SPQT -- Trial and Tribulation

(Remainder of October - Beginning of January - The island, and the house, fill up with snowbirds, including Sofia's mother and remaining unmarried sister. Sofia makes the Rod of Comforting the Staff, but her intention to brew potions and scribe scrolls is subverted by social duties and the property search, a question of intense interest on which she and her mother spend hours of discussion, planning, numbercrunching, etc., and even make a few trips to view. She also remains active with church and charitable projects. The remainder of the staff is also occupied, Decimus in making magic items, Robyn in property and business matters and in making a special longbow, Alfredus with family matters, Corvus in the property search and numerous mysterious errands. Decimus learns to teleport and renders himself capable of seeing invisible at all times. For some time he is teleporting at the slightest excuse.)

December 23 - The town is full of vague, ominous rumors, to the effect that "something" will be happening soon, some sign appear. Gaius says poor freemen are disappearing. Corvus and Sigurd {a Sunshine Boy} are going undercover to see if they can find the root of this disturbance. It sounds like Leaguer propaganda preparatory to some nefarious plot to me!

January 1 - Corvus reports that he was approached today by a stranger with a fanatical light in his eye, who offered him a silver piece a day to go around saying that a sign was coming. This is evidently the source of the vague word on the street, and I must say, I don't blame poor laboring men for taking this deal - it's excellent remuneration for such easy work! I wonder if some such simple device can be used to spread the word of Orus? Corvus's contacts say that the fellow in question is a day laborer who disappeared, and returned behaving differently. Of course, we all at once thought of doppelgangers, but there's no need to jump to conclusions. He is to pay Corvus daily, which gives us an excellent chance to "tail" him, as the phrase is, and find out who he's working for. By us I mean Robyn, Corvus, and Decimus, who has emerged from his lab at last and wants some fresh air. We are to be in touch through one of Decimus's spells, and I will be waiting nearby in case anyone needs my services.

January 2 - I am so angry I could spit. If the Valarii think they can get away with this, they have another think coming. I shouldn't jump to conclusions. It might not be the Valarii. Of course not. It might be winged monkeys.

During the time that I was waiting, drinking far too many herbal concoctions and eating far too many pastries, but getting quite a bit read, for anyone to need me, Gaius was conducting his usual private business which is so useful in keeping us in touch with the seamier side of life. I may have to forbid the practice - after all, Corvus is perfectly capable of keeping his ear to that ground, and I'm supposed to be training Gaius for better things. Oh, I'm not thinking straight. Here is what he says happened:

He was going down an alley and he heard music - lap harp music, a soothing sound, a lullaby of some sort. Then he woke in an alley with no memory of falling asleep, walked up to the first watchman he saw, stole his belt pouch, and allowed himself to be caught. He was shocked at this behavior, but couldn't stop himself.

Fortunately, Robyn spotted him being hauled away. Unfortunately, Robyn was in the midst of tailing our fanatic and did not feel able to respond immediately. The fanatic wandered the streets for some time, paying his rumorspreading force, then retired for dinner and returned to a small room in the highest, least desirable portions of an undesirable insula. There he spent *two hours* praying to an obscure deity called Avshar, who is supposed to have created the four elements that are worshiped in the League, but even the Leaguers don't bother with him these days. I believe that cult that was supposed to have been kicked out of the League worships him, but I could be confused. Anyway, once Decimus recognized the name, it was clear that the Holy Inquisition would have to be informed. Decimus (in the form of a gull, I believe) and Corvus stayed to keep an eye on him, while Robyn went to the precinct house and inquired about Gaius. Gaius, very depressed and upset and certain I was going to fire him, creditably told the exact truth. Naturally, Robyn was forcibly reminded of the Ring of Fagin incident, and spoke to the vigiles, telling them to expect me. He then found me and told me about the heretic and the arrest.

I suppose it was my duty to my church to report the heretic first; but it seemed to me that Corvus and Decimus had that situation well in hand and that my duty to my page, who after all has no one but me to watch out for him, came first. Besides, I could hardly appear unattended before the Holy Inquisition! So I returned to the villa, fetched one of Gaius's page outfits, and had Robyn take me to the precinct, where I asked to speak to Gaius in the presence of the arresting officer and someone with the authority to release him.

