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After finishing your meal, the two of you head to Lyanna's chambers. When you arrive, Lyanna opens the door. Wearing only a blanket, she seems in a particularly good mood. You do note how strange she looks, as she is not wearing her wig, leaving her scalp only covered by the shiny white scales.
"Karrin, Mira, what can I do for you this morning?"
"Well, when you're dressed, we'd like to talk about expeditions to find ancient artifacts. Y'know, stuff that you definitely like to do. We need to arm ourselves better and the inquisitor had mentioned paladin artifacts that can bolster us. We might as well go look for them before trying to slay undead Gorgeroth and more of Harbinger's lieutenants. Oh yeah, I almost forget. We once found this Ebony puzzle box with strange markings. I don't think we ever figured out what it does. Think you and Kensin might figure it out?"
(Hmm, that post was good, but wasn't quite what I was looking for. I remember a post where Ns'karra was talking to other demons I think? Maybe making a report? Or perhaps other demons talking *about* Ns'karra and saying not to trust her perhaps? I also remember an earlier dream sequence where the Thrones talked more about Ns'karra. I'm trying to piece together what kind of allegiances and rivalries might exist between the different demon factions. I do remember there being different factions, and Gorgeroth is under the control of one demonic group, as we see in that post.
Secondly, waaaay back, under the Link-something fort, we talked to some spirits of good that wanted us to find a sword or something. Can you remind me what that is? I seriously need a Quest Log, because we're now in video-game level of complexity. Which is good, cuz that means this campaign is awesome.)
[Fwee, linking back to Part II for posterity: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...54225&page=64]
OOC thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=226334
(If you start a log in the OOC Thread, I'll look it over and fill you in on anything you are missing.)
Lyanna brightens up, a feat considering that she is already about as cheerful as you thought physically possible. "I'll get right on it. It will be interesting to see what we can dig up, and I've kind of missed digging through old ruins. Not that the dwarven undercity wasn't fun."
"That depends on your definition of fun," Mirabelle says. "By the way, congratulations on getting laid."
Lyanna blushes, but smiles and says, "Err, thanks, I guess."
Karrin hands over the ebony box. "Mira, shall we go speak with the Duke and see what news there is before we go see the Inquisitor for details of the artifacts?"
"Sure," Lyanna immediately begins working on it, sitting down at the table.
"Don't you think you should get dressed?" Mirabelle asks.
"Later." Lyanna is concentrating wholly on the box.
Leaving her, you head to the throne room. You find both Adroven and the duke present. The inquisitor gives you a nod; if he knows of your possession he does not show it.
"Lady Ye," the duke says, "I give you my condolences for the loss of your companion, the half-orc Davkas. Due to the difficulties of yesterday, I was unable to express this. If you wish, you may speak with the epistolary, and he will ensure that your friend is honored as a hero of Whiteveil. I was wondering what your plans for the next stage of this war were."
Karrin nods back to Adroven, and bows to the duke. "I always have something to do, and it all depends on any sudden changes in priorities. My current continuing quest is to look for these artifacts that the good inquisitor has mentioned to me before, but that quest will be secondary to any sudden emergencies in the war effort. For example, if an outpost is under heavy attack or one of our village is about to be overrun by fiends, I will prioritize those over searching for artifacts. However, I do realize my limitations and wish to do strengthen myself when there is any lull in major fighting. Hence, artifacts. As for the epistolary, I will speak to Marcus right away. Davkas deserves an honored send-off."
(Thanks for digging up the old posts. I will now create a Quest Log in the OOC thread. Whenever it should get updated, please let me know.)
The duke says, "If you would wait a moment, Adroven has recently discovered something which may be of great benefit in that sense."
The inquisitor says, "As far as the war effort goes, we are holding the front against the Angrovites, in large part due to the aid of the dwarves which you procured. Unfortunately, our progress has been halted due to a hidden devil base somewhere within our territory. From this base, the devils can teleport in small groups and raid our forces.
The duke and I are hard at work discovering the location of this base, however, I do believe that you are better suited to finding relics of power to battle them. I have found leads on the location of the Archpaladin's Relics. These artifacts were given to the Archpaladin Meridous during the Time of Dragons. There are three of them; The Lance of Fate, the Sword of Retribution, and the Heart of the Beloved. I believe that the Sword is somewhere near Cabathad, the Lance was last known to be in possession of the elves, and the Heart is buried with Meridous. Unfortunately, I am not currently certain where his tomb is."
(I think we'll also need a quick list of major places, since I don't remember whether Cabathad has been mentioned before, for example)
"The elves? What do we know about them and where they reside currently? I suppose I could lead another diplomatic envoy to them if they have common goals with us. And the Heart of the Beloved, what exactly does it do?"
"When the Cataclysm began, the elves held territory that nearly rivaled the Pryvirian Empire in size. However, they abandoned most of this to the fiends, retreating behind a large magical barrier they call the Spirit Fence. This encloses the core of their domain, which is now all they control. The only way in or out is the city of Vitharn, which serves as the gate to the Spirit Fence. Regardless, they do not allow outsiders beyond Vitharn. As for the Heart, it is a suit of armor that Oralius gave to Meridous. It is said to have a large ruby set onto the breastplate that grants the wearer magical powers when the person they love most is nearby."
"Do we know why the elves are in possession of the Lance of Fate? And what can I do to help pinpoint the locations of the other two artifacts?"
