Dark Sun - Sun and Stars Campaign
Contents
Player Characters
Current Party
Braxius, 5th level noble human psionicist
Nystrom, 3rd/3rd level NG elf fighter/psychokineticist, Sentinel of House Wavir
Tychon, 3rd level LG gladiator
Former Party Members
Artan, 7th level/8th level dwarf fighter/psychoportationist, NPC'd
Zlo, 5th level halfling thief, mindwiped
Krors Ra Drugan, dwarf fighter/psychokineticist/thief, KIA
Korax of Balic, 3rd level human myrmidon slave-soldier, out of play
Tomak, son of Cassander, 6th level mul gladiator
Liktar Cozen, 5th level NG human ranger, out of play
Raiz Kai, 5th level neutral half-elf earth cleric
Akina, The Kirre Heart, 5th level sharpshooter]]
Tor, half giant, out of play
Current Motives of the PCs
Major Arc Goals
====Artan====
-Return to the Astral plane and defeat the Lich of Tarona (Zhor/Focus)
-Rescue and somehow restore Ktandeo to life (Zhor/Focus)
-Help Ktandeo accomplish his goal (Zhor/Focus)
-Uncover the secret of the shadow soul and either harness its potential, or banish it
-Become the greatest warrior/practitioner of the Way that Athas has ever known
-Secure logging rights and procure wood for ship building enterprise
-Find a way to return Kasom to his home
Liktar
-Decide what class to Dual Class into
-Track down the defiler he confronted, but who escaped
Tomak
-Become a powerful political figure in Balic (and possibly beyond?)
-Develop a reputation as a gladiator to rival that of his hero, Rikus of Tyr
Minor/Roleplaying Goals
====Artan====
-Find adventurers who are willing and able to assist with restoring Ktandeo
-Learn from Tomak as much about the City State of Balic as possible (Completed)
-Ask Tomak about a possible merchant/trade connection to one of the major Houses in order to sell off some treasure and acquire liquid funds (Completed)
-Visit the Cerebran and find a psionicist to tutor him in the Way
-Convince, intimidate or kill those who speak out against Cassander leading up to his trial
-Establish a power base in the City of Balic
-Find a suitable home in Balic (Completed)
-Become a Balican citizen
-Start a private, legitimate enterprise with Tomak as a front or silent partner (circumstance dependent)
-Make contact with Zhor
-Speak with Elianda about possibly hiring her on as a household associate
-Find a safehouse in which to store valuable possessions
-Investigate possible investment with the owner of the Gilded Sail for exotic wines
Liktar
-Hire out on silt schooners in order to pass the time/be away from the throng of Balic.
Tomak
-Free his father from captivity and restore him to his previous position of power
-Hire a mul boy as a servant
-Make a deal with House Wavir to secure the release of his father
-Deal with Cassander's fanatical followers from the docks
Equipment and Ownership of Player Characters
Adventures and Notes
Tomak's Gladiators from Nalust
Campaign Lore
Cassander's Telepathic Message to Tomak, 12 Thaumast, FY 19
The message is largely wordless, and direct. As has always been the case, Cassander is laconic, and communicates very little to his son about his wider plans. Cassander does not thank Tomak for his support and efforts for his father, and makes no mention of Artan's sending of Meridian to guard the old sailor.
Cassander urges that Tomak leave Balic in haste, in contradiction to his words on 11 Thaumust allowing for ten days, and says to avoid House Wavir and House Rees agents, avoiding them at high cost. It is not the time, Cassander says, to inflict violence, bidden or not, on either of the great houses. Instead, Cassander wishes Tomak to book passage to the village of Nalust as quickly as possible, just outside of which is the field training compound of House Jarko, which according to Cassander has been violently liberated of its gladiatorial slaves by an elite force of the Free Army under a steel-masked warrior named Isenetrix. Even though this House Jarko training house has been destroyed by the Free Army, Cassander wants Tomak to go back to the ruins and rally any of the gladiators there that the mul half-way trusts, and promise them money in return for service. Tomak should gather as many as possible as quickly as possible, and then march them over the desert to Last Port. If Tomak is to be of use to Cassander, the dwarf says Tomak must accomplish all this and arrive at Last Port in no more than 36 hours.
Little else is immediately shared with Tomak. The dwarf does not clearly volunteer where he is, exactly why he is having Tomak do all this, nor what precisely Tomak and the other gladiators are supposed to do when they get to Last Port. Cassander does however emphasize that Balic is no longer safe for Tomak, and that for every hour he delays, there is the greater chance that Rees or Wavir might apprehend him in order to get to Cassander. Tomak is told to be very careful, and quick to leave the city unnoticed as much as possible.
Tomak says a Draji smuggler he knows named Nua'topec is waiting with his small ship, the Silt Reaver, along the Great Pier. Cassander says the Silt Reaver will wait for the next 12 hours or so before it sets sail, supposedly sailing for the Drajian coastal distract, but it really will first drop Tomak off at Nalust. Cassander says he trusts Nua'topec enough to get his son to where he belongs, provided Tomak does what he is told.
Balican Lore
Government of Balic
The Archons of Balic
Eponymous Archon, the Supreme Archon: Tabaros Wavir (posthumous honor), former Lord of House Wavir
Archon Basileus, the Sacred King: Lathos Kanthost, high priest of the Temple of Talathothanay
Polemarch, the War Archon: Narmikos, a former army chiliarch and militia general
Navarch, the Supreme Admiral: Phaaf Glien, former Nibenese templar, a general and admiral of the Free Army
Thesmothetai, the Six Chief Judges: ...
