Entry 6/15/13

Chapter 48: Remnants of Evil

The day started innocently enough.  I sought out a tailor whose reputation suggested she could make an outfit with my new fabric in any style I chose.  In her neighborhood, a man ran up to me and before I could say anything, he said that we were friends and he’d been with me for the last hour or so.  Blinking in surprise, I narrowed my eyes and asked why I should help him.  He handed me a very nice-looking mace just as some guardsmen ran up to us.  They were looking for someone who’d been looting in the area.  Putting two and two together, I realized what was happening and for some reason, I helped the thief.  I really have no idea why, but I said convincingly that he was my friend “Alphonse” and he replied that I was his friend “Ackbar” and we had just come from having breakfast together.

Luckily, neither of the men recognized me and accepted the story before moving on to search for the culprit.  Alphonse thanked me and handed me a wand: elm wood decorated with silver, gold and numerous gems.  It was ridiculously expensive but enchanted with a weak form of Dispel Magic.  As he left, he told me that it came from a nearby shop called El’Shara’s Magical Emporium.  During my recent shopping excursions, I had heard of the place.  It catered only to the richest of nobles and the owner was the snobbiest woman I’ve ever encountered.  I pulled out a piece of parchment and used my teleport spell to send a message to Lilly.  It’s not ethical, I know, but this woman charges prices that are criminal.  Lilly and I each have business projects to fund.

Speaking of projects that need funding, I found the tailor’s house/shop soon after.  It wasn’t difficult.  Though it was similar in style to other buildings in the neighborhood; it was masterfully painted to look like woven fabric.  I knocked on the door, but there was no response.  When I checked the door, it was locked and barred.  Though the blinds were drawn, I could see the house was dark.  Feeling uneasy, I went around to the back door, which was also barred and then to the side door which was completely unlocked.  I entered into a hallway. 

The house was quiet and eerie and there was a pervasive smell of wet dirt that hung near the floor of the entire house.  I summoned my dancing lights to see in the gloom and in the middle of the hall to my left I found a solitary dining room style chair.  When I sent a bobbing torch down the other direction, I saw the kitchen.  Next to the back door was a small stool, just the right size for someone of Tal’s stature.  The bar was partially lifted but I saw nothing else out of place there.  I checked the rest of the house and the only other item of interest was a large coffee table resting on the bed.  I went back to the main room and opened my senses to the presence of magic.  Immediately, I spotted strong auras of lingering Transmutation energy; from the hallway, the kitchen and the master bedroom.

The Furniture!  The three items out of place were polymorphed people.  I pulled out the garishly decorated wand I had just received and used it on the chair in the hallway.  A wavering veil seemed to fall away there stood and thin, older gentleman, looking confused and upset.  The butler followed me back to the bedroom and the table became a very large man who began to swing a thick club at me.  I avoided the attack from the tailor’s husband and convinced him I was there to help.

Looking around at the furnishings, a flash of inspiration dawned on me and I realized that the stool in the kitchen must be the couple’s child.  We rushed there and one more use of the Dispel wand revealed a girl, maybe eight years old.  She had been trying to run out of the house, but couldn’t quite lift a bar when a man cast a spell at her.  There had been fish people as well, Sahuagin.  The husband, a massive man who I learned was related to the Sheriff and Baker from Benic, said that they had come up from the basement.  He didn’t know what happened to his wife, Francine.

Down below was the tailor’s workshop (her name, I learned was Francine).  Looking back on the events, I realized how stupid I was, not calling for any of my friends to check this out with me.  However, since I am writing this, you realize that I emerged from the ordeal in one piece, more or less.  Francine’s husband opened the basement door and held his daughter close.  As I walked down the stairs I entered the tailor’s workshop where she kept all of her tools of the trade, including a loom that was magically weaving fabric by itself.  In the middle of the 15 by 15 foot room was a large circular patch of disturbed earth on the floor.  I could sense magical energies lingering in the air.

