The Tower of Xileria

[Diachronos]

Strange dreams have come to you in your sleep lately, though upon waking you're never able to recall any details of the dream; they slip away as if you were grabbing at wisps of smoke. For several days this has continued, though the dreams have not had any adverse affect upon you (aside of recalling that something seemed off about it) and they haven't been so intrusive that you felt a need to seek assistance.

Things were different last night, however.

While many of the details slipped away like normal, you can recall the image of a gleaming tower that pierces the clouds above, and a sense of foreboding as you look upon it. It goes beyond a simple "bad dream" sense, enough that it actually causes you to toss and turn in your sleep.

Upon waking, you find that you're not where you were when you went to sleep for the night. You're lying in a warm, soft bed in a large room, and at least 5 other occupied beds can be seen around the room, with their occupants appearing to awaken. While you still have your clothing, your other belongings appear to have been taken, though upon sitting up you notice that a bundle situated on a dresser at the foot of your bed contains some of your belongings; however, your weapons and armor are not among them. A dim light is filtering in through the curtained windows, showing that it is likely early morning or possibly late evening.

As you try to get your bearings, the single door in the room opens, and a young human woman in blue and black robes enters with a small basket hanging from one arm. On her shoulder is a small, scaly creature, whose eyes seem to scan each bed in turn.


Anyone who wants to can make a Knowledge (Arcana) check to identify the creature on her shoulder.

11 - It's a pseudodragon.
15 - It's a familiar.
20 - Something seems off about it, though you can't tell what exactly.

[moondoggy]

Kalendale's old bones creak as he sits up and takes in his surroundings, running his fingers through his short grey beard. The bed was uncomfortable and the room too dark. Plus he'd slept in his clothes, which tended to make his sensitive skin itchy. He grumbled and hobbled out of bed, ignoring his fellow sleepers and speaking to the lady in a terse tone. "You had better have a good reason for displacing an old man like me in his sleep, young lady. I thought youngsters were supposed to respect their elders, not play tricks on them like this. Putting me up in a room full of strangers... There'd better be food in that basket. And tell your whatsit to stop looking at me like that. Hrmph." He sat back down on the bed he'd roused from and stretched, cracking his knuckles in a very loud manner. At the sound, a lithe weasel-like creature emerges from his bedsheets and wraps itself around his shoulders. The aged elf reaches up and affectionately scratches it on the head. "Hello there, Browny. Nice to see you, too."

"I've never really been fond of those... whatchacallems," he mumbles, eyeing the woman's creature. "Unless I'm thinking of something else... Am I thinking of something else?"


Knowledge - Arcana to see if Kalendale is properly remembering what that little scaly creature is.
[roll0]

[CockroachTeaParty]

James Tourmaline

The knife's edge between wakefulness and dreaming is a fine one, and for several moments James did not know which side of the blade he was on. His first inclination was that he was indeed dreaming, for the surroundings were foreign to him. On the rare occasions his dreams were populated with actual people, they often were complete strangers, so the other occupants of the room did not initially startle him. It was only as his senses began to transmit their various findings that he understood that he was actually awake, or at least participating in particularly lucid, detailed dream.

He did not yet speak, but looked to the robed lady expectantly, noting the elderly elf's curious mannerisms with a subtle amusement.

(Knowledge Arcana: [roll0] )

[Prehysterical]

His dreams were filled with a mountain of wrathful gold, chasing him as he desperately clutched at his burden. Before him, an ominous tower stood. Despite his misgivings about it, anything was better than turning back to his pursuer. Running to the tower, his world is suddenly engulfed in flame and-

Vaex awakes from his nightmare with a start. Finding himself in a room with a bunch of warmbloods is unusual enough, but he also notices that he is not sleeping in his armor.
It seems that they confiscated my gear.

No sooner does the thought finish before Vaex's eyes widen and he bolts for the dresser at the end of his bed. He ignores the woman and her strangely familiar thing as he desperately searches. Please let it be here, please let it be here...

