Idolators Under Inzet

== Overview ==
Inzet, the capital city of Mowen's Borderlands province. The city had welcomed labor and entrepreneurship from all walks of life, and as with any large undertaking, unfavorable individuals came to cause trouble. Local authorities believed a cult of idolators of Veyis, the first Lich, had set up in the sewers, with a horde of undead reportedly gathering in the undercity.
Dushah Uloreen's attention was ever-focused towards keeping external threats at bay, such as the Dread Hounds from the east. With no help from him available, officials sought a small band of mercenaries to discreetly assess and handle the situation. The Whispering Cutlass answered this call.
This began the arc, Idolators Under Inzet.
== Adventures ==
* Episode One
* Episode Two
* Episode Three
* Episode Four
* Episode Five
* Episode Six
* Episode Seven
== Conclusion ==
The mercenaries destroyed the cult cell that was operating to further Veyis' aims, obliterating a corpse behemoth, killing and arresting multiple cultists and necromancers, and discovering that the massive vein of black onyx beneath the city had all been mined. The party then raided the alchemical lab of Skaxes the doppelganger and captured him. Due to these exploits, Uloreen invited them for an interview.
=== Interrogation of Skaxes ===
Several unsettling questions remained from Skaxes' capture. His last known location prior to Inzet was Zachalas. After having been captured by the Whispering Cutlass there, he supposedly escaped prison and blew up the Riot House in Zachalas. But when the party in Inzet found him, his Thread was wildly unstable, causing his physical form to constantly shift even when unconscious. The last words he said during their encounter was, "They sold me."
Xeithne was definitely interested in this, asking who sold him and to whom. "And what's up with his messed up Thread sending him into conniptions every six seconds? That can't be good for his health."
During the interrogation, she would get her answers. Tar'ren made especially sure to stay away, having never been seen by Skaxes and not wishing to change that; but Xeithne, Ro'Keer, Nwalmë, and Elric led the talks, attempting to identify with Skaxes and put him at ease, realizing that his situation was complex. Nwalmë snuck him in a pastrami sandwich, Ro'Keer healed his wounds, and Xeithne carved him baoding balls to use as a meditative fidget toy.
Skaxes revealed that he was formerly a miner of the Golden Tide, set to mine Sugar Rock at a lucrative contract of one ounce of gold per ten-pound bag of harvested sugarsalt. He was an alchemist in his spare time and discovered the explosive properties of sugarsalt. He figured it could help blast ore from dead mines; but someone approached him, saying that the discovery could be much more profitable.
This person was Gium Gransil, though Skaxes did not know that, and therefore did not share that information with the party.
Skaxes simply had to secure funding for research. The Valk family, particularly Klace Valk, were interested but not rich enough, so they hatched a scheme to steal from Antonio Latimer, the eldest son of Genevere Latimer, matriarch of the great merchant family. The Latimers were a staple of the economy to both Kregia and Zachalas, holding the largest land shares of sugarsalt.
Antonio's wives had continually died due to mysterious circumstances—mostly because Genevere did not like them, but neither Skaxes nor the party knew that—so Skaxes would pose as a young woman, seduce Antonio, steal a dowry, fake his death, and then return as the young woman's father to sue for the dowry and the death of his "daughter." Meanwhile, Skaxes also had some contacts start a riot on Sugar Rock that the Valk family would suppress, granting them civil forfeiture land rights.
However, the plan changed when Skaxes lost his temper and instead decided to eliminate Antonio during a ball. He didn't expect Whispering Cutlass mercenaries to be in attendance: Markris the Elf rogue; Colette Farblaze, a Halfling cleric; and Sqriggles McHopper, the Rabbitfolk barbarian. They foiled the plan, chased down Skaxes to the Wyvern Den Mast where his alchemical operations were being held, set the place ablaze, and captured Skaxes. It was then that the mercenaries sold Skaxes to the Latimers, who experimented on him and made his shapeshifting powers unpredictable. He was not the first person on whom they had experimented and he doubted that he would be the last. He escaped, bombed the Riot House in Zachalas, and left the country.
Now captured in Inzet, Skaxes made a plea deal. He would trade all of this information to the authorities in exchange for a lighter sentence and a pledge that the crimes of the mercenaries would also be brought to light. He also pledged to attend therapy. Finally, if hard sanctions could be levied on the Latimer's sugarsalt, he would also release the sugarsalt explosive recipe.