When I stepped off the stairs and knelt at the edge of the muddy patch a roar shattered the silence.  I turned to find an eight-foot tall monstrosity emerging from under the stairs.  Thick chitinous armor covered its body and its face was a nightmarish mix of humanoid and insect.  Glancing down at the hole and back at the creature, I realized it was an Umber Hulk, a subterranean creature capable of burrowing quickly through rock and soil.  Before I could act, it charged me and ripped a gash along my left hip with one massive claw

I knew I didn’t stand a chance against this creature alone.  I let my dancing lights flare brightly for a second, making the light-sensitive beast wince as I rushed back up the stairs and left an illusory duplicate of myself downstairs and directed it to huddle against the far wall, cringing in fear and holding “my” injured side.  The creature recovered and blinked at my image before rushing at it with another heavy claw attack.  I couldn’t avoid the strike, but I made a convincing enough injury as I moved quietly to the top of the stairs and motioned for the family to get outside.

Looking downstairs, the umber hulk a flurry of claw attacks and a brutal bite.  I knew the image wouldn’t fool the beast any longer so I released the spell, slammed the door shut, and pulled out a wand to place an Arcane Lock on the door.  Unfortunately, while the door might hold, the floor didn’t.  I ran to the front door and turned, pulling another wand.  The creature was pulling itself out of the hole it made in the floor.  I released the magic of Fennic’s mending wand.  The hole in the floor sealed shut around the umber hulk but the magic didn’t stop there.  The creature froze as it suddenly turned to wood, the same material as the floor.

I had only been hoping to stop the beast so the family could get away and I could deal with out in the open until reinforcements could arrive.  I made sure that the two halves of the creature were loaded onto a wagon and delivered to my midtown address.  Then I went down to investigate the basement again.  The hole there filled quickly with sea water as I tried my Move Earth wand.  Nearby, I found an emptied wand of Aquatic Transformation.  Whoever had kidnapped the woman used the wand on the Umber Hulk so it could tunnel from the ocean, many miles away.  The wand’s owner and the Sahuagin obviously escaped back through the tunnel.

I promised the woman’s family that I would do everything I could to get her back as quickly as I could.  I received a message from my friends to meet at the Hobbit House, so I hastened to meet with them, hoping they could help me fulfill my promise.  Lilly and Fasa were there along with another human that I had never met.  He introduced himself as Victor and I recognized his accent as that of the region known as Thregalia.  Trained as a rogue and alchemist, he also admitted to performing stage magic.   I admit - I was a bit of a showoff as I used a bit of Sleight of Hand to upstage him.  I feel bad, but he seemed to take it well.

We enjoyed a meal and talked about what was happening in the city.  Rish and Will were missing because they were dealing with a magical threat to the city.  During the chaos of the attack, the Mother of Monsters, revered by the Cult of the Devourer had left five demonic seeds in the city; something completely unheard of as two of these seeds had never been placed within 100 miles of each other and never at the same time.  Will had been infected by one as the group was cleaning out portions of the city.  Rish had him hidden away at the Temple of Irori because many of the other temples had wanted to kill him on the spot.  As I understand it, that is the safest way to deal with these seeds, but Rish had communed with her god and found another way: which was why Tal was busily building the five elaborate clocks instead of eating with us.

As our meal wound down and we discussed what to do next, a man stood up to perform for the house.  He was of decent talent but his choice of material was a bit ironic.  He sang of the Fall of the Fire Giant Slavelord, the first original tale I had performed so long ago based on our encounter beyond the Caves of Madness.  Shane was changed to a Knight using enchanted armor to make him invisible. Lily wasn’t mentioned at all and Fasa was an axe-wielding warrior.  There were a few other more minor inconsistencies which I decided to overlook, but Fasa spoke up.

The minstrel took offense at being corrected in front of the crowd, until he realized that we were the ones he was singing about and that I was the one who wrote the song.  He had purchased the song from a man near the city gates.  When I get a moment to myself, I will have to find this person and see about correcting his version and collecting my royalties.  The minstrel was skilled enough and one of the performers from the Baron’s Theater Company (many of whom were regulars at the Hobbit House) told him to come by for an audition.

I took half of my food to bring back to Tal since she often forgets to eat when she’s working on detailed projects.   After making sure she had a few bites and getting a progress update on the clocks, I met up with the others at the temple to discuss the situation with Rish.  They had found and hidden away the four victims of the seeds left behind by the cult, but the fifth was still missing.  There was a ritual involved that drove a family member insane and in a fit of murderous rage, they would kill their entire family.  The violent energy would coalesce into a seed of pure evil and the next person to arrive on the scene would get implanted with that seed.  That is what happened to Will.

