86b: Sinful

Talsil 27th
o fruitful sin...

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Epilogue
A night at the opera.

Experience: 1400 xp each (66,006 total)
Conquering the Circus of Shadows, 3000
RP Bonus, 1200

Magic: Deep Pocket Cloak +4, Fragrance of Authority x 3, The Harlequin's Key (key to the Shadow Door of the Circus of Shadows)
Coin: 16 pp, 8000 gp, 1200 sp and 1 fire opal (1000 gp)
Loot: limited control of the Circus of Shadows (Renato), use of Harnok's Suite 'The Red Light Room' (Renato)

New NPCs
Sabine A'mour: Lovely vampire with flaxen hair and a thin frame, a slave whose soul is owned by the royal succubus Shami-Amourae. Sabine often frequents the Chapel of Lust, where she met Isabella. Like the slave-princess, she wears a mark of servitude, hers in the form of a ball and chain, small enough to carry but heavy enough to remind her always of her true mistress.

Archduke Pequid (mentioned): The Lord of Lust, archfiend ruler of The Fifth Ring of Hell. He is a terrifying creature, hulking and bearded, cloven of hoof, and partial to women's clothing: great ball gowns or sultry laces depending on the occasion. At one moment he might be fanciful, almost frivolous, but the next filled with unimaginable rage and quick to dole out the sickest of punishments. A rosy marble idol of his likeness stands in the Chapel of Lust, part of the greater Cathedral of Hecate in Saspien.

Shami-Amourae (mentioned): The royal succubus sister to their queen Malcanthet, a very powerful and very alluring devil who at one time warred for the coveted title. She even went so far as to align with demons during The Dark War, but was defeated and sentenced to the Well of Darkness. In recent years she has made amends with her sister, helping Malcanthet solidify her power in The Fifth Ring as Archduke Pequid's most cherished adviser and lover.

Lysander Rheghas: A tall, broad vampire gladiator of marked beauty painted with streaks of gold and in nothing more than a loincloth, collar and muzzle. His soul belongs to Archduke Pequid, a reality he's long ago come to terms with, accepting hopelessness and taking pride in his being chosen. He chided Izzy for seeking a glimmer of hope and insinuated Mara was out of favor with The Fifth Ring. He also forced the slave-princess down on him, exerting power as slave of Pequid over a slave of lowly Mara.

Belesana Doveel: The pale, redheaded precentor of the Chapel of Lust, a vampire of fluid movements and ample curves partial to flowing, ephemeral robes. She tends the Pequid idol and leads the lustite congregations in song and orgy. She took notice of Isabella's beauty and thought to test her arts as anguiness. The girl passed, earning herself a good word with High Priestess Widofa Lorein and a place of honor among the congregation.

Urlas Chavosk: A young, swarthy and soft-spoken nobleman of a minor family of House al'Zareef. He was once favored to marry Diana several years ago, the girl only remembering him for rumor of his large... natural asset. His family has since gone bankrupt. His sister, mother and he now live in the Ziggurat itself, in the windowless chambers of his skilled father's summoning cloister.

Regina Moritan: The youngest of the Streetwives (14), and one of the youngest Ordo members, it's even more unusual she is a human on the dangerous streets of the Circus of Shadows. Yet she must have some skill as an assassin, skill unseen due to a clever administration of paralyzing poison by Renato. She fearfully called him master in order to safe her own life, but truly pledged her loyalty after Renato helped rescue her older brother from the depraved clutches of Ringmaster Harnok Shir-narn.

Malvern Moritan: Regina's older brother (17), a thin, pretty human boy and favored of the wretched tiefling Harnok Shir-narn for all manner of unspeakable sexual acts in his dungeon suite 'The Red Light Room'. He demanded the act of killing Harnok be his, despite assurances by Regina he was no killer. Three years of rape and torture changes people, and Malvern derived immense retribution from the mutilation of the greasy, jaundice half-devil. He even pried the small, curled brass horns from the monster's head to wear on his own, Renato having earned another loyal assassin. Malvern currently delivers Renato's will to the Circus of Shadow, pretending his orders come from an indisposed Harnok. The ruse will not last forever.

