Pactum Battlefield

From the report of the Heroes of Pactum, presented by Walker at a convention of scholars in 223 AC. The final section was added after the battlefield was liberated, but the tenses were not changed to reflect the passage of time.

This was the site of the Battle of Acceptance that ended at the Cataclysm. This was the final battle of the Cataclysm War, where the Armies of Order made their final stand against the Armies of Chaos. Creatures and armies from all over Quartus and the planes beyond met here in battle, and the losses were horrific. The battle lasted several days as the Armies of Order were pushed back toward the Mother Tree. The Nameless itself took the field on the last day, riding on its fell dracolich steed. The battle was lost…until the destruction of the Left Eye of Qa'desh sucked the anima out of the air and the dracolich fell from the sky.

In the aftermath, the surviving Orderites fled south, gathering the refugees from the catastrophic natural disaster unfolding, while the surviving Chaosites fled mostly north or were swept up in the changes and turned on each other. The least affected forces, those of the Fiendish Territories and the Angelic Hosts, were left to bury the dead (and not so dead) at the battle. They sealed all those things that do not lie quietly, along with artifacts and other powers, in the Pactum Battlefield.

Physically, the Pactum is set in a small valley between two large, rocky hills. To the South East on the hill there stands the remains of the Mother Tree, a huge oak that once held a major kami but now stands stark white, bleached of color and life. The kami has fled or died; no trace of it remains. This area is completely devoid of life except for a very small shoot of green on the Mother Tree—no plants will grow under the spreading branches and druidic/ranger spells cast here fail without trace. To the NW is the Blasted Hill—this hill is covered in weak spots. Walking here might drop you in a pit full of seething acid. Life grows here, but it’s sparse and twisted by the remains of demonic energies.

Structure of the Pactum

The center of the Pactum is the Great Barrow, a 50-foot high building of solid black stone. The area between this and the Inner Ring is hazy as seen from the outside due to the wards created by the Inner Ring. Surrounding this (about 10 feet from the Great Barrow at closest approach) are the four great mounds of the Inner Ring with a chest-high wall-mound connecting them in a diamond shape. Grass grows on these; each barrow is covered by wildflowers in all seasons. The Outer Ring of 8 smaller barrows, placed on a great circle, encompass this Inner Ring, with about another 100 feet of clearance. Four of these barrows are located at least partially on the surrounding hills. Between the Inner and Outer Ring are numerous small mass graves. Unlike the barrows, these do not have entrances and are simply earth and rocks piled on bodies.

The Great Barrow

The Great Barrow is a trimmed-corner cube about 50’ on a side. It seems to be made out of solid, flawless obsidian, although a trace of a large doorway (15’ wide) seems etched on the SW corner.

Contained in the Great Barrow are the sleeping gold dragon Pigmeys Neryis and the remains of her mate, the dracolich Atijok. She sleeps restlessly, clutching the bones of Atijok, on a mound of treasures gathered from the demonic foe, treasures that have warped her very essence. Once a noble creature, she fought to free her mate from the Nameless’s domination but failed and refused to leave his side.

Inner Courtyard

Between the Great Barrow and the Inner Ring is an empty expanse (10’ minimum) of cracked & shattered black glass. Touching the ground here is hazardous.

Inner Ring/Flower Barrows

The four Flower Barrows, made of earth over piled rocks, stand at the cardinal points. Between them is a chest-high (~4’ tall, 5’ wide) wall of packed earth. Grass grows up the outside of both barrows and wall, but stops dead at the peak, replaced by the same black glass as inside the Inner Courtyard. A major ward (in the shape of a cube) glitters in the air, projected by the barrows. Projectiles or creatures that touch this ward are violently repelled. Each Flower Barrow has a sunken door in the outer-most wall and the barrows are 15’ in diameter and 10’ tall.

The Barrows are marked (on the attached map) by the following indicators:

1. . This barrow is covered by white iris flowers, edged in gold. Contains Titziba, the Reprobi of Faith.
2. . This barrow is covered by blue violets. Contains Tzeru, the Reprobi of Hope.
3. . This barrow is covered by orange forget-me-not flowers. Contains Milistiba, the Reprobi of Love.
4. . This barrow is covered by blood-red hyacinth flowers. Contains Patitziba, the Reprobi of Patience.