The group of us went to the Wizard’s guild to ask them to scry for the site of the last ritual.  The guild member we spoke with agreed to help, but only if the city would lower the fines against the guild for the destruction they caused in their attack against Oslo.  Since we didn’t have the authority to make that decision, I teleported a message to the Lord Knight.  Within minutes, he arrived and he was livid.  A threat of this magnitude against the entire city and the wizard would dare to attempt to get out of paying for the damage that they caused, especially when that destruction occurred because of a vendetta against someone trying to help the city.

The wizard was banished from the kingdom but the head Diviner immediately agreed to help so no further punishment would befall the guild.  He gave us the location immediately and then turned to me and gave me the banished wizard’s Truename and the aliases he used here and in Lunaria.  I was shaken that I would be given such a thing, but it clearly showed how sincere they were to help.

We met Will and some other priests at the site of the last ritual.  It was a upper-middle class home, but all of the cleric-types immediately detected the evil within.  Will offered to go inside since he was already infected.  Rish declined and began a ritual of consecration.  As she worked, we were attacked by a group rushing out of the house across the street.  We took them all down and discovered that many of them were hobgoblins disguised by illusion magic.  I made sure that one of the attackers survived for questioning.  Soon after, the consecration was complete and the seed exploded in a cloud of violet smoke that shook the building.

We took our prisoner into the building where they had been hiding.  The family inside had been murdered so they could watch the house.  Using my bardic music, I put the hobgoblin into a trance so he would answer all of our questions.  Will stayed outside to keep watch and Rish stayed with him to watch over him.   I learned that this group was to learn the identity of whoever became infected and their leader, a mage of some sort, would use a spell to create a portrait of the victim.  Then they were to go inter the sewers and exit the city through the Duergar tunnels and meet their leaders at the Lighthouse.

On an interesting sidenote, the dark dwarves have a new chieftain and he is very distrustful of clerics and goblin types.  In order to travel through their tunnels, the cultists had to bribe them with a chest full of gems.  (Which were stashed nearby and lucky for me, I was able to reattach my hand before any permanent damage could take place.  Moral of the story: always have the rogue-types check the chests for traps. )  There were only four real gems inside.  I can’t imagine the fakes would have fooled the dwarves, unless they’re careless or not very bright.  

Lastly, I asked about the tailor who had been abducted.  He hadn’t been a part of that, but he heard that she had been kidnapped and taken to the Sahuagin city under the sea to the east.  She had been taken in order to make golems.  A tailor?  Maybe flesh golems that needed to be stitched together?  That gave me hope that as long as she was useful to them, she would be kept alive and hopefully not mistreated.

After turning over the hobgoblin to the city guard, we rushed Will back to the temple.  According to Tal, the clocks will be ready in two days, so the final preparations for the cleansing ritual are underway.  Two days of waiting and worrying.  For now that’s all I can do.

Chapter 49: Evil Seeds and Revelations

The day is here.  The ritual is happening.  I spent the last two days playing my lute, studying the stars and trying to find a location or a map to the Sahuagin city.  The best lead I turned up was an underwater salvage group that worked near the docks: the Wharf Rats and I had heard rumors that they were very pleased that the Royal Navy had arrived in the city.  When I learned that they worked at the Ice House, the same place where the alcohol-tainted ice served at the Lord Knight’s party, I became even more alarmed.  I asked Erra and her group to watch them and alert me if they did anything suspicious.  After the ritual is done, I will find out more about them. 

I visited Francine’s family and told them what I had discovered.  I also promised them again that I would find her and bring her back.  I know her husband understood that I couldn’t promise to bring her back alive, but I would do my best.  I saw a picture of the woman: a pretty fair-skinned human with blonde with gray eyes.  Before I left, I also collected some of her hair and one of her most used sewing needles.   I was inspired by Rish’s tracking device that she created to find the master slave collar, but that will have to wait until after the ritual.  Time to get everything ready.

…..

The ritual was successful and everyone ultimately escaped unharmed; although, my life will never be the same.  Dramatic I know but after what I just discovered, I am entitled, but before I get into that, the ritual itself.

