Thurins Bane

"I've said it many times," said the Stranger, "and probably will say it again: a man can trust no one but himself, and even then there is doubt. The jewelry case was stolen and the key was lost, and the treasure was buried in the deepest darkness of lost civilizations."

"Thurins Bane...", said Selene, "haven't I heard that the Treasure of Thurins bane lies buried in a cave at the bottom of the ocean, near the ends of the earth?"

"I too have heard that story." said Olax, "But my guess is there is more here than meets the eye."

"There is!" said the Stranger, "And I will say this to you; that the treasure does not lie at the bottom of the sea near the ends of the earth, as every small child believes, but is less than 3 days journey to the West from here."

"Are you saying that the treasure actually exists?"

"Of course I am!" growled the Stranger, "Thurin's Bane is a copper amulet, very ancient, once wielded by a forgotten race of sorcerers and black magicians. Carved into its face is the bust of Thurin, one of the last great Warrior-Kings of the Earth."

"It was the intention of the sorcerers to present the amulet to Thurin in the hope he would be influenced by its powerful magic and succumb to the terrible power of the priests. For they were clever as well as powerful, and cast many ingenious spells and incantations , strange powders and magical dusts, over the entire process of wielding the amulet; from the mining of the copper ore, through the process of smelting and refining the molten copper, to the final casting of the amulet. The priests conducted their most sacred rights over the molten copper, and, as it cooled, it was washed seven times in pigs blood. Finally, the cooled metal was carved with the sacrificial knives into the image of Thurin by the High Priest.

The servants of the priests were called the morgel, and they were mutant humans that the priests had mixed with lower animals to form a subservient slave race that was dependent on the priests for survival. An army of 10,000 morgel was assembled by the priests to bear the amulet to Thurin. As the brutish apes approached the city, the House of Thurin shuddered at the unknown terror they held in their midst. When the amulet was brought before Thurin the next morning, he fled in terror, recognizing at once the evil purposes for which it was contrived.

For many years the amulet was held in an iron box in the tower of Rathskult where the priests lived. Thurin remained in exile until his death, and from there his name passes from your legends. For this reason the amulet has become known as Thurin's Bane, because it was the ruin of the House of Thurin. And along with Thurin, it destroyed the last great Empire of your pre-history and the last chance to defeat tyranny and those who have enslaved your world.

And you might as well know the truth about the purported mythical objects known as the Seven Spheres of Elithe, which were supposedly destroyed by the Morgel during Thurins exile! In fact they lie together with the copper amulet and several other forgotten relics of that forgotten age," said the Stranger.

"We leave at Dawn!"

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