Elections
The next state election, for the ten archons, and other senior state magistrates, is scheduled to be at the very end of the Year of Ral's Vengeance, Free Year 20 in the Tyrian calendar, in the short month of Zenalia. The local or demarchic elections, and re-election of the ten generals and ten admirals, are scheduled for four months away, in Zenalia of Free Year 19.
Templars of Balic
Introduction
- ...Before Marda could explain further, a pair of Balican templars stepped onto the quay, leaving an escort of six half-giants behind at the ratany hedge. The sailors fell immediately silent, each man fixing his eyes on his work.
- When the templars reached the group, one of them pointed at Agis. "You. How long have you been in Balic?" She was a hard-eyed woman with sour, harsh looking features.
- -The Obsidian Oracle, III, 51
During the thousand year reign of King Androponis (which is another way of saying he had reigned for as far back as anyone could remember), it was his Order of Templars who effectively ran the normal operations of local and state government. The templars were sworn to Androponis personally as their king, and derived their inviolability and magical spells from Androponis' office of Sacred King of the city-state, which is held for life. To hold almost any official office in the city-state, either civic or religious, one had to be a templar. Holding a near monopoly on public office, through these offices the templars held a near dictatorial sway over the city and its citizens, freedmen, slaves, and even the nobility. Identified by their cream-colored off-white togas, a token of their supposed sacrosanct persons, they were the masters of Balic until the unexpected disappearance of their long-lived king and Dictator Androponis in the Year of Friend's Agitation, the 10th Year of Tyrian Freedom. With the sudden absence of their sorcerer-king and master, the templars lost all their spell powers, as well as the awesome authority and privilege granted them by Androponis for so many centuries. Their fall was swift and bloody, but after nearly a month by which time the most hated or most vulnerable of their membership were killed or driven into hiding or to exile, the Mercantile Triumvirate offered the Order of Templars a deal. In return for their assistance in keeping the machinery of government working, the Triumvirate offered the templars a junior partnership in the new order, and protection from the vengeance and malice of the people. This arrangement lasted some nine years, until the current day, although each year saw the continued weakening of the templars as more and more of the offices of state were held by those who had never worn the cream-colored togas of their Order. With the coming of Xal'gren and the return of the so-called Free Dictatorship, the templars have been brought to their weakest point ever, for their central temple, the Synedrion, has been raided by the new Dictator himself, and its hierophant jailed. Yet, even so, the templars have not completely faded from the city of Balic. Families still send their children to the secret initiation rites outside the city, some templars still hold offices of power, and certain rumors abound that a secret cabal of underground loyalist templars still obey the will of Androponis, and work to bring about his return.
In legend, the templars were the loyal knights of Androponis' army when he seized the city in the remote past. Even with the recent fall of the templars from power, there are modern templar families that claim descent from these ancient knights. Although the templarate often passes from parent to child, it is not required that a parent have been a templar, as many templars underwent initiation from outside these families. Most templars however did come from such backgrounds, if for no other reason than templar families, as members of the knightly class, enjoyed the privilege of being able to learn to read and write, an important requirement for joining the templarate. There were also other requirements, such as pure Balican citizenship, the absence of the stain of wizardry, and the peculiar requirement that a candidate for initiation be free of the crime of bloodshed of a Balican citizen before the sacred rites of initiation were conducted. For those who wished to join the ranks of the templarate, they had first to gain candidacy in a tightly controlled and elaborate process, and only then were they offered to partake in the Lesser Mysteries, held annually in secret and forbidden areas outside the city. Upon completion of the Lesser Mysteries, the citizen then became a junior member of the Order of Templars, and was thereby now eligible to hold many offices both in and out of the city.
The most junior members of the templarate most often received directly appointed positions from templar magistrates. Many became military officers in the ten standing legions (effectively dual-classing), and many became petty managers of waste removal, road repair, city wall maintenance, royal farm field overseers, and agents of disease control in the city. Many junior templars however started their careers as subordinate officers in the naucraries, a naucrary being the lowest level of royal administration throughout the city, acting officially as in charge of ensuring the city's naval fleet was maintained and manned when necessary, but in practice served as bastions of royal authority in the city demes, executing his law, collecting his taxes, and searching for treason.
Civic Organization of the Templars
The naucraries abounded throughout the city with their own territories, splitting certain demes and merging others. Each naucrary was led by an appointed naucraros, assisted by a lieutenant and his subaltern officers. For foot-soldiers, they could call upon the militia, for which they were responsible for organizing, training and activating. Indeed, the physical naucraries doubled as the local armories, for which the deme militias could gather their armor and arms. In times of emergency or war, and if given proper approval, a naucrary could activate his entire militia, sending them to either man the ships of the naval fleet, to fill the ranks of the militia army, or both. Naucraroi could summon sometimes in excess over a thousand from the militia to serve in whatever capacity was required by the king, and although officially led by a pentakosiarch or chiliarch elected by the people (commanders of 500 or 1000), the naucraros stayed near to the commander as a political officer and enforcer of the Dictator's will.
The naucraries were themselves controlled by the trittiarchies, of which there were twelve in the city-state. Led by a trittiarch, the trittiarchies had more templars, resources and authority, and ambitious templars often sought to leave the naucraries to serve their king at this higher echelon. They too were responsible for organizing the city-state's militia and fleet, although at a more senior level. The trittiarchs themselves were appointed however by the tribal kings, or basileus. These officials were very senior templars, as there were only four of them. Elected by the people for ten year terms, they were very powerful, as they appointed both the trittiarchs and naucraroi, although the trittiarchs were confirmed by the king directly. The tribal kings had their seats at the four basilicas, great temples dedicated to the Order of the Templars, which were also homes to important templar libraries, armories and personal quarters.
