SESSION 41E: RETURN TO THE LOWER NESTS

August 15th, 2009
The 23rd Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

With a roaring battlecry Tor and Agnarr rushed down the tunnel. The ratbrutes – having turned to follow Tee’s forward dive – were unable to turn back and block the door in time. Tor and Agnarr burst between the ratbrutes, driving them apart. While Tor pushed his back into the corner (raining down blows in a stinking cascade of frying rat-hair), Agnarr quickly circled the other and drew him down the length of the room. Once Tor had finished with his, he joined Agnarr and the two of them together were able to harry and eventually cut down the other.

Unfortunately, until they were finished the ratbrutes made it too dangerous for Elestra, Nasira, or their healing magicks to reach Tee. By the time they did, she had almost bled to death from her wounds.

Once Tee (a little paler for her ordeal) was back on her feet, however, they were able to head down into the lower nest. With their thoughts filled by the dangerous cranium rats, they were hoping they could grab a kennel rat and then quickly find an exit into the southern sewers that they could use to follow one of their maps to Porphyry House.

Instead they found more guards posted. Tee emerged into the first room of the lower nest and was immediately fired upon by four ratlings. They missed, but Tee was pelted with shattering stone from the tunnel walls around her. Agnarr and Tor pushed past her and moved to engage the two nearest ratlings. Tee drew her dragon pistol, shot a third, and taunted them: “This is how you shoot!”

For a moment it seemed like a complete rout, but then two larger ratlings pushed through the curtain leading to the next chamber. The ratling nearest the one Tee had shot grabbed a dragon pistol off his fallen comrade and began firing from both hips. This time Tee was caught by the unexpected hail of fire.

But although Tee was painfully forced to a position of better cover, her sharp-shooting provided enough covering fire (while killing two more of the ratlings) for Tor and Agnarr to make a killing-ground sweep of the room with their swords. Then they briefly debated their next course of action: They knew what lay to the west (“Death,” as Elestra aptly summed it up), but there was another passage to the south.

Thinking of the cranium rats and their milky-eyed masters, Tee described the chamber with the chasm of effervescent green fluid as the True Temple of the Rat God… and she had no interest in tangling with it again. Plus, they were looking for a southern route through the sewers: The other passage would at least be taking them in the right direction.

The next cave-like chamber, however, was filled with more heaping piles of unstable garbage and offal. With a little sigh, Tee started heaving her way over the first of the piles towards the exit on the far side of the room—

And a swarm of black-furred rats with gleaming green eyes rose up out of the garbage around her. The very stench of them – a thick, unnatural musk of terror – suddenly struck the air, sending her senses reeling.

Tor rushed forward to help her—

And plunged through the refuse, between a set of loosely gapped wooden slats, and into a twenty-foot pit or chasm that ran across the width of the room.

Agnarr, seeing what had happened to Tor, ran forward, too. He jumped over the spot where Tor disappeared—

And also dropped into the pit, which was considerably wider than he had anticipated.

Ranthir, looking for a quick solution to Tee’s distress, dropped a fireball into the heart of the swarm – trusting to Tee’s reflexes to avoid the worst of it.

… but the rats were completely unaffected by the firestorm; the flames seeming to lick their way through the fur like some sort of elemental conductor. (Ranthir spent the next several hours cursing the waste of such a powerful spell.)

Tee – finding her mind hazed from the thick stench of the swarm and her flesh burning from their incessant, poisonous bites – fell back towards the others… taking the swarm with her.

In the flaming chaos and chittering madness of the scene, none of them had noticed a ratling priestess slipping into the far end of the room. Nasira, overwhelmed by the swarm, collapsed. The priestess surveyed the situation for a moment and then surrounded herself with a scintillating field of multicolored light.

A mad tittering filled the air and their eyes were drawn to the far end of the chamber as two large, white-furred rats came up to join the priestess. As they entered the room, their titters climbed into a shrieking peal of hideous laughter, ripping through the chamber and blasting insanity across the thoughts of those that heard it. In the chasm below, Tor suddenly turned upon Agnarr in incoherent madness and pounded his fists on the barbarian’s head. Agnarr, for his part, was driven into a panicked frenzy and fled to the end of the chasm, cowering as Tor continued to beat him about the temples.

