GLRP:EMs:Royal Spies:2011:Ordinary Times, Interesting Times

Ordinary Times, Interesting Times

Mission 102, April 5, 2011 - The Synod
With Magnus still recovering from Oswald’s attack the previous week, Sarah Paumera assumed temporary command of the Spies. She presented Adelais who wished to address the group regarding Princess Mirendel.

Adelais informed the Spies that the young platinum had been removed from Castle Britannia since Queen Dawn was no longer available to guide her. Apparently, a vote amongst the Platinum Synod had gone in favor of Mirendel’s placement with an elder of her race. However, the entire Synod hadn’t voted, and Adelais hoped that the Spies might be able to tip the balance in favor of Mirendel remaining at the castle. He said that three votes were all that was needed and then provided a tome containing the names and locations of those the Spies should contact.

The Vote on Mirendel, by Adelais

The first vote-eligible Synod member the Spies encountered was Myroxylon in the library of Terort Skitas. Myroxylon hadn’t voted regarding Mirendel due to being able to see merit in both opinions, and because several books had gone missing from his stash at the library. After questioning how Britannia would educate the Princess, the elder platinum agreed to vote in their favor in exchange for a favor.

The one responsible for the missing books was a lich located several floors below the library, thus Myroxylon asked that the Spies recover his books. When the lich lay dead and the books returned, the Spies were presented with Myroxylon’s vote in the form of a scale.

The next platinum they were to encounter, Cethiba, was found communing with Sudiva on the deepest level of Covetous. While polite about Britannian culture, she was set against Mirendel staying with the Britannians. The Spies did not secure her vote.

The third platinum, Xylosma, they met just west of the labyrinth on the island in the Divide of the Abyss in Malas. This platinum, known as the Silent Watcher because of an inability to speak, used a telepathic crystal for communication. This dragon wished to test the strength and Valor with which the Spies would defend Mirendel against a denizen of the labyrinth, a minotaur totem. The creature’s defeat earned the Spies the platinum’s vote. Only one more was needed.

The last Synod member, Aenvral, was located at the Shine of Honor on Homare-Jima of the Tokuno Islands. He said that protocol indicated that he must test strangers as if they were brothers and sisters, and wished the Spies to take a special oath to care for Mirendel as if she were kin. To do so, the Spies would need to secure an Oath Flower from the Winter Spur. Once the flower was acquired and presented to Aenvral, the Spies swore to protect and love Mirendel as if she was one of their own. Thus the platinum’s vote was earned.

With three votes to tip the balance back towards Mirendel’s continued care at Castle Britannia, the Spies set out to find the elder Cremix. This platinum was found in a canyon in the Serpent’s Spine Mountains north of Britain. When presented with the new votes, the elder seemed perturbed and didn’t believe the Spies had obtained them honestly. When pressed to accept the votes, Cremix lied about the Princess’s whereabouts before admitting he wouldn’t return her. As the Spies readied various weapons, the great dragon’s pretense dropped – for he was not what he appeared. In truth, he was actually a crimson who had slain Cremix and assumed his identity to abduct Mirendel.

The Spies found themselves honoring Aenvral’s oath sooner than expected as they battled the faux Cremix. Upon his demise, a book was found indicating that Princess Mirendel would soon find herself the first meal of a baby crimson soon to be hatched…

The First Meal, by Cherisanth

Mission 103, April 12, 2011 - Blood Wyrm Queen
A week had passed since Princess Mirendel’s abduction by the Crimson Dragons, a week of scant intelligence about her whereabouts...

Sarah Paumera, still filling in for Magnus Grey, said there had been a dragon attack in Vesper. The platinum Aenvral was brought in as a go-between for the Synod and the Spies during the time of crisis. He believed the attack may somehow be connected to Mirendel and urged the Spies to investigate.

The Spies found several strange dragons menacing Vesper citizens near the bank and immediately set upon them. Once the dragons had been felled, a book was found which shed light upon the attack, and the possible whereabouts of Mirendel’s abductor, the Queen of the Crimsons: Cherisanth.

Dragon Research I, by Edmund Butterfield

The Spies stormed the Fire Dungeon on the Isle of Deeds where they found an irate platinum dragon fuming on the bridge over the river of lava. This platinum said the he had seen Cherisanth and could smell Mirendel. Unfortunately, his anger got the better of him and he attacked the Spies in despair. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, the platinum did not survive this encounter. Fortunately, another tome was discovered nearby that suggested Destard as the next locale to investigate.