The tribal kings themselves answered to the most senior magistrate in the city, the Eponymous Archon, who presided over the entire templar administration from his offices at the White Palace, the home of the king himself. The Eponymous Archon, himself elected every ten years by the people, effectively answered only to the Dictator himself.
Religious Organization of the Templars
Almost all the temples in the city, dedicated to ancient and half-forgotten gods and heroes of the city, were administered by priests and priestly families who were necessarily initiated members of the templarate. Still evoking the devotion or at least the respect of many Balicans, the templars used to provide healing and other magical services to the citizens from these temples, for a price. The four civic basilicas and their tribal basileus oversaw the running of these temples, as well as most all religious activities in the city, but they themselves answered to the Synedrion, the greatest temple dedicated to the Order of the Templars in the city, which served as their headquarters and place for internal justice and leadership.
The word Synedrion could refer to both the building and its ruling council, sometimes called the Nameless Council, who had abandoned their birth names in favor of sacred names such as Torch Bearer, Messenger, and Sacred Keeper. Composed of senior templars, they were all appointed for life in these sacred magistracies, and oversaw the entire Balican Mysteries, being the cult of the templars dedicated to the city and its king. Shrouded in mystery on pain of death and worse, the Balican Mysteries were overseen by the most senior templar in the whole city, called the Hierophant. Like his fellow councilors, the Hierophant no longer used his given name, having officially abandoned it in the Silt Sea. Commanding awesome respect, the Hierophant was one of the most feared officials in the city. The Synedrion regulated membership in the Order of Templars, deciding who might receive initiation into the Lesser Mysteries, and deciding who might advance as more senior templars by receiving initiation into the Greater Mysteries. As overseers of all things religious in the city-state, the Synedrion also was responsible for rooting out illegal sorcery, dispatching agents to seek out wizards throughout the Balican empire.
The Balican Mysteries
Presided over by the Hierophant and led by the delegated Sacred King or Archon Basileus of the City, the Mysteries were held on an annual basis by the templars, during which the majority of their numbers would leave the city to undertake the sacred rituals of their order. Held under great secrecy, none save templars or confirmed candidates for the templary could attend. Even amongst the templars, speaking of the rituals to outsiders was strictly forbidden on pain of death.
Although performed in various processions conducted primarily outside the city, it is known that the templar cult centers around the great and ancient Temple of Euchthonius, a legendary early king of the city from before the time of Androponis' rule who was supposed to have been born of the land itself. A haunted and forbidden place to outsiders, the temple is surrounded by templar burial grounds, some of which are quite ancient. Surrounded by an old and dark forest, much of the grounds around the temple are surrounded by thousands of the bones and shells of aprigs, domesticated creatures which are sacrificed by the participants.
Every four years, the ceremonies are especially elaborate, and involve the procession of a sacred statue of Androponis to the coast, the moving of sacred, forbidden and otherwise taboo relics.
Even in the fall of the Order of the Templars, traditionalists still conduct these ancient rituals, and initiate new members into the Order. The aura surrounding the Balican Mysteries is strong and dark enough that its ceremonies have not yet been accosted by even the most vengeful citizens and freedmen of the city. The Temple of Euchthonius remain unmolested, perhaps if for no other reason than the undead spirits which are widely believed to guard that place are far too fearful for even the most daring of thieves and adventurers.
Current Situation of the Templars
Soon after becoming Dictator, Xal'gren raided by force the Synedrion itself, and arrested and jailed the current Hierophant, sealing him in the Kioleian Pits, the site of the old lead mines just outside the city. Still playing at political power and allied to House Tomblador which opposed Xal'gren and his army, the surviving templar leadership was deemed too dangerous by the new Dictator and his followers. After seizing the Synedrion, they sold much of its treasures to fund their cause.
The Wavir half of the city has persecuted in the courts most of the worst of the templars from the time of Androponis who survived the purge nine years ago. Some templar families with more honorable reputations with the people have maintained various responsibilities and offices, with some serving either the state and/or House Wavir in positions not too dissimilar from the ones they held under Androponis. A few officials with less savory reputations still operate in Wavir territory, usually being too essential for the running of the city or otherwise too devious to be summarily removed from power, although even for these remaining templars their old authority still wanes. At best, the more respectable templars work to convince their fellow citizens of the honorable nature that the Order of Templars could have.
House Rees has made numerous arrangements with templars throughout its territories in the city. The worst were killed, prosecuted and stripped of power, or exiled. Some were offered positions in House Rees itself or allowed to retain some of their authority, subordinate to House Rees. This situation remains essentially the same to this day within the Rees demes.
After the Mercantile victory in the Year of Friend's Agitation, House Tomblador did the opposite of House Wavir, and kept on some of the worst of the templars, making a pact with them in order to keep tight control of their demes. Now that House Tomblador has fallen and fled Balic, House Wavir and the Free Army has come into the old Tomblador parts of the city, and have removed and/or arrested many of the evil templars that helped Tomblador run their parts of the city. Still early on in his government, Xal'gren and his followers as well as House Wavir are still dismantling the network of templar power that still runs in this part of the city.
Almost ten years since the disappearance of Androponis, under the current government, not a single civic office requires a candidate to be a member of the Order of Templars, and only a handful of old templar religious sites are still run by members of the templarate. Likewise, save for a few isolated pockets in the city, templars no longer have a stranglehold on the elections, and for the most part, the only templars who now win office in the elections do so because they are genuinely elected by the popular assemblies.
