A Summary

Jedd

The fighter stared at the wall above his desk, in the study of the Vale. Countless sketches, public notices, and reports had been pasted there, and it was beginning to look like the walls of the bank. Yes, he thought, nanasisan was right—there is a lot of information here, enough to give you a headache. Let’s see if we can’t make sense of it all… He picked up a pen and began to write.

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[OOC: Last updated on July 20th, 2020. New or updated entries are colored red. For this update, that includes:
- The Fiadoryx Raid
- Jalux
- New Mirith
- The Plum Library
- The Elections of 452 and BMF
- Doc
- Denreth]

Jedd

VILLAINOUS GROUPS

The D.D.D.
Who are they:

• The Division of Diabolical Devices
• In order to understand the D.D.D., or the "Diabolicals" as they are sometimes called, one must first learn a brief history of "The Black Hand". The Black Hand is a now-defunct group that terrorized Oberin for decades. The Hand was organized into three factions: the D.D.D (led by Master Rem), the Alliance (led by Tirana and the Twins), and the Bone Lords (led by Marthonis). As time went on, these three factions grew increasingly in opposition to one another. Eventually, The Black Hand splintered irrevocably. The Alliance withered away, Marthonis and his Bone Lords went underground, and thus the D.D.D. faction emerged as the preeminent power. The Diabolicals operate independently now, under the same name and the same leadership: Master Rem and his lover, Lady Uryste.
• NEW: Directly beneath those two in the hierarchy are powerful "Lord Enchanters": currently, that is Lord Viri Fallenstar and Resaana the Gray, after the recent death of Lord Fiadoryx Daimand. Each Lord or Lady Enchanter employs a number of mages known as "Artificers". And each Artificer in turn, commands a number of Brigands.
• The Brigands of the D.D.D. seem to wear color-coded uniforms. Red-robed brigands serve Viri. Gray-robed brigands serve Resaana. NEW: Black-robed brigands served Fiadoryx, though nowadays it seems that most of these men have come under the service of Viri.

What are their plans:

• Originally, the D.D.D. specialized in the study of dangerous, magical artifacts. Now, their experiments seem to have greatly expanded.
• Thanks to a restored Bloody Note, we know a lot about their current research goals: Fiadoryx studied "the Void and arcane matters". Viri studies "rings, charms, practical things". And lastly, Resaana studies "the mind, dreams, and astral projection".
• NEW: Further evidence discovered after the death of Fiadoryx reveal the reasoning behind his disabling of the Voidgate. It appeared that his plan was to recover Marali's Curio third, which powered the Voidgate, and use it to challenge Master Rem for control over the entire D.D.D.. Once in that position, he would reopen the Voidgate, and divert as many resources to his research as he possibly needed - resources which had been disproportionately allocated to Viri and his practical projects. Of course, Fiadoryx must not have known that the Curio third would be badly drained upon being removed from the Voidgate, and this proved to be the beginning of the end for Fiadoryx's power-hungry coup. Further information in the next section.

Where are they now:

• The forces of the D.D.D. have been spotted in and around the Tree Maze lately. Master Rem is known to operate at the very bottom of the MariRangers dungeon. With him, now, are the Sand Golems that the D.D.D. learned to control as part of their "Sand Project".
• Lord Viri's men have been seen using Dwarven Automata to harvest ferrite in Duldrus.
• Lord Fiadoryx was involved in a dramatic turn of events at the Voidgate of Foehan, as part of his lengthy search for the missing fragment of the all-powerful Moon Curio. To this end, he acquired a legendary "Golden Fleece", an item which is required to hold the Curio. Then, Lord Fiadoryx revealed an astonishing discovery: the missing Curio fragment had been a part of the Voidgate's structure all this time, acting as the Voidgate's power source. Using the Golden Fleece, Lord Fiadoryx recovered the fragment. But unfortunately for him, it would appear that the Curio fragment had been drained of all its legendary power.
• NEW - Fiadoryx and the Infernal Tome: Naturally, Lord Fiadoryx sought to restore the Curio Fragment's powers, though he appeared to have no more knowledge on how to do this than the rest of us. He attacked Rellia's Library in an attempt to find out information, but was unsuccessful in this attempt. Around the same time, rumors begin to spread about an Infernal Tome, a book which caused explosive trouble wherever it ended up, and - as it turned out - a book which contained information on the Curio. Information that Fiadoryx might possibly use to help restore his stolen Curio. Originally, the book came into possession of the hotheaded Diabolical fighter Petula, an obsessive ex-lover of Fiadoryx. Petula had been planning to give the Tome to her beau, using a platoon of her troops - her brother among them - to hand-deliver it. Instead, the platoon was found by the people of the Hidden Vale, and all the brigands present were slaughtered. After some bouncing around, The Infernal Tome eventually made its way to an ex-D.D.D. wizard named Zaedrem. Zaedrem explained some of the mysteries surrounding the Tome around a dinner table in Rellia's Library, and recommended that Fiadoryx never, under any circumstances, find out about this tome.
• NEW - The Fiadoryx Raid:Long story short, officials in both Mirith and Marali soon learned about the Infernal Tome, and specifically, the powerful and deadly information it contained. In short, the Tome suggested that bringing more than one Curio Fragment together would cause the individual powers of the Fragments to be augmented by orders of magnitude. In other words: if Fiadoryx were to bring Marali's drained Fragment up close to another Fragment, then the power of the Marali Fragment might just be restored. Much to Mirith's chagrin, Marali decided to set a trap, with Mirith as the beat. Marali purposely leak the Infernal Tome and its critical information to Fiadoryx, surreptitiously employing Zaedrem for the ruse. Fiadoryx acted swiftly on this information, organizing all of his forces (and Sand Golems) to enact a lightning quick raid on Mirith, all in an attempt for him to get close to Mirith's Curio Fragment. Many Mirithian lives were lost in the battle. Eventually, Fiadoryx did manage to reach the Mirith Fragment, and sure enough, his own drained Marali Fragment was restored as expected. However, the power was so intense and uncontrollable that it severely weakened him, and he was struck down on the spot by the defenders of Mirith. Marali's Fragment, at last, returned to its home city.[/color]
• NEW: Since then, the remnants of Fiadoryx's troops have fallen under the command of Viri, who continues to run his projects in and around the Tree Maze and the deadly dungeons below. The entire D.D.D. has been keeping a very low profile, presumably in the hopes of avoiding unwanted attention from Mirith while they quietly resume business as usual.

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The Creed
Who are they:

• The Creed of the Jeweled Dagger
• They are an extremely secret association of rogues and others, formed in Marali.
• They specialize in the creation of liches and wraiths.
• Long ago, during the infamous Siege of Marali, one of the members of the Creed assassinated both Commanders of Marali, causing widespread chaos and allowing the Black Hand to take over the city.
• For decades afterwards, the Creed remained underground. We now know they were hiding in a place known as the Creed's Lair, the recently discovered complex that lies below Skull Island Dungeon.
• Also, some of their members infiltrated the various cities for years, sowing the seeds of strife from various positions of power, most famously Estess Vorund of Marali, who was eventually caught, turned into a spider, and imprisoned, before making his escape and rejoining the Creed. Unfortunately for him, though, he still seems to be trapped in the form of a spider, based on the unusual amounts of Spider Feed discovered in Creed camps and hideouts.
• The only other members we know about: Moira Anasima (a wizard), Captain Isouran (a fighter), Little J (unknown), and the leader, D.L., aka Doursa Lachon.
• They seem to employ a vicious band of black-plated mercenaries who are, for unknown reasons, fiercely loyal to the organization.

