Journal of Kesleigh Gwennan

Game Twenty

February 1, 2003

Upon arrival in Eisenstadt, I was given direction at the castle that the charges had been seen at the Vomiting Mongoose. The name alone suggested a den of thieves; I will certainly recommend a less dangerous inn when we return to town. In any case, it appears the Herzog's information was out of date. The charges had indeed recently faced and destroyed some Naderan spies, but the membership of the group was quite different from the information provided to me. Agni Rafezzi is "lost," though whether by death or not is uncertain, and Nicolo Morwynion and Selvazia are dead, all events having occurred before the group met with spies. The Betshaban cleric Roxanne has left since the spy incident, and her leaving appears to be a matter of some tension within the group, though the nature of this tension is difficult to determine. At this point I don't believe the tension will create a security risk for the protectees; however, Maggie Oreson believes that Roxanne is not out of danger. I recommend that the Herzog be notified of her change of status. There are new members of the group now: a mage named Eiramhon, a cleric of Aridnus named Morell who appears to have partial elven ancestory; he confirmed my credentials with a truth spell--and a fighter from, I believe by his accent, Haleland named Brag who was hired by Agni Rafezzi to join the group. They also travel with a creature named Rothgapharious and after my introduction were joined by a man named Baelthazor. I will report more on these two presently. Also, Maggie appears to be a Rover, though I am not certain since she displays Baelthor's symbol. She does wear one of their cloaks. I have not yet had the opportunity to speak privately with her on this issue, and I do not wish to offend the secrecy of the Rovers.

I feel I must digress somewhat from the official report here. In the group's discussion of Roxanne's departure, they mentioned a few phrases familiar to me, though the language was Adan, not Halic. They mentioned a prophecy and that Roxanne was to "pierce his hate." I asked if they recognized a few other phrases from my own prophecy, and they did indeed. The charges believe that they, or at least some of them, are the people mentioned in the prophecy. The Wind Duke is someone they call Manslayer whom they claim has imprisoned gods of other worlds and then taken them over, and their ultimate mission is to destroy him before he claims this world. If such claims are true, I believe the protection of Gallorea is of great urgency to the worshipers of Sarpedon and that these charges need to be protected from far more than Naderan spies. The group was understandably reluctant to talk about the prophecy in front of Rothgapharious, but I determined by some clues in the next day that Maggie is mostly likely mentioned in the "bear cub" stanza, for she sometimes uncontrollably takes on a dangerous bear form. Priest Morell is able to calm her with a spell, so we made tactical plans that I would hold her off from the rest of the charges until he is able to calm her. Quinn made some references to himself as "the key," and I was told by Brag that much of the group's energy concentrates on protecting him. He also mentioned a father, which seems to contradict the prophecy, but I will explain the discrepancy later in the report. Brag did not believe that the part of the prophecy attributed to him by the rest of the group was real prophecy at all, but when he told me a few lines from the last stanzas I was able to confirm this. Theo is apparently the other member mentioned, but I have no clues at this point as to which stanza is attributed to him. Such discussion will wait until Rothgapharious is no longer a threat. The group was quite astonished that I already knew of this prophecy and were even more confused that I had spoken it. It seems it was known to someone long before it was given to me.

This is quite an unusual assignment; the protectees are traveling with an acknowledged enemy, a servant of this Manslayer. Rothgapharious is a shapeshifting creature called a doppelganger; I have seen him take on various forms including human, snake, Storm Giant, talking tree, and giant firefly, and he claims he can take on inanimate forms. He also claims to have mental powers which are not magical, but psychic in nature, and to be also from another world. The ideas of planar travel are bandied about quite lightly in this group. The charges are convinced of his ability to read thoughts though I saw no evidence of this. I heard him say that he did not know a fact about a scrying mirror that the charges have in a hidden tower, and then express surprise when he saw the mirror in use, while the group believed that he already knew everything about the said tower. This could be evidence that he does not read minds quite so well as the group expects, but I find it more likely that he was attempting to instill a false sense of confidence. Rothgapharious claims to have a female accomplice of similar abilities hiding in ambush on one group member's family. The exact family has not been made clear to the charges, but Brag is fairly certain it is his own; the doppleganger knows many facts about his family. This secret hostage is Rothgapharious' blackmail to involve the charges in their current mission; to destroy an incursion of creatures called Illithids who are apparently also from another world and are also powerful psychics. These creatures pose a threat to Manslayer (also a psychic). The charges are helping their enemy not only because of the hostage, but also because they received some independent information that these creatures would also be a serious threat to the world. Rothgapharious is to be bait in this plan, and the family's safety is dependant on his living return from the mission. Rothgapharious's presence makes my assignment rather difficult. For the moment he seems not to want harm to come to the group... he says his master needs the members of the prophecy. However, I cannot trust anything he says. He can somehow hide his true spiritual nature from my senses. Either that, or everything he says about his past actions, motivations, and future plans is a lie, and such heinous lies seem unlikely.