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair woke surprised by his surroundings, but he remained calm and assessed the situation. Where is this place and who are these people? A test? No, he was no longer in the school ... unless that was a dream as well. No it was real. It had to be.

Knowledge Arcana [roll0]

Alastair rises and bows. "My name is Alastair Dawn. What is this place and how did I come to be here?"

[No_Mark]

Tarland woke from his most recent dream rather suddenly, his heart pounding still though his mind had already moved on to his surroundings. While he wasn't sure what he had been dreaming about, there was something he was acutely aware of, this was not where he'd gone to sleep. That much was obvious, despite his eyes still being closed, the mattress had far too much give, the room was unseasonably warm, and he didn't sleep under covers, or without his armor. At this point, he began to reach for his blade, his heart skipped a beat when he didn't find it, then he scolded himself, of course the blade wasn't where he left it, he wasn't where he left himself. He decided against getting up for the moment, opting instead, to listen with trained ears, who among these as of yet disembodied voices was privy to the situation.

Stealth=[roll0]

[LittleCarp04]

Azaziel

The dream went beyond what Azaziel normally experienced, this was more real and not what his dreams usually consisted of.

After realizing the dream was just that, a dream, Azaziel forced himself awake intent on praying to Sarenrae to determine if this was some sort of vision, when he realized he was not where he laid his head the night before, looking around calmly lest he alert any potential guards, he saw other beds with other people rousing. Never before had he seen such a diverse grouping of people, an elf was in one bed, and right next was a Drow, which if memory served was the enemy of elves, a few other humans were there, though none had large feathered wings from their shoulder blades like Azaziel does, and also a small kobold, which Azaziel just found interesting beyond words.

Seeing that others were waking and also had a look of apprehension, Hmm, glad to see I am not the only one who wasn't expecting this odd awakening... By chance did anyone else have an odd dream?"

He then saw the young lady walk in the room with a Psuedodragon on her shoulder, but something seemed a little off with it, although Azaziel didn't have intimate knowledge of those creatures that were often Wizards Familiars he did know something about this one was different.


Knowledge Arcana: [roll0]

[Diachronos]

The pseudodragon snorted and tilted its head to the side at the old elf's remarks. (Draconic): "Practice what you preach, old man. I guarantee I was older than you are now when you were born."

The woman bowed when addressed. "No offense or disrespect was meant, sir. Lord Khamer found you all in the snow, and had you brought here to recover." She shifted the basket into her hands. "I'm afraid I only brought something to relieve any ailments you might have, but the cooks are already busy preparing lunch. I can have something brought up to tide you over until everything is ready if you like."

Her gaze turned over to the kobold, giving a small reassuring smile. "Your belongings are safe, of course. Lord Khamer wished to examine the more interesting pieces, but I've no doubt that he'll return them to you now that you're awake." She bowed again and left the basket on the nearest dresser.

She then turned to address Alastair. "You are in the home of my master, Khamer Duskmantle. He found you all unconscious on the ground a few days ago, and brought you here. As for how you came to be in that location, I can't say. Lord Khamer hasn't mentioned anything of that sort, so it's possible he doesn't know himself."

[CockroachTeaParty]

James was already piecing together what fragments of the puzzle he could grasp. The handsome young man stood, his voice a confident baritone.
"A case of mass somnambulism, perhaps? I've heard the word 'dream' mentioned once or twice in this strange company; I for one experienced increasingly unusual dreams in the recent past, culminating in a particularly powerful one last night. Perhaps we wandered here whilst unconscious, or perhaps were abducted in such a vulnerable state. The fact that we all wound up here unharmed to the best of our knowledge, is nothing short of miraculous."

He smiled to the woman sporting the dragon. "Relay my gratitude to your master, should you see him before I do."

[Prehysterical]

Trembling, Vaex doesn't find it among his belongings in the chest. His blood runs cold as ice in his veins when the lady speaks of Lord Khamer's "examination". What could he possibly...

