Session 53

The Shroud continued their discussions of the fate of the Duke.

Using illusion magics they spoke with the Duke's heir, to see if they had a suitable replacement with a sour relationship they could exploit.  What they found was a teenager angry at his confinement who knew little of the Duke's motives.

They discussed trying to get the Duke on board.  But Emmerick refused to let the Duke be his heir.  And they found likely little else to bribe the powerful noble with.

In the end, Emmerick resorted to blunt threats and stated the Duke would be "volunteering" half of his mercenaries to the Crown.

It was clear the Duke hated the order, and the man who gave it.  But backed in a corner with little options, he conceded.  Though he was quick to stick the Crown with the costs of keeping the forces.  And worse, the Duke said nothing, yet the rest of the Nobles in Talengarde were shocked and enraged at the King's flagrant disregard for the Noble class's right to protect themselves with "house-hold" guards.  At least all the Nobles save those backing the Crown already.

The ham-handed approach by the King alienated potential allies & emboldened enemies.  Much to the dislike of the rest of the Shroud.

It was the first sign of a totalitarian regime was forming and the nobles weren't thrilled.

The Shroud moved on to Daveryn where they held a brief ceremony to open the rebuilt city.  And while there, they offered the coveted post of Duke of Daveryn to Wasyli's "Aunt", Baroness Vanya of Veryn.  The Baroness was as surprised at the boon as she was quick to take it.  Even when Wasyli added the requirement that her secret magical alter be gifted to the Crown, the Baroness eagerly agreed & became a Duchess.

The tour finally arrived at their final destination, the village of Varyston, and the near-by prison of Branderscar.

As they reached the hotbed of resistance two events caught the Shroud by surprise.

The young boy, Stefan, who led the flock of children to the vale before being tricked by the Shroud into being a squire of the king, was dead.  Apparently he died in a horsing accident.  But a small part of the populous believe foul play.

But worse, the townsfolk showed signs of infection of the Tears.  And reports were cropping up from across the southern heartlands of the Tears returning.

The Shroud notified their organization and the other instruments of the Kingdom at their disposal to start quarantines & isolation as best they could.

Still, the death of Stefan seemed too convenient to have happened right after he arrived as a squire in the capital.  So as the order to quarantine went out the Shroud turned to investigate the death of the Stefan.  The propaganda and bolstering of the resistance seemed too perfect.  Mardus asked if perhaps it was a plot by the resistance.  Wasyli wondered as well.  Brother Summit suggested they go & do an investigation at the capital.  Yvainne offered a speak with dead to see if it was indeed murder and Mardus said they could raise him from the dead to show how good they were.

The Shroud continued to discuss if they thought it was murder & how they could tell until finally Emmerick spoke up.  "The divinations will show he was murdered."  Mardus responded "but how can you be so sure..."  "Oh I'm sure." responded the King.

The rest of the Shroud stood dumbfounded as realization set in.  Then thye broke out into angry argument at why the King would do it.  Even the death priestess said "But it was a boy!"  in horror.  Mardus too was particularly angry as he spend all the time to solve the problem, just to have it ruined.  Brother Summit mostly fumed with anger.

In the end the King was indifferent to their complaints.  He was King, the decision was done.  The potential future threat was neutralized.

The Shroud, angry though they may be at their seemingly blood-crazed King, turned to the matter at hand.  A bunch of plague infected political dissidents.

Spending some time speaking with the villagers they confirmed the majority of the town truly did hate Emmerick.  Though, since some of the Shroud felt the same way, they decided to show some unexpected mercy.  And instead of making an example of the town, they poured in resources to treat & aid the town.  Hoping that acts of kindness might stall the die-hard resistance movement.

In the end it helped the sentiment of the town a little, but not nearly as much as hoped.  And worse, it was doing nothing to stop the plague, as it became clear the plague originated further to the south.

With little good coming from their visit, the Shroud headed south and found the epicenter of the outbreak.  The town of Barrington, where there recently appointed Baron was located.

They found there the plague was rampant & already spreading to the surrounding areas.  Including from the great mass of children who visited the Vale of Valternae to see the sheppard boy, Stefan.