Following in the wake of their shrieking laughter, the white rat-dogs raced towards the party. Fortunately, as they joined the melee, the madness of their tittering howls faded somewhat. Tor, regaining his senses, stumbled away from Agnarr (who, thick-skulled as he was, was only slightly the worse for wear). Hearing the screams from above, Tor knew they needed to get back in the fight. He unstrung the rope from his belt and hurled it over the wooden slats above. Quickly securing it, he began climbing up. Agnarr followed.

Above them, Elestra, calling upon the Spirit of the City, tried to force her will upon the mind of the priestess. For a moment she succeeded, but as she tried to force the priestess to attack the rats she felt her control slip away like grease from fur.

But Elestra had brought the priestess closer to the melee. And when Tor emerged from the chasm, he found himself directly behind her. Although his first wild swing (dragging himself up over the trash-filled lip of the chasm) missed, the priestess quickly found herself hemmed in between Tor, Tee (who had finally managed to beat herself free from the remnants of the swarm by using her boots of levitation to float a few feet into the air), and (shortly thereafter) the emergent Agnarr.

One of the white rat-dogs, however, leapt up and bit into Tee’s foot, swinging itself up to claw at her calf with its poison-drenched talons. Tee knocked it free, but not before the priestess slipped through their line.

Ranthir, meanwhile, had summoned a giant bombardier beetle with a carapace of glowing white light. The beetle’s powerful acidic attacks were able to rout the last of the swarm, driving it back into the chasm at the center of the room.

The priestess withdrew to the far side of the chamber. Tor pursued her. He tried to keep a careful watch on the placement of his feet, but still slipped and nearly fell back into the pit – only narrowly catching the lip.

Agnarr, on the other hand, roared ragefully and leapt across the entire pit. The priestess might still have escaped as she nimbly darted across the surface of garbage drifts through which Agnarr was forced to shove his way—

But Ranthir dropped a web across the entire width of the far passage, blocking her escape entirely.

The priestess, caught on the edge of the web, ripped her way free and tried to defend herself against Agnarr (and Tor, who caught up only moments later)… but she could do little against the cold steel (and fire… and lightning) of their blades.

Meanwhile, with the swarm gone, the others were able to rally and pound away at the laughter-mad white rats until their last titters were lost in gurgling blood.

Running the Campaign: Tactical Traps – Campaign Journal: Session 42A
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE

SESSION 41C: I’LL BE SEEING YOU

August 15th, 2009
The 23rd Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

THE ALLIANCE MIRAGE

When the false dawn was still cresting the sky, Tee arose while the others still slept and left the Minstrel. She headed up to Castle Shard, where she found that even with the early morning hour Kadmus was waiting for her. He escorted her to Lord Zavere, who it seemed had arisen not long before.

“I’m sorry to disturb you so early in the morning,” Tee said. “But I have news about the Idol of Ravvan.”

Zavere was more than interested when Tee showed him the letter they had recovered from the Temple of the Ebon Hand concerning the Dawnbreaker, the Argent Dawn, and the unnamed “idol”. Zavere wasn’t as certain as Tee that the letter referred to the Idol of Ravvan, but he agreed that it was a definite possibility. “Keep me informed of anything you might discover.”

“We will,” Tee promised. “But there was one other matter.”

“What is it?” Zavere asked.

Tee quickly supplied him with an abbreviated version of the ambush from the night before.

“Is everyone all right?”

“Yes,” Tee said. “Barely. But we don’t know where we can go that would be safe. We were wondering if… Well, we were wondering if it would be possible to stay at Castle Shard.”

Zavere pondered it for a long moment, but then he said, “I’m sorry, but it’s not possible. Your relationship to Rehobath is too well known. If I were to give you or your comrades sanctuary – particularly Sir Tor – it would be seen as Castle Shard aligning itself with Rehobath.”

