drnuncheon
Explorer
Session Ten, Part Nine: Secrets of the Temple
Spoiler Warning: Even more massive spoilers for Terror in Freeport follow. Don't say you weren't warned!
Dru's rapier danced, keeping the cultists back as she hesitated - unsure what to do about Thuron. Well, she thought, guess it's about time to find out if we really can trust the old b-st-rd. She lunged at an acolyte, missed, recovered, and stretched her free hand back towards the high priest...
...their fingertips touched.
Cold energy flowed up Dru's arm and into her spine, and for a moment she was sure she had been betrayed. But then she felt the bleeding ebb, and saw her wounds begin to close. With a fierce grin, she returned to the fight, and within the space of a few heartbeats one of the cultists was sprawled lifelessly upon the floor. Di'Fier renewed his assault, removing the problem of being flanked in the most direct way possible, and the pair turned to the remaining two attackers. It was the work of a moment to finish them.
Dru looked around. Egil cradled Norton's head in his lap as he called upon the last of his healing energy to stabilize the unfortunate lad. The Temple's few remaining acolytes filed in and began to dispose of the carnage. Thuron leaned heavily on his staff as he surveyed the scene, exhausted.
Then, the old man spoke. "Egil. Dru. Di'Fier. I believe I owe the three of you some explanations. Come. Leave Norton to the acolytes, they will see he is healed." He turned, and led the trio out of the Temple's main hall.
Below any of the temples in Freeport that you care to choose, there are catacombs: resting places for the honored dead, hewn from the very rock of the island that the city squats upon. Unlike the graveyard outside of town, they are a place for the honored dead, and that peaceful reverence makes a journey into them an unusual thing indeed. Di'Fier, Egil - and even Dru - were very conscious of the seeming impropriety of their blood-soaked forms, but Thuron led them on, to the deepest portion of the Temple's catacombs, stopping only by an unmarked crypt. A moment passed in silence, and he began to speak.
"My friends - and I hope I may still call you that when my words are done - I must make a confession. I have lied to you. For the best of reasons, it is true, but I have lied nonetheless. I can only swear to you that I had no part in what you are about to see."
The trio waited, barely breathing, as High Priest Thuron bent his head in solemn prayer, then with a strain of effort, slid open the crypt. A billow of sweet incense filled the air, and Dru, Di'Fier, and Egil saw the form of who was interred therein:
High Priest Thuron, of the Temple to the God of Knowledge.
Di'Fier's brow knit in concentration. Egil's jaw dropped. Oh, no, thought Dru. Not again.
"As you can see, I am not the High Priest. My name is K'Stallo, and I am the last living priest of Yig.
"The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign were not the only serpent people to survive the destruction of our homeleand. Yig preserved some of his people in isolated pockets, scattered across the world. But even after our fall, we were proud and foolish, and many turned to the Brotherhood, or degenerated into mere animals.
"Lucius came to us, during his travels, and I believed that the knowledge he had found could lead us to a greater knowledge of Yig, an understanding of what has been lost since the fall of my people. And thus, I followed him to Freeport.
"I slipped into the temple, disguised as a human, to peruse the scrolls that he had collected. It was while I searched that I discovered the High Priest had passed away - peacefully, at his desk. His heart had given out. Nobody had found him yet, and so I made a fateful choice. Perhaps not a wise choice, but the path that seemed most clear to me at the time. I took his form, took his place, and devoted myself to the study of the scrolls. I even visited Lucius' home once to see if he had kept any when he returned to the temple." K'Stallo nodded to the open-mouthed Egil. "I believe I startled you, brother. My apologies.
"I should have spotted Milos - but I was too involved with the scrolls. I should have given up my charade when I learned of your encounters witht he Brotherhood. But I was too selfish, too greedy for the knowledge I was receiving.
"But I will give you what little help I can. The Valossan document..." He held out his hand, and Di'Fier passed the battered scroll to him. "This document is a speech, an explanation of tonight's events. Listen."
This evening, Councilor Verlaine and the clergy of the God of Knowledge have been slain. Their murderers are renegade members of the City Watch well known for their unofficial investigations and vigilante activities. After an investigation by the Council and my own personal Guard, we have pieced together the truth.
Chief Councillor Verlaine, that great servant to the city of Freeport, heard rumors about town of unwholesome activities at the temple to the God of Knowledge. He instructed the Watch-Sergeants Drusillia Naïlo and Di'Fier to investigate. They made a tremendous discovery: The temple and its priesthood were a cover for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, a grotesque cult of serpent people. The Watchmen joined the tmeple to gain its secrets, but they proved treacherous to both masters. They revealed the caves beneath the city and threatened to expose even more secrets unless the Brotherhood paid them a fortune in gold.
The Brotherhood agreed to their demands, on condition that the Watchmen accept one final task for their serpent masters — assassinating their erstwhile superior, Councilor Verlaine. The double-crossers carried out the grim job, but they quickly found themselves double-crossed. The Brotherhood refused to pay them their blood money. Watch-Sergeants Naïlo and Di'Fier went mad with rage and slaughtered the cultists, but were killed themselves in the battle.
We mourn the loss of Councillor Verlaine, but his efforts brought this menace to light—and rooted it out of town, once and for all.
K'Stallo looked up at the others as he finished the speech. "The note," he began. "Is addressed to Sea Lord Drac. And his name is marked with the Yellow Sign."
Here ends Terror in Freeport...but Dru and Di'Fier's adventures continue, as the Brotherhood's schemes come to a head. Will they get their hands on the fleeing Kenzil? Who or what is behind the undead problems that have been plaguing the city? And just what is the Sea Lord's connection to the Brotherhood? All these questions will be answered...but the answers will raise yet more questions. Stay tuned!