What are their plans:

• They seem to be interested in the confusing labyrinth of caves discovered in the Atoll Volcano. But what are they really after? Read on...
• A pair of talkative bracken at the Atoll Temple revealed that the place beneath the Atoll Volcano is in actuality the Shrine of Elara and Her Disciples. (The guardian of this "Shrine" is another talking bracken that adventures have met before: Phern.) The twin bracken claim that "greedy humans" (the Creed, presumably) are seeking the "power of the Shrine". Additionally, the Bracken say that they await the builders of the Shrine. These "builders" are later revealed to be none other than the Knights of Silver, who we will discuss later on.
• A valiant wizard named nanasisan (and a dear friend of mine) recently encountered Moira Anasima and a mage named J.J. walking together on the Atoll. This dynamic duo revealed some more about the Shrine, claiming that the "power of life and death, and all things in-between, the united power of the Disciples" is what they were seeking.

Where are they now:

• The Creed, more than any other villainous organization, is slippery and secretive. For much of the early 450s, they were camped out on the beaches of the Atoll Volcano, barring all entrance.
• However, when a group of daring adventurers invaded their camp, the elements of the Creed were forced flee using a strange temporary portal made of candles.
• We now know they fled to the Lerilin Volcano, where they enjoyed the hospitality of the man who lives inside that Volcano: JJ.
• NEW: Nowadays, the Creed continues to work on some disturbing projects inside the Shrine. Tomes found in their camps include such colorful titles as "What Aborek Got Wrong, Vol. 1", "Dethras and His Sisters", "The Creation of a Lich", "Notes on Necromancy".
• In the meantime, the Creed's assassins continue to target mages in hopes of acquiring their skulls, which they use to create more liches and wraiths.
  
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  J.J.
  Who is he:
  • Jeremiah Jalux, AKA the Jealous Jalux
  • Formerly a part of the Black Hand, he is the infamous inventor of two fearsome monstrosities: Hell Mages and Magma Golems.
  • To accomplish this, he built a laboratory in the depths of the Volcano: the Hell Mage Laboratory.
  • He is now known for selling and exporting his creations to other evildoers, including both the Creed and the D.D.D.
  • He employs a large number of former Black Hand brigands. They do not seem to wear any special armor. We know only one of their names: "Sgt. Orik".
  
  What are his plans:
  • Continue to gather the skulls of mages, which he uses to create Hell Mages.
  • Keep working with the Creed, and specifically their wizard Moira Anasima, on harnessing the legendary (and poorly understood) power of the Shrine of Elara and Her Disciples? Bring about the end of the world as we know it?
  
  Where is he now:
  • JJ continues to reside in the Hell Mage Laboratory, but frequently visits the Shrine of the Disciples, where the Creed is hiding out.
  • NEW: JJ was last seen in the Volcano, saving some adventurers who had come to plunder magic weapons, telling them to enjoy life while they still can. He also revealed that he bought the extremely powerful and fashionable robe he was wearing on the Black Market from Waltham's World of Wool, the massive corporation based in Andris.
  
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  NEW: Denreth
  Who is he:
  • Master Denreth, Druid
  • Denreth started out as a Mercenary, working alongside the likes of Rellia and Jassen. Eventually, he joined the Black Hand, and in particular, the "Alliance" faction, which was a major rival to the D.D.D. (For the curious, those 3 factions were: the D.D.D., the Alliance, and Marthonis).
  • An accomplished druid, his experiments are directly responsible for the advent of both shapeshifting and spirit animals.
  • After the Black Hand fell apart in the late 440s, Denreth went back underground. Now, it appears he is working with Master Rem inside the Tree Maze. What remains to be seen is if he operates independently, like Jalux, or if he has actually joined the ranks of the D.D.D.
  • He seems to employ his own brigands - probably the remnants of the Alliance faction.
  
  What are his plans:
  • As far as we know, continue to experiment on Spirit Animals and druid magic in general.
  
