GLRP:EMs:2010:In the Shadow of Virtue

In the Shadow of Virtue

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Lost & Found - Part 2, pub. 04-13-2010

Lost & Found - Part 3, pub. 04-30-2010

Lost & Found - Part 4, pub. 07-01-2010

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A Good Use for an Old Sword, pub. 08-06-2010

Lullaby, pub. 09-03-2010

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July 1, 2010 - Breaching the Vault
Queen Dawn requested that interested citizens gather in the throne room of Castle British. No one knew exactly why our sovereign wished to address us, however, it was a safe assumption it was related to the gaping hole which has occupied the northwest corner of her secure dais since Tuesday.

Sherry the Mouse was first to speak to the gathered crowd, saying that the Queen was still speaking with advisors and would be along shortly. Sherry let it be known that she was working on a new book, but sadly she didn't divulge the topic. The gracious mouse also informed the assemblage that the fabled vault of Lord British would indeed be opened that eve, not through the means gleaned from Ricardo's knowledge - but through brute force. She said that Dexter the Mage had been unable to find a way around the spell which protected the vault, or a potential location for one of the three 'lost' treasures of Lord British. In the end, she quoted Queen Dawn as saying "If a key won't work, you kick down the door!"

This did not sit well with the crowd, as they considered the thought of breaking into a vault containing unknown artifacts as a fool's errand. Justicar Ra'Dian Fl'Gith of the High Council commented loudly, "Is breakin' int' a magically protected vault th' wisest o' decisions we could make?" Lady Silverbrook of Magincia added, "Most things are hidden with reason." Sherry quickly excused herself as Queen Dawn arrived to give her speech.

"Welcome, Citizens of Britannia, on this warm summer evening! Thank you all for coming. Lord British did not believe in the typical vestments of power. He knew that Britannia's authority and Virtue come from its people. The Cloak that protects Britannia is the Courage of its people. The Crown that ennobles Britannia is the Love of its people. The Scepter that guides Britannia is the Truth of its people. Together we will open the Vault and eventually restore Magincia! We will tear down this wall."

While Dawn's words sank in, a Royal Mining Expert arrived to finish the tunnel into the vault. With an anticlimactic shout, the miner, upon the instruction of the Queen, breached the vault. Within moments, she reemerged with the Crystal of Duplicity, presenting it to the Queen. Her Majesty promised that a case would be built to display it. She then bade everyone enjoy the weekend-long Summer Festival before she departed.

Today, the crystal sits in front of the throne on a tall stand for all to see. According to Ricardo, it is the tool Lord British's Court Mage, Nystul, used to create the facet of Trammel. Allegedly, it was hidden in the city of Magincia. There it was later stolen by agents of the enchantress Minax who then used it to project her form from Felucca into Trammel. Current thinking holds that this crystal will somehow allow Magincia to be rebuilt by negating the demonic curse on the isle.

August 6, 2010 - Pyres of War
Since last Yule, a war has been brewing between Britannia and the disciples of ancient elemental beings. They sought to seize our world in the aftermath of the Shadowlord's assault; they thought our kingdom broken and weakened by Casca's duplicity. They would strike the dragon while it paused to nurse its wounds and tend its young.

The undead Cult of Styx strove to release the Mountain King from his prison beneath the Abyss, to unleash the fury of Lithos and smite the living. For many months this battle raged as an open secret across the facets, endangering allies both old and new. Britannia's Ministry of Intelligence (B.M.I.) fought in the shadow of a nation rebuilding, ensuring the citizenry's peace of mind.

The ruins of Xenve An-amo-lem, an ancient gargl fortress buried under the base of the volcano on Fire Isle, saw the end of the Cult. The last of their members were laid to rest, ending the threat of the Titan of Earth. Or so it was believed.

The daemon Conclave of Hythloth rose to fill the void left by the Cult. The machinations of their General triumvirate led to a brief freedom for Lithos. In return, the daemon general known as Bartholomew met a timely end through the B.M.I.'s efforts. The full brunt of Lithos' wrath then bore down on the operatives who had crushed his undead minions. Fortunately, the Titan's time in our realm was cut short when a prison of light was created to contain him at the Shrine of Compassion in Ilshenar, where he remains.

The distraction of Lithos gone, the Conclave's true motives emerged. They sought the return of their patron Titan, Pyros the Lord of Fire. A book, the Principia Daemonis, deep within the gargl ruins held the key to daemonkind's rekindling the flame of Pyros' favor. The Conclave strove fruitlessly to possess it, for Virtue delivered it into Britannia's hands.

