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September 5, 2005

Questions For Milos

In the Scholar痴 Quill the Mokers asked around to see if anyone could shed any more light on Lucius. Some other scholars were there and mentioned that he had been friendly with a Brother Egil. They also said that he had go himself into difficulty with the temple at some point a few years ago but that it all seemed to be settled now. Getting frustrated at their lack of progress the Mokers wanted to talk to Egil, but remembered that he did not want to be identified as the instigator of an enquiry. He was not due to see them for another two days. So, as an alternative, the next day they decided to try and talk to Thuron, the high priest of the temple of Vekik.

A novice greeted them at the entrance to the temple and took them to see Milos, Thuron痴 assistant. Milos, a slight man who wore horn-rimmed spectacles, flatly denied them access to Thuron, saying that all queries could be handled through himself, because the High Priest was too busy with his duties and his preparations for the dedication of the new lighthouse to be disturbed. The overbearing questioning of some of the Mokers raised Milos痴 hackles and Mezezar had to intervene in order to ensure that they obtained some information. When the others had left the mojh talked to Milos alone. Mezezar discovered that Lucius had donated a large amount of books in order to make reparations to the temple for his violation of the sanctum. These books were under study for their authenticity and would not be available to the public until the following year. Milos made it clear that he believed that Lucius would turn up again in a couple of days and that no one should be worried. The temple of course, did not have the resources to send out search parties for every librarian who failed to turn up for work.

Realising that they would not get to see Lucius痴 travel documents without stealing them or infiltrating the temple in some fashion the Mokers left to consider other options. They returned to Lucius痴 house for another look, with Mezezar opening the lock with a spell. They did not find anything new out there though, so they went off to see if they could obtain any more information from Captain Scarbelly. They were again refused permission to board the Bloody Vengeance. So, once again they went to the Rusty Hook in the hope of bumping in to the Captain having some food. This time, however, they were unlucky as the sibeccai was not present. After a frustrating day of going from pillar to post, the Mokers decided to return to the Quill to await their meeting with Lucius on the following evening.

As they approached the temple district, an armed group, who bore yellow shields, set upon them. They had obviously prepared their attack in advance, as a crossbowman was already in place on the roof a low building ahead of them. Below him, three others advanced towards them menacingly. When the Mokers turned to check their options for retreat, they saw two more opponents blocking the way they had come.

Mera was the first to react, but she missed with her crossbow, which shot at the advancing humans. But then the yellow shields were among them, striking out at Ke-Tant and Obur. Both attacks failed, as did a crossbow shot launched from behind them. The giant and the greenbond also failed to land a blow. After this, the Mokers took control of the situation. Mera summoned a cloud of iron scraps that swirled around the crossbow wielders behind the group damaging both of them. One of them also suffered from a crossbow bolt from Obur. Ke-Tant was focussed on those in front, managing to score a mighty blow with his greatsword, which took out one opponent immediately. Mezezar also managed to damage one of the swordsmen with magic. The Yellow Shields were no match for the Mokers and failed in most of their attacks, though Ke-Tant was scratched by a blade. One of the crossbowmen at the rear took a potion which seemed to heal him somewhat, before they took to firing again. Mezezar was sorely wounded by a crossbow bolt just before his acidic splash both blinded and damaged its sender. Mera employed her crossbow to great effect, bringing the enemy on the roof down to fall at their feet with one shot. Ke-Tant and Obur stood toe to toe with the enemy and came out victorious.

Three of their opponents were dead, but they managed to get some sense out of the others, learning that the leader of the gang, Nezalan, was one that had died. He had been hired to kill the Mokers by someone that the rest of the group did not know. However a scrap of paper that they found on his body indicated a meeting that was arranged at the Black Gull tavern, which would probably be with the person who wanted the Mokers dead. They decided to go there and discover who this was.

September 20, 2005

Hidden Temple

Urden and Yind of the Yellow Shields had pointed them in the direction of the Black Gull where they headed immediately. It too was near the unsavoury docks and filled with the kind of patrons that the Mokers either liked to avoid or get information from. They were fearless in their approach and split up before entering. Ke-Tant stood guard outside, where Mezezar and Obur were trying to persuade him to be less conspicuous. The mojh went inside and found a table. Obur did likewise, near the door, but Mera approached the bar and scanned the patrons blatantly. As they did not have a description of their quarry, or even a name, the Mokers felt at a disadvantage, but the yellow shield that Mera bore, and that she placed obviously on the bar, might prove to draw them out. After her queries to the barman about the Yellow Shields came to naught, Mera strode through the crowds in the bar searching every alcove for someone suspicious.

