I'm not sure if it worked out, but I tried to string together some in character style passages for the background section.

[hider=Darkness Over Valandor]
"Unhappy rumors have reached my ears, Aldhelm. They say a darkness hangs over the High Fells of Valandor. I pray that you have returned to us now to dispel such fearful tales." 

Bowing down on his left knee as he entered the room, Aldhelm rose with greater difficulty, feeling his many years as he slowly stood up. He was no longer a young man. It had been fifty years since he had arrived in the Spired City. He had fought and defeated great evils. The faded scars and old injuries earned from such deeds were plain for all to see. He was a hero in Talcus, Aldhelm knew, for all the good it did him.

He had been richly rewarded for his services to the kingdom. He had risen to highest echelons of society. He had a title. He had lands. He dined with the nobility. He spoke with members of the royal family. He had more servants than he could count. He had a cadre of apprentices learning under his careful tutelage. And he slept in a luxurious bed. Such rich rewards had to be safeguarded by continued service, he knew, but it did not diminish the weariness he felt deep in his bones. Leaning heavily on his staff, Aldhelm collected his thoughts, consider how best to begin.

"I bring grim news, my lord Baron, there is a dark presence that dwells in the tomb of Adgyth Mara, a sorcerer who can summon the undead, a necromancer."

Loud gasps escaped from the court scattered in groups across the great hall and the Baron raised a calming hand, smiling good-naturedly as he beckoned for order to be restored.

"My old friend, surely you jest, perhaps this spellcaster is simply a maleficent conjurer, a charlatan dabbling in black magic in order to frighten the wretched people."

"There have been sightings of large groups of undead, moving across Thalore. To what end, we do not yet know. However, it is only a matter of time before this foul creature, this baleful necromancer, assembles an army of undead and moves to threaten the nearby settlements."

"What do you suggest?"

"We must act, your grace. We must secure the silver mines of Umeth. The King would be most displeased if the supply of silver was interrupted."

"Of course," the baron agreed, nodding sagely. "And of the necromancer?"

"Forgive me, my lord, but I have already taken the liberty of dispatching Inquisitor Nelriel and her company. I did not wish to trouble you with such minor details."

"Inquisitor Nelriel? Heartening news, indeed!" the baron proclaimed with a smile, to a smattering of cheers and clapping hands,"Why, I almost feel sorry for this pitiful necromancer."

"Just so," Aldhelm said, returning the board smile. 
[/hider]

[hider=Unwelcome Guests]
"What do they call you?"

"Cefrey."

"I see."

"Who sent you? Oh, don’t bother. I know you did not come here by your own accord."

Cefrey hesitated. There was subtle violence in the soft words of the stranger and Cefrey knew she did not have much time,"Aldhelm the Bright Handed"

"I know him."

"You cannot."

"Oh, why not? He knew my master. He was ever a friend of Taman Hakothi in those distant days," the robed figure said, taking a slow step forward, her cold blue eyes filling Cefrey with inescapable dread.

"Stay back! Don’t come any closer!" Cefrey stammered, pressing her back against the ice covered stone of the tomb, pointing the tip of her blade at the other speaker. "What do you want?"

A faint look of amusement crossed the pale elf’s face, "To talk, nothing more. I wish to know why old Aldhelm sends assassins to invade my home."

Cefrey tried to stay calm. She tried to think. She was cornered, surrounded by a host of undead, bristling with weapons and armor. They had lost Kalli to a trap as they entered the second level of the tomb. Brem had fallen to a hail of arrows not long after. The cleric accompanying them, Cesvel, had burned when he tried to rebuke the approaching undead. Nelriel had told her to run, screaming as an axe split her skull open. It had been a trap. Their spells had failed them. Their wards had been useless. The Necromancer had been ready. And Aldhelm had been wrong.

"Where is Vladislak? What have you done with him?" She meekly managed, her blade growing heavy in her hand and beginning to shake.

"Your friend is dead. Like the others that came with you."

"Why?"

"Do not ask foolish questions. You came here to kill me. Did you think that I would not defend myself? Your friend chose his fate. And now you may choose yours."

"Please…"

The crypt echoed with the loud clatter and clank of metal as the expressionless skeletons closed in on Cefrey, holding their weapons ready.

"No, stop that," the necromancer commanded,"Do not do that. Do not beg. You had a choice. You always have a choice."
[/hider]

[hider=A Small Price]
Inquisitor Tessele clasped her hands together offering a quick prayer, before she lit the votive candle sitting on the battered wooden table in front of her. Brilliant light shaped by her divine magic began to spread across the room, driving away the darkness that surrounded her. She felt a pang of sorrow as she studied the figure chained to the chair across from her. Dipping the tip of her quill in ink, she began to write in a careful hand.

