185
There is a moment of cold fear when you first set eyes on the burial grounds of Tolakos. An eerie blue glow, cast by clumps of bacterial fungi, illuminates a mist that seeps from the tombs and crypts of this ancient necropolis. The swirling vapour is contained by a wall which encircles the graveyard, although it is broken in many places where trees have displaced the mouldering stonework. With a weapon at the ready you follow Odel towards one such gap in the wall, which is overshadowed by a great mausoleum.
‘This is the Vault of Sedron,’ whispers Odel, as he clambers over the rubble and crouches beside its damp grey wall. ‘Old King Kalon sleeps here.’ He removes a throwing knife from his boot and with its tip he points to the other funereal landmarks of Tolakos and identifies them one by one. ‘That’s the Crypt of Juilor. Over there are the Graves of the Faithful, and there’s Baylon’s Tomb. The Chaos-master and his minions have kept us away from here for nearly a generation, but Lorkon is determined to wrest it from him and restore it to its past glory. Over there, near the centre, is the Grand Sepulchre. That’s where the bloodline of the Ironheart clan are laid to rest.’
You stare at this macabre building and a powerful feeling electrifies your body. The Sepulchre is an imposing sight, yet it is not the grim splendour of its design that exhilarates you. You are ablaze with the realization that somewhere here, in the Grand Sepulchre of the Ironhearts, lie the last two Lorestones of Nyxator: the objects of your quest.