Tee chose her next words carefully. “I don’t trust Rehobath any more than anyone else should.”

“Be that as it may,” Zavere said. “It’s ultimately a matter of public perception, not reality. I have no desire to tip the scales in this matter. Nor do I want to antagonize the Commissar in this. The situation is simply too delicate.”

“I understand,” Tee said with a resigned sigh, and left to rejoin the others for breakfast at the Minstrel.

THE PACTLORDS OF THE QUAAN

As they were settling down to their meal, they were surprised to see Jevicca come through the front doors of the inn.

“Good morning!” she said cheerfully, waving her red-glass arm towards them.

“Jevicca!” Agnarr said, a huge grin creasing his face. “What brings you here this morning?”

“I have news,” she said. “We’ve identified the bone ring you gave me.”

‘Really?” Tee said.

“They belong to the Pactlords of the Quaan,” Jevicca said.

“The who of the what now?” Elestra said.

“They’re not very well known,” Jevicca said, “And they’re mostly dismissed as a minor criminal organization. They’ve also got a minor reputation in the slave trade.” (Tee’s ears perked up at the mention of the slave trade. Could there be a connection to the Brotherhood of the Blooded Knife?) “But the reality is something more than that.

“There is an ancient book known as the Tome of the Shadow Dragons. Or perhaps it is many books. Only fragments of it have ever been found, and even these are few and hard to decipher. This book speaks of the “teachings of Jessuk”, a body of lore dedicated to the warping and corruption of natural life – the transformation of the natural races into abominations.

“These arts were practiced en masse by both the Banelord and Ghul, among others. The Pactlords are the descendants of the creatures created by them. They hold themselves superior to the “natural races” and, ultimately, seek to subjugate us.

“The group is held together through a living pact which is focused through these bone rings. The nature of the pact – and the force which binds it – is a secret kept by the Pactlords themselves. As is the nature of the ‘Quaan’.

“They have never been seen to pose any true threat, but they consider themselves – like Ghul before them – to be the natural heirs of the Banelord’s secrets. This explains their interest in the Banewarrens, but that doesn’t appear to be the group’s only current activity: Slave raiders have been prowling the caverns around Kaled Del and attacking the trade caravans of the Delvers’ Guild. Some of the raiders have been reported to be wearing ‘rings of bone’.”

THE FORTRESS SUITE

Jevicca’s briefing gave them a lot to chew on. She asked after their progress with the Banewarrens, but there wasn’t much they could tell. (And even less that they wanted to.) As they turned to amiable chatting over the rest of their breakfast, they returned naturally to the question of their lodgings: Should they go? If so, where?

Jevicca suggested the Nibeck Street mansion. It was currently abandoned, it would give them a base of operations as close to the Banewarrens as they might care to have, and it would let them defend the entrance to the Banewarrens.

On the other hand, as Agnarr put it, “Living over the hellmouth? No thanks.”

Greyson House was another abandoned building, but, as Tee pointed out, “The bad guys have already looked for us there. It’s no safer than here.”

“We could just go to another inn,” Elestra suggested.

“But that has all the same problems,” Tor said.

“Only if we stay in the same place,” Tee said. “We could just load everything we own into bags of holding and stay in a different inn each night.”

But that would prove troublesome for Ranthir’s research.

Tor proposed, as he often had in the past, that they buy a house somewhere in Ptolus.

“But that has the same problems, too,” Tee said. “It’s only a matter of time before they track us down, and then we’re vulnerable again.”

If they needed fortifications, then perhaps Pythoness House would be a solution. But Sir Kabel was already there, and while the others might be able to make that work, Tor would only be able to stay there if he abandoned his position within the Order of the Dawn. They briefly considered Tor staying at the Godskeep or the Holy Palace, but splitting the party seemed like a bad idea – particularly if it meant burrowing even deeper into the politics of the church.

Security through obfuscation, as Ranthir pointed out, was playing with fire: They could reset the clock, but eventually their new home (wherever it might be) would be found. And once it was found, they became vulnerable.

