The story of the Violet Path, they say, is a simple one:
When the Gods departed Gallus at the end of the Fourth Cycle, they left behind many priests and orders. The clergy of the pentad -- Woed, Nekarnus, Darun, Para/Korma, and Sh'kael -- travelled together up into the hills of this wild northland. Stripped of their priestly gifts, they had only the wizardly talents of the Grand Magus of Nekarnus (his powers, they say, severely reduced by the waning of his Lord), which were used to guide them, supposedly, by a purple light that glowed upon the stones. Legend holds that they travelled on foot at a rate of approximately 25 miles per day upward, deep into the Hills of Hrul. When they stopped each night, a priest would leave a symbol of his god to mark their place of rest. The spots are themselves holy, and the Pilgrim's Outposts line the path all the way up the Violet Path -- one for each of the five stops before the priests split in the hills at the current site of Darun's Necropolis.
Having arrived atop the highest hill (a small mountain, in truth), the priests found a dehydrated old hermit, his skin sun-darkened and split, and hobbling, his feet bloodied and raw from walking among the rocky hills. The priest of Darun insisted that with death's god in exile, life must be honored. Compassionately, he offered his heavy sandals to the old hermit so that he may walk, and offered an arm upon which the old man might find some support. The hermit spoke of a nearby spring, and the need for water. After being helped along, the priest of Darun wished to wait with the man to make sure he was healthy enough to survive.
The Grand Magus of Nekarnus was the first to voice his discontent, insisting they had still a long path to walk to reach the heart of the hills, with no time for a crippled old man. The Heirophant of Para was the next to object, insisting that he must move to follow the sun's course before nightfall. Restless too was the high priest of Sh'kael, desperate to travel north to the shores of the Northern Sea. The wizened Archcanon of Woed, though, chastened his fellows for their lack of concern, supporting the priest of Darun's decision to aid the old man. An arguement ensued, but it was the old hermit who spoke last, breaking the troublesome quarrelling. He said that four great springs can be found in the hills, each in a different direction. Thus, since their paths lead in such different directions, each priest might find his way by dowsing along the water flows from here, atop the mountain. Scoffing, the preist of Nekarnus was first to leave, almost immediately -- but using his magic, he dowsed the promised path westward, deep into the hills. Impatient, the Heirophant of Para also travelled westward, hoping to remain beneath the sun's light as long as possible, but was shown how to dowse by the silent Priestlord of Korma, who walked with Para's cleric. Sh'kael's man lingered for a time, but he could feel the pull of the sea to the north, and followed the flow of water he could sense beneath him. The Archcanon of Woed and the Priest of Darun remained with the old man overnight, until after the sunrise, the Archcanon admitted that he, too, must leave. His reason, though, gave a smile to all of their faces -- he hoped to travel the furthest from the wizard priest of Nekarnus, so as not to listen to the man's complaints ever again in his lifetime. To this end, he travelled east, holding a forked stick that pointed the way. Darun's priest and the old hermit remained atop the mountaintop, becoming friends and working the rough, rocky ground in hopes of fostering plants and a garden.
In short time, all of the clergy found their way, and each in his manner, deemed the site of their bubbling spring to be a worthy place to remain. They made their camps, and each buried the holy symbols of his god beneath the rocky earth. The gods had been lain to rest -- asleep, dead, or simply missing was unknown even to them -- their symbols planted so that perhaps something new might grow. In time, the lesser priests and flocks of faithful headed into the Hills of Hrul, finding their leaders and brethren, and helping to build the great necropoli. In time, the way of their travel became marked by the purple flame of Nekarnus' flock, coloring the worn path that pilgrims still walk today. The hills took a new name, the Hills of Necropoli, and the sprawling fields beneath the foothills, the wide harbor, and the scattered huts and villages that housed many refugees from the great wars became known as Hrulgaard, those who stand in the shadows of Hrul.
As an act of reverence, and to honor the gods, Pilgrim's tokens that reflect the old symbols of the pentad are left at each Necropolis. Often at the five Pilgrim's Outposts, token are left, much as the priests themselves had done to mark their passage.
All of this was learned by Lugh, and relayed to the party. They travel up the path, they find a wounded man stumbling down the hill. He has a magical arrow embedded in his back, and speaks of a bandit attack north, up the path, which wounded him and likely killed his two companions. Mitu and Valkar rush to find out what happened, sprinting uphill for over two hours. They find little sign of an attack at first, though eventually some evidence of a covered scuffle is unearthed -- followefd by a dismembered body stuffed into a hollow beneath a tree. Of the other body, there is no sign.