Eventually, a rather non-descript thin human got up nervously from a table on his own and headed for the exit. Mera was convinced that this was the contact that they were looking for and Obur and Mezezar were not far behind. Ke-Tant detained the poor human as he left the Gull and soon the Mokers were questioning him about Nezalan and why he had set him and his Yellow Shields on them. The human, whose name was Enzo succumbed immediately and managed no resistance to their questions. He said that they had angered his cult痴 master. He had been ordered to hire these mercenaries by his superior. The Mokers descriptions had been given and handed on to the Yellow Shields. When questioned further about his cult, Enzo seemed to know little. He called it the Brotherhood, but was unable to say who the Master was or even what its aims were, he said that he was not yet worthy to know these things.

Enzo was able to tell them that he was to report the success of his mission to his superior by leaving a note in a particular building in the northern district of Khorl, just west of the docks. This bricked up house served as some sort of base for the cult, but Enzo did not know what went on there, although, unusually, he had been asked to bring food there twice in the last week. The Mokers immediately made Enzo lead them through the maze-like alleys of the docks, north and west to this place. The area in which they found themselves was quiet and non-descript. The one storey building itself was narrow and dilapidated. The windows were bricked up and the tiles on the roof were loose. The Mokers stood in the shadows observing for a while before attempting the door. They could not overcome the lock, so they hoisted themselves onto the roof and made an entrance by removing tiles. Leaving Enzo behind, the Mokers clambered up and through the gap and soon the four were standing in the rubble and rubbish of the ground floor of the house. Searching around here for exits or something interesting, they realised that the rear of the building had foundations that were quite old. Concentrating in this area, they uncovered a trapdoor, which led down some stairs to a wine cellar. Nine large casks lined the walls of the room. When struck, four of them seemed to be empty, so the Mokers concentrated on these, opening the one in the northwest corner. They walked through the fake cask and into the corridor beyond. It ended after fifteen feet in a narrow stone stairway, which led further down.

The foot of the stair opened into a worked stone corridor, leading north. They could see from their lamp that a doorway led straight ahead, but that two alcoves opened to the west and east just before it. Ke-Tant strode confidently forward, planning to heave open the doors. He did not notice the outlines of the pit trap beneath his feet until it was too late. It took a few moments for the Mokers to heave the weighty giant out of the pit and in that time some creatures slid out of a secret opening in the western alcove to come upon them from behind. These scaly humanoids were similar to mojh in appearance, but had more pronounced tails and were more bestial. They attacked immediately without deigning to converse with their opponents.

Although the cramped confines around the pit proved difficult for the Mokers to negotiate, their martial prowess again shone through. The creatures� short spears damaged Mera before she managed to withdraw to a safe distance where Mezezar healed her. Ke-Tant and Obur held the line against their five enemies and wore them down, while the others used ranged attacks from beyond the pit or behind their comrades. Once they had defeated them, the Mokers followed the dank passage through which they had come. It meandered west and north until it reached a large irregular cave. The floor was scattered with refuse and filth and they could hear water lapping from the far corner. A rough corridor led off to the east ending in a flat wall. Realising that this must be another concealed opening, the Mokers soon discovered a catch and opened the door into a bright torch-lit room. Pillars stood at equal distances down its length, with carvings of serpents or wyrms coiled around them. To the left of them at the end of this hallway stood a black altar with a strange yellow symbol inscribed on the wall behind it. Beside this stood a statue of a large reptilian creature with tentacles, which may have been the manifestation of the god worshipped here. Behind the altar stands a small man wearing black robes with a full hood. As you enter the room, he throws back his hood, exposing familiar horn-rimmed glasses. Milos smiles at your reaction and says, 添ou are the first outsiders to ever reach the Temple of the Unspeakable One. Your achievement deserves congratulations. It is also your doom!� Just then they noticed a flash of movement from the south as another creature leapt to attack them.

About September 2005

This page contains all entries posted to Aspirants of the Diamond Throne in September 2005. They are listed from oldest to newest.

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