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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Joe Jolly" data-source="post: 7481778" data-attributes="member: 6870626">4 Neth, 4718 - The New OrderThe Ninth Knot was forced to do a room-by-room search. Thorn and his minions could be anywhere. In the first chamber they searched, a huge, cavernous space enveloped in darkness, they thought they’d gotten extremely lucky. “So, you've found me at last,” came Thorn’s voice from out of the gloom. “I knew this day would come. You seek to be master of the Knot of Thorn, eh? Then face me!” Before the companions could react, a spray of prismatic light tore through the gloom and washed over Grumblejack and Hugo, simultaneously searing their skin with acid and sending bolts of electricity through them. A rolling fog then came surging towards the group, and as it enveloped them, it coalesced and thickened, until they felt as if they were moving through syrup. Jeratheon pushed through the fog, closely followed by Dakota. As they emerged on the far side they found that it was not Cardinal Thorn that they faced, but instead a pair of dragons, both equal in size to Jeratheon. Their skin hung loose and in tatters, their wings shredded. Their eye sockets were empty save for twin points of burning light.“Raveners!” Jeratheon snarled as he spewed his acidic breath at one of the undead drakes. The second ravener responded by exhaling a bolt of lightning into the fog, lighting up those still trapped within. Dakota put three arrows through the roof of its mouth to discourage it from trying that tactic again. The first ravener began casting a spell, and once it was completed, Dakota felt all of the spells that protected her, and all of the magic in her gear simply vanish. “This is not good,” she muttered. The dragon lurched forward, straight towards Tardaesha, who had just broken free of the fog. Tardaesha’s eyes went wide as she sensed her magic drain away, and then the ravener was upon her. It’s great jaws clamped down on her shoulder, and its claws, wings and tail raked and beat at her. For the first time in a long time, she feared for her life. Though Dakota’s bow lacked its enchantments, she was still deadly with it. She loosed a barrage of arrows towards the beast, enough to momentarily draw its attention. Tardaesha took the opportunity to stagger back towards the relative safety of the fog, where she felt her powers return. Katarina leaped out of the darkness and landed squarely upon the back of the first ravener. With a blade in each hand, she stabbed the beast through both eyes. It shrieked and heaved up and over, landing heavily on its side as Kat rolled free. She heard an intake of breath from behind her, and she whirled, preparing to dodge aside. Instead she saw Jeratheon breathe a gout of acid across the flank of the remaining ravener. The creature flinched, but its attention was focused squarely upon the one who’d just taken down its mate...Katarina. It leapt at her, pinning her beneath its bulk as it bit and clawed at her savagely. She tried to roll and extricate herself, but it was no use. The dragon had her at its mercy. She heard the twang of Dakota’s bow, and felt the beast tense as arrows pierced its flesh. The she heard Grumblejack’s challenging bellow coming from nearby, followed by the swish of his blade as it fell. The ravener snarled in pain but still did not release her. An explosion sounded from nearby, and the hiss of acid falling like rain heralded one of Kelvin’s acid balls. Finally, only after Jeratheon pounced upon the ravener’s back like a cat did it turn its attention away from its victim. It rolled, hurling Jeratheon away, and then snapping its jaws at Tardaesha when she got too close. One of its wings buffeted Grumblejack aside as if he were not an 800 pound ogre. Slowly, its head rotated back to Katarina as she struggled to crawl to safety. It’s jaws gaped wide as it snapped its head forward, but before its fangs reached Kat, three more of Dakota’s arrows pierced its skull. It collapsed, its mouth mere inches from Kat’s feet.__________________________________________________________________The Knot continued their search of the catacombs, but each chamber they investigated was strangely, and suspiciously, empty. One area, however, proved intriguing. The chamber was filled with all manner of strange mechanisms – crystalline tubes, cabinets of esoteric machinery, bundles of black cable and shimmering wire, capacitors that seethed with liquid unlife. The weird engine hummed and reverberated with sinister purpose. It was a mad scientist's playground all packed into one cavernous room. At the cardinal vertices of the mechanism were four glowing columns of pure coherent negative energy. As the companions investigated the area, the columns began to pulse hypnotically, and then they physically separated themselves from the rest of the machine, taking semi-humanoid form. The vampires among the Knot could feel the negative energy radiating from the strange elementals, and at first the feeling was invigorating and reviving. However, after several moments it became all too apparent that their physical bodies, though formidable, could not contain that much power. If it continued, then, one-by-one, they would explode.