Episode 16: 8/8/09

The Party:
Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-3
Nineve, human knight/5
Sarek, human wizard/5
Xicar, human cleric/5

The giant falls, the keep's defenders sally forth, and the siege is broken. We rush down the hill and start stabilizing the wounded convicts. Edain, Astrid, and Black Bart have come through the battle okay. As we're seeing to the fallen and wounded, a rider approaches from the keep.

He introduces himself as Captain Lorring and seems to be quite crestfallen when he realizes we haven't brought any luxuries from Istvin with us. We patiently explain that we've been out of supplies for almost a week and fighting for our lives through orc-infested countryside to get here and save his ass. He immediately stops sulking. After surprising Haroldur with a congratulatory slap on the back and handshakes all around, sprinkled with lots of "Jolly good show, chaps!", he leads us down into the keep. As we're passing through the courtyard, we notice 3 of the Sawfish boys among the convicts. They seem to notice use, too. After we get cleaned up and settle in, we go to see Jakardos.

Jakardos is a middle aged, dark haired human. He is charming and friendly, and politely invites us up to his office. His lab is littered with automaton parts, clockwork horrors, and clockwork beetles like the one 31E carries. Jakardos explains he's been expecting us. We chit-chat a little about his collection and he shows us how the clockwork beetles are navigation devices of some kind. When placed on a map, they spring to life and skitter off to a precise location - each beetle seems to be keyed to a certain place, and will plant itself on that same place each time. The beetles also seem to be sensitive to the scale of the maps, so if the beetle is keyed to a distant location, but the map it is placed on is a detailed, small-scale map, the beetle will run off the map, off the table, and across the floor, presumably in the direction of it's marked destination. It really is quite intriguing!

After an appropriate amount of chit-chat, we get down to business. We fill Jakardos in on 31E - his missing limbs, memory loss, strange protocols and references to people and places that don't currently exist... the artificer is intrigued. He agrees to help us (for a price), but needs 31E's exact model number... and of course we don't know it. Sarek sends to Moussad for information:

Convicts delivered. Freed keep from siege from giant, orcs, ogre. Ranger outpost sacked, loss of life great. Can you ask 31E his model number? Praise Wee Jas.

Moussad answers:
Good work! Model number? 0FB3A4F3D4, why? When will you be returning to the Cabal? Praise Wee Jas!

With that sorted, we head back to our rooms. As we're returning to our chambers, we're approached by Captain Lorring. He requests our help in getting the keep squared away over the next few days... we agree to start work on the various issues tomorrow morning. However, we don't even make it to our lodgings before the first problem presents itself:

Rebuilding the Wall: Tamklar vs. Rangers!
The rangers and Tamklar are discussing the rebuilding of the keep's walls. Tamklar is suggesting making improvements to the wall which would make it stronger and better, but would take a little longer to build. The rangers want to rebuild the wall exactly how it was, as quickly as possible. The rangers seem to think that Tamklar's plan is over-engineered and will waste valuable time and resources. Tamklar points out that if the keep's wall had been properly fortified in the first place, they wouldn't be wasting time and resources rebuilding it now. They argue back and forth a bit and we attempt to convince the rangers to do it the right way: the dwarf way. Unfortunately, the ranger foremen and their convict laborers will have none of it - a hastily built wall is better than no wall at all. We fail to convince them to heed Tamklar's advice.

Next up: R-E-S-P-E-C-T!
Looking through the wall's rubble onto the remains of the battlefield, we can see a crew of convicts carelessly shoveling dead bodies into a mass grave. We hurry over to them and find out what they're up to. The convicts complain to us about heavy work and the daunting number of bodies that need dealing with. They claim they don't have time to provide proper burials for each of the fallen. We instruct them on the appropriate, respectful way of dealing with battlefield graveyards, trying to impart to them a sense of honor and duty to the dead. I don't feel like we're getting through to them, though. In the end, they follow our advice mostly because Nineve is really scary when she threatens people - nobody wants to find out what comes after "or else!" But, at least we succeed in seeing that the dead are properly buried!

Evening falls and Captain Lorring has broken out the reserves to provide a great meal as a victory celebration for the survivors. A raucous party ensues. We relax a little for the first time in weeks, and everyone enjoys themselves. The whole keep sleeps in later than they probably meant to, but the next day we're back at it, helping out.

