The Ancient Library, Part 9 (Saturday, Abadius (I) 18th, 4708 AR)

Mokmurian fought until the heroes killed him. When Mokmurian was dying, this effect was, for a moment, delayed.

When Karzoug took control (because of Mokmurian's death), Mokmurian's body suddenly went rigid. He spasmed a few times, and then his head turned to face the heroes, mechanically and clumsily, as if being forced to move by invisible hands. In a strangely accented voice, a voice that sounded almost human, he spoke, his eyes flaring with a soul-searing emerald radiance.

"So these are the heroes of the age. More like gasping worms to me - worms to be crushed back into the earth when I awaken the armies of Xin-Shalast, when the name Karzoug is again spoken with fear and awe. Know that the deaths of those marked by the Sihedron - the giants you have so conveniently slayed for me - hasten my return, just as yours soon will. Fools, all of you. Is this all you could manage in ten thousand years?"

At that, Karzoug laughed a cruel, mocking laugh that echoed and faded. Mokmurian died. The heroes had heard Karzoug's voice in the communication room in Thistletop - they realized that the two voices were the same.

In Conclusion

The heroes slayed Mokmurian and convinced Conna and a group of giants to rebel against their cruel overlord, thus disrupting the stone giant army. That was enough to save Sandpoint and the rest of Varisia from an invasion. The tribes around Jorgenfist broke up and returned to the Storval Plateau with surprising speed, the giants eager to seek forgiveness form their abandoned elders or to put some distance between them and the mighty heroes who slew their fearful lord.

Yet the eerie words spoken by Karzoug left little doubt in the heroes' mind that Mokmurian was but a pawn in some greater game, and that the threat to Varisia was, if the voice was to be believed, even greater than before. Something more had to be done, and, for the first time, the heroes had the resources to learn what that was. The Library of Thassilon was theirs to explore, and within its collection of ancient books, scrolls, maps, tablets, and tomes, the secret to defeating Runelord Karzoug could wait.

Researching the Ancient Past

Until this point, very few in Varisia knew much about Thassilon apart from the fact that the mysterious monuments that dotted the land came from this ancient empire, and that the rulers of the land were despots and tyrants of the worst possible order. With the discovery of the Thassilonian Library, the heroes had a window into the ancient times of Thassilon, and with this window they could learn much of this time. The heroes knew about Xin-Shalast (their eventual goal) and Runelord Karzoug (their eventual foe).

The books in the library could certainly help introduce the heroes to the concept of Thassilon itself. Mokmurian's dying words, though, encouraged them to focus the bulk of their investigations on two topics in particular - Xin-Shalast and Karzoug.

Xin-Shalast

Xin-Shalast is a legendary lost city, rumored to be hidden somewhere in the Kodar Mountains. Stories hold that Xin-Shalast had gold streets and gemstone buildings, and sat under the gaze of a mountain that could see.

Xin-Shalast was the capital city of an empire called Shalast, one of seven that composed the ancient empire of Thassilon. Legend holds that Xin-Shalast lay at the headwaters of the sacred River Avah - which Varisian folklore says leads to an earthly paradise sacred to Desna. Unfortunately, no record of where this river may have once flowed exists today, and most scholars believe the river itself to have been destroyed during Earthfall.

In the final centuries before Earthfall ruined Thassilon, Xin-Shalast was ruled by Runelord Karzoug, one of the lords of the Thassilonian Empire. The primary architects of the immense city were tribes of giants, themselves ruled by powerful beings known as rune giants.

The Spires of Xin-Shalast stand upon the mythical mountain of Mhar Massif. This mountain of legendary proportions pierces the skies above the Kodars, and is said to be the highest peak in the entire range of stupendously inhospitable mountains.

Karzoug

Karzoug was the Runelord of Greed. While he was, himself, an Azlanti human, he was a powerful man indeed - said to be the most gifted manipulator of Transmutation magic in all of Thassilon, and to have lived for hundreds of years. He ruled a region called Shalast, part of the ancient empire of Thassilon, over 10,000 years ago.

Karzoug's armies were composed primarily of giants who followed his every command - the giants were ruled by towering monsters known as rune giants, who were themselves runelord pawns. Karzoug counted other powerful creatures as his allies as well, such as blue dragons, eerie denizens form the nightmare realm of Leng, blood-drinking outsiders known as scarlet walkers, and immense lamia harridans who towered over most giants.

Karzoug focused his magic on the school of transmutation, magic associated in Thassilonian times with the virtue of wealth. Under his reign, though, this virtue of rule became more associated with the sin of greed. Among the runelords, his mastery of greed magic was uncontested, yet in the schools of illusion and enchantment (related to the sins of pride and lust), his skills had atrophied greatly. Many believed that weapons infused with illusion and enchantment magic, known as "dominant weapons", would be particularly potent against Karzoug, yet no record of someone attacking the runelord with such a weapon exists.