Astraden grabs another strawberry and listens while she eats. "Wait, how is Ilthane 'using' the lizardfolk? The worms we saw were just eating the hatchlings, I mean."
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"Had the worms been allowed to infest the hatchlings without interference, they likely would have rapidly overwhelmed the lizardfolk above. An incapacitated lizardfolk could have worms applied through, say, the mouth, or eyes." Eligos gestures to the respective body parts of the nearest person—Carina—for emphasis. "I know little of what exactly the hatchlings would have been like—some new kind of spawn, I suppose—but I doubt a tribe as weakened as you say could have stood against hundreds of them. It's fortunate you arrived in time to avert such a catastrophe."
Astraden's forehead crinkles. "Oh. Yeah, that would've been bad." She glances at his bookshelves again. "By the way, can you tell us how fast it takes to get taken over entirely by the things? I know once they reach the brainpan, nearly your only chance at life is magic, but how long does it take before even magic won't do s*%~?"
"As for weaknesses, that's trickier. The touch of pure silver or mithril will instantly slay a Kyuss worm. If you have a silver scalpel or the like, it'd no doubt be quite useful. I fear this doesn't do much against the spawn themselves, though, unless you have a lot of the stuff.
"Is this good enough?" Farrukh hefts his newly Mithral'd shield.
"Had the worms been allowed to infest the hatchlings without interference, they likely would have rapidly overwhelmed the lizardfolk above. An incapacitated lizardfolk could have worms applied through, say, the mouth, or eyes." Eligos gestures to the respective body parts of the nearest person—Carina—for emphasis. "I know little of what exactly the hatchlings would have been like—some new kind of spawn, I suppose—but I doubt a tribe as weakened as you say could have stood against hundreds of them. It's fortunate you arrived in time to avert such a catastrophe."
Farrukh grimaces.
"That would have been bad. Dead Lizardfolk and hundreds more zombies? Maybe not the apocalypse but damn near close."
"By the way, can you tell us how fast it takes to get taken over entirely by the things? I know once they reach the brainpan, nearly your only chance at life is magic, but how long does it take before even magic won't do s+%~?"
"The worm will continue eating until there is no conscious mind left. Once that is done, I'm afraid no curative magic can restore you."
"Is this good enough?" Farrukh hefts his newly Mithral'd shield.
"I honestly couldn't say, though I was speaking largely hypothetically. Killing individual worms does nothing to weaken the creature. All it takes is one or two for its foul sentience to endure. Perhaps if a spawn were to be completely immersed in silversheen...but, like I said, this is all silly speculation."
"That would have been bad. Dead Lizardfolk and hundreds more zombies? Maybe not the apocalypse but damn near close."
"Close indeed, Farrukh. Closer every day." For a moment, Eligos appears lost in thought.
Pollard comes up with the previously-requested sealing wax stick, and Eligos snaps to attention. He quickly seals the letter he had been writing. "Honestly, I don't know where my head goes these days. This is for the Lord Mayor. It will lend your names some legitimacy—personally, I'm all for leaving those lizardfolk be. It sounds like they've been through enough hardship already, and it's not as though we really need another swamp."
Farrukh grimaces.
"That would have been bad. Dead Lizardfolk and hundreds more zombies? Maybe not the apocalypse but damn near close."
"So we saved the world...kinda. But it's still happening. We're not done yet." Cuetzpalli replies to the slayer. "Mr. Archmage, do you know anything about the Ebon Triad here in the city?"
"Like I said, I'll have to look into it." Eligos shrugs. "I know a bit, but it's not really my area of expertise."
Carina has been curiously silent throughout the entire conversation, listening attentively to Eligos' dissertation on the Kyuss-spawn and the possibility of a treaty for the lizardfolk.
"So... with that in mind..." She ponders, referring to the Kyuss-worms infesting a person's brain. "...I'll need to learn to brew some elixirs to counteract that."
"I guess we'll stick around in the meantime", Tanith finally says after listening in relative silence for so long.