Harnok Shir-narn (dead): The greasy, jaundice tiefling master of the Circus of Shadows, a pimp and drug lord who ran Ordo operations despite not being a member. Perhaps it was due to the weight of his lineage: son of Archduke Pequid, Lord of the Fifth. He kept Malvern Moritan as a pet and plaything for three years, and thanks to Renato was ultimately slain by the boy. He promised revenge against both of them, as he was sent back to Hell (and presumably his father).

New Hooks
Closing Doors (Renato): Shut the seven Shadow Doors linking Saspien to the Saspish Temple of the Night and cut off the Shadow Cabinet from its most cherished location on Othyr. But do it quietly, and quickly, or face some of the Ordo Templi Nox's most famed assassins and perhaps even a Lord of the Night.

Hunt for the Cult of the Phoenix (Diana): Investigations go slowly, but surely, in the hunt for the Cult of the Phoenix, but it is no small thing to uncover a secret order that has escaped detection by Saspish authorities and the Houses. Find those with cause to lash out against city and church, dig deep, seek Kalindian signs, and garner the notice of Pietro.

Courting the Hecateans (Isabella): The Saspish Church of Delights would be a powerful ally in all your endeavors, and certainly those of your mistress. Already you have learned so much, of Shami-Amourae, Queen Malcanthet, and of the Archduke Pequid, and found similar Hecateans whose souls were held by various devils. But the Chapel of Lust is one of seven sinful sects, and in command of them all the High Priestess Widofa Lorein. Strange she was not mentioned as having been visited by the Maidenmother Crone. Just where does Ferannifer fit into the hierarchy?

Next Session
87b: Diana continues her search for the Cult of the Phoenix and awaits her bait-date with Urlas Chavosk. Isabella seeks to garner the aid of the Church of Hecate in efforts to prevent her father's coup, starting with the alluring lustite Belesana. Renato continues his secret war with the Ordo Templi Nox, closing the Shadow Doors which link the capital to the Saspish Temple of the Night.

Story Thus Far

Piecing it all together...

I think the best way to proceed with this whole campaign metaplot is to explain the Nors story thus far. Consider it a combination of Kaylan's knowledge since session 6 or so, the orb, the logbooks, the diary and everything else gleaned or throttled out of the surviving Nors doctors and priests.

Is what's outlined below an overly complex plot? Absolutely. Welcome to my games! That said, my goal here is to be more transparent and share an understanding of how exactly all these sessions add up from 1 to 89 (in so far as the Nors plot). Mystery has its place, but at this point I prefer everyone be on the same page. I think everyone will be able to appreciate the sessions and what their characters are doing more if they grasp why they're doing it and how it could affect the world.

At the onset of the campaign, Deloth DeWitt and his infernal carnival scoured Othyr at the behest of his archfiend father Belizeez, Lord of Glut, hunting for unique and powerful individuals to distill. Belizeez had entered into a partnership with Emperor Endymion Norson (partially the reason he was able to become emperor), and the combined resources of The Fourth Ring and the Holy Nors Empire began unlocking the secrets of ancient and crash-landed Anubian ships. Among the technology they reactivated was The Godengine and the motherboard which powered the Sodden Hold Distillery (see magic items in 88a summary).

Long did DeWitt and his network collect these specimens for distillation and consumption, but most precious of all were those with direct relations to the New Gods, specifically siblings and parents (the old and new Saviors). The emperor postulated that within them were small amounts of residual divinity which could be distilled and, if gathered in adequate amounts, used to form an ambrosia elixir that would bestow godhood. Of course, Endymion kept such a notion to himself...

