Marrtuk bounded alongside the river. He could have crossed the vast plains
of the Karanas anywhere, but the cool dampness of the riverside appealed to
him.
Things had not always been this comfortable. He had just recently spent
much time deep in the hot, stinking passageways of the Solusek goblins. The
experience had been mixed - Marrtuk had learned a lot about fighting and
channeling the power of Mithaniel Marr, but he had not enjoyed the way the
air dried his skin to the point of being dangerous. The lava pits outside
had not been any better, and to find relief he'd had to run to the dark
woods of Nektulos - and remain on guard against the wandering guards of
Neriak.
So while he had learned much, he had been under considerable stress the
entire time. Eventually, Marrtuk decided he'd needed a break. Going home
to the blank, unaware stares of friends and family had not appealed to him,
so he'd decided to go exploring. He'd never visited the mountains bordering
the Karanas plains, and the long hike into cool pleasant mountain air
appealed to him greatly. Thus decided, he'd used the Books in the Plane of
Knowledge to get to the human city of Qeynos, and from there had begun the
long walk.
Well, not quite a walk. Marrtuk slowed, stopped, and reached into his
backpack. He pulled out a potion - a concoction sold in the Bazaar, a
liquid that contained wolf's blood, amongst other things. He took a
measured drink, finding the taste not quite unpleasant - like ingesting a
domesticated bleeder shortly after it had itself been fed. The effect it
had on him was quite pronounced. When he resumed bounding, it was with a
quicker motion and longer leaps. He could move quite quickly like this and
not feel any more tired than if he had been jogging. A useful magic, and he
had quite a few such potions stuck inside his backpack.
In the distance, facing the river, Marrtuk spied a male human. Marrtuk
slowed and examined the man. He did not seem threatening; he moved little
and his gaze never left the water. Marrtuk had begun to develop a sense for
those who were 'aware' and those who were not. This man did not seem to be
one of the aware. Marrtuk adjusted the grip on his Windblade and cautiously
approached.
The human failed to react to his approach, further confirming Marrtuk's
suspicions that the man was frozen in time along with the rest of Norrath.
In a placid tone of voice, Marrtuk hailed the man.
As if the sound of the voice had infused life into him, the man turned and
faced Marrtuk. "Hello Marrtuk. What brings you to the Karanas? Do you seek
enlightenment?"
"I was just on my way to do some mountain climbing," Marrtuk replied.
"Although, I wouldn't mind some enlightenment."
The man smiled. "Ahh, I could see by the look in your eyes that you are
looking for something more than just enlightenment. Perhaps you are looking
for a sword crafted by a noble man."
"I am?" A curious conclusion the man had reached. "What sword?"
"It is not just a sword, friend. It is much more than that. This sword
carries with it special power, something unlike anything else within this
realm."
From enlightenment to a powerful sword. Still, the notion intrigued him.
"What power does this weapon contain?"
"It is an instrument fashioned together by noble man." The man's eyes
fairly shone. "It is said to be blessed by the gods themselves. Only a man
who comes from nobility may wield it. Do you seek the sword of nobility?"
Marrtuk considered. The idea of a noble sword appealed to him a lot.
Perhaps this would be a more interesting diversion than mountain-climbing.
"All right. I'll seek this sword of nobility."
"Then take this note to Kanthuk Ogrebane." The man handed a scap of
parchment to Marrtuk. "I've been told he can be found fishing not far from
the dwarven city."
"Er, which dwarven city? I know of at least two."
The life seemed to drain out of the man. He turned and faced the river once
again.
Marrtuk sighed and considered the note. He had learned to resist the
impulse to repeat conversation with unaware beings; it felt almost like
torture to make them perform the same speech over and over again.
Instead, Marrtuk considered the task he had been given. To seek a being,
probably a dwarf, to find out more about this Sword of Nobility. Part of
Monual's words came to him - how the same plots and schemes were hatched
over and over again, with none of the participants able to reach a final
conclusion or even remember that they had already gone through the motions
thousands of times. Probably others had taken this note to the dwarf and
listened to the tale of the dwarf. Marrtuk's reiteration of that task would
have no great meaning.
And yet, the very reason he was here was that he needed a break. And the
image of the Sword did entice him.