"It's not like there's a lack of things to see in the Free City."
"Where are you staying?" Eligos asks. "I ask because I'm old friends with the owner of the Crooked House, in the Foreign Quarter. Mention my name and he's sure to give you a discount on rooms. It's an excellent inn."
He offers the sealed envelope. "Pollard can give you directions to the Directing Oligarchy's meeting house. He used to be Turin Deathstalker's butler, if you can believe it."
Pollard seems to pale slightly.
*Port city a little ways south of the Free City.
"Now, there are three men you need to win over. The first is Nerof Gasgal, the Lord Mayor himself. Nerof is also the Assistant Guildmaster of the Guild of Thieves, and he currently holds a somewhat concerning power block." Eligos shrugs. "Nothing of interest to you, I expect, but it will serve your purposes here. He's actually a decent man, as long as you aren't on his bad side. Or related to anyone on his bad side.
"Tigran Gellner is the Captain-General of the Watch. He's a stolid and stalwart sort. He's got a couple friends on the Oligarchy—enough to occasionally be a bother to Gasgal—and controls Greyhawk's military, so he can shut the whole treaty down if he likes.
"Finally, there's Etin Derecs." Eligos's expression darkens. "Etin is Chief Constable and Warden of the Citadel. He's utterly corrupt, and has a reputation for being a little too friendly with the arena owners. I've heard even Loris Raknian, overseer of the Champion's Games and by all accounts a mostly honest man, has slipped Etin a bribe or two when a fight went too far."
Eligos accepts another drink of water from Pollard, drinking heavily before going on. "He recently managed to wriggle his way into the position when the former Constable—a priestess of Pelor—went missing visiting the...I believe it was the Foreign Quarter. I was off on my master's business and came back too late to conduct any proper investigation. I swear, these days it seems whenever I turn my back another drop of corruption seeps into my city."
He pauses a moment, scowling as he finishes his water. "Anyways, you don't really need him on board, but you do need to avoid turning him against the treaty. He's in the position to find ways to circumvent it if he wishes. Just make sure not to irritate him during the meeting."
Cuetzpalli appears to be very intimidated that they will be dealing with such powerful people. I'll just keep my mouth shut and let them do the talking. Hopefully Carina. She seems to be the best of us when it comes to that.
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Eben quietly sips his wine throughout the talk and doesn't show any noticeable discomfort at Elgios's graphic talk of the horrors the worms can inflict, even though his own recent experiences have given him first hand knowledge of such. Whether that's a completely conscious effort on his part so as not to embarrass himself in front of Elgios, or simply his subconscious doing a phenomenal job of repression, is hard to say.
"We're actually staying at the Crooked House already. And we do agree, Tarquin keeps a quality establishment."
The mention of the Crooked House makes Carina giggle a little. It's a welcome distraction from the thought of worm-zombies.
"Yep. I can DEFINITELY vouch for it." She sneaks a quick glance at Tanith before turning back to the conversation at hand.
Tanith chuckles and gives the undine a wink.
"Thank you, Eligos. We'll try to get this treaty going and then start investigating the Triad. You know where to find us, now."
In the street outside Eligos' house, Astraden shakes her head at Tanith and Carina. "Seriously guys, don't make innuendo in front of a wizard. You know they don't understand that sorta stuff, and a confused wizard is not gonna be any help to us." Turning to Eben, she points up towards the High Quarter. "Is that where we need to go?"
"He's not a wizard though. He said so."
"Well, regardless of wizards being present, how about amending that to 'don't make innuendo while we're eating', just as a general rule?" Eben says, smirking. He nods at Astraden. "Yep, let's go and get this out of the way. Hopefully we can be done in time for lunch."
"Oh, don't worry--I won't go that far. I promise." Carina nods. "And let's get a move on then!" She does a little fist pump in the air.
"Still, I'm a bit nervous--I mean, there's a lot of lives riding on this..." She puts her hand down and scratches the back of her head.
