The Lost Abbey of Calthonwey

From the web:

"Listen, O Wayfarer, and hear a tale of long ago in the days of the great hero Tagam Dragohbrother. In those times worship of Syrenthia, the great goddess, was strong in these lands. Strong too was her priesthood, for her priests were great and learned men. Among the greatest was Aript, who was the Abbot of Calthonwey. . It came to pass, in the autumn of the last year of the Reign of Meso the Wise, that Aript was visiting a village near the Troll Fens. As he was returning to the inn from visiting a sick farmer, he encountered a bedraggled young lad who spoke no known language. Aript befriended the boy against the advice of the villagers.

The boy was fair of countenance, yet also he was dark of coloring, in hair, skin and eyes. Aript called him Liodga, which means "black pearl," for his coloring and rarity of appearance. The superstitious villagers called him Liodcinat, which means "black serpent." They feared the circumstances of the boy's appearance and behind Aript's back (or so they thought), they made signs against the evil eye. Aript was not unobservant, and he feared for the boy's life at the hands of the villagers. So it was that Aript took Liodga away into the night like a theif.

The travellers reached the Abbey without incident, and Liodga was inducted into the priesthood.

Years passed and Calthonwey prospered. The Abbey's dual choir of f rocked priests and martial monks was renowned through the realm. As with Calthonwey so with Liodga, for he was favored by the Master of the Abbey, and the dark one came to stand high in the Order.

It was in the year of the Long Winterthat Aript's soul left his mortal shell to begin the Great Astral Journey. In accordance with the ancient rules, the Order met in conclave to elect his successor. When the ballots were cast and the tally made, it was discovered that to Liodga had gone the majority of votes. This was strange, for few of the priests would admit to favoring him for the position. Geshyan, a wise and respected patriach of the order, spoke out vehemently against the election of Liodga, but the chapter upheld the decision as it had been accomplished in the ancient way.

Lo, the very day after Liodga's assumption of the position of Abbot, Geshyan was found headless within his own locked room. The new Abbot announced that it was the god's punishment of Geshyan for disputing the ancient ways. Unbelieving, several of theolder priests objected, but Liodga would hear no words against his. By the next morning the cells of the outspoken priests were empty. Mostfeltthey had simply left during thesecret hours of the night, but others darkly hinted that Liodga was responsible. Under Liodga the Temple continued to garner wealth, though now the lands around the Temple began to suffer. Those who sought to evade or dispute Liodga's tithe frequently met with terrible accidents. Yet as Liodga's power and influence grew, so did unrest in some parts of the order. The simple folk of the land began to fear a coming of strife amongst the priests that would reach out to encompass them, and they dreaded the coming of a religious war.

And so finally word spread through the land that Jarfar Lindenstaff, master of the martial monks, had quarreled openly with Liodga and named him blasphemer. Soon after this word came the news that the Abbey itself was hidden from men. It remained so for 100 long years.

When Calthonwey was again seen by men of good faith, the lands about it were blasted and barren and none were seen about it. The fates of the priests to this day remain unknown, for the few brave men that have approached the Abbey return with tales of haunting and dread evil."