Another concern of mine, though not as strong a concern, is the addition of Baelthazor as a bodyguard to Quinn. Neither of the two is trustworthy, though my contract bids me to protect Quinn. Baelthazor was apparently hired by Quinn's father, who is named Tam. I had serious misgivings about him besides his untrustworthiness when the first thing he did on the job was order whiskey, and then later, when we met outside of town, he wanted to go back to "warm beds" and "fun" with Rothgapharious. However, though he seems to dislike his assignment intensely and certainly lacks discipline, he does appear to be dedicated to it. He would not go into town when Quinn would not, he genuinely expressed his intentions to help keep the group alive (as aid to keeping Quinn alive), he later took risks as an advance scout that Quinn had taken in the past, and he put his life at risk to save Quinn from a falling stalactite. His motivation certainly is not the honor of protection, nor does it appear to be for love of Quinn. I suspect his motivation is fear of Tam, though I am not certain. Still, he has to this point performed admirably as a bodyguard, and when he was injured in the line of duty I aided him with Sarpedon's blessing.

Another possible security risk was explained to me by Brag. He claims this group has great difficulty making decisions and will debate in circular logic for hours before taking any action. He also claimed that at times someone, usually himself, will become frustrated with this and leave to act on his own. I told him that this is, of course, a far worse security risk. He is concerned that his voice is not listened to and that most decisions are made by a minority of the party. I later witnessed this to be true in a discussion over whether or not to kill Rothgapharious. On a personal note, I feel for Brag's plight, but I must convince him not to let his frustration allow him to present a security risk to himself.

The charges have a magical means of transportation which they call a "planar" ring, though all travel, as far as I have been able to determine, does not take place on different planes. The ring transports Eiramhon and whomever he is touching (and the more people the more risk, he says) to a tower once owned by a mage named Geldemar. Then, with the use of the previously mentioned scrying mirror, the Eiramhon can pick another place to transport and bring others with him. We had a minor altercation when he transported Rothgapharious to the tower before transporting me; I thought we had an understanding that I would stay with him while everyone else was transferred to the secure location, then I could be there when he arrived. I apologized for my anger and for offending him... I am simply not used to not having my protection orders obeyed under contract. He seemed to think I was underestimating the group's abilities. At this point I was mostly unaware of the group's abilities (and they are substantial, from what I have seen), but this is, of course, irrelevan'tI am here to protect this group from danger, and Rothgapharious was its most immediate danger. Shortly after this was when Rothgapharious claimed to be surprised to learn that he could see into the scrying mirror... a moment which I am relatively certain was a ploy.

With the use of the ring we teleported in small groups to the site of the cave leading to the Illithids. The cave was somewhere in the Peaks of the Wyrm close to a Bakalish town. I asked Bastion to protect the horses of Morell and Brag, and after not too much discussion, we entered the cave. Marching order caused a little bit of dissention when Quinn insisted he did not need to be "babied" and that finding traps was his strong suit, and that he would instantly step back if fighting occurred. This was the first moment when Baelthazor showed his dedication, because he insisted that Quinn stayed back and that he do the trap-checking. After him would be Rothgapharious in the form of a giant firefly to provide light. This worked out quite well for my contract, as the two who weren't my charges were the ones in front of me. I was pleased with the marching order worked out by the rest of the party as well... we had strong fighters all along the line, and those who are the weakest in a physical fight were placed next to strong fighters. Maggie's placement as rear guard was somewhat troubling at first... she is quite insistent that she cannot be a frontline fighter, at least for the moment, because of her inability to control her bear form. If we are attacked from the rear, she will be the front line. However, it would be safer to have an uncontrollable bear at one end of the party instead of the middle of it. Another positive factor of her placement is Mica, the large cat. While determining the marching order I learned of the cat's abilities (several times this group has forgotten to mention abilites that are significant to security... this is a problem). Mica is apparently more intelligent than a normal cat and will act to protect Maggie. They do not share a special bond like I have with Bastion, but it seems this friendship will serve to protect the rest of the group from the normal fickle actions of a cat. Also, Mica has the ability to breathe a large cone of fire. Incredibly unusual... and again, something that's safer and more useful to have at one end of the group and not in the middle.