The Shroud tried to determine what happened.  Quell asked Yvainne if she still dominated the Baron and the vampire confirmed she did.  But the Death Priestess also pointed out that at no time did her thrall alert her to the outbreak or it's severity.  Further investigation revealed the Mayor and some other public figures tried to be overly caution early on & issue a quarantine only to have the Baron dismiss them as overly worried and instead only implementing half-hearted efforts.  Instead saying that trade & tax revenue would be adversely impacted.

In the end, the half-measures were not enough, the plague spread like wild-fire all across the land.  The town would be nearly impossible to save, as would the Kingdom unless the Shroud could do something, and something big.

The Death Priestess pointed out she could not cast a miracle to stop it as her god would likely be in favor of the plague.  And Mardus too questioned if Asmodeus would step in.

Then they had a stroke of genius.  The anti-plague plague.  The one that the great worm silver dragon made.  It saved the island before, perhaps it could be used again.  They are quick to find some of the commoners they found who had it before.  But the disease seemed to have died off after killing the Tears off.  Perhaps some might still live, but it didn't look promising.  Still an unorthodox option was available.

Resurrect the disease.  It was a risky move as the spell might fail.  But with the death and agony all across the island, the King had little choice.  Mardus cast the spell & managed to be successful.

Starting at the epicenter of Barrington & spreading out from there, the anti-plague worked wonders.  All rejoiced save one.  The death priestess was worried, she wanted to preserve a Tear.  It was too glorious of a gift to let die off yet again.  But the rest of the Shroud would not have it loose on the island.  So they came up with a clever idea.  They took two beggars, one infected with the Tears, the other with the cure and the turned to stone both of them.

The cure statue was stored safely by the forces of Asmodeus, the Tears statue was stored by the forces of Zon-Kuthon.

Finally the Shroud managed to break a string of bad luck & celebrate the end of their grand tour in peace at the capital.

The old Palace was alive for the next week as a great feast was held in the honor of the warrior King Emmerick and his conquest of all the isles.  And a new holiday was celebrated, Unification Day, so the commoners, still recovering from the ravages of the Tears could enjoy something.

During the feasting, the members of the Shroud noticed something interesting.  This was the first time in a year the King was finally back at the Palace hosting social entertainment and all around were young single noble lady's.  One radiant foreign beauty caught even the eye of the normally dour King.  The Lady Jezerael Della Torre, a woman from a powerful merchant house from the decadent lands of Taldor.

Still, the Kings advisor's did worry about getting sucked into the politics of another major power of the Inner Sea.  Still, in theory it was safer than the deal Galen tried to make for them with Cheliax.  But the King wasn't quick to push the issue, instead fine with a more prolonged courtship.  As he considered his options so he kept Lady Jezerael a little at arms length.

After the banquet & party were over, the King returned to the duties of ruler-ship.  And with Count Barca in his ear, he turned his attention to his old Knighthood, the Knights of the Alerion Order.  It was little work to gather a group of men to storm the chapter house in the capital.  Still, the King wanted to be there himself, and so he & the Shroud gathered a force & politely arrived at the Chapter house to see what they could find.

There Emmerick came face to face with his old leader, the Knight Commander Errol Greymantle.  Errol didn't bother with pleasantries, instead drawing steel & attacking his accursed student.  Emmerick blocked the attack with his shield & didn't bother even drawing Helbrand, instead simply touching the old man & and doubling him over with nausea and pain.  And then his casters mentally controlled him & forced him to reveal all his secrets before being handed over to Yvainne's "tender" care.

And those secrets were nothing short of the entire roll of Knights still on the islands.  What followed was a purge of all the knights of the Alerion order.  And of course what would the Crown do with all that Knighthood gear.  Well, give it to their good friend, Count Barca & the Knights of the Griffon.  If the Princess ever did return to her island, she'd find no help from any Knights.

Shortly after that, the King got an odd message.  A song bird found the King.  The woodland creature delivered a message from the Druids of Taigh Eolach.  The King should come.  And quickly.

