Kohleen returned later that morning, clearly on the weekly table (and then even more depressed when she saw her house had burned down). After a long talk, she admitted that she'd been trying to help a friend, someone called Falcon, turn eight to ten bandits away from from Narker (who'd been acting very much in charge after being recruited by the Organization) and start over near Chthul-Ra. (Kohleen saw Meldrim as a potential backup choice, but as events were unfolding he wasn't likely to stage a return to the bandit leader biz.) Narker had found out, so he'd had Falcon publicly (and messily) executed and took his place and the meeting with Kohleen. He beat her onto the weekly table, but Shatru (who ranked above Narker in the Organization) prevented him from killing her. Shatru told Kohleen he wanted to get together with a fellow Easterner for old times' sake and sent her back with a note for Beeel (which nobody could read, since it was written in Eastern Common).
Zenig tried contacting his sponsors, hoping they'd help him off accessory-based life support, by concentrating on this message:
"Zenig requests Tylerion. Foolishly broke current body; needs replacement. Temporary measures may reach full moon, but uncomfortably unstable. Please advise."
He received no reply.
Frankel paid Vajan a visit. She said that if he got her out, she had contacts that could help him track down Korda. He said that hunting Korda had been downgraded on his list of things to do, then left to guard the functioning gate.
Out on the plains, a lone horse (ridden by a hawk that seemed to be controlling it somehow) approached Thorongil, Derdriu, and the refugees. As Thorongil rode out to meet it, the hawk screeched at him once and flew off westwards. Belhor's tower emblem was prominently displayed on the horse's saddle and barding, the saddle and the horse's flanks were covered in fine ash (imprinted with a few claw marks from the hawk), and a small bone fragment was caught in the reins. Thorongil thought the remains might be from a completely dessicated or extremely aged rider. Derdriu recognized the horse and identified the remains (which she gathered into a sack) as those of the High Priest of Belhor.
Thus Derdriu became the new High Priest of Belhor. Also the Only Living Priest of Belhor. And not very happy about it.
The night passed uneventfully at the keep, but on the plains, Thorongil caught a pair of wolves prowling around the camp. He intimidated them in rangerly fashion, and they ran off towards the west. (Later examination of the tracks showed the wolves took off in a suspiciously straight line.) Derdriu woke up and told Thorongil that the main Belhor temple in the Circular City had been desecrated.
In the morning, Derdriu spoke with the horse.
"The horse says that they set off at dawn yesterday at a rapid pace. It remembers that things became very foggy, or shadowy even though the sun was out. The horse says that it saw a robed figure flying in the sky with a stick. Then the darkness lifted, and the robed figure was gone. The horse's rider sounded sick and while casting a spell, she crumbled away and disappeared."
The horse knew it had started out heading west but didn't remember much between the rider turning to ash and Thorongil riding up to it (and nothing at all about the hawk).
Derdriu then cast a divination and asked Belhor whether she should press on to the Circular City or return to the shrine at Tymark's. Belhor replied: "Unless the Heart is cleansed of poison, the body cannot live."
Back at the keep, an eight-year old refugee tripped an alarm Ahlonna had set at the door to Tymark's house. When Ahlonna arrived, the kid was hiding something behind his back and telling her to go away. Beeel arrived but failed a save and ran off in fear. Ahlonna grabbed the kid's wrists, finding a raw heart in one hand and a knife in the other. The kid tried to cut Ahlonna with the knife; Meldrim arrived in time to see Ahlonna strike back and the child collapse. He scanned the kid to see if he was faking and picked up something about worms; Ahlonna later confirmed this reading. The child started bleeding profusely and died within segments, but most of the blood loss was from his head, not where Ahlonna had stabbed him. Meldrim turned the child over and found a fresh burrow under the child's ear.