Traveling through the caves there were several times I missed seeing a creature before it was upon us, and for these failures I must atone when I can see a priest. One group of creatures, called carrion crawlers, managed to paralyze Quinn temporarily before I or either of his personal bodyguards (Theo admirably will not leave Quinn's side) could dispatch the crawler nearest him. Still, no permanent damage was done. I was prepared to attack another creature which appeared to be a jelly-like cube with many screaming mouths called a gibbering mouther, but Eiramhon ran up and cast a spell which permanently changed it into a small bat. That's a rather useful spell. There was a dangerous moment when Quinn almost knocked a stalactite onto himself, but Baelthesor, the only one near him, threw him out of the way. One creature burrowed up from the ground beneath us and attacked Baelthazor, then disappeared back underground before any but Brag could lay a sword to it. After Brag and Maggie had helped his as much as they could (they are apparently the group's medics), I let him know that he had been performing admirably and lay Sarpedon's blessing on him. Very few thieves would get such, and his ability to pretty much disappear is incredibly unnerving, but he has done a good job.

Brag displayed his impetuousness later when he suddenly ran after a small upright cloaked creature. After the creature fled there was some discussion whether to follow or continue on. I strongly recommended continuing on but increasing the strength of the rear guard... the creature appeared fearful, so perhaps it would not follow us, while if we followed it it could be leading us into a trap, or at the least into its own strongest territory. We took a risk of ambush if we let it go, but we would not, hopefully, be going through its stronghold. After not too long, the group followed my advice.

Before long we came across three of the creatures in our path. Eiramhon was able to cast a spell to speak with them. They wanted to take us to their king. I protested the danger of such an action, and that the creatures' seeming weakness, cowardice, and stupidity may be only a ploy... they were not honest creatures. This time the group did not follow my advice though, and we followed the three things to their stronghold. We went through a chamber with hundreds of the things... they appeared to be cringing, or at the most curious, but it was impossible to watch every one of them... any of them could have had a weapon or been readying spells. We made it to the king's chamber unmolested, however.

The king had an iron crown, but I was more concerned about the patchwork curtain hanging behind him which hid another evil presence. I told Eiramhon to tell the one behind the curtain to reveal himself, which he would not do. From Eirahmon's translations, it appeared that the Goblin King found the Illithids to be foes; that they captured the goblins to be used as slaves. These goblins were truly unpleasant and untrustworty, but nothing sentient should be forced into slavery. Though my guardianship of these charges was likely to include the death of Illithids anyway, I now have more personal and spiritual reason to seek their deaths. Still, I wanted to know what was behind the curtain.

Discussion suddenly reached a standstill when Quinn turned into a column of blue liquid and splashed to the ground. I was somewhat surprised by the group's muted reactions to Quinn's sudden death (particularly Theo's and Baelthasor's), but I was acutely aware that the danger in the room had just multiplied. The king described Quinn's death as a "side effect" that had something to do with stopping a spell of Morel's. Rothgapharious was no longer a lightning bug. Then things got very silent, though Eiramhon was still translating... the king, or more likely, whatever was behind the curtain, was talking to Eiramhon's mind and wanted everyone to leave except Eiramhon and Quinn. When I pointed out that Quinn was dead, this was when the group thought to inform me that turning to blue liquid was not an unusual thing for Quinn, that he was a magical construct (thus the confusion that he had a father) and would reform. This was a relief, but it also strengthened my resolve to stay put... the greatest danger to the group was in this room, and I was not leaving it unless everyone else did first. Eiramhon said there were various threats made to the group (and the thing behind the curtain disintegrated a goblin to prove a point) and that staying was endangering, not protecting. Still, I had no assurances, but it seemed I had to take the risk... this did not seem, at least, to be the Naderan counterattack, so contracturally I was free to leave them. I waited by the door where I could watch the exit as well as the room while others left, but I was quite relieved when it was suddenly pointed out that really only Rothgapharious had to leave, so I closed and barred the door when the doppleganger had left the room.

