Madness

October 27th - November 1st, Albanus 1

The party hid on the outskirts of their home, waiting for daylight.  At dawn, when the twilight best concealed her, Leyna slipped into the Surrexus mansion to reconnoitre.  The manor seemed virtually empty, though the faint heat rising from the chimneys proved that the fires were banked, not abandoned.  There were still horses in the stables, well cared-for.  Oddly, however, all of the family's hounds were loose and lounging about the courtyard.  Searching, the paladin found only one flicker of evil;  it came from an upstairs bedroom that was traditionally reserved for the family's chef.  Scouting done, Leyna returned to the family, and the Surrexi returned, en masse.

Their first stop was the chef's bedroom, where they found the spy from the Temple of Lil.  One whack on the head put him down, and Gaius bound him tightly.  Then Severus roused the Surrexus seneschal and demanded to know why his house was not prepared.  The poor man was shocked and apologetic.  They had no money, he said.  The king's men had confiscated the cash in the House.  And several of the Surrexus' most valuable possession (like their silverware) had been taken by various merchants -- for "safe keeping."  Severus informed him that he was to prepare a great feast.  A funeral feast, for his father.  At once.

A door-to-door search revealed that there were only three servants still here:  the seneschal, a maid Margarita, and an ancient crone named Nan, who slowly bumped about the kitchen like a blindworm.  Knowing that the kitchens had housed an assassin for some time, Corvina checked the pantry stores -- and was quite pleased to find a good stock of simple, yet potent, poisons.  The spy's room contained a small chest, opened only by a magical ring.  Inside was a rod (one of a pair of rods of messages), a hat of disguise, and the spy's better poisons.

While Severus and Corvina attended the manor, Gaius, Marius, Leyna and Titus headed out.  The seneschal urged them not to worry about the dogs -- he'd have the kennel master round them up.  There was a kennel master? the party asked.  Where?  At that, the seneschal grew vague and hesitant.  He was... odd.  They needn't worry about him.  Which, of course, were exactly the words to drive the band into a fit of paranoia.  Reluctantly the seneschal admitted that the kennel master liked to sleep in the family mausoleum.

This all sounded just too suspicious for words.  But when the Surrexi kicked in the mausoleum, they found a familiar face:  Micellus, the grandson of their faithful Sir Marcus.  Micellus was supposed to be in Invictus, with the rest of his family.  But he couldn't stand leaving, he confessed.  So he'd come back to tend the hounds, and to watch over the family's dead as well as he and the dogs could.  Micellus quickly gave them a report on the town:  which burghers had robbed the manor, where to find the carpet-baggers from Sandapilla who were profiting from the Surrexus' misfortune.

Having determined that there was no threat, the four passed through town (checking for evil as they went) until they came to the local church.  They roused Father Dolorus;  their sudden appearance seemed to make the old man both profoundly happy and profoundly nervous.  After a few minutes of confusion, he dressed and accompanied them back to the mansion.  There, Severus had summoned the local burghers.  Those that had "protected" Surrexus property returned it at once, with loud protestations of their good intentions and loyalty.  Some of the old guardsmen were located and quietly encouraged to take up brigandage against the king's forces.  Rather than demanding taxes of the burghers, Severus ordered them to maintain a troop (primarily, again, the old Surrexus guardsmen) to defend the borders of the county.  The family ended the afternoon by running off a pack of carpet-baggers that were squatting in abandoned buildings in town (most of which belonged to faithful peasants, like Sir Marcus' family, who'd left for Invictus).

That evening, Marius performed the funeral rites for his father in the family mausoleum.  As he finished, the young priest heard a ghostly whisper:  "Tell your brother he is forgiven.  Tell him there was nothing to forgive."  Marius gave his father's parting words to Severus -- dry-eyed, as befits a Harrans.  Severus (being a Molossus) nodded silently and then fled before anyone could see that he was on the verge of tears.  The rest of the family packed all of their ancestors' bones into a bag of holding, so that they could be transported to safety in Harrans.

When the time came for goodbyes, Severus summoned the seneschal and informed him that he was appalled and enraged by the man's failings -- he was fired, and should leave the county at once.  The poor man fell to his knees in abject apology, swearing that he had done every thing in his power to maintain the manor.  He was a good servant, a loyal servant, a devoted servant...  And a stupid servant, the Count realized.  Severus them murmured to him that he knew he was loyal.  If he stayed in Surrexus, though, King Albanus would have him killed.  So he was to take his severance pay and leave.  "To... Invictus?" the man said, finally catching on.  Severus nodded.  The band tried to convince Micellus to leave too, and Sir Marcus' grandson made conciliatory noises.  But when they left, they had no doubts that he was going to return to Surrexus no matter what they said.

The next day, they made a swift trip to Harrans, where the Surrexus dead were given a temporary home.  And after that, the group split.  Severus and Gaius headed directly to Viridistan.  Titus, Leyna, and Squire Cavallius stopped at the Holy Mounds to pray.  Corvina and Marius stayed behind in Harrans since, with the addition of young Cavallius, one wind-walk no longer covered the entire party.

That afternoon, a momentous portent occurred:  an eclipse.  No normal eclipse, either.  A cloud of darkness appeared to well up from behind the sun, spilling over its edges and dimming its light.

Panic gripped the streets of Viridistan as daylight vanished.  Severus and Gaius forced their way out into the terrified crowds which rushed towards the temples of the Sacred Square.  Their destination was more prosaic:  they wanted to reach Praetor Ferreus and hear what was happening.  The paladins, meanwhile, noted another oddity.  Although the sky above them grew dark, the Holy Mounds themselves seemed to glow, giving off a soft, pearly light that kept the darkness at bay.  In Harrans, Marius threw himself into prayer.  Corvina was visiting Lucellus, and as the eclipse began she asked him what Ancilla knew about this omen.  Lucellus grew pale.  "She's... hissing," the big knight said.  "She's furious.  I've never seen her like this before.  She's not saying a thing, and she doesn't seem to hear anything I say to her."

(To be continued...)