Born on the coldest day of the year it was obvious Pyotr was different. His ice blue eyes matched with hair that looks of pure silver; he was sure to stand out. Time passed and when his sorcerers powers manifested it wasn’t the usual levitating items, or sudden bursts of fire. No, he turned a glass of water into a solid block of ice.

Although different, it was very use full in the heat of some regions’ summers. Cold never bothered Pyotr as much as it did his friends and family members. And a large family it was: two aunts, three uncles, two brothers, four sisters, and numerous cousins, not counting extended family, his family was large and well-versed in many areas of life. Learning to harness his abilities helped a lot and it didn’t take long for him to realize that not everything is hurt by cold, so he added a bit of variety to his arsenal.

Life wasn’t always easy though. There were times when the clan fought different creatures that lived in the mist. These were deadly and many times his closest friends were mortally wounded. It was the way life sometimes took you from heights of glory to the depths of pain and despair: defeating your enemies only to turn around and have a close friend dying next to you. Or being sent on a mission to find an artifact that might not even be there, only to wake up and find your companion had left you to die in the desert. It was obvious this giorgio Mickehil, he called himself, didn’t have the stomach to kill, but he apparently didn’t have any reservations on leaving someone to die. Good thing the elders had the presence of mind to give him a spare map without the betrayer’s knowledge. Taking his staff in hand he headed out towards the ruin hoping to get there in time, and as he walks his mind wanders.

Pyotr remembers how he found the staff leaning next to a tree almost five years ago. Just standing there, its light barely noticeable in the sun. and how his father showed him the secret compartments that his eyes were untrained to find. That’s one of the reasons Mickehil was allowed to go with him, that and the betrayer owed his father a favor.

Pyotr thinks of the time his mother gave him the symbol of The Morninglord and a gift for his 18th birthday. She told him that as long as he wore it The Morninglord would keep him safe. Memories of his family would always make him smile. He thought for a second of how his family would feel if he never got home, or was found dead. Mickehil would pay for this, pay with his life as soon as Pyotr caught up to him.

Standing outside the ruined temple Pyotr pauses a moment waiting to see if anyone would exit, and noticing the charred bodies on the ground he wonders who they were and how that happened.

Character sheet: Pyotr Malov [Half-Vistani Sorcerer]
Companion sheet: Volos [Dread Cat Familiar]

I was awake for almost a full minute when I noticed that I was alone. Breathing a heavy sigh I picked up Volos, my close friend and companion, and looked at my map. I headed off in the direction I believed I should be going, and after a short distance I saw a figure some way off. I watched it for a minute when it stopped and looked in my direction, so I stopped and looked back. When the stranger started in my direction and didn’t appear hostile, I started walking towards him. He turned out to be human and could tell from how new my clothes looked that I wasn’t from around here. We both went through a few different languages before speaking to each other in a strange speech known as common. I offered him some water and he told me where a nearby well is, so off we went.

Once we entered the ruined temple it became clear that it wasn’t the same as he had left it a week prior. He led me to a door that should have been sealed, and during our discussion on what we should do a voice told us to “Come on in.” Now I could be wrong but I don’t think it’s normal to be invited into a tomb, but he opened the door and what we saw amazed me. One single small person sitting alone surrounded by the remains of what was once undead. Talking to her for a few minutes while my new friend went to get some water, it became clear she wasn’t alone.

Holli’s friend, Fortuna, showed herself and after Albus returned I asked if he knew of a cure for their ailment. Apparently Fortuna and another one I had yet to meet acquired something called mommy rot. They apparently had also recently lost a friend.

Albus gave us directions to a person who could help and some advice. I figures if I travel with these strangers to this land I might get the help I need to find the scepter my clan requires. So as the sun set I headed off north with what turned out to be three new travelers; Albus had left hours ago.

We made it to our destination as the sun started to rise; the only real excitement was some wandering undead in the desert, no problem at all. Fortuna could understand and speak to the natives because of a silver tongue in her mouth, nice ability, but watching her try to rip out her own tongue in an attempt to remove it makes me wounder if it’s cursed. I spoke of this to Volos, he’s sometimes quiet about his thoughts, but I don’t foresee him doing anything, for a while anyway.

