Down Among the Dead Men - Chapter 1
Down Among the Dead Men
Chapter 1
OOC Notes:
Experience is 1456 for 22nd, 1150 for 23rd.
Here are some bits of information that came out over the course of the night. I’m including them here for historical purposes and because it may become significant later.
Aethramyr tried to teleport to the Lendores but could not, nor could he dream his way there. He spoke to an avatar of Sehanine who reassured him that the Lendores was defending itself but it should be fine. The solar in question was touched by a profound saddness that showed it did not escape the war unscathed.
The Shadow Plane was mostly the same except that strange crystals had started growing out of the ground. They were faintly luminous but their light was not being drawn towards the Spectral Citadel like all other light.
There are miles of undead still surrounding Rauxes waiting for some kind of signal. They have however abandoned Kalstrand and their purposes there.
Lord Gelban received reports that forces of Iuz are on the move being lead by some of the Boneheart. They are moving with some plan but they are being deceptive so as to hide their true purpose, using the excellent roads in those areas.
This Week’s Adventure:
It had been some ten days since heaven and hell warred on the Prime. Things were starting to return to normal at the palace, but there was a tension in the air. It was a feeling of dread, where you dare not believe all is well and wait tensely for the other boot to drop. The elves never have been one to adapt to change well, and this was far too radical and far too fast for us. I’ve learned that an elf can adapt to a fast paced life, if forced to. But even I have trouble seeing what I see some days.
But setting all this aside, something else was amiss. There were too many Brightflame knights scurrying around. Too many couriers. Too many preparations being made. This was not the signs of a battle ending, but the signs of one beginning. Someone was preparing for a campaign.
Prince Melf was in the palace but he had not appeared publicly. The Brightflame Knights answered to him in times of peace, which this ostensibly was. (I have trouble telling any more. The Queen spent much of her time with the Binder, but I did not know why. Whatever Melf was doing, it had to be with her approval for there was far more military force involved than just the Brightflame Knights. Some discreet inquiries gave me a sense of the scope of the effort, but no information on what the objective was.
Despite all the recent events, nobody had said a word to me, and I wasn’t about to be left on the sidelines uninformed and unable to act. I started with Onselven.
But to my surprise and his considerable annoyance, he had no idea what was happening. He too knew of the preparations and that Prince Melf was the primary actor, but he knew no more of the purpose than I. He was however keenly interested in anything I might learn on this, once he realized I was of a mind to pursue it further.
I attempted an audience with the Queen but I was turned away. This only deepened my concerns. It would have been far easier if my monarchs had chosen to share with me, but if they did not wish to, then I would find out on my own.
Of course that wasn’t likely to be very popular. Especially when I did it very loudly.
I stopped the first Brightflame Knight I saw and asked him, loudly and in the hallway, what they were preparing for. He was immediately overcome with shock that I would ask in so public a place. That gave way to discomfort as he sought a way to evade my question. I pressed him hard but in the end, he would only say “I follow where my Prince leads.”
Oh well. I hadn’t expected an answer anyway. I went off looking for more knights, and each time I found one I repeated the inquiry. Within an hour, it was apparent that word had spread and they were actively avoiding me. I turned this into an entertaining game of hide-and-seek, using a few things I’d picked up from Valanthe to rattle them even further by suddenly appearing and asking more questions.
It only took a couple hours of this before a page found me.
“Lady Kayleigh Ladanna’al? I am instructed to bring you to His Highness Prince Melf.”
I smiled. See how easy that was?
I was brought to another converted library, after passing through an assortment of the Fey Mysteries to be cleansed. I debated just walking through but then again I always did, and I hadn’t found anything yet that was so dire that it warranted ignoring the monarchy’s wishes. The room was trimmed in white wood with the walls elaborately painted to create the illusion of being in the forest. Maps with wooden markers were spread out over various tables – none of the magical maps seemed to be here. Several high ranking knights and nobles conferred, centered around a tall, thin elf. He was somewhat pale and thin, and wore a black cloak despite the warmth in the room. He was gesturing over a series of maps that detailed the general area around Celene, the Nyr Dyv and Greyhawk. His voice was surprisingly deep for his frame as he motioned over a number of markers placed near the Bright Coast.
I glanced around the room quickly, scanning for other Champions. There was but one - Vikorond Stormbow, whom we rescued from captivity in the Lich Queen’s palace. He nodded at me as he listened to the Prince.