Dragon Research II, by Edmund Butterfield

The Spies found the Great Jade Wyrm on the lowest level of the dungeon eying a terrified looking man. Once the wyrm had fallen, the man introduced himself as ‘Lord’ Edmund Butterfield a researcher of dragons, and recent captive of Cherisanth. He said that he had been captured by the Blood Wyrm Queen in the Desert of Compassion and taken to her hidden lair in the mountains to the west.

Cherisanth’s lair was discovered just to the southwest of the Shrine of Compassion, Princess Mirendel sat cooing to a large crimson egg. Apparently, she was unclear on what the egg represented and her role in its hatching. As the Spies attempted to explain the nature of the situation, Cherisanth angrily returned to her lair. The Spies ignored her preposterous claim of ownership over Mirendel, goading the Queen to battle.

As Cherisanth’s body hit the floor of her mountainous lair, she used her dying breath to cast a spell which would destroy her lair and all within. Fearing the death of her egg-friend, Mirendel wished the egg “…far far away to cold place where it not hatch ever!” before fleeing from the lair with the Spies.

Mirendel returned to her playpen to resume her life and training with Britannia, but now with even more eyes watching over her…

Mission 104, April 19, 2011 - Fellowship
Magnus Grey returned to once more lead the Royal Spies after convalescing for several weeks following Oswald’s attack. Eager to resume his duties, Lord Grey tasked the Spies investigating several disappearances. Since VirtueBane’s defeat, people had mysteriously vanished from the major cities only to reappear elsewhere without explanation.

Thinking this might be a case of mass-wanderlust in the wake of yet another near apocalypse, the Spies traveled to Trinsic to investigate the disappearance of a group of Paladins. There they met Zachary Oathsword at the city’s Training Hall and he related the story of Aaron.

Aaron, an older paladin, had felt his beliefs strained by years of a kingdom in turmoil. The duplicity of Casca and the corruption of the Shadowlords; the rise of Virtuebane and the betrayal of Dawn’s murder – a blow only heightened by the archdaemon’s escape. The paladin had been acting oddly for a while, slipping away during the night, meeting with strangers, and…reading.

Zachary led the spies to Aaron’s bunk in the Trinsic barracks so they could look for clues in his belongings. A suicide note lay crumpled along the wall, while a message suggesting a sudden faith in a new community had lured him away. Under the message lay a book outlining the tenants of 'Fellowship.'

Crumpled Paper, by Aaron of Trinsic

Honor and Peace!, by Aaron of Trinsic

Following a clue in the message, the Spies headed to the city docks to see if they could find the man Aaron met there. Near where Zachary said a white merchant vessel had been berthed, a book outlining the tenants of 'Fellowship' lay. A discarded slip of paper indicated that the merchant vessel’s next port of call would be Skara Brae, so off the Spies Rushed.

The Book of Fellowship, by Batlin of Britain

They found the Fellowship vessel at the docks in Skara Brae being watched over by a shifty looking peasant. For a few coins he revealed that the ship’s master, a man by the name of Joseph, had announced he was going to convert some nearby brigands to the Fellowship...unarmed.

The Spies weighed the man’s bravery, or stupidity, as they crossed to the mainland and headed along the road to the Britain-Yew-Skara Brae Crossroads. Eventually they encountered a brigand encampment commanded by the rather hostile Yizabeli and Mahlik`ki. Their demise led to freedom for the captured Joseph, who in turn agreed to take the Spies to someone who could explain the Fellowship more eloquently. The Spies returned Joseph to his boat and helped him carry a large supply of food to the shanty town of Paws. Upon arrival in Paws, the Spies were witness to a propaganda speech by a man named Feridwyn:

“My friends, let me tell you of the Fellowship. While you enjoy food given freely by friends and fellow travellers.

The most important aspect of Fellowship: Strive For Unity. So much in the last few years has torn our people apart. Casca used lies. Virtuebane used violence. But we can't just blame evil men and beings. We are to blame for our lack of unity. We are too quick to see the "other," the outsider. Too quick to don red swords and cut down those who are different. Those who aren't human, but share a common decency.

And this brings me to the second aspect of Fellowship: Trust Thy Brother. Your brother brought you food. Your brother will heal you when you are sick. Your brother will carry your burden when you no longer can. In exchange, you must be willing to carry his burden, to help him.

The final aspect of Fellowship: Worthiness Precedes Reward. Those who are good are rewarded. Those who choose to follow the path toward righteousness will be healed and helped. We will not judge you. Take your time, decide for yourself. But those of you who are ready, please come forward and speak.”