So they decided to stay where they were. Instead of hiding, they would bunker down. They laid out a plan for remodeling an entire wing of the Ghostly Minstrel: A false room with a secret door would be used as a pass-thru to a real suite of other rooms connected by new, interior doors.

They spoke with Tellith, who agreed to the remodel if they paid for it and if they also paid at a year’s rent in advance for the rooms they would be converting. This done, they spent several thousand crowns and arranged for more than twenty contractors (including several master craftsmen) to install the secret door, punch thru the two new connecting doors, and to strengthen the security on the existing doors. They also hired an arcanist to ward the windows with permanent alarms. And then they spent even more money to speed a project that should rightfully take weeks until it would take only two days to complete. On top of all that, Tee set aside enough money to pay every single person working on the project a hefty bonus to forget that they had ever worked on it.

Nasira was somewhat taken aback by the sheer amount of money they were able to throw at the project (more than 5,000 crowns when all was said and done). And while the project surely tapped deeply into their resources, they all felt it was an investment worth making.

THE NEXT STEP

While they were still drawing out their plans for the new suite, an invitation arrived.

INVITATION TO THE CRUISE OF THE VANISHED DREAM

We had hoped that this invitation might arrive on a most triumphant note – giving you proper congratulations on the apprehension of Shilukar and the ending of his scourged blight upon the city. With the recent news of his escape within the prison, that triumphant note is perhaps muted, but your accomplishment was nonetheless notable and worthy of great praise and equally great appreciation.

To whit, it would be our honor – both in light of the duty you have done for us and for those sundry other accomplishments which you have achieved in the name and for the betterment of our fair city – to attend upon us for a grand cruise of the Vanished Dream at the estates of House Abanar upon the Fifth of Noctural to celebrate the last rays of the year’s light and the coming of the Days of Night.

Dered Abanar
Merchant Prince of the Abanars

Ranthir quickly penned a positive and elegant acceptance, and they dispatched it by courier.

While Tee was drawing up the contracts and making the other arrangements necessary for the suite, Tor went to the Godskeep to continue his training with the Order of the Dawn. While he was there, he was informed that Rehobath had requested a meeting with him that evening at 7 o’clock. Tor wasn’t told what the meeting was about, but he could only suspect it had something to do with Dominic’s denunciation of Rehobath the day before.

Elestra, meanwhile, was checking the morning newssheets. The headlines were considerably less dramatic than the day before (“What a Whopper! Stranded Jellyfish as Big as a House!”), but there was also a report of another brutal murder in Oldtown: A priest had been killed on the Columned Row. His head had been ripped open, just like the woman who had been killed the night before on Flamemoth Way.

On her way back to the Ghostly Minstrel, Tee stopped by the Delvers’ Guild and left a message posted for Arveth:

Arveth—

Eye’ll be seeing you.

“Do you think she’ll break my code?”

Running the Campaign: Home Base Renovations – Campaign Journal: Session 41D
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE

SESSION 41B: THE RETURN OF ARVETH

August 15th, 2009
The 22nd Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

“That’s her,” Arveth said.

Another cultist stepped through the door behind her and swung it shut.

In the next room down, Seeaeti was aware that something was wrong. He stood up and started barking at the wall. Agnarr let him out into the hall… but missed the tail-end of the ambush by mere seconds.

The cultists started clubbing Tee, who managed to avoid the worst of it by rolling with the blows and tossing around in the cushions… until Arveth stepped forward and slipped a dagger between her ribs. “They took my eye, bitch.”

Tee, who had been screaming, gasped in pain.

Agnarr hadn’t heard her muffled screams because Seeaeti was still barking loudly. (“What is it, boy? What is it?”) But Ranthir heard the screams through the walls and rushed into the hall. He quickly told Agnarr what he had heard and then hurried on to Tor’s door.

The cultist who had followed Arveth into Tee’s room dropped a silence spell over it, abruptly cutting off Tee’s screams.