"Hah! Done by lunch?" Astraden raises an eyebrow. "You have a much more optimistic view of bureaucracy than me, Eben."
She smiles slightly to Carina. "We'll do fine, I'm sure. You're convincing, and Tanith's imposing. And Eben's friends with the mayor!"
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"Yeah, about that part... just to be clear, this is likely gonna be one of those 'quietly pretend that I didn't just have a conversation with one of your underlings' situations. I imagine the more we not acknowledge that he's expressed interest in our group in his other capacity, the more he'll be inclined to side with us..."
Pollard gives the heroes brief directions to the Oligarchy's meeting house. There, the letter from Eligos is enough to grant them admission, though weapons and dinosaurs are not allowed in, and Carina finds her vials confiscated as well.
They are ushered to a sparsely-decorated waiting room. "It'll only be a moment," the secretary assures the party. "They're already meeting—something about ugly goings-on up in Redhand, pretty standard formalities, between you and me. Just wait here a minute or so."
Forty-five minutes later, the doors open, and the adventurers are called into the meeting room. Sixteen pairs of eyes look upon the party with a mix of suspicion and boredom.
The adventurers are invited to sit at the long table. On the other end sits Lord Mayor Nerof Gasgal, a fit man in his late fifties, beside several other directors that are clearly part of his voting block.
Nearer the PCs sit the other two personae Eligos mentioned: Captain-General Tigran Gellner, an elderly but powerfully-built man with a constant frown, and Constable Etin Derecs, a tall, spindly younger man wearing a mail coat of tiny mithril links.
"So," the Lord Mayor says, "we're told you come from the Mistmarsh. We've just recently received word of a vicious attack on the Keep by the lizardmen, in which all but a scattering were slain. Yet you believe a treaty to be the solution?"
"Thank you, Lord Mayor. It is true; all but a scattering were slain. Both humans and lizardfolk," Astraden says. "We delivered 'justice,'" she says, trying not to be ironic with the word, "And slew the leader of that strike. Then, with the help of a wiser faction, we destroyed the militaristic members of the tribe. There may still be living a few lizardfolk who killed humans, but they are not the majority, and without their leadership they will not rise to power again."
Astraden pushes a stray curl back into the nest atop her head. "The new leader of the tribe, the cleric Hishka, understands that the tribe's position is weak. The tribe lost many fighters to the previous chief's drive for conquest, and is now on the run from an advanced black dragon, if reports are true. They have enough to defend themselves, but nothing more. They pose no threat to Greyhawk's holdings in the present.
"However, in the future that may very well change. All the tribes in the Mistmarsh have been ravaged by a virulent plague, which eats through their brood eggs and decimates the new generation. This tribe would have suffered the same fate if we had not destroyed the plague's vector."
Looking around the room, focusing on the Captain-General, the Lord-Mayor, and the Constable in succession, the priestess says, "This tribe will have a whole generation of warriors unharmed by the plague, and will be the strongest power among its fellow tribes once those warriors mature. Making a treaty with this tribe now would give the Greyhawk of ten years from now incredible security. There would be no more bloodshed on the border."
Carina nods in support of Astraden's explanation.
"It would be an ideal solution for all parties involved--the lizardfolk of the Mistmarsh would be on nothing less than their best behaviour, and thus would allow you to devote more resources to other pursuits and areas of concern. I ask you--would any of you pass up an opportunity to secure your borders without needing to expend any resources of your own?"
"The girls've summed it up pretty well", Tanith adds in support. "The lizardmen left out there in the marsh are happy to mind their own business if we'll just give them their space. More fighting doesn't help anyone."
Etin Derecs sniffs. "So you would have us give up territory to the cannibals to keep them appeased. I'm ambivalent either way; just clarifying."
"More of your passive-aggressive garbage, Derecs?" an elderly woman snaps. Eritai Kaan-Ipzirel wears the symbol of St. Cuthbert on her chest, and she sits beside the Captain-General Tigran Gellner. "While I'm ambivalent as well, characterizing it as our territory to give is a gross—"
"I canna' say," rumbles an elderly dwarf. Stimtrin Cannasay leans back, stroking his long graying beard. "But...it seems ta me tha', well, this all comes back to the poor harvest. As I been saying, the harvests these last few years've been the worst since...well, without food, everything goes downhill, but nary a soul ne'er stops to really think..."