The first thing I did, in hope of finding some lingering aura of domination or some other controlling enchantment, was cast "detect magic," and it triggered a fireball! I had to quickly use the wand Uncle gave me, so long ago, in order to save the arresting officer, and then to relieve Gaius's suffering. That wand is now used up. I was rather badly singed myself. If I ever catch the person who set that foul trap he's going to wish with all his heart that he had the good fortune to be hanging by his toes over a slow fire - it's as wicked a thing to do as anything I've ever heard of!

The vigiles may or may not have taken Robyn and me seriously when we said he was probably under an enchantment, but this experience convinced them. We moved him into the open air and I cast Zone of Truth in order for him to tell his story, which he did very well. They called in a judicial mage who performed other magics in order to assure themselves that he was no longer dangerous (all the same, I'm going to cast dispel magic and break enchantment on him the very next chance I get), and dropped all charges.

We got cleaned up and proceeded to the offices of the Inquisition, where I was treated very kindly. When I explained the situation, they agreed that it would be better to find out the heretic's connections, and gave us written authorizations to proceed with the investigation as we saw fit.

Corvus's reaction was puzzling. First he looked put out, and said: "I'm an agent of the Inquisition?" in an annoyed voice. Then he read his authorization paper over, smiled, frowned, smiled again, and pocketed it. I suspect that his feelings for the church are warmer than he cares to admit, and that this vote of confidence is secretly quite gratifying to him.

[In fact, it is not outside the bounds of possibility that Corvus took the time to employ his forgery skills, about which Sofia knows nothing, to make a copy of this useful piece of paper.]

January 3 - Corvus and Decimus report that their quarry prayed for an entire hour this morning, in a position which seemed to them highly uncomfortable, then made his rounds. Primus followed him while Corvus and Decimus searched his apartment, finding a cache of about a 1,000 silver pieces but nothing else. Substituting one of the silvers they'd gotten from the heretic for one of those from the pile - with the intention of using it to scry the source - they contacted Primus and caught up to him shortly before the quarry met up with a better-dressed man to whom he deferred. Corvus, disguised, approach closely enough to hear them speaking in Leaguer. "Three days hence, at midnight, we shall have our sign, and that is when we will make our move."

Following the new man, they were full of hope; but he entered an abandoned house and disappeared. Primus found his way in and reported that his footprints ended in the middle of the floor. Searching the house revealed nothing but more footprints, all facing the same way, all ending at about the same spot. Obviously, he teleports into another place, and teleports out from here. (Or uses Word of Recall, assuming him to be an Avsharian priest.)

Decimus tried scrying him, but all he got was prayer in a dark room. I cast divination, but all Orus saw fit to tell me was that wild-eyed men would rise in the streets to spread heresy. We'll try again later, but with only three days to this sign, I think Corvus is right - we need to speak to the man we can lay hands on, and find out something more specific.

I sent Gaius with the information about the sign to the Holy Inquisition, requesting that he wear the Hat of Disguise. As soon we're done with this Leaguer plot (as I presume it to be), I'll see about those fiends who assaulted him. He's still apologizing. It grows tiresome.

January 5 - Decimus and Corvus approached the heretic in his apartment, where Decimus turned him into a box turtle and put him into a sack. Once in the nice little interrogation chamber Uncle had fixed up for us, he was turned back. I explained the situation to him, cast "Inquisition," and asked him what was to happen when the sign appeared in the sky two nights hence at midnight. I don't know whether he was more appalled that I knew about the sign, or that he answered me; but the power of Orus compelled the truth from him. He said: "The faithful will emerge from the subterranean chambers where they've been hiding and they will fill the streets..." preaching, proselytizing, and otherwise annoying innocent citizens (he can go on indefinitely on this topic and my notes grow vague at this point). When he mentioned subterranean chambers I immediately felt stupid - Orus as good as told me they'd come from underground, but I didn't understand. It must be agony for Him to think down to our level during these spells!

