(IR) The 3rd IR, Turn 3 (thread 1)

[Maudlin]

Acererak sends an urgent missive to Valkys that if the Solistarim report even a single more raid on the City of the Gods, that he's going to find whatever poor excuse for a demiplane they're sitting in and pull out everyone's wings personally and pin their bodies to his crypt wall, with nametags underneath. And that includes the dragons! He scries for the point where they're launching their raids from. And the same thing goes to whoever initiated the raid through the cordon, except maybe about the wings, but he'll work something out. Did the Solistarim recognize them? (I assume they're sharing this with the world)

---------------

Furthermore, the Father of Obedience is displeased. He is on the verge of forfeiting his nickname. From now on, he operates permanently under a Foresight spell, and is working from an undisclosed location. Speak With Dead is used on the bodies (which speaks with the corpse, not the soul), to reveal the attackers and their methods.

A Grand Assembly is called for, with each major and minor official being gathered in the great hall (including all diplomats, who have been temporarily recalled), and Acererak himself in attendance as an honoured guest. Squads of Succubi in leather trenchcoats pass through the lines, using their Detect Thoughts on all of the Brothers while they are made to blaspheme the name of Tharizdun. Anyone who is not an open book and filled with revulsion that fellow Brothers would break discipline are brought before the demilich with predictable results. Anyone not in attendance gets a dozen Retriever demons sicked on them. Oh yes, the Father is displeased, and he spares not the rod.

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

Edena I assume that other Shadowlords haven`t heard Vecna`s proposition? She responds:
-I will share your passion , Lord Vecna, for I am greatly fascinated by you, by your might, the power you have upon death and the leaving! I will join you, and together we shall rule the greatest Empire Of Darkness ever created, for I am sure Shade don`t need seven leaders, one is sufficient!

Than she kisses him.

 

[Maudlin]

Acererak sneaks into Vecna and Ahlissa's house while they are away and posts the honeymoon video to the internet. Hey, undead pr0n does it for him!

 

[LordMelkor{Talos}]

After this Ahlissa teleports back to the conference and speaks:

I want to assure you, our alliance with Vecna is purely DEFENSIVE, not directed against anyone! I stronly suggest that we stop from violence until peace conference ends!

 

[JohnBrown]

Rary the Tired...

Rary teleports to Robilar after the diversion attacks have gone off. He has the look of a man who has had a very bad day.

“Robilar, I need the Demons and Yugoloths.”

Robilar climbs down of his metallic steed. He the throws his sword down in disgust, “Now wait just a damn minute…”

“I don’t have time to argue, Robilar”

“Well you better make time, old man! I’ve had just about enough of this!” Robilar starts pacing back and with his gauntlet hands on his hips, “First you have me gather all of these forces, make me make allies with people that would just as soon spit at me than go into battle with me, and then – just as the big show down arrives – our fearless leader turns out to be not so fearless after all. What in the name of Baator is going on!?”

Rary sighs, “ I have no idea.”

“Well, what are we going to do about it, and what do you need the Demons and Yugoloths for?”

“Stonehold is rebelling. It needs to be put down. They can teleport there.”

Robilar rips off a string of curses, “Great, that’s just great. And what am I supposed to do while you are off gallivanting across the country with a signifgant portion of my force?”

“Keep things together, I will return with Demons and the Yugoloths as soon as I can.”

Robilar rips off another string of curses, “And what I supposed to tell our allies?”

“Tell them there has been a change in leadership in the IBKSC. Tell them I am in charge for the time being.”

“I hope that gives them as much confidence as it does me,” said Robilar sarcastically.

That was it. Rary’s tolerance had finally worn thin.

“I SAID THAT I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!” exclaimed Rary as he pulled himself to his full height, and fully displaying the presence of one of Oerth’s most powerful wizards.

Robilar fell silent.

“Now, turn the demons and yugoloths over to me,” said Rary through clenched teeth, “have the rest of troops dig in, and then talk to our allies, we have to hold as much of this alliance together as we can!”

“What do you want me to tell them?” asked Robilar, his voice shaking just a bit.

“I DON”T CARE!” shouted Rary, “Tell them Iuz was cursed by Vecna, he caught a cold, something, anything, just HOLD THIS ALLIANCE TOGETHER!”

And with that Rary takes off with 10 PL worth of Demons and Yugoloths and teleports to Stonehold to quell the rebellion.

(Iuz's force in the area has now gone from 67PL to 50PL)

Edit: Rary will dispatch people to Sanctus telling him that he is intrested in getting to the bottom of this, that the IBKSC had no part in this confusion, and due to the appearance of Vecna it would be wise to keep as friendly a stance between us as possible, the IBKSC will not try to enforce any hold on the forest.