However, a pitched battle ensues when scouting up into the brush forest along a ridge, several archer/sentries are spotted. The exchange leaves Valkar impaled by an impossibly sharp arrow, while Mitu scrambles about, knowing folks from trees. Mitu does his best to heal Valkar, and end up hurting himself in the process. However, the pair pushes further upward, hoping to crest the ridge. While Valkar sneaks along the flank, Mitu approaches directly, drawing their attack. Valkar picks off a few of the Bandits while Mitu charges over the ridge. When Valkar puts an arrow through the forehead of the Bandit commander, the others flee from Mitu's unchecked fury. In the bandit camp, they find the bound corpse of the final traveller -- appearing that the brigands did not realize he was bleeding so strongly from an arterial wound. They also find a small locked chest buried in the dirt beneath the bandit leader's bedroll.
Mitu sets the camp aflame, and he and Val return to the others, carrying the two corpses and a living prisoner. En route, they encounter Slip and Soreiss, who have been pushing uphill in the hope of finding the two big men, who had been missing for so long. Eventually, all of the party reassemble at nightfall along the pathside. Soreiss opens the chest, and finds a hefty sum of money within, as well as a weak potion, and a note -- indicating that this was supposed to be a kidnapping or possibly a forced recovery. The prisoner remains unconscious, so Mitu and Lugh hope to find some of the Pathguard of the Violet Path and inform them about bandits and the attacks. Indeed, they find a guard who insists that bandits would be an impossibility on the path, since it is so often patrolled it would have been noticed. However, he suspects private mercenaries undertaking some kind of nefarious agenda. He gets directions, and after returning down hill with the corpses, rides with several guards up the path, ostensibly toward the burned out brigand camp.
The prisoner confirms that this was indeed a kidnapping/recovery, with the commander hired by some guy who sounds suspiciously like Athis Hel of Hel's Clan. However, he knows nothing else. When the Pathguard return down the hill, he is turned over to them and the party resumes their travels up the Violet Path.
Late afternoon, they reach the first Pilgrim's Outpost, an archway of towers with many tents pitched around a large, log walled hostel building. All costs are paid for by a pilgrim's token, and still more questionable traditions of the Path are revealed. To avoid stayng overlong, the party opts to head up the road a ways to make camp away from the outpost (where a strange man is rousted from the bushes, but little more occurs).
The next day's travel elicits complaint from Soreiss, who's boots are not quite fit for walking in such a rocky terrain. By the afternoon, they stop and make camp... however, that night, strange sounds are heard echoing aroudn the hills.
Late night, the party has had enough of the strange, pained howls that come infrequently but are so loud and resonant that they wake a few folks out of a dead sleep. Opting to investigate when they realize it is not the cry of an animal, they head toward a strange assemblage of carrion birds perched and overlooking a valley. A couple miles into the hills off the path, they reach the valley, and within it is a troubling sight.
Faint imbalance and daemonic magics are detected from the massive figure stooped on the ground, surrounded by a pile of bones, feathers, and feces. As they near, the figure -- an Ogren even larger than Mitu, and bearing scarred symbols similar to his own all over his naked body -- responds to them. He seems to recognize Mitu, speaking to him in Dematic. This Ogren is a former Demon Ogre, complete, yet now free of his master, the Daemok Lord of Wrath. He has bound himself with cold iron spikes driven deep in to the ground, and a large hook though his arm. He claims to seek a natural death to honor life and death, and to act as sacrifice and symbol of reverence to the old gods. He stands defiant to his Daemok master, refusing to live or die by the path of war. Though the party does not quite understand his self-imposed imprisonment, they agree to leave him be -- however, in the process of talking with this being, Mitu learns something of his past, including the name of his mother, Braena of Jillenghast -- and his own name, Dien'hadief'do (the excretion on the pile of bones). Rin senses faint spirit magic from the cold iron spikes, but the Ogren claims to know nothing of shamanism. However, he offers the spikes as a gift if, when the PCs return down the hill, he is dead.
Believing there is nothing more they can do for this troubled Ogren, the party returns to the Violet Path, and press on with the rising sun.
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