Anyway, I asked where the subterranean chambers were, presenting him with a map; but he said he didn't know because he'd been blindfolded. I asked what the expected sign was, and he replied: "Two days hence, Avshar will show his power and his domain by lighting the fires of a new star in the sky."

This was shocking, and we missed a good deal of ranting on his part discussing the matter. Anything even resembling a new star in the sky would require a powerful magic; and if the subterranean chambers are truly full of preachers, not an army, then it will have to be a permanent and widespread effect in order to bear any fruit. I expect the ranting fanatics are intended as a cover and a distraction who will divide our attention from the real attack - through the "star," perhaps?

In any event, the hour is midnight tomorrow - we have no time to waste. I am resolved on a course of action, a little drastic perhaps, but it will save a great deal of time. Uncle and the Holy Inquisition are making the arrangements.

January 7 - I had no difficulty rising at dawn this morning; I only feared I hadn't had enough sleep to do my job properly. However, I cast "lesser planar ally" without a problem and haggled with the hound archon - I asked for, and got, the same one who located the barrow for me last year - with the result that for a trifling consideration, he would locate for us all the subterranean chambers harboring fanatics in the local area, and give the map to Uncle, who stood ready to deploy the city garrison. I hope the other towns we contacted will find similarly efficient ways to determine whether anything lurks below their streets.

Then, with considerable trepidation, I called an astral deva. I really couldn't see anything less dealing with someone capable of casting a spell which would fool anyone into thinking a new star had bloomed in the sky! I made it clear to him that I wanted the ringleader - not the local leader, but the mortal to whom the local leader answered; and if that mortal had a boss, he wasn't high enough in the hierarchy. Having discussed the matter with the Inquisition, I specified that he should be brought to Maloris Mactum, the specially equipped Imperial prison on the other side of the island, and not have the use of any magical items, material components, etc.

As soon as Uncle had the map from the hound archon and passed it off to the appropriate people, we teleported across the island, where the officials awaited us. (I let Gaius come because I couldn't stand to let him out of my sight at the moment; but Alfredus stayed behind because he was reluctant to leave Greta and the children if there was any danger of an attack on the city. I commended my mother and sister to his care particularly as well.) In a short time, the deva appeared, carrying an unconscious man. He said the guards around the tent had called him "the Prophet Khalid." He is a very powerful priest, casting appallingly powerful spells like "implode," but he is in the power of Orus now.

I detected no evil about him. Poor man, he's just another deluded victim of the false gods. There but for the grace of Orus and the accident of birth go any one of us! He believes that he has been sent by Avshar, who he declares to be the real creator (I'll not set down the wicked lies he parrots about Orus!), to undermine all other worship and convert the world to Avsharianism. He's been courting the desert tribes and making an army of them. The amazing thing is, that he believes in the sign - it wasn't a lie or trick on his part at all!

The bad news is that the plot is in place in all the major cities on the Mare Nostrum. The good news is that he is just as determined to undermine the religion of the Leagues, so a similar horde of disruptive fanatics lurks under the towns of the League. However, while we are ready for them, they are not. The Emperor and his generals may be able to make some sort of capital out of that.

The Holy Inquisition is making grateful noises. Uncle thinks they may attempt to reward me with offices. I find I can muster no enthusiasm for the prospect. If they approach me, I am resolved to ask instead for mercy for Khalid, and the right to communicate freely with him, in hope of guiding him into the arms of Orus. (Funny, this is the second Leaguer I've taken prisoner named Khalid. It must be a common name.)

As the deva left, I expressed my gratitude and said that he had done good work for Orus today. He said that remained to be seen. There was no evil in this man. Who knows Orus's plan for him? Yet asking for the ringleader was the right thing to do, I am sure of that. Most of the time I am satisfied, but the deva would hardly have spoken so if -

Oh, I am tired and fretting my brain with things that are beyond me! I have done my best, and Orus asks for no more. I'm going to take a nap, so that I'll be awake and alert for anything at midnight.

January 7/8 - Midnight. There it is. A new star in the northern sky. All is quiet here. I wonder what it means, if anything, and how that poor deluded fellow knew?