After these negotiations, Elric asked for a pint of Skaxes' blood. He wanted to figure out how to reverse whatever the Latimers had done to Skaxes' shapeshifting abilities. Though Skaxes was reticent to be experimented upon once more, he agreed to give a pint of blood, on one condition: Elric could not use it for anything other than figuring out what the Latimers did and how to undo it.
=== An Audience with Uloreen ===
Nwalmë led the audience by stating that the Gods Veyis and Vilithk were working together. Uloreen stated that meant little more than that mortals devoted to either were working together, since Gods had no clasp on the mortal realm beyond those who seek their blessings.
Nwalmë then relayed the information about the cultists and how they were removed from the city. He then asked about Sagrid's Gamble, his ancient bow formerly owned by the hero Sagrid Castenas of the Eastern Kingdom. The bow had been damaged by Dragon fire. Uloreen said that a Well of the Fey could heal such damage and said such a well may exist in the Everwoods or Green Grove, but that the wells were always well guarded.
As Nwalmë bowed in thanks, he noticed that the light shimmered oddly behind Uloreen, like it had bent and warped for just a moment in time. He asked Uloreen about it, but Uloreen ignored him.
Ro'Keer stood next and humbly asked that Dar'Keen's home be repaired. It had been damaged during the raid on Skaxes' lab. Uloreen looked amused at the request, then snapped his finger and produced a sheet of paper. A pen wrote what his mind dictated. The letter sealed itself into an envelope and floated over to Ro'keer, who was told to bring it to Housing Council Woman Joy Vark.
Xeithne, wearing her fancy outfit bought before the outset of this journey, approached Uloreen next. She bowed before crossing her arms in a neutral stance. She told Uloreen that a Gnome was buying corpses and stuffing them in a bag that should have been too small to hold them; and an older person, possibly Human, did a bag swap with the Gnome, taking the corpses. She stated that the older man was "bronze-skinned, white-haired, and walked with a limp; though his steps had all the confidence in the world. He had a walking stick and, most important, wore silk robes." As he sounded rich, she asked if Uloreen knew who he was, and if so, warned him to keep tabs on the man. Nwalmë also mentioned the hidden tunnels in the city and how the man had used one near Uloreen's tower.
The door to the chamber began to open at that moment. The old mage heard the footfalls from the hallway and bellowed out "Come back another time, I am busy."
Behind the wall, in the hallway, the party heard the person leave, their uneven footfalls and the thud of a wooden cane. 
"Very well," Uloreen said, "make sure the High Jurat is aware of these details, he is more than capable to handle such things."
Xeithne clenched her fists, nodded, and sat.
Tar'ren approached next. He asked about how a devil-possessed doll could roam free in the city, and what was the red pulse that occurred on the lake. Finally, he asked about thinnings, craving whatever knowledge Uloreen could impart.
Uloreen offered no information about the doll or the red pulse. As to thinnings, he stated that the Thread leaves an echo of itself; the louder—that is, more powerful—the magic, the larger the echo. Magic used to break from one location to another would leave a large echo, sometimes allowing people to slip between one place and the other. The echo also sometimes acted like a beacon to others who could hear it, like the fabled Horizon Walkers. The thinnings were usually sought out by creatures to try and continue to push into and pass through them. 
Alternatively, there were also gates and doorways that existed, but were not open. Sometimes those doors could be pushed ajar when the right set of circumstances came about. Maybe the axis of the planets were in accordance with the stars, or the temperature of the ground was right, or what magic was present—it could be all of those things or none of them. Uloreen knew that the Savage Hail was most learned in planar threats.
Tar'ren also mentioned the glassed body that was found near the vein of onyx. Uloreen clarified that Shadow Onyx could enhance necromantic energies, though traditional onyx had no properties beyond its allure. He asked Tar'ren to tell the High Jurat about the body, as it was a worrying sign.
Bandin then stepped forward, carrying a letter and a book. He had been bound to the book, which contained the words of Avadon. Only he could read it. Uloreen said that such a binding meant the Grey God has his eye on Bandin. He needed to not follow the will or teachings of Avadon if he wanted to pull himself away from the God.
Bandin ended the meeting by giving Uloreen a prepared letter discussing his time in the Quiet Lands, particularly at the city of Perlin. The letter was written in Illusory Script, and the discussion was held mostly privately. Specifics included:
* Clay titans in the Endless Divide;
** These were called goliath titans, which the rich would sometimes go into the desert to watch. This was common knowledge to Mowenites.