The creature behind the curtain was certainly not anything I could have expected... it was a series of floating eyeballs connected to one central eye, and it was named Xantrip. It had created an area in which no magic was possible, which caused Quinn's dissolving and Rothgapharious' return to his natural grey human-like form. Maggie knew a great deal about this creature from a book she had read by a man named Mordenkainen, and was under the impression this evil thing might be helpful. It had used the portal of the Illithids to travel here and knew where they were. It gave us some tactical information, but I'm not sure it's trustworthy. The portal itself must be dispelled or turned off from the other side. There are scores of Illithids on the other side of this portal, perhaps a dozen on this side. And when attacking Manslayer, he has several orbs of power given him by various otherworldly gods, and one called the Hand of Bane protects him from compulsion magic. Also, Xantrip wanted Rothgapharious killed.

This met with many positive initial reactions from the group, but Maggie pointed out his position as bait, which Xantrip thought was a good plan. The possibility came up as well of sending Rothgapharious himself through the portal to turn it off. Brag was silent during this time but seemed to be having an emotional conflict. Though it was not officially my place, I pointed out to the rest of the group that Brag, as he feels his family is most threatened, should have a say. Brag appeared to be about to speak when Eiramhon and Maggie interrupted, continuing their previous discussion of tactics having hardly missed a beat. While their discussion did include the risk to someone's family members, it appeared somewhat callous and disturbing to me, the way they come not to far from disregarding the protection of the innocent.

At this point, a decision had not yet been reached concerning the destruction of the portal, though it appeared Rothgapharious would not be killed quite yet.

Game Twenty-One

February 15, 2003

Shortly after our dealings with the Xantrip, Baelthasor tried to pull me aside for a little heart to heart. There was no way I was going to let the group out of my sight of course, but I allowed him to take me mostly out of earshot and agreed to speak quietly.

This man presents such a moral quandary to me on several levels. Not only is he a thief acting as a bodyguard, but also it is clear from this conversation that he has made no study at all into the religion of Sarpedon'this is of course an advantage for those he plans to burgle in the future, but a bodyguard should know one's enemy. He expressed surprise that I did not slit his throat in his sleep and simply could not understand that past misdeeds, though more than distasteful, bore little relevance on the present situation as long as he committed no acts of thievery or murder while part of this mission. I made it clear to him, of course, that should he or Quinn commit any such acts, my protection of them was ended. Baelthasor was also rather surprised that I could act independently of my contract, provided of course I do not violate the contract. He then went into a futile attempt at convincing me of a hypothetical situation where stealing was an acceptable solution. There is always a different solution. I did admit that in an extreme situation deception was acceptable if it was for the purpose of protection, but not stealing. The conversation ended when he asked if I would "run him through" if I found out he had stolen something, and I responded "Not necessarily." He didn't wait for the variables involved.

We waited overnight for the chance to heal. I hate sleeping on duty when Bastion is not present, but fatigue is not acceptable in a guardian. I requested that Morell wake me first should anything happen. Before sleeping, however, Rothgapharious informed us of what he could concerning our mutual enemies, the Ilithids. They own many slaves of several races to do their physical labor; not only the hobgoblins, but also creatures called "dark elves" or "drow" and "gray dwarves." Creatures called "Grimlocks" are often their willing laborers. These creatures have no eyes but track by keen hearing and scent. Ilithids, according to our less-than-reliable source, are not very vulnerable to magic, but physically they are not terribly strong. Maggie suggested that Quinn's psychic protection be put in the hands of a strong fighter... Brag. There were no protests to this plan, though no strong agreements, either. Still, we went through with it. I also assured the group that, should we have time to pick a spot to make a stand, Sarpedon's blessing could shield everyone's minds to some extent. It would shield our enemies' minds as well, but as it seemed the group meant to attack their bodies, not their minds, this was an acceptable risk. The danger in a close confrontation was that if the creatures managed to attach to its enemy with all four tentacles it then had the strength to draw the prey towards its mouth and eat its brain.

The next morning a hobgoblin led us to the "haunted" place. Eiramhon cast a spell to communicate with the creature, but it then ran once we approached a tunnel it didn't recognize. We decided to take this worked tunnel. Our procedure was once again to have Baelthasor in front to search for traps. When we encountered a door, Baelthasor would check for traps, then Brag and I would listen at the door. If we heard nothing, Brag would open the door using it as a shield while I held my actual shield in front of the opening. It was a while before we found living creatures in these tunnels, but according to Maggie's tracking and stoneworking skills she said much of the first rooms we traveled to had been worked within the last week by human-sized creatures with clawed feet. In one of these new rooms we encountered several of the Grimlock creatures who fought with axes.

