Interlude - Callevus d'Cannith

12th of Sypheros, 998 YK

It has been nearly two months since our heroes vanquished Ziki "the Flenser" and brought peace to the sleepy Northedge neighborhood of Oakbridge. They have begun to realize, even while separated and left to pursue their own agendas, that they are a good team together. The bonds of friendship grow, and they keep more frequent contact in this intervening time period.

On the 12th of Sypheros, the Wildnight Festival has only just begun. The next few days will see some of the wildest, most dangerous parties in all of Khorvaire, especially in the City of Towers. On the 17th of Sypheros, the Festival will culminate in Wildnight, a crazed celebration in honor of the Fury, god of passion and madness. Most sensible people will remain indoors, but on Wildnight, the sensible are a small minority.

Late that morning, Morgan Ironwright woke up to discover a letter waiting for him at the door of his flat. It was short, yet alarming:

Morgan Ironwright,

I have some information that may be of interest to you regarding your exploits in Karrnath earlier this year. I would like to meet you to discuss it today, if at all possible. Bring your associates if you can, for I would like to meet all of you. I'll be waiting for you at the Roost in Dragon Towers this evening.

Signed, Callevus d'Cannith

Morgan wasted no time in contacting his two new friends. They met up at noon and decided to go to the Roost early, to scope the place out and await a person whom they believed would blackmail them.

Dragon Towers is the economic hub of Sharn, home to dozens of powerful guilds and organizations, including offices of all thirteen dragonmarked houses. Deals are brokered here every day that affect the entire continent, and one can almost smell the concentrated arrogance of a thousand merchant princes plotting the course of Khorvaire's future based on their own personal whims. 'Hustle bustle' does not begin to describe it, and our heroes had some trouble finding the Roost through the packed crowds.

Eventually, they arrived in a large plaza set within a hollow tower. Street musicians vied for the attention of onlookers as Morgan led his friends into the Roost. It was noisy with lunch patrons, yet the place looked well-maintained and clean. After making sure that Callevus had not yet arrived, they settled down to wait for him. Esan decided to wait outside.

Hours passed, yet Esan remained vigilant even when a fiddler attempted to win him over with several rousing numbers that were (all-in-all) some of the better performances he had seen that day. Eventually, he caught sight of a man in a nondescript traveler's cloak walking past to enter the Roost. Esan's sharp ears caught several clicking and whirring sounds as the stranger walked through the door; when the man brought a finger of flame up to the hood of his cloak to light a cigarette poking out of the darkness within, it briefly lit up a horribly scarred, human face whose eyes were covered by a pair of opaque goggles.

The mechanical man entered the Roost and immediately saw Morgan and Gerard. He walked over there, introduced himself as Callevus d'Cannith, and asked if they would like to speak in private (there were rooms for that purpose in the Roost, which he explained was his reason for picking this place).

Callevus was quick in getting to the point of the visit, demanding that they drop any pretenses of not being involved in Talovar ir'Mandar's assassination. Their handiwork had apparently made an impression in the espionage community, and he knew for a fact that they had been there. He was not interested in blackmail, however. He revealed to them that he was a member of the secret society known as the Knights of Galifar.

Knights of Galifar: Outspoken liberals on politics and economy, these self-proclaimed patriots seek to maintain the old codes of justice that were first written by Galifar I, and enforced across most of Khorvaire for the better part of a millenium. Some are legitimate (if a bit eccentric and outspoken) business owners and statespersons, but most are considered dangerous vigilantes by official sources. The organization, while not outlawed in most countries, is frowned upon for its 'radical' ideals. Because they are frequently targeted by assassins of organizations that either harbor war criminals or seek to uphold the new status quo (or both), members hide their association with the organization, and it is considered to be a secret society.

Callevus explained to them the real purpose of his summons - he wanted them to track down Ermana Kessler, the wily Emerald Claw commander who had eluded their grasp in Karrnath last Olarune. He had been using discreet contacts to track her approximate course over the past few months, and he had learned exactly what she planned to do. She was seeking an artifact rumored lost tens of thousands of years ago, when the giants of Xen'Drik were obliterated in the last cataclysm of their age. Known as the Onyx of Mabar, this sinister stone was rumored to be the source of great necromantic power. It was once the posession of a dread lich giant, who ruled the lost Emerald City deep within the heart of the northern jungles. When the famous archaelogist of Morgrave University known as Paetric Kendig rediscovered this fabled ruin, it did not take long for Ermana Kessler's superiors to dig up their scattered notes on the Onyx and begin putting together an expedition.

Speaking of Ermana's superiors, Callevus took a moment to reveal a terrible secret about the Order of the Emerald Claw, and its sinister origins. He took the companions far back in time, to the history of the Aerenal elves. Most people in Khorvaire of any educational pedigree understand that the elves possess the Mark of Shadow, which is kept in secure bloodlines by House Phiarlan. What few know, however, is that there was once a second dragonmark in the elven heritage - the Mark of Death, possessed by House Vol.

Apparently, the last matriarch of House Vol had a forbidden relationship with a green dragon of Argonnessen many years ago. The dragons threatened terrible repercussions on the elves if they didn't handle this internal affair themselves, and it was all the excuse they needed. The Aerenal were always mistrustful of House Vol, for they saw their undead experiments as blasphemous in nature. The elves descended on House Vol and tore it to shreds, killing every last dragonmarked heir in the family and many unmarked scions to boot. The matriarch, knowing she had doomed her house, sought to save her daughter Erandis from the senseless slaughter by any means necessary. In an unholy ritual now lost to the sands of time, she turned her half-dragon daughter into a lich.

Most elves believe that Erandis d'Vol was killed during the last days of fighting regardless of this, but Callevus tells them what he believes is the truth; Erandis was smuggled out of Aerenal to Khorvaire. Over the following centuries, she built up a secret society called the Blood of Vol, which she used to seek out elves who might still possess the dread Mark of Death. The organization eventually cultivated a legitimate religion now popular in Karrnath, but it also brought forth the Order of the Emerald Claw, which serves Erandis d'Vol almost directly. Many within the organization are not aware of their true master, or even their relationship with the Blood of Vol.

Ermana Kessler is, and Callevus believes her mission comes straight from the top. If Erandis d'Vol wants this Onyx of Mabar, it is up to those who are able to prevent her from recovering it. Callevus offers to pay well for the artifact's recovery, which he may be able to destroy himself with the proper rituals later on. His offer is generous, but he won't write up a formal contract until his eyes and ears tell him that Ermana Kessler has left the Lhazaar Principalities for Xen'Drik. Callevus believes she is currently gathering resources for the expedition, though he isn't sure exactly what the nature of these resources is, or why it is taking so long.

After a short negotiation, they agreed to his request. He will contact them again and set them up with their own resources (including a guide familiar with Xen'Drik) when he learns more of Ermana's whereabouts.