Chapter One
On this day, the sixth day of Octarius Krei finds herself in the company of two warriors, a human named of Hillan & an elf known as Turbulane, climbing through the snow towards the peak of the Genth Pass, as she & her companions near the summit two figures can be seen watching from above. Gaining the summit she surveys the scene before them, the snow is trampled & much blood has been spilt. Talking with the strangers, the warrior introduces himself as Lung & his friend, Lexian, a priest of Jarak. Their story is that they, their companions & their erstwhile employer were ambushed & in the following melee their attackers were slain but alas so were half a dozen or so of their party. Agreeing that for safety that the two groups will continue onward together, they fall in, gather their possessions & horses & bid a silent farewell to the dead.
With darkness falling before they reach the village of Briator, they halt for the night, eat & talk, Krei learns more of her new companions, Lexian is enthusiastic to say the least, whilst Lung is quiet, but intriguing, constantly his hand strays to the pouch about his neck from which he occasionally inhales some infusion of whatever is within, whatever it is, he seems to draw strength from its esence.
During the night whilst Krei & Lung take their watch about the fire, the silence is disturbed by a foulsome creature, blades are drawn & arrows knocked, the creature, nigh on ten feet tall & of gangrenous appearance, is cut down, its wounds streaming a foul smelling ichor, to Krei the relish with which the silent one, Lung, strikes at the near corpse is . . . . . disturbing. As dawn is approaching the party move further down the pass away from the putrid smell of the rotting corpse, however as the sun begins to warm the cold mountain air again the same smell assaults their nostrils as incredulously the partly regenerated creature approaches, hastily the camp is broken, horses mounted & the aberration is left far behind.
As they drop towards the village of Briator a figure can be seen in the snow, it turns out to be a merchant by the name of Balgron, he is intent on reaching Breem before the snows close the pass, however as he berates his near dead horse it is clear that he will go no further today. Accosting the party he demands, begs, cajoles & finally insults all present in an attempt to persuade them to escort him over the pass or sell him a horse. Lexian offers to buy the dying horse from the trader who gladly accepts the proffered coins for what he considers dogmeat.
Kneeling the priest whispers into the ear of the animal & lays hands to its broken body, within minutes the horse is stood nuzzling the priest, looking around, ignoring the protestations of the trader, all are struck by the sudden attention their own mounts seem to be paying the priest.
Krei, ignoring the ill mannered fool turns her mare away from the priest & rides on, the trader however throws one final disparaging remark in her direction. Turning Krei slips from the saddle & slides towards him suggestively, pouting she brings her knee up hard into his guts, draws a knife from her belt & grabs his tongue meaning to cut it from the foul mouthed cur,
"In the court of my father you insolent pig you would now be watching as your entrails were lain on hot coals before you"
Her cut however was, well, over enthusiastic, & instead of a merely removing his tongue his life blood spurts into the snow, unconcerned she wiped the blade clean on his tunic.
Searching his gear the bulk of what he carries is rubbish, worthless trinkets, around his neck however there is a pouch identical to that which Lung is waring, unsurprisingly the pouch contained more of the same orange powder, noticing a ring on his finger, Krei cuts it free & slips it beneath her tunic for later consideration.
Several hours later they reach Briator, like Breem, its streets were swollen with people hoping to make the run over the pass before the snows close it off.
Ignoring the talk between her companions & the local militia, Krei follows as they enter one of the inns, the Briator Arms, which line the street, instantly the party realise all is not as it should be, the inn is packed & the inn keeper waves away their initial request for accommodation, however looking around the gathered crowd, the eyes of at least one in ten are marred by the same yellowed colouring as now afflicts Lung.
As Krei & her new friends discuss matters, two low life's approach their table leering, as far as Krei is concerned, to dam closely at her, they introduce themselves as Maggot & Stench, & offer a fat pouch,
"free of charge, first time around to newcomers"
Questioned on its contents they grin & nodding towards Lung, intimate that he, Lung, knows all about Armash or Yellow Lotus as it is called locally.
Later as Krei & Lexian continue to question the landlord, they learn of the hold of the drug on the lands of Gran Breton & its people, of the magi, Korvin, who spreads its foulness across the land & of how it is used to enslave the very souls of those who take it.
Surprisingly Lexian suddenly offers to buy the inn, taken aback the landlord shakes his head & advises that it is not his to sell, & the habits of the clientele are beyond his control, he does however point out the local magistrate, Kirst, who he tells owns most of Briator including the Briator Arms.
As Krei watches, a third figure suddenly rises from the table at which Lexian is talking to the magistrate, unable to hear his exact words, it later turns out his name is Kalagash & that he is a man not to be fooled with, to Krei's eyes he looks an evil bastard, but, well, interesting maybe & attractive. Once the enraged Kalagash departs, & after the priest had concluded matters with the Kirst, Kirst calls over the inn keeper & formerly introduces him to his new master, Lexian, Priest of Jarak, he then departs after agreeing with Lexian that he should come to his home in the morning to formalise the purchase.
Maggot & Stench again approach but are soon disappointed as their offer to give a favourable deal to the inn's new owner is not only rejected but they are told in no uncertain terms to take their business elsewhere.
