South Park -- Bigger, Longer, & Uncut

September 1st - 6th, Albanus 1

Sandarfon continued his report -- and there was little good news in it.  Severus angrily demanded to know what the Elves were doing about this disaster that they caused.  Sandarfon replied that the Elves were seeking the Sebetu and would recover them once they were found.  (He almost seemed to imply that the Elves had no need of human help, though he did not say that exactly.)  The band urged him to work with the Order of St. Cavallius, and, reluctantly, Sandarfon agreed that he himself would cooperate.  And he would see if he could get the assistance of an elvish tracker so that they could locate Theodosius in the Fallen Lands and take his crown from him.  But even Sandarfon had to admit that he didn't know how they could contain the Sebetu safely, if they got them.  They couldn't be put back in their original wards -- because those were inside the Watcher's Tomb with Loviatar, and the Elves did not dare assault her.

He did, however, name and describe the Sebetu.  He also had a vague idea what sort of "blessings" they gave to their wielder -- though only in the most general of senses.  1) An iron crown which filled its wielder with pride -- which matched the description of the crown Theodosius wore.  Blessing:  the power of leadership and command.  2) A blackened steel sword, roughly hewn -- which did not look like the weapon Theodosius held.  That Council Blade was fouled, but delicately adorned and made from mithril.  The sword of the Sleeping God rouses its wielder's rage.  Blessing:  great power in battle.  3) An amulet in the shape of a hand with an eye in its palm, carved from a large ruby, which fills its wielder's heart with hatred of others who have more than them.  Blessing:  power over those who have "stolen" "your" belongings.  Sandarfon and the Elves suspect that Loviatar has kept at least this item, and perhaps others.  4) Black boots made from dyed elvish skin, decorated with spiral motifs, which lay a shroud of sloth over their wearer.  Blessing:  a pall of inertia that leaves one's enemies unable to attack you.  5) A shirt -- often silken -- which changes its appearance at will and fills the wearer with great lust.  Blessing:  great powers of persuasion and appeal.  There is some thought that King Albanus Roster possesses this Sebetu.  6) A pair of black velvet gloves with embroidered eyes on their palms, which fill the wearer with greed and longing for all things valuable.  Blessing:  great powers of theft.  7)  A dragon-scale belt, studded with emeralds, which whets the wielder's appetite to extraordinary heights.  Blessing:  an obscene and unnatural fertility infects the creatures and land about you.

During this conversation, Gaius and Leyna mused about the Dwarves.  What were they up to?  What did they think of this?  Would they be able to give any information or assistance?  No one, alas, had any answers to this.

With no easy way to find the Sebetu, Sandarfon suggested that they watch for the items' effects.  For instance he noted that the Liche Kings of the Valley of Ancients were nowheres near as aggressive as they were 100 years ago.  The Elves suspect that the boots may be playing upon the undead lords' laziness.  The Sebetu were probably released less than 150 years ago (the time that the Elves last spoke to the Watcher) and more than 80 (when Theodosius took the iron crown away from the Viridian Emperor).  He suspected that Loviatar released these items to lesser creatures, like orcs, and that they have gradually worked their way towards "suitable" wielders (for the Sebetu have an intelligence of their own, and seek to fulfill their true master's will).  So any odd event of the last 100 years could, alas, be signs of their activity.

All this talk tired Sandarfon, and he retired to bed.  But not before agreeing that he would accompany Sir Tinnius, Sir Darius, Sir Regulus, and Sir Lucellus to the Fallen Lands, to seek Theodosius.  Tinnius didn't want to take any more, because the Fallen Lands were too dangerous and chaotic.  When the Witch Lights swept across the land, younger men would not have the strength of will to cling to this plane, and would be lost in other worlds.  That made the band wonder how the Bad Guys travelled about.  Gaius and Tinnius thought there must be some trick -- some path or protective device that allowed them safe passage.  At that, Lucellus perked up and said, "Well there are roads in the Fallen Lands, you know."  He described one he'd seen near Queen's Gate, at the very edges of the Witch Lights, which was always there no matter what the land looked like.  The other senior paladins made a mental note to examine that more closely.

After the talk, four days passed.  Severus continued his research at the Collegium.  He even managed to convince Oshan to persuad Arch-Magister Donari to allow him into the restricted stacks of the library.  There he found a lillendi grammarian (probably the one Donari used to learn the tongue) and more evidence that there were in fact roads ("the Shadowed Paths") that ran through the Fallen Lands.  One adventurer had used them for years and made a small fortune recovering books and Vestran artifacts from the Fallen Lands.  Unfortunately he died before telling anyone where to find these paths.

