darkbard
Legend
Chanvati and his goliath slave emerge from the vaults of buried Audaseie ancestors into a dark stillness that contrasts sharply with the earlier winds of the Warlock’s wards, Hakhaman’s hound, Hazard, trailing closely at Pa’avu’s heels. The wizened old dwarf, Margred, sobs uncontrollably. “They’re children! Innocent children!”
Pari and Farzin seem terrified, as much at their lack of understanding as anything else.
“Mommy, where will you go? When will we see you again?” little Pari stutters.
Pa’avu watches impassively, for she understands more than most the cruel ways of the world, how the little ones’ lives will be given over in enslavement to the Church. A grim fate, but they will learn their duties. As she has. Still, this troubles her.
The Inquisitor Eyo-urth-shala and her force of Knights Speculative surround a pair manacled in glowing blue adamantine: Chanvati’s treacherous relatives. Tarquin is blubbering quietly. Amna glowers through a colorful and swollen eye; clearly she did not come quietly. “You will pay for this, cousin!” she spits as the pair approaches.
Chanvati smirks ever so slightly.
Eyo-urth-shala, cradling the stolen Scrolls of Xanthar in the crook of one arm, intones dryly, “For the crimes of heresy and treason against the Church of Mavi-Ishiq, Lord of the Heavens, and His Faithful Delegate, the Empress Scheherazade, Herself, it is you, cretins, who shall be judged by Bas-Billan’s Court of Justiciars and make payment.”
* * *
Later, as the midnight hour approaches, Chanvati sits crosslegged on a divan in his study chamber. Eyo-urth-shala had begrudgingly thanked him for his service to the Imperial cause. Quwaenthi had had a good chuckle over that. “The Empress and her courtiers shall find me a much less malleable tool than my brother!” Instead, House Audaseie, with the knowledge stolen from the Scrolls of Xanthar and under Quwaenthi’s leadership, is poised to stand firm in its enterprises, emboldened and enriched.
In the candlelit chamber, Chanvati’s Unseen Servant Theari holds a parcel before him, and it seems to unwrap itself in midair. A note flutters out, and he retrieves it.
“Dearest Chanvati, you have my congratulations on your recent successes. The tasks at hand and my Stalwarts occupy me, but I long to see you again. In the meantime, a gift that may help you better understand Ruffly Gelded. –BB.” The crimson of jealous anger and then embarrassment stains Chanvati’s cheeks. But as Theari turns the pages of the unwrapped tome, Secrets of Society Laid Bare, Chanvati finds his jealousy lost to the call of study. And power.
* * *
Meanwhile, Pa’avu sighs deeply to herself, supine on the rush mats outside her master’s chambers. Crimes and betrayals. Such matters bring reprisal, ever, in the intricate web of Bantouk’s politics. Hazard raises his head, tilts it, and then whimpers inquisitively. “You’re a good boy, Hazard. And now we sleep.”
Chanvati recovers Battle Harness Cloth Armor +1, a carmine silk sash that Hakhaman had stolen in his defilement of the burial vault, and claims it for himself.
Tarquin’s estates are forfeited to Quwaenthi, as reigning Vizier of House Audaseie. Amna’s children, enslaved now to the Church, will live a life of servitude. Perhaps the ranks of the assassins of Ubka are enlarged by particularly apt prospects drawn from such assets? Tarquin and Amna will be judged by the Justiciars of Bas-Billan. Is their penalty death? A life of grueling slavery? Probably the former, for these are serious crimes, but I defer to your judgment.
We will take an Extended Rest at Chanvati’s home. All Daily and Encounter resources refresh.
Chanvati will take the eight hours necessary to add and master the Seek Rumor ritual into his ritual book. Then he will spend 30 minutes and 20 gp worth of alchemical reagents to cast the ritual, with the intention of gleaning what he can about the 2nd Nation and Ruffly Gelded.
Arcana r(14) + 10 = 24.
Chanvati’s Updated Stats AC 18, Initiative +3.
Pari and Farzin seem terrified, as much at their lack of understanding as anything else.
“Mommy, where will you go? When will we see you again?” little Pari stutters.
Pa’avu watches impassively, for she understands more than most the cruel ways of the world, how the little ones’ lives will be given over in enslavement to the Church. A grim fate, but they will learn their duties. As she has. Still, this troubles her.
The Inquisitor Eyo-urth-shala and her force of Knights Speculative surround a pair manacled in glowing blue adamantine: Chanvati’s treacherous relatives. Tarquin is blubbering quietly. Amna glowers through a colorful and swollen eye; clearly she did not come quietly. “You will pay for this, cousin!” she spits as the pair approaches.
Chanvati smirks ever so slightly.
Eyo-urth-shala, cradling the stolen Scrolls of Xanthar in the crook of one arm, intones dryly, “For the crimes of heresy and treason against the Church of Mavi-Ishiq, Lord of the Heavens, and His Faithful Delegate, the Empress Scheherazade, Herself, it is you, cretins, who shall be judged by Bas-Billan’s Court of Justiciars and make payment.”
* * *
Later, as the midnight hour approaches, Chanvati sits crosslegged on a divan in his study chamber. Eyo-urth-shala had begrudgingly thanked him for his service to the Imperial cause. Quwaenthi had had a good chuckle over that. “The Empress and her courtiers shall find me a much less malleable tool than my brother!” Instead, House Audaseie, with the knowledge stolen from the Scrolls of Xanthar and under Quwaenthi’s leadership, is poised to stand firm in its enterprises, emboldened and enriched.
In the candlelit chamber, Chanvati’s Unseen Servant Theari holds a parcel before him, and it seems to unwrap itself in midair. A note flutters out, and he retrieves it.
“Dearest Chanvati, you have my congratulations on your recent successes. The tasks at hand and my Stalwarts occupy me, but I long to see you again. In the meantime, a gift that may help you better understand Ruffly Gelded. –BB.” The crimson of jealous anger and then embarrassment stains Chanvati’s cheeks. But as Theari turns the pages of the unwrapped tome, Secrets of Society Laid Bare, Chanvati finds his jealousy lost to the call of study. And power.
* * *
Meanwhile, Pa’avu sighs deeply to herself, supine on the rush mats outside her master’s chambers. Crimes and betrayals. Such matters bring reprisal, ever, in the intricate web of Bantouk’s politics. Hazard raises his head, tilts it, and then whimpers inquisitively. “You’re a good boy, Hazard. And now we sleep.”
Chanvati recovers Battle Harness Cloth Armor +1, a carmine silk sash that Hakhaman had stolen in his defilement of the burial vault, and claims it for himself.
Tarquin’s estates are forfeited to Quwaenthi, as reigning Vizier of House Audaseie. Amna’s children, enslaved now to the Church, will live a life of servitude. Perhaps the ranks of the assassins of Ubka are enlarged by particularly apt prospects drawn from such assets? Tarquin and Amna will be judged by the Justiciars of Bas-Billan. Is their penalty death? A life of grueling slavery? Probably the former, for these are serious crimes, but I defer to your judgment.
We will take an Extended Rest at Chanvati’s home. All Daily and Encounter resources refresh.
Chanvati will take the eight hours necessary to add and master the Seek Rumor ritual into his ritual book. Then he will spend 30 minutes and 20 gp worth of alchemical reagents to cast the ritual, with the intention of gleaning what he can about the 2nd Nation and Ruffly Gelded.
Arcana r(14) + 10 = 24.
Chanvati’s Updated Stats AC 18, Initiative +3.