Agnarr ran down the hall and threw himself against the door… but it held firm. Elestra, wakened by Seeaeti’s barking (but oblivious to the cause) also came out into the hall. Ranthir, beating on Tor’s door, managed to rouse the scarce-sleeping knight. He rushed back to his own room… just in time to see Tee thrown out of her window in a silent, cascading shower of glass. She hit the pavement below with a sickening thud.

Ranthir ran back into the hall and shouted to the others what had happened. Elestra ran past him, through his room, and jumped out the window, tumbling onto the jutting corner of the first floor below and from there down to Tee’s prostrate form.

Unfortunately, Elestra was seen by the cultists above. One of them – the one who had followed Arveth into the room – leapt to the first floor roof himself. Whirling he lowered his hands and sent forth a wave of flame which Elestra narrowly ducked under.

Arveth was close behind him, leaping directly to the ground with acrobatic aplomb. Her sword was out and she attacked Elestra before she could reach Tee’s side.

Above, Tor had pushed his way past Agnarr and also thrown himself ineffectually against the door. Agnarr, frustrated past words, drew his greatsword and just started hacking. As the door fell apart into smoldering kindling, they saw that the thugs had ganged up on the other side of the door. Tor sent one staggering back, trying to hold his intestines together. The others fell back cautiously into a defensive line.

Below, Elestra drove Arveth away and then dove for Tee. She managed to release a burst of healing energy into Tee’s torso just before the cultist arcanist hit her with a second blast of fire. Tee rolled to her feet, grabbed Arveth, activated her boots, and levitated up into the air.

Ranthir, looking out from his window above, threw a web, trapping the arcanist and webbing up the window of Tee’s room to stop additional reinforcements from escaping. The arcanist responded by twisting within the webs and hurling a magical epitaph in Ranthir’s direction. In a burst of flame, a black leopard with burning coals of fire for eyes and a throat of flame appeared before the rapidly backpedaling Ranthir.

The creature’s claws caught and tore at him as he stumbled back through the door into the hall. Ranthir cried for help, but Agnarr and Tor – fighting in the pervasive magical silence of Tee’s room – were oblivious to his need. Despite Seeaeti’s brave efforts to intervene, Ranthir collapsed in a gurgle of blood.

But Seeaeti was successful in keeping the fiendish leopard from finishing its work. Hounding the leopard, Seeaeti was able to draw it back into Tee’s room. There, the leopard earned the wrath of Agnarr when the barbarian saw what it had done to his faithful dog. Tor, meanwhile, was able to finish off the panicked and trapped cultist thugs.

Tee, now floating high above the street, tried to gouge out Arveth’s other eye. But Arveth caught her wrist and managed to twist the dagger around to scrape it painfully across her ribs on the left side. Twisting the knife free from Arveth’s grip, Tee almost managed to choke the life out of her—

Before the arcanist struck her in the back with another blast of fire. In the burst of pain, Tee’s vision turned black and her mind slipped away… her boots stopped working…

And they both plunged to the ground below.

Arveth managed to roll slightly with the blow, cracking several ribs and breaking an arm, but alive. The unconscious Tee, on the other hand, fell helplessly. There was a sickening crunch as her head struck first and her neck snapped.

With Tee dead, Elestra unconscious, and everyone inside the inn completely unaware of what was happening outside, Arveth easily escaped.

But only by mere moments. Seconds later, the others arrived in the street below. Healing potions were poured down Elestra’s throat and then she called upon the strength of the Spirit of the City to revive Tee.

PARANOIA IS BUT A FEAR UNPROVEN

The ambush had shifted something inside of Tee. Just a few hours before she had been counseling Tor on the virtues of compassion, but now she had no mercy for any of them. The thought of Arveth – her endless haughtiness; her insatiable cruelty – filled Tee with a silent rage, compounded by the flashing images of Wuntad; the abominations of the cults; and the humiliations and agonies that had been visited upon her, her friends, and the people of her city.

But Tee’s immediate thoughts were consumed by Nasira: If this attack was a retaliation for their assaults on the Rat God and Ebon Hand temples, Nasira would be in danger, too. While the others stayed for damage control at the Ghostly Minstrel, she and Agnarr raced out into Delvers’ Square and haled a carriage.