 

[Serpenteye]

Ten bottles of whine to Edena

Meanwhile, the Great Province of Northern Aerdi, devastated by war, offers (without authorization) a peace treaty to the forces up in the Dark Swamp, and declares independence from the Dark Union.
Having seen the fate of Drax, the leaders of the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi have protected themselves with an army.
About 5 PL worth of army has defected and gone over to them.

The people of the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi, knowing what is coming, are fleeing into Adri Forest, or to any place of sanctuary they can find.
The Lost Elves want to know what is going on, before the whole Dark Union breaks up.
Nyrond watches all of this, ready to declare it's own independence if the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi can get away with doing so.

This should not be possible!

The Dark Union is a highly centralized dictatorship, not unlike the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin (not Gorbatjev). The God Emperor rules with a hand of steel, his spies and informants see all, his armies are loyal unto the death and the people either fear him too much to breath without his permission or worship him like the God he's becoming. The administration of the Union and any province of the Union is MAGICALLY BOUND TO OBEDIENCE and mentally conditioned since birth to love their leader, I have stressed that point more than any other trough out the threads. They should not even be able to contemplate rebellion and if they do the people would rise up and rip them to bloody shreds. The local governors of the provinces do not have control over the local garrisons, they are controlled centrally from the ministry of defense. This should not be happening. (And indeed it did not. Sometimes I'm a blind fool. Sorry, Edena.)

And once again the rebels use peace as an excuse. When the whole world knows that the God Emperor of the Dark Union has personally arranged a peace conference to end all wars in the Flannaes and we already have a cease fire with all of our former enemies. *sigh*

If it is indeed happening, despite all reason, armies are diverted from the Grandwood to deal with the problem. Agents of the Union buro of intelligence and assassination place themselves near the leaders of all provinces of the Union, ready to strike if the rebellion spreads. Other assassins are sent against the rebels of North Kingdom and the Grandwood. The God Emperor and his elite bodyguard (4+6ppts) teleports to the rebel headquarters and annihilate them.

Err... I almost forgot. The first task of the spies, before anything else is done by anybody, is to investigate wether the rumours of rebellion are true or not. If they are not then the above paragraph is void.

---Maudlin wrote:

A Grand Assembly is called for, with each major and minor official being gathered in the great hall (including all diplomats, who have been temporarily recalled), and Acererak himself in attendance as an honoured guest. Squads of Succubi in leather trenchcoats pass through the lines, using their Detect Thoughts on all of the Brothers while they are made to blaspheme the name of Tharizdun. Anyone who is not an open book and filled with revulsion that fellow Brothers would break discipline are brought before the demilich with predictable results. Anyone not in attendance gets a dozen Retriever demons sicked on them. Oh yes, the Father is displeased, and he spares not the rod.
----
Good idea! Mind if I borrow it?
We do something very similar, with baathezu instead of tanari, and without the whole Tharizdun procedure, to find those who contemplate rebellion.

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--Wiliam Ronald wrote:
"To the God Emperor of the Dark Union of Eastern Oerth: Truly you see what you have allied yourself with? Someone who stands besides the foe of your ally Kas? Aerdi's plans for power will be meaningless if Vecna and the Church of Shade rule over all. We urge you to stand with us."
---

"We are slightly occupied at the moment, I'll get back to you when matters have been resolved at home."

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Vecna appears in the Shade Hall, sweeps Ahlissa off her feet, and cradles her in his arms, holding her off the ground.

This is a different Vecna than has been seen.
This is not the ancient old corpse with one eye.

This is a youthful Vecna in the peak of health, tall and strong, with piercing gray eyes and long golden hair.
He has great muscles; his arms and legs budge with them, while his skin is the pale color of the classic suel and seems to radiate a white sheen.
He stands as a pillar of strength, an icon of power, his golden hair blowing in a breeze generated by his own might.
A great lust radiates from Vecna, an utter and dark lust, and there is darkest triumph to be seen in him.

He stands above all the other Shadowlords, and speaks in a proud, stern voice:

Time is a secret that is ours to hold, and for the foe to learn.
The world changes, and the time of Shade and Suel will soon be at hand.
Melkor smiles upon you, and his dark hand confounds your foes, and leaves them blind.
Vecna smiles upon you, for he has brought forth his Legions and his power, and these ward you from all harm.
You must have faith in Lord Melkor.
You must have faith in Lord Vecna!

With that, Acererak opens a magical portal to his pocket demiplane.
He steps through, Ahlissa with him, and the portal slams shut.
(It is not possible for Ahlissa to escape the demiplane, nor is it possible for anyone to enter it, unless they have 10th level magic.)
Then Vecna has his pleasure with Ahlissa, making her his forever, marking her as his, making her kneel and give utter and abject obeisience to him, and then after all is said and done he marries her by the ancient Suel custom.
She now wears the tiara of Queen of the Shade, and the chains of Vecna are upon her body also.

