Froglok

From Pond to Paladin Or The Origins of Froglok and Man by Glupurp Stoneskipper Paladin of Marr

My noble kinsman, I bring to you the knowledge or our origins, as well as the origin of Man that has been bestowed upon me by the scholars of the City of New Tanaan, and those who have visited the Halls of Honor, home of our Lord Mithaniel Marr. I am but a humble Paladin of Mithaniel Marr, born like many of our kind in the swamps of Southern Antonica, and deserve no adulation for penning these words. This work is in honor of all Froglok, current, past, and yet to come.

In the early ages of Norrath, before the arrival of Man, the Marr Twins did walk the face of Norrath. The children of a God of Power, Tarrew Marr the Water Lord, the Marr Twins searched amongst the mortals of Norrath a cause to champion and embrace with their divinity. The Gods of Nature puzzled over the Marr Twins absence of a divine purpose, and the Gods of Influence scoffed at the twins for seeking such a purpose amongst the mortals. The most malicious of the Gods, Innoruuk, and Cazic-Thule, sought to corrupt the young twins to strengthen the forces of hatred and fear.

Innoruuk, the twisted God of Hatred and Spite sent his mortal followers to Tarrews daughter, Erollisi Marr, to tempt her and seduce her into the darkness. With the wisdom imparted to the Goddess by her father, she saw through the Teir'Dals deceptions, and their wickedness was more visible to her eyes than even their physical forms. So it came to pass that Erollisi journeyed to the lands of Tunare's fair elves, to escape the sickening advances of the Teir'Dal. It was in the early kingdoms of the elves, that Erollisi did find warmth, peace, and beauty in the harsh realm of the mortals and it was there that she embraced and was in return embraced by a most mortal of traits. It was there she found love.

While Erollisi fended off the advances of Innoruuks mortal agents, the forces of Cazic-Thule beset her twin brother, Mithaniel Marr. Serpents, phantoms, and all manner of frightful creatures conjured and commanded by Cazic-Thules mortal minions came to Mithaniel to assault his body and mind. Mithaniel was no mortal however, and his will is strong, the minions of Thule could not instill within him the fear of their dark lord. They did succeed however, in luring the brave Mithaniel to the swamps of Norrath, the deadly, dank, lands where the creatures of Cazic-Thule were the strongest and most numerous. An army of Trolls, Lizard Folk, and forgotten creatures of unspeakable horror beset Mithaniel Marr, and so it came to pass that he became a captive to the minions of the Lord of Fear.

Mithaniel, imprisoned in magical bonds provided to his captors by Cazic-Thule, and tortured by relentless monstrosities, prayed to his father day and night for forgiveness and salvation. The prayers continued, unanswered, until the brave God, weary from torture and weakened by the dark magic of Cazic-Thule fell into a deep slumber.

It was then that Terris-Thule visited the slumbering God to inflict his sleep with nightmares more horrible than the events he had endured at the hands of his captors during his waking hours. However, at the beseeching of her father, Cazic-Thule, Terris was not permitted to inflict such terror onto Mithaniel Marr until after she first deceived him through his dreams and stole the gift of life from his body. So Terris did as her father commanded and then the slumbering horrors began.

Legacy of Guk or What History Remains Kruuk Glugop PAGE 2 BLANK

Our people are a strong people. With Mithaniel Marr behind us, we have endured many catastrophes in our history, and have always managed to come back stronger than before. Recently, we were able to rise against the vile trolls, and took the city for our own, as Gukta, the outpost of Marr. The trolls have been unsuccessful in reclaiming the city, and Mithaniel willing, they never shall.

The ancient home of our people, Guk, was not so lucky. It was consumed by a curse unleashed by Innoruuk and the troll villain known as Ykesha. Many of our brave warriors were trapped there, either taken by surprise due to the attacks, or they stayed behind to fend off the undead hordes long enough to allow the rest of our people to escape. Now, in a dark twist that makes me shudder, they have joined the ranks of the walking dead.

Many of us have wondered if there is a chance to study who from our history might be still wandering the depths of Lower Guk, and what might be learned by discovering this information. I am to accompany a group of adventurers who are currently resting here within Gukta, and I will see if I can learn this information. We leave at dawn.

It took some time, but we were able to make it to a small chamber near a few precarious walkways. It was here that we found the first interesting member of the cursed frogloks. As we rested, we began to hear a sound off in the distance. It first sounded as if it came from above us, then it seemed to circle around to the sides of our small camp. It seemed like it was looking for a weaknes in our defense. Then, suddenly, it was silent - we heard nothing more. When we were ready to leave, we began to look for the source of the sound, but could not locate it. Just when we had given up, a black-colored froglok ghoul leapt at us from the shadows, and directly at our warrior. He was just fast enough to deflect the attack, and together we were able to beat the creature back. However, I always had the feeling it was there … watching us, just out of sight.

Further in, we found another strange room, where it seemed like the ghouls themselves would not even enter. We could hear a strange sound coming from it – something like a breathing, but more like a constant hiss, and the sound of rushing wind, almost as if something inside could not remain still, and moved incredibly fast. We approached cautiously, but it became evident that whatever we had heard, had heard us as well. We were instantly set upon by a creature of tremendous speed. It was a ghoul like the others, but was blindingly fast. It seemed chaotic in its attacks as well – one of us would be hit, then suddenly another would feel the sting of the creature’s unrelelnting attacks. We were able to land a magical shackle on the beast, which caused it to howl in anger. Immediately we fled the area – this creature proved to be too mighty for our group, and we hoped to leave it behind us.