“Destroy them!” Tardaesha commanded.The Knot leaped into action. Kelvin detonated several fireballs amongst the elementals, while Jeratheon spewed acid across them, careful to stay safely away from their emanations, not yet being counted among the ranks of the unliving. Katarina also stayed clear, allowing her siblings and Roger to do what they did best. Within moments they had destroyed all of the creatures, each of which exploded in dramatic fashion upon its demise. Afterwards, Kelvin studied the machinery in the room carefully. He was able to determine that the energy being generated was what was interfering with both teleportation and scrying throughout the Agathium. He also realized that the strange technology was similar to that which had imprisoned the Nameless Tyrant. He quickly set about shutting the entire contraption down.________________________________________________________________Every room had been searched. There was no sign of Thorn. Frustrated, the Knot retraced their steps, determined to miss nothing. Finally, it was Katarina, as usual, who discovered a cleverly concealed door in a nondescript side passage. She worked the catch and the door sprang open, revealing a hidden chamber. The plain octagonal room featured a small circle of cushions in the middle of the stone floor. The walls were covered in small but familiar objects – clay seals impressed with the symbol of the Knot of Thorns. They were the exact same sort of seals that Tiadora had given the companions so long ago when they began their infiltration of Balentyne and when they went to the Horn of Abaddon. The walls were covered in the broken seals. There were nine columns labelled in roman numerals. The ninth column had one broken seal for every one the companions had ever used. The column with by far the most broken seals was the First. The fourth column had the least with only one broken seal. There were also four unused and complete twin seals in a small pouch that hung from a peg upon the wall. There were two single unbroken seals – in the columns numbered I and VI. A corridor led from the chamber of seals, with two more doors opening off of it before it ended before a pair of large double doors. Roger and Grumblejack kicked open the side doors as they made their way down the hall, not wanting to leave any enemies in their wake. Behind one door was some sort of summoning chamber, with a large, elaborate pentagram inset into the floor. Behind the other was what appeared to be a bedchamber, though there was no bed, only a sort of roosting shelf along one wall, and numerous barbed, hooked chains hanging from the vaulted ceiling. At last, the Ninth Knot stood before the double, iron doors. They did not hesitate, and threw them open wide, anxious to see the thing finished. Beyond lay the true throne room of Cardinal Thorn. It was a massive chamber, baroquely decorated in Asmodean iconography. Great columns rose to a splendid vaulted ceiling adorned with an abstract representation of the nine circles of hell. The walls were lined with niches, each one depicting a different order of devil paying homage towards the throne. At the far end of the room, upon a raised dais was a throne of black alabaster. The throne itself was another marvel of infernal artistry. Its every square inch was intricately covered with the language of hell. It was a holy text of Asmodean teachings made into a throne. It was a primer in the million ways that man might fall into hell's service. And seated upon that throne was Thorn himself. The lich didn’t bother with deception. He seemed pleased to show himself in his true, fearsome form. Compared to the baroque architecture of the throne room, the undead cleric of Asmodeus seemed poorly attired. He wore only a black tattered robe, cloak and silver holy symbol. Still there was an almost palpable aura of evil and purpose about him. He was no mere skeleton. This was the most powerful single agent of Asmodeus that Talingarde had ever produced. This was the man who recognized the four pillars of the Darian regime and saw how each might be toppled. This was the traitor Cardinal who turned his back on the light of the sun god to fully embrace the darkness of Hell. Samuel Havelyn had walked a long and tortured road to sit upon that throne. And he wasn’t leaving without a fight. And he was not alone. Several individuals, both monstrous and mundane were arrayed throughout the room between the Knot and their former master. A flock of demonic vrocks circled near the roof above, while a squad of death knights brandished their weapons menacingly. An enormous, skeletal dinosaur stood just to the left of Thorn’s throne, while a hulking individual dressed head-to-toe in baroque armor stood to his right. Hunkered near the dinosaur was a familiar face, especially to Kat: the glabrezu demon Kaliboss. He grinned evilly at Kat, and tapped one finger knowingly to his forehead. A crazy-eyed, wild-haired man in tattered robes fidgeted with a staff in one corner, while a elven man dressed in archaic, shining armor reclined haughtily against a wall. That one, at least, the Knot recognized. It was none other than Vastenus Barca, the Talingardian general who had betrayed his men and his king at the battle of Saints’ Bridge.