His small wings actually flapping in agitation, the kobold points to the scaled creature that speaks the tongue of dragons. He begins to breathe rapidly, the first stages of panic setting in. A faint smell of chlorine becomes apparent in the air.

"Zyak, wux chiana vi isthasy ekess wer ilagoi? Wux tepohada thric harkt! Si mi jacida naktar! SVAKLAR UI JACI?!"
"So, you betrayed a brother to the warmbloods? You had no right! I am his keeper! WHERE IS HE?!"

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair watchs the kobold freak out. "Tlak ni ko sha nak Ah."

"Calm down. we are all in this together."

He turns to the woman. "This all seems too coincidental. We are all having dreams and then we all wake up in the snow and your lord finds us. I am finding it a bot hard to accept." He looks in the chest at his bed.

[LittleCarp04]

Azaziel

"I am sure it is nothing to be overly worried about, but I know most of the others would be more comfortable to have our belongings returned. What is it that your master does? May we gain an audience with him to help allay our fears?"

Hearing the interaction with the others in draconic, "*Draconic* There is no reason to alarmed I am sure, these people have shown no hostility yet, lets give them a chance to explain before we become agitated, whatever *it* is, we will ensure it is returned to you."


Diplomacy for the lady :[roll0]
Diploamcy to calm the others: [roll1]

[moondoggy]

Kalendale chuckles to himself at the pseudodragon's snappy response. "I don't know draconic, but the sound of ruffled feathers, or scales as may be the case, is universal. No offense meant." The elf makes a placating gesture and then begins to stroke his beard. "I remember an old friend had a pseudodragon traveling companion. Little fella was very keen on buttered salmon filet..." The old elf's ramblings are cut short by rumbling of his empty stomach. "Beg pardon but talking of food is reminding my belly how empty it is. If you don't mind, I'll take you up on that offer of a snack. Whatever you can muster will be fine and, if you have it to spare, an egg for Browny here. This old elf would greatly appreciate it."

With a mix of fatigue and bemusement he observes the rest of this group of strangers. The kobold's agitation, the conclusions drawn and the questions asked, not to mention what seemed to be a drow attempting to feign sleep. Strange bunch, strange place, strange story. I suppose a quiet week in my treetop abode is far too much to ask of life.

"Friends, no wait that word is a little too familiar... Fellow strangers, I understand this is all too odd but I suggest we save our introductions and interrogations for the lunch table, hm? Now miss... ah you never gave your name did you? Young miss, would you be so kind as to show this old elf to the table. I always say better early to meal than late."

[Diachronos]

The pseudodragon's gaze snapped over to the kobold. "Si chiana pamon! Khamer naktada wer nuwa'jimos de vilzriquathir ekess marfedelom, zyak sjek tivol wux jalla tiichi jacion ihk naktair coi takh!"
I betrayed no one! Khamer kept the hatchling from freezing to death, so if anything you should thank him for keeping it alive!

The woman smiled and nodded. "Yes, of course. If you'll all please follow me, I'll lead you to the study. Lord Khamer typically prefers to eat there over the dining room, so you'll be able to meet with him while you eat." She bowed again and turned to leave the room. "He may be busy at the moment, but I'm sure he'll be willing to make time to meet with you."

She leads you out of the room and down the hall, passing by several tapestries and wall hangings. Many of them depict what appear to be family trees or battle scenes, often with the same symbol somewhere above or below the imagery. The same symbol adorns the back of the woman's robes, the symbol pitch black on a deep blue background. Along the way you pass by a handful of other female servants, though they each seem to be engrossed in their duties to pay much attention to you.

After passing by a handful of other halls, she leads you into a fair-sized room with two walls lined with fully-stocked bookshelves. A single table made of mahogany wood is situated near the middle of the room, with 10 comfortable-looking chairs arranged around it and a couple stacks of old books in the center. A large fireplace is lit in the near wall, giving the room a pleasant warmth and flickering light, and a few plush armchairs are arranged in front of the fireplace.

