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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 4015707" data-attributes="member: 3448">Meanwhile, Sideh sneaked up on a group of black eums, while I lurked invisibly nearby to support him.  We overheard conversation among the eums, but it was just meaningless chatter as far as I could tell.  They spoke Shadowspeak-- I could understand a little because of my training in Abyssal, but not all of the details.  We easily figured out the eums’ organization.  Their principal unit appeared to be squads of six eums led by what we referred to as a corporal.  There were definitely also sergeant equivalents, commanding multiple squads, and at least one rank above that.  The eums performed a regular patrol of their area, but there was something odd about their methodology.  We concluded that they were more concerned with watching for other creatures of Shadow than with forces of the true Darkness or of the Light.  In particular, the eums seemed somewhat scared of the incorporeal undead, although they ignored the skeletons.After observing the patrols for a while, we carefully followed one of the “lieutenants,” by which I mean the eum ranked above the sergeants, to see where it would go.  Once every half-hour, a runner would take a report from each sergeant up to a more grizzled and senior eum.  I carefully copied its rank insignia in my notebook.  After several such reports, the lieutenant entered a spiral stair just inside the gates on the south of the fortress and trotted up the stairs.  While it was much more difficult to continue to shadow it as it entered the fortification, we continued following.The eum came to attention as it reached the top of a tower.  “All is quiet, commander.  We see no sign of either the Marchioness or of the Chaos Champion coming from the south.”“Excellent, lieutenant.  We should be particularly careful with the Chaos Champion from the South.  She is aligned with Maliat.  Those who are still on this side of life need to worry about the followers of Maliat.”“Yes, Commander Zolt.”“Return to your duties but be watchful.  Our lord is most wroth.  You should avoid him as his anger may spill out onto such as us.”The lieutenant saluted and proceeded back down the stairs.  As he returned to his post, we withdrew to discuss what we had heard and to await our allies.  Sideh and I recognized the name of Maliat, mistress of postulating disease.  As the Church has long known, her champions  spread diseases on the battlefield that kill the people they are fighting.  The disease cannot spread far beyond the battlefield as plagues because of the Compact, but even if her champions lose their battles, they may still kill their foes.  I of course do not credit the rumor that even clerical cure disease is not reliable against her diseases.  Perhaps the blessings of lesser deities are insufficient, but surely the priests of Lord Paranswarm, and the healers devoted to his Holy Daughter the Weeping Woman, are more than capable of curing any disease.  Nonetheless, I had never heard reports that even the enemies fear her champions.</blockquote>

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