(Historical note: Gridley was a somewhat erratic narrator, and frequently compresses the proper names of places and individuals. This has made identifying the locations and persons in his narrative a hit-or-miss proposition. The publisher has chosen to leave this narrative as it was written, including reproducing the effect of the various burns, bloodstains, and torn pages as best as possible. The reader may consult the analysis at the end for further information.)
May the Sun shine upon all those to whom these words come.
Call me Gridley, for I claim no other name. Ever since I was a young child, I have felt that it was my calling to bring light to dark places, whether they be dark places of the flesh, or of the mind. I have worshipped the Shining One since my first devotions at the age of four. Sensing my keenness, my parents apprecticed me to the local cleric, who confirmed me in my office as a Least Spark when I came of age. I was eager to show the Light beyond the places I knew, and so I set my shadow behind me and walked forth alone into the Sun.
Pelor's guidance assured that I did not remain alone for long. I arrived at the nearby town of Bf. to find that five other adventurers had recently arrived. A halfling told us that several children had been kidnapped from a village not far from here, and gave us directions. What could be a more worthy task? My new companions and I set out that same night. I confess that having my fingers and weapons peace-bound and finding the local temple of Pelor to be of little help had shaken my confidence, but the Sun moves as it will, and the brightest light can be hidden by clouds.
The five who set out with me were:
Baast, a Dwarf Fighter and a sturdy reliable sort.
Kieros, a Human Warlock with perhaps too much fondness for drink.
Marclar, a Human Wizard with perhaps too much fondness for women.
Thistle, a Gnome Rogue with a keen mind but a short stature.
Yasir, a Human Bard of questionable veractiy.
While a rather motley crew, I could see at once that our collective weaknesses would be balanced by our strengths, if only we could be given a guiding light.
Two nights out from town, while Baast and I were on watch, we were attacked by what seemed to be four animated blackberry bushes (OOC: The trees be attackin'! Run fer yer lives!). Basst's sharp hearing and darkvision gave us warning, and we rose to meet the challenge with ease, sustaining no injury in the battle itself, though my armor was scratched badly. Marclar, however, felt the need to keep a sample of the bushes, and was burned by the sap.
Two days later we reached Oak., and went to the house of the merchant we had been told to seek. We found much cloaked in shadow, for we found an old lady who claimed to be both servant and master, sent us to look for rings which could only be removed after death, but removed her own ring to show their likeness. Whose house was that of a wealthy merchant who traded across the sea, but was itself far from any large body of water. The townspeople seemed not to hear our questions about the strangeness of this, and we agreed that it was best to set out immediately rather than stay in town. I prayed briefly at a shrine to Pelor, and quietly checked for any consecration of the site, unsure if I should expect any or not, and finding none. Has a shadow fallen across this whole town? And what is the shape of it? I hope I have cast a small doubt into the minds of the decievers, for I suggested that we would be meeting others. (OOC: The purpose of this year's expedition is to look for last year's expedition...)
As the Shining One says: to learn the shape of a shadow, you must step outside of it. We followed the path of the 'children' who we learned at the inn might be as much as 40 years old, and missing for a month already. A party of four, led by a paladin with a magic sword, had gone to seek the Sunless Citadel, truly an ominous name for one such as I who follows the Sun itself.
Two days later we reached a great crack in the ground, and presuming this to be the Sunless Citadel, prepared to venture down into darkness.
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