  Where is he now:
  • After the Black Hand's last hurrah in 449, in which Denreth and his forces invaded Andris and failed, Denreth vanished from the world stage. Where he went afterwards is unclear, but recently he has appeared inside the Tree Maze, alongside the forces of Master Rem and the D.D.D..
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Jedd

Hmm. The fighter rubbed his temples, hoping to dispel the aching pains. We better take a look at the cities, too. And maybe some other folks as well. Just in case.

THE CITIES

MIRITH
Persons of Interest:

• NEW: King N'eroth has surfaced, with a brand New Mirith to show for it: a beautiful tropical island paradise to the northeast of Lerilin, where Queen Nifi (of Mharan heritage) is more at ease.
• NEW: Mother Emmalisse, formerly of Brigobaen, was elevated to Royal Cleric at N'eroth's behest, following the Fiadoryx Raid. She is a frequent sight in the city.
• Royal Seer Kherasija has returned to the city.
• Royal Guard Amere, Lady Cassandra, Lords Nedved II and Iceane, and Mistress Shuab of the Mirith Vanguard are often seen around the city.
• Bank Manager Z.R. Naut is a frequent sight as well.
• East Gate Guard Captain Jozas occasionally assists in day-to-day affairs.

Current Plans / State of Affairs:

• NEW: The city seemed to be running things smoothly while the King was away, though the tragedy of the Fiadoryx Raid - and the cost of life to Mirith - cast another shadow on the city's history, and in particular, its diplomatic relations with Marali, who caused the Raid to happen.
• NEW: King N'eroth, and all of Mirith's attentions, turn to "New Mirith" far to the east. What will this astonishing development mean for the city, its king, its people... and what will this mean for the rest of the free world?
• NEW: Meanwhile, on the home front, more disturbing developments take place. To the north, the D.D.D. continues to operate quietly in and around the Tree Maze, even without the spectre of Fiadoryx. To the south, the Forest Trolls have managed to built a wonder of their own, the sprawling underground "Troll Palace". And to the west, the lizards loom as an ever present, if distant, threat.

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MARALI
Persons of Interest:

• Commander Evroulf McTyr
• Major Cesca Andon
• NEW: Major Rydelia Fayn (recently promoted from First Scout)
• NEW: Now on sabbatical in Brigobaen, Healer Terwynn Rees
• NEW: Recently returned from a decades-long, self-imposed exile in Brigobaen, Healer Altaira Mei
• Captain Tarnus Quin
• Armsman Nial of the Marali Vanguard
• NEW: Peytra Gray - legendary Heir of Ybarra, and the one who carried Marali's ill-fated Curio piece back to the city at long last, in the aftermath of the Fiadoryx Raid.

Current Plans / State of Affairs:

• NEW: The City of Marali now celebrates a rare victory with the return of their Curio piece. But not all is well: the city still faces a significant amount of trouble from The Creed. Just recently, in the Red Moon of Year 452, the treacherous Creed agent Estess Vorund escaped from the notorious Marali Dungeons. Then, in that Harvest Moon, numerous agents and assassins of the Creed were spotted deep in the Marali woods, and made attempts on the lives of both Mother Altaira Mei and Heir of Ybarra, Peytra Gray. Thankfully, both assassination attempts failed, though Peytra Gray was left incapacitated. Thanks to the grit and determination of my friend and comrade Sulovir II, Peytra Gray was carried safely to Marali after the attempt on his life. There, Mei managed to nurse Mr. Gray back to health... just in time for Mr. Gray to assist in recovering Marali's long-lost Curio Fragment.
• NEW: Now, the city turns its curiosities to the mysterious "Plum Library" and the grove of ancient brackens and sylphs that protect it, nestled away in some forgotten glade at the Wall of Trees - on Marali turf. The area is well protected, but Major Rydelia Fayn has interviewed a number of explorers, Maralian and otherwise, to ascertain more about this area. A servant-librarian oks after the place, but as for who he serves? It is entirely a mystery... though he does hint that it is a "figure of old". Some have surmised that this figure might be Peytra Gray... but the librarian has remained silent when pressed on this subject.

