//------------------------------//
// Marsh of Chelimber: A New Land 
// Story: Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

Rain found that the dwarves of the mining camp, true to what Kromlech told them, took the scales of Ciraxis and turned a number of them into a set of armor for her, the 'dragon scale armor' as he said when they took down the dragon, though to do so they had to take a number of measurements first. The new attire was more form fitting than her previous set of gear, almost like it was hugging her without restricting her movements at all, while it came with a single pauldron that was flat and rested on the right side, right on top of her right shoulder. She discovered that the color of the scaled section was icy blue, like Ciraxis' eyes, while the design was silver colored, though one of the dwarves told her that this was actually stronger than her old gear, to the point where it might rival even half plate and plate armor. It also came with gloves, boots, and even a head piece that resembled a dragon's head, like she was a dragon knight or something, where she found that everything fit her like a glove, meaning her odd power to make armor fit her wasn't needed this time at all.

Once they were done with the armor, and she was decked out and ready to go, the group used a recall potion to return to the cave that Ciraxis had been guarding with his life, where the four heroes and Shadow, the newly named displacer beast who was following Rain, stood before the Onyx Gate that would take them to a new region.

"Now then, let's see what's going on in the Marsh of Chelimber." Vahn said, as while he wanted to stay and help ensure that the dwarves would be safe from whatever dangers were left in the Sunset Mountains, since he was sure there were more gnolls and giants to worry about, he knew heading through the gate was more important.

Rain and the others nodded their heads in understanding as they stepped through the gate without delay, leaving the lands of the Sunset Mountains behind as everyone let the magic move them from one place to another, though this time she and her friends appeared in a large underground crypt, of all things.

"A crypt... how great." Adrianna remarked, though she wasn't too surprised by this turn of events, rather it made sense to keep most of the Onyx Gates hidden in places where they could remain safe and sound until it was time to use them, a point that would likely bring about the destruction of everything on the warpath.

On the other side of the door they found that the floor was covered in water, up to Kromlech's ankles, and that there were more undead for them to worry about, as there were zombies and skeletons wandering around, who turned on them the instant the door was opened. Even though none of them had their disruption weapons anymore, as they had traded the maces in for better weapons to face the Guild, Vahn discovered that they were more than prepared to fight these type of foe again, as his arrows staggered his targets with ease, Adrianna's magic tore them apart, and both Kromlech and Rain slashed their foes apart. Even Shadow, who may or may not have been an ally of these undead at one point, vanished as the fight progressed and pounced on several zombies, tearing them apart with her teeth, so it wasn't long before the first group fell and the heroes moved deeper into the crypt, seeking a way out into the marsh itself. What Rain found to be far more interesting was the fact that their enemies were stacked, as in when one was cut down they rained sacks of gold as they fell to the ground, almost as if each were enchanted to do so, and yet, as far as she and Adrianna could tell, none of the sacks were cursed.

Someone had buried an army of individuals with a vast amount of wealth, as if they had been wealthy adventurers before their demise or grave robbers doomed to guard the very treasure they were after, giving them an army to watch over the Onyx Gate that would also convert the fallen into additional guards. Rain, not knowing what was ahead of them, spent a few moments gathering the bags, counting the gold, and making sure everyone had their fair share, all while Shadow did her best to pull any valuable items over to where her group was located. Adrianna found that it was an interesting use for a displacer beast, who was doing it because she wanted to and not because she was being commanded to, though for the most part she focused on tearing down the undead with the others, showing that her focus was ensuring that they lived to see another day. Rain was fine with that, though she couldn't help but marvel at how much treasure was actually inside this crypt, something that her friends echoed whenever they stopped for a time to rest and gather themselves for the next leg of their journey, since this place was larger that any of them were expecting.

Another thing Rain uncovered was that a large portion of the undead had potions, ones that were stronger than the ones they started using back in Baldur's Gate or even the Sunset Mountains, meaning the Marsh of Chelimber might be more dangerous than anywhere they had been so far. Still, she was gathering a fine collection of enchanted items, ranging from swords and axes, to warhammers and battleaxes, to spears and jewelry that held all sorts of benefits, the latter she and the others discussed whenever one found such an item, as in whether or not it was worth putting on. As they continued to explore the crypt they came to understand one other thing, this wasn't a crypt, rather it seemed to be either a church or a ruin of some kind, before Vahn spotted the stairs that would allow them to leave this place and make sure they were in the marsh. Sure enough they found themselves in the marsh a few moments later, allowing them to take in some brand new sights as Rain found lush green trees resting all over the place, bunched up to prevent people from deviating from the path that their foe must have set up, along with some ruins that happened to be where they came from.

Following that discovery they also found a new enemy, humanoid lizard creatures who wore little, similar to the gnolls of the Sunset Mountains, and seemed to use spears and axes as their weapons, though since they were aggressive the group turned on them without wasting time.