When they reached the Welcome Inn, however, they found Nasira unmolested. Looking at the still bruised and battered Tee, however, Nasira’s brow knit in concern. “What happened?”

Tee gave a quick summary of the ambush at the Ghostly Minstrel. “It might be best if you came back with us. There’s safety in numbers.”

Nasira agreed, if for no other reason than because she had befriended the innkeepers Markus and Valene Schuk. This friendly older couple and their daughters (Rona and Illene) had been the only people to make Nasira feel welcome in Ptolus before she had met the rest of them, and she had no desire to bring trouble to their door. Nasira explained the situation to them, promised to keep in touch, and paid her bill ahead for two more weeks. Then she and Tee joined Agnarr in the waiting carriage and headed back towards the Ghostly Minstrel.

At the Minstrel, meanwhile, Elestra had gone to tell Tellith of the attack. Tellith was shocked at first, but her shock quickly turned to outrage and then to apologies. After a few minutes, Tellith came upstairs with Elestra.

While Elestra had been talking to Tellith, however, the others had kept busy: Tor hauled the unconscious cultist arcanist into Ranthir’s room while the others looted the bodies of the thugs (on whom they found golden bell charm bracelets).

Elestra reassured Tellith that Tee was all right and had merely gone to check on a friend to make sure they were okay. Tellith realized that the watch needed to be notified and left to do so.

Meanwhile, the arcanist was roughly woken up and questioned. His name was Nikkei. He told them that the attack was in retribution for the betrayal of “Laurea” and the attack on the Temple of Deep Chaos. Once “Laurea” had been identified as Tee, it was a simple matter for them to find her at the Ghostly Minstrel.

Satisfied (more or less), they knocked Nikkei unconscious again and waited for the guards to arrive. Which they did shortly thereafter.

“Oh, it’s you again.” Naturally Tellith had gone to the watch station just across Delvers’ Square. And, naturally, they were blessed once again with the blustering fellow who they had first met after a shivvel addict had tried to mug Ranthir.

The watchmen questioned all of them bluntly and performed a cursory inspection of Tee’s room and the street outside.

“And where is the victim?” one of them asked with suspicion.

“I’m right here,” Tee said, walking up with Nasira at her side.

“And where have you been?”

“Checking on a friend.”

The watchmen were taking a generally hostile tone, but Tee wasn’t impressed with their bluster. Finally one of them blurted out, “Just don’t leave town.” Tor laughed and Tee rolled her eyes.

“We’re not planning on it. But I’m glad you’re so concerned for our well-being. What were your names again? I’d like to mention you to the Commissar next time I see him. I just want to tell him what a fine job you’re doing…”

The watchmen exchanged nervous glances and then backed down. Tee and Tor turned Nikkei over to them before they left (although Tee would have preferred to slit his throat first).

Once the watch were gone, however, they were forced to consider what Nikkei had told them: It was their worst fear, and only confirmed what Malkeen’s appearance in Tee’s room two weeks before had suggested. Not only were they known, but they could be found. And easily.

This left them with the tough choice of what to do next: Should they leave the Ghostly Minstrel? And if they did, where would they go?

Without any clear answers, they bedded down. Tee wanted no part of her own room again, and they all thought it wise to stay close through the night. Half of them slept in Tor’s room and the rest in Elestra’s suite.

THE DREAMS OF TEE & ARVETH – PART 1

That night Tee reached out through the Dreaming in an effort to infiltrate the dreams of Arveth. She hoped to plague them with nightmares of losing her remaining eye. Or perhaps falling forever. Or both.

Unfortunately Tee found her own thoughts conflicted, and Arveth’s dreams proved impenetrable. But she vowed that she would try again the next night. And every night, if necessary, if it meant that she could eke out at least a small slice of revenge.

