Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)

[CPaladin]

Session 41 (Sept. 30, 2008)
30 O-Kas

To-do list:
Check out throne
Get report from further examination of Privy Secretary’s office—also, search her outside rooms and her apartment again
Meet with Lord Silverleaves re the Sea Elf in Simbolisi

Dame Brionna reports 11 airships headed towards the capital from the eastern border

They do not appear to be flying any flags, and they are odd looking for airships—broad across the beam, which is uncommon for military ships, plus that large glass fronting would not be useful in a military action. (Could be crystal, but definitely not Eldar or Noldar.)

“Gnomes,” says Alistair. I’ve never heard of 11 Gnomish airships in one location, but they look gnomish.

We have no ranking gnomes on staff.

That could be like 5000 gnomes.

We call for Lord Silverleaves

He identifies them as cargo vessels for livestock

Kit suggests they may be fleeing.

We send some airships to buzz them. (Dame Brionna orders them to be ready to defend themselves if the gnomes attack.)

We then discuss other matters

I am told there is a Sea Elf who is high in the council of the Doge of Simbolisi

He is an outstanding Sea Elf; he has dealt with humans for many years, as I have. Why do you ask?

We believe a here’ku has infiltrated the Holy Church and seeks to gain control over the psionic resources there.

That would be very bad. Simbolisi alone could create a strong tower.

I could arrange a conference tomorrow evening if you wish, and I can conceal your identity.

We agree. He says that he will begin the forms to set up the conference, and inform the Queen of Singing Leaves.

We discuss the Principality of Korflok intelligence [received as a separate document by Kit, but I'm putting it in the text here]:
Special report unto the Mouth
From the Lobes of the Brain

Re: Principality of Korflok

Honored Mouth – we have been attempting to sort out the situation in the Principality of Korflok.

Firstly, there are 27 houses major and 46 houses minor – the heads of each of the houses is named in order of power together with his or her mated house if married. So for example Lady Torringvale-Bufolk is the ruler of house Bufolk – because Torringvale is a higher ranked house – the Torringvale name comes first, though she is ruler of Bufolk. On the other hand, Lord Tattenburgh-Torringvale is Lord of Tattenburgh.

The Principality is stronger that it appears – which explains the very slow rate at which Hanal has been able to expand into its territory. That strength is two fold – firstly, the houses have larger standing militaries than most houses would be expected to – and while there is little if any "civilian" use of magic (beyond hedge-witchery) several of the nobles however are powerful magi with significant surrounding "circles" of powerful companions. Most significant in that regard is Lady Elandra Duffingdor-Gladtor – a very powerful half-sidhe magi who is a particularly zealous follower of Glor'diadel and one of the most potent elementalists in our record – other than some of the first born.

It is the belief of the Lobes that using extremely delicate methods, it is probably possible to approach Lady Duffingdor-Gladtor on shared goals. A religious angle would be suggested. The House of Gladtor's personal chaplain is Father Patrick Everett Hendrick, OMD. The honored Lady is a daily communicant and the chaplain is very busy on a continuing basis. There are two children of the Lady's body – Terrance and Cynthia, but she has also accepted the nedestro son of her consort – Brendon Duffingdor-Gladtor – Lawrence Whitesmith (Gladtor), who is older than either of the children of her body and nears manhood rituals. It is noteworthy however, that while the Lady caused Madam Clarissa Whitesmith to be well placed in the Torringvale-Invald household- she is forbidden to enter Gladtor lands on pain of death – and Lawrence, who has been fully fostered into the household (and is showing signs of the silent arts) is forbidden to see his birth-mother - though he does not seem inclined to see her in any event. Her reputation is one of excess under possible circumstances, and the possibility of past abuse exists, though no one has approached the young man for any confirmation.

This report will be followed by a break down list of the houses and their rulers within a few days or a week or so.

Respectfully submitted.

The lobes of the brain, with the assistance of certain fingers.
[end report to Kit]
[Cont'd]

 

[CPaladin]

[Session 41 cont'd]
We ask Father Waters to make contact with Lady Duffingdor-Gladtor’s chaplain, who is also OMD, to warn them about threats to sidhe descended children (and thus to open a line of communication).

He repeats back the response: Thank you. An attempt was made 3 weeks ago, Terrance. Larry stymied at cost, is in infirmary recovering. Prisoners not talking. Light be with you.

