without the distractions of the faculty. I finally had time to write my paper, I believe it to be seminal" replied Wreben.

Wreben greets you warmly enough as you board, "Greetings fellow travelers. I'm professor Malliver and this is professor Kelkin. We're from the institute in Cassomir and after an enlightening six months it's time to return."