Valley of King Xorbb Event #3: The Return of King Xorbb  

Thistlebrush says 'Brantun and Barleyburr draw near to Xorbb's inner sanctum. [War] will grant us victory.'

Thistlebrush says 'Your efforts have helped us much, especially Brantun and Barleyburr: when [they] were lost in the valley, when they were in [danger] of being discovered after escaping the goblin chef, and when they fell into [trouble] in the valley dungeon. You also handled yourself magnificently in our [war] against Xorbb's forces. Thank you!'

Thistlebrush says 'You have not once failed to impress me, Darrkin. Without you, our hope would have been crushed long ago. Now I must ask you to undertake one final task. With Xorbb's army in disarray, and his attention focused on our fighters, you must strike at his heart and bring aid to Brantun and Barleyburr. This will be their darkest, most severe test, and I fear they will not succeed without you. If you can field a [small] force, you might be able to slip into Xorbb's throne room undetected. If you can manage a [large] raiding party, there is no doubt that you could smash through the remaining opposition in Xorbb's ranks before entering the throne room.'

Thistlebrush says 'Strength will win us victory. Fight your way through the [valley] and into Xorbb's chamber. Together we will make him regret ever leaving his cell!'

Thistlebrush says 'Head north through the gates and show Xorbb's forces the true might of Rivervale and its allies!'




Barleyburr practically pulls your arm off as he takes hold of your sleeve and whispers hurriedly, eyes darting about. 'You came, Darrkin, you came! And you brought friends! But, oh, it must be too late now! Our mission has [failed]. I have failed. I let Brantun down; I let everyone down! If you wanted to [leave] I wouldn't blame you!

Barleyburr says 'We stood before Xorbb -- the King. As we stared up at the crystal, the heart of fear, wondering how to destroy it, preparing the explosive powder we had sewn away in our packs and clothing, he materialized before us. The King descended, engulfing our vision in his endless iris. Our thoughts sank into that black disk, and we couldn't move a muscle as his [thoughts] washed around us and through us.'

Barleyburr says 'I don't want to remember such things: seeing the whole of Rivervale burning in the night, its citizens drowning in fire; glimpsing a horde of goblins and minotaurs washing across the hills and valleys of Antonica, consuming crops and towns like locusts; and knowing that all who oppose the King will end up dead or in the darkest abyssal prison that could be conceived. The power I saw was enormous...and disgusting. And then he [spoke] to us.'

Barleyburr says 'Sorry, Darrkin, my mind and belly are too anxious to remember exactly what he said. I almost vomited with fear as he spoke. He told us our time upon this world had ended. Our time now belonged to him, and was his to do with as he pleased. We had amused him with our infiltration plan, and he had decided to employ us as soldiers in his invisible vanguard that walk into towns and wreak havoc upon the citizens as the King's army marches upon them. Either this, or he would mount our bodies upon poles and carry them at the front of his army, as he would the corpses of any other adventurer who might be [brave] enough or foolish enough to oppose him.'

Barleyburr says 'I am such a coward! I was shaking all over, and when I looked at Brantun, I saw his face contorted with rage. The ring in his palm was glowing and pulsing in time with the fear crystal. He did not look to be the same person I have known for so long. He knelt and stretched out a hand to the King. Shards fell from the fear crystal above us and swirled around Brantun. They swarmed over him and covered his body, and soon he looked like he was wearing an armored suit of crystal. The ring floated from his palm and slipped onto his finger. He [disappeared] from sight, probably forever.'

Barleyburr says 'You probably would have been braver than I, Darrkin. I ran and hid myself here. The King disappeared along with Brantun, and I have not seen either of them since. I don't know where Brantun has gone, but I'm certain the King has taken control of his mind. How will I ever find Brantun and [destroy] the crystal now? I don' think I could face King Xorbb again...'

Barleyburr says 'With you here, Darrkin, maybe we can manage it. But...wait, I feel a presence!'

Darrkin says, 'Hail, Lupex'

Lupex says 'He is still within this chamber. I will call to him.' Lupex raises his head to howl, but he does so without a sound. You see a massive eye materialize near the altar. 'He has come. Confront him.'

Lupex says 'Do not tremble, Barleyburr. I knew you would need help, and so I have led these adventurers to you. Brantun has fallen to his own pride and the raw fear emanating from the crystal. You will be unable to rescue Brantun or destroy the crystal as long as Xorbb lives, for he has linked himself to the source of fear. Adventurers, fulfill your purpose: [Kill] Xorbb.'

King Xorbb stares into you. Images and words not of your own enter your mind. You feel as though you are standing amid the darkest night, looking into a bonfire that burns as if it would consume the world. 'What do you know of the [darkness], Darrkin?'

King Xorbb says 'It is the catalyst of vision. First the sparks appear, flashing like flint struck in the depths of night. Then the fires of green, blue, orange, and red sweep across your lens, outlining the hills, rivers, and sunsets you will never see again. In time, you paint your own world in fire. The grass is green and deep; the sky is blue and endless; the blood of your [enemies] is crimson, running like rainwater down the staves upon which they hang.'

King Xorbb says 'They locked me in the darkness, but I recreated the world they stole from me. My cell became the valley I once knew, and the rivers choked on the bodies of my enemies and all who had conspired to imprison me. I vowed if I were ever to [escape], I would create the valley I had seen in my cell. I would have my vengeance. I would have my conquest.'

King Xorbb says 'Another spark in the darkness: In an instant it burned with the power of Ro and flooded in white my imagined valley. When again I could see, there was the crystal shard, glowing and smoldering with a power I had never known. I claimed it. Ascending through the rift it had torn in the bedrock, I remade the valley in the image I had seen countless times throughout my endless night. Soon all my enemies will suffer as I did, and their blood will flow. Those in Norrath who do not kneel before me will know only the darkness of the abyss, as I once did!'

Chest had the following item not listed above:

• Dread Gloves

Correction: All this loot goes to Valley of King Xorbb Event #1: http://everquest.allakhazam.com/db/quest.html?quest=6113
I got the Expedition Name and Event Name mixxed up on just this one. My apologies.

2012-12-17 Treasure chest had the following items:

• Dread Boots
• Dread Bracer
• Baneful Eye Buckler
• Mordaur's Spiked Pauldrons
• Imposing Law of Xorbb
• Lesser Terrormote
• Greater Terrormote
• 2 x Glowing Terrormote
• Primed Fragment of Fearlinked Zeal

Edited, Dec 19th 2012 9:17pm by Byren