A couple hours later, to simulate Father Waters running that info up to us, we send back:
“Message from Archduke: we have experience with these kidnappers. Do you need aid? Psionic coercion available, worked before. Anything we should know to help you?”

Response: Honored Lord - 4 men, longtime servants, bizarre - like new, speak - rising in north - won't eat. No coercers here. Lady thanks - teleport point? Send to you!

We send back the location of our secure teleport platform, and tell them to wait so we can move more guards into position.

Lady Brionna goes to supervise. At precisely the point requested, four bound men with two men in incredibly heavy armor and a single tall slender, almost certainly full-blooded sidhe male in heavily brocaded robes appear.

“On behalf of my niece, I thank you for this offer, my Tor is without the abilities that you offer.”

Dame Brionna makes pleasantries, as does the sidhe. “His Grace would be glad to meet you in the fey garden.”

Young Lord Brightspan checks all of them. “Yes. They’re deeply muddled. Well, those two men aren’t… they’re just tired.”

Kit. “Muddled in what way?”

“Their thoughts… they can’t come together. Muddled.”

We analogize to the Debonai stuff.

We meet with the Sidhe. On a bardic knowledge check, Alistair concludes that the curlicue on his robes is a Sidhe script depicting the whole history of the Tor.

Pleasantries. My niece also sends her greetings, and this small gift.

Alistair pretends to be a Glor’diadelian zealot; the sidhe (who is not Glor’diadelian), buys it completely. [I don't remember why Alistair feigned zealotry. Maybe to make Lady Duffington-Gladtor more friendly?]

These were long-time—by human standards—servants of my niece’s household. The attack was unexpected, but apparently their principal did not expect Lawrence to intervene on his brother’s behalf. He has some experience with the sword. While he struck down one, his brother ran to get help. Then sadly my niece asked me, and I have applied the healing arts and the magical arts to no avail. They do not take nourishment or water; it is almost as if they have forgotten how.

Feared it was a Hanalian plot—the Tors in Korflok oppose Hanal, but I do not think it can be Hanal. They talk of a rising in the North, but the only thing in the North to rise is Hanal. “Beware the North shall rise and all will be consumed.”

We have found no unusual movements of money, nor do their consorts. Their consorts seem normal, as do their offspring. But none can do that—there are no circles besides the Tors, and the Tors could not do that, even if they had turned to the unseelie.

Kit: More likely someone newly arrived.

We have a fair amount of trade for a nation this far north, but with Ecsilias and Enclaves… we could not check all of the ones who have come.

Alistair: Last time we saw something like this, we believe it was an alliance of the unseelie and something darker.

What could be darker than the Unseelie… Unless you mean the ancients?

A: <raises eyebrow until he gets it> A rising in the north could mean an uprising. Or it could be the physical rising of one of the fallen places of old. Are there any legends of such there?

Old legends of something to the north of Dragonbone Pass. The long way when white dragons used to strike at the earliest settlements, before Hanal, before the human nations were formed. There were legends of a place of gibbering madness, of tentacles, and of torment and death to all brought to the citadel, and the worship of a god who is not a god.

Kit: What sort of god who is not a god?

I would have to ask the sage of my tor. I am principally a warrior and a … a medicine man. (was going to say priest, but decided against it because of Alistair’s “zealotry”).
[End Session 41]

 

[CPaladin]

Session 42 (October 21, 2008)
31 O-Kas

To-do list:
Check out throne
Respond to report from skyship in the south about the traitor army
Get report from the further searches re: the Privy Secretary
Salt stuff
Conference with the Sea Elf at Simbolisi
Decide what to do with the prisoners from Korflok
Ping Kit’s agent in Debonai
Added: meeting with Dame Constance

The council receives three messages (attached).

We start looking at the salt issue. We sent people to buy salt at whatever exchange we could buy at. We found that at Hanal, they were bought out, and the futures were exorbitant. Since the letter doesn’t name the merchant, it’s impossible to tell if the merchant is someone specifically working for us.

We discuss sending a response back, probably in drowan.

There are about a half-dozen total binary poisons—almost all are used exclusively by the dark elves. (In theory, the illithid have one, but effects on surface dwellers are unknown.)

We call for the Sixth Daughter.