Naturally, the refugees (including the child's parents) chose that moment to arrive demanding answers. Ahlonna came up with a story about the Curse of Belhor striking down people trying to steal treasure, said the stab wound came from triggering a trap on Tymark's door, and managed to slip away in the confusion. Beeel returned and asked Meldrim for answers, Meldrim stalled and tried to find out if anyone had seen something like the hole in the child's ear before, someone started yelling about evil and justice, someone else spotted a gold piece in the child's hand, others wanted Lorcan to raise the kid from the dead, and yet another someone else swiped the gold piece. Eventually the refugees carried the child's body away, and the excitement was over (though Ahlonna kept a low profile for a while).
Derdriu & Co. arrived at the Circular City that afternoon. The refugees went their separate ways, and Derdriu investigated the inner sanctum. The Pillar of Belhor (the physical focus of Belhor's power on the plane) had been subtly altered; it detected as magically trapped, and an augury indicated woe to Derdriu if she entered it. This state of affairs ruled out raising people, and Derdriu needed to stay at the central temple to try preventing further damage. (As for other temples in the Circular City: Sea and Death had a 5th level priest, the Holleriths had at most one 1st level guy at their shrine, and everything else was shut down.)
- Derdriu:
- "Belhor forgive me for saying it, but I really don't like what the Cuthbert has done to us."
Derdriu found the High Priest's notebook and learned that she'd had a premonition of something terrible happening at Tymark's keep. She'd headed out to help, bringing a relic called the statue of the vigiliant helper. End result: High Priest dead, relic stolen. (Derdriu didn't know what the relic did, though she guessed it might summon an army of holy defenders; since she hadn't made it to 9th level, she hadn't been filled in on any of the religion's major secrets.)
Derdriu saw two potential courses of action: Thorongil could take Harthika's body to Nomistrus for raising, or he could head back to Tymark's and evacuate any survivors. (With one living priest, keeping two shrines going was pretty much out of the question.) Since Nomistrus was 16th level, Thorongil figured Harthika's corpse would keep long enough for him to wrap things up at Tymark's first. He left on a fresh horse that evening and arrived back at Tymark's the following afternoon (with three trolls in tow, all later killed -- though the combat spilling inside the keep made an impression on the locals). After working out that the Thorongil who'd returned was the real one, the party exchanged notes and prepared to move out in the morning.
Derdriu's instructions enabled to Beeel to pack up whatever was needed from the Belhor shrine.
Frankel spotted a hawk watching him and started talking to it. After some confusion about whether Frankel was going to help the hawk catch a pigeon he was also talking to, the hawk admitted that it had been sent to watch Frankel and report back if he died. It was also supposed to find out if the "half-bird" was still alive, but it had no idea what one looked like. Frankel told the hawk the half-bird was doing okay.
Meldrim gave the halbardiers a simple choice of waiting around the cells and hoping for someone to invade in time to feed them, or escorting the party and refugees to the Circular City and getting pardoned for their part in the attack on the keep. They made the obvious choice.
Beeel collected Vajan.
- Beeel:
- "So, would you like to stay here and starve?"
- Vajan:
- "What are my options again?"
- Beeel:
- "I was just asking if you'd like to stay here and starve."
- Vajan:
- "You are so mean. No, I would not."
- Beeel:
- "Didn't think so."
Finally, Lorcan tried to inspire the populace for the journey.
- Lorcan:
- "We need everyone to pull together as we make our way through dangerous lands. If we all do our best, we can reach our destination without trouble. You have the comfort of these great warriors to protect you, but we need your help. Will you follow us?"
- Refugee B:
- "Will we march through the wilderness?"
- Lorcan:
- "Only if it's there."
- Refugee C:
- "Will there be trolls on the way?"
- Beeel:
- "We can deal with trolls."
- Lorcan:
- "No, there are no trolls."
- Beeel:
- "Trolls are afraid of us anyway."
- Refugee B:
- "The alternative is to be left behind in this doomed keep?"
- Lorcan:
- "Yes, but I'm sure you'd be all right here. For a day or two."
- Refugee C:
- "And then the trolls will come and eat whoever's around."
- Refugee B:
- "Will there be a priest coming with us? Where is Priestess Derdriu by the way?"