When Melf finished, he waved off the group and turned to me. “Lady Kayleigh?”
I curtsied. “Your Highness. You wished to see me?” I showed a small smirk at that.
“While you may not believe it, you could have come to me directly. You are a Champion. You are a valued member of your society – do not de-value yourself.”
I wanted to be polite but frank as well. “Your Highness, had it been made clear to me what was threatening Celene, I would not have to inquire quite so brazenly. I made discreet inquires and was rebuffed. I therefore took a more… dramatic route. I worry greatly for our nation and I do not wish to be left on the sidelines, uninformed and unaware.”
If Melf saw any reason to my point, he didn’t show it. But it wasn’t required. My message was heard – I do not wish to be kept in the dark. My hope was that I could also show why it would benefit him to share with me, aside from just avoiding further annoyance.
He said “I will answer your question before you ask the pissboy, as I understand he is otherwise occupied. I have information from an ally that the Mak is planning to make a move as a part of a greater alliance with enemies of our nation. We intend to strike first.”
Down to business at last. “What allies, Your Highness?” The value of the information was revealed in part by its source.
The prince agreed. “I have long been… I wouldn’t say ‘friends’ but associated with the Circle of Eight. Mordenkainen informs me that the Mak is planning a move. It might be Iuz motivating him, but something has happened and he is rallying his troops. Iuz has troops moving in several different regiments. A good portion are heading southwards over towards Furyondy, or they may try to go right through Veluna. Whether the Mak intends to attack directly or to isolate us by attacking our neighbors is unclear. Nyrond used to be a staunch defender against Iuz but after the Greyhawk wars they can scarcely feed themselves.” He gestured for me to follow as we walked around examining several maps.
“Your Highness, this could relate closely to Chavram. I have information that he has gathered many allies including some from the Underdark. He has moved beneath the earth these past months. His actions could also explain Iuz’ response. He is gathering his forces and plans a summit soon, after which he will move.”
I went on to detail Chavram’s recent activities as related by Dravot’s brother. Melf was surprised to learn that Chavram has four of the binders but he agreed that the abjuration binder was likely in his possession.
“I am convinced that all of this is either caused by or in response to Chavram. But what he plans, I do not know.” Melf nodded at me, taking in this new information. It seemed I’d managed to show him the value of my inclusion.
He must have been thinking something similar. “You should know that I am not taking any Champions with me, save Vykrond. I’m doing this in case I’m wrong. I do not wish Celene’s defense to suffer if I am in error. You alone are worth an entire regiment – you can turn a battle single-handedly, and thus I do not wish to deny Celene that in case I am playing into a trap. Besides, I’m sure a war with mere orcs is not a wise use of your skills.” He showed the first sign of a smile since I’d entered.
“Oh Your Highness, I assure you after all I’ve been through, a war with orcs sounds heavenly.” I shrugged longingly. “But more likely my path will take me into Chavram’s. Sire, I believe it would be wise if we kept each other informed. I come across information from very unique paths and much of it may be of benefit to you.”
He didn’t even try to argue. “Indeed. You will not be able to reach me directly but you can send messaging spells to Vykrond. There is much here that is hidden.”
The audience was over. The Prince had surprised me, and I think I him as well. But I am sure it will be to both our benefits that it happened.
With that done, I was left with some rather unpleasant business. Something I most certainly did not want to do, but there was no helping it.
I had to go to Kobold Country.
I had secured some reagents from one of the new mages to use in the creation of my bow in exchange for some other materials. I had the materials now, and just had to deliver them. But of course that meant doing something I was loathe to do. But there was no point putting it off, so I teleported to Ru’un Khazai.
If anything the activity there had intensified since the last visit. Since the landlords had returned and not immediately evicted everyone, there was now a certain level of approval that had everything moving ahead at a full gallop. I ignored the stir my arrival created and went on my errand. It wasn’t so much that teleportation was unexpected here, but that it was me in particular. Apparently word of my… dissatisfaction with the situation had gotten around. Still the Queen had not yet ordered me to destroy the drow here, and until she did I was willing to ignore them.
I had just finished my errand when there was an explosion on a nearby hill. I saw two people running down the hill – a human leading an elven boy in grey robes. Even from a distance I could see the symbol of Earth on the boy’s forehead.
