Chapter Four Part 2
From Atlantic Roleplay Wiki
Title: Chapter Four, Part 2
Author: Sirideain
Fourth Chapter: Shattered Legacy
Lathiari and Kyrnia seemingly acted entirely on their own motives, engendered by the traumatic loss of their mother long before, but they too were assisted with information from the Enchantress. After the pair were driven from their tower in the environs of Yew, adventurers discovered there a magical device created from the same material of which the shrines were constructed.
Whereas the shrines are well known for resurrecting those who have met a violent death, with Minax's help the Sage Humboldtliches had corrupted the stone so as to raise the dead who had died naturally and peacefully, a method Minax herself would later apply. Sage Humboldt charged adventurers to find any remaining corrupted shrinestone and bring it to him to be hidden.
While the sage researched a way to put an end to the liches, Lathiari and Kyrnia made an assault upon Trinsic. Lord Blackthorn took it upon himself to rally defenders and meet them, but in the ensuing battle, the liches opened a red moongate and forced Lord Blackthorn to enter.
Some claimed in the following days to see Lord Blackthorn at various places in the land running into red moongates as soon as he was spotted, but no explanation has been offered for these sightings. From that time, Lord Blackthorn was not seen for many months.
Sage Humboldt at last devised a way to destroy Lathiari and Kyrnia. He did this by consuming their very hearts, the blackness of which consumed his own life also. Only a potion that drew its power from the Bell of Courage itself allowed him to survive long enough to eat the hearts entirely. The sage's passing was mourned by many in Britannia.
For a time, evil in Britannia was faceless and unknown, but its continuing presence was revealed by the theft of the relics of Mondain from Britain's Counselor hall. Crawworth immediately declared the theft to be an act of the Zog Cabal, but Sage Winslow (who succeeded Sage Humboldt) suggested a re-examination of the facts, since as yet the only evidence for the Cabal's existence was the raving of one madman at Hartham's wake. More evidence appeared in the form of a notebook salvaged from a burning ship off the coast of Vesper. The book bore the title "Zog Cabal," but its contents were indecipherable. The notebook was transported to Crawworth in Trinsic, and Winslow also traveled to Trinsic to examine the book himself when it arrived.
Unknown to all, and through adventures that cannot be guessed, Sage Winslow met his end in the dungeon Shame sometime after his arrival in Trinsic. His fate was not uncovered until many months after, for his identity was assumed by the Cabalist and Follower of Armageddon, Miron Vehl. With none the wiser, Vehl used Winslow's position as a cover for his activities.
Finding no means to comprehend the strange glyphs in the notebook, Crawworth left the matter to Winslow and directed his attentions to Vesper, where the book's writer may have been at some time. On the north bridge from Vesper, Crawworth was abducted and held for many days by mercenary orcs. His rescuers found evidence that the Cabal was responsible.
What followed was the greatest accomplishment of the Followers of Armageddon and their most famous act in Britannia. They gained access to all the knowledge left in Mondain's brain, which they had indeed stolen in Britain, and learned more about the nature of the Gem of Immortality than they had ever hoped. No one can guess at the thoughts of such a man as Mondain, or what the Followers' ultimate objective might have been.
As the thoughts of the four Followers of Armageddon turned back to Ilshenar, they began to discard servants whose usefulness had declined. The ranks of the Cabal from that point began to thin. Some cabalists believed the Followers' spell was a failed attempt at casting Armageddon and lost faith in their leaders. Others became fearful that life might actually be wiped out and wanted no more part of it. The Followers' next step was to gather the blackrock caches and consult with the dark wisps.
As a consequence of the terrible power of Mondain's mind even in death, powerful earthquakes rocked the world after the Followers' ritual. Hundreds of elementals were released at the site where the spell was cast, in the mountains north of Minoc. In the aftermath of the earthquakes, new passages were discovered under the earth. The old ways to Ambrosia had been reopened. Lord British assigned Crawworth to lead an expedition and survey the new land.
Crawworth's expedition made contact with the people of Delucia and encountered the Terathan and Ophidian races, to whom the expeditioners lost their lives.
Such a visible and dramatic action by the Zog Cabal demanded that new efforts be directed towards revealing this still-mysterious organization. Sir Duquelle offered a sizable reward andWinslow in Prison the thanks of Lord British himself for the live capture of a Cabalist, so that they might reveal much-needed information. Duquelle did discover valuable information, but paid for it with his life.
Sir Geoffery assumed leadership of the investigation and first pursued the matter of Duquelle's death. Silencing Duquelle proved to be a misstep for the Followers of Armageddon, as the act left clues very damaging to their cause.
They were forced to abandon their hideout in Vesper, and Winslow was jailed on suspicion of involvement. Most critically, the existence of the blackrock caches was discovered, and the locations were quickly put under constant guard.
Evidence was also discovered insinuating that Julia the Tinker was involved with the Followers of Armageddon, and she was placed under house arrest. Investigation of Winslow's activities revealed that he had been researching wisps and had prompted Mariah the Mage to undertake research on blackrock. No evidence was discovered of wrongdoing on the part of Winslow, and so after some time he was released.
With the constant vigilance of guardsmen at the known blackrock caches, several Followers of Armageddon were apprehended and imprisoned in Serpent's Hold. However, by the time Nystul devised a way to open the caches' magically locked chests and remove the blackrock from the Followers' reach, they had already recovered a substantial amount. As the captured Followers of Armageddon were moved from Serpent's Hold to Yew for an eventual trial, one was freed by collaborators. Associates of Gruzak, the notorious half-orcish assassin, secretly poisoned the remaining Follower of Armageddon in custody. The poison was obscure, but a cure was concocted from especially rare and potent forms of garlic, ginseng, and nightshade.
(Cont. in Part 3)