Campaign Chronology
Mercantile Monthly Calendar of House Wavir of Balic
Dominary – 30 days
Sedulous – 30 days
Fortuary – 30 days
Macro – 30 days
Dessalia – 5 days
Fifthover – 30 days
Hexameron – 30 days
Morrow – 30 days
Octavus – 30 days
Assalia – 5 days
Thaumast – 30 days
Anabasis – 30 days
Hoard – 30 days
Flagstaad – 30 days
Zenalia – 5 days
Campaign Events
Free Year 19, the 44th Year of the 190th King's Age, the Year of Guthay's Contemplation
12 Octavus, FY 19: Zhor, after ensconcing the dwarf in Xyestes' citadel, takes Artan into the Gray and to the bounds of the Astral Plane.
19 Octavus, FY 19: Tomak son of Cassander, in combination with the gladiator Akina, Goran the tarek, the thri-kreen Kreethak, and other allies, seizes the Silencer of Bodach, which is coveted by the Templars of Balic, elven rogues, and others. Tomak takes the Silencer and encasing it in a box, and deposits it in the Silt Sea for his father to salvage.
21 Octavus, FY 19: In an attempt to salvage the Silence of Bodach, the White Sail is destroyed by the magic and army of the Seven Angry Tembos, and the Silencer is taken by their mul fire cleric into the interior of the Balican peninsula.
22 Octavus, FY 19: : House Rees fleet of six schooners including the state flag ship the Omedon lands at Nithaea, with Tomak the son of Cassander accompanying them as a subaltern for House Rolt; evening of the 22nd, Zlo the halfling, an agent of Cassander, conspires to poison the House Rees admiral Mnaster, but fails.
23 Octavus, FY 19: The poisoning plot against admiral Mnaster is publicly exposed, with Cassander's son Tomak in attendance.
25 Octavus, FY 19: After several days of gather support from the local nobles from former House Tomblador aligned estates, the House Rees army under Prince Polydamus meets with another House Rees army under Master General Vandor at the port town of Abynon at the southwest corner of the peninsula, doubling the size of his force.
28 Octavus, FY 19: After several days of maneuvering and gathering further noble support, the House Rees army cornered the small but successful army of the Seven Angry Tembos, who had been marauding with the Silencer for a week now, devastating noble and freemen farms and estates. The confident House Rees army sealed off the valley that held the House Basilsaurius lands which the Angry Tembos then occupied, and forwarded its troops against the marauders who had taken the Silencer. Marching with House Rolt under the Rees banner, Tomak would have been in this engagement. Unfortunately for House Rees, once again the marauders, who called their small army the Seven Tembos, were underestimated. Their leader summoned a squadron of fire elementals at the mouth of the canyon, and sent the elementals after the Rees army. The farms, orchards and fields caught on fire, and there was great loss of life. The House Rees army broke up in terror, and when the smoke cleared, Tomak was but another footsoldier trying to get back to the city.
30 Octavus, FY 19: Charxes smashes the remaining army of the Seven Angry Tembos. After trevails, Tomak reaches Omedon's Rock late that night, and finds refuge with a client of his father, another ship captain named Galien. Tomak hopes to meet with his former thri-kreen mentor A'ket'k, the warrior-psionicist and silt cleric.
1 Assalia, FY 19: Tomak meets with the thri-kreen on mountain cliffs to worship the silt. Liktar stays with Eurolis that night. Eurolis had overheard that the thri-kreen intended for Tomak to poison waters in order to spoil the conviction of his father, and tries to convince Tomak not to do such a thing.
- Liktar Cozen and companions achieve the Citadel, wherein Artan is housed, and gain access to Artan's person.
2 Assalia, FY 19: The Balican militia under Praxian and the Free Army quartermaster force under Vykant reach the Citadel
-The local civic elections throughout the city-state are held.
2 Assalia, FY 19: Liktar Cozen discovers the bard/defiler Promethides at a play being held that night before the citadel. Tricked by his magic, Liktar fights briefly with Praxian, who is revealed as a preserver mage. Using his skill with the Way, Liktar finds access to the secret parts of the Citadel and fights Promethides with the help of the bard/preserver Rarnus. Rarnus is felled, but Liktar badly wounds the defiler before he escapes. Promethides appears to have been attempting to seize might magical stone texts in the secret chamber, which Liktar soon destroys.
-Artan's body awakens, possessed by the Pilgrim. He walks out into the night silt storm. Artan's Shadow manifests and destroys the garrison at the Citadel.
-the elections throughout the city-state continue, moving to the tribal level.
3 Assalia, FY 19: Liktar tracks Artan across the peninsula and the House Enkesson valley. Artan returns to his body, and encounters a powerful defiler. Tomak's friendly Eurolis is killed by the defiler, and soon after Liktar sees the defiler and challenges him. A fight ensues in which Artan, Tomak and Liktar partake. The defiler summons a powerful dwarven banshee, but the defiler is nonetheless killed. The banshee seizes an enormous diamond from the defiler's robe, and soon after de-materializes. The elf Sentinel of House Wavir Nystrom is driven mad by the banshee, and starts attacking Artan. The party meets the halfling Oloko. The party moves to the House Enkesson estate proper, and there meets with Naramus, commander of the Sentinels. Naramus is suspicious of Artan for supposedly being involved with destroying his garrison, but is supportive of the other heroes. Artan gifts each of his twin swords, taken from the Elven chief and his brother, to Liktar and Tomak respectively.
4 Assalia, FY 19: Braxius of House Basilsaurius emerges from the chaos of the destruction at the Citadel of the Philosopher as any ally of Branmalech, a veteran lochias (sergeant) of the House Wavir Sentinels stationed there. Wishing to cross back over the Tharian Hills and return to the Peninsula to see his mother, Braxius accompanies Branmalch and a small company to make the journey through the wilderness. The small party is ambushed by a monster, but Branmalech calls upon wizardry, allowing both he and Braxius to destroy the creature. That night the party rests at the eastern edge of the hill, overlooking the city of Abynon.