The woman bows once more and rests her hand upon the doorknob after everyone has entered. "Please, make yourselves at home while you wait. Feel free to read any of the books on the shelves that catch your eye. Some of them are rather old, though, so please handle them with care." With a smile she left, closing the door behind her.

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair looks around the room, getting a feel for the general subjects of the books.

Perception [roll0]

"Hopefully, this will be .. enlightening."

[LittleCarp04]

Azaziel

Azaziel nods to his host and heads toward the bookshelves looking for anything related to religious stories or other holy texts. Then he will take a seat and read quietly.

[Diachronos]

The books cover a wide variety of topics, from history and politics to nature and biographies, though about half of them appear to be related to magic, science, or religion in some way. The languages they are written in is varied as well, even including some less-common languages such as Orcish or Gnoll. Several of the books have what appear to be note sheets tucked into them, as if whoever had been studying the book had left it there as a bookmark.

One thing is apparent to anyone who selects one of the texts relating to history, geography, or religion: the people, places, events, and deities mentioned in the writings are not among those you are familiar with. Some of the religious texts talk about deities that are similar to those you've heard of before, such as the elven and dwarven gods, but not enough for it to simply be a different name.

The most prominent deity mentioned in the texts is the deity of death and undeath, referred to only as "the Gravekeeper" or simply "the Keeper," and the illustrations all depict him in a similar way: as a tall, extremely thin skeletal being in a suit, wielding a large black scythe and with a wide grin on its face.

[Prehysterical]

As they walk to the waiting room, Vaex is sick with worry. The little dragon-thing's words made it clear that the hatchling was still alive, but the lack of knowledge about its whereabouts or state of health eats away at him like tiny mites.

The woman's words have been warm and kind the entire time, but Vaex still doesn't trust that her intentions are pure. Warmbloods have taken advantage of him too often during his travels for honeyed words to suffice. Still, as the woman closes the door behind her, his ignorance of the building's layout prevents him from trying to sneak out.

Bereft of any real options, Vaex curls up in a chair near the fireplace and begins to pray quietly. His voice is a whisper barely heard the crackle of the flames.

"Apsu, sargt vur opsola, ixen jacida drihliri vur nakta jacida iejir skaeren. Origato jacion waph, zyak batobot si janik wilnilg wer inglata si xurwka ekess jacida dask. Jacida ominak nishka qe Forseti, vur si nishka qe jacida naktar. Tir ti origato astahi loreat persvek ista..."
"Apsu, guardian and father, fire his bones and keep his blood hot. Let him live, so that I might fulfill the promise I made to his mother. His name shall be Forseti, and I shall be his keeper. Do not let them die in vain..."

[CockroachTeaParty]

As James peruses the library, he can't help but avoid a certain sinking sensation. A suspicion was beginning to form in his mind as he placed certain clues together. Nevertheless, he remains calm, maintaining a certain aura of detached bemusement. Quietly, he listens, both for snippets of conversation and any other sounds that may be coming from their general surroundings.

[moondoggy]

Kalendale bemusedly opens an aged-looking tome written in Gnoll. "How rare to see a book printed in such a wild language. Rarer still for it to actually be written on such subjects! Let's see what sort of information this book contains... Oh, and this one as well," he adds, pulling down another in Orcish. "I haven't had to speak these languages in a while, thankfully, but I don't think a translation should be a problem."

Not entirely sure what I'm going for here, possibly information regarding magical history and/or deities, the status of the gnoll or orc races or whatever else GM deems of note to be found in such books.

[LittleCarp04]

Azaziel

Azaziel reads a text about the Keeper and takes a keen interest in the deity and their holy practices, of course nothing of interest enough to veer from extolling the Dawnflower but it was interesting that this deity seemed to enjoy death and the ending of beings. Azaziel decided to pray after reading seeking guidance to fit these beliefs into his world trying to find a greater understand of how someone could seek guidance from a god who only wanted to revel in death and undeath.