The Shroud worried it might be a trap so they came prepared. What they found surprised them.  There, in the court of the druids was Brunhild Sturmdottir.  The druid who attacked them at the Horn.  Twice.  And who was last known to be travelling with the Sons of Balentyne & the Princess herself.  And she did not look happy.

Session 53

The shroud, coming off their glorious triumph, both political and military, in unifying the Isles heard a disturbing rumor.  Apparently thousands of children were flocking to the Vale of Valtaerna.  Led by some Sheppard boy named Stefan.

So close to the Vale, the King had to halt the Tour near the gates of Ghastenhall & investigate himself.

Arriving covertly what the Shroud found surprised them.  It was indeed thousands of children all praying to Mitra to "save them" from the rule of King Emmerick and his Asmodeans.  The King noted they could just slaughter them.  But the rest of the Shroud advised Emmerick against such a brash action.

Instead they infiltrated the crowds during the day, leaving behind their vampire death priestess to wait for them.  What they saw amazed them.  Somehow all these children were somehow surviving out in the wilds of the Vale.  The near-by town that the Knot left was providing some food but seemed reluctant to too eagerly embrace the rabble.  So mostly the children were trying to survive in the wild on their own.  The Knot made note that as expected some disease and malnutrition had taken hold but didn't bother to check beyond a cursory glance.  For they had a bigger prize, the Sheppard boy Stefan.

The boy was of pure heart.  But he was just that.  A boy.  No special powers, no divine will.  No angel in disguise.  Just a boy.

Still the danger was real.  Mitra was known to reward simple acts of faith.  And the praying going on here had a eerily familiar tone to the ritualized praying at the Horn.  Not only that, Mitra had a patron angel of children.  Cassiel.  Would this angel manifest and aid the people of Talengarde?

The Shroud decided yes.  He would.  In the form of Mardus, transformed into a celestial aspect of course.

And if that failed, well, maybe they'd just have to go to the divine plane & kill Cassiel themselves to prevent an intervention.

But the need for an inter-planer assassination mission wasn't needed.  As Mardus showed off why he landed in Prison in the first place.  His adept skill at defrauding the faithful.  Manifesting from the prayer fires, he gave a glorious speech as he radiated divine will.  And he spoke to the people, telling them to go home.  That Emmerick, for better or worse was their lawful king.  And they should return to their lives & pray to Mitra in peace.

The stunned crowd of Children slowly dispersed.

Some lingered, but the Shroud spend some time & made sure they all eventually left.

Emmerick insisted the boy must be killed.  He was still a threat to his reign.  But the other Shroud members refused to go along.  There was no need.  It would be cruel and risk enraging the populous.

Still, Emmerick wanted the boy watched.  So the Shroud came up with a plan to offer the boy's parents some money and ask he be allowed to squire at the capital.

And once again, Mardus' honeyed tongue came through.  The dirt poor parents, eager for help, gladly offered to let their son squire at the capital.  Provided they had assurances of his safety.

And so, with that last obstacle behind them, the Shroud moved on to their destination.  The city of Ghastenhall and it's Duke.  The original reason for their grand Tour, started half a year before, was finally coming to fruition.

They arrived to a grand welcome.  Mercenaries in Talengardian armor yet oddly foreign looks, guarded the roads and peasants stood behind, cheering for the King.  The longtime native of Ghastenhall, Quell, noted that many of the peasants were the poor folk often times bribed by local nobility when a crowd was needed.  Still, there were a lot.  Clearly the Duke opened his purse strings to give King Emmerick a welcome he'd remember.

Before long the Shroud found themselves in the great chamber of the Duke.  Where a few years ago they played a ruse of returning the bones of a long dead princess for a handsome reward.  But now they wanted a greater reward.  The unwavering loyalty of the city & ruler of Ghastenhall.

The Duke, polite & formal, was ever a gracious host, willing to heap great praise on the military prowess of the new King.  The Shroud, unsure of how hard to push used the pretext of a long travel and the need to rest.  This would give them time to think.

Taking the rest of the day, the Shroud did anything but rest.

They spend time conversing, exploring and gathering information.