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ANDRIS
Persons of Interest:

• Now Senior Senator Helda Grantham, elected 438
• Senator Ivanelda Janik, elected 438
• Senator Jan Varouf, elected 448
• NEW: Senator Edwin Rahleus, Elected in 452
• NEW: Senator Norman Publius, Elected in 452
• Merchants Lance Waltham and Anthea Waltham
• NEW: Ruthie Yvonne, Famed Marathon Runner and Candidate of the 452 Elections
• Cleric Adla Thera-Varouf, wife of Jan Varouf
• NEW: Now Retired, Senior Senator Natis Fieltler
• NEW: Her seat now retired by Andris, the Lost Senator Clarissa Morgans

Current Plans / State of Affairs:

• BMF 451 ran fairly well, despite the increased pirate activity, with Senator Janik making her fabulous return at the glamorous Beauty Pageant.
• NEW: BMF 452 went far better, with no violent incidents recorded, and events like the 452 Elections and the Grand Arena drawing crowds the likes of which haven't been seen in years.
• NEW: At those elections, three candidates ran to fill the seats left vacant by Fieltler and Morgans: Rahleus, Publius, and Yvonne, the latter of whom was defeated. Publius ran a fairly hard-line, "rule of law" campaign, while Rahleus ran on a 4 Point Platform, to be summarized here later.
• While we presume that the city still hopes to find the tragically vanished Senator Morgans, who was last see running into the Void decades ago, the Voidgate has now closed, and those expeditions that did manage to reach the Void all turned up empty-handed. It would appear that the City elected to finally close this painful chapter in its history, and forge ahead on its new path...

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LERILIN
Persons of Interest:

• Mayoress Marigold
• Mr. Geofric, her husband
• Ellis Fawr, Bank Manager
• Keri, Keeper of the Flames (a traditional/ceremonial role fulfilled during the annual Red Moon rituals)

Current Plans / State of Affairs:

• In this year of the Goddess 452, Lerilin staged another successful Red Moon Festival with minimal incident.
• NEW: Marigold continued to expand the village throughout the year 452, bringing the Library and Mayor's Office near the inn, and tearing down a big hole in the southern wall, where the Myrmecologist Society of Lerilin constructed their headquarters and bath house.

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BRIGOBAEN
Persons of Interest:

• Theologian Evaristos - head of the Restoration Atelier, restoring damaged books and documents.
• Father Aldus – an apprentice at the Atelier, Aldus specializes in the language of the Mhara.
• NEW: Mother Emmalisse – formerly a student of diplomacy and foreign affairs in the temple, she ended up spending most of her time in Mirith, assisting many times in the city's defense, from the kidnapping of the west gate guards by a pack of trolls in 451, to her heroics in the Fiadoryx Raid of 452. These efforts and more resulted in her being named Royal Cleric of Mirith by that city's King.

Current Plans / State of Affairs:

• The Waking Moon saw Brigobaen's annual efforts for the Dawn of the Disciples pilgrimage, bringing donations to the poor folk of all the various towns and cities.
• This was followed in the Growing Moon by the relatively quiet Festival of Elara, observed only within the halls of the temple, and with marked solemnity and reverence.
• The year progresses, and with it, the cyclical nature of life in Brigobaen.
• NEW: Aldus and Evaristos have been working on restoring a Bloody Journal that was recovered in recently unearthed ruins in Duldrus, during the big earthquake that happened there in Year 451. What secrets will this journal reveal, and why has the project dragged on for so long?
• NEW: Even more striking, the advent of "New Mirith" seems to be leading to a budding diplomatic crisis. In keeping with tradition, Brigobaen has provided a cleric to serve as Temple Priestess of the new settlement, Sister Cecilia. But she doesn't seem particularly keen on the job...[/color]

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Jedd

MISCELLANEOUS

"DOC"

• Called the "Witch Doctor", he is a powerful privateer mage who is notorious for crimes against Andris in the 430s.
• After two decades without being seen of, or heard from, a note mentioning Doc was found at the base of a D.D.D. brigand camp at the Tree Maze. The note suggests that Doc has entered into some uncertain dealings with the D.D.D.