She estimates this would have cost about 1000 gold on the surface.

Based on the months of activity, it must be purehh—an extract from certain mushrooms, harmless unless added to a cave eel’s blood.

Would kill about 9 out of 10 humans, but 19 out of 20 drow.

I have seen it used twice; the deaths were among the least pleasant I have seen.

The cave eel’s ichor would also be very expensive. It would have to be purchased, dried, and applied to a different food supply. They would have to enter it into another type of food commonly consumed. Dried mushrooms or the like.

(We clarify that would be wheat or flour, which would result in spoiling in reactions in bread)

The ichor would run about 2000 gold. Once dried and powered, it is stable, and could be stored for a couple of years.

Kit—how is it destroyed?

If put in water or alcohol, its potency is reduced, and it could be disposed of safely.

Can we track them through the money?

How many merchants sell this poison? One or two per city among the rebel drow; less among those who follow the Noldar, because it is forbidden

There is a slight taste to the primary agent; the activating agent is all but impossible to detect. An alchemist specifically looking for it has a chance, but once it is distributed, unlikely.

We ask Mahler to figure out who bought a lot of salt in Enclaves two days ago.

We also ask the Sixth Daughter to look into this. Dame Brionna also asks her to look into how the fae can breach our defenses. She says she’ll look into it. Alistair says to not harm any of the resident fae. Which investigation takes precedence? The poison.
[cont'd]

 

[CPaladin]

[Session 42 cont'd]
We move on to discussing the two armies in the south.

Brionna: Mindless humans aren’t subject to morale, or hopeless situations. Is it a magical effect, or some drug being added to the food?

Kit agrees to look into it.

We have several Rakshasa allies in that area.

We call for the Minister of War, the Minister of the Mind, and (just to make him feel included) the Minister of Magic. Varance Tuttle, Grandmaster Petrov, and Dame Viola Tusslefield meet us in the Map Room.

Dame Brionna asks about the source of the effect on the humans.

Grandmaster Petrov—though it has the sound of coercion, a sufficient body of coercion would require a psionic center that we could detect from here, and certainly the Eldar would have noticed it.

K--What about affecting the officers and spreading out?

Petrov—would be easier, but still likely to be affected.

Tuttle—I suggest we call for Dame Constance, your grace—it sounds demonic to me.

We send for her.

Tusslefield—do we know the total number of troops in these armies?

Yes. We tell her.

Tusslefield—even discounting the trolls, it is a force of about 4 field armies. They may have speeded up because the Order of the Falcon is en route.

Do the minor castles—the rakshasas and the grey elves—slow them significantly? Or should they fall back to join our marshals and armies?

Tusslefield—in my opinion, they should fall back. They might slow them by an hour. But together, they add a legion and a half of men, plus very powerful officers. The Rakshasa may feel that honor requires them to fight. They will certainly send their children to safety.

We talk about this. Then Lady Constance and her apprentice (half drowan) arrive.

We fill her in.

“Yes. That fits with what I’ve uncovered. This alliance we are facing may be playing a very, very deep game. It seems that a very long time ago, there was a different type of demons in the abyss than those we are used to know. They were connected, indirectly, to the forbidden gods, the old, dead gods. As those gods’ hold on this reality was lost, they were weakened. Their most powerful were cast down, and in some cases destroyed. But the wisest of them, including their queen, appeared to accept their new places gracefully. Over centuries, the new hierarchy accepted their groveling servitude, and stopped watching their actions. I believe that they are behind this, for their desires do not match either the rest of the demonic hierarchy’s goals or Borsh’tro’s, although in a sense they match Borsh’tro—destroy the world, gaining power in the process. We think they may actually not wish to let the Old Ones all the way back in, but just enough to restore the power of the firstcomer demons. So there are schemes within schemes. But the one behind this effort to elevate the Abomination—an ossyrith queen whose name, or at least use name, I hope to have tomorrow—includes the power of somnambulance. Those around her servant will have their will sapped, as her demonic attributes enter them, and they are bound to her will. The easiest way to stop it is to kill her servant. But they gain power from her demonic attributes—toughness, resistance to fire, etc. There would be at least 3 dozen in a group this side. They have no great power or defenses with regard to the mind.

Could we detect their location from the malign aura?

I think I could, with the help of a Farsensor.