Talk of Surrender
Despite last night's party, there's talk of surrender among some of the convicts. They see defeat as inevitable and they're wondering why Captain Lorring doesn't just give in to the orcs instead of being slowly ground down by them. A couple even propose slipping out of the keep and taking their chances in the wilds instead of being trapped behind the walls again. It takes some stern words, but we manage to convince the convicts that they don't stand a chance outside the keep walls by themselves.

Lazy Lumberjacks
One of the keep's rangers directs us to a copse of trees where a group of convicts is supposed to be harvesting timber for the repairs. However, the sounds of woodcutting are intermittent at best. We find Parne and Torkan, the barbarian Anderhoff brothers, among the layabouts. When the Anderhoff boys see us, they perk up and try to look busy. After some displays of strength and pointers on how to work smarter, not harder, we've whipped those convicts into shape and they're deforesting the countryside like pros!

Looters
On our way back to the keep we notice one of the convict gangs assigned to dealing with the corpses is returning from the battlefield, laden with spoils. Here and there we spot a thick orcish armband or torc, and several convicts have armed themselves with particularly fine examples of orc weapons. Each has a heavy pouch tied to the belts that clinks with newfound coin. They've clearly been looting the remains on the battlefield. We stop them and explain the difference between looting for personal gain (bad) and reacquiring useful items for the survival of the group (okay). We're sure to speak slowly and use small words. Eventually, we get through to them, and they agree to turn in their loot to the keep's treasury so it can be distributed as needed among the group.

It should be noted that throughout all of this, Nineve is constantly flirting with Vander Anderhoff, Buttercup-and-Westley style. She barks orders at him, like "Polish my armor, swine!" or "Fetch me that water jug!" and the like, AND HE DOES IT.

At the end of the day, Captain Lorring rewards us for moving things along from his cache of useful things: (Magic bag! Magic bag!)

Nineve: CLW potion x2, Everlasting Rations, Resist Fire potion, letter of recommendation (good for +1 influence)

Xicar: CLW potion x2, Scroll of Mass Snake's Quickness, vial of Black Veil powder, Pearl of Power lvl 2

Sarek: 2nd lvl scroll, 3rd lvl scroll, Quall's Token Whip, Scroll of Dismissal

Ashe: CLW potion x2, Amulet of Toxin Delay, Naivia (MW Comp. longbow +3), letter of recommendation (good for +1 influence)

As we're thanking him for our rewards, he mentions he's looking for a resourceful group like ours for a "small task". He wants us to slip into the main orc stronghold and take out the leadership of the tribe while the larger orc force is regrouping in the woods. He would also like to find out more about the dragons seen among the orc forces, since this is pretty weird. We agree this is probably a good idea, and there really isn't anyone else handy who can do it. We tell him we'll leave in the morning.

That evening we meet back up with Jakardos. He produces a leg that will fit 31E. He also recommends we get some scrolls or spells of Repair for healing the automaton. Unfortunately, Jakardos won't part with the leg for less than 5K. We tell him we'll discuss it with him further after we get back from our task for Captain Lorring.

In the morning, we leave for the main orc camp. Following Lorring's directions, we ride through the mountains for about a day and a half and at last find ourselves at the entrance to the orc cave. Since the main orc force is still slowly regrouping farther down in the valley, the "main orc camp" is sparsely populated, as advertised. That's always a good sign. I scout ahead, but clumsily. I spot some sentries just inside the cave, but they see me, too. They shout and throw stuff at me as I schlep back to the party to let them know about the sentries, and, oh BTW, they know we're here.

We enter the cave and the sentries are waiting for us on the other side of a rather inconveniently-placed 20-foot chasm. We exchange fire and Xicar fills the cavern with a cacophonous roar which stuns the vermin.

We soon tire of fighting from a distance. Nineve throws herself down to the bottom of the chasm and Xicar follows suit. 10 feet of falling damage? That's gonna leave a mark! I opt for the express route and leap gracefully across the empty space, drawing my swords in a flourish as I land cat-like on the other side. Sarek provides artillery support as I cut through the remaining sentries. Nineve and Xicar scrabble at the walls of the chasm like rats in a bathtub. The orcs keep coming, but eventually we kill them all, and get everyone past the chasm. A quick healing break and we're ready to advance down the corridor, deeper into the cave.