A few of the directors actually put their heads in their hands as the dwarf rambles on.
"And even ignoring the whole 'dragon' and 'worm' parts of this scenario, a treaty makes sense for all parties. Bear in mind, that attack on Blackwall was nearly successful. Our arrival tipped the balance back in the favor of the keep defenders..." Eben tactfully omits the fact that it was less 'tipped the balance' and more 'miraculously saved the day by routing the lizardfolk in a way that your soldiers could never have hoped to achieve'. "But it could easily have gone otherwise. Putting a mutual non-aggression pact into place saves our lives, as well as the lizardfolk. Unless we really are so hard pressed for new land to settle that we need to keep pressing on into the inhospitable marshes they call home..."
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As predicted, Cuetzpalli looks very awkward in front of such power. He fidgets nervously, mostly keeping his eyes on the floor. When everyone seems to be adding their two cents, he feels a sudden urge to contribute. "Trust me, you don't want to own there, its full of bugs and smells like my auntie's farts," Cuetzpalli adds, trying to be helpful. He immediately turns beet red. Really?! That's the best you can do? Gods, you're a f*+~ing fool, Cuet. Just shut up and don't embarass us further.
"Plus, they're pretty nice folk once you get to know them. Just trying to get by, just like everyone else. Besides the scales and the tails there's not much of a difference between them and us. And the cannibalism thing, but it's not like the dead people are using their meat anyway."
"Plus, technically, if they eat us- or even vice versa- it's not cannibalism. We're different species!" Eben cheerfully points out the fine print.
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"Yeah, lizardfolk have a very efficient culture. I truly admire them."
The Directing Oligarchs look between each other skeptically. They begin arguing, with the matriarch of St. Cuthbert and her friends arguing in favor of the treaty and several of those sitting by Nerof Gasgal arguing against. Ultimately, though, it's as Eligos said: The Oligarchy reluctantly agrees to let the three directors with authority over the military settle the matter.
Captain-General Tigran Gellner speaks first. The aged soldier clears his throat. "These creatures have killed many good men and women. They have ravaged farms and eaten human flesh. But...further bloodshed is senseless. And if this tribe truly wishes for an end to the conflict, and has the manpower to force a treaty onto the rest, I say so be it."
Etin Derecs speaks next, giving a crooked smile. "I care little for the monsters of the swamp, but I care even less for the swamp itself. Who wants some mudpit of plague and lizard droppings? Nay, we're better off without it. Let the lizardfolk be." He shrugs, turning to have a servant refill his glass.
The other directors all turn to Nerof Gasgal. The Lord Mayor looks grim, and he takes a moment before answering. "You are earnest, adventurers, but misguided. I happen to know the lizardfolk reject all things of society, including the very concepts of education and self-enlightenment. Perhaps this 'Hishka' means well, but I fear she will be unable to preserve order for long. In time they will remember the wrongs we have done onto them, and they will forget the agreements they've made, and more will die."
He seems to grow angry. "Indeed, such mindless rage has already been demonstrated. As far as we can tell, their assault on Blackwall Keep was utterly without provocation. The guards there tried to preserve friendly relations with the lizardfolk, and now they're dead. It is what we feared. The lizardmen are monsters, and the only thing they feel at all is hate." He swallows. "I'll leave it up to the honorable Captain-General when it is necessary to seek retribution, but in the meantime, I do not intend on signing any treaty with these creatures.
"Will that be all?"
Farrukh bristles at the mayor's tone.
"Maybe if we weren't so Hell bent shoving our 'enlightened' views on them with one hand while snatching up their land and destroying their culture with the other, they wouldn't be so mad."
"Just saying."