In the end, he needed very little self-persuading. He turned and headed
back towards Qeynos and its Book. At the very least he would see some new
parts of Norrath. That, by itself, made the journey worthwhile.
---
Marrtuk slowed as he approached the docks. The journey had taken almost no
time at all. The Book had deposited him not far from Kaladim. He had been
awed by the exterior of the dwarven city - frogloks had only been in
possession of Gukta for a few months and were still cleansing it of the
stench of trolls. These dwarves had resided here for many hundreds of years
before the Curse had frozen Norrath. They'd had time to sculpt an
impressive statue - of whom, Marrtuk had no idea - over the entrance to
their city. Marrtuk had admired it for some time.
But his curiousity to find this Ogrebane had prompted him to move on. It
hadn't taken him long to find the ocean - he'd been able to feel the welcome
dampness in the air and follow where it was coming from. Now that he was
here, he needed to find the dwarf he had been looking for.
A couple of dwarves were fishing near the docks, but none responded to his
hails. He ventured outside the docks and further down the shore. There he
found a solitary dwarf, standing there fishing. Marrtuk tried a, "Hail,
Kanthuk Ogrebane".
The dwarf immediately turned to face him. "Hello."
Not the response Marrtuk had been expecting. "Are you Kanthuk?"
The dwarf said nothing, just looked at him.
"Are you 'aware'? Do you know of the Curse?"
Kanthuk returned to his fishing.
Marrtuk sighed. "Hail, Kanthuk Ogrebane."
The dwarf faced him again. "Hello."
Marrtuk reached into his backpack and pulled out the note he'd acquired in
the Karanas. He handed it to Kanthuk.
Kanthuk took the note and read it. "Ahh, I see you have spoke to Ryshon.
You seem tired from your long journey. Sit with me as I tell you a tale. A
tale about a true friend of mine, a great man known as Amstaf Trunolis."
"Ryshon?" That must have been the human's name. "I... suppose I have. Who
is Amstaf Trunolis, then?"
Kanthuk, with some prompting from Marrtuk, told his story. Amstaf was, to
Marrtuk's surprise, a paladin. Amstaf had befriended Kanthuk and the two
had become unlikely friends. After living through many battles together,
they had met a female elf by the name of Ambreen, a druid who also
worshipped Tuanre. Being of compatible species, Ambreen and Amstaf had
evidently fallen in love. The three of them had journeyed all over Norrath.
The journey had come to an end in Everfrost. A sudden and vicious snow
storm had caught them by surprise, separating them with its blinding
ferocity. Kanthuk had been near death when Amstaf had channeled the power
of his god to heal him. Marrtuk had nodded at this, understanding the gift
of using the connection to one's god to heal. He also understood when the
two had found Ambreen similarly near death, Amstaf had been so drained by
his effort to save Kanthuk that he had been unable to do the same for his
love.
Kanthuk and Amstaf had found a deserted cabin and had taken Ambreen inside.
As the storm continued to rage outside, the two had struggled to save
Ambreen's lift. Kanthuk had built a fire while Amstaf had used what magic
he'd had left to attempt to revive Ambreen. All apparently for naught, as
Ambreen continued to hover near death. After warming the cabin, Kanthuk,
having only just recovered himself, had fallen asleep while Amstaf struggled
on.
"That night I dreamt of many things," Kanthuk recalled, his eyes focused on
painful memories. "Random thoughts kept swirling around my mind. I kept
seeing the image of a cloaked being and of Amstaf circling around a fire. I
saw Ambreen's body convulsing above the fire as if life was being brought
back to it. I don't know what happened that night. I don't even know if what
i dreamt was real, but before I awoke I saw Amstaf lower his head and walk
away in silence. He was surronded by two beings carrying a torch."
Kanthuk focused on Marrtuk again. "I don't know what it meant, but I swear
it was so real. When I awoke both Amstaf and Ambreen were gone. Please find
Llara and give this pendant to her. This pendant belonged to Amstaf. She too
had a vision that night that may clear things up. If she asks where you got
it from, mention my name."
Marrtuk accepted the pendant and frowned at it. "Who is Llara?" He looked
up and blinked. Kanthuk was gone - vanished as if had never been. As if
his role had been fulfilled and he was no longer required.