Another explosion went up from the house sending fragments of a shield guardian fifty feet into the air. The two were almost at the bottom of the hill when a wall of force sprung up in front of them. Not being able to see it the man went headlong into it. Then I finally made out a shape coming from the smoke consuming the hut. It seemed to be some kind of golem but it looked more like a product of Mechanus or the Egg of Coot. It had a human-esque face but looked as tho extra parts had been molded on after its initial creation.
Dravot teleported close to it and it said “I really am very sorry about this,” just before it smashed him. There was a blast of thunder that shook the hillside but Dravot seemed unfazed.
Then a second one of a different design came from the house.
Whatever else these were, they were intelligent, and apparently not very happy to be doing what they were doing. A strange game followed next – as we moved the man and boy out of harm’s way, a force bubble would spring up to contain them, whereupon we magically moved them again. The creatures themselves were very hardy and almost unaffected by our weapons, save for ShadowCut. Finally Scorch teleported the pair to one of the warded areas of the fortress, figuring they were somehow magically detecting their prey.
The two machine creatures stopped suddenly. One said to the other “The mage seems to have teleported the boy away. I’ve lost track of him. Still have to find him and kill him of course.”
Dravot attempted to implode one of them, but the creature evaded the effect. Strangely it said “Oh my. That was a very good try. You almost got me! Keep trying.” It wasn’t mocking or sarcastic but instead was completely sincere.
Denied their quarry, they seemed very upset. “Now we’ve failed,” one said. “We’ve failed, then we failed in our failure.” We tried to talk to them but they seemed torn between politeness and their directives. They disappeared off the plane and went back to wherever they came from.
We sat down with the pair. The human was a member of the Silent Brotherhood. Scorch was aware of him and believed he was here largely to spy on Scorch. But the boy was the stranger element. He was the Silverring’s apprentice. Those creatures had followed him through several teleportation circles. Most likely they wanted the papers he was carrying.
He related the circumstances of his sudden departure from the Brotherhood monastery. He did not know who Gulthias was, but when he uttered the name, the silence could have been cut with a blade. The boy had no idea what had happened and he assumed Yaleth was dead. When we asked him about the items she carried, the answer became clear. A questioning glance to Scorch confirmed what I had feared – the planar rift that she’d caused would most likely not have killed her or Gulthias. We’d have to finish that job ourselves if given the chance.
Since the papers seemed to be the key, we examined them carefully. There were reports from all over the Flanness. Many indicated how the movements of the drow and koa toa seemed to suggest there was a major meeting to be held soon. An ancient map of the Four Kingdoms showed the location of something called the Deathvent – an accessway to the Underdark under one of the fallen elven kingdoms. The location was underwater off the eastern coast, and there were reports of many strange happenings in that area.
One note was unusual in that it was written in three different styles and seemed to shift in mid-sentence. The writer was exploring the area and talks of the undead horrors that have been spewed up in preparation for the meetings. He walked amongst them but sooner or later would be noticed. The change in writing and context made me suspect it was The Tatterdamelion, and Dravot agreed. The second page of the note said that the ghost (Bellamy one assumes) was trying to keep an eye on Orcus’ forces. So far the massing continues but has slowed down.
Reports also indicate that certain former Grey Guild members have re-appeared including Prophyon and the Burning Skin. Scorch indicated he had been approached by Prophyon but not the Burning Skin. The report indicated they believed they were both given a True Resurrection by someone.
And one report said simply that the cambion has disappeared.
Well that wasn’t good. I contacted Lord Gelban immediately. “Are you aware that the cambion has disappeared from beneath Castle Greyhawk?”
[Astute readers will recall the second adventure of the company wherein they were sent into the castle to feed a piece of the legendary fruit to the cambion trapped there.]
He replied “How is it that you learn these things just as I do?”
I tried to avoid being too glib when I said “You have no idea how happy it makes me when you say things like that.”
Lord Gelban would be investigating of course, but surely this was linked to the movements of Iuz. Iuz of course cared nothing for his offspring but he was powerful.
It was then I remembered the link between the cambion and Lord Gelban’s daughter. Her sickness was the cause of our first adventure, and our second mission was to give the cure to the cambion as well. The two were linked in some way. The cambion was half fiend, the girl half-dragon, so it seemed unlikely it was by common parentage.
But Lord Gelban never told us the details of how they were linked or why. And we never had cause to ask until now.
So I asked.
Lord Gelban hesitated. “I would prefer not to discuss it over the scales.”
“That is probably wise. We should meet soon then.”
Lord Gelban’s reply was quiet and tense. “Very soon.”