The first fight went quite well with no damage taken on our side after Eiramhon destroyed most of them with a well-placed fireball. We followed the tracks of the rest, who had run. We found an odd temple-like room with pulsating purple glowing walls and statues of what I presumed to be Ilithids (this was later confirmed when I saw the creatures themselves). The tracks we were following of a Grimlock which had escaped our battle did not go into that room, so neither did we. We found several waste-disposal pits occupied by creatures called Otyughs and a barracks further on in the complex. In the barracks we ran into another set of Grimlocks.

This fight was, I must admit, a near disaster of security. Instead of backing towards the bottleneck of the doorway as should have been done, my charges, including Quinn, chose to run in front of me. We nearly found ourselves surrounded by the creatures when one of the Illithids appeared at the opposite doorway. Quinn apparently has the ability to transform himself into a form other than blue liquid, as he became a two-headed giant. (Again, the group has failed to inform me of variables that effect security!) Once transformed, though, Quinn did not attack. His mind was affected by the Illithid... I felt its mental tentacles attempting to find holes in my mental defenses as well. Thankfully, the Grimlocks did not attack him while he was charmed.

After our poor start, the fight went to our advantage, but Baelthasor quickly fled the scene once he had disengaged with his opponent. So much for hiring a thief as a bodyguard. Quinn followed the Ilithid when it ran. I yelled to Baelthasor as myself and everyone else gave pursuit... perhaps he may wish to repent for whatever shame led him to leave his charge.

Others were faster than I, and when I caught up to Quinn, Theo had knocked him out. Baelthasor ran straight past us following the Ilithid, but Morell (winged at this point) caught up with him and stopped him. On their return, Morell was able to draw a map of where the Ilithids had made their stand. He saw only four of them in an oddly-lit room.

The crown of mind-protection was returned to Quinn after Eiramhon healed him with a spell that repaired damage to magical constructs. I lay what I could of Sarpedon's blessing on Brag and myself, but we were certainly not going into this fight full strength.

As we approached the glowing chamber, we were in luck... I could sense two of them waiting in ambush several feet on either side of the door. If they were waiting I had time to lay the mental defense. We had other plans as well... some had been made earlier... Brag, Theo, and I would engage in melee, while Maggie, Baelthasor, Morell, and Rothgapharious (in the form of one of the drow elves) would engage with ranged attacks from the rear. Quinn and Eiramhon chose to use their shape-changing abilities... Quinn became a lion (and had to be convinced to move to the back... his plans would be more advantageous in the thick of battle, not in the front guard) and Eiramhon would be in the form of a gigantic dire bear. He had to be in the front, unfortunately. Before he changed, I prayed for Sarpedon to bless our endeavors for the protection of this world, then drew His symbol, the open eye, on the ground near the doorway. I let Brag borrow the small shield I carry on my back. And then we were ready.

Theo and Baelthasor were early casualties to the mental attacks of the four creatures along the walls beyond the doorway, but they were the only ones... they were not dead, merely knocked unconscious. Once I could get around the massive form of the bear I saw the biggest threat... the one more decorated than the others who appeared to be casting magical attacks. I was extremely irritated when Rothgapharious foiled my plans to attack the biggest threat by surrounding it with a sphere of darkness. True, the creature could probably not cast when it could not see its target, but nor would it have been able to as I engaged in hand to hand combat. I could not fight in the darkness, so I moved to join the attack on the Ilithid against Eiramhon, judging that either the decorated Ilithid would move out of the darkness or I could attack when the darkness lifted.

In my engagement with the other creature, however, I missed its movement towards me. This time the tentacles around my head were physical, and one even managed to attach to the side of my head.

The pain was considerable, but the tentacles were so long my movement was barely hindered. The two deep slashes into its gut were enough to startle it to a point that Quinn was able to come up from behind and bite its head off.

The other Ilithids were quickly dispatched, except one floating high in the air who suddenly seemed to disappear. Rothgapharious said this was likely a power called "plane shifting," which allowed the creatures to return to their home... he seemed certain this was what had happened to other Ilithids as well. He found the portal key on the decorated Illithid, then, as planned before, he jumped through the portal that had been the source of the glow in the room. Seconds later, the portal disappeared.

