The maid leans in close to Alphonse and whispers into his ear: Cardinal Beaufort's as rotten as the rest o' them.... I saw with me own eyes.... The Cardinal celebrating a black mass in Mister Brolingbroke's own chapel--a secret chapel very near where we now stand, sir--and Mister Bolingbroke, Duchess Eleanor, and Miss Jourdemaiyne all in attendance, as well as the wee imp they call Mister Forktail, a great black horse with eyes, hooves and snout a-fire, and a hellhound all belching flames from the Pit....
I think that having a chapel to the dark powers might be a compelling piece of evidence, don't you lads think? I think the future for Lord Bollingbroke is not as rosy as it should be....
Paddy paces for a minute then stops suddenly.
I have an idea. First, we take Bollingbroke to the authorites, then come back here and show them this chapel that these lads know about. What say you boys?
Nacht stares at the Paddy-being and after the pause... nods agreeing.
With the full cooperation of Maid Molly and the guards, the Lusty Fools make a thorough search of Bolingbroke's house, including the secret chambers....
The shrine to Lucifer is damning evidence indeed.... A black striated scarlet marble altar with a shallow human-shaped depression on its top surface sits before a man-sized bronze idol of the Prince of Darkness wielding a trident, the eye sockets glittering with large red rubies that reflect the light of an ever burning brazier....
Alphonse crosses himself.
"This is even worse than that altar in Paris' catacombs."
I think we should get this thing consecrated by some powerful priests....this thing should not remain as a place of worship for evil. I am almost physically ill right now...
"I don't think any amount of consecration could clear this taint. It should be destroyed."
"As soon as this is seen by others, I plan to get rid of it myself."
I don't question your commitment to destroying this evil place...i just hope the evil doesn't taint you in some way...hence my suggestion for more senior priests to help.
As Alphonse and Paddy glare at the abominable altar and idol, they can't help but notice a dark stain in the shallow, human-shaped depression in the altar top.... Dried blood of unknown past victims, no doubt....
Alphonse' hand itches and he seethes as he looks at this.
"We should do it quickly. This place sickens me, and the Witch and Bolingbroke need to pay for their crimes."
In Bolingbroke's private quarters, further damning evidence is found....
In a locked draw of a mahogany desk is found a missive written in a strange code....
Nacht looks and motions to statue as both look hard, pointing at the eyes. " Take before or after show? "
[dice=linguistics]1d20+8
The code remains a maddening enigma to Paddy....
Hisao scratches a stylized monkey symbol just inside the door of the shrine room
Room Purified. All taken care of. Now take evidence to friendly noble man and then we move fast to assassinate head holy man who suppressed evidence yes? Before he finds out maybe?
The codex at first puzzles Iommi-Tyr....
Strange hieroglyphs of alien make....
Then he begins to detect the patterns in the puzzle....
The missive is a letter from a spiritual superior, Nero, the antichrist.
It reads:
To the London Coven:
The hour of Armaggedon draws ever nigh, faithful ones! Soon will we have our reckoning. The Church of Rome will gasp and stagger as she realizes that she is the Whore of Babylon in her own Revelations.
As this terrible realization dawns on their feeble, impotent heads, we shall hammer them with our chimeric creations and herald in a new age of wanton slaughter and rebellion against the I Am!
No longer shall we bow and scrape in His Kingdom, but we shall reign supreme over the noxious Earth and blazing Hell!
From your Antichrist, Nero
Another missive of interest is discovered in the locked desk drawer:
In Infernal:
The Apocalypse can be actuated by the temporal and spacial proximity of a potential Beast and a potential Antichrist at Midnight on the Winter Solstice in the proper astrological alignment. As 1430 is a viable year, and Wormwood and Myself, the Antichrist, walk the same Earth at this time in history, there can be no denial that the hour of Doomsday is nigh, faithful of London. Be patient.
Nero
"Darker and darker. It is good we caught this now, before it was too late. "
I will immediately study the astrological charts and determine when this night (these nights) happen. But we knew it was coming: we found evidence of this in Paris. In fact, let us take another look at the documents we found there....
Iommi-Tyr Magnusson retrieves the papers we found under Notre Dame and gets Mike to re-post them here.
.
Regarding this shrine to The Enemy, I think we should send for Lord Humphrey immediately so he may see this personally. I shall right a missive and have our Silver Raven deliver it to him. Or,... I shall right a missive and have the guard fetch Bolingbroke's courier or falconer to send it to Lord Humphrey immediately.
.
On another note, not of much importance to our dire situation, I plan on asking Lord Humphrey to grant me Bolingbroke's Title under my alias, Magnus Sverreson -- any problems with me taking the newly vacant seat once we finish with our greater responsibilities? I know Sir Alphonse may want it more and we all deserve it equally but I figure I'd ask you all now, get it out there in the open so we can discuss it at a more appropriate time later.
"I don't believe any of us have time to carry out the duties and responsibilities inherent in lordship right now, Iommi."
Alphonse, Paddy and Nacht join Hisao in a careful scan of the inner domed chamber, while Iommi-Tyr carefully copies the strange arcana and unholy symbology scrawled on the walls, and ponders their meaning....
