back to Millhaven:  Soul Gems and Good Living

30 Ardan, 621 NA

Keja had been practicing swordplay with Aldak, and attempting to attune the obsidian scrying mirror (with no luck so far). Aldak, however, was able to attune the Star Sapphire Ring #5; it summoned Cameron, a servant of Ikon. The servant would give aid and succor to true followers of Ikon, and seemed a bit ... insistent.

Our Heroes prepared for the trip through the Underworld; Hasama would stay in the mansion.

31 Ardan, 621 NA

We investigated an old head-shaped Phaedran tomb, but it was too much trouble (and still too trapped), so we decided to wait until night to use the cemetery at Millhaven.

Thus, after dark, Our Heroes entered the Underworld. The house was present there, too ... very eerily the same. There was a bridge over the Necros River, made of bones; but the Ebonite who guarded it wouldn't let Our Heroes pass. We retreated, and noticed a grim funeral barge being rowed down the river; a Black Savant was at the helm. The barge approached the riverbank, and the Savant invited us aboard. The barge continued its voyage down the river, rowed by unseen things below deck.

The Savant gave Keja two magical objects:  a Tongue, and an Eyeball. She attuned the Tongue (although it tried to strangle her -- remember the phrase "tongue say my name" in Elder Tongue) and the Eyeball (but didn't use it, since it wanted her to replace a real eye with the Eyeball.

The funeral barge traveled for two days, down the river and out into some endless sea ...

33 Ardan, 621 NA

The barge entered some other river; a horned, winged devil-beast approached, communicated with the Savant, and croaked "third building" to us. Our Heroes disembarked, and approached the buildings; there were piles of Mandalan corpses about. The building was a tomb or mausoleum; we entered it, and found ourselves back in the real world! The real building was the Tomb of Remembrance, in Jacinth, in the Kang Empire; there were thousands of small candles burning in niches, and a blind, meditating Mandalan mystic. The mystic led us to his simple hut; the hut and the temple were in a park in the middle of Jacinth. There were paper lanterns lighting the night sky; the sky itself was very discolored, with odd star formations and such.

We asked the mystic some questions, and despite his rather roundabout way of speaking, we learned that a new Kang magistrate had gained control of this city in the last week or so -- Karrak, formerly leader of some less-important area north of Jacinth. The mystic knew that Lung Hundan was an official in the old Masdak Empire, before the New Age; "he was notably vile, vicious and clever." The monk said we should obtain appropriate garb, and the Right of Passage; we were sent with an acolyte, Hwong, out into the city.

"you are here"

Hwong led us by back ways and dark streets, avoiding the Kang patrols, to the School of Willows. There we were cleaned up, and spoke with a Mandalan woman, Starflower. She seemed to either know why we're here, or was very imperturbable and cooperative; in either case, she told us more about the Kang magistrate, Karrak. He had lost no time in shaking things up in Jacinth -- lifting the curfew on the Mandalan, for example. He had also petitioned the Warlord, Rakshah, to remove Mandalans from the category of "slaves" within the Kang Empire. The Mandalans thought that maybe he was being devious, which was quite a statement coming from them!

Various conflicts were underway; the Empire was fighting the Saurans, the Chana, and the Harakin, plus there was a recent civil war (though the rebel Kang were mostly destroyed).

Magistrate Karrak was to hold a celebration in four days time (on 37 Ardan), in honor of his being made commander of the Jacinth garrison. He would appear outdoors, at the Public Square, to review troops and make a speech; and later at a banquet at the Altar of Glorious Salvation (renamed the Governor's Palace by the Kang). After some discussion, we decided to have Keja attune the Crossbow from the Set, for an attempt on the magistrate's life in the Public Square. Aldak disguised himself somewhat as a Mandalan and performed some scouting in the city.

It became pretty clear that the Mandalan were using us to gain their own ends; our escape from the Kang would be complicated ...

35 Ardan, 621 NA

Our Heroes were taken by the Mandalan through a secret tunnel out of the city, and set up in a nice house a hut about 1000 yards from the city. It had a low wall around the house and garden, and a few discreet Mandalan staff was a tiny, dirt-floored tool shed on the banks of a shallow, slow river.

On to the Long and Glorious Reign of Lung Hundan