from Sidridel's Diary

Cal 20, 1327A

I write with a worn and weary hand.

Baron Sadic is dead. His body lies enshrouded in the castle's vault.

Velea, the half-elven speaker for the green dragon, lies dead as well. There is also every possibility that the dragon itself is dead. When Master Jandor and the others flew off with the dragon towards the east, flying in his clutches to catch Hetzil... Rocs attacked. The dragon cast a spell Master Jandor likens to a 'wall of pure force', as well as the spell we call feather fall, upon the whole of the group. They sailed to the relative safety of the desert floor, while the dragon battled the rocs. Last they saw, he said, was the dragon and several rocs falling, and then a massive explosion -- and no more.

Velea's body lies shrouded next to the baron's, as well, in the vault.

It was Sandrimos. The dreaded Sandrimos that killed the spider queen, and killed the spider witch north of Thayer's Rock -- he was brought back from the dead by one of my wild surges. With a casual point of his finger, he simply said, "Die!" and the baron's soul was riven from his body. Velea died in a spell exchange as we tried to stop the ressurected Decatur Mournlithe from completing his awesome spell -- sacrificial maiden.

Sandrimos, some years ago, was a powerful thief. He amassed a treasure of information and forbidden magical items, as well as a small army. With the aid of the monk William Sylverheart (so Master Jandor has told me), they defeated Sandrimos and his dwarven compatriot. Sandrimos, through his murder of the spider queen and the spider witch, had amassed considerable power that made him particularly difficult to kill.

I pause to think on this, somewhat, for Master Jandor has come to be much like Sandrimos, in a sense. Both had a fascination for spiders -- as evidenced by my master's familiar, the knife spider Rath.

Sometime after Sandrimos' defeat, they faced Decatur Mournlithe, who was attempting to sacrifice the wild mage Delilah in a necromantic spell that would have given him significant power. The dread spell he used, I have here in front of me -- for I made several copies of it, though I did not understand it. Sacrificial maiden is the most vile of spells, and yet in it, I see traces of two other spell-casters -- one of which is Sandrimos.

Of course, this is all in retrospect. Had I been able to see this earlier, I could perhaps have prevented the baron's death. I have not told anyone that it was my wild surge that brought Sandrimos back, and in turn gave him the power to bring back many other minions from beyond the grave, including Decatur. If I did, the baroness would likely kill me. She mourns Sadic's death hard and heavy. She has had a whip-like temper of late.

We were just about to leave Lok Giran, after our trip to Lok Magius, when Decatur and some of his minions attempted to attack. We did not realize that we were his intended targets. His invisible skeletons kept the Baron and the Bishop Dwarfendale's men busy long enough for us to be culled, outside the fortress' towers. Though Genea and I manned the ballistae, it was hopeless -- until Sarah and her prayers destroyed Decatur's body. The necromancer's soul escaped -- heading back towards Castle Valror.

While we reorganized, and spoke with the Baron and the Bishop, Decatur slowly tortured the baroness Gaelax, and then began the dreaded spell of sacrificial maiden using Velea.

With Dwarfendale's aid, we stormed the castle to halt or stop the dreaded spell. The storms it had conjured were incredible. Though I had never met him, I wished that William Sylverheart could have been there to help us. Our attack was swift, but not swift enough.

Sandrimos did his best to prevent us from interrupting Decatur's spell, and the dwarven mercenaries that had been defending the castle were now undead -- defending the castle against us. I have never been so frightened in my life. Sandrimos' spell arsenal was phenomenal, and he literally possessed the baron's sword and Kozak's dark armor -- becoming a living weapon of shadows, of sorts.

We did our best, and it was simply not enough. I've never seen so much blood before.

Master Jandor summoned creatures from all over Gaeleth -- tomanths and orcs, fire beetles and darker things. They helped to slow Sandrimos, but Velea's blood... We had found the baroness down in the vault, and her blood covered the whole of the floor -- yet still she was still alive. My stomach turns at the thought of what Decatur did to her, and to Velea.

Poor Velea.

The fight was long and horrid, against the undead mercenaries -- led by the undead crusader. It was a long and hard fight against Sandrimos, as well. Fire and rain, sleet and hail, spell against spell, it was all sheer hell.

When the dust had settled, and we had shrouded baron Sadic, and Velea, the Baron and the Bishop arrived. He tells us that Galgiran may be able to restore their souls -- at a price. To transfer their souls from beyond, back to their mortal bodies, requires several powerful gems found in only one place. Only a few can go to retrieve the gems, and so I and Genea, and the baroness and the tomanths, will remain behind. A barbarian human from the far north will join them; I have seen him through Master Jandor's spells, and he is truly a huge man, armed with a massive axe. I wonder if he is part ogre.

We spent two weeks preparing valiantly to retrieve the gems, creating scrolls and awaiting the barbarian, as Kozak went to get him. Many of our spellbooks and treasures were gone -- stolen by the undead thief Sandrimos.

We sent him to the Griktale Escarpment, in the midst of the war between the giant centaur ants, and the orcs. I hope it takes him a long time to return, for we could not hope to beat him -- then. The Baron and Bishop, and his many priests, have prayer-protected the whole of the castle. Should undead set foot in it once again, they will meet with Galgiran's fiery wrath. Sarah and Storm have called down prayers from Whalin and Brigain, respectively, to protect the castle as well. Sandrimos cannot harm us, here, ever again. But out there -- we will be at his mercy, should he ever make it back.

Working as best we can, we prepared for their assault on the lair of Kilreptus -- a powerful undead sorceror that was defeated several years ago by friends of the Baron and the Bishop. Kilreptus' lair lies on a lonely mountain in the heart of the Ogre Nations, and so many preparations were needed.

And now, we wait. Genea and I wait, and wonder, trying to put the castle back together, as Master Jandor, Sarah, Kozak, Storm, and the barbarian Madanguher attempt to take the life-giving jewels back from the catacombs of Kilreptus' lair. I pray they are successful, Agincoth. I pray they are successful.

And now, I must needs tend to the summoning of my own familiar. Though Rath has served my master well, I could not be comfortable with a spider as my bonded animal, and servant. Together, Genea and I will attempt to summon one animal that will aid us, in watching over our master. Our research has just begun, and the lack of spellbooks that we once had in plenty is a hamper. But, I have written a letter to Rial of Gideon Enterprises, and to mistress Brin of Lok Magius, in an appeal to the magical tomes and books they have.

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