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| Photo by Josipa Juras at unsplash.com |
As they approached Siebenhurst Castle, it quickly became evident that the the court was currently abuzz with activity. Great wagons bearing provisions and casks of wine wheeled to and fro, servants scuttled about underfoot, and perhaps most tellingly, black carriages displaying the coat of arms of Lamashtu's noble houses had begun to line up in a long, serpentine queue. Khamad stopped a serf and asked him what was afoot. The man replied, "The Countess has broken the will of the nobles who opposed her. She has their consent to be raised to a Queen! Our Queen! Long live the Deathless Queen! May her sanguine majesty rule forever!"
When they reached the gate of the castle they were confronted by four Knights of Lilith who eyed the group suspiciously and asked to see their invitation to the queen's coronation. Devanya leaned forward in her saddle and declared, "We have no invitation. I am Devanya de Francesca-Almordante, and I am here to offer the Church's blessing to Queen von Karlok on the day of her coronation."
The knights exchanged troubled glances. One of them stepped away briskly.
Khamad whispered to Devanya, "You know that your religion is outlawed here in Lamashtu, don't you? You may have just signed out death warrants."
Devanya smiled. "No, I've presented them with a curiosity. They're going to let us in on the off chance a priest of the Church is prepared to bend the knee and give praise to an unholy monarch."
"Aren't you worried about being defrocked if your precious Church hears about how casually you toss around the authority you assume in its name?" Sable asked.
"I'm not on particularly good terms with my Church," Devanya replied.
Sable suddenly grabbed at Devanya's shirt, pulling the garment down at the back to expose a brand that had been burned into the other woman's flesh. "I knew it. A heretic's mark. You're a priest, all right, but not of the Church as we know it."
Just then, the knight returned and whispered something to his compatriots. The group were asked to dismount; then they were led to a private meeting with Vrey von Karlock, a minor member of the noble House of von Karlok. Vrey listened patiently as their ruse was explained. They told him that they had reason to believe that a vampire lord of Lamashtu had given Malak, Khamad's brother, a magical weapon of unimaginable power.
Vrey offered them a slight correction. He was aware that an object had traded hands between a member of House Skarnstein and Malak, but that object was not the weapon itself. The object in question was a key to unlock the sought after weapon from some hidden place of imprisonment. Only the Skarnstein know where Malak has gone with the key. But Vrey had an offer for the group: the Skarnstein vampires were the last to concede to Alcesta von Karlok's desire to be crowned queen, so they must be reminded of their place. If the party would help Vrey entrap a few members of the Skarnstein family in a situation that revealed their dissidence, Vrey would see to it that the information about Malak's destination would be disclosed to them so they might continue their pursuit.
The trap was baited: Devanya approached an enclave of suspected Skarnstein rebels as a cleric willing to use her divine power to thwart the queen's coronation. The small group of nobles she was negotiating with were caught out agreeing to what amounted to a treasonous plot. Hidden Knights of Lilith, as well as Casimir, Sable, and Khamad, leaped out of concealment as soon as the treachery was uncovered. A fierce battle ensued as they rebels attempted to escape, but the Skarnstein betrayers were either slain or taken captive. Those who still possessed their lives--or unlives--would be made an example of, sacrificed as part of the pomp and circumstance of the crowning of Queen Alcesta von Karlok.
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Previous Adventures
Losing a Fight in a Frontier Tavern
Losing a Fight in a Frontier Tavern