The Shroud found out the mercenaries are from the far away land of the River Kingdoms of Avastan and his advisers are worshipers, and likely priests, of Abadar.

Quell Yvainne & Mardus all left the grounds.  Quell destined for his old friend Khyber at the Thieves guild.  Mardus hoping to meet some "new" friends in the infamous Red Quarter.  And Yvianne on a trip to see her sire.

Yvainne arrived at the crypts below the city grave yard at the court of her master, the Vampire Lord who created her.  The Shrouds hope was the Undead power could be used to aid them in their plans.  But while there she learned that her sire was not only quite protective of the city of Ghastenhall but also the Duke's line.  Fearing she might tip her hand, she quietly ended her questions on the topic.

Meanwhile, back at the Castle, Emmerick brooded in his Royal Suite impatient for action.  Eventually the King unsheathed Helbrand and shedding his blood on the blade communed with the dark lords of Hell.  During that time he confirmed the Duke as an heir.  A nephew of 16 years and according to Hell there is no love lost between the two, to the point that trying to use the nephew as a hostage wouldn't work.  But he found out something much more interesting.  The Vampire Lord who created Yvainne is somehow related to the Duke.  And he would be displeased if the Duke was killed and the nephew was the new ruler of Ghastenhall.

As this went on Mardus explored the Red Quarter & found out the Duke and his advisers do not take part in the local "entertainment"instead the Duke has a stable of mistresses & man-servants at his disposal in the castle itself.  Though the soldiers do & they seem to be well paid, as they always have coin to spend.  After a while, the Fire Oracle returned to the castle.  Interested in finding these cloistered "friends" of the Duke.  He was unable to get access to them, but along the way he did find out that the private residence of the Duke, the Advisers and his nephew are all under the effect of a Forbiddance spell.  And likely other security measures.

Quell didn't return to the castle for most of the night.  Instead he spent his time in an eye opening conversation with his friend, Khyber.  While treating with his old friend at a local watering hole, he found out a great many things.  For one thing the Thieve's Guild would love to get into the Capital City.  They would like to legitimize brothers there.  And Legitimize the fighting pits of Ghastenhall & add a Coliseum in the Capital.  And some even considered partitioning slavery.  All proceeds of course would be taxable by the Crown.

But the information on the Duke was what Quell was interested in and the reason for his visit.  And so that is the conversation he spend the most time discussing.  It seems for years the Thieve's Guild has been trying to win favor with the Duke and failed.  They tried blackmail.  Nothing.  They tried murder.  All their assassins have disappeared.  The best Khyber could offer.  Bribery.  But it would have to be something big.  Something to invest him in Emmerick's rule.  Something to bind him.  Make him Emmerick's Heir.

What would the Shroud and their King do.

Session 52

The Shroud prepare to fight the beast of legend, The Caothach Ool.

Wielding their powerful divination magic they had no difficulty finding the beasts hidden lair deep in the depths of the Caer Bryr.

What gave them pause was what they found out about the beasts legendary powers while researching in their library.  In melee combat this brute was fearsome indeed.  What the Shroud decided to do was pick an open spot to engage the beast & hope a well placed reverse gravity would neutralize the beast.  The problem was, in the heart of the massive forest a large enough open space to engage it would be hard to come by.

The death priestess did say that they could request a miracle from the god of death & purge a region of the forest of all living things.  Though the eagerness of Yvianne was appreciated, the cost of such a boon was too great, both in material cost & potential anger of the elves and humans native to the land.  What was found was a large lake right outside the beasts lair.  It would make quite a fountain, but should still work.

With the location of the trap settled, they set the bait.  The vampire priestess, equipped with a newly forged ring to protect her from the harmful effects of moving water on her undead frame, floated in the middle of the lake.  Then Mardus spring the trap with an earthquake over the waterfall entrance to the beasts lair flooding the entrance to the caverns with water.

