All Good Things...

The dreadful undead usurper disposed of, the companions looked around at the heaps of loot secured from Artila's inner crypt. Surya had spent a considerable time with the Identify spell, and had a clear idea of what was what. There then followed a quite intense period of discussion and horse-trading as the cream of an empire's wealth was parcelled out the the four itinerant adventurers.

That done, they set out to walk out of the crypt, and the palace. The trapdoor took them down into a lamplit passage, along which they proceeded until they reached a stairway, which took them back up into the palace proper.

There they found complete chaos. Cries of panic, functionaries running aimlessly in all directions, looters, armed men fighting. The disruption was so severe that they got most of the way to the exit before being challenged. Four guards, clearly taking refuge from the collapse of order within familiar routine, barred their way, spears levelled below slightly dubious faces. They exchanged glances, clearly nervous of these peculiarly powerful-looking gaijin, but their leader gestured authoritatively. "Throw down your weapons!" he ordered, his words translated by the Tongues spells cast on Sack and Surya, and Hildraft's Ta'nara power.

Sack reached to his belt, and drew forth two small, flat, angular pieces of metal, glittering silver in colour. Hildraft and Surya recognized these as the Neshnamohn he'd taken from the Mortal Hunter Bramandin out of curiousity. Then, they'd been sharp, but inert. Now, as the half-orc flicked his wrists, the two small weapons hurtled across the intervening space, striking with deadly accuracy, looping back to drop back into Sack's hands and be thrown again, to strike again, before returning to his grasp, all in mere seconds.

Slashed almost beyond recognition, the guard leader dropped with a splatter to the lacquered wooden floor, and the rest broke and fled in instant panic.

Unimpeded, then, the four companions reached the open air. Still wearing the Robe of Eyes, Surya instantly spotted the major change; the roiling shadow-spirits that had enwrapped the palace in the same way as the ancestral spirits did the Clan citadels were gone. As they passed through the main gate, Sack paused to inscribe in large letters on the outside, "Vacant. To Let. Apply Within." before they walked through the streets of the Imperial city to the Mehitaka castle.

Once there, they quickly ascended to the throne room, where they found the stern clanlord Mehitaka Hirayama seated in his presence chamber. Mehitaka Kaisigi, their erstwhile prisoner, was also there, still dressed in the same tattered arming jacket he had before; clearly, his status as their captive prevented him resuming the garb of a warrior before he either redeemed his honour or was released by his vanquishers.

Realizing this, Hildraft spoke the required words, freeing him from their captivity, and he bowed deeply before going off to get dressed with some relief. The clanlord leaned forward, ready to hear their account.

At first he was sceptical of their claim to have permanently slain the Dark One, although confirmation of the assertion that the dark spirits were gone from the Palace helped convince him. Sack asked him if he would like to see the corpse? Hildraft, siezed by a premonition, lunged forwards, but was too late to stop the half-orc unwrapping the newly-acquired Mirror of Life Trapping and showing it to the Lord of the Mehitaka. There was a flash, and a wisp of smoke disappearing into the Mirror, and Hirayama was gone, leaving only a small pile of clothing and a beautifully-scabbarded sword.

Instantly, every armed shadowkami in the room had his weapons out, all levelled at the half-orc. Kaisigi was first to speak. "What have you done with our Clanlord?" he asked in dangerous tones. The tension crackled for a moment. Then Sack thought a word of command, and the Lord was returned - in rather undignified nakedness. His presence and charisma proved itself, however, as he managed to look authoritative and composed even at that moment.

He turned to Sack. "Explain yourself," he demanded in no uncertain terms, "there was no-one in there, nothing but silver walls! Where is this body?" Sack mimed a contrite apology, signing that he had expected the body to be there.

The tension was broken by the arrival of a messenger, bringing the news that the other clanlords had begun to withdraw from the Imperial city to their heartlands. Complete stillness fell, and Hirayama resumed his attire in a rather stiff silence as his vassals sheathed their weapons. It seemed that this was significantly bad news.

Kaisigi explained that this was an unmistakable sign of preparation for war; only the Emperor's peace kept the clanlords from each others' throats normally, and if a succession crisis occurred (as it obviously had), the different factions would slide into war. Naturally, the clanlords needed to be in a safe place at that point, and so they would retire to their strongest castles before commencing hostilities.

Sasutora was entering Interesting Times.

	Bidding his companions farewell, Surya dipped into his spellbooks for one of his newer spells and Teleported home to Reital, to the familiar castle at the heart of the west's newest Empire, his wife, his dragon, his throne and his forthcoming heir. Before him lay the challenges of steering his kingdom through the murky political waters of the politics of Alair, and of balancing his potential for power with the dark price some of it could exact.
Sack's Helm flicked him over the miles, faultlessly delivering him to his destination. It was time to check on one or two projects, he thought, as he walked up the mountain path and over the crest. The sound of orcish drums reached his ears, and he grinned, shouldered his Bag of Holding, and headed down into the valley.
	A couple of hours' Wind Walking delivered Hildraft and Duzmakhmol back at Nisur, where Morgar the King and Yngrid High Priestess were waiting. After the shock had worn off, and they'd had the chance to verify for themselves the orc's true committment to the Lord of Battles, they welcomed him and included him in their council. A council concerning Berrin Ironfist, Nisur and Kobur, and a dwarvish empire under the hand of Kord. Or should that be under the Hand of Kord....?

One thing Surya had revealed to his companions during their time east of the Ereans was his extraplanar activities during the last five years. The tale that accompanies that is accessible here, and is entitled "Hellbound".

A Note from the DM

This concludes the Alair Campaign, for the time at least. The internal forces drawing the characters in their own directions have increased to the point that they have less and less reason to operate together as a classic "character party"; and the towering power levels of the game have progressed beyond my ability to comfortably manage. I feel like a change. A bit of a break, few weeks to get my breath back. Then Traveller beckons, and beyond that, maybe more RuneQuest, maybe something else we've not tried. One day, though, player characters will walk the fertile soil of Alair once more, probably about a hundred years from the current date. Surya, Sack and Hildraft will contribute to the world those characters find by email and one-on-one, and it will be the richer for it. I hope you all enjoyed this campaign as much as I did (any lurkers out there?) 'cos I had a blast. Thanks for coming. Here's hoping the next one's as good! - Fozzie, September 21, 2005.