2000-12-03: The Capture Of Qua’Tel
Recent developments in the city of Yew seem to indicate that Artarion has the upper hand as he attempts to destroy the citizens of the city without any clear motivation. Several days ago Artarion informed the citizens of Yew that if they located Qua’Tel and turned him over to his custody the attacks against Yew would cease. According to my reports, Qua’Tel was eventually located in the dungeon Shame where, after much consideration, he agreed to leave the confines of the dungeon and travel to the city of Yew where he would confront Artarion.
When Qua’Tel arrived in Yew the following day it was decided that Qua’Tel would remain inside of a cell in the Court of Truth until Artarion’s return. This decision seemed to ensure Qua’Tel’s safety as well as deceive Artarion so that he would believe that Qua’Tel had already been captured. For a short while it seemed that the reasons behind Artarion’s attacks would become evident and the conflict in Yew would come to a close. The following day brought forth an unexpected change in events, however. Artarion first confronted a group of citizens guarding the cell of Qua’Tel, to pass along unfortunate news. Artarion had infiltrated Qua’Tel’s cell the evening before and captured him. Qua’Tel was in the custody of Artarion’s accomplice who, not to the surprise of many, was Ventryn.
Many had refused to believe that Ventryn had made such a drastic change in such a short period of time, but Artarion’s claims seemed to confirm the suspicions of many others. Artarion then proceeded to explain that the citizens of Yew had fallen into an elaborate trap that he had organized to guarantee the capture of Qua’Tel. At this point it seems Artarion fled from the Court of Truth to mount an attack against the home of the Knights of Yew, referred to as the Aegis.
As defenders flocked to the Aegis they reportedly confronted a large army consisting of spiders, and both ice and fire creatures. Ice fiends and beasts, referred to as fire fiends by witnesses, relentlessly tried to destroy those assembled to battle Artarion’s army. Several waves of ice, fire and snow elementals attacked the community but were successfully repelled by defenders. Apparently Artarion realized his attack was failing and shifted his focus to the neighboring village of Shadowmoor.
Similar attacks continued until Artarion finally arrived and claimed he would return another day, reminding the gathering of defenders that the battle was far from over. Before he left, however, it seems Artarion stumbled and dropped a book that was quickly taken by one of the defenders. Artarion demanded that the book be returned to his possession, but when the defenders refused, another attack ensued.
Upon further study it was determined that the book was actually a journal of some sort containing information about Artarion’s past. The exact contents of the journal are unknown, but reportedly it is authored by Artarion himself and contains information about Artarion’s past as a shopkeeper and someone promising him a great deal of influential power. One can assume that the aforementioned power is the current power Artarion is utilizing in his battles against Yew.
Recent reports also indicate that Qua’Tel either escaped or was freed from Artarion and Ventryn’s imprisonment. Supposedly Qua’Tel turned up outside of Empath Abbey and was taken to Shadowmoor Village where he could rest and remain safe from Artarion. Unfortunately, it seems that Qua’Tel’s control of the elements was hindered while he was in the custody of Artarion and Ventryn. Apparently a mysterious staff was used to draw some type of energy or power from Qua’Tel and this process nearly killed him. It also seems that the staff used was not the staff that Ventryn once carried but yet another staff with a mysterious power.
More investigation is definitely necessary before making definite conclusions. Additionally, several other questions remain to be answered. How did Artarion locate Qua’Tel and enter the cell to capture him? Why are Artarion and Ventryn allied? Who was Artarion before he gained his mysterious power - and is his family still alive? Neither Ventryn nor Xenthyl the Phantom have been seen for several days - can Artarion’s claims that Ventryn is his ally be trusted? These questions will be investigated over the next several days and hopefully and end to this conflict is in sight.