That would be highly useful.

Good. This same being is greatly strengthened by the sacrifice of sentient beings. It is possible that the Abomination is of her making and shares her hatreds, for it is said that she truly hates elvenkind in all of its forms. Should I keep looking for her use name?

Is that useful?

Only if I can find her true name.

Then finding her servants is the priority.

Would there be particular value to Rakshasa sacrifices?

Rakshasa are spiritually powerful, have much magic, and many have powerful psionic abilities. Plus, many abandoned her puppet and turned to serving the Lord of Light.

Lady Constance leaves.

Alistair: How would we attack the three dozen if we find them?

Kit: some long-range psionic attack?

Brionna: We could teleport people in.

Kit: but if they are distributed throughout the army, and if they are in the middle of the army…

Alistair: so Grandmaster Petrov, what sorts of offensive psionic resources do we have?

Very few near my power.

What would we need for an attack?

Most likely, someone with a psionic focusing device within range.

Alistair: How close is that?

Petrov: Arrowshot? Perhaps an Eldar or Noldar Paragon level coercer, but I do not think we have any.

What about in Forest of Singing Leaves?

Very few Eldar, but circles of grey elves might work. But someone would need to bring a psionic focusing device in.

(We plan to recruit the Rakshasa for that.)

Tuttle: We should be prepared for blowback. The demons are well aware of their weaknesses—it has often led to defeats for them in the past. The elder demons appear to have less of this weakness. If we do this, we should be prepared for blowback. They may manifest, or send other monsters, or something, there, here, wherever the circles are?

Are demons permitted to manifest on the Prime without being summoned? Aren’t there agreements among the gods?

Demons are not permitted. But those other things are not demons, exactly, are they? If they precede the Compact, and are not signatories, they are not bound by it.

We send messages to the Rakshasa and gray elves, asking them to fall back to where our armies are; telling them that the army is coming, that people like them are particular targets for sacrifices, and that it would be a very bad thing for the enemy to be strengthened by killing them; that (for the Rakshasa) we have a special, very dangerous, crucial to defeating the enemy task that we want them to take on, but that we can’t describe until they are with our army; and that Canberry will guarantee their lands to them or their heirs after the war if they fall back now, so they will not be giving up their territory. DM asks for 7 d20 rolls in response. 19, 12, 9, 3, 1, 9, 16
[End Session 42]

 

[CPaladin]

Session 43 (January 5, 2009)
1 Skard

To-do list:
Check out throne
Respond to report from skyship in the south about the traitor army
Get report from the further searches re: the Privy Secretary
Salt stuff
Conference with the Sea Elf at Simbolisi
Decide what to do with the prisoners from Korflok
Ping Kit’s agent in Debonai
Meet with Lady Constance again

* * * *
Kit received an early morning report from the Sixth Daughter.
As Kit depart chambers early in the morning, to check with your secretary/clerk before the actual council meeting -- a young boy who you think serves in the kitchen, who is oddly lounging around as near to the royal chambers as he can get, jumps up from a love seat and passes you a short note. The note is blank, but the words appear within your mind as you hold it, the voice is that of the Sixth Daughter: "I have not been able to identify either part of the binary poison within the city, BUT, I have identified another poison -- which has been sprinkled on the wood that has been seasoned for the smoke houses. I can nuetralize it, and I have the ability to make the nuetralizing agent, BUT, it will be very labor intensive both to make and distribute the nuetralizing agent, and I have no method of preventing a repeat distribution. I would not even have known to look if you had not set me upon this path -- even my people do not war upon the slave class -- why would anyone? There is no honor. Nontheless, I continue the search, but wished to advise you of this development -- so I set this report upon a path that I believe will cause it to be brought to you. Please advise me as you can."

Dame Brionna reports that the Black Witch is sending her daughter as well. [See attached]

The Kingdom of the Inner Isles, which is the Black Witch’s preserve, was traditionally a pirate kingdom—Paranswarmian, but nonetheless, a pirate kingdom. The current ruler became a witch, achieved the Black color pool, and then became less piratical and more of a great power. They are just off the south shore of Khamista, with a small conquered enclave on the coast of Khamista. They are in a state of permanent war with Tarsh.