A woman by the name of Molly approached Feridwyn and explained that she was slowly going blind. The Fellowship had told her that they could restore her vision if she earned it through helping others. They would take her to their village, a place called Dawn. "Named for she who has fallen, and the new day that is coming.” Unfortunately, the Spies could only follow Molly to a portal deep in the Spiritwood Forest which led to the village – for they were unworthy.

When they arrived, the Spies and the Fellowship were beset by strange poisonous creatures. After they had been slain, Molly magically disappeared into Dawn, and a familiar form appeared in her stead – the stranger in plate that had been present at Ors’ alleged suicide. He was Aaron of Trinsic! Aaron explained that he and his fellow paladins had all come to Dawn willingly and would protect the Fellowship sanctuary from those wishing it ill.

Relieved, but still disquieted, the Spies returned to Britain to report their findings to Lord Grey.

Mission 105, April 26, 2011 - The Xorinite Protocol
Lord Grey, obviously still in pain from his injury, asked that the Spies head to the Royal City in Ter Mur to speak with Queen Zhah. Apparently, the gargoyle Queen had an important matter she wish the Spies to deal with.

Queen Zhah met the Spies in her throne room and asked the Spies to investigate problems contacting the wisps assisting the gargoyles with their Void problem. Apparently, the Elder Wisp Broker was refusing to conduct any trades due “hostilities.”

Seeking a direct route to answers, the Spies went to the Whist Dungeon in Ilshenar. In the room containing the shrine to Zog, they met one of the wisp brokers. It said that ‘debts were unpaid’ and the hostility toward our realms was due to lack of payment. It was unclear exactly on to whom the debt belonged, but the wisps had demanded eight 700,000 year old ‘lost stone texts’ in exchange for something.

After a failed attack by an aggressive wish, the Spies managed to wrench a few more bits of information out of the broker. Unknown human mages had traded false stone tablets to the wisps. Eventually, following another attack, the wisp suggested that the humans may have come from the city of Umbra, and thus the city would be razed by an army forming near Doom.

The Spies, growing tired of the cryptic wisp, went straight to Doom and utterly crushed the wisp army in a preemptive strike. After their defeat, the wisps finally decided to cooperate and divulge all the information about the trade: Three human mages had proposed a trade to the wisps. In exchange for eight 700,000 year old tablets from Zog’s original casting of the Ritual of Armageddon, the wisps would provide maps to two blackrock veins and three rituals. A new wave of wisps appeared, interrupting negotiations, but was deftly defeated. This secured a temporary truce from the wisps while the Spies investigated the tablets.

Returning to Britain, the Spies reported the latest threat to world peace to Lord Grey. He suggested returning to the wisp broker to learn more about the tablets, as well as speaking to various authoritative individuals in Castle Britannia…

The Wisp Broker said that the eight tablets had been carved after the mass genocide caused by the Ritual of Armageddon by Zog the Destroyer. They locations were: 1 - Stone tunnel. 2 - Carved tunnel. 3 - Blackrock deposit. 4 - Mountain cave. 5 - Stone tunnel. 6 - Stone Building. 7 - Carved tunnel. 8 - ?????? Since those locations were but vague descriptions, the people gathered at the castle were the only hope.

Louisa Clark suggested exploring a ‘wisp circle’ at 6o 51'S 50o 20'W, south of Shame. While that area was devoid of ancient stone relics, an in-depth search of Shame produced positive results. Within the mage tower on the third level, one of Zog’s tablets was discovered.

Relic Notes #1, by ...

Sam Oxley suggested that the wisp dungeon might hold more mysteries then the FoA had managed to uncover in all their years of their wisp worship. Deep on the bottom level, past a teleport puzzle that would try most mortal’s sanity, a tablet lay waiting to be uncovered.

Relic Notes #2, by ...

Michael of Moonglow gave a short lecture on the unstable power of blackrock, theorizing that Zog had underestimated the purity or power of a palm sized orb. While he may have been trying to decimate a city or an entire country, the entire world bore the brunt of his insanity. Michael suggested a detailed exploration of a blackrock vein on the western edge of the Lost Lands. Upon inspection, am ancient tablet was indeed located.

Relic Notes #3, by ...

Speaking to Adelais earned the listener a retelling of the Zog story from the Platinum perspective. Zog had bartered with daemons and wisps for ever increasingly powerful magicks, the demon spells drove him insane, and the wisp spells were too complex. He was known to them as the ‘Crimson Mage’ due to his act of pure hate in casting Armageddon. The platinum felt that the site of the original spell might be a good place to look, somewhere in the Serpent’s Spine Mountains… Despise.

On the upper floor of the dungeon, it was found that a lizardman had hidden the tablet near a bucket. The tablet was found in the northeastern corner of the dungeon.