- Lorcan:
- "Of course there will be a priest. There will be me. Priestess Derdriu is waiting for you at the other end."
- Refugee C:
- "We saw you cast the fireball. Was that a real fireball or just an illusion?"
- Refugee B:
- "I thought you were an illusionist."
- Refugee C:
- "I want a real wizard, not an illusionist."
- Lorcan:
- "I am a real wizard. I am multi-talented person, as befits a priest of Nuket."
- Refugee B:
- "I've never heard of Nuket. What is he or she the goddess of?"
- Refugee C:
- "How come you cast spells in armor? I've never seen a wizard do that before -- unless it's fake armor. Prove to us that you are a real wizard. Cast a spell."
- Lorcan:
- "Hmmm... Everyone who would like to be instructed in the ways of Nuket, gather round and listen."
- [The refugees gather round, Lorcan casts produce flame, and the refugees put out the burning grass.]
- Refugee C:
- "Okay, we believe you. You are a real mage. An illusionist could never cast Melf's Minute Meteors."
- Lorcan:
- "At least we've got that sorted out. Would anyone like to know about Nuket?"
- Refugee C:
- "Personally, I think Belhor's a bit of a wimp. He let this place go down the tubes."
- [The refugees gather round again.]
- Lorcan:
- "Nuket is the great Goddess of Chaos."
- Refugee C:
- "Oh yeah, Chaos -- I know about that. It's like Evil, but not really?"
- Refugee B:
- "You really worship chaos? But then...you're not Lawful Good?"
- Lorcan:
- "Of course I'm not Lawful Good. Chaos reflects the reality of the world."
- Beeel:
- "Chaotic people don't form effective teams like we do, but they do try to contribute in their own individual ways."
- Refugee B:
- "But it looks like they get cooler spells than Derdriu."
- Lorcan:
- "Nuket actually has influence over what happens, rather than providing vague and impractical theories."
- Refugee C:
- "I could go for a religion like that. I often need practical stuff like fireballs."
- Lorcan:
- "How would a fireball be `practical' for you?"
- Refugee C:
- "It's practical when trolls come by."
- Lorcan:
- "How often do trolls drop by?"
- Refugee C:
- "Only once so far, I guess. OK -- maybe something like cure light wounds isn't too bad. Do we get that?"
- Lorcan:
- "Nuket generally provides that which is necessary to make life interesting."
- [Beeel rolls his eyes.]
- Refugee C:
- "Are you looking for an apprentice? If so, I'll seriously join."
- Refugee B:
- "Be careful man -- Chaos turns upon itself. Or is that Evil? I can never remember."
- Beeel:
- "We'll have lots of time to discuss religion on the way."
The evacuation and journey to the Circular City were completely uneventful -- obviously nobody was interested in stopping people from leaving.
Derdriu had been trying to dispel the trap on the central pillar without success. When Ahlonna asked what the trap looked like, Derdriu replied that she couldn't see it per se; it was more a sense that the pillar wasn't as bright as it should be, with a tinge of darkness or evil to it. Ahlonna thought it might not be a trap per se and thought abjuring the pillar might be worth a try. When Meldrim asked what would be involved in re-consecrating the pillar, Derdriu sadly noted that this was another of those Belhor secrets nobody tells you before name level. He also asked if the taint was growing; Derdriu replied that it hadn't been.
Frankel was able to get four of his special decoy arrows made. Meldrim took a walk around the Circular City and failed to encounter anything resembling a potentially threatening criminal underbelly (not enough wealth to support them). Lorcan talked his way through the town's bureaucracy (what little had survived of it) to complain about the place being called the Circular City when it was actually hexagonal. Beeel dropped off his fighter-1 wannabes with the castellan, who was happy to have new recruits (though he wouldn't be teaching anyone nunchaku). The Sea and Death Temple provided some magical anti-shapeshifter shackles for confining Vajan (and blocking her ESP), sparing her captors the trouble of punching her every week.