SESSION 45A: BY COMMISSAR’S DECREE
October 31st, 2009
The 24th Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty
They emerged from the incense-drenched depths of Porphyry House into the surreal, sunlit streets of Ptolus.
Still gasping for breath, they decided to return to the Ghostly Minstrel, regroup, and recoup.
But when they arrived, the watchman from the Delvers’ Guild station who had been intermittently harassing them since Ranthir’s encounter with a shivvel addict was waiting for them in the lobby. For the first time, they learned his name – Marco – and he asked them to come to the watch station with him.
It seemed like an innocent enough request, so they readily agreed. Marco escorted them to the station and then to a small room near the back of the building. Then he left them alone.
“What’s going on?” Nasira asked.
“Are we being arrested?”
“Should we try to escape?” Tor said.
“We haven’t done anything wrong!” Elestra said.
“Well… we have killed some people,” Nasira pointed out.
“And Tee has all of that illegal shivvel in her bag of holding.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t be discussing it here,” Tee said, gritting her teeth.
THE COMMISSAR’S DEPUTIES
A young woman with short-cropped red hair and wearing a signet with the Commissar’s seal stepped into the room. She introduced herself as Carrina.
“I’m glad you could come here today,” she said. “The Commissar appreciates all of the work and sacrifices you have made for this city.”
“Happy to oblige,” Tor said.
“As your recent actions in the Temple District suggest, you’re already familiar with the recent surge in cultist activities within the city,” Carinna continued.
“Intimately so,” Tee said.
“Just so,” Carrina smiled thinly. “That’s why the Commissar has chosen to deputize you to investigate the cultist activity.”
“We’re already doing that,” Elestra blurted.
“Then it should be no great hardship to do it in the Commissar’s name,” Carrina said. “You will each be paid 75 gold pieces a month, with additional bonuses to be paid at my discretion for tangible results.”
“What sort of results?” Tee said.
“I leave it to your imagination,” Carrina said. “I expect regular reports.”
“How do we contact you?”
“Through Marco here at the watch station.” Carrina pulled out an official-looking piece of parchment and handed it to them: It was an official decree by the Commissar enforcing their deputization and empowering them to act as such.
They didn’t really seem to have much choice in the matter. And although the government pay was clearly meager, it was money for doing something they were already committed to. So they started briefing her; rapidly filling her in on all of the major cult hotspots they were aware of around the city.
“Excellent,” Carrina said. “When can you start dealing with them?”
After some soul-searching, they decided to also brief her on the Banewarrens. If nothing else, they suspected that the Pactlords were another cult and, thus, under the purview of their commission.
Carrina had known nothing about the Banewarrens, but she listened carefully to their report. (Which, truth to be told, was not entirely complete. They edited carefully around the involvement of Rehobath and the Inverted Pyramid.) When they were finished, she promised to report the matter back to the Commissar. “Certainly if you think it to be a cult-related threat, you should act on it as quickly as possible.” But beyond that she saw little reason for panic: It was hardly the first vault of powerful artifacts to be found beneath the streets of Ptolus. Nor was it likely to be the last.
SOMETHING STIRS…
After the shellacking they had received in Porphyry House, they decided that they would spend the next day resting and recuperating. Their stores had been badly depleted and they had some deep bruises to heal.
They also agreed that a return to Porphyry House – particularly a Porphyry House likely to be armed and alerted – was beyond their present resources. So they decided to turn their attention back to the Banewarrens: They would pursue their leads to Alchestrin’s Tomb.
Ranthir, delighted at the down time, retreated to his room and his tomes.
Elestra, still mourning the loss of her python viper, retreated to her own room to begin a long communion
with the Spirit of the City in the hope that she might be granted a new companion through whom the city’s voice could be heard and its will made manifest.
Tee spent the afternoon hocking their loot. Nasira tagged along with her and they spent the next few hours chatting amiably. In the evening they retired to the Ghostly Minstrel and Tee offered to teach her the game of Dragonscales. (Tee’s thoughts turned for a moment to Dominic with a sad sense of loss: She missed playing the game with him.)
Midway through their series of training games, however, they abruptly realized that the tiles had spelled out the words SOMETHING STIRS. This was not entirely unusual, but as the game continued the phrase appeared again… and again…
Tee cleared the board and they began a new game… SOMETHING STIRS.
They paused and considered their options. Tee tried manipulating the other tiles in various ways to explicate the message (“What stirs?” and so forth)… but then the message stopped occurring altogether.
Running the Campaign: Recognition as Reward – Campaign Journal: Session 45B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index