After some refreshing hospitality, we were allowed to visit the priestess who told us that if we could get a chalice for her she could remove the curse from my new traveling companions. It happens to be located at the same place as the scepter I need to find, I figure I’ll tell them about this after we leave here.

We got a few hours away from the small village at this oasis when I decided to inform my new traveling companions of what I am looking for. When they asked why I told them, well, I was never informed of why. A blatant lie I know, but that’s okay, they don’t need to know. I know it’s only to help protect my clan from the terrors that dwell in the mists, but how can I be sure they wont try to steal it from me? Truth be told I don’t even know if they will help me to return to my clan alive, but I need to trust them for now, so I’m going to. Volos is getting antsy, the only reason he hasn’t done anything is because I told him not to.

Anyway, we traveled for a few hours and in the heat of this wasteland some creatures are more severely affected. Holly and her familiar Dabs really liked the cooler temps inside my igloo. I tried to tell them I’m known as a frost mage, but I think the term is unknown where they come from. Fortuna and Keth seam to be more adaptable to this weather.

After resting for a bit we headed out again, and as we traveled in the dark, we were attacked by a giant scorpion-thing. It tried to carry off Fortuna, but I stopped it; I can’t let any of them die. As I explained to Volos, the more traveling companions we have, the greater our chance of success and getting home alive we have. Thinking about it, to have an ally, even this far away from the clan, might come in handy. Hopefully after we retrieve the chalice for the priestess that will be possible.

Middle of the next day we again tried to stay in my igloo to keep out of the heat, unfortunately we ended up being surrounded by more undead. Volos was able to make a quick distraction as i took out most of the creatures. Fortuna seems convinced she’s going to die, I won’t let that happen, I need them all to get home alive.

We traveled towards the mountain range, and as we reached some ruins I consulted my map and discovered we are where we need to be. Unfortunately we were attacked by more giant scorpions, and one that has a humanoid body. It was a tough battle until I realized some of what I was fighting is an illusion. Fortuna and Keth fell and were dragged off. Strangely enough even after I hit it with a spell it still just ran off with those two. Holly wants to chase after, and so do I, but something about this feels wrong, very, very wrong.

Holli and I followed the scorpion creature’s trail through some ruins and down a hole in the sand. Suddenly the sand turned into stairs which spiraled down into a room. We looked around a bit and found a blood trail which took us down a hall. At some point here we tripped a trap, but were able to avoid the net that would have caught us. In the next room was Keth and Fortuna passed out. Holli was able to revive Keth, but healing still has no effect on Fortuna. Strangely we were able to gather our companions and walk out without incident. That seems a bit strange to me, but I’m not complaining about it. Keth vanished from sight again, so I carried Fortuna a distance from the ruins where we set up camp for the evening. After several minutes Keth appeared and told us of his conversation with the scorpion creature. Apparently it was being controlled somehow by a human. I know of only one other human to come out here this far.

We rested long enough for Fortuna to wake up and myself to recover my spent spells. Then we cautiously headed back down. We Headed through a set of double doors this time and found a statue sitting in the middle of a set of ruins. Careful not to awaken it, we traveled around to another door. This one magically locked and needed a key. At first I was told they didn’t have a key so we looked down another passage. We found a room with three coffins in it and I figured the key could be in one. That was when it was said that they might have a key. During this discussion I heard a loud noise and when I ran back down the hall to see what it was I found Keth standing at the door that was magically locked, but now it’s open and nothing really bad was happening. I took a deep breath and walked in to see two rows of statues I found out spit fire if you pass between them.

As I was thinking of a good way around this everything went chaotic. Suddenly there were fire elementals and the statue came to life. Then in the midst of everything Fortuna opened a coffin and a mummy rose from the dead, a mummy that can cast spells. Then suddenly Fortuna yelled, “You killed Keth.”

When everything settled down I ‘m standing behind a stone pillar, I realize I hadn’t seen Holli in some time, Keth is lying on the floor across the room, and Fortuna in standing next to the coffin. The only visible adversary is the now-living statue. At least it’s not looking in my direction.