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair sits in a chair and waits patiently.

[Diachronos]

The books Kalendale finds are mostly on gnoll and orc culture, though a few seem to be on the sort of advanced scientific or philosophical topics that you wouldn't expect to find in a savage race. The orc culture seems to be mostly the same as what he'd be familiar with, if a little less savage, but the books on gnoll culture seem to indicate that their society is highly matriarchal rather than the patriarchal system that he'd be familiar with for that race.

After perhaps 10 minutes of waiting, the door you'd entered through flies open and a male elf stumbles through, his arms laden with various items. He hurried over to the table, muttering something to himself the whole time and nearly dropping a few items, and began laying out the things he was carrying. It's soon apparent that it's the equipment that had been taken, which he sorted out as he covered the table with it. Everyone's gear is fully accounted for and collected neatly together, save for Vaex's most valuable possession. Before the kobold can address him, the elf turns and heads back to the door, sticking his head out into the hallway.

"Be careful with that! Do you realize how fragile that is?!" He left the room, only to return about half a minute later, carrying one end of a large wooden box. The other end is supported by a skeleton wearing a uniform that was essentially a male version of the one that the female servants had been clad in. The elf sighed with relief as the box came to rest on the end of the table, and turned to the skeleton. "Sorry for shouting like that, Carl. I was just worried about the egg getting broken." The skeleton nodded and bowed before leaving the room, closing the door behind itself.

The elf turned to the others in the room and adjusted his glasses. Now that he's stationary, it's possible to get a good look at him. His attire is similar to an alchemist's, though of high quality and with an amulet bearing the same emblem as the servants' uniforms. The elf himself is deathly pale, with long platinum-blonde hair tied back with a strip of leather cord, and his eyes (one red and one blue) regard the party with a sense of anticipation and curiosity.

"Where to begin, where to begin..."

[moondoggy]

"Perhaps with an introduction, brother. Are you the Lord Khamer we've been hearing about who apparently rescued us from a snowy demise?" Kalendale curtly asks. "I'd be greatly interested in knowing where I am at the moment. These books, while dreadfully intriguing, have done nothing to allay my concerns." He gathers his various bits and bobs, spellbook, wizardious sundries and such from the pile of his belongings, carefully, almost absently, regarding a simple braided hempen cord with turquoise beads before seemingly snapping back to reality and using it to tie back his hair into a long ponytail. His mongoose companion darts into the pile and emerges with a simple brown-leather satchel and, upon opening the drawstring, begins chewing loudly and contentedly on a hunk of dried meat.

"Of all the things I've tried to teach her, table manners never took," Kalendale says with a chuckle. Rolling up his sleeves he retakes his seat at the table. "I wonder if our kind is as different in whatever this region is as apparently the orcs and gnolls are..." he idly muses.

[CockroachTeaParty]

James is not overly concerned about his belongings, save for one item: he is relieved to see his spellbook, and discretely returns it to his person. The elderly elf seemed to voice the question he had, so James simply stood near the fireplace, awaiting the other elf's response. He took a passing note of the skeletal servitor, unsure if it had intelligence or not; apparently, utilitarian necromancy was not looked down upon, at least on these premises.

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair watches the new arrival carefully and without any discernible reaction.

"My concerns are more how we all ended up in that snowy demise. None of us seem to have any connection and yet somehow we ended up coincidentally dumped in the snow near ... here where apparently you rescued us. I am all for being saved, I just want to be sure why I needed to be saved at all."

Perception to pick out any details to learn from him. [roll0]

[Prehysterical]

No sooner does the box rest on the table than the kobold bolts forward to encircle it protectively. He glares at Kalendale and grudgingly says,

"...I suppose I should thank you. Vinxa. But from what your servant said, we won't be able to just pack up and leave, will we?"

[LittleCarp04]

Azaziel breathes a sigh of relief at seeing all his items there and quickly says a quick prayer to Sarenrae and then sits up and waits with excited interest for more information.