5 Assalia, FY 19: The party meets with Xal Gren briefly. Nothing much is accomplished, but he is made aware of their presence in Balic. The party, such as it is, arrives in the City State of Balic. They stay at the estate of Tomak's family.
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1 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Amphthero, president of the hetaireia of the Red Kylix, and his wife Laethona and some of their young cousins, visit Tomak at his home. They meet Artan, and offer their sympathies regarding the incarceration of Cassander. Amphthero makes comments that shortly after the arrest of his father, there were at least two popular discussions of Cassander's case before the Ekklesia, the People's Assembly. At one such session of the Ekklesia, a man named Empretho of the tribe of Theles whipped up the Assembly against Cassander, making them outraged that an arrogant metic such as Cassander would dare try to poison not just a citizen of the city, but an admiral during the exercise of his office. Amphthero and Laethona also mention that Branthos, one of the Forty (a circuit judge or deme justice), came with Archers of Coryxth (armed servants of the state), looking for Tomak roughly a week prior, not long before the elections, and shortly after the arrest of Cassander by House Rees.
-Artan makes contact with the man Thylix at the Gilded Sail, and gives him a gold piece with the aim of initiating the sale of valuable items via the Balican underworld . Later, the woman Solia appears at the Gilded Sail, and offers that Artan meet her just before midnight by the statue of Ancleon the Half Giant. Artan eventually meets with Solia, and is led to a building where he encounters Solia with some of her associates. Artan offers to Solia a magical rapier from Sengroza, the Teniente of the Secret Police of the astral city of Tarona, in the hopes that she can initiate the sale of the weapon, perhaps through the agency of an individual named the Trittiarch.
-Tomak meets with the sun cleric Mnenides, the president of his fraternity, the powerful Potters and Artisans of Arxestayn. Mnenides offers his support to Tomak, and they speak of Cassander. Mnenides also speak of the deme justice Branthos, and Tomak responds by requesting that Mnenides facilitate a meeting between Tomak and Branthos.
-Branthos the deme justice meets with Tomak at the Gilded Sail. At length, Branthos tentatively decides not to have Tomak arrested for accused complicity with Cassander in an attempt to poison the admiral Mnaster. Branthos states that he intends to clarify the matter with the House of Rees.
2 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Artan meets with Solia, and gains a date with her to the symposium to be held on 3 Thaumast at the townhouse of the "Basileus", a former templar named Morion Gythes.
-Tomak encounters his father's long-standing First Mate, the veteran half-elf sailor Andronica, who claims she is organizing a group of sailors loyal to Cassander in an attempt to free the dwarf from his House Rees captors on the 7th or 8th of Thaumast. She says that she has the support of several captains and an unnamed admiral, and mentions that a meeting between some of the conspirators, intent on freeing Cassander, is to be held at the Wyvern Sail Tavern, the center for the Wyvern Sail dwarven clan (friends of Cassander), which was the traditional gathering place for Cassander and some of his crewmates. After a concern for security voiced by Tomak, Andronica proposed the Silver Reed Inn, a handsomer establishment on the other side of the street of the Wyvern Sail, although she offered this location absentmindedly.
-responding to an incident at a taverna in the Arxestayn called the Owl's Watch, Tomak and Artan arrive to find a draconic monster that is tearing apart the establishment. Demanding the appearance of a man named Praxion, who apparently had recently left the city and sail with his crew to support the Free Army, the baffled citizens of the Arxestayn were struggling to subdue the beast. Artan used the Way to calm it, eventually influencing the mysterious creature to collapse. Artan and a tavern keeper named Elianda began to transport the beast to the Veteran.
-having left the city and passing ruins on the way to the Cerebran, Artan's shadow began to lengthen and absorb his intellect. Fearing the manifestation of his shadow-self, Artan gave instructions and support to Elianda and the monster Kasom to continue their way to the Cerebran, where it is hoped Kasom might find peace and hope.
3 Thaumast, FY 19:
-The Symposium: Held at the house of the former templar and Basileus Morion Gythes.
- Participants of the Symposium: Dolos, the symposiarch and son of Morion Gythes; Unith Gamades, wife of Morion Gythes; Clyssero, beautiful teenage daughter of Morion Gythes; Amphthero the Singer, Tomak's friendly elderly neighbor and President of the Hetaireia of the Red Kylix; Eubrestes, stonemason and company owner; Ithola, older woman and tin and pewter workers, and daughter of the former templar Kryer;...
4 Thaumast, FY 19 :
-After the symposium, Artan and Solia journey to the Harbor District in the depths of night/early morning. Artan receives 1,300 silver pieces and 300 silver pieces value of mercantile shares in return for his magical steel rapier, taken from the Astral City. Artan teleports home.
-Tomak journeys to the city center and visits the Hetaireia of the Free Gladiators. There he approaches the dwarven gladiator Meridian, the Steel Dwarf, who is currently under indictment for the gladiatorial murder of Otholes in the Criterion. Tomak strives to forge a professional relationship between himself, Meridian, and Meridian's young mul son, Ronkad.
