Intermission
Stealing the corpse of an enemy’s friend, filling it with the spirt of a demon, and then sending it to attack the enemy can only invoke fury in your enemy. That was Grandal’s intent when he stole Ashimar’s body out of Sword House’s crypts. He wanted Kellron, Jallarzi, and Kestral filled with a righteous, unthinking anger. In that he succeeded, though he would never know.
The reactions of Ashimar’s friends were all that the rogue half-elf hoped for. Their anger built slowly throughout the night as they considered their slain friend. They were intent on finding out who had done this to Ashimar and taking their well-deserved vengeance; and Father Dark was at the top of their suspect list.
Jared, Tore, and Aerseleth were also angry but in their case it was less personal, beyond a violation of the church they held so dear.
If they had all been in Corlean when this had happened they would almost certainly have taken off after Grandal then and there. Perspective changes from a hundred miles away though. Exhausted after invoking a herald of Sarath, resurrecting two friends, and then fighting their fallen comrade, they settled down to rest instead of teleporting directly to Corlean.
The new morning brought a fresh outlook and their white-hot anger cooled to a dull burn. Justice and vengeance would be theirs, but only after careful planning and information gathering.
Before they left their sanctuary, Jared bespoke the spirit of Ashimar’s corpse. The possessing demon had left an imprint in the young priest’s body that yielded to Jared’s questioning.
It named itself as Granok and indicated that it had been given Ashimar’s body by a wizard named Father Dark. Another wizard, Severik was responsible for brokering the deal. The remnants of the spirit provided nothing else of value.
It was enough though. The demon had named its summoner and from the previous day’s commune they now had confirmed the idenity of Father Dark. So they laid their plans.
Transportation for the six of them is difficult, but not impossible. They decide to split into two groups and make their way to the surface separately.
Jallarzi teleports Kellron to his inn in Thurmaster, so he can assess the damage. The flame-licked walls and the smoke-stained interior leaves the paladin feeling cold. Bandits had raided the town again, just eight days prior, and tried to put the inn to the torch. Kellron’s guards had managed to drive them off, but not before the inn had caught fire. Repairs were underway but the damage tore at the time-displaced warrior.
Meanwhile, Jared invoked a wind-walk for himself, Kestral, Tore, and Aerseleth. They sped through the wide tunnels quickly and soon made their way to the surface. From there it was a quick flight to Corlean.
By evening's end they were all in Corlean and meeting with Colonel Megara. The good Colonel was very unhappy and authorized Kellron and Jared extraordinary powers to track down proof of Grandal's wrong doings.
And that's when things went very different from Grandal's expectations. Kellron and his allies did everything but investigate Grandal.
Stealing the corpse of an enemy’s friend, filling it with the spirt of a demon, and then sending it to attack the enemy can only invoke fury in your enemy. That was Grandal’s intent when he stole Ashimar’s body out of Sword House’s crypts. He wanted Kellron, Jallarzi, and Kestral filled with a righteous, unthinking anger. In that he succeeded, though he would never know.
The reactions of Ashimar’s friends were all that the rogue half-elf hoped for. Their anger built slowly throughout the night as they considered their slain friend. They were intent on finding out who had done this to Ashimar and taking their well-deserved vengeance; and Father Dark was at the top of their suspect list.
Jared, Tore, and Aerseleth were also angry but in their case it was less personal, beyond a violation of the church they held so dear.
If they had all been in Corlean when this had happened they would almost certainly have taken off after Grandal then and there. Perspective changes from a hundred miles away though. Exhausted after invoking a herald of Sarath, resurrecting two friends, and then fighting their fallen comrade, they settled down to rest instead of teleporting directly to Corlean.
The new morning brought a fresh outlook and their white-hot anger cooled to a dull burn. Justice and vengeance would be theirs, but only after careful planning and information gathering.
Before they left their sanctuary, Jared bespoke the spirit of Ashimar’s corpse. The possessing demon had left an imprint in the young priest’s body that yielded to Jared’s questioning.
It named itself as Granok and indicated that it had been given Ashimar’s body by a wizard named Father Dark. Another wizard, Severik was responsible for brokering the deal. The remnants of the spirit provided nothing else of value.
It was enough though. The demon had named its summoner and from the previous day’s commune they now had confirmed the idenity of Father Dark. So they laid their plans.
Transportation for the six of them is difficult, but not impossible. They decide to split into two groups and make their way to the surface separately.
Jallarzi teleports Kellron to his inn in Thurmaster, so he can assess the damage. The flame-licked walls and the smoke-stained interior leaves the paladin feeling cold. Bandits had raided the town again, just eight days prior, and tried to put the inn to the torch. Kellron’s guards had managed to drive them off, but not before the inn had caught fire. Repairs were underway but the damage tore at the time-displaced warrior.
Meanwhile, Jared invoked a wind-walk for himself, Kestral, Tore, and Aerseleth. They sped through the wide tunnels quickly and soon made their way to the surface. From there it was a quick flight to Corlean.
By evening's end they were all in Corlean and meeting with Colonel Megara. The good Colonel was very unhappy and authorized Kellron and Jared extraordinary powers to track down proof of Grandal's wrong doings.
And that's when things went very different from Grandal's expectations. Kellron and his allies did everything but investigate Grandal.