"CARLTON"

• A reticent man who oversees the Plum Library. He serves a master, but refuses to disclose his master's identity, or any background about this mysterious, beautiful glade, and the ancient creatures which guard it.

THE SOUTHWEST SAILORS

• Sometimes abbreviated to S.W.S.
• A shipping company that rose to prominence in recent years.
• Recently, they built what appears to be a well-defended headquarters in Port Gast.
• They employ a private guardforce, often identifiable by their black robes.
• NEW: The company's treasurer, Ashley, has been trading away Silver Buttons recently - an item that long ago held significance to the D.D.D.

SAILOR JAMES

• AKA Venomous James. Leader of a pirate crew.
• He coordinated a number of daring raids on Andris during BMF 451.
• His crew was tracked to their sizable fortress on an island in the southwestern archipelago - now called "James Island" – and they were soundly defeated.
• The fate of James remains unclear.

ISTRA FALVO

• A wandering forest witch with a knack for making powerful elixirs and magical soups.
• She is also a close personal friend of King N'eroth.
• Not too long ago, she assisted Marali Commander McTyr in capturing a traitorous agent of the Creed, Estess Vorund.
• Most recently, Istra was seen at the Vale, hunting down a different forest witch in an attempt to learn more arcane powers. The witch's name? Sopor.[/color]

SOPOR

• A menacing forest witch whose arcane magic puts her victims to sleep... permanently.
• First seen a few moons ago at the Voidgate, Sopor was most recently spotted at the Vale, where she mistakenly identified one of that guild's members as Istra Falvo.

PETULA

• A fighter who commanded a sizable force of brigands for the D.D.D., underneath Lord Fiadoryx.
• Petula had a romantic connection with Lord Fiadoryx of the D.D.D. – but things soon soured, and Petula soon became overcome with jealousy and rage.
• Petula attacked the Hidden Vale to demonstrate her allegiance to Lord Fiadoryx, hoping that the attack would keep that guild out of the D.D.D.'s business. (Editor's note: It Did Not.) The attacks continued to escalate in frequency and magnitude. In one such attack, Petula's brother, Loyt was killed. In this battle, the Vale recovered an Infernal Tome - but kept it quiet.
• Lord Fiadoryx then approached the Vale in secret, offering them information on when Petula would strike next - and all Fiadoryx asked in exchange was that the Vale kill Petula. Petula's attack was thus deflected, and the Vale was victorious, but they. decided to spare her. At this altercation, Petula learned of Fiadoryx's lies and manipulation. Devastated, she ripped off her D.D.D. badge. The Vale secretly offered her asylum, all the while fooling Fiadoryx into believing that she was now dead.
• Some days later, Petula revealed that she had originally intended to give the Infernal Tome to Fiadoryx - as it contained information on the Curio. Thankfully, the Tome never reached Fiadoryx. Instead, it was used to eventually trap and kill Fiadoryx, as explained in the earlier segments on the D.D.D.
• Petula, for her part, stayed for a few more days in the Vale, before setting out once more, to find her own path.

EDGARD

• The deceased leader of a defunct group of enchanters and tinkerers named A.R.D.E.N.T.
• His corpse was just discovered inside the Void, alongside some documents that finally revealed his group's sinister intentions.
• These same documents also seem to reveal that A.R.D.E.N.T. was defeated inside the Void. No other agents are believed to have survived.