Running the Campaign: What the Magic Looks Like – Campaign Journal: Session 41C
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index

SESSION 41A: DOMINIC’S DENUNCIATION

August 15th, 2009
The 22nd Day of Kadal in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty

Still standing over the bodies of Malleck and Silion another argument broke out regarding the dead, half-transformed boy they had half-saved. Many of them felt that his case was hopeless: Even Malleck had said that there was no cure for his piteous plight.

But Agnarr was adamant that they should at least try.

“But what can you do?” Tee said.

“We can find someone who can help,” Agnarr said. “We have friends who can help.”

“Like who?!” Elestra said, exasperated.

“Zavere.”

“I’m not sure I trust Zavere,” Tee said.

“Or the Pale Tower.”

“Fine. But if you want to do it, it’s yours to do.”

“Give me the papers.”

“What papers?”

“The papers describing what they did to him,” Agnarr said. “They might help.”

Ranthir was loath to part with them, but he eventually relented.

A DUMPING OF BODIES

Agnarr took the papers and left them, heading towards the Pale Tower. A quarter hour later he was knocking on the great door of the Tower.

The Graven One swung the doors open.

“I would ask for your help,” Agnarr said. He pulled the body of the boy out of his bag of holding.

The Graven One looked down inscrutably. “I think we should go inside.”

Agnarr nodded and followed him. When the door was shut behind them, the Graven One excused himself. He returned a few minutes later with Aoska.

Agnarr explained the situation to them and gave Aoska the research. “Is there anything you can do?”

“Perhaps,” Aoska said, examining the boy. “The damage runs deep. It will take us time to find a cure, if one is possible at all. And we would need to keep this collar upon him, to preserve him in his current state of stasis.”

Agnarr readily agreed. “Send word.”

“We will,” Aoska promised.

Meanwhile, Elestra and Tor were taking care of the bodies. Tee suggested that they use a cart full of hay to move them inconspicuously. (“How do you know so much about moving corpses?” Elestra asked. “I’ve been hanging around with you,” Tee replied.) But she insisted that Tor deal with it: He had been the one to kill them; it was his problem to solve.

“You’ve forgotten your compassion,” Tee said. “This place has made you hard.”

Tor nodded. “Sometimes you need to be hard to survive. I learned that from the horses.”

On the way to the Midden Heaps they ran into a watch patrol. There was another moment of nervousness, but, like their fellows earlier in the day, these watchmen recognized Tor and they passed on without incident. At the Midden Heaps they had to pay a special premium to dispose of the load themselves, but this, too, was easily enough done. Silion and Malleck disappeared into the midst of the slag heaps.

Tee, Ranthir, and Nasira sold their loot from the two temples. Against the hope that they would benefit from such fortunes again, they decided to invest in another bag of holding. At Myraeth’s they found one formed from links of golden chain with a dragon worked in crimson links within it. It was larger than the ones they already owned, and Tee – envying the dragon design – was depressed to find it was too bulky and heavy for her to carry. (Ranthir took it instead, nestling it among his many pouches and bags.)

Ranthir stayed at Myraeth’s a while longer (purchasing scrolls and various miscellaneous supplies) before returning to his room to study.

Tee grabbed newsletters from several vendors throughout Midtown. She discovered that their rescue of the slaves at the Temple of the Rat God was already making headlines. Tor, in particular, was being widely named for his heroic acts, and even his return of the imprisoned children was finding its way into the rapidly circulating stories.

She also discovered that Dominic had denounced Rehobath.

DOMINIC’S DENUNCIATION

Empress Square could be found in the northern reaches of Oldown. (They had passed it often on their way to Pythoness House and the Banewarrens, in fact.) At its center stood a large statue of red marble, depicting Empress Elyanella of Seyrun.

Tee knew that the “Empress Elyanella” had not, in fact, been an empress at all: Several centuries ago she and her entourage had alighted on the docks of Ptolus, claiming to have been recently crowned and now engaged in a “tour of peace throughout the world”. She held court in the city for three weeks, and by the time her deception was revealed, she and her entourage had left the city and journeyed south… reportedly disappearing into the Southern Wastes.

Now only her statue remained and the square was commonly used for large gatherings, public speeches, and the like.

