Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Emperor Valerian" data-source="post: 1604041" data-attributes="member: 15043">“Move!” Eyrna barked to the footmen hurriedly throwing her own baggage and her brother’s possessions on the roof of their small family carriage.  The heiress to the Erelion family line continued to snarl at the coachmen’s attempts to move faster, as the budding light of morning’s glory starting to color the eastern sky.It had over six hours since Hemmel’s arrival and warning, as the small teleportation chamber in the mansion needed to be worked up for the assassin to use it.  In addition, incriminating documents had to be cleared from the premises.  Eyrna’s first instinct was to burn most of them, but unfortunately, man were signed agreements between House Erelion and various other noble families... House Genova, House Elys, and the like... to provide mutual support once the Imperial family was dealt with.  Simeon had rightly pointed out that their Uncle, the Baron, would want these to hold over the other houses heads should things possibly work out, despite this major failure.It had taken precious time to find all of them, and catalogue them, and even more time to get the requisite messengers rushed out of the city to the estates of the other nobles involved... the last thing desired was to have a messenger caught inside Iskeldrun when the city roused the next morning.The Emperor is shrewd, Eyrna thought, an anxious eye watching the shape of her brother on one of the mansion’s side balconies, watching for signs of the city watch or the Imperial Guard.  He hasn’t sent anyone dashing about the city until he knows EXACTLY what happened, and who is involved.  She gave a slight shudder.“We’re ready m’lady,” one of the footmen breathed heavily.  “Your baggage and items have been secured.”  With a wave of a hand, she told other servants to fetch her brother, and their great race across the Empire to their Uncle’s castle would soon begin.Emperor Lucius will come for us... when he is ready, she thought, mounting up on a drab nag of a horse.  Nervously, she touched the dagger hidden with the folds of her drab, patched and spotty dress.  Should she be discovered, it would be her only personal defense.  Her hand then ran down to the saddlebag hanging from the hindquarters of her mount... a patched and worn looking piece of cloth.  Inside it was the savior of their line... messages, dispatches and requests… as well as several platinum trade bars.As her brother, clad in equally homely clothing, leapt onto a nag as well, the ornate carriage, footmen clinging to its sides of front, clattered out of the mansion’s front gate, and began careening up the street at high speed.  Shouts echoed back into the mansion’s courtyard from the angry street vendors and travelers already out and about that had to dodge out of the flying carriage’s path.When the Emperor comes, we must be ready...  Eyrna and Simeon came out some five minutes later, merging in with a crowd of homely dressed pilgrims snaking through the city.  We must have the Fire Stone!It was no more than five minutes later when a mass of men, clad in black robes and walking with heads bowed as monks came by the two, going the opposite direction.  Eyrna’s sharp eyes picked up the slight bulges along the waist’s of the cloaks, and the slight, momentary glint of steel under their robes.Once again, Eyrna thanked her luck that Iskeldrun was a city of over a million and a half souls.  In such a vast place, there were many places she and Simeon could hide out, until their mission here within the city was accomplished... until their family could be safeguarded.After several sharp twists and turns, the two found themselves in some of the more drab areas of the city.  Unlike the Avenue of Marches, with its mansions, pleasantly lined treed gardens, elegant fences and brilliant stonework, the darker corners of Iskeldrun were crowded, dark and dank.  Overhead, buildings haphazardly added onto over the centuries seemed to close off the sky as they leaned over the streets that were hardly more than alleys.  Stray animals dashed about, and in some places, refuse was openly visible on the sides of the streets.Eyrna could see by Simeon’s expression he did not like their present surroundings.  While she was not fond of it either, the two had one more person they needed to contact within Iskeldrun before they fled the city.  Or trotted out calmly, if all went according to plan.The two twins have shown themselves unwilling to cooperate, Eryna grumbled, and we need someone of Caladron blood to carry the Fire Stone for us.  If the Prince and Princess are unwilling to help, she thought, as the two drew up in front of a recessed and darkly lit shopfront as morning’s light picked through the slit overhead that marked the sky, perhaps HE can help us find someone more cooperative...“...and we still do not know if House Erelion was alone in this,” Xanadu pointedly growled towards Diogenes.  “If we move against them alone without finding out the extent of this conspiracy, we might have many bad apples, so to speak, remain in the pie of Imperial politics!”“If we strike out at them, swiftly and with immense power, House Erelion will serve as an example!” Diogenes continued to argue.   The debate between the chief commander of the Imperial Armies and the Imperial Chamberlain had lasted for a good half an hour.  “If House Erelion is wiped out, completely, by the sword, it would serve as a powerful message to any other conspirators left out there that crossing the Imperial family is not...”Raven glanced at her friend Vintressa, who was rolling her eyes.  