Iommi-Tyr determines that some of the arcane symbols are astrological in nature, revealing peculiar alignments of celestial bodies in the heavens, most of which should occur around Winter Solstice of this very year.... It appears the Necromancer might be forecasting or divining some future event, to occur at the end of this year.... Other symbols mixed into the formulae suggest that the predicted event is nothing less than Domesday.... The beginning of Armageddon and the Great Apocalypse!
Hey, Sir Alphonse, what day is it today -- anyone remember?
Just bloody lovely...we know when the world will end. B$!*!@@s!
Paddy paces for a minute, then stops for a second.
Wait...it says that the three of them are together...what if we eliminated one of them...like Nero for example...if he were to be...*ahem*....taken out, would that change things?
Yes yes, but corrupt holy man will find out soon his inferiors are dead. Should we not move to assassinate now? Hisao says invisibly and boredly.
Aye...the quicker the better i think...
Hey, Sir Alphonse, what day is it today -- anyone remember?
Hey, Sir Alphonse, what day is it today -- anyone remember?
"June 15th, Iommi. Little more than 6 months from their plans coming to fruition."
Just bloody lovely...we know when the world will end. B%@%&#~s!
Paddy paces for a minute, then stops for a second.
Wait...it says that the three of them are together...what if we eliminated one of them...like Nero for example...if he were to be...*ahem*....taken out, would that change things?
Merry Winter Solstice, Good Paddy!
Unperceived even by the preternaturally keen senses of The Beetle Man, the Lord of the Great Old Ones astrally projects a Yule gift into the weird hero's pack:
A Ring of Protection +5 and Freedom of Movement, unslotted
Merry Yule, wise Iommi-Tyr!
Thou shalt trow me not as I gift thee this boon, but no doubt ye'll find it soon enough in thine kit!
[ooc]A ruddy gold and diamond Necklace of Adaptation and Mind Blank appears in Iommi-Tyr's backpack!
Appearing as a white flame that flares briefly over Alphonse's head, the Holy Spirit descends from Paradise and blesses his suit of armor, transmogrifying it into +5 Heavy Fortification Adamantine Full Plate of the Deep with an artful oriental style and sea dragon motif, tinted a metallic aquamarine!
Not to be outdone by his contemporaries, Sun Wukong secretly slips a gift into the pack of Hisao of the Yellow Reeds:
A fog-gray ninja outfit (robe slot), Lone Wolf Shinobi Garb, +5 silk clothing of etherealness (as cloak of etherealness) and spider climbing!
"It appears we are on the right track...though such gifts are both welcome and worrying. What horrors lie ahead that such powerful gifts are needed, I wonder?"
"It appears we are on the right track...though such gifts are both welcome and worrying. What horrors lie ahead that such powerful gifts are needed, I wonder?"
Did you see.....that over...oh lads, I think I need a drink or ten. Paddy says as he questions what he thins he saw.
So, I think that if the end of the world will come about with these 3 on the face of the world at once, removing one of them should prevent the apocalypse, correct? At least, it's wort a toss of the old dice, right me boyos? I'm leaning towards giving this Nero fellow a meeting with his ancestor Julius....
The Lusty Fools now have a distinct purpose.... A dangerous mission lies ahead.... If they can slay even one of the three major antagonists necessary to bring about Armaggedon, they can delay the Great Apocalypse for another several centuries....
But do they possess the skill, the daring, and the sheer luck it will take to infiltrate Mount Vesuvius and assassinate either the Great Beast Wormwood (Conflagratius), the Antichrist Nero (somehow still "alive" after all these centuries), or the Devil Lucifer himself?
Only time will tell....
"Nero does seem the more likely target. Conflagratious is a terrible foe whose power is likely beyond us. The Beast himself is likewise beyond our power to destroy, or even reach. But Nero? Perhaps we have a chance. But the question, of course, is 'where is he?'. The other two of the Unholy Trinity can at least be readily located..."
Well, if he is old, chances are he has developed ties to a certain area. He is most likely in Rome, as most wouldn't think he would be there, right? Maybe the Padre can have some of his church brethren sniff out some clues for us....they might have an inkling where to go.
Nero sounds like a lich to me.
.
.
.
Later, calmed down a bit and after a meal or a rest, but still at Bolingbroke's....
Gentlemen I must do something here at Roger Bolingbroke's of which you may disapprove so I will be open.
We shall do what we can to hallow the chapel to Satan in time, of course, but I am spending tonight constructing a shrine to The Norse God, my god Odin.
I am not a spiritual man or even religious -- yet this is something I must do.
"Must you construct such a pagan device? What purpose could it serve?"
The silver raven flies off with an urgent message for Duke Humphrey, and The Lusty Fools set about the laborious task of spiritually cleansing the unholy chapel of Lucifer so that it may be reconsecrated.
Iommi-Tyr does his best to convince Alphonse that no ill will come from the Norseman erecting a shrine to his pagan god, Odin Allfather....
Plentiful provisions are found in Bolingbroke's larder, pantry, and wine cellar for the heroes to dine on....
Maid Molly and the guards profess to know little about the contents of any boxes or chests in the manor, but of the "ghost box", all agree that Bolingbroke was very adamant that no one was ever to open it, though he gave no explanation to any of his servants as to why....
Hisao taps the monkey symbol he carved and smiles to himself.
