Gates of Kryta

As soon as I left the barracks through one of the Lions Gates I saw it.  Hoards of undead, skeletons and ghouls by the bucket full.  The lush green near jungle like visual that I had so waited to see after all the barren sand of my home spoiled by these specters.  Farmers run from all directions to the gates for safety, and a small pig oinking gently between some thatched stalls.  I soothe the pig, as the humans are long gone by now, and he decides to follow.   If anything, atleast I will have bacon in the morning.

 I follow the undead in to a soggy marsh.   Bakkir the forsaken, a great skeleton of a Necromaster appears in front of us and I am sure leading in to the marsh was a trap, but then I see it.  The pig is fighting with us, and doing quite the job as well as any soldier I had seen.  Perhaps I won't eat him when this is over.

We leave the marsh and come across a small town where the White Mantle are already in heated battle to protect the gate.  With our added help we pick up the bones of the fallen as our reward and they let us in.  I go to speak with some of the new townsfolk.  There is a small boy Cheswick and he is crying. He lost his mother I am thinking, or his father, but upon asking it turns out he had lost his pet pig. "Oink" is the pigs name, and "Oink" was my soldier.  I return "Oink" to the boy and he is so overjoyed that his father, a local historian, tells me there is a sacred script upon a sunken ship not far from the town.  I must retrieve it, I know I must, and I will return it to him, for he will translate.  My Orrian is not up to date.

I tell Justiciar Toriimo to throw open the gates, and he says I am to find Justiciar Hablion on the beach.  A beach vacation, just what I always wanted. First, to the sunken ship. 

 I find a pass between the mossy mountains leading to what I guess used to be a deep river.  I wade throught it, spying sharks in deep drops of the river bottom. I find the shipwreck easily and the text just as easily.  I wonder why the historian could not just do this task himself.  As soon as I laid my fingers on the text we were immediately attacked by smoke phantoms, powerful smoke phantoms.  The likes of which I had never been matched with before. Though not bosses in their own right they certainly stung like it, sending streaks of electricity that shocked us to our cores.  We manage, barely, to send them back to the Underworld and the text is returned to the historian.  Turns out, it is an autobiography of an unknown orrian sailor.  Lesson? Never trust a historian.

 Finally we head to the beach and to Hablion.  We aid small pockets of White Mantle soldiers on our way.  He runs towards us, he has heard we were coming.

 He tells me that now is a terrible time for us to be coming to Kryta, there is civil unrest, and hoards of undead springing out of the ground.  He will allow us our entry, and hold to the deal, if I were to help him in his trouble.

 So the Ascalonians will be free to set up a new life, but I will still be under service.  Small price to pay, in my opinion.   What else would I do? After these adventures I could not be happy sewing seeds and darning socks.  We help him clear the swamp, which had been overrun.  He is greatful.  My skill is undenialable, and my bravery unquestionable.  We are to go to Lion's Arch.  My promise to my poor prince is fulfilled.

To Kryta!

Rurik is dead. I don't know what to do.  I know that I am to take charge.  I am in charge now. A promotion I take with a very heavy and conflicted heart.  There are centaurs everywhere, but atleast the dwarves are gone.   It seems I am not the only lost and conficted ascalonian in the mountains though.  The refugees run in to battle half hearted, and needlessly at times.  Its almost as if their survival is no longer relevent.  They just want to inflict pain in hopes to lessen some of their own.  I am too tired to stop them.  Mentally and physically exhausted from our journeys, I must collect myself.  I still have people to lead.  We weave our way through the Deldrimor Bowl, in to Griffon's Mouth where we meet Master Seeker Nathanial.  He says that the archer Aiden has gone ahead, and left us his ranger markers to show the way.

In the caves we meet a friendly army from Kryta.  They label themselves the White Mantle, they are the peacekeepers of Kryta and they are happy to see us.  Seems the unrest has come to Kryta aswell.  We continue to follow Aiden's marks through the cave until sure enough we find the man himself.  Greeted with a smile the size of of a great whale it is hard not to feel lighter of heart when we see him.  He cheers and whoops with glee that we had not all perished, and though his show is very genuine there is a dimness to his eye.  I say nothing but take the man in my arms and give him an embrace of happiness.  He gives me a letter for Ambassador Braun, assigned assistant to the Ambassador Zain, and embittered I take it.  My prince perishes amidst the snow and the ambassador seems to have no issue getting through, I wonder why.   The Krytans are having a civil war aswell at the moment, and Aiden tells me Braun will fill me in.  There is more to do before we can reach our settlement, so off  to the beaches we head to deliver our papers.

You think I would be happy to finally be out of the snow.  The ambassador awaits us directly outside the cave, the sand is soft and warm on my sandals.  I am to head next to the Gates of Kryta, the witness Casori will allow us passage through.  Shortly in to our beach vacation, I see what problems it was they meant.  There are ghouls and ghosts.  Hostile Zombies creating minions, merpeople disabling walking speeds.  These are much more hostile lands than the King had spoken of.  When the king spoke of Kryta, which he did often, he painted the lands to be full of traitors and cowards.  These dangerous spectors are run off from when Orr sunk in ancient times.  Civil unread caused that aswell, and as I recall the story I am much reminded of what happened to us in Ascalon.  Pride destroying all that is good for everyone.  But we find these ghouls are just as succeptible to death as the living, and we make it to the gates.  Casori is excited to meet us.  It has been years since a person from Ascalon has set foot in Kryta, and they think it is a momentous occasion the likes of Saul D'Alessio would even have liked to see.   Who in the world is Saul D'Alessio?  He fills me in on history of old, how Orr, Ascalon and Kryta were too busy warring with eachother to notice the Charr population amassing and arming.  Hard run and empty from the fight between eachother, the Charr had an easy time taking over.  While on the run, a young hero named Saul D'Alessio emerged and put spirit in his citizens, and eventually they were able to push back the Charr and retake their lands.  Enough though, I am to take our refugees to Justiciar Hablion by Lions Arch and he will give us our accomodations, and lead us to the tracts of land that are to be our own.  We have atlast made it, one more mission to Lion's Arch and our people shall finally be free and safe.