-Afternoon Session of the Assembly of the Deme of the Arxestayn: Artan and Tomak attend, along with a large portion of the deme. Engaging his silt-borne powers of enhanced perception, Tomak hears a large party heading from the direction of the acropolis. The party is led by an archon called a thesmothete or supreme judge, along with guards and assistants, who comes along with the elf scout Nystrom, a Sentinel of House Wavir. The thesmothete's herald declares that the Ekklesia has called for Artan's arrest and trial, and that by order of the Polemarch, Artan is to be tried at the Oraculum. Artan's crime is the murder of 37 guardsmen of the Sentinels at the Philosopher's Citadel, the fortress from which Artan had been projecting to the Astral Plane. His accuser is announced as being Anvion, the Over-Sergeant of the Citadel who survived the death of his comrades. In response to the interruption of the thesmothete's party, Tomak delays Artan's arrest with a technical delay in the deme assembly. Meanwhile, Artan uses the Way to interfere with the deme proceedings, and challenges the half-elf demarch Lokrys. When Lokrys commands that his half giants seize Artan, the dwarf uses the Way once more, but this time psychokinetically turned the half-giant against his master. The deme erupts into chaos and violence, Tomak taking the opportunity to help slay the half-giant, in mock protest at the enormous guard's attack on the demarch. Artan uses the Way to kill Lokrys, although by this time, the agents of the thesmothete have nearly surrounded Artan. Just before they attack, a crodlu rider appears, and declares in trade tongue that the thesmothete will not arrest Artan. When challenged on his authority, the crodlu rider declares that he speaks in the name of the Dictator, and that Artan is to accompany him to the White Palace. To Artan, the rider identifies himself as Maythem.
-Tomak engages in some of the political aftermath of the death of Lokrys. He avoids suspicion that he was in any way involved in the death of Lokrys, but Artan/"Ktoran" is a matter of considerable debate. The thesmothete appears at the meeting house of the Fraternity of the Potters and Artisans of the Arxestayn, searching for Artan. Sensitive to Tomak's apparent relationship with Tomak, those in the know at the Fraternity protect their fellow brother Tomak from the thesmothete's query, and do not advertise or emphasize any of Tomak's relationship with the dwarf. Any inquiry that might be against Tomak is further lifted by the fact that Lokrys was widely hated in the Fraternity of the Potters and Artisans of Arxestayn, and therefore the entire Fraternity is more than happy to look the other way.
-Artan arrives at the White Palace, and speaks to Xal'gren. Artan tells Xal'gren that his mysterious shadow killed the Sentinels at the Philosopher's Citadel in the Tharian Hills. Xal'gren tells Artan that he will not interfere with the Balican judicial court for foreigners in this matter. Xal'gren however informs the dwarf that he wishes him to approach the mindbenders of the Cerebran so as to discover the nature of the shadow entity, and with this truth, defend himself before the Balican court. Artan is angered by Xal'gren. Artan verbally defies Xal'gren's request that he visit the Cerebran, for Artan is indignant that although Xal'gren believes him in that it was his dark shadow and not he himself who killed the Sentinels, Xal'gren will still not intervene in the courts to vindicate the dwarf from the accused murders. Artan leaves Xal'gren in anger, but warns Artan that if this shadow kills again, Xal'gren will destroy the dwarf.
-Artan contacts the Beast of Tomblador, Kasom, who apparently is still in the Cerebran, and still hoping to hear news of Praxion. Still promising help and stressing his friendship and support, Artan requests that Kasom return to the city and meet him at the Owl's Watch the next day. Kasom agrees.
-Artan teleports back to the home of Tomak in the Arxestayn. Tomak is resting from the night's discussions and meetings. Upon his return, the dwarf tells Tomak what happened at the White Palace, and vents his anger. Tomak shares more of his activities. It is decided that the two of them find Meridian, the Steel Dwarf. Finding him late at night in his property outside the city, Artan offers employment and a relationship of sorts with Meridian, making an initial payment of a large quantity of silver to the dwarven gladiator. Making note of Meridian's own indictment for gladiatorial murder, Artan and Tomak make mention of moving their base of operations to Last Port, a Balican territory but a harbor town with strong support for Cassander. Meridian and his son Ronkad agree to meet Artan and Tomak at Artan's new home at the deme of Asteron the following day.
5 Thaumast, FY 19,
-Late at night, into the 5th of Thaumast, Artan and Tomak teleport back to the flat at the Arxestayn. Soon after, Liktar Cozen returns. The ranger shares his experiences with the dwarf and mul, and says that he spoke to Cassander on the 4th. Liktar says that Cassander has no intention of admitting guilt before the Oraculum, but tacitly states that he is open to a deal with House Wavir. The halfling Oloko is delighted upon Liktar Cozen's return, and hopes that he will help her cross the deserts to return to her people.
6 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Liktar Cozen ventures forth, presumably to visit friends within the Free Army
-Artan and Tomak teleport in vicinity of Omedon's Rock (Port Wavir), and cross the verdant belt surrounding the southern approach to the town, and arrive at the White Castle, headquarters of the Sentinels of House Wavir. They request and receive an audience with Naramus, commander of the Sentinels. Naramus receives Tomak's confirmation that Cassander has given his assent for the assistance of House Wavir in return for service to them. Naramus asks if Tomak personally vouches for this proxy agreement; Tomak personally confirms the pact between his father and House Wavir. The matter between Artan and Naramus is more tempestuous. Their tense conversation eventually resolves into understanding that Artan himself, per se, did not kill the Sentinels at the Philosopher's Citadel, and that Naramus in his turn agrees to broker a meeting between Artan and Lady Wavir. Naramus asks that Artan use his powers to retrieve Naramus' lost Sentinels, and Artan accedes to seeing what can be done about it. Naramus gives Artan a magical light stone.