Two years passed, DeWitt and Crematia failed to acquire the Saviors in any of their forms, but did manage to kidnap all sorts of other unusual specimens from across the worlds. Those with ties to the New Gods were quietly put into the emperor's share of the elixirs (a lot of King Matthias' bastards among them) without the archduke ever taking issue.

When High Priestess Finduilas, who mothered Kalinda and possessed maybe the most residual divinity of anyone on the continent, was captured by DeWitt after the wedding ceremony, the emperor thought her too valuable to be left in the hands of infernal agents. Belizeez had a history with the woman, who was part of the group which exiled him from Othyr twenty years ago, and there was little chance Endymion would be able to pry her away from the archduke's vengeful clutches. Endymion sent military forces to intercept DeWitt on his way to Edmark, the same military dispatch the party saw moving through Bleachbone. DeWitt and Crematia barely escaped with their lives, and the emperor replaced both of them with identical puppets.

Puppets are, in a manner of speaking, clones without consciousnesses and perfect for Endymion to inhabit, not to be confused with corpses, which the emperor can possess but which decay before long. Some are grown from 'genetic' material of existing persons, which the emperor kills and replaces (or tries to in the case of the surviving DeWitt and Crematia), others are 'designed' like Huron, never having been a real person at all. These puppets form a support network across the empire and, perhaps, in other nations, helping to ensure Endymion remains in power. He can pull the strings of many at a time, but each adds a little more strain.

Still with me?

So the puppets DeWitt 2 and Crematia 2 returned to Edmark, the Godengine now under his control due to the exact genetic match of the DeWitt puppet. Endymion was able to reprogram the machine through DeWitt 2, which fed everything it saw and sensed to him, which is why his imperial override had it so adamantly chase Narra.

The Blue Angel is immensely important the Endymion for reasons still only guessed at, but given the information found in the logbooks, orb and diary, it may just be that the soft-spoken Norswoman is in fact one of Endymion's puppets, seventh in a series, that somehow gained self-awareness.

Beyond his infernal connections and puppet supporters, Endymion also has 'facilities' which are Anubian ships. There are two known facilities: alpha and beta. Alpha is Narra's birthplace and most likely the puppet factory. Beta is where dissidents and the unwitting are brainwashed and reprogrammed to become Sons and Daughters of Nor, what Tyvis fears is better known to the public as The Imperial Gulag: where his father was sent. Beta was the first facility discovered by Endymion himself (The Sons of Nor movement was pivotal in raising him into power).

And lastly in his power structure, Endymion has actual free-thinking supporters across the empire, largely in the Church of Nor, but also in the Nors Inquisition. Yathnoc and The Imperial Dragoons also support him (the elder red as powerful an ally as Belizeez). He is also championed by The Consortiums and the various city armies and navies (though it's unclear where Edmark now lies in that scheme).

So what does it all mean? How is this plot in any way manageable for someone looking to take down the emperor, liberate the empire and end the war ravaging Othyr? It starts with Endymion's power structure of course...

Endymion's Power Structure
(in no particular order of importance)

• The Fourth Ring (infernal ally in Archduke Belizeez, devils, tieflings and duergar)
• Puppet Supporters (key imperial leaders keeping Heartland and other conquered nations in check)
• Anubian Technology (Facility Alpha and Beta, Godengine, distillery...)
• Sons and Daughters of Nor (hopeless loyalists throughout empire)
• Free-Thinking Supporters (devote loyalists throughout empire, centered around Church and Nor faith)
• He's an insanely powerful psychic

My hope is that after reading this you all will have a better understanding of what's been going on in this Nors storyline and maybe see how things fit together in ways you didn't see before. The future is still yours and whatever you like to make of it. The outcome certainly isn't set. And there are plenty more revelations and ways things fit together that are yet to come, so don't take this as any sort of spoiler! This is just the essential information to continue forward, what I feel you all have earned.

If you have further questions, feel free to ask me.

Map of Annwn

The City of Saspien