Sneaky, by Lsst

Relic Notes #4, by ...

Margaret Korbel suggested speaking to the Ophidians and a friendly daemon, if one could be found. In the Lost Lands, the Ophidian Ambassador said the relic they possessed had been stolen by the Terathans. Deep in the Terathan keep, the tablet was located and rescued.

Relic Notes #5, by ...

Bertrand said that any relics not of daemonic origin were considered garbage by his people. However, if the tablet had been in their possession, they would have most likely lost it in a war over a thousand years prior. A search of daemon-related ruins on the Isle of Fire eventually turned out to be successful within their neglected temple. One more tablet secured.

Relic Notes #6, by ...

Danner of the Meer suggested that civilization that had built Montor may have studied the ancient past. While their city had fallen to daemons millennia ago, there still may be some record of their discoveries.

Within the ruins of the city a satchel was found, apparently someone else had been searching for one the tablets there. Perhaps even the mysterious ‘human mages’ who angered the wisps.

Expedition, by ...

Their writings indicated the Rock Dungeon to the south if the city. Fortunately for the Spies, those mages hadn’t yet made the trek to go look. Yet, with the tablet lay a map to Doom. Who could have put it there?

Relic Notes #7, by ...

In the western recess of the dungeon Doom, the last tablet was liberated from its protectors. The Spies had managed to recover all eight, surpassing the three ‘human mages,’ or as they were better known, the Followers of Armageddon.

Relic Notes #8, by ...

Mission 106, May 3, 2011 - From under a black rock...
Before Lord Grey arrived for the evening’s meeting, Sarah Paumera confessed to the Spies that she was worried about him. She thought that he should have taken more time to heal from his injury before resuming duty since he still seemed pained. She wasn’t able to discuss the issue, however, as Lord Grey arrived soon after she brought it up.

Ignoring questions about his health, Lord Grey sent the Spies back to the Wisp Dungeon in Ilshenar to deliver the tablets recovered over the last week. He also asked that the Spies investigate those with whom the wisps had been dealing, especially since the suspicion was it had been the FoA.

Fortunately, the Xorinite Wisp who accepted the tablets seemed pleased with their delivery. However, a new problem had arisen for the wisps: Someone on Sosaria had been pulling them through the Void and using them as slaves. The wisps found this situation wholly unacceptable and considered using the Armageddon spell as a solution to the problem. Luckily for Sosaria, the wisps were amenable to the problem being rectified by the Spies before taking such drastic action.

The Xorinite Wisp said that those who had betrayed the wisps were currently near the Ilshenar Shrine of Honesty and right outside the dungeon. The Spies rushed outside and encountered many human mages wearing robe of a color commonly associated with the Followers of Armageddon. When they had been dispatched, the Xorinite Wisp seemed relieved but decided to withdraw until the remaining betrayers were dealt with. A message was found on a dead Follower from someone directing them to recover the stone tablets.

Recovery of the Eight, by Roraz the Corrupter

The Spied headed through the mountains towards Nox Tereg and the Shrine of Humility. In the passage, they came across a member of the Fellowship named Otter James. He said that he had seen the mages on their way to the dungeon and had heard them mention an ambush. One of those mages had just run back through the passage and had mentioned needing to get to a nearby basement…

Fellowship Vocation, by Aaron of Trinsic

The Spies found their quarry in the run down log building near the lizardman village. The Pale Lady and mage calling himself ‘Roraz the Corruptor’ appeared to be the ones attempting to manipulate the wisps. Seeing they were outnumbered, the Pale Lady left to protect several mysterious maps while Roraz said he would “sacrifice himself for the cleansing.”

After Roraz perished, the Xorinite Wisp reappeared and declared the solution to the problem was acceptable. A book mentioning the Pale Lady’s current goal was found, pointing the Spies toward a wraith in Covetous.

Born to Misery, by A Pale Lady

On the third level of the dungeon the Spies found a rather disagreeable arcane wraith clutching a roll of parchment. They survived its love of poison long enough to pry a coded map from its cold dead hands before returning to Britain.

Lord Grey was less than pleased to hear that the Followers of Armageddon were indeed up to their old tricks once more. Reading the map, he said, would require some consultation with the Royal Surveyors Office.

Mission 107, May 10, 2011 - Ancient Atlas
True to his word, Lord Grey secured the services of the Royal Surveyor, Louisa Clark, to decipher the map acquired in Covetous. He led the Spies to her new office in east Britain, to the southwest of the bank.