Rish and I set up circles of protection around the four victims (Will, the town guard, a pick pocket and a fruit vendor) who were positioned directly behind one of the clocks.  At the same instant, the ritual started.  As the cleansing magic surged through them, the seeds were vomited up and absorbed by the clock, which would then be powered by the evil magic until it ran down harmlessly.  One clock worked perfectly.  The pick-pocket’s clock lurched suddenly and almost fell over as a spring popped out.   I moved forward to right the clock and the seed dropped into the device, which seemed to work correctly.   The fruit vendor, however, convulsed and the seed missed the clock completely.  It sailed through the air, directly at me, but Will leaped forward and interposed himself.  The seed buried itself into his chest and he dropped to the ground.

 All we could do was reset everything and try again – this time, only with Will.  The three others were checked over and sent away with some of the priests.  They seemed to be fine if somewhat harrowed by the experience.  Will unfortunately was not done and his task was made even more difficult by the pair of seeds buried inside him.  We reestablished the protective circles and restarted the ritual.  He vomited forth the seeds and they each dropped into the clocks but one of them would not start.  Making sure it was safe to enter this time, I moved to the clock, attempting to get it working.  It finally did and there was a sudden backlash of powerful transmutation magic. 

Rish was struck by the wave and began to falter and struggle.  The magic had partially transformed her into one of the creatures in the seeds.  Her heart was now that of a wyvern and the beating organ was quickly threatening to tear open her chest.   An idea flew into my head: if she could be polymorphed into a wyvern and then changed back to her normal form, it should save her.  I began to draft a message to the wizard’s guild to send someone, but Tom stopped me.  He assured me that he could do it and I knew from the last time we merged on the Negative Material Plane, that he had powerful enough magic to do it.  He couldn’t polymorph her but he could Spell-sing her shape back to normal.

As he merged with my body, something nagged at my mind.  The strains of music sounded very faint in the darkness surrounding me but the song was so familiar.  Then it struck me: Tom Nice – Nicotem!  I railed at the cage surrounding me as fear welled up in my chest.  Nicotem was controlling my body and he may never relinquish control!  I fought in vain against the magic when suddenly, I was back in control.  Tom floated next to me, looking as ghostly as ever.  Something in his eyes told me that he knew.

I asked him bluntly if he suspicions were correct and immediately, his attitude became cold and distant. Why was he doing this?  What was the connection between us?  His next words shattered my world even more.  He was Oslo’s son!  That made him my distant uncle!  We had the same blood.  I felt angry and betrayed as I realized that Oslo must have known and he didn’t say anything!  Nicotem said that he would give me space, but if I didn’t behave in a heroic manner, he would take my body for his own.   If I descended into corruption and laziness, he would destroy me utterly.  All I could do was be silent.

So now I sit at my desk in the Study, surrounded by notes of my travels, snippets of songs, images of my friends and loved ones.  I no longer think of this place as Fennic’s.  It is mine.  I have earned it and I am not going to let some bitter, arrogant, hypocrite from the past destroy everything I have done and stop me from doing more.  I will find a way to put Nicotem to rest, but until that time, I have to tell Tal.  She shouldn’t be caught in the middle of this.  I know that I love her and I will tell her so, but if this is too much for her deal with, then I will let her go.

Chapter 50: Betrayal and Departure

No, regardless of the title of this entry, Tal neither betrayed me nor departed; quite the opposite, in fact.  Though she isn’t ready for any permanent commitment, she said that she loved me too and she would be at my side through whatever comes.   More than ever, I realize how lucky I am to have people like her and my friends in my life.

The day after the ritual, I knew I had to continue to search for the location of the Sahuagin city.  Regardless of my issue with Nico, I had made a promise to Francine’s family and I was going to honor that promise, no matter the cost.  My “uncle” had been strangely, but thankfully, absent; though I was certain that he was still around.  As part of my morning ritual, I picked up the Lute to practice but realizing the connection it had to him, I set it aside.  I will not rely on any power that comes from him.

 After breakfast with Tal, I went to meet my friends down at the docks.  Mak was leaving soon as acting Admiral of the Royal Navy (after executing his predecessor for treason).  While there, I first checked in with Erra and learned that the Wharf Rats rarely exited the building and they were working inside on some kind of anchor.  Since they dealt with salvage, I didn’t think anything of it.  (Big mistake!)