Spoiler Warning: Even more massive spoilers for Terror in Freeport follow. Don't say you weren't warned!
Dru's rapier danced, keeping the cultists back as she hesitated - unsure what to do about Thuron. Well, she thought, guess it's about time to find out if we really can trust the old b-st-rd. She lunged at an acolyte, missed, recovered, and stretched her free hand back towards the high priest...
...their fingertips touched.
Cold energy flowed up Dru's arm and into her spine, and for a moment she was sure she had been betrayed. But then she felt the bleeding ebb, and saw her wounds begin to close. With a fierce grin, she returned to the fight, and within the space of a few heartbeats one of the cultists was sprawled lifelessly upon the floor. Di'Fier renewed his assault, removing the problem of being flanked in the most direct way possible, and the pair turned to the remaining two attackers. It was the work of a moment to finish them.
Dru looked around. Egil cradled Norton's head in his lap as he called upon the last of his healing energy to stabilize the unfortunate lad. The Temple's few remaining acolytes filed in and began to dispose of the carnage. Thuron leaned heavily on his staff as he surveyed the scene, exhausted.
Then, the old man spoke. "Egil. Dru. Di'Fier. I believe I owe the three of you some explanations. Come. Leave Norton to the acolytes, they will see he is healed." He turned, and led the trio out of the Temple's main hall.
Below any of the temples in Freeport that you care to choose, there are catacombs: resting places for the honored dead, hewn from the very rock of the island that the city squats upon. Unlike the graveyard outside of town, they are a place for the honored dead, and that peaceful reverence makes a journey into them an unusual thing indeed. Di'Fier, Egil - and even Dru - were very conscious of the seeming impropriety of their blood-soaked forms, but Thuron led them on, to the deepest portion of the Temple's catacombs, stopping only by an unmarked crypt. A moment passed in silence, and he began to speak.
"My friends - and I hope I may still call you that when my words are done - I must make a confession. I have lied to you. For the best of reasons, it is true, but I have lied nonetheless. I can only swear to you that I had no part in what you are about to see."
The trio waited, barely breathing, as High Priest Thuron bent his head in solemn prayer, then with a strain of effort, slid open the crypt. A billow of sweet incense filled the air, and Dru, Di'Fier, and Egil saw the form of who was interred therein:
High Priest Thuron, of the Temple to the God of Knowledge.
Di'Fier's brow knit in concentration. Egil's jaw dropped. Oh, no, thought Dru. Not again.
"As you can see, I am not the High Priest. My name is K'Stallo, and I am the last living priest of Yig.
"The Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign were not the only serpent people to survive the destruction of our homeleand. Yig preserved some of his people in isolated pockets, scattered across the world. But even after our fall, we were proud and foolish, and many turned to the Brotherhood, or degenerated into mere animals.
"Lucius came to us, during his travels, and I believed that the knowledge he had found could lead us to a greater knowledge of Yig, an understanding of what has been lost since the fall of my people. And thus, I followed him to Freeport.
"I slipped into the temple, disguised as a human, to peruse the scrolls that he had collected. It was while I searched that I discovered the High Priest had passed away - peacefully, at his desk. His heart had given out. Nobody had found him yet, and so I made a fateful choice. Perhaps not a wise choice, but the path that seemed most clear to me at the time. I took his form, took his place, and devoted myself to the study of the scrolls. I even visited Lucius' home once to see if he had kept any when he returned to the temple." K'Stallo nodded to the open-mouthed Egil. "I believe I startled you, brother. My apologies.
"I should have spotted Milos - but I was too involved with the scrolls. I should have given up my charade when I learned of your encounters witht he Brotherhood. But I was too selfish, too greedy for the knowledge I was receiving.
"But I will give you what little help I can. The Valossan document..." He held out his hand, and Di'Fier passed the battered scroll to him. "This document is a speech, an explanation of tonight's events. Listen."
This evening, Councilor Verlaine and the clergy of the God of Knowledge have been slain. Their murderers are renegade members of the City Watch well known for their unofficial investigations and vigilante activities. After an investigation by the Council and my own personal Guard, we have pieced together the truth.
Chief Councillor Verlaine, that great servant to the city of Freeport, heard rumors about town of unwholesome activities at the temple to the God of Knowledge. He instructed the Watch-Sergeants Drusillia Naïlo and Di'Fier to investigate. They made a tremendous discovery: The temple and its priesthood were a cover for the Brotherhood of the Yellow Sign, a grotesque cult of serpent people. The Watchmen joined the tmeple to gain its secrets, but they proved treacherous to both masters. They revealed the caves beneath the city and threatened to expose even more secrets unless the Brotherhood paid them a fortune in gold.
The Brotherhood agreed to their demands, on condition that the Watchmen accept one final task for their serpent masters — assassinating their erstwhile superior, Councilor Verlaine. The double-crossers carried out the grim job, but they quickly found themselves double-crossed. The Brotherhood refused to pay them their blood money. Watch-Sergeants Naïlo and Di'Fier went mad with rage and slaughtered the cultists, but were killed themselves in the battle.
We mourn the loss of Councillor Verlaine, but his efforts brought this menace to light—and rooted it out of town, once and for all.
K'Stallo looked up at the others as he finished the speech. "The note," he began. "Is addressed to Sea Lord Drac. And his name is marked with the Yellow Sign."
Here ends Terror in Freeport...but Dru and Di'Fier's adventures continue, as the Brotherhood's schemes come to a head. Will they get their hands on the fleeing Kenzil? Who or what is behind the undead problems that have been plaguing the city? And just what is the Sea Lord's connection to the Brotherhood? All these questions will be answered...but the answers will raise yet more questions. Stay tuned!