He looked down at the pendant. Suddenly he knew this had no longer become a
pleasant diversion. The tale of the lovers and the tragedy that had
befallen them had affected him deeply. He needed to know what had happened.
He needed to know how their tale had ended. He wanted - needed - their
story to have come to an ending. Because if it hadn't, then there was a
good man living in deep pain that would know such pain until the end of
time - or until the Curse was lifted.
Drawing a deep breath, Marrtuk gripped the pendant tightly and began
bounding his way back to the Plane of Knowledge.
---
Dragnor's Cauldron was a curious mix of pleasantly cool, damp air coming
from the lake and hard, sharp, rocky terrain that surrounded it. Marrtuk
bounded carefully along, watching where he was going. He could seriously
hurt himself if he carelessly jumped into a ravine.
He had been directed here after asking a few 'aware' people in the Plane of
Knowledge where he might find Llara. Some had ignored his question, some
had shrugged and moved on. One, a dwarf wielding an impressive-looking
lance, mentioned passing by a woman near the lake that covered what used to
be a volcano's core. Perhaps that woman was the one Marrtuk should seek.
Marrtuk stopped in front of a tunnel. This led to the undead haven of
Unrest. The thought that these undead freely roamed the area made his skin
crawl. Were it not for the Curse, Marrtuk could conceivably lead a force
that would eradicate these undead forever. Of course, he was forced to
admit, were it not for the Curse the undead could perhaps spread into the
Butcherblock Mountains. Perhaps Kaladim would now be full of undead
dwarves. The Curse kept everything in perpetual balance, for good and ill.
Shaking himself free of these thoughts, Marrtuk continued on around the
lake. Very quickly he spied a female mammalian, standing high on the rocky
terrain. Marrtuk bounded up to her. "Hail."
No response. The female - Llara, if his information was correct - stood
gazing at the lake. Marrtuk reached into his backpack and pulled out the
pendant. He lifted Llara's hand and placed the pendant in it.
"Oh my!" Llara looked at the pendant in surprise. "This belongs to Amstaf.
Where did you get it?"
A question. A real question, asking for information. It was curiously
refreshing. "A dwarf by the name of Kanthuk Ogrebane gave it to me."
Llara nodded sagely. "I take it you're here to find out more about Amstaf."
"Yes," Marrtuk said with growing anticipation. "I'd like to know what
happened to Amstaf. And Ambreen."
"I've known Amstaf since he was a child," she replied. "We grew up in the
same city together. Ever since I've known him there's always been something
unusual about him."
Hmm. Perhaps Amstaf had been 'aware'. "What exactly did you find unusual
about him?"
"When we were growing up we used to venture outside the city gates.
Sometimes we would encounter a wandering ghoul or an undead spirit of some
sort. He was always able to quickly dismiss the undead being with very
little effort. I learned many things growing up with Amstaf."
Marrtuk nodded. Amstaf had a paladin's ability to smite undead. Marrtuk
could understand how that would seem unusual to someone outside the
disciplines of faith. "What else did you learn from him?"
"Amstaf told me many things when we were younger." Llara smiled at the
pendant, lost in the past. "Once Amstaf
told me that life isn't about how you get there, it's about where you end
up. I miss my dear friend. Its been a long time since I've seen him. The
night of the snowstorm I dreamt about him. I remember seeing Amstaf's face."
Her smile faded. "I saw something I've never seen before."
Disquiet grew in Marrtuk. "What did you see?"
"I saw desperation." Her voice contained a tinge of fear and sadness. "I
spoke to many people who knew Amstaf, trying to find out if anyone heard
anything about that night. No one knew anything about it. When I had
reached the dwarven hunting grounds I ran into a woman named Walnan. She
kept rambling on and on about the power of the Orb and something about
Magi'kot. I didn't understand what she was saying. She didn't know anything
about my situation either, but she did tell me that there were others that
may be able to help me. She told me that I should find Ruathey."
That was quite a speech and Marrtuk took a while to assimilate it.
Walnan... Orb... Magi'kot... Ruathey. How all those things fit together, he
had no idea. He decided to start with, "Who is Ruathey?"
"Ruathey is known for her ability to look into people's souls and find
truth." Llara pocketed the pendant, then drew out a piece of parchment.