This was nothing to my sense of wonder at realizing the other main feature of the room... a large, archaic statue representing Sarpedon himself. Maggie judged the stone workmanship to be centuries old. A door covered with various magical symbols was underneath the statue. The room started shaking and that giant purple worm rushed up through the center of the room and continued through the ceiling, causing a cave-in at the first entrance. We had to get through the door. Morell thought that I was the one destined to open this door, but when I put my hand to it, it was locked.

Maggie, however, had a key. Given to her by the Rovers, apparently, though she was not, she said, a Rover herself. The function of the Rovers soon became much clearer to me, however, as will be explained by this report.

Beyond the room was an odd-looking untrustworthy man who calls himself Ahiro Tetsubo. Some of the group had read of his name (in the same place they read of Xantrip's name) and acted with immediate trust. He would not submit to Morell's magical query, which makes me distrust him even more. His actions in the temple, however, appeared to be those of a grounded, sensible man. I am very concerned that the group appears to have put immediate trust in him. He did not even know that he sat in a Temple of Sarpedon, and did not explain satisfactorily how he came to be there. He didn't even know about the Ilithids. He claims to be from Manslayer's world as well.

He did show us around this part of the Temple. I am no mystic or historian, but I suspect I understand now why the prophecy was given to me as a chosen of Sarpedon. This temple contains many depictions of Rovers, including their founder, Gaveric, and a very large depiction of the prophecy in yet another language. The Rovers may operate in the Adan-Halic region, but perhaps they were merely waiting there for the prophesied people... the discovery of this temple in the Peaks of the Wyrm, plus their gift to Maggie of the key to the door, leads me to believe that this prophecy is the driving force behind the existence of the Rovers. Further details will be given in my final report for the historians and others to examine more closely.

Though only four of those in this group were mentioned in the prophecy, it seems the rest of us had been fortold to someone as well, for there was a room with nine statues, each representing each of us perfectly. Beneath each statue was a glass case with a couple items in it. Beneath my statue were a broadsword with Sarpedon's symbol and four bluish horseshoes. Under magical inspection the sword showed itself to be a powerful sword of protection, and the shoes will allow Bastion to fly. When I have the opportunity to report to my superiors I will request that the Church allows me to continue using these items, for they will certainly aid in the defense against Manslayer. Brag also received a sword with what looks like a family crest, and armor. Morell received a warhammer with Aridnus' symbol and a pouch with some vials in it. Quinn received some studded leather armor and a very sharp-looking dagger. Eiramhon received two rings. Baelthasor received some boots and a ring. Maggie received a bow with a hawk's head as part of its decoration and half-plate armor. Benedict received half-plate armor and a warhammer as well. Theo received a very large sword and some gloves.

The problems began when Quinn discovered the box in the middle of the room. The box was inscribed with symbols of Orchus. He opened the box, paused a second, then started drawing playing cards out of it. After a couple, he disappeared.

Foolishness took over every single member of the group then except myself. I realize this may sound arrogant, but I can explain it in no other way. The Key had disappeared, and for some reason most seemed to think that the answer to returning him lay in this deck of cards. Theo first opened it then closed it, then explained that a voice had told him he had the choice to draw up to seven cards or draw none at all, and that some were good, some bad. Eiramhon was familiar with such an item and called it a Deck of Many Things. Knowing its name did not stop everyone's foolishness. I immediately asked Eiramhon to go to the temple to try and scry Quinn's location, but he did not, assuming there was still too much lead in the walls. Later, when it was clear there was no way these cards would work, he did try, and succeeded in teleporting, but failed in the scrying.

Theo drew cards next... at least he took the items that had been gifted to him before he did. At one of his draws a skeletal figure with a scythe, the very image of Death, appeared to attack him. He yelled for no one to interfere, and said that anyone who interfered would share his fate, but I went to help him anyways. Despite his foolishness in drawing these cards in the first place, he was trying to rescue his charge, and I had to help him. "Share his fate" meant, however, that as soon as I entered the fray a second figure of Death appeared to fight me and I was unable to aid Theo. We both defeated our respective threats with minimal damage, however. In any case, Theo's attempts were fruitless, as he disappeared as well. One thing that had happened was a shower of gems and jewelry. Baelthasor picked up a bunch and put it in his backpack. I told him this belonged to Theo and it would be returned to him when Theo returned, to which Baelthasor agreed... verbally, at least.