Earlier that morning, word had quietly gone out and a large crowd had gathered before the statue. Not long after, Dominic and Sir Kabel had appeared on the steps of the Empress’ statue and gave a speech to the gathered crowd.

Sir Kabel had spoken first (and Tee searched until she found a newssheet that gave the full transcripts, accurate or not as they might be):

I stand before you as a humble servant of the Nine Gods and a keeper of their faith and service. In these past few weeks, that faith has been tried by those who would turn the Church upon the Nine Gods and the Nine Gods upon the Church.

But my words mean nothing. My service lies in my arm and my blade. Instead, let one speak whose service lies in his very voice.

Dominic had stepped forward:

In the eyes of Vehthyl, I stand before you penitent.

His eyes had lit with the prayer.

I have been told that I speak with the Living Voice of the Nine Gods. That might be true. I don’t know. Maybe those who stand closest to the light are the most blinded… Or maybe I’ve been marked for some other reason.

But what I do know is that, no matter how dark or dangerous my life has become, I have kept my faith true and bright in my own heart.

I also know that my name has been used by a man I now believe to be false to the Nine Gods. My eyes glow with Vehthyl’s silver light. Even I don’t know what the God of Mysteries intends for me… But Rehobath has claimed those marks for his own glory.

I stand before you now to denounce him, with the same light that he has claimed bright in my eyes. I name him a False Novarch. And those loyal to the Church and to the Nine Gods should turn against him and his false prophecy.

… thank you.

(When Tee read the transcripts to the others later, Elestra laughed. “Well… That last bit sounds like Dominic, anyway.”)

Dominic had then moved into the crowd, healing the injured among them as he passed his way to the west.

LATER THAT NIGHT…

Agnarr took Seeaeti out behind the Minstrel to continue the hound’s training.

Tee made several circuits through the inn’s common room, sounding out the common opinion on Dominic’s speech. She found that most of the wanderers were against Rehobath. They seemed to consider his religious zealotry a dangerous unbalancing of the local scape of power. On the other hand, the opinion of the common citizen seemed more evenly divided.

Tee eventually settled down at a table to share a drink with Nasira. She had briefly discussed the matter with the others. Their common foe had not been eliminated, but they also had other matters to attend to. If Nasira was going to continue journeying with them, she would need to be briefed.

Unfortunately, while Nasira’s companionship had grown on them during the trials of the two temples, they had not yet reached a resolution of just how much she should be told. So Tee made evasive small talk with her. And while she filled her in on their involvement with the Banewarrens, she avoided discussing both their memory loss and their complicated relationship with the politics surrounding Rehobath. At least for the time being.

Nasira, for her part, was also glad to have found some friends in Ptolus. She had felt hopelessly alone since the loss of her village. And certainly their shared fortunes had been quite lucrative to date. As long as the majority of their attention would be focused on the pursuit of Wuntad (and Tee was more than happy to assure her that the bastard would be firmly in their sights), she was more than happy to aid them in their other exploits.

When they were done chatting, Nasira returned to the room she had let at the Welcome Inn near Southgate.

Elestra and Tor had gone from the Midden Heaps to the Warrens. Using the map they had found beneath the Temple of the Rat God, they did a walk-around. They confirmed that the locations were shivvel dens and gathered as much information as they could about them. (Which didn’t amount to much beyond “they sell shivvel there” and, the slightly lesser-known rumor, that “the rats run ‘em”.)

When Elestra and Tor returned to the Ghostly Minstrel, Tee gathered up the group and quickly filled them in on the developments with Sir Kabel and Dominic. They ate dinner together and headed to bed.

About twenty minutes later, Tee (who was just preparing for a session of meditation) heard a knock on her door. She opened it—

And was shoved violently back onto her bed by four thugs with clubs.

A blond woman stepped through the door. She wore an eyepatch over one eye, but Tee recognized her in an instant: It was Arveth.

Running the Campaign: Make It Cost Them – Campaign Journal: Session 41B
In the Shadow of the Spire: Index