
                     Eye of The Beholder ][ Journal Entries


                         Khelben's Letter To The Party
                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Khelben Blackstaff, mystic advisor to the Lords of Waterdeep, sends you
  the following letter:

    Dear Heroes of Waterdeep,

    I am glad to see that you are fully recovered from the rigors
    of your ordeal in the sewers beneath Waterdeep.  Our healers
    were more than happy to help you return to your fighting trim.

    Congratulations on being named the guests of honor at the
    harvest festival in the city of Waterdeep.  From the reports of
    the revelry, I surmise that a good time was had by all.

    Also, our scholars very much appreciated your donation of the
    historic artifacts that you recovered beneath our city.  The study
    of the scrolls, keys, and stone items should give us an important
    new understanding of our city's history.

    Unfortunately, another situation has arisen that could threaten
    the city.  For some time there have been rumors of people
    disappearing from villages to the north and west of the city.
    Now we have written confirmation of the discovery of human
    remains in shallow graves.  Evil forces and a powerful ancient
    artifact may be involved.

    Thank you for volunteering to investigate the area to the north
    and west of the city where these events have occurred.
    Included with this letter are copies of the documents that
    aroused our suspicions.  Provisions have been provided for
    your journey.  Good Luck.

    Your trusted friend,

      Khelben


                              Oltec's Report
                              ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  With the previous letter, Khelben encloses the following report from
  Oltec, Captain of the City Guard of Waterdeep.

   Master Blackstaff,

   We may again have trouble near the city of Waterdeep.

   After the annual harvest festival, the City Guard made it's routine
   sweeps searching for lost and drunken revelers.  On the second path of
   the old north road, we came upon the remains of an old overturned
   carriage.

   The driver had been killed by an arrow through his heart.  There was
   a small amount of blood inside the carriage.  However, the carriage
   horses were grazing nearby and the dead driver still had his purse
   full of coins.  This was not a simple robbery, for the attackers did
   not take the coins or the horses.  The only thing missing from the
   carriage seemed to be the passenger.

   Our tracker followed a faint trail of blood off into the soft sand
   at the side of the road.  There, she pointed out a deeply set boot
   print, as if someone were carrying a heavy load.  The attacker must
   have been carrying the passenger away after the battle.

   We searched the area, but list the trail in the harder ground to the
   north.  The only fruit of our search was a small wooden box that had
   fallen beneath a bush along the attacker's trail.  This box contained
   a bound journal, the writings of that eccentric scholar Wently Keslo.

   I am aware that scholar Keslo's journals were valuable in the past.
   They helped verify the existence of that nefarious threat in the sewers
   beneath Waterdeep.  However, Keslo's infernal investigations of obscure
   occurrences in the city have also been the bane of my men on more than
   one occasion.

   Because of Keslo's history, I personally examined the journal.  I am
   glad I did, for its writings fortell ominous events.  The journal
   contains notes of evil OCCURRENCES and a powerful artifact.  It speaks
   of an evil vision and human remains found in shallow graves.  Could
   these graves be connected with the mysterious disappearances to the
   north that my men have reported?

   My sources have confirmed that scholar Keslo was seen riding in a
   carriage late on the last night of the harvest festival.  People who
   he met during the festival mentioned that Keslo spoke of investigating
   a new mystery.  I believe that we should treat both his journal and
   the threat it infers as genuine.

   As this matter does not yet directly threaten Waterdeep, it is outside
   the jurisdiction of the City Guard.  Rather than forward the entire
   journal, I had a scribe copy the relevant entries for you.  I trust you
   will take the necessary actions to ensure that nothing mentioned therein
   becomes a threat to the city or it's citizens.

   Yours,

    Oltec

    Captain
    Waterdeep City Guard


                             Wently Keslo's Journal
                             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
  Khelben also forwards a transcribed selection of journal entries written
  by Keslo, the eccentric scholar and self-described "Famous Archaeologist".

   Journal Entry 356
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   As I carefully pulled myself out of the sewers of Waterdeep, my hand
   slipped on a particularly slick stone.  Only as I fell did I realize that
   the stone was slick with blood from my wounded hand.  I fell headlong into
   an embankment.  My skull bounced against a large boulder and my vision
   faded.

   How many hours I lay there bleeding I do not know.  Suddenly a warm
   sensation flowed throughout my body.  I slowly opened my eyes.  Before me
   stood a large robed figure, back lit by an unearthly glow.  In the
   brightness, I could see only the outline of fine features and a dark
   complexion beneath the hooded robe.

   "You are healed.  I have saved you, for without aid you would have surely
   died."

   I put my hand to my head.  My head throbbed, but neither my head nor my
   hand were bleeding.  It took me a moment to speak.

   "Saving me was a very civilized thing for you to do.  What do you want
   from me?"

   He seemed to grow larger and his eyes glowed red from under his hood.

   "I ask nothing from you but your undivided attention!"

   He opened his hand and placed his gloved palm over my throbbing head.  I
   was overwhelmed with an intense vision.

   In the woods, there was a quiet village on a dark overcast day.  Peasants
   in ragged clothes moved through the village, selling goods, talking, and
   just walking along the narrow dirt streets.  A woman in a blue gown
   adorned with silver stars stood at one edge of the town square, talking to
   some of the peasants.