It went down the line then. Eiramhon went through several facial expressions during his draws and a necklace appeared around his neck, but he didn't disappear, nor did he get Quinn and Theo back. Baelthasor lost every single item he was carrying... he stood naked in the room. Maggie questioned him about a gem that had been in his chest that had allowed Tam to spy on him... again, a security issue that had not been explained to me. Morell did not lose everything, but he did lose his magic items, including those he had just received. He was given a book which could turn into a boat, but not the location or means to rescue Quinn or Theo. Benedict tried and had to fight Death as well, and won, but nothing else happened.

Morell asked me to try before the other members of the prophecy did. "Certainly not. That deck is full of risk and there is no guarantee it even contains the means to rescue Quinn and Theo."

Brag had decided to try the deck, but Maggie had a hold of it, and she refused to let him or anyone else try. She took it with her into the next room. While I agreed with her that none should have drawn cards, her expressed reasons for it were along the lines of "Because I say so." I am certain to Brag, this confirmed his opinion that Maggie and Eiramhon make all decisions in the group and do not listen to his input. I am not certain if that was the case, or if Maggie heard the conversation between myself and Morell and decided to act on our words, or if she simply had decided enough was enough. In any case, it was a blatant example of the infighting Brag and Morell had described to me.

The group finally turned to other resources to attempt to rescue Theo and Quinn. Benedict said he had some secretive contacts in Halgard, and Eiramhon could talk to some people in the Order of Abaris. The teleportation ring worked from the Temple, so the rest of us stayed. Maggie discovered how to use the forge of light in the next room... from the prophecy as well. It appears to work using sunlight and mirrors, though how this provides enough heat for a forge is beyond my understanding.

It was more than a day before Eiramhon returned, without Benedict. He was not able to scry on the priest, either. I went with him to the Halgard city to wait while Eiramhon went to talk to his own contacts. While waiting at the tavern, I sent a boy to find me a priest to make my confession to. I left out many details of the temple and the prophecy, waiting until I could report to my superiors, but there were many times underground when my vigilance was not sufficient.

Benedict still did not return. Eiramhon was not terribly concerned, saying that Benedict felt these contacts of his to be very private, and possibly protected from scrying. The scrying result is apparently not the same as if he were dead, but I still worry. It is unlikely the Naderans could suspect Benedict would return to Halgard so quickly, but still, news travels quickly between spies. And of course there are other threats as well. I must determine his safety, but for the moment I will accept Eiramhon's opinion that for now he is probably well.

Eiramhon was able to secure rescue for those who had disappeared, though I'll admit I was not quite sure how it was done. He mentioned friends from "Otherworld" who demanded personal sacrifices that only himself and Morell were strong enough to make and survive. Once the two had expressed their willingness to this sacrifice, an odd visual effect happened... they appeared to be shadow doubles of themselves, and then the ground cracked open and released Quinn and Theo. The risk is that this may cause Orchus' wrath.

After this a very disturbing fact came to light. Baelthasor had stolen the cards from Maggie, attempted and failed to draw more, then gave the box to Brag. I am not yet clear whether this was at Brag's request or not, but I am certain that, as I explained to Baelthasor so recently, my protection of him is now ended. After having so recently redeemed himself through his protection of Quinn, he turned so quickly to disgrace by first abandoning his charge in the middle of a battle and then stealing from a traveling companion... one whom he had already expressed to be one he was protecting.

We returned to the mage's tower with Tetsubo joining us. I still do not understand why the rest are so blindly trusting of this stranger, but I must admit I have agreed with all I have heard him say and have yet to see him perform any untrustworthy actions. He chided Quinn, Maggie, Brag, and Baelthasor over their behavior concerning the deck of cards, and over the divisive nature of the group as a whole. He said he would give the group direction, and that he had led the group that had failed to defeat Manslayer in his own world. This qualified him, apparently, because he had learned from the previous group's mistakes. Not stunning testimony, I must say, but I found it very difficult to determine whether he was being truthful. He also named Eiramhon as leader, to which no one protested. It seems a sensible choice to me, though I do hope in the future there are no more misunderstandings over my protection orders... or rather, in this contract, my protection advice.

Game Twenty-Two

March 1, 2003

Tetsubo and I had a discussion shortly after we had taken care of the horses. He asked for my aid in helping the group work together as a seamless unit. I let him know that he has been opposed to my god, and he told me that in his past he became an assassin for the sake of vengeance. His family had been killed by politically powerful mages, and he trained as an assassin to be able to take vengeance on them. His last vengeance was taken upon a mentor of his previous prophesied group, and he said they "owed their lives" to him precisely because he had spared their lives. Absolutely reprehensible, though I am hardly in a position to bring him to the proper authorities in the place where these crimes happened. And what is more troubling with that in mind, is that I have found myself agreeing with every assessment he's made of this group and its members, and for some reason the other members of the group seem willing to submit to his authority.