Suddenly, two flaming hellhounds streak towards us. Gouts of flame erupt from their glowing maws, and envelop me in fire! Then, a half-dragon arcanist like the one we faced while taking the ballistas during the siege appears in the corner and blasts the party with a fireball! The battle is joined. As before, these guys pack some serious firepower, and things get pretty heated. Sarek makes a big stink(ing cloud), which of course sickens everybody. Xicar chases the arcanist around, threatening(?) him with his dagger. Sarek takes pot shots at the enemy caster while the rest of us stagger around, retching. It takes FOREVER, but we eventually finish him off.

~Ashe

Episode 12: 10/11/08

The Party:

Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-3

Haroldur, human cleric/5

Nineve Floret, human knight/5

Sarek, human wizard/5

We're just finishing up with Filge's pets when suddenly we hear the elevator returning from upstairs! We scramble into a defensive formation. The doors open to reveal four more cultists. Fortunately, we have the tactical advantage. We corner them in the elevator and cut through them like a knife through butter. At the end of the skirmish, we hear horses and a commotion upstairs. Nineve and Haroldur head up to investigate and hold off any over-zealous authorities while Sarek and I examine the altar for evidence.

Using Improved Sift, I see a vision of Filge and a buxom shrouded female in the midst of what appears to be a reanimation ceremony. A loud crash (sounds like us) breaks Filge's concentration and the spell goes awry amidst much cursing and calamity. On the altar, we find diamonds and the remains of diamonds (about half are intact), along with a partially-charred scroll of Raise Dead. We net:

2100 gp in diamonds

I put everything into an evidence bag and we join Nineve and Haroldur upstairs.

Nineve has skillfully convinced the mounted city guardsmen of the truth - that we are here on business with the church of Wee Jas, and have captured the Sawfish Boys for assisting with illegal necromancy. We notice that Kinto is missing from our group of captives, but the other three are still there. The guards take our prisoners into custody and we are escorted back to the Ruby Temple with only moderate hassling. We check in with Mossad, heal up, and go straight to bed!

First thing in the morning, we're summoned to Marten's office. I'm pleasantly surprised to find my favorite uncle, Justice Ironbriar of the city guard, is also there. Unfortunately, my bright mood evaporates as it becomes clear he is not visiting, but in fact here under rather unpleasant circumstances. He inquires about our involvement in the deaths of Captain Tevlis and his two (secretly treacherous) guards, and a challenging conversation ensues.

The interview does NOT go well. We are implicated in the deaths, and Uncle Ironbriar, who could never be accused of nepotism, demands our arrest. Just when I think this can't get any worse, Marten uses his considerable political clout and refuses to allow us to be taken into custody, assuring the Justice we'll be secure in the custody of the church. Suddenly, the city jail is looking like a better option...

Uncle Ironbriar leaves and Marten lays into us, suspending our Keeper status! After a thorough dressing-down, we leave and meet with Mossad. He explains that he's still in our corner, and will try to get to the bottom of this complex situation. I hand over our bag of evidence to Mossad and thank him for his support. We go have breakfast in the mess and return to our quarters - only to find our things have been relocated to the acolytes' quarters! We trudge down to the common sleeping area and begin our new, mundane tasks as acolytes. Yay.

Our first task: The Potter's Field.
Cremation and entombment cost money that is rarely spent of the poor, Instead they are buried in the potter's field, left to decompose, and the graves are eventually re-used, over and over. However, it takes skill and careful cataloging to prevent disturbing previous graves that have not had time to rest sufficiently. We spend all day in the archives going over the complicated plans so we can find an appropriate resting place for this week's batch of deceased peasants. We give the burial orders, but a few days later we hear there were some problems with the plots we ordered for a few of our charges...

Next up: The Drowned Son
The eldest son of a well-respected family loyal to the Cabal has drowned in the river - they desperately want him raised as they feel he perished before his time. They cannot afford the Commune spell, nor the cost to raise him, but they are insistent. They have been loyal parishioners of the Cabal for years, and we are keenly aware that mishandling this situation could cost the Cabal valuable members. We almost feel like Keepers again as we make our way to the somber house. Through sensitivity and patient understanding, by the end of the afternoon we convince the family to let their son go.

Then, we're back to playing corpse-jenga with: Cataloging Catacomb 7A
As is to be expected, the catacombs of Whitewall become overcrowded from time to time. When this happens, acolytes are sent into older catacombs to catalog the remains therein and determine where there is room to inter additional remains. This week, that's us. We get to brush up on our Profession: Gravekeeper skills and spend several days carefully cataloging, reorganizing, and cleaning this section of the catacombs in preparation for future use.