Cuetzpalli's head falls. "Then the blood will be on your hands, my lord," the olman says quietly. He turns to leave, disappointment evident on his plain face. Once outside the meeting chamber, he waits for the others to suggest their next course of action.
Astraden grips the table leg next to her tightly, lip curling. "Lord-Mayor, with due respect, my sister is among the guards of Blackwall Keep, stationed there after the original onslaught. Three of my friends live in Lambere. If you would doom them and theirs in all-out war, that is your prerogative, but believe you me, it is also your guilt. You will never escape it."
She takes a careful breath, thinking back to what Raddle said. "And there is actually one more thing. The Keep may not have sent a report back yet, but you should know that the marshes are overrun with a real monster. The spawn of Kyuss, zombies made intelligent by a magical parasite called a Kyuss worm, have assaulted both the Keep and Lambere. At the very least," she says, standing to leave and staring intently at Gellner, "Make sure every soul stationed out there has a silver-edged blade."
Outside the meeting chamber, Astraden collapses on a bench and rubs her forehead, sighing. "We'll have to find another way. I don't think that cockworm is going to budge, but maybe we can get an informal agreement with Gellner? Could he do that?"
"I was kind of hoping you wouldn't mention the spawn. I would have loved to see the look on his face when he discovered them the hard way."
He mentally rewinds her sentence and chuckles.
"Heh. 'Cockworm' gives me a fun image of his reaction if a Kyuss worm went to work on his...you know."
"Cockworms really are kinda hard to budge, aren't they?" The cleric laughs nervously.
Eben doesn't look too dismayed as he strolls out of the chambers with the rest. "Well, we tried, right? That's all we could promise Hishka. It was always a longshot. But you heard the general, he doesn't see any point in further bloodshed, and the mayor said that any kind of military response was left up to him, so... things should remain stable in the marshes even without a full-blown treaty in place." Eben actually looks somewhat pleased with this rationalization. "I think we managed to convince the one person in there that matters that going back into the swamp in force is pointless."
The Directing Oligarchy seems caught off-guard by Astraden's revelation, and they begin arguing anew. Nerof looks troubled but says nothing.
Shortly thereafter, as the adventurers are conversing outside, they see Constable Etin Derecs exit the meeting room. He looks enraged. He shoots the party a dirty look as he shoves aside the doorman and storms out into the street.
"Yeah . . . I think if we can get him on our side, Hishka's tribe will be safe. Except for the dragon and the worms, I mean."
"We'd probably better get moving before that Mayor chump comes out." Astraden stands and moves to Cuetzpalli, taking his hand. "Eben, I guess you were right. Anyone up for lunch?"
Eben surveys Deric with a quizical look of his own as the Constable storms out past the group. Then shakes his head and shrugs. "Whatever. Yes. Lunch. Sounds great. Anyone up for something spicy? There's a Baklunish place in the Foreign Quarter that does some great things with rice. Probably my favorite restaurant in the city."
"I've never had Baklunish food but it's worth a shot. Spicy, you say?"
Tanith frowns and then shrugs. "Can't say I've ever had Baklunish food but as long as it's got meat, I'm game."
[dice=Sense Motive aiding Farrukh IF I CAN]1d20+3
"Yeah . . . I think if we can get him on our side, Hishka's tribe will be safe. Except for the dragon and the worms, I mean."
[dice=Okay Sense Motive on Ettin then]1d20+3
"We'd probably better get moving before that Mayor chump comes out." Astraden stands and moves to Cuetzpalli, taking his hand. "Eben, I guess you were right. Anyone up for lunch?"
Cuetzpalli takes Astraden's hand, trying to act nonchalant. Oh my Kord, she's holding my hand! "Mhmmm....food. That sounds...uh...good." Cuetzpalli whistles for Spiny as they head off, and he emerges from one of the alleys next to the building, mowing on some garbage. "Damnit, lizard, how many times have I told you not to eat whatever you find laying around?" He scolds the beast.
"Baklunish food is pretty good, though it can give you the runs if you're not up to the task."