She has sent her daughter, as an ally, under our power to do with as we wish—to slay or let live. The daughter is also a diabolist, like her mother. Her mother has sent her to us, because she has the sight from her patron, the Chancellor-General of the Order of Swarms, that we will face danger, and she hopes that she will help.

We call for the Chancellor. We will have court tomorrow. We’ll also announce gifts to follow at a high court a week later. We confirm that he has the sight. He is 68. He is married, with two healthy sons and a daughter, and grandchildren as well.

Lord Silverleaves takes us into a small room where he has hung silken ribbons in an odd pattern. Three can be concealed without difficulty.

He concentrates, and an image appears of a crashing sea, a fortified city, a tower, and then an odd mist forms over our vision, but across from us we can see another elf seated on a divan, holding a blue crystal who bows in the general direction of Lord Silverleaves. Lord Silverleaves is the only unshielded person and radiates power.

The other figure greets Lord Silverleaves, and he said that three of us.

We warn him about the here’ku, both generally and specifically. We ask him to arrange to grab the reverend canon.

I will speak to the Doge. I will have an answer in a day’s space.

We discuss warning the Noldar as well.

We also discuss Singing Leaves using circles of psions to attack the demon infused. He warns that the foci would face grave danger.

We have the Sixth Daughter whip up a couple of drafts warning the Noldar, phrased as further jests about foolish nobles who don’t watch carefully enough to realize that their children are being kidnapped and sold, not merely as slaves, but as sacrifices to the Old Ones.

[cont'd]

 

[CPaladin]

[Session 43 cont'd]

When Kit slips off to the bathroom, she gets met by a random serving girl, who signed to Kit in Thieves’ Cant, come here and then went into the bathroom. “The Hand needs you at the Townhouse of the Inner Isles. Quick, before the Guard gets there and mucks everything up.”

Kit contacts one of her merchants with the fan. “Do you know where the townhouse of the Inner Islands is?”

“Certainly.”

“Get over there. We have a situation. I’ll send people to back you up. Be careful.”

Next, she sends a message to call some people in, and heads in to meet Alistair and Brionna. A royal guard rushes in and drops to one knee at a respectful distance.

“Your grace, the townhouse of the Inner Isles in the Second Circle—there appears to have been an incident there a while ago, but word has just reached me. The ambassador and his staff appear to be dead and decayed. They were discovered by the daughter of the Black Isles.”

We talk about what to do—Kit sends a message to him to tell the daughter to come to the Palace, while we send guards to cordon off the area until the right people can investigate.

A composed but extremely pale young woman comes out when Kit’s merchant arrives and shouts in for her to come out. A knight also comes out with her, along with a young maiden who looks disgusted.

Dame Brionna rides out to meet them, along with healers and guards.

Kit sends her people to check it out carefully.

Dame Brionna meets up with the group. The knight is the same knight who gave Dame Brionna the letter. He is also clearly guiding the noblewoman. She has a taint of evil around her, but it doesn’t appear to be her evil, and it clings to the rings she is wearing, which are evil. He does not detect evil at all. She is attractive in a youthful fashion-- appears to be 13 or 15. The girl is clearly her handmaiden. She is probably not permitted to be in the presence of a man without the knight or her handmaiden or both.

“Greetings, your grace. His Grace’s deepest apologies for what has happened, which we are investigating. May I escort you to more hospitable quarters?”

“Thank you, honored dame. I admit this has been a shock. I am sorry for my demeanor.”

Dame Brionna takes her to warded rooms, warns her against summoning or the like, and assures her that she will be safe there.

The knight checks the chamber, then signals for the serving girl to remain with the lady and meets with Dame Brionna quietly. “He had been dead for weeks. Her cousin had been feasted upon. I had seen wounds like that before, but only on battlefields against dragons or demons or the like. Had he discharged his duties at the coronation?”

“He was not present.”

“Then he had already been slain. The casket was missing—he brought an elven laen ring. It was of little use for our Kingdom, but we thought it might be of use to your realm.”

“That would have been most useful, but it was not received.”

The evidence from the house: the ambassador and all of his staff, including the captain of the voller he came on were killed. The voller may have been stolen. Nine dead in all, the staff were killed with swords and axes, the ambassador was killed by the creature that ate his heart and brains. Injuries both before and after death. Nothing stolen except the casket with the laen ring, and the voller probably. Lots of money and jewelry left behind.