Louisa said that the map had given her some trouble, so she had a mage look at it to determine how to proceed. According to the mage, the wraith that possessed the map had imbued it with some of his essence, causing it to actively try to confound any attempt at decryption. A few details could be discerned, but they were fragmentary at best. Louisa suggested using the clues available extrapolate locations in an attempt to find secondary maps and atlases which could aid in decrypting the original.

The first clue Louisa gave was “Dark Unknown.” In antiquity, one of Sosaria’s continents had been known as “The Lands of the Dark Unknown.” In BY 364, this lost continent had been rediscovered on another facet, Malas. When that was voiced aloud, the map shifted to show a blurry image of Malas focused on the foundation of a third city, unfinished and in ruin. Grimswind.

The Spies gated to the ruins where they encountered several unnatural abominations. Fortunately, one of them had possession of an ancient atlas.

Upon returning to Louisa, she used the recovered atlas to reveal another clue… “The Feudal Lords.” Since its rediscovery in BY 377, it was common knowledge that this referred to the ancient name for the Empire of Tokuno, The Lands of the Feudal Lords. As before, when spoken aloud, the map blurred reformed to show the islands of Tokuno before focusing in on one named "Onigashima." Spies active during the struggle against Virtuebane recognized that as the name of the island on which the Oni King could be found.

True to his ways, the Oni King had set up a game testing the strength and intelligence of those seeking his boon, the Game of Skulls. A creature had been set loose amongst many curious skulls capable of inflicting great pain on those brave enough to disturb them. Eventually an atlas was located and the Spies returned to Louisa.

Once more, Louisa coaxed the map into revealing a clue… However, this time the map only blurred and showed an ancient diagram of Akalabeth and the great Heartwood forest before slowly moving North to a prison. The Dungeon Wrong. Weapons at the ready, the Spies headed for the dungeon.

Deep on the third floor, overgrown vermin appeared to be in custody of another ancient atlas. Joking they felt like glorified rat-catchers, the Spies relieved the pests of their prize before returning to Louisa.

For the third time, Louisa used the atlas to reveal a new clue, “Danger and Despair.” Another of the lost continents, the Lands of Danger and Despair. This land had been rediscovered in BY 341 by Gilforn of the Council of Mages as the facet if Ilshenar. As before, speaking the fact aloud caused the map to blur and shift to show the name of a castle fading, as a lizardman camp grows in a swamp south of Humility. Fairly straight forward, the Spies head off to scour the area around the lizardman village in Nox Tereg.

Eventually, the Spies waded through many aggressive lizardmen until they came across a powerful dragon in possession of an ancient atlas. One of the dragon’s servants, a lizardman by the name of Ssllsss, seemed grateful for the dragon’s defeat. He said his late master, Tasson, had been a friend of the Crimson Dragons. Once the now-free Ssllsss wandered off, the Spies returned to Louisa.

Using the latest ancient atlas, Louisa attempted to coax another location out of the map. This time, the map menacingly burst into flame showing the Abyss, a library marked clearly. Believing the map may be trying to kill the Spies, Lousia urged caution as the spies rushed off to the ruin containing the Stygian Dragon’s lair.

The Spies find a daemon standing amongst the tall library shelves, haughtily thumbing through the tomes. Apparently, this daemon, Cagen, was a Follower of Armageddon. Before his death, he mentioned plans to “tear a hole in the world, and give this weakness to the Void itself.”

Louisa used the last ancient atlas to finish decrypting the map, revealing an ancient map of ancient Sosaria. She said she would go and deliver the map to Minister Grey with materials that would help further.

Back in the Spies underground meeting hall, Lord Grey presented the ancient map. Four wisp markers indicated places that the FoA planned to attack in furtherance of their search for…something. Knowing that the Spies must meet this threat head on, he tasked the spies with determining where these places were in relation to the modern world. To aid with this, Louisa presented a helpful tome and four maps that illustrated the changes to the Britannian continent throughout recorded history.

Geography of Sosaria, by Gideon of Moonglow

Maps:
Map Key

700,000 YBB (700,000 Years Ago)

30 YBB to BY 24 (The Age of Darkness)

BY 25 (A Year After the Shattering)

BY 29 (Five Years After the Shattering)

BY 464 (Present Day)

Continued on May 13, 2011 by the Royal Guard in FoA Raid

Mission 108, May 17, 2011 - Infiltration
While waiting for Minister Grey to arrive, Agatha the Archaeologist explained that the bones collected during the recent Royal Britannian Guard mission had been placed in the Spies’ vault for safekeeping. Little was known about the eerily luminescent remains, save for that if the FoA sought them, they were important.

