Without warning, a ghostly figure appeared up the road from the Red Wolf, slowly walking towards the staring throng of revelers, now grown quiet. The apparition walked through the door of a neighboring house and ascended to the roof, apparently to address the gathered people. Just as when it was last seen, it began to speak using the human tongue and so that all could hear, not usual for a spirit. But this was not a usual spirit - the GateKeeper had returned once again.
The gathered crowd carefully listened to the words of the GateKeeper as it spoke of yet another challenge and another mantra to be gained. This time, however, the gallant adventurers had to win the respect of a stranger known as the Shaman. The GateKeeper indicated that the Shaman was to be found in "the kirin landscape" which was deduced to be to the northwest of the Juka city of Mistas. The Shaman would only appear once the party had proven itself by completing a number of tasks.
Arriving in Mistas, the GateKeeper indicated the first task was to defeat a number of the powerful juka lords found within the dread city's walls. Due to the size of the party, this feat proved to be rather simple. The GateKeeper than said the party must secure the city for a while at which point the adventurers began a block by block sweep of all the evil creatures they found.
Satisfied, the GateKeeper led the party deep into the mountains behind Mistas til at last they arrived at the kirin reserve. The GateKeeper reiterated the need to win the respect of the Shaman and the first step was to defeat a skeletal dragon. The undead dragonkin was very powerful and the battle to overcome it was hardfought but the outcome ultimately inevitable.
 | Next, the GateKeeper challenged again, this time to slay ten elementals of the "nox" type and ten of the "earth" type. Due to the great expanse of the area, the party became somewhat fragmented through the course of their efforts, but managed to complete the requested task. The nox, or poison, elementals proved the more difficult of the two kinds.
Laying the fertile dirt as a token of their victory at the GateKeeper's feet, the party had at last completed the requisite tasks. |
The Shaman Grok then posed a number of questions to the party, mostly dealing with arcane lores and more specifially the nature of the 8 Virtues as well as the disposition of the recently departed king, Lord British. Of the party members, most were unfamiliar or outright stupefied by some of questions regarding arcana asked by Shaman Grok. Fortunately, Tancred of the Fellowship of Virtue was knowledgeable on the nature of the Virtues and answered nearly all the questions. The questions asked included The Three Principles, their symbols and location of the artifacts(most recently, the Candle of Love was used by Dupre in the climatic battle against Minax's armies of undead during the Siege of Trinsic in the Brittannian year 336).
Now satisfied with the group's worthiness, the next mantra was thus revealed, being the most powerful of all mantras, SURA. At this point, Shaman Grok encouraged the party to know more of the details regarding the king's recent departure and the nature of the Black Gate through which he left the realm. Just as mysteriously as she had appeared, Shaman Grok returned instantaneously to the ethers.
The group now turned to the GateKeeper, who had been quietly observing the happenings, perhaps making subtle notes of the groups responses, or even darkly caclulating the future. It spoke to the effect of mildly congratulating the group on it's attainment of the next mantra and reminded them that it was the most powerful and could someday serve in an invaluable capacity. Without further ado, the GateKeeper bade the group farewell and returned to the Underworld where it dwells.
While the Knowledge of the Shaman had been granted, and the GateKeeper gone, the tale does not quite end yet. Returning to the Red Wolf Cafe, the adventurers began relaxing from the long haul and fierce battles they had faced to gain the mantra. As the moons rose from the horizon and the sky darkened into a tapestry of stars, the GateKeeper appeared once more that eve. It mentioned it's satsifaction at seeing some of the warriors about sparring, adding that the practice with arms now would be all too essential quite soon. It mentioned that the anniversary of the city of PaxLair was not far off, a few weeks away, and that the mantras may be in dire need should some calamity befall there. Everyone looked about to each other nervously - perhaps the GateKeeper had some sinister plot in mind, or maybe it was simply stating an event it forsaw but had no control over. Regardless, the mantras had been recorded and would soon serve an active purpose.
Before disappearing once again, the GateKeeper mentioned that some astronomical knowledge of the moons Felucca and Trammel might well aid a cause soon. No further details were revealed after this cryptic warning and the GateKeeper was gone before any more could be requested. In light of this veiled admonition, those who travel to the festivities in PaxLair would be well suited to have an astronomer in their midsts or, at the very least, bring texts regarding the nature of Britannia's lunar bodies.