 At the docks, Mak was talking with others already when suddenly there was a series loud “crack”s from the docks.  The ships were sinking!  Will and I rushed out to the nearest ship which happened to be the flagship.  Just below the water line I could see a large hole where water was pouring in.  I got as close as I could and used my Mending wand.  The gap sealed immediately and we went to check the other ships. Knowing what to look for, the knowledgeable crews scrambled quickly to save the ships, but the furthest one down was almost beyond the ability to be saved.   We rushed out there and I used the Mending wand again, just in time to prevent it from completely sinking.  Under the water, we spotted a large chain that was attached to a set of thick hooks, almost the size of anchors.  The chain led to a heavy winch at the bottom of the bay which was obviously used to tear the holes in the ships.

Spotting one of the “Rats” on the dock, we grabbed him before he could run off.  Mak took the man into custody and began to do what he is famous for: brutally torturing people for information.  I immediately rushed off to the Ice House along with Will and Victor.  When we got there, Erra was confused because her group hadn’t seen anyone come or go.  We broke in and found out why.  There was a large trap door in the floor that dropped down into the sea.  A breathing apparatus was hooked to a winch and the chain was still reeled out.  Victor went to check the offices while Will and I turned the crank to bring the divers back to base.

A minute or so later, the diving rig bobbed in the water with six men, looking very confused.  Seeing the lightning dancing over my hands, they didn’t make any aggressive moves.  I questioned one of the men to see who they were working for, but he refused to cooperate.  Victor returned a little while later with helpful documents indicating that they were hired under the authority of the Crown Prince himself!  We summoned the guards to take the men into custody and then headed back to the docks in time to see Makausk taking a man into custody.  Lilly told me that she had overheard him attempting to speak into a message ring.   Unfortunately for him, Lilly had just stolen said ring and his message was only heard by her.  Mak began a new round of interrogations to elicit a confession and my stomach turned at the sight.

When I looked around, I noticed that Rish was gone as well.  I looked out over the city and spotted a yellow and red flare, a distinctive pattern that I recognized as Tal’s!  I grabbed the others and rushed off in the direction of the flare, running as swiftly as my new magical boots could take me.  We all reached

I rushed to Tal’s side.  She had a few minor wounds, which I healed and she told us that she and Rish had been attacked by a group of “clerics”.  (Yes, she used finger quotes and everything.)  After taking out the first group, more had shown up and Rish leaped to the rooftops and lead them away.  The men had training similar to Fasa and Rish and they had climbed/jumped up to the roofs to chase her.  Not typical for clerics of Imodae.

Lily pulled out her carpet and told Will to hop on.  Victor and Fasa rushed off down the street and after stealing a quick kiss from Tal and making sure she was alright, I followed after them.  A few blocks later, Victor and Fasa hailed a carriage and when the driver refused to stop, they jumped into the driver’s seat and the man was sent tumbling onto the street.  I jumped into the cab and glanced back to make sure he was okay.  I could tell by the fist he was waving and curses he shouted after us that he was not seriously harmed by the fall.

I had a pleasant conversation with two young men who were out for a night on the town, but the ride was soon over as we reached the scene of the attack.  I called out to a man on the street who looked like he could use some work.  He assured me that he could drive a coach and I paid him a gold to take the men wherever they wished.    We got to the scene in time to see Lily and Will riding on her flying carpet as he fired on the men chasing Rish, who performed an incredible rooftop leap across the main thoroughfare.  Lilly dropped a bag of marbles on the roof behind our friend which sent one man falling to the street where he landed in a crumpled heap.  A second went down to arrows from Will’s amazing new bow.

The final two soon realized that they couldn’t escape and since they were posing as clerics and we were now standing in the temple district, they surrendered.   We turned them over to the priests of their supposed temple and that was that.  I went back to find the carriage driver and paid him a tidy sum of gold for his trouble.   Though he was angry, I also assured him that we really had been on business for the temple of Irori.  He still seemed angry but I also told him where he would likely find his coach.  (The men had told me what their plans were for the evening, and if the man hurried, he should be able to catch up with them easily enough.

Now I am back in my apartment and as soon as I finish writing this, I am going read through the book I found on Nicotem.  Though he has been silent all day, I am sure that he is still lingering and I have no desire to have him following me any longer.  I have to find a way to break this connection we have, to stop him from haunting me any longer.  Tomorrow, I will go to the Wizard’s guild and pay the diviners for the location of the Sahuagin city, but first, I am taking Nico’s lute back to my room in Oslo’s tower.  I will not keep it with me any longer, no matter how useful it may be.