During our "adventures in acolytism" in the Temple one day, we hear Marten curse and then stagger backwards through a doorway, clutching a fresh, bleeding wound in his shoulder. Naturally, we're intrigued. Resisting the urge to start chanting "Fight! Fight! Fight!", we sidle in closer for a better look. Moments later 31E hobbles into view, eyes red and weapon bloody! Marten sees us and demands we deal with our "rogue construct". 31E matter-of-factly informs Marten that he cannot give him the key-plate under any circumstances, and demands to be taken to the Exarch at the Grand Terminus immediately. It's a tense situation, but we tread carefully and manage to talk sense into both Marten and 31E. Marten reluctantly agrees to allow 31E to retain the key-plate, and 31E agrees to cooperate with Marten and the Cabal's clergy (on the condition that said cooperation will not violate his programmed directives). We all gain 1 influence point.

The next day we're back at it with: The Sickly Girl
A young girl is very ill and near death. We visit the home to discuss arrangements with her family and ease their grief, but while we're there, I happen to notice that she's suffering from Red Ache, the same disease that almost claimed Tamclar's wife. I bring this to everyone's attention, and suddenly our focus shifts from easing her passage to bringing her back from the brink of death! We give her family detailed instructions on how to tend to her, and with some magical assistance and our careful ministrations, in a week or two the girl recovers and the family members all become loyal followers of Wee Jas!

A few days later we are assigned to investigate: Missing Gravediggers
We receive word that several gravediggers have gone missing in Whitewall this morning. Gravediggers vanish from time to time in the Whitewall, so this isn't terribly unusual. Occasionally, gravediggers turn to tomb-robbing and attempt to make off with their ill-gotten gains! We're sent to get to the bottom of it.

When we arrive at the scene, we quickly rule out skulduggery. It looks like the workers were digging a grave when the floor collapsed beneath them. They must have breached the vault of an old crypt, not listed in the records. It appears they may have fallen in. We tie a rope to a piton anchored to the secure part of the floor and descend into the pit. We find a shovel on the floor directly under the hole, and at the other end of the room, two dazed-looking gravediggers. They don't seem to notice us, which is odd. Just as we're trying to figure out what's wrong with them, my heightened hearing detects an incoherent babbling off in the distance. It's so distracting! I'm forced to stare off blankly into middle distance while the rest of the party addresses the gravediggers.

Luckily, I snap back to reality just in time to brutally lay into an Allep. After it is dispatched, we turn our attentions towards the skeletons which start to pour into the chamber. We've got a lot on our hands, suddenly. Honestly, it's the most excitement we've had in weeks. It becomes too much for Sarek to bear. Crackling with unspent magical energy, he fireballs the place without warning, which takes care of the skeleton problem but also immolates the hapless gravediggers, unfortunately. We climb out of the vault, seal it up temporarily, and report back to the Cabal.

That evening Mossad asks to speak with us. Marten is still very irritated with us, but Moussad hates to see our skills going to waste on mundane tasks. He recommends we leave town for a while to let Marten and the general political climate cool off a bit. We agree and make preparations to leave while Mossad works on finding a reason for us to be gone.

Meanwhile, Sarek and Haroldur have also noticed some of their inconsequential personal items are missing. We're a bit concerned when we realize that someone is stealing from us. Our thoughts turn to the usual suspect - Hezzrak. We lure him out of invisibility with a game of chess, but we quickly become convinced that he's not the one behind the thefts. Sarek cleverly convinces him to help us find the culprit.

The next day, it's back to business as usual as we're tasked with cataloging the remains found in the newly discovered crypt. We toil for days and produce a accurate and beautifully detailed record of the entire area. Around this time, Sarek receives a Sending from Lazare:

"A friend, Jakardos, may have insight that can aid you in solving the mysteries of 31E37 and the Cairn. Go to Blackwall Keep."

We relay this message to Mossad. He thinks Blackwall Keep is a perfect destination - a potentially dangerous journey, but remote enough so that the trip there and back will give things time to calm down in Istivin. He tells us he'll look into this possibility.