When the Princess saw the glance, she gave a sigh. “Diogenes only considers force as a solution... never subtlety or diplomacy,” she groaned.  “And since it was his security that was breached... the poor fool thinks he has something to prove.”  As the general rambled onward, Raven watched her friend’s face grow red with anger, not annoyance.“...I say again, we should simply march to Baron Valdemar’s lands, and put it all to the torch!  Every farm, every village, his castle...” Diogenes roared onward.“For what?!” Vintressa finally snapped.  “So that thousands of innocent peasants and artisans, who knew nothing of this plot, can feel the sting of an Imperial blade?”The general, his face dark with age, shot a look of contempt at the princess.  “I respect your fighting abilities that allowed you to save your mother.  But, you have never comm-““Continue,” Lucius’ voice carried over Diogenes’.  The Emperor simultaneously fired off a stern look to the general, prompting him to suddenly fall silent.  The Emperor’s eyes, along with the eyes of most of the Council members’, fell on Vintressa.For a split second, Vintressa’s annoyance kept her from realizing fully what had happened.  Quickly, however, the reality of what had just happened crashed down on her, and she had to cough to buy time for her overwhelmed mind.  The best, brightest minds in the realm are listening to ME for advise!?  I’ve privately told father my thoughts on things before... but never in a council meeting!“Ahem,” she cleared her throat, and after a moment’s trepidation, she began.  “It is... my opinion, that if we merely send an army in and turn Lord Erelion’s lands into a wasteland, we will waste the lives of thousands of innocents... something I find morally abhorrent!”  Her voice gained strength as she talked, as she saw faces around her sometimes nodding in assent, or furrowed in thought.“On the most basic level, I offer that razing this land would cut off His Majesty’s government from the tax levies that these hard-working citizens have been providing.  House Erelion, and that family alone, has gone against His Majesty’s government, and they alone should pay the price!”“What would you then propose, Highness?” Diogenes asked, a slight bit of sarcasm in his voice.  Vintressa looked towards her father, expecting him to be glaring at the general. Instead, he was staring directly at Vintressa... and he raised an eyebrow when he saw she was gazing at him.“Well, general,” Vintressa stumbled forward, thinking as she spoke, “for the...um... time being, we do nothing, save gather information.  House Erelion’s secrets, their strengths, their weaknesses.  Who they are allied with.  We also follow their known agents... find out where they are headed,” she continued.  “I hardly doubt they are sitting on their behinds, twiddling their thumbs now that their first plot has failed!” she said with a nervous grin, and to her relief, the comment earned a smile from her father.“Of course, General, it would be wise to prepare the troops to march, and as soon as the time is right, forces will fall on House Erelion with the force of a flood.  But like I said, we should tail who we can from their House first... someone might try to make a move to secure the Fire Stone, for example.”“But you know, Majesty, it requires someone from your bloodline to carry it!” Diogenes interrupted, his face holding a smile of triumph at gaining a point in the debate.“Who is to say that they’ll try to move it, or carry it off?” Valaron suddenly jumped in.  “They could just as easily try to cover it up, hide it, so we cannot find it,” the Prince shrugged.  “If it was hidden in a cave or something, just plug up the cave and disguise the entrance.  Fairly simple.”“And the smart thing to do from their perspective,” Vintressa took the idea her brother had offered and ran with it.   “If this stone is so powerful that they went so far as to try to blackmail the Imperial family, the last thing they would want would be for us, their avowed enemies, to get our hands on it!”“So, Vintressa, you’re proposing we essentially follow their agents, and they’ll lead us to the Fire Stone?” the Emperor’s voice spoke suddenly.  When Vintressa looked back at him, she saw his face looked thoughtful, not condescending.“Yes,” she nodded, “and by staying pat, we might even lure them into showing more of their allies and plots.”  She leaned forward, her political mind pouring out thoughts and ideas.  “If they think we’ve been stunned, they might call on what allies they have and strike out as quickly as possible... and while we cannot with certainty track all assassins, we can track armies.”“And we are sure they have allies how?” Lucius asked, an eyebrow raised again.“It would be utterly foolish for them to try and blackmail His Majesty’s Government, with the support it has from the Churches of Pelor, Hieroneous and Tarantor, the Imperial Guard, and the guilds, without some kind of backing.  House Erelion might be impetuous,” Vintressa added, “but I doubt they are foolhardy to the point of stupidity.”She looked hopefully to her father, and was rewarded with a slight smile on his face, and a gigantic grin of pride in his eyes.“Very well, gentlemen,” the Emperor said, “I believe we have found our course of action.  General Diogenes, prepare your troops to march on a moment’s notice.  But keep this quiet.  I want your agents and those of the City Watch to patrol extra carefully... to tail Erelion family members and their servants, but not to intervene.  We do not want to scare them away, to places where we cannot watch them!”“But... Majesty!” Diogenes complained, “I’ve already sent portions of the City Watch to raid the Erelion mansion!  The orders were issued before the start of this meeting!”