Corvina spoke with Anat Alariel, the drow ambassador, to warn her that the Elves knew that the Sebetu were freed.  "Ah," the drow sneered, "the fools have finally noticed, have they?"  Anat in turn warned her that an illythid (mind-flayer) named Grellth'k had come to Rostilla and was seeking one of the Sebetu there.  She did not know which one, however, or where the others were.  Corvina asked if she knew any way to destroy the Sebetu -- or, rather, the soul fragments bound within them.  Anat did not.  In truth, she said, it was nearly impossible to simply destroy a soul.  Most necromancers who claimed to do so actually devoured the souls (or fed them to something else).  Anat would love to destroy the soul of the Sleeping God, but she did not know anything that could feed upon that energy and not become too powerful and corrupt.

The council of the Order of St. Cavallius finally concluded, amidst wrangling and debate.  Tinnius was elected Grand Master -- much to his unease.  Titus had a new tabard, with the Grand Master's signal on it, made for Tinnius;  the old knight accepted it dourly.  But despite his reluctance, Tinnius began to move the Order forward.  He kept good lists (scribed by Marius) of the knights who attended the Council.  And, more importantly, of those who were missing.  He said he'd talk to Count Durus of Invictus about establishing a Chapter House near Queen's Gate.  He also spoke to Marius privately and asked him to perform the "appropriate" sacrifices on the Order's behalf.  Without telling anyone -- if any censure came of this, Tinnius wanted to be sure that he could honestly swear that he and he alone had committed the "crime".  Marius warned the Grand Master that he was not a priest and should not be performing sacrifices.  Tinnius said he had no one else to turn to, however, and so Marius agreed, under duress, to offer five black pigs as atonement for the Order's lapse.  He'd also perform the annual rites for them until Tinnius could find a true priest to replace him.  

The senior paladins prepared to leave for Rostilla, though they weren't sure how they were going to enter Rostilla.  They'd planned on going through Lanshar's Gap, into Surrexus, but feared the pass might be watched now.  Before they left, though, Tinnius composed a letter to the King of Rostilla, protesting the bounty he'd placed on the head of one of the Order's knights (Sir Titus).

In the midst of this, Captain Cassius returned with a surprising proclamation:  the Order of St. Cavallius was banned from Rostilla.  The gist of the evidence against the Order was that by refusing to honor Dulcea, the paladins had fallen from the true faith.  Their heresy had so blinded them that they now believed any who worshipped Dulcea were nefas.  And they were spying for Viridia, paving the way for a Viridian invasion of Rostilla.  Tinnius accordingly altered his objection letter to respond to this as well.

This proclamation had not been well-received, Cassius warned them.  There had been riots in the capitol.  To assuage the crowd, King Albanus had agreed to offer proof of his grievance.  Count Ossorius had brought a 17 year-old paladin named Sir Daciens to Rostilla, whom he'd captured "spying" in his county.  King Albanus proposed a public trial of the young knight so that all the citizens could see how badly the Order had fallen.  This trial was to be held in five days.  Where the Surrexi perhaps interested in staging a rescue?  If so, Cassius said the Praetor could provide them with two teleportation scrolls.  The party jumped at the chance -- though Gaius was annoyed that other information (such as ways out to the Dearthwood) weren't forthcoming.  Severus said he thought the Praetor was testing them, seeing just how competant they were.  Perhaps they could hope for more honest assistance in the future, if this worked well.

The band delayed one day, to give Marius time to perform his sacrifices and re-arrange his prayers, then teleported to Rostilla on the sixth day of September.  Disguised as merchants, they made their way to a safe house that Cassius recommended.  There they found a simpering git of a bard named Minda.  Who, apparently, actually did have a functioning brain despite her air-headed demeanor.  Minda gave them detailed information about the upcoming trial, the defenses of the Carcer, etc.

At first the news looked grim.  Daciens was being kept in the Carcer, which had superb defenses and loyal guards.  No one saw him, except for an occasional priestess of Dulcea (and Minda didn't know what passwords were required to enter the inner-most portions of the prison).  Food came in en masse;  to poison Daciens, you'd need to poison all the prisoners.  In the past the Viridians had tunneled into the Carcer's lower sections from the sewers, but the Rostillans had added more guards within the Carcer and some creatures -- perhaps demons -- in the sewers.

The trial site wasn't any more promising.  Every powerful person in Rostilla was going to be attending the trial.  The route to and from the trial site was controlled, and Daciens would be accompanied by a full squad (20 men) of trained guards.

The party struggled with this problem for some time, until suddenly Severus asked Corvina for an invisibility spell.  There was someone he had to talk to (meaning, but not naming, his lady-friend Catarina).  Someone who might be able to convince their aunt Surilla that she needed to have Sir Daciens removed from the Carcer for a private dalliance.  People liked this plan, but were still trying to work out the details of how to convince Surilla to do this tempting-but-crazy thing.