A few days later, Mossad approaches us with a plan! Blackwall Keep is on the frontier of orc and goblin country. Because of this, detail on the Keep is dangerous and maintaining a sufficient garrison is always a concern. In fact, garrisoning Blackwall Keep is so dangerous, violent, convicted criminals are frequently offered the option to serve at Blackwall instead of going to prison - if they are still alive at the end of a two-year tour of duty, they are freed. Some choose to stay on at Blackwall and become part of the elite group of rangers which manage and run the Keep. It happens that a group of such criminals is to be dispatched to Blakcwall Keep presently, and Mossad has arranged that we are to be their escort.

Additionally, it would seem that Tamclar, who has been studying in the Temple, is running into some difficulty. Mossad has observed that our favorite dwarf seems to be struggling to balance Our Lady's tenets with the deep-seated cultural and ideological ways of his people. Noting that Tamclar is the type that prefers deeds over words, Mossad suggests that he shoud take a break from his scholastic endeavors and accompany us on our journey to the Keep. Perhaps he can find his way more easily in a forest than in a library...

We set off the next day, with Tamclar and our company of criminal scum. They're unarmed and shackled together, but there are about 50 of them. About half an hour outside of town they make their first attempt at a mutiny. Fortunately, we're able to intimidate them into submission - for now. This will no doubt prove to be an interesting journey. I lead us through the woods and we find a place to camp for the night. Just after dinner, Zolara appears to us and offers us a reading:

The Choosing:

Sarek: the Midwife
Haroldur: the Owl
Nineve: the Mute Hag
Ashe: the Queen Mother

The Spread:

The Foreign Trader-----The Dance-----The Unicorn
The Eclipse-------------The Forge------The Keep
The Joke---------------The Midwife----The Winged Serpent

~Ashe

Episode 11: 9/20/08

The Party:

Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-2

Haroldur, human cleric/4

Nineve Floret, human knight/4

Sarek, human wizard/4

We proceed down the stairs after Vander Anderhoff. Just as we're leaving, we hear armed men running to the front of the building. Captain Tevlis of the city guard, accompanied by two of his men, bursts through the door. He demands we cease and desist. We try to convince him that his goals and ours are not mutually exclusive. He concedes, but insists on accompanying and keeping an eye on us while we investigate the slaughterhouse.

We decend down the stairs and Vander is waiting for us in ambush! We rush into combat. As Nineve and I flank Vander, a vision of The Twin appears to me, and I gain a mirror image! Haroldur and Sarek take on Vander's burlier, angrier brother, Parn. Nineve eventually convinces Vander to surrender to her. Haroldur finds himself in a bad spot and flees across the slaughterhouse... only to run into another of Vander's barbarian brothers, Torkan! The cleric whittles him down eventually. In the meantime, the city guards turn on us and their erstwhile leader! Captain Tevlis, totally caught off guard, gets stabbed in the back by his own men and goes down. The guards are dealt with. Sarek also falls, but I manage to navigate the treacherous gauntlet of chutes, platforms and machinery, making it across the slaughterhouse floor just in time to save the wizard from certain doom. As the battle wraps up, we stabilize the three unconcious Sawfish brothers, time them up, and hang them by their bounds from the hook line in the ceiling. Then, we proceed deeper into the slaughterhouse in search of Lord Ondore's missing body.

As we're exploring the warrens of the slaughterhouse, we stumble upon an ogre, who attacks! He catches me on his hook, but fortunately, Nineve disarms him of his weapon before he has a chance to drop me into the mysterious vat of bubbling slime he's presiding over. As Nineve and I are battling the ogre, another stealthy Sawfish brother, Kinto, sneaks up behind Haroldur and Sarek! Nineve and I finish off the ogre and turn our attentions to the last Sawfish boy. We quickly subdue him and tie him up with his brothers.

At last, we enter a room obviously used for illegal necromancy and other foul-smelling evils. Disturbingly, the walls of this chamber are lined with familiar-looking cylinders - acid zombies! We've all been through this drill before, so rather than waiting for them to burst out and attack, I pop the cylinders from afar with my bow, and surprisingly, the zombies slump lifelessly to the floor.

Throughout, I can hear frantic chanting in an ajacent room, followed by some panicked-sounding but fluent cursing. Something must be going poorly... Suddenly, our old friend Filge the Necromancer bursts into the room. He must've heard our approach because he doesn't seem particularly surprised to see us. He animates the zombies with his familiar "Arise, my beautiful monstrosities!" line. Then he runs away like a little girl.

