Session One Hundred and Twenty-Two (Graveyard of Empires Summary)

SESSION 122

September 14, 2016

Thorfus’ Journal.

It’s been a long while I’ve tried to sort my thoughts on paper.

We’ve come back to Midmark in triumph, or is it? Have we been fooled this whole time? What does all this mean?

I’ve nearly finished training the young human, Ronan more about the fighting arts. He might be good at kneecapping giants if he keeps practicing. Even though he’s short for a human, he’s still much taller than I am. He should bend his knees more to get the right angle. time will tell with this one. He seems a good addition to our band.

I divided my troops into shifts to keep an eye on the townhouse behind the Cock & Bull. Those not on duty we sent out into town to gather information in town about us, and to quietly seek after a mage to enchant items. The whole goal for them is to be subtle and not let on that the information is for us.

Chuq and Canis have barely started new training. I hope they bring even more of their particular powers to our next outing.

Edan finaly figured out that magic rope of Canis’. You can’t cut it and knots won’t slip. It’s made of the hair of elfmaids. Strange stuff indeed. One wonders where wizards get their ideas for mixing together such things.

Drayz sent his flunky Owen to deliver a message. That fool human is blunter than a flat stone. He’ll manage to get us all in the wrong sorts of trouble any time now. Hopefully Drayz heeds my suggestion for a more subtle messenger in the future. That mind-reading fish has some suggestions for how we might get the device to the merfolk. I suggested that it might be better if we meet with him. Drayz also was interested in using the device as a bargaining chip at a peace conference he wants to organize, to offset the dragon orb of the break away faction.

We later learn that our insistence that the devilfish leave shipping in peace is bearing fruit, but only encouraged the bounty on devilfish, resulting in a lot of dead fishermen.

We make ready at the appropriate time to dress and travel to the banquet at Thornton’s. When we arrive, we are greeted by many scowls, the worst seem directed at me. I know these humans don’t tend that way, and their scowls is not usually a normal thing. I turned the tables on an admiral Rogerete Dufeld. He let on that our association with Peter Thorell implicated us in the slavery ring and that many suspect that Grell is in hiding to avoid a false charge that should be levelled against us.

What nonsense is this? These foolish humans! I thought I had enough of this grousing and backbiting among the clans back home. It makes me wonder why I ever sought to restore my birthright. I’d be better off a lone adventurer than a clan leader. That’s enough of those thoughts….

Perrette stands accused by Ardman of a coerced and directed confession that Peter Thorell and the Bargemen and Grell should really be thorell, the bargemen, Perette, and the Starchy Boyz! Why the sudden change? That’s a question yet to be answered.

Furthermore, Perrette is charged with kidnapping Em! That poor girl! Is Perette truly a traitor, or has he been replaced by an inquisitor seeking to do a favor for Grell? I suspect the poor girl wished her child was her loves, but I fear it is Grells’. Whether true or not, perhaps Grell suspects the same, and wants to continue the family name?

It might also be an elaborate ruse to draw me and any who follow into a trap. I wonder if instead, Perette is our loyal friend, who is out to protect Em. He may have taken her to a place she despises from her first captivity, but is the only place I can think of that makes sense for him to take her. I hope we can find her and keep her safe.

I also wonder if our mini-sub is safe and might be used to secretly take someone out of Midmark, if they can get to the island and the Greycloak controlled building…. Chuq suggested to admiral Dykenson to keep an eye on it, just in case. She was reluctant to do more than observe, since it is under the control of the Greycloaks.

We suspect, Chuq and I, that Thornton and the Lord Mayor might be inquisitors. Chuq and Thorfus question Aldus Runnelbrook and he doesn’t think his descendant is other than who he says he is. We learn that he served in the militia, rather than the navy, and only got into politics from the tales of Aldus’ son Feri about the tortures on Feri’s mother, and Aldus’ first wife.

Chuq and his helm learned that he could not read Thornton or the Lord Mayor, so after all kinds of questioning to get to the bottom of things, we act on an elaborate plan. We manage to get Edan’s cat to claw at the face of Thornton and the Lord Mayor and both are wounded. The Lord Mayor is indeed a soft fellow and fell unconscious from a cat scratch. The Patriarch himself came and healed him. From our questioning of Aldus, we knew that Thornton has items to keep his mind concealed and gave similar items to the Lord Mayor. Chuq removed the items on the lord mayor while he was unconscious. When he came too, Chuq learned that he was thinking of Perette and the lies being perpetuated about both Perette and us.

We leave in haste back to the townhouse. I insisted that the others not interrupt their training, and he suits up and gathers Bellisent and the five hirelings on guard. Edan is not in training, and can also come with us. I also take along the 8 monkeys, just in case…. While preparing things, Ronan goes off to see what he can learn. I’m not sure who he talked to [Cutter’s Mad Dogs], but he confirmed what we had learned. It had the added bit of knowledge that the relations between colonials and natives are now even more strained. Mairenni Bleirodt is the name of a mage in Low Market that is said to be able to enchant items. [He tells them that the experimental ship runs on holy water, and that an acolyte of Lysander poisoned the servant of Merendur a week or so ago.]

I hope I am right and that we find Perette and Em safe in the sewers, perhaps the goblins are still there. Perette and Em would be known to them. I am the last, other than Galron, and maybe the lost boy….

If Perette is the Perette I know and strangely now trust, then that is the only place I can think of to find him. I hope no one else reads my mind and gets to them first. There is far too much of that. I need some way to block my mind and control these automatons at the same time. All this mind control is something that should be on the enemies before me, and not used against me!

I don’t know why I wrote this down, perhaps ancient dwarven is good enough to keep it secret, at least while it might do us harm. Perhaps I should burn this account…..