The Forgotten place

Among my travels I have visited many strange and…unique places. However, there comes to mind one location in particular. Now…I believe I was somewhere in the Gods Fall mountains, the blasted ice storms that plague that region make it rather difficult to be precise about ones whereabouts, which run through the old northern Dwarven kingdoms and are said to be the home of the lost temple of the Star Walkers. I was caught in a particularly harsh ice storm and had no shelter to speak of. The cold and seemingly high altitude (The name Gods Fall is rather appropriate) was quickly relieving me of my ability to stay conscious and I soon collapsed in a shivering heap on the frozen mountainside. All that I remember after that was a light and a voice that said “Your work is not yet done…there is much for you to do”. When I finally regained a semblance of consciousness I found myself in what appeared to be long abandoned ruins…alone. Now as the inquisitive individual that I am I was soon wandering the ruins I had found myself in and was doing my best to discover what or who had taken me to this strange place and of course what this place was. Most curiously I found on a table not far from where I had awaken an assortment of meats, sweets, and other delicacies befitting a king. With this discovery my stomach made its presence known and I quickly helped myself to the veritable feast before me. After “liberating” a concerning amount of the tables contents. I paused and realized the folly of my actions, for you see it is never wise to eat foods found in long abandoned ruins especially long abandoned ruins one has just woken up in, the food upon which I just gorged could have been poisoned, cursed, or even worse…spoiled! My stomach turned at the possible threats the food now digesting within my innards could pose. Several seconds passed…nothing. I breathed an audible sigh of relief and scolded myself for making such a foolish mistake. But with the present danger presumably passed I once more began to explore the mysterious ruins. I soon had put quite some distance between me and the table and I was not confident in my ability to navigate back to said table. But I cared little for the ruins seemed to be pulling me farther and farther into them. But the unusual flameless torches that had lit where I had awoken and eaten were becoming more and more sparse down the path I was taking. So sparse in fact that there light become nearly useless and due to this lack of proper lighting I was forced to mutter a simple spell to alight my hand with a flame strong enough to reveal my way forward. Not long after that I notice unusual markings on the walls to either side of me. My curiosity peaked I drew closer to investigate and to my astonishment the walls were covered from ceiling to floor with a language akin to the sigils and hieroglyphs of the lost Easternling tombs. But unlike those accursed tombs I could not hope to decipher there meaning. Then I realized something, why had I not seen the symbols earlier? I retraced my steps to where the mysterious lights were dominate and saw nothing upon the walls. But on a whim I ran my still burning hand near the wall and the cryptic symbols flashed into existence on the wall but just as quickly disappeared. I was astonished by the discovery, I did not know if the symbols reacted to magic or simply to heat, but I felt a pull upon my psyche to continue forward into the ruins. As I proceeded forward I quickly sketched some of the sigils in what I believed was the proper order for further study at a later date (note: still haven’t made head or tails of the damned things). As I proceeded further into the ruins the pull upon my mind grew stronger and much more persistent and soon I felt my pace quickening, until I was practically sprinting, nearly blind, down hallway after hallway with little to no sense of destination or direction; I know not how long I remained in this state for my mind became not but a blur as the influence that drove me forward took complete control of my mind. When the influence finally released its hold on me I found myself in a chamber that I believed to be in the center of the ruins. At the center of the room itself sat a…a…I can only describe it as a gateway or portal of pure light bordered in a metal I had never seen in my travels. Cautious, I approached the strange device and when I was within arm’s reach I lightly grazed my fingers across the energy. A warm sensation flooded my body and I quickly retracted my hand. I sighed because I knew there was only one way to find out what it was; I steeled my nerves and then launched myself at the energy. Thankfully my theory was correct and it was a gateway to another separate location. But what I found…words…cannot truly describe. Where that portal took me was not meant for mortal eyes but would prove to be key to my survival later on. It would be my safe haven, my sanctuary of hope (more on this later).

-From the journal of Maldwyn the Mystic