   In the woods outside the village, dark figures moved into position.  From
   the edge of the wood, a robed figure moved slowly toward the village
   square.  At the square, it mounted the low structure that enclosed the
   drinking well.  In it's gloved hand the figure held a gleaming scepter.

   "Citizens of Torzac", he declared, "Hear me now!"

   The peasants turned toward the speaker and mumbled to themselves.  A few
   moved closer.  A few backed away.

   "From this time forward I am your new ruler!  I will allow no resistance!"

   Some citizens openly laughed.  Others swore at him.  Many just turned to
   walk away.  One of the locals stepped forward.

   "And who might you be?  Show yourself so we might know our future ruler!"

   With his empty hand, the figure pulled back his hood.  The slender elven
   face was marred only by the blue-black complexion of a drow.  The dark elf
   warrior scowled down with disdain at the crowd of peasants.

   The village went completely silent.  Many peasants froze where they stood.
   Some picked up stones, but dared not to throw them.

   The woman in the star-decked gown strode forward, weaving her hands in a
   complex pattern.  "Dark warrior, you will never rule a living soul in my
   home village!"  She thrust her hands forward and missiles of magical
   energy darted at the arrogant drow.

   The drow flashed an evil toothy smile and laughed from atop his perch.
   With a scornful wave of the gleaming scepter, the magical missiles
   dissipated into nothingness.

   Some villagers, emboldened by the attack, threw their stones at the drow.
   Most flew wide.  But a single stone cut him on the cheek.  The drow slowly
   passed a gloved finger across the cut.  He looked down at his hand and saw
   a single drop of his own blood.  His mad eyes blazed with hatred.

   "I said, no resistance!"

   Dozens of dark warriors charged from the woods all around the village.
   The woman began to gesture frantically, but was hit by an arrow before she
   could cast another spell.  Some villagers tried to flee, others to fight.
   It made no difference.  The village was destroyed.  All inside were cut
   down.  Not one survived.

   The victorious drow gathered around the remains of the village square.
   The leader replaced his hood and raised his scepter in triumph.  The dark
   warriors raised their bloody swords in salute.

   This is where my vision ended.  I awoke with my head resting upon the
   boulder.  My head throbs even more than before, but I am still alive.

   Journal Entry 378
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   The discovery of the history and location of the scepter in my vision is
   my latest investigation.  It seems to be an artifact of the drow, and
   should be of great scholarly value.  My first task is to track down the
   village of Torzac.

   Journal Entry 381
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   After reviewing my vision, I believe the village I saw could be somewhere
   near Waterdeep.  The thatching on the hut roofs is of a type that was
   common years ago in poor villages to the north of the city.  The color of
   the clay in the bricks of the well is common in streams to the north and
   east.  The city records may shed some light on the location of the
   village.

   Journal Entry 399
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I began my search in the records office of the Waterdeep treasury.
   Nowhere in the records of the new reign of the Lords of Waterdeep have I
   found a mention of a village of Torzac.

   Journal Entry 408
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I was about to give up my search and call the whole thing a hallucination
   when I came upon an ancient taxation record.  In part it reads:

    Lord Torzac:

    According to our records, three of your citizens owe us a percentage of
    their fall harvest.  Could you please look into this matter?  I will meet
    with you to discuss future trading agreements before the first new
    moon....

   Then I found this letter to the taxation office:

    ... We followed the directions to the village explicitly, but there was
    nothing to be found.  There was no village nor a lord Torzac.  Our only
    guess is that the whole community moved and destroyed the village before
    they left....

   The letter includes instructions on how to reach the village sight.  This
   is a major break-through, and I feel that it is just a matter of time
   before I find the village and the scepter!

   Journal Entry 420
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   After bidding goodbye to my sweet Miltinda, I begin my expedition.  I
   have full supplies and high hopes.

   Journal Entry 427
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I have found what seems to be the remains of the village.  The wooden
   buildings do not remain, but the layout of the remains of the stone
   buildings corresponds exactly to the village in my vision.  Large trees
   now grow on the former sight of the village square.  Given the size of
   these trees, the destruction of the village must have taken place a very
   long time ago.

   Journal Entry 429
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I hired a local guide to support me in my investigations.  The guide is a
   halfling named Insal.  Like my last guide, Insal is of very minimal
   intelligence.  The forest in this area seems overrun with wolves.  We
   spend much of our time on the move to avoid attracting the interest of the
   wolves.

   Journal Entry 431
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   We have come across several shallow grave sites, but their occupants were
   recently buried humans and therefore couldn't have been the people of
   Torzac.  There seem to be no human settlements in the area.  This is good,
   people are always getting in the way and making true archaeology much more
   difficult.  I have begun searching the area for signs of underground drow
   construction as that is the place most likely to still hold the scepter
   after all this time.

   Journal Entry 451
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   Two female warriors came through our camp last night.  I attempted to
   question them about underground sights in the local area, or any sightings
   of the scepter.  They were either uncooperative or uninformed.  In the
   end, Insal leered at both women, so they left in a huff.

   Journal Entry 456
   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   I have searched the area for above-ground signs of drow sites and found
   nothing.  After I return to Waterdeep for additional supplies, I will have
   to search this area for structures that may hide drow underground
   constructions.

   I have discharged Insal so that I can travel more quickly.  He seemed
   unhappy to go, but I paid him off with a few shiny baubles, rusted
   weapons, and dented copper coins.  With luck I should return to Waterdeep
   in time to spend the harvest festival with my sweet Miltinda.