-Artan and Tomak teleport in vicinity of the residential palaces of House Wavir. Meeting Lady Tarinne Wavir, Lady Wavir formally agrees to use her influence to ensure the Oraculum does not exile Cassander, in return for his service. Lady Wavir and Artan do not come to terms. Although recognizing Artan did not himself kill her men, she admits to a prejudice against the dwarf, saying that had the dwarf not been given sanctuary by her, her guards would never have died. In atonement, Lady Wavir, in the tone of a demand, said that Artan owed House Wavir for the lives taken from it. Indignant, Artan refused, averring that he would not be beholden to House Wavir on open-ended terms, especially for murders he himself did not commit. Turning her demand, Artan said that he would serve House Wavir for a time should Lady Wavir use her influence to waive his criminal prosecutions and award him citizenship. Lady Wavir declared that she would not award citizenship to compel the blood-payment service of one she desired to penalize, if not punish. Irked by her prejudice against him, Artan shared with Lady Wavir his killing of the Obsidian Runner chief and his brother, telling her he did so because they only stole from him, perhaps implying that he might utilize his powers for the benefit of his allies, just as he might afflict them upon his enemies. Seeing the tenseness of her aggravated attendants, and of the worsening tone of the parley, Artan even suggested that should his freedom or life be put in jeopardy, he would not hesitate to defend himself, saying that he might kill a great many of Lady Wavir's personal guards and attendants before they ever managed to kill him. Inwardly outraged at the thinly veiled implicit threat, Lady Wavir suggested that she would not interfere with the courts, in case she visit her own prejudices against Artan, and that rather she intended the Oraculum and the citizens of Balic to pass justice upon the dwarf. The dwarf made it clear he would not suffer to stand for judgment before the Oraculum or any other court for murder, although perhaps he might stand for a general ostracism court. It was around this point in the tense exchange that Lady Wavir's counselors interceded, at last outraged by Artan's bald and unaffected words and manner. After a tense pause, during which it seemed House Wavir might inflict violence upon Artan, Lady Wavir said simply and darkly that their audience was over. Tomak was reminded by a Wavir agent that Cassander must be prepared to follow the instructions of House Wavir during the trial, if they were to succeed in preventing a sentence of exile.
7 Thaumast, FY 19: Artan teleports Kasom back to his volcanic home, gaining the Beast of Tomblador's unending thankfulness.
-Tomak goes to the Deme of Thayson, seeking to scout the whereabouts of Procles, the friend of the slain gladiator Otholes, who has accused the dwarf Meridian of murder. At a taverna, Tomak comes upon the mul Garlaxus, a gladiator trained by House Jarko, who is the company of a female elf. Tomak calls out Garlaxus for being one of three gladiators who had once tormented him in training. Tomak called upon the power of the spirit of the Silt Sea, and easily defeated Garlaxus, and although bloodying him, spared his life.
-Tomak returns to the Pier District, at the dwarven taverna called the Wyvern's Sail. Tomak is looking for his father's companions, to confer with them and tell them news of Cassander. There, Tomak meets up with the veteran sailor Brola, a former able seaman who sailed with Cassander aboard the Dictator, who helps him find Cassander's old 1st Mate Andronica, a half-elf of great loyalty to Tomak's father. Andronica suggests that she finds it hard to believe Cassander would abandoned one hundred years of service to House Rees only to serve their great rival, House Wavir. Tomak leaves with advice to be careful, with Andronica sailing soon, destination unknown.
8 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Artan telepathically contacts Zhor, and tells him of his adventures in the Astral and beyond. Zhor listens, yet seems distracted and somewhat removed. Artan requests that Zhor somehow intervene on his behalf with Xal'gren or Lady Tarinne Wavir, and attempt to lift the legal threat against him from the Balicans. Zhor seems somewhat nonplussed, and suggests Artan simply leave the city. After Artan makes it clear he wishes to stay in Balic, Zhor says that he will contact Xal'gren, but imagines it will be of little avail. Zhor seems to project genuine regret for Artan's current situation, and for the fate of Ktandeo in the Astral Plane. Again hinting that he is somehow otherwise preoccupied, Zhor suggests he will speak to Artan again soon, and may even call on him, should Artan wish to help him in his mysterious adventure. Artan asks as to the fate of King Androponis, and if he might return, to which Zhor answers that although he does not truly know, given the power of the sorcerer-king, most anything is possible.
-Artan speaks to Thallipus for a time at the Owl's Watch, and meets the young vagabond Timeon, who claims to have encountered the dwarven banshee carrying the great crystal whom Artan and company had fought some days before. Artan offers Timeon a place to stay at Tomak's townhouse.
10 Thaumast, FY 19: Cassander is to be tried for conspiracy to commit murder at the Oraculum by the dikasts. After a defiant display before the court, Cassander whips up popular resentment against the the merchant dynasties, betraying House Wavir yet utilizing their support. He is found innocent by the dikasts, and leaves to Last Port. Artan, who subtly assisted Cassander in the trial, sends Meridian as bodyguard for the famous sailor. Cassander tells his son that he expects him shortly at Last Port, after he finishes helping his friends.
11 Thaumast, FY 19: Artan is to be tried for mass murder at the Oraculum by the dikasts. Artan does not arrive before the court until well past an hour into the proceedings. A "justice" of the court, called only the "rhetor", displays a peculiar interest in Artan and his Shadow, and eventually threatens to use the Way to force open his mind. As the dikasts' votes are counted, a telepathic voice spoke to Artan, which also inquired after the Shadow. After a narrow vote, Artan is voted guilty by the dikasts, and is sentenced to exile from the city-state for life. Artan teleports back to Tomak's townhouse at the Arxestayn before he is apprehended.
-Artan discovers the futility of existence and becomes an NPC.
-Artan disappears from the Oraculum, with hardly a word said to Tomak.
-Tomak sails with Morion Gythes and his friend Maenes the Architect back to Balic. Gythes offers counsel to Tomak, advising him to follow the wishes of his grandfather Ardavan, and follow the path of a Balican citizen with a bright future, and avoid the mercantile ambitions of his father Cassander. Tomak politely responds that he will follow the traditions of Balic in loyally serving his father. Liktar Cozen and Oloko sail back as well, but upon arriving back in Balic, they go their separate way, the ranger intending to return Oloko to her far-away home.
