Book Seven, Chapter Four �We Join the Church of Agrik�
����������� 06/05/2006
Trev�s back from Japan with lots of piccies and Martin is here. It�s still 17th of Kelen 727 and we are still in Golotha, and Sir Martyn still thinks it�s a good plan.
Aruth is let out of jail and he doesn�t become an honorary member of the Temple of Agrik. We are AnasLaumak (the bottom rung) and Sir Martyn is an AnasHaragki, the next step up. They are all aristocrats so does that make us honorary aristocrats?
We are ready and we are going to do it. The next day we received notice that our friend is ready for collection. We collect him and he is sworn into the Temple of Agrik, interesting he worships Peoni. We faff around and wonder about the plan.
We go to see Velner saying we have an appointment, and we are shown in. And the first spell goes in from Sir Martyn. Sir Martyn asks if he will make a donation to his Orphan�s Fund, preferable a large one. So Velner goes to the door, opens it and says �Herman go down to the docks and kill 17 people.� And which at least one player (that will be me then) found immensely funny.
Then goes back to his desk, Sir Martyn tells us to sit down, stand up, sit down, I think we�ve got him. Sir Martyn gets him to write the note � �By now you should have received the items that I have sent you. I trust that you are now satisfied and that I shall not be hearing from you again. V�. Goes off and comes back again in about 20 minutes with the gems. Then Sir Martyn told him that he is to tell us to give the pouch to a man with a staff sitting on the council steps. And then started some general chit chat, and the Forgetting Song had to be done twice and he forgot everything for half an hour. Half way through the Forgetting Song a guard (Jenkins, not the brightest guard on the job) came and said he�d got an urgent message for the captain. This is the polite method of getting rid of over staying visitors, which got confused when Zytsi asked for the message. Velner is listening to a song 273 singing and 238 lute playing and will be available when it�s over. He went, and then so do we after the song is over.
Then we leave and go the council office steps to see the man in robes with a staff sitting there. Sir Martyn gives him (Aruth) the bag, and he goes off in the general of the Temple of Morgath. We then leave and Aruth takes off the black robe and goes to the wagon and puts gems into wagon secret compartment. Sir Martyn forgot to hand over the note. Then we go and see Sula.
And Sir Martyn went to see Sula, who told him to see the Second in Command of the Fighting Order, the Right Honourable Jenkins Senior (no relation). Sir Martyn flannels his way past the adjutant, to see him. As spins him the yarn, and leaves him the note. �By now you should have received the items that I have sent you. I trust that you are now satisfied and that I shall not be hearing from you again. V�.�
Nothing much happens immediately. We review the next step in life�s long quests and what are we going to do next. Acquiring 50 skulls seems to be a good idea. Beth will be staying with Sulla.
Next day (19th of Kelen) Velner and his adjutant (Herman) had a raised voice argument, along the lines of what am I going to do with 27 orphans. Hmm, time we were off.
Metal goods, weapons and booze to go north, slaves, animals and furs to back. OK we have seen a gap in the market and we�ll be taking booze. We buy 20 barrels of beer at 75d each and two of brandy at 1,800d, so all the beer isn�t worth as much as the brandy for 5,000d. Neat. Exotic animals are to be found here and a couple of them would be useful.
It�ll be three and a half weeks to get there. Sedisi, who has researched Kemlar the Guide in great detail, is to be found in the Chantry of the Evanescent Assembly of the Enigmas of Pele-arn in Shostim. So we�ll add a day there and a day back on to the route, and time there. Three days to Shostim.
We want 50 skulls so we go to the embalmer, 50d the lot. This is the first time he�s had such a request. They�ll be de-fleshed and ready for collection in the morning.
We also want a couple of cages. And skull aging agents.
We set off on the 20th of Kelen, and its three days to Shostim.
Now those three gems get examined and investigated.
Red one, big golf ball size, it�s significant, made a long time ago by Khuzdul. Adds plus 1 to the damage multiplier of the weapon it�s attached to. However it won�t increase the weapon multiplier above x3. Worth about 20,000d. It�s called The Star of Khol, Laranian religious relic. Sir Martyn and Zytsi debate it its location, sword or hammer.
Topaz gem, Save K�nor worshippers only. It will give me one pick on any list you�re entitled to under the basic rules; if you give up it you lose the list. So have to have a B to get a D, and both for an E. It should to be mounted in an amulet so Daniel can use it. Whoops everyone now works out who my God is.
Siem +2 DB, +1 RR per level. Blue gem. It should to be mounted in an amulet so Bowlhead can use it.
We arrive in Shostim on the 23rd of Kelen and then find the Chantry of the Evanescent Assembly of the Enigmas of Pele-arn, otherwise disguised as some random house in the town. << Ice scream frenzy >> We want to see Sedisi who lives there, or at least is to be found there.
Well it looks like an ordinary chandler�s general store. We ask for Sedisi and Markus Spencer produces his certificate. He locks the place up and we go into the backroom (to a whoosh bang sort of faint sound) and an old bloke comes in from the other end. Slightly singed beard and brushing dust off himself, with beard and glasses. This is Sedisi and we start him rambling about Kemlar and the Kaborans.
There is smoke coming from the curtains he came from, a small room beyond with books and alchemical stuff. Something boiled over and was eating a way at the wooden floor and set fire to the curtains. He put its out. Another one pops out of a trap door in the floor, starts talking and then sees us and goes away.
There then followed a comedy werewolf sketch moment when he tried to persuade Zytsi to eat some garlic after he admitted he�d consorted with Capel.
We go down stairs into a stonewalled dank old D&D style dungeon area, smelling of sulphur. There are rooms with benches and stuff. Iron door, behind which we can hear, raised voices, �don�t go in when the lantern is alight�. Knocks on the door and we go into a shooting range. He goes in and fires fire bolts and fireballs one a round for four rounds until the straw dummy goes up in flames. So he can handle himself somewhat. He shows us a map of Kustan; he�d like to go if only to see it.
Aruth can be taught a Fireball spell as the price of his hiring us, neat. So we are going to be hired to loot a barrow by the fire based magic user. OK. Faff and we�ll get there first thing next time and start straight away.
Robin needs a new copy of �The Curse of Hlen� � Columbia Games � but Trev might have found one.