The Conclave's remaining two Generals tried to distract Britannian forces by fomenting war with the Orcish clans, subjecting the Isle of Nujel'm to accursed nightmares and the kidnapping of a Platinum Dragon egg. Fortuitously, Bertrand, the son of the deceased Bartholomew, defected from the Conclave and presented himself to the High Council of Britannia seeking asylum. He set to work on a lexicon of the daemon language so the Principia might be understood by modern scholars. Shortly thereafter, Nether, another of the Conclave's generals, succumbed to the B.M.I.'s operatives in Moonglow.

This brings us to the current situation of the daemon scouts which had been testing the defenses in Luna and Britain. The daemons sought the 'Blood of Queens' to restore their link to Pyros so that they might summon him to our world. They had already managed to acquire the blood of a gargoyle queen through a traitorous healer. Now, they sought the blood of Queen Dawn.

Last Friday became a dark day for the city of Britain and for Britannia as a nation. Nearly two weeks of random appearances of daemon scouts culminated in an all-out assault on Britain. Daemons of all variety streamed into the city, trying to overwhelm its defenders. They brought with them a terrifying new weapon with them, blackrock golems.

While defenders were busy beating back the daemons at the graveyard north of the city, attempting to close their gate of access, a daemon strike force achieved their main objective. The daemons broke into the throne room in Castle Britannia where they slaughtered the Elite Guard and stole the Crystal of Duplicity. The last remaining Conclave General, Buldur, then stalked Queen Dawn across the city until finally drawing her blood in the western Counselor's Hall.

The full scope of the threat facing us is now realized. The Conclave has the Blood of Queens and may well be mere days away from unleashing Pyros. The Crystal of Duplicity might find its way back into Minax's clutches, allowing her unfettered entry into Trammel.

Even the Bane Chosen appear to have a stake in the coming war, for the daemon's blackrock golems most likely came from their supplies. Those citizens, who foolishly turned over massive amounts of crystalline blackrock during the deceitful campaign against the ophidian, have aided the enemy. The Chosen now plot against the Meer, allies of Britannia. Those traitors who aid them in this latest atrocity may well be providing the next weapon to be used against the kingdom.

Once again, the pyres of war burn brightly on our horizon. Stand up and fight for Queen and country. Show Britannia's enemies how sharp the dragon's fangs truly are!

September 4, 2010 - Sage Wisdom
Queen Dawn summoned her subjects to the throne room of Castle Britannia today to partake in an adventure to Ilshenar. A particular form of sage, Salvia pietas, or Compassion sage, was required to aid the Queen's troubled sleep.

Since the rare sage grew in central Ilshenar, the group followed the Queen to meet with a Royal Scout named Cole near the Honor Shrine. Cole suggested gathering seeds from the beasts roaming the swamp near the savage fort and then acquiring a sample of the potion the Exodus Controllers brew from the plant's leaves.

As we galloped towards the swamp, a comment the scout offhandedly made stuck in my mind. He said the "Whole land's been on edge," and implied that that many around central Ilshenar have experienced troubled sleep recently. This struck me as important due to a passage regarding the sage in a tome entitled 'Medicinal Flora,' which could be found in Dexter's lab at the castle:

"The Controllers of Exodus have been known to brew potions from it to protect their minds when interacting with the inhuman sleeper of the fortress."

I had to put the thought out of my mind as we entered the swamp and began the process of collecting seeds from the bog creatures. Queen Dawn wanted a few hundred gather so her agricultural experts to sort through so they may cultivate the sage.

When the seeds were shipped back to the castle, we headed for the Fortress of Exodus where many controllers fell before our might. Eventually, a sample of their potion was recovered and a book containing the brewing instructions was found. With all the items required having been assembled, we returned to Britain where the Queen thanked us for our service.

Able to think again without the distraction of combat, I realized common thread... Queen Dawn is having bad dreams. People and creatures in Ilshenar are having bad dreams. The Controllers drink a potion to protect their mind from Exodus. Exodus was never actually destroyed, only disabled. Could Exodus be reawakening after all these years? Might the angry hellspawn of Mondain and Minax be quietly readying itself for a renewed war on Britannia?

Medicinal Flora, by Hulderic of Yew

Potion Recipe, by Controller Tavurk

October 7, 2010 - Missing Persons

Orders, by V.

Dear Dawn, by V.

October 27, 2010 - The Chosen (Evil-aligned Event)

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