User:John Pyle/Woodland Cemetery

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The Woodland Cemetery, south-west of Hurnscald, is the only place there exists undead monsters. Once a beautifully peaceful and quiet place, Magicians practicing necromancy unintentionally filled the cemetery's dead with new life. The living dead creatures were violent, and the town of Hurnscald was at risk. Out of desperation, the magicians cast a spell that condemned the creatures within the confines of the cemetery.

Lore

The Risen

Twenty years ago, a well respected guild of magicians claimed that mana could be used for necromancy. Early during their study of the art, still theoretical, Sir Truk Dermish, the great hero of Tempus, was killed in battle. The citizens and leaders of Hurnscald knew of the magicians studies and demanded that they take action and resurrect their fallen hero. Facing expulsion from the emotionally erratic people, the guild gathered in the cemetery.

As the clan of magicians read from the runes they had fashioned, they poured all of their hope and energy into the magic of mana to bring back Sir Truk. They did not realize the power of their spells, however. The ground suddenly began to shake as remains of the dead began unearthing themselves from the ground. Lost spirits materialized and risen bodies angrily attacked the magicians and the crowd of onlookers.

The undead chased the townspeople back toward Hurnscald as warriors and magicians rallied to fight back the small horde. They fought for many hours and pushed the creatures back to the cemetery. To their dismay, any of the creatures that they dispatched quickly returned to fight again.

For days fighters held the undead horde within the limits of the cemetery, stalling as the magicians scrambled to find a way to end the terror they had unleashed. The magicians managed a cursing spell to bind all of the creatures to the grounds of the cemetery, which they cast as all of the warriors retreated through the gate of the cemetery.

Today

It is unclear as to why the reanimated creatures do not act as humans; if they are human souls or just corpses puppeted by the unknown. They do not respond to the living, they only fight and kill. It is apparent, though, that the magicians' spell is weakening, as a number of zombies have moved beyond the barrier and now haunt the nearby swamps.

The guild that is now referred to as the Black Magicians has all but given up hope of finding a way to reverse the spell. It is compelling to note that the Black Magicians are named as such not after their robes, but their reputation from the horrific cemetery incident. They are in no way 'evil' nor do they still practice the dark art of necromancy. They are even regaining much of their respect in recent years for their aid of Keshlam in the Modern War for Tempus.

The group has also made it known that they intend to recast the containment spell, but they cannot do so until the old one is completely diminished and they do not know when that will happen. Most fear that the new spell will come too late, when the undead are spread too far to control...

Game Play

NPCs

The Caretaker

The Caretaker was inadvertently bound by the curse set by the magicians. Horrified by the reanimation of his deceased wife, he sank down by her grave while the townspeople fought the rest of the horde. Unaware of the magicians' plan to trap the monsters within the graveyard, he too became trapped. He now watches as she wanders as one of the undead. He protects her from being killed by the many warriors who come to fight the roaming corpses.

Airlia, a clerk for Hurnscald Town Hall, is the caretaker's daughter, to whom the caretaker sends letters (through the help of willing adventurers of course).

• 'Caretaker Quest' Script Dialogue

The Fighters of the Undead

Three "honorable" warriors and members of the Warrior Guild, these men are on a dedicated mission to kill and re-kill the skeletons and zombies of the cemetery. It is the belief of the Warrior Guild that each time one of the creatures falls it loses some of its mana, eventually becoming completely depleted.

Each of the warriors has a story as to why they are involved in this quest, and although they are too weak to face him alone, they believe that Sir Truk is the leader of the undead and that his mana feeds the rest of his army.

Notes

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