The battle is joined. We mow through the zombies and chase after Filge. We burst through a door farther down the hallway and find him - with some friends. Filge and a closely hooded female seem to be arguing over the shambling, reanimated corpse of what used to be Lord Ondore. Two acid zombies, massive skeletal monstrousity, and two cultists (from the shadows!) attack us. In what is becoming a disturbing trend, Filge uses foul magics to escape our wrath. The female and Lord "Shambles" Ondore escape up a concealed elevator of some sort while we are locked in a battle royale with the rear guard. Between Filge's pets, the cultists, and Haroldur's uncontrolled spider swarm, it's a tough fight, but we somehow manage to stay up and put them all down.

~Ashe

Episode 10: 8/9/08

The Party:

Ashelia Raminas, elf ranger-rogue/2-2

Haroldur, human cleric/4

Nineve Floret, human knight/4

Sarek, human wizard/4

Zolara interprets our Harrow reading:

"Through your aid and prudence one who was lost without hope of salvation has been allowed to bring forth information from the darkness of forgotten history. One who has watched his comrades fall and was thought lost forever has been found. Elsewhere, a woman of dark power masks herself and shapes the events that will divide your future. A safe journey leads to a place of fellowship and camaraderie. Four crows, brothers in violence, plot in the depths where none who are led emerge alive. Within this place, a dark soul awaits the creeping touch of true corruption."

Our return trip is uneventful, and we arrive at the Ruby Temple in Istivin without incident. We return to our cells to recover from our journey and await debriefing.

In the morning, we give Mossad our full report. Privately, I also turn over the curiously sinister box with the writhing runes. With these formalities out of the way, I find I'm feeling slightly adrift, like I may be losing my focus on Wee Jas after our recent adventures and departure from monastic life. I elect to spend 2 days in meditation to refocus on The Lady's will. During this time, Sarek undergoes the ritual of the Ruby Initiate.

At the end of my meditations, I take 31E with me and we pay a visit to the (really creepy) lab of Dr. Morgus. The 'good' doctor is completely disinterested in the construct, but he takes my nutritive goo samples and says he'll get back to me. He snatches the vials from me and immediately begins experimentation; he shooes us out of his lab without even looking up. 31E seems to take it all in stride (which is impressive, as he only has ONE LEG!!!), but I'm glad to leave the freakshow lab and go about my business.

The next day, I meet with the completely disinterested Marten and obtain a writ to undergo the Ritual of the Deathly Scholar, as well as the Ritual of Intuit Pattern. At dusk I head down to the crypts to learn these new secrets. Later, back in my cell, with my new found power I am able to finally translate the rune above the inactive portal in Icosiel's tomb - "Amsophar"! I'm quite pleased with this bit of progress. Just as I'm putting my notes back in order, Dr. Morgus's 3-legged hunchback appears and informs me that the Doctor can create an elixir which will permanently grant 5 HP to the user, at the cost of 1 pt. of Influence (for Morgus's time). Unfortunately, I am no longer in a position to benefit from this discovery, but I share this information with the others, and Nineve and Haroldur each get a vial of the elixir.

Days pass and we begin to fall back into the routine of temple life, when we are summoned to Marten's office. He assigns us to oversee Lord Ondore's funeral (pt. 2), and introduces us to Myra, a severe-looking middle aged woman. He informs us that Myra will be observing us for a while. We hardly have time to ponder the meaning of this new development, as we are ambushed on our way out of Marten's offices by an attractive young woman who introduces herself as Elidara Lillybrook. She pleads that the decision to leave her uncle Ondore in the realm of the deceased be repealed. She is quite animated and insistent. I swiftly lose interest - we've heard sob stories like this one a thousand times. As she shamelessly throws herself at Sarek and Haroldur, I notice she has a tattoo underneath the glove on her left hand, but I can't quite make it out... Haroldur takes the bait and agrees to meet with her privately. I roll my eyes and stalk off to the requisitions officer. I put in a request for a wand of CLW and supplies for Ondore's funeral tomorrow, and then spend the rest of the day in the library.

I'm looking into Jodai, a forgotten god of luck who is enjoying a popular resurgence among the commoners. Jodai is Chaotic Neutral (the worst kind!) whose portfolio is Luck and Games of Chance. His followers hold lotteries where they redistribute church donations to a few lucky faithful.