“When you sat in Branderscar watching the last minutes of your life tick away, who was it who saved you?” Thorn asked when the Knot entered his presence. “Who was it who brought hope even to the forsaken? And this is how I am thanked? When I am finished, my children, you will lament the hour you refused the Iomedaen’s merciful ending.”“You have indeed earned our gratitude,” Tardaesha bowed mockingly, “and we are here to reward you. We shall send you on your journey to meet our Lord, and bask for all eternity in his magnificence.”Thorn snarled and rose abruptly to his feet. With a flick of his hand, flames shot through the entire back half of the throne room, enveloping every member of the Ninth Knot. With his other hand he hurled a beam of searing light into Tardaesha’s chest, flinging her violently against a column. Dakota flung herself away from the worst of the flames, then rolled to her feet and loosed a volley of arrows at the robed man in the corner, whom she took for Thorn’s pet necromancer, Grigori. As Thorn’s minions began to close upon her allies, she fired a pitch-black arrow into their midst, which exploded into a blast of dark, shadowy fire, scattering them to all sides. Suddenly, one of the vrocks appeared next to Dak, and smashed the bow out of her hands, sending it clattering across the floor. The other vrocks closed quickly to her and encircled her.Kelvin had prepared for the moment. He cast his most potent spell, a disjunction meant to sunder any spell Thorn had cast upon himself, as well as separate any of his magical accoutrements into their core components. No sooner had the spell left his lips, however, than Thorn cast his own spell, countering the magic with a charm of dispelling. Kelvin cursed, but he was not out of tricks. He cast another spell, and had the satisfaction of seeing Thorn’s eyes widen before time slowed to a halt. All of the combatants ceased moving altogether with the exception of Kelvin. Moving quickly, for he had no idea how long his spell would last, he hurried about the room strategically placing his signature, heavily augmented, fireball spells, each one on a timed delay. When the flow of time resumed, five explosions detonated simultaneously, instantly incinerating the skeletal dinosaur, the mage Grigori, Kaliboss, and General Barca.“Your move,” Kelvin grinned at Thorn.Dakota began to reach for her second bow, but she knew the demons would reach her before she had a chance to draw it. Then Grumblejack burst through the ring, hurling the vulture-headed demons aside like rag dolls. Tardaesha rushed the one who’d disarmed Dakota, but before she could strike, multiple illusory images suddenly appeared around the fiend. Tardaesha hacked at them, shattering them into smoke, but before she could strike a telling blow against the vrock, three death knights closed in and send gouts of acid washing over both her and the demon. Kelvin had also moved closer to Dak in order to cover his sister while she regained her weapon. That was the only reason why he noted a subtle flicker around her. Kelvin had long ago permanently augmented his own senses to allow him to constantly sense magical auras. He could also sense the lack of them, which is exactly what he saw, or didn’t see, when he looked at Dakota. The multiple magical charms and dweomers that imbued her gear and protected her just...vanished. Kelvin’s eyes widened as he realized what was happening. Acting purely on reflex, he conjured a personal force field around himself just as a small goblin, oddly dressed in the attire of a butler, stepped out of the shadows next to Dakota. The sneaky little wretch was wrapped in an anti-magic field.Katarina saw her chance. Thorn was distracted with all of the commotion. Stepping into the darkness and using her shadow dance powers, she traveled the distance between herself and the lich in an eye blink, reappearing right behind him, still unnoticed. He was preparing to cast a spell, and that’s when she reached around and plunged her dagger into his chest. It was as if she’d struck an iron slab. Her blade bounced off the bony chest beneath Thorn’s robes. He completed his spell as if she were no more than a fly buzzing near his ear. Dark magic engulfed the body of the wizard Grigori, and with a gasp, the necromancer returned to life. Thorn then turned calmly to Katarina and waggled one bony finger at her. A thin ray of black fire shot from the finger and struck Kat in the chest. For a moment she felt her heart stop, and then with a lurch it started again, leaving her gasping and struggling for