The Skull in the Dungeon/A Pact Made

[Jhorius]

Arkamor set off with his companions Lara and Skira, to rid the manor east of Greatgaunt of the evil inside...

The journey was typical with one of his talents at their side...  Deep within they came across an arcane vampire that believed hailing empty threats would sway them from what was about to come...  Arrogance, as usual, contributed to the paltry vampire's destruction as Arkamor summoned a great sword from the sky to rid the realm of that abomination...

As spoils were being gathered to share, a soft voice came from around the corner and with it, a large laughing skull...  Arkamor's divine sword struck at the creature but only cries of laughter came from its mouth...  Not the shrieks of pain Arkamor had hoped for...

Seeing the opporunity to escape, Arkamor shouted to his companions, Lara and Skira, to escape with him through the portal in the dungeon, but only his sword followed...

The creature must have held them there with his haunting gaze paralyzed where they stood...  Falling out from what seemed like nothing, Arkamor stood to realize they had not heeded his call...  With the portal vanishing before his eyes, Arkamor lept towards the closing portal only to have it disappear...

Feelings of anger and hatred, mainly for himself, filled Arkamor as he realized he had left his companions to die!  He should have stayed with them to face the creature even if it meant his death!  Before he could curse himself to damnation, the portal opened and Skira stepped out followed shortly by Lara.  His companions were alive!  They had defeated the floating skull!

But that was not so...

Lara had made a deal to spare their lives...  A deal that gave the skull three vials of Lara's blood...

Returning to Greatgaunt, Arkamor bids his companions farewell rejoicing in their safety.  Watching them leave, he stands there alone contemplating hs failure as the fire in the Gaunt burns away the snow...

"The undead make no bargain they intend to keep for they serve only chaos!"  Are the words that keep ringing in his mind along with the skull's taunting laugh reminding him how powerless he still is...

A Memory Recalled

Waking from his sleep, the skull's laughter fades from Arkamor's mind...  Sitting at the bar of the Regal Griffon, he sips on his morning cup of pineapple juice...  His trusty antlers, which Kale has become accustomed to, rest comfortably upon the bar swaying slightly...  His thoughts go back to the swamps in the Wealdath where he and his father, a druid of little reknown, searched endlessly for something Arkamor believed couldn't be found...  Such was life with his father in Amn... 

A flash of burning steel enters his mind!  The clanging of blades followed by screams of glory...

"What was this memory?" Arkamor wondered.

Just like the flash of steel, a horrid odor resurfaces in his mind forcing him back to that moment all those years ago in the swamps!  Warriors had been summoned deep within the forest by a druid of little reknown to face a beast created by the shadow druids; who are determined to end all of civilization!  With the darkest of magics, and greatest folly, the druids brought forth an ancient spirit intending to bind it to their will giving it life again within a fallen tree...

But like all servants of chaos and destruction, the spirit would defy the wishes of its intended masters...  Naturally, the spirit lashed out against all those near wreaking having on them all even the precious forest the shadow druids wanted to safeguard... 

That druid of little reknown, whom they would not listen to, ran from the forest of Wealdath searching for someone to save it, all the while little Arkamor riding on his bearish back...  The only ones that would listen to his plea for help bore upon their banners a gauntlet with an eye embedded on it...

Holy fire and steel descened upon the forest of Wealdath and soon the spirit was vanquished...

For their crimes against life, the shadow druids of Wealdath forest, followed the creature they created into the abyss one by one...

Even as a boy, Arkamor delighted in the destruction of the followers of chaos...

Bright gleaming swords of righteousness turned toward the druid of little reknown...  They would have surly swiftly slain him had a boy, with an antlered helm, not been there...

The sight of the innocent boy eased the tension in both their arms and minds, but the words he spoke to them truly-

"That's it!"  Arkamor yells at the Griffon bar snapping out of the past.  Kale looks up from his morning routine of glass setting, "Are you ok, Arkamor?" Kale asks.  "Sorry Kale, but I didn't mean to yell.  I have to go, how much for the juice?" Arkamor says while putting his helmet back on the antlers seemingly coming to life.  Kale resumes placing glasses in their places "I don't even sell juice here Arkamor, what're you going on about?"

Fumbling quickly through his robe, Arkamor grabs hold of some coin.  "Right."  Throwing a few lions on the counter, Arkamor sets off to find a Helmian temple to see if they will offer him aid in the destruction of the laughing skull...

[Jhorius]

The Helmian Found....