"State your name, wizard, so that it may formally be recorded."

"You know my name."

Tessele smashed her first into the table, unwelcome flames of anger erupting in her bosom as her voice rose, "I will not ask you again, state your name, prisoner."

The reply came slower than the first, each syllable carefully delivered, "You know my name. You know me."

Unwelcome, painful silence followed, until unable to stand it any longer, Tessele spoke in a mournful tone,"You are Sariel, Sariel Amastacia."

"Indeed, I am Sariel Amastacia."

"So there you sit, chained, and left to languish in the darkness."

"I have no need for the light."

"They always say that."

"You waste my time."

"Your time is mine to waste."

"So you say," the shackled elf agreed.

"You subverted an agent of the crown. You had her murder a court wizard."

"I repaid Aldhelm for his poor manners and for his foolishness. The assassin…well, I gave her a choice. It would seem she found undeath preferable to death. Have you captured her?"

Tessele chose not to reply, pursing her lips in unbidden anger.

"Aha, now that is interesting. What will your superiors say? A wight on the loose in Talcus. I doubt they will be very pleased."

"Where is she?"

"In truth, I do not know. She is no longer bound to me. Her geas ended when she killed Aldhelm as I promised her when we struck our bargain."

"You released a wight in the city? To what end?"

The necromancer seemed to study Tessele with a pitying look before she spoke, "A wight is no lesser undead. She retained the memories of her life. Her personality was untouched. She possessed free will. I am not cruel. I have little desire to enslave sentient creatures."

"Such kindness," Tessele hissed, "And yet, you summoned an army of undead, razing the town of Camor to the ground. One hundred innocent souls, lost in one night."

"An accurate count, by my measure, but they were not slain by my hand alone."

"You deny it then?"

"It was not my intention to fight in the town. Unfortunately, your soldiers did not share my apprehensions about conducting a battle among the peasantry."

"Do you regret nothing?"

"What is there to regret, Tessele? I offered them a way out. I simply wanted to be left alone. The tombs were not theirs to claim. My home was not theirs to sully. And my work was not theirs to interrupt."

"You blame us for the slaughter?"

"What reason is there to lie?"

"You killed innocents. You killed the King’s men. You killed servants of the Holy Sun."

"Your clerics, your paladins, and your crusaders killed themselves with their own foolishness. I offer no apology for the deaths of the wicked."

"Wicked! They were good, kind souls devoted to the one true faith-"

"Oh, kill me now! But spare me this ridiculous story. You sent killers. You sent evil men. Their faith will not absolve them from their deeds. The righteous dead feast on their souls this day! I promise you that. I have but to listen and I can hear the screams of your soldiers. And I can hear the laughter of their countless victims rising louder still."

"You are the monster they said you were. I had vainly hoped that they might be wrong."

"There was no mistake."

Tessele’s voice wavered, her hands balling into tight fists, "I thought you lost, Sariel. I thought you were dead. After the battle of Eliorin. I looked for you. I looked for you for weeks. I searched for your body. And I found nothing."

"I was never lost," the wizard interrupted, seemingly unmoved.

"Where did you go?"

"To the East, beyond the narrow sea. I sought out the masters of magic, the great wizards of the forgotten ages. The ancient undead hidden from your prying eyes and shielded from your violence."

"You found them then, the hateful liches still remaining?"

"They are not so hateful, at least when you are polite."

"We heard stories about a great disaster befalling the lands of Thalore. It was said that the people had fallen into the hands of a Necromancer."

"It was peaceful, before you came."

"You consort with the undead. You damn you very soul, Sariel, there is no peace in that!"

The wizard leaned forward, placing a skeletal hand over Tessele’s before the inquisitor had time to pull back.

"Tessele, there is only fear in your words. You do not see. You do not listen. You do not understand. You are blinded by the light. You are deafened by the thunder of your new faith."

"You are halfway in the grave and you speak like that!" Tessele shouted, almost jumping back as she withdrew her hand, sending the candle clattering to the floor. She pointed at the wizard's skeletal arm,"Look at yourself, Sariel! You are dying, you are turning into a monster."

"If I have changed, then it is only for the better."

"You have traded your flesh. You have bartered away your soul. And for what? Unholy magic?"

"This?" the necromancer scoffed, raising her skeletal arm. "That arm was a small price to pay for knowledge."
[/hider]

Otherwise, I am just excited to see more of the cast of characters and also where this goes in character.