[Diachronos]

Kalendale's question was met with a nod. "Indeed I am. My name is Khamer Duskmantle, Royal Alchemist in the service of Lady Serana Duskmantle." A wide smile broke out on the elf's face as he spread his hands. "Although she rarely has need of my services, so perhaps a better title would be Lord of Duskwood."

He glanced over as the door flew open, with the young woman from before carrying a covered tray and the pseudodragon that had been perched on her shoulder flew over to land upon Khamer's shoulder. "Oh, Veronica, is lunch ready so soon?"

The woman shook her head and came to set the tray on the table, uncovering it to reveal a selection of cheeses, fruits and meats, as well as a couple of eggs to one side. "No, it will be some time yet. I was bringing something to tide our guests over until the cooks were done. "

Khamer nodded, his smile still in place. "Ah, yes, of course. Thank you, my dear." The woman smiled and bowed before turning to leave the room. Khamer turned back to the others. "Where were we... oh yes, how you came to be in this land!" His smile faded a little. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure myself. The tower had appeared in the ruins of Karatel a few days ago, and I happened to find you all half-buried in the snow just outside, without a single track leading away from there. A lucky thing someone found you, too... any longer and you might not be standing here today."

He glanced down to the kobold when he spoke. "Thric rigluin ekess tiichi ve, dahakoan. I don't intend to force any of you to remain, hence why I returned all of your belongings... but I was hoping that you all would be willing to remain for a time longer to ensure you're ready to be up and about, and hopefully so that we could figure out how you came to be in this world. You see..." He pushed his glasses up on his nose, appearing to be considering his words carefully. "While you were sleeping, I did a little research with my magic and a small blood sample from each of you. And from what I found, you have no kin in these lands. Or outside these lands, for that matter; aside from you, members of your bloodlines simply do not exist in Ves'Perix."


"No need to thank me, dragonkin."



Anybody who wants to can roll Perception or Knowledge (religion)

[CockroachTeaParty]

James takes a seat, leaning deep into the cushions of a high-backed chair. He steeples his fingers as he stares pensively into the fire.
"I have a hypothesis of sorts, and supporting evidence seems to be accumulating. Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions, but what you have just told us, combined with certain inconsistencies a brief perusal of your library unearthed, leads me to posit the following: I believe all of us are not originally native to this world. We may all have been transported here, across dimensional or physical boundaries, to our current location. More concrete evidence is required, to be sure, but call it something of a hunch on my part."

[Prehysterical]

Perception roll, before I post: [roll0]

As the elf starts talking, Vaex makes his way over to the tray and begins scarfing down the meat and cheese, though he avoids the eggs.

"No kin? What do you mean? You and the old wizard over there are kin, unless you mean to tell that one of you is not an elf. Speak some sense, now."

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair raises an eyebrow. "That seems a remarkable hypothesis. What do you base it on?"

[CockroachTeaParty]

James turns to Alastair, an enigmatic smile on his handsome face.
"None of the things I encountered during my survey of the library were familiar to me, and I am a well-learned man. The prominent locations, cities, deities... all had foreign names to me. The important events were wholly unknown; hundreds of years of history, and not a trace of it had ever graced my knowledge. I thus infer that we are Elsewhere, whether in space, time, or even reality. Apparently, blood magic divination lends my theory further credence; we have no relatives or ancestors in this place."

[Smileybastard]

Alastair

Alastair smiles at James. He walks over and looks at a book on geography to see what he recognizes.

[Diachronos]

Khamer tapped his chin in thought at the kobold's remark. "How to put this... It's true that we're both elves, but we're not of the same tribe." He turned to the others and grinned.

"My thoughts were the same after I'd taken some time to investigate the situation. There were very faint traces of mystic energy lingering about you when I came across you all, and while it was too faded to gather much detail it was clear that it had brought you from another place." One hand came up to scratch his neck. "If I had to guess, I would say that you all are at the very least from a different world from this one, as nothing aside from your races are indicative of a connection to one of the other kingdoms."