- - -

Northern Aerdi's rebellion collapses.
It is discovered that the officials of the Great Kingdom of Aerdi did not revolt after all; they are all found dead, murdered, and their souls stolen (not killed.)
Those who were thought to be the officials and leaders of the Great Kingdom of Northern Aerdi were, in fact, doppleganger imposters.
They, upon interrogation, state (they are truthful, when one considers what kind of interrogation is being down to them!) that the Scarlet Brotherhood is trying to overthrow the Dark Union by this tactic.
The leaders and officials of the Dark Union will all be replaced by dopplegangers, and these will serve the will of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
They reveal the methods by which they murdered the officials, and the tools used; all are standard Scarlet Brotherhood tactics and standard Scarlet Brotherhood issue.
When the disbelieving officials probe even deeper, they see that the dopplegangers have been mentally fixed: their memories have been magically altered and carefully set, and nothing has been overlooked in this process clear back to their birth.

The Kevellond League finds out the same thing, discovering a number of dopplegangers in their alliance, and upon questioning they give the same answers, and upon deep examination the same thing is found.

Stonehold falls to Rary and his attacking Yugoloths.
They put up quite a battle, and there are numerous casualties on both sides.
When Rary is victorious and the leaders of Stonehold are dragged forth, they are revealed as dopplegangers, just like the ones above.
Interrogation reveals the same thing as the above.

The real leaders of Stonefist are found murdered and their souls missing; stolen.

When the Father of Obedience uses the Rod, he finds a traitor.
Said traitor takes out a rare and terrible weapon, known as a Morganti Blade, and stabs himself, killing both body and soul, before he can be stopped.
However, the Father of Obedience and his minions are able to finally determine who is causing this, for there are telltale signs on the body, and magic is able to reveal much.
The man was a member of an organization called the Black Brotherhood.
It's members are within the ranks of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
And it is to the Scarlet Brotherhood what the Scarlet Brotherhood is to the rest of the world, in terms of secrecy and difficulty of locating and stopping.

 

[Maudlin]

However, the Father of Obedience and his minions are able to finally determine who is causing this, for there are telltale signs on the body, and magic is able to reveal much.

The Brotherhood disseminates these telltale signs throughout the world and the Brotherhood. All citizens are instructed to be on the lookout, and it becomes illegal to cover up the parts of the body that has them. Immediate sweeps are made to discover similar markings on others, and all acquaintances, colleagues and coworkers of the traitor are dragged in for questioning.

The Morganti Blade is taken, and used by the Seers to discover any more of such weapons on the peninsula. Extra-special industrial-strength prejudice will be exercised in assuring individuals with these things are able to be questioned, post-mortem or otherwise.

The man was a member of an organization called the Black Brotherhood. Its members are within the ranks of the Scarlet Brotherhood.

Not for bloody long they're bloody well not!

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

These men and women know the meaning of the word Secrecy.

Just as the Scarlet Brotherhood has spent decades evading the search methods of the various powers of Oerth, so now they find their sweeps and searches futile against this Black Brotherhood.
They catch a few people who know little enough, which enables them to catch a few more people who also know little enough.
Eventually, they run out of new people to catch, and come up against a stone wall.
No further information is to be had, apparently, until the Black Brotherhood reveals itself.

It is worth noting that this causes a moral problem within the Scarlet Brotherhood as everyone - including the Father of Obedience - is a potential suspect.
Anyone up to the top could be a traitor, and everyone knows it.

The few spies the other Powers have within the ranks of the Scarlet Brotherhood bear the news back to their respective Powers.
These Powers are completely unable to locate any members of the Black Brotherhood, despite extensive sweeps and searches.
INSTEAD, the efforts of the various Powers, to locate Black Brotherhood agents, turns up a number of SCARLET BROTHERHOOD agents, who are then arrested, tortured (or at least questioned), and all that they know dragged out of them.
Further compromising the Scarlet Brotherhood.

And the allies of the Scarlet Brotherhood are now asking the Scarlet Brotherhood to Clean House, since they apparently keep such a dirty one.
Some of the allies of the Scarlet Brotherhood hint that if they don't Clean House, then they just might do it for them.

The enemies of the Scarlet Brotherhood exult, for they know much about their foe now, and also know their foe is compromised from within.
These enemies would dearly love to have an audience with the Black Brotherhood, so they could learn more about the secrets of the Scarlet Brotherhood.
And some of them would pay large sums of money for such talk.

- - -

Meanwhile, the Robots of the Barrier Peaks, goaded on by agents of the Scarlet Brotherhood (or so evidence would say ...) attack the Valley of the Mage.
Once more, particle cannons roar and laser turrents blast, while the valley elves bring their magic to bear, and the immense firefight lights up the whole northern part of the mountain range.
In Bissel off to the east, people see the flashes and tremble, wondering if THEY are coming again ...

 

[Kalanyr]

Edena I believe Festy's template says that the people of the Valley of the Mage retreated underground along with his other forces, so it would be difficult for the robots to attack them.