The lizardfolk fell with ease, which was understandable since none of them were wearing any armor, before they found a number of corrupted looking undead wandering around the area, who released poison upon their defeat and might even have some poison in their teeth and claws. As such the group made sure to avoid their attacks and lash out whenever an opening revealed itself, though since these husks, as Rain was going to call them, were filled with poison it meant Shadow had to avoid fighting them and instead focused on tearing into the various lizardfolk. She also found that there was some sort of path resting just below the water line, high enough for her and her friends to follow without losing it, along with all sorts of broken trees, which were likely being used by whatever war machine was lurking in this portion of the world, as all of them were sure of what after their discovery in the last region. The further they went the more undead the group found in their path, almost as if they were fallen soldiers from a war or something, yet all of their weapons and armor had been stolen by someone, no doubt their true target, the leader of the Dark Alliance.

Eventually they reached the end of the main path and rain found that it brought them to a vine wall that seemed out of place with everything else that was currently in the marsh, though as she studied it she noticed a trail of magic leading off to the north for a time.

"Someone doesn't want us to go this way... at least, not right now." Rain commented, meaning someone had to be waiting for heroes to come along and deal with the foe that was located in this part of the world, before she glanced over the tops of the trees for a moment, allowing her to see a large onyx tower off in the distance.

"Means we've got more fighting to do before we learn what's going on." Adrianna said, though she agreed with Rain, this seemed like someone had set up a barrier to make sure they didn't wander into a trap or an entire army, meaning that the one who did this wanted to speak with them before allowing them to move forward.

As it turned out there were only a few more husks guarding the path that they had to take, the only other one that lead in a direction that allowed the group to explore the marsh, all while Rain kept an eye on the Onyx Tower, as it seemed rather unnatural, before they came to a stop at a straw hut with a passive looking lizardfolk in front of it.

"Peace. Peace! Show no weapons, I, Sleyvas, have no desire to fight you." the figure said, where Rain got the impression he was a shaman, due to the bone and bead necklace he wore, plus this seemed to somewhat difficult for him to say, like the common tongue wasn't something he was used to using, and he even cowered while he talked, making him smaller than all of them so they wouldn't harm him, "I placed the walls of vines on the snaking trail to bring heroes to this island."

"You speak Common?" Adrianna asked, because that was far more important to her right now, the fact that someone from a race that many considered to be less than humans and elves could, in fact, speak the language that everyone used when trading or just talking to each other on a daily bases.

"Yes... and no." Sleyvas replied, where he paused for a moment and studied them for a time, just to be sure that they were going to lower their weapons and not attack him, causing the group to do so as Rain made sure that Shadow stood down as well, just to make sure he knew they meant him no harm, "There are special serpents in the marsh... we call them the Sket'kah... whose venom, if squeezed out and weaved into one's magicks, can allow what one says to be understood by all those who hear you."

It was an interesting spell, one Rain had never heard of and she could tell the others shared her opinion, where Sleyvas told them of the tribes that were beyond the wall he had set the vines on, who inhabited one of the drowned cities of the other races, such as humans. The group could tell that he wanted to speak with them and he told them how he knew of their coming before they even knew he was here, the various wildlife, such as insects, birds, and others, told him that they had stepped out of the ruins and gave him time to set his spell along the path. Sleyvas also asked them their reason for coming to the marsh, where he asked if the Onyx Tower, confirming Rain's mental name for it, was their god, confusing all of them since none of them knew anything about it, save for the fact that it existed in the distance. He explained that the tower had appeared suddenly, stabbing into the heart of the marsh like a poisoned spear, especially since it had ensnared the minds of the lizardfolk tribes who called this land home, save for him, and he had no way to explain how it suddenly came to the marsh, especially smelling of firepits and cities.

It was then that Sleyvas mentioned the tower's master, a female human who was fueled by anger and hate despite falling in the marsh, meaning she was a spirit of some kind, who he called the 'Spider of Doors', referring to the Onyx Gates that the group had found, which confirmed that the figure had some dark plan in motion. He confirmed their suspicions about what they had discovered on the way here, all of the lizardfolk who had been taken over were carefully laying the groundwork for an army to march through the marsh and reach the hidden Onyx Gate, which would allow them to pour into the Sunset Mountains and, finally, Baldur's Gate. One thing they all agreed on was that the Lady of the Tower had to be stopped, since war would come to the city if they simply let her go on with her plans, and Sleyvas agreed to help, offering guidance and whatever supplies he had gathered from his former tribe. In order to reach the Onyx Tower he informed the group that they would have to go through the drowned city, and his people, to kill their King, Sess'sth, before heading for the Sunken Temple that housed the Water Stair, as he had an idea on how to sneak heroes into the Tower's bottom floor.

Rain and the others glanced at each other for a moment, as this seemed like a good point to rest and recover a bit of their energy before worrying about the dangers of the drowned city, the bog that was beyond it, and the temple that housed the only safe way into the Tower, though Rain suspected that this would be the last chance for any meaningful rest and took it as she waited for the others to be ready for the last leg of their adventure.