Several weeks have passed since Arkamor set out to find a temple of Helm...  Arabel, Eveningstar, even Suzail had no sign of the divine defender he searched for...

"Where are the Helmians?" Arkamor asks himself after failing to find even a trace of Helm...  Giving up his search, he decided to return to Amn to the old temple he knew all those years ago...

Buying his ticket from the caravan in Eveningstar, he settled in for the long trip back home...

Stopping in Dedluk, the caravan driver told Arkamor they would be here for a while to gather supplies before they continued south west to Amn...

Deciding to stretch his legs, Arkamor walks about the forest town where he finds a mysterious house just outside of the town...  Though the sign said "Keep Out", he couldn't resist the temptation to open the door.  Turning the knob, he felt a slight magical presence then stiffness!  He was unable to move!  Feeling as if his body had been turned to stone, Arkamor gave in to the spell that he had triggered and let his mind slip into darkness accepting his fate of becoming a statue in front of some crazed wizard's house...

However, the wizard was gracious and made the spell to be only a temporary curse but a lifetime warning to anyone that enter the house unwanted...  However, there are a number of windows that don't seem secure...

Freshly de-stoned, Arkamor returned to Dedluk in hopes of the caravan being ready but it was not...  Walking north an odd wizard caught his eye who ended up being very protective of his "boobries"...  Leaving the chicken wizard to himself, Arkamor checked the wares of the local herbalist finding nothing of interest.  Walking south from the herbalist, Arkamor noticed a small grove with a large tree at the center of it when suddenly-antlers twitch!

"What is it?" Arkamor directs his question to his antlered helm that is tapping him.  Antlers twitch harder as if trying to pull him backwards.  "What are you doing?" he asks, but the antlers don't have a voice to respond; however, they have enough strength to throw him off balance nearly knocking him over as they turn him around.

"Are you in control now?" he quipps at the antlered helm with a slight laugh.  The antlers continue to pull him forward around the front of a building.  "Alright, I'm going!" taking the urging of his helmet, Arkamor walks around the building to find an older man wearing the garb of a poor priest.  Approaching the priest, the old priest extends him a slow nod.

"Can I help you son?" the old priest says with surprising strength. 

"No thank you bro-, er, father, just waiting for the caravan." antlers twitch.  "Okay, alright." says to his helmet.

"Are you ok, young man?" the priest says raising an eyebrow to Arkamor.

"I'm fine.  I'm actually on my way back to Amn."

"Amn?" the priest says with a small smile.

"Yes." Arkamor responds.

"I haven't been in Amn in a long time.  Too long..." the smiles fades into a frown for a moment before coming back.  "What's in Amn?"

Arkamor recants his story to the priest from the skull to the Wealdath spirit.  The priest's eyes grow bright at the mentioning of Helmian glory.

"Amn would be the place you for you to be son.  The church of Helm has seen better days as of late, and, I'm afraid Cormyr isn't as friendly to us as they are."  Antlers perk up when the man mentions 'us'.

"What do you mean, us, father?" Arkamor asks.  "Are you a Helmian?"

"I am, but was a much better one a long time ago." the priest's face turns sad as he recalls a memory from another lifetime.

Overcome with excitement "Where is your temple?" Arkamor asks loudly causing the priest to move back from him slightly.  Not in fear, but in preperation to attack him.

The priest settles himself after moment realizing Arkamor's sudden outburst was non-hostile; the smile coming back to his face.  "You're standing infront of one." the priest's gaze goes up, Arkamor's following it passed the door, up the walls before landing on the unmistakable Helmian banner!  The eye embedded in the gauntlet staring back at him.

A wave of relief washes over Arkamor.  He no longer has to return home!  There IS a Helmian temple here, but it seems more destitute and humble than he is accustomed to.  This temple is almost a shack compared to the glorious temples of Amn.  Grounds are unkept, no guards save the old priest...  The luster is gone from all but the shining sword on top the temple.  "There must be some life left in this temple!  The sword still burns with power!" Arkamor thinks to himself.

"Go in boy" the priest says while opening the creaky doors.  "You may find what you're looking for inside."

Arkamor hears the sadness in the priest's voice as he moves inside which is just as rundown as the outside...  The priest doesn't close the doors causing the light shining onto Arkamor to cast an antlered shadow on the large sword in the pool in the back of the room.

Though dimly lit by candles, Arkamor sees someone standing in the corner reciting an old battlehymn...

*If any follower of Helm could do a RP response that would be nice.  Not looking for someone to come and help kill the skull just to help point me in the right direction to figuring out how to kill it and reverse the pact*