When Magnus arrived, he explained that tonight would be an exercise in infiltration. Since the only presently known hostile group was the FoA, the Spies would be practicing on the benign Fellowship. While this group was outwardly friendly and had performed numerous charitable acts around the kingdom, very little was known about their organization or their secure compound, Dawn. The Spies were to investigate in small groups to see if they could determine if the Fellowship’s motives were benevolent, and if Dawn was a peaceful city or a fortress.

Starting in Paws, the Spies met a friendly resident that had nothing bad to say about the Fellowship. He said that Feridwyn had helped the local citizens with food and supplies, not callously abandoning them like those in Britain. When asked more about Feridwyn, the resident said that he had recently set sail for Vesper.

In Vesper the Spies found Feridwyn reading a book near his ship’s berth at the main docks. He seemed suspicious that so many people suddenly seemed interested in helping the Fellowship, yet his desire for unity amongst all peoples won out and he accepted the support. He asked that the undercover spies bring him sausages to complement the grain he already had, for the Fellowship had many hungry to feed. Once enough sausages had been gathered, he directed the Spies to Aaron of Trinsic’s room at the Youth Hostel to the south.

The Old Man, by Batlin

In the room, a rune led the Spies to Aaron at the beginning of the canyons leading to the Wind portal. The elder paladin explained that that he had discovered who was responsible for sending the creatures that had attacked the entrance to Dawn a month previously: the Followers of Armageddon. He said that they were searching something in the ‘stone maze’ near Wind, and that he would like assistance in learning their plans.

Venturing into the canyons, the Spied encountered many of the Follower’s minions engaged in a haphazard search. Eventually, it was learned why the FoA were there: the glowing bones.

Deceit, by FoA

Reporting this bit of information to Aaron, the spies were directed to a magical box which would bestow upon them a token of worth. The token was to be taken to the Dawn entrance and given to a gargoyle named Quan.

When given to Quan, the token allowed its bearer to join the Fellowship and start “the great work.” Each bearer would start out as a messenger, carrying messages from a Fellowship drop box at Nature’s Best Baked Goods in Papua to Paws. Messages would periodically be left at the bakery and need to be delivered to Feridwyn, the Spies now had an in.

Message, by Fellowship

Message left in Papua on Thursday, May 19
Left in the drop box in Nature’s Best Baked Goods in Papua for the Fellowship messengers to deliver to Paws. Reading the message led to trail of bloodied Fellowship-style clothing...

Disappearances, by Jared of Papua

Mission 109, May 24, 2011 - Experimentation
Sarah Paumera arrived before Minister Grey to speak to the Spies about her concerns regarding the Minister’s wound. She had learned that the wound didn’t appear to be healing properly, and that Magnus had used assumed named to have it looked by several different healers. Since both the blade and the poison used were magical, it seemed that curing the Minister would require something more powerful.

When Minister Grey arrived, he once again ignored all talk of his health and instead forged ahead to the evening’s mission. He asked that the Spies follow up on the message left in the Papua Fellowship drop box to learn the fate of the missing people.

In the jungle village, the Spies met Quan at the bank preparing to go in search of Jared and the missing villagers. He was easily dissuaded from his task under the guise of ensuring that there was someone to help ease the remaining villager’s fears and accepted the Spies’ offer of investigating on their own.

In the jungle west of Papua, the Spies were ambushed by Followers of Armageddon and creatures similar to the ones seen around Dawn. As they battled near the Terathan Keep, the Spies noticed a savage warrior had joined the fight. When it ended, the warrior introduced herself as Keoha and said she was looking for her younger sister, Leilu. She had tracked her sister’s trail as far as the creature’s location where it appeared to end. Keoha agreed to backtrack the creature’s path with the Spies to find their point of origin, hoping her sister was there.

Following Keoha, the Spies traveled deep into the Terathan Keep where they stumbled into an enormous hostile unnatural creature. When the beast was felled, it was fairly obvious that it was the work of twisted magicks as it was in possession several flasks of bubbling green liquid.

Along the subterranean river, near where the beast attacked, a raft was found tied to a stalagmite. The Spies piled onto it en masse and managed to navigate down the river towards a glowing cavern. Within the cavern, they found a man named Reoszar conducting foul experiments. He said that the “other Followers stopped believing in his experiments” and he had perfected his serum to “bring back the greatest human ever!” His ramblings gave way to manic laughter as he drank a vial of his serum and was transformed into a creature. As the change took hold, his madness led him to suicidally attack the Spies.