We call the Chancellor back in to find out who represented the Kingdom of the Inner Isles. “Witch Katharine Woolsey. Odd, that. Nearly all of the Inner Isles’s witches are diabolists, but she wore no rings.”

Where does she live?

At the townhouse of course. And with a princely gift, of 4 tapestries, none younger than 1000 years. They are in the vault, waiting a decision on whether to hang them.

Dame Brionna sends a team to the vault to check out the tapestries—one cleric of Glor’diadel, one psion from the Ministry of the Mind, one mage from the Ministry of Magic, and a paladin. They roll badly. The priest decides that there is an odd absence around the tapestries. The mage, however, comes back thoughtful. In some ways, those tapestries are connected to the Void.

What could that be used for?

Usually, my estimate, mind effects. Slow, insidious changes in personality and mind.

What specific effects?

Two cases I’m aware of where Void-laced objects were exposed to people for a prolonged time. One case, in a monastery, depression spread among the monks until they all died by their own hand. The other case, more famously, was a Void-linked book. It was read by a mage who subsequently went mad in a crowded market place. Resulted in over 50 deaths before he was put down by another mage.

Very insidious, and normal detection would fail, because it is not magical. I just happened to have an interest in Void.

Could be destroyed easily. Could also be ritually de-linked.

The creators of such things fall into two categories: madmen and those who serve nameless ancient things.

Dame Brionna says, “We need to do blood tests for everyone in the Court. What rationale?”

“What about our old cock and bull story about the parasites?”

The next morning, we’ll have to deal with the poison in the woods for the smokehouses.
[End Session 43]

 

[CPaladin]

Session 44 (January 26, 2009)
2 Skard
To-do list:
Court
Check out throne
Respond to report from skyship in the south about the traitor army
Get report from the further searches re: the Privy Secretary
Salt stuff
Poison in the smokehouses
Report back from Sea Elf at Simbolisi (expected today)
Decide what to do with the prisoners from Korflok
Ping Kit’s agent in Debonai (about interrogating people involved in the plots)
Follow-up on the Inner Isles stuff?
Meet with Lady Constance again

We talk about Kit’s reports. Alistair suggests hiring the merchants involved as spies, in addition to buying the rapier.

Informing both the Empress of Masque and the Inquisition in Masque about the Here’ku; trying to get the Empress of Masque’s child a present when it is born (maybe some sort of protective items)

WRT Dame Hilda, who was the commander at Grokken, we can just announce that she’ll get an honor at the high court, and the financial or land grant that will come with that will take care of the issue. She has no children, but a minor sister (14 or so; we think Dame Brionna arranged a placement for her?) and a widowed mother, both of whom are substantially without resources.

Dame Brionna has two reports—one from Sir Derek Brightspan about Caldra; Caldra is largely secured, with the exception of two of the lesser salt mines, which he is besieging but have some orc shamans holed up in them. The bad news is that normally orcs take prisoners, but they haven’t been in this case, impaling and crucifying some of the villagers. The only survivors he has found are a number of women who have been badly mistreated and some few survivors who made it through the crucifixions. The second message is from the leader of the Rakshasa, enthusiastically accepting the suggestion of the tactics. But they have seventy kittens, along with their chattels, that they would like to send to a safe place. They have 10,000 gold for their maintenance. They would also expect us to become the kittens’ guardians. Alistair says that he thought that was the plan all along. This seems to be the official version of that. We send a letter back agreeing.

Coronation scheduled for 8 Skard (Silver moon full, Red moon new) and the announcement of the betrothal/her public baptism for 9 Skard (same conditions)

We have a court. Kit is on-screen, scandalously dressed.

“Dame Brionna Stanway, Captain of the Archducal Guard and principal Military Advisor to the Archduke, and Dame Katherine of Lyneham, personal advisor to the Archduke.”

Dame Brionna notices a certain number of inclinations of the heads of some of the people attending the court incline as they recognize that the council will remain in place.

They notice a gloomy fellow in the corner from the City of the Twin Gates of the Dead, a Morgothian city. Young Lord Brightspan identifies him as “not really alive and not really dead.” Dame Brionna wants to reject him, but Alistair doesn’t want to make any more enemies. The Northern City is ruled by the Father of Wolves, and has both Noldar and undead. The Southern City is ruled by the Mother of Spiders (Lolth’s mother), which has almost no Noldar and about which little is known. They have 60,000 troops under arms.