Before I went to find Benedict, I also had a long conversation with Brag. He wished my company on a trip to visit his family to be certain they were unharmed after Rothgapharious' possible hostage situation with them. This became problematic after he explained his reasons for wishing my company. He fears he may be wanted by the law in Haleland because of his past. His father was in a succession dispute with Brag's uncle, and having lost that dispute, turned to banditry to get the wealth he apparently felt he deserved. Eventually Brag's father and his band of bandits were killed in an ambush. This was really not much less than they deserved, but for Brag's sake I did not say so... it was his father, after all. His mother and sisters were spared and returned to the family's land, but Brag, who would not participate in these raids, had grudgingly been the getaway scout of this last ambush, and he feels that he may be put on trial if he goes home. But apparently this is information Brag has not shared with many, and he is ashamed of his father's actions, and his own. I assured him that in Sarpedon's eyes, at least, he is not guilty of banditry, and this seemed to relieve him somewhat. I also told him, however, that I would not impede a legal trial... that's what he wanted me to do, use my ecclesiastical influence to delay a trial until the end of the group's mission. I suggested that a better companion would be Morell, since he could quickly get a trial in place and completed justly, or better yet, send someone else to check on their safety and not risk a delay to the mission. I am assured of his innocence in this matter, and I believe that he will return for trial when the mission is completed.

We then attempted a fruitless search for Benedict. No one in that town had seen him since he was last in Brag's company... not even the priests at the temple of Baelthor. This concerned me a very great deal. Brag believes that most likely, Benedict felt that he had something he needed to do secretly, and that our knowledge or anyone else's would detract from his success. With no more avenues to explore, I had to accept that possibility until I was able to talk with my superiors.

Going back to report was my next order of business. I reported everything that had happened, then expressed my concerns over Benedict and Baelthasor. My fear of violating the contract was slightly assuaged when an ancient tradition was invoked... if a worshiper chooses to protect and individual or group for his or her own religious reasons, any previous contract is dissolved. The choice of charges is my own now. The priest agrees with me that this prophecy is very much in Sarpedon's interest and that I should continue with the group, and that I should continue to use the items by my statue in the Temple. As for Benedict, he felt that I had done the best I could for now, and that devoting further resources to finding him would be against the primary aims of the mission. As for Baelthasor... his answer to my quandary was more troubling, though of course I trust him implicitly. He said that without Maggie testifying against him, there is essentially no crime. This was not the troubling part, especially as Maggie did not own the deck in the first place. He also pointed out that the Rovers actually commit very selective banditry against those who would harm others, and that because of the greater purpose of this mission, Baelthasor's minor thievery must be tolerated. I never thought I would hear a priest say that.

On my return, Baelthasor pulled me aside. He appeared prepared to take offense at me not protecting him when his searching for traps was in fact protecting me. I let him know that the contract was dissolved and that I was protecting the mission now, which includes him. He didn't help by pointing out that much of his new wardrobe was stolen, or perhaps the money to purchase it was stolen, and I had to mentally repeat the words of the priest to myself. Tolerate thievery. I also mentally prayed rather strongly to Sarpedon for forgiveness. He said he believed he was acting morally by taking the box away from Maggie because she had removed the choice from Brag. He also explained that he had fled the fight where Quinn was taken because his bowstring had broken and he had to back up to fix it, because he's not good with a sword. This was the explanation that the priest had said may be forthcoming, and I'm glad it was. He also said that at least he would not take anything from the group anymore, and I said that while I would do my best to prevent him from taking anything from anyone else, I would not necessarily take him immediately to the authorities. That was a very difficult thing to say.

Ahiro brought the group together to show us an attack on Eisenstadt by this Manslayer. I got my first look at this man and the unbelievable creature he rode upon. The armor alone he wore was vile enough, but the creature... by every description and legend I've ever heard, this was a dragon. They've always been compared to forces of nature, and now I see why... this blue-scaled creature was a force of lightning, and there seemed little that the city could do against it. Magical attacks came flying into the air, a ballista shot here and there, but nothing seemed to affect the dragon or the staff-waving man riding it.

--We found Broisce because he had the torc which is the key to opening wherever the Stone of Destiny is, which can defeat the Rod.

--we discussed tactics and battle formations.