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The Book of Bones

A tome of necromantic lore and dark magic, written by Damek the Black.

Appearance

The Book of Bones is bound with leathery human skin, red and swollen in parts, dark and necrotic in other parts, with the edges being made of bones. Carved into the surface of the binding (judging by the scars around the letters, this was done while the skin was still alive) are the words: “КНИГА КОСТЕЙ” (“The Book of Bones”).

History

Using the Eye of Colothys, the PCs were able to view the Book of Bones, and received a visual image of where the book lay — a vast network of twisting caverns within a massive ravine, in the midst of a temperate forest. Having previously shown the foresight to keep Siran's corpse in storage, the PCs now used speak with dead to question the dead necromancer about the Book's location. This questioning revealed that the Book lay somewhere within the goblin cave-city of Brocken Pit? (consistent with the vision shown by the Eye), within a hidden sanctum protected by many magical wards, but provided no more specific information.

The PCs journeyed to Brocken Pit to search for the Book. After scouting the area using Vasily's magic, the PCs entered the caverns of Brocken Pit. Though the goblins that dwelled there had no knowledge of where Siran's hidden sanctum might be, Nikolai detected, throughout the caverns, dark magic at work, that he recognized from his studies as being associated with Damek the Black — evidence that Siran had mastered (at least some of) the powers that the Book of Bones described, and had used such magic to ward her domain. (This included both magic involving manipulation of materials or objects — strengthening metal and wood with evil power, extracting poisons or diseases from certain materials, making weapons inflict damage on good-aligned things, and similar effects — and trap/protective type spells that harm intruders in various ways: poisons, confusions, diseases, curses, damage, and summoning.) Likewise, some of the goblin warriors within Brocken Pit were unusual; their bodies were twisted into aberrant, unnatural forms — changes that made them stronger and more resilient. Nikolai and Vasily realized that this, too, bore similarity to stories of the magic used by Damek the Black.

The goblins of Brocken Pit were understandably reluctant to cooperate with human intruders, but the PCs applied their usual violence, and cowed the goblins with overwhelming magical and martial might. The goblin mages who had assumed leadership of Brocken Pit after Siran's death, eager to avoid more slaughter, allowed the PCs free run of the city, to look for Siran's sanctum.

(In the process of this search, the PCs found a secret torture facility that the goblin leaders were operating. In this hidden place, the goblins had devices for extracting liquid pain? from creatures both living — and undead!)

After extensive searching, the PCs found Siran's hidden sanctum, deep within an expanse of solid granite; and inside that sanctum was the Book of Bones. Though the sanctum and the Book were protected by a massive number and variety of traps, Boris, with his rogueish skills and his divine mastery of time, managed to snatch the Book and escape unharmed. While grabbing the tome, Boris felt a malign, demonic presence within, attempting to contact his mind; but, as he was warded with mind blank at the time, Boris was unaffected by this attempted contact. The PCs departed Brocken Pit, book in hand.

Examining the book

Vasily surmised that the malign presence might be an intelligence within the Book of Bones itself — something similar to an intelligent magic item, or perhaps an entity whose soul (or a part thereof) was imbued into the book. The moment that Nikolai touched the book (having suitably warded himself against possession and mental magic), he felt a presence try to touch his mind, and saw vague images of fire and malice; but, again, suffered no ill effects. Flipping through the book, Nikolai saw that it was written in a none-too-steady hand; within its pages were magical formulas, strange glyphs, and hand-drawn sketches. Though some of the writing seemed to encode unfamiliar spells, it seemed to mostly be gibberish; the PCs surmised that it was written in code, and that much deciphering would be required to divine the meaning.

In addition, a few pages of the Book of Bones were dedicated to simple writing, in Old Slavonic — the language spoken by the Slavic tribes that lived in these lands in the time of the Book's author, Damek the Black. (See Diary of Damek the Black, below, for details on what the PCs discovered from reading Damek's words.)

Fearing that the malign presence in the Book might be some remnant of Azrashak, Nikolai decided to meditate and commune with his patrons, the Iron Triad. The three celestials confirmed Nikolai's suspicions: that Azrashak may well have partitioned his soul, imbuing parts of it into physical objects, wherein he would wait, and from such a soul fragment might be resurrected (at least in part) after his destruction. It now seemed like a strong possibility, that the Book of Bones contained a fragment of Azrashak's soul — and even a part of so powerful a spirit would retain its sense of ego, and its evil purpose.

Vasily and Nikolai then applied divination magic to the search for further information about the Book and the malign spirit that dwelled within.

1. A legend lore spell revealed the following:

The Book of Bones contains secrets of the necromantic arts never seen before or since, not even by acolytes of the death gods. Damek the Black wrote it, he who came from nothing to ascend to brief dominion over all the Slavic Lands. He in turn was taught these secrets by a power from beyond this world, whose name is not known. As Damek wielded the flesh and minds of men as weapons, so too was he himself an instrument, discarded and left to his doom when his purpose ended. Rurik came and smashed Damek's empire of bone and dark decay, and he forbade the study of Damek's art; the Book was lost. All beings who carry on the unholy existence beyond death seek the book, as its secrets can empower and elevate them above their fellows.