She scribbled on it as she spoke. "Though I wasn't able to find Amstaf, I
was able to recover his sword. I believe that by having his sword I am
closer to finding him. Take this note to Ruathey and tell her that I sent
you."
Marrtuk took the note, perturbed. Yet another person to find. He looked
down at the note and sighed. "Where can I find her?"
When he didn't get an answer, he looked up. Llara had vanished.
Marrtuk sighed again and assessed. The only new thing he had learned was
the Amstaf had been desperate the night of the snowstorm. Hopefully Ruathey
would be more forthcoming.
Carefully, Marrtuk bounded away from the rock where Llara had been and would
eventually return to.
---
Marrtuk could understand irony when he found it. He didn't always
appreciate it, though. As now, for instance, when his desire to take a
vacation and see more of the world had led him right back here, to the lava
pits outside of the Solusek mines.
The woman he sought was not far from the dead trees marking the entrance to
the Nektulos Forest. Unlike the previous people Marrtuk had spoken to,
Ruathey had no water to gaze upon and was simply looking out over the smoky
wasteland. Marrtuk approached and hailed her.
She glanced briefly at him. "Hello Marrtuk."
Marrtuk silently handed her the note.
As with the others, she seemed to spring to life. "I see that you've spoken
to Llara. She too came to me looking
for Amstaf. Though she wasn't able to find her friend, she was able to
recover his sword."
The sword. Marrtuk had almost forgotten - the whole thing had begun because
he had been interested in a noble weapon. "Tell me about his sword."
She shrugged. "I've heard stories about a holy sword. There are many
rumored to be hidden all throughout the world, yet only a few have actually
been found. Amstaf had one of these swords. It is known for its ability to
dismiss the undead. Perhaps by having this sword it'll bring you closer to
finding your friend. Gather a ghoul's heart, Amstaf's Scroll, the Blade of
Nobility, a noblemans hilt and place them in this bag."
One of her hands was holding a bag. Almost reluctantly, Marrtuk took it.
"What am I supposed to do with this bag?"
"Take this bag and gather the items I've mentioned. I've been told that the
Ghoul's Heart can be found in the estate of the undead, while the scroll can
be found in the Keep not far from the Karanas. One of the others are rumored
to be found near the dwarven city among the goblins. While the last should
be found in the caverns of Najena."
With that, she disappeared. Marrtuk had both eyes on her and there was no
doubt - she had vanished as if she had never been. But the bag remained.
As did his questions. What happened to Ambreen? What became of Amstaf?
What did his sword have to do with any of this? Who were the robed figures?
Despair began to fill Marrtuk. Even if he got Amstaf's sword, he'd never
find out what had happened to the paladin. He'd never know if Ambreen had
lived, or what price Amstaf had paid for her life. Even if the curse was
lifted, he might never find out.
All that was left of Amstaf was his sword, scattered in pieces around
Norrath. Marrtuk knew that he would find the pieces, use the magic of the
bag to combine them, and wield Amstaf's sword for himself. If for no other
reason, he would keep the sword as a reminder of love and honor. Love and
honor. He would look at Amstaf's sword and eternally debate with himself
whether sacrificing one was necessary to preseve the other.
With determination bordering on resignation, Marrtuk turned and began
bounding towards the mines of Najena.
~*~
/ooc: Playing Marrtuk, I recently finished the Ghoulbane quest just to say
that I had done it. I very much liked how the quest began - everything
quoted in the above story is almost verbatim, with just a couple of minor
adjustments. It's an interesting dilemma that Amstaf faces - what price is
he prepared to pay to save the life of his love? Clearly he agreed to
something with someone - but what, we never find out. I can't find any
evidence that this story was ever continued.
So, like Marrtuk, I'll always wonder how the story of Amstaf and Ambreen
ended.
Getting my ghoulbane is probably as far as I'll ever go on my epic - but you
never know. Currently Marrtuk is 42 and desperately trying to get to 45 so
he can get KEI again. That's an epic enough struggle in and of itself. =)
-Richard
Monual Lifegiver
Archon of Rodcet Nife
Silent Tempest
This page is Copyright by Skaarak; Everquest (TM) is property of Sony Online Entertainment
All stories and art work are Copyright@ by the origial owner/writer.
Most, if not all stories, were taken from newsgroup alt.games.everquest (AGE), I recommend that anyone who gets a chance to read it should!