Meanwhile, apparently finished with his private audience with Ms. Lillybrook, Haroldur works with Advocat to determine if there's any way to reinterpret the ruling on Lord Ondore. I'm a bit surprised by his tenacity, actually. However, he eventually runs up against the brick wall that is Marten, and eventually must admit defeat. The next day, he breaks the news gently to the crestfallen Elidara, and manages to make his failure to reverse an irreversible ruling seem like Marten's fault. She gives him a small token of her appreciation for his efforts - a mundane ring bearing the Lillybrook crest. Humans are so melodramatic!

It's the day of Ondore's burial, so in the evening we proceed to the graveyard to preside over his second (and hopefully final) funeral.

Nineve gives a truly moving service, but it is once again interrupted by that interloper, The Hawk! Chaos erupts as thugs and zombies appear out of the woodwork, and the hearse bearing Ondore's body takes off suddenly and crashes through the crowd!

The crowd surges forward in panic, and Nineve magically doubles in size, striking out at The Hawk, his followers and anyone looking suspicious. I manifest Expeditious Retreat (thanks to Zolara) and dash off after Ondore's renegade hearse. Nineve, Sarek and Haroldur are reluctant to let The Hawk's meddling go unpunished, but with some prodding from the ever-present Myra, they join in the chase. Some of the villains had crashed a carriage in the roadway in a well-coordinated attempt to impede our pursuit and make good their comrade's escape in Ondore's hearse. Fortunately, giant Nineve rights the toppled carriage in no time and Haroldur and Sarek use it to advance the chase. They soon overtake me as I sprint through the city after Ondore's corpse.

We race through the streets, weaving through traffic and dodging obstacles. Sarek and Haroldur manage to catch up to the hearse and stop the escape - Nineve and I run up just in time to butcher the villains. Some of the men are dressed as thugs, and some are in robes. We do manage to subdue one of the band and take him as prisoner, along with the hearse-driver, who has clearly been charmed. However, a quick search of the coffin reveals that Ondore's body is missing! We head back to the Ruby Temple with the hearse, the coffin, our prisoners, and the bodies.

Once we arrive, Haroldur and Sarek immediately set to the unsavory task of torturing the captive thug for information. Sarek is enthusiastic about the prospect... Maybe we should start calling him Sarek the Sadist... Nineve, the charmed hearse-driver and I rush inside to report to Mossad. We quickly explain the situation, and he meets us outside to search the hearse for clues while we remove the bodies. Mossad finds an empty potion vial and several black feathers. We commence investigation into the whereabouts of Ondore's body immediately.

Haroldur and Sarek learn that the thugs were hired from the docks in Cliffside, and were told to steal the hearse. The captive claimed he saw some of the men in rust-colored robes pour a vial of oil on the corpse, which then promptly shrank to an impossibly small size. One of the robed men had a crow with him; he tied the tiny shrunken corpse to a crow's leg, and the bird flew off.

In the hearse, Mossad and I find muddy bootprints, but upon closer examination, I determine the boots were caked in mud AND cow manure - which is rather unusual. Also, we notice the robes on the bodies are stained with blood along the hem... We conclude the robed men must've come from one of the local slaughterhouses. We're about to split up and search all the slaughterhouses in the area when Mossad wisely suggests we interrogate one of the robed corpses using Speak with Dead. He finds an acolyte to cast the spell for us and we learn that the villains were supposed to rendez-vous at the Sawfish Boys' slaughterhouse. With the help of the Cabal's resources, we soon locate the establishment in question. We have no time to lose, so we set out for it immediately.

The Sawfish Boys are an unsavory lot of brothers, but as they fulfill a need, their brutish behaviour and questionable exploits are tolerated. When we arrive shortly after dark, the building's lights are off and things are quiet. I scout the perimeter, but we decide to take the direct approach and knock on the door. A man who calls himself Vander Anderhoff answers, and we use our authority as agents of the Church of Wee Jas to convince him to let us have a look around. He is quite congenial, chit-chatting with us as he leads us to his office and shows us around. Next, he starts leading us down some stairs. Just before we reach the stairway, his veneer of civility drops. He draws his rapier and calls his dogs!

A pack of hounds, led by a dire wolf, bursts out of a room some distance behind us, and we are trapped between the beasts and their master. We beat up on Vander, but are unable to finish him off before he escapes down the stairs. However, the hounds are giving us some real trouble, so we are forced to let Vander go as we turn our attention to the vicious dogs. It's a very tough fight, but after what seems like an eternity we managed to finish off the beasts. There's no time to rest and regroup, though, as Vander has escaped into the bowels of the slaughterhouse...