Returning to the warmth of the fire the companions discussions are again soon disturbed as the yellow eyed & blood covered stable boy clasps at the robes of Lexian & blurts,
"your horses, your horses, there all dead"
Running into the stable death is every ware, the horses, including Balgron's, throats have been slashed, Kalagash's mount is no where to be seen.
With little hesitation the death of Kalagash is plotted, again they are warned of crossing Kalagash's path & told to stay well clear of him, reluctantly the inn keeper when pressed tells them that Kalagash never stays in the village & will most likely be at the home of the magistrate outside of the village.
Heading towards the imposing structure, a simple plan is hatched, Krei, Lung & Lexian will tackle Kalagash whilst Hillan & Turbulane will find the stables & cut the throat of his horse, hopefully causing a diversion.
As a party they slip past a sleeping guard & find their way to the stables, entering they are brought to a halt by a voice, it addresses them in the common tongue of Bretonia but comes from the horse itself, trying to buy time for Krei, Lexian, who had seemed some how to be linked to their former mounts, avidly takes up the conversation, alas the ruse fails as the stallion shies away from Krei's blade. Warned off by the beast & its threats of retribution by its master, the initial plan is abandoned & all five slip through an open door into the main house.
Within they find themselves in a comfortable, if austere, parlour, on a small table is a silver tray on which sit five small crystal glasses containing a deep ruby liquid, pushing past the others Krei lifts & sniffs one of the glasses, unsure of it, she tips their contents into the fire.
Beyond a corridor leads to a second open door, pausing before entering, Kirst can be seen seated in large comfortable chair, at first suspecting the magistrate to be dead they wait, however when they see him move they open the door & enter, leaning casually against the mantelpiece, glass in hand, is Kalagash.
As Krei & her companions put hands to hilts, Kalagash calmly tells them their horses are alive & well & suggests they look out of the window, with a glance the priest confirms the horses are being groomed within the courtyard, concentrating for a second Lexian confirms all are well & fit.
Kalagash, apologising for the deception, goes on to explain that he is a fervent supporter of Gundren, Queen of Bretonia & that he strives to hold back the tide of evil that is flowing across its lands, an evil perpetrated by the sorcerer, Korvin. Lexian, intrigued by Kalagash's deception, questions the matter at some length to which Kalagash confesses he to is accomplished magi, particularly in feats of deception & illusion.
Turning to Krei, he tuts & chastises her at some length with regard to her disposal of the wine in the antechamber,
"That my dear was Trellessian Gold, a most potent wine, the essence of primal magic, valuable beyond measure & thought long lost, it is most fortunate that I have a second bottle"
With that he offers a glass to Lung, raising the glass to his lips, Lung swallows & smiles, slowly the ever growing yellowness in his eyes fades to nothing.
Still suspicious, Krei watches as the other drink &, when nobody writhes in agony, shrugs, takes the proffered glass & drinks.
"Well to business my friends, I want you to do a job for me, I want you to find & kill Korvin"
Almost instantly the priest offers his services for a favour to be claimed after the feat is done, Kalagash finds this hard to except but puts the matter to one side for the present, Turbulane demands gold, vast quantities of gold, Kalagash, aghast at the sum asked for dismisses his request as ludicrous, with a shrug, he turns muttering that that is my price, take it or leave it, Hillan holds his tongue whilst he considers the task & Lung, free of his addiction thanks Kalagash for the gift already given.
Krei, stepping forward whispers intimately into Kalagash's ear, Kalagash smiles & whispers his response.
Quickly formalities regarding the sale of the inn are agreed & coin exchanged, collecting their horses the party return to the Briator Arms to further consider Kalagash's request for aid, before they leave however Kalagash proffers a pouch,
"To aid your deception of the servants of Korvin this pouch contains a simbiant of Armash, it will mimick the effects of the drug for a day or so & will fool most but not all"
A couple of hours before dawn, Krei catches sight of Maggot & Stench moving towards the door, as the others discuss the spreading addiction she dons her cloak & slips out of the inn to wait silently for them in the shadows intending to slit their throats, unsure if the gods smile on her this night however she holds back her blade & silently follows them along the street, as they pass her by she hears a snatch of conversation,
,"we'll show that bastard, see how much he laughs when his precious inn burns around him, c'mon, lets round that lackeys up an' show god almighty who runs things around here"
Entering the inn Krei quickly warns the others of what is about to happen, whilst Lexian tries to rally the innkeeper into action, Krei, Hillan & Turbulane step into the street only to see a yellow eyed mob approaching lead by the spurned dealers. The mob quickly disperse however as Krei & Turbulane's arrows drop Maggot & Stench to the dirt.
Unable to raise Olidor, the innkeeper, to action Lexian & Lung join the others in the street, Lexian, grabbing the wrist of the crippled Stench, uses his gods will to cause him greater pain, before however Stench can truly repent his sins, his face contorts & voice, not Stench's, speaks out warning that that only death will come to any who oppose Korvin, eyeball to eyeball with Stench's Turbulane slits Stench's throat & spits out,
"We're coming for you Korvin, we're coming to kill you"