Ambassadors, Paladins and Spies

A base duly secured, the group considered their next move, and settled on the idea of seeking out the orcish ambassador to the Empire, and enlisting his help with the aid of the tokens Garkaur had given them. Leaving Hansen and Billy in the rented rooms, the others followed young Rolc as he led them in a wide curve through the outer city to the district inhabited by the ambassador.

On the way, they passed through a variety of neighbourhoods, some pleasant, some less so. They crossed the Way of the Gods, site of some of the lesser temples of Thornal - including ones like Kord's that they made a mental note to visit later on. Finally, they found themselves outside a town house on the southern side of the city, unremarkable among its' neighbours though rather splendid to their eyes; all of stone, tall, with columns outside and many windows. A plate on the wall announced that this was the residence of Ruld Grenark, indicating that they'd come to the right place. A slave answered the door, and asked their names before disappearing inside. A few minutes later he ushered them through into a reception room. Inside, the house was decorated in the Imperial style; elegant, clean, spacious. The appearance of the ambassador was thus something of a jolt; for he was a full orc, dressed in a fashion suitable for his people, though rather less heavily than he would in be in the north.

He squinted at his visitors. "How do I know you're who you say you are?" he said shortly. Sack unrolled the letter from King Garkaur and dropped it at the ambassador's feet, and Surya cast the dagger on top of it with a crash. The orc picked both up, examining the dagger closely and seeming to look for something not noticeable to the casual eye, Then he sheathed it with a click and passed it back. "That seems in order," he said, glancing at the letter and holding it up to the light - clearly checking the bloody credentials. "How can I help you?"

Surya pointed out that they'd been in the house ten minutes and not been offered a drink. The ambassador barked with laughter, and snapped his fingers loudly. Two human slaves appeared, and he ordered suitable drinks with an air of great relish. It appeared that living in a culture where one could legally have human slaves appealed to him greatly.

The heroes began questioning him circuitously, trying to work around to the topic of vampires in the Senate gently, but after a while he stopped them. Ten years a diplomat in the most intrigue-riddled city in the world had made him a master at this sort of thing, and he begged them to come to the point rather than dancing around it. When they told him what they were investigating he thought they were joking. "Vampires? In the Senate?" he roared, "that's a good one!".

They assured him that their information was from good sources, and asked if he could supply any information on the Senate that he could. He outlined the principal personalities in the assembly, and effectively removed the Emperor Heredatus from their list of suspects by stating that he had been observed to age over the last ten years.

Sack queried him as to whether the whole Senate met all the time, or - if not - what conditions triggered a full meeting. Ruld answered that they didn't all need to be present for smaller matters, but if it involved something like the Empire's response to the return of the Elves, or the Kordasa, or the rise of New Tellare, a full assembly was called. One was due in a week to discuss the latter two items. He rolled his eyes; "They have so many rules," he lamented, "it makes things so difficult.

Normally, the spectators' gallery of the Senate House was off-limits to non-Citizens, but Ruld was confident that he could get the group in as his guests if they wanted him to.

He gave them a thumbnail sketch of the Imperial City with its' major landmarks, including the temples and the Thieves' Guild, and promised Sack he'd attempt to track down the location of the local branch of the Renders of the Dark.

He also provided them with documents identifying them as members of his staff, which he said should get them into the Inner City, normally a privilege restricted to Imperial Citizens only.

Thanking him, they headed for the nearest of the great gates between the Outer City and the Inner. Rolc appeared quite nervous at this point; clearly he was not accustomed to moving in such circles - at least not through the front door.

As they approached the gate, Sack drifted away from the rest and made a separate approach; he wanted to test his disguise.

There were soldiers in the black uniform of the city Guard on the gate, and they halted the Tellaran and the Dwarf. "Papers and business please," asked the nearest, his monotone indicating a rote requirement rather than a seeking after trouble. Surya handed over the documents provided by Ruld, and told the soldier they were sight-seers, causing some confusion as the papers identified them as employees of the Orc ambassador on his business. The papers were clear enough however, and the soldiers were quite happy to accept the idea that the Tellaran's peculiar accent when speaking the Low Erlyid language was the reason for the misunderstanding. They were passed through.

Behind them, Sack strode casually towards the gate, meeting the eyes of the guard as he reached it. The soldier's eyes flicked down his Erlyid clothing, back up at his face, clearly registered half-orc, and clicked away again, on to the next person. Sack walked unchallenged into the Inner City.

As he did, he noticed a human, of medium height and unremarkable dress, who appeared to be following the other two about five paces behind. His shadowing technique was very good, and although Sack was a match for him, he couldn't keep up and lost the man in the crowd.

All three now gazed on the Inner City, the very hub of civilization on Alair. The streets were quieter here, cleaner, and the people in them were of a different mix to those in the Outer City; far more of the upper classes and fewer peasants and slaves. The architecture, too, was grander and more imposing.

As the two groups set off eastwards towards their first call, Sack noted the mystery man again, still trailing the others with great skill. He set himself in turn to trail him, keeping him in view but not getting too close. It proved hard, but the half-orc was skilled. Finally, however, the watcher noticed Sack, and disappeared again. Sack hung back and waited for him to reappear.