"Traditionally, the elves have always been closest to Akasha. They built his High Temple, and made up the majority of his priesthood. Each of the Relics were gifted by a specific Throne, and the Lance was Akasha's. After Meridous's death, the Lance was taken and placed within the vaults of the High Temple.
Several years ago I traveled to the High Temple of Akasha. The altar was desecrated, and most of the structure torn down, but I found that the vaults were sealed and untouched by evil. I opened them, but found the lance and everything else of importance had been removed. I was later able to confirm that the elves took everything with them when they left.
I've hit a dead end searching for the tomb of Meridous. I have no idea where you could look, unfortunately. As for the Sword, I would suspect more precise information could be found in Cabadath itself. Beware, though, for Cabadath is an isolated city, and has been suspicious of outsiders since before the Cataclysm."
"And our relations with the elves? Friendly?"
To this the duke says, "The elves have taken a policy of isolation, and xenophobia runs strong amongst them. They seem to blame humans for unleashing the fiends, despite the fact that their own mages, though they may or may not have actively participated, were fully complacent."
"Think they'd just turn me away for being human? Hey, the arch-paladin was a human right?"
"That is... a rather convoluted matter. You see, the arch-paladin was a neth."
Adroven lets the duke elaborate. "The neth were the parent race from which both humanity and elfkind, as well as halflings, orcs, and some other races, descend from. They were for all practical intents and purposes the first humanoid race."
"I need to brush up on my history more. Tell me, *when* was the Arch-paladin alive and active? I've never even heard of the Neth. I'll need to find someway to show that I'm worthy of the elves' trust and worthy as a successor to the Arch-paladin."
"The Arch-Paladin, also called the First Paladin, was born during the Time of Myth, the first age when the world had just been born. By modern standards, though, his lifespan was immense, as long as some dragons. Back then, the Primorduum, the substance of creation, was still fluid. It was like clay; having been sculpted by the gods, it was still yet wet. As a result, most of the things we recognize as natural law were still then malleable. The neth varied greatly in appearance by lineage and homeland. As the primorduum stabilized, the 'clay' hardened, the neth found that those of their kind who had developed to be radically different from one another could no longer breed. It was at that point that they ceased to be neth and became elf, orc, human. Some of these races are still capable of breeding, as evidenced by half-elves and half-orcs."
"And presumeably the Arch-paladin loved and cherished all the people, regardless of the flavor of clay? I hope? Is there some convenient religious book of parables about the Arch-paladin I could quote to these elves or something? I've got a feeling that what I did with the dwaves won't work with the elves. At least the dwarves gave me a chance to prove myself."
"You may wish to discuss this with your companion Lyanna," Adroven says. "She would likely know more of this."
"The elves are a fickle race, and their thoughts are erratic and strange," the duke says. "Should you seek them out, take care. You never know what may happen."
"I will go talk to Lyanna and go to your libraries to do more research on both the elves and Cabadath, then decide where to go next. Thank you for your time. Oh one more thing, duke. Would you happen to know what an Astral Shark is, and where I might find one?"
The duke nods. "An Astral Shark is a predator native, axiomatically, to the Astral Plane. It is in fact unable to survive anywhere else. Why do you ask?"
"Apparently, our royal smith feels that he can make some sort of epic weapon if he has the skin of an astral shark, amongst other things. I figured you'd know about astral sharks and how I might get such a skin. I also need to find a silverwood tree, and knowing my luck, the only place to find such a tree is in the elven lands. Its wood is another item for the weapon."
"Traversing the Astral Sea can be difficult at times, however, hunting an astral shark would not be amongst the most difficult of tasks. I will instruct my acolytes to prepare an expedition for you. In the meantime, I will leave you to your research. You are dismissed."
You head for the library, and find Lyanna there, surrounded by tomes, codices, scrolls, volumes, and grimiores. "Hey. I solved the puzzle box, and look what I found inside?" She holds up a small ring. It is gold, and has a single diamond, cut into the shape of a shield. "I've already confirmed that it possesses faint abjuration magic."
"Great job, Lyanna! If we're lucky, this allows me to take damage for others. If not, it probably just makes the wearer harder to hit. Can we determine its exact properties?"
(Sorry, I forgot to include it in the last post. Its a Ring of Protection +1.)
"Hmm...you or Kensin or Mira should wear it. My divine abilities often give me extra protection against physical attacks already."
Lyanna shrugs. "My scales give me added protection, so I might not need it. Maybe we should give it to Grembler; he's not all that strong, and any intelligent enemy will try to incapacitate him quickly. Anyway, what did you need me for?"
"Well, I'm looking for a few things..." She mentions the shark, the tree, and the flawless diamond. "I also need you to do research on the elves and also about this place called Cabadath. Heard both are pretty xenophobic."
"Well, a diamond's a diamond, it's just a matter of finding a big one. Silverwoods grow mainly inside the Spirit Fence, but there might be a few outside the walls. I couldn't tell you much about the shark, sorry." She thinks about the names. "The closest we could get as an outsider into the Elven lands is to enter Vitharn. Doesn't matter who you are; you're either out or in, and there's no going in between. Not for anyone, even blood." She seems a little gloomy with the last statement. "As for Cabadath, what you've heard is pretty much it. The nobility is highly insular and suspicious; has been for a long while. Before the Cataclysm, even. Not much news goes in or out."
"So...we're outsiders to the elves, obviously. Is there any way to become insiders? I doubt the lance of awesomeneness is in Vitharn."