breath.Dakota was well aware of the fact that all of her magic had been suppressed. She guessed that the goblin who had suddenly appeared next to her had something to do with it. She tumbled away from the butler, drawing her second bow as she rolled to her feet. As she put distance between them, she felt her powers return. She came up on one knee and fired a barrage of arrows at the vrocks still menacing Tardaesha. Tardaesha used the distraction to force her way clear of the demons, slashing at them as she broke free. The one who still had a few mirror images flitting around it abruptly vanished and the reappeared across the chamber behind Hillary. With tooth and claw it tore into the witch.Tardaesha charged across the throne room. Thorn was again seated upon his throne, enjoying the spectacle of his minions harassing his former protégés. He turned his burning gaze upon the new high priestess, noticing a moment too late what she held in one hand. Tardaesha squeezed the lich’s heart as she stepped upon the dais, and Thorn doubled over in agony. Unwillingly bowing before Tardaesha was his last act in the mortal world. The high priestess of Asmodeus in Talingarde swung her blade high and brought it down upon the bared vertebrae of Thorn’s neck, severing the skull from his body. “No!” Marcel Wolfram, Thorn’s armored bodyguard cried. He stepped away from Tardaesha, just as a coal-black stallion, its hooves and mane wreathed in fire, appeared beside him. Wolfram vaulted into the saddle. “This is not over!” he spat.Then the nightmare bore him away, vanishing between the planes.Before Grigori could do more than rise to his feet, Katarina darted behind him and slit his throat, sending him back to Hell for a second time. Then only Thorn’s underlings remained. The Nessian Knot had dealt with far worse, and their ranks were already decimated. It was only a matter of time before they would all be destroyed. Tardaesha sat down upon Thorn’s throne and called out to the combatants.“Your master is destroyed! By unholy edict and right of combat, I am now mistress of the Agathium and the voice of Asmodeus. Kneel before me and swear your allegiance, or be destroyed utterly!”The death knights turned in unison, dropped to their knees and placed their swords at her service. The vrocks, unwilling to swear to any fiendish master of mistress, vanished en masse. That left only the goblin butler. He strode to the center of the room, bowed his head and spoke. “Armand, butler and major domo of the Agathium at your service, my Lady.”________________________________________________________________Armand was more than happy to show his new mistress the secrets of the Agathium, including Thorn’s hidden vault. Much of the wealth there had been depleted by the cardinal’s campaign to destroy Talingarde, but there was still a king’s ransom to be claimed. Among the coins and jewels there was a strange, heavy, unadorned black signet ring. It seemed of no particular value, but Katarina felt drawn to it. She palmed it when none of the others were looking, and as she did so, a small barb on the ring pricked her finger. She watched in fascination as the ring seemed to almost drink the blood that had spilled upon it. Then, in a flash, she understood its true power. It spoke to her, offering her great powers of protection and regeneration. Further, she knew that if she personally slew goodly wizards and sorcerers and offered their blood to it, the Hadrean Signet would grant her even greater power.Also hidden among the wealth was a small black leather book entitled, ‘Toppling The Four Pillars.’ In it, Thorn had outlined his ultimate plan for destroying Talingarde:I. Gather the Faithful – build the Nine Knots.II. Break Balentyne – Destroy the Watch Wall (the first pillar) and start an invasion led by the Warlord (the 1st Knot). The Warlord will raid south providing cover for our other activities.III. Acquire the Daemon's Gift – somewhere in the Horn of Abaddon was hidden a lost vault that contained the fabled Tears of Achlys. Gather the Tears and spread them across Talingarde. Between the war and the pestilence Talingarde would be much weakened and their faith in Iomedae and Darius would be shaken.IV . Destroy the Vale of Valtaerna – by wiping out that most holy site just as the war and pestilence reached their height, faith in Iomedae would diminish further. Also the Vale of Valtaerna housed the Order of St. Macarius (the second pillar). Destroy them and extinguish their flame from the world.V . Assassinate the King – hire foreign assassins to slay King Markadian V . With his death the only heir of the House of Darius (the third pillar) would be a teenaged girl who would not command much respect amongst the nobility.VI. Destroy the Knights of the Alerion – By infiltrating the command of the Talirean Army, we would have the army formed to destroy the Warlord be led by one of our men – the Traitor. The Traitor would lead the army of Talingarde and the Knights of the Alerion (the fourth pillar) to disaster upon the battlefield.VII. The