Interlude: Gerard's Ascension

"The Shadowbane Inquisition Welcomes Another Crusader"

Aryth 6th-7th, 998 YK

At Gerard's request, four modest tickets on the Five Nations Express had been provided by the Church of the Silver Flame instead of one, so that his companions could come and witness his ascension to the rank of Shadowbane Inquisitor. While some of his comrades didn't agree with the dogma of the Silver Flame theocracy, they all held noble Gerard dearly enough that they were interested in seeing this transition through with him. Thus, they found themselves in Flamekeep on the evening of Aryth the 6th.

Before the ceremony (which was scheduled to take place the next evening), they met with the head of Gerard's order, Thedric Drosin. Gerard rarely spoke of his life before adventuring, but they did know that Thedric was a sort of mentor for the inquisitor. Thedric didn't seem nearly as zealous and self-righteous as the Flamers were often accused of being, which helped to explain Gerard's relatively relaxed demeanor. Thedric beckoned them all to his office, for he had a request that he felt must be asked in private. After arriving in the spacious-yet-plain room from which Thedric directed the Inquisition's activities, the older man first asked Gerard if he was sure his three companions could be trusted. After Gerard gave a cautious assent, Thedric made his situation plain.

There were demons in the Church, and they were slowly taking over every aspect of the Silver Flame's activities. There had been several assassination attempts made against him and his most trusted peers, and all evidence pointed to the involvement of shapeshifting fiends called rakshasas. He revealed his suspicions that the dreaded Lords of Dust were getting ready for a major assualt against the mortal world, weakening bastions of divine power such as the Church of the Silver Flame so that whatever they were planning was more likely to succeed. He asked...no, begged, that they be ready to act when the Lords of Dust finally moved, because the consequences of inaction were too terrible to comprehend. The Five Nations were weakened, and there was little that could be done to stop a new Age of Demons once it was underway. Esan didn't seem too interested in saving the world from this terrible fate, but the others were quick to acknowledge the threat, and pledge their conditional support when the time came.

The next day, Morgan, Esan and Nadia saw little of Gerard, who was following custom and spending the day in prayer. That evening, they were all granted access to one of the most extraordinary wonders of Khorvaire - the Chamber of the Silver Flame. Here, Gerard made his vows, and rose as a Shadowbane Inquisitor.

Interlude: Loose Ends

"Khelizan's Last Stand"

19th of Sypheros

Even though they now knew that Victor was the one who had orchestrated the assassin strikes against them, the heroes didn't think that his death would stop the attacks from occuring. They decided that it was time to pay Khelizan a visit, so that they could cut the problem off at its source.

Finding Khelizan's lair again in Fallen was a simple matter, and penetrating the imposing complex was far easier than it first appeared. Nadia and Morgan both had new scouts to bring into play - Nadia's was a miniscule jade spider that Morgan recognized as a wondrous figurine. It had the ability to crawl into hard-to-reach places and record events based on simple commands given by its owner. Ironically enough, she had decided to name it 'Titan'. Morgan had finished work on his latest homonculus, a furtive filcher. They sent their silent minions into Khelizan's tower, and quickly learned that the defenses inside were almost overwhelming. However, a shaft leading directly to Khelizan's throne room on the bottom floor was cleverly concealed among a row of chimneys; they weren't immediately sure of its purpose, yet they realized that it was the best way to bypass the hordes of ogres and giants waiting just through the front doors.

When they were fully prepared, they entered Khelizan's throne room in force. Morgan's filcher (who was still in the throne room) warned them at the last moment that their silent descent down the escape shaft had somehow tipped the people in the throne room off. They had arrayed themselves defensively, except for Khelizan, who remained on his throne. Esan quickly discerned through his touchsight field that Khelizan on the throne was an illusion, and the real Khelizan was standing invisible on the other side of the room.

Even here, the ogre mage's defenses were considerable. He had recently bought the services of a famous Darguun bladebearer named Traakan, who led the mercenary company called the Iron Shields. All of the Iron Shields were here today, split up into clusters of pikemen and archers. A sneaky goblin sorcerer was also present, though he was currently invisible. Haraj the Skinner was here as well, and she seemed ready to put her bloodstained kamas to good use. Traakan himself was at the front of the defenses, his flail drawn and ready. He challenged Esan to a duel, and the psion responded at speed.

The fight in Khelizan's throne room was brutal, and quite taxing on the heroes' resources. Nadia lit the room up with several well-placed fireballs while Morgan took flight on his silver floating disk, blasting Iron Shieldsmen left and right with a wand in each fist. Gerard spent much of the battle healing his comrades, though he managed to bring his dread sword Faeros Lumar to bear to deadly effect. At one point, Khelizan unleashed a terrible blast of freezing energy, which killed Morgan's new homonculus and seriously injured everyone else. But at that point, the battle was nearly over, and it didn't take the heroes long to finish their grim work. Once all of their foes were dead, they quickly found a lever to shut the iron portcullis leading out of the throne room, and proceeded to Khelizan's treasure vault.

The rewards inside were well worth their efforts, as Khelizan was quite a collector. Among the piles of gold and silver were several priceless works of art from around the world, from paintings and vases to giant cabinets made in Xen'drik. Of particular interest to Morgan was a strange stone found on a table by a goblet, but when he picked it up it crumbled instantly in his hands. The goblet made them all forget to wonder what had just happened with the stone, for it was very familiar to those who had been in Karrnath earlier this year. Esan pulled out its near twin, the goblet that had been discovered in Dashakoya Nurabo's quarters back at the ir'Mandar estate. When both goblets were held in close proximity, each filled with crystal clear water that radiated conjuration magic. The goblet from Dashakoya had strong Karrnathi motiffs, while the one they had just discovered was obviously Brelish in design. They realized that this goblet must have been what the Inspired diplomats visiting Khelizan were after, but that only created more questions.

Still, the events of the day were safely counted as a victory, and the heroes went their separate ways for a week or so, knowing full well that they would meet again for a trip to Flamekeep, where this had all started.