My Great Work, by Reoszar

Once Reoszar was dead, the Spies explored that laboratory further. A small cage held a human woman, presumably Leilu, while a corpse chained to the wall was clothed in badly tattered garments of Fellowship white…Jerad.

The body of Jared was carefully collected for return to the Fellowship, while the cage was broken open. Sadly, Leilu didn’t wish her sister to see her due to the “hideous changes” forced upon her by the experimentation. Fortunately, after much coaxing, the sisters reunited. The spirit of Jared whispered that perhaps the damage could be healed if the young woman were taken to Dawn.

The Spies headed for Dawn and found Quan waiting for them, as he figured it was the most likely place they might return to if help was needed. Once the situation was explained, he was more than happy to offer Leilu healing in exchange for joining the Fellowship.

Quan and Leilu entered Dawn together, for the Spies were not yet considered worthy. Before they could return to Britain, however, a stranger stepped out of the forest and asked that he be given some of Reoszar’s serum for his own “noble research.” Sadly, one spy was fool enough to acquiesce to the request and gave him a vial.

Returning to Britain, the Spies relayed their experiences to the Minister and determined that the FoA were expending a lot of effort to bring something back from the dead…most likely, Zog himself. Talk then turned to Magnus’s injury and the revelation that Sspitess, the lizard man who had created the poison used on the blade, was dead…

Message left in Papua on Thursday, May 26
Left in the drop box in Nature’s Best Baked Goods in Papua for the Fellowship messengers to deliver to Paws.

Fellowship, by ...

Continued on May 28, 2011 in Relics

Mission 110, May 31, 2011 - The Wintaire Job
Minister Grey arrived at the Spies’ subterranean lair with Clare the Healer in tow, as his injury was still failing to heal. For those not present for Oswald’s attack, the Minister recounted the story: “A few months ago I was stabbed by this knife, the same knife that was used to kill our Queen. A cursed blade, ancient and evil, covered in a poison as foul as the dungeon it comes from. A weapon of pain and death. I was lucky that it only barely cut me, but the wound is tainted and refuses to heal.”

The Spies were to help Clara find a cure outside the healer’s normal routine, for she had already tried every salve and potion available her. Since Sspitess had been murdered, obtaining a cure directly from the source wasn’t possible; however, Clara hoped the lizardman might have kept notes.

The Spies took Clara to the swap in which Sspities worked deep in dungeon Despise. Shockingly, the lizardman’s ghost appeared to the group and managed to relay that he had been killed by elves. The ghost then led the Spies to his corpse, for he had managed to wrest something away from one of his attackers.

The Hit, by Donald Stitches

Apparently, Donald Stitches sought to expand his criminal dealings beyond smuggling and theft into murder for hire. Having dealt with Donald in the past, the Spies descended on the main Vesper dock to arrest him. Sadly, Donald weaseled out of arrest by coming clean about the hit. He had subcontracted the hit to the Wintaire elves out of Sanctuary, a family of assassins who specialized in hits on non-elves.

The Spies descended on Sanctuary prepared for battle. They found Tristan Wintaire tending a bonfire in the fortified settlement. Once he recalled the hit on Sspitess, he gloated about how easy it was to kill the poison maker, but that he had killed the lizardman’s entire family as well. Tristan had taken trophies from the murder, including Sspitess notebook, but had tossed them into the fire.

Musshroom Cure, by Sspitess of Despise

Tristan soon grew bored with the Spies, yet not bored enough to attempt to kill them all himself. Instead, he had his younger sister, Camille, attack them for “practice.” Camille’s death was swift but brutal, giving her brother enough time to slip away.

With the lizardman’s notes and the last Despise mushroom burned, the Spies went back to Britain deflated. Unfortunately, things only got worse when Minister Grey succumbed to his wound and fell into a coma. Clara said she would stay with him round the clock, but the prognosis wasn’t good…

Message left in Papua on Monday, June 6
Left in the drop box in Nature’s Best Baked Goods in Papua for the Fellowship messengers to deliver to Paws.

Solemn Reply, by Thene of Papua

Mission 111, June 7, 2011 - It takes a village
With Minster Grey still in a coma, Sarah Paumera one again took on the mantle of temporary Spy Master. She read a note written by Clara the Healer detailing the Minister’s prognosis. Sadly, her suggestions had already been found fruitless by Magnus himself. The Platinum, Gargoyles, and the Meer didn’t have a cure for the mix of Sspitess poison and Virtuebane’s magic.

Prognosis, by Clara the Healer

As the Spies talked, Quan of the Fellowship walked into the ‘secret base’ and offered to help since returning Jared’s body had proven their “worthiness.” He said that the “Village of Dawn is a place where anything is possible.”