“I still say this is nasty business,” Simeon complained as he dismounted the old, bent horse he had been riding.  With some apprehension, he looked towards the darkly painted sign on a rotting board that lay in front of the shop.“CHAMOVAL ANTIQUES”It was written in old Common, the letters perfectly scripted and elegantly written, despite the paint peeling off from the wood it was written on.  A perfect testament to the man they were going to talk to inside.“What we are about to do is nasty business,” Eyrna offered quietly.  “It violates every code sacrosanct to Tarantor, Pelor or any of the other major religions.  Sacrilege essentially.”“Are you sure he’ll do it?” Simeon asked nervously as the two tied their mounts up in a narrow alley next to the rickety structure.  “I mean, why would he...”“He would absolutely love to do this,” Eyrna flashed her brother a reassuring smile.  The two walked around to the front of the store, and gingerly, Eyrna rapped on the door.  A few seconds pasted, before there was a grunt from within, and a withered old creature, skin light green, pulled the door open, its black eyes glaring at the two.Beyond him, in the gloom, the two could just barely see piles of bookshelves, piled high with crusty, old tomes... almost all of them hopelessly inane.  Cooking manuals, how to books, attempts to explain simple magical tricks.  Other items, ranging from old cooking stoves to poorly restored wooden knights, laid about the floor.“Whaddaya want?” the goblin snarled.  While he looked small and weak, Eyrna knew better than try to push past him.  Such an action could be... unfortunate.“We need to see your friend, Master Chamoval,” Eyrna said quietly.  “There is not much time.”“Friend?  I have no friends!  Only business partners!  And its only a half hour since dawn!  Come back when the store is normally open!” the small creature hissed, pushing the two towards the door.“Well, perhaps you might let us see your friend if you had some persuasion,” Eyrna said sweetly.  She then pulled from her tattered cloak a shining, long trade bar, made of solid platinum.  “Perhaps this bar worth some thousand gold pieces might give you a thousand reasons to let us see him.”The goblin’s sharp, insistent pushing of them towards the door suddenly stopped, and his countenance completely changed.  Quickly, green hands lashed out, grasped the bar, and it disappeared somewhere within his own rags.“Obviously, you are of some means.  Which means you contacted him before, yes?” the goblin asked, shutting the door behind them.“Yes.  We had some contact with him as a contingency.”  Uncle contacted him… I have never met him before…“Well, I’ll warn you, he’s been up for several days, blabbering away in tongues I don’t understand,” the goblin said matter of factly as he lead the two through the store to behind the counter.  The goblin kicked aside a carpet, and uttered a few words in a harsh, gutteral language.  The floor shimmered, and the hinges of a door appeared, complete with a lock, which the goblin quickly opened with a key underneath the counter.“He’s down there,” the goblin pointed to the ladder that went down into the new hole in the floor of the store.  “And there are no torches allowed, so please hand those over,” the goblin held out his gnarled hand.  Both Eyrna and Simeon held up their hands to show they had no such devices on them.“Very well.  Be careful on the ladder, it is quite dark for you humans,” the goblin said.The two clambered down the ladder for what seemed a good five minutes, the clothing on their back scraping into the wall behind them.  Finally, they set foot on what seemed to be rough, compacted earth.  A dark, musty smell filled their noises, mixed with a rancid, fecal odor.The goblin’s voice came to their ears, uttering a few more words, and a soft, ultra dim light seemed to come from within their three bodies, scattering in the dark gloom.“Follow me,” the goblin whispered, “he’s this way!”The two heirs to House Erelion, clad in run down traveling clothes, found themselves hunched over in the narrow passageways, their backs at time scraping against the earthen ceiling.  The dark earthy smell increased, and the rancid sewer smell faded, as they felt themselves going deeper into the ground, underneath the sewers of the great city.Finally the passage seemed to open slightly, into a chamber of sorts.  It seemed only ten feet high at most, and perhaps a hundred feet long by fifty wide.  All along its earth sides niches had been cut into the walls, where now books and tomes, all in seemingly perfect condition, lay stacked in perfect rows.  From the earthen walls hung tapestries of immense elegance and value, finely woven with distant silks.A beautiful set of silverware, made from a mixture of silver and platinum, sat out on a small ebony table, a black liquid resting in four cups set out as if for tea.  A soft light came from a small, glowing globe above, just barely enough to light the room so they could see.  Dust colored webs hung from the corners in thick globs, making the surreal place seem even more fantastic.In the center, however, was the creature that transfixed their attentions.  He was sitting crossed legged on a plush carpet behind the table, his face looking downward, as if in thought.  A few quiet words in a harsh, grating tongue came from his lips, but then he suddenly stopped whatever chant he was engaged in.“Ah, you have arrived,” a darkly pleasant tenor voice said, and the creature looked up, wafts of snow white hair sliding down his back.  His ebony skin seemed to shimmer with magical power, and his white eyes blazed with fire and command...</blockquote>

Verification