Shian
Meeting
Commodore Kal’meer Brakarum looked closely at the folks around him. The two Warlords, the Freelance Spy, the Blind Holy Immortal, the Pirate Captain, and other assorted varieties of folks that came into Shian under the cover of darkness, or some other form of subterfuge. They had all come for one thing and that had been the War Council, scheduled to take place tomorrow. Several of them would leave tonight, in just a few hours, to set up shop up by the lake under the watchful eye of Mars and her constructs.
“You three,” the Commodore spoke, motioning towards several shadowy figures that stood and waited in the wings.
“Fananatu left note with the blind man. Take the tunnels, and go fetch them. Be sure to ask for the special item.” All three men nodded in unison and rushed off to open the trapdoor and head down into the tunnels. Pirate Captain Damian pushed away from the table and went with them, just in case something was amiss. Commodore Brakarum watched him as he went down into the depths, before his eyes turned back towards Kalim, who in turn, had his eyes on the luxurious Sundassa.
“How is security? Is everything all together set?” Warlord Mallku stated to bring noise back to the meeting.
“Who cares about security, if the Drow Bitch sees fit to show up, then I shall see fit to remove the Executioner’s Axe from her cold, dead fingers.” Came the low, rumbling voice of the Valgarian Leader, Aledit. First the sighting of his Bone Blade pierced the shadows, but it was soon followed by his vicious frame.
“Why yes,” said Mars who was standing behind the chair Damian once sat.
“My constructs are many, and many of those are hidden and forever watching. As discussed, I will take the bi--,” she stopped herself and cleared her throat,
“the Tengu, and we will work in unison. If anything unwanted comes around, then Warlord Mallku will, of course, use his abilities to give you all an early warning. I am connected to them all and thus, will be able to see anything coming from a distance, before they even pose a significant threat. That is not to mention that the mountains and forest near Lake Tridia will be manned.”
“What is also important, Mallku,” Kalim said,
“is that unless one of us has spoken to someone outside of the circle.” An accusatory eye was shot around, but none so much as flinched. In truth, many of them had only told those they deemed trust worthy.
“Good, then it is all settled.”
"Not quite,” Echush said, startling everyone - as the man had normally been quiet, and in constant prayer.
“We must also consider that the three beasts have arisen. Fananatu, the Lizard Traitor of the Apotheoses, is controlling the Rocoan Chimera, but we cannot be sure that that means he is on our side.”
“And Jiskam, my loyal right hand, has informed me that a necromancer that was traveling with the group Fananatu put together, was able to help further expedite the process and raise the Undead Leviathan.”
“Which means only one thing…”
“Indeed, Commodore, we do not know who has the Emperor Dragon, or if it is on the loose!” Sundassa spoke this time as she looked at the dwarf.
“This could be troubling, but we have no reason to expect that it will effect the War Council. We do know, however, that Aledit has the power of the Leviathan, and a potential ally, in Fananatu, has possession of the Chimera, so we may have two vital pieces of the puzzle, so to speak.”
Commodore Brakarum rose his hand and hushed the discussion. It was enough for the evening.
“First group, depart.” The dwarf took a swig of his ale, as Aledit & Co., Mars, Sundassa, Zigit, and one or two others nodded and went down the tunnels. They would go the opposite direction that Damian took. Commodore waved the rest of them off, the meeting was over and things would begin anew at the War Council come tomorrow night.
Revelations
The group had neared the city in just under half an hour, the woods protecting their movements. The manner of discussion on how to infiltrate the city had been the hot topic. Of course, they were dressed as Apotheoses members, and could easily get in - but where too then? They knew nothing about where to go or who to meet with. Just as they were coming around the bend, they saw that the road was blocked by three burly creatures. The one to the far right stepped forward.
“Greetings, I am Pirate Quartermaster Reigns, as you can see I am a Dragoniod. That is not what is important, what is important, is that we have been expecting you. Now, you are to present something to me, before we can allow you to continue.” The creature looked towards Eryx, and then followed the path in either direction to Forsoff, Khan, Diana, and down to the small Goblin that attempted to hide.
“Well, what have you that could warrant your coming here? We all know Fananatu sent you with something.”
Forsoff was the first to speak up, but it only managed to bring trouble. What they were charged with was a Ghost Leopard, centric to them getting into Shian and gaining access to the War Council. However, that creature had perished in the Bone City, and was now well on it’s way to being feasted upon.
“Well, without an offering, we can’t very well let you in can we? Plus, you’re dressed like those damned Apotheoses. Now, I’m not big time professor, but 2 and 2 equal 4, and you folks are looking mighty suspicious.” Reigns motioned forward and the two that accompanied him, a Human, and a Drow, readied their respective weapons and moved forward. The Drow aimed a deadly looking arrow, teeth of backwards facing spikes, meant to enter the opposition and apply more pain when removal was attempted. It’s point was aimed right at the Goblin. The creature was terrified, and attempted to hide behind the dwarf - though Forsoff moved away from him. The Goblin had snuck upon their carriage, it was not apart of their group and thus of no consequence to the dwarf. The drow steadied his aim and just as he was about to fire--
“Stop! Wait! I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything!” Reigns raised his hand and the Drow stopped just before releasing. The party looked towards the Goblin, who had begun to rapidly shift through forms, ranging from a baby leopard, to an old goblin.
“Look, Fananatu is a liar! Yes, he did send these nice folks, except the girl, whom they graciously decided to bring with, to the War Council, but he was lying about the Leopard! There is no special object you must present! He forged the letter, and gave me a rune that allowed me to change into the Leopard. I was meant to spy for him! Make sure you lot got where you were going and then leave soon after! Don’t you get it, Reigns, and the rest? Fananatu is manipulating you all! There is no obje--”
“Shut up, Goblin, you are lying. Boatswain, kill him!” The Drow lifted his bow once more and aimed the arrow, but a strong hand on his shoulder halted him.
“Fire that arrow, and I will see you off the plank myself, Drow. The Goblin lies not about the nature of Fananatu, nor of the need for special item. There is no such thing. He obviously wanted them to be on their best behavior, to manipulate them into doing his bidding. Why do you think they didn’t come with him when he arrived with the Chimera? Fananatu is a liar and not to be trusted.” The Drow turned towards the voice, whom revealed itself to belong to Damian, the Pirate Captain.
“You all follow me, and I shall see you safely to the others.”
Damian turned on his heels and headed back towards the tunnel, stopping only to remind the group that they needed to rid themselves of the Apotheoses armor, lest they be truck down upon entry. Ten minutes passed and they were down in with the others, whom were all slowly dispersing to bed, or out into the city to their respective tavern rooms. Many stopped and turned around, looking at the new arrivals. The night had just gotten interesting.