The elf moved to sit in one of the chairs around the table and motioned for the others to sit. "Please, have a seat. I'm sure you have questions about your situation, and while I don't know enough to shed light on why you're here I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have about where you are." He laced his fingers together and rested his hands on the table.

"First, where you are. At this particular moment, you are in my estate just outside the village of Duskwood. I've served as the lord of the village for... how long has it been, Nyx?" The pseudodragon gave a bored yawn and settled down on his shoulder, its eyes drooping shut. "428 years, I think." "Ah, right. In any case, that is where you are now. It's mid-spring right now, so the snows should be thawed completely within a few weeks. Of course, that also means that it's nearly time for the Grave Purge, but the Purge hasn't been a major issue since Dul'Nek'Thahz escaped his confinement in the Dark Depths about 100 years ago. Thank the Keeper that Serana and the Royal Council were able to drive him back, otherwise the Tundra would have been overrun and the hordes would have why do you keep poking me, Nyx?" He shot a small glare at the psuedodragon.

"Because you're talking about things that they couldn't possibly know about if they're not from this world. Also, you're annoying when you ramble."

Khamer blinked and sighed. "True, true, I'm getting a little ahead of myself." He stood and walked over to the bookshelves and pulled down a couple of dusty tomes, continuing his explanation as he gathered them. "The Veiled Tundra, which is the nation we're in right now, is saturated with necromantic power, a result of the land's ties to the Gravekeeper, who is the deity of death, undead, and eternal rest. While it doesn't normally have any negative impact on those living here, it does cause problems during the spring thaw. Over time, the necromantic energy coalesces and animates the corpses of the people and animals that have died during the winter and were never given a proper burial, and sometimes creates them out of thin air. The thaw uncovers the bodies, and they start roaming the countryside and attacking the locals." He moved to the corner of the room and grabbed a stepladder to reach some of the higher shelves. "The Grave Purge was organized roughly 13000 years ago by one of the previous rulers of the nation to deal with the hordes that pop up; the beasts and darker undead are eradicated, while the dead citizens are rounded up and given a chance for closure with their loved ones before being put to rest."

He returned to the table and set down the books, which all seemed to be textbooks relating to the Grave Purge. There was one with what looked like a large, black-skinned shark with red eyes on the cover. "The last time the Purge proved to be an issue was when Dul'Nek'Thahz, the Nightwave that dwells in the ocean to the north, broke free from the bonds that kept him from entering this plane. He managed to amass an army of those uncovered by the thaw, and very nearly broke through into the southern lands. Fortunately, Queen Serana and her council were able to banish him and renew the seals on his imprisonment; it may not hold him forever, but it should keep the old cod out of our hair for a few more millenia."

[Prehysterical]

Now that he has some food to mitigate the empty feeling in his stomach, Vaex curls up around the dragon egg and asks, "So, what does all of this have to do with us? You act like this is the first time that something like this has happened. Something has obviously changed."

[Diachronos]

"To be honest, the Purge and its history has little to do with you all, but I did think it would be wise to inform you of what you may encounter once you head out. There is one thing that I believe you all are connected to, though..." He walked over to the heavy curtains that concealed the far wall and drew them open. Through the windows, there was a clear view of the countryside. Most of it was covered in a thick blanket of snow, though in the distance some rolling hills and a small pine forest could be seen. The sky itself was lit with an orange glow, as if colored by sunset, though much of the sky was veiled by thin, wispy clouds that added streaks of purple and gray to the mix.

Beyond the hills and forests loomed a tall, thine spire. The top of the tower couldn't be seen, and seemed to reach high enough to pierce the clouds above. "That tower appeared less than a week ago, in the ruins of a coastal town that was destroyed back when I had just recently come to live in the Veiled Tundra. You were all unconscious in front of its doors, and... I can't think of any other way to describe it, but I could tell that something within the tower was connected to you."

As he finished speaking, it becomes clear: the tower in the distance is the same one that had plagued your recent dreams.