Scion Comes Forth – the Warlord would march towards Matharyn with his monstrous horde. The four pillars would have fallen and the city would seem doomed. And then who meets them upon the battlefield? An unknown scion of House Darius banished to the mainland who had returned in that dark hour (with an army recruited by the Sixth Knot) to save the island. The Warlord would lead his army to destruction and would be recalled to the Agathium. The Scion, our puppet, would return to Matharyn in triumph and vow to forever defend his homeland. The people would practically beg him to have the throne. And which god would he revere?Tardaesha had to admit it was a brilliant plan, and still had merit. There was definitely a foundation there upon which she would continue to build._____________________________________________________________________Thorn was destroyed and there were new masters of evil in Talingarde. They were servants no longer. They were victorious and all was theirs to command. They had no master. Even as that inevitable thought emerged, they heard a great and rumbling thunder crack. The great skyward boom reverberated loud enough to even penetrate into the sub-temple of the Agathium.  “Come forth, Lords of the Ninth, ” said a whisper that was as much felt as it was heard. “Come to me... ” They were drawn upwards to the facade of the Agathium. The sky above darkened, but it was no typical night sky nor mid-day storm. Instead, clouds thick, heavy and black as sack-cloth spiraled and whirled above the great stone cathedral. The light failed and all of the northern coast was cast into darkness. And then it came to them. Each and every one of them was overtaken by ecstatic revelation. They realized the full measure of what they had done. What they had accomplished.“Did you think the Lord of All Wickedness took no notice of your deeds? He has watched your progress since the beginning as he watches all who walk the Way of the Wicked. Has he not been with you from the very beginning? Who was it who came to Tomas Blackerly and whispered to him in the dead of night that he could make far more money running card games and selling liquor to the guards than being a humble sergeant of the watch? When you claimed Lord Havelyn's armor who transformed it into armor worthy of a paragon of the dark path? Who gave you these great gifts? Who led the Fire-Axe as he stumbled in the snow, out-cast and branded by his own tribe, unto this very cathedral so that he would swear his allegiance to the Knot and become its greatest general? When the Horn of Abaddon quaked and trembled and was about to collapse, who braced its foundations long enough for you to escape the rain of crushing stone? Who was with you for every one of the 666 prayers in the sanctum? Who came to the Abbess of the Order of Cynthia-Celeste in the dark of night clothed like an angel and warned her that the Horn was not her cause and she should not lead her army of warrior-nuns there? After the Battle of Saints’ Bridge who was it who darkened the skies to honor your victory? Who was it who kept Ara Mathra's prayers from being answered? What voice whispered to you to reassemble the sacred blade Helbrand? Who whispered to the black dragon Jeratheon Knights-bane, son of Chargammon to expand his hunting grounds into the Lord of Eagles domain? Who brought you before the Baroness Vanya of Veryn and her Blood Altar so that you might know my blessings? And now, it is Asmodeus who sees your victory over his failed champion Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. He who by his own weakness and failure has proved his unworth. And know that the Lord of Hell is well pleased. The Lord of Hell is older than sin and sees into the heart of mortals. He knew from the very first day of his conversion that Samuel Havelyn would never conquer Talingarde. His unrequited love of Bronwyn would prove too much of an impediment to see this enterprise through to its bloody end. Thorn was always only a tool of Hell. But the Cardinal did his part. He gave birth to the Knot of Thorns. He recruited every last villain truly worth of the name who yet survived on this angel-infested isle. He brought them together, trained them and gave them purpose. This scheme that he began must now be given to others to finish. The crown of wickedness has been passed the only way it ever has been – in blood.”The skies of the north grew wilder, furious in their motion and tinted with deep red. Then it began to rain. And it was not water that the heavens unleashed. It was raining blood.Red  rivulets flowed down the black marble walls of the Agathium like the devil's own tears. It stained the ground deep crimson. And above, infernal shapes seethed and roiled in the night sky like a great processional of the damned. A deep rumbling voice echoed from the clouds above: “Thou art worthy. Now go and claim what thou hast earned. Talingarde is thine.”It was time now for them to reap what they had sown.</blockquote>

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