After a brief dabate, the Spies reluctantly accepted Quan’s proposal under the condition that they be allowed to accompany Magnus into Dawn. Quan agreed to the condition and invited the Spies to participate in Jared’s memorial ceremony. The gargoyle opened a gate and the Spies poured through into the glistening white village of Dawn, a near blinding experience.

The village itself was comprised of three dwellings, communal cooking and crafts areas, a dining hall, a large well, and one mysterious area inaccessible to the Spies. While Minister Grey was situated under the care of a stern-faced woman named Brita, the Spies were free to talk to the village citizens.

The Village, by Batlin of Britain

Aaron, the paladin from Trinsic, happily stood guard at the village gate. He thought life in Dawn was better because “everything had a purpose.”

Molly, the near-blind woman from Britain, had gained a second sight and was learning to be an oracle by interpreting the many possible futures she could see. “I see a village, I believe it is this one though I have never seen it. It is in flames. At the center is a great bloody claw clutching an egg that shimmers like a red gem. I see a twisted man leading an army of will-o'-the-wisp through my dear Paws. I see a great alliance of peoples building a lasting peace, but I also see it’s opposite. We stand on a knife between the Great Unity and the Great Void. The Unity is beautiful. To see such peace, you can understand why I stand here constantly, barely sleeping. Every piece I see may help bring about something wonderful. And every secret I miss may bring our doom.”

Brita, the woman caring for Minister Grey, said that she wasn’t a healer. In fact, she said that the Fellowship does not believe in healers, nor their worthless salves and tonics. The water of Dawn, which comes from an ornate marble well, is a gift, left by an ancient people, to help the worthy. She said that “Worthiness precedes reward, yet the reward requires a certain state of mind. One must accept the tranquility and trust of the Fellowship. To become part of our Unity is not a simple process, but there is hope for your friend. A man on death’s door will accept any return to life. Magnus will not die. Whether he recovers completely is now his responsibility, his mind must find the way back. I will continue to wash his wound and see that he is comfortable.” Mildly disquieting words, but the Spies were pleased that their leader was being well-cared for.

Soon, Quan called for people to gather at the simple gravesite which had been prepared for Jared. He extolled Jared’s belief in the unity of all peoples, and his generosity of both spirit and deed. He ended with how Jared sacrificed himself to save someone he had never met, the native girl Leilu.

As the memorial concluded, a strange rumbling sound heralded the arrival of several large arachnid creatures from underground. As they were dispatched, a lich-like being calling itself Zejron emerged from one of the holes and announced that “they were all going to die when the end came.” The vague statement received little more than laughter, which only angered the being into sending more of his arachnid pets. Once they had been dealt with, Zejron fled before he could be attacked.

Following Quan, the Spies raced out of Dawn into the Spiritwood forest then to the south along the Dragonhame Mountains. In a cave they encountered more of the arachnid creatures and found mining equipment which had been used to tunnel into the village. Then the Spies travelled around the mountains to the cave that Ricardo had once used as a hideout, Zejron was now in possession of it.

Once the Spies had fought their way past yet more arachnids, they found the Zejron’s lair full of Followers of Armageddon – his kindred spirits. The Spies eagerly took this opportunity to strike another blow to the FoA, and beheaded them all. When Zejron died, he released a book containing potentially unpleasant tidings for several of Sosaria’s most interesting minds.

Notes for Terygetha, by an FOA scout

Quan was so pleased that the Spied had acted in defense of his village that he granted them permanent access through the portal in Spiritwood. All they need do is utter the Fellowship motto near the glowing column: “Trust Worth Unity.”

Continued on June 10, 2011 by the Royal Guard in Eccentric Minds

Mission 112, June 14, 2011 - Decisions, decisions!

Notes for Maps, by Wilmot

Royal Spy Files, by James

Message left in Papua on Monday, June 20
Left in the drop box in Nature’s Best Baked Goods in Papua for the Fellowship messengers to deliver to Paws.

Dangerous Details, by Thene of Papua

Mission 113, June 21, 2011 - Consequences

My Business, by Donald Stitches

Mission 114, June 28, 2011 - It comes full circle

Mission 115, July 5, 2011 - The Hunt

Directions, by Terygetha

Journal of a Traitor, by Timmons

Continued on July 8, 2011 by the Royal Guard in Confrontation with Zog

Mission 116, July 12, 2011 - Lost in the Darkness

Directions, by Follower

Continued on July 16, 2011 in The FoA vs. The Fellowship

Mission 117, July 19, 2011 - The Pyre