Heroes, Inc.: Aftermath

[DM_Matt]

Taern approaches you with severa other decorated warriors and dozens of other troops. Pointing to a large, muscular, red-haired human, he says "This is Helm Dwarf-Friend, Ruling Master of Sundabar." Pointing to a powerfuly-built, adamantine-covered dwarf with a huge hammer on his back, wearing the holy symbol of Moradin and a silver flag with a red axe sheathed in flames, he says "This is Rorann Stonehammer, High Priest of Moradin, leader of the Hammers of Moradin, here on behalf of King Harbromm of Citidel Adbar." Pointing out another dwarf, whose symbol is a overflowing beer mug, he says "This is King Bruenor Battlehammer," he points out a female dwarf, saying "...and this is Unnal Hornwinder, visier to King Emerus Warcrown of Citidel Felbarr," and finally an elven female, who he introduces as Yeshelne Amrallatha, High Priest of Corellon Larethian and representative of the High Council of Everlund.

Taern announces "These are the representatives of the Silver Marches present here today. They constitute a qorum of the alliance. Lord Zarun of Waterdeep has invoked Article 7 of the Lords' Alliance treaty, of which the Silver Marches is a party, which provides for the extradition of wanted criminals. He has requested that we confiscate the ship you captured from Cronos, and return you in chains to Waterdeep for trial on charges of high treason. Without you, our city would have fallen, and with it, the whole region. Only Dyria, with her unique blade, could have slain the enemy's invincible leader; only Murdoch, with his unlimited supply of powerful anti-magic, could has suppressed the Moonbridges repeatedly; Only Fin could have summoned so many water elementals to stop the attack by sea; Few could have slain hundreds of the enemy in combat, or defeated Cronos' invading force alone. Our initial interrogations indicate that Cronos' men were to bombard the city from above adn land 500 men inside the city, capturing key points. We are greatful, but not turning you over will lead to the loss of our alies to the south, such as Waterdeep and Neverwinter. Please, explain what is going on here, so we can decide how to procede."

 

[Hawkeye]

"I am Shando, humble servent of Ilmater. Faerun faces a dire threat these days. A group of demons who call themselves The Twice Damned has escaped their prison and made their way to Faerun. We do not know their entire plan. However, members of our company have been blessed with powerful weapons to defeat them. Dyria carried the weapon to defeat the leader of the army that was arrayed before Silverymoon. I carry the means to defeat Cronos within me. The others of our company carry similar abilities. One of the identities of the Twice Damned is unknown to us. Zarun may be that one or in service to that Twice Damned. We are unsure. It could be that he is just a greedy, powerful human who is using teh chaos of these days to enrich himself. Know this: It was at his insistence that we come here, instead of investigating the events in Waterdeep, events that we feel would have lead back to him. I cannot speak for the others, but I will willingly submit myself to any divinations you require to determine my veracity. Sending us back to Waterdeep can hand victory to our enemies. I do understand that you need to do what is best to protect your people. Please choose wisely."

Hawkeye

 

[frostrune]

"Well spoken my friend," Timrin says to Shando putting a hand on his shoulder.

He steps forward to introduce himself and continue. He bows humbly.

"I am Sir Timrin Goldmantle, Paladin of Helm and Knight of Tethyr. I do not lead this company but I have proudly served with them for quite some time. I say to you these accusations are wholly false."

"The power structure in Waterdeep is rapidly changing. Zarun's rise is overly rapid and nearly complete. Few persons or institutions of power remain to oppose him. The Hidden Shield has remained beyond his control. Thus if he cannot control us, he has invented another way to be rid of us."

"We are not your enemies. We are not enemies of Waterdeep. We serve no political agenda. Every one of us is commited to stopping this devastation."

"I, too, will willingly submit to any means of verification you put before us but I beg you, look upon the events in Waterdeep with clear eyes and stout hearts. This Zarun cannot be trusted. The City has been in turmoil since his arrival. You may call it coincidence but his rapid rise to power has been in direct relation to the rash of tragedies and attacks on the established leaders and institutions. His rhetoric is divisive. He says all the right things but his actions smack of arogance and tyranny."

"Believe what you will of me but please do not, for the sake of your people, take him at his word."

He bows again and slowly backs up a few paces.

 

[kirinke]

Alethia steps forward, glowing softly with the silvery, shimmering nimbus of light that seems to cloak her like the finest mantle. "My friends speak the truth my lords. We are committed to destroying the twice damned and have no other objective beyond ensuring the saftey of those who cannot protect themselves from these monsters. The chaos and wars between the various nations I believe are a direct result of the twice-damned's manipulations. No one is truly at fault here save the twice damned themselves. And while we are embroiled with the politics of a corrupt Waterdeep Lord, they will come closer to achieving their goals and more innocent souls will fall to them." she looked tired.

"Zarun is ally to no one but himself and twists the laws and the minds of the people to suit his needs instead of using his power and position to protect the people he has rulership over. Instead of upholding the law, he uses it to create chaos." she smiled, but it was without humour, most of them probably know that she herself is chaotic good. "And the chaos he creates serves only evil." she shook her head and looked squarely at the nobles.

"I cannot speak for the others, but I will willingly and gladly submit to any verification or trial that you might wish enact. I have nothing to hide."

ooc:
Nimbus of Light: Good creatures automatically recognize the radiance as a sign of your devotion to the powers of good and you gain a +2 circumstance bonus to diplomancy and sense motive checks

Diplomancy: 16 without the nimbus of light

 

[Hawkeye]

"Another thing to consider. What claim does Waterdeep and Zarun have on the flying citadel? After all, what resources did they assist to send Silverymoon? We came on his orders and now he wants us arrested? It seems he wants all the rewards and no risk. I think Silverymoon should keep the Citadel."