Meanwhile, Surya and Hildraft approached the Pelorian College of Paladins - the Order of the Golden Fist. Two guards stood alertly outside, their burnished armour glinting in the sun while at the same time conveying an impression of being practical rather than decorative. These gravely listened while the two introduced themselves, then carried the message to the Grand Master of the Order at Surya's insistence, and appeared rather surprised when he agreed to see them. Rolc elected to wait outside, to the relief of the escort that arrived to take them in but to the distress of the door-guards.

Escorted inside the College between four stalwart knights of Pelor, the two were marched down the majestic Hall. Inspirational statues of great heroes of the Erlyid looked down on them from niches in the walls, mighty columns soared to the vaulted roof; at the far end was a mighty throne. Suddenly, the escort turned sharply right, into a side-room, small, unremarkable, slightly shabby. Two peeled off outside the door; two remained inside, guarding the portal.

Waiting inside was another man, wearing the same magnificent armour decorated with the sunface of Pelor, but significantly older and with the invisible aura of command around him. He greeted them civilly, introducing himself as Dran Trasutor, Grand Master of the Order.

Trasutor made it quite clear that he was aware of who and what they both were - and what they carried. Contrary to their expectations, however, he did not condemn or reject Surya on account of the taint he carried with him, describing him as "a man teetering on the edge between salvation and damnnation". The party's deeds for the causes of Good - though achieved through questionable means - balanced against the evil of the swords sufficiently for Trasutor to be easy in his mind about meeting with them. It was clear that Dran Trasutor was uncommonly wise and tolerant for a paladin.

The two explained what they wanted. Like Ruld, Dran was sceptical at first, but once they'd described Rhendal's fearsome powers of Nightfall and subterfuge and Mazahir Daywalker's immunity to many of the vampire's susceptibilities, he became deeply interested, and sent for his Order's Archivist to take notes of all they'd experienced. In return, he told them what little he knew of vampires in the south, and precious little it was. He recalled his Order fighting vampires twice... no, three times during his tenure as Grand Master, twice in small towns in the countryside and once - just once - in the City. The Golden Fist had foes aplenty, but vampires appeared not to have been among them hitherto. However, Dran agreed that his knights would keep careful watch on the Senate, and would not discuss the matter outside the Order.

Outside, Sack had re-located their shadow; he was lurking outside the College. As the half-orc watched, he worked his way around the southern edge of the building, slipped between it and the Dirucan College next door, and headed for the back. Sack followed him, and watched him establish that the Pelorian college had no obvious back door. This established, the shadow returned to the front, located a street wine-shop, and settled into a chair.

Sack, wishing to find out what was going on, joined him. The man looked at him carefully. The half-orc flipped a coin into the air, planning to jump the man when his eyes followed it, but the spy exhibited iron self-control, and his eyes remained locked on Sack as the coin plinked away behind him. "You're Sack, aren't you?" he said.

Understandably, Sack said nothing. The man appeared relaxed, and calmly ordered four drinks as Surya and Hildraft approached the wine-shop. They questioned him, demanding to know who he was, and he answered frankly enough, naming himself Mask - clearly a pseudonym - and a member of the Imperial Secret Service. Relaxed, he explained to them that he was now "off duty" as far as they went; his cover blown, someone else would be assigned to the case. They considered killing him, but in the end decided it would be more trouble than it would be worth.

As they left the bar, they saw him nod imperceptibly at someone sitting nearby, and that man get up and start to follow them. Dropping back, Sack harried this new shadow, flipping a card with "We're going to the Temple of Aderra" on it, and another with "You been a spy long then?". The man soon gave up and dropped out of sight.

Coming across the central squares of the city, the group reached the two biggest religious structures in Thornal; the mighty Temple of Pelor, and the Annexe of Aderra attached to it. The sight was breathtaking. While there were bigger buildings in Alair - the Dragon's Palace in Vorsand, and the Cathederal of The One in Nhased - none were as magnificent. Pelor's Temple was beauty, and power, and faith, and wealth, expressed as architecture.

The Annexe of Aderra was little less impressive. Rather surprisingly, it was open on all sides, airy and uncluttered, with space to walk between its' pale columns, and many different places for prayer. For the average citizen came to Aderra for knowledge; information. The Goddess of Wisdom and Magic was who people appealed to if they needed answers. If prayer was enough, that was well. If it was not - the priesthood could provide more sophisticated divinations... for a price.

Locating a small side chapel, they waited in the queue while the two suppliants in front of them were dealt with ("Where is the will?", "How can I protect my gold from the tax-collector?") before approaching the priest. "What answers do you need, my children?" asked the priest, white-robed. Blazoned on his breast was Aderra's sigil, awakening memories of the agitator-priest Sigred of Narthal, with whom they'd shared the Kingmaker Quest.

"We want to see the High Priest," said Surya. There was a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the table. "The High Priestess Nective is very busy," the priest answered (Hildraft muttered "Does she wear them like this?" and brandished Silustriana's underwear, but Surya hushed him), "she cannot attend to every seeker for truth personally. Surely I can provide whatever it is you seek?" he continued more gently.

"We want to use your library," answered Surya bluntly. The priest raised an eyebrow; none of them looked like scholars. "That will be five thousand golden sestertii," he replied, "each." Surya rummaged in a pocket and dumped an assortment of coins, gems and jewelry worth several times that on the table. The priest looked reassured, and proffered a receipt. "Sign," he requested, and Surya wrote "Fred and Dwarf" on it.

Click here for a listing of the Senate as provided by Ruld Grenark