2. Questioning Siran's corpse via speak with dead revealed that Siran had been aware of a presence within the Book, and that this presence was demonic in nature; that it could not possess the mind of a reader, but could exert control and influence.

3. Further divination spells revealed little else of relevance.

Studying the book

Vasily and Nikolai — after warding themselves with mind blank — set about carefully reading the Book of Bones, attempting to decipher the writings and diagrams within, and to learn the tome's secrets. They quickly confirmed, based on Damek's descriptions, that many of the undead creation techniques and necromantic rituals described in the book were unique, detailed nowhere else. (Among these was the method of spellstitching?, the technique of engraving an undead monster's flesh or bones with runes that give it various arcane spell-like abilities.) It was clear that deciphering the spells and rituals in the book would take time, but as Vasily and Nikolai delved into this work, they got the sense that something was missing — some information critical to figuring out what a lot of the formulas and glyphs meant. The diary entries and plain-language descriptions of the book's contents made no mention of any such extra requirement, so the way forward was unclear...

Contents

Diary of Damek the Black

Part of the text in the Book of Bones is a diary, written in Old Slavonic, of Damek the Black — the necromancer warlord who wrote the evil tome. It tells of his rise to power, how he gathered support and conquered the Slavic lands, and his eventual fall before the onslaught of the Varangian? invaders under Rurik. It also describes his experiments and study of the necromantic arts. Several passages of this diary are of note:

1. A page inserted at the beginning, a sort of preface. Judging by how much the ink is faded, and the shakiness of the hand, it's clear to you this was written at about the same time, or a bit after, the final parts of the book.

I do not any longer know if what I hold to be true is lies. For I am an old man, and my magic does not save me. Perhaps, before I extinguished his life, I should have heeded the words of the elder, who spoke even as he died so long ago, that only the gods have true power over life and death. When I look up into the sky of the day with eyes that barely see, I feel that I can hear the Radiant One? mocking my existence.
And the northmen? are coming. It does not matter to me. My army will not falter before the berserkers, though the living flee in horror, and they may yet be crushed; the fury of the north is a terrible thing. I have seen it myself.
I wish only that my knowledge be preserved. May those that come after me know the joy that is power; may you who read these words and delve into the secrets locked within gain understanding such as will make your enemies tremble in their last moments before death. Should you expand upon my work, and transcend the shackles of mortality, yours will be the glory of the gods.
I commit to writing, therefore, all that my memory deigns to reveal to me. I am tired...

2. An entry near the beginning of the book.

The eyes were like fire, and I could not meet their gaze, yet I could look nowhere else. The voice came from within myself. I shivered as the cold rippled through me, the presence of darkness that enveloped me.
“I see that you have potential. You may be the vessel that I seek.”
“Who are you?”
“The shaper of your destiny. Listen.”
I listened.
I awoke and killed the man who slept beside me. Then the rest of the camp. He was right.

3. Another entry, closer to the middle.

It was so easy. I asked him for power, and he granted it to me. I left, and when I returned to my people, they were unchanged, but I was not. I asked that they serve me, for I was greater than they were. When they refused, his power came forth from my hands. All served me then; in life and in death. Nothing I imagined could have surpassed this.

4. An entry in the latter third of the book.

I asked him then, at the height of my glory, when my name had not been spoken aloud in a decade, because fear gripped the living like the strongest of chains. He came to me at night. I asked him, as I asked him that first time.
“Who are you?”
He said nothing; only stepped forward from the shadows of my mind, and revealed himself. Colossal; wings, claws, horns; with his visage alone I could have conquered the world. His form was nightmare.
“I am Azrashak?.”
I never saw him nor ever slept well again.”

... Most of the knowledge recorded in the Book of Bones was imparted to Damek by the demon Azrashak?. ...

... lost since Damek the Black's death ...

... found by Siran ...

... recovered by the PCs, from the goblin city of Brocken Pit?, after Siran's death ...

Encoded in the Book of Bones, in a way that requires necromantic skill and esoteric knowledge of Niflheim? & Hel to understand, is a ritual.

The clergy of Hel possess a prophecy which refers to “the key which will open the door through which the traveler will return”, “an instrument”, and “the one who will wield that instrument”. ... the Book of Bones is this “instrument” ...

As the party learned during their trip into the dark possible-future, the event which finally brought about Loki's return was the casting of a ritual by Koschei the Immortal?, which involved “necromancy on a scale never before seen”.

Azrashak, though he had been destroyed during the events of Ragnarok, evidently managed to ...

... the Book of Bones contained a fragment of Azrashak's soul. Ileana, Chernovsky ... extract ...

... Chernovsky adapted one of the techniques in the Book of Bones (deathbringer AoE negenergy/dispel) to enhance his Phobos golems ...

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