Hawkeye

 

[Steve Gorak]

I think Silverymoon should keep the Citadel."Hawkeye

Murdoch nods: "Indeed, Zarun has proven himself to be most untrustworthy and I too am willing to subject myself to your magics, if you wish, to ensure we speak true."

Speaking directly to Taern: "I appears to me that the hidden shield needs to keep the flying citadel. Our followers in Waterdeep need a place to escape to, and they cannot come to Silvermoon, as this would give Zarun an excuse to attack. Zarun simply cannot claim the ship from Silvermoon if it is in our posession.

As for turning us to Zarun, well, surely a group capable of driving back an invasion would be difficult to arrest..."

 

[kirinke]

"Perhaps it is best if we start from the beginning and tell them all that we know instead of just in bits and pieces." she said and did just that, from the festival that brought her into the hidden shield, to the discovery of Al-Hulath to the murder of Lord Perigeron and his daughter.

She told them everything in sequence, knowing that to leave something out would give Zarun credance. And she ended it with the knowledge they had gained from conversing with Lord Texter. She finished and looked squarely at the assembled dignitaries.

"This tale is true my lords and ladies and as I have said before, only the twice damned are at fault for these wars. Open up negotiations with your enemy nations, for the fighting will only cause to strengthen the twice damned armies and machineries of death and destruction. And even if you do win in the wars with Thay and the other nations, you will loose three-fold, for the twice damned will swoop in and pick off the victors even as they are scrambling for weapons and spells."

 

[DM_Matt]

"Perhaps it is best if we start from the beginning and tell them all that we know instead of just in bits and pieces." she said and did just that, from the festival that brought her into the hidden shield, to the discovery of Al-Hulath to the murder of Lord Perigeron and his daughter.

She told them everything in sequence, knowing that to leave something out would give Zarun credance. And she ended it with the knowledge they had gained from conversing with Lord Texter. She finished and looked squarely at the assembled dignitaries.

"This tale is true my lords and ladies and as I have said before, only the twice damned are at fault for these wars. Open up negotiations with your enemy nations, for the fighting will only cause to strengthen the twice damned armies and machineries of death and destruction. And even if you do win in the wars with Thay and the other nations, you will loose three-fold, for the twice damned will swoop in and pick off the victors even as they are scrambling for weapons and spells."

Rorann responds "But from what you have said, while some nations have been decieved, others are led by these demons, and of those, some, such as Thay and the goblinoids over there, are by an large no better than the demons themselves. How can we negotiate with them? It seems that most of these was won't end until the demons are slain, and even then, I could hardly imagine Thay, or the goblinoids, or Kurin's fiendpires ending these wars unless they are losing."

 

[DM_Matt]

Murdoch nods: "Indeed, Zarun has proven himself to be most untrustworthy and I too am willing to subject myself to your magics, if you wish, to ensure we speak true."

Speaking directly to Taern: "I appears to me that the hidden shield needs to keep the flying citadel. Our followers in Waterdeep need a place to escape to, and they cannot come to Silvermoon, as this would give Zarun an excuse to attack. Zarun simply cannot claim the ship from Silvermoon if it is in our posession.

As for turning us to Zarun, well, surely a group capable of driving back an invasion would be difficult to arrest..."

Taern says "I concur. I propose that you leave immediately, however. We can claim that you were already gone before we could act. You may return so long as you are discreet. We cannot yet risk taht kind of international incident. We will provide you with what provisions and powder stores we can spare. I wish there was more we could do for you, but for the time bieing, we must carefully consider our future actions."

Helm adds "The Silver marches owe you much. If you can get to Sundabar, I would gladly set our craftmen to repairing and improving your craft, and improving its weaponry. Our forges and cannon-builders are among the best in Faerun. For the moment, in case you must fight the dragon on the way out, I will order a few of our Light Dwarven Long Guns to be loaded onto your ship. They are longer and thinner than cannons, and almost as potent, but as accurate as a balllista. For attacking airborne targets, their length and lighter weight allows them to pivot, and they are especially accurate when attacking flying or moving targets when firing shot instead of balls.

 

[kirinke]

Rorann responds "But from what you have said, while some nations have been decieved, others are led by these demons, and of those, some, such as Thay and the goblinoids over there, are by an large no better than the demons themselves. How can we negotiate with them? It seems that most of these was won't end until the demons are slain, and even then, I could hardly imagine Thay, or the goblinoids, or Kurin's fiendpires ending these wars unless they are losing."

"For those nations whose leaders have been decieved, negotations are a viable options. As for the rest... The goblinoids are largely led by the twice damned's generals. Remove the driving force behind them and they will flee back to their territories with a bit of prodding in the right direction. Thay, I know little about, save that I would wager that they would rather be the master than the slave, yes? And the twice damned consider everyone to be either slaves, cannon fodder or food. As for Kurin's fiendpires...." her expression darkened and for a moment, her own raw anger and the icy, alien fury of the demon's shimmer in her gold eyes. "They will not stop until everyone is dead or one of them." she finished, agreeing with Rorann at least on some points.

"As to the twice damned plans... I can at least guess at some of them. For one, they are most likely gathering power through the souls they kill and or enslave and are establishing a base of operations on Faerun. Once established...." she shook her head as if trying to dispel that horrifying image of what those demons would do. "They will most likely use Faerun as a base to invade other planes and take them over. Then repeat the process like rather nasty locusts."

ooc:
I suspect that Alethia is probably skating quite close to the lawful edge of the law/chaos axis these days due to Shando, Timrin and Naverone's influence. I mean, being pals with a lawful good monk and lawful good paladin and having a lawful good demon inside one's noggin is gonna have some sort of effect.