Outer Courtyard

This grassy area, about 100 feet wide at narrowest, covers the space between the Inner Ring and the Outer Ring barrows. It includes a substantial part of the Blasted Hill. Dotting this area are smaller mass graves for the common soldiers who fell in the battle here. These are merely rock-and-earth-covered cairns of various sizes. Not all that were buried here were truly mortal; some of the graves contain bound creatures. The extremely powerful magic that was worked here (in battle, due to the Cataclysm, and in the Acceptance ritual) disrupted the transition of the spirits of the fallen into Shadow, binding fragments of their memories and personalities to their bodies; with no gods to bless the fallen, these fragments were interred with them. As a result, this area is permeated with memories of the fallen. Any being that enters must be shielded against possession, lest the spirits of the fallen take over their bodies and seek to re-enact their old lives. The Outer Ring serves as a containment ward for this influence; recent actions of the Chaos cult have breached this protection and amplified the influence of the dead memories into a cone about 60 miles wide and 60 miles long, pointed from Lesser Barrow 4 (#8) SSE to cover Innsmouth. This both weakens the effect (allowing a simple Wisdom save to resist the effects) and distracts attention from the goings-on at the battlefield.

The Sons of Dawn have been digging in the burial mounds here, looking for weapons and armor and artifacts. So far, they’ve found caches of mundane (but resistant to decay) chain, scale, and half-plate, as well as spearheads, sword blades, and arrowheads.

In order for the dead to lay peacefully, they need to be blessed. If a religious person (cleric or paladin) expends a spell slot in prayer (10 minute ritual), it will cleanse a section (~1/8 of the area / level of slot).

Outer Ring

The outer layer of wards emanates from these 8 Lesser Barrows. They are larger and lower than the Flower Barrows, standing about 4’ tall and measuring an oval shape about 25’x15’. There is a sunken door of stone on the inner short side of each barrow, with steps leading downward. The long sides face radially outward from the Great Barrow. These are grass-covered. Each Lesser Barrow contains the remains of one of the generals of both armies, buried along with their arms and armor, as well as some of their soldiers, bound in restless, deathly slumber. Not all these were human, nor are all of them dead, precisely.

The barrows form the anchor points for three large-area spells—an illusion of concealment, antipathy toward humanoids & beasts (effective out to a half-mile radius), and containment for the restless dead in the Outer Courtyard. Currently the antipathy spell is disrupted by Chaos cult machinations while the containment is breached and focused outward. The concealment is still in effect (an “invisible box” illusion spell).

5. NW barrow, under Blasted Hill. Shtryrm, jazuu warlord of Chaos Army. Dead.
6. W barrow. Dhu'gula. Undead. Wizard General of Chaos army. Not quite dead. Beloved of Milistiba. Contains his living spell-book/phylactery The Book Bound in Pale Leather.
7. SW barrow. Demon, serving as power source for cult amplification ritual. Not original occupant—that was a human priest. Guarded by Sons of Dawn Elite Fanatics.
8. S barrow. Nairyo Sangha, female angel.
9. SE barrow. An empty tomb, with an illusion covering a tunnel into the hill. Pale tree roots have torn up the floor, roof, and walls. Formerly the tomb of the Archdruid Kantorell of the Army of Order, killed in that battle.
10. E barrow. Supay, devil of Barong. Content to stay where it is, unless it hears of demon worship. Lion-headed, pet celestial lions.
11. NE barrow. Eaemhair (Evir) gro'Ulag. Orc Shaman, army of chaos. Dead.
12. N barrow. Kheshm, devil of Angra Manyu. Now diminished to a Tanarukk. Hostile.

Current State

After the cleansing of the battlefield as part of Redeeming the Lost (Campaign), the fey known as Maevea, formerly the kami of the Mother Tree, received her heart's desire with the miraculous resurrection of Kantorell, her lover. Together, they grew the Pactum Grove over the site, preventing anything still buried there from every threatening the world again.

Atijok and Pigmeys Neryis are currently living in Soefra with Wukong.

Walker, Dhu'gula, and Milistiba are currently wandering the world seeking knowledge. Mostly headed east.