As predicted the massive bandersnatch roared out of it's lair.  Spotting the death priestess it charged her leaping at her in the heart of the lake.  Hacking and slashing at her, it's attempts to grab the vampire foiled by her freedom of movement spell.  Still the damage was noticed.  Then the area was reverse gravity'ed.  The beast was unable to grab the flying Yvainne but it did manage to coil it's tail around a massive tree root under the lake.  The shroud cursed themselves for not checking.

A huge column of water rushed up around Yvainne and the flailing Bandersnatch shrouding them in mist obscuring the two.  Quickly the flying Yvainne came rushing out of the mists while the screeching beast could still be heard.

Using magics, they pull the water back to stop the mists and that's when Mardus gets a good look at the tree root.  For a moment he turns to the rest of the Shroud & telepathically asks if they think he could burn it.  Getting back a likely no, he grasps his adamantine blade & rushes down, braving the slashing claws of the beast & in one swift stroke hacking the massive root in two.

Beast & root go rocketing into the air.

Once there, suspended, oscillating in the air, the beast was helpless against the massive torrent of magic and arrow blasted at it.

After the beast was dead, it was simply a matter of Emmerick wearing the beasts pelt & walking into the druidic enclave and declaring the fate of the Iraens.  "Be the loyal subjects to Emmerick & full citizens of his Talengarde.

Before the King left his new subjects he was offered an interesting opportunity.  The previous Barcan line hunted unicorns with the Iraens.

The Shroud liked that idea & lingered and had a grand hunt to celebrate the joining of the Iraens into the Kingdom.  A half-dozen Unicorns were bagged in the outing as well.

The entourage finally uprooted from Farholde and it's surroundings to move on into the borderlands region.  There the King surveyed the devastation brought to the watchwall and the infiltration of the humanoids into the Kingdom.

The shroud was surprised at just how badly Fire-Axe had destroyed the defenses and how many humanoids still infested the borderlands.

They decided to rally an army made of mercenaries & recent militia recruits to purge the borderlands.

Emmerick's first campaign was a resounding success.  Though it took a couple months, his forces proved overwhelming for the small smattering of brutes terrorizing the region.

Then the Shroud saw an opportunity ripe for the picking.  The savage north lay bare, seemingly easy to seize and they sat on an army on it's border, fresh off a victory & positioned to strike.

The order was given.  The Crown of Talengarde would rule all the main island.  What ensued was a half-year long campaign lead by Emmerick and the Shroud themselves.  It managed to be even more glorious than the one in the borderlands.

The Savage North bowed before the King's army.  They slaughtered the savage humaniods and other ruffians.  And even the walled ice elven fortress capital was sacked by the King.

With the Bugbears and others put the the knife and spoils seized for the low treasury of the Crown, the King was faced with a choice.  Would he put the Ice Elves and their kin to the knife as well?  Or would he have them bend a knee to his banner?

His council was mixed.  The old nobility like Duke Barca urged slaughter & making it a colony.  The neighboring Frost Giant queen urged slaughter as well, but handing the lands over to the giants.  It was not fit for humans to live there & she could easily hold it.  In the name of the King of course.  His military advisors, such as General Barca urged mercy.  Let them bend a knee to the Crown.  They can maintain the lands themselves better than any humans & still be taxed by the crown.

In the end that was the idea the King liked the most.  The Ice Elves would be part of his Kingdom, as would their lands.

The Shroud stood in an interesting position.  The south was theirs, as was the Caer Bryr.  Now all the rest of the main island in the North was theirs.  All that remained was the reclusive human tribes of the Yukan.  Then the entire island chain would be under their rule.

When they went to treat with the Yukan they expected to find a reclusive chieftain ruling a reclusive people.  What they found was a people poised for change.  Their chieftain, a younger man, eager to embrace the ways of their southern neighbors.  When an eye on a title of a small barony along the watch wall.  A barony owned by a boy of but five years, with an advisor who was a Mitrian priest, likely still loyal to the absent Princess.

Emmerick, with but a flick of his pen appointed the chieftain the new guardian of the young boy holding the title & seizing the Priest as a traitor.

And with that the Shroud managed to do something during Emmerick's reign that Barcan and Darian alike failed at.  They united all the islands of Talengarde under one banner.

The banner of Hell.