12 Thaumast, FY 19: Tomak returns late that night to his townhouse, discovering the absence of Artan. Wishing to quickly resolve any remaining business in the city so that he may escape any threats from the Great Merchant Houses and join his father, Tomak returns at a very late hour to the Deme of Thayson. Upon this second visit, after some hours Tomak discovers Procles returning to his room in a forlorn tenement building, and in the shadows of night slays the man. Amidst the action, an old man appears from his room and accuses the mul of murder. Tomak soberly slays the old man to prevent him from ever being a witness, and flees before his murders are discovered. TOMAK TAKES A 50% STEP TOWARDS NEUTRAL EVIL.
-Tomak Receives a Telepathic Message from Cassander: The message is largely wordless, and direct. As has always been the case, Cassander is laconic, and communicates very little to his son about his wider plans. Cassander does not thank Tomak for his support and efforts for his father, and makes no mention of Artan's sending of Meridian to guard the old sailor.
Cassander urges that Tomak leave Balic in haste, in contradiction to his words on 11 Thaumust allowing for ten days, and says to avoid House Wavir and House Rees agents, avoiding them at high cost. It is not the time, Cassander says, to inflict violence, bidden or not, on either of the great houses. Instead, Cassander wishes Tomak to book passage to the village of Nalust as quickly as possible, just outside of which is the field training compound of House Jarko, which according to Cassander has been violently liberated of its gladiatorial slaves by an elite force of the Free Army under a steel-masked warrior named Isenetrix. Even though this House Jarko training house has been destroyed by the Free Army, Cassander wants Tomak to go back to the ruins and rally any of the gladiators there that the mul half-way trusts, and promise them money in return for service. Tomak should gather as many as possible as quickly as possible, and then march them over the desert to Last Port. If Tomak is to be of use to Cassander, the dwarf says Tomak must accomplish all this and arrive at Last Port in no more than 36 hours.
Little else is immediately shared with Tomak. The dwarf does not clearly volunteer where he is, exactly why he is having Tomak do all this, nor what precisely Tomak and the other gladiators are supposed to do when they get to Last Port. Cassander does however emphasize that Balic is no longer safe for Tomak, and that for every hour he delays, there is the greater chance that Rees or Wavir might apprehend him in order to get to Cassander. Tomak is told to be very careful, and quick to leave the city unnoticed as much as possible.
Tomak says a Draji smuggler he knows named Nua'topec is waiting with his small ship, the Silt Reaver, along the Great Pier. Cassander says the Silt Reaver will wait for the next 12 hours or so before it sets sail, supposedly sailing for the Drajian coastal distract, but it really will first drop Tomak off at Nalust. Cassander says he trusts Nua'topec enough to get his son to where he belongs, provided Tomak does what he is told.
Upon receiving the message, Tomak takes the young Ronkad and Artan's abandoned treasures and leaves the Arxestayn, not saying a word to anyone. Arriving at the Great Pier, Tomak begins searching for Andronica, his father's old mate when he captained the White Sail. Finding her as captain of her own ship which is about to disembark, she gives him directions to the Silver Reaver, and warns him that he is in danger from House Wavir.
Arriving at the Silver Reaver, it is clear that Tomak is accosted by Wavir guards. A Wavir epilochias is leading a patrol of six with addition of a port mindbender. Ronkad fights the guards, but is wounded. At length, members of the Silver Reaver crew and passengers assist in the fight. Tomak severely wounds the over-sergeant before he escapes, but the half-elf Raiz Kai, disembarks to kill the mindbender. The Silver Reaver quickly disembarks, and by a small miracle, they manage to the leave the Great Harbor before the boom is raised, and before any of the war machines at the sea gates smash or burn them to cinders. Captain Nua'topec promises to take Tomak to Nalust, as his father has bidden.
Tomak and Raiz Kai properly meet while the Silver Reaver crosses the Estuary of the Forked Tongue towards Nalust late the night of the 12th.
13 Thaumast, FY19:
-0600: The Silver Reaver arrives off the coast near Nalust, dropping off Tomak at the Ichthyrideme, a few miles from the village. Tomak is greeted by a band of his father's Bartigar dwarves. Tomak orders a portion of his party to wait at the Ichthyrideme, and set up defensive positions, awaiting the arrival of mercenary prospects. Meanwhile the dwarven uhrakkus Dromaj leads the other portion to Mantico to collect Nokas, Cassander's personal secretary, to rendezvous with Tomak near the ruins of the Jarko fieldhouse outside of Nalust later that afternoon.
-1200:
14 Thaumast, FY19:
-0320-0345: Tomak's company of gladiators encounters a company of Rees soldiers reinforced by a squad of half-giants. Akina manages to sharpshoot the half-giant lieutenant, while Raiz Kai utilizes the earth magic of the Bartigar dwarves to swallow half the half-giant squad in a massive and writhing wall of sand, sealing off the Rees patrol from their position. When the magical wall of sand finally collapses, the defiler at the lead of the Rees troops casts a violet wall of fire down the corridor, burning many in Tomak's company. The wall of fire eventually burned alive six of Tomak's company. Tomak and his frontline warriors slew the remaining half-giants, while Tomak engaged directly with the Rees defiler before he used his magic to escape. Before engaging a full formation of the Rees soldiers, the remaining Rees commander challenged Tomak directly, promising that his soldiers would let Tomak and his company pass should he be defeated. Tomak defeated and slew the Rees commander.
POINT OF PLAY
