Ermon's Journal

Return to planning table.

Ermon's Journal is a document found by Vaelas in the room of Callixtus Bentham in the stonesword hideout.

The document is written in Dwarvish, and has been transcribed to common by Vaelas.

Content
''It seems to be the journal of a dwarven adventurer who died nearly five hundred years ago. Some of the entries reference the human city of Dawngarde, and dwarven strongholds underneath the Windfell Peaks, so you're sure that Ermon's travels took him through the Karlands. Many of the locations and groups mentioned are unfamiliar to you, whether because the dwarvish names are unfamiliar, or the locations themselves are lost to history.''

''You found two entries with-in the journal that mention a settlement called Dalcrest. The first such entry, early in the journal, tells of the history of the region when Ermon first set out looking for adventure. The human town of Dalcrest was prospering from the wealth flowing out of the dwarves and gnomes mines. Clans of dwarves and gnomes had an agreement known as Thoradin's Pact, by which they should share a rich mine in a wonderous cavern known as the Crystal Cave. It wasn't just mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters had allied themselves with the dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge called the Forge of Spells, where the dwarves and spellcasters forged great magical artifacts.''

''The latter entries in the journal often focused on battles Ermon fought in against orc war parties that were increasingly descending from the mountains into the Karlands. The second entry to reference Dalcrest describes the aftermath of the largest battle against the orcs. A horde of orcs, emboldened with unscrupulous mercenary wizards and orcish acolytes of Talos, attacked the mine of Thoradin's Pact to seize its riches and magic treasures. The human spellcasters fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuring spell battle destroyed much of the mountainside and altered the landscape unrecognizably. None survived the battle at the mine itself, but one of Ermon's last entries spoke of joining a party of adventurers setting out to find the entrance to the Crystal Cave in the now dangerous valleys of the Windfell Peaks.''

''As you digest the meaning of the entries you read, you gently turn through the pages of the ancient tome and skim the entries you didn't recognize earlier. You notice a page that doesn't reference Dalcrest, but talks about the Forge of Spells. It tells of a quest Ermon took to collect motes of fire for dwarven priests of Calios, the god of the sun. The priests wanted the motes of fire to commission a magical mace named Light's Justice from the mages working with the gnomes and the dwarves at the Forge of Spells.''