* The Agremi, a people long forgotten with a city that may not exist as it was not there in the morning after he had stayed there;
** Uloreen was delighted to hear about them.
* Black sand that absorbed light;
** Uloreen called it Ravens Ash and said warriors used to have armor made of it. It could absorb radiant energies.
* Society of insect folk;
* A cliff that if someone jumped from it they would arrive in the Fey realm, and it also seemed accessible from a dungeon that was meant to keep the Fey trapped;
* Dungeons with creatures that could turn people into statues with a shrine to Solisti;
** Uloreen warned Bandin to never mention the dungeon again, it was a state secret and "sharing wind of it will surely attract attention unkind to those who wish to wake from sleep."
* Tracks in the sand that lead to the city, long buried and destroyed by a purple worm;
** Purple worms were common knowledge.
* Meeting a creature called a Djinni who worked a forge with many of such tracks in it and an odd object;
** Uloreen was surprised that the Forge was still in operation.
* Fighting a Dragon made of metal constructed by the wizards and all its little metal drake minions;
** Uloreen's eyes widen at the mention of a metal Dragon. He was quite interested in its existence.
** Nwalmë mentioned that the Shadowlands also had Dragons.
* Bringing down the barrier with part of the city that floated;
* Exploring the architect's tower;
* Learning of the construction of the forge;
* The Reconnoiters legion, the Pride, a group who arrived on a beast that looked like a giant, majestic donkey and took the city as a military base. They were led by the Dragonborn Knight Olksigla Kasur, from the kingdom of Melli Seomdeuk;
** Uloreen was upset by this knowledge.
* The Vault of Stars which was a teleportation circle into the very top of the Architect's tower. Bandin had the key and two spell scrolls to get there—
At the mention of a teleportation circle, Uloreen became ecstatic. He accepted the key and the spell scrolls from Bandin. As compensation, he granted parcels of land and titles to both the current party and to the party involved with gathering the spell scrolls and key, namely:
* Bandin Volward Deepburrow
* Brutus Logjam
* Darksteel
* Elric Dawnflame
* Kiwarden
* Nwalmë Shadhavar
* Relc
* Ro'Keer
* Silas Draoi
* Snarela Kegfury
* Tar'ren r'Eehp r'Eehp
* Xane
* Xeithne Aladur
Each parcel was 1/10th of a lot. Their land was in the Red Clay District.
Uloreen ended the meeting then and left to his private study, where he unfurled his staff from nothingness. He sat at his long desk and unlocked a drawer. Inside was a plate of crystal, uneven, like a stone plate used in the surface of a garden. The plate looked like saltstone, but lighter. He began to write on the surface, his words disappearing as he wrote them. Time passed as Uloreen waited.
Finally, several words formed on the surface of the crystal: "They will give it to us, or we will take it from them."
=== Epilogue ===
As twilight set forth in Inzet, Tar'ren stared towards the sky and two tall towers at opposing ends of town. One held a magician stronger than any they'd yet encountered. He stood overlooking his city, speaking with a silver-haired man with a heavy cane staff and a limp, discussing their acquisitions.
"The breakout has been contained, the mercenaries assume it to be a splinter cell."
"And the codes have changed? No more relying on thieves to bring in the goods."
"Yes, that mistake has been corrected, Sir..." His head bowed low, revealing the traces of a fresh burn scar.
"And the vault is sealed, none of Veyis' thinking this is some unholy land for the undead. They are not here by divine whim, but to serve Inzet's defense." The mage twirled a small polished marble of black onyx. "To think there was such a treasure beneath the city to help defend it."
Meanwhile at the other tower, the weekly rotations of Hellions prepared to depart to the Quiet Lands yet again in hunt of the Dread Hounds and their nests.
Somewhere in a city manor, the nobility discussed contracts as a shadow watched intently.
In the prisons, a silver-toned humanoid attempted to relax the pulsing transformations of his form as he circled a set of baoding balls within his hands, looking hopefully at the appearing stars, settling off to the first peaceful sleep he'd had in weeks.
A final set of farewells were spoken at the Riot House before a covered wagon wound westward to Abishot, bringing home mercenaries in time for a tourney, new adventure, and exciting tales to tell their fellows.
In Abishot, a vote put a certain purple-clad noble in charge of the decorations for the tournament. Their grin appeared a touch too wry for comfort as they commissioned an order with the local drapers.
The sun set in Inzet, the cool air heralding safety for the departing Hellions on their hunt into the desert. A new adventure awaited them, and a greater mystery than they could ever expect.
== Arc Rewards: ==
Honor score of all mercenaries who received land and titles increased to 4.
Category:Sagas