The herald begins announcing and rattles through the dozens of people who are here, most of whom we recognize. Right after the Eldar, he announces Hierarch Theron, representing the Father of Wolves. A ways down the list, he announces the poor kid who is now the representative from Inner Isles, and someone from Tarsh, and then a bit further a representative from the Larmenon Hills, a gnome with a banner six times his height, and eventually the representative in exile from the Magocracy of Perdun. The last one that we don’t recognize is a magus representing the Translucent Mage, who also has diplomatic credentials. There is also a representative from Alistair’s Khamistan great aunt.

Alistair calls forward Hierarch Theron. He proffers a document, and says that it was Princess Curini’rim’s suggestion that the Father of Wolves send him.

Inner Isles goes smoothly.

The ambassador of Tarsh presents a gift from the King-Emperor, in a large crate. Six cases of our finest mountain wines for your cellar.

Alistair makes a hash of the gnome ambassador’s title and calls him forward. “On behalf of my people I am delighted to see you on the throne, your grace. I am pleased to say that your gift should be arriving soon.”

“Is that coming in a set of skyships?”

“Yes! Has it arrived?”

“In a manner of speaking… it’s within Canberry at least.”

Kit’s fan starts glowing. She “answers” it. She got a message via the fan which is really bad and mindlinks it through.

Suddenly a young, clear voice appears in your mind -- fear courses through you. You see the flank and stomach of a running woman, a hand gripped firmly together "Auntie" the voice cries. "Auntie -- it arises, you told me to tell you anything like this -- it arises" the point of vision suddenly turns over a child's shoulder, and you see neat village streets, a temple of Glor'diadel nearby, above the village, flying, you see an enormous demon, several other figures gathered about it -- all flying. In the distance the ivory walls of a city you recognize -- Brightspan. Fire flies from its hands, striking the tile roof of the church and driving the tiles into shards, balls of black flame fly down, striking several other buildings, which outriht explode -- as the demonic group proceeds west/south-west. The point of view suddenly shifts as the woman scoops up the viewer and runs, holding her skirt wtih the other hand, and dives into the lower entrance to the church -- probably an entrance into the village catacombs. The view determidly switches back to the doorway, across which you can see the procession of demonic force make its way, a minute later the viewer and the mother peers out of the door and you see several horsemen, led by a paladin, rising in their stirrups and firing bows as they go, a bolt of black fire from above and ahead strikes one of the horsemen, which goes limb over pizzle and lies still, the chase proceeds out of sight.
[cont'd]

 

[CPaladin]

[Session 44 cont'd]
Kit tries to see if he’s alright, and he is but frightened. He’s fine but they are heading southwest.

The demons came out of the storm sewers—this village is where the storm sewers of Brightspan City come out. They are normally scavengers searching through the dregs of the city.

Alistair has Father Waters contact the Archbishop and the Duchess of Brightspan

The main demon is an abyssal knight, with heraldry involving a black maw over a tortured and constrained flame.

The knights are returning—a lot are dead. They kept firing arrows and the demons fled.

A page speaks to a herald, who speaks to Dame Brionna.

The Archbishop sends word that the demon horde and the accursed knight have departed Brightspan, they are headed toward the Spice Lands. They were harried by church knights -- but to little effect

Alistair calls a recess in the court.

Kit has ice on her; Alistair orders her to drop the mindlink.

We are sending off a group to engage the molydeus, and asking Lord Davion if he wants to go; he says he will prepare immediately. We also call in Lord Silverleaves to attempt to arrange for elven support, since chaotic forces will be less vulnerable to the Molydeus, and we send strike-steams to break the networks of power supporting the Molydeus and to the catacombs to clear out any support that the Molydeus has. Lord Silverleaves says that he will have a noble of Singing Leaves divert his pleasure schooner to engage the demonic hordes.
[End session 44]

 

[Quartz]

We have several Rakshasa allies in that area.

Umm....

 

[CPaladin]

In this campaign world, neither rakshasa nor their rakasta followers are inherently evil. Some of them are very evil, some are aggressively good. I'm not sure off-hand whether there are substantial numbers of neutral ones, though.