RUGIER DE NEIV

• One of the legendary Knights of Silver.
• Spotted recently in the Mirith cemetery, tracking down a lost Crystal Token - the portal keys that allow access to the Knight's secret home.
• Not long afterwards, another Crystal Token was found in the caves beneath the Atoll Volcano.
• NEW: Most recently, Rugier de Neiv accompanied a group of adventurers to the temple at the Atoll, causing the entire group to be summoned deep into the Shrine of Elara, where the Shrine's ancient guardian Phern exhorted De Neiv to protect the Shrine from the Creed and anyone else who might seek to abuse the shrine's power.

"Z" AKA Zaedrem

• A necromancer and developer of traps who works primarily in Rellia's Library inside the Mercenary Cave, as well as in a well-known rock formation in the South Marali Woods. Originally a member of the D.D.D., he was left to die in an abandoned facility, before being found and healed by Lady Rellia, to whom he now owes his allegiance.
• He created a trap that emits a deadly poisonous fog. The notes to this trap were subsequently stolen by the Creed, who have since used it to defend themselves.
• He seems to have an interest in Dethras, one of the original Seven Disciples from ancient history – the one who betrayed Elara.
• Starting in the early moons of 452, the Mercenary Cave became overrun with a great number of undead - the work of Zaedrem, as part of that cave's new defense mechanisms. Apart from the poison fog trap, he has also begun to employ a conniving Silencing Trap that renders its victim unable to speak or cast magic of any sort. So far, these defense mechanisms together have functioned well enough to keep enemies at bay.
• Zaedrem also played an important role in the downfall of Fiadoryx. When the Vale recovered the Infernal Tome, they brought it to Zaedrem in the hopes that the zany wizard could reveal its secrets. Eventually, Marali clandestinely approached Zaedrem, using the wizard's connections to lay the trap that eventually brought down Fiadoryx. For a more detailed explanation, refer to the segment on the D.D.D. above.

RELLIA

• The creator of the Mercenary Cave, and specifically, the mysterious library contained within.
• Decades ago, Rellia fought alongside a set of famous mercenaries who later joined the Black Hand. Today, it seems that her current allegiances are to no one but the library itself.
• In recent moons, Rellia's name re-entered the reports, as she was being sought out by Lord Fiadoryx and his troops. Lord Fiadoryx appeared to think that Rellia would be able to help him in his quest to recharge Marali's piece of the Curio. To this end, Fiadoryx attacked Rellia's Library, but he was rebuffed.

PEYTRA GRAY

• A mysterious old man who is now know to be the heir of Ybarra, the Disciple of Elara who founded Marali. He keeps harpies as friends.
• Peytra Gray was sought by Marali during the Harvest Moon of 452. This quest was of such great importance, that the City of Marali organized an event called the "Great Hunt of the Harvest Moon". On the surface, this "Great Hunt" was called to seek out and destroy the various forces of the Creed, the D.D.D, and Jalux who were all operating within the Marali wilderness. At the same time, Marali also sought to acquire a number of Jade Artifacts, the kind of which can often be found on the various classes of Golems. It would appear that the desire for Jade involves the magical properties of the rare stone: the Jade is rumored to ward off physical and psychological attack... such as that of an assassin. While both of these tasks were certainly important, the true, primary purpose of the Hunt was to find this Peytra Gray.
• Eventually, the Creed saw through the ruse, and one of their assassins mortally wounded Peytra Gray. The defenders of Marali intervened, and Gray's body was brought safely back to the city. However, the city's efforts to heal him did not go as planned. The city was forced to call in Mother Altaira Mei, who once served as the city's top Healer, many decades ago. It turned out that the Jade Artifacts were well known for their healing properties among the oldest of healers. With this knowledge, Altaira Mei and Marali's current healer, Terwynn Rees, brought Peytra Gray back to health.
• Once Peytra Gray was recovered, he and the authorities of Marali enacted their plot to recover Marali's Curio Piece from Fiadoryx. It succeeded, with Peytra Gray using his powers